The Holy Grail......Almost.

 Just a quick catch up for a couple of short sessions done over the last few days, first off a went out for a trotting session with my brother Richard, to start with we targeted Brown Trout and were both successful, simultaneously hooking up with Rich's around 12oz and mine at a shade over 1.8 they weren't large Trout but good fun, afterwards we headed down stream where I had a range of silvers, Roach, Gudgeon, Dace on the trotting gear which was good sport, after Rich left me at in the evening I managed a Barbel of 6.11 and also lost a baby Barbel ten minutes before hooking the bigger one, which also faught very well on the 4lb line and the size 16 barbless hook held perfectly.

 

 Also today I headed off out in search of a Carp and wasn't disappointed either, the split cane rod was dusted off again and put it to task, floating bread crust really did the trick but I couldn't get amongst the bigger fish and I saw them up to around the mid 30's mark but getting them to take the crust was nearly impossible, I had to make do with smaller ones to the 8lbs region but it put the stick through it.

 

Let me see you bend over.

 

Typical size and shape.

 

 

Some of the Carp were behaving although they were spawning again.

 Later on in the day I headed down to the River Thames and did some trotting with the stick and after a few casts the float slid under and I struck into a decent fish but unsure of it's specie, after a minute or so a good Chub came to the surface, my first Thames Chub for a year or so. But the surprise didn't come too long after the Chub either when I got a take pretty much the same as the Chevin, but the fight was totally different and after a short time a big red dorsal fin cut through the surface of the river and when I saw the size of the body I couldn't believe it, a massive Roach easily 2lb if not a 3!, my holy grail was heading in towards my net and I started to shake with the adrenaline pumping, I began to get very nervous, so when I slid it over my net I was getting extremely excited, but as soon as I got it out the water and onto the mat my heart sank when I realised it was a Roach Bream Hybrid, a good size but I was so deflated to find out it's identity.

 At 3lb 1oz it was a good fish but I so wished it wasn't a mongrel, my PB Roach of 2lb 15oz is from the Thames, which was caught during a Bream session, I know a 3lb Roach is possible on the Thames and it only takes a small amount of luck to be in the right place and at the right time. I would have taken a picture of the R+B hybrid but after weighing it, she flipped back into the river without a photo, if it was a 3lb Roach I would have been alot more diligent and not allowed a rookie mistake to creep in. How a session can change in the blink of an eye, maybe another time, the quest for the holy grail will have to enter another chapter. Such a shame it wasn't a full blooded Roach.

 Tight Lines.......