River Ouse, Beningbrough 29/01/12

Its been a good 4 months since I last got the opportunity to go fishing, so as you can imagine I couldn't wait to go!

I left the house at 5.45am to drive to York and pick up my mate Darren. Now Darren is not new to fishing, but its been a long time since he last went, so we were both going to be very rusty.

I picked Darren up and we arrived at Beningbrough around 6.30am, got wrapped up and began the 10 minute walk down to the Ouse. By the time we were set up and ready to fish it was still pitch black so we had a quick coffee and then began fishing at first light.

And what a beautiful sunrise it was!

I tried various swims and various lures but nothing was interested. By the time I got to probably the best swim on this section there were already 5 people fishing it! Obviously they were all there for the same reason. It is where two rivers meet, the Nidd and the Ouse. They create a large swirling pool which screams pike. We fished until around 3pm when the rain set in so we packed up and began the 10 minute walk up hill back to the car. Although we both blanked, we really enjoyed it and are already pencilling in our next outing

I learnt some valuable lessons on this trip which I will remember for next time:

1. Remember a head torch
2. Fish the swims with a reputation first
3. Don't take too much tackle
4. Give dead baits a try
5. Go fishing more often!