Warwickshire Avon – Ox Houses and Omnivores

An unreachable swim harbouring some suspected BIG Chub within its confinement got my mind working overtime to trojan horse levels of subterfuge. The large overhanging tree with branches drooping beyond the waterline causing a tangled mess and a huge stranglehold beneath. With no obvious secret knock to get through the backdoor, and no obvious way to bypass the bolted and padlocked entrance-way emblazoned with Fortress Chevin, this short session needed some thought to try and penetrate its inhabitants.

They needed to be teased away from beyond the snag fest like a guard dog can be coaxed and cajoled away from his position with a massive marrow ambrosial.

A plan was hatched….

Under the dense cloud cover and headed up to dusk and a 'tad' beyond some chunks of raw braising steak with its stale sock pungency would be strategically placed upstream away from the fortress in a circular pattern, and  to provide a scent trail to try and get those pharyngeal teeth chattering.

Positioned slap bang in the middle of the orbicular inveiglement would be a large piece of the bloodiest of the cheap onglet impersonator buried in a size 6. Now when fishing for Chub of this scale and statue I've found that if you tighten up to the bait and the line is to tight then they can tear off the meat from the hook in spectacular fashion, some of the bites are plain ridiculous.

I've found the way to approach them is to fish a link ledger to just hold bottom and leave a bow in the line. Bites are still forthcoming but as there is less resistance the feedback received through their blunt heads is minimal and they are happy to take the bait confidently rather than a smash and grab manner.

The weather had been bitter up to this session so much so the mornings icy patterns on my cars roof were something to behold and also a smattering of snow the day before. The knock on effect of that being that the frigid waters of the Warwickshire Avon were seemingly cold enough to freeze the Chevin’s chuff, maybe I was mad.

But these are hardy fish remember, they have evolved to deal with these conditions a little like the cropped topped weather braving clubbers of Newcastle. The antifreeze proteins within their piscine makeup disturb the water molecules in such a way that they cannot bond together and form ice crystals. 

Now chumming or the use of berley trail is nothing new and essential to catching fish such as sharks so why not a Chub.

The aim of a berley trail is to draw fish from the surrounding area to as close to your bait as possible. There is a key to successful fishing here, a good trail should concentrate fish around your bait. If the trail is going anywhere but where your bait is likely to be, then fish will be drawn away from your bait.

So “Mick why not use a feeder stuffed with mince?” Well to be honest, I like as little on the line as possible and the fact is, despite the bait being in open water once the Chub realises he is hooked, once he is snagged bound, less ‘sticky-outie’ bits the better. So the set-up well, a light link ledger on a running bead, a grippa stop on the line as the stop, and straight through to the hook, this gives a relatively undisturbed entrance in the water, not Peter Kay reliving his John Smith’s advert (Anyone still drink the stuff ?)

It’s a small stretch of river this a 5lber my best, but there were much bigger fish to be had as I've seen them, so anything to avoid detection is the key to success, these are cagey and easily spookable fish remember despite their bold biting and fighting capabilities.

I didn’t have long either, from hookbait in water I’d have an hour and a half maximum before calling time and back to the chaos. Some much needed midweek mindfulness, nothing better.

So Operation Tartare which was meticulous in the planning (well 10 minutes), a successful mission or just brass monkeys?

Errrr, well lets just say it didn't go that well, before getting to the chosen swim after putting a bait in two productive swims to try and net one quickly, but without a nibble I proceeded to the swim for the rest of the session.

The water temperature was cold at 5.6 degrees but I've caught Chub in colder waters than that, but here was the problem, I'm not sure what was going on upstream but the amount of debris coming down was boarding on the ridiculous. So much so I couldn't really fish in open water, as within seconds the rubbish collected round the line and the rod was off its rest.

As the light went the first indication came but with the countdown to home time up I had to make it count. A few tentative pulls turned in to a proper'un and stupidly I struck rather than let the bite develop further. That's typical of impatient me and despite recasting which usually means another bite is forthcoming time was called and I had to go with the tail between my legs.

So a blank !!!!

I've another couple of sessions planned though, canal Zander and also back to the Leam for some Chub, hopefully I'll have a bit more success. Oh and plans have been made to fish a tributary of the Warwickshire Avon I've not fished before, I just need to wait till there is some more water on it.

Warwickshire Stour – Buck Fitches and Bog Trotters

Hobbyless and good friend Dave admitted the other day that he often watches off grid survival videos where after building the shelter, making of the fire and cooking of the food keeps him in check like fishing does for me. It may seem a simple concept but it's a brief departure from an otherwise busy life like many of us lead, to one more simple.

One particular channel he was watching the closing scene of the video often ended with the cracking open of a can of beer or swinging a dram overlooking an untouched landscape, for Dave that was heaven, pure heaven.To be fair, if my legs ever gave in, I'm right on that one Dave, sounds right up my street. Now if only VR could advance faster than the Brexit process we'd be on to a winner.

It's sort of hit the buffers a little if you ask me but I'm hoping with 5G just round the corner and the exponential increase in computing power being able to become your own Robinson Crusoe will be achievable at the flick of a switch and the modern day narcissism with it's Instagram and YouTube Millionaires, Photoshoppers and lip filling, buttock lifting, HD browers, gone for ever, well for a couple of hours anyway.

Watch this space, I'm sure it's not that far off (crosses fingers)

Now for those that read my blog must know by now that fishing gives me a much need solitude and vitamin D loading far away from the madding crowd and I'm always up for finding new waters that are suitable for me to achieve that.

As you know I'm a planner for all my sessions and for this one, it started a few days earlier whilst enjoying a nice fire I'd looked at Google earth at a quiet section of the Warwickshire Stour I’ve got access to, that could well be home to some nice fish.

A few clicks later following the meandering course of the river the distance was bang on what I thought it was, yes a gnats nadger under a mile of virgin water to explore (to me anyway) and another small waterway to dangle a piece of bread or a lobworm or two.

I had a reccy here recently at the tail end and just exploring that small section it had character in abundance, my kind of water, so for this session I wanted to explore the upper reaches of the stretch just to see if I could get a bite.

Rivers like this are not likely to throw up fish bigger than what you find in the parts of the Warwickshire Avon I fish, however fish like the Roach which I’ve had some decent ones from the Stour in the past, enjoy these smaller waters just like I do. They can go out their daily business with fewer disturbances and one of the by-products of being more contained is the relative sanctuary and safety that these waters give over their parents.

Now Nic from Avon Angling UK who I’ve fished with on quite a few occasions now shares a similar mind-set as me on the whole when it comes to fishing, a specimen fish is secondary to the solitude and location that fishing these smaller waterways can bring. Waters where luckily a matchman’s trolley daren’t venture and its banks trodden by the select few.

The quality Roach he’s been catching in-particular have been an encouraging sign, and the hard fighting Chub albeit not huge haven’t probably seen a hook hence their spirited fight, what’s not to like, well unless you’re a Troll with nothing better to do of course.

I’d not fished the Stour for a while now so it was out with the 11ft TFG River and Stream rod fitted with a fast taper 2oz glass tip. As per usual with my small water fishing, priming a swim with liquidised bread is worthwhile as it often brings bites quick and as a roving angler with only a short session to fish, it can make or break a session.

Again it was cold but with hardly any wind and a lovely sunrise us anglers become accustomed to it was very nice to be out indeed, the river had a nice green tinge to it but you could see just how low the river is by just how lifeless it is. Some visible flow in a few swims, pedestrian in the main and the odd swim had topping fish but we really need some rain to get the river looking in fine fettle again.

Before I started at more or less the middle of the stretch we've access to I fed five or six swims initially and alternated between worm and bread throughout the short session, With rivers like this I've found if you're not getting bites quick it's best move to find the fish rather than the fish find you.

Talking about bread I thought I'd try the Warburtons special editions Sourdough sliced loaf to see if could rival the Blue, errrrrrr don't bother, not just for fishing, not a very nice colour or texture and to be honest it didn't taste much different either, oh well at least the wrapper looked good.

The first fish came after about the third swim I tried and was a nice small Chub that gave me a bit of a run around....

....and that's how it continued to be honest, lots of small Chub, one particular was a bite a chuck, only little chublets but as least I was getting bites.

The last but one swim there was a predator active because every so often a load of small fish came jumping out the water to try and avoid his clutches.

A lobworm went without hinderance so maybe it was a Pike that was giving them a bit of bother. The peg was noted though if I come here with some deadbaits in the future.

Oddly not one roach showed, but then with the liquidised bread visible a couple of foot down hardly a surprise, they like the bigger fish tend to like a bit of colour in the water to be confident enough to feed. Not a session for big fish then, but plenty of bites and it was nice to see more of the river I'd only seen on Google Earth.

Untouched and left alone basically, a canoeist nightmare, oh well, now wheres that thumbs up emoji !!!!

The River Leam – Double Juggs and Dilberries

In parts of the world blessed with effective, modern sanitation, it's widely understood that poo belongs inside a person, or a toilet. But if you like me, have stumbled upon the 'bowel movement bandit' like I have recently, there are people in society with obvious issues that like to defecate in public and leave their aftermath for all to see.

Yeap, in three different locations now over the last couple of weeks whilst bankside, in plain view, discarded dirty toilet paper with no attempt to hide it.

….WTAF !!!

Excuse my French !!!! now the horrible thing is, apart from the discarded dog poo bags that riddle the towpaths and public footpaths, we’ve now go to contend with the human stuff. Has any other pathology remained so unexplored? because a quick Google clearly this is a common problem, yet psychologists appear indifferent to or unaware of it, for God’s sake, there isn’t even a Wikipedia page about this!, I think I might start one.

There will always be accidents and emergencies, of course, and our shame may lead us to shirk responsibility for their consequences, heck I've been in a similar predicament but didn't have to stoop so low, but I hope you will join me in demanding that a behaviorist or relevant expert study the mind-set of habitually off-the-bowel bandits.

Do they yearn to return to prehistory, or just a time before plumbing? Are they resorting to the elemental means of marking one’s territory? Do they simply delight in disgusting the rest of us? I refuse to believe that we cannot know, it’s the truth we deserve, just not a big steaming pile of it.

*******’s You know who you are !!!!

Anyway back to the fish before ones blood pressure rises to dangerous levels, this little river in low summer conditions had looked incapable of supporting anything larger than an 8oz Roach but with the added depth and colour of the winter flow, it has taken a new and exciting appearance.

All the main river features are reproduced in miniature, fast runs between reed and rush beds opening in to quiet pools, smooth glides with even pace and depth, sharp bends with eddying slacks on the inside, and here and there overhanging trees and bushes with branches trailing in the beneath.

(Takes a breath !!!!)

The first reccy session here recently with George Burton showed that not only were there some nice Chub to be had, but also some cracking plump Dace as well. Now I don’t fish for Dace that often, however recently, the little Brook me and Sam discovered is now home to my beatable PB of 8oz’s, a water so small most wouldn't think there is anything in it. I should fish more of it maybe as I’ve only really fished a small section of it, and I’m sure there are more surprises to be had.

I love the spirited and almost Grayling like fight these ‘silver darts’ give, and despite being small, using balanced tackle they can give a nice bend in the rod.

It was a bitterly cold morning and a venue I’d only fished once before so the plan was to feed a little liquidised bread and fish a small piece of breadflake on the hook.

The rig consisted of a an Enterprise link ledger clip, a single SSG and on the quickchange swivel bead a Kamasan B520 size 12 hook to 3lb 2oz nylon on the business end, and that set-up would be used on my ickle 8ft Wand rod with 1.0oz tip fitted.

It’s a very sensitive blank indeed and can almost bend upon itself but it also has the backbone to get a Chub out from headed snag bound as it's predominately meant for winter F1 fishing on mud puddles. I'd probably use a small cage feeder on a slightly bigger river but the swims I wanted to concentrate on were that small that I'd rather try and keep less of a disturbance as possible.

This ickle set-up is great for ickle rivers like this....

Now this stretch despite being low and in need of more colour it was the sheltered deeper glides further down the stretch that I’m sure would hold some Dace of repute.

Its winter after all, so they retreat from the shallows and the faster oxygenated water like a lot of fish do to a bigger volume of the wet stuff where they feel more comfortable. Usually away from the shoal the larger fish are hanging in the wings rather than get involved in the kerfuffle.

I decided for this session to spend a little more time in each swim than I usually do, and as last time I wanted to walk the whole stretch to get an idea what swims were available I didn't spend that much time in each one. I still managed some nice Chub though, however despite Chub not being my target for this morning session they would be most welcome if I was struggling to track down the Dace.

So best laid plans and all that, Mick how did you get on....?

Well a bitterly cold morning meant wrapping up warm and there was bursts of light rain throughout the morning but the fishing made up for it 6 or 7 really plump dace from swims where could couldn't see the bottom, those swims meant roving to find them as the river was really low and clear as expected.

The Chub were biting as well with 5 smallish fish landed and 2 fish lost, the first fish got caught in the reeds near my feet and got properly wedged so I used the landing net to give it a nudge but that meant bumping it off :). The other Chub I lost was from quite an open swim but despite trying to restrain it's run the fine wire hook opened out and the fish stuck two fins at me, definitely the biggest fish I've hooked down here anyway, oh well....

"A river in decline" not what I've found, 2 sessions down this new stretch it's been great, especially as conditions haven't been that favourable. I cannot wait till it's up and has some colour, I'll go properly geared up for the Chub then, one swim in particular I've got my eye on. As I've said before ok not the biggest stamp of fish, but that's not what it it's all about, the peace the solitude and on my terms.

No discarded toilet paper today, just a couple of tree ornaments and couple of undisturbed dog turds....!!!!