A wet net......................

This weather is odd to say the least, Friday I went to the river and it was nearly 18 degrees while driving down there and just above three degrees when I left just after midnight. At one point sitting on the bank I was getting so cold I returned to the car to find anything I could wear to keep me warm. I was lucky, I had left my Muck Boots in the boot and I had an old work jumper on the back seat! For any of you out there looking for a new pair of winter boots then I can thoroughly recommend the Muck Boot, they are brilliant.

The river was very busy, all the areas I wanted to fish where taken so I had to resort to an area that was not very high on my list.  I have caught fish from this area before and indeed the fish I did catch on Friday night was a fish I caught from there last season, it was a bit smaller this time though.

The afternoon was lovely, the sun was shining and the birds where busy stocking up for winter. I saw a kingfisher perched in the tree opposite and although I managed to get a couple of pictures they are not the best. The geese where busy in the skies and the swans where present on the river, busy keeping their territories safe from invaders. Swans, they are beautiful birds but they are a pain when they are in and around your swim. I had a lengthy conversation last night with another fisherman who had spent the day cursing them on another river but he can tell that story.

When the sun went down it began to get cold and as I said earlier I went back to the car to get some more warm clothing, I settled down to a cold nights fishing. I love the cooler weather, I feel it brings a keenness to the fish, they know that the weather is turning for the worse so they will start to become a little more active and a little more hungry which in turn means they should hopefully become a little easier to catch……………….. Famous last words ehh! The fish are now starting to think about packing on a bit of weight for the winter months and they will become heavier as a result. Summer fishing is great, spotting fish and finding them in the river but always feel that the summer months are for the groundwork in readiness for the darker months.

13.8lbs

Around ten o’clock the rod slowly went over and the fish just moved of with my bait, shortly after it was landed, weighed, a couple of quick photographs and back she went to make someone else’s evening.

I was out again last night and again it was very cold, damp as well. I fished an area I wanted too, there where a few on the river but they where all in different areas so I was happy where I was. Using just the one-rod, as I did last night, does two rods increase your chances or does it just double the disappointment when you don’t catch anything? I cast my bait just under the tree and sat back to wait, wait for the fish and wait for the cold. The cold came first and it bit quite hard last night, I am not sure that the air temp was the problem I think it was more the damp that made it feel even colder.

I had a really good ‘bite’ around ten o’clock, I had the fish on for a brief second but it let go and I was left with an empty hook. I am not sure thinking about it if it was a barbel, I had lots of ‘chub’ bites before and after that bite, the sort that you cannot make contact with for love nor money, chub really can be smash and grab merchants when they want to be.

Now the cold weather is here I am looking forward to having the banks to myself, I am also looking forward to doing a little more predators fishing.