However the strangest thing happened on the way to the river, the more I thought about it the more I started to realise I didn't want to catch that roach, at least not today, I'd had enough big roach not to get obsessed with one fish and I actually admired it, I also thought if I caught it where would I go from there? It was a strange scenario given I had spent the last day working out new tactics which lets be honest were never going to work.
I remembered this distinctive roach a couple of seasons back swimming with it's mate who nabbed my trotted pellet first in the same spot. I know you're supposed to say how the current quarry is much bigger but it was the other way round, It's old mate was the biggie back then so maybe this was the clever one, perhaps the apprentice is now the master, so as I approached the swim in a weird way I actually hoped it was taken. It came into view and it was, this made try somewhere else, after all it's not like I own the swim like those same guys who hog the main barbel spots each time I go, I swear some of them live there. Jealousy aside I was to fish somewhere else and was quite happy to do so, so spoiler alert, no huge roach were caught but this was it's old buddy from the same spot a couple of years back, I hope it's still around somewhere, an absolute beauty.
With the shallow area taken I settled in what is a deeper glide where you can't see the bottom unless you stand like Captain Skyline at the waters edge, I had a whopping three, maybe even four feet of water to play with. I sat on the deck once again legs crossed keeping low, my joints creaking like the willow beside me. I could have fished float but wanted to muck about with the matchstick again fishing up in the water or on the drop, I started on maggots this time as I was after a mix of fish and maybe a big dace, something I knew this swim had or at least used to, you never know with cormorants and the ever changing fish populations. One fish that was still there in numbers were the chub, straightaway I could see them taking the freebies and the old matchstick was soon fooling those chevins as a succession of big white gobs picked off my red maggot, they were a bit tatty but welcome fish mostly around 2-4lb. Then quite a few pristine roach came out to play, not giants but a 1lb roach is still a fine fish especially when they are all scale perfect.
I now had a little rest as the good thing about sitting uncomfortably is you take more breaks, if that makes sense. I got up stretched my legs and had a coffee watching the goldfinches fluttering from tree to tree with their flashes of yellow and red against the green backdrop, it seems there's loads of them everywhere yet can I get one to land on my bird table back home! Break over and back to the fishing and after a few more nice roach a rogue barbel got in on the act, usually they tend to mainly come up for pellets here but one took my single maggot a good two foot off the bottom, It was well rested before returning as I was on roach gear, beefed up roach gear but still roach gear, it was a lot of fun and swam off strong, It had great colour too compared to the norm for this stretch, colour variations of barbel would be worth a blog post that's for sure.
Another short break sees me feeding the robin which was in the process of raiding my bait tub before the barbel made both of us spring into action, these breaks made the fishing better which made sense as the water was still pretty clear. It actually took a while to get any dace though, usually it's the other way round when fishing on the drop like this but they were worth the wait. I once caught two over a pound in this swim one winter so I hoped there would still be good ones here and there was. You know you got a big dace when it looks like a roach in the water and you can't get your fingers around it, not quite a pound I reckon but come winter or early spring this pigeon chested brute will be topping that magic figure of that I have no doubt.
All in all I had a really nice mix of fish on the matchstick, all the roach were over 8oz yet there was a mix of dace sizes, some perch and gudgeon plus lots of tiny chub, plucky little things that understandably did a disappearing act whenever their bigger brethren were on the scene. I would have changed to float at the end but I had run out of maggots having fed quite a bit as you do with this sort of fishing, plus feeding the robin which we all know is compulsory. All thoughts of big roach were consigned to the 'They'll turn up whenever folder' in my mind although I may not be saying that if I'm in that swim with that clever redfin next time. Most the time I prefer to catch a nice mix of species and fish for whatever comes along so this was another cracking little session.
So I hoped you liked the second part in this series, I may do a third if ever I decide to actually go for that roach like a decent angler instead of thinking Nah I'll just try and get lucky come winter. Sorry about the picture of the big roach that I caught the other year because I didn't have the skill to catch the clever one this time, putting that pic in is going to fool those who just look at the photos and I am going to look well clever. However as sequels go I feel it's more Speed 2 than Empire Strikes Back although I was hoping to be more Smokey and The Bandit 2, rest assured if I do a third I will grow a big moustache and look nothing like Burt Reynolds, just like the guy in Smokey and The Bandit 3 I'll also get a Trans Am and a big ol' American Truck and paint the side of it with a big solitary roach as it may be the closest I get to the damn thing
