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ROB KAVANAGH.
The inside line on fishing.
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I'm Rob Kavanagh, your Artful Angler artist and dedicated angler.
My fishing blog is here to share my fishing adventures, ideas, stories, tips, anecdotes, techniques etc.. tight lines!
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21/02/2008
Recent Frome Sessions
Thursday 7th February
A chilly day with a stiff wind blowing saw me giving the Frome a go for a couple of hours. As it was going to be a short session, I decided to settle into one of the first swims and try to encourage a chub or two to bite using a mashed bread approach. Hookbait was a nice fluffy piece of flake and I cast across and downstream to some overhanging alders.
Bites were not very forthcoming and I tried a couple of different baits. Worm didn't bring any bites, but as it started getting dark I had a good rap on a lump of cheese. I was pouring myself a coffee at the time and missed my one chance of the session. Typical!
Sunday 10th February
Another crisp afternoon and I headed back to the river for another few hours, this time armed with a float rod as well. A couple of fish rolled on the surface upstream of me, so at least something was active!
I spent the first part of the session trotting maggots and worm, deciding to leave the legering until later. It was quite pleasant in the sunshine, weak though it was, but as the sun dipped behind the trees it was like stepping into a freezer. Trotting produced nothing so out went a piece of cheese on the leger. By this time I was getting very cold indeed and a delicate bite resulted in a bungled strike and a missed fish. I stuck it out for another half hour but was feeling decidedly miserable in the cold so packed up and headed home. I was treated to a spectacular sunset on the way back to the car, the highlight of the session!
Thursday 14th February
A change of scenery today as I headed for a stretch of the Frome I'd never fished before. My Dad had been out for a walk and had got chatting to an angler who had been having some success with a decent chub or two from under a bridge.
Always up for trying somewhere new I headed to the river on a very cold day. The air temperature was struggling to top 3 degreesC and a biting easterly wind was cutting relentlessly across the fields bringing the temperature down further.
Mashed bread and flake was my first line of attack with meat, cheese and worms as alternatives for the hook. Despite scaling my tackle down as the session progressed the fish just weren't up for it and with the essential flask of coffee drained dry a real chill set in and home I went! I'll definitely have another crack at this stretch though.
Thursday 21st February
A real change in the weather saw me heading off to the Copse full of optimism. The heavy frosts of the last couple of weeks have given way to a couple of mild days with a gentle south-westerly blowing.
A light link leger was set up on the quivertip rod, and I took along a float rod as well for a bit of trotting. I fished several swims in the copse, giving it 45 minutes or so in each swim before moving on. I missed a couple of tentative bites on bread, and as I left the copse I concentrated on float fishing in this more open area. Unfortunately the wind picked up making float control difficult and in frustration I decided to settle down in the last swim and leger for the rest of the session but no bites materialised. Maybe the fish are still a bit lethargic after the cold weather, maybe the crystal clarity of the water is to blame..... Excuses, excuses!
Rob, 21/02/2008
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Comments
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| 1. On 29/02/2008 20:23:14, lancelot wrote: |
Rob, I stumbled on this site looking for somewhere to take my 8 year old fishing. Very interesting blog! I live near Nailsworth and am keen to try a few reasonably easy local waters with him in his first season. Got the experience and the gear (though both are a bit out of date), but need to find some good places to go that aren't too commercial. I was fascinated to read about your exploits on the Frome and Stroudwater as I know these waters quite well - though only as a pedestrian so far. I know that spot on the Frome where the waters meet by the weir - do you need a ticket? Hope you can help. Thanks, Chris
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| 2. On 06/03/2008 06:12:53, alfie wrote: |
Hello Rob,
Love the Feb blog. I could feel the chill in the air and put me in mind of those freezing days when as a kid I grabbed my rod and went out to find a gap in the ice in the Stroudwater canal. Totally bonkers of course. Then as a grown up I was dragged out in similar conditions by my son. Never caught many fish so why did we do it? It was the hope I suppose that something extraordinary might happen. Bonkers.
Anyway...27 degrees here in Coogee, NSW. Happy days!!
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| 3. On 12/03/2008 08:58:36, peter coutts wrote: |
Hi Rob,
I haven't been fishing for a quite a while now so feel that i've been out of the loop for quite a while. What are the best publications to get so that i can get back in the game??? Great site by the way!
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