8 Years in the Making.

 

 So we find ourselves finally able to get back on the rivers and thank god for it too. I don't mind stillwaters and canals now and again, running water however has no substitute. Before the season started I set myself a few of targets as I do every spring and my 15lb+ Bream target was achieved on my first trip so I was happy to graft, get plenty of money in and await the 16th of June.

 The targets I set myself were the following:

 - 15lb+ Bream

 - 3lb+ River Rudd

 - A double figure Barbel from 6 different rivers across the UK for my challenge to put me on 30!

 - 3lb+ Grayling

 - 1lb+ Dace

 - 8lb+ Chub

 That is some list above I grant you but certainly possible and given the time of year its only the Rudd and Barbel that I'd target. 

 I didn't fish the 16th for the first time in a while as I haven't been particularly well of late and didn't feel up to going out but was starting to feel a bit better for the first time in a month so I decided upon Rudd and loaded the car, ready for a trip deep into the Fens on the 17th (yesterday). 

 By 0630 the boat was already set and ready to let slip, the morning chorus had ended but the distant Cuckoo's could still be heard and watched on as a Hen Harrier glided across the reed beds in front of me, majestic creatures they most certainly are, but I sought something even more majestic.

My Rudd set-up.

 The Fens spanning across three counties I believe offer hundreds of miles of clear water of varying sizes and hold some wonderful fish and not just Rudd. Carp, Pike, Tench and various species call it home. After years of trying to catch a 3lb+ Rudd I set that as my summer target as I have done for the last seven years without getting too close.

After the last few weeks this was a joy!

 As I pootled along I could see scores of Rudd but nothing large, anything over 2lbs I would advance beyond the shoal and let them settle down whilst feeding copious amounts of bread crust, sometimes it took 15-20mins before the larger fish would start to take the bread but it was slow going. Knowing what was down there I didn't mind waiting and you always know when the bigger fish are moving around as the smaller fish don't come up as much as they get bullied off and the bigger fish begin to feed with gusto, I find its very important not to start fishing too quickly, catching the smaller ones often switches the bigger fish off but oddly if you wait and begin to fish and catch big ones you can do this with successive casts as is what played out around 9am.

Beautiful!

 First up was a smaller fish of 1lb 10oz which was followed by a warrior weighing at 2lb 10ozs and my second biggest river Rudd, so I was mega chuffed and couldn't believe what a start I'd had. She didn't behave like big Rudd usually do either, the bite was so subtle I almost missed it, a tiny slurp at 30 meters away, luckily for me my float started to veer off to the right which is when I knew it was on, the fight was very Rudd like and dived into every patch of pads, then down into the grass and marginal reeds. 

2.10! Yea man that epic :) 

 Wow, 0930 and already had caught a very big Rudd, I must admit I was happy with that and continued to fish the section without another rise so I moved on. I cruised on for about another mile and a half without seeing anything of note, there was a distinct lack of fish of any real size. Around 1130 I found a pod of Rudd maybe 10 strong that all looked to be upper 1's and low 2's so I opted to get some of those as I hadn't had a fish for a couple hours. As usual I got above the shoal and fed bread for a good 20 mins and fish were rising, then I started trotting down to the feeding fish could tell that some of the bow waves made as Rudd approached the bits of crust were pretty big, if you have fished for this species as much as myself you come to learn what sized bow waves can be made by certain fish, some of those were not of fish of mid-high 1's at all.

 I kept feeding the section until the regularity of crust being taken dwindled, I knew it was time to start fishing as the smaller fish should have had their fill but could still see the occasional bow wave of that / them big Rudd still, so I knew they were still active and in the run. My first cast down kissed the wind and sent it right into the marginal reed bed and set my hook in a reed stem, I was fuming at my luck and had to lift the drogue and drift down to the stem, the only fortunate thing was it was still a good 15-20 meters from where the fish were still moving around. I unhooked the stem, dropped the drogue and cast straight out in the middle channel and ran the crust down to the hot zone. It took a good 2-3 mins to get there and then a fish gently took the crust off the top, no gusto, no bow wave I thought no please don't be a pisspot Rudd, the float sailed away and struck into the fish and the round slammed over and line started to peel off my fairly slack clutch, this actually wasn't a bad fish at all and when it dived in every bit of vegetation on the way up I got a glimpse of it and I knew it was very big!

 I couldn't ship the net out fast enough, this surely had to batter my original river best of 2.11 that I had last year and when I lifted it out the water and on to the mat she looked immense! thick across the back, long and very deep... a solid gold bar! Could she go over the 3lb barrier? could, after eight years this be the very fish I wanted? I certainly didn't see any fish in that shoal when I passed over them of that calibre.

You bet it did, a fish I didn't think I'd ever get to catch!

What a special fish and very rare indeed!

 Yes it may have only just made that magical mark but that it did is all that matters. I was honestly lost for words and marvelled at her for ages as she rested in the net before letting her drift back into anonymity possibly never seeing an angler again! This was a long journey, but my god one I have enjoyed for the most part. The wasp stings, the mozzies, the unrelenting winds, the baking hot sun, the storms that build and dump in minutes, the lost fish, the endless rowing through rafts of vegetation was all worth it. 

 I can not overstate how rare Rudd of that size are and know many anglers who after decades of trying haven't managed it, on the 17th of June 2024, it was my day.

Just a fraction of what I have to deal with.

 Once I had released that Rudd my head wasn't really into it, I had achieved my goal! So I opted to slowly make my way back about 2.5 miles to where I had parked up. I cruised over numerous pods of Rudd but nothing of note and just wondered if I had passed over anything big in the morning that I had missed. 

 Something I didn't mention above was that I had a couple male Rudd milt as they were bought in and suspected both the 2.10 & 3.00 had not finished spawning and the water was still very cold, they must be quite far behind and the 3lber was pristine on both sides, no signs of spawning damage, odd...

 A few decent fish around the 1.12 - 2.3 were had on the way back up and were hitting the bread like I expected the bigger ones too, the two best offered up gentle slurps of the bread and then fought like demons. By 3/4pm I was ready to pack down, job was a good'en!!!!

My best of the way home, 2lb 3ozs.

 Target number two of my list achieved, Fens....over and out !!!!! for now at least, I do love the Fens, maybe a change of scenery for a while :)