DES TAYLOR
‘Nothing beats trotting’
I’M OFTEN asked what my favourite kind of fishing is, and many are surprised to find that one of my all-time favourite methods is to float fish on a small river for grayling, dace and the like.
I can think of nothing better than trotting a chubber float down the flow, feeding maggots and waiting for that float to sail away beneath the surface. That’s exactly what I did this week, catching grayling and trout on the beautiful River Test with my mate Bill Finch.
The fishing wasn’t as productive as it normally is, but I expected that after three months of pretty non-stop rain and floods.It was always going to be tricky to find where the fish were sitting.
But floatfishing on the river isn’t just about catching fish. It’s about feeling good about yourself, and at the same time trying to master how to present a bait correctly and feed the swim in the right manner – both vital skills.
Although I didn’t catch too much, I was confident that I’d fished well and that made me feel good; which is exactly why I go fishing.
It was a long trip in heavy traffic from the Midlands, so we’d arranged to stay over at a pub in Romsey and travel back early the next day. That was basically an excuse to have a curry and a few beers and talk about fishing! Next to being on the bank, it’s the next-best thing. The beer flowed and the fish became bigger with every pint. By the time my head hit the pillow I was starting to wobble a little, but this helped make it a trip to remember.
The next morning, we started with a full English breakfast, again talking about nothing but fishing, before saying our goodbyes and promising we would be back again soon for another overdose of angling.