stevetheangler

Monday, 28th March, saw me set off at around 0630 heading to the club’s tench and bream pool (AA-B) arriving on-site at around 0700 to find one car on the care park ahead of me … AGAIN … I must start getting out earlier to be sure LOL! However, said angler seems to have only just arrived before me as, as I drove onto the car park, he was walking off to his selected swim – which I discovered was 2 pegs away from mine which was one of my usual ones for this pool, facing the end of the pool’s island. Its only a narrow channel between mainland and island (ca 10 yards) so its easy to cast, well, swing/flick really, a float across to fish just off the island’s overhanging vegetation.

First thing on arrival into my peg was to set up my seat and my bait table (actually a small camping table from Go Outdoors – where a Bivvy Table costs £32, and my small Small Picnic Table just £14 and does same job) … and then comfortably set up for the job I prepped up a batch of feed consisting of about 1.5Kg of dry crumb with about 1Kg of particles (hemp, barley, corn, wheat, dead maggot, and micro-pellets plus about 150ml of hemp-infused sunflower oil and 50ml of molasses) of which about 80% was fed immediately just short of the overhanging vegetation on the island opposite – and then landing net, unhooking mat, rod rests, camera, scales were set up and positioned and finally the pre-tackled rod was removed from the quiver, sections assembled and the float of the day connected. All there should have needed doing then should have been to add the plummet and set the float’s depth … BUT this is me you’re reading about and it doesn’t work like that! I swung the plummet over the gap – straight onto and overhanging bit of bush where it refused to become free resulting in a snap-off and a full re-tackle needed! :( But that of course creates a good link to describe my setup (silver cloud?)…

Rod: my trusty 13’ Hardy’s Matchmaker float rod…

Reel: Shimano DX3500 loaded with 6lb Daiwa Hyper Sensor line

Hook: Size 12 attached to 6” of 6lb braid connected to the mainline via a quick change adapter…

Float: 5BB driftbeater with yellow sight bob…

Shotting: 1 SSG shot just above the quick change adaptor, 1 SSG + 1AAA shot bunched about 18” above the bottom (anchor shot). The bulk SSG+AA sank to body of the float to <1mm above the water level and the anchor SSG was then enough to completely submerge the entire float – body, antenna and bob).

Setting: set for “lift method” … for those not in the know, the depth of the float was set by using stop knots, changing the positions of the knots to the final one by use of a plummet so that the float sat with the entire antenna just about protruding above the surface and then another 4”-6” of depth added… when fished the rod is placed in the rests and the slack line is taken up until the float’s sight bob sits just above the water surface … and a bite being indicated by the float rising in the water as the fish takes the bait and also lifts the anchor shot OR by the float travelling across the surface and sinking.

First cast was made at 0815 with a worm on the hook, extra small balls of feed being added at intervals over the day.

Until 1035 there were small indications of fish in the swim but only small tweaks and pulls indicative of small fish although the float did occasionally ‘waver’ which, to me anyway, seems to be due to the wash from a larger fishes tail fin as it passes the line….

1035, a proper bite with the float lifting and the moving away … the strike met a solid resistance and after a few minute of playing a common carp of 5lb 3oz was landed … originally weighed it at 6lb 11oz but later remembered I’d not subtracted the 1lb 8oz weight of the weighing net LOL…

After that everything returned to the status quo of nudges and tail wafts, despite changes of bait to a cheesey paste and to a bunch of maggots, until I packed in for the day at 1500.

I did see one good fish, or rather the black shape of, pass by close down the edge of the island bank but couldn’t determine the species … it didn’t seem deep enough in the body for a carp or bream … to me it looked more chub- or barbel-like… I wonder if it was the large chub I used to see circling the island in years past but not seen for 2-3 years… reckoned that was a good 6lb-er, maybe 7 even, back then… ummm…. :)

TEMPS:

WATER (‘C):   10.2 – 11.5
AIR (‘C):           5.5 – 19.5

So water temps are improving but still a little cool for this pool – usually looking for them to be in the high teens before the fishing kicks off which is usually late April or early/mid May so at the mo things are going in the right direction BUT forecast ahead is for sub-zero overnights and daytimes not much better than 8’C for the next week or so.

TEMP TRENDS:

PLANS:

No fishing again this week – still house jobs to be sorted – but on Sunday coming, 3rd April, Liz and myself will be visiting ‘The Big One’ angling show at Stoneleigh Showground near Kenilworth. We enjoyed visits there in 2018 and 2019 but the 2020 show was put on hold due to covid as was the 2021 one … but the 2020 tickets carried over to 2021 and have carried over again to be valid for this year. So next blog may be about the show although it seems that Jeremy Wade’s not there this year so no new JW books to be purchased! LOL.

With us being out on Sunday also delays the prep time for the usual Monday outing so most likely Tuesday will be subbing for Monday next week … venue will depend on the weather too, if it stays as its been then back to the bream/tench but if temps dip, as the pool is not deep (4’ or so) it is susceptible to temp changes more than many so it may be elsewhere..