Muggy Evenings

I've just got back from catching the last couple of hours at Triangle Pond. It was one of those overcast muggy evenings that just screamed tench. Having done my chores with the kids I headed off expecting to find the car park empty. Obviously some other anglers had had the same idea as me as there were a couple of cars already there. I chatted to them as I walked down to my favourite swim but thought about fishing there twice as one of the anglers said it had only been vacated in the past hour. However I decided to fish there as it is in this swim that I feel most confident which is worth it's weight in gold.
Fishing up against the reeds on the near bank my float soon started to show signs of activity and after twenty minutes or so a nice fish of 3 3/4 lbs graced my net. It then went very quiet with no sign of more tincas in the swim. There is a swan's nest close to this peg and since my last visit the cygnets have hatched. The proud parents paraded the new family before me as the light was falling.
Then I had a bite in the gloaming which produced the fish below. This is my best fish so far this year from Triangle and it pulled Little Samson down to 4 1/4 lbs. These fish are exceptionally hard fighting and make numerous runs for the near bank snags of which there are plenty. On the very next cast I hooked a good fish which I lost when the hook pulled as I tried to stop it getting back in to the reeds. Nevertheless I was happy with my evening having landed a brace of good tench.

A Tough Morning at Ellastone

The fishing at Ellastone doesn't really seem to have got going yet this year. With other reports of good catches yesterday morning on the Dove I'm starting to wonder whether there is anything some comments I have heard quite a few times. People tend to think that the short DRAC stretch at Ellastone gets hammered. I have always found that more often than not I'm there on my own and usually have no problem booking on. Normally at this time of year the fishing has really started to pick up but there are no signs of this yet. Yesterday I did have the pleasure of sharing the beat with another angler, Conrad from flyforums.

It was a really bright morning and I went straight onto a couple of nymphs on 2lb Maxima tippet. The water was crystal clear and the lowest I have seen it all year. I saw the odd rise and did manage a few fish on the dry as the morning warmed up but no sustained activity. The DHE was most successful and I also rose fish to a small olive pattern but no hook ups. My nymphs only produced one fish and this method 12 months ago would have got me a lot more on my usual Sunday morning. I also noticed either some black gnats or hawthorn flys as I walked back to the car. It seems to me like we are still a good month behind with the weather, and it will be interesting to see when the mayfly appear this year.

Tinca Tinca Triangle

Last week I took far too much notice of what the Met Office said and by Friday evening had written off fishing the rivers this weekend. Now I suspect that decision was somewhat premature. However, the prospect of my first tench session of the year although much earlier than usual was something to look forward to. The Triangle Pond did not disappoint and yesterday morning I was lucky enough to catch a brace of nice fish.

Arriving quite early but not classic tench early I was slightly surprised to find one of my favourite swims vacant. It was quite cold though and I'm sure it got colder as the morning went on. This was not helped by the fact that in my rush to get out angling I left my wellies at home and ended sitting there looking a bit of a chump in my Barbour and Crocs!!

Fishing tight against some reeds my first fish came to maggots on the drop and put up a great struggle on relatively light float gear. The second fish was a little larger than the above, I'm crap at the numbers game but would put them both in the 3lb+ bracket. Both fish made determined runs for the many snags at this pond and my old Alpha float rod was singing as they made for the near bank. It was the first trip out for my Abu Cardinal that I recently acquired. It was looking slightly worse for wear when it arrived as someone had made a complete pigs ear of fitting the bail arm springs but they are fixed now. The perch was conspicuous by their absence yesterday as I was fishing maggots or maggots and corn on the hook. Normally the greedy little blighters are quickly onto this bait but not one yesterday.

Both fish were taken in about a 30 min spell of action and then bites soon dried up as I think the north wind started to blow. These are great fish and I hope to have another tench session soon, perhaps when the weather warms up a bit though.