Busy, busy

The annual PAC show will be upon us sooner than we realise - a week on Saturday in fact! For once I've managed to throw together sufficient rods in time to let people see what they look like before they've been dragged through mud and undergrowth for a few years - as I usually end up showing my own rods. All on show will be available to buy on the day. The X-1 WILL be on show this year after I managed to forget the first prototype last year... There'll also be something built up with my new 'stealth' handle configuration. Most of my usual bits and bats will be available too.

Stealthy

Corny

In between getting that lot sorted and building rods for customers I've managed to catch a few fish. Still nothing to shout about, but the blanks are becoming less common. I'm adopting two approaches.

The three rod, session, tactic is for when I have half a day or longer to spend in a swim fishing swimfeeders over bait, during which I fish with my Interceptors and in open water.

The two rod approach is for short sessions fishing near weed when I adopt light carp gear - just in case a carp picks up a bait - baiting lightly with PVA bags on the rigs. With plastic corn on one rod and a 12mm pellet on the other a carp an outside possibility. I'd not want to lose one. Mainly to wind the struggling carp anglers up!

So far the carp rods and bags are proving more successful for the tench. I've been sticking with my faithful in-line maggot feeders and plastic casters one rod every time I've fished three rods with little to show for it. One bream and a hybrid if I recall correctly. Tip the hook with a couple of live maggots and I get roach - or eels. Fish maggots on their own and the result is the same. With one perfectly formed roach of a pound falling for plastic corn I might give the full on maggot feeder attack when it gets colder and the eels are less active.

This lack of success to the casters is perplexing and got me thinking that I've done best on them fishing over gravel, while the corn, which I invariably fish popped up, has scored as well over clay type bottoms as it has over gravel. Perhaps I should be popping the casters up? Then again, the pellets have been catching and they are lying on the deck. It's a head-scratcher.

It feels strange fishing for tench at this time of year. Watching swallows feeding up in preparation for their long migration rather than watching out for the first one of the year to arrive, while surrounded by hawthorn boughs drooping under the weight of bright red berries rather than draped with snow-white blossom. While the days remain warm I'll stick with the tench. It'll not be long before the pike rods are dusted off again. I have my third 6000OC to load with braid ready for the winter. After a couple of years away from them, I am starting to have thoughts of barbel again now the nights are really drawing in. Just call me indecisive.

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