Warwickshire Avon – From another World

The amount of air traffic is staggering even over leafy Warwickshire, in days gone by the hands under ones backside anticipation waiting for a Barbel to wrench over the rod to send it river bound the flashing lights and background drum of the jet engine provides a nice distraction from the glowing isotope. That’s why I like the audible ratchet on the centrepin, you can be distracted as when there is a bite, you know about it.

All very groundhog day though, flashing lights, a little noise, lots of bats and the odd owl.

I was out the other night however (not fishing), clear sky, moon full, stars shining and something caught my eye….

A stationary stupidly bright light mid sky that appeared over what looked like Black Hill, about 2 or 3 miles as the crow flies.

Doesn’t look like a plane

It’s not a star, the wrong colour, varying intensity

A Chinese lantern? hmmm maybe

A drone? possibly

Now I watched this light for a good few minutes and it hadn’t moved from its position until all of a sudden it moved up vertically (In Z for the engineers) at a ridiculous speed over what looked like a considerable distance and then the light was no more, like a LED being switched off, it was instant.

What the f**k was that, a UFO?, well I cannot explain it.

Now the first time I caught a Zander on the Grand Union it looked like no other coarse species I’d caught….

seemingly from another world….

With their tapetum lucidum equipped glowing eyes, fang like teeth, angry and unapproachable, they are alien invaders to UK’s waters.

But I love to catch them, I’m literally (ultimate bass) hooked.

Now Sunday morning session at Lucy’s Mill with my mate Simon in tow wasn’t entirely dedicated to targeting Zander as the first half was a maggot feeder approach with a lobworm rod to see what came along (a silver bream would be nice or a Babrel ) and then a change of tactics for the last couple or three hours where I'd swop the hooklink on the Barbel rod and fish a section of Roach.

I wasn't feeling 100% as the night evening and night before was Rugby, drink and eventually bladderisation, usually though fresh clean air is the ideal tonic so to be fair an hour in I was feeling much better. I'd managed a 3lb Chub and a couple of chublets to Simons small dace and roach in this time, it was hard going though and the day seemed to go worse not better. The kayaks not helping maters.

When you do fish here, make sure your bait it covered up, the amount of dog walkers boarders on the obscene, the majority are off the leash too. Now a black Lab took a liking to Simon's halibut paste, :) God knows what it's owner was doing as it took him a good couple of minutes to recover it from its jaws, leaving the tub looking worse for wear and half the bait in dogs belly. Simon wasn't best pleased....

A small Pike grabbed hold of a small dace I was retrieving but eventually it let go if it. Weirdly not a touch on the lobworm rod and then bait dropped chopped worm didn't seem to help attract the fish. I switched to a chunk of Roach and with 1/2 an hour I was getting twitches on the rod tip. I haven't done much river fishing for Zander but after a few taps I stuck in to the fish and felt some nice resistance and called Simon over. Sadly a little like my initial fishing sessions for Zander on the local canals, the fish and hook parted company. I doubt the hook had a hold, maybe the fish just released the section of Roach from its jaws.

Bugger....

Simon left at 11.00 I stopped till 12.00 and left the two Pikers with four rods out biteless.

Warwickshire Avon – Unfinished Monkey Business

Was the title of the 1998 debut solo album by Ian Brown since the break-up of the Stone Roses a couple of years earlier. Unfinished Monkey Business because the press used to refer to him as ‘simian lead singer’ , his arms were too long for his body, all very Monkey like and one of his nicknames. Now Ian Brown is unlike many in the music industry and he can actually play some instruments, yes really he can….

Amongst others, guitar (acoustic and bass), keyboard, drums and harmonica.

Now If I only had an ounce of his talent because I really need to get this Monkey off my Back.

Despite catching hundreds of the buggers, I’ve yet to bank a 5lb Chub. I wasn’t far off in October but so near and yet so far and all that. I’d like one from Warwickshire too as that’s my patch and would mean much more to me that travelling to rivers where they are more prevalent. Over the past few years I’ve tended to stick to the same venues and I’m sure that’s not helping in reaching my goal, so for the new river season it’s out with the old books and in with the new.

Fishing needs to be a challenge, imagine as a shy spotty youth ‘on the pull’ walking in to a bar full of sticky finger potential and within minutes you’d find yourself leaving with your hands down her pants on route to the local Abrakebabra. Life is about challenges, fishing for me, needs to be exactly that….

It shouldn’t be easy….

The winter has been very much a wash out so I’ve struggled to even get bankside let alone target a specimen Leslie Ash. Now this location has been good to me in the past, over the relatively short stretch it’s loaded with feature and especially in the summer I love fishing here, it’s full of character. When it’s clear and the rivers are low it provides such great visual sport and I’ve spent many an hour trundling bits of meat under the thick cover which provides the sanctuary for the Barbel and Chub.

Now one of the swims in particular really was an eye opener, one summers day I approached the swim from a different direction than usual and what I saw really did take my breath away. There were two double figure Barbel mid river holding station and moving up and down vertically amongst the thick streamer weed waiting for any food particles to come their way.

Hold on a minute though I thought this was about Chub, and before you ask it wasn’t the visual spectacle of the feeding Barbel it was the Chub that outnumbered them five to one, these Chub looked not far off the size of the Barbel, they were colossal, they really were. Now I’ve caught plenty of Chub and I guessed the biggest of these were getting on for 7lb or possibly bigger, the width across their black backs was something to behold. I was in awe so I watched them for a good half an hour or so under my polarised cocoons, to see fish acting so naturally in their environment was like my youngest Sam would say ‘utterly awesome’

Don’t get that from a commercial mud puddle do you….

Upstream of the streamer weed was really thick far bank cover which spanned a good third of the width of the river. Despite me trying to be as hidden and stealthy as possible, as soon as they got a sniff of possible danger they all buggered off and tucked themselves away. After an hour or so trundling a lobworm under their comfort blanket I managed to winkle out one of the smaller Chub within the shoal and that went 4lb 9oz but after the swim wrecking carnage it went dead.

Sadly the cover has been cut back now so the fish have gone elsewhere but luckily this stretch has other similar swims to go at.

Now for Chub fishing in winter where there is usually some colour to the water cheese paste is hard to beat, if there is a Chevin in the swim they will home on to it very quickly, they are the greediest of species.

My recipe is simple, equal measures of shortcrust pastry, grated mature cheddar and grated frozen Danish blue. I also add a little whatever I find in my bait fridge, krill groundbait, shrimp liquid that sort of thing, you can never make it too stinky, the more pungent and potential Wife moaning the better. Simple link ledger tactics work as good as any and I secure the paste with either a paste cage or use a cork ball secured on a bayonet.

I like using balanced tactics too especially with a river that’s fining down with a manageable pace, a centre pin and a light Avon rod with a 3oz quiver feels just about right, a Barbel rod doesn’t, even for a big Chub its overkill. Even when the fish is snag bound it’s great to properly lean in to the fish with the rod bent double, it’s a sport after all, so the fight needs to be enjoyed and not mere routine.

When I got to the river I could see the Chub were going to feed, it had that lovely winter looks about it, a greeny blue tinge, just about the right amount of clarity and over the past week it had dropped a considerable amount so lots of the swims would be fishable with the light link-ledger set-up. Sure enough I didn't have to wait that long for the first bite. The size 10 barbless Guru QM1 hook giving good retention and eventually after a good dirty scrap the fish was banked. It had properly been on the feed too with a large thick belly.

The dial went 4lb 12oz's, an oz short of my PB and 4oz short of the magic (for me anyway) 5lb.

Damn....

The next swim I needed to fight through the bone dry thicket and found myself in a classic Chub swim, again within 10 minutes, another chunky Chub of 4lb 8oz. I ended up with 6 fish with all comfortably over 4lb, a cracking session but sadly time caught up to me and I had to leave. Incidentally the Pike rod remained untouched.

That 5lber, so near and yet so far.

Martin Roberts was having a better session than me not far away and he ended up with 3 Barbel, 2 of those double figures, the biggest a well deserved PB.

Martin Roberts and his PB Warwickshire Avon Barbel - 13lb 9oz

Grand Union Canal – Clear-cut

I hadn’t fished this part of the Grand Union before but wow, what a contrast to the areas I usually fish, despite the recent deluge of rain this section was crystal clear, easily a metre of clarity. Now, not ideal conditions for fishing, as this one and a half mile stretch were also largely featureless. There was a small series of locks but there were large in scale but also very open to the elements so there were white tips on the surface when I got there.

I had a lure rod and a deadbait float set-up which would be fished overdepth in various likely looking areas.

The first retrieve of the deadbait a small jack Pike came up from the depths to have a nose as this shiny chunk of fish and made a large surface disturbance when it caught sight me. It quickly returned from where it came and never to be seen again.

I had originally planned to fish a bright lure which I’ve done well with in water with some colour in it but I swopped to a lure a little more sympathetic with the environment. In my experience with this clarity the Zander would have a reluctance to feed but I’d did think the Pike would be around but after a few hours without a nibble and after speaking to another angler who also remained biteless I did think of changing venues.

I was here for a reason though as we had an overnight stay at the Father-In-Laws just round the corner so I blagged myself a little fishing trip in the morning whilst the kids were getting in their morning routine, better stick with it..

I ventured past the locks and to a more sheltered area with some moored features but again, not even a touch on the deadbait or even a follow on the lure, this was not looking good. I sort of get a feeling these days when walking the local cut and this inaugural trip did nothing to think I better rush back.

I’m planning on repeating my 2015 Zander challenge for the forthcoming closed season and have plenty new areas to try so I’m not giving up on this stretch yet, I’m sure when there is some colour to the water and the locks are not like the North Sea it will fishing completely differently, we'll see.

I've forgotten what a decent fish looks like….