Warwickshire Avon - The Untrodden Pt.25

Now fishermen are notorious for losing things. Every year thousands of baitdroppers, fly boxes, rods and reels are left on riverbanks and lakesides. Fishermen who wade regularly are prone to drop watches rings, hats and flies into the water and it is very rare indeed for them ever to be found. But it does happen and every now and then it happens in the most extraordinary fashion.

A fisherman who came every year from London to try for the salmon in the North Tyne was in the habit of taking his gold signet ring off each morning and putting it safely in a drawer before setting out for the river. Then came the fateful morning when he forgot and on reaching the river and beginning to wade, he discovered that he was still wearing the ring. He was a superstitious man and as he'd always caught plenty of fish while not wearing the ring he was not going to risk everything by keeping it on today.

He tucked his rod under his arm, carefully slipped the ring off his finger, felt for his shirt pocket and dropped the ring straight into the river. He saw it glint for an instant and then it was gone. The ring was not particularly valuable but it had enormous sentimental value and the fisherman was not prepared to lose it without a fight. All thoughts of fishing vanished as he took his rod and began his search. The water where he was wading was not particularly deep, but it was fast-flowing and the golden gravel on the bottom made the perfect camouflage for a gold ring.

The fisherman tried dropping stones that he thought were of similar weight to the ring in order to see how far downstream they travelled before reaching the bottom. He then raked over the area with his distance gradually from the spot where the ring was lost in case the wading stick. Nothing. The search continued and he increased his current had carried it further than he'd first thought. Still nothing. Hours later and too despondent to fish at all, the fisherman returned to the cottage he'd rented.

He searched again the next day, having carefully marked the where he'd first waded, but still no sign of the ring could be found.The fisherman tried to forget his loss and continue with his fishing holiday but somehow it was spoiled and he left early to return to London.

His landlord happened to call in on the day the fisherman was packing up to leave and he nodded sympathetically when he heard the story, but expressed the hope that the fisherman, despite this disaster, would return for his annual holiday the following year.

One year later the fisherman drove up to the door of the cottage he'd rented now for ten consecutive years. He'd almost forgotten the lost ring and was looking forward to a week on a river that, from reports he'd received earlier, he knew was in excellent order.

He parked his car, opened the front door of the cottage and turned on the light. Just as he threw his bags down he saw it. The ring he'd lost the year before was right in the middle of the hall table. The fisherman simply couldn't believe it. 

He rang the estate lodge and spoke to the manager who explained that another visitor fishing the same stretch of river just a few weeks ago had hooked it. He'd thought this such a remarkable occurrence that he'd mentioned it to the estate manager who immediately remembered the tale of the missing ring.

Perhaps the most curious aspect of the story is that the fisherman who caught the ring had been fishing almost half a mile downstream from the point at which the ring had originally been lost.

I definitely need some luck because my results have been rather medicorce of late however with one day left to fish there was always another chance. So yes back to big fish central the syndicate stretch of the Warwickshire Avon. George pictured above was on the stretch as well as another WBAS member Jacub and we were all hoping for some success. 

I had trotted bread for an hour without even a nibble so after chilling for a while when a cormorant literally appeared right by my feet, I baited up a little I went for a natter with George who was just putting back a near 5lb chub fishing meat in the swim I saw Barbara the Barbel.

So it was out with the ledger gear for myself where I'd also fish some luncheon meat. !!! With the Avon here pretty clear I expected the bites to come as the last faded, but some meat went out and I was going to chill out for a while with a cuppa but then a sharp twang on the tip it pulled round and I was in to a fish myself.

It felt decent having to steer it away from the near margin escape route it could only be one culprit and that was a chub, I was right on the money, and it looked a good'un too !!

It wasn't that long but when I lifted the landing net and saw its girth, it looked a 5lber so out with the scales where they settled on 5lb and 10 ounces, my biggest chub of the season and a rather nice fish to end the season with. There was still some time to go though and I gave myself a curfew which was half an hour in to dark.

Oddly to all our disbelief on the stretch the swim(s) went dead and no more fish were caught, however some positives, it's good to see some specimens appearing on this stretch and what other surprises might appear when we are good to go again in June. For now it's the canals where hopefully some nice roach and Zander will grace the landing net.