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Back in business


Rusty

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River Kennet, August Bank Holiday Weekend

 

Friday 26th August 2011

 

Well I’m mobile again, on doctor’s orders I can drive provided I wear a patch over my left eye, it was very strange at first but I am getting used to it. Great care is needed on roundabouts with filter lanes, I can’t turn my head far enough to look behind me with my right eye (try it) so I rely on my mirrors and having a good look at the other traffic before I enter the roundabout. Anyway all this means I can get to the Kennet under my own steam so Friday was taken off work for a general trotting session at Speen Moors. No particular species in mind, I’d found a swim which looked to have chub potential but I was happy to catch whatever came along. Maggots & lobs were in the bag.

 

The first swim and where I’d heard of chub being caught;

 

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The first thing that struck me was how heavy the Harrison rod felt. During the previous seven weeks I’d only used a short drop shotting rod and this was quite a different prospect, in a good sort of way though. I spent a couple of hours here and caught loads of dace, small roach and chublets, nothing to trouble the landing net but it felt really good to be trotting again.

 

On to the next swim where the lobs would make an appearance. This delightful pool is tiny but has good depth and is always worth a bit of time;

 

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I usually fish this swim from the opposite bank where it’s clearer and snag free but this time I chose to creep up from the more restricted side where I wouldn’t show up against the skyline. Proper Mr Crabtree stuff but it was to be my undoing. After a couple of small perch I struck into something a lot bigger, no doubt another perch and one which was doing a good job of staying in the water. I was getting the better of it when it dived for some tree roots bottom right of picture. I knew the roots were there and from the other bank I could’ve steered the fish away but from this bank even 15’of rod wasn’t enough once it was under the tip. One lost perch and a paddle for me to un-snag the hook.

 

After all that disturbance I moved on to the final swim, a little patch of slack water just off the quite fast main flow of a backstream, it was here that I was to be caught out for the second time;

 

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The slack water is barely visible and it amazes me how these small sanctuaries can hold a variety of fish. I was having so much fun that I didn’t notice the menacing black clouds creeping up. Light rain had been forecast so I was wearing waterproofs but nothing prepared me for the almighty clap of thunder which followed the darkening skies. Getting back to the car was out of the question so I ditched the rod and landing net pole in bushes twenty yards away and just sat out the storm as best I could. The rain was like stair rods and painful to boot but there was nothing I could do. Eventually the storm passed and the rain settled into a drizzle, the sky got a bit brighter and I became more confident about holding a lightening conductor again. The weather hadn’t affected the fish with more roach, dace, perch, chublets and bream all coming from this little slack, it was a regular aquarium with a fish every cast.

 

I spent a good while at this swim always keeping one eye on the weather (I can do that), when it started to look grim again I decided to pack up and give my arm a rest, it was aching like hell.

 

A brilliant day out.

 

Sunday 28th August 2011

 

So having proved I can drive and see well enough to trot a float I decided on a trip with a bit more purpose. I was going to target barbel further down the Kennet at a swim which is rapidly become my barbel ‘banker’. I’ve fished it five times now and on each occasion I’ve tempted them to take my bait, some I’ve landed others have been lost but they’ve always been there.

 

I also had some new luggage to try out, the TFG Compact Seatbox;

 

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This is an impressive bit of kit and I bought it in the hope that it would be suitable for roaming days but having used it I’m not sure that it is. Once loaded it is heavy and bulky and not the sort of thing you want to be continually slinging over your shoulder. It is, however, very easy to carry in rucksack mode, getting it on is tricky though so again you don’t want to be doing that every half an hour. What it is good for are sessions where maybe you have a long walk to the swim and are planning to stay in that spot for the day, just what I was planning to do. The box swallowed up everything, food, bait, drink, tackle the lot, once on my back all I carried was the rod, the landing net and the K-Tel Automatic Bait Dispenser (ABD).

 

On arrival at the swim the ABD was pressed into service straight away and provided a steady trickle of maggots while I set up the rod, ate breakfast and tried not to fish. I only lasted fifteen minutes before temptation got the better of me and the loafer was lowered in. Second trot I hooked a barbel, they usually take a couple of hours to show up so this was a real bonus. It wasn’t a huge fish, about 4lb I’d guess which is enough for me on a float, I honestly don’t think I’d land a double from this swim on trotting gear. As it happened I didn’t land this one either, it pulled the same trick others have done by diving into near bank reeds just in front of me, I was sure I had it beaten and could’ve kicked myself for not anticipating its desperate last gasp bid for freedom.

 

Again I found myself paddling through the reeds to retrieve my end tackle and it was during this recovery that I decided to leave the landing net where I’d been snagged. If there was another fish I’d wade to this spot winding down rather than try to bring it to me. An hour later I had the chance to put the theory to the test as a chub took the hookbait, a big chub at that. The plan worked as he opened his huge mouth and held station in the current, I waded down parallel to the fish and grabbed the net, then I just coaxed it in across the flow. 5lb 7oz just one ounce off my PB;

 

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Not a barbel but a nice consolation prize. The barbel didn’t show up again so I suppose the early loss and subsequent commotion had spooked them. The only fish I caught during the rest of the session was an enthusiastic brownie, not enough to tempt me to stay with the gathering rain clouds so that was it for me.

 

On the way back I got wet again and no the TFG seatbox isn’t waterproof.

 

4 Comments


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Well done Chris sounds like a good couple of trips, glad to see you on the mend and getting out again!

Matt

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Terrific report Chris. You are indeed back in business by the sounds of things, very glad to hear it! Cracking Chub, even more special when it's caught trotting.

 

N

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Nice write up Chris, pity about the barbel , never mind m8, next time eh :). Was the tfg box supposed to be waterproof ? Maybe you should have got an old fashioned basket and gone crabtree LOL.

 

cheers

Ian.

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