SCRATCHING ABOUT

Hello to all

After a fairly long slog of a weeks work, I set my self the pain staking task of sorting my fresh water predator gear for my up coming assault on all things toothy.

after a good rummage round the house I had managed to gather myself a huge pile of goods,something that resembled a hand grenade being lobbed into the local tackle shop.I reunited myself with some faithful old bits but without getting too nostalgic I did wonder how the hell I had built up such a collection,the realisation of having to sort through such a mess had me a bit cold, but needs must.

With predatory plans in the diary I had found the inspiration I needed to get the chore done,I must admit that it felt good to have all the gear in order,Perch,Pike and Zander watch out!

Fishing-wise I have still been on the salt water tip trying to catch a big Bull huss,these things are definitely my bogey species of the moment.The amount of hooked fish I have lost and unmissable bites I have struck with chuff all on the end are uncountable.Such is angling I guess,there's nothing wrong with the rigs and hooks!The rough ground I have been fishing also provides home for many other species which can prove entertaining whilst waiting for the bigger traps to be sprung.

That point being proven by my buddy James Nicolls here with a fine Ballan Wrasse and a specimen rockling taken whilst fishing for Bull Huss.I think I will have to wait until next year to get a big Huss,I may have missed my chance plus the fact that I need to concentrate more on the freshwater side of things now.
That being said I took a trip out with the dog and some other angling chums to a small commercial that I had not visited in a few seasons to reacquaint myself with still-water and see if any Perch were about.

The weather was ridiculously hot for November,so hot I had to take my shirt off and scare all the fish away with my pale complexion.That may of been the reason for a bite-less morning but I still remained confident and didn't really care to be honest,I was content enjoying the warmth and surroundings.With two livey's out in prime spots and a lure rod to explore the water with it was just a case of waiting for the light to drop a bit and keep on casting the lure in the hopes of provoking something with stripes.

Eventually my persistence paid off as the livey that I had placed amongst some old pads got slammed.It felt a goodun and was scrapping like a bitch,I have heard people say that perch don't fight....wrong.
A fish of around two pounds had given me the proper run around,I thought it was going to be a big perch but what he lacked in size he made up for with aggression.I was pleased to be off the mark with my first stripey of the season and went on to catch a couple more which made my day.

Til next time

Good luck