Piscatorial Quagswagging

...the diary of a specialist angler in around the Warwickshire Avon and its tributaries.

Wednesday 9 September 2020

Warwickshire Avon - Arachibutyrophobia and Arithmomania

I've been enjoying my dusk and beyond sessions down here at the syndicate stretch of the Warwickshire Avon. You see not only is it handy for me (door to door in ten minutes) but there are no rules, no curfews, no clock watching shoulder tapping bailiffs.

That's a Godsend for me as I tend to fish when I can, and sometimes that means to get ones fix in, dark sessions are the only possible option. The problem is nearly all the local and also the club waters I'm a member of, the strict rules dictate once dusk has been and gone you've got to be off, or face the consequences.


This syndicate water I could bring the full on camping gear, the decks, the disco lights, heck even some dancing girls and there wouldn't be an issue. Obviously I wouldn't do that (well unless the barbel don't play ball) but you get the picture, it's a place to chill without fear of ones registration plate taken and fingers pointed.

There wasn't a rush to get fishing for this double dipping short session. I'd use a bait dropper and carpet the river bed fairly close in with mixed pellets and hemp where I'd fish a double krill wafter hookbait over the top with paste wrap post dusk. Then out in the deepest bit of this short section which is around 8ft or so, I'd have a fresh deadbait to see if there were any Zander here.


No reason why they shouldn't be here because I've caught them above and below here in the past, and there is also a considerable biomass of bite sized baitfish. There are Pike and Perch here for sure, but it was a Zander I was trying to track down and target specifically.

The feed quite well when the water is up and coloured I've found, but also come dark when they patrol and hunt in packs this is the time to have a bait out. You could fish all day without a sniff, come sundown however, this predator is at its most active and bobbin can begin to rise, bite alarms start to sound.


Whilst the deadbait was doing its thing though the main rod was changed for a light barbel rod. A rod with enough backbone to play a Barbel but also also balanced enough to be enjoy a fight from a greedy Chevin. They were properly on it as well come dark, a motionless tip to being as busy as as Greenwood and Foden.

Now talking of being busy the COVID-19 death press officer couldn't be more different he has been very quiet indeed of late, you see despite an increase in those testing positive the daily deaths now a tiny percentage of the population, road traffic accidents, stabbings and the seasonal flu appeared higher in the chart than this 'deadly' pandemic the weekend just gone.


Still cannot become complacent, for me a welcome return to the office albeit a couple of days a week has been most welcome for ones wellbeing. As much as working from home has been ok in the main, with the kids now back as school it's nice to have some normality returned and the coffers of the local businesses boosted.

That overloaded peanut butter sandwich stuck to the roof of my mouth was a welcome return, I've missed it, I really have.

So anyway the session, well what an odd one, the bed of freebies went out half an hour before dusk as did the roach deadbait and then it was a matter of chilling till dusk when I put out the paste wrapped boilie rod.


The Avon is back to clear again but the bait fish were still very active and it would have been a bite a chuck on maggot. As soon at the light went the chub pulls started but nothing like the violence of last time here. A very mild and pleasant evening though and with clear skies the vibrant start and the odd passing satellite kept me occupied. for a rather uneventful session.

With 45 minutes less of the session (I always give myself a packing up time) I removed the baits from the hair and secured a single dumbell to the shank of the hook using a bait band. A chub would do to save a blank. Oddly though despite the decent pulls and bites confident enough to be strikeable I struck in to thin air and they didn't hook themselves.


A blank session, even the deadbait bobbin was motionless,  a session with Sam next I think, out with the float rod and maggots me thinks. At least the small fish are forthcoming at the minute, the larger fish elusive again, well for this session they were anyway. Fishing shouldn't be by numbers, it really shouldn't.

Still not all bad, a battery recharged session, it's not all about the fishing for me thankfully, now where are those coconut mushrooms ?

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