The Rumour Mill Keeps Turning

A Bank Holiday finally gave me the opportunity to spend a full day by the water however running your own business does not mean that the work stops completely, I didn't mind a few phone calls though when the view was as stunning as this.

Tazzy and I had ventured up the Cotswolds to a little known fishery that according to a mate of mine has the potential of a 'five'. It seems that every fishery now (allegedly) holds five pound Perch but I get a feeling a lot of these rumoured monsters may be unweighed fish caught by both pleasure anglers and matchmen alike. A big Perch always looks bigger than it actually weighs as Richard Walker implied.
Having said this I think that if any pool could produce a fish of a lifetime then it could be this one. All the right ingredients are in place: A little fished pond so the Perch are left relatively alone. There are very few Carp to compete for the available food, a fact borne out by my Prawn hookbaits not getting pestered by any today. And finally there is a good stock of stunted silverfish for the Perch to gorge themselves on.
The fishing today however was very slow. Cold overnight temperatures and a clear bright day don't generally accompany red letter days but whilst I waited for the fish to wake up I amused myself taking photos of my surroundings. It certainly is useful having two hobbies that can intertwine so perfectly.

I took snaps of the wildlife......although I missed a fleeing Roe Deer Doe!!

Backlit photos of the Spaniel....

Bankside flowers, not sure what they are...

some fluffy clouds...

and my Speedia centrepin....

Throughout the whole day I could only muster one bite, thankfully it fell to the centrepin rod meaning the fight was all the more pleasurable.
A youthful looking specimen of just over two pounds giving me confidence that bigger fish may be there for the taking. Just hope I can find the time to catch them!

The Big Guy Comes Good at the End

Within half an hour of my arrival Martin was bent into a hard fighting Barbel on 'his' stretch of the Warwickshire Avon.
At the end of the session he told me that this was my blog and I should not write about his day but that in my opinion is not the true essence of angling. A social sport that bonds its followers, brothers of the angle and when your mate has the sort of day Martin has just had it deserves to be in print (and picture) and broadcast across the internet.

This was already his second Barbel of the day as he had for several hours been camped (by his own admission) in the best peg on the stretch.

A good looking fish of about nine pounds. I had dropped into a swim a couple of pegs down was so far biteless and would remain so for the rest of the day. Not the kind of end of season finale I had hoped for!

The sun was definitely shining on the big guy and he soon after added another Barbel to his tally, this time a chunky fish weighing in at 10lb 13oz. The river might be icy cold but the Barbel were still feeding.

Martin was already having a good day but that was about to get even better in an unbelievable way. As the light began to fade a Chub fell for his mini boilie hookbait. With the fish still in the net he shouted down to me that he had a definite 'five'. As he passed it up the bank to me it dawned on us both that he had captured the sort of fish that most Warwickshire Avon anglers can only dream about.

In some rivers a 6lb 8oz Chub is a common recurrence but on the Warwickshire Avon it is a definitive fish of a lifetime. Some anglers are desperate and put in loads of  time and effort to try and catch a 'five'. Here Martin was holding up a true leviathan in comparison. A fish deserving a blog post.

The golden sunset a fitting finale for a golden day for 'goldenballs'. Top angling big guy.