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It was always going to be tough. The sun was very warm at 7.45am when we arranged to meet, it was bright very bright! We lugged our gear up to the top end of Clattercote Reservoir outside Banbury, fishing toward the shallows. Adam was set up on the float, right in margins fishing for tench. Dad Andy was watched intensely as I demonstrated how to tie 'the hair rig'. Two minutes later he tied his own, and using a baiting needle, mounted a couple of kernels of corn along with an artificial bouyant kernel. This short hooklength was attached to a method feeder loaded with Sonubaits Method Mix and a good scattering of corn, hemp and halibut pellets.
Andy's rod was first away with a fine tench around the 4lb mark, a great start. Then unlucky Adam, who had sat with his eyes locked on the Drennan Tench Perfection float, lifted himself from his chair to grab a pinch of hemp to scatter around the stationary float - only now the float had lifted, and was starting to drift away, Andy & I watched in horror as the rod was dragged across the stand as the self hooked tench buried its head into the marginal lillies. Adam got to the rod just in time to save me having to go for a swim, but the fish had shed the hook. Very unlucky. Adam persevered, and was rewarded with perch and roach, whilst Dad's method feeder rig brought out a hefty bream. We set Adam up on the method, and the carp nudged knocked, tore line off, everything but get caught, and as the sun got higher our chances grew ever smaller. 30 or so carp lazed behind the stands, basking in the warm rays as the temperature hit 23 degrees. Whilst the inital action of late early morning looked promising as it always does, the rising sun and temperature put a stop to proceedings.
Andy & Adam put what they learnt to good use, using the method feeders the next day on a local lake, binding the groundbait I'd left them with from our session the day before. They were rewarded handsomely!
