Slimer

 

Its the first day of the Christmas holidays.  Hooray!  Unfortunately we have suffered heavy and persistent rainfall meaning any idea of lure fishing on a river or drain was out the window.  In fact any river fishing would be a waste of time.  So I decided to pack my (slightly dusty) float rod, some worms and bread and head over to a little fishery near to my house.  

Its not advertised much and so I was confident it would be quiet.  Upon arrival I was slightly surprised to see a bit of  slimy mess where reeds and grass used to be.  I'm guessing they were carrying out some sort of maintenance.  Although I have to say it didnt look pretty.

The far banks had been uprooted and looked a bit nasty.  Hopefully it will be better come the spring.

Nevetheless I readied my float rod and attached a worm.  Hoping to catch a Perch or two.  I chopped some worms up as well and through them in over the float.  A few knocks here and there and then the float sank sharply.  I struck and missed.  Hopeful, I went back in.  But then nothing happened...

I swapped to a little dollop of bread. The float started bobbing about and sank slightly hesitantly this time.

I struck into what felt like a wet flannel...

It wasnt what I was after but you have to take what you can get on winter days...

Essentially the rest of the session was a repeat of the above.  I'll let you decide if this is to be considered a good or a bad thing...

15 odd Slimers hit the net.  This being one of the better ones.

At least I was getting bites but its a far cry from banging out a Pike or a decent Chub.  Still, must not get too greedy in the Winter. 

One exception was a marauding Carp which slurped up some bread, took off like a rocker and pulled the hook.  That was the end of that....

By the end of the session I was like Dr Venkman from Ghostbusters getting slimed in the haunted library.  I wonder if ghost slime smells like a Bream?  Yuk.

Earthworm Jim

 

So, there have been some rather unkind comments amongst the lure angling fraternity on my reliance on earthworms in order to catch fish.  Sadly I don't have much by way of defence in his matter as I am quick to fall back on a hapless wriggler.  BUT today was different...

I was a bit worried about a potential lockdown so I ventured out into the lashing wind a rain.  Armed with worms and some little lures.  I've found a new little spot which seems to be packed with mini Perch (video to come on that).  

The cows were unmooved (sorry) by my worm slaughtering 

 The spot 

The wind was really pushing through but I was confident that the worms would do the business...

Except they didnt.  I only managed one Perch in about 15 minutes.  Something was wrong.  Had all the Perch suddenly gone vegan, all in the pursuit of fashion?  A more likely answer was the little waves and the tip of the rod being blown all over the place.  Unless it was a muscle bound beefcake I doubt I would even see any bites in this situation.

It wasnt looking good.  This may well be a first for me  I swapped FROM a worm to a lure in order to catch Perch.  Strange times.

Inspired Angling Pred Bites

This was the first time with these little lures.  The pink one took my fancy staright away as the water was pretty brown and murky.  I mounted it on a tiddly jighead and cast out towards the tree. A second later...

After that it went mad.  A barely had chance to move the little pink bit of rubber before another Perch had snaffled it up.

I could wax lyrical about the lovely action this little lure has.  It looks like a little shrimp, all alone and ready to be eaten.  Trouble is I didnt get to impart much action into it as it was gobbled up, over and over!

You get the idea...

Although small, these Perch were so much fun to catch and I'll be back for more...

My first lure caught Chub!

It wasnt just Perch!  Possibly the cutest Pike in the known Universe!

What was rapidly lurching into a bad session was saved by a little pink lure.  Beating even the fabled Earthworm.  The Perch just couldnt get enough. 

Plus the tub comes with a booster as well - I didnt even use that!  

Get your tub of fun here!

https://www.inspiredangling.shop/product-page/pred-bites

Hook

 

Much like Captain Hook my relationship with Crocodiles has hit rock bottom.  Only weeks ago I was snagging crocs right left and centre.  Last weekend saw a dramatic downturn in fortunes with six(!) Pike falling off the hook and one eating a little Roach I had caught before biting through my braid.

As I lamented on various forums. Fellow angler Kev Farnell mentioned a hook sharpener. I instantly made the purchase. Good to have a sharp hook. A few days later they were sharper than Samurai Swords.

This weekend I decided that I would mix it up and rest on the lures for a couple of hours and instead fish a jighead with a worm on the end.  Super simple.  What could possibly go wrong...?

I started off along the banks of the river Brue.  Despite the wind blowing a fair bit I was confident that my 'chuck it in and watch the line' trick would surely be a winner...

View from the bridge

Me falling over (again)

There was a small shoal of Chub nervously flitting about. But they were not keen on feeding. Every time I cast they scattered to the four corners of the river.  After a fair bit of sighing and ruminating over whether I'll ever catch enough fish to make a another worthwhile YouTube video. A small Perch decided to chomp up the hapless worm. 

Much like Captain Hook I  could almost hear that clock ticking. It was time to cut my losses and head to a nearby drain. As expected it was running low and clear. But it was stuffed with fish. Fish which didn't seem especially hungry with only some interest in slimy Worms. 

Crocodile Food...

It was time to face my fear and so the little Roach lure went on. Sadly I was hindered by lily pads and weed. An hour later I watched a nice Pike slowly follow my comical little wobbly lure. It was almost a watery version of Smee. Sadly the Croc didn't execute a final strike and instead disappeared under the near bank. Never to be seen again. 

Its like the African Serengeti these days. 

 Cattle Egrets, crocodiles and a snake (see lower down)

A while later, after an encounter with an electric fence. I made contact with the big Pike's smaller cousin. Unfortunately a combination of my 'Bad Luck' Carp Hoody, the inability to set my landing net properly and the Pikes penchant for thinking it was a flying fish lead to me losing it... That's 8 Pike lost in a row... 

Crocs and time ticking... A true nemesis. I certainly know how Captain Hook feels...

 

Not a Croc but not far off...