Terning into a Westerly

This weekend gone, saw me going out twice for a spot of dangling.

I'd been looking forward to both days out, with the conditions and temperature looking favourable. I had been eagerly mixing baits, cooking hemp, collecting worms and flavouring luncheon meat all week in preparation.

Saturday I woke bright at early, fed the cats, let them out and gather the gear together for a spot of post spawning bream fishing on my favourite water.

I arrived in the car park, stepped out of the car and soon found that the none existing wind in town, was now a strong westerly wind that was ripping down the water. After a walk, I decided to settle in a fairly enclosed swim along one one of the arm of a bay, where the bream had been spawning some two weeks before.

Whilst the edges of the bay are nicely lined with reeds and weed, there is a channel at a 60yrd cast that has a nice clear gravelly length for 40m where the bream can bee seen rolling.

Spod mixture was soon but together comprising of sweetcorn, maize, casters, 3mm pellets and brown crumb. This was mixed with a molasses and water combination to make a sweet mix ripe for spodding.

About 2kg of mix was but out over the initial hour after I arrived and I let the swim settle before putting the baited rigs out over it.

Hook bait for the session were fake corn and worm on one and pellet on the other.

I sat back in the chair with the morning cuppa to watch the locate wildlife emerge from the slumber and soon realised that it was decidedly cooler than I anticipated when loading the car.

At 9:30am, the first signs of life appeared out in the baited area and the worm corn line was being tweaked.
This continued for about an hour and then nothing. The westerly wind got cooler, I got colder and the line bite stopped. My mind started to wander, and I soon eyed an small fish sheltering in the margins.

A 3oz Roach or Roach/Bream hybrid was trying to keep a low profile in the water aware from the local heron and egrets that were stalking the margins.

By 1pm, it was freezing and having only ventured out with a light fleece, no brolly I decided that enough was enough backed up and headed home. Not what I'd planned.

Monday saw be heading to one of my "runs" waters after Saturdays disappointment.

I arrived in good time, had a chat with the owner about prevailing conditions, catches and other local news before heading off to the lake.

I settle in on a corner of the lake, were most of the features were within range of a method feeder.

Baits were the same and both rods were soon out with corn/worm combo and enhanced meat on the other.

Within a few minutes the meat when roaring off, but on the strike, the hook dropped out. Rod was rebait and soon cast out to the baited area.

The second rods was soon bleeping and a perch of 12oz had self hooked itself and trying to drag the method feeder around the lake. This was soon reeled in, unhook and release. At least I'd saved a blank!!!!

By lunchtime, nothing had materialised, so rods were freshen and I decided, that the far margins would be a good bet for carp, bream & tench action.

Within minutes of the lobworm being sent to the far bank, a quality roach had snaffled it and was tugging on the end of the line.

Quick snap on the camera and it back in the lake.

The same rod is offer again within minutes of a recast, this time it a better fish and probably one of the carp.

Trouble was it was one of the larger carp, and I'm afraid that I was a bit heavy handed and the size 12 hook straighten on me.

By 2pm, the westerly wind had returned and the this cooling wind, killed off the fishing. I managed a couple of tiny roach on double caster, but nothing else.

The only thing I could catch was the terns, who were happy at my failure to use up all of the casters and they could feast on the remains.

Ho Hum........

Tightlines