Monday 16 November 2009

Levels falling...

Giving up the fags...
Yesterday morning I awoke and decided to do two things with the day; go fishing and give up cigarettes...

So, as I write this account of the events of yesterday I am into my 28th hour without my usual fix of nicotine and actually doing OK, it does not hurt, I don't want a fag, I just feel a bit spaced, and that's all.



A tight and snaggy swim

On the banks of the Avon yesterday I didn't think I felt any different because being on a river bank is quite an out of balance experience anyway what with wet and soggy surfaces that give underfoot, the lack of straight lines, the constant flow of water etc, and so feeling a bit out of balance gets lost in the overall experience - I didn't feel odd at all. The constant activity of fishing also really helped, there was always something to do, some task to keep me occupied

Today I am having real trouble concentrating on anything - it's taken hours to compose just these few words! So, the account of the day is going to be brief...

I fished bread flake under a cage feeder as I had done last time I was here but had now modified the rig to include the feeder on a six inch paternoster tied to a low resistance running ledger loop stopped by a large bead and a full three foot tail. I wanted to see if this would improve hook ups with the often cagey bites one can get with bread flake. The river was high and the water brown with suspended sediment after the recent rains, levels were now falling and not yet the best conditions for roach but I steadily managed to land five or six roach all of above average size with the best at around the ten to twelve ounce mark which is the biggest fish I've had yet from here and the same amount of chub over the course of the afternoon.


Getting a little bigger

What was surprising was that the paternoster really had a very marked effect upon the way bites were registering on the rod top because of the way it alters all the angles at the rig end. Hook ups were certainly easier but the bites far more complex than usual. Why, I can't really say right now because I have completely lost my rational capacity as the nicotine blood levels fall gradually away.

The roach bites dried up completely after dark so I eventually moved and finished up fishing the tail of the weirpool in the dark but had nought more, but it was pretty though!


The mill at night

Sunday 15th Nov. 1200 - 1830 hrs
1002 hPa rising slowly, 12 °C steady then falling
Broken cloud with clear spells, S - 10 mph, steady. Occasional very light rain.
Ground: calm, occasional light breezes
Water: Temp ? Clarity 1 sec, suspended silt, flow moderately strong, falling from small flood.
Unsettled last few days, some wind and rain tomorrow


From moonsunrecords

2 comments:

  1. Good luck with giving up Jeff, I know what you're going through mate, it gets easier though I promise.

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  2. Cheers Steve!

    Here I am now four days in and it's over, I reckon. Apart from some bad moments on the second and third days and despite the fact that everything tastes and smells too strong (and tea is sickly quite frankly) without anything to modify it with, It's been relatively easy!

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