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Thursday, 10 February 2011

Wed 9th Feb

It begins....

As we all know sea fishing is always very hit, or mostly miss, at this time of the year so I'm glad that I've always got coarse fishing to fall back on. Living where I do, Ringwood in Hampshire, I don't get out on many of the RWSAC outings in the Far East, typically only joining the dream team for Weymouth related outings. But to be honest that's more than I can take of Ben in any one year anyway.

I thought I'd support Ben's dream of taking on Facebook and Twitter with this "new" website by adding a blog where some actual fishing takes place rather than talking about it and polishing golden items of tackle...


so...

Today I finished work at 1600 and as I live but 5 short minutes from the Hampshire Avon I decided to have a go for some rather large chub I know living under some dense willow cover in a local park.

Probably 95% of the anglers down here fish with feeders or pellet on matching designer barbel rods, horizontal and low to the water (somehow they've all convinced themselves that this is the best way to hold bottom in the fast winter flows) - expect hoots of derision if you point your rod skyward in the more traditional fashion....

In the winter my preferred option is trotted red maggot, as I think a steady stream of gentles pulls the fish out from the under the far bank cover where they are cowering from the otters and black death. Saying that, I rarely get through more than a half a pint in my normal hour evening sessions.

I started off in a classic swim where the main body of water pushes over to the fair bank were an old alder sits precariously on the bank. The water goes from mere inches into about 5 feet of water. Perfect. Except there were no fish at home....

So after about 20minutes without a bite I made a move to a much more difficult swim with boiling water on the inside but a steady crease about 15foot by 4foot out towards some far bank willows. Starting with a 4BB stick, I soon realised that "we're going to need a bigger float" and on about the 5th trot down with a more manly 7BB offering, just as it entered the glassy water, it buried in a very positive manner. A firm strike met with a solid resistance and after a good fight in the fast flow I was soon looking at a chub of about 4.5lbs in the landing net. I find that putting chub back in the same swim can put the rest of the shoal off so after firing out another pouch full of maggots I walked the fish 50yds or so downstream and popped it back.

Back in the swim first cast and an almost repeat performance with the float again burying in the same spot. When you get a shoal going as long as you don't lose one and keep the feed going in the sport can be fast and furious! As soon as I struck I knew this fish was a bigger stamp and after a fantastic fight a larger chub was in the net. At 6lb 2oz it proved to be the biggest of the day.

I caught a further 3 chub before disaster struck! Whilst playing the last of these I was forced to apply the maximum pressure, the 3lb 4oz hooklength could stand, to stop a determined run into the far bank roots my trusty, abused and battered 14ft shimano float rod creaked ominously and then snapped just above the reel seat. I grabbed the rod and as I did so it snapped about 6inches below the tip section spigot! So now I had an angry chub and a recently converted 5 piece float rod! Needless to say that fish shed the hook as I tried to force it into the net... "Oh well" I said or words to that effect....

So with loads of fish in the swim and my quiver rod with me I set up the feeder gear expecting a few bites. Not a touch - even though I stayed until I could no longer see the tip.... 

That's it for now - Sean and I are off to Chew this weekend hoping for a whacker.....

Some of you might find these quite amusing:

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/8291908/

http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/8290615/

 

 

 

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