Final Week Plans?

[Rusty]

I spent the last couple of days sitting behind rods and staying put which was rather nice. Last night I was on the K&A Canal all set up in a hidey hole in good time ready for dusk to arrive. This beat up perch was a daylight bonus and he took the bait again a bit later so obviously not the brightest of the bunch;

 

 

Six o’clock arrived and just as I was anticipating a frantic last half hour a bloody boat went through. I couldn’t believe it, boats aren’t normally a problem but at this swim they turn still water into gently flowing water and that always kills it until the water settles again…which takes about 15 minutes. I eeked it out until 6:45pm and it was really murky by then, one more perch a little bigger than the first but in better condition gave me a wet landing net for the journey home. In retaliation I didn’t take a photo.

 

Pre-dusk and pre-boat;

 

 

For the final day I went back to the Thames fully intending to stick it out until dark. The fridge was emptied of residual baits and they were all thrown into the creel. Lobs, maggots and bread would find themselves either swimming in the river or impaled on my hook at some point during the day. But it was a different place, the mild south westerly wind of two days ago had turned to a north easterly, the swim which had been the best place in the world to be on wednesday was now cold and difficult to fish. Thanks to a 4-06 chub stopping for a lobworm lunch on his way to somewhere else I lasted for a few hours but the final straw was a huge boat mooring upstream (and upwind) of me. The diesel fumes belching from its exhaust convinced me that watching an afternoon of rugby would be more fun so I packed up and went home.

 

To be honest by that time I’d had enough of fishing. I’d been out for seven of the last eight days and I’m really looking forward to not being allowed to fish rivers.

 

The 4-06 chub, pic courtesy of JV44 (Victoria sponge, not pictured because it had been eaten, courtesy of Keith’s wife)

 

[BobH]

Rusty

 

Is that the new rod ?

 

Sitting behind such a creation is a pleasure in itself, even if you don't put a bend in it !!

 

Well done on the captures.

 

Bob

[Anderoo]

A few pics from yesterday below.

 

The 3lb sea trout (I think - separate topic coming up):

 

The 5lb 8oz chub, really lovely colours and proportions and a very pleasant surprise!

 

Most of the small chub were from creases but both these better fish were from a deep steady glide in the middle of a long straight. I was upstream legering with a little mesh feeder, and the bites were textbook 'donk and dropback':

 

Now to start thinking about crucians

[Paulg]

Now to start thinking about crucians

 

I already have

 

Although I don't expect to start fishing for them until late April / early May.

[Steve Walker]

Yesterday I checked out a bit of river where I hope to catch my first Thames trout by design, once the season opens in April. One of my other clubs has had access to the opposite bank for years, until they let it go in 2014, so I've never walked this bank.

 

Now I'm kicking myself - all the best swims are in areas you simply can't get to, can't even see, from my old club's bank, and there are some absolutely lovely looking bits of river. And it's only £15 for a ticket. I'm going to try to get myself some trout on the fly, and then when the season opens I'm going to try to get a Thames barbel.