stevetheangler

On the 15th July 2021 I made a return to the Worcs Stour at Stourton arriving at around 0700 and, as usual, I wasthe first on the scene although another angler did appear to fish just above me at around 1300 – and he’d been fishing below me and the weir for a while previously it seemed he’d had one chub from down there.

All looked much the same as it had been on my previous visit the week before…

I tackled up my Grandeslam ‘Des Taylor System 3’ 11’ Avon style rod with, what I think is, the most sensitive of its three provided quivertips … 8lb mainline, size 10 hook and a 3/8oz ‘penny’weight on a sliding 6” link. Last session I used 6lb line (Daiwa Hyer Sensor) but though that maybe 8lb might be better, and did locate a spare spool for my Shakespeare reel with 8lb line already loaded. However, the line was certainly NOT Daiwa HS as this line was clear white and suspect it is Berkley Trilene… and possibly at least a partial cause of the results of the day.

I also took some blitzed bread crumb – a bag made up from 2 full loaves of which I used approx 1/3 of a loaf worth – to feed as mash down the margins and out to mid-stream as an attractant. I also catapulted a few small pouches of maggots out from time to time.

Initially, I fished bread down along the marginal overhanging vegetation and over the course of the day switched baits and hook sizes trying cheese&garlic paste, maggots, and prawns.

And until I left at 1430 the total action received consisted of two tiny/minute twitches of the tip on bread flake baits.

Fish action seemed muted compared to that of the week before too with just a very few dimples of small fish being observed on the day compared with a lot of that plus swirls and rollings of bigger (1lb+) fish the previous visit.

Still the weather was good and the long grass that one has to pass through had been battered down a bit by the rains of the previous Sunday and Tuesday… and my sort out of tackle helped too! Down to one rucksack that held all the terminal type tackle plus food/drink plus the blitzed bread, one underarm strapped bundle consisting of camping chair and landing net … and just the light Korum 3-rod quiver with 2 rods (one as a spare, just in case), a few rod rests/banksticks and the Korum Snapper Cult landing net handle which opens to 2.8 metres but closes down to just 60cm for carriage and thus fits in a bankstick pocket  in the quiver. So, if roving and without need for the large bag of blitzed bread, there’d be space galore within the rucksack and 2Kg less weight to carry into the bargain. So think I’m as ready for my small river stuff as I can be now! J

PLANS:

As we’re off ‘camping with the opportunity of a bit of fishing’ in Wales from next Friday there won’t be a further outing until then as we need to check tent, pack gear, etc for then. Hopefully get one full day’s fishing on the site with the possibility of a few snatched hours on the odd occasion (eg pre-breakfast)… Weather forecast is promising last time I looked but that is never a certainty but plenty of local places to visit anyway. :)