Sunday 31st January - River Kenn

 It's fair to say I have been fishing the River Kenn a lot but with the current guidelines on travel there is nowhere else I can go unless I go to Acorn Fishery which is a Commercial but as there are no matches permitted it's not my thing.

The only trouble is and I have mentioned this many times ..... you have to keep an eye on the tides.

Today's high tide was at 08:38 so it wouldn't turn until approx 10:38. The good thing was I had a lie in and didn't leave home to travel the 5 miles until 08:45. 

I stopped on Strode Rd bridge in Clevedon to have a look at the river. It was quite dirty and even though the tide had not turned there was a slow movement toward the sea due to the rain water pushing into the river further up.

A couple of anglers were setting up on the concrete above the bridge so I walked over to do a licence check. They were very basic pleasure anglers and setting up what I would describe as pike floats with a bunch of maggots on a short hook length. All in order ticket wise so left them to it. I had seen one guy before and he had watched me fish so not sure why they would set up as they did.

I dove into Yeolands Driver in order to park up and fish the lower river. I had just feeder rods with me as I wanted to target bream. Not many have shown this winter but a Club member had one and lost one the other week.

The river looked awful down the bottom end and the bank was very muddy. Forecast was a bit of light rain but it was dry initially. After going through the mud with the barrow looking at options I eventually settled in on peg 21 which is on the downstream end of a bend.

I was always going to attack the river today whatever the conditions so it was basically shit or bust. I had half a kilo of worm, a pint of caster and a pint of red plus some of Clive Bransons Black Bream Ground Bait.

A 30grm open ended feeder and a size 16 wide gape hook at the business end to a 4lb hook length.

I started fishing at 10:30 and the tide was just starting to turn. I cast slightly downstream and put a bit of slack in the line making a bow. Generous helpings of chopped worm and caster went in at 5 minute intervals with a full worm and maggot on the hook.

20 minutes in I had a big drop back on the tip and I hit it hard. I felt resistance immediately and held the rod up. The thump thump told me it was bream on.

The flow was quite fast at this point and the fish was a decent size. I had all sorts of problems as the flow took the fish way down the peg into nearside reeds and I had to carefully play it sometimes dipping the rod to give it slack and allow it hopefully to go back out into mid stream. It did eventually and the hook held. More than relieved when it was netted and around 6lbs.

Then....it started to snow!

It was very fine at first but then got heavier and the temperature dropped as well.

The river was now dropping quite fast. After an hour I had another drop back bite and it was bream on again. Same problem as before with it going downstream and into the reeds so I slide down the bank with the landing net trying to get the rod out a bit more from the bank and ease the fish upstream.

It worked and another good fish was landed.

That was the only 2 bites I had and gave it until 14:45 as I was freezing as well as being covered in mud.

Thanks to Tony Derrick for taking the photo

Given the conditions I was quite happy and achieved what I set out to catch.

What a January I have had.......

28lb of roach on the whip River Axe

4lb 11oz chub River Kenn

3 Tench over 4lb and 3 perch over 2lb in the same session River Kenn

2lb 12oz roach River Kenn

2 big bream River Kenn when it was snowing

Wonder what February will bring?