Canal Rudd - Part Two

 With yesterday's success on the Rudd front I woke up this morning with a plan of where I was going to try, I wasted no time this morning on getting started with a slice of bread broken and tossed out to seek out the feeding fish and await the swirls to begin, but I saw something I didn't expect as a huge bow-wave broke out in amongst a weed bed, it shot off up and then double backed straight towards and under the bridge I was standing on, I first thought it was a crazy Pike but I had never encountered that before, then as some reeds downstream of the bridge started moving violently and then it revealed itself, in the half light I could make out a large head of an Otter as it popped up to check where I was, still able to see me on the bridge it went under and the bow-wave began again, an Otter on that canal could be devastating and could have a profound effect on such an intimate water, if it was a rogue then hopefully it buggers off but as the day progressed I was catching fish with suspected Otter damage, so I suspect it has been around a while or comes to visit on a regular basis to wreak havoc on the fish stocks.

Love fishing at dawn.

 Upon seeing that Otter I changed direction and headed away from where it was heading with the hope that things had settled down and the Rudd begin their morning munch, below is a piccy of the best I managed at dawn but I did see one a little bigger than my largest.

A stunning 1.4, didn't realised I looked so rough!

 I maybe had a dozen to 1lb 4oz before breakfast but I couldn't find many larger ones so after brekkie I hatched another plan and hoped it would pay off, 4 miles or so of walking up and down searching for a good one to cast at I had finally done so in the shape of a cracking 1.9 in pristine condition, this was followed up by a string of fish (1.5, 1.5, 1.3 & 1.0) these were all taken in a small section of the canal in very quick succession which was great sport and a bonus Tench on free-lined bread.

Not the biggest but it played very hard to get.

Notice the suspected otter damage on the upper lobe of the tail.

 And below is a couple of Rudd that were taken later on in the day and through all of the smaller fish I managed to bag myself a 2lb plus specimen and from what I can tell there simply isn't many of them in the canal so I feel very pleased to have snared one on the second day, the other fish weren't bad either as I banked a 1lb 8oz and a 1lb 10oz 2dr.

2nd biggest of my trip to Somerset.

A dirty fight off this beaut, my best for a very long time - 2lb 1.5oz 

 The largest Rudd really did fight hard and I did think that I'd lose it when it ploughed straight into a bank of weed and when I freed it from there she made a bee-line for the near-side reed line and very nearly did lose it, I scrambled up the bank for the net and mugged the fish before I could lose it, a huge sigh of relief when I looked in the net to see it laying up after what must have been just a tiring for the Rudd as it was me!.

A lovely place to spend some time, London is such a shite place to live.

Rudd Country.