Minnow Where You Go…28/07/2013

The weather completely wrecked things at Cley and though I’d sat, hungover, drinking coffee and eating bacon rolls on the beach for hours and at least tried to fish between 5am and 9am there was just no hope. I was pleased then that my planned assault on the mighty minnows of Lenwade had not occurred the day before on my way up due to time as it now gave me a plan for the day. Or an hour of it. So, straight from the car park carrying the tetra, a rod and paddle and I’m in the water. A few maggots left and a couple of lugworm for the sake of it and I’m away upstream. Oh, camera and coupon too of course, most important. Where were the fish? Last time this place was teeming with them. The weed growth was heavier now though…I paddle dup, could see nothing. Eventually though I saw my first one, a huge chub lazily swimming parallel to me for thirty seconds or so. If you only see one you may as well see a good one though eh?! Up to the bridge, check out the pool where there’d also been baby barbel – never had one, would be a great point to add – and big gudgeon but it was empty. Not a minnow anywhere. I tried for a while, managed to bag a dace… …then a perch… Right, move. I drifted downstream, tried here and there with no bites. Saw a brace of fine chub, one left, one moved under cover, not interested in maggot or lugworm. Tried a clear swim with fish topping, tried both baits, loads of bites, no fish, fats flowing; finally bagged a dace, not interested IT’S NOT A MINNOW!!! Competitive angling may be fun but it removes the appreciation of other fish and that I don’t like. It’s like the cod angler catching a whiting on his big bait, something I’ve criticised many times in the past. Now I think I understand it a bit more…and I still don’t like it. At least I didn’t hate that dace! I drifted down again and finally, FINALLY spotted a small shoal in a clear area a metre wide. Now I had to keep stationary-ish in a flowing stream, cast accurately into a tiny spot, watch the float, strike sharply and stay far enough away not to spook them…not easy at all! Did it though. Right, job done. Starting to nod off so it’s back to the bridge to get out, drive over to Ruth’s and beg a coffee then go home and sleep…need to check if the gobies are in tonight in preparation of a launch…that’s me on 18 species for the month anyhow, going well.