UP.. Christmas Eve

The strategically planned Christmas eve shopping trip went totally as planned, the presents I intended to buy had long since left the shelves but thankfully that old adage 'the hole in the wall is your friend' rang true so I was finished in half the time.

UP..... at last.

One particular benefit of the time I 'bought' was that I got to see the state of the river in the town and to say I was surprised was an understatement. The prolonged rain fall we had a few days previous had finally culminated in extra water on the river.

I'd been squawking to anyone who would listen that the river needed a proper flush through to get rid a lot of the branches and debris that was left over from autumnal gales. I wouldn't say it was flood conditions, but one or two swims had water where I would usually be sitting, so it's fair to say it was UP, probably for the first time in 10 months. So excited was I, the first thing I did upon getting home was to inform Hannibal of the news, not quite "He's been he's been" more like "It's up, it's up, the river is up."


Anyway, at 1400 I arrived on the bank full of xmas hope and joy, many of my usual swims were out so I hit the areas which I considered to be the next best option that were closest to them.

I bounced around, giving each swim a fair bit of time, then just as dark settled I opted for a safe flat bank, albeit a nice muddy one. So muddy that when my flask fell over it couldn't be wiped clean. Suffice to say the last two cupfuls of tea were interesting to say the least.

Move! Just move!

Anyway, try as I did, I could not make that tip move. Cheese paste, salami, straight lead or a mashed bread feeder, no joy! Unlike my previous blank where my own ineptitude had resulted in missed bites and lost fish, today there were no chances whatsoever, so come 5 pm I called it a day.  Still I can't complain, Boxing Day is looking good and Christmas dinner at the inlaws may just see me accumulate enough brownie points to sneak an hour or two, and as for Mrs C's buffet, a joy to behold

Food.