Warwickshire Avon - Kwarteng's and Kreatophagia

Any of us suffering from the stress of modern living could do worse than return to our childhood. So it seems, anyway, from a scheme for women to re-live their schooldays. It all happens at a school in Ireland (it had to). 

The women dress in gymslips, sit at desks with inkwells, eat stodgy school food, play leapfrog at playtime and knock the hell out of each other at hockey. And if anybody wants to bring a teddy bear or have a blub in the dorm, nobody minds.

The idea could catch on, you see....

<----Mick-----------------------------------------------------------Modern Life---->

Thankfully a small amount of respite away from the madness, you see last visit here really was certainly worthwhile because especially upstream it looked very chubby. Plenty of cover and some depth in places and it deserved more of a reccy. It was the solitude that I remembered from when I visited it many moons ago and wondered why the heck its been largely off ones radar.

To be honest the WBAS WhatsApp hasn't exactly been pinging to chunky chub activity but there has been some nice fish that have been caught and so I thought I might as well give it a go myself. I did plan to trot maggots but I think I'll wait for a little more pace on the water.

It was just about doable in the downstream swims but it was still a little lethargic for stick float fishing If I'm honest and I'd go back when the conditions improve. So with a loaf of bread, some mash as feed and a spring in my step after the budget announcement to repeal the IR35 the off-payroll legislation to potentially going back to jobbing again, could I winkle one out ?

Anyway to the fishing, being able to drive this stretch is quite handy because there is plenty to go at in the mile or so, but for this another reccy I fished the upper reaches only to see what potentially I had been missing. 

Some deep swims, some shallow, some narrow but seemingly devoid of fish in many areas. Not unusual for a clear Warwickshire Avon but track the fish down to their hide up area you can get a bite or two. The reeds and weed were a hinderance in some swims but maybe in winter it will be in better fettle as swim choices were limited. 

To be honest it was tough going with swim after swim fish with only nibbles from small fish to begin with, but eventually a few splashers succumbed to the large piece of bread flake fluttering in the gin clear water.

All came from darker swims as any swim in direct sunlight was baron as my post pandemic cash reserves. But rove around and it's surprising what can reveal itself and in this case after disturbing 4 cormorants I noticed literally by my feet in relatively shallow water a few chub milling about. 

Not massive ones admittedly but certainly worth catching. So I crept up with rod in hand and cast the bread bait underarm and it was taken before it reached the bottom. I don't think the fish realised it was hooked at first but went it felt some tension it bolted off downstream taking some line with it.

It was quickly under control though being only a 3lber it turned out but at least it was a nice bend in the rod to add to the lovely afternoon spent in the sun. And that was that, one more swim fished and nothing to report, I thoroughly enjoyed that.