This diary dates back to a holiday in 2003 when I think the urge to get back into fishing took off.
From around 2007 the trips became more frequent with 2010/11 probably being the peak of activity.
Things again pick up in 2020 - a sort of rebirth!
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My neighbour, Steven, mentioned a local pit to me the other day. He has been fishing it since he was a lad, and work is currently under way to improve the banks, access etc. It's only about 8 miles away.
I went for a ride over there on my bike and it certainly has some character. Much of the bank is reeded and there are also reeds across the lake. They have built stages out into the reeds and it was on one of these that I tried my luck.
My last visit was on 23 October 2009, and Mum died the next day, which left me quite distraught. I did try to go later in the year but the lake was closed for works on the access road. Then it froze!
Going in January, just after the lake had thawed, was always going to be challenging; and so it turned out. I fished the reed corner with sweet corn in the hope that I may at least pick up some roach. I didn't get a touch.
My second winter expedition to the Welland. Unlike last time, when a cold day had followed a warmer wetter spell, today it was very cold and had been so for a couple of weeks. Arrived about 11.00 as I knew that I would not be able to endure too many hours in the cold conditions.
The river looked better than in December. It was flowing well and coloured, but not quite as forceful. But it was really cold. There was nobody else on the stretch when I arrived, so except for a fruitless cast into a slack below a tree as I was walking upstream, I went straight to the bay swim.
After the blank at the Welland on 1 December I thought I might try some roach fishing at Fields End with the off-chance of a winter carp. However, when I arrived at Fields End they were concreting the approach road and the lakes were closed.
Stuck for what to do, I remembered that there was a venue called Decoy Lakes somewhere near Whittlesley, so I set off to try to find it.
Following the successes in the summer I returned to the Welland for some winter sport. A cold frosty morning following a period of wet weather. I arrived soon after 09.00.
As you would expect, the river was very different. There was much more water in it, the banks were more accessible as the profuse vegetation had died down and what weed there was in the river wasn't visible through the coloured water.
With a promised SW breeze the tree corner swim seemed an ideal choice. I arrived at 07.00 but found the breeze more southerly. However, I stuck it out on the expectation that the wind would probably shift. It did, but not until after lunch, making the morning something of a frustrating affair.
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