Well the February water situation report for the Midlands wasn't really a surprise, all river catchments receiving well above normal rainfall during the month, with the Lower Trent and Soar catchments getting a whopping 254% and 272% of their long-term averages respectively. Drought, what drought?!
Thankfully we've had some respite for the start of March giving the rivers chance to finally fine down to reasonable levels, although I've not really had much success when I have been able to get out, apart from the one decent session up on the Dove. Today was just about grabbing a couple of hours on the Derwent with the float rod and remains of the maggots, possibly my last opportunity due to work and family commitments over the rest of the week. Headed to Draycott late afternoon to find it overcast and with a stiff, cold breeze blowing, so walked upstream to the wood where I could find some shelter in the trees. Passed a chap who was in the process of packing up and stopped for a quick chat to see how he'd got on.
Said he'd been there all day, fishing big baits for chub in various swims but had also tried maggot feeder in some of the runs hoping to pick up a grayling. However, he'd not had a single fish, which was not very promising to say the least! Carried on a bit further upstream and dropped into the first swim but, rather than get into the river straight away, I decided to send the float down the inside to see if there was anything tucked in close to the bank. Halfway down the run it promptly disappeared resulting in a first cast fish - a small grayling. Had two more in the next three casts and thought I was onto a winner. However, the bites dried up and I eventually slid into the river to cover some different water. Worked the run hard for another half an hour but surprisingly didn't get another sniff, so upped sticks and headed back downstream.
Stopped and had a look at a spot that is usually good for a few dace in the summer. There was a nice crease coming off a bush on the nearside so I gave the float a few runs through. Quickly had three more grayling out of there including a decent male, albeit with a bit of bird damage, before it again seemed to go quiet. Drew a blank in the next swim by the pipe bridge so moved downstream of the island, usually a reliable spot. However, the winter floods had moved the gravel about and had changed the nature of the bottom, so it felt unfamiliar and just a bit too pacey and turbulent to be holding fish. Had a few trots down but soon lost confidence as I kept snagging up so walked across the bottom field to what was going to be my last spot on the sand bar.
As I did so the waterlogged soil released an unpleasant, "rotten" odour - testament to just how long it had been under water and starved of oxygen. Off the bar the current was much more even and gentle, the only problem being that the wind was gusting straight upstream and making it difficult to keep track of the float in the resulting ripple. Perservered for a bit, eventually adding another grayling to the tally before deciding that I'd had enough and headed back to the car, crows and jackdaws flying noisily overhead to their roosts.
As I said, can't see myself getting out again now, although it looks like the weather is going to have the last say anyway with strong winds and rain forecast for the end of the week, so another season fizzles out. Didn't get to do half the things I'd planned to do over the winter due to the atrocious weather, but not going to dwell on it.Time to have a bit of a rest and a reset...
No comments:
Post a Comment