🎣 Three challenges of small pool fishing
I’ve been enjoying my tench fishing of late very much indeed, but fancying a small pool session that’s exactly where I headed with the dawn chorus still ringing in my ears.
I have fished the venue before but it was during the colder months of the year.
Tackling it during the summer, the first challenge was just to get to the venue itself.
Nettles, brambles and overgrown vegetation in general means pools that aren’t managed encounter growth explosion at this time of the year.
If you’re an angler that’s been there, done it and wear the tee-shirt, you know that’s exactly what you don’t do.
Wear the tee-shirt, that is, or shorts either.
The second challenge on a wild water is finding a spot to fish.
Sometimes you can’t fish the best-looking swim purely and simply because it’s not accessible.
You have to take into account factors such as access and safety when choosing your spot.
On this occasion, although I got to the water’s edge and there were no safety issues, it was a very uncomfortable spot.
I didn’t even bother to take a chair, as I know that wouldn’t work, so I switched between crouching and sitting on the ground.
The third challenge is the fishing itself.
Due to overhanging branches above me and growth on the ground itself, casting was limited to a side flick from my left.
With it being a small pool, that was all that was needed anyway, but several times I had to recast immediately because it hadn’t worked.
Then there were tangles and I had a few of those.
As far as the angling challenge was concerned, bringing a fish in was difficult.
I couldn’t lift the rod high due to the branches above me, so it was an improvised action that worked around the situation.
The challenges are real, and may be frustrating at times, especially when you get constant tangles.
However, every fish landed is a sign of victory in adverse circumstances and there’s a good life lesson there.
In fact, you can highlight life lessons from all three points raised in this blog post.
I caught a small roach and rudd and a few better quality roach.
Fishing six feet from the bank with two maggots on the deck over mixed maggots and brown crumb, I also had a few missed bites from small roach as well.
It was nice to get back to fishing with one of my wife’s floats as well.
Tackle: Greys Prodigy TX 12’ rod. Shimano 3500M reel. Maxima Chameleon 4lb line. Debby’s float 2x BB. Drennan Super Specialist size 14 hook.
Nature notes: Two adults and one juvenile great spotted woodpecker. Pair of moorhens, female on nest.