How did you get on?
- Thread starter peter crabtree
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thecrow
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B
binka
Guest
The first covering of snow on the car, gale force winds and a sub- zero chill greeted me after I awoke around five thirty this morning, I soon decided that anyone venturing out today was a sandwich short of a picnic and needed their head looking at.
So, after arriving on the river around daybreak I made my way to a nice swim around half a mile away, I was glad for the walk if only to get the blood circulating and I was soon set up and up to the thighs in water whilst running various sticks and heavy Avons through but all to no avail and three hours of whipping it to a foam in a bitterly cold, gale force upstream wind had produced the grand sum of a chewed maggot.
The highlight was something which I will be lucky if I ever see again especially whilst wading and on an almost even level with it…
A shape very slowly emerged from the river directly in front of me around twenty feet away and I was suddenly looking directly into the eyes of a large dog otter which had come to check me out, two or three seconds later he just as gently sank back beneath the surface and with nothing more than a boil on the surface he was gone.
Fantastic!
With numbing legs I decided it was time to get out of the river and head for somewhere a bit more sheltered and I settled on a nice slack below an overhanging tree where I fished a small stick float dibber style in five feet of water and managed to amass seven chub throughout the remainder of the day until dusk.
Nothing big but a right result considering the conditions…
Nice to be back home and warm again, I can’t remember the last session that felt so cold and being cautious not to raise my body temperature too quickly I’m being sensible and countering it with plenty of cold beer :guinness:
So, after arriving on the river around daybreak I made my way to a nice swim around half a mile away, I was glad for the walk if only to get the blood circulating and I was soon set up and up to the thighs in water whilst running various sticks and heavy Avons through but all to no avail and three hours of whipping it to a foam in a bitterly cold, gale force upstream wind had produced the grand sum of a chewed maggot.
The highlight was something which I will be lucky if I ever see again especially whilst wading and on an almost even level with it…
A shape very slowly emerged from the river directly in front of me around twenty feet away and I was suddenly looking directly into the eyes of a large dog otter which had come to check me out, two or three seconds later he just as gently sank back beneath the surface and with nothing more than a boil on the surface he was gone.
Fantastic!
With numbing legs I decided it was time to get out of the river and head for somewhere a bit more sheltered and I settled on a nice slack below an overhanging tree where I fished a small stick float dibber style in five feet of water and managed to amass seven chub throughout the remainder of the day until dusk.
Nothing big but a right result considering the conditions…
Nice to be back home and warm again, I can’t remember the last session that felt so cold and being cautious not to raise my body temperature too quickly I’m being sensible and countering it with plenty of cold beer :guinness:
edsurf
Well-known member
My First session on the Frome today ,river had a bit of a push and colour in it but managed six grayling and two sea trout. looking forward to another go in a week or so now I got the winter ticket. It was a good practise session for next week on the LIF.
My fingers had forgotten how cold they can get.
Fingerless neoprenes worked out well and I could just about put a piece of flake on a size 12 whisker barb as I stood knee deep running a small bodied avon down the stream. A flick of the rod was enough to send my bait trundling thro the slightly deeper water downstream. Only 10 inches deeper, but a known spot for a few fish. Small chub, roach and dace were likely in equal measure but typically a poundish chublet was first to get snared. It coughed up a full gullet of bread mash as I slipped it back in by my feet. Handy. No need to feed anything for a few trots more. Nothing bigger came to the hook as I slowly made my way down to the slower glide at the bottom of the run, but I was content to be fishing the stream in the classic manner even if it was using a closed face reel. By the time I reached the lower part of the swim it was too dark to see clearly and bites were starting to tail off anyway so I wandered back. just about a long enough stroll to feel my feet enough to drive home afterwards.
Yesterday I had been colder sitting on a seat box with a pole. I was struggling to catch anything after the temp drop. Not yet impacted in the river so much I guess, but here club lake looked a still dark cold pool with very little encouragement at all . Last week I had had good fun with the crucians, and one of these brightened proceedings. It was fouled by the pectoral so I shallowed up a little and then set about watching the tiny speck of float for more action. None came. Not a twitch. A few more grains of corn, another 30 mins of cursing the cold wind, with the same outcome. I decided to get something out of the session by accurately shotting up my late evening trotting rig. The same 5BB avon I used on the river today. I like to have it ready with an isotope for those river sessions when the light goes but the roach are still feeding. Good for a few bonus fish at the end of the day.
Good for a few bonus fish on a pond as it turned out. Once it looked about right I flicked it over the lightly baited area with a scrap of flake on the hook. Cantankerous creatures that crucians can often be they suddenly came in a bite a chuck for an hour, confidently dragging under in slow steady fashion a tip 50 times or more bulbous than the pole float I'd used earlier. Amazing innit? Just when you think you got 'em figured out.
No complaints from me tho about my two sessions. The cold went away, I caught nigh on 10lbs at the lake thanks to that final hour, and a couple of dozen wonderfully bright shiny fish from the local river.
Cracking weekend so far with the possibility of a few hours more tomorrow. I've even got enough bait from my £2 spent on bread and corn not to need to buy more.
Fingerless neoprenes worked out well and I could just about put a piece of flake on a size 12 whisker barb as I stood knee deep running a small bodied avon down the stream. A flick of the rod was enough to send my bait trundling thro the slightly deeper water downstream. Only 10 inches deeper, but a known spot for a few fish. Small chub, roach and dace were likely in equal measure but typically a poundish chublet was first to get snared. It coughed up a full gullet of bread mash as I slipped it back in by my feet. Handy. No need to feed anything for a few trots more. Nothing bigger came to the hook as I slowly made my way down to the slower glide at the bottom of the run, but I was content to be fishing the stream in the classic manner even if it was using a closed face reel. By the time I reached the lower part of the swim it was too dark to see clearly and bites were starting to tail off anyway so I wandered back. just about a long enough stroll to feel my feet enough to drive home afterwards.
Yesterday I had been colder sitting on a seat box with a pole. I was struggling to catch anything after the temp drop. Not yet impacted in the river so much I guess, but here club lake looked a still dark cold pool with very little encouragement at all . Last week I had had good fun with the crucians, and one of these brightened proceedings. It was fouled by the pectoral so I shallowed up a little and then set about watching the tiny speck of float for more action. None came. Not a twitch. A few more grains of corn, another 30 mins of cursing the cold wind, with the same outcome. I decided to get something out of the session by accurately shotting up my late evening trotting rig. The same 5BB avon I used on the river today. I like to have it ready with an isotope for those river sessions when the light goes but the roach are still feeding. Good for a few bonus fish at the end of the day.
Good for a few bonus fish on a pond as it turned out. Once it looked about right I flicked it over the lightly baited area with a scrap of flake on the hook. Cantankerous creatures that crucians can often be they suddenly came in a bite a chuck for an hour, confidently dragging under in slow steady fashion a tip 50 times or more bulbous than the pole float I'd used earlier. Amazing innit? Just when you think you got 'em figured out.
No complaints from me tho about my two sessions. The cold went away, I caught nigh on 10lbs at the lake thanks to that final hour, and a couple of dozen wonderfully bright shiny fish from the local river.
Cracking weekend so far with the possibility of a few hours more tomorrow. I've even got enough bait from my £2 spent on bread and corn not to need to buy more.
jimlad
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With freezing overnight temperatures and the River Tees fining down after last weeks flood, conditions seemed ideal for a spot of grayling fishing. There's something just awesome about the lady of the stream; they bite in the harshest conditions, fight hard and look stunning. I didn't manage anything massive, but happy to catch a dozen or so nice grayling to slightly over a pound this morning.
The 14ft Drennan Acolyte Plus is a great tool for the job....
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The 14ft Drennan Acolyte Plus is a great tool for the job....
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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robtherake
Well-known member
I'm green with envy. I can deal with other people catching bigger fish than I - good for them - but I'd give my eye teeth to have swapped places for this encounter.
sam vimes
Well-known member
A quick couple of hours on the river. For an hour or so I struggled for a single bite, which I contrived to bump off immediately. Plugged away to no avail in what's normally a reliable swim until I gave up on it and moved on. It was a good choice as the bites came from the off in the next swim. Seven grayling in less than an hour saved what looked likely to be a blank.
B
binka
Guest
What a great looking fish and a fantastic picture!
And the same to you with brass knobs on
The Runner
Well-known member
Just had one of those days...
Fished club match on R Colne below Uxbridge. Knew it was going to be a hard one with the combination of first frost of the year, river running very hard and clear and a bright day.
Drew a swim down towards the downstream end, generally a good roach area. Tree in the water above me gave a nice crease about a third over, much slower water across , a few bits of streamer still visible in the main flow and a big clump of pennywort on the inside about ten yards down so no shortage of options.
Set up a little cage feeder for the breadpunch, a light stick float rig 0.10 hooklength for the same and a heavier one to 0.13 if required.
Whistle went, flicked in a decent sized nugget of liquidised on the crease and followed it with the light stick rig with punch on a 20. Eased the float down the crease and when it got level with the pennywort it jagged under and an unexpected chub took about a nanosecond to make a beeline for the weed. No real stopping it on the soft rod when it had so little distance to cover and that was that, not the best start- generally not a good idea here to catch a chub that quickly, let alone lose it. Upped the hooklength on the punch rig , likewise on the cage feeder and swapped between the two for the next hour without a sign. Time for the maggot, kept altering the depth and shotting trying to buy a bite, fed another line across in the slower water but nothing anywhere- a quick round robin phone session established that after two hours it was between Stuart and Matt depending whose 6 minnows were the biggest...Just gone half time and was keeping a steady stream of maggots going down the inside, inched heavier stick rig down the edge of the pennywort and as it reached the far end of it, under, and this time its a real beast of a chub. Couldn't get it to turn or get its head up, even on the heavier gear . Three times it got into the pennywort and three times I managed to get it out again but the fourth time it went for the inside just up from the weed and this time it did the old hook-to-branch trick. Big big fish I think, the rod I was on can generally handle any chub but never got this one to do anything but go head down towards the inside snags.
Spent the rest of the match alternating between stick and maggot feeder, stepped the feed up a bit trying to buy a third proper bite and thought something might happen in the last hour as it clouded over and the light dropped. Suppose something did, finally saved my blank with a minnow on the feeder and added a few more insignificant things on the float, ending up with 0-4-8 which astonishingly put me one out of the frame...
Matt had found a few small dace late on to win with 1-1-8, then 0-11 and a tie for third with 0-9. Grim doesn't even begin to describe it.
A couple of people sat it out on big baits today on noted swims- that didn't work either...
Fished club match on R Colne below Uxbridge. Knew it was going to be a hard one with the combination of first frost of the year, river running very hard and clear and a bright day.
Drew a swim down towards the downstream end, generally a good roach area. Tree in the water above me gave a nice crease about a third over, much slower water across , a few bits of streamer still visible in the main flow and a big clump of pennywort on the inside about ten yards down so no shortage of options.
Set up a little cage feeder for the breadpunch, a light stick float rig 0.10 hooklength for the same and a heavier one to 0.13 if required.
Whistle went, flicked in a decent sized nugget of liquidised on the crease and followed it with the light stick rig with punch on a 20. Eased the float down the crease and when it got level with the pennywort it jagged under and an unexpected chub took about a nanosecond to make a beeline for the weed. No real stopping it on the soft rod when it had so little distance to cover and that was that, not the best start- generally not a good idea here to catch a chub that quickly, let alone lose it. Upped the hooklength on the punch rig , likewise on the cage feeder and swapped between the two for the next hour without a sign. Time for the maggot, kept altering the depth and shotting trying to buy a bite, fed another line across in the slower water but nothing anywhere- a quick round robin phone session established that after two hours it was between Stuart and Matt depending whose 6 minnows were the biggest...Just gone half time and was keeping a steady stream of maggots going down the inside, inched heavier stick rig down the edge of the pennywort and as it reached the far end of it, under, and this time its a real beast of a chub. Couldn't get it to turn or get its head up, even on the heavier gear . Three times it got into the pennywort and three times I managed to get it out again but the fourth time it went for the inside just up from the weed and this time it did the old hook-to-branch trick. Big big fish I think, the rod I was on can generally handle any chub but never got this one to do anything but go head down towards the inside snags.
Spent the rest of the match alternating between stick and maggot feeder, stepped the feed up a bit trying to buy a third proper bite and thought something might happen in the last hour as it clouded over and the light dropped. Suppose something did, finally saved my blank with a minnow on the feeder and added a few more insignificant things on the float, ending up with 0-4-8 which astonishingly put me one out of the frame...
Matt had found a few small dace late on to win with 1-1-8, then 0-11 and a tie for third with 0-9. Grim doesn't even begin to describe it.
A couple of people sat it out on big baits today on noted swims- that didn't work either...
dorsetandchub
Well-known member
Sorry you had a grueller but it'll make some future session so much better. Drives us all, doesn't it?
Neil Maidment
Moderator
Fishing for grayling can be a frustrating experience. Without doubt Sunday was! Plenty of tiny grayling (which is a very good sign) and one or two fish of a 1lb+ but several, possibly bigger fish, bounced or lost. I really couldn't figure it out.
Returned today for a very short session, about three hours, with the red maggot left over from yesterday. Didn't really expect too much but it was better than being at home preparing the bathroom for a full gutting and replacement job!
One advantage of this retirement lark is that I had the whole venue to myself today and ended up alternating between three different swims.
Only 8 grayling - but no tiny ones and I didn't bounce or lose any at all today. I reckon five of those grayling were 2lb or better, I weighed the first at 2:06 and the biggest at 2:14.
Returned today for a very short session, about three hours, with the red maggot left over from yesterday. Didn't really expect too much but it was better than being at home preparing the bathroom for a full gutting and replacement job!
One advantage of this retirement lark is that I had the whole venue to myself today and ended up alternating between three different swims.
Only 8 grayling - but no tiny ones and I didn't bounce or lose any at all today. I reckon five of those grayling were 2lb or better, I weighed the first at 2:06 and the biggest at 2:14.
S-Kippy
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Very handsome fish, Neil.....though I am struggling with the concept of you having bait left over after a session.
Neil Maidment
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The rivers round here are at a fishable level just now (first time for a spell) but won't be tomorrow so I spied a chance for an hours trotting today. The water looked like coffee and didn't instill me with confidence that I was gonn'a catch. Anyhow I started off by throwing in a pint of maggots and casters varying from 5wk's to 7wk's old hoping to get something in the feeding mode. There was a biting downstream wind that did start to make my fingers ache after a short while, plus it made keeping the float on track and swimming along the right line alkward, lots of mending etc to get the desired trott. I caught one chub in that swim and then moved to another glide a few hundred yards downstream where I had another pretty much identicle to the first one. I only spent 15 min's in that glide as the wind was even worse there and it had started to rain. I walked back to my first spot and caught another chub out of the same pod as the other two. I'd had enough then as it was starting to rain harder and was going dark. Not much of a session but I was happy to have had an hour out on the bank.
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noutbutacold
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Had a day on the fly at Rutland Water. Hair raisingly cold
Irritatingly landed a 9lb bracket Brownie which would have been a PB had it been a scant couple of weeks earlier.... returned immediatly no photos or exact weight being out of season and all that. Gorgeous fish (quew dark mutterings)
And to finish up (No fish supper for me today) a mid double pike that took a.... Gold head Daddy Longlegs.....
Irritatingly landed a 9lb bracket Brownie which would have been a PB had it been a scant couple of weeks earlier.... returned immediatly no photos or exact weight being out of season and all that. Gorgeous fish (quew dark mutterings)
And to finish up (No fish supper for me today) a mid double pike that took a.... Gold head Daddy Longlegs.....
dorsetandchub
Well-known member
Having met up for a pint with Pete (Bracket on here) a while back, today was a first for me courtesy of his good self.
A short session on the Frome in the delightful Dorset village of Wool, with grayling and possibly trout the quarry. Although I've fished the tidal Frome at Wareham before, the only thing coarse about it today was me. This middle reaches area is Neil Maidment ground, proper bandit territory. Having seen his results recently, it's easily understood why he's planted his colours here. Top stuff, some stonking grayling to boot.
I travelled light with just the Normark Titan, Abu 704 closed face, culminating in a 7 no. 6 Drake stick float to a Drennan wide gape match size 20 and single / double maggot alternating.
I'd only really fished a grayling stretch once before, on the Test at Timsbury 5 or 6 years back and although I took a few grayling that day, I was hammered by brownies and perch so my knowledge of grayling and the finer arts of tempting was, as the French would say, null points. I was, however, looking forward to today.
Slapping in the freebies, a mix of reds and whites, it must have been a dozen or so trots before the float buried and I struck but quickly bumped the fish, it felt decent. I didn't!
I'd read that grayling can be difficult, with soft mouths and their flappy dorsals they can work themselves off the hook which they seemed to do with a number of bumpings and lost fish in between an opener of around 12oz.
Pete was showing his experience (er, yeah, ok, superior capabilities) with a string of nice fish around the 12oz - 1lb mark.
I then went the other way, with a handful of grayling between 3 - 6oz, still nice to see them prospering and they may one day go from 3oz to 3lbs - here's hoping.
Taking a break, I went to chat to Pete and his float dropped courtesy of a real battling fish which Pete first thought was a trout. It took him into nearside bushes but, fortunately, made its way out before the damage became fatal. Carefully and skilfully played back into open water, it surfaced to reveal a grayling, a real peach of maybe 1lb 12oz. I was very glad to see it anyway and it made me all the more impressed with the fish Neil has shown on here. They're truly beautiful, these grayling.
Although the river was in a rural location, we were treated to a display of passing military vehicles and an equally impressive parade of agricultural traffic. The Army's testing grounds for military hardware were just over the back and the throaty growl of hard worked engines stayed constant all day but, no matter, it didn't interfere with or disrupt the day.
However, Pete and I both had home front duties to attend to and four hours was enough of a taster for me today. A grand total of nine grayling for me and fourteen (of a much bigger and better quality) for Pete. It's the first time we've fished but it won't be the last.
Next stop, the Itchen. Best to all.
A short session on the Frome in the delightful Dorset village of Wool, with grayling and possibly trout the quarry. Although I've fished the tidal Frome at Wareham before, the only thing coarse about it today was me. This middle reaches area is Neil Maidment ground, proper bandit territory. Having seen his results recently, it's easily understood why he's planted his colours here. Top stuff, some stonking grayling to boot.
I travelled light with just the Normark Titan, Abu 704 closed face, culminating in a 7 no. 6 Drake stick float to a Drennan wide gape match size 20 and single / double maggot alternating.
I'd only really fished a grayling stretch once before, on the Test at Timsbury 5 or 6 years back and although I took a few grayling that day, I was hammered by brownies and perch so my knowledge of grayling and the finer arts of tempting was, as the French would say, null points. I was, however, looking forward to today.
Slapping in the freebies, a mix of reds and whites, it must have been a dozen or so trots before the float buried and I struck but quickly bumped the fish, it felt decent. I didn't!
I'd read that grayling can be difficult, with soft mouths and their flappy dorsals they can work themselves off the hook which they seemed to do with a number of bumpings and lost fish in between an opener of around 12oz.
Pete was showing his experience (er, yeah, ok, superior capabilities) with a string of nice fish around the 12oz - 1lb mark.
I then went the other way, with a handful of grayling between 3 - 6oz, still nice to see them prospering and they may one day go from 3oz to 3lbs - here's hoping.
Taking a break, I went to chat to Pete and his float dropped courtesy of a real battling fish which Pete first thought was a trout. It took him into nearside bushes but, fortunately, made its way out before the damage became fatal. Carefully and skilfully played back into open water, it surfaced to reveal a grayling, a real peach of maybe 1lb 12oz. I was very glad to see it anyway and it made me all the more impressed with the fish Neil has shown on here. They're truly beautiful, these grayling.
Although the river was in a rural location, we were treated to a display of passing military vehicles and an equally impressive parade of agricultural traffic. The Army's testing grounds for military hardware were just over the back and the throaty growl of hard worked engines stayed constant all day but, no matter, it didn't interfere with or disrupt the day.
However, Pete and I both had home front duties to attend to and four hours was enough of a taster for me today. A grand total of nine grayling for me and fourteen (of a much bigger and better quality) for Pete. It's the first time we've fished but it won't be the last.
Next stop, the Itchen. Best to all.
maggot_dangler
Well-known member
Humm how did I get on one word cwap. A few days nibbles the but nothing actually de watered the bit disappointing to say the least but then this place is so shallow with one good deep area.
PG...
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PG...
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