The first mullet of the season

I'd been keeping an eye on the local river for the eagerly awaited arrival of the first mullet of the season. Living & working so close to the river is an advantage & as I walk along the river every day, then I always look forward to late April onwards as the thick lipped mullet usually start to show in small numbers. We had an unusually warm & dry April & to my amazement the mullet started to show in very limited numbers from mid April. I always carry a few slices of bread with me as I walk along the river just in case I spot any fish. It's then easy to tell if the fish are catchable by noting their reaction to the free bread offerings. I noticed that those few fish that arrived in April were certainly interested in the bread but whenever I brought my mullet gear along with me, they were either no where to be seen, or conditions were wrong-and so I've been waiting for the main bulk of the mullet to turn up before concentrating my efforts on the fish.
I had noticed a good many mullet now in the river recently & had arranged with my good friend Jason to have a couple of hours mullet fishing recently. It would be a nice change for Jason as he has been chasing huge bream & summer pike on lures at a local fishing hole. Jason is a both a skilfull angler and a stimulating person to be with so I was delighted when he expressed his intention to join me for the mullet.
Tackle was as simple as you can get-decent barbel/ledger rod, balanced 4000 size fixed spool reel, 8lb mainline & a few small controller floats. Grab the remains of the weekly loaf from the kitchen as bait & you are ready to get after these wonderfully sporting fish. Jason had brought along a selection of what I thought would be superb alternative bait of artificial maggots. And as mullet love the maggots found in weed on the shore then this was a cracking move by Jason.
A short walk along the river soon brought us to about a dozen mullet in a shallow stretch of the river. They appeared to be feeding on the weed on the river bed & I felt sure Jason's latex lovelies would do the business. I stuck with my tried & tested floating bread flake & targeted fish as they swam about. Several good fish mooched about near Jason's maggots but unfortunately none really showed positive interest. My bread was getting the same treatment. But then, after a few free offerings at close range, one bold mullet made such a commotion as it splashed & slurped up the bread which was typical because I was targeting a few fish on the far bank at the time. A quick re-bait & cast out to 'hungry harry' and suddenly the bait was gobbled up. But as is all too often with mullet in my own experience, the fish seem to pluck & suck the bait rather than engulf it and although the mullet was indeed taking the bait, it wasn't taking it in a manor that would result in a positive strike. I waited and waited until the fish took the bait properly but unfortunately the mullet left the hook clean without me getting a good striking chance. Would that be the only offer of the day?
The mullet seemed to then vanish without warning but my local knowledge led me to believe they'd moved slightly up river with the rising tide. We grabbed our gear & moved about 100 yards up river to a wider section which is a bit harder to fish due to the fact the fish could be anywhere. I observed a few flashes out in the middle of the river so felt we should have a few 'blind' casts in that area. Although I prefer to sight fish for mullet, I find that during certain conditions, you just have to 'trust your gut feelings' and sling your bait in the area you feel has the most likely chance of a take. Jason was still continuing with the artificial maggots & I still couldn't believe that he wasn't getting a take.
On my second cast, within 30 seconds of it hitting the water, a fish showed deliberate intent & hoovered up the bread with a convincing slurp & it was in ideal opportunity to strike. I duly set the hook & was expecting to have a good tussle. Unfortunately this was a dour scrap & within about a minute, the fish was expertly netted by Jason. A quick photo & a weigh to confirm the weight & the fish was duly returned, unharmed & swam off to join the other mullet. At 3 and a half pounds, it wasn't my biggest mullet but it's always nice to get the first mullet of the season weighed & photographed. We fished on for a short while longer but the tide was pushing & the mullet had moved even further up the river & at this stage of the tide, they were staying deep & particularly difficult to catch. Conditions were slightly against us as was the interest of the local duck population. With that in mind, we agreed that we had had an enjoyable session & would meet up later that week over a coffee & a coke to discus the next trip out. Would it be pike or more mullet? We'll have to wait & see......