I was just reading AT and one bloke was talking about roping himself and using a spike to descend inaccessible banks like a mountaineer, whilst another was on about chasing river barbel during storms and notes that "all" one needs is the "willpower to go fishing in extreme conditions."
Very admirable I'm sure and each to their own, but I've really only just about got the willpower to walk a couple of hundred yards up the bank. I'm the most timid of pleasure fishermen and at the first hint of rain, wind, hail or other inclement conditions and you'll find me at home with three bars of the fire on rather than anywhere near a river bank. A strict condition I have is that the temperature
must be above 10C before I'll consider a session.
Yesterday met all my assorted fussy criteria and realising that there probably won't be too many more days left this season when I can get out, after dropping the wife off at work and the kids at school, I headed down to my usual spot on the upper Thames at Newbridge.
There was nobody about, but as I started to set up, an old boy came along wheeling a trolley load of gear. We had a good chat. He'd fished a match on this stretch on Sunday and won it, but he said most pegs had blanked. He said the river was fishing difficult and that if I got any bites, it was likely to be something good. Most on Sunday hadn't even had a bite. Chub had been caught, but the roach had completely disappeared. They weren't feeding at all he said. He was the chair of the local angling society he said and told me about some of the impressive big fish he'd caught. He asked me how I was going to fish and I said I'd thought to try the waggler first, but he said he thought it was running too fast for that. My idea was to fish the waggler pretty shallow and try and hit some slack water over on the far bank behind a half submerged tree. That's where I'd be if I were a fish.
Anyway, he went off and set up a few pegs upstream. I decided to try the waggler anyway. He was right though - although I could hit the right spot with my cast easily enough each time, it was impossible to prevent a loop of line laying in the water and the current soon dragging the float out and making it act unnaturally. Nothing even touched my maggots in the time I fished it and after not too very long, a little extra gusto on the cast saw that horrible 'float dance' where it's bouncing up and down in the water, but not otherwise moving in the current and I knew I'd hooked a blasted branch. Lost the float, so that was that and I decided to switch to the maggot feeder.
I also decided to switch to fishing the near bank rather than the far side and baited up an area downstream just behind an outgrowth of reeds and bushes. Time went on and nothing. No bites. Bait untouched. The fella from up the bank came down again after a couple of hours and he'd caught nothing either. He was fishing cheese paste and boilies he said. It was all a bit dispiriting and I felt sure I was going to blank. I've had plenty of days like that before down there, especially when the river is fast running and changing from her summer to winter clothes.
As a last minute thought before I'd come out, I went out in the garden and dug up a few worms and decided to give them a go, since absolutely nothing was happening on maggots (or cheese apparently). First one on the hook, with maggots in the feeder and hand feeding a few maggots every so often and eventually after about 3 hours of fishing a first bite! Landed it and it was a nice little perch - maybe about 8 or 10oz. I was just glad to have caught something.
Pressed on in the same manner, maggots in the feeder and worm on the hook and all of a sudden the bites started. After the first perch, I missed a couple of really nice bites and lost my hookbait. The third time however, I nailed him! It was a chub of about 1 1/2lb. I was really delighted. Carried on and caught another perch about the same size as the first, a couple of roach and another chublet. All on worm, except one of the roach. I was surprised about the larger of the roach taking a worm. I wasn't expecting that and it was a first. All my roach before have been on corn or maggot.
Another fella came along and he was spinning for predators, moving along the bank. Had a chat with him too on his way out and back, but he caught nothing either. I suppose it was just luck for me really that I happened to have the day's killer bait with me - simple earthworms out of the garden for a price of £0.00.
Packed up about 3pm when it started getting a bit chilly. It was a difficult day's fishing, but rewarding in the end. I was really pleased I managed to catch a few and especially with the chub.
