Finicky Feeders

Been looking forward to this roach session all week and a had done some tweaks to rigs and bait as part of my preparation for the session.

I woke nice and early, packed the last of the gear and headed off to the lake. I knew exactly where I wanted to go even with the easterly wind forecast. Upon pulling up in the car park, I noticed a van that I thought I knew. This could be a problem.
The problem was this individual is also a roach angler and they may have nabbed the swim that I had fished the previous week. I loaded up with the gear and head down to the waters edge and too the swim I wanted. It was vacant and the other roacher had gone further along the stretch.

Ground bait was soon mixed and whilst it soaked, I began setting up the net, mat and rods before catapulting ten balls of ground bait out. The easterly  was quite strong and the lake had white horse all the way across. The rods were cast out and I settled back to sort breakie and the first cuppa of the day.

With all the white horses it was difficult to see if any roach were topping, but there was the occasion fur flying as fry leaped clear out of the water to avoid predators.

Breakfast was done and dusted and the rods need to be rebaited and recast. Upon inspection the bait had been nicked, but with the wind and wave the little bites hadn't even registered.

Lines were recast and tightened so that the slighted movement would register and this slight change resulted in a confident take by a small roach which hung its self on the heli rig.

The blank saving roach was soon popped back.
I'm not a fan of keep nets and only really use on when on smaller waters where the big roach can spook the shoal, but on here I haven't got that issue. The biggest issue for the returning roach is being snaffled by a pike or perch lurking in the margins or under a tree.

The morning soon became lunchtime and after 20 of so small roach, my mind drifted off to what else was going on in the water. On one of my paddling in the edges I spied a strange wee beastie.

I scooped it up in the lit of a maggie box for a closer inspection

This beastie is I believe a Water Scorpion which is a micro predator which grabs fry and tadpoles that happen to swim past. This one turn out to be deceased and just a soft shell, but it was easy to see how it is an ideal ambush hunter.

After the little exhibition into the water and my attention was turned back onto the rods for the afternoon and whilst I managed to catch a dozen more roach they better ones alluded me and I just caught a string of small roach to 10oz. With the day getting on an the rain clouds looming, I decided a last few feeders cast out to the horizon was in order. Alas this just resulted in more small roach and not the better ones I'd hoped for.
There is always nest week.