Having read through previous entries, I can't help but wonder, has it really been a year since my last entry, and, more importantly, since I last went fishing? That went fast. The winter was spent putting off doing the DIY tasks that are building up (still), while spring was eaten by a change of jobs and all the stresses that go with that. All the while I enjoyed spending weekends with my family. Summer was dedicated to mountain biking - my other hobby to which I flit with bi-polar regularity.
The air, the weather and the drawing in of the nights re-ignited the spark for fishing. There is nothing that compares to the onset of autumn to stoke me up for it, easily my favourite season for angling. Picking up where I left off, it is still a big perch that I am after.
I set off for the river with some maggots and lobworms. I intended to rove around with float-fished worm, dropping into the perchy looking swims, but it started raining around noon, which made it quite uncomfortable to keep mobile. I much prefer sitting static under a brolly when it's wet and windy. So, with just a 2lb chub to show for my efforts, I packed the gear into the car and headed off for the weir.
The peg was empty, great, up went the brolly, out went a lobworm, away went the float. I was getting slaughtered by small perch. In the gloomy conditions, the swim was full of perch and they were feeding - hard.
A change of tactics, I flicked some maggots onto the crease, and into the bucket went half a dozen bleak. After re-rigging, a bleak was lowered onto the marginal shelf. The float buried almost instantly, but I mistimed the strike.
Re-cast, float buried, average sized perch lost at the net. The weather was manky, overcast, chilly, persistent rain and breezy. Another bleak was sent to it's doom, this time the bite was hit perfectly, the perch was landed. It was less than a pound, I didn't bother to weigh it.
Then things went quiet for a while. Had I spooked the shoal? Had a pike moved in? After half-hour or so, a large perch-like shape appeared beneath my float, which promptly slid away. My strike was met with resistance but evidently the timing was off again, as the line went slack.
I wonder if I can compensate for my poor timing with a tweak to the rig, a hair-type arrangement perhaps. Or maybe it wasn't a large fish, it was a group of small fish which couldn't get hold of the bait properly...
Despite the frenetic action early on, that missed bite was the last of the action. I'm unsure if the slightly increased flow or my clumsiness was the culprit. Probably the latter.
Saturday 6th October - New Pond
All the rain that came down during and after my last session caused the river to rise and burst its banks. That put paid to perch fishing on the river, so it was a choice, barbel or stillwater perch. Though the river on my club ticket is a very interesting barbel stretch, seeing very little pressure, while still producing occasional fish to double-figures, I thought better of it. As a recovering barbel addict, the last thing I want to do is get hooked again, so I gave that a miss. I didn't fancy any of the pools on a day ticket, and didn't fancy the pools on my club card, so I began the search for a new water.
A chance encounter while investigating a day-ticket water, lead me to a club-run fishery which ticked all the boxes. When the card hit the doormat, it was too much to resist a session that evening, so off I went with a bucket full of maggots and a spring in my step.
A beautiful, quiet little pool, lined with trees in full autumn colours, glowing brightly in the sunshine. It looked lovely but the bright day didn't feel very perchy. I set up at the deeper end of the pond, the trees casting a shadow over the water, and a patch of lilies offering overhead cover to any stalking perch.
Waggler fished maggots gave me a bite a chuck, lovely, a hatful of roach and perch to use as bait in double quick time. Out went a small roach on a free-roving float rig. An hour spent fishing to open water went bite-less, so I repositioned the rig next to the lilies.
The float bobbed and weaved a bit, then disappeared. As usual, my strike was badly timed or something, as the fish let go before I had a chance to see it. A fresh bait went out to the same spot and just like the previous cast, a bite wasn't long coming. A short, nervous fight ensued, a nice perch was drawn over the net. It appeared bigger to my untrained eye, but at 1lb 5oz I felt that this was a perfect start on a new venue with an unknown perch population. Chuffed!
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| 1lb 5oz Perch |
As dusk approached, I switched to a larger, 5 inch roach hookbait. After 10 minutes or so, the float absolutely smashed under and my strike was met with a heavy fish nodding around. The tussle was cut short when either the hook pulled or the fish just let go. Damn! I really must sort out my hooking arrangement, it felt like a good fish.
That was to be the last of the action as darkness fell. I left the pond feeling very excited, pleased and disappointed, already hatching a plan for the next session. Hopefully the river isn't in suitable condition for perch so I can come back here again...
I hope your next bite is a monster!
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