I GUESS THERE'S ALWAYS A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER...

....EVENTUALLY.

 Even the primroses were fed up with the weather

     The last two days have begun with very sharp frosts, enough to put the fish down, but have developed into almost spring-like mornings. I had wanted to go and fish for roach on the pole at College pool but it has been too badly flooded recently. It didn't seem worth the risk of another long journey but Jubilee is open again after its two month winter break and that is much closer. I would happily have fished the pole there just the same but the stiff frost suggested that it might pay to keep my hands in my pockets.

     Instead, I opted to float fish at five metres with my favourite float rod matched with a Rapidex loaded with four pound line. The R Sealey Matchwinner has been a revelation to me. It has a whole cane butt section, a whole cane middle with a splice in it and the top joint is whole cane with the split cane tip spliced in. All the whole cane is painted black and it is whipped in black and white jasper with crimson inters and trimmings. It is a stunning rod and the action is superb. It is also much lighter than any of my more 'advanced' split cane float rods.

     Its attractiveness didn't exactly get me many bites, but it was such a beautiful morning that I was happy to just sit there for hours enjoying life and enjoying the simplicity of the method and the tackle. I fed sparingly with liquidised bread laced with ground hemp, a very little hempseed and a few grains of wheat. The addition of a little 'Gros Gardons' dry groundbait stiffened the mix up enough for me to flick the occasional walnut sized ball over the float, hopefully to get some attraction into the swim. I don't find it easy to not put at least some bait in regularly. Even on the hardest days I like something falling through the water occasionally in the hope that it will catch the eye of any passing fish.

     Five hours, five utterly uneventful but comfortable and very enjoyable hours after starting, the float just vanished. A firm strike and a decent fish was plugging away, showing off the Matchwinners fine action. The water was quite deep and it was a while before a flash of silver at the surface defied my expectations of a crucian or small tench. My catch was that most beautiful of fishes, a really pristine roach of one pound five ounces.

 
     I doubt that a morning's fishing has filled me with so much happiness for many a year as this one did. My day's fishing was perfect and complete. The weather had been fine, I wasn't cold or wet. At no point had I been impatient or fed up with the lack of bites and when my only chance had come along, I had taken it, a perfect, large roach on a cane roach rod that I had restored myself. I can't help wondering if this entire experience, the whole attraction of fishing for me, would have been half as enjoyable if it wasn't for the trials and tribulations of the difficult winter's fishing that went before it but it is wonderful to be out on a nice day at last.