Everything I enjoy about angling in one day
Entry posted by Rusty
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River Kennet, Sunday 20th February 2011
My last day at this venue for the time being but as it turned out it’s been the best yet.
To do it justice you really need to spend the day roaming the fishery and with last weekend’s weather putting a stop to that I was looking forward to stretching my legs a bit today. I couldn’t, however, resist the temptation to start where I’d caught perch last week so I made that particular swim my first port of call. Not a great plan in terms of roaming, I like to start at one end of a fishery and gradually wander down to the other, this pool is right in the middle but it’s such a wonderful location I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
First trot of double red maggots tempted this 2lb10oz chub. Blimey, I bet Chris Plumb didn’t catch one this quickly;
Photo and weighing completed it was back to feeding/trotting maggots in the eddys on the far side of the pool. Half an hour later this very familiar 2lb perch was on the bank, a repeat capture from last week;
It was decision time, do I continue to explore or go back to the car, grab the food and pitch up at the pool? I chose the latter, it was breakfast time after all and the fish seemed obliging, who knows what else might be there? I had a wooden bench to sit on and had just upgraded the mobile kitchenette so that sealed it (note the new 99p non-stick frying pan);
After breakfast another perch arrived again falling for trotted red maggot. I say trotted but it was more a case of casting and letting the breeze & current take the float into the fish holding spots. This chap weighed 2lb 8oz and I thought it might be another repeat capture from last Sunday but he had a torn dorsal fin so was a different specimen (unless he’d been in a scrap), I was to meet him again later though;
Another chub followed weighing in at 3lb 2oz, still on maggot and a scale perfect fish;
A change to lobs produced only small perch which was the complete opposite to the previous week and a bit of a surprise to be honest. The key to catching the chub was very much location, when I could get the bait in the right place, a small hollow in the far bank reeds, bites were assured. This one weighed 3lb 10z;
At this point Chris popped in to say hello having emptied a nearby weirpool of all chub. It was perfect timing, I was fishing, we were chatting and another chub was eyeballing my maggots. A 3lb 9oz fish was scooped up by Chris’s net and his presence ensured that I was in the photo…….I’ll let you decide whether that’s a good or bad thing;
Then, still on red maggot, I re-acquainted myself with the 2lb 8oz perch caught earlier. I’ve concluded that there are actually only three perch living in this pool and none of them are too bright;
Chris bade me farewell and set off to target more unsuspecting fish. We were into fading light territory by then with only about an hour to go before I wouldn’t have been able to cook any more sausages. I’d had enough sausages anyway so I ditched the cooking and focussed on the fishing albeit in a more conservative manner. Casting was safe with no heroics, I wouldn’t have been able to tie a hook and a snag would’ve meant time to go home.
This chub must’ve either been disorientated or very hungry, he came from slack water well away from any cover. The biggest and the last of the day at 4lbs, he looked like he’d fought for every morsel to get to that weight;
So the day ended with me puzzling over why lobs caught very little. Water temperature was 45dgrees F, one degree down on last week but I don’t think that would’ve made a difference. I won’t get too thoughtful about it, maggots worked and I’ve had a great day so that’s that.
Roll on next Winter.
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