Tuesday was Fens day, to act as ghillie for the master printmaker John Richardson, he of Two Terriers fame. I got as far as Fakenham before it became evident that the rain was set in and only likely to get worse.
Bureboyblog
Mostly fishing, mainly North Norfolk
Thursday 14 March 2024
Last whimper.
Saturday 9 March 2024
Away day
Thought I'd check up on the Old Man and make sure he'd had a feed then catch up with the Loafer for a fish and a mardle.
Stopped off for a trot on a reliable banker with a convenient bankside parking spot. Spring is definitely here, along with a mean Easterly March wind. Corvids chacking and cawing in the spinney, water a perfect bottle green. Not a bite. Usually full of roach, dace, cbublets and bleak. Very strange. Couldn't get an inside table at the nearby farm café either. I turned my nose up at the offered outside table having seen the poor sods sitting out there in their coats, hats and scarves, dew drops on their noses..
Took The Old Man to the Greyhound for a pint and a decent sandwich and talked about future funeral arrangements as you do. Lots of interesting stuff too about his school days for balance. We even ate the green stuff. No dry roast peanuts today but I was tempted briefly by their warm pork scratchings which are always nice. Next time.
Thursday 7 March 2024
Old spot and another new spot
I'd been eyeing up a couple of new spots on the upper stretches of my 'other' river with dace in mind as they gather on the gravels and cleaner runs and I reckoned it would be fining down enough by Wednesday and the weather looked ok. In fact I set off in cold wet fog and when I did get to the town stretch the river whilst down still looked a bit brisk so I drove up to Chicken Town and revised my dace plans a tad as I was bound to have to work my way through a fair few browns to get at a few dace. In the trees the fog hadn't settled and the big coat was soon abandoned though the neoprenes stayed on. Without polaroids you might think the clear runs were barren but a sprinkling of reds (and the odd white) were soon working their magic and with more control from the pin the bites were slower as the fish weren't having to chase the hook baits quite so fast. As I expected the first trot bore fruit and one of the Loafer's fab little balsas blipped under. No surprises as to the culprit, this fab little starburst wild brown. Chubby little thing too
New spot, better than being at work.
Bit like the Loafer, making the most of the last Hurrah. Tidal still the best bet on Monday, a couple of hours trotting with an outside chance of breaking out the feeder rod. One of the few accessible bank spots below the always soggy Coltishall Common. the tide does sometimes have an effect, even this far up but there is so much water still in the system it seems to mostly be on the ebb of late.
First trot this nice little roach and I thought things could only get better
Sunday 25 February 2024
Pond dippping
Rivers are still cack and it has been cold so I have had a few desultory pokes about on a few localish waters without much conviction or application. So my rewards have been as meagre as I deserve. Well sort of meagre anyway.
Three bites on Tuesday and one hit. A very lovely roach indeed. Double reds on a #16 B560
Friday 16 February 2024
Use it or lose it
We've got another tier of management now, and managers have to prove they are managing things so no more carrying the odd day of leave over now cos you've bee worked so hard you haven't had time to take it so it's use it or lose it. Today was a use it day but I only had half of that day to call my own and what with the lower rivers being fecked I set off on my usual 50 mile one way commute to stop off on the upper Wensum where I knew the river would be in better trim. Didn't buy diesel as it had gone up 6 pence a litre overnight. Did buy a breakfast though. Not the Morrison's Ultimate even though it was a very reasonable 7 quid. I had to tip the beans out of the poxy ramekin everywhere insists on using these days. One of everything except the liberated beans. Oh, and TWO pats of Lurpak which really is overpriced these days. I think that sausage is nearly as cremated as the Loafer demands.
Quick spin down to the river and the omnipresent feralish chickens which feature in most of Norfolkcestershire. Big buggers too.
One of the members was up to his not fly fishing tricks, using a strike indicator and no shot down to the single maggot. Roach in one eddy and little browns in the opposite eddy today he said.
I've noticed that the lovely little wild browns are increasingly predominant so it was nice to hear he'd had some roach. The river was faster than usual but clear so it was a case of finding a few darker looking patches to indicate a bit of depth. Should have taken the rod with the pin out of the Charabanc to get a bit more control of the 2 swan loafer (the Loafer's loafer) but as it was the little wildies didn't mind chasing the bait. Only fished two swims but as usual lost count in the end. None would have made 8oz but what beauties they were and game scrappers even on a beefier than needed 13 foot Drennan Carp Float rod I'd bought from Fenman Mark Barratt when I was waiting for a replacement tip for one of my Drennan Tench and Specimen 13 footers.
Monday 5 February 2024
Down in the dumps
Pat MaGroyne sent back this sneaky shot from Long Stratton of an early doors win for Little 'Un, a cracking corner for a first minute opener assist and that trademark break down the left wing and a fierce drive from outside the box to seal the win. Hit the post as many times as Nunez too.
Saturday 20 January 2024
Sports report
Pat MaGroyne, Famous Sports Reporter was sent off to that there Suffolk to cover a cup game today, He seems to have been kidnapped but managed to get a few garbled lines out which I can't really enlarge on what with not being a NUJ card holder or anything but he did get some hastily shot reportage out which might be OK without causing a pens down all out strike.
The Theatre of Dreams, masquerading as the Team Lauren Lou 3G Arena. Not a bad surface to play football on but not one for a 20 yard knee slide to the corner flag celebration.
Sunday 14 January 2024
Opening up the account
First session of 2024 and thought piking might just do it. River is now behaving itself, well as long as the sluice masters leave it be. Down to a row of features: bushes, with a straight section with old reed cover and a distinct shelf. Sardines were at the top of the deadbait pic'n'mix bag at the bottom of the freezer so that would be the bait choice today. Walking down the feeder stream to the stretch I'd seen this cold dead killer's eye staring back at me. One that won't be terrorising the dace shoals when it grows up.
Sunday 7 January 2024
A shining light
We did have the New Years Day fireworks at Cromer, the rain held off and not too windy and I got a few half decent shots, in the end just went 100 ISO and F14 AP with remote release and hope, need to try without view next time as it took as age for the Nikon to process image before next shot was available.
Rods were put in the Charabanc fora trip down to see Pops the next day but it rained all day, the A140 was like a river in places so they never came out.
The FA Cup failed to serve up any magic at Carrow Road as Wagner's woebegone rabble couldn't even dispatch the Gas, currently a mighty 10th in League One. I pity any brave souls considering heading down to Bristol for an evening replay. The pre match pub was the best bit, it's our tradition now to go to the Murderers for this.
Little 'Un wants to sample the heady delights of the JobServe Stadium before Col U slide into the National League, think we'll go for the Clash of the Titans vs Newport County on Good Friday for that one as its a 3pm kick-off.