07/09/2023 - Troternostering in the heat

Summer temporarily abandoned us over the Bank Holiday with some decidely mixed weather in Wales, but it was back with a bang this week with daily temperature records tumbling once again and the BBQ getting a late run out as a result. 

I had therefore been in two minds whether to brave the heat and go fishing, but I had the best part of a pint of maggots in the fridge to use up, so headed over to the Soar for a few hours. Although it was late afternoon the car dashboard readout was showing that it was still over 30 degrees when I pulled up on the bridge in Kegworth. I therefore quickly decided that it was going to be far too hot for the chest waders and that I'd just put on my wading boots and "wet wade" in my shorts. Was a great idea in principle. 

However,  I hadn't reckoned how overgrown the path over the island had become and when I got to my swim my knees and shins were smarting with numerous nettle stings!  

It was therefore nice to eventually drop into the relative cool of the river and get some respite. The level was probably the lowest I'd seen all summer and I could clearly see the bottom with the polaroids. Thought things might prove a bit difficult. However, first trot down along the edge of faster water the float disappeared resulting in a small roach.

I'd brought the perch paternoster rod with me this time, so he went into the bucket for bit later. Added a few more roach, a chub and bleak before deciding to put the paternoster out at the tail of the swim. Swung it out onto the edge of the crease and had only just got the line in the clip when the tip banged down as the bait was quickly taken. Turned out to be a little jack that must have thought that he was a salmon judging by his subsequent airborne acrobatics. As I drew him over the net I saw that there was a larger pike shadowing him. 

Whilst his smaller companion shot off like a scalded cat when I popped him back, he just sat on the surface eyeing me up and holding station with lazy movements of his fins. Expect if I had put on another bait and dropped it on his nose he would have taken it as well but I was after different prey, so waited until he'd drifted away before putting out the rod again. Carried on trotting, getting a bite a cast and adding several gudgeon and perch to the species count. Was interrupted by the bite alarm a few minutes later, picked up the rod and briefly felt the weight of a fish before it spat the bait.This came a bit beaten up and missing a few scales but alive, so was put straight back out again. The perch on the float rod were now up to hand-sized, so suspected that one of these had been responsible. However, the next time the float disappeared I hit a much better fish that made a couple of breaks for the far bank and then dogged around a couple of rod lengths out. 

Eventually caught sight of it in the clear water and saw it was a decent stripey. Looked nice and fat when I got it in the net,  but it didn't have the length, although at 1lb 9oz it was nice fish nonetheless. Whilst I had no further action on the paternoster the last half an hour with the float rod was dominated by dace that appeared out of nowhere after being absent for most of the session and when I reluctantly packed up to get home for dinner with the wife the river was alive with topping fish. Unfortunately I had the return trip through the nettles to contend with and despite striding manfully back to the car as quickly as possible I was still feeling their effects the following morning. Lesson learned - it will be waders next time, hot or not!