Friday 9 December 2016

Looking back at 2016




Carpe Diem; a good motto to live by and certainly one that has seemed all-the-more relevant to me of late, especially where my angling is concerned. 2016 has been a year of impossible demands, soaring highs and crushing lows but that is life and it must be acknowledged that without the challenges there would be little ecstasy in achievement. 
The challenges I have faced have led me to be more proactive in my leisurely pursuits, including my fishing and as a consequence the shape of my angling has changed, resulting in more opportunities and more varied experiences than I could ever have hoped for.
The first moment of significance was a day on the River Itchen with good friends Matthew and Colin. They were keen for me to experience the joy of a grayling on a cane rod and whilst this meant little to me prior to this excursion, the sensation of the connection through this medium simply cannot be put into words and has since become a focus of fanaticism. With some sterling guidance in a stunning setting, several 'ladies of the river' were seen.

Whilst I do enjoy long session carp fishing with all the associated trimmings, aside perhaps from the blinkered outlook and laddish antics, I have found it much easier snatch short sessions early in the morning or late at night on the Kentish Stour. The stretch I used to frequent in pursuit of barbel is in a sorry state owing, at least in part, to gross mismanagement and sadly also, the other anglers who fish there. For this reason I have spent most of my time elsewhere on the river and have enjoyed some good chub, roach, gudgeon, bream, perch and pike, very often without seeing a single soul.

I have to thank my dad for my love of angling. He introduced me to sea fishing, his preferred denomination of our sport, when I was young and we have relished every opportunity to get out together since, messing about in boats or blanking on the beach - it matters not. These moments together are important bonding time and angling the perfect medium. These days, sadly, they are few and far between. This year however, for his 60th birthday, we made a concerted effort and arranged a string of angling adventures; punting in the jungle at Bury Hill, beach casting from Herne Bay, carping on Broadlands Lake and the highlight, coincidentally also the most epic haul, fishing for thornback rays off the coast of Dover in March. I can't claim it was difficult fishing, though timing the strike was critical to hooking the fish successfully but these hard fighting creatures really were fun to catch. Now we are back in the habit of booking in 'bank time' or even 'boat time', it would be a crime to let it slide once more.


Come spring all I could think about was tench fishing. I was blessed with a couple of days on the banks of a new water at Easter when I made sure this was my sole focus. I fished two rods with black-cap maggot feeders and a maggot clip on a simple hair rig and took 20 tench over the session. They started around 4lb and progressed to 5, 6 and eventually a 7lber before the end of the session. Most fish came at night meaning I had hardly any sleep!In spite of this being a highly successful tench session, the real highlight had to be the surprise capture of this 22lb common carp which picked up the big ball of maggots intended for a tinca! Incredible fun, if not a little hair-raising at times, on light tackle... I have only returned to this venue once since this session to try and track down some more big scaleys but missed the one chance I was given. I'm sure this lake has incredible potential - it is certainly not fished very much so who knows what is in there. However, over the summer months I had other venues to focus on.



It was my absolute pleasure and privilege to be granted to opportunity to fish on two occasions this year at a very special venue known simply as 'The Moat'. The first visit was for a day in July and was somewhat sweet and sour  - the venue cast something of a spell on me, I was totally in awe but the fishing was more challenging than I had anticipated. I was targeting crucian carp and had forgotten just how finicky their bites can be. I was over-gunned and complacent. On my second visit, this time in August, I had more time to play with and was able to relax into the experience and, with the benefit of learning from my previous experiences, make the necessary adjustments to be successful. I targeted carp by night resulting in two stunning mid-doubles on simple ledger tactics. During daylight hours I fished for crucians again this time slightly scaled down, fed less but more frequently and was less hasty on the strike and, though the first day passed without a bite, on the second I was rewarded with a commendable crucian taken on a small piece of bread flake fished beneath a quill float I made. 
The moment was absolute magic, compounded further by the fantastic friends who shared it with me. On my return I was compelled to write about my experience and am proud to say an abridged version of my blog about this trip has been included as a 'Reader's Story' in issue 8 of Fallon's Angler - a super quarterly publication with the subheading 'a medley of piscatorial prose'. To see my story in print alongside angling writers such as Chris Yates and Kevin Parr, truly is an honour.






The rest of the summer was spent chasing carp on a venue I had not fished before this year. I took a trip or two to figure out how to catch here but once off the mark had a reasonable string of catches until the end of the summer when they seemed to dry up a little, though I was not alone in this. I had signed up to club that hosts this venue in addition to the ticket I have held for the past 7 years or so as I had become frustrated with rammed lakes and the agro I had experienced on the bank last season and needed to have a break from all that. During the summer I was able to get out mid-week which on this new lake often meant I was the only person fishing down there! Whilst it is not a patch on the beauty of Fordwich and the fish I caught, not as big and brag-worthy, it was a pleasure to find some solitude and still be having fun catching carp. I am still debating whether or not to keep this ticket on but it certainly did me good this year!



Most of the autumn I have spent fishing for perch either with float fished worms or using light drop-shot or jig tactics. I have been fortunate enough to find some prolific spots on the river. The longest I have fished in one sitting is 3 hours and have always caught a few but sometimes in excess of 40 perch in a session with most fish averaging an estimated 1/2lb - 1lb with no discernable distinction being apparent between methods. A friend has had some whopping-great perch from a still-water venue and commended live-baiting tactics as a way of singling out the bigger fish. I am yet to try this approach but can't help feeling that this might not pay off on my stretch as the fish caught on lures, which are effectively impersonating a live-bait, have not attracted bigger fish than the float fished lobs. I can only conclude that either the larger fish are not present or I have not been lucky yet. It is however, no hardship to keep trying!
Occasionally, when they have been showing, I have put a larger jig on and targeted pike. I have had a few decent jacks like this one but am yet to have the opportunity to go out with deadbaits on a frosty morning to try for anything bigger this season.

In late November, I travelled up to Hereford to fish the River Wye for barbel for a weekend. On the Saturday I fished alone and met up with Tony - a friend first met at the moat, on the Sunday.
It was fortuitous to have been without company on the first day as I fell victim to the steep, slippery banks on more than one occasion, as did my camera! It was bad enough taking an involuntary swim so I was grateful to have been spared the embarrassment of doing it before company. I did however catch 2 fighting fit, fin perfect barbel - the first weighed in at 5lb and the second returned without a fuss. I also had several decent trout on both days though no barbel showed on day two, probably owing to the frost the night before. Tony winkled out a lovely chub and we enjoyed some mince pies and a natter!




I don't think I have ever before caught such a range of species within a year - certainly not by design and so this feels like something of an achievement. I have enjoyed my fishing so much more also by focusing on the experience above the end result. 
I am going to be a dad next spring which I know is going to completely change my life. It is already giving me so much to look forward to! Who knows how much fishing I will be able to do once my baby girl arrives but where there is a will, there is a way and I believe my proactivity this year has formed healthy habits which will certainly give me a good chance of wetting a line whenever possible.

Saturday 10 September 2016

Too hard to Handle...

The summer stretched out before me as a smorgasbord of opportunity and I intended to feast! Work-life balance is something to strive for and it seems I can only do so with polar opposites. Now but a fading memory, I console myself with this pale reflection of what was ultimately a wonderful and therapeutic experience.
Time is precious; a maxim I am acutely aware of, yet the sense of pressure and imperative achievement ingrained in me, perhaps conditioned by my working environment, nearly led me to miss the moment altogether. 
It is easy to mistake the objective of angling for catching fish. Whilst this is ones occupation on the bank and a helpful focus for those who have high ambitions for their fishing which for me seems not to be possible, it is merely the tip of the iceberg. However, at the beginning of my summer I saw a short window of opportunity in which to meet a target and dutifully became increasingly stressed about the notion of failure. The thing about stress is it impedes performance and for the first two days of fishing  it clearly impacted every aspect of mine. Such a commotion was made by errors owing to hasty actions. I felt despondent as I understood the consequences but of course this only added to the snowball effect causing something of an avalanche.
Phone calls with my wife helped me to put things in perspective as did some sentiments from Kevin Parr's book 'Rivers Run' which I read whilst fishing, helping me to realise that 'the moments between bites meant more than the bites themselves'.
Eventually I entered a state of peace, began to appreciate my surroundings and accepted things at face value. Not only did this enrich my experience tenfold but facilitated better angling and, with some patience employed, the fish started to show.






Taking some knowledge from those who were willing to share it and trusting my eyes and instincts to fill the gaps my catches started small and eventually increased in size, though none gave me so much joy as the smallest of all enveloped in my net as it was the first to break the silence.
One conversation on my last trip with an angler well acquainted with this water really opened my eyes. He seemed to think outside the box and I found it inspiring. It reminded me of the way I fished as a child whilst still learning and oblivious to convention. It awoke something in me just at the time when the rods were due to be hung back up for another extended period of abstainence. I have realised however that these periods of solitude accompanied only by nature are essential for the soul. To be absent for long would be too hard to handle.

Friday 2 September 2016

A Moment on Milton...


The grounds of the Bury Hill estate were landscaped at about the same time that the Fort, which was the location of my last excursion, was built. However, in spite of this and the fact that both venues host good shoals of my latest love, crucian carp, in many ways they could not be more contrasting. Compared to the Fort's moat which boasts a wild, unkempt beauty, Bury Hill is stately, serene and manicured to perfection! 
I travelled up here on this occasion with my good friend Kent who was also keen to catch a cru' and after a trip last year where we fished the main lake - 'Old Bury Hill', but caught little other than bream and perch, this year we opted for Milton Lake; a smaller pond lined with lilies and reed beds and reportedly well stocked with our quarry.
The day started slowly but both of our floats plunged beneath the surface before long baring up only a small bream each. Humourous grumbles were exchanged before Kent suddenly exclaimed "I've got one!" and started walking over towards me with a crucian in the net, hoping for a photograph. As I glanced over my shoulder I saw movement in my peripheral vision. "So have I!" I answered as I lurched to prevent my feeder rod from being pulled off the rest - a rod I had not expected or for that matter hoped to receive a bite on as I favour the float for this species. That said, whereas my experience of a crucian on the float at the moat was a relatively gentle affair, on the feeder here at Milton both the bite and the fight that followed were comparatively savage!
Neither fish were massive but we were delighted nonetheless!


Fishing for the rest of the day was fairly pedestrian but given that the gent in the shop where we purchased our tickets said it had been a little slow of late, we were grateful to be catching. It seemed all I could manage on the float, no matter what bait I tried, were small perch and bream but the feeder rod, sporting a bright fruity banded pellet, produced a few nice tench and two crucians for me. Kent however, had all his fish on the float including four crucians to 1lb 9oz which was a new PB for him!

Kent with his PB crucian of 1lb 9oz



In spite of the very controlled conditions, this was a lovely day of pleasure-fishing. By no means was a catch guaranteed and we certainly had to work for each bite but they were  definitely there to be had. Whilst waiting for bites I could not help but notice an enormous wealth of birdlife - Kingfishers busy gliding back and forth, coots nesting, grey herons stalking the margins, tufted ducks diving, swallows swooping and buzzards high in the sky. On my previous visit with my father in February pike fishing on a punt on the old lake, we also spotted a red kite as well as all the aforementioned birds. 
While I regularly target carp on still waters, mostly with modern methods, it is really fun to break the monotony with other styles of angling at a range of contrasting locations. Variety, as they say, adds the spice...





Tuesday 23 August 2016

The Moat


A Palmerston Fort on the south coast of England, built to guard against French invasion at the height of the Romantic era seems an unlikely fantasy even for the most intrepid angler but now derelict, overtaken by nature and forgotten by many, a new allurement has emerged. The focal point of fascination for the piscatorial practitioner is the mystery of the moat, as beneath its watery veil, magical creatures seen elsewhere only in dreams, live out their cloistered existence.
The aforementioned dreams began for me as a small child when visiting my grandparents who lived nearby, we would often pass the Fort in the car. With my nose pressed against the window and my eyes popping out of their sockets, I would stare intently to catch as much of a glimpse as I could, my imagination filling in gaps and then left to wonder…

The excitement was uncontainable when earlier this year, some 30 years after this reverie began, by some improbable alignment of the stars, I found out I would have the privilege of fishing there. What I had not accounted for was that, aside from the fulfilling of childhood dreams, I would forge new friendships with others who share my passion for angling.

Having been granted a whole weekend to explore and to fish, I was intent on making the most of every available moment. Many months before the sacrifice of an early alarm to herald the pilgrimage was even considered, plans were meticulously constructed. Whilst it was dark I would fish for carp using modern methods allowing me to sleep and fish simultaneously. However, every available hour whilst the sun was shining would be spent with a cane rod in hand, eyes fixated on a quill float, waiting for a crucian carp to lift my bait from the bottom and grace me with its presence for a moment on the bank... or at least, that was my hope!

Firm handshakes and anecdotes of anticipation were exchanged between strangers, soon to be comrades, in the pub before setting out in convoy, guided by Mark who manages the water, to the military base which encompasses the Fort. Once passed the armed guards and intimidating naval air craft which adorn the grounds we were given a guided tour of the fishery. Over the weekend I made it my business to listen intently to everything Mark said, and later Dean who is also integral to the Moat's team, to glean any information which may assist me in my quest. 

Having chosen my swim and prepared a bed of bait in two likely spots in a deep channel, I nestled down for the night in front of the keep.


I awoke with the sun and birdsong. A mild disappointment began to take hold as what I thought may have been my prime opportunity to meet with Cyprinus Carpio had passed. As if intentionally to remind me that perpetual optimism is an angler's best friend, my rod tip pulled downwards and my buzzer sounded, causing me to leap up from my sulk, suddenly energised and engaged. Although I was utilising modern methods, by no means does that imply my tackle was excessively stout. On the contrary, my rod played well and cushioned each of the many violent lunges made by the angry carp with which I had connected though perhaps a little more persuading power would have made my job a bit easier...


Having moved to the stretch between the left and central caponiers to fish with my new-found friends and some more long-standing who joined us for the day, I settled in a spot which to my mind looked like it could hold my quarry. Rain came and went alternating with strong sunshine, all the while my float remained stationary giving me time to reflect on the joys of the morning's capture and making of me a prisoner of hope.


Jake was one of the fortunate few who managed to tempt a crucian from its lily-shrouded lair. He has his own story to tell about his grandfather's rod which this catch completes. It was clear that for Jake this was a monumental and magical moment which I felt honoured to share with him as I took care to provide him with photographs with which to remember the occasion. Crucian Carp are commonly described as 'bars of gold' but these moat fish have a quality which is truly unique, dressed in a hue more akin to caramelised butter and an archaic, yet pristine coat of armour. What's more, considering its type, this was a huge token. Jake could have weighed it and earned enormous bragging rights but this was clearly not important to him. The experience was enough and although I could not at that moment comprehend how he might truly be feeling, I know that this is one he will never forget.

Many of us however, returned to our beds for the night without such success. It was a pleasure hearing tales of copius quantities of whiskey consumed beneath the arches of the gun casements, now commandeered  as a club house for those fortunate enough to fish here often but for me the night meant another opportunity to entice a carp to my net, though not before storm-proofing my temporary abode!
I lay awake, listening to the rain as it lashed against my canvas shelter, conflicted in my now contrasting endeavours of catching fish and staying dry. However, a large, hungry, dark mirror carp made the decision for me in the early hours of the morning forcing me to face the last push of precipitation. This was bigger than the common and far chunkier and although not quite as zealous in the water, this was made up for in spades on the bank! Unfortunately I appreciate the effect of a wide aperture, which controls depth of field, in a fishing photo but as a result of pursuing my intended visual effect whilst in a sleepy haze I did not execute it correctly and returning the fish quickly was more important to me than having a good photograph. As ever, the experience itself counts for far more than the preservation of its memory.


Trying to sleep after this was no mean feat! So far I had accomplished one of my goals and was over-the-moon about it but pressure was mounting to find the holy grail and capture a crucian...

My last day had arrived, the clouds cleared and strong coffee was consumed. I walked over to the stretch we had fished the day before and found Lee, Graeme and Tony were already there. I had lovely chats with them each in turn as developing friendships is at least equally commendable an objective as catching a prize fish so did not hurry to get my bait in the water. I say with a degree of sarcasm that unfortunately Jake had had to leave early to attend a Christening, not that I didn't miss his company but I was able now to occupy his swim of the previous days success!

I pinched a small piece of bread around the hook, carefully forming it into the perfect bell shape with nice fluffy bits disguising the point. Every aspect of my fishing was executed in an uncharacteristically calm fashion allowing a perfect cast placing my bait between a bed of lilies and surface weed. Anyone who has ever watched me fishing knows I don't do many perfect casts, not least first time! I sat back in my chair an intently gazed at my homemade porcupine quill float, a little heavy for the job and even though Graeme who is a master float-maker had very kindly given me two of his creations, I persisted to use my own as I knew exactly how to set it without experimentation and craved that sense of satisfaction should I be successful with it attached.


My eyes glazed over and I began to dream of the bright orange tip lifting, pulling the surface film of the water up slightly before revealing the cotton whipping below. The float kept rising and rising and then started to cock to one side before I realised this was not dream but reality! Time slowed and I recalled Mark's advice to lift into the bite at this moment gently and acted accordingly. The rod tip pulled down and a warm rush of blood swept up from my feet to my head causing me to shake with excitement laced with anxiety. I am a recent cane convert thanks to Matthew and Colin who had fished with us the day before and whilst I don't believe it is appropriate for all situations and unashamedly use carbon for the majority of my fishing, I appreciated the sensation, more than ever at this moment, of being able to feel the fish so sensitively through this organic extension of an angler's arm. I am therefore delighted that this encounter, hair raising at times thanks to the many adjacent hazards, was the result of using traditional methods and tackle.


It would seem I must have let out some sort of primal scream to express my utter joy as the most beautiful fish I had ever laid eyes on (yes it does sound like love doesn't it?!) swam into my net, as suddenly I was surrounded by friends. Tony and Graeme rejoiced genuinely in my joy and compounded the feeling enormously. There are no words to describe the emotion. Although so much smaller than the fish I had caught over the previous two nights, this was a rather large example of its species and having tried so hard on previous occasions to no avail, now reaping the rewards of my efforts seemed all the sweeter. 


I did weigh it and was highly satisfied with where the needle came to rest on the dial of my scales but I don't want to reduce this fish to a number. Much like Jake's fish I'm sure, this capture was the completion of my story about the magical moat.

Lee joined the assembly bringing us homemade rock cakes, Tony brought many amusing tales and we shared one last moment together, confirming that our shared experiences had brought us together and deepened our friendships.  My solitary drive home was conducted in silence as my head noisy enough with flashbacks of the last few days. As I approached my village I stopped the car to admire two buzzards hunting together. I had missed my wife and my cats whilst I had been away but now I would be reunited with them, until my next adventure at least. Sometimes, life is very very good.













Thursday 7 April 2016

Just what the doctor-fish ordered!


After a distinctly average '15-'16 season with far too many potentially magic moments marred by factors beyond my control, negating the very object of peaceful retreat, I was desperate for a fresh start. 

Spring is a time for new beginnings. It is also time for tench and so, with a newly acquired pair of 'modern-vintage' Abu Carbon Specimen rods and a few new waters to explore, I headed out to try and tempt a tinca or two.


Following some sage advice from one who is in-the-know, I opted for the shallowest of the lakes available to me which was most likely to have 'woken-up'. As I was setting up on the first evening carp were frequently topping yards from the bank and whilst they were not my focus for this trip I counted it as a good omen and given that I had brought a cheeky third rod to angle for a wild-card carp, this was all the encouragement I needed.

I used a float rod set up for the 'lift method' to explore the contours in front of me. As it happened, it barely got used for anything else but this was far more forgiving for this purpose in close proximity than a carp-style marker setup would have been and confirmed the presence of a lovely wide band of gravel only 15 yards in front of me which raises from 5ft troughs to highs of 3 1/2 - 4ft. I duly cast 2 maggot feeders and a bright popup to 3 points on the bar and started setting up home for the next 2 days. It may be worth noting that I consistently cast to and fed the same same spots throughout the session and did not spread the feed widely by casting around. 


I didn't have to wait long before the first tench of the season graced my net just after dark, falling for a big bundle of maggots on a hair-rigged clip. This first fish also affirmed my confidence in my choice of rod which had the perfect balance between sensitivity and power. The joy of the scrap would have been completely lost with this fish of about 4lbs on a typical carp rod.

By the time this fish had been freed and dinner had been downed I decided to get some kip. I managed an hour before fish number two rudely woke me from my slumber but being a slightly larger specimen of 5lb, I was not complaining - yet! After this, it got cold - colder than I had anticipated when dressing for the occasion and these conditions were not conducive to sleep!

At first light I had a fantastic run on my right-hand rod and I connected with a powerful fish. It did not feel like a tench so I presumed it was a carp but even that did not quite fit the bill. Within feet from the bank, near an over-hanging tree, everything suddenly went slack and reeled in with no tackle remaining and a clean cut in the line. Could I have been sliced by a snag? I thought so at the time but this happened twice more in the session but subsequently in open water which led me to believe that the culprits were pike, attracted by silvers feeding on my free offerings and then picking up the feeder itself. It would explain it. Before anyone asks, I always check my mainline for abrasion damage and my rigs are 'safe'.

The tench however just kept coming albeit after a bit of a slow spell in the morning before the sun worked its magic. By the end of the first day I had had 7 tench. If that had been my lot I would have returned home a very happy angler. I had no idea then that
what was yet to come would make this a very special session indeed.


Owing to my lack of sleep on the first night, I decided to get an early night and nestled down at about 9:30pm. This was a wise move as the next two hours sleep transpired to be my last, this time not due to cold but constant fish activity! 11:30pm saw a very confident take and what was at that moment, the hardest fighting tench I had ever caught, though this accolade was shattered twice more in this session! This fish weighed 6lbs 12oz; very close to my previous PB of 7lb! It was followed in the night with another of 6lb and several others around the 4-5lb mark which were returned without a fuss.



The first fish after sunrise however was equal to my personal best - 7lbs of hard-fighting male tinca!



Aside from the aforementioned pike activity, the second morning was as slow as the first. Being tired from sleep deprivation I found it hard to motivate myself to cook breakfast until near lunch time. I sat on the ground as the sun baked down. Jumper off. Sausages sizzling. Unsuspecting.

Beeeeeeep!!! The rod bent 90 degrees right. Line is peeling. Spools are turning. Leaping up. Bang. Connected! Clutch is giving. Sausages burning! Unstoppable! 

Carefully I played the fish away from my other lines, having learnt from an embarrassing demonstration of knitting a visiting friend had witnessed the day before! This beast laid low until near the end of the epic battle. This was certainly not going to be a tench, not even by the spartan-esque standard of scrap I had come to expect. Whilst I was targeting tench, how could I fail to be ecstatic when engaged with such a creature. All the while the rod intended for carp and most capable of handling them, lay dormant.


My eyes popped out when I caught sight of this stunning common. I let it rest, sulking in the net while I got myself organised on the bank. When I lifted it onto the mat I realised for the first time how big it was and sure-enough, when it turned the scales to 22lb I realised this was the biggest common carp I have ever caught.

Pure delight.


As the afternoon rolled on the tench kept coming but the bait was running out. My mate popped down again and brought some supplies before going to fish a nearby lake. What a good egg! This kept me going to the last cast.

As it was time to leave the tench tally was twenty! It occurred to me that this was only my first session on this lake and I had had two PBs. I have never known anything like this before. I suspect that targeting the carp intentionally may prove hard but I think given my previous efforts on Fordwich, no one could contest that I am up for a challenge.
In the mean-time, I think I am onto something here with regards the tench and also in terms of enjoyment of the sport. This was just what the doctor ordered!





Thursday 18 February 2016

I've been Itchen for a Grayling!


Under ordinary circumstances, my morning alarm is not a welcome sound. Its terrifying timbre signifying the beginning of another working day and, whilst I enjoy my job, I commit to involuntary avoidance behaviour, akin to Pavlov's dog's salivation, and hitting snooze at the first ringing of the bell. 
But not today. In spite of an excitement induced lack of sleep I was up like a shot when first it chimed at 4am because today was the day I had been looking forward to: my first outing to the River Itchen in pursuit of grayling.

My friend Matthew was soon at the door, helping me load my tackle in his car and after I had woke the whole neighbourhood by setting off his vehicles burglar alarm by trying to open the door before it was unlocked, we commenced the long drive from Kent to Hampshire. 

Good conversation and good coffee helped the journey pass quickly and before long I was following my guide for the day down the path of this idilic rivers beautiful banks.



Today was all about new experiences. Whilst I grew up fishing in a relatively traditional style on the Longleat Estate lakes and River Wylye, these skills have been superseded, not necessarily for the better, by modern carp fishing and specimen angling. So Matthew, and later Colin who came to join us, had brought lovely cane float rods for me to test drive. I'm not sure if there was an evangelical agenda going on but I was happy to let them try and convert me! I had however brought my own carbon avon rod as a comfort blanket having fished with cane as a teen and not got on particularly well with it. Today I learned that this childhood disagreement may have been the result of the limitations of my pocket-money! Both rods I tried were a pleasure to fish with and following a little coaching on the finer points of trotting I experienced my first 'lady of the river' on traditional tackle. Double maggots seemed at first to be the winning combination, fished slightly over depth however following the capture of several small salmon parr and a few wild brownies a change to worm and slight change of depth secured grayling number two.



Meanwhile, Colin had arrived and setup a little way upstream with a 'cunning plan' for catching a bigger specimen! Whilst to the purist it might not be cricket or produce as many fish as the float, ledgering for grayling increases chances of a larger one. Colin touch-ledgered with a small maggot feeder and had a several good fish of which this was the first. 



Once Matthew commenced fishing he was quickly amongst the grayling and caught consistently throughout the day. He tells me that today was slow but I lost count of how many fish we caught so goodness only knows what this river is like when they are feeding hard! 
Unfortunately, with so much going right something had to go wrong... I must confess to having a funny five minutes when I allowed the centrepin to overspin and created a terrible tangle. It wasn't too much trouble to resolve this but I feared that in doing so I may have damaged the line in places and didn't want to risk continuing to fish and losing one as a consequence of a break. This is where my contingency plan came into play and whilst my carbon comfort zone now seemed to lack soul by comparison, I did feel more at home with it and certainly had more control with my own centrepin with which I was better acquainted.






After wading through several more salmonidae I finally caught my third and final grayling of the day.


Soon after, it was time to leave. A swift beverage in the pub at the foot of the stretch marked the end of a fantastic day and a chance to recollect some of the highlights of the session. The early start and 300 mile round trip was no bother in light of the majesty of this mile of river we had the privilege of fishing. I must thank Matthew and Colin for looking after me and giving me this experience which is quite far removed from my day to day angling. Now I look forward to the coming weekend where I shall be celebrating my dad's 60th with him on a charter boat from Dover on Saturday and then he will join me on the water again on Sunday to celebrate my 35th as we take a punt to the 'jungle' in search of predators at Old Bury Hill. Perhaps if we are successful I may be writing to you again very soon...