Warwickshire Avon - Gobio's and Gobemouches

The working week had flown by luckily but then I'm busy busy busy at the minute so the days go quick thankfully especially when our next holiday to Pembrokeshire is just around the corner. The highlight of the week, well not blanking that's for sure but a visit to see the first prototypes I've been working on one most probably. 

Over two years in to the project now and its the first time I've got to see one full size and on its wheels wheels just before it went for its camo wrap. 😎 And wow what a car, the next year or so will be incredibly busy so not let up really especially when its still a relatively small team. 

Still I cannot complain I would rather be busy than not. However you know me despite being slave to Microsoft Teams at the moment I really do need to seek those quiet times which is odd because when I have the house to myself I have to have the music blasting or the radio on ....

Now back in 2014, a paper published in Science found that many people would rather experience a painful electric shock than be left alone with their own thoughts (Wilson et al., 2014). 

But this finding doesn’t apply to everyone. People differ in the extent to which they tolerate (and even enjoy) spending time alone.

While some people consider solitude to be painful and boring, there are others who find solitude to be pleasant and interesting. 

But those who enjoy solitude those of us who prefer a quiet evening at home over a night out with friends at a noisy bar are often treated as outliers in modern life. There can be negative social consequences for solitude-seekers.

People assume that solitude-seekers are impervious to the pain of social exclusion. That they don’t want to join our parties, or work with us on new projects. But almost everyone dislikes being excluded. 

Even subtle forms of exclusion, like being snubbed by an anonymous stranger in a laboratory experiment, can provoke a strong emotional response.

Fishing is one of those pastimes that can offer so much to the solitude seeker and luckily for me, I'm fishing more than ever these days, why ? well it keeps me happy that's why. Now for this session I wanted some bites and some bold bites too, so the decision was made for me luckily, I fancied fishing for some gudgeon.

There are a couple of swims here that have gudgeon in numbers but its difficult to fish a float especially one swim where they are tucked up under a tree usually, where they can hide out the way of any predators.

There are some nice perch here you see, well I say that nothing massive but enough to keep Sam interested that's for sure. But its the gudgeon that are here year on year and not for everyone I know but I still love catching them. Why wouldn't I, they have captured me ever since I caught the first one. Almost barbel in miniature but with much more character.  

The first swim didn't produce any gudgeon whatsoever oddly with dace, small chub and perch succumbing to the maggots. The river is back to summer levels again and gin clear so I could see the bottom of almost all swims here.

When the perch turned up I went to the banker swim and the fish bite was from a cigarette case that looked like it had been on the bed for sometime. But year on year it always produced gudgeon and it didn't take long for the first gonk.

Then gonk after gonk after gonk. Some nice ones too to be fair and I could have amassed a decent weight I would imagine because as soon as the maggots hit the deck I bite was forthcoming. They are benthopelagic though. meaning that they inhabit the water just above the bottom. 

Great fun because who doesn't like catching a gudgeon. Such a fantastic looking fish and they seem to be getting rarer these days. 

Its surprising just how quick the time goes when you're fully concentrating on the quarry in question and the two and a bit hours went rather quick.

The sound of the river, the flash of a kingfisher, the bite from a gonk, sanity restored. An enjoyable session indeed. Now another two session lined up over the weekend, the first with Sam somewhere to get some bites on his whip and the new float he bought with his own money, and the second a roach and pike double dipping session me thinks.