2012 Season Opens

The course fishing season opened in England on the 16th June, this means an early rise for the keen angler so he can be on the bank at sun rise. Such activity has its benefits; peace away from other people, the cool damp air of the midsummer making thin mists on the water, the multitude of bird song including the various nocturnal species busying themselves before sleep.

The early morning light over the swollen brook.

This year heavy rain had flooded the rivers and those that were still accessible were swollen, rushing through and boiling and bubbling with the colour of tea, maybe not the best of conditions for the first day!

For me day one was a good start, my first cast of the season landed just on the edge of the current under the opposite bank.  With a light ledger bomb the line drifted a little down stream until it found it natural resting place and a gentle curve formed in the tip of my Avon rod's quiver tip. It was not much more than a minute before the tip was violently pulled round shaking the the length of the rod in typical chub fashion.  Sure enough the fish that very soon lay on the bank was a 3lb 1oz chub, a good fish for this stretch of brook.

3lb 1oz chub caught as the sun rose on 16th June 2012

To make the morning even more rewarding I was visited by a hunting barn owl and a kingfisher. The one bird I was surprised and pleased to see was a little egret, this bird was almost extinct in England due to its feathers being used for ladies' hats, it is good to see it making a recovery.