29/11/2022 - It’s Been A Big River This This Week
My last day swim
Through having my E-moped, I’ve been able to get on my local water every day this past week, despite the heavy rain some days with winds gusting to 40 mph at times. The river was often covered in masses of leaves and other rubbish has been coming down from upstream, but nothing to put me off. As the river rises and falls I find numerous bottle, cans and other rubbish, total this week has been two full bin liners.
The water temperature has been a steady 46 degrees F, a drop of 2 degrees from the previous week, for several sessions I chose to float fish, using centre pin reel with 5 lb bs line, matched to a D & F Farstrike Peter Stone Ledgermaster, a rod I could comfortable hold all day long, with the high faster flow on the river I used a float taking 3 SSG shot, with a AAA shot a foot from the hook.
I started off by putting in 4 bait droppers, of gentles, repeating the process half hour later, having plumbed the depth I found I had around six feet of water over a gravel bottom which is quite rare on my river to find a good area of gravel.
Having l gone for a walk to allow the swim to settle, also to have a brew, I returned then started trotting, on the first cast I got a small chub, quickly unhooked and returned, though small it was scale and fin perfect, hopefully it can survive the cormorants which are a major predator. In the next hour had more small chub and grayling but nothing more than a pound mark. Then sadly the trout moved in catching a succession of trout with one fish estimated at 4 lbs plus, the latter had been hooked the day before by my friend Bill that was lost after a good fight lasting ten minutes or more, the fish today put up an impressive fight for its freedom but this time I was the winner, extracting the hook, I could see some line attached to a hook, after getting the hook out, I recognised the fish as one Bill had lost. These trout are triploid fish that don’t spawn so are in a fit condition, certainly showing their fighting prowess, though I do curse them. Nex week its supposed to be a dry week, so a good chance of fly fishing for grayling, also trotting a worm in search of some perch, though I might well use some big king prawns.
River Over The Bank in Places
On my last day this week I found the river pushing through hard, the colour of strong cocoa, it was a day of using a smelly bait, I had just the stuff some Danish blue cheese paste, probably 4 years old, so strong it would no doubt frighten all the mice away. Having roamed the river bank for some two miles, I found a spot I felt was fishable see picture IMG 3624.
Tackle was 12 foot soft action rod matched with a fixed spool reel line was 15 lb bs braid, to which I attached two float stop then tied on a size 4 barbless hook using a Palomar knot, I moved the float stops up the line about two feet from the hook, then moulded some plasticine around the float stops, today I would be fishing a rocky snaggy area where I expected to get hung up a few times.
First cast and within minute I’d got a hook up, “Trout” I cursed to myself around 2 lbs, In the next hour I had three more trout of similar size, then hooked something that stayed deep, not wanting to come up in the water, just a few head shakes, some minutes later it started taking line, eventually I had a good chub probably 4 lb plus, I was delighted a minute or so later I had the fish coming towards the net, suddenly it dived throwing the hook. In the next two hours I had one more trout. That as the end of the session as I have to be home before darkness as car headlights stop me from seeing properly, so ended my weeks fishing.
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