Warwickshire Avon - Redfins and Ruffmans

I'd not been down to this area of the Warwickshire Avon for a good while. I used to fish it after work and as it gave me an in to dark option, but we've a stretch above it on our syndicate now however a quick reccy that was up and motoring through. 

I fancied a dangle for roach that I was hoping would be obliging, so back in the car and 5 minutes later I'm bankside again, you see there is a nice bay I know where despite the river level, usually it's fishable.

I used to do quite well around here for roach and fished quite a few sessions where liquidised bread in the feeder and a dendrobena or lob tail, bread or maggot on the hook brought plenty of bites. When the weather was brass monkey's like it was for this mornings session fishing static baits seemed to bring out the better stamp of roach. 

Now this area also has some half decent Pike because the dace and appeared in big shoals during the winter months but I always found the roach were in good numbers here too.

I've always found it similar to one of Jeff Hatt's favourite haunts when he was a purveyor of the Warburtons Blue and when the levels settle a little more and it gets colder I fancy revisiting the area, albeit the section above it to see if there is anything decent to be caught. 

You see since Warwick Angling Association gave it up, it went from lawless to I dread to think.  

When I drove us down to the Lower Itchen 5 years ago 😶 I have fond memories of the conversations over Roach and it was one of the reasons worms featured in my roach sessions such Jeff's enthusiasm over a subject he was very passionate about . 

As soon as the water has a tinge of colour worms are a fantastic bait, they really are. If there are roach in the area they will find it.

Some of those sessions it literally was a bit a chuck for 5 hours such the biomass of the roach at the time and I didn't mess around with gear either, no fine diameter lines to be seen here, a decent size hook to match the bait and a hooklink a decent Chevin wouldn't have got the better of. 

I did think about double dipping and having a pike sleeper rod out but this was a roach only session. I prefer to travel light and be mobile, so tackle would be a minimum so if one swim wasn't producing after a good go, I could nip to another likely looking swim to see if that would fair better.

Hemp and a few maggots were mixed in with the liquidised bread and I'd alternate between bread and maggot on the hook. Now I've found don't be too despondent if there are not fish in the swim right away, because as with dace I've found an area devoid of fish can all of a sudden be alive with them.

Keep the feed going in little and often and after a fish has had a belly full the carrier pigeons are sent on their way and the army prepares for a battle.  Often a trojan horse Chub can turn up but stick with it, the shoals will eventually arrive when you least expect it.

Were they still here ? !!!!

There were indeed, a fantastic sunrise greeted me and throughout the short session bites were initially forthcoming from small roach, but then the bigger stamp turned up. The swim was like a washing machine though so not exactly easy fishing because there was lots of debris catching the line.

Frequent casting was required but after a visit to two other swims the bay seemed the most productive. In the end an inch of worm and a couple of maggots on a size 14 Kamasan B983 seem to do the trick.

I'm sure there are much better fish here to be caught, and fishing in to dusk may bring the bigger fish out to feed. Still an enjoyable session though especially as the wildlife is so varied here and the traffic noise not intrusive.

No chub showed though neither did the dace but I'm not complaining I do like catching plump roach like they are at this time of the year. Talking of which, with 3 weeks to go to Christmas once the tackle was unloaded the Jimny did a grand job of ferrying the Tree, happy Wife, happy life and all that.