Warwickshire Avon - Hoydons and Hodmandods

I'd a couple of hours to kill afterwork before picking the wriggling wallet raiders up, luckily I was near an area where zander are present, it would be rude not to have a dangle wouldn't it, it's a stretch of convenience, the Jimny making a meal of the rutted road of rumpus. I've lost a big Zander here some time ago so it's always been on my radar. The stretch despite the river over its banks in many places, is just about fishable.

The rivers at the minute are still a little out of sorts and the other river species I'm after to try and maintain my lead at the head of the table on the running stuff, would unlikely to be interested.  However a canal zander or two may be forthcoming in these testing and turbid water conditions, I find that canal fish in-particular seem to get bigger when the weather gets colder.  But then I suppose fish are wanting to get their winter coats on, it's a good time for fishing, if you can get to the water that is.

Now for those that have read this blog of mine for a while, and ones quest to catch a canal double figure zander will know my method to tackle these fascinating fish by now, I fish a deadbait under a small pike float which has banked canal zeds to 7, 8 and 9lb's in weight.

The labouring lunkers more conducive to picking up a static deadbait rather than chasing a lure.

The baits (usually roach or smelt) are fished over-depth and with the float sat on the surface any interest whatsoever is registered on the ridiculously sensitive set-up, the sensitivity needs to be believed.

So 2 rods in the armoury and I leapfrog sections of cover, it just works, regimented I suppose but for fishing short sessions an ideal method.

For the river however I tend to fish for Zander the same way, albeit everything is upscaled and as there is a chance of a pike, wire replaces fluorocarbon.

Obviously floats are fine fished where depths are suitable and allow it, but anything over about 8 foot the float is ditched and I fish a simple running lead setup with a light bobbin and an alarm. Zander are known to be tackle shy and don't like resistance but I've never found that to be an issue.

The float I believe is the best way to fish for them, not only is the tackle required reduced which is great for roving, but you can see what the fish is doing under a float far better that you can a moving bobbin and beeping alarm.

This area is deep in places though so one sleeper rod as a running set-up and then a float set-up to fish the slacks.

So a quick session this, anything doing ?

Well when I got to river I was very hopeful indeed, despite the levels where most of the staging was underwater some of the swims looked ideal for Zander. However after the 2nd swim without a beep or a bob I needed to try and drop on the fish that would be holding up and give it fifteen or twenty minutes in each swim.

The last swim looked perfect and after the float was stationary for a while it moved off station and I thought eventually I had a bite. Sadly it was debris on the line which to be fair wasn't an issue throughout the 2 hour session.

A friend Dave was catching decent Barbel further down the stretch so with a morning free tomorrow I fancy trying for one myself. So another blank to add to the long list, sadly these short sessions seems to be getting shorter, I'm struggling for time at the minute, they are just not long enough.

Warwickshire Avon - Kimbaws and Kill Devils

One of the biggest Barbel I've ever set my eyes on is from this neck of the woods. A huge fish aptly named Albuttbarbelbutt by Sam sadly never to grace my hook.

I've tried for it a few times now when conditions have been favorable but the best I could muster up thus far is around 11lb. The fish that I've seen here was much bigger certainly hence why it's always remained on my radar.

Conditions seemed ideal for this early morning session where the water looked good enough for Augustus Gloop to take a dunking. Damp, dark and drizzly, autumn is certainly here.

When the water is like this apart from eels and the odd chub, a bite from a barbel is the best bet. I tend to tackle the few hours in the same way, put a bit of bait down in the first swim and then rove around to try and buy a bite if nothing is forthcoming.

If that isn't doing the business I usually return to the first swim and sit it out for the remainder of the session. A bed of bait down is a required to keep the fish if they are there occupied and it's a waiting game.

When I got bankside the river had clearly been over the banks and in the fields recently but the levels were perfect. The first swim downstream of a bend where I've caught Barbel before.

There is some nice thick cover which today was unrecognisable because of the levels, but close in there is a decent undercut where I've seen fish hold up in the summer.

A few casts of the feeder to get the bait out there and I'd fish a spicy boilie with a pungent paste wrap.

The first hour was uneventful so I decided to wander upstream and fish the bend swim. The problem was there was still debris coming down so I had to recast a few times till the frustration got the better of me.

Another swim, much the same so it was back to the first swim. The first indication came quite quickly which appeared to be a line bite rather than a pull on the bait, it certainly wasn't debris this time.

With the session coming to an end and the diary makers to please from out of nowhere the rod top goes from stationary to a violent take with a split second. I lifted the rod and already the fish had powered off downstream heading towards a snag.

With two hands on the rod I had to try and bully it away quickly but it was still taking line from the reel, I had no option but to put my right hand on the spool to override the drag, and sadly the hooked pulled. One bite one lost fish.

Damn !!!!

Thankfully I'm not sure it was the biggy because if the initial run, but it was certainly a good fish that's for sure.

Small Brook Fishing Pt.12 – Crumble Alleys and Costard Mongers

A perfect 10 the little stream we HAD been fishing, it was Sam's favourite bit of flowing water and a certain length of it we had grown to love, had put us in good stead on the bloggers challenge. Wild brown trout, big Dace, some chunky roach and in one particular swim it was known to us as the 'bullhead banker'.

Bullheads coming up aggressively to snatch the maggots on the trot down in water you could wade across.

There are not many swims like that I can tell you !!!!

A BIG spanner in the works though, after a quick reccy to the River Alne the fish seemed to be off from feeding after the recent floods and high water, so a short drive to the stream it was.

Now no signs to show there is no fishing or private fishing, even the farmer didn't seem to mind but as Sam was negotiating the fence to get swim side, a big Black Chelsea tractor draws alongside as I was getting the tackle from the car. I thought to myself, does he realise he's getting his tyres dirty.

"You cannot fish here !!!!"

To be fair what ensued was a civilised conversation but the stretch is leased from the landowner for the purposes of wild brownies. A wealthy fluffchucker has it for himself more or less. A bag of sand handed over to the farmer who must be rubbing his hands.

So yeah to cut a long story short, we had been poaching !!!

The trout may well be wild but they are not in numbers from what we know but a short(ish) drive away you can fish for trout on the River Stour all for less that £40.

It's convenient though, being a stones throw away from the big pocket payers residence. A lovely house it is too and to be fair he offered that we could fish the lake in his garden. An offer that we may well take up, but then I cannot remember last time we fish a lake, just not our thing.

Sam was gutted, it's the stretch he talks about the most. Oh well we will have to try and seek out other stream like this to fish. So we got back in the car and managed to winkle out a minnow and a tiny dace before we both agreed, we are not feeling it today.

Gutted !!!