A mixture of warm sun and variable wind plus the possibility of heavy rain left me undecided on swim choice and for a good fifteen minutes I roamed along the bank trying to decide. In the end I plumbed for one that would be free of sun until late morning, but one that should in tip down I would get very wet with no facility for a brolly spike !
I sat well back as usual with only 2' of rod poking over the water ( must but a longer landing net handle ! ) dropping a very small float into about 5' of water and this accompanied by marble size balls of groundbait ( that's a large marble ) and a trickle of red maggots. I had intended to use freshly prepared giant hemp but in the early gloom decide on the reds which produced several small roach...
Then it started; Being at the other end of a eleven foot rod it was easy to see every miniscule movement of the float, but even then only total concentration detected something of a 2mm lift of the float ( which has a series of thin black bands every 3mm ) before it settled again. All motion stopped so I removed a no 6 shot to show more of the float above water and this sort of helped me see the following dips, or rather semi sinkings over the next few minutes. Eventually the end of the float, never quiet submerging, reached the water surface so I struck gently. Solid resistance told me crucian and minutes later a nice 1,5lb fish was landed. The identical scenario followed before the next crucian came to the net, this time a little bigger at 2lb or just over, this being pretty good for the water.
The day promised much and I was very pleased to strike into what proved to be a much bigger fish and looked to be nearer 3lbs as it slid toward the net. Unfortunately it was at this time the hook hold decided to failed ( or so I thought ) and a surprised fish headed into the depths, but on checking the hook was missing, the line having failed at that point.
Another smaller fish was landed but this spelt the end of the crucian fishing as the next four fish were roach around 1/2lb a piece.
Over the next few hours I caught another dozen roach up to 3/4lb both on hemp and red maggots with a couple of 30 minute spells on wheat, corn and bread just to see how they would respond in a swim already producing steadily. Nothing did so.....
.......but it's those crucian bites that held my attention through the morning and continues to do so as I write this. Such tentative bites ( which didn't alter despite changes in shotting and depth ) are very frustrating as it's almost impossible to imagine what goes on below the surface, and for the life of me I cannot fathom how they move a float just millimetres, both up and down, without it eventually sliding away !
All fish were hooked nicely in the top lip, but I don't know if that tells me anything or not....
I did think seriously about trying the ' Greenie ' method but the finite details hadn't lodged themselves in my brain', so it will have to wait for another day...............Could be interesting !
Anyway, I had a lovely morning and fished on into the afternoon although only catching the odd roach on hemp as the sun blessed my swim. Plenty of bird life to enjoy and I smiled to see the blue tits performing acrobatics in the constant search for insects, and my friendly robin calling by for a few maggots...
A littler miffed that house stuff denies me another mornings session today, but the wife is happy for me to head off again tomorrow as she has a heavy day in the greenhouse with seeds and other matters that mean little to me...
Might just be a little colder though............................Mmmmmm..
, saying that I think the club committe would be a little upset lol.
