Earith (7)
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Arrival time: 09.00
Weather: Chilly start with drizzle. Remained overcast with light wind.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler (with 1.2g olivette), 6lb line direct to 12 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots and bread with hemp loose feed.
Fish: 5 tench, 5 bream + small roach/rudd/dace and tiny perch.
After the frustration of missing so many knocks on the bobbin the previous week, I returned to the same swim at Earith to try fishing it with a waggler. I took maggots for hook bait and hemp seed loose feed. I also had four slices of seedy brown bread as a fallback, which turned out to be a wise decision.
As half expected, the maggots were attacked by small roach, often intercepting the bait on the drop. I persevered for a while but after about an hour I decided to try bread. It wasn't long before I hooked a better fish, which turned out to be a tench. This was to set the pattern for the six-hour session, four more tench being taken and one lost. In among the tench I took five bream, all around the 2-2½lb mark.
When using maggots the roach were always eager and I took quite a few. Among them were a couple of tiny perch, a decent rudd and a small possibly silver bream. Later in the day I caught a tiny carp, the smallest I've ever hooked.
Waggler fishing over the lily pads
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The first tench on bread
The first bream
A tench comes to the net
A decent rudd - took bread on the drop
The best tench
The sport was almost continuous although it tailed off after around 1pm. In fact the last tench was taken just after midday. The bream also seemed to go off the feed around 12.30pm but I did take the final one just before 2pm, which was a bit unexpected.
The roach continued to feed on maggot but it was impossible to avoid the smaller fish and I packed up at 3pm, as did the only other angler on my part of the lake. Indicative perhaps that the fish had gone off the feed.
But I enjoyed float fishing the margin, a style that I always enjoy. The expectation as the float moves, or just trembles, as a precursor to something more positive, while not knowing what is causing it, is to me one of the great joys of fishing.
And, of course, as I've said before, this little pit is quite beautiful and very peaceful.