The picture shows the end net of fish I had from the canal the other day. Not bad for an iPhone snap I think!
I got out on the opening day day for some luring in the end. I was planning to go for a bait fishing session, but my wife had the car so I decided to go off luring on the bike instead. It was a glorious evening (multitude of flies notwithstanding) and the river looked fantastic. I started just by the canal aqueduct in a nice spot that had a fairly fast flow to the near bank, with a slacker area opposite. I tried a few of the old faithfuls through but didn’t have any interest. Last year I had seen some small perch in the swim so I stuck on a size 1 Mepps spinner - if there are fish to be had, I don’t care about the size! Second cast through I hit something which took off at speed and gave a hell of a scrap. I was sure it was a pike to start with, but then I caught a glimpse and realised it was a big perch. I slid the net under it and got the spinner out and had a good look - definitely a PB perch and must have been over a pound. Super start to the season!
I had one other little perch and a good bit of sport with a jack pike who followed my lure in three or four times, but nothing else. Still, I went home very happy and pleased that my first session on the river this season had gone well. Next time I will be out on the float rod as I haven’t float-fished this river yet. Watch this space.