A day fishing the stick...

I managed a trip out on Wednesday fishing the stick float. I'm a big fan of watching a float, mending the line, holding back, appropriate feeding and doing everything possible to try and tempt a bite. Unfortunately, conditions were difficult with plenty of flow and extra colour. Well I was there so had to try!

The stretch...

I opted to try the drennan matchpro ultralight, in 13ft, using an abu 506 closed face reel, 3lb line and a 2lb hooklink to a size 18 drennan silverfish match hook. Dace were the target, as they migrate to these lower reaches during winter. Using double maggot on the hook, I was flicking out a few maggots or casters each cast to keep any fish interested. Starting at a depth of 7ft at two rod lengths out, I gradually increased the depth by a couple of inches each cast until I got the first bite, which resulted in a nice dace of about 4oz. Half a dozen casts and three fish of a similar stamp later, I thought I was in for a bumper catch and was enjoying it. Unfortunately, and amazingly, no more dace were caught in the next 4 hours! I did, however, land a nice perch which put a smile on my face. But it was a difficult day....

Still its nice to be out on the river, especially as there is two weeks (and just three more river sessions) to go.