Down in the valley

Testing!

With time getting a bit tight for our Oz trip, I decided to have a dig around the vegetable garden's well rotted horse muck for some worms.
I've not really found enough, but with some defrosting maggots and liquidised bread, I thought I would pop down to the ponds after a late lunch.
I also wanted to give my "new" cane a run out so set the Aero up with my Purist ll, a porcupine quill and a size14 barbless fished laying on with about a 9 inches on the bottom.

The dead maggots and liquidised bread acting as attractors.
I was hoping to get the perch going as there are many rudd in the pond, but wasn't too concerned as it was a rod test.
My first fish a rudd, followed by a few others before a bigger fish took the worm, it turned out to be a carp of just over 5lb, it gave the rod no problems at all.

 During this time I was constantly concerned about the local goose population, a pair of bullying greylag geese were, I thought ,defending territory on the island and what looked like their nest from a pair of canada geese.
Both sets of geese were constantly back and forward over the swim and very close to my line with their noisy mock fights.
As it turned out the canada geese were not the guilty party, as  dusk arrived they took possession of the island end and the female sat on what indeed was their nest.

 I continued for a few hours until my worms run out, catching a few roach, rudd a couple of perch the largest just over a 1lb and a chub of about 2lb.
In the meantime I was pleased to hear the rising chatter of a  skylark,. become rare so a welcome sound of spring.
Early rain had stopped, but there was a chill easterly blowing down my kneck

My fishing finished with a greylag finally taking out my line as the darkness moved in, so I packed up, getting home still in the light.

Tomorrow I shall be digging the garden, and perhaps having another trip, Down in the valley......................