What a morning…

Good heavens, what a morning we had! Not good, either. We set the alarms for 4.45am and I got straight out of bed, went into the bathroom only to hear the rain beating down on the skylight… that was the harbinger of doom – should’ve stayed in bed!

We got dressed anyway and had a cuppa. Nick even switched the computers on so he could check the latest weather forecast. No mention of rain, so we decided to go anyway. We got to Bude as it stopped raining, got all the tackle from the Bus to the swim – about 20 feet away – and set up. I waited patiently in the chilly wind till he’d put out a carp road, for him to let me have one of the pole rigs.

I’ve got a straightforward, cheapo 8m pole, which is uncomplicated and has caught me fish – I judge all my tackle by those standards – if it works, I favour it. Same with rigs and floats – if I like the look of them and they catch me fish – great. I don’t like plain floats and self-cockers that sink as soon as you add the required shot… what’s the point? I tend to think that the manufacturers are having a laugh at my expense, so I’ve started ignoring what they say and put what I want on the line, one piece at a time, till it sits right for me.

Anyway, rant over! I set up, depthed my swim and popped the pole out. It was miserable, more like October than August. I tried soft pellet on the hook, corn, nothing. Then I tried changing my depth (we both did), nada, niente, zilch! As soon as Stuart’s opened, Nick got into his wheelchair and dived in there. He came back with (another) pole roller – he’d left his in the garage at home! – and some maggots. Cast out with maggot on and surprise, surprise – bumped a skimmer, caught a couple and that was it. Despite all our best efforts and feeding regularly, it was not to be.

I decided that I’d do the post before I got even grumpier – and the walk would warm me up – so off I went. I ended up walking right round town to get a pasty for our breakfast, but it was worth it! When I got back, we had some tea, a chat with a couple of anglers we’ve met (Englishoak and his wife) and by 12.30pm, I’d had enough and I packed down. I’ve never done that before, but I was seriously fed up!!

Nick packed up a bit later and we popped into Morrison’s for some essentials on the way home. (Doughnuts, milk, beans, you know, essentials!)

We discussed the day and have decided to go elsewhere early on Saturday and see what happens. I’ve decided to feeder fish and want to try the method feeder, as it’s something I’ve never used before. We’ll see what happens!

Next week is going to be busy – Claire and Julz are coming to Angler’s Paradise on their hols so we’re meeting up with them at Zyg’s BBQ on Sunday and having a days’ fishing together at least one day next week. I’ve invited them over for dinner too – brave, aren’t they? LOL!