I cancelled a day bankside last week in order to walk a small notts stream in order to check out a few areas worth fishing towards the seasons end if and when conditions and circumstances called for it.
It was a good job I did as last week it was low and clear which was good for looking, not so for catching but how its changed since the rain and rising temperatures.
I still wasnt going to fish it today as I was all tooled up with steak n mince for a chub or two on the trents middle reaches but an unforseen delay made it hard to justify the travel at so late a time so a quick strip down of the less needed items to a more minimal kit and I was making my way to a couple of swims I,d taken a fancy to last week.
The steak n mince was left at home in favour of a few lobs and a few slices of bread for flake and some that I had hastily liquidised for using with a small cage feeder.
The stream was spot on with colour, extra pace and a little deeper by some three or four inches , good signs for chub this time of year which always gives me hope. The swim was a narrow one lined with rushes where it widened out considerably just past the vegetation that usually indicates a small rise on the riverbed just upstream of the widening.
All set up with two tiny balls of liquidised bread just over the rushes and feeder filled, flake on hook and cast downstream along the vegetation ready for a bite.
It came , a small twitch followed some one minute later by a very positive wrapround---- a lovely winter chub in the pink of winter best came to my net--- a good start--- a recast and another twitch had my hand hovering over the rod but nothing developed--- well, it did actually-- in the shape of two wappy black labs that appeared out of nowhere , in my bait, in my rucky, under my rod knocking it over, bluuuuuuuuuuudy hell!!!
The owner never even said sorry and then came down the steep bank and walked after one of the dogs inches from the rushes , what a prawn, I told him he had all but ruined my chances by spooking the fish but I reckon a brick wall would have taken more notice. I like dogs by the way but not idiots !!!
That was it, I went further along the bank to another swim I had seen the week previously but it was a fruitless wait.
I was pleased with the fish , a nice reward but another would have made a good winter brace-- pity!.
mg:.
