Warwickshire Avon - Tragematopolists and Triclavianism

A game changer, these Lidl cheesey triangles eaten at bedtime really do get one lucid dreaming like never before. Now usually stilton is the best inducer, in-fact it's a failsafe. Some dreams so lucid it's like I'm directing a movie on the fly and can take the actors anywhere I want.

To be honest unless you are susceptible to it, to induce a lucid dream yourself probably isn't that easy, but I know there are techniques that can be tried if you want to give it a go.

A fly on the wall, effectively leaving your body knowing that you are dreaming but more or less awake, it's a great feeling.

I'm sure my sleep pattern has something to do with it, 6 hours or so a night, doesn't sound much, but I prefer to go to sleep when I'm tired, not when the clock tells me to go to bed.

This week some of the dreams have been that way out there, content I'd rather not share but because they are lucid, entirely believable, like you actually living the dream, or trying to escape a nightmare.

Simple tactics for this session, a link ledgered lump of cheesepaste to try and winkle out one of the good chub that reside in this section of the Warwickshire Avon. The character and contours of the river show themselves in the summer because when the river is up, many of those features are hidden out out of sight.

When you've fished as many times as I have a virgin bit of water can still be read to some degree, but there is definitely an edge to be had when you know exactly the swim is doing beneath you.

I've found in the middle of the day when the sun is bright, spring round the corner it pays to fish either tight to a snag or literally under your feet, especially when a slack is formed beyond the main flow where a fish would need to expel energy to maintain his position.

Despite it being very pleasant in the sun for this short afterwork afternoon session the water is still brass monkey's. A hard frost overnight as well, not many fish would feed apart from the hardy club. After 5 or 6 swims without even a knock I decided to fish a swim where it's deep away from the main flow and there is an undercut that stretches back a good couple of feet.

If you hook a chub in the main body of water here, that is exactly where they head to. The undercut revealing itself from the opposite bank when the river was at its lowest.

So cheesepaste lowered right under the rod tip if they are there a bite comes quick. Sure enough within a couple of minutes a couple of tentative pulls all hell breaks loose and a lift in to a decent fish. I was reaching for the drag quite quickly in to the fight because as it headed upstream with the rod bent double I was worried the hook would pull.

I couldn't mess around with this fish though because it was powering towards a snag and then it would be game over. I steered it away fine though and when I bullied it in to the main flow and nowhere to hide it decided like the wise old fish it was that its game was well and truly over.

A chunk of a fish with a belly on it but when I lifted the landing net I knew its weight didn't befit its girth. Still when the scales went round to 5lb and 8oz's this was a PB. Only 2 oz's more than my best but for somewhere who had caught plenty of Warwickshire Avon chub and not managed a 5lber for years I was well chuffed, as having caught 5 or so 5'bers now, I'm heading towards a 6lb fish at this rate,

With the rivers in a nice condition I may well try for a decent Pike in the morning and also have some cheesepaste out for the Chub. As per the winter norm, cheesepaste to them, is like a plate full of homemade faggots, peas and mash to me, there is no thinking about it, I've just got to dive in.

Now there are bigger fish here for sure because I've seen them, just need to catch one now.