Well, we have certainly had some exceptional rainfall here in the Midlands this winter. The period from November to January has been the wettest since records began, with the long-term average (LTA) rainfall exceeded in every catchment across the region. Locally, the Derwent, Dove and Lower Trent catchments received 155%, 144% and 185% of their LTA respectively.
Falling on fully saturated soils it only had one place to go! The full Water Situation Report for the Midlands for January can be found here. It'll be interesting to see the February report as there has been no let up since and again I've been scratching around for opportunities. Went out for a quick session last week after the rain had held off all day only for it to start pissing down when I was half way along the A52, so turned back at the earliest opportunity. It also put the mockers on any chance of a session at the weekend, the Trent at Beeston yet again an angry, brown torrent.
It was therefore a relief to see some dry conditions this week, giving the rivers a chance to fine down and me the prospect of cramming some sessions in before the end of the season. In the interim I decided to head out after work to the little brook again. To supplement my dwindling supply of cheespaste I popped into Stapleford Angling for a few dendras and then headed off to Derby. Turned out to be a pleasant afternoon and the wildlife was certainly out enjoying it as well.There was a pair buzzards mewing overhead as I got togged up and as I walked down the field I startled a pair of brown hares that shot off at such a speed that they would have left Usain Bolt dead in his starting blocks. Last but not least I spotted a female sparrowhawk gliding along the hedgeline before it expertly threaded itself through the trees.
The brook had a bit of a brown tinge to it, but was running at a nice level, so flicked some bits of broken worm into a few spots as I walked downstream. Again there was no evidence that anybody had strayed from the public footpath and the onlly prints I saw belonged to a badger and a muntjack. Settled into the first spot, crushing and releasing the scent of wild garlic from the new shoots pushing up thorugh the soil. Threaded three dendras on the hook and swung it out onto the crease. With hindsight worms probably weren't a good idea given the minnow population and I soon got fed up of the tip going back and forth like a fiddler's elbow as the little buggers reduced my bait to pulp. I was therefore soon in the bridge pool with a decent lump of cheesepaste on instead.
Had to wait until it was nearly dark for my first bite and I found myself hanging on as a decent fish headed for the overhanging brambles on the far bank. Unfortunately I wasn't quick enough because after a couple of big headshakes everything when sickeningly solid. Gave it some slack to see if it would swim out again, but when I tightened up I could see my line disappearing deeper into the vegetation. Gave it a heave and felt something start to move, saw a brief flash of a deep, brassy flank...and then the hook pinged out! Thought the swim would be knackered after that but still had half an hour, so rebaited and plopped another lump of paste into the hole. Was surprised when the tip knocked again a few minutes later. However, this time my strike met with token resistance and I skull-dragged a small chub straight into the net. Oh well, not a blank.
Decided to call it a day at that point and packed up as v-formations of Canada geese flew noisily overhead back to their roosts after spending all day at the local golf club eating grass and crapping all over the fairways. It's grayling or bust later in the week as I'll be having a day off and heading up to Staffordshire. Fingers crossed!
