Do
your decorating - I'm going fishing!
They say
that time flies, well as I loaded the car to begin a gravel pit campaign,
that certainly felt very true indeed. It only seemed like five minutes
ago that I was filling the car with barbel gear on the evening of
June 15 about to hit the River Severn for opening day. And here I
was, nine months later, wondering where the weeks had gone. One thing
is for sure though, as much as I love rivers, I also love gravel pits.
Plus canals, streams, ponds and lakes. I think you get the picture.
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The
'bad old days' of the close season
Having first picked up a rod when I was just a boy, I can
remember the 'bad old days' when March 15 meant no fishing
at all for 3 months. Yes, there was sea angling and fly fishing
to be had, but as I lived as far from the coast as could be
in England, that wasn't an option. And because I came from
a non-car family, and not an angling one at that, even the
possibility of getting to a trout venue was way beyond my
bicycle range.
So
sit it out I did. I used to hate it, and can remember reading
the print off my Mr Crabtree book and re-reading my big pile
of Angling Times' so much I could almost memorise them word
for word. But the more I read, rather than satisfy my desires,
they simply made my yearnings increase for June 16. But that
was then and this is now, and from the mid 1990's the close
season no longer has the blanket coverage that it did.
In the early days
many vowed to not fish and I am sure that if angling internet
discussion boards existed back then as they do now, then they
would make some of today's heated threads appear very tame
indeed!
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your decorating, but I'm going fishing
But
one by one the overwhelming majority of anglers have embraced
the new opportunities to fish. And more importantly, the almost
apocalyptic prophecies of fish stocks being wiped out due
to no break simply hasn't happened at all. I heard an angler
on the radio the other day defending the river close season
by saying the reason that stillwaters have survived is only
because they continue to be stocked.
Well,
all I know is that the venues I fish are self-sustaining.
The year-round fishing has no affect on them at all. There
aren't masses of dead fish that need to be replaced. I do
smile at some of the arguments put forward for keeping a close
season. The best one is so we can do our decorating. If you
want to do some DIY then go and do it, but don't bring fishing
into it, the two are not related.
I
will always respect the law on the close season, as I did
all those years ago. And that's why I am off the rivers for
3 months. If you want a break, take one. But don't expect
me to join you!
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Tip
of the week
Now is
the time to get the tench gear out. The temperatures are
on the rise and the fish will be feeding.
Whether
it's a gravel pit for the occasional big fish or a pond
stuffed full of small ones - enjoy it. That's what it's
all about.
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More
interested in 'nuisance' fish
Back to the gravel
pit, and this was the 6th year on the trot that I have had
a spring campaign on the venue. It's not an easy place to
fish, as you will read over the next 3 months of Angling
Journal entries, but when it does throw up something, it
will invariably be a good one. The mild spell meant that
the carp anglers were already on the pit, but my favoured
peg was free.
I gave it a go
initially because it didn't get that much attention from
the carpers. In fact the ones that do fish it use it more
as a base to put their boat-driven baits elsewhere. So that
suited me. As the only dedicated overnight bream and tench
angler on the pit I could do my thing without muscling in
on prime carp swims. Plus I didn't want to be in a carp
hotspot anyway. Whilst I admire the dedication of the anglers,
I'm more interested in 'nuisance' fish myself!
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A
nice tench to kick off the campaign
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A
single tench in two nights
I'll
share more about rigs and so on over the forthcoming weeks - this
article has been taken up largely with my thoughts and musings on
the close season - but suffice it to say that I caught a single
tench just into dark on the second night. And as par for the course
it was a nice one as well. I fished a venue a few years back where
I caught large numbers of 4-5lb fish and occasionally a 6lb'er.
But I would gladly exchange that for less quantity but the opportunity
to get amongst bigger tench. I've had several nudging the double-figure
barrier from this water, and considering it's not a 'recognised'
venue, that's pretty impressive. But I do put the time in. For example
on this opening session of the campaign I did 40 hours (with 2 rods,
that's 80 rod hours) for just the one fish. Not everyone's cup of
tea. But then again, you can always do the decorating instead!
Click
on the icon for this week's video clip
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The
week ahead
It's
back on the gravel pit for me next week, where I will again
be doing a two-night session. Whether I catch tench ot bream,
I'm not that fussed, either will do me.
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