The temperature was cold (2.5) but still when I loaded the car prior to making the 30 minute or so drive to the lake in Edenbridge.
When I arrived about 7:15 there was already one car in the car park. I unloaded my gear and made my way up the lake, stopping only to have a few polite words with the other angler.
It took me a bit longer than usual to set up as I was a bit rusty! Anyway by 8:30 I'd set up and cast a feeder rod with a 10mm halibut boillie to the island. I'd also set up another rod with a standard waggler rig with a size 20 hook on a 3.8 lb hook length to 4lb mainline.
As there was no wind to speak of so seeing any bites wouldn't be a major problem.
On the waggler I used a single maggot as this was, in my opinion the best chance of getting some bites this early in the season.
I waited for most of the first hour for a bite, when it came it was from a small roach.
I was loose feeding 3 or 4 maggots a cast and a handful of hemp every 30 minutes or so. I was rewarded in the second hour with another small roach.
By 11:30 I'd only bagged another small roach. By now I'd worked out that today was going to be a struggle. There was no action what so ever on the feeder rod.
By the time I got to my Oxtail Soup lunch break I'd only added another small roach. Peter, the bailiff had been round and he told me that everyone else was struggling for bites. That made me feel a whole lot better.
Then, as if someone had thrown a magic switch the roach turned up to feed! In the next 60 minutes I caught eight of them. Could I have turned a corner?
Then inexplicably just as they suddenly turned up they suddenly vanished. Perhaps something bigger had bullied them away? I decided to give a piece of sweetcorn a go but after 30 minutes of inactivity I decided that wasn't going to be anymore successful. I did get another small roach on a single maggot bring my total to a dozen for the day.
At this time of year I always take a few slices of bread because I've had some good fish on it especially late in the day. Because of this I switched to bread around 15:30. Almost immediately I was rewarded with my first Rudd of the season.
That I'm afraid to say was the end of the days action. I packed up at 17:00.
The feeder remained inactive all day however when the small roach started feeding I did start to get a lot of beeps indicating line bites which showed there was fish activity. They however died away when the roach went off again.
All day I'd been feeding a few pieces of corn by the rushes to my left and so for the last hour or so I changed the depth of the float and gave it a go. Nothing, not a sausage.
So the first session of the season was over, 13 fish in the net, 12 small roach and a small rudd.
Then, as if someone had thrown a magic switch the roach turned up to feed! In the next 60 minutes I caught eight of them. Could I have turned a corner?
Then inexplicably just as they suddenly turned up they suddenly vanished. Perhaps something bigger had bullied them away? I decided to give a piece of sweetcorn a go but after 30 minutes of inactivity I decided that wasn't going to be anymore successful. I did get another small roach on a single maggot bring my total to a dozen for the day.
At this time of year I always take a few slices of bread because I've had some good fish on it especially late in the day. Because of this I switched to bread around 15:30. Almost immediately I was rewarded with my first Rudd of the season.
That I'm afraid to say was the end of the days action. I packed up at 17:00.
The feeder remained inactive all day however when the small roach started feeding I did start to get a lot of beeps indicating line bites which showed there was fish activity. They however died away when the roach went off again.
All day I'd been feeding a few pieces of corn by the rushes to my left and so for the last hour or so I changed the depth of the float and gave it a go. Nothing, not a sausage.
So the first session of the season was over, 13 fish in the net, 12 small roach and a small rudd.
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