FIRST WEEK ROUND UP

As opening days of the fishing season go, it has to be said I’ve had better! Having baited up a favourite swim on the Weaver every other day for a fortnight and anticipating a bumper bag of bream, my hopes came crashing down or rather splashing down when days of rain saw the river charging through when I arrived at my pitch for an all-night session. I gave it a go but with no slack water and loads of rubbish draping my line every put in, I gave up after an hour and a half having hooked only a waterlogged branch for my efforts. I packed up my gear and yomped up the hill to the top cistern in an effort to salvage something from the trip.

I had to make up a suitable rig for still water as I had only taken river rigs with me and it was around half past eight before I finally had my first cast on the substitute venue. I was using corn on the hook in the hope of getting a few crucian or decent skimmers but I couldn’t get past the rudd and on the odd occasion when I did get through to the bottom small roach snaffled the golden grain. In the end I resorted to fishing crust on a short line beneath the rod tip which brought me a small carp of around two and a half pounds and later, my bait was grabbed by a common carp of about eight pounds. My chair tipped up as I struck into this one and I spent the first minute playing it lying flat out on the ground before struggling to my feet and eventually landing it.

Shortly after this the action quickly died away on the surface and on the bottom. So, with the prospect of more voracious rudd come the dawn, I decided to give it best and head for home.

Generally though the fishing has been its usual generous early season self on most waters. The river level dropped enough for the Monday night match to give Timmy Wright a twenty pound winning bream bag and there were good weights for Mark Emmison and Chris Parry at the opening match at Heesom’s pool (see match reports for details). Plenty of fish have been taken on the Anderton pools with good bags of crucian and tench on meat, corn, bread and pellet from the middle and junior pools and abundant silver fish on maggot from all the pools and the river when the water level has settled.

I have heard a report that two members were caught without a rod licence at Anderton by environment agency bailiffs this week so be warned make sure you have purchased yours before fishing (it is a club rule).

If you haven’t been out yet, I urge you to grab your tackle and get fishing while the early season action is still hot.