June 26 - RMC Chertsey 

   We haven't fished Chertsey since last season and, as it is fairly close, a good venue for a half day session. 

   Arriving, we could see large groups of carp circling around just in front of the peg we chose to set up in.  They were feeding on the surface and swimming lower down in the water as well.  Great for floating bait.  Not a duck or swan in sight, so we toss a few pieces of dog kibble out and set up a line.  It looked like a good day. 

   Steve sets out the leger lines, (bait on the bottom) and now we wait.  There are some dead trees next to us and the ones near them seem unhealthy, too.  I wonder what is killing them... and take a picture against the sky.

   A family of coots is nesting in the reeds by us and eventually I get a quick shot of the chicks.  It isn't the best of photos as they are wary and do not come close to shore.  But it is clear enough to show their little monkey-ish red faces.  I wonder why coots, who have a white bill and shield on their foreheads, have chicks with red faces while moorhens who have red bills (yellow tipped) and forehead shields have chicks with black faces?

   Still waiting so we watch the world around us.  We see a crow fly over several different times with an egg in it's beak.  It's obvious it is raiding a nest somewhere, I wonder whose?  Four wood pigeons fly across the lake, then wheel in formation and come back down the length of the water.  Surprisingly, two of them drop down and land in the water for a fraction of a second before rising up again to rejoin their friends.  The lake is deep and I wonder why they took the risk?  Maybe it is a form of pigeon "chicken"? 

   Oh drat, damnation and a lot of other words.... I spy a family of swans across the lake.  Where were they hiding?!  It is a LARGE family.  With luck they will stay on that side of the lake.  Dream on, dream on.

   The presence of the swans seems to herald an invasion of ducks.  Ducks of varying age and color.  The ducks are not a problem with lines, except for the floating bait which we promptly reel in and reset on a leger. 

Ducks are kinda cute and fun to watch... when they aren't making life a misery if you are determined to fish with floating bait.  I was admiring the varied colors in the ducks when, like an avenging angel, a coot rushed out of the reeds, lept upon one of the lady mallards and proceeded to give her a good pummeling.  She tried to swim away but the coot was on her back pulling out feathers right and left.  She finally escaped and I snapped a somewhat blurry photo of her in a disheveled state.

Meanwhile, the coot was looking very pleased with itself as it sat there amid the duck feathers.

   Things settled down for a bit after that, until the swans decided they needed to be in our face !

Steve started reeling in ALL the lines because, as I've said in previous journals, swans have no regard for lines and will swim across them and get entangled.  By now the $#@*& swans were sitting two feet in front of us with the cob hissing at Steve as he reeled in the lines.  He lifted up the last line, with hook, bait and weight on it, and the cob reaches up and grabs the line when it is about three feet off the water.  Steve pulls, the swan pulls and the line breaks.  I see the line trailing from the swan's mouth down it's neck and over it's back and think oh s**t !  Fortunately it just had the boilie in it's mouth and spit it out, the hook didn't set.  I really think someone should suggest to the Queen that she hold a mass culling of her stupid swans.  Since they are protected these birds have NO fear and can be quite a nuisance.

   The swans finally buggered off and we were able to resume fishing.  Unfortunately we had not a single nibble.  It's hardly surprising, though, given all the noisy bird activity.  Ah well... it was a good day for observation.

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