The Holy Grail
For as long as I can remember catching a Roach of 2lb has been an ambition of mine. Led by my early fishing mentor Simon in my early teens it was never far from our minds. We'd stay on the Banks of the River Wreake in Leicestershire well into dark trying in vain to get one. Simon eventually realised his dream before he sadly passed with not one but two fine Roach over the arbitrary but hugely significant two pounds. They always eluded me though. In fact my first ever blog post was about the pursuit of a big Roach (I'll post the link at the end along with a piece about Simon).
When I moved to Lincolnshire at the turn of the millennium my hopes were raised upon finding the secret river and there were even whispers about the potential of a local drain to produce a specimen. Still, a frankly ridiculous fifteen years later I still hadn't caught one or even seen a picture of one from any of my local drains and rivers, In fact I don't even know why I'm bringing this up now because this month I was taking part in a species hunt competition so I had absolutely no chance of catching one........or did I?
Competition gone mad
Myself and the usual suspects arranged a species hunt for the whole of August. Size of fish was irrelevant and to be honest what started out as a relatively simple format got progressively more complex. Without going into too much detail the more common of our fishes counted for 10 points rising to 50 points for things like Sea Trout, Salmon and controversially, Bass. The list of species was taken from an old freshwater fishes book of mine. Strangely it had Flounder and Bass in there. Living on the coast this suited me though and I approached the competition with a fair degree of confidence. We were all allocated a number which you'll see appear in all the catch shots to ensure fair play. What started out as a bit of fun and a chance to do something a little different angling-wise soon turned into a fierce battle........
A Slow Start
The first two fish I caught in August (from two different venues) were Hybrids which was most annoying as they didn't count. Bugger.
On my next day off I had a plan. Off to the secret river to catch Perch and Pike and maybe a Sea Trout then head downstream to the coast to get a flounder and high-scoring Bass. As expected the Perch wasn't a problem.......
With the river running clear I could see there were no Pike present so I wandered downstream. I couldn't see any there either but I did see a massive shoal of hybrids and strangely a dead swan. Even further downstream the Sea Trout pool was disappointingly lifeless. After departing the secret river I stopped off at a couple of drains on the way to the coast in hope of a Pike. No chance -they were absolutely choked with weed. Rather oddly I saw another dead swan by the drain side. I didn't really think anything else of it and made my way down to the remote beach. After the usual slog down to the water I fished hard for a couple of hours at low tide with not a single bite. This competition was not going to be as simple as I thought...........
I remembered Mrs P telling me of a pond she had encountered one day while out with the dogs. I set off to find it with a short float rod, some maggots, a loaf of bread and of course, the dogs. It certainly looked promising.........
After spraying a few maggots it was clear that all the fish were well up the water so I quickly switched to tiny pieces of floating bread. First to fall were a couple of tiny but perfectly formed Carp followed by a decent Rudd...........
I was having great fun but to be totally honest it did strike me that I wasn't really meant to be there. It had the feel of a stock pond rather than fishery. With a few points secured we made our way home. Sadly the Carp only counted once despite being different varieties.
Next up was an unexpected visit from our old friend Phil Kenny. He was keen to have one last go for the Smoothounds from the beach and with a favourable weather forecast I was happy to join him. After making the two hour journey we headed first to the excellent Big Catch Tackle (not sponsored, not interested in being sponsored- just a bloody good shop) and then up to the beach. The forecast was accurate- it was absolutely glorious and we spent a very pleasant afternoon on the sand. Sadly fish were very thin on the ground but I did manage to score some points for the comp with this plucky little flounder.........
With the first week of the competition over I had a rather paltry 60 points. Dave Owen had streaked into the lead with 160. I had a lot of ground to make up.
Week 2
I travelled up to the upper reaches of the Bream river mainly with the intention of catching a high-scoring Brown Trout. The first peg I fished was a bit of a dead loss, too weedy. I wandered off and soon found a lovely little spot below a small weir and happily trotted a small stick float downstream.......
A welcome Dace soon came to hand.............
I was thoroughly enjoying teasing my float down the crease of the flow when a family of Swans came down the weir. Although only small it was still a good drop for Dad, Mum and three youngsters. A few minutes later they reappeared from downstream and something wasn't quite right. The male Swan headed straight for me which I found very odd. On reflection I was sat in the only place they could climb out and get back above the weir. Anyway all of a sudden an angry Male Swan came into view and he wasn't happy. All hell broke loose.
Dad and one of the cygnets made it out as I moved back. The angry Male attacked the female Swan with a viciousness I'd never witnessed before in these otherwise regal birds. It was trying to drown her. I stepped in and poked the male away with my landing net. The female quickly got out and joined the Dad and their baby upstream. That left two cygnets at the mercy of the angry male. It was relentless in attacking them. I stepped in again and again but he was really determined. It went on for far too long and although in a busy area the apathy of the general public that morning was irritating to say the least. Realising nobody really gave a toss and as a last resort I netted a cygnet in my landing net. I say cygnet but they were more like teenagers, it was bloody heavy as I lifted it to safety. It displayed absolutely no gratitude whatsoever the miserable sod. The other one was exactly the same- hissing and lunging at me as I set it free safely upstream. Quite an ordeal for one and ruined my swim for another, Then I remembered the two dead swans from the week before. Most people probably blame Otters when they see such sights- I'd like to bet most of the time it's the actions of another Swan. Vicious bastards. Little did I realise the angry Swan had just done me a massive favour........
I moved a good distance upstream in search of another weed free area when I stumbled upon a small clearing in the bank-to-bank rushes. After firing in a pouch full of maggots I cast the stick float over to far bank. Remarkably the float disappeared straight away and a bristling perch was landed. After a couple more Perch I finally added to my points tally with a fine looking Roach.........
On my very next cast I hooked something far more substantial and I had a few nervous moments as I steered it away from the lush vegetation. It didn't feel like a Trout so I thought it was maybe a big Perch but then it didn't really feel like one of them either. What the hell could it be? It flashed in the water and I took a sharp intake of breath. Surely not? It couldn't be could it I thought as I slipped the net under its silvery flanks. It bloody was...............my dream, the holy grail...........a two pound Roach.........
I still can't quite put it into words. It is strange though. Normally when I catch a big fish I want to get a bigger one or catch more. The reality of this capture though is slightly different. It was obviously and old fish, undisturbed and unknown for its whole life. A one off or if not, one of very very few in the entire twenty mile stretch of the river. A very special capture and without any shadow of doubt- a fish of a lifetime. Will I ever get another from a river locally? Probably not.
I went back to the car slightly dazed and regathered my thoughts.......oh yes, Brown Trout. I knew just the place. A short journey down the river valley and I was soon beside another weir, albeit bigger than the first. I cast a worm out on a 4AAA link and waited. No bites were forthcoming and I decided to have a recast. Upon retrieval a bloody great Brownie lashed out at my shot as I brought them in. Arrrrg! I dashed back to the car for my lure gear but despite covering the whole weirpool with a variety of lures I never saw it again.........
On the way home I stopped at another river and was left most frustrated when a Sea Trout leaped straight over my stick float. The plethora of Perch and Gudgeon I caught were scant consolation......
The day after I had a plan. My local drain is usually carpeted with Eels this time of year. I selected a spot that I usually fish near a big bush, I should I say ex bush, someone had cut it down. With just a few chippings left I made my way down the steep bank and sat where it used to be. It soon became apparent I had sat atop a massive ants nest. It really was most unpleasant but I'd already cupped in a couple of pots of chopped worms and thought it wouldn't take long to catch an Eel (worth 30 points). As I shipped out I reached for my fourth pole section and just clipped it with my hand. I watched as it slid in and sank straight to the bottom. The word Shimano was staring back at me in four feet of water. I went in for it. With a good six inches of silt by the time I got out I was pretty much saturated. At least it held the ants off for a bit as I fished on in vain. What an idiot.
I did manage to catch a Stickleback after work one night in the margins of a boating lake which brought my score to a round hundred. Dave had moved the goalposts slightly by progressing to 180 while Martin, Jamie and the old caged panther Andy were all ahead of me too. Speculation began to mount about a winning total. 220 was thought to be a good score...............
Week 3
After having another go for a Brownie with no joy I decided to to bite the bullet and travel over to Withern Mill Trout fishery. I paid a reasonable £15 for a catch and release ticket. To be honest I didn't really enjoy it. I hadn't fly fished for a couple of years and had to endure a multitude of tangles and lost flies in trees and vegetation. In addition to that my first fish was a Perch. I then found some Grayling in the river. I actually had my fly taken twice and quickly spat out again much to my annoyance. Two Brownies in the Lakes did the very same. I did catch three Rainbows though. Sadly only worth 10 points.........
I had a lovely chat with the owner on the way out, mainly about the river. She too had seen the giant Dog Otter I had seen the season before......'As big as my Labrador' she said. Now without getting into the whole Otter debate she did say she had five hundred goldfish in a stock pond....had being the operative word. A local Otter family had eaten the lot. They also prefer Brownies to Rainbows I learnt. She was great though, she said she hears them playing on her lawn regularly and seemed resigned to sharing the river with them. The local Cormorants received a different response though. Still even though she has a licence to shoot them she always fires just to scare them off. Where they are concerned I'm not sure I could show the same restraint. On that particular river they are a real problem. As she rightly stated- 'They are no longer a sea bird'.
I spent the rest of the week trying for some of our more diminutive river inhabitants. The Bullhead was relatively easy to come across and scored a valuable 30 points............
The Stoneloach was an entirely different proposition though and (I hope Mrs P isn't reading this) I must have clocked up 100+ miles looking for one. It sounds rather silly now but I fear I was engrossed in the competition. Besides I was getting messages from some of the other guys and they were also in streams all over the country in wellies, getting 'wet sockers' while turning over stones. In truth, it was great thinking of some really great anglers going back to their roots. Martin, Jamie, Nate and Lee managed to catch the elusive Loach while myself, Dave and Andy struggled. Lee's Loach.........
I had another go for for the Eels in the local drain and thought I had them bubbling nicely. When the float dipped I thought I had cracked it. Unbelievably I wound in a Flounder. This coupled with another failed attempt at a Sea Trout and another impromptu dip in a small river hunting for minnows left me in slight despair.
Andy was the first to 200 but was soon overtaken by Nate, Dave and Jamie. Martin was on 180 while I was severely lagging on 140.
Final Week
One final attempt at a Sea Trout I thought as I mad my way down to the secret river. My confidence spiked on arrival as the pool seemed to be bristling with life. After a few fruitless trots through I had a bite on the drop just after casting in. Surely a good sign of a Trout? Although obviously only small it was certainly fighting like one, twisting and turning rapidly in the flow. It turned out to be a giant Dace, probably 12oz+. It went back with a curse (I told you I was engrossed). With no more bites forthcoming I made my way to the headwaters, not catching a Sea Trout was one thing but surely I could get a Brownie?
As I peered over the bridge the water was too murky to see if my quarry was present. I peeled back the lid on my bait box and extracted a small worm. As soon as it hit the water a small Brownie shot out and engulfed it. The next one had a size fourteen in it............
With my tackle back in the car I had a wander around, throwing worms in likely looking spots and watching seemingly lifeless spots explode into life. There were absolutely loads of them. Fantastic to see.
Competition wise Jamie was flying having registered the competitions first Salmon. Andy had stalled, while Nate and Martin were catching all manner of things. Dave was still scoring heavily too and his Ruffe gave me an idea...........
The West Fen in Boston had given me Ruffe in the past and they weren't difficult to catch...........until I really wanted to catch one. Bloody typical. I did manage to score with a Bleak and small Bream though..........
Next on the list were Chub and Pike, again two species I never normally have a problem catching. With the lower reaches of the Bream river totally choked with weed I gave up and headed to the middle reaches. The Chub was relatively easy although it weeded me and I had to go in for it. Wet up to my waist again. Simple link-legered bread its downfall. Never known Chub fight as hard as they do in that river, mind you, check out the paddle on it..........
The real big scorer that day though was from my local drain. After returning home I picked the dogs up and took them to the beach. I stopped off at the drain on the way and baited a spot with half a pint of red maggots. Half an hour later I returned and had one straight away........slithery bugger......
My final fish was an Ide from another local pond, decent one too. It only took about ten minutes to catch and about the only target that had gone to plan. Even though I had scored comfortably over 200 I had spent too long trying for everything really. I didn't get a Sea Trout, Bass, Ruffe or Stoneloach and god knows I tried. Sometimes you just need a good old fashioned dose of lady luck. I think I had used all mine up on my Roach.
Nate Green 360
Jamie Potts 290
Dave Owen 260
Martin Barnatt 250
Me 240
Andy Wilson 200
In the end Nate destroyed the field. Hardly the most prestigious competition but some very good anglers were trying very hard so he deserves a good deal of credit. Well done Nate, a fine display........
Some thanks- Everyone who took part and local anglers Paul Johnson and Chris Smith for venue suggestions.
Afterword
While some of us got embroiled in the species hunt some of my other friends were happy doing their own thing. Pick of the bunch has to be the usually publicity shy Neil (he'll probably kill me for this). A childhood dream was realised for Neil this month with a trip offshore in search of Blue Sharks. Did he catch any? You bet he did. Well done mate.........
Links
Nate's facebook page- https://www.facebook.com/CompleatDangler?fref=ts
Leo's Blog- http://fishermans-journey.blogspot.co.uk/
Lee's Blog- http://thisanglinglife.blogspot.co.uk/
My email- the.power@tesco.net
Photography
This months photographs come from the very modest Andy Wilson. He visited the Lake District in the hope of sneaking a high scoring Char or Vendace (I told you they were trying). Sadly he didn't get any but he did take some absolutely stunning photographs which I'm sure you will appreciate.......
Till next time................
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