December - this week, K&A Canal/pub

Since my last entry I've not been doing an awful amount of fishing to be honest. The late part of December and early January was spent either drunk or trying to master this blooming drop-shot malarkey. I've come to the conclusion that it's nothing more than a pain in the ass and is not worth wasting any more time on. I did catch a few small ones and more pike than I'd have liked but the only good fish I hooked came adrift early on in the fight... just after it had flashed a flank to let me know roughly how big it was. .

Since the conditions have been unsavory to say the least my lure fishing has taken a back seat for the time being. In it's place I've been buying yet more tackle... A Drennan series 7 avon and a little fd reel to go with it. Naturally this needed christening so after a trip to the shop for some bait I took it down to a bit of the Kennet that I knew had at least one good slack that I could fish effectively. Within minutes of setting up the rain started and it didn't relent for a second thereafter. I'd left my coat and over-trousers at work and hadn't had the foresight to pack a brolly... I genuinely would have been drier had I submerged myself in the bloody river. Needless to say I packed up an hour or so later, biteless.

I still had plenty of bait left after the soaking so I made sure to nip to a favourite spot on the canal after work one day earlier this week. The particular stretch is fairly featureless bar this one substantial bush/tree on the far bank that always seems to hold a few fish... the ideal swim for the christening. I only had half an hour or so before it was dark but fishing lobs under a maggot feeder I winkled out 3 stripeys. 2.2, 2 and one around a lb.

Saturday 1st Feb - K&A Canal.

I'd managed to get the whole weekend off work so bothered the old man for a session together on a bit of the K&A that we haven't been to all that much of late. Our old favourite swim is an area where the stream enters the canal, normally at a very sedate trickle but at the moment it's obviously tanking through. The wind was biting, going through me like I was transparent but we managed to last a couple of hours. Dad fished the float and half lobs and while he didn't have any perch he did had 4 different species, trout, roach, dace and a solitary skimmer. I stuck to the whole lobs under a feeder and landed just the one perch that snaffled the worm immediately after giving the reel a crank to impart some movement. It went a pleasant 2.5 and was the last fish we landed though I missed 2 or 3 "unmissable" bites as the light went .

Sunday 2nd Feb - Kennet

I'd planned to stay in today but while being grandson of the year fixing my Nan's fence that had become a victim of the recent gales I couldn't help but realise how much warmer it was than yesterday. That was enough temptation and I was soon on the way over to the slack that I'd got the drenching in the week previous. I've had a real 'feeling' about this swim and am sure it will throw up a good'un sooner or later so I made the effort to trudge my way down there, having to turn back for my landing net handle that I realised I'd left in the car just as I was approaching the swim . Only the one bite materialised, a bit earlier than expected which made for good light for the pics which came out brilliantly thanks to my mate who happened to wander by just before I had the bite... impeccable timing. It went 2.9 and was by far my favourite fish of this years campaign so far... the colours were unreal and it had a real character to it... that's why I love river perch.