Several people have contacted me recently, asking if I have given up writing this blog, as none have been posted lately. In fact the opposite is true, I have been out trying to catch a decent net of fish to celebrate the New Year, but a combination of low temperatures, standing snow, iced over ponds, then storms, followed by flooded rivers, have not helped. It’s not just me, honest! No one is catching, even getting bites. Before Christmas my local Jeanes Pond was plagued by small roach and rudd, while I was after the quality bread punch roach, that appear at this time of year, which did not show at all. My net was full of shimmering little silvers, but I did not bother with a photo, or a blog, promising myself a return the following week. It then snowed.

Last week I returned to Jeanes armed with finely ground liquidised bread and small hooks. The pond had been covered in ice the previous week. Now a bit of history. Some years ago, I entered a Chrismas Fur and Feather match at Jeanes to find the pond covered with a half inch thick layer of ice. Undeterred, we broke the ice in a dozen swims with a heavy grappling hook, removing enough ice in each to fish, drew for positions and fished an hour later for three hours. Feeding a pigeon egg sized ball of liquidised bread, I fished a fine antenna float with 4 mm punch of bread on a size 20 hook. After ten minutes a fine ring radiated out from the antenna, then the float slowly sank and I was playing my first roach of the morning. I kept the balls going in every other fish, ending up with over forty roach and the top prize of a bottle of whiskey, when most blanked fishing maggots. So this was my plan for Jeanes last week. Very light feed over a 4 x 14 antenna float, starting just off the bottom with a fine wire 20 hook, but dropping through with spaced out shot, just in case some of those pesky little roach and rudd wanted to start the fish catching ball rolling. I usually feed two swims over the shelf about four feet apart, to keep the fish moving between them for better bites. So much for the theory, how did I get on? Not a sign of a bite, apart from when the float dragged under in the drift and I lost one of my precious fine wire hooks on a snag, no doubt thrown in by one of the local lads trying to break the ice. Looking at the photo, you can see that it was a pretty lonely, cold afternoon.

Oh well, putting that one down to experience, following days of rain this week, I assumed that the River Cut would be in full flow for a change. One of my successful mates and his dad have been struggling for bites, when chub fishing on the Cut recently, complaining of clear water and no flow, so this extra water should do the trick I thought and loaded up my float rods for some stick float fishing. Getting down to the disabled platform by 11 am, the sky was blue, although there was a chilly downstream wind, but it is a comfortable place to fish. The river had been over the banks earlier and was ebbing, although where my keepnet now sat was an exposed mudflat for most of the season. I selected a 6 No 4 wire stemmed stick and mixed a small amount of heavy groundbait, that I formed into tight egg sized balls. The flow was running quickly along the opposite bank, reducing in pace toward my side, so put a couple of balls upstream my side of the fast water, while I tackled up. With the float set a foot over depth, I cast over to the baited line, expecting the balls to have broken up along the bottom and to have brought chub, roach and dace up onto the feed. Easing the float down at half speed, I expected bites straight away, but nothing. I kept feeding every few casts, until my groundbait ran out, finally adding another foot to the depth and resting the rod on the plaform woodwork to lay on in the slack water, while I ate my sandwiches and finished off my flask of tea. This is usually gudgeon alley, but not today.

As I walked back to the car my phone pinged. It was another Cut regular bread punch fisherman Mick, who had been drawn out to fish by the sunshine and the increased flow. I was dreading to see his message, but sighed with relief, when I saw that he had fished five swims downstream on red maggots without a bite. As I said before its not just me!