Warwickshire Avon - Slipslop and Schmegeggy

The Silver Bream chase continues with this extended session down at the Warwickshire Avon. The last trip down here I had a great session catching chub using a waggler and bread as bait where I managed 5 chunky Chevin all over 4lb. So slightly different tactics for this session, some fishmeal groundbait with some liquidised bread and some red maggots and chopped worm in the cage feeder and wriggly small worms tipped with a red maggot as bait.

A double dipping session as well because as the water is cold at the minute I'd have a sleeper rod out in the margins with smelt as bait to hopefully pick up a Zander or Pike. Oddly despite me knowing that there are decent predators to be caught here, the last time I tried despite fishing a few tasty looking swims the float remained motionless.

There are few better natural baits than a worm, and they will catch every fish that swims, on all venues. We all know bream love worms and that a dendra is a good bait, but they really love redworms too. These tiny worms don’t look much but they have great pulling power, even for the biggest of fish as they wriggle more than their bigger brothers hence the attraction is increased.

Now after hooking in to a big fish the other day on a half a lobworm, I've this mad idea of using lobworms exclusively come the 16th of June just to see how many PB's I could beat in a whole season. Ok the yearly fishing budget might well go out the window but for another challenge to add to ones collection it might well be worth it to get the enjoyment back in ones again.

Variety is the key in my fishing, it always has been, from tiny stream, tributaries, to smaller rivers and big turbulent chocolate brown ones so fishing with a couple or three rods, JUST with lobworms might be a challenge but there isn't a fish that swims that doesn't like the look of a Lob so already I've convinced myself there could well be some method in ones madness.

If only could get hold of the Mongolian death worm, so named for its ability to slay enemies by spewing acid, is a bright red worm said to reside in the most desolate parts of the Gobi Desert. Some Mongolians claim the worm, measuring two to five feet in length, can also kill by emitting lethal jolts of electricity.

Westerners first learned of the terrifying creature in Roy Chapman Andrews’s book On the Trail of Ancient Man (1926). Chapman, an American palaeontologist, didn’t believe the bizarre tales he heard from Mongolian officials, but claimed the men seemed convinced of the worm’s existence, despite never seeing it for themselves.

There is no smoke without fire !!!!

Anyway real or not, the death worm continues to fascinate the Western public. The beast even served as inspiration for 1990’s Tremors. Unfortunately, expeditions in 2005, 2006, and 2007 including one featured on Syfy’s Destination Truth turned up no proof of the worm.

Then again it might be too easy fishing a worm that could stun it's prey rendering it incapable of fighting back, it would be like fishing at Tunnel Barn Farm for their wet lettuce F1's a little too easy me thinks. 

I like roving the river banks for biteless sessions and experience blanks like the best of them. Fishing shouldn't be easy, if it is, I'd find another pastime. 

Any ideas for the title of the challenge let me know ?

Operation Brazzers Breach was the title of the last Challenge which was a quest to try and catch a Warwickshire Grayling. I'm still waiting for the water to clear and a few hard frosts before maybe trying for one, well we will see. I'm hoping sooner rather than later. In-fact could well be this weekend as there is heavy rain on the way again which may well put a kibosh on proceedings. In-fact might have to rope in Sam for some moral support.

Anyway, back to the session, I started later than anticipated but hotfooted it bankside to another area I've yet to fish. This the nearest to the area where Dave had stumbled upon fish of specimen size. But there are other nice fish here to be caught as well, in-fact after getting a bed of groundbait down chucking the feeder out every 5 or 10 minutes the roach bites started. Only small ones for a good hour or so but then out of the blue a cracking fish turned up.

At first I thought I'd hooked a bream because it fought like one to start but then when it surfaced it was in-fact a decent Roach. Certainly a weigher because up till this point on the bloggers challenge I think I've only managed one a little over a pound. Really plump with really vibrant red fins, it appeared in mint condition as well. So I placed it in the large spoon landing net and rested it in the margin.

Scales sorted, camera sorted, net lifted....

...."Errrrr where is the fish then ? it's vanished"

Then it dawned on me this was a new net I got to replace the one that Sam got snagged and the only way to free it was to rip it. The problem was I also snagged up the new one and left a hole in it a couple of inches diameter, just big enough for a decent roach to get through, damn !!!!.

It reminded me of the time I netted a massive grass carp for Keith Jobling and that did exactly the same, it saw it's escape route and properly went for it. If it was a 10lb canal Zander I'd be crying as I type this, luckily it wasn't, it brought a smile to my face mind you.

The bites seemed to dry up but then out of the blue the pike floats starts to bob and move from left to right. I waited till the float went under and then reeled in and stuck in to a solid fish. Initially it was hugging the bottom and it felt a decent fish but as it came towards me I was unsure as all went light.

As I tightened up the fish bolted off from more or less right under my feet and carted towards a snag, it was this surge of power that sadly the hook hold wasn't as good as I thought and the smelt pulled out of its mouth.

Damn !!!!

Not going well this now is it, anyway not long after after putting another smelt on a couple of Sean Dowling nudges a fish grabbed the bait. Another confident bite with the float bobbing and going under a fish was on. To be honest it felt heavy but wasn't giving a fight that pike do so I thought it was a Zander till it surfaced, where it turned out to be a half decent pike.

Not quite a double but a nice looking fish with lovely markings, 9lb 14ounces. I rested it in the net to see if it's fatter sister was still mooching about sure enough a bite came quite quick, this time I struck in to nothing an a smelt came back with just its head. I was running out of bait now with just two left , again the float went back quick smart and within 5 minutes I had another bite.

Wow, they are certainly up for a feed today. A sleeper rod and lure would have worked great today I reckon.

Instantly I knew this one was a jack though and with a quick photo and both returned safely I thought that might have been it on the pike front, but it wasn't, because within 10 minutes after recasting I had another 9lber in the net, this one 9lb 8 ounces. With one bait left I left it out for 20 minutes before returning it to the water where it remained unhindered.

The quiver-tip rod headed in to dusk wasn't as active as I thought either, the choppy water changed to dead calm and that seemed to put a kibosh on proceedings. All very odd, and what it odd, is that having fish a few swims now I'm yet to catch a bream of any type, let alone a silver bream. I think a change of venue is on order, answers on a postcard please.