stevetheangler

Monday 17th July, Liz and myself set off at 1100 for a day’s fishing on a club stretch of the Warks Avon (KF-WG) – a lovely quiet stretch of river with a few boats going past from time to time – although with the school holidays approaching it may start getting busier soon – but saying that the depth of water from bank to bank tends to be a constant 12’-14’ so even if casting to the far bank the line lies well below the draft of the boats and so constant winding in and re-casting isn’t necessary even then although I only tend to cast a little over the halfway line at most and usually only about 1/3 the way….

A late start for us for a change after Liz had suggested we tried starting later, staying later – an option influenced I think from Liz’s reluctance to early rising! LOL. So, traffic on the motorway and other roads being light (albeit traffic lights were NOT kind) we arrived at the water around 1145, and at our chosen swims for the day and casting out around 1215/1230’ish.

I started off using a 12’ feeder rod with quiver tip, a 15g cage feeder loaded with crumb and wheat/maize/hemp (very little flow on this stretch of the Avon so no need for huge weights – a 1/4oz Arseley bomb would hold well), size 12 hook to 8lb braid on 8lb mono (Daiwa Hyper Sensor) and using worm/maggot as bait. Liz used the same rod/line but with a 1oz Dinsmore maggot feeder with various baits on her hook (maggot, corn, meat, etc) over the day.

I was first in action having an eel of around 8oz or so, possibly could have been up to 12oz. And later, having changed to bread bait on a size 8 hook I hooked into a bream of around 4lb – got it in and netted, but these days my left arm can’t raise even an empty dry 36” net on the end of an expanded (3m) Gardner Specialist Extending landing net handle never mind a wet net with 4lb bream inside … so I ‘enveloped’ the bream into the folds of the net and left the fish in the water at the water’s edge whilst I put down the rod and opened the reel’s bale arm to allow line to freely pass off if needed, picked up the net with both hands and lifted whereupon the bream flipped over the net arms into the water … still attached to the line BUT straight into a patch of water lilies where it snagged up the line … I could feel the fish at the end of the line but was unable to get it free and eventually the line gave way… and basically that was the end of my catching … plenty of nudges/tugs but I was unable to connect with any of them.

Liz did better than me … managing 2 small perch, lost 2 reasonable sized bream (one to a hook pull, one to the bankside lilies), had one bream of about 1lb 8oz (not weighed)..

…. and also caught her first ever eel … about 8oz-12oz so I’m recording it as a PB for her at 10oz… :)

And our session finished at 1930 …. tackling down and heading back up the motorway to our local hostelry for beers … mine being a couple of pints of Titanic’s Chocolate And Vanilla Stout (without sprinkles – but went back the next day and had the chocolate sprinkles on it :))…

Next session for me (on my own as Liz is at work) is planned for tomorrow (20th) on the Severn…..