When I got up in the morning and checked the local river levels I went straight back to bed with those 2 rather large plump pillows. The gout inducing winter warming bowl of stilton chips that I snuck in before a big dinner AND a trip to the pub with some friends for a few jars just had to be walked off somehow, ones winter coat certainly isn't ready to be taken off just yet.
Still with the canals beckoning those steps will increase tenfold and those few extra pounds I'm carrying will be shifted in no time. Food like this is rare for me now to be fair, but everything in moderation I say.
The Arrow, Alne and Leam fall as quickly as they rise so those call well be an option, but with a fix needed early afternoon, I decided to head down to an area that has been good to me in the past for some double dipping in a slack I knew.
What I didn't expect though was just how high the river was. Just about within its banks still but just to get to the area to fish meant wading through a considerable amount of standing water.
So one rod with pungent groundbait with a chilli flavoured piece of meat and a predator rod with a section of roach suspended overdepth under the float.
Now this slack has be home to some cracking fish over the years because I suppose when the river is in flood this provides a calm haven away from the mosh pit. As expected no one else stupid enough to try and catch a fish in these snow melt conditions but you need a bait in the water for a chance don't you.
Some of the biggest fish I have caught over the years have come from these testing conditions though as it often separates the men from the boys.
A wander up the stretch I don't think I've fished it when this high so when I got to the slack where I would normally stand was completely waterlogged but luckily only a short chuck to get the baits out. I wanted to check the water temperature but the battery in the thermometer was dead as a doornail.
I suspect the barbel wouldn't be feeding and there are some here depending on the conditions because the water was cold, Verrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyy Coooooooooooold.
I've found flavoured luncheon meat as well as lobworms about the best bait to use when it's coloured and meat especially when it's cold as well. I've had some good chub over the years using this method. The hooked pulled through the bait, turned 90 degrees and pulled down with a baiting needle to skim the side.
With the baits out it was matter of freezing ones donnies off in the bitterly cold northerly wind. It certainly was a cold one and when the rain started coming down and the wind picked up not exactly pleasant fishing conditions.
I gave it a good do though, nearly two and a half hours in-fact and I did look at a couple of other swims but this was about the only one that was fishable.
So yeah you've probably skimmed through this a forgettable session no bites no fish, another blank !!!
All a bit of a washout with the end of the season getting even closer. Can I catch a fish before we are all give the flowing water marching orders ? I hope really do hope so !!! To be honest I don't mind the closed season personally as it gives me a chance the mix my fishing up a bit.
On to the next one !!!
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