The Sessions - Jan & Feb 2020
More bad weather & work…..
I signed off last month after a having had a very lean couple of months with not being able to get out fishing due to the flooding and bad weather, I love my winter fishing so was hoping the start of the new year would be better.
4 Jan - River Trent, Tidal
Having not been out for over a month I was itching to go, the river had finally settled down a little and the weather conditions were good with warm days at 7-10 degrees, cloudy and light south westerly winds. The level was at normal winter level, still carrying a tinge of colour and the temp on the rise at 8 degrees.
I drove up to a section that doesn’t get busy but does good fish and went to the area I’d had my Oct-19 16 pounder, when I drove down to the parking area I was shocked to see three cars there, that is not good as there are not many swims on the section despite it being quite big. I went and walked the section and found my first three choice swims all taken. I could have gone for a drive but with it being a Sat I knew the popular sections would be busy so I dropped in a swim I hadn’t fished before. It doesn’t do lots of fish but does produce the odd big one. I got to work with the leading rod and with no obvious feature I put both just short of the middle for a 16:30 start.
I felt I needed to bait up a bit so put a mixture of 30 Asbo and Pandemic through the swim and fished both rods on double 15mm Asbo.
I went through until 09:30 the next morning, recasting every 3-4 hours and didn’t get a touch. The river was very out of sorts with very little being caught at all.
12 Jan – River Trent, Tidal
We’d had more rain, the river had risen again and was started to drop but after more rain was rising again so I headed to the area I know fishes well in a flood, it’s important to catch this section right as it can quickly become unfishable. The weather was cloudy, southerly wing and 9 degrees and I arrived to find the level rising, the water muddy brown and leaves and rubbish coming down. The section is good in these conditions as the slack water is under my feet and generally the rubbish is not an issue.
I started 18:00 and put both in the deep margin, one on double 15mm Asbo, the other I dropped to a size 12 hook and single Pandemic dumbbell, both with pva bags and I put 30 boilies through the swim.
Well I fared a little better with two high singles coming to the smaller bait in the evening but then nothing all night. The river had risen two feet and was a very muddy brown.
24 Jan – River Trent, Tidal
The weather had been all over the place with frost and cold nights since my last session, after two warmer days I’d felt I may have a chance so drove up the A1 again. I went back to my big fish section and was pleased to find it empty and got set up for 15:00.
I spoppered out two pints of maggots to get some life and movement in the swim, I have done this before following a cold snap and it worked well.
This time it did not work, I fished up to midday the following day for two 7-8 pound Bream.
30 Jan – River Trent, Tidal
The last six days had seen more cold frosty nights but with a warm front coming in I wanted to fish so drove up after work arriving on the river at 20:00. I looked at both sections I’d been fishing this winter to find all my chosen areas taken which I found very surprising in Jan.
I drove up to the Barbel Society section at Sutton arriving at 22:30 and found the only person fishing in my first choice swim, this wasn’t looking good at all. I spent an hour driving and walking the section looking for a suitable area and settled in a swim on the outside of a big bend at 23:30 and set up.
The night was forecast to be warm for Jan at 6-8 degrees, cloudy with a strong south westerly wind so I managed to get my bivvy below the flood bank for a bit of shelter from the wind. I put one on double 15mm Asbo and the other on a single 22mm Pandemic both with pva bags and put them a two rods lengths out in the deep margin, I then put 30 15mm Asbo and 30 12mm Pandemic through the swim.
31 Jan
00:50 – I didn’t have to wait long, the Asbo rod went over and I finally had a good fish on again, all went well and a very welcome 11-09 went in the net. It turned out to be the bent fish I’d caught on 16 June, still looking weird but over a pound heavier and doing ok. I had another at 9 plus through the night and rebaited again with 20 Asbo in the morning. I then had another at 9 plus in the morning all coming to Asbo so I changed the other rod to the same bait.
The wind had really got going bringing in showers through the day. I rebaited again with another 20 Asbo at lunchtime. I had another two high singles early evening and put another 10 baits in each time.
20:40 – the upstream rod went over and this was definitely a better fish, I wasn’t disappointed and a 13-05 went in the net.
23:30 – the same rod went again and I landed another double at 10-08, the steady baiting was paying off.
1 Feb
I had another single through the night and really thought I’d catch all through the day. I kept bait trickling in and recast every three hours but the bites had dried up. The wind got really strong and made it feel quite cold despite it being clear and sunny and didn’t drop until 19:00. My plan was to fish up to midnight as we had a family meal booked for Sunday lunchtime so I kept going.
19:10 – finally another take, the left hand rod went over and it quickly jammed the lead in the rocks, the trick is to slacken of slightly but so you can still feel any movement, I did this and nearly ten minutes went by before it moved and I could lift it out but then a very fat 10-15 went in the net.
That was the last bite and I packed up at 23:30 and it was freezing cold so I was glad to be in the car driving home after a successful Jan session.
27 Feb – Fields End Lake
I’d tried one more night at Sutton on 7 Feb for a very cold blank and then couldn’t get out again due to more rain and severe flooding all across the country, we were being battered by storms of different names.
The rivers were still out of sorts so I wanted a days Perch fishing, I hadn’t identified anywhere this season so thought I’d try Fields End, there are loads of small Perch and no Pike so there could be a big Perch in there.
It was cold, very windy, sunny with showers and real mixed day. I went in the deeper water pegs and was sheltered from the face of the wind. I put both rods on maggot feeders with King Prawn as bait, fishing one by a tree in the margin and the other just over the marginal shelf with regular recasting to keep the maggots going in, I then lose fed chopped prawn over the top.
I started at 11:00 fishing through until the 18:00 closing time. I missed a couple of bites and then had a flier, at first contact I thought big Perch but then the giveaway fight started and my pound test curve rods soaked up the fight before n 8 plus Babel went in the net…….typical!
I landed one Perch at about a pound and missed a few takes that could have been liners but well worth a couple more goes after the rivers close.
Until next month tight lines and be lucky 😊
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