I too have decided to join in the fun with the Bloggers 2015/16 Challenge.
I read a post by George Burton some time back explaining the plot which he, Russell and Jeff were hatching and the thought of entering swilled around my brain for a week or two before something happened which had me tearing at my laptop bag in the affirmative.
My planned itinerary for a day off work was changed all of a sudden. So after a minor lie in I found myself with the day stretched out before me. After the gym I went fishing for the afternoon at Leamington Angling's Jubilee pools. The tench and roach were biting freely on the float and come hometime I'd had a great afternoon in the sun.
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| Sparkling Roach..... |
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| .... and a Golden Tench! |
But it was once I returned home and was putting the gear away in the garage - the bricks of which had soaked up the sun's heat leaving it warm whilst outside the dusk air cooled rapidly - that I had a strong desire to write about fishing again.
Admittedly not actually going fishing that much is probably enough of a reason for this thought not to have occurred to me before then, but occur it did, so I put two and two together and surmised that entering the challenge might provide the required impetus to quench my thirst.
Let's see.
I began my quest for mind-blowing monsters on the busy bank holiday campsite pool at the back of the Blue Lias reservoir. Now this is absolutely the wrong place to start such a quest as the small pool undoubtedly holds nothing to raise even the eyebrow of your seasoned specimen hunter, but with children in tow and a couple of shiny new whips to christen begin here it did.
We caught skimmers, rudd, perch and tench on the whips. The sun came out and the air-engines revved-up a stiff breeze.
By mid-afternoon bread crusts were flung and the noisy slurping commenced. A couple of small carp off the top quickly followed then a half-decent common could be seen making shapes for the loaf.
It's 'impressive' size meant things quickly became a good deal more serious for the children, and it was tracked to the windward bank on bended-knee and in hushed tones.
It fed cautiously, hard against the marginal grass and came and went a number of times.
I did what I do best and took cover amongst the foliage of a convenient sapling (I could hear them laughing at me in their caravans.....think about that....someone in a caravan laughing at you). I dangled my bread onto the water where I next expected leviathan to make an appearance, line perpendicular to the surface. Good as gold the dark shape materialised after an anxious few minutes and sipped down supper.
I horsed the fish away from danger and handed the rod to the eldest who did the rest with aplomb - with the odd squeal from her and clutch.
So here she is, all thirteen eight of her. Common as you like, fun to chase round a pool and a big lover of bread products.
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| Miss A. Jobling. |
