That new water feeling

I had a first look at my chosen Bream venue yesterday evening and it certainly got the old juices going. A wild and windswept gravel pit with a reputation for being something of a challenge. Every keen angler knows the excitement which comes from fishing a new water, casting into the unknown and not being quite sure of what might be swimming out there in front of you, I can't wait to get stuck in!

There's a PB out there somewhere........

Posted with Blogsy

Ending a run of blanks

Over the last three weeks I've been attempting to fill the void between the rivers closing and my bream campaign beginning by catching some Carp. I've been fishing a couple of local club waters but being very deep combined with the recent cold weather they seem to have taken a bit longer to get going than I'd originally anticipated!

I endured some bitterly cold conditions for the first couple of trips, half the lake was iced over at one point as the freezing north easterly winds howled across the water. I've not been that cold whilst fishing for as long as I can remember and I think I had more chance of winning the lottery than catching a carp. I persevered though and the weather slowly but surely began to warm up. I was spurred on by reports that one of the lakes had actually produced a fish to another angler so maybe, just maybe, the fish were starting to move.

Last weekend marked the beginning of a dramatic shift in the wind direction which brought much warmer conditions with it. The sun was lovely and warm but the water still wasn't. Despite this I still managed to spot a couple of Carp mooching around some snags and they certainly looked catchable. It wasn't to be though and I ended the session on yet another blank.

That brings me up to my most recent trip and after a week of mild temperatures I was really hoping to get amongst some fish. I couldn't decide which lake to fish but after looking in on the deeper of the two and finding just one other angler in residence I opted to set up shop there. No signs of fish were obvious so I setup next to a large reedbed which had the wind absolutely hacking into it, this was the best chance I'd had in a while.

After casting in I actually felt expectant of some imminent action for the first time in weeks. When the Delkim warbled around half an hour later I was on it like a flash. I bent into the fish and knew immediately it wasn't a Carp but it still put up a good account of itself and I was pleased to net a well proportioned Tench. Tench are a relative rarity for the water and this was my first from there so I was quite chuffed.

A short while later I spotted some Carpy movement along the far margin and a fish rolled over my right hander. It certainly looked like a few were moving! I was halfway through taking a phone call when suddenly the right hand rod buckled around and I found myself connected to a nice scaley looking mirror. At 11lb It wasn't huge but from what Im told its the first to be caught from the lake since mid March so it was a good result.

No more action was forthcoming and despite a few more anglers turning up no more fish came out whilst I was there. Hopefully that trip will mark a turn in my fortunes, I'm heading to my chosen Bream water for a good look around this week. I've never fished it before myself but I've heard some good things about it from the handful of people who fish it, it'll be nice to get stuck into a new challenge again.

 

Posted with Blogsy