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River Lambourn - can the scales lie?
Posted by
The Flying Tench
,
05 December 2011
·
778 views
3 - 4.30pm.
Because of back trouble I'm trying to fish where I can sit for a fair bit of the time; but with a cold day, clear sky, but not particularly high air pressure, I decided I decided there was not much option other than to try for some grayling. At least I could see how the back coped.
I haven't fished the Lambourn in earnest since the work done by EA, and the river is currently very low, so I wasn't too sure how my limited trotting skills would cope with the clear, fast, shallow water. I tried 3 swims.
a) was an old favourite, but just got one small grayling.
b)was an 'interesting' swim where I have a theory a big pike hangs out, mainly because I can't work out where else she could be. So my purpose was to find out if there were any grayling there, cos if not I'm probably wrong about Esox. Nowt - so where on earth is Mrs Pike?
c) this was a bog standard type of swim which for some reason I've never fished before. It turned out to be prolific, though mainly with very small grayling. I'd got to a point where I'd had 9 grayling and 3 trout. The back was starting to tell me to go home, but I decided to get just one more to make it ten. The float went under and I started to pull in something that was HUGE - a male grayling with a MASSIVE dorsal fin. He didn't really fight, he just held the fin up - would have been a good strategy if there'd been more current.
He still looked huge in the landing net, and I was sure he easily beat my grayling pb of 1lb 4oz, and I was starting to feel guilty in case I'd caught a very undeserved 2lb Lambourn grayling! I even tried to get my old Boots throw-away camera to work - it didn't. But then the lying scales said he only weighed 1lb 4oz. Well! I'm not normally as far out as that! I can only think I was mesmerised by the massive dorsal. I'm told they use them to impress the ladies at mating time. I don't want to worry anyone, but it sure impressed me!
I went home very pleased. An equal pb and... Well, if they do one of those threads again on which is the biggest fish, I won't be voting perch, it'll be MALE GRAYLING.
Because of back trouble I'm trying to fish where I can sit for a fair bit of the time; but with a cold day, clear sky, but not particularly high air pressure, I decided I decided there was not much option other than to try for some grayling. At least I could see how the back coped.
I haven't fished the Lambourn in earnest since the work done by EA, and the river is currently very low, so I wasn't too sure how my limited trotting skills would cope with the clear, fast, shallow water. I tried 3 swims.
a) was an old favourite, but just got one small grayling.
b)was an 'interesting' swim where I have a theory a big pike hangs out, mainly because I can't work out where else she could be. So my purpose was to find out if there were any grayling there, cos if not I'm probably wrong about Esox. Nowt - so where on earth is Mrs Pike?
c) this was a bog standard type of swim which for some reason I've never fished before. It turned out to be prolific, though mainly with very small grayling. I'd got to a point where I'd had 9 grayling and 3 trout. The back was starting to tell me to go home, but I decided to get just one more to make it ten. The float went under and I started to pull in something that was HUGE - a male grayling with a MASSIVE dorsal fin. He didn't really fight, he just held the fin up - would have been a good strategy if there'd been more current.
He still looked huge in the landing net, and I was sure he easily beat my grayling pb of 1lb 4oz, and I was starting to feel guilty in case I'd caught a very undeserved 2lb Lambourn grayling! I even tried to get my old Boots throw-away camera to work - it didn't. But then the lying scales said he only weighed 1lb 4oz. Well! I'm not normally as far out as that! I can only think I was mesmerised by the massive dorsal. I'm told they use them to impress the ladies at mating time. I don't want to worry anyone, but it sure impressed me!
I went home very pleased. An equal pb and... Well, if they do one of those threads again on which is the biggest fish, I won't be voting perch, it'll be MALE GRAYLING.
