Warwickshire Avon - Cackhands and Cantankerous

As someone who had very little free time, well during the week anyway, you'd have thought those one that depend on you would be more forthcoming on their welcoming, but no a chore complete on a detour on home from work I was quite clear I was becoming an inconvenience.I did wonder why the gate was open and the shears where leaning against the house. 🙈

My presence was getting in the way of a program starting I'm sure, and with no internet and the like, watching live TV is the only option. Anyway having after being thrown out early 😬 I decided to drop in on the way back to somewhere I would be welcome, yup the adopted local pub.

I literally opened the door to...

"Alright Mick, hey we have Tower Ale on today from Hook Norton !!, right up your street I reckon" said Danny the landlord !!!

My mood was improving by the minute, anyway half way down my pint I asked "fancy seeing the fruits of my labour"

"Sure, go for it"

I'd been working from MIRA during the day and we'd assembled an almost production ready console for the forthcoming Polestar 5 / 6 and I'd got it in the back of my car, ready to do some CAD design tweaks to improve the gap and flush, and also a couple of fitment issue we have. Nothing major thankfully but still more to do.

Danny couldn't have been more different, as he very interested in the work I'd been doing and asking loads of questions over various different areas of the console and it's design. As someone who has been designing various bits for cars for years, it's nice for someone else to see just what work goes in to these complex assemblies, because believe you me, it's staggering.  

I've a patent for the cupholder in this console, so it will be nice to see it eventually on the road, a labour of love ? far from it, because as I get older I get less excited by work as the years go by. Means to and end, these days, but as the main breadwinner, what choice do I have. If circumstance were different and it was just me to consider, I'm sure I could retire by now and make it work, lol

Anyway to work on a car from a sketch to seeing a car going down the production doesn't happen very often, in-fact it has only really happened a few times in career, mainly because I took a break from designing the parts and actually had a good number of years as a studio engineer working with the clay modellers. Concept work that ends before you get in to the proper design engineering, which is the hard bit really. 

This job I've involved in the whole process. Anyway enough of that, back to the fishing, with my mood improving what better way to get it back to being good again and go fishing !!!

So after a BBQ I headed to an area of the Warwickshire Aven where barbel often show at the start of the season. It's gravely and oxygenated you see and barbel often gravitate here because of that. A short smash and grab session this where after baiting up an area I went on the rove to try and catch some chub off the top. 

I managed a 2lber in the first swim, then lost a fish that went straight in the reeds within a split second of being hooked.

After that I managed a better fish of over 4lb that took a good while to get hooked up, because after tempting it with freebies I somehow failed to hook up on quite a few occasions, God knows what was going on.

Eventually I managed to get it on the end of my line where it really did give me a right old battle. 

They do seems to fight really hard at the start of the season when they are lean and fighting fit, I love catching chub because of that and the fact they can be caught on a variety of methods.

With the sun now beginning to set I went back to the baited swim where I'd sit behind the barbel rod headed in to dusk to see if any barbel were there and would be up for feeding.

This swim gets darker than the surrounding area and before the bats appeared the rod had the odd tap and that was it, but then all change when the light levels went.

All of a sudden the greedy chub turned up and those unmistakable chub pulls started to happen. 

The first chub I subsequently caught was determined to hang itself because after some right old clonking bites a barbel esk bite ensued and a small chub was on. Only a 2lber bless it, with the Vortex cocoon boilie hanging out of its gob, and despite the long hair it wanted whatever I was offering it.

Another chub followed soon afterwards which was slightly bigger but then the bites stopped which I assume was because that last fish had disturbed the swim. The rod tip light was required by now despite the clear skies, but that is because the swim is naturally dark, rather than the ambient light elsewhere that was available.

Anyway the writing was on the wall I knew that, so left around 1lpm with the skies still rather pleasant indeed.  I'm going to make the most of the long days so next will be the Untrodden again and with a session booked on the Wye next Monday with Nic from Avon Angling where we will be trotting for barbel. Hopefully I'll also get some short trips out in-between too, and with the weather improving day by day, things are looking good !!!