Doubles up....

Setting up in a swim which has produced bigger fish than other swims on the stretch for me in the past, I went about my usual approach of feeding lightly for this time of year on the top stream rod.

However the fishing was slow throughout the session resulting in me picking up very occasional fish, as runs were hard to come by. Working hard to try different presentations I tried everything from 2 ½ 10mm boilies down to maggots on a size 14 with limited success. With the water levels having been so high for such a lengthy amount of time i imagine the fish had fed heavily in this period. Hence with levels dropping and clarity becoming clearer i believe they dropped off the feed as heavily as they would have been a week previously.

Cutting a long story short, I went all out on the morning of the final day and cast out two rods with large chunks of meat mounted on a Pallatrax size 8, free run with a 5oz lead. Within minutes of the first rod being positioned on the pod, it hammered over and I was playing a powerful fish using the current to kite its way downstream. Landing the fish she was a pristine 10-15 with stunning winter colours. 

Casting out the rod again after resting and returning the fish, it didn’t take long for it to slam over again and I was soon playing another good fish which snagged me up resulting in me walking upstream to release the fish from the direction it entered the snag. Netting the fish she weighed in at dead on 10-00 and was the last fish I landed in the session. Speaking to other anglers both upstream and downstream of me on various stretches they also found it hard going, roll on July when I will dust the barbel rods off again!