.... I'd just one bite in the eight hour session.
Date:.. Friday 03/07/15
Venue:... Ribble - Elston
Time fished:... 14:30hrs -> 20:30hrs
Weather conditions:... Changeable - weird - unsettled - scorching sunshine - dead calm - hazy cloud - threatening rain - downstream wind.
Unsettled with occassional sunburn!
Water conditions:... EA River level at 14:30hrs 0.86m and steady.
Air temperature:... 23C dropping to 19C by the end of the session.
Water Temperature:... ??C
Bait:... Halibut Pellet/cheese paste on feeder stuffed with hemp, Maggots / worm on float.
Gusting, changeable downstream wind made stick float difficult holding back or caused tip to dance like an eejit on the feeder! Then change back to the sunshine and flat calm - repeat at random periods!
Whilst looking for the Grayling all I found were Dace, small dace, even smaller dace and minnows! - fairly hooked on 2-3 maggies on a 14
Then while after Barbel - nowt! - until just as I was packing-up - bang - it's a biggy - no it's not - yes it is - oh No
it's an Eel! Nearly a pound - the b*gger had coiled round the weed when I struck - giving a good pull back - then had slipped and slid through the water towards me - then got into some weed near the bank for another fight - before finally surrendering! It kindly decided to unhook itself on landing which saved the slimy embrace!
If that wasn't bad enough looked behind the chair and found the slugs launching a mass-attack on me hempseed - eugh!
uke: I'd been speculatively loose-feeding them to any lurking chub all afternoon as they sidled into my pitch - to no avail!
Talking to other anglers on the bank - same story all round - no Barbel - not a Chub to be seen - nobody wanted me slugs - eels, eels, eels all round! We always used to reckon eels was a sign of thundery weather on the way - just made it home before the storm started
Unsettled weather -> unsettled water -> unsettled fish -> unsettled fishing -> unsettled angler!
Needs a flush of water through but I don't think there's been as much rain as the
donner und blitzen promised!
Tight Lines!