Warwickshire Avon – Cankles, Collops, and Collywobbles

Butterflies in ones stomach, is a fantastic feeling isn't it. A while back something I hooked in the weir really did do me over like nothing has ever done before. The roach deadbait came back a sliver of meat, the razor sharp teeth leaving it unrecognizable the thin gauge hook that has caught many a thick jawed Zander, pulled straight out such was the resistance, the Zander set-up, like a fine bungee cord trying to stop a rampaging Eddie Hall.

This was a huge predator no question, I'd never had a rod bent like that before….

Now talking of huge predators, it reminded me of a friend Zouchy who was befriended by a large cankle equipped predator with a Billy Ray Cyrus haircut at a lad’s night out at the infamous Fatty Arbuckles in Coventry.

Any resistance was futile, she was the boss, he the prey….

At the end of the night, he even had to buy her a burger from the chuck wagon, his arm lifted behind his back, her other arm round his shoulder.

We stood and watched, such was the doing over he received, they wander away in the distance, the night never spoken about.

The stuff of legends.

As Zouchy did, I'm sure of it, I was back at the hallowed waters for a couple or three goes….

It’s low and clear you see and the meat eaters love these conditions. They are prey fish after all, so it's all about the sight.

A little like the clap, being clear is good.

Apart from the Pike set-up I also had a lure rod to see if I could tempt a Perch from the depths, I must admit I don’t lure fish enough, especially whenever I catch a fish using the method it gets ones heart going ten to the dozen.

Best laid plans and all that because, sadly more unfinished business.

You see some bank clearers were there hacking a load of stuff down which ended up coming downstream, also when they eventually went a late comer which I failed to see had taken up residence in the swim I wanted to fish.

Who brings their missus fishing FFS, well apart from Russ Hilton  (Hi Russ)

So only option was to explore some of the other swims, now the river is low, very low in fact, and donning ones cocoons I tried to spot any decent fish lurking for future sessions. They were obviously tucked up under the canopy cover as apart from bleak and little chublets, there was nothing of note.

Eventually I managed a little Jack from using a little shad in the margins.

One swim looked very perchy though, canopy cover, very dark and a gap in-between looked the perfect sanctuary for a stripy.

I changed the wire hook link to fluro and fitted it with a rubber replicant worm.

Perfect cast....

Float settles, flow starts to get hold, float bobs, float goes under....

Fish is on, the rod was a 2.25lb TC, so not ideal as my 1.5lb rods would be more suited but I turn it out in to the main flow and it's out in all its glory.

This is a BIG Perch, it's head now out of the water, shaking vigorously to shed the hook.

It then does one last fast lunge and it's cover bound again, and then....

Stuck Fast, all goes tight. I let some slack out, no good, fish gone, hook buried in a thick branch.

Arrrrrrrrhhhhhhhh !!!! Rod thrown down in anger.

So that's two decent fish I've lost here.

At least I know where it lives.

Gets home peed off, decided to order myself a new car to replace my similar steed albeit in hatchback form, at least that's something to look forward to as, as always the start of the season I find very tough indeed. Much bigger boot too and at least my rubber net will fit with the seats up.

Back out Saturday early, Tench me thinks.

Warwickshire Avon – Sialoquents and Strategic Stratagems

Here we go again….

A slingshot with a giant rubber band, a large round rock dropped from a cliff, a rocket sled, bird seed laced with iron pellets, a bowling ball dropped down a tube and finally the Acme indestructo steel ball with no directional control.

Yeap, still got away.

If you hadn’t worked that out yet, it was the story line from a Wile E. Coyote, Road Runner cartoon from 1959, titled

'Wild about Hurry'

Now it does make me laugh, the first couple or three months of the river season, you’ll see faces you will never see again come the winter. They will seemingly disappear from the face of the planet. Barbel or the Whiskers as they are often referred as have captured the imagination of many a angler. Thing is there is no denying they are great to catch and pound for pound up there as the hardest fighting fish in our rivers.

Thing is the mad rush at the start of the season is often fruitless because, not only to the fish wise up but they are not feeding like they will do come September onwards when they are hungry and the waters have a little more colour. Now for me this season, having now got a venue I can fish in to dark any clear water days Barbel won’t feature until dusk and beyond as I’ve had those baron spells too where I’m left wondering where have they gone. I don’t want to catch any old Barbel either, it needs to be a PB beater which I know exist in the areas I fish.

So the session....

No sooner had I’d parked up a van draws alongside. We both unpack at the same time, my kit sparse, his, everything but the kitchen sink and he appears to be in a rush.

“After barbel are you (Roy Hattersley)”

“Anything really, a nice bream would be nice though, I’ll see what comes along”

“Bream, really, you fish for bream”

“Sometimes yes, lots of other species too”

“I only fish for Barbel now, this is my first season for them, I’m a carper at heart”

“Had many so far this season”

“Loads, a few doubles too”

“Really, oh ok then, good for you, see ya around, nice trolley btw”

He went straight on, thankfully, I went left….

The session was at an area I'd not really fished much before, pedestrian pace, lilies, plenty of character. I'd cobbled together my static barbel set-up so intended to watch the tips, small fishmeal boilies as bait. The inside rod I'd bait dropped some hemp, pellets and chopped boilies, the other a PVA bag of freebies.

As per the norm on the Avon when it's clear, nothing really started to move till just before dusk where the chub moved in.

It didn't take long for one to eventually hook itself either, I didn't weigh it for the blogger challenge no point, but looked a nadger over 2lb.

Prior to starting the session I'd catapulted some oily floater amongst the pads, but no carp were visible throughout the near 3 hour session.

A little rain would be nice awfully low and clear.

I'm in two minds what to do next, maybe predators again, maybe some meat in the fast section, decisions decisions.

Then again, need to give try for a River Tench again, maybe that's the biscuit. Also with Sam pestering me to take him again, I might try for a Silver Bream, he for the Gudgeon. 

Warwickshire Avon - Nuts and Bolts

I'm not a match fisherman that's for sure but from time to time I partake in these Shanghai work social matches with fellow automotive jobbers.

Now this match was at Packington Somers Little Geary's pool, a pool we'd fished before and looking back at the results I ended up winning.

I wanted to try the lift method though as I intended to fish for Tench on the Avon again as the last try for them sadly time was against me and despite them feeding heavily in the swim just before I had to go, I failed to catch one.

So with centre-pin reel and my trusty TFG river and stream rod, I drew peg 13.

Float secured by line stops, a couple of SSG shot on a swivel which runs up the line and another stop 3"'s before the hook link.

Bait, cubes of meat.

The method worked really well and to be honest the centre-pin was a joy to use also. Float very sensitive, a tiny turn of the reel, float dotted down.

No elastic to be seen here....

I had a little baron spell where I'm sure I nodded off, but it was clear from the first weigh in I had done that well. Even Simon Champion beat me which is unheard of :)

I had one proper carp, the rest F1's which were in great condition to be fair.

There were only 5 of us fishing, today. Numbers do seem a bit hit and miss these days as often in the early days 10 was the norm.

The more I fish places like this, even though they are set-up to catch fish and Packington is a well cared for venue, I didn't particularly enjoy the session.

So much so I'm questioning wether my time is better spent else where.

Luckily the river is going to be the next port of call, so I've not decided yet.

The social and networking I enjoy, commercials I don't.

If that's your thing then fair enough but given the chance of catching 100lb of fish in 5 hours or a specimen gudgeon on the river Stour, it would be the gonks, no question.

So not sure what to fish for next, but at least the modus operandi for River Tench is sorted.