Warwickshire Avon - Sacricolists and Scandiscopes

It's deep up here, very deep, in-fact one swim is 22 foot according to the deeper and in-fact that actual swim I lost a double figure Zander a couple or three years ago, and a little further down, another one too 😒. I'm better equipped these days mind you. 

The swim had form too because a shoal of Zander used to venture up there from time to time and bite often were aplenty. 

That swim is no more though because a flood took away one of its main features and that was a huge tree that was a fish magnet, especially the Zander a predator. The best I could muster up was an 8lber which still remains my river PB and that was caught when it was bitterly cold where ironically this session it was pretty mild and was a similar time of year. 

Anyway in the main it is 8-10 foot which is still pretty deep to be fair and in the winter months it often is home to large shoals of roach, some nice perch and naturally because its pretty deep, slow and wide some nice bream.  

Despite the river being well up and blowing a gale there were plenty of swims I couldn't leapfrog with a float rod and also a running ledger set-up to get over to the far side if need be. 

I've never had an issue fishing for Zander in chocolate brown conditions because lets face it many of the canals I fish are like that 24/7. Zander feel at home in turbid waters hence why they have thrived in the Midlands canal network.

5 swims down without a nibble I decided to walk to an area much further downstream were I caught one recently. Just trying to find a fishable area was half the problem as it was motoring through, but I managed to find a slack but after giving it longer than I usually do, nothing fancied the chunk of roach.

So I retraced my steps and decided to fish the last hour and a half in two swims. Both with cover and decent depth close in. 

By now the rain had started and the gusts of wind back to 50 mph again. The weather really has been lively over the last few days but to be honest, I don't mind these conditions especially if the rain isn't too heavy. 

Out of the blue the bobbin rose, the Delkim sounded and the loose baitrunner activated but I lifted the rod and pinched the line to find that the fish had already dropped the bait. 

And that was that !!!

Because both baits back out and nothing else materialised. So another blank to add to the collection. I returned home, we all went for a blustery walk over the fields to feed some friends rabbits and chickens who are on holiday at the minute and thankfully got back before the biblical rain started again.

Good Wine, a roast dinner, feet up, the unsuccessful session quickly forgotten about. On to the next one !!!!