Toughing it Out

February has proved to be tough so far - damn tough actually. The weather has certainly played its part. All over the shop really, but that's winter I guess.

Three sessions to catch up on. The first a bitter cold afternoon with a wind to cut you in two. Bumping into Danny at the fishery entrance, I was keen to hear something favourable from his exploits. No such luck! Predators not showing. Not good when that's all you've come for.

Still, I always like to be optimistic and I was beyond the point of no return really. A full on slop fest across the meadow and I opted for the most sheltered peg in my preferred area. An umbrella for a wind break helped to keep some of the chill off me.

A canoeist appeared just before I dropped in my first rig for a depth check. A quick adjustment and back in for a second check a little further out. Looked OK so I reeled in and it fought back.

Hang on - I hadn't baited the hook! It took me by surprise. The fish were supposed to be scarce afier all - not crawling up my rod!

Only a jack and hooked just above the eye. I was using a large single hook for zander and most likely just dropped it plumb above the fish and foul hooked on the retrieve. Judging by the number of leeches, it had been pretty dormant.

And that was it. With baited hooks, not a single bite to speak of. A pretty miserable afternoon in all honesty. An annoying off road biker (with incredibly noisy bike) was in the fields behind me at various times. Guns were going off constantly too. Not really a peaceful affair.

No kingfishers either, but a mink popped through my swim and a ridiculously friendly yellow wagtail seemed to take a liking to my free offerings.

The trudge back to the car left me freezing cold. Definitely the toughest conditions I'd faced over the winter.

A week later it was more Sunday action. I wasn't even sure I'd bother, but my wife pretty much kicked me out! She knows what I'm like if I don't get out and after a long old week beforehand, I needed a release. Decorating doesn't deliver that!

Back for more predators, but with an each way gamble for chub. Umbrella straight into position again to reduce the wind chill.

A slow start, but some interest on the downstream smelt rig saw a jack attached. Blank avoided I thought, but it spat the hook as I was getting the net ready.

A move a couple of pegs upstream didn't yield anything and the wind was getting gusty, colder and annoying. Checking out a longstanding trusty peg further upstream, it was almost tranquil. Time for another move.

Returning to gather my gear I looked downstream and I thought I could see smoke. Hang on. A pitch black sky and I can hear the noise increasing. Hailstorm! Time to take cover.

Just the wrong moment to move, but it didn't matter in all honesty though - the hail just bounced off and I remained dry enough.

The move triggered a take though and a feisty 8lb fish became my first hail pike. Not quite the same as snow pike though - most of it had melted!

And that was it for the day. I retraced my steps and tried for chub again into dark, but with no luck.

On to the weekend just gone and my Sunday afternoon plans were scuppered. My wife requested my presence for a family meal. Refusal is rarely a wise choice, so I kept the peace. A small window of opportunity was available on Saturday afternoon, so I had to grab it.

I'd arranged to meet up with Martin down the Avon, but he was worryingly silent. Sure enough the text came through gone midday as I was getting ready to leave. He was blanking. Another gruelling session on the cards.

Still blanking when I got there, he was cerainly giving it a good go. He had a section well stitched up with baits, but the pike weren't having it.

I tried a couple of banker pegs with smelt, sardine and lamprey. Plenty of twitching, but nothing happening. Hopes of an extension into dusk and dark were thwarted by the missus. I had to call time and meet her at the station. A bit like a referee stopping the boxing match and sparing the contender from further punishment.

Blanker Martin had dropped in just downstream and turned into bagger Martin! Several biteless hours ended with a brace in the last 15 minutes. The first a jack, but the second a low double to salvage some respectability from a difficult day.

Cold weather seems to be all the talk now - the beast from the east if we're to believe the hype. Got to make the best of it I guess. There's not enough season left to be picky. As long as it's settled I'll take it. Still a few things to try to tick off in the next 3 weeks. Two sessions on the cards this weekend hopefully...

Double Start

Another year begins, but the weather has continued to keep me off the rivers throughout most of January. A frustrating period really, particularly as I had some extra time off from work into the first week of the new year. Lots of potentially good fishing time wasted spent working on the house.

I eventually kicked off my 2018 exploits a fortnight ago. The river was fining down nicely, and, with the Blogger's Challenge in mind,  I fancied a crack at a chub. My meagre 3lb 2oz offering needed an uplift.

Was it worth a go though?  A quick text to Mick for an update on his trip the day before, confirmed what I wanted to hear. Plenty of chub had shown up, albeit to no great size. But, bigger fish are there and regularly show up - often on Mick's blog!

For me it was a bit of a stroll down memory lane. Although I've never held the club ticket during my blogging years, this was one of my favourite stretches during the 90s and 00s. It wasn't a triumphant return though. Despite feeling ultra confident, four hours of endeavour taking in three swims, saw nothing in return. My 8th blank in 10 outings was in the bag.

Last week was a simple write off with some pretty horrible wintery conditions pushing through. I spent most of the weekend in a cupboard under the stairs! Not banished there by my good lady I might add, but giving it a post boiler installation makeover. Not the most exciting of times, but it was all in a good cause - more room for my fishing clothing and accessories. Still need to install a shoe rack for my wife though. I'm sure she'll remind me soon enough!

On to this week and it was touch and go with the rivers, Saturday was ruled out anyway, so Sunday was the only option. The weather looked good - breezy, but very mild, cloudy and dry all day.

I went to bed Saturday night with a simple plan - wake up whenever and figure it from there. With my wife also keen to have a chill out day after a long and busy week, it was a relaxing change.

A lie in was inevitable and I didn't venture out until early afternoon. I was only interested in the last couple of hours of daylight, so I took it really easy. The last ENG v AUS ODI cricket match proving to be the perfect reason not to rush out.

I didn't wet a line until 1-30pm.  A two rod approach to begin with. Standard tactics for me on both rigs - a big smelly lump of meat, hair rigged on a free running set up.

Nothing showed in the first two hours. As the sun slipped lower, I retired the upstream rod to make sure any hint of a bite on the preferred downstream rod, would be nailed instantly.

Whether by luck or judgement, it took less than 5 minutes for a proper tug on the tip. I pounced quickly and a quiet start to the battle had me thinking chub. It soon turned into a barbel though and a hard but incident free battle was played out.

A typical, solid, clean looking fish that caused the Avons to do a full circuit. They settled on 10lb 12oz. Nice to start the year on a double. I hope it ends like likewise!

I nearly called it a day, but as I still had a good hour plus of daylight left, I plodded on in the hope of more.

Within half an hour the tip rattled again and I was poised for action, hand at the ready. The tip banged again and I was on it like a flash. I think I surprised myself actually!

Definitely a chub this time, but although it didn't look the longest, it was a solid old fish. Clearly a season's best, but by how much?

4lb 4oz took me by surprise - so much so, that I zeroed the sling and reweighed it on my backup scales. Same outcome. With my meagre pb only being an ounce heavier, this one gave it a close run.

The week ahead looks unsettled and that's not really what I wanted. Time is running out for the rivers and I still haven't got a respectable pike to my name this season, nor even a zander of any size. Still hoping though...

Early Finish

My fishing year ended in a very tame and unsatisfactory manner. No more need to berate the overly dry conditions. The weather had the final laugh to a very forgettable Autumn campaign. Two planned river sessions cancelled for obvious reasons:

To add to my woes, my long suffering boiler (not a reference to my wife!) finally gave up the ghost in the week before Christmas. No longer cost effective to put back into service, a new one is now being scheduled in. Fortunately we've been able to get hot water via an immersion heater, or it would have really tested our resolve. 

Just one quick session to mention since my last post. It was my traditional Christmas Eve session - just not on Christmas Eve this year! My wife had booked me up for that already with family duties. 

So, a day earlier than normal, I headed off to a decent looking Avon for a dawn start. No excuses, but it proved a difficult nut for me to crack again.

Martin turned up soon after and wasted little time in getting his spool turning. Not the planned ending though as his hooks went skywards and he was left playing a tree! He soon had a jack on the bank though to make amends.

My blank was avoided with my only bite of the session. A jack with an unsightly wound, so I'll spare it from a public appearance on here.

I called it a day at 11am, by which time Martin had upped his count to three, the best one being around double figures. He went on to add a couple more.

I have an extended break this year and I'm hoping it won't see me consigned to decorating throughout. If the river drops to the right level, I'll continue to look for pike and zander. If not, temperatures permitting, I'll definitely open the year with a session on a stillwater that I was saving for Spring.

2018 promises to be an interesting one for me in many ways. Lots of distractions that will potentially interfere with my time on the bank, but I'll certainly be out at every opportunity. My only fishing resolution is to do more of what I didn't do this year! 

I had some good intentions that I didn't follow through on. Quite why I've ignored tench again is just plain daft, given the options I have in my ticket wallet.

Have a good New Year and tight lines in 2018.

Dominoes and Monkeys

Where to begin?

It's over a month since I last checked in and let's just say that things haven't quite gone to plan. How bad you ask? Let's try a picture clue to sum up my bankside activity...

Hopefully not too cryptic! That's right - 6 (six) consecutive blanks.

Having only ever suffered a maximum of three blanks on the spin before, I really didn't see this lot coming. Granted, conditions haven't been great, the sessions mostly short and I've perhaps been too blinkered in my approach. Still, I expected a little more than zilch.

All were predator sessions in gin clear water. Three were actually completely barren - zero bites. The rest had some bites, but frequently all too tentative. A nudge here, an enquiry there, the odd strike into thin air. Occasionally connecting, but then disconnecting, as hooks are spat back in anger.

The sixth domino was played out on Monday past. A bonus session borne out of the recent snowfall. I'm lucky enough to work in education, where establishments close when the white stuff falls to any reasonable degree.

This was fate I thought. Finally a chance to get a long-standing monkey off my back - a snow pike. Opportunities for snow fishing don't present themselves all that often around these parts, so I needed to choose well. A tried and trusted venue would surely deliver?

You know the outcome of course. Not a sniff. 4+ hours of zero action. Nothing moving anywhere. Dejected, I quit early afternoon and headed home to do a refresh job on the bathroom. Exciting times! Extra dominoes were being contemplated.

Tuesday dawned and confusion reigned. Employer optimism of opening was quashed, but I was summoned to another campus that had beaten the weather. A useless exercise though, as I had no access to the essential tools of my job. A day of pointless time filling and coffee drinking didn't thrill me. I needed out.

After a brief and sensible chat, a mutual agreement was struck up with my boss. Rather than me lingering around and moaning all day,  I'd bugger off quietly and use up some time owed to me. Much better for all concerned. Snow pike take two was now in operation.

Back to the river, but a different stretch. A more public venue and one I've never predator fished before. I just needed a change to rekindle some fresh optimism. It's a venue I've fished occasionally over the years, albeit not for quite a while.

A chilly day at -2C on arrival (although better than the -6C earlier that morning). It didn't rise much either - just tripping around freezing point when I packed in.

I knew a likely area with a mix of depths and features. I'd spend a few hours hopping swims, covering as much variety as possible.

Swim one nearly yielded success just as I was planning a move. A bob of the float on the smelt rig, then a few more indications, before a clear pull away. A strike, slight resistance and then a hook pull followed. Bugger!

I sat it out a while longer than I'd intended, but nothing else showed. Time to find some deeper water that I knew was a few pegs downstream.

Sardine deployed to the left, I then guessed a little conservatively with the smelt rig. The float was around 10 inches out and fully submerged. I reeled in to adjust it and the float fought back!

I must have dropped the smelt bang on the money. I set the hooks and played out the fight. Brisk and thankfully uneventful, I had broken the run of blanks. A snow pike at last and although a long way short of my target, a season's best at 9lb 12oz. Quite a long, lean and clean fish.

Not the perfect trophy shot I'd have wanted, but the snow was very iced up and pretty solid. I wasn't going to risk damaging the fish through self indulgence.

Nothing else for the reminder of session. Just feathered company that's clearly well practised in the art of scrounging from anglers.

Prospects for the weekend are interesting, with some milder air threatening to push in. The cold snow melt (with added grit) currently in the rivers might be the defining factor. Coloured water will be a rare luxury though.

I'd resigned myself to a weekend off, but with the rivers now dropping, I'm tempted to make a last minute change of mind. The gear is ready just in case, as are the dominoes...

Edit - Sunday morning. 6am, phone says it's 1C. River still a little higher than I'd like for the temperature. Significant rain due late morning. England still floundering in the cricket. Not much to get up for.

A lie in and then finishing off the Christmas preparations was the more sensible option. Plenty of time for fishing over an extended festive break for me this year (around family commitments of course!).

Alternative Fireworks

Finally, as I write this, it's the first evening since mid October that I haven't heard a firework go off. It drives me mad after a while, but I guess that's part of urban life and it's greater concentration of morons. Glad it's all over now.

No danger of me dabbling in any pyrotechnics, so I'd have to make do with whatever entertainment I could conjure up from the Avon this week. My only viable window on Saturday was booted into touch by a BBC weather forecaster. After a crappy week at work and feeling slightly under the weather, I wasn't getting up at dawn for a soaking. Sunday afternoon it was then...

This is where I enjoy the shorter days. The last couple of hours of fishing as the light fades, are so much easier to slot into place for me. I can gently recover from any Saturday alcohol excess without any urgency. Then slope off to get the best of the conditions and be back in plenty of time for an evening meal.

With a little extra water having gone through, I toyed with the idea of a mixed approach with deadbaits and meat. Then I sensibly remembered that I have a habit of screwing up when I do that. I rarely do either method justice. It's often better to focus fully on one approach - a case of knowing my limitations.

Deadbaits were left in the freezer and I reached for my stockpile of meat. I have a habit of buying it in bulk whevener the supermarket drops it to £1 a tin. Chopped into 3/4 inch cubes it's dirt cheap really.  I only used half a tin during the session. The rest ended up going in the freezer.

An old school one trick pony approach, but I have more faith in it than anything else. It's probably because I've never fully got to grips with pellets and boilies - too many choices and flavours for my mind. The only decision here was one rod or two.

I kicked off with two for the first half of the session and very little happened. A couple of sharp bangs on the downstream rod, but nothing I could connect with. With the sun beating down and the water still quite clear, I wasn't expecting much early afternoon.

A kingfisher kept me amused though, popping in directly opposite to nick some small fry. Great fun watching it dipping down off the willows.

poor photo but it was gone in a flash

As the sun started to dip behind the trees, I retired the upstream rod. I just wanted to give full focus to what I considered to be the best part of the swim. Any half chance and I wanted to be in contact right away, so the freespool was now left off. Clutch also slackened off slightly more than usual.

Firework update - spoke too soon. Bastards going off in the distance right now! I digress...

Radio on and City 2-0 up in the cup - for once not making a meal of non-league opposition. Fishing still quiet, so a quick look at the internet to check other sport news and then wham - fireworks begin! The rod hoops over and I simply have to grab the butt and toss the phone to one side.

The clutch kicked in and covered the initial run, but the backwind was soon in place to help out. As I stopped the fish a good way downstream, it went eerily solid for a few seconds. I thought I'd allowed it too much room to manoeuvre, but it then kicked out again. Phew!

It then all went to plan and I even remembered to keep it clear of an unseen near bank snag that cost me a good fish last season. Into the net it went after a fair old scrap and I felt it was my first double of the season. I gave it a good rest and popped it on the mat.  It looked even better now, with a solid front end. Clearly feeding well. The scales went 11lb 1oz.

Very pleased with that result after a mostly poor September / October. A few more challenge points and in terms of barbel, it's around the mark I'd hoped for.

Zander and chub are probably my next targets, along with pike. I might even go in search of roach if the conditions drop right. Optimism is returning, soon to be suppressed no doubt!

Predator Kick Off

I finally caved in and went for my first proper predator session of the season. I have dabbled in recent times on occasions, but this was my first dual rod effort with my main gear.

With the wind still blowing through a little, I headed for a reasonably sheltered part of the Avon. The clocks went back overnight and I opted to ignore the extra hour in bed. I was bankside at 6-30am.

Tactics were float fished deadbaits, alternating between smelt, sardine and roach, across a handful of swims. I had the place to myself, so I could hop pegs at will - just how I like it.

When it comes to pike, smelt is definitely my first choice deadbait bar none. The distinctive cucumber smell conjures up an air of a confidence that other baits can't quite match. It's a definite get out of jail card on rock hard days.

Lamprey, with its blood oozing quality, is a close second. It's quite expensive though and often shorter in supply these days. More of a luxury bait for me now, but I'll break into my meagre supplies when I'm on some of my longer sessions later in the year.

Roach is next in the pecking order and my main attack for zander. I've just stocked up on these and will be looking to perfect my approach in the coming months. I'm still quite new to this zander lark and have plenty to learn.

Sardine is another alternative I use regularly. A soft oily bait, it offers up a good sized mouthful at a very low cost (when bought from the fishmonger). Again, I've just stocked up on a few of these.

Sprats are very bleak like and always worth a go. Very cost effective too and these small baits can often throw up a surprise.

Back to the session and with clear water I expected a tough session. The river didn't disappoint! A blank in swim one and just a single small jack from the next three to a smelt offering. Tough going.

A return to the banker swim and a twitch induced take saw me battling something beyond jack size. A powerful initial run saw me having to apply the brakes to keep it from a big snag.

Almost daring to tail walk, it luckily turned and then kited back towards me. Then it all went a bit stupid as it ploughed straight beneath the staging in front of me. Seemingly disorientated, it turned around and was cornered by my now waiting net. What looked set to be a sporting battle, became all a bit anticlimactic. Not that I cared though!

It was a lovely clean unmarked fish and I thought maybe a scraper double. It was close, but the Avons confirmed it was a couple of light snacks short at 9lb 11oz. Funny how the lack of any size reference (other than the mat itself) makes the fish look small.

A few token challenge points to add to my tally. I'd like something double the size, but patience is required. It's just a case of wading through the singles and waiting my turn. Time is on my side for now.

Rain is still desperately needed, but I can't see anything significant in the forecast. Not sure where I'll head next. This clear water is proving challenging.

October Mixed Bag

In keeping with recent fortunes, October hasn't managed to revive my flagging Blogger's Challenge campaign. Not a single point added for several weeks now. The floodgates will surely open soon. I can but dream...

With rivers running as clear as gin for most of the season, it seems to have been tougher than ever this year. Low light conditions often help to offset this, but it's rare for me to be able to make best use of dusk and dawn prior to the clocks changing. That all changes soon though and I'm looking forward to better prospects.

A few sessions to catch up on, beginning with the obligatory Anker blanker. Little to expand on really other than two tentative bites on the float. Both so quick that they didn't even result in a strike. Another grueller, but thankfully only a short one which spared me somewhat.

Next up was the customary Autumn away trip with Brian and Charlie. With the Wye being rested again, we returned to the Trent with plenty of hope.

Returns were incredibly poor though. Scratching around on light gear seemed to be the only way to get any action. Charlie was the most patient with that approach, but for scant reward really. I caught only a few ounces of fish across both days. A small jack for Brian was the biggest fish.

Difficult, windy and at times wet conditions, didn't help on day one. A gin clear river wasn't good either. Cormorants around in good numbers too. Night fishing would probably be the way to go in all honesty, although that's not allowed on the section we fished.

I sat it out for long periods hoping for a big barbel. but nothing doing. A nice enough location, but a rethink on venues and more homework is needed before a return to the Trent is attempted.

Back home and an invitation to do some more Anker blanking (with Martin) was accepted. The only difference was that I actually avoided the dreaded B word. A single jack saved me from another wipeout. Nothing doing on the bream rod though. Martin had a couple of jacks.

Next up was another away trip away to a venue that I've fancied for a while - the Kennet in rural Berkshire. The purpose quite simply to break my grayling duck.

I'd never caught one before you see. The Warwickshire rivers I frequent aren't exactly abound with grayling. Seeking rocking horse dung would be a more fruitful pastime I suspect. Going beyond the usual borders is the best option.

Charlie accompanied me and we set off in eager anticipation of bagging a few silver ladies. The first area produced nothing, but a swift move by Charlie saw a bend in his rod. A grayling no less. The first I'd ever seen in the flesh.

Smug!

Great news and despite Charlie's generous offer to gate-crash his swim, I declined. I suggested we keep it in the bank for later and that he should milk it for now. So he did! Another grayling followed, before a succession of hard battling brownies bullied their way in. Frantic stuff at times.

Meanwhile I was royally screwing up in pretty much every swim I tried. Failure after failure was just made all the more laughable as Charlie followed my steps. I passed over a long glide in favour of an enticing carrier weirpool. Nothing for me, but behind me goldenballs was returning another grayling! He was clearly reading it and presenting the bait far better than me.

Lunch was called and it gave me a much needed time-out to regroup. Quite nice to be able to sit down in the shadow of the fisherman's hut, taking in the surroundings. All very civilised.

Post lunch, plan B was put straight into action. I'd take a punt on the banker grayling peg. Instant result - but from a brownie. And a few more would follow...

All in the 1lb-2lb range. Great fun on trotting gear, but their thrashing around wasn't helpful with the quest to find me a grayling. Several swims were fished, but try as I did, I failed to catch what I went for. Dace, chub and roach were among other species caught. Charlie had good numbers of trout (16 I think to my 7!), along with half a dozen grayling. An enjoyable experience, even if I was soundly beaten.

To really rub my nose in the brown stuff though, I was reading an online copy of the Angler's Mail at work this week. What did I see before me? Duncan Charman sat on one of the exact same pegs I had fished, catching a grayling nudging towards 2lb. Jammy bastard! A real Jim Bowen Bullseye moment - look at what you could have won!

Very interesting to read the article though and it seems like we didn't fish many of the hotspots. A lack of time limited us to searching  one half of the fishery only. A return visit to explore the remainder is definitely on the cards.

Back locally I had a few hours to spare on Sunday. I wanted to try the Stour for a change, but with the wind howling, I opted for a peg with shelter down the Avon closer to home. A zander deadbait rod was deployed, alongside a legered meat offering.

Zilch to the deadbaits, but a single mental take on the meat saved the blank. A spirited fight kicked off and I thought the fish would snag me, but luckily it played ball. I was hoping for carp, but it proved to be the expected barbel - 8lb 3oz.

With the weather refusing to cool down properly and with no major downpours to colour the rivers either, it's still a little frustrating. The clocks going back this weekend and the ever shortening days will hopefully help my prospects soon though.

Homemade day/night predator float update - it passed the first two daylight trials. Sadly too much time spent above the surface though! Dusk / evening trials await next....

It's nothing to get overly excited about, but I just prefer using homemade floats. For several years now I've rarely used anything shop bought. I'd never made any predator floats before though, so this is hopefully a welcome expansion to my collection.