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Da€e fished 19/8/2023

07.30 un€il 12.00

I was going €o wri€e the whole blog wi€hou€ the le€€er T, bu€ €hough€ €hat would be €oo annoying! Jus€ like when I woke up........

Without my morning cup of tea, you are lucky I was able to even function!! A quick stop at Tesco to get some bottled water and I was off to the river. 

Back on the Tees, on a club stretch, and honestly my favourite section. No idea why, I just really love it, and have had some great trips here. 

I walked down the hill to the river. I left the chair in the car as the banks are not level and its not worth carrying. The keep net too as I was just hoping to have a few hours and use up the maggots. 

I got to my favourite swim and it was different. The vegetation was washed away and the bank nearly flat. A chair would have been ideal! Not to worry, I tackled up the float rod and started fishing.  By the second trot down, I had fallen in love with float fishing. I miss it.

The wind was strong but warm. Upstream at times making trotting both easier and then difficult. I was sheltered mostly, but alot of branches on the far bank were blown off and crashed into the water. 

I caught steadily today, finishing on at least 100 fish. Mostly small chublets but also plenty of roach. The first fish was a roach and a great blank saver.

Followed by chublets

The predators were in the margins. I could see and hear them attacking smaller fish. I kept feeding and fished on. A bite a chuck is cliché but it really was. The net would of been small but it would of looked great too! Not to worry, maybe I will bring the keep net next time. 

I lost a better sized fish, the hook just coming out. I wondered if the perch were now on to the maggots. The next few silvers were interspersed with some decent perch. The best weighed 1lb 4oz, a real beauty. 

I was feeding fairly heavily and the roach seemed to respond. They were getting bigger too.

Soon the inevitable happened. A pike grabbed the roach I was bringing in. The hooklink snapping immediately. I watched it swim off to the depths. I fished on a little longer but the bait was going down fast. I used up all I had and decided to call it a day. A good few hours on the bank, back home to a cuppa!