Warwickshire Avon - Steeplejacks and Stemmatology

Now the US had the space programme, whereas the U.K. had Fred Dibnah and an infinite supply of ladders....

....that's a strange comment Mick, well there is a good reason for that !!!!

You see, having seen a carp angler recently wheeling his gear down to a local syndicate lake with not only a fancy motorized trolley but with a trailer attached too, I did wonder if I've been short-changing ones own angling however I seem to be travelling lighter and lighter these days though because I'm a roving angler at heart. 

I sit down on ones backside long enough during the working week so to plonk myself down again for any length of time without the watchful eye of the diary makers is just plain ridiculous. 

Thankfully a quick look around the garage with a rod for every eventuality, and every quarry, ones mind was at ease.

Anyway with 4 days of the river season left and 4 sessions available to me with my thumb and forefinger tickling my bottom lip I was wondering, where to go ? what to do ?

Now there are two club books I hold which I'm unlikely to renew, so for this short post work session I was trampling the banks of the Warwickshire Avon to try and catch a ruffe and also a Zander.

I wonder if those two species have ever entered a fellow anglers mind because lets be honest, they are in completely different ends of the length scale, but here on the Avon the only place where ruffe are known to frequent and the other area I could actively target them is on the Warwickshire Stour where they do seem to be in numbers. 

So a couple of float set-ups one for Zander and one for Ruffe. A chunk of roach for the Zander and a suspended half a worm from the thriving wormery for the Ruffe.  Anyway back to the short session and boy it was a tough'un, no bites at all on the zander deadbait rod in a few swims and the ruffe suspicious in their absence. They do frequent the same waters though so maybe they were off raving somewhere.

The perch were still biting though a few small'uns, a big one that told the size 16 hook where to go and a fish around a pound or so eventually put a bend in the rod. The banks were deserted with only a barbel angler under an umbrella sheltering from the rain where he had managed a few 3lb chub to his name having been there since early doors.  

I had to be back for 4.30pm for family duties but at least the perch were willing to bite. You can certainly rely on them when other fish are having an off day. I'm sure with the clearish water the Zander would be biting come dusk but sadly I never got the opportunity.