Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon…12/09/2012

Lazing on a Sunny Afternoon…12/09/2012 I couldn’t decide. It was sort of fishable on the sea for the bass though a bit windy and I suppose I could have gone for smoothies or made a start on thinning out the whiting shoals if I re-rigged my anchor trollies but I kept umming and aahing (which aren’t real words, procrastinating would be better but that’s the thief of time and I can’t have that) but I had the night off so I didn’t need to make a decision immediately after all. So I fiddled and mooched and did a couple of bits around the house before making lunch for my wife and I early and setting off towards Beccles. I had 90p. I kind of hoped that’d be enough for some maggots and, not knowing where my tub was, I hoped they’d stick them in my rig tub. Fortunately they would and 70p was the minimum crawly spend so I was safe. I carried on and took the Scupper off the roof at the slip by the quay. A nice, gentle afternoon in the sun with a bit of trolling and a bit of silver bashing was the plan; just a couple of miles of paddling required and I had no rush to get home to bed for once. I parked up and set off. My match rod, shortened to 7ft by means of a hacksaw and some superglue, was loaded with 4lb line, a 4bb waggler and a size 16 hook. I hoped I wouldn’t snag this as my coarse box was still sitting at home. If I lost any shot, broke the float or lost the hook I’d be buggered. Out back were my two 7ft spinning rods with the baitcasters, 20lb Trilene XL Smoothcasting mono, wire traces and a pair of Rapala X-Rap Shad Shallows (I decided to use some smaller lures than normal as I figured I might find some decent perch at this time of year). I just had to persuade the swans to piss off first. I started nice and easy, I got into the Seat and cast a maggot behind a moored boat; a minute or so later and the day was started as I pulled in a roach, my starter for ten! I popped the lures out as soon as I was in the basin, as always and as always they dived into the bottom and caught up in weed. I don’t know why I always do that. I reset them once I was in the river and settled down for the 300 yard troll to the bridge. It hardly seemed worthwhile but you never know and I’ve had a fair few fish in this stretch in the past. I drifted slowly into the bay and manoeuvred round to a buoy, hooking onto it and got the match rod out. A single red maggot was hooked on and next to the supports it went. Immediate dip; chub. Unhooked and returned I replaced the maggot and cast it close into the brickwork on the corner. It hit, dropped down and took a roach before settling. Next cast saw another chub and then a perch. Lovely. I then spent an amusing five minutes watching a hire cruiser working its way under the bridge with a couple of inches to spare. With the tide on the way down they should have just waited ten minutes instead of risking damage but there’s just no telling some people so I didn’t. They made it through eventually though. No bream today but last time here I had a ruffe and a gudgeon from the other side so after a few more of the same I moved around. Plenty more of the same followed but neither of these though I did find my way into a couple of dace; mostly it was chub and perch though. I tried across the river on the other side next, a couple of roach and a perch but it wasn’t as quick here so I went off on the troll again. Snagged on weed after fifty yards and as soon as I set off again the other rod bent round and stopped wiggling; weed again? No! A perch had grabbed hold and skimmed across the surface. I unhooked it and cast back out. A small pike came next, two fish in a hundred yards… …I binned the silver fishing now, with two out of three of the local predators I kept my fingers crossed for a chub; I’ve never done the triple. Off I went to Barsham, picking up more pike and perch and then tried the maggots again by the sluice. Nothing except a tiny roach. I swapped one of the lures over for a 7cm Jointed Shad Rap, bluegill pattern. This did nothing, nor did the Magnum I swapped over onto the other rod shortly after, apart from weed. Fair enough, I’d try for something bigger and popped a couple of J13’s on, a Firetiger and a Blue. Time was getting on. I picked up my third trolled perch on the Firetiger J13 under the bridge then wound in and spent ten minutes plucking some more silvers out by the bridge, including one while drifting through and then set off for home. Five species with 3 jacks and 3 perch on the troll (all pike and 1 perch on the perch patterned X-rap, 1 perch on an orange one and 1 on the J13) but still I’d failed to get the triple. Oh well…