Saturday 23rd Aug Chew, Sunday 24th and 31st Aug Bristol Avon

Well I find myself catching up again on the blog, life is still very busy on all fronts. I was keen to get back on the bank after my holiday and with the wife on lates over the Bank Holiday Weekend it was too good opportunity to miss.

Saturday 23rd Aug.
On Saturday 23rd Aug I went down to get my bait as usual, I was fishing a Super League practice match on the Sunday but was discussing with the guys in the shop where to go, I fancied the Kenn but had been told it was full of duckweed and they had been dredging it further up so lots of floating green stuff, it will be cleared soon though. After leaving the shop I was still undecided where to go. Got back home put the bait away, walked the dog and grabbed the Fly gear and headed up to Chew Valley Lake just after 3;30 pm. £16 after 3 pm from the bank with a 4 fish limit and catch and release is great value. Dan down at Cadbury had informed me they were up in 3 feet of water. The wind on arrival was pretty strong in front of the Lodge but one of the Rangers told me Whalley Bank up between the Sailing Club and the Dam would be OK. I had not fished this stretch before so this would be a new area for me. After a short walk I was surprised to see how good the bank was for fishing and you could wade out quite a bit. I set up a washing line rig with a bright orange booby on the point and two black buzzers as droppers. I love this kind of fishing especially if you can get a good cast, takes are usually pretty positive and you need to hang on. There were a few boats out but I did not see them catch anything in front of me. At about 4.30 I had a really good take and after a scrap a nice rainbow of about 2lb was banked. I moved up the bank abit nearer the dam after about an hour as I saw a few fishing rising a bit further out than I could cast (always the way). At around 6.30 a fish broke the surface in front of me and about 10' behind my flies, a quick pull on the line to cause a bit of friction on the surface and it took the orange booby, a little bigger than the first fish as well. At about 7.45 I was thinking of packing up when a fish rose to my left a few feet out from the bank, I quickily retrieved my line and covered the area where is rose and had an instant take, if was the biggest fish of the session and brought the outing to a great close. I am sure if I had stayed on a bit longer I would have had my limit.

Not bad for a few hours, total weight approx 8 to 9 lbs

Sunday 24th Aug

James Gunter and I were the only members of the Team that could fish this match and was pitched as a Super League Practice (Bristol Avon Newbridge). There had been a match on the same stretch the previous week and there had been a couple of good bream weights as well as a few decent bags of roach plus the usual 5lb weights. Draw wa 10 am with fishing 12 - 5 mainly because of the amount of rowers in the morning period. Times were not ideal as I had to drive to London the following day (bank hol) to move my daughter from West to East London and all thats another story.

James Drew peg 54 and became quite excited, so excited in fact he fell in, had to get helped out, needed his phone replaced but went on to catch 4lb of fish. Think he has caught something else though as he was too ill to fish Sunday just gone.

I drew end peg 150, end of the trees. Walked along with Clive Branson who drew 134, he told me the end pegs in the trees are normally very good.

Found peg 150 which was right next to a kissing gate serving the path that runs alongside the river, it appeard not to have been fished, prob because of all the walkers and dogs. I moved down a little to give myself a bit of room and looking behind me saw the vegitation had been cut back to allow a pole to be shipped, I was still more or less right on the path which is not good and people walking directly behind are a risk.

Peg 150 the patch is directly behind my box.

I plumbed up on te pole at 13m and found it to be top 4 rigs including about a meter of line between the pole tip and the float which was a 2.5 grammer. Also set up a feeder just in case. Balling in mix was Noire, and Lake, laced with a few casters, hemp and cw. I balled in 8 on the all in and fished the feeder for the first 30 mins, it looked like most anglers below me did the same.

I caught roach around the 3oz mark and decided to switch to the pole if that was the stamp of fish. I caught on the pole straight away and for most of the day albeit small fish. I ended up with 8lb 8oz for 3rd in the Section, Section was won with 15lb of roach. Still had a good days fishing on troting through on the pole.

Sunday 31st Aug South West Super League Bristol Avon.

We had to bring in a few ringers for the match by way of 2 Bathampton Angers and Scott Smallwood from Clevedon due to James being ill, Sean also with a back problem and captain Chris Hook and Don Sullivan away fishing in Ireland.

I drew G5 which was about halfway down in the trees so must have been in the region of permanent peg 135 ish, not great. Same set up as the previous week but added a short line for perch over chop and caster.

  Peg G5 my Office for the day, more room this time.

Balls at the ready.

I started on the feeder again after balling in and had a few small roach, went on the pole line after 20 mins and caught straight away but this only lasted for about 40 mins and it went dead, it was the same up the whole section. I did manage a few baby perch down the inside to compliment my 2 small skimmers and 10 oz roach giving me 3lb 8oz one from bottom in the section, the angler below me weight 2lb 8oz and the one above 4lb 2oz so not good Section was won with 6lb 5oz. Last match in the League is next week same venue. I did not hang around as had visitors from New Zealand staying but word on the street was most struggled.

Ah well theres always next week.