Afternoon session on the Avon

I managed to get to the Avon near Amesbury for a few hours the other afternoon,  I had a couple of pints of maggots to use up so just packed a rod, net and a few stick floats and bits and started to walk up the river.

The first swim I went to I know quite well as I have had a few decent Dace from it in the past, it took a few runs through but I managed about 10 Grayling to a pound and a few small Trout.  I started to miss a few bites that I thought were really small fish so I moved upstream to another good swim.

In the second swim there is a crease along the inside and a tree overhanging the far bank, in the current conditions of the river being up and lightly coloured the crease was the better option.  It didn’t take long again and I was soon into decent Grayling again, but after about an hour I got itchy feet so moved upstream again to a swim where I knew there was a chance of a Roach. 

I have caught Roach to 1lb 10oz many years ago from this stretch so I am always hoping that there may be a few of his siblings around to this day, anyway it is another nice near bank crease with good depth. I had a good start and after a few small fish I hooked into what I thought for a moment was the bottom, I felt a few good head nods and the fish moved across the current towards a dying weed bed, just as I changed angle to try and turn the fish the size 20 hook pinged out leaving me distraught.

After that loss I managed a few decent Grayling and a final move saw me back in my original swim until I lost the light, there I managed 4 or 5 Trout to a pound and a half so it was not a bad little session at all.

Here is a short video from the session:

What would I have done differently?

Not a lot really, perhaps a bigger hook may have kept the unseen fish on but then again would I have had the bite off it?

Bread next time.

Tackle used:

Rod: Browning Champions Choice 13ft Super Light

Reel: Daiwa TDM 2508

Line: 0.18mm Supplex to 0.10mm hooklength

Hook: 20 B560

Float: 4 No4 Dave Harrell Shallow water stick, best pattern was reversed bulk in bottom 3 feet of the rig.