It was the 1st of May and the first time I've dug out the bread for a session. April had been ok with lots of good roach and plenty of small carp but tench and good perch had eluded me completely. With it finally warming up (slightly) I was hoping for more quality over quantity, something bread often achieves. Besides it's usually so much fun fishing on the drop with bread and so simple.
The pole float was a little heavier than usual as there was quite a bit of drift in my chosen spot, it took 1 x no6 which I could double for punch were things to get hard. The area was fed (sparingly at first) two rod lengths out, I set up and naturally the first fish was one of those good roach, followed by a decent bream to kick things off, both taking large pieces of bread instantly on the drop.
Spotting a lone carp taking a few bits off the top meant a bit of mugging was easy fare, I didn't even bother to remove the shot such was my haste and laziness, making sure to squeeze a large bit of bread lightly as not to sink, right under the rod tip, a load of fun on 3lb bottom and a nice carp is in the net.
Back on the float line I was hoping for crucian or a tench as by now I had a few bubbles making the swim seem alive with activity under the water. Above it was mostly bream gracing the net with the majority of them taking on the drop, something bream do rather expertly leading to unmissable bites where the float gets ripped sideways, I don't mind when the bream are quality like these and give a decent account on the balanced set up. They always look massive in the water too.
Then it suddenly became all crucian/goldfish with the larger ones the latter, it was almost as if they had all turned up at once, muscling the bream out the way or perhaps showing them how to intercept bait delicately, there were times when I thought I was on the bottom only for the strike to meet resistance a good metre off of it, making me think a 1 x no6 float rather too robust for these shy biters.
In the next spot I was joined by an interloper who was keen on getting on the rushes right next to where I was fishing, reaching for the camera made it go all shy and revert back to it's original spot.
Bread can sure build up a bit of weight and I was on around 30lb of fish in just a couple of hours with every one a netter, it was starting to slow a touch but not before something felt a little different and sure enough a tench was soon in the net to round off a cracking morning.
Changing to punch whittled out a few more bream and roach but with the skies getting dark and storm showers forecast it was a good time to go an hour after lunch.
The night was humid and filled with loud thunder waking me from my sleep.
I could't help but thinking, now that's good tench weather.
