Wednesday 14th April - another "catch up'

I have continued to fish twice a week with mixed results.

The weather has been a nightmare and I've gone from wearing shorts in glorious sunshine and 16 degrees to being wrapped up like I was going to climb Out Everest and scraping the ice of the van windscreen. Of course the weather ups and downs also affected the fishing.

The Bristol Feeder Canal did still produce but nowhere near what it was like back in late March / Early April. Bream and skimmers did not show and the roach where a bit on the scarce side since Easter Sunday when team mate Andy Thomas had around 12lbs plus of stamp roach on the caster.

Leigh was with me on the Feeder on the 7th April and managed 3lb plus and I barely had 1.5 pounds but it was cold. So cold the skin cracked on my hands.

what a difference compared to a few weeks ago

The following Sunday I went up on the Gloucester Canal to fish Castle Down and Clevedon Head Water Keeper Matt Davis asked if he could tag along. Matt had never fished the Glossy before and I did tell him it could be tough. "TOUGH" is a understatement. I did not have a bite and Matt had one bite but failed to connect as the hook length that I gave him broke! ffs!

Team mate Sam Johnson was also present but mainly fished the pole for around 3lb of roach.

The Glossy is rock hard at the moment, there have been a few matches on it but the results have been dire. We start the Spring League up there on 25th April so hope it improves.

Yesterday Leigh and I continued with our head to head series which stood at 2 all. Leigh persuaded me to go to Coopers Lake in Late for the 5th round. I had not been there before but he said it was full of skimmers and roach. Its a small Park Lake and the fishing is free.

Leigh gave me the choice of the 2 pegs away from the public. I picked the right hand peg and picked his brains a little to supplement info I had already gleaned from another old friend Ian Swanborough.

I spent the first hour and a bit on the waggler and had a few roach while waiting for 3 pole lines which I had fed to settle. Leigh only set the pole up and had a slow start but he was a few skimmers ahead of me before I picked the pole up.

After 5 minutes going over my left hand line the float sailed away and I had a small skimmer around 8oz. More followed on my 13 metre lines but you needed to rotate and lightly feed. When I fed it was a small ball of black lake with a few caster and dead pinkie and when I fed the same line later on in was loose feed only.

My short line to my left produced 2 better skimmers at around 1.5 lbs.

In the end I had 8.5 lbs to Leigh's 6 lbs so took the lead in the head to head again.

I feel I am fully employed at the moment as it's quite busy doing the Secretaries role for Clevedon Freshwater Angling Club, working on the river Kenn most Friday's,  joint Treasurer for Sensas Nomads Match Group as well as ordering and receiving Sensas products plus Team Captain, oh and fishing twice a week.

Would I have it any other way?

I guess you know the answer to that one.

First match of the year is this Sunday with Clevedon on Apex Lake Highbridge then back on the Bristol Feeder Canal the following Wednesday for the next head to head with Leigh.