January 2013 part 2

Thursday 24th January

River Bain

I was eager to get to the river after my previous exploits. The snow was still thick on the ground and the reading on my in car temperature gauge was minus two. I headed to a new stretch I had sniffed out on the ubiquitous Google earth.

What Google earth didn't show was the large metal gate blocking the access road. Two heavy padlocks were dangling from the chain but luckily the chain wasn't all the way around the gate so I swung it open and made my way to the river. I didn't really take any notice of my surroundings as I parked up and dashed down to the waters edge. The River passed through a big sluice and this produced a big swirling pool of water that looked very inviting. I set up my tip rod and cast a big bit of cheese right into the fast water. I watched this while setting up a float rod to do a bit of trotting down to the end of the run.

Nothing was doing on the float but I regularly dribbled some maggots in to try and tempt something as I plugged away. On about my tenth trot down with the float my tip rod went limp. Flow must have dislodged my swan shot I thought. I struck anyway to deposit my cheese in the swim. To my surprise I was met with a heavy thump on the end of the line. Whatever was on the end was going nuts in the wild water. After a couple of minutes my line went solid. Bugger. I carefully applied as much pressure as I dared and it came free. A minute or so later a very big Chub came thrashing to the surface. With a deft flash of it's tail it headed upstream again and I felt a faint grating on the line. You know what's coming next. The line parted.

I set up again although I was fairly certain I had blown my chance. A bite-less hour followed to confirm this. Couple this with my little travel chair disintegrating I decided to have a wander about to check out some other swims. I clambered up the slippery bank and made my way upstream. Oh dear! There were big private signs all over the place. Couple this with two farmers working in a nearby field and I began to feel severely unwelcome. Seems I had been fishing in the only spot not overlooked by a stern warning. As if to rub it in I saw a group of tiny fish scatter behind a weed-bed just inside the private bit. Almost certainly a big Perch hunting. May have to bring my gum shield when I target that one! (Only joking) 

I looked at my watch, it was 2pm. There was still time to get in the car and head up river to the section that had produced for me on the Monday. I trudged up to the top of the stretch and popped a few bits of cheese into a few likely looking spots on the way. Now chair-less I cleared a small area of snow and sat on the cold grass. I had a few casts before eventually the tip trembled before it pulled steadily round. I had my scales with me this time and I was slightly disappointed that it wasn't the same stamp of fish I had caught a few days before. Still at 3lb 2oz it was a fine looking Chub and brightened up my day no end. A few quick shots were taken before I slipped it back into the icy depths.

 An hour later and I was on the move again. About a hundred yards downstream a big tree hangs nearly all the way across the River. Having baited up earlier I expected to get a bite straight away. It wasn't until the light faded though, about half an hour later, that I got a bite. It was a delicate affair and I was unsure on how long to leave it before striking. I must have timed it right though because after a tense tussle I had a four pounder in the net. 4lb 9oz to be exact. A fine end to a cold but very enjoyable day.

Friday 25th January

River Bain

A short but ultimately fruitless afternoon session. I will say this though. We can all be macho and a bit single-minded in our quests sometimes but winter fishing can be unpleasant bordering on dangerous. It wasn't any colder than my previous two visits and while hunkered down in the tree swim I was quite happy. My hands were cold but not unduly so. After missing what was probably the only bite I was going to get I decided to move further downstream.

I got to the top of the bank and the strength of the wind became apparent. A sharp, blisteringly cold wind. Within thirty seconds my hands were becoming painful (I had gloves on). My intended short walk had turned into a bit of a hike to get back to the car and get warmed up. It was a savage head wind and a deeply unpleasant experience. The temperature gauge in the car was reading minus two, no colder than the previous day. Most of my gear is windproof apart from my gloves. It took half an hour to get full feeling back in my fingers.

Thursday 31st December

River Bain

The snow melt had put paid to a visit earlier in the week although I did walk the full stretch with Mrs P and the dogs. We walked further downstream than I had been before and a couple of spots in the village took my fancy.

Thursday came around and I was in the Village at around half past eight. I parked up at the church and started to get my gear together. Unfortunately it was also a drop off point for the local primary school and I did look a bit out of place among all the kids and mums! Anyway I walked through the graveyard and tried a couple of spots with no success. The wind was super strong and although it wasn't cold it did nearly blow me off the top of a stile. It was so strong that most of the stretch was unfishable. I headed back to the car and drove back the short distance to my normal stretch.

The wind was a pain here too. Nevertheless I stuck it out for a couple of hours with just a small Chub from the weir-pool to show for my efforts. It was about a pound and a half and looked like it had just been minted. Probably never been caught before. I did have a couple of trembles in the tree swim but they produced nothing. I had been on the river probably four hours and gave best and vowed to return on another day. As I walked back to the car I noticed some of the colour was dropping out of the water. I would need to return soon. Upon getting back home this didn't seem likely as my new river obsession had got the better of Mrs P as she demanded I spend more time with her. Ho hum.

Friday 1st Feb

River Bain

"What you doing today?" I asked Mrs P. "Got rehearsals in Grantham and then an audition in Leicester," she replied. "What time you leaving?". "2pm."

By 2.30pm I was parking up by the Bridge. I was a bit disappointed to see the River was still heavily coloured. It had been my plan to try a few spots for Roach as Neil from the tackle shop had told me of some big fish on the stretch. I had some bread mash already prepared and intended to fish small bits of flake.

I headed straight for the weir pool and set up a small feeder and fished as planned for about an hour. Bread mash in the feeder and a size 12 hook with a small piece of flake for bait. No bites were forthcoming so I set my Chub rod up with a three swan shot link and a big piece of cheese. I was a bit paranoid about the noise of the feeder going in so I swapped that too for some swan shot. Another hour passed before I had the tiniest of bites on the bread rod. I connected and I initially thought it was a Roach, then it woke up! Five minutes later I had a Chub in the net. A big one too.

I quickly weighed it and took a few snaps before returning it to the depths. At just two ounces off five pounds it is the biggest Chub I have caught to date. Shame it wasn't a 'five' but still a fantastic fish from such a small river.

Footnote

I have realised this blog is popular with people like Neil from the tackle shop and my mates Rob and Steve. All people that would love to have more time to fish but due to family commitments and work can't. So this is for all my friends that can't get out there as much as they would like. I've been bloody freezing, wet, muddy and in trouble with Mrs P. The fact that this blog will bring you some enjoyment makes it all worthwhile. Thanks for reading.

Till next time...................