Best Laid Plans - Part 2

I had a bee in my bonnet about catching a big bream off the Relief Channel in the Fens.

Camper packed with food and bait, off I went. Stopped at the tackle shop and got chatting to a bloke about the Relief Channel.

Yes it produces big bream but not in the area you're staying he said. And it's fishing crap at the moment. And I've had six blanks on trot. Oh dear.

Having got this information, do you....

(a) Ignore it and carry on as planned ?

(b) Take it on the chin and go somewhere  else ?

Being a bit of a div I normally go for option (a) but this time I was sensible. Quick look online and I found a campsite next to the Middle Level. That'll do for me.

Went for a recce in the evening and saw lots of rudd. Very small rudd. Nothing rolling or splashing over a swim I'd baited. Nothing. Even on dusk. 

I didn't set the alarm as my enthusiasm had took a bit of a blow, but got down there and started fishing about 7 ish. Feeder cast out and the tip immediately bounced about, liners I guessed.

After a couple of casts the tip went round and a nice silver bream came to the net. The first of many, almost all decent size too. 

The bites continued throughout the morning with many missed, mostly silvers, hybrids, rudd, some good ones too, a few perch and a solitary bream. That'll do for starters.

I baited up in the evening ready to come back early in the morning.

This time I did set the alarm early and I was fishing by 04.30. I immediately had a big rudd on freelined bread which unfortunately spooked the shoal.

I set up a slider rig to fish about 15-20 yards out in about 13-14 foot of water. Took a while to get the hang of it but was great fun.

I was reeling in a bream of about 8 oz when an enormous perch followed it in. It was huge, no less than 3lb, maybe more. A couple of fish later it did it again. Blimey, I'd like to catch that ! The next fish reeled in wasn't so lucky as a double figure pike nailed it with some ferocity and hung on to it for a minute or more.

It's a lovely spot and in between the fishing I watched a pair of kingfishers diving and carrying the prey back to their nest and also a family of kestrels doing whatever families if kestrels do. Cracking start all round.