It's been a bit of a let-down this Christmas as far as fishing goes. I had a lot of time off in lieu owing to me from a frantic year at work, so I took the two weeks before the festive season. I was hoping for a good few days fishing, but the elements conspired against me and it's been a bit of a chore really.
I fished Pinfold on the canal last Wednesday and caught a few roach. I was joined on that occasion by Jimmy and we managed to get in on the only two free swims on the canal, on the car park. Neither of us did much good, but at least we made it onto the bank. I was out again on Thursday, this time on the far side of the bay at the Causeway on the Rufford Canal. That was another isolated open patch - surrounded by solid ice. I wasn't really fancying it much but couldn't be bothered seeking out an alternative place to fish. I was pleasantly surprised by what followed, and managed at least 3lb of roach on the punch - nowt over 3oz, but the place was stiff with them.
I was all ready for another assault on the same stretch yesterday, but the wind & rain made me look for a more sheltered place to park myself. I plumped for Plex Lane and went behind the high wall, where the water was flat calm. At first I thought it was still iced-over, but it was actually free and perfectly sheltered. I quickly setup and got fishing, but had to wait over an hour for the first decent fish, which was a plump roach around 10oz - a prize fish indeed. Another long wait was rewarded by some smaller specimens and after a change to the second bread line, I was into more fish including a 12oz redfin. As the wind moved round and brought clearer skies, a welcome ripple was introduced which seemed to bring the fish on a bit more. It started to cool down rapidly as the sun started to descend around 3 o'clock, so I packed up quick and high-tailed it homewards - around two and a half pounds of roach on the punch making it quite a good foray.
I was out again today and had the initial plan to fish at the Causeway thwarted by the big lid which was still firmly in place on the Rufford Canal. I went back to Pinfold for a session on the free section by the car park. DC appeared in the Volvo early on with Megsie, the first words out of his mouth being "You must be out of your tinies, fishing in this..." Off he stumbled into the fog and when he returned we'd managed to catch, so at least we'd justified the turn-out.
While we were there, a nutty boater appeared from North Moor Lane, proving that theres 'always one'. With all hands on deck, smashing ice as they came towards us, the boat had to slow down as we were fishing - leaving them no room to take a run-up at the 2" thick lid which was the other side of the bridge. Needless to say, as soon as the bow hit the ice, it was stopped in it's tracks. We looked on, tutting and shaking our heads and then we started laughing as the noise of hammers on bank spikes were heard through the bridge-hole; they'd given up and moored the boat - the ice had beaten them. Why do these nutters bother???
Might be out again tomorrow, but it depends on the weather and if I decide to go shopping instead.
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