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Lean Spell !!

Bill Walford

Bill Walford

Senior Member & Supporter
I'm going thru' a bit of a lean spell at the moment as are others I'm sure. I even managed a two day blank on The Wye last weekend only to receive The Wye & Usk newsletter telling me that the river rose three inches after a dam in the headwaters released water today. Oh why didn't they do that last week and I might have found the river in better trim than the lifeless, flaccid flow that I found at Bishopswood on Saturday. Anyways, point of this thread, I have just returned to my room after a five hour blank on The Kennet this evening, my second Kennet blank but I'm absolutely tickled pink, why some will ask....in the field opposite me I saw not one but THREE :eek:Barn Owls hunting. Probably two adults and this years fledgling I would guess but what a sight lads. I even managed to Facetime my Missus and show her one of the birds....I'm over the moon :) before tonight I had only ever seen half a dozen in the wild in fifty plus years as an angler. I feel like I've won the pools !!!!:D
 
Swings and roundabouts Bill - that's all. Last season I started with 3 blanks on the trot. Caught 1 or 2 Barbel on every session so far this year and had a couple of great sessions in the last few days. Having to search for the fish again and they're turning up in all sorts of odd places - my banker for the last few seasons is not producing at all, which is a shame as a pair of Tawny Owls live opposite and always show themselves at dusk.
 
location location

my favorites are the little owls there cool!on a stretch we go on theres a family of them which appear all the time and a barn owl that hunts in broad day light, quality.
 
Mark Gaskell said:
my favorites are the little owls there cool!on a stretch we go on theres a family of them which appear all the time and a barn owl that hunts in broad day light, quality.
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Amazing what you see in the river valley. You would have wet yourself seeing what I saw the other day. Mink pops up in the margins with a 2lb+ eel in it's gob. Eel giving it's best wraps itself around the Mink and almost strangled it! Proper fight to the death - unfortunately the mink won.
 
I had a barn owl fly over an opposite high bank and through the gap in a willow I was sitting under. Missed my head by 6" all I heard was the rush of air probably the best thing that's happened to me whilst fishing.
 
On my local, the river splits in two at one point, with the two branches thus formed running parallel to each other for several miles. The heavily wooded and overgrown strip of land that divides them is virtually a narrow strip island, being only 30ft wide for much of that distance.

On the afternoon/evening of June 15th this year, I was sat watching that strip much more attentively than usual, as I had nowt to do until midnight :D. during that time I saw a Jay being noisily mobbed by crows (hypocritical ones obviously :p), a trio of kingfishers playing tag for hours, sometimes sitting on a branch opposite me to discuss their game, a fox (which the same unruly crow gang and a stroppy squirrel were swearing loudly at until it wandered off) and a muntjac deer, which disappeared when it first spotted me, then came back to stare when curiosity got the better of it. All in broad daylight, in a tiny clearing less than 30ft away from me.

As you say, it is quite astonishing what anglers get to see as they sit quietly in the countryside. The difference here is that hidden by trees on the far bank of those two branches...and less than 70 yards away, is a busy road running parallel with the river...with a popular parade of shops and restaurants running along both sides of it. Wonderful how nature not only survives but thrives, given half a chance. Love it.

Cheers, Dave.
 
Couldn,t tell you what kind it was, but i once had an owl fly smack bang into my windscreen, scared the holy S**t out of me. It was still alive, so i lifted it gently and laid it away from the road, phoned a friend who is a pigeon fancier, he collected it and took it to the RSPCA. Hope it survived.
 
Bill Walford said:
I'm going thru' a bit of a lean spell at the moment as are others I'm sure. I even managed a two day blank on The Wye last weekend only to receive The Wye & Usk newsletter telling me that the river rose three inches after a dam in the headwaters released water today. Oh why didn't they do that last week and I might have found the river in better trim than the lifeless, flaccid flow that I found at Bishopswood on Saturday. Anyways, point of this thread, I have just returned to my room after a five hour blank on The Kennet this evening, my second Kennet blank but I'm absolutely tickled pink, why some will ask....in the field opposite me I saw not one but THREE :eek:Barn Owls hunting. Probably two adults and this years fledgling I would guess but what a sight lads. I even managed to Facetime my Missus and show her one of the birds....I'm over the moon :) before tonight I had only ever seen half a dozen in the wild in fifty plus years as an angler. I feel like I've won the pools !!!!:D
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Hi Bill, you might aswell sell that new rod mate, either that or get back on that " EASY " River Medway. ;)

As you say there`s something special about Owls probably the fact that we don`t see them as often as other birds.

I`m off for two weeks on the Ribble as from tomorrow hope to bump into on the Medway in the near future.
 
Hi Kev,

Good luck on The Ribble, lovely river I'm told but never fished it/ or even seen it :(
I've not fished The Medway yet this season, turned up after work a few Fridays back and was so disappointed with the water level and flow I didn't even get the rods out of the car. I'm eagerly awaiting a drop of rain to liven it up a bit.

Catch up on the bank soon I'm sure

Regards

Bill
 
I`ve had four visits so far this season, no blanks, nine fish, ( 8 Chub & 1 Bream ) all in daylight hours.
I`ve not fished Ashurst yet but have walked it a couple of times, plenty of fish showing, think it will be my first session when i get back from up North.
 
You can't help but appreciate birds as anglers I suppose, the first proper sighting of a Barn Owl hunting at dusk was on the Teme for me, and always a great site, I not a 'twitcher; at all but I have spotted a rare Hoopoe, and a Cattle Egret, the latter on the back of a Long Horn Bull:)

But the Swans take the biscuit for nerve don't they? Talk about biting the hand that feeds it, as one did recently to me.

Kingfishers, glimpsing the flash of electric blue, and the shrill call, and if you are lucky the actual catching of fish or even the perching on the rod, and 'they' wonder why we do it.
 
I think Bill has hit the nail on the head as to why some of us go fishing, me certainly. Not fishing related, but i remember wondering why Golden Eagles were called Golden Eagles when they were brown, until i saw one about fifty feet below me on a walk through the Ae forest on a wonderful sunny day. Beautiful it was.

Stephen
 
Bill Walford said:
Hi Kev,

Good luck on The Ribble, lovely river I'm told but never fished it/ or even seen it :(
I've not fished The Medway yet this season, turned up after work a few Fridays back and was so disappointed with the water level and flow I didn't even get the rods out of the car. I'm eagerly awaiting a drop of rain to liven it up a bit.

Catch up on the bank soon I'm sure

Regards

Bill
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Looks like you might get that on Saturday Bill.
 
I'm going thru' a bit of a lean spell at the moment as are others I'm sure. I even managed a two day blank on The Wye last weekend only to receive The Wye & Usk newsletter telling me that the river rose three inches after a dam in the headwaters released water today. Oh why didn't they do that last week and I might have found the river in better trim than the lifeless, flaccid flow that I found at Bishopswood on Saturday. Anyways, point of this thread, I have just returned to my room after a five hour blank on The Kennet this evening, my second Kennet blank but I'm absolutely tickled pink, why some will ask....in the field opposite me I saw not one but THREE Barn Owls hunting. Probably two adults and this years fledgling I would guess but what a sight lads. I even managed to Facetime my Missus and show her one of the birds....I'm over the moon before tonight I had only ever seen half a dozen in the wild in fifty plus years as an angler. I feel like I've won the pools !!!!
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if it makes you feel any better Bill, I also blanked on the Wye on Saturday, also to make me feel even more despondent a local chap offered up his bragging rights... he'd had over 70 Barbel from the beat so far this season with over 60 of them from the Swim I was in, the Iphone pics included some lovely doubles, I'd guess at 13-14lb (he had not weighed them)
 
Andrew Harris said:
if it makes you feel any better Bill, I also blanked on the Wye on Saturday, also to make me feel even more despondent a local chap offered up his bragging rights... he'd had over 70 Barbel from the beat so far this season with over 60 of them from the Swim I was in, the Iphone pics included some lovely doubles, I'd guess at 13-14lb (he had not weighed them)
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Don'y you just hate it when that happens? There is always one :D

Cheers, Dave.
 
Lean time over chaps :D
A very feisty 7lb 13oz Trent fish this evening. Later in the year it's sure to be 9+ a very long fish that gave me some muscle. Shortly afterwards at dusk a Tawny Owl flew across me and landed in the tree to my right. Another silly grin, I just love Owls. Also saw a Hare as I was arriving on the fishery. Bloomin' quick it was, shot off like riffle bullet. Slightly daunted though when I got out of the car....there was a b****y great big Bull between me and the river complete with hareem, he didn't blink an eye though as I passed bye on tiptoe. Was expecting an interesting return after dark but nowhere to be seen! How does a ton of steak play hide 'n' seek like that ? :D
 
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We all go through lean patches Bill. It was indeed hard on the Wye then. I had a group of 4 and we did manage quite a few fish but only from under cover. Really hot with no flow.

The top of upper benyons usually has a barn owl or two quartering the fields.

Fantastic sight. Noticed that the parakeets are starting to show around reading now as well.

Still love to watch the red kites and buzzards near the river as well as the odd white egret.
 
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