In fact, the alarm didn't even go off. I woke up, turned over and it was 03:58. Two minutes to spare. By 4:15am I was on the banks of the River Mersey. A magical time to be out.
I was not the only thing alive on the riverbank. So were the mosquitos. Apparently my blood is like crack to mozzies, and I was attacked from the second I got near the water's edge. Not the kind of bites I was looking for.
I kept on the move, avoiding the bloodsuckers, trying different spots, flicking 2" lures along the margins and bumping them along the bottom. I was getting some nibbles, but not really any positive takes.
Eventually, after scaling right down, the river gave me my first fish of the season, a tiny perch.
Then a few casts later, another.
And by then it was time to head back home for work. Job done. For the first season in at least a dozen, my first fish of the season wasn't a chub!
On the way back, it was nice to hear, and for once see some reed warblers on the Mersey. Even managed to get a photo.
Think I'll have a lie-in tomorrow...
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