18/11/2022 - Three Angling Sessions

My swim

With mild weather, plus a river with nearly 4 feet of extra water at one time, a water temperature of 52 degrees F, I felt it was time to go fishing, on the first trip I was joined by David Crain of Yorkshire who had had a nice chub of 4lb plus, I had a chub perhaps 3 lb, both our chub were caught on legered crust.

On my next trip I was joined by Tony of Stockport who had two chub to 3 lb on legered crust, while I struggled until the end of the session, I then had 3 small chub again crust was the bait.

Float Fishing

The next day I chose to float fish with red gentles, using a soft action 12 foot rod, centre pin reel with 3 lb bs line, I used a cork on quill float that dates back to the late 1940’s taking eight bb shot, I wanted to boss the stream, also I wanted the bait to be tripping the bottom, hoping for some nice dace, roach perhaps a good chub. Hook size was a 16 barbless to 2lb bs hook link, a BB shot was pinched lightly on the line, six inches from the hook the rest of the shot were bunched fifteen inches from the hook.

A Mixed Bag

Having set the depth at around six feet, I put in two table tennis size balls of ground bait laced with gentles, also two bait droppers of gentles to ensure most of the loose feed was close to the bottom. Baiting the hook with one gentle, also one plastic imitation, by using this combination I was hoping to deter the many minnows.

First run down the swim I caught a gudgeon, quickly followed by three more, these lovely looking fish are more than welcome. Before each cast I would add half a dozen gentles, using a catapult to get the free offerings well upstream, two two perch around eight ounces were taken in the next three casts, followed by several six ounce dace, they might have been small fish, but I was enjoying every minute. An hour into the fishing I hooked something that really did make the reel work over time, but Leszek’s workmanship was up for the fight, some fifteen minutes later I netted a good brown trout estimated at 3 lbs plus. During the course of the next two hours I had a mixture of gudgeon, dace, chub, including several grayling averaging around 12 ounces. Having used my pint of gentles, I switched to punched bread, with no more than half a dozen dace. But it had been most enjoyable session.

A good Avon float

My often used bait dropper

Chub on Crust

Chub on float

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