stevetheangler

Happy New Season to all – especially to those of the flowing waters persuasion! Hope you all have at least one memorable fish!!

I have been unable to get out so far although I have done some tackle prep this morning ready for my planned outing on Thursday 20th which included a bit of tackle stocking up at Go Outdoors… :)

So, I had planned to go to a club stretch on the Middle Severn but recent rains lifted the water level by over 12 feet overnight immediately following the downpours …. and according to GaugeMap has just stopped rising ….

… hence the planned river visit has literally been given a ‘rain check’ for a later date … although a river visit is still on the cards next week but it will be the Warwickshire Avon rather than the Severn … and over the last 20 years the WA water levels (at least on our stretch) haven’t moved by more than 6” up or down… and, in fact, before the rains it was on the low side but is now at ‘normal’…. :)

So, Thursday, no river outing but I am heading to a pool in search of big perch and chub using live baits (taking my 5m whip to catch) and deadbaits (smelts which have accounted for a few chub when we’ve pike fished using them). One of my Go Outdoor purchases of earlier was of suitable ‘bobber’ floats for the session.

I’ve been reading a book called ‘Willow Pitch IV’ – and I really must get ‘Willow Pitch’s I,II,III and V as its been a really great read – that I purchased at a Barbel Society Day in Telford at the end of May. Basically it consists of 31 chapters, all submitted by differing authors, coupled with some amazing photography and artwork, all perch based… and the chapters range from my first perch, mammoth perch, red letter days and instructional … in fact a fantastic bedtime read! Anyway, its inspired me to go in search of ‘The Sergeant’ now….

If I’ll actually catch perch is another thing though as the pool I’m going to has given up one perch to me in around 7 years – and that was actually found in my landing net when pulled from the water as I was packing up and was minnow sized and not a particularly large minnow at that! However, I do know of occasional captures of (possibly ‘a’) 3lb+ perch so who knows? I do have some optimism towards catching a chub though as, as I said, we’ve had them on deadbaits when piking … and possibly a jack pike might show up too….

I not particularly daunted by the lack of known perch captures either as the pool is a ‘carp’ water and most, 99%+ IMHO, anglers are fishing boilies, pellets or corn – not noted perch catching baits – or pike fishing with sea deadbaits, again not noted perch ‘killing’ baits….

Anyway, we’ll see :)

Tight lines to anyone venturing out in the next few days!!