Reality check

Looking through this blog one could be under the impression that I go out and catch big fish every time I fish, unfortunately that is far from the truth.   I have often said, 'You need the bad days so you know when you have had a good one,' well I've had a few of those bad days of late.

My last three fishing trips went like this-  
I still want to catch one of those silver bream that seem to be swimming in our canals and getting to a respectable size.  I will not do extended fishing sessions for them, but the occasional evening after the boat traffic dies down, that will be just the ticket.  As I arrived about 5:30pm I had seen two boats moving further up the canal and heading for a lock, they were to prove to be the last barges of the day and the water eventually settled down to almost lake like qualities.  I fed the swim with a couple of balls of a mix of micro pellet and ground Vitalin, this had been dampened just enough to hold until it reached the surface of the water where it broke up, then slowly settled down to the bed of the canal.  A few maggots followed this and then the float with two maggot on a size 18 hook was placed over the baited area.  The first bite did not take too long in appearing and I struck into fish that had it been a silver bream would have met my target, unfortunately it was a bronze and so was another of similar size that followed later on.  Two pretty rudd of a 8oz each, a similar size perch and a daddy ruff completed the evenings sport.  Failier?  Well yes in that I did not catch the target fish, but all the time I thought the next dip of the float could be 'it', that's the nature of fishing and I left not feeling too disappointed.

The next trip was to Coombe Lake in an attempt to get a zander, it's been a long time since I got a fish that was even worth weighing, so maybe this season I'll put that little extra effort on both Coombe and the River Severn, in an attempt to correct that oversight.  One rod was float fished using a dead roach, while the other legered a short section of lamprey, both got the same response of not being touched by fishy teeth in the hours I was fishing, maybe next time.

                                                    The last big zander I caught at 14lb-10oz.

The third trip was yesterday along with three friends who had travelled up from the south of the country to stay in a caravan near Worcester.  They fancied a day barbel fishing on the Warwickshire Avon.  I suggested a venue with the warning it would probably be one fish between us representing success, but that one barbel might well be a big one.  You guessed the out-come, we all blanked, although one of the three travelling anglers had the audacity to claim top rod status with a gudgeon.