Haven't been able to post much of late as much of my time has been spent looking after my elderly parents as each has been in and out of hospital. So when my wife, Lynn, yesterday said "you need a break, why not go fishing" I didn't need asking twice.
It was already afternoon so I just grabbed my usual 5wt rod and reel; chucked my waders, box of flies, flippers and tube into the boot and dashed off to Thrybergh Reservoir.
Tackled up in the car park and lugged the tube down to the water, just anxious to get amongst them.
I'd already decided on the set up for the few hours I'd have, Damsel Nymph on the point and a Bloodworm imitation on the single dropper. I was REALLY looking forward to some action.
It was only when I'd paddled out from the bank that it suddenly hit me. In my haste I'd picked up THE WRONG ROD!!!!!! There I was, out on the water, but instead of my trusty 5wt I was looking puzzled at the little 3wt brook rod I'd bought from Ben, (sunkistbob), a while back.
And on the business end was my trusty Ryobi 255MG loaded with a 5wt line. How I hadn't noticed when I tackled up I'll never know...... The reel fitting on the brook rod is up-locking and screwed; the reel fitting on the Greys 5wt is down-fitting and a push fit!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh well, there was no way I was tackling everything down and driving home to get the other rod, I'd just have to make the best of it. And being in the tube meant at least I wouldn't need to cast as far as I would from the bank.
But in practice, casting wasn't at all bad given the imbalance of the setup and on the 4th cast I got a vicious take. Seemed like a heavy fish that tore off a fair bit of line but also felt somewhat odd. Quickly gaining control I realised that it was a double hookup. Two good bows, one on the bloodworm, one on the damsel. They gave me a bit of a run-around, but the rod coped more than admirably. It was great to see such a lovely bend in the rod, even though it was 'interesting' unhooking the bow on the top dropper in the water whilst the one on the point was still charging around under the tube.
(I wasn't taking any fish home on this trip and prefer to unhook them in the water rather than net them).
A dozen or so casts later and another solid take produced a big bow of around three to three and a half pounds. Great fun on the lightweight rod
11 Rainbows and two Perch later, sadly, it was time to go home. Well it was getting dark, blowing half a gale and bucketing down with rain; but the little brook rod had coped admirably.
Then, getting back to the car, I discovered that the felt sole on one of my boots had become detached and was only being held in place with the flipper and worse....... my breathable waders had leaked.
So a nice wet drive home to look forward to as, in my haste to get fishing, I'd also forgotten to put my falling in gear into the car.
Certainly a fishing trip I'll not forget in a hurry. Not least of all that that little 3 weight will comfortably cast a 5wt line and handle some good sized fish too.
Thanks again Ben, truly a superb little rod at any price. At your price an absolute steal.
In Praise Of A (sunkistbob) Rod
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