Warwickshire Avon - Gaudiloquent and Gatecrashers

This week I have mostly lost my fishing mojo. You see with the rivers low and gin clear I've not really had the urge to go bankside because I know it will be tough and most likely for the bigger fish anyway I'd blank. Work as well has been a bit manic and to be honest, I've felt a little tired because of  it, the urge not quite there to maintain ones 3 times a week.

You noticed I've been going more of late ? and why not, make the most of it, the longest day gone and forgotten.

Then things changed you see Sam piped up and really wanted to go fishing for a couple of hours after I got back from the office (back two days a week now) so I agreed to his request, so after dinner with some tackle cobbled together we headed off to one of my favourite stretches of the Warwickshire Avon. 

Now this place is never usually fished that much but of late every single time I've gone, be it the weekend, randomly in the week or a quick adhoc session  there is ALWAYS someone bankside. 3 cars in the official car park another roadside all clearly fishing in to dusk as we left at 9.00pm.

I know exactly what they are after and to be fair they have always been here, but they are not used to this pressure so lets hope after a few blanks they can get some peace otherwise it might not been the same again.

The swim I wanted to fish because it is ones of the deepest surprise surprise was occupied so with the river so low and clear we found a couple of swims with some depth. It's a very characterful stretch and that's why the Chub in-particular like it. Over hanging trees, sunken sumps, streamer weed and reeds it's snag city.

We were here for the gudgeon though and what a cracking little session it turned out to be. The first swim took a while to get going. The bleak and small perch getting in on the act first but once the first gudgeon was caught they kept on coming. The diminutive barbel impersonators getting carried away with the maggot hookbait and really giving the quiver a really good workout.

Now Sam hadn't used a centrepin in anger before but he had to learn quick because it was the only rod we had with us. An ultralight 8ft Darent Valley Specialist Quiver  with a NGT centerpin, my tiny stream set-up basically if I fancy a change from the float. To be fair he took to it really well especially as some of the bites can be quite savage.

Eventually it was a bite a chuck, the maggots really doing the business. Gudgeon after Gudgeon succumbed to the set-up. Not huge fish, I've had bigger here, but to entertain a young angler there really is nothing better especially as a 10 ounce perch got in on the act and give him the run around.

Daddy "we've gatecrashed a gudgeon party !!!"

I went from not really been bothered to get banskide to really really enjoying it. The enthusiasm so nice to see especially when now he is thinking about changing tact to target different species of fish.

You see the last swim as the light was starting to go it had Perch hanging around and some good'uns too and a rather large one followed a gonk as Sam was reeling it in. "We need to come back here again with a lure rod and catch those pesky perch, don't they know everyone loves Gudgeon"

It was one of those memorable sessions which confirmed to me Sam will be an angler for life. I've taken him since he was four years old, 6 years later there is no let up in his passion for angling, love it.