The upper Warwickshire Avon in it's more intimate and diminutive form is a stunning waterway winding it's way through it's namesake county and boasting more natural bank sides that are not manicured for comfortable angling. Today Martin took me to one such stretch where knowing the time was never a problem as the church constantly reminded us.
Our tactics were in complete contrast. I fancied a day trotting catching anything that came along, lots of action without discrimination of any species. Martin would bait, wait and try to nail some of the stretches famed big Chub. An equally relaxing style but quite specific.
The run I chose screamed Dace with a chance of Chub. A pacy near bank run that flowed under a fallen willow. I fed maggot and hemp and caught right from the off. Dace followed Dace followed Roach followed Chublet with a few Bleak and Gudgeon thrown in for good measure. I soon built up a steady rhythm of nearly a fish a chuck and thoroughly enjoyed myself.
No monsters but some decent size Dace among them. Somewhere in this river there are some monster Dace but as yet I haven't found them, I will keep searching though.
Lunchtime came and went and I decided to explore some more of the stretch. I found a slower glide and chose to freeline some rolling meat along some overhanging willows. In no time at all I hooked into a decent Chub.
Meanwhile Martin's tactics had come to fruition and he landed four decent Chub. The biggest was this 4lb 5oz specimen which he backed up by a trio of 'threes'.
Mid afternoon and the sweaty waders came off and we retired to the pub for cold liquid refreshments.
You didn't do me any favours with that photo did you. Christ you made me look look like that bloke Keef Arthur
ReplyDeleteBut you are Keef!
ReplyDeleteHi Joe, been fishing that brook that you sometimes go to. On saturday we hooked something vvvvvvvv (actually can't put enough verys in for this) special that was a complete shock to me after 35 years fishing.
ReplyDeleteI can email you and let you know
pressed wrong button!!! I dont want to give away what it was and spoil on public forum but I do need to share with someone whose gonna understand!!!!
ReplyDeleteCome on then spill the beans!!
DeleteHello Joe Chatterton, This is great work
ReplyDeleteThanks Jaydon, appreciate it.
DeleteOK- fished that little pool by the little weir. Only really messing about with my 8 year old with worms and bits of bread. We'd had a few dace and then the tip flicked back. Struck and felt that had got a fish on. Theres a tree on your right so you cant see into the pool from where your sat. But I did hear a bit of a splash. next thing all heel breaks loose and theres some kind of zoo creature on the end running all over the pool. It was trying to pull under the tree roots and having hooked it on bread thinking that its a chub. Got it out from the roots and it kited and i caught a glimpse. Now Im thinking its a chub so when i saw it I nearly passed out at the size of it (at this point Im thinking its a carp or the biggest chub ive ever seen)- my 8 year old had got hold of the rod with me and was looking for rope to tie himself down. Ive got it into the main pool and can see it running along the bottom and beginning to think that its a barbel.
ReplyDeleteFinally got it close enough to me for it to wallow on the top for the first time at which point I can see the dace that i'd hooked in its mouth. Now your thinking pike aren't you but infront of me was the biggest trout i have ever seen in my life (well over 5lb). The nipper turned round and told me that he was scared!!!! We hadnt got a landing net with us and id realised that it would let go as soon as it saw us. I managed to get as far as grabbing the line about a foot from the hook to try and grab it when it let go of the dace and sunk back down.
10 minutes later we hooked a trout about 12oz and it tried to grab hold of that as well. Would olove to know if its naturally in there or washed in from somewhere in the floods (ive no idea where a trout that big would have come from). Given how small the brook is it was a bit like hooking the loch ness monster.
Now become completely obsessed with actually catching the thing!!!
There are quite a few Trout in there naturally but that one sounds like a freak of nature, possibly living in and around the pool and moving about in the floods. It may have turned almost Ferox living solely on fish which of course would facilitate it's growth into the monster it has become. It sounds that with the right gear it may be reasonably easy to catch, possibly a lip hooked small Dace as bait with a size eight hook. Let me know if you are going to give it a go, if not would love to try and catch it myself!!
DeleteAlready been back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Couldn't get a bite even from the small fish with a little feeder. Reason became apparent whe said trout attacked the feeder on the retrieve!!! I'll be back!!
ReplyDelete