Winter has arrived.

It seems amazing that just ten days ago I sat by a river fishing for barbel until gone 11:00pm without a coat on and did not get cold.  Now the wind goes through my heavy-duty clothing and reminds me that I should not stay out too long.

Since that warm night I’ve been zander fishing on a gravel pit as mentioned in the last blog – blank.   Then a couple of trips onto local pits in the search for a nice perch, caught a few smaller samples of less than a pound but still looking for the big one.

                                                  Zander fishing on a local gravel pit.

                                                   Roll Over bite indicators, just the job for open bail-arm fishing.  finely adjustable to give no resistance to the taking fish.

A trip to the south and the Hampshire Avon was meant to improve the catches with big chub the target, but then I should have known better.  The Avon, like many other rivers and waterways is desperately low and the weed is still quite prolific in the very low flow rates.  Add to this the fact that the locals were reporting very poor fishing returns when I went into the two local tackle shops in Ringwood, and the writing was on the wall.  I was feeder fishing with hemp, maggot and casters, almost infallible when after chub, but that one word made the difference, ‘almost.’   For two days I did my best but even with maggots on the hook the minnows did not make an appearance, now that is really unusual.   Travelling back the 160 miles to home I ran over all the things I did and might have done, and I don’t think I could have done it different – that’s fishing, sometimes you blank.

                                             I fished the perfect swim at the rainbows end on the Hampshire Avon.

Yesterday I went again for the perch and I was surprised to find ice over part of the lake, apparently it had formed overnight and would suggest that the water is very near to freezing since it did not go that cold for very much of the dark hours.  A couple of fish, a roach and a perch had a go at my small bit of lobworm tail on a size 18 hook, but yet again I was reminded that the winter has arrived.

It rained heavy overnight and at last some of the rivers are showing signs of being flushed through taking some of the dead stuff away, the forecast is for wind and rain whilst staying quite cold, but given a rise in temperatures I could be back in business again

Time is running out for that Xmas box present of  'Target set and Achieved' -  get yours ordered at http://www.philsmithangler.com/.