The Pursuit Continues

More local stuff, but both vans back on the road at last.

Walking and watching the river for mullet most days, lots being learnt about their habits and movements,  but they're infuriating fish and sometimes disappear for days,  for no apparant reason. I doubt they're absolutely "knowable".

I did have one the other day in very fast water, drifting the flies only a couple of rod lengths out, watching dozens of fish twisting and flashing and willing one of them to take.

In the fast water it was almost impossible to get  in, so I walked it down to a big pool full of slack water, where it eventually succumbed. Best fight this year without  doubt.

I finished off catching two sand smelt, a first for me on this river. On the fly too.

A couple of days later, I had several bass, one not a bad fish which gave a good account of itself, after slamming into the fly with ferocity. 

Another mullet bit the dust too, this one took revenge of me by thrashing about in the mud whilst being unhooked, covering me from head to toe in it. A small price to pay.

To finish off, I saw a great black backed gull seize a gosling the size of a grapefruit                   ( well,they're both yellow and round) and wolf it down in one go, which resulted in it having a bulging neck, much like a python eating a pig.

Absolutely savage.

Oh Lucky Man

Or, as Uncle Rod used to say " Don't forget to small the flowers along the way ".

Last week I was a miserable old git. The old Hymer was still in bits at the garage and the feedback I was getting was not reassuring. My work van had developed a problem that had already cost me several hundred quid and was still not resolved and a couple of other things had all conspired to put me on a downer.

However, on Monday morning I hopped on the push bike and cycled the ten or eleven miles to the garage, ready to have it out with them. What the hell was going on?

To my surprise,  they'd almost finished it and my mood lifted. Cycling back along those tiny lanes, skylarks and corn buntings singing, hawthorn blossom out, I was reminded that it doesn't get better than a sunny day in May.

Coffee and toast in the garden and then did a bit of work, no van required.

Pushing the mower, with the strimmer and blower balanced precariously on top, I managed to do three gardens before it was time to jump back on the bike, this time with fishing gear and head to the river.

My favourite spot is only a five minute ride away and I take the absolute minimal amount of gear.

I wouldn't say I've sussed the mullet out by any means, but most sessions, which last no more than ninety minutes, result in a fish hooked, often landed, sometimes not.

The evening was mulletless, but no matter, lots of mini bass kept me occupied, hitting the flies with reckless abandon, sometimes two at a time.

Cycling back the few hundred yards to the house, along the gravel path by the river, the estuary full of waders calling and the sun setting below the horizon, I reflected, not for the first time, on what a lucky bloke I am.

Anger and Joy

Anger ? On a fishing blog ?

Well, yes. At the moment the river is stuffed with thin lipped mullet of all sizes and is looking pretty healthy, so on my walk yesterday I was just a bit pissed off to find that two blokes had staked out a gill net across the entire river, which at this point is extremely narrow..

Mullet, like bass are extremely slow growing , so if they're hammered, as the thick lips were last year by one one particular commercial         ( "just earning a living" ), you can forget about seeing numbers of them for a very long time.

I rang IFCA and spoke to a woman who took down all the details and said it was useful info and they'd keep an eye out for them on their patrols.

Now, I walk the river almost every day and have never, ever seen IFCA "patrol" here. I told her that the netting was going on right now and if they could, they really should investigate immediately.  To be fair, she made the necessary calls and they were on the scene within an hour. Excellent .

I don't know what was said, but I watched as they chatted for five minutes before leaving without even taking a look at the nets.

But....within an hour the two blokes were gone , as were the nets, so a real result.

To celebrate, I grabbed the fly rod and stuffed a few flies, line and scissors in my pocket, donned the wellies and made my way to where the fish often congregate  just before the tide pushes up.

They were there, just below the shallows, tails and dorsals out in a few inches of water. I'm no expert, but I know when you see this you've a real chance of catching. 

I'd only been fishing a short while when the indicator slid away and a decent mullet bolted off, scattering it's shoal mates in all directions.  I beached it after maybe four or five minutes , a real scrapper this one.

The fish had moved twenty or thirty yards downstream, re grouped and were still feeding.

The flies were cast a yard or two out and fished static. No twitches or movement at all. The indicator moved off again, a strip strike and a very large thin lip thrashed helplessly in a few inches of water. The pressure of the rod combined with the fish trying to swim off resulted in it beaching itself.

An unceremonious way to catch a very big mullet, but what can you do ? As I attempted to pick it up I got absolutely covered in creek mud as the crashing and thrashing continued. Did I care ? Not a bit.

How big was it ? I'll never know, because I didn't have my scales, but it may well have gone around the 5lb mark. Incredibly broad across the back.

After the commotion, the fish disappeared and I never saw another one. A great session,maybe forty five minutes fishing and two fish in the bag. Both took a flexi worm, with the legs cut down. My first mullet on this fly.

I usually catch on shrimp patterns, but good to see another type work.

One of the best things about this style of fishing is that you can and really need to do it with minimal gear. You're constantly moving, so the less you carry the better. The mud gets everywhere, you can't really retain the fish for a photo ( unless you're with someone ), so you just have to make do the best you can.

I'll be down there fishing again very soon.

Success

I was determined to catch a mullet or two on the fly this season. It's been several years since I had a proper go, they're difficult but by no means impossible. 

It's a big advantage to live close to the river

Most days I have a walk with the binoculars, the birdlife is amazing and obviously I'm always on the lookout for fish. You get to know the places they'll be at different states of the tide and what conditions they prefer.

They hate strong winds and cool weather. Hot days with a very light breeze is perfect.

Every now and then they disappear for no apparant reason, even in good conditions, so you can never be sure.

The number one thing you need to do is find numbers of feeding fish. It's easy to find big groups of fish, but they feed for short periods and most of the time they're just mooching about and your chances are much diminished.

The other day I spotted a group of tightly packed fish with their tails and dorsals out in a few inches of water.  Maybe ten or fifteen in an area two or three yards square.

First cast landed in exactly the right spot and I left it dead still. Ten or twenty seconds later I strip struck into a mullet which had taken the tiny shrimp like fly, static in the mud.

Me and the mullet were covered in mud, but no matter, the first fly caught mullet of the year was chalked up on the board.

A day later a repeat performance. A very short feeding spell, a tiny fly fished static amongst feeding fish and another thin lip in the bag.

In the afternoon I went down river to look for thick lips, through a beautiful chestnut wood with bluebells in full bloom and down a steep slope to the shore.

I scanned the water for a couple of hours but only saw a couple of fish, despite the good conditions. Having said that, I did nod off for half hour, so I may have missed a few.

Me and Clarko are planning a trip for the thins on Monday. The weather forecast is poor, so we'll see what happens.

Prepping and Blanking

I've been mulleting. I walk the river most days and like to think I know their habits and haunts, but I can't get a bite at the moment.

Loads of fish about but total failure. This will change I'm sure. 

My seven year old £3.50 Chinese bite alarms  packed up the other day, so I splashed out a total of fifteen English pounds for two NGT specials, with battery and carry case. Bargain I reckon. Whisper it, but the fish don't know what brand you're using.

On Friday I went to see Cooky on The Big Stillwater for a chat. No fishing tackle, just a chair and cooking gear. We demolished a dozen sausages, half dozen eggs, a can of beans and several pieces of toast between us, courtesy of the mighty Ridge Monkey grill.

Cooky was slaying the bream and ended up with fifteen between four and seven pounds. No sign of the big ones though.

He managed to get me a 15 kg sack of huge hemp. They'd sold the whole delivery before it was bagged up, such is the scarcity of decent quality seed at the moment.  It looks lovely. 

Sunday morning I walked the tidal river and upon returning, retired to the garden to feed on a leftover cold Chinese from the previous evening, before tieing up some mullet spinners whilst listening to Liverpool win the Premier League on 5Live.

That, as an old fart, is my version of "Living The Dream". You think I'm joking. I'm not.

I couldn't resist another go after the mullet in the evening with the fly gear but unsurprisingly blanked, despite being surrounded by active fish. Bastards.

Keeping It Local

More fly fishing for mullet along the tidal river, luckily ten minutes walk from the house. Me and PC gave it a good effort and we both had a take. Unsurprisingly, both missed.

Mine came first cast in a new area and I was day dreaming. 

Waaaak and JM joined us too for a chat and a social. As the day went on more fish showed but we remained mulletless. A good time was had by all, though.

I've also been poking about on The Big Stillwater. Looking for an elusive tench. A lovely swim in a shallowish bay was selected and baited with mixed seed and maize.

A couple of days later I returned and spent an hour with the binoculars scanning the water. A couple of coots were diving over my baited spot and after scrutinising them I noticed the feckers were eating my maize. Which meant the fish hadn't ! 

I still think it's a good spot and will persevere.

My regular riverside walk from the house, a three to four mile circuit, has seen a big influx of summer migrants over the past week.

Loads of sedge/reed and cetti's warblers, whitethroats, blackcaps, a cuckoo, the usual waders and wildfowl. Yesterday, I watched as four red kites and a sparrowhawk whirled and wheeled on a thermal in bright spring sunshine in a cloudless sky.

Three nightingales were calling in a sheltered, overgrown spot by the railway sidings, a sound that sums up spring.

The next blog post will hopefully include some fish shots. Maybe.

A Spring Day

Bit of work in the morning and then a proper breakfast.

Popped round to see the oldies and then down the Poach Pit for the afternoon. 

Full of birdsong, cettis warblers, blackcaps, chiffchaffs, blackbirds and plenty of martins and swallows. Lovely laying there in the sun.

Made some pva bags....oh I'm so carpy.

Even had time to mend my headphones, Jack Duckworth styleeeee.

Seriously,  another pair at the extortionate price of £6.50 were ordered. Surprisingly good audio quality and plenty good enough for when I'm working.

Had three nice ones, nothing big, before it was time to head back with the sun setting and birds still calling.