With summer drawing closer to its end, and the mornings a little damper, the cobwebs a little more visible it was time to revisit that craggy viaduct known as ' The Rocks'.
Plans were made but not too intense, both anglers knowing what it takes to draw fish from the butterley gods on these pegs.
Nico arrived early and set about the long walk ( it seems long even with light kit) to the pegs the sun wasnt up but forecast was great, and no need for anything more than a polo shirt at 7am said it all....it was going to be a scorcher.
With customary skill the two now middle aged anglers clambered over the ' Leap of Faith' past the reed peg and into the unknown ' Chris Yates' area.....it holds many a secret and usually a tit with a rod pod dressed in green!!....today it was coot catchers turn to work his magic. Nico took a peg just this side of 'Yates' and with both Feeder and Waggler rods ( and as it turned out later Pike) kit it was the first visit to Butterley maybe since May for Nico....what would the water dish up today?
Sensas Breme and Dynamite Baits Swimstim were mixed 50/50 and Nico also had 2 pints of Bronze Maggots ( more on that later) with the usual Ringers Shellfish and pellets
Within 15 mins on the first cast with a baited hook Nico was into his first fish.....blank avoided.
Number 2 soon followed and from then on it was a steady 1 here and 1 there...Derek also having a couple a little later on pellet
Now this was all lovely but there was a nagging issue here....we wanted to fish waggler!!....both anglers reluctantly set up wagglers expecting a stream of roach to make up the numbers!!....it wasnt to be....both Anglers plumbed to find around 13ft of water straight off the bank side.....shallow it was then....
With 6 bream in the net Nico changed to waggler and began a pattern of catapult, cast, and repeat.....it was very quiet. After 5 mins a stray carp snatched a maggot shallow and charged off into the distance...the hook pulled and grateful in a way.....back to silvers....
Derek worked hard to fish at depth and then later on a maggot feeder but with the exception of one big bite it never really paid. Nico used approx 1 pint of maggots in the catapult over an hour to tame two roach and a perch.....again it hardly seemed worth it.
Today was a species match and Nico had 4 ( Carp, Bream, roach, Perch) Derek had only 1 ( bream)....could weight / number and species go to Nico ??? never heard of....
Derek then hooked a roach ( loaned by Nico speciesmaster) and tried for a pike or very big perch....neither were hungry as the little roach towed Dereks bobbin around the margins like a little boat.....
With the Sun high and both anglers back at distance on the feeder it was proving too still and warm to have high hopes for the next couple of hours....with Derek having moaned for over 2 hours about the colour of the maggots ( they werent red) ??
Nico snagged one Bream short in 14ft of water and a late one to push his tally to 10 for the session. Derek finished on 7 but banter and private pegs ruled the day.
The nets dried in the now scorching Sun and my face felt a little red.....the kids pointed that out as i walked in the door....
Casters / Maggots and Worms next time?
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