The Marvelettes were wrong in 1964 when they sang "There's too many fish in the sea." (Apparently there wasn't), 1969 film makers were wrong when they issued the film Krakatoa: East of Java (it wasn't), Alan Hansen was wrong when he said of Manchester Uniteds young 1995 side which included the Neville brothers, Scholes, Beckham and Giggs "You don't win anything with kids." (They did), and I was definitely wrong yesterday when I supposed that a two rod, block end feeder and maggot approach would catch me plenty of fish from Jubilee Pools.
Although I don't consider myself an unlucky angler, far from it in fact as I have always tended to draw a higher percentage of good pegs than bad in matches, have had my fair share of red letter days as a result of simply being in the right place at the right time and have often caught a blank saving fish late on in a session; It is fair to say however that I've been going through a lean spell.
This latest trip to Jubilee, my third in recent weeks, was to be a case of not trying to catch carp but one of just trying to catch something.
I'm not really a two rod angler as a rule mostly because I tend to get myself into a muddle or even sometimes in an almighty tangle and it also requires more concentration than I can be bothered with.
But two tip rods it was and I had a pint of mixed maggots to be introduced through small feeders and my intention was to use combinations of two and three maggots on the hook.
We were out on the point in the horseshoe pool, Dad was fishing a float from the big platform at the end (I really should pay more attention to peg numbers) and I fished on the opposite side with my back to him.
Once again, after an hour with no action, I was doubting my tactics but then I missed a bite, straight after I caught a roach of about six ounces followed by a smaller sample half an hour later but that was my lot and try as I might I couldn't tempt another bite.
Dad on the other hand, despite a slow start, had built his own swim steadily. The roach arrived after about an hour, he also hooked and lost a carp, and his catch rate increased throughout the session, as it did so small perch began to dominate and so much so that by the time we were ready to pack up perch were intercepting the bait within seconds of casting in.
As a footnote carp behaviour on the day seemed to me to indicate that a second spawning may be on the cards, lots of chasing in groups and splashing around the margins, there certainly wasn't too many caught either.
