Sunset On The Tidal Trent...
The end of the working week is finally in sight again and I have been watching the weather closely since my last session on Monday and pin pointed tonight (Friday 26th June) as a possibility for good conditions on the Tidal Trent.Fishing an angry tidal river such as the Trent, I also keep an eye on high and low tide times. I am yet to find the best time to fish the Tidal whether it be running in stood still or running off, I believe the biggest factor of when the bigger fish feed is daylight. I specifically look at when the river will be stood as this is the time I want to be setting up and putting bait onto an accurate consistent area and if the river is stood it reduces the chances of the bait being washed away in the current.
High tide on the area of the Tidal where I will be fishing this evening will be at 17:02 meaning it will be perfectly stood when I arrive. The river will then run off until 23:37 when it will be at its lowest.
Additionally I had pin pointed this evening on the weather forecast alone even before I had seen the fortunate tide times. Earlier in the week, thunderstorms had been forecast for this evening though this changed into 4 hours of steady rain during the morning, with temperatures increasing into the afternoon and a a dry evening ahead. This should hopefully drop the water temperature ever so slightly consequentially meaning the fish will hopefully be on the feed.
But sometimes things don't quite go to plan...
Arriving at the river it was very low, initially I thought I had totally messed up the tide times though going through them in my head I realised the levels had just dropped and it was lower (at high tide) than it was at low tide less than 4 days ago.
Setting up in the same swim I had the 11-04 out of earlier in the week, I balled in the ground bait mix and left it to rest for 30min before casting both rods onto the area. Having everything set up before I cast in I was entertained by 4 foreign anglers on the opposite bank with bells on their rod tips, striking at every bleep of their alarms and shopping trolleys for rod bags. Though as they started to pack up and I was poised to put the rods on the spot the heavens opened, a quick mad dash to get everything under the day shelter. The unexpected rain lasted for around 45 mins before it eased off and the sun appeared again. A firm tap on the upstream rod resulted in a fish snagging me up instantly, though letting the line go slack the fish freed itself and I was able to land a lovely angry male. Two more barbel and a chub were the only other fish to grace the net in a short evening session, the biggest going 7-01, all falling to single 12mm SMP chop. Looking back I should have fished a section of deeper water.
The evening was one to remember though with a pair of kingfishers darting around the bends and a barn owl working the bank. Bats screeched over head and a cock pheasant called repeatedly behind me. With all this going on the sun set in the distance and over the next hour produced the most stunning colours. The best evening I have had on the Tidal Trent for sure.
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