I managed to get out for the first brief overnight session of September on the river last Friday afternoon,in what I can only describe as very windy weather indeed and rain,but you will not catch fish trying to wait for the perfect weather system.
I think too many anglers try to look for the perfect weather for fishing and whilst this can be good,far far too much time can be spent and wasted on such contemplation,do not let yourself become a slave to this way of thinking,try to be spontaneous with some of your decisions and do not end up becoming stale,unimaginative and a stick in the mud.
Just lately on the river having spoken to a few anglers,it has been a bit harder going,they put this down to a lack of rainfall and are finding the bites coming later and later into the night and more warily.I have found this at times,but I have been very lucky to not have blanked yet this season,but I am sure I have now tempted fate by mentioning.
I got to my chosen swim very late afternoon,the Blackberry bushes looking very ripe and the bird life was having a field day with them,the Balsam was looking a bit tired,but still with many flowers swaying about to and fro in the gusty winds catapulting the remaining bees about. The sky had taken a heavy Autumnal look,the clouds were low,moody and racing by,I was also greeted by the lovely sight of Red Kites hovering effortlessly on the wind,whilst scouring the ground for some prey.
I opted due to the shallowness of the swim in question to fish both rods on fluorocarbon hook links of 10lb,with both rods set as low as the bushes would allow,rather than fishing both rods on boilie as I had intended,I decided instead on 15mm Halibut pellet and given the added wariness of this swim,I did not use any pva at all and lightly lowered both rods into position on to gravel runs.
As the evening drew in there was the odd rattler on the rod tip from smaller fish which resulted in a kamikaze Gudgeon being hooked on my size 8 hook,they never fail to give a good bite.The taps and knocks on the rod tip slowly disappeared and the most massive full moon I have seen reared its huge head across the river,the wind had pushed all the cloud away and I was sat basking in the bright light of the moon,in fact I could have sworn it was daytime it really was incredibly bright.
The dew was now showing signs of becoming heavy and the droplets glistened on my rods like rows of diamonds,I always feel my chances lessen when a heavy dew builds.All was quiet and it was getting late,it did cross my mind that I might be in for a blank,but when your in such beautiful surroundings blanking is well worthwhile,I sat and commenced to nibble on my pack of Hob Nobs,whilst taking fleeting looks at the skyline,I was rather hoping for some cloud cover to roll in from the southwest but this did not look like happening,the moon big,bold and sky dotted with stars,I thought to myself "it truly is a good night to be an owl out hunting",their calls began, later on a Barn owl flew over my head and perched on its usual tree upon the far bank.
My rods remained still,some weed and other bits of junk passed by me,the water looked wonderful,its ebb and flow caught from different angles by the full moon,the water activity was silent but for the odd sign of Mink diving in further downstream.
It was late,I sat and pondered a change to mussel boilie on one rod,but for some reason I felt my best chance would still be on the pellet.
My left rod which had been like the other so very silent did not bother to signal its intent with a single warning bleep but instead tore off downstream from the marginal gravel run and I was met by the resistance of a superb fighting fit Barbel,I tightened the drag of the tiny Exage reel in my effort to halt the fishes run to its chosen destination "snag land".
Slowly bullying it I brought it to the bank side and there it nestled in the net it's back glistening in the gaze of the moon,a wide smile broke upon me,the happiness the fish had bestowed by gracing me with its presence shone through.
It felt a nice well shaped fish with a distinct pink spot above its left gill cover. The scales did not disagree as the needle flicked round to a healthy 10lb 8oz.
It was early morning 5am or thereabouts when I decided to pack up and pad my way home,one very happy bunny indeed.
I have put together a little video of this fishing trip,I am by no means a professional at video editing so please forgive me any errors.
Once again as ever and until next time,tight lines from myself at Fishing For Memories and may your landing nets and weigh slings be forever wet.
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