Back With the Earl

Ducklings at Mill Dam.

On 5 April I was back at Beechwood Fisheries for the first session of the month, fishing on mixed maggots and bread, catching plenty of Roach of all sizes on the maggots and a few on bread. A really nice, sunny spring day, with some cloud and light winds, with temperatures reaching 14 degrees, and the last cast of the day resulted in a nice, fat Carp of around 5 pounds.

On 19 April, with my Earl annual ticket in hand, I was back at Mill Dam for the first time this year, and blanked! However, I didn’t feel too bad, as the other angler on the water, who'd been there since early morning and moved pegs a few times, also blanked. Not even my dead maggots, sweetcorn or bread could tempt the Silvers to feed. I didn’t even see any fish topping or get any knocks; maybe some hemp would have done the trick. Anyway, it was a nice day with temperatures in the low teens; some ducklings reminded me that Spring is here, even though the weather this April has been very changeable. This time last year, April was reaching the mid-teens regularly, and I did well at Mill Dam, so hopefully the temperatures will rise soon, and I’ll get opportunities to wet a line in May.