Post by Paul G on Apr 9, 2015 17:02:06 GMT
Hi it occurred to me that I often snatch little bits of fishing between jobs on an eclectic mix of rivers/streams but don't often get chance to report them.
Anyway - today I had a meeting on site with a chap from the E.A. and his son who is documenting a weir-removal project on video. After the meeting I decided to skip lunch and spend an hour in the river.
Recently I've been having lots of fun with a very basic bamboo rod (made from garden centre cane) and, in fact, my first two trout of this season were caught on it. Anyway, I'd popped it in the boot of the car with the intent to use it the next time the opportunity arose.
Paired with a horsehair line and an unweighted Ishigaki kebari I set out on what is a fairly heavily fished piece of urban river. Well, I didn't have loads of trout - but I certainly had a few that proved this absolutely basic tackle can work. In fact in some spots - it worked a bit too well as I kept having to move when I caught an of season grayling in each very "trouty" looking spot. Even so, I finished the session with a few trout caught and released and a great big smile because of the novelty equipment. I think that I gave a good laugh to the workmen rebuilding a wall next to one section of the river with my wonky stick rod - but I was at least able to show them the rod being bent by a few fish (as well as the "characterful" kinks in the rod when there is no fish attached!). It even handled a nice-sized trout without feeling under-gunned.
Some of the takes were really satisfying as I'd manage a fly-first cast with the horse-hair line of about 11ft in length and makeshift rod (it is about 10ft long) - and if the light was right (I didn't have my polaroid specs on) I could just see the grizzle cock hackle on the submerged kebari under the dappled surface. The sudden turn and swipe of a fish under the water would be easy to miss if you weren't looking at the fly, but lifting into those fish is deeply satisfying! On more than one occasion I lifted a fraction too soon and just bumped the very startled fish on the strike - but this was nearly as exciting as landing one anyway.
Great fun and a nod to the original practitioners of tenkara - I hope they'd be pleased to know that their mountain-stream method from rural Japan works on a river running through an industrial part of Britain.
Anyway - today I had a meeting on site with a chap from the E.A. and his son who is documenting a weir-removal project on video. After the meeting I decided to skip lunch and spend an hour in the river.
Recently I've been having lots of fun with a very basic bamboo rod (made from garden centre cane) and, in fact, my first two trout of this season were caught on it. Anyway, I'd popped it in the boot of the car with the intent to use it the next time the opportunity arose.
Paired with a horsehair line and an unweighted Ishigaki kebari I set out on what is a fairly heavily fished piece of urban river. Well, I didn't have loads of trout - but I certainly had a few that proved this absolutely basic tackle can work. In fact in some spots - it worked a bit too well as I kept having to move when I caught an of season grayling in each very "trouty" looking spot. Even so, I finished the session with a few trout caught and released and a great big smile because of the novelty equipment. I think that I gave a good laugh to the workmen rebuilding a wall next to one section of the river with my wonky stick rod - but I was at least able to show them the rod being bent by a few fish (as well as the "characterful" kinks in the rod when there is no fish attached!). It even handled a nice-sized trout without feeling under-gunned.
Some of the takes were really satisfying as I'd manage a fly-first cast with the horse-hair line of about 11ft in length and makeshift rod (it is about 10ft long) - and if the light was right (I didn't have my polaroid specs on) I could just see the grizzle cock hackle on the submerged kebari under the dappled surface. The sudden turn and swipe of a fish under the water would be easy to miss if you weren't looking at the fly, but lifting into those fish is deeply satisfying! On more than one occasion I lifted a fraction too soon and just bumped the very startled fish on the strike - but this was nearly as exciting as landing one anyway.
Great fun and a nod to the original practitioners of tenkara - I hope they'd be pleased to know that their mountain-stream method from rural Japan works on a river running through an industrial part of Britain.
