A Bucket of Dream Bream from Barnmoor

Got up really early to day 3 am. As I am working from home for a couple of days I thought I would crack on in the hours of darkness leaving daylight hours for fishing.  Couldn't decide whether to spin for Pike and Perch on the Canal, or fish a pleasure session for Roach.

Flipped a coin and Roach won.  It wasn't the Canal though; last minute I changed my mind and went to Witherington Farm, in the hope a might snag a pound + Roach.

 The lakes were empty, I had them to my self.  I had decided to keep it simple.  Left the pole at home, grabbed some left over bait from the weekend and sat on the first peg I came to; which was peg 3 Barnmoor.

There was a match on the lake yesterday so I guessed the fish may not be interested. The peg platform was covered in soft pellet and caster.  I dug out my bait a pitiful 3/4 pint of flouro pinkie, 1/2 pint of yellow maggot; and finally 3/4 pint dead squat.

I mixed the squat into a sweet ground bait with a tin of hemp; and balled in at 20 meters.  I set up my canal waggler (Drennan Ultralite pro match 2 piece 11 foot) Diawa whisker with 2 lb maxima line.  Rooted through the waggler box and settled on an old 4 no 4 Ivan Marks Canal Dart.  Topped it all of with Kamasan B 510 size 20.

The lake was like a sheet of glass not a breath of wind.  Just a cold December day warmed gently by a watery wintry sun which struggled not to high into the sky.  Hardly surprising as we are almost at Mid-Winter solstice and the shortest day.

The waggler sailed into the air and plopped past the baited area.  Ivan would be pleased his float still had the magic.  I submerged the rod tip and drew the pinkie bait back into the baited area; which was now fizzing away as the ground bait broke up on the bottom.  As the last number 10 shot settled and the float dotted down; it popped back up in a lift and the line arced wildly left.  The clutch screamed for a split second a Carp leapt clear of the water and 1.5 lb hook length parted mid flight.

Tied a new hook length and repeated the first cast. This one resulted in a fish on the drop.  A lovely pristine 6 oz Roach, fin perfect not a scale out of place.  It glistened in the sun.  Magic just what I had come for.

 It was clear after 8 more of these which were like peas in a pod; that a change of bait might be needed to get a bigger one.  So I tried a single yellow maggot.  The response was instant a lovely Bream around 4 lb in weight very dark in colour, really thick at the shoulder an old gnarly type of fish. Back in straight away and the fish were going one a chuck now.  Skimmer after skimmer.  All of them 2 lb+.  What a day.  Only one other guy on the lake (Johnny Grey) he was catching on the pole but not regular, and in between trips to the cafe for tea, he tried the tip as well.

I wouldn't say it was boring but I was after a pound plus Roach.  So 15 skimmers and tried a change.  Back to pinkie and more small Roach and a couple of Rudd.  Couple of guys had now sat behind me and were enjoying the Roach coming out.  Prompting tales of big Roach from the Avon etc.  A switch to double pinkie saw a move back to skimmers.  The maggots were just beginning to turn on the bank and I put on a caster.

Result a jagged little fight from a "foul hooked" - in the tail Roach around 12 oz.  Didn't count though as it was lost at the net.  Mr Moody had come out from the tackle shop to watch and say hello.  He bemoaned that he had to work, and wished he was fishing or at least if he could have drawn Barnmoor in the match the day before.  He regaled the tale of yesterdays match the awful weather and Frank and Colin's success.  After watching me land a few lovely skimmers he left me alone; chuntering something about he was jealous and wished he was sat in my place.

Johnny Grey was now catching a few, big enough to need the net.  But for me it was skimmer after skimmer.  I had been feeding a nearby edge swim and decided to try it out after a swirl.  They bait had barely hit the bottom and I was back winding a Carp that didn't know it was hooked. 5 minutes of gentle coaxing saw a lovely koi like red coloured Carp which seemed asleep, slide over of the net rim.  It woke up when I lifted the net, but too late sucker your mine.  The fish was freezing cold.

Another hook required as the thrashing fish had snapped the old hook length in the net.  Back out over the original area with a final ball of ground bait and the skimmers continued.

The weather had turned colder and a little breeze was rippling the water making it difficult to distinguish the red top float. I was just about out of bait and whilst the tackle shop was only yards away.  I decided to call it a day; AND WHAT A DAY.

A lovely Rainbow entered the Lake and although there was no pot of Gold, I had a bucketful of Bream and I was happy.

Between 9 am and 2.30 pm I had had 26 skimmers of 2 lb + a Carp around 4.5 lb as well as around 6 lb of Roach and Rudd.  60 lb + my best ever mid winters day fishing trip.  Whilst I didn't get a 1 lb + Roach I was over the moon.

It is true, I had the lake virtually to myself and I wasn't using a keep net (not allowed) and some of the skimmers may have been caught 2 or 3 times after release, but nevertheless what a day.

I will be back in a few days time for the Reid's Tackle Christmas Open match.  Whats the betting, I don't draw peg 3 Barnmoor and I blank!!!