No, not another episode of Game of Thrones, but yes, indeed, the weather has taken a very autumnal turn, and the storms are taking their toll already. With crazy changes in air pressure and strong winds, it has hardly been the right time for perch fishing. Nevertheless, we tried. With a couple of quick trips to Melksham and the Devizes/Pewsey stretches of the Kennet and Avon Canal. A planned trip to Kellaways for both of us ended with just me making the trip.
After a very successful trip to the Melksham Avon stretch, I was looking forward to trying a new bit of the Avon; Gav was excited to see how the stretch between Kellaways and Chippenham had changed over the years. Sadly, Gav fell victim to the same bug that had flattened his young family. I ventured out on my own, driving up to the parking spot before the sun opened its eyes.
Quickly retrieving my gear from the car, I set off with no idea what lay ahead. I dropped into the first swim by the bridge and immediately caught a lovely little chub. Fished on weedless rigs, I was surprised I managed to hook this one—chub are usually experts at avoiding weedless hooks.
As I moved along the banks, the sun rose, and the dew started to burn off, though my feet were damp already. Of course, that wasn't going to stop me. I met a couple of other anglers on the way down who must have arrived while I was in that first swim.
The perch were being pretty elusive. I switched lures several times; Gunki Peps, Whiz, Rockstars, and Swing Impacts in various colors and sizes all seemed to be completely ignored.
Finally, I managed to locate a small pocket of fish. Despite the steep banks, I was impressed by how accessible the water was. With fast shallow runs, deep pools, oxygen-laden weirs, and some lovely static sections, the river really had everything. I picked up fish from a number of swims, and before I realized it, several hours had already slipped by. I was keen to reach at least the midpoint of the stretch before turning back.
I had seen Lewis from The PerchHunters doing well on chatterbaits recently. I personally haven't had much success with them, but I was keen to try. Unclipping from my hardbait rod, I snapped one on.
The reaction was instant. Out of nowhere, a big perch lunged for the bait. I think I was in shock—I completely misjudged the strike and pulled into open water. I haven't felt that gutted in a long time. I'm so used to not seeing what takes my bait that watching a big fish miss and turn away was brutal.
Thankfully, the fish were still active, though the Baby Boomer elicited no further reactions. I have to say, I do love a cheb rig; I find it almost unbeatable in most conditions. Fished weedless with a slim-profile lure like the Gunki Whiz, it just gets results.
In all fairness, Gav was spot on with this place. It would have been great to have walked those banks with him as we do most Sundays. I reached that halfway point, and I think I got there just as the fishing was switching off. I have a good idea what I want to do next time, and hopefully it bags me a better stamp of fish. I had plenty of them, but they were all in that mid-high 20cm bracket. Still smarting at the bigger fish (it could easily have been a 40cm+), I turned and headed back to the car. I had a few speculative casts on the trudge back; a couple of small fish ended up in the net, but I called it a day there. Such a beautiful place and one that's definitely on the return list.
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