How did you get on?

[Pete Shears]

Out on the Wreake this morning, river up about 8" or so but heavily coloured - bread,crust,cheese paste sweetcorn - nothing - one chublet of about a pound on worm: white egret strutting around the shallows downstream which was spooked by a sparrowhawk trying to flush out moorhens, flock of long tailed tits in the willow trees & kingfishers.
Slowly cooking in winter clothing with the temp around 15C - crazy.

 

[flightliner]

Well, My successful early career as a Zander angler came crashing to earth today, after two bountiful trips to the Trent in pursuit of them I sat watching my baited rods stay perfectly immobile until well after sunset.
lovely day tho, the river was dropping slowly and no need to keep clearing the line of debris.

 

[Pete Shears]

Me again - reservoir piking today : 11.5C at 7am,just as crazy as yesterday : one bite, one pike - 18lb 14oz on a sprat mounted on a single hook rig, legged it around 1pm when the temperature dropped & the rain started.

 

[wa1115]

Decided to try a new tying style for my Pike jig-flies last night, (New to me anyway).

Had a little experiment with it this morning 2 pike missed and 2 lost so it works Think I need a rod with a bit more backbone, I think my Korum Snapper 5-15g 7ft Jig rod might be a bit light for Pike as missing and losing quite a few at the moment. Decided to put a small 3g Jig head on with a Crazy Fish vibro worm and started instantly to catch Perch and lost yet another small Pike. A great tester session back out again tomorrow but going to concentrate on Perch. So I have just tied a couple of minnows to try and tempt them.

 

[bracket]

Being from Nottingham I spent my childhood, teens and early twenties, float fishing the Trent. In doing so I developed a modicum of competence with the centre pin. When I was 23 I bought an ABU closed face reel and the centre pin took a backseat. Whilst loading up the car last night for today's trip to the Frome, it struck me I had not fished a pin for almost 40 years, so on that whim, into the box went a pin. The river was in good nick, but there was still that God Awful down gate and in at you wind. I tackled up with the centre pin and felt a little strange at first, didn't quite know what grip to use, but soon sorted that out. After all that while since using one, I had expected to have difficulty timing the casting. But no, just like a well oiled clock, I was away and casting off the drum like a good'un. What I had forgotten, was the effect the wind has on the line coming off a centre pin. I did manage only one birds nest, but initially had trouble with the line going behind the reel, due to slight over running when trotting, but soon got the beating of that. On reflection I think I used the wrong reel for the day, I used my old original Stanton reel which is very free running, perhaps too much so, but does not have a drag on it. Next trip I will use my Alcock Ariel Match which does have a drag. After the first hour spent shaking off the rust, I was back in the groove and took 29 grayling to 1lb 7oz, a sea trout of around 2lb and 1 salmon parr. So for me, today the wheel had turned full circle, I had re-lived my mis-spent youth and loved ever minute of it. Pete.

 

[robtherake]

Decided to try a new tying style for my Pike jig-flies last night, (New to me anyway).

Had a little experiment with it this morning 2 pike missed and 2 lost so it works Think I need a rod with a bit more backbone, I think my Korum Snapper 5-15g 7ft Jig rod might be a bit light for Pike as missing and losing quite a few at the moment. Decided to put a small 3g Jig head on with a Crazy Fish vibro worm and started instantly to catch Perch and lost yet another small Pike. A great tester session back out again tomorrow but going to concentrate on Perch. So I have just tied a couple of minnows to try and tempt them.

I'd rather like to see how you're making these, bud. They look like the sort of thing that could have a permanent place in the tackle box, for those opportune moments when a fry-strike happens under your nose.

 

[wa1115]

Cheers robtherake, I will try to write up a description of what I have used and how I tie them, I had a very short session this morning with a couple of Perch to hand, and a follow off a Pike that I could have put a saddle on and rode along the canal. I will try to get a write up before weekend if people are interested. Or possonly a video but not sure if confident enough to do that. What section would I post it in please?

Cheers,
Chris.

Sent from my LG-E410i using Tapatalk

 

[peter crabtree]

WA , Why not write an article for FM. Just send the lot to Cliff to edit ✍

 

[wa1115]

WA , Why not write an article for FM. Just send the lot to Cliff to edit ✍

Possibly a bit ambitious for me and a bit daunting, but I shall certainly think about it.

 

[dorsetandchub]

I wrote for FM last year, it wasn't as hard as I worried it might be and I believe (well, hope anyway) that the lads on here enjoyed it.

If you have an ambition to do it, I'd be more than happy to help if it would boost your confidence? The more writers on here, the better.

Please feel free to PM me if I can help?

 

[binka]

Possibly a bit ambitious for me and a bit daunting, but I shall certainly think about it.

Get cracking fella, I reckon you'd make a great job of it :thumbs:

 

[flightliner]

Up early today and arrived on my tiny river about nine ish ,but I was bankwalking looking for a new area to exploit.
After looking at three differant sites I settled on a short reach with lots of rushes growing into and over the water.
After all the recant rain it was amazing that the water was so clear and with no obvious sign of any extra, still only some thirty inches or so deep but it was the rushes that had me thinking the swim was maybe the only one that may have barbel sulking beneath.
A nice aven float set up with bulk n dropper shot was soon running after loose fed maggots, the hook bait just tripping bottom.
I only had two plus hours at this stage after all the walking and a chat with a farmhand but knowing how fish had tended to come pretty late on past visits further upstream I hadnt been in any rush but now I was focused, not wanting to miss any precious bite that may be the only one of the session.
I just had the one, near on four pm in failing light the float had gone and after a good scrap I netted a nice barbel a little over seven pound.
Relieved, satisfied, I carried on but my runs downriver were getting shorter and shorter with dusk so well underway untill I couldnt see well enough.
A nice result tho and a swim I was pleased to find.
Maybe a zed on friday---- hopefully.

 

[binka]

I just had the one, near on four pm in failing light the float had gone and after a good scrap I netted a nice barbel a little over seven pound.

Well done Mick and a lovely picture with the float, here's Flight's barbel...

 

[Neil Maidment]

Back to the Dorset Stour today. it was very low and clear (apologies to our North Western readers) but the river had recently had a good flush through and was looking in reasonable nick.

Faced with a maximum of 4ft of water I waded a third of the way out and trotted a 8gm fat balsa with a single bulk of a 6gm olivette locked by 2AAA (of course) towards the far bank rushes. Double red maggot on a #18 to 3lb on the business end was the important bit.

Loose fed continually while tackling up and added a couple of pouches as I waded out. 5 fine chub in the first hour and half told me they were there and ready to feed. Upped the feed to "top and bottom" - at the start and end of every trot - and had them lined up for most of the session.

I ended up with at least 15 but pretty sure I had 2 or 3 more (yes I do count them but it got quite hectic) including several big fives and 1 six. The last chub had me a bit excited but it turned out to be very long and very empty. An old fish that had seen better days but still pulled the scales beyond 6lbs. I would have loved to have seen her in her prime!

Hard to believe but I ran out of bait (all 6 pints of it) and, of course, the chub did a runner. But today was the best "net" of Stour chub I've had for many a year.

View image in gallery

View image in gallery

View image in gallery

View image in gallery​

 

[robtherake]

[QUOTE
.....I ended up with at least 15 but pretty sure I had 2 or 3 more (yes I do count them but it got quite hectic) including several big fives and 1 six. The last chub had me a bit excited but it turned out to be very long and very empty. An old fish that had seen better days but still pulled the scales beyond 6lbs. I would have loved to have seen her in her prime!....
[/QUOTE]

Bloody hell, Neil; you don't muck about. Leave some for us mere mortals, won't you?

Yet another cracking post, mate; your photos are just too good! It brings to mind the joke about the world's most skilful man, who makes things terrifically difficult for himself, just for the challenge. A gentleman watching him, puzzled, asked him about his behaviour, so he launched into an explanation. When he'd finished, the gentleman - with a cheeky grin - said "If I may ask you a question, what about lovemaking...?" The talented man replied, "Yes, you may ask, you naughty, naughty man, and the answer's standing up...in a hammock!"

 

[Neil Maidment]

It seems everything was aligned today. I know the river extremely well and after the recent first floods and frosts, the chub normally move to certain winter areas (or at least a lot of them do, there are still plenty throughout the river).

While tackling up, I fed continuously and just before I stepped into the water, I saw a couple of bow waves. That told me there were probably chub around!

Had a few, and then took an "educated guess" and upped the feed. When the chub congregate and then, crucially, compete, it's all pretty easy :wh Need to fish well and be confident but when it all falls into place, it makes for a superb session.

I also regularly have very high quality blank sessions mg:

 

[john step]

Tried AGAIN to deliberately catch a zed on the non tidal Trent yesterday. Nice run big zed??? no luck a moderate pike that did a couple of tail walks. It was still welcome but where oh where are the zeds hiding. It will click for me eventually, its probably me not fishing the right spots. Must try harder.

 

[neil1970]

The forecast didn't look good for today so I popped out for a couple of hours before the deluge (which didn't happen).

The river was very clear so I settled on a 3" gold, black and red shad to start with

First cast I hooked and lost a perch of about a pound, then caught a much smaller version on the next chuck.



A few swims further upstream I switched to a crayfish imitation and after a fair few casts to the slack I felt the pull of a much bigger fish and was happy with the 2lb 7oz that it weighed.




Back on with the shad and a move of swim saw another perch almost identical to the first.



With a couple of missed jacks thorw in the mix it turned out to be a good two hours fishing

 

[binka]

Had a tough one today in terms of bites, the river looked spot on but rose a couple of inches with what I suspect was very cold rain water from the heavy sleet like showers around these parts yesterday.

It wasn’t helped by the fact that I was trotting and all I wanted to do after the first hour was get out the river and sit down but I made the most of travelling light by giving three different swims a go with two different set-ups, the standard stick and the heavy Avon on the long rod and it was the middle swim which produced a handful of chublets along with one netter and a gudgeon.

No pics as the banks really were mud fest following the receding waters of the last few days and it was all I could manage to stay upright so here’s a picture of a Canadian power station instead, complete with chain link fencing in the foreground…



Work that one out! :w

 

[tigger]

Cracking pic Steve lol.