29/12/2024 - It Was A Tough Week On The River
Once again I chose to fish, though It wasn’t a good choice, the weather was wet, cold with a strong north easterly wind. I chose a swim in a copse , hopefully for some shelter from the ice cold wind, though it can often be a good spot for some chub. Checking the water temperature I got a reading of 40 degrees F. I chose to leger crust on a size 4 hook with a short three inch link. After an hour searching around in the swim with no sign of interest, I changed over to cheese paste, extending the link to twelve inches. As dusk arrived, I chose to give it another hour, not a good choice, though I did get a small chub about a pound and a half on cheese paste. At 0600 hrs I called my taxi asking him to arrive at 1830hrs, I was home and in the warm by 1900 hrs.
Monday was again a tough day, strong wind with heavy rain showers with a rising river. Today I chose another length of the river, where I was lucky to find a sheltered area where the wind was coming from behind me, I chose to float fish with corn and flake as my bait choices. Tackle was a 12 foot rod, centre pin reel with 4lb line, I chose a cork on quill float taking 3 SSG shot, bunched together three feet up the line from a size ten hook, two feet from the hook I had 2AA shot with a further AA shot a foot from the hook, the swim averaged around six to seven feet deep over a silty gravel bottom. I then made up a ground bait mix of 50 percent white crumb, the same amount of brown crumb, after getting what I thought was the right texture I added a tin of corn, then gave it a good mix. Having got settled and the float working nicely through the swim, I put in two handfuls of ground bait followed by a handful of corn. Then rested the swim for fifteen twenty minutes for it to quieten down. With the river slowly rising I baited with a grain of corn, making my first cast, the float had gone about twenty yards, when it dipped sharply, striking I felt a fish trying to reach a sunken branch but the power of the tackle soon had it coming towards me, eventually I netted a brown trout around 2lbs, it was quickly unhooked then returned, over the next coupler of hours I had four more trout of similar size but no sign of chub, after another half an hour with no sign of action, with a now fast rising dirty river I ended the session.
Tuesday Wednesday I had two horrid days both on a bank high river, with a cold north easterly wind, both days I legered bread cheese paste or luncheon meat, but not a touch. On Thursday after attending the local doctors surgery where I had several tests for my breathing, I suppose lasted an hour. The results when I was showed the graphs of the tests, the first graph was for a person my age, the second was my actual test it was perfect, I was told I’d got the lungs of a 16 year old, I walked out of there feeling ten feet tall with the results. I then got a taxi to the river, it was about 1200 hrs when I got to the river, the level was down by about a foot. The wind was light with no rain, I found a nice slack water area on the inside of a bend. I chose to leger starting with cheese paste. After an hour, I switched to luncheon meat, I suppose thirty minutes had gone when there was a big boil close to my bank. “What’s that I thought” some seconds later I got my answer as a cormorant come out of the water flapping its wings as it tried to get skywards, in doing so it knocked the rod off the rest, then quickly disappeared. I’d got my answer at the same time the reason for no bites. It was time to move. I went off downstream about three hundred yard to find three cormorants drying their wings as they sat on the branches of a tree. I then thought a waste of time then headed off to the car park, where I called my taxi.
Friday I was back on the river around 1000 hrs, for a guiding session, in the cabin I made my guest a mug of coffee, while he got his waders and water proof gear on, I sorted out his tackle, a nine foot 5 weight rod with a floating line, having threaded the line through the guides I tied on a new 12 foot leader with a 3lb tippet, our target fish were grayling. As we finished getting everything ready, the heavens opened up as the rain sheeted down looking across the meadow the rain looked like a big curtain, thankfully the wind was around 10MPH, I reckon that was the only good sign. When we reached the river the water visibility was good, overhead the sky was turning from a grey to a black colour, looking upstream and downstream visibility was very poor I could just about make out the wood upstream as the rain increased. The shepherd was rounding up his sheep, when one of them dashed towards the river then crossed to the opposite bank, I’d never seen a sheep swimming before. The Shepheard told me it does happen occasionally. I called the farmer on the other side, who said “I will get it then lock it in and feed it until he comes and collects it”. For an hour we fished hard but not a touch, I changed the fly pattern half a dozen times, but nothing was interested. I suggested we walk down to another section of the beat, I changed the fly to a beaded Black and Peacock spider. There was no let up with the heavy rain, I did suggest a break but was told we will keep going, we can have something to eat and drink at the end of the day. After another fishless hour he had a good pull setting the hook into a good fish a which after being netted then the hook was taken out with touching the fish which I estimated was around one and a half pounds, He was more than happy as I was. Slowly we proceeded to work from pool to pool, around 1430 hours I suggested a break, the answer was another half an hour, by this time my hands were wet and cold, the wind had increased considerably I reckon there were gust of 30plus MPH. Eventually Bill said “let’s go and have a hot drink” While he was getting out his gear, I cooked lunch, he then sat down to two boiled eggs with a very large hot sausage roll followed by two mugs of tea. As dusk was settling, we headed off to my house, then Bill had a long drive to Cumbria, but he was more than happy with the result. The forecast for next week is for mild weather light SW winds and the odd light shower, I hope to be out every day, over the holiday. My taxi has been booked for Christmas and Boxing day as there are no busses. I wish everyone a Happy Christmas and a healthy New Year.
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