First trip of the year to the Swale

After a number of barbel blanks on the Tees, I decided I needed a couple of fish to get my confidence back! The fact that conditions were ideal, with water just receding from a bit of a summer flood, meant that my confidence was high.

I didn't get there until 9, and after putting out a dozen droppers of pellets, I let the swim rest for half hour or so. This worked well, as first cast the rod pulled round within minutes, resulting in this splasher that fought a lot better than its size.

Next cast and, after an otter had gone through, and a 20 minute rest, the same again as this one bent the rod round. Another small fish, but good fun. Showing signs of otter damage - at least they get away at times.

The contract between the tees and swale is very marked. The tees has very few barbel, but of a decent average size, however coupled with the large numbers of cub makes targeting barbel a big challenge. On the swale, it completely different, a smaller size on average, but with a good chance of fish.

Lets hope that Tees double comes soon!