He told us “It’s a river in great form, and I’ve managed pike over 30lb, barbel, plus the roach catch of a lifetime, landing fish of 3lb 1oz, 2lb 3oz, as well as six other fish between 1lb and 1lb 15oz. They all fell to trotting tactics, but the majority of them, including the biggest, were caught just a few feet beneath the surface.
The swim I was fishing was a deep one, and when I arrived, I fed a few little balls of liquidised bread, and using a bit of flake on the hook. On one of my first runs down, I landed the gorgeous 2lb 3oz fish – a great start to the day, but afterwards, the action slowed. I’m not one to plug away at something if it’s not working and will regularly change tactics (and sometimes even the species I’m after) if things aren’t looking right. I had some maggots and casters with me, although during my time on the Avon, I’ve learned that there are loads of minnows in the river, so I try to avoid using these baits when possible. But, with little showing on bread, I started feeding pouchfuls of grubs whilst I rested the swim.
In the excitement of landing that early 2lb 3oz roach, I’d put my polaroids on the floor. Picking them up and putting them on, I was excited to see what I initially thought were chub, right in amongst the loosefeed, taking maggots on the drop barely 2ft under the surface. However, when one of the fish rose to take a falling maggot, I got a glimpse of its red fins, and knew I had a shoal of very big roach feeding confidently up in the water. Initially, I’d been fishing with a large 6.4g chubber float, but I switched to a smaller one of around half the size, so I wasn’t crashing a big weight right on the fish’s heads. Casting back out, it wasn’t long before I was into fish, with a string of quality roach coming to the net, topped by that three-pounder. I was totally blown away by that fish. When they’re that big, they just don’t look real!
The key to catching was to feed a ‘pult of maggots and casters the drop the float right on top of the bait, so my hookbait was falling alongside the free offerings. It was almost sight fishing at times, as I could watch the roach intercepting maggots on the drop. Some of them were almost taking baits off the surface – they were that confident! I probably wouldn’t have caught that fish had I not shallowed-up, and in some ways, I think the fact that I’m new to the area has helped in my decent run of form. Of course, there’s luck involved, but rather than following tips and tricks from others, I’m fishing every swim with ‘fresh eyes’, and relying on plain old watercraft to catch.
I used to fish on the River Lea lots, as it was nearer my old home in Essex, and on there I certainly fell into the trap of doing the same things time and again. But here, on the Avon, I don’t yet have habits and routines. This autumn, why not try looking at your local river in a different way, or even try somewhere new. You never know, a unique result might just come of the change.”
Well done Mark!!