sunday saw a visit to the river resulting in two caught and one lost. the best fish was 9.2... read on...
it was only my second chance to get out this year so even though it would be a late start i had to make the effort.
due to working nights and being knackered i didnt get the rods out until 4.30pm and with the river being slightly up and nicely coloured i felt i had possibly missed some decent hours on the bank.
very heavy winds meant i had no chance of putting a brolly up but luckily the rain held off. i got set up and fished a 4oz feeder. this was holding bottom easily enough but it also allowed me to tighten up to the lead to help keep the rods on the rests as the gusting wind could easily have blown them out.
even the the river wasnt too high at 0.9m there was still quite a bit of rubbish coming down and fouling the line. water temperature was 7.5c.
before i left the house i had checked in with a couple of mates and heard a few fish had been out so i was feeling like they should be having a munch and even though it was rough and wild i felt like i should be catching but sadly no bites for me...
hookbaits were swapped around between heavily glugged 14mm pellets, halved glugged boilies with paste and boilie/pepperami combo that can often buy a bite when its a bit of a struggle...
due to the line getting fouled with the debris i was having to recast every 10-15 minutes so i cut back on the feed by using about half of the pellet scoop as bites just were not coming.
just before 10pm i had a fish on and after short scrap the first fish was in the net. it might have been my only fish so i thought id take a quick picture just for the blog. this proved more difficult than i imagined. i was shouting 'cheese' to try and make the voice activated camera work but the phone couldnt hear me over the roaring wind. the phone was mounted on the mini tripod that was stood on my tackle box and it was being blown over as at the top of the bank its wide open and no shelter from the wind. after several attempts i have to switch to the self timer just to grab a quick snap. this fish was 5.8.
i recast the rod i have the fish on it it went off straight away, but although i could still feel the fish on it was snagged in the rocks and even though i tried giving slack line it wouldnt come free so i had to pull for a break. luckily i just lost the hooklength.
i went to recast the other rod and that was solid in a snag too...
oh the joys of the ribble, eh.
about 11pm i had a very slow pull on the rod that only pulled the tip over about 12" and with the rods bouncing with the wind and the debris coming down and bouncing the rod tips i waited to see if it was just a leaf fouling the line. the tip settled, but then went again but just about the same amount and i've now got my hand hovering over the rod willing it to go over...
it settles back, but then goes again. *******s to this, whats going on here, i picked it up and it felt like it was snagged. but a bit of pressure and i felt a bit of a bounce. some steady pressure and the fish is moving now, i dont think it even knew it was hooked but now it moved off but stayed very slow and deep. im hoping its a big one but i have been conned many times before. a slow deep fish and a few runs under the rod tip and shes in the net. the fish looked quite chunky with some decent width across the back and a decent length so i reckoned it'd be a double. i did a little dand and quickly unhooked it and a quick weigh said 9.2... i lifted the fish a couple of times as i couldnt believe it wasnt heavier, but no matter how hard i tried to convince the avons to try harder it just wasnt making the needle go any further.
again i had more problems doing the self take due to the wind. i didnt do a test shot as the phone and tripod was being blown along the top of the tackle box or being blown over. it was just a question of line it up and hope for the best. i didnt want to fanny around to much as i wanted the fish back in the water as quickly as possible. a few headless shots but no big deal.
with no more action i packed up at about midnight and made the 40+ mile trip home. in bed for 3am, and i had to be up at 7 to take the kid to school, knackered now and need a power nap.
i thought i could have had a few more but im still very pleased with a 9+ any time but in january its extra special.