Warwickshire Avon - Townies and Togemans

So it's nearly that time when the clocks go back, the mornings lighter for a while and the nights drawing in faster than I'd like.  Those fishing opportunities need to be planned, otherwise getting ones backside bankside just won't happen.

Luckily there are a couple or three venues I can now fish in to dark and beyond which may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me is the tonic that I need as this time of year otherwise the S.A,D. takes over and that straight path starts to become muddy and winding and ok mine in my Suzuki Jimny but you cannot say the same for ones mind.

I left later than expected for this after work session but it was on of double dipping, a stinky garlic pellet with a few freebies on one rod and the other a dead roach. This is an area I'd caught Zander from before which was very unexpected.

I was told about them sometime ago but despite fishing for predators here I'd never managed to catch one. Then out of the blue I foul-hooked one when I was after Chub, when the hook caught his fin on the way past after the bread and hook pulled out of the Chub mouth.

Now these garlic pellets are something else, Godknows what they are glugged or flavoured with, get anywhere near your clothes it stays on there for weeks and same with fingers.

I likened it do turmeric, same thing, avoid avoid avoid. You'll end up chucking your best shirt away and appear you've been smoking for 40 years.

The problem with this session was that the area I wanted to fish was still bombing through more than I thought.

The Avon had dropped throughout the week but it was a slow descent not the drop I'd expected.

I tried to fish the slack but after half an hour with the bait clearly struggling to stay stationary in a washing machine I had to move on.

Still, downstream there is an area where close in its deep and fishable when the rivers up and also there is cover where Barbel lay up and venture out time to time to look for food. The late start meant I'd literally have an hour before dusk to get the baits out and then the club rules dictated I'd have to be off.

To cut a long story short a blank, but I like to record all my sessions, not only so see how many I manage in a year but also the fact I do blank and this season it's been one of the worst. Anyway the best season for me anyway is here, onwards and upwards.