Cane Rod & Grayling

Im afraid I couldnt wait for the weekend fishing session to come around to try out my newly refurbished cane rod so with 3 day old maggots which were just starting to turn, I grabbed a couple of centrepins to see which one would be best suited to the rod and headed off for a couple of hours on the Tees.

When I got there the river was in perfect conditions so started with an old Allcocks Match Aerial on the rod to see how it faired and fingers crossed I was going to catch I waded out to get a really wet & cold feeling on my right leg through my neoprene waders only to find they had sprung a leak....Diver dave will have some business very soon, I wasnt going to let that spoil the moment so just grinned and beared the cold water.

1st couple of trots down the rod took a bit of getting used to, a big difference from a 16ft carbon Trotting Rod but I was enjoying it, I was hoping the 1st fish was going to be a Grayling and wasnt disappointed although it wont break any records it was the first fish on the newly refurbished rod.

I continued trotting happy now that the rod had been christened with the fish I love fishing for the most and this was closely followed by a further 5 fish which didnt want to see the inside of my net and slipped the hook but that didnt bother me as it was just nice to be out using the rod. I decided I now had to give the right leg a rest from the water as it was starting to get numb with the cold so decided to change over to another reel to see how the rod performed with that so I rigged up with An Allcocks Match Special and started fishing another run further above where I had been fishing where I was met with another nice Grayling which obliged the net this time.

After some time i didnt feel as comfortable with the Allcocks Match Special as I did with the Match aerial so swapped the reels back around and continued fishing where I managed to get another Grayling before I finally gave in to the numbness and cold which was eating away at my toes.

My Verdict on the newly refurbished rod is Im really pleased with the job Ive done of it and it will continue to be the rod I use for the remainder of the season which am glad as I ordered another winter project cane rod from the internet last night for £25....watch this space for Rod No 2!