He is also a very keen angler, having come back to the sport in 1995 following a break of several years. In this regular column he will tell us about his progress as an angler – his thoughts about the sport, what he learns, the fishing trips he makes, the anguish, the humour, in fact everything he experiences as his angling career develops. | |||||||||||||||||||
SOME YOU WIN, SOME YOU LOSE On each of my visits to my Shropshire tench lake I’ve fished in a different peg each time. But I’ve constantly kept my eyes open for signs of rolling fish to determine any areas that appear to hold the fish more than any other. But so far, and my catch records back this up, the fish seem to be equally spread. So, setting off on another hot sunny afternoon, I was determined to try yet another part of the lake.
I set up in a comfortable swim and placed two baits about 40 metres out. The absence of underwater features means that the exact position of baits is not that crucial. As the afternoon wore on a few fish showed, but in other parts of the lake, and not over my baited areas. Although I was hopeful, it didn’t seem to be happening, and so as the day starting to give over to dusk, I began to pack away. As Esther used to say, ‘That’s Life!’ I don’t know if you’re like me, but I leave the rods out as long as possible. I pack away all the non-essentials first and only when I can’t do any more, do I wind the rods in. Anyway, just as I was about to reel in the first rod, I had a run. A fight that could be described as short but spirited, resulted in a tench of 4lb 10oz. Almost immediately the second rod indicated a run, but that proved to be a missed one. Typical fishing – nothing for five hours and then two runs in as many minutes. And just as the fish were coming on the feed it was time to pack up! That’s life!
But I was back a few days later. And again I fished a new peg. Although I generally don’t fish weekends, as I prefer the venue to be as quiet as possible, I decided to have a Saturday evening session. I shouldn’t have worried, as I had the lake to myself. The conditions were perfect for tench fishing, and here I was with not one other soul in sight. Still, I’m not complaining. Ever reducing tench, the tincas! My two previous tench have come right at the death, but on this session I got amongst the fish earlier on. At 7.45 I struck into a good fish that finally made it to the net and weighed in at 5 lb 4 oz. The next two fish came at forty-five minute intervals, also getting smaller, tipping the scales at 3 lb 3 oz and 2 lb 2 oz respectively. I was almost expecting the next one to register at 1 lb 1 oz. Now, that would have been an amazing coincidence, wouldn’t it?
Kicking off my boots and socks, I went in. Getting closer to the snag I discovered it was a submerged branch. I lost the fish, but the satisfaction of knowing it wasn’t tethered, made up for the disappointment of not landing what was a very good tench. I often go in after snagged fish, but only do so when I am totally confident of the underwater terrain. Common sense is important. One doesn’t go wading in the lower Severn, with 12 foot of water under your rod tip! But when you’re faced with reasonably shallow water, there’s no problem. But, as I say, common sense and caution should be the overriding factors whenever one ventures into any water.
The birds that inhabit the lake are like no others that I have come across. They have absolutely no concept of avoiding angler’s line. Swans, moorhens, ducks – they’re all the same. Several times during a session one or the other will swim into your line as it pierces the water in their path. And the funny thing is that as the line tightens against them, they continue to fight it. I watched a moorhen battle for a minute against my line without once thinking about retreating or diverting to the left or the right. My final trip to the lake, as far as this week’s Pilgrim’s Progress is concerned, was again another evening affair. I’ve been told the best time to fish the lake is the early morning. But I must confess I am not a morning person, so prefer the easier option! I certainly brought the kiss of death to the angler in the next swim. As we chatted he informed me that he had fished the lake for three years and had never had a blank. Well, guess what? He blanked that session!
Tench campaign results table Tench Sessions: 6
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Next week in Pilgrim’s Progress it’s back to my lower Severn campaign. Traditionally the river doesn’t get going until September. But Christmas came early for me this year! Read all about how I got not just one, but ‘A BRACE OF PERSONAL BESTS’ on my recent visits. See you next Thursday. The Reverend Stewart R Bloor Pilgrim’s Progress – read it every Thursday! |
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