Unfinished business

After a day walking round colleges today, weighing up the best options for my daughter's impending further education, and hiding my burning desire to get back on the Meddy and catch that big trout that slipped the hook the previous lunchtime, the time had come. Back home at 2.30pm meant I had a good few hours to double my efforts to catch a bigger specimen. I returned to the same swim, and although I was not alone fishing the river, the swim I was targeting was free. There was however a commotion coming from the next swim downstream as a few lads, with a typical bull terrier type dog, loudly laughed and joked their way through what was a pleasant evening otherwise. Again it took an hour to conjure a bite, but when it came it was a wallop on the tip. The fish was hooked but headed directly for the branches opposite. It snapped my hooklength on the tree and was free. Not only was this a big fish to lose, next cast saw me lose another big fish in exactly the same manner. Surely I was to catch  a lunker tonight. I didn't have to wait long for a fish, not a specimen, in fact a really small chub. This was probably as pleasing as the big fish as they seem to be thin on the ground. There is a really strange food chain going on in the Medlock. The small fish find it impossible to survive as there are some huge trout that devour everything in their path. Failing the trout there are a pair of cormorants resident along the vale that are constantly active.

Then came some really positive bites and two large fish lost in the trees, along with a couple of feeders. This river is costing me a fortune in Kamasan black caps!

One great feature of this swim is that high above the opposite bank is a footpath, and at weekend frequented by many pretty female joggers. However whilst I try to look ultra professional as they pass, the first acknowledgement all weekend came from a bloke walking his dog. "Ey up, are you the Meddy Man? I've  been on yer blog!" So there you are fame at last, I just need to find a way of appealing to the lady dog walkers if not the joggers. I did get some good advice from a lad walking along the same path who told me about a swim that I have been tipped off before on, sound advice for midweek I think.

But back to today, and over the evening I had four solid bites, three of which produced fish. All chub, the first was a beauty. 2lb plus.

 The others slightly smaller, but equally resistant of the net.

I seem to remember a saying along the lines of piss poor preparation prevents performance, or something similar. Tonight would typify that phrase. I took along some quivertip nightlights hoping to fish into the dark. However I forgot to check the batteries in the headlamp, which were completely drained. Also the camera batteries ran out, hence the fuzzy photo of the three chub together. Typical that, the only day I use a keepnet, I am unprepared. Then to cap it all I put the fish in my landing net to return to the water safely, and snapped my net with the weight. Never mind it was a good excuse to pack up and visit the Bush inn for a couple of pints, and to plan my next visit to a river that has really grabbed my imagination.