Loafing

Yes, again.

Yesterday I explored a beautiful little stream, deep in the countryside, surrounded by willows.

It's about four to six foot wide and varies in depth from a couple to maybe eighteen inches.

If you look, really, really look, you'll see tiny fish moving back and forth. I was after more species for the "Stour Species Hunt". Not surprisingly the banks were overgrown and could only be approached with chest waders to protect you from the stingers and brambles.

First chuck in with my six foot five gram rod and super simple rig of a bb shot two inches from the hook and I had a little dace, quickly followed by a chublet.

New swim and a rattly bite and yes, a lovely gudgeon. Pristine condition and next drop in another. Then a minnow. Wahooooo ! Two more for the list which now totals twenty five on the Stour this year.

On to another sidestream and yet more gudgeon. I was "caught" by a couple of people crawling on hands and knees along the stream, rod in hand. Oooh matron !

 I then had a go in the main river and immediately had half a dozen quite decent perch and a micro pike...on a size 22 hook and quarter inch of redworm.

I moved to a pre baited swim which was still full of canoes and paddle boarders, but by about 20.00 they all seemed to have disappeared and it was a beautiful still, silent evening....until, in the distance I heard a group of them shouting and hollering, getting louder as they got nearer. 

To be fair ( Brian ), they slowed down a bit as the passed me, still making a racket and as the third paddle board went by, inches from my float, it lay flat and went under. I fully expected to be attached to the paddle board but no, a roach x bream hybrid of about a pound had took the bait at the exact moment that these Herberts had ploughed through the gin clear swim. To say I was shocked is an understatement.

That was the last bite of the day and I went home having caught minnows, gudgeon, roach, perch, dace, chub, pike and that hybrid. Not bad eh ?

Midsummer day today. And don't even think about saying it Waaaaak.