Stop
playing with your food and eat properly
Whoever said that time
flies knew exactly what they were talking about. It hardly seems
like five minutes ago and I was on the River Trent on January
1 2008 fishing for perch. And here we are, 52 weeks later and
2009 is almost upon us and I'm writing my last article of the
year. And for that I headed to a Trent tributary that I have been
fishing fairly regularly lately - the River Dove. For many anglers
the Dove is synonymous with barbel, but it contains far more than
that and as an all-rounder I have fished for both grayling and
perch in recent weeks, with the former being my target this time
round.
| A
promising start but then it's downhill fast
There
had been recent rain and the river was up a little as I walked
the bank to the peg that I had chosen to fish. It wasn't racing
through but the extra pace meant that my cage feeder tactic
was going to be a good choice this time round. Loose feed
would just be washed away in the current but by using a feeder
I would be able to put the bait straight on the river bed
where I cast. The accompanying video shows the rig that I
used, which was very simple indeed as you can see. My thoughts
are always to keep it easy to start with and only when necessary
begin to complicate things.
The
water temperature as I started the session at 8.30am was 6C,
a definite improvement on recent weeks and even on the local
canal system which was still frozen over in places. I was
even thinking that this could be barbel weather rather than
grayling. But I had come prepared for grayling and so I was
focused. And I had a fish first cast which was a great start
to the session. Unfortunately though it was all downhill from
there. The next reading saw the thermometer at 5.5c and then
5C. By the time I packed away it had fallen 1/3
from the morning's reading to a very lowly 4C. The river continued
to rise but with cold water, and that's just about the worst
conditions that you can encounter. It was hardly surprising
that even the grayling were playing hard to get.
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A
fish in difficult conditions
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Stop
playing with your food
I
was still getting interest though from the fish at fairly
regular intervals throughout the day, but they reminded me
of naughty children playing with their food. I wasn't getting
solid bites as grayling usually give but what I would describe
as a series of plucks, taps and knocks. But I was determined
to see the session out and I was glad that I did because as
the sun started to set over the horizon I caught the second
grayling of the day, about the 1lb mark.
I
usually have the river to myself on this stretch but a couple
of other anglers arrived mid-morning. But by lunchtime they
had gone. I figured that they too had struggled and I understand
why anglers quit when the going gets tough but I usually battle
on and fish until the time that I had originally set for myself.
As long as you have that wonderful quality that we call optimism
there is always a chance that even the hardest of sessions
can be turned round by the catching of just one fish.
And a couple of salmon parr to end with |
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Tip
of the week
Set
yourself a time before the session starts and stick with
it.
It's
easy to get tempted to quit when the going is hard but it's
that dedication and determination that can be the fine line
between success and failure.
Stick
at it, you've got nothing to lose but everything to gain.
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As
darkness settled in it all looked very bleak (no pun intended)
as the river was rising with cold water. Yet I ended with
two small salmon parr. I did an internet search when I got
home and discovered that in recent years the Environment
Agency have released 500,000 fish into the River Dove. So
looking at the statistics, it wasn't such an outstanding
or interesting catch after all. I do wonder though if salmon
establish themselves into the River Dove whether it will
have any adverse affect upon coarse angling. I guess only
time will tell on that one.
This
is the time of the year when we look forward but we also
turn our heads behind us and consider the past twelve months.
I've had a decent enough year and as the articles archive
for 2008 show, I nearly always had a decent enough fish
to pose with for the weekly articles. I didn't do any personal
bests though, something that I excelled in during 2007.
The one thing that I have deliberately introduced into my
angling for this year though has been flexibility. I was
previously guilty of starting a campaign for a species and
sticking at it when I should have moved on to something
else. I have actually found a release in that new-found
freedom and that has helped me enjoy my angling even more,
something that I never thought was possible as I was already
100% passionate.
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The
sun sets over the River Dove
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The
year that lies ahead
My
ambition first and foremost is to continue to enjoy my fishing.
I will be 47 in April (time definitely flies) and I want to still
possess that child-like excitement that I currently have in abundance.
In fact, even as I write this, I am going fishing in the morning
and I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. And may that passion never
fade, even though my eyes are going a little and I struggle to tie
size 18 hooks in dusk conditions! On the actual fishing front I
will definitely be doing a number of tench/bream sessions in spring,
as per the last four or five seasons. The venue is a gravel pit
and it's not an easy place to fish so I relish the challenge. My
best tench has just been short of 10lb by a few ounces so I'd love
to catch a double from the water. But apart from that I am not sure
myself what 2009 holds. The only way to find out is to to read my
Angling Journal on a weekly basis and see what I get up to. Hope
to see you soon and have a great New Year. And if you're on facebook,
check me out (I use my 'real name') and become my friend.
Click
on the icon for this week's video clip
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The
week ahead
I
want to begin 2009 as I did 2008 - after perch. But this
time round I'm hoping for a better start as I struggled
twelve months ago. A lot will depend on the weather of course,
but I'm going to give it my best shot and you can't ask
for more than that.
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