River Itchen - Gaters Mill (Lower Itchen Fishery)

0830 - 1730

Mild and overcast all day 2ºC -> 10ºC. Calm, becoming very breezy by mid-afternoon. Heavy drizzle for last 2 hours.

24 Grayling (15 over 1lb - in order of capture - 2lb 1oz, 1lb 10oz, 1lb 13oz, 2lb 7oz, 1lb 8oz, 1lb 5oz, 2lb 0oz, 1lb 10oz, 1lb 8oz, 1lb 14oz, 1lb 11oz, 1lb 12oz, 1lb 7oz, 1lb 12oz, 2lb 9oz) 9 Brownies to 2½lb, 1 Sea Trout 1¾lb, 2 Salmon Parr, 3 chublets & a small roach!

Had to work MUCH harder than our previous trip in October (see entry for 8 Oct) but all the more satisfying for that! Fished 7 swims in rotation - 'catch a couple and rest the swim' was order of the day. A switch to banana flavoured (I kid you not!)sweetcorn brought 11 grayling and 9 trout to the net in the last 2 hours - from swims that had stopped giving me bites on maggot. Wished I'd switched to trotting corn earlier!!! Paul managed 'just' 6 Grayling (3 after I told him to switch to corn!), however his biggest fell to red maggot - a stunning fish of 2lb 14oz & his new PB!

Below is a (not very good!) pic of my 2.09.

Paul's whopper.