Fishing Report: 5th May 08 - River Colne, Essex

Undaunted by the disappointing catches over the last couple of sessions I decided to give the fishing one last go and make the most of the cracking bank holiday weather. As I had a few Ragworm left in the fridge from the last session at St Osyth I opted to try a local spot on the River Colne with a mixture of bait fishing and spinning, sure that there must be the odd decent Bass to be had if I just stuck at it, particularly as this patch of the river has given consistent catches in past years.

With high tide at about 1pm I opted to fish the very early flood and started off fishing the Ragworm under a float, using the current to trot the bait 50 yards or so down tide at a time in 18 inches of water. It was clear from the word go that there were a lot of tiddlers about as the float continually wobbled and bobbed but try as I might I seemed unable to hook anything and as the water deepened I decided that float fishing was getting me nowhere and opted to try a baited spoon for a while in an attempt to hook whatever was there. The water was definitely clear enough to catch on lures but unfortunately nobody had told the Bass and after an hour of hard work chucking a Bass Wedge at the sea with no return I decided it was time for yet another change of tactics.

Within 5 minutes of my first chuck with a ledgered Ragworm bait (fished "popped up" to avoid the crabs) I had my first fish of the session on the bank, a baby Bass of about 4oz. I had hoped that this first little fish would herald a short spell of action with the tiddlers which would at least have provided a little bit of fun, but unfortunately it was not to be. My first fish of the session also turned out to be my last despite me sticking to it till the top of the tide when my bait ran out. All in all not one of my best sessions, but it could have been worse; I could have been stuck at the local supermarket doing the weekly shop like Stu was!