Warwickshire Avon - Slipslop and Schmegeggy

The Silver Bream chase continues with this extended session down at the Warwickshire Avon. The last trip down here I had a great session catching chub using a waggler and bread as bait where I managed 5 chunky Chevin all over 4lb. So slightly different tactics for this session, some fishmeal groundbait with some liquidised bread and some red maggots and chopped worm in the cage feeder and wriggly small worms tipped with a red maggot as bait.

A double dipping session as well because as the water is cold at the minute I'd have a sleeper rod out in the margins with smelt as bait to hopefully pick up a Zander or Pike. Oddly despite me knowing that there are decent predators to be caught here, the last time I tried despite fishing a few tasty looking swims the float remained motionless.

There are few better natural baits than a worm, and they will catch every fish that swims, on all venues. We all know bream love worms and that a dendra is a good bait, but they really love redworms too. These tiny worms don’t look much but they have great pulling power, even for the biggest of fish as they wriggle more than their bigger brothers hence the attraction is increased.

Now after hooking in to a big fish the other day on a half a lobworm, I've this mad idea of using lobworms exclusively come the 16th of June just to see how many PB's I could beat in a whole season. Ok the yearly fishing budget might well go out the window but for another challenge to add to ones collection it might well be worth it to get the enjoyment back in ones again.

Variety is the key in my fishing, it always has been, from tiny stream, tributaries, to smaller rivers and big turbulent chocolate brown ones so fishing with a couple or three rods, JUST with lobworms might be a challenge but there isn't a fish that swims that doesn't like the look of a Lob so already I've convinced myself there could well be some method in ones madness.

If only could get hold of the Mongolian death worm, so named for its ability to slay enemies by spewing acid, is a bright red worm said to reside in the most desolate parts of the Gobi Desert. Some Mongolians claim the worm, measuring two to five feet in length, can also kill by emitting lethal jolts of electricity.

Westerners first learned of the terrifying creature in Roy Chapman Andrews’s book On the Trail of Ancient Man (1926). Chapman, an American palaeontologist, didn’t believe the bizarre tales he heard from Mongolian officials, but claimed the men seemed convinced of the worm’s existence, despite never seeing it for themselves.

There is no smoke without fire !!!!

Anyway real or not, the death worm continues to fascinate the Western public. The beast even served as inspiration for 1990’s Tremors. Unfortunately, expeditions in 2005, 2006, and 2007 including one featured on Syfy’s Destination Truth turned up no proof of the worm.

Then again it might be too easy fishing a worm that could stun it's prey rendering it incapable of fighting back, it would be like fishing at Tunnel Barn Farm for their wet lettuce F1's a little too easy me thinks. 

I like roving the river banks for biteless sessions and experience blanks like the best of them. Fishing shouldn't be easy, if it is, I'd find another pastime. 

Any ideas for the title of the challenge let me know ?

Operation Brazzers Breach was the title of the last Challenge which was a quest to try and catch a Warwickshire Grayling. I'm still waiting for the water to clear and a few hard frosts before maybe trying for one, well we will see. I'm hoping sooner rather than later. In-fact could well be this weekend as there is heavy rain on the way again which may well put a kibosh on proceedings. In-fact might have to rope in Sam for some moral support.

Anyway, back to the session, I started later than anticipated but hotfooted it bankside to another area I've yet to fish. This the nearest to the area where Dave had stumbled upon fish of specimen size. But there are other nice fish here to be caught as well, in-fact after getting a bed of groundbait down chucking the feeder out every 5 or 10 minutes the roach bites started. Only small ones for a good hour or so but then out of the blue a cracking fish turned up.

At first I thought I'd hooked a bream because it fought like one to start but then when it surfaced it was in-fact a decent Roach. Certainly a weigher because up till this point on the bloggers challenge I think I've only managed one a little over a pound. Really plump with really vibrant red fins, it appeared in mint condition as well. So I placed it in the large spoon landing net and rested it in the margin.

Scales sorted, camera sorted, net lifted....

...."Errrrr where is the fish then ? it's vanished"

Then it dawned on me this was a new net I got to replace the one that Sam got snagged and the only way to free it was to rip it. The problem was I also snagged up the new one and left a hole in it a couple of inches diameter, just big enough for a decent roach to get through, damn !!!!.

It reminded me of the time I netted a massive grass carp for Keith Jobling and that did exactly the same, it saw it's escape route and properly went for it. If it was a 10lb canal Zander I'd be crying as I type this, luckily it wasn't, it brought a smile to my face mind you.

The bites seemed to dry up but then out of the blue the pike floats starts to bob and move from left to right. I waited till the float went under and then reeled in and stuck in to a solid fish. Initially it was hugging the bottom and it felt a decent fish but as it came towards me I was unsure as all went light.

As I tightened up the fish bolted off from more or less right under my feet and carted towards a snag, it was this surge of power that sadly the hook hold wasn't as good as I thought and the smelt pulled out of its mouth.

Damn !!!!

Not going well this now is it, anyway not long after after putting another smelt on a couple of Sean Dowling nudges a fish grabbed the bait. Another confident bite with the float bobbing and going under a fish was on. To be honest it felt heavy but wasn't giving a fight that pike do so I thought it was a Zander till it surfaced, where it turned out to be a half decent pike.

Not quite a double but a nice looking fish with lovely markings, 9lb 14ounces. I rested it in the net to see if it's fatter sister was still mooching about sure enough a bite came quite quick, this time I struck in to nothing an a smelt came back with just its head. I was running out of bait now with just two left , again the float went back quick smart and within 5 minutes I had another bite.

Wow, they are certainly up for a feed today. A sleeper rod and lure would have worked great today I reckon.

Instantly I knew this one was a jack though and with a quick photo and both returned safely I thought that might have been it on the pike front, but it wasn't, because within 10 minutes after recasting I had another 9lber in the net, this one 9lb 8 ounces. With one bait left I left it out for 20 minutes before returning it to the water where it remained unhindered.

The quiver-tip rod headed in to dusk wasn't as active as I thought either, the choppy water changed to dead calm and that seemed to put a kibosh on proceedings. All very odd, and what it odd, is that having fish a few swims now I'm yet to catch a bream of any type, let alone a silver bream. I think a change of venue is on order, answers on a postcard please.

Warwickshire Avon - Pump Rooms and Panchymagogues

Now Windmill Hill's Table beer an easy going Pale Ale with a solid hoppy taste and at just 2.9%, you really can enjoy this beer all day long. Light and golden crammed full of Cascade, Columbus and Mosaic hops,this is one easy going beer, and can be enjoyed pint after pint, after pint.

Recently however their Pump Room Porter as overtaken that for me for something to enjoy in-front of an open fire, a rich, dark porter with chocolate / coffee aromas and fruity tones, very smooth indeed, more of that later. Even a house full of colds, restless nights and bedtime musical beds, a few of these before shuteye can get you in the right mood.

After being properly done over like a kipper by an unseen monster recently (excuse the pun) the thoughts within ones mind have led me to believe what if it wasn't a Barbus Maximus, could it have been a cunning colossus carp.

Carp you say, well yes, because Martyn the maggot manager shared some information you see, backed up with photographic evidence that there are indeed mud-sifters in this area.

To be honest downstream from here another another stretch of the Warwickshire Avon I can fish in to dark me and Sam tangleator stumbled upon a small dinghy, a tin can with already burnt kindling, an unhooking mat and also an unopened 2 litre tub of sweet particles.

It was for sure bait for carp, the boat maybe used to drop a rig in a specific location, the bait-a-plenty dumped over the top.

The area is known for pike because of the baitfish biomass and also nice chub, but the bream like it here as well because there is a nice bay where even when the river is in flood, sanctuary can be sought here.There is no doubt a carp would be happy here, likewise in this new area I've been fishing, again, a nice pedestrian bay with decent depth.

So after the unsuccessful trip a couple of days ago I was back trudging the banks to try and find out what the hell this fish was. Again the same hour and a bit in to dusk tackle already set-up, rods out quick smartish. A change though, this time it was out with the dedicated carp set-up. A heavy lead, a white chocolate pop-up over a bed of sweet smelling particle freebies. I also reduced the hook length on the barbel rod to around 6 inches to try and maximise the bolt rig effect, where again I'd fish a lump of spam, this time flavoured with Hinders Ramiz garlic meaty glug.

It had been cold up to this session, in-fact a hard frost as I drove in to work this morning I was in two minds whether or not to go or not, but it was playing on my mind and I'd only regret it, if I didn't go.
You cannot catch anything without a bait in the water now can you. If they are held up here resting and I was to drop a bait on their heads, I'm sure they could be tempted to get off their sofa, remove the smoking jacket and put down their bottle of porter.

To my surprise when I got parked up a couple of other members were packing away their gear, they had been there for getting on for 6 hours and not one of them had caught a fish. The river "looked perfect" but trotting meat, bread, even a maggot feeder "not a jot".

Sometimes though as dusk the fish venture out and despite the swim already have been fed, fish get on the feed. Things change when the light goes, happened to me so many times.

Now when the sky is clear like this I've never done any good fishing in to dusk, I don't know why, maybe the high pressure that went with it, is the issue maybe, because to cut a long story short, not even a tap, rattle or a pull.There was just nothing doing at all, it was a nice calm evening but the fish were just not interested.

Downstream there is quite a snaggy area where a cluster of trees are, and over the hour and a half I was there, there was the odd big fish topping. Could well be Chub though as often at dusk they get on the move. As I was packing in the moisture that was clinging on to the unhooking mat was starting to freeze so I'm sure a cold-blooded fish were holding up to try and keep warm and not expel energy. I left when the moon was illuminating the walk back to the car, if I could fish here at night, I wouldn't need a head torch, it was that bright.

Storm Ciara is due to hit overnight Saturday and it brings 80 mile winds and heavy downpours of rain Sunday, so I'm hoping with the expected temperature rise and low pressure the fish will get moving. So maybe I'll have another go early next week after work, it's really got to me losing this fish, it really has.

Warwickshire Avon - Murklins and Megadriles

A few years ago Dave lived his life in a vegetable patch in Widnes, a small industrial town in Cheshire along the River Mersey. It’s difficult to surmise exactly when Dave was born or know whether his life was particularly difficult. But by the time Paul Rees pulled the lob worm, Lumbricus terrestris, from his garden, Dave's size indicated he lived a safe and healthy existence. He needed to preserved for all to see.

Very healthy indeed, at 16-inches long and twice the girth of the average annelid, Dave was the largest earthworm ever collected in Great Britain.

Now Dave surpasses the previous all-Britain record earthworms which were discovered in 2015 on the Scotland’s Isle of Rum. Those worms were similar in length to Dave, but not nearly as heavy, clocking in at about 12.6 grams. Dave, on the other hand, was 26 grams—nearly five times the weight of the average worm. 

“I was bowled over by the size of this worm when I opened the plastic box they sent it in. Not only is it really long, it is almost twice as heavy as any other wild earthworm ever seen, weighing the same as a small chocolate bar,” said Emma Sherlock senior curator of free-living worms of the History Museum.

Dave lived in a world full of hedgehogs and moles, making his survival all the more remarkable. Though no one is certain of Dave’s age but there are reports that lob worms are found throughout Europe and have lived up to six years in captivity.

Dave a true giant amongst megadriles

So Sunday a big Barbel (I've no doubt) picked up half a Dave lobworm and did me over like HMRC will do with the IR35 legislation to 'jobbers' come the next tax year. The bream rod, like most end clients avoiding responsibility rolling over with white flags raised, hands rubbed with any responsibility. The Barbel really did give me a proper doing over so it was out with the big guns.

For this short after work in to dusk session it was out with two barbel rods, one equipped with a huge chunk of Spam, the other a 'hot fish' boilie which has banked me a double recently. The boilie rod with a PVA bag full of freebies fished upstream and the meat would be fished 20 yards away downstream.

The sunset was one of the most vibrant I'd see for a while, the sun glowing a ridiculously glowing red which was reflected off the water. Fifteen minutes in a couple of initial pulls of the boilie rod all went quiet, but then out of the blue two foot long pulls of the meat rod I thought I was in to a Barbel. 

Barbel tend to hook themselves however so I wasn't surprised that after the initial pulls the bite didn't continue on riverward and when on the retrieve the bait was gone, I'm sure a gluttonous chub had decided he would like the meat offering.

I re-baited with a smaller bait and sure enough, another 15 minutes or so of the session left now firmly in to dusk, another proper bite but this time a fish was on. I knew it was a chub straight away and even unhooked it in the water without landing it.

 3lb or so and sadly would call time to the session disturbing the swim too much and was biteless when I packed away.

Not all lost though, the big Bertie might not have been in the swim, or even up for a feed. At least I know it's here though so after this cold snap has gone and we are pack with more kinder conditions I'll have another go for it. Sometimes hooking a fish like this can bring back all the excitement of fishing again because of late despite catching some reasonable fish I needed something to help with the monotony.

Next time I'm planning to stick with the meat but I'll switch the other rod from boilies to lobworms, maybe a wise old fish this, naturals could well be the way to go just to see how big this fish actually was because my best Warwickshire Avon Barbel of 12lb 14 ounces was a plodder compared to this. This was Eddie Hall of the barbus world, I'm sure of it.