John Bailey – The Kingfisher Diaries
December 1st 2009
Down Under With David Miller!
David Miller, you probably haven't heard of but you should have done! He's one of the most exquisite fish artists that is at work today. Check out his last book, ‘Beneath the Surface' published by the Langford Press in 2007 and you've really got the ideal Christmas present lined up.
Anyway, on Saturday, David came over to dive one of our pike lakes. I've done a lot of diving myself but not so much in the last three or four years, so I was content to sit on the bank and watch him in action...especially as air temperatures were down to five and six degrees. I'll make no bones about it that I trained in the Maldives and, in the UK, I prefer to dive in July and August!
I can't really say the day was a massive success but, afterwards, warming by a fire, we did have a chat that should probably be of interest to any coarse angler wishing to understand better his prey.
It was interesting that David immediately understood, by going down, why certain swims were so good. Very sharp, undetected drop-offs. Luxuriant growth of mares' tail weed. A fallen branch sheltering silver fish. It's important to remember that pike aren't scattered round lakes like currants in a bun but are frequently very tightly grouped around features that might never be apparent from the surface.
And what he did find - as I've found in the past - is that silver fish are very heavily concentrated around snags, especially where there is cover from overhead. Given the number of cormorants these days, that's hardly surprising. So check out islands, especially when there are margins of overhanging trees. I'm thinking of the big willows, for example, near the toilet block at Kingfishers.
David was also captivated by the number of deep feeding areas around the lake, evidence indeed that carp and tench have been feeding hard until quite recently. These big, clean, gravel sources are sure giveaways that carpio and tinka have been about their business.
We swapped yarns, too. The pike that attacked his gold watch on one recent diving trip. And the sea trout that butted him repeatedly in the leg until he left the area. How grayling are surprisingly competitive and ignore divers in their search for food. How perch are probably the best fish to witness underwater as they'll come so close and even sift through the silt that you raise with your fins. I've even caught them on a hook and bait dangled from my fingers!
David has got projects lined up for the winter. He's looking to find congregations of semi-torpid carp...we both know you will find them in slightly deeper water, especially hovering under forests of fallen trees and branches. This is obviously where they feel the most secure but it is equally obvious that the otters know as well where to find them as we do.
And he's desperately keen to meet up with some river roach...now there will be a problem because, of course, it won't be long before the Wensum is running deep, coloured and fast and visibility will be a nightmare. However, come a really long, cold, dry snap in February and I guess he's got a chance. It will be interesting for us all to see where David actually finds the roach in the coming winter months.
I'll keep you posted on that one...or then again, I just might not!