Warwickshire Avon - Cedric's and Chalypsography

Winter definitely seems to be behind us despite the recent frosts, for starters the birds in my garden seem to have a lot more vigour and getting through the Peckish Goodness Nuggets faster than the Tesco delivery man or women (insert other genders here)  !! can deliver them. Give them a go if you've not tried them as they do seem to have brought more species to the squirrel proof feeder of late. 

The meals are getting lighter too, much like the daylight which thankfully is getting more and more each day. Some marinated squeaky halloumi , with a red cabbage salad, pomegranates, parsley, turkish rice (it's there somewhere) and home made chilli and garlic sauce went down rather well I must admit.

It's almost given me a spring in ones step, literally because all of a sudden from a bit of a lull and feeling a bit blluuurrrgggghhh, from the post holiday blues where the rain seemed constant, the work too, I can see the light at the end of the closed season tunnel. The rivers might only be fishable for a couple of weeks before the barriers are put up again but fingers crossed all things flowing will be in decent fettle before that big hammer reigns down, and tramp alley beckons. 

Now I did wonder what to fish for for this post work session but I'd not been down the Avon for a while, and despite Nic from Avon Angling messaging me with the chub he'd been catching down the Stour whilst I was bashing the keyboard even harder than I usually do in a rage of jealousy.

I wasn't quite ready to join Nic in catching fish he is beginning to name now. 😁 Cedric was the last one I believe, but sadly I had worked to get finished off and that won't be achieved chucking bread at the chub down @theriverbank. 

Anyway I jest but to be honest, locally there hasn't been many options for piscatorial pleasantries, Nic has been right on the money with the Warwickshire Stour and his success demonstrates that, bites are good after all, blanks not so. 

His multiple catches of chub and even the big roach are getting in on the act as well recently, this clonker taking breadflake in a swim I usually blank in. I myself caught a nice roach on this stretch and there seems to show themselves when the river is really high and as coloured as Russell Brand's past. So those big roach unlike Russell Brand haven't been cancelled yet, there are there still to be caught but they don't show up that often.

Anyway back to my session, the stretch of convenience was in order to try and winkle out a chub and thankfully the river from being over its banks is now firmly back within them. The fish I bet haven't the foggiest what the heck was going on because one minute they are sheltering from a bad flood, then some short term relief, and then it's all batten down the hatches again. 

I was hoping bread fished in a few swims would at least bring a bit from a chub especially when I'd be heading in to dusk. I fancied a nose down here as well because with the river being well over the banks again it's always fun to see what damage it had done this time.

 The river was well up as expected and I fed a few swims before settling down to some fishing. The river despite carrying some pace still was a lovely green colour as can be seen here and I always do ok for chub when the colour is like this.

The main river was out but those slacks cna offer a bite when the river is like this. This first swim I tried two areas but after around twenty minutes in each, boredom got the better of me and I went on the rove. What I didn't expect from the next swim was a bite so quick, where after a satisfying donk in a deepish swim next to a tree, the tip jumped in to life and I struck in to a solid fish.

Not the hardest fighting of chub admittedly but most welcome I must admit after a couple of blanks recently. It was soon in the net though and went 4lb 1oz in the scales so not quite a fish to be engraved on the PB trophy having caught fish over 2lbs more than this on the Acon . After that fish I thought I might catch another one or two fish, but sadly not, 3 more swims fished without another bite.

Still I'm not complaining, a blank avoided and it is also nice to see one of my favorite species in the net and this time played on the centre-pin, a rod I specifically set-up for the Arrow recently. Hopefully the Avon continues to fall because it will be in decent order before the end of the season where fingers crossed trotting may be a possibility.