A top day on the river again today in the company of my carer, namely Crow.
Bit of a chilly start with a brisk easterly building up throughout the day but we enjoyed at least some shelter from it for the most part, the river like many at the moment was crystal clear again and very low.
Crow was after the barbel and I had set up a float paternoster rig for a perch or zander with an additional stick float set up to run right off the rod tip in some deep water with the aim of catching a few lives but even this seemed hard going under the circumstances.
Despite the conditions Crow did very well banking some very fit barbel of a level 10lb followed by another nice fish around 8lb and I had not had much interest on the livebait rig which in turn sent me off a short distance upriver to catch a few fresh ones from a more suitable peg before returning with three hard won chublets.
Out went the livebait rig again, barely any further than ten feet away from where I was still trotting and occasionally holding back right under the rod tip and then I had a very positive bite which saw the 6 x no.4 stick disappearing into the clear depths which was initially met upon the strike with mediocre resistance until the fish realised it was hooked and then went on a very powerful run out into the river and despite the barbel like noises coming from the drag I could feel some very angry head shaking which dared me to believe it might be a big perch, after first considering a chub.
It shouldn’t really have been a big deal on a 3.6lb hooklink but there was little I could do with it and eventually I managed to regain control and slip the net under a very nice perch, along with Crow’s line and feeder which it had run straight across.
A couple of pictures, a rest in the net again and on to the scales and after a deduction afterwards for the net we settled at 3lb 2oz… Cracking!
An hour or so later and a moment of high drama as I hit another fish right under the rod tip and this took off similar to the first but felt as though it dwarfed it in size, both Crow and myself agreeing that the angry jagging through the rod action was definitely not a barbel and by the time it had reached mid-river the rocky bottom contour had taken its toll on the hooklink which parted just above the hook.
I’m convinced it was a huge perch and the fish I’ve been looking for on and off for over two years but that’s fishing, there will be another day and I have another trick up my sleeve for next time but for now I was happy with the 3+…
And a slight dash of irony in that I had a small livebait swimming around barely ten feet away all day and these perch were more interested in the steady trickle of reds with just a single maggot on a size eighteen hook!
Cheers Crow, until next time… :w
