December started with a real roar. Storm Darragh was certainly talked up and with a rare Red weather warning issued, it looked like this hype was going to be legit. I’m a sucker for big weather and I was keen to get out and experience it. In the morning it was certainly windy but not the really high winds that had been forecast. In fairness it was due to pick up and peak around midday. Everything looked safe so I packed a couple of ropes, block and tackle and, a chainsaw. If I came across any problems I gave myself a decent chance of sorting it out without too much fuss.
When the wind did go up a gear it was incredible. I’ve never experienced wind strength like it. The sustained speed was awesome but the gusts, well, in a safe location where it could be enjoyed, it was exhilarating! Needless to say there was no fishing that weekend.
A week later in calmer but still a little breezy conditions, I dusted off the fly rods for the annual fluff chuck. I really enjoy fly fishing when I go but my casting is still really poor. I decided to watch a few tutorial videos online to try and better understand what I was doing and where I’m going wrong. There are tons of videos available these days. The hard part is finding someone who can clearly demonstrate what they are trying to teach. Lots of people focus too much (in my opinion) on production quality and sound tracks but only a handful really get to the point. I found a couple of five minute clips that broke down “loops”. These simple explanations were great and helped me understand the theory at least of the cause and effect of the rod position and timing. Time to put it into practice and see if I could undo some of those really bad habits.
It was a breezy afternoon but I was determined to have go in the wind and see if I could put the tutorials into practice. The hardest part for anyone learning is being consistent. Quite quickly I found that when I got it right the difference was significant. The hard bit then, was forgetting the bad habits and consistently getting the timing right. It was probably about a 50 percent success rate. There were clearly lots of fish in front of me and after a few plucks and tweaking the retrieve rate and thinking about the fly choice I landed a spritely little fish. I’d chosen just a two fish ticket and with this one landed within half an hour, my time was potentially up with the next cast. I decided to move and put myself into a windy corner and just practice the casting. It was hard work in the wind blowing left to right across me but keeping the cast fairly short there were a few that had a reasonable presentation. I chose then to move again and look for that second fish. I then slipped into the old bad habits and started to decorate the foliage with my fly box. It was really frustrating to go backwards and watch the old familiar spaghetti line snaking across the water as the timing was out and the power in the cast all lost. A quick break, another move and by now as the light was fading, so too was the breeze. This made things much easier. I moved to a fish that had just shown. The first cast landed nicely and sure enough a slightly better fish was on.
That was my two fish limit caught within a couple of hours. I would have liked to stay and keep practicing. Those short, clear and concise video clips really were helpful and this old dog full of bad habits learned a thing or two which was very enjoyable.
The next little adventure was on the Fowey. We hoped we could dig a few worms and catch a flounder. The weather had been dry for a few days and the river was in good condition. We arrived an hour before low tide, planned to dig for an hour and then fish the first couple of hours of the flood. I won’t sugar coat it, the digging was flipping hard work for little reward but we did eventually find a few lug worms and some cockles that would do for bait. First cast for all three of us was just as the tide started to flood. My rod bounced first but it was clearly not the hoped for flounder. A school bass was quickly unhooked and returned. Laurie was next to receive a bite but unfortunately it didn’t stick. It looked like we might be in for a lively session but after that, we didn’t receive another touch. Flounder used to be an easy fish to target and digging bait was also plentiful. I don’t know what’s changed. Have the worm beds been unsustainably dug? And what of the flounder? They’re not a commercial target fish, so where have they all gone?
As the work year came to a close there was a chance to sneak out whilst the kids were at a birthday party (not my turn to take them!). I opted to fish a very small pond close to home that I haven’t visited for years. It’s a cute little pond that’s got a little bit of everything and has in years gone by produced some great perch fishing. On arrival it was looking pretty neglected. I love wild waters but this place needs a little tlc. There were fallen trees all over the place. The platforms were unsafe and had been closed off in an untidy way. It’s not easy keeping a fishery looking good and it’s a fine line keeping it looking natural whilst making it accessible. The water was gin clear, not totally unsual for this place during the winter months but this was the clearest I had ever seen it. It’s a shallow fishery and the weather was calm so it was easy with polaroids to see into the water. There were no carp to be found in their usual haunts and looking around, I can only imagine the dreaded otters have been in there enjoying an easy feed on the quiet banks. Writing off most of the little pond left me with a large bed of lily pads to target. I started by feeding a tiny pinch of four or five maggots every minute. If there was anything hiding in the pads, this would eventually tempt them out. Quite quickly and happily, the small fish did appear. A few rods lengths off the bank to start with but I was able to tease them closer and closer to me until they were almost at my feet. It was interesting to feed fish like this in such clear water to see the reaction to different amounts of feed and changing the frequency. What was clear was that the drip drip of maggots through the water really got the fish going and the ground bait I introduced got little or no interest. The seemingly barren little pond was showing its hand and there was indeed life in there, but it wasn’t what I was looking for. It didn’t take long however before what I was hoping to see did swagger into view. A large Perch with dorsal fin erect appeared from under the pads. It was hard to see if it was the small fish feeding on the maggots that it was interested in or the maggots themselves. The small Roach didn’t seem too concerned by the predator’s appearance.
I picked up my rod and put a large lob worm on the hook. I add a maggot to this as well to stop the worm working itself off the hook. I set the depth so the worm was just touching the bottom. The Perch appeared and it looked easy. But with the maggots I was feeding falling from above, the Perch was naturally looking up and not on the bottom. I adjusted the depth by a few inches but again the bait was ignored. Finally I raised the bait position until it was at mid-depth. In just three feet of water that was gin clear, a bait sat hanging in mid-water like this looked so unnatural and far too blatant. But what do I know, the next time the Perch appeared, the worm was taken confidently and a gentle strike set the hook. It was a great scrap in the clear water and as it went in the net it was clear it was a great fish. The hook was popped out and the camera readied for a few snaps before it swam off, back into its quiet little home. I stayed for another 20 minutes, feeding the maggots to see if any other perch would appear. The small fish did start feeding again quite quickly but no other predators emerged from the lily pads.
It was a short couple of hours (it always is!) but it was very enjoyable. It was a real shame to see the fishery looking so neglected. With more time on my hands I’d love to knock on the door and offer some time to work on it but there’s a million other things to do before volunteering to tidy up someone else’s fishery.
With the recent Perch success I was keen to try for another. After Christmas and before New Year, Mike and I always get out for a bit of fresh air and just occasionally a fish or two. We opted to head west to a fishery with some huge Perch. We fished there a couple of years ago but with no luck. The lake then was completely flooded and there were only a couple of swims fishable. This time it looked great so we set up feeling confident. The lake is very deep and the margins were a good 9-10ft just off the rod tip. I chose to fish just there. Just like at the little pond, I drip fed maggots in the hope it would generate some activity and wake one of the stripy giants. The Roach and small Perch appeared very quickly and in no time there were loads of fish boiling just under the surface, a couple of feet from the bank in ten feet of water. I fished both prawns and large lob worms under all the activity confident that something would find them irresistible. Four hours of feeding later and I’d caught nothing. If I couldn’t see them you’d think the swim was empty but with the polaroids I could see the hundreds of fish in the swim. The maggots had them feeding hard but they were not interested in the large baits. It was really tempting to scale down my kit and enjoy catching loads of fish but I really wanted to stick it out and wait for a big Perch. Alas, even the fine fruit cake prepared by Mike couldn’t raise a big Perch. Mike did find a good bag of fish though which included some decent bream. It never quite reached “bagging up” status but in the cold conditions it was good fishing. Another fine day out and another reason to head back and try again one day.
Finally, on New Year’s Eve, with a bit of bait left over, I took the boys to Waterside Fishery. I couldn’t decide if we should have a go on Long Island or Wood Pool. In the end we opted for Long Island in the lee of the wind. The weather felt cold and the fishing was slow. We eventually managed a couple of tiny Perch but the boys were both happy. We did lose a good carp which caught us off guard a little. Another story of the one that got away for Joss.
And that brings December and the year to a close. In fishing terms, it was an ok year. Not the success of 2023 but looking back through the photos, there were plenty of fish and loads of smiles. Fishing time is going to be limited for the start of 2025 but I’m looking forward to fishing a couple of waters I’ve not seen for a while and of course, spending more time on the boat if the weather allows it. I hope your year is full of fishy fun. Good luck.
