I've managed to drag myself to water once since my last post, partly because I came down with a horrible cold that I couldn't shake off and then had to catch up with work. It was a couple of hours spent catching those rudd again. As before it was a bite a cast, and pretty much a fish a cast too. The problem I was having was finding the bigger fish. I was better prepared this time, having taken a tackle box and a bucket. The bucket to be used sit on and to 'store' the rudd. Te method in my plan was to get some deadbaits for later in the year. Even though I wanted the bait for zander fishing the rudd I was catching were more suitable for perching.
Eventually I found that by casting away from the spot I was feeding the rudd were a little larger. Nonetheless I still returned many tiny fish before deciding to move swims. It was to no avail, the rudd there were just as numerous and just as small. A second move was made. This time the fish were a bit bigger. Or at least the ones I caught by casting out from the margins were. Those hanging around by the marginal weed were small.
I called it a day when a rain shower moved in. Having no umbrella, and it being tea time, that seemed like a good idea. I don't know how many fish I returned, but I ended up freezing 29 including a couple of perch. It seemed like I could have fished any swim on the pit and caught rudd. It must be absolutely stuffed with them. As they come in a range of sizes from tiny to pike food I'm guessing there must be one or two better perch in there. Perch were certainly attacking one group of rudd as I saw they shower out of the water a couple of time. Maybe another session is in order - trying to catch tiny rudd for use on a second rod for the perch? Or possibly a lazier approach later in the year with maggots and lobs.
At the moment I'm in the doldrums again. I just can't make up my mind what I want to fish for, or where. Too many options are making me indecisive.
