Warwickshire Avon - Black Jacks, Flumps and Space Dust

Having walked these pastures new with a couple of like minded anglers in the closed season I felt like the chubby kid in the sweet shop.

Black Jacks, Flumps and Space Dust please….

I really couldn’t wait to get stuck in, chomping at the bit. I feel more at home on running water, canals are just a temporary distraction. However I’m a newbie here, a novice, a mere neophyte so bear with me.

I’m not expecting instant results….

There is lots to go at along this long stretch of the Warwickshire Avon, it’s got everything, and this inaugural session was the first time I’d wet a line in its waters. There are big fish here, I’ve seen them with my own eyes whilst field testing my new huge polarised sunglasses, and that’s why it’s out with the old and in with the new as this is the only book I will hold for this season that has flowing water on its club waters.

Targets for this season, well if I can get the biggest monkey off my back, a 5lb Chub, that would be nice, a decent Zander (hopefully won’t be difficult) and a 11lb 11oz PB beating Barbel which I’d target specifically a bit later on in the season. I also fancy seeing if there are some big Perch lurking, decisions decisions.

Now where do I start?

With the fish very active in the oxygenated and warm waters for the first few sessions I wanted to trot a large loaded speci waggler with a chunk of meat or lobworm underneath, just to start exploring some of the swims on offer and maybe even catch a couple of fish.

To ‘hopefully’ bring the fish up and out from their lairs and actively searching for food from time to time I’d loose feed some small Sonubaits 4mm stinky spicy sausage pellets and let them trickle through the swim.

I’ve used this type of float before and they may look big and cumbersome but they are ideal for trotting big’ish baits as the super buoyant float will only usually go under when there’s a fish on the end, they are highly visible too so you can trot quite a distance before you’re doing a Mr Magoo.

I attach the float to the main line via a Drennan clip bead which is sandwiched between some adjustable grippa stops .You can easily change to a longer version of the float for instance if it’s is more suited to the conditions and the depth of the water. I’ve also added a small tungsten stinker to the line which can be adjusted to suit how you want to bait to behave and fall through the water.

I like a bit of tinkering….

Another plus point of the rig is that you can remove the float and mould some plasticine around the bead and grippa stops and ‘roll’ or ‘bounce’ some meat under a swim with thick cover for example, when it’s gin clear I’ve caught lots of fish using this method and as the fighting fish are usual visible too it adds the back to basic approach that has given me some memorable summer sessions.

I’d not been to the river since the recent rain, I know it was ‘up’ but I was unsure of the colours,so to hedge my bets for this short evening session I’d also bring a simple semi-fixed rig where I could fish a an area of slack water. Some crushed boilies and small pellets in a PVA bag would make up the freebies, if I could use a bait dropper I would, but then I wouldn’t know that until I settled in a swim….

So enough of the preamble, how did it go?

Predictably bad....for the glorious 16th, I wouldn't expect anything less.

It was clearer than expected but the rain didn't let up for the whole time I was there, in-fact at one stage I'd never seen rain so heavy, sadly it meant I was stuck in one swim for the most of the session. A nice looking swim to be fair with a nice long trot down to where I'd seen a rolling Barbel when we were on the reccy and also a nice stretch of overhanging trees where I'd positioned a static bait with some freebies...

After only a few knocks and pulls to show for it and a lost float rig when it must have caught up in a snag, a let up in the rain I moved to another swim downstream. Again a tasty looking swim. This time a static bait only but I'd leave it for an hour.

I was overlooking a large field and it was nice to see a patrolling barn own in flight and at one stage when it did full circle it was heading towards me in a bombing exercise and at the last minute changed direction when it got sight of my ugly mug.

A swan wanted to make friends I think because it wouldn't budge from my swim, again a few taps, a few pulls but nothing strike-able. Then with fifteen minutes left before I'd leave a huge boil on the surface a huge otter pops his head out of the water, looks at me and then dives under the surface again.

Yeap, I called it a day....

With the river on the rise when I left, I'm changing tactics for the extended Sunday session. Out with the smelly stuff.

Martin on another stretch fared much better, 4 Chub, 2 Bream, one Eel and two women in swimsuits...