BIT CONFUSED NOW!!! My notes on my phone for this trip say it was done on the 28th August ie 3 days ago … and it most certainly wasn’t! Now, looking at my calendar, it seems that due to other things going on and it being the only likely date that I could have done it, it must have been the 17th August! What was going on in my head at that time – don’t answer… please…. LOL!

OK … fresh start now…

At 0600 on 17th August I was back on the road to Marsh Pools – a BAA venue with 6 pools available although, as I think I’ve said before, Pool 6 is more of a small duckpond usually covered with Canadian Pondweed whenever I’ve visited that end of the site – which I haven’t for a good many years to be honest as the car park is on a high point with a clamber down to water level to access Pools 3-5 … not feasible with a barrow… at least unless you intend to abandon all your kit when returning to the car to head home.

So, for me, I have the options of Pools 1 and 2 with Pool 1 being easily accessible down a slightly sloping hardcore track and Pool 2 via the same track but with a drop down from the end of Pool 1. Pool 1 also holds a major attraction for me – no carp! Well, they were all meant to have been netted early in the year and moved to Pool 2 but I’ve seen one cruising the surface in the recent hot weather … but I’m happy with my chances that he/she will stay clear of my baits! LOL…

Anyway, back to the day … I arrived on site around 0630, mine being the only car on the car park at that time and it remained so until around 1100’ish when another angler arrived … and plonked himself in the swim almost directly opposite me… now one may consider that bad manners BUT the gentleman concerned walked very slowly being dependant on a walking stick with his tackle on a tiny trolley … and the banks at the car park end are high and are stepped down to the platforms but towards the far (dam) end the slope of the path drops and the pegs become increasingly lower to the water so that his peg was flat from path to platform. And our fishing wasn’t compromised in the slightest … and to be honest I was only too glad to see that he still fulfilled his desire to fish! And that he caught too :)

I decided to leger on the day … I had considered float fishing but with an inconsiderate breeze about I decided the lead would be better. So, 8lb line, size 6 hook, and an 1/2oz sliding bomb were the order of the day. Worm was the starting bait.. and my feed was basic cereal  crumb with a few added maggots and seed particles that included ground to a powder fennel seeds to add an aniseed aroma – which is supposed to be a major bream attractant.

I had knocks/nudges/and tugs from the first cast but it wasn’t until 0730 that the first fish came to hand – a perch of around 4oz … followed by a ‘collateral damage rudd’ … I had a good take, struck and landed a outer cheek hooked mini-rudd that was probably1/4 the size of the worm on the hook! I reckon whatever had actually picked up the worm had had it pulled from its mouth or had dropped it and my strike pulled the hook into the unfortunately passing rudd… :rolleyes:..

 It was 0915 before the next fish was hooked – a tench of around 6oz – after a change of bait to sweetcorn…

1115-1125, back on the worm resulted if two small perch…

1130 back to corn for the rest of the session which ended at around 1430 without any more captures…

So a quiet day capture wise but still very enjoyable :)

PLANS

Liz is off to Cyprus on Wednesday 2nd Sept (Wed coming as I type this) so I’ll have a free week to myself so planning to return to Marsh Pool 1 on Thursday 3rd, a visit to the Severn at Blackstone (near Bewdley) on Friday 4th … a weekend for shopping and prepping … and then a couple of outings to club pools hopefully on the Monday (7th) and Tuesday (8th) … and then collect Liz back from Brum Airport at 0215 on the Thursday (10th).

PREPPING FOR PIKE SEASON

On Saturday I set off for Birmingham Fish Market to locate some pike baits to stock up my new freezer … and ended up with 13 mackerel of around 2 to 2+1/2lb (tray for £10) and another tray of 14 red snapper for another £10. Most of the mackerel will become half baits with the centre sections being used to make up kebab baits … the snappers will mostly be single baits with a couple of the larger one destined to be half baits. Also got, from a Chinese supermarket a pack of capelin (smelt family but silver in colour rather tha orange) and a pack of 4-5 Chinese mullet. I didn’t get any smelt per se nor sprats nor sardines … but with the weight of what I did it was good … my arms were 6” longer by the time I’d got home! NOTE: next time take the wheeled trolley bag!! Anyway, I think those missing baits I can source from Wolverhampton – and there’s a few weeks before needed anyway. :)

MR WHEATNOTCASTERS..

Apologies for not having read through your last few posts! I’ve got them in my TO_BE_READ folder for the usual bedtime reading … but recent late to beds have prevented my doing so! Soon – I promise soon! :)