Prawntastic

This week I stayed very local and fished Willow Farm on the outskirts of Evesham. The forecast was for dull and overcast weather and it stayed that way until mid-afternoon. I thought that it would be perfect for Perch as they do not feed well in bright weather. The sudden drop in temperature following the lovely warm weather all week caught me out and I felt freezing all morning.
Last week was the first time I have ever used Prawns as bait and as they had caught three Perch in quick succession I decided to try them again, just on the one rod and on the other I used half a Lobworm. What I didn't realise was just how much Tench love Prawns. They went mad for them!

I had nine of them in total up to 3lb 11oz which to begin with was good fun on float and light tackle but I often fish places where they run much bigger so I started to get a bit annoyed with them. I would play them carefully thinking they could be a big Perch only to be disappointed when they came to the net. A few years ago they would have made for a really good days angling but I have been spoilt by catching them close to double figures. It is sad how your viewpoint of fish size changes and with it your opinion on what constitutes a good fish does as well.

I also caught a small Roach on the worm and a near personal best Silver Bream which actually excited me more than the Tench. It weighed a meagre 9oz and took a small section of Prawn. For it's size it had a remarkably big tail.

There are Silver Bream over a pound in here, I know because I saw one in old man's keepnet whilst chatting to him about the species. He had no idea what he had caught as is often the way. I will keep on trying until I break that barrier.