A
late tench rescues the session
After I gave the gravel
pit a miss last week due to the weather, it was great to get back
on there this time round. With the sun shining powerfully from
a clear sky, it was difficult to imagine that just a few days
previously there had been an overnight ground frost. No wonder
the British people talk about the weather so much, it's so changeable.
Personally I'm not that fussed about the weather on a general
basis. However when it comes to angling, due to it's pivotal role,
I do have more than just a passing interest in what's going on.
Appreciating
the wider package
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Although
I am first and foremost out and about because I love fishing,
I also appreciate the wider package that being being at the
water's edge brings. My interests extend to birding, trees
and wildflowers. And it's the latter that really starts to
come into its own now as life is springing up through the
soil. The first thing that I noticed since my last session
on the pit was that a clump of white dead-nettles had appeared
in my swim.
The white dead-nettle
is actually a member of the mint family and so while the leaves
are very nettle-like, they don't sting.You can grasp them,
squeeze them and rub them and you won't get stung. It could
be a 'good' trick to play on someone. You handle the dead-nettle
leaves then invite someone else to do the same, but switch
them for real nettles. That's the mischievous side of me coming
out I guess and I wouldn't do it really!
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The
white dead-nettle
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| Oystercatchers
in the night
Many
times the British wildflowers are referred to as weeds, but
just as I don't accept the term 'nuisance fish' neither do
I use the word 'weed'. Once you start seeing things through
a different perspective, it really opens things up. Most people
wouldn't give a white dead-nettle a second glance, but on
closer inspection it has a pretty white flower and the leaves
grow alternatively from the stalk. I'm looking forward to
the rest of the spring and summer as more wildflowers come
into bloom.
One
thing that always accompanies me on my fishing trips is my
binoculars. The nature of my fishing is such that I get lots
of time to look and listen to the bird life in the area. On
this occasion, which was an overnighter, I heard oystercatchers
calling in night flight over the pit but it wasn't till the
morning after when I finally got to see one on the shore of
one of the islands. They're common enough birds but not so
in this area, and as I watched the progress of a breeding
pair last year, I'm always interested in checking them out.
So far there are no signs of nesting birds yet but I'm sure
that in the next few weeks there will be.
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The
gravel pit throws up another tench
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Dozing
off in the afternoon sun
Once
I set up in the afternoon sun, I found myself dozing off
on the bedchair. One of the things I like about this style
of fishing is that if I've had a busy week I can cast out
and then lie back and take it easy. In many ways it's a
good way of recharging your natural batteries, although
if you fish like this, you know only too well that you don't
sleep properly as you're always just a split second away
from the anticipation of a fish. Well I don't anyway, although
that wasn't true of the angler in the next swim.
He
certainly got his head down, helped along by the 9 empty
large cans of lager on the grass by his bivvy the next morning.
I'm a teetotaler, but if people want to drink that's up
to them, it's not a problem to me. But when it comes to
angling and heavy drinking then as far as I'm concerned,
the two shouldn't mix at all.
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Leaving
it late
With the water temperature pushing 11C I was very hopeful
of a fish. But as dusk became dark and then the early hours
drew in, I was edging towards a blank. I last looked at
my watch at 1.00am and although I am always positive, I'm
also realistic as well. And waking up in the morning with
the sun beginning to rise on the horizon it looked like
a definite no-show. But then, totally out the blue, I had
a screamer on the right rod which resulted in a good fight
from a good tench and a good end to the session!
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