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Waterlogged

I'm completely hacked off with the weather...

Land so wet I can't do my job properly, even walking across a field turns my feet into big balls of heavy sticky boulder clay. Contractors all having to pull out of jobs that need to be done before 1st March. Garden to wet for the kids to play out in, which makes working from home doubly-fun. Going for a run impossible on ground that we used to describe in my footballing days as 'hamstring-city'. And I can't go fishing as there is nowhere local that floats my boat this time of year.

Still, being on a hill (of sorts) means we don't have to worry about flooding and it beats being tubed-up to a ventilator on a covid ward hands down so I'd better stop wingeing hadn't I?!
 
Even here in the south of France we have seen more rain than most have seen in any previous winter.

I was lucky to get a few barbel between showers when the river was flowing at 240 m3/sec at the monitoring station. Since then it been rain, rain, rain!

The flow is now at 777 m3/sec which is a fishermans rivery hell! This video was done last year when there was about half that flow, cannot be bothered exploring down there just now!

 
I have been spending a bit of time in the workshop, seeing as there is nowhere within a reasonable radius of home where I am willing to sit for hours in the freezing cold and catch nothing .

I do like a bit of traditional, you know split cane, centrepins and such like.. so I have made a couple of “Steampunk” bobbin indicators, they have led lights that will last for about 8 hours , so more than long enough for an evening session on Wye.I dont fish for Carp so they will not get used that much, although I can see them getting an outing for Tench when the weather warms considerably. They can be weighted with a swanshot or few if they need it .
So that is what lockdown is about here .
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The last pic has one of the lights switched on and one off, sorry about the photo quality, I am a crap photographer.

David
 
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Even where I live, high above the river Lot on the Quasses du Quercy, everything is decidedly soggy!

Down in the valley it is so much worse, with a few landslides blocking roads and one old lady crushed to death when the hillside fell on her house.

This is the most rain I have seen since moving here three years ago. There was a flash flood after thunder storms a couple of years ago that washed many trees away. That measured 1700 m3/sec at our nearest monitoring station.

But this recent flood has been caused by a prolonged wet period and the flow reached 2200 m3/sec and will take longer to subside. Guess the weather has turned to something England has been experiencing for this last several years! The whole area is pretty much waterlogged!

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Fortunately the drop over the 30 miles of river I fish will drain this off quite quickly. There is an extra 20' of water over the stretch beneath this weir and lock, wonder what my fishing swim will look like when the tide goes out again?

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The stretches of nene and ise i try to throw a line into are up and down like a yoyo at the minute. The nene doesn't even drop to a fishable experience the ise is just bearable. Luckily work is busy and everytime I drive past certain spots I feel a little better about it 🤣🤣
 
The River Severn at Birds Meadow above Tewkesbury yesterday, must be a mile wide at the moment.
 

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The D.Stour is behaving mostly tbh, last week the lobe of the river round the pylon was underwater and it’s still carrying a meter or so from summer levels.
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Water is currently pouring in though and while it’s currently on the fall here, it’s on the rise further inland.
 
Pretty similar to last winter here, lots of rain and rivers too high.
I'm going to get out to my only local spot and have a go for Chub tomorrow, whatever the conditions!
 
This is one of two flooded entrances to an HS2 environmentally friendly protester camp on the West London Fishery I try to look after. Think they should not have built on a flood plane. I keep trying to explain 200 +pallets possibly treated with insecticide is not a good thing in a wet woodland, it goes in one ear and out the other.
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This is one of two flooded entrances to an HS2 environmentally friendly protester camp on the West London Fishery I try to look after. Think they should not have built on a flood plane. I keep trying to explain 200 +pallets possibly treated with insecticide is not a good thing in a wet woodland, it goes in one ear and out the other.View attachment 14028
That's flippin terrible!
 
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