Warwickshire Avon – Batrachomyomachy and Bratwursts

Talk about making a mountain out of a molehill, the Wife wasn’t happy, a solitary escapee maggot found itself on top of the washing machine. Basket full of knickers and kegs up in the air with a reactionary screech a poltergeist would be proud of.

God knows what the neighbours thought....

They clean wounds Dear, nothing to be worried about.

Maggot caught and safely returned to the fridge, jobs a good’un.

I did relay the story of Breezy the Shanghai match organiser who borrowed his Wifes car, picked up the maggots for the lads and on-route to the fishery in his Rover 25 the bait tub managed to de-lid and 5 pints of maggots found themselves boot bound. Most never to be seen again, well not for a few weeks anyway.

That fell on deaf ears, she still wasn’t happy, cob still on.

Thankfully she doesn’t read my blog as I discovered quite a few more behind the tumble drier, and better not mention the dormant fridge ones I woke up in the sun on the decking, I'd be out on my ear.

Easily half a pint dropped between the boarding....

I’ve never caught a river Tench, and yet there are a few places on the Warwickshire Avon I know they exist. The problem is for this species challenge is that I’ve fished those areas and am yet to catch one.

That’s where double dipping comes in….

and the single minded approach needs to go out the window.

Tench like slow pedestrian areas of the river with lily pads, so that’s a good place to start, but then so do the carp, so do the bream.

For this early morning session up at the Bratwurst a helicopter feeder rig was deployed, maggots in the feeder, worms anchored by a quickstop, hook a QM1.

The other rod, a PVA bag of freebies, chopped boilie, small pellet topped with a fishmeal bait. Now last time I was here I saw some carp sunning themselves on the surface so a floater set-up was also in the armoury, cocoons donned throughout the session.

I prefer quieter areas so with rods made up I’d also try a completely different area of the river where the same species exist.

Enough of the guff....

I was bankside pretty early and settled in a swim where I could reach some lily pads. Helicopter rig to my left and carp rig and pva bag of freebies on the right rod.

It really was gin clear which I don't think would help the fishing as after a couple of hours without even a knock it was time to move.

The next swim looked far more inviting, it had been raked of weed which was stacked in the margins and a nice thicket of lilies to my right.

The boilie bait straight out in front, the helicopter rig to my right.

I got bites straight away here on the lobworm but after a couple or three small Perch and little chublets that wanted to be caught I changed to a small trimmed down boilie. Now after an hour after feeding small but often, eventually tell tale tiny bubbles started to appear, I assume a Tench, one at least was getting it's head down.

The more I though about the swim I was fishing was that the lift method and using a float would be far better suited. It's well off the main flow here so more or less static and I was fishing fairly close in anyway here so a feeder was probably overkill.

It was also much deeper here which would help considering it was so clear.

Not long after the bubbles started it was time to leave as one of the kids had a party, usually the way. Encouraging signs mind you so not all lost. So I might give it a go anyway soon, this time though the main rod a float set-up and the other maybe a small method feeder with a small yellow boilie or a small pellet. This time also, a bigger bed of bait as I'm sure I didn't have enough down.

I'm a Tench novice even on stillwaters so to catch one on the river for this challenge, ain't going to be easy.

Oh and the carp rod, apart from  a couple of tentative bites, diddly squat.