Windy Days!

The weather has put paid to a few of the matches I was intending to fish of late, but with a holiday to Mexico looming Mandy gave me the green light to do a bit of last minute ‘cramming’, get as much fishing in as possible while she did the last bits and bobs for the hols. It didn’t quite work out like that though, with postponements and cancellations, again due to the weather, so I thought I’d use the time to finish a bit of field testing of a product that is hitting the shelves as we speak.

Atomic!

It’s called ‘Atomic Cloud’, from G.O.T. baits, and I’ve had some surprisingly good results, using it in what initially might be considered an unconventional way. All should be revealed in the angling press shortly, but I’ll keep you posted on my progress with it over these pages as things develop.

A trip to my favourite venue of the moment, Bank End near Finningley, in sub zero temperatures saw me put over 20lb of the venue’s small carp & F1’s in the net in four hours, before it got too cold to bait the hook! (Told you I was keen!) Then a milder day saw me going ‘back to me roots’ on the River Don to catch a more modest but just as satisfying 5-6lb of small skimmers, and I felt I’d given the product a proper across the board workout.

Like I said, watch for the results, they make interesting reading. Probably just as well I did get a couple of days in, as the Friday night saw gale force winds lash the region, and on turning up at the regular Saturday open at one of our local commercials we were confronted with all manner of debris flying around, in a re-make of that scene from the film ‘Poltergeist’, trees were snapping and the water had a horrible strong tea colour to it and took on a look of the North sea.

The dozen or so hardy souls that turned up were soon reduced by half as a six inch diameter branch came crashing down on a couple of pegs that we’d decided might afford some shelter from the elements. I’d seen enough, the venue is 100% pole fishing, and I didn’t fancy risking the beloved Tourney Pro on what was to turn out to be a five-peg knock up. Too late to get to the draw elsewhere, I decided to park up at a club venue near to home and pace out my tip rods to clip them up for the Sunday open up at Bank End.

A solitary carp angler reported no joy, so it was back home to anticipate the following day. Mandy pointed out the precarious split in one of the trees at the bottom of the garden, but as the wind seemed to be abating I thought it should be ok. I really love Bank End, indeed you’ll be hearing a lot about it from me over the time, so my restless night’s sleep could have been something to do with the thought of going there.

But actually, it was more to do with the wind (!), which had now got so strong that the roof tiles were actually rattling! It was no better in the morning, but I was due to pick my mate Ian up, and he’s just as keen as me, so when the alarm went off I was out of bed like a spring lamb. A 44-year old spring lamb, with dodgy knees, bleary eyes and no hair to be stuck up, which I suppose could be classed as a bonus!

Getting To The Root of The Problem!

As I walked into the kitchen in that early morning daze, I didn’t recognise the view from the window. Mainly because the tree that was threatening to give way the day before had finally done so! It was actually a close escape; the 20ft long length of trunk & branches was only six feet away from the house, and even closer to the conservatory. So a Sunday that should have been spent bagging up was spent cutting up! And all this after the midweek earthquake, what is the world coming to?

Right, that’s it from me for now folks, I’m off to Mexico with my lovely missus, but before I sign off, let me just tell you a little tale about my midweek trip to Bank End that I spoke about earlier. I was getting among the small carp, not one a bung but far in excess of what I would expect on a day when the car’s temperature gauge was reading minus six. A slight flicker on the tip didn’t develop into a proper bite, so assuming the bait may be damaged I picked up the rod & started to reel in. Three turns on the reel & I encountered a heavy resistance.

Initially I though I’d hooked some debris on the bottom, but there seemed to be a bit of life to it. ‘A fish has picked up the bait & swum towards me’ I thought, but then the movement of the unseen resistance didn’t seem right for that either. As I grabbed the net, the mouldiest, rankest dead carp surfaced, with bulging eyes and bloated body, and it stunk terrible. Most amazing part about it though, was that my hook was firmly embedded in the corner of its mouth! I gingerly unhooked it with the longest disgorger I could find, and waited for the cameras to come round the corner and the frogman to surface.

They were nowhere to be seen, leaving me to set off home scratching my head in disbelief. I’ve got a bit of a reputation for landing my share of foul-hooked fish & them helping me to many a frame place, but this one really took the biscuit! Like I said, better to be lucky than good! See you soon & tight lines, Wraggy.