Diary of an average angler

With quite a bit of rain recently I decided to go to one of the Nene backwaters that on previous visits had been low and clear. Unfortunately it turned out to be one extreme to the other since the stream was high and coloured with little opportunity to find slacker water.

I had decided not to walk too far, hoping to set up in the swims nearer the start of the stretch. But starting in the large eddy near the bridge it soon became clear that the weight and turbulence of the water was going to make fishing very difficult. I didn't stay long in that swim, therefore, and started what was to be a roving session in search of some slacker areas.

At the next stop, after to changing up from 2 to 4 SSG shot on the link, I became snagged and broke off losing the terminal tackle. After this the next little slack proved not to be slack at all, rapidly dragging the bait and a small bomb leger down with the flow.

Moving on I found a promising looking swim with a partially submerged bush downstream where the water seemed to slacken. I changed from cheese paste to more resilient luncheon meat (spam) and fished this swim for quite a while. A couple of good casts must have put the bait under the bush but despite a false alarm, when I struck into weed, no chub obliged.

I knew that there was a large bay and eddy further upstream and decided to make my way there, quite a walk considering I had promised myself not to walk too far on this occasion. I dipped in another small slack on the way with no luck.

At the bay the full force of the water was very evident and the eddy, while offering some shelter from the main flow, was still very turbulent. Sitting back from the edge of the high bank I tried placing the bait close to what is an undercut bank. I explored both upstream and downstream but only found weed and there wasn't any positive indication of a bite.

A long chat with another member, who was walking his dog not fishing, confirmed that conditions were difficult. He had come down to check out the stream before deciding whether to fish or not.

I wasn't too keen on walking any further upstream so decided at this stage to call it a day. It was a long walk back! Crossing the bridge at the entrance to the stretch I noticed what might have been a promising swim on the opposite side of the river to where I first set up. But I was all packed-up and decided to keep it in mind for a future visit.