It's been a couple of weeks since Gav and I hit the banks together. What with the Big Fish n Show and real life getting in the way recently. I personally have had a few decent trips, and I was keen to share some of that success with Gav. We had planned another trip to Avoncliff, and I picked Gav up at 5:40am; it was pitch black and felt rather cold. Gav was waiting, and soon we were loaded up and on the road.
We hit the road, and I could tell Gav was excited for what we hoped would be a busy session. We pulled up at Avoncliff, and daylight was just creeping up to the horizon. Down the steps, over the railing, and then the fence. This section had been really kind to me in recent visits; while the fish were not massive, the numbers made up for it.
It was at this point that the plan seemed to take an unexpected turn. I set up with the Westin Cre Craw that Peter Baker from The Perch Hunters kindly gave me. On the other rods, I was using a 9cm Gunki Bumpy in the faithful Ghost Zander and another rod with the Swing Impact Fat from Keitech. I honestly expected instant action, but no, the fish had other ideas. As the light grew, thankfully the fish did switch on, and we managed a run of reasonable perch. This kind of set the tone for the whole morning.
Did you ever have one of those sessions where you were catching, but it just felt off? We could not really string a pattern together and ended up catching on all sorts of methods and lures. Dropshot with the Kuore Fishing Torpedo, Jigs with Gunki, Keitech, Zman all bagging fish. But there was a distinct lack of consistency.
The fish were all of a reasonable stamp in the high 20s mark. It was not till we reached the snaggy swim that we saw anything larger. The 9cm Bumpy hit the water in the middle of the river, and within seconds it was snatched in a set of hungry jaws. This swim is only fishable if you have a long net, and the 4m Gunki carbon I use was perfect. As the fish drew up to the margins, I could see a decent 30+ fish, but I was way more excited by the considerably larger fish following it in. We never saw that fish again. However, that spot is now logged in the memory banks for the future.
That was kind of the story of the day. Spots we really expected failed to deliver, and then we would find a shoal and bag up. At one point, Gavin Lofty Hughes had 11 perch in his net. The fishing died off around 11 a.m., so we decided that it was time to call it. Such a strange session, that promised much, kind of delivered, but ultimately frustrated. We had plenty of fish but nothing to write home about, I guess.
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