First day on the river for the new season, I stayed local and was itching to give trotting a go with my newly refurbished float rod. Barry accompanied me and it turned into a bit of a tiddler bash with Minnows snatching every germ that was thrown into any swim we fished.
Barry was feeling a bit down after loosing a close fishing buddy and I listened to several tales about him and Alan Lewis's fishing adventures. I'd met Alan several times at Ryton and he was very knowledgeable when it came to both Pike and Carp fishing, I've also enjoyed reading some of the articles he'd written for 'Pike and Predator'. Get him and Barry on the bank together and they would rip the piss out of each other all day, he'll be sadly missed.
One good thing to come out of this trip to the river was another species to put on the challenge list, a Dace. I had several in one stretch where I had to allow the float to drift behind a clump of bullrushes my thumb hovering over the rim of the Trudex waiting for the float to bury, the biggest I could tempt out went just over one ounce (Only just making the board) something that must be improved on.
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| Barely making the board |
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| Fin shape confirms a Dace |
I lost count of how many Minnows we caught, we both had Dace and plenty of small Chub which were good to see after all the Cormorants and Otters I saw on this stretch last winter.
I only fished Maggot as bait, might take bread, worm and sweetcorn next time to try and tempt something a bit better.
