In The Lanes (Never Published)

Just found this in my blog list, I'd forgotten to publish it, it was my 200'th Blog!

Bit late but I'll publish anyway

In the wind lanes is where I found the fish last weekend. We'd settled on Jubilee's horseshoe pool for the next leg in our duck challenge. Weather was a typical British summer day, grey with a forecast for rain later in the session. I had a batch of boilies that were ready to go so decided to fish on the bottom for a change, the fly gear taken just in case.

I was very quiet for the first hour or so and the weather was closing in, as usual there was plenty of fish activity with several showing out in the middle of the pool and a glimpse of the odd one or two in the margins which is where both rods were placed. I had biscuits with me and decided to 'cat' a few out and see if anything came up and sure enough, they did.

One rod was quickly brought in and changed over to a controller and whittled down boilie to see if I could tempt a take, the overhanging tree's made sure there was no room for the fly rod in this swim. After several casts and a few bait colour changes I had a fish on, a smallish common was the first on the bank.

When fly fishing I notice that he fish like to stay back just out of casting range which is exactly what these fish seemed to be doing, they were hanging back in a wind lane running across my swim, any biscuits thrown or drifting into this patch of water were being picked off by fish so I concentrated my efforts in casting beyond these and drawing the bait back into the glassy water of the wind lane. I had several missed takes but the fish kept coming back and I managed to bank three others Carp including a mirror that was a good double.

My sleeper rod in the margins kept fishing and after several dropped takes I hooked one of the culprits, Bream, I had two in total one of them bristling all over with tubercles ready for spawning.

Jolly Holibob's

Yes, it's that time of the year we we go off on our annual trip to North Devon only this time it was a little different, the sun was out for the whole week! When it came to the fishing I'm not sure if I can say it was or wasn't a successful trip as I would have preferred the tides to be morning/evening rather than middle of the day and middle of the night like they were, also, because of the lack of wind, the water was crystal clear causing the hounds to move off shore, I didn't see any get caught for the whole week I was there.

 

 

On a plus note, I fished a spot just on the inside of the estuary entrance which I've caught Bass from before, and they were still there and still the same size. (Small)

 

Big bait, small fish!

 

I did catch a Flounder which was a nice change, haven't caught one of those for ages.

 

Nice change.

 

The best fish of the whole trip was a lovely surprise as the last time I caught these was on the Menai Straits back in 1988 the summer before I went off to university.

Whilst fishing the one of my favourite rock marks for hounds I got chatting to a local angler who mentioned that a few Black Bream were coming off these same rock marks to worm baits, now I had lugworm baits back at the caravan ready for a session the next day, the Friday before we came home but didn't have time to get these before the tide covered the spot I was fishing.

The next day I had to make a tough decision, it's the last fishing trip of the holiday, do I try on the rocks for one of these Black Bream or do I go for the Bass in the estuary, I went for the dead cert, Bass but the first bite I received turned out to be something I wasn't expecting to catch.

 

A tip rattling 'Blackey'

 

I dropped several Bream after hooking this one and I thought the 3/0 hook was a bit on the big side for the breams small mouth, I dropped hook size down to a two and it was a bite a chuck, this lasted for only a few casts, the tide was nearing the top and as the current eased off, the fish to moved away.

 

Still a great session though.