DOWN THE WORMHOLE

     The weather was foul when I left home for Jubilee lakes this morning, it was lashing it down, the trees leaning away from the wind and I can't say I was optimistic. I fancied one particular corner swim that I expected to be sheltered from the Easterly wind. It seemed a likely spot for a decent Perch and to that end, I had only worms for bait along with some dark groundbait to use solely as a carrier.

     When I got there, the wind had swung just enough to swirl around the point and make things very unpleasant and I admit I bottled it. Instead, I set off for a spot on the adjacent lake that has been generous with its Crucians in the past. Maybe one of those would come along while I waited for the seemingly inevitable Perch. I had undoubtedly made a good choice comfort-wise, I was prepared for foul, cold weather but by eight o clock, it was flat calm and very comfortable. The predicted heavy rain never appeared and apart from an occasional outbreak of the 'falling damps' all was well.

 
     The fish seemed to agree and after a couple of fussy bites, which I feared might be the tiny Perch that this fishery was plagued by a couple of years ago, I caught a small Roach. It took off from there and eventually I caught a cracking Crucian it felt heavy when I lifted it out and after deducting the known weight of the net, I had a personal best to photograph at 2-1.5. I was pretty happy with that for half an hour or so, until I caught the Tench in fact. It felt a bit light for the 2-8 that the scales minus the net suggested and then it dawned on me. I had been subtracting the weight of the wrong net. With the net re-weighed and the weights recalculated, my Crucian was reduced to 1-12 and the Tench, 2-2.

 
     Ok, so it wasn't a pb after all but it was still a stunning fish, surpassed in beauty only by the next one at an ounce smaller. In short the morning was thoroughly enjoyable. I was very comfortable and a lovely mixed bag of 3 small Roach, a Perch, 3 Bream, 2 Tench and 3 Crucians were as much as I dare wish for. I can't deny the Crucians took the trophy for most satisfying capture but the tactic of fishing just worms proved its worth in a way that somehow in the past it never had. I might be tempting fate if I ask what happened to the expected small Perch fest so I shall just wonder quietly to myself about that.

 
     The last hour saw a succession of bites that I just could not turn into a fish. The float dithered around for ages, which in itself is a sign of either Crucians or tiddlers, but no matter how long I left it I could not hook up. It seems to have been an issue since autumn began, even on wheat, so I'm hoping it's just a seasonal or time of day thing rather than a rig problem. Maybe using worms more often will help me find a solution for that particular mystery.