Better than anything you get from the chemist.

I've managed to get myself a nice bout of tonsillitis. It's starting to kick in nice now and everything feels like I'm swallowing broken glass, which is nice, on top of feeling like s**te all day. Since I'm wide awake at 4am I might as well get up and go fishing, so off I toddle this morning to see if any of the canal fish are about. I manage to get a few small perch on the 2 inch kopytos plus I miss a few more from perch that are probably not quite engulfing the lure like this little chap managed.Nice bit of fun though and it got the early morning session off to a flier.



I stuck at the area for a while in case any of the larger perch were around but it went quiet, though I'd seen some action on the far bank just out of range from something bigger. Every now and again the water would move, there'd be a swirl or something so I worked my way around and crept up. I could see a few bream in the edge and then wondered if maybe a pike had been having a go at them so cast my lure around the area. As I brought my lure in to where I'd seen the swirls I had a knock, the rod bent but then nothing. So I quickly cast at the same spot and this time I saw the fish charge at the lure and this time the hooks stuck.

It wasn't a pike chasing bream, it was bream chasing away anything in the area. As soon as my lure came near the edge the bream charged right at it and barged it away. A crazy thing to see so I guess a spawning bream is quite territorial?

I had a walk along the canal, spooked a couple of small pike from the edge but didn't see much at all. The sun was up high now and the water was clear but I decided to make my way back to the car. Still chucking away I then dropped on a group of large perch. There were 8-10 ranging in size from about about a pound and a half right up to 3lbers and maybe bigger. Obviously I threw everything I had at the group but couldn't get them to take. They weren't quite switched on to feeding and I reckoned they could see much of what was happening, even me ditching the trace and braid for mono didn't even work. I did get a couple of follows and inspections from one of them though, the biggest one of the lot! By heck it was a grand fish and as it turned to slowly follow it came straight towards me and it was a big fish, wide as hell. A proper big brute that seemed to be a wise old fish. Great fun, nerve jangling stuff but no prize in the end.

I eventually moved off and even changed venues, though I didn't stay too long as I was ready for some breakfast and penicillin. I picked up a couple of small jacks before finally finishing with a bigger perch which took a 13cm savage gear lip lure.

I still feel like crap now, and at least while I was fishing it took my mind off it for a bit. I might go back out and have another hour!