The more I find out ,the less I know !

I made a trip to the River Eden on Thursday, and things had not improved much at all , water still very high and the colour of mud. 

I had a go with the lures in the slack water of a cattle drink, but there was nothing to show after 30 mins of trying, so the dog and I just had a walk along the stretch and back.

Daisy, our staf-x , decided to go for a swim, well not so much decided, she walked onto a raft of reeds,branches,flotsam and jetsam, and disappeared under the water for a second or two,

she had just rolled in a load of something very unsavoury , so serves her right ! 

No, seriously, I went straight into "Oh s**t ! mode " I was trying to work out where I could get to her without putting myself in to much peril, I had just decided to leg it further downstream, to where the stream shallows up, and try and reach her there, when I saw her head at the bank near me, and she managed to claw her own way out- PHEW ! 

For he rest of the walk, she stayed right by my side, she was very subdued ,maybe even a tad embarrassed.

With the lure fishing not really an option at the moment, due to conditions on the rivers, and the ban of braid on my local complex. I headed off to fish the small stream , hoping for a few roach again. 

This time, I teamed my old centre pin up with a 12 ft float rod, which is a lighter and faster tip actioned than my old John Wilson Avon rod.

I had a few small roach from the Bridge swim,then I dropped a good size fish off , I could not get a bite after that , so I moved a little way further downstream, and started to trot a 3 bb wired stick float, gently through the swim . 

I managed to catch a few roach, a couple of small perch , a few chub-lets, and a gudgeon.

I also christened my new Rockfish UL 0.5 - 7 gm lrf rod. I was not using a lure , but a couple of maggies on a size 12, on a 1x SSG link .

 I just could not resist the urge to put a bend in it, I managed to pick out a roach of about 4 oz,

 I cant wait to use this little wand in the summer with mini tubes, and grubs.

 

I had to go back to the pin quickly, as I do not like just standing holding a rod, or sitting waiting, it just does my head in, I know that a lot of anglers can sit, and wait for hours for a bite , but I need to be actively involved with my fishing.  

Which is why if I cannot fish with the lures, my old pin comes out to play, I just love being able to control and guide the float through the swim, stopping it , inching it down, holding back.

It is almost like the retrieve of the lure, but away from you rather than back towards yourself. 

Back to work on Monday, another term begins again, teaching culinary skills to my wonderful students,

still in 7 weeks time I will have a week off, and hopefully I can get back to learning about lure fishing.

My lure fishing experience is one and a half years now, and I still have an awful lot to learn, 

I wish that I had a teacher to help me, the way I help my students!

It seems that there are more questions than answers !

And the more I find out ,the less I know ! 

Happy New Year