How did you get on?

[mikench]

I am going backwards! I arrived at the same water as last Sunday and set up a rod for some float legering. I then discovered I had forgotten my bag containing my catapults, maggots and goos and flavours. I then broke the elastic on the ezfeeda which proceeded to catapult the end piece 20 metres onto the lake! I managed to get it within range of my landing net by diligent use of the Polaris float I was using; that is about all it is fit for

I managed to get my hook caught in everything but a fish's mouth including my boot, my chair, a branch, the unhooking mat( talk about optimistic) , the wooden peg and to add insult to injury, or should that be injury to insult, my thumb

A big blank! I was not alone however! I hope the joining fee is going to be used to put some fish in the lake The highlight of the day was watching a sparrow hawk being harassed by crows.

At least it didn't rain(much)
Not my finest hour , well several actually!

 

[thames mudlarker]

I am going backwards! I arrived at the same water as last Sunday and set up a rod for some float legering. I then discovered I had forgotten my bag containing my catapults, maggots and goos and flavours. I then broke the elastic on the ezfeeda which proceeded to catapult the end piece 20 metres onto the lake! I managed to get it within range of my landing net by diligent use of the Polaris float I was using; that is about all it is fit for

I managed to get my hook caught in everything but a fish's mouth including my boot, my chair, a branch, the unhooking mat( talk about optimistic) , the wooden peg and to add insult to injury, or should that be injury to insult, my thumb

A big blank! I was not alone however! I hope the joining fee is going to be used to put some fish in the lake The highlight of the day was watching a sparrow hawk being harassed by crows.

At least it didn't rain(much)
Not my finest hour , well several actually!

Nothermind mate, I suppose it happens at times

There's always another day :thumbs:

 

[mikench]

There is indeed Stuart like tomorrow but at a different venue! I need some familiarity so I can catch and restore my faith in this fishing lark

 

[thames mudlarker]

There is indeed Stuart like tomorrow but at a different venue! I need some familiarity so I can catch and restore my faith in this fishing lark

Be lucky Mike :thumbs:

 

[wawaw1867]

Afternoon on the Derwent today. Started with a small chub then half a dozen trout. Water had subsided but was still a little high and a gooey chocolate brown. I seem to be having problems with trout completely swallowing my hooks - I've tried different types, sizes and different baits but it seems to happen regularly. I've tried various disgorgers and forceps etc. but I don't want to ram them deep inside the fishes throat. Anyone got any tips that might help me avoid this? Cheers

 

[thecrow]

The highlight of the day was watching a sparrow hawk being harassed by crows.

That alone would have made it worthwhile getting out for me.

 

[joshua]

That alone would have made it worthwhile getting out for me.

Your name says it all

 

[Pete Shears]

Another blank on the piking front - only seven cormorants there today . . . . .
My mate,Clive, managed to get a run and landed a pike of 13lb suffering from cormorants strikes:the worst was the full depth of the body-about 9" long and a shorter gash on the underside at its throat,fought well though and lazily swam off.
Managed to spot what bird was making very clear loud calls - a male bullfinch,magical sound.
Kestrel,four buzzards,two red kites and a flock of lapwings made up for the lack of action - nearly.

 

[thames mudlarker]

Afternoon on the Derwent today. Started with a small chub then half a dozen trout. Water had subsided but was still a little high and a gooey chocolate brown. I seem to be having problems with trout completely swallowing my hooks - I've tried different types, sizes and different baits but it seems to happen regularly. I've tried various disgorgers and forceps etc. but I don't want to ram them deep inside the fishes throat. Anyone got any tips that might help me avoid this? Cheers

Can't always avoid in fish swallowing hooks, but if uping the size of the hooks don't work then just use barbless as this will at least make it easier to unhook :thumbs:

 

[tigger]

Afternoon on the Derwent today. Started with a small chub then half a dozen trout. Water had subsided but was still a little high and a gooey chocolate brown. I seem to be having problems with trout completely swallowing my hooks - I've tried different types, sizes and different baits but it seems to happen regularly. I've tried various disgorgers and forceps etc. but I don't want to ram them deep inside the fishes throat. Anyone got any tips that might help me avoid this? Cheers

If your legering shorten the hooklength right down to several inches and fish a tight line. Strike as soon as you get any indication, better to loose a few than deep hook 'em .

 

[wawaw1867]

Can't always avoid in fish swallowing hooks, but if uping the size of the hooks don't work then just use barbless as this will at least make it easier to unhook :thumbs:

It was 8s and 10s barbless today that were swallowed. I'll try using short hook lengths as Tigger suggests - today I had 2 foot and went down to 18 inch.

 

[peter crabtree]

Waw, "deep hooking" could make an interesting new thread topic...

 

[thames mudlarker]

It was 8s and 10s barbless today that were swallowed. I'll try using short hook lengths as Tigger suggests - today I had 2 foot and went down to 18 inch.

Yea mate that's it, I agree with Ian " tigger " aswell as this is really the only other option :thumbs:

 

[binka]

Afternoon on the Derwent today. Started with a small chub then half a dozen trout. Water had subsided but was still a little high and a gooey chocolate brown. I seem to be having problems with trout completely swallowing my hooks - I've tried different types, sizes and different baits but it seems to happen regularly. I've tried various disgorgers and forceps etc. but I don't want to ram them deep inside the fishes throat. Anyone got any tips that might help me avoid this? Cheers

That pretty much mirrors my experience on certain occasions when I used to be a Matlock DAA member and fished the Derwent regularly, the damned spotties were at times suicidal and would engulf a bait beyond sight within a split second even when running the float through.

The advice already given re. legering and a shorter hooklink is good, I never really found a way around it other than to fish a float rig for the grayling right off the rod tip with maggots going in between the rocks via a dropper so as to not attract too much unwanted attention by way of loose feed but the spotties still cottoned onto it eventually.

They make small perch look indecisive by comparison.

 

[flightliner]

Conditions made it difficult making a venue decision today, rising river levels put me off running water, a loss of a few stillwaters on account of not renewing a club membership narrowed things down even more. I was in mind to return to the stillwater I lure fished the other day but was put off when a friend called unexpectedly to tell me that storm Doris had made the place inaccessible by a fallen tree so I was stumped.(pun )
On a whim I decided to try a near local canal with the lures, a venue that had been good to me some near ten years ago with a few nice perch.
Thirty minutes in the car and a few more and I,m walking the place checking the water that tho usually murky was gin clear, very dissapointing , so not good, I was ready to abort things but the alternative was heading back homebound so I held fast.
I really tried, three hours fishing "nine to three" , plugging away along the weed fringed margins, and finally jigging in and around the lock pass and a little way further along the pound below all prooved fruitless and dissapointing.
I retreated back towards the car park where the owner of a nearby house asked if I had had any luck but I told him that I hadnt , maybe on account of the water clarity, he enlightened me as to why it was.
Apparently the canal at its far end was blocked off for gate renewal and no barges, pleasure, or otherwise could use the place .
B - - - - r !!!

 

[thecrow]

Afternoon on the Derwent today. Started with a small chub then half a dozen trout. Water had subsided but was still a little high and a gooey chocolate brown. I seem to be having problems with trout completely swallowing my hooks - I've tried different types, sizes and different baits but it seems to happen regularly. I've tried various disgorgers and forceps etc. but I don't want to ram them deep inside the fishes throat. Anyone got any tips that might help me avoid this? Cheers[/QUOTE






Have you thought about trying a circle hook?

 

[peterjg]

I went roach fishing on the Kennet again yesterday afternoon and evening. arrived at 1.00 pm and set up an upstream leger with a size 10 hook, cage feeder with bread as bait and a downstream rod, same tackle but with size 12 hook. Soon had to move due to all the twigs and bits of tree coming down from the high winds we have recently had.

New swim had room to position rod tops out of the way of the floating bits coming down. No action until just after dark when I kept having fast knocks on the downstream rod, none strikable - small fish just bashing the bread, this lasted until around 7.30pm. Had one bite on the upstream rod and landed a snottie of about 3lbs. Fished until 8.00pm, pitch black, starry night.

I did 'catch' one signal crayfish, a female, which only had a few eggs left under her tail. My question being is - if the signal crays are now dropping their eggs are the roach preoccupied with eating the eggs, your thoughts?

 

[Alan Tyler]

Good idea! What are those QM1s like for avoiding deep hooking? I know some of the grayling nuts think the world of them.
Oops, cossed posts. I refer to Crow's suggestion of circle hooks.

 

[thames mudlarker]

I went roach fishing on the Kennet again yesterday afternoon and evening. arrived at 1.00 pm and set up an upstream leger with a size 10 hook, cage feeder with bread as bait and a downstream rod, same tackle but with size 12 hook. Soon had to move due to all the twigs and bits of tree coming down from the high winds we have recently had.

New swim had room to position rod tops out of the way of the floating bits coming down. No action until just after dark when I kept having fast knocks on the downstream rod, none strikable - small fish just bashing the bread, this lasted until around 7.30pm. Had one bite on the upstream rod and landed a snottie of about 3lbs. Fished until 8.00pm, pitch black, starry night.

I did 'catch' one signal crayfish, a female, which only had a few eggs left under her tail. My question being is - if the signal crays are now dropping their eggs are the roach preoccupied with eating the eggs, your thoughts?

Unlucky Pete on the Kennet roach, at least you tried mate :thumbs:

Yea it's possible that the roach could possibly be eating the eggs of signals, if this is the case I suppose most other fish species will be aswell, especially the chub, barbel and bream etc

Speak soon

 

[theartist]

I went roach fishing on the Kennet again yesterday afternoon and evening. arrived at 1.00 pm and set up an upstream leger with a size 10 hook, cage feeder with bread as bait and a downstream rod, same tackle but with size 12 hook. Soon had to move due to all the twigs and bits of tree coming down from the high winds we have recently had.

New swim had room to position rod tops out of the way of the floating bits coming down. No action until just after dark when I kept having fast knocks on the downstream rod, none strikable - small fish just bashing the bread, this lasted until around 7.30pm. Had one bite on the upstream rod and landed a snottie of about 3lbs. Fished until 8.00pm, pitch black, starry night.

I did 'catch' one signal crayfish, a female, which only had a few eggs left under her tail. My question being is - if the signal crays are now dropping their eggs are the roach preoccupied with eating the eggs, your thoughts?

Does the stretch you fish on the kennet have a bit a of cormorant action, if so your original assumption of the roach feeding at night may well be the answer as I know that is the case on many stretches of the Thames when the water is clear