How did you get on?

[binka]

I was just a little way downstream of a massage parlour, no "Trent ghosts" today but maybe a few thrown away replicas on my hook would be a first

Very nicely put Mick

Here are a few pics of Flight's day...







Well done for getting out and braving the weather

 

[flightliner]

Very nicely put Mick

Well done for getting out and braving the weather

Thanks Steve, yes, very hard day, no brolly, no lead , only float gear, :wh lol.In reality the river is so sheltered by high banks and industry I dont think I saw a ripple caused by wind all the time I was there.

 

[bracket]

I managed to get three hours in on the Frome this morning. Bit of a dour morning overcast with rain. The river was still up a bit but fishable.



The fish came in fits and starts and I managed 29 grayling. Most were hand sized but I did have 11 net fish, the best going just on 2lb.



So good to be back on the river with only four weeks left to fish it on this venue. Pete.

 

[dann]

Top work Binka.

 

[neil1970]

I popped out today with the ultralight gear.

First stop fishing in a lock...4 bites converted to one tiny perch.

Then went down the weir where my first lure caught trout must have followed the tiny single hooked spinner all the way across before biting and providing a nice mini fight under the rod tip

Good to bump into Simon on the bank...

 

[Tee-Cee]

Locating fish this past week has been as unpredictable as the weather...

Of my four outings in the last seven day period two drew blanks and two yielded a few fish, with nothing in the weather pattern either on the day or the days previous, to say why this should be so. The ambient temperature was reasonably stable and the water 46 degrees ( in old money ) regardless of depth.
The two blanks were consecutive and in different swims, and the two fish days in the same swims a couple of days later.

Friday last saw me fishing red maggot just off the bottom with nothing to show in the first two hours - not even a dip of the float - and I thought a third blank was on the cards. Fortunately I given some thought to this possibility and with a ' try anything ' mentality I has added a bag of Van Den Endye Supercup ( cut with light brown crumb ) to the bait bag. This I mixed into a fairly loose sort of mixture and this I fed into my swim in very small mounts no bigger than marble size.
In the next two hours I had a 4lb carp, 5 roach to 1/2lb or so and a number of perch again up to 3/4lb or so. All fish were taken on double red maggots.

Today I was back again at 7.30 in a different swim with similar tactics only this time the roach wouldn't take two red maggs on an 18, but loved a single red on a 20, although only when hooked through the side and on the drop. A conventionally hooked single red yielded ziltch !
The same method started to produce a few average perch ( the roach stopped feeding after an hour or so ) topped by a 1,5lb beauty that looked a treat in the weak sunshine. This was followed by a quite hour for no apparent reason until the roach ( in another part of the same swim ) started feeding again and I took six more fish up to 3/4lb.
I fed the same groundbait mixture the whole time which broke up on contact with the water and dropped in a very slow cloud. No doubt in my mind this was the difference between catching and not, borne out by the fact that two other anglers failed to catch when feeding maggot only....

I went home pleased as punch with my catch, but more that I'd tried something different and it had worked a treat.....

Back again tomorrow knowing full well the coming overnight frost will present another set of problems to solve. I'm up for it !!



....and people ask why I go fishing.............................................

 

[Chefster]

Tuesday open today at Tunnel Barn Farm,another windy affair!!..34 anglers ,so split between Club and Canal pools,the drawbag gave me peg 4 on Canal pool,decent area,but blowing a hoolie!!..I had Rugely Legend Mike Capewell on peg 3 ,for company,and a spare peg to my right
I opted to start on dobbed bread at 14.5m,to see what was about,fishing towards a clump of grass on the island,a slow first hour,with 2 mirrors ,one about 6lb and one about 3lb....There seemed to be fish there as i was bumping and missing bites ,so i decided to try pellet over the same line,tapping in micros,this resulted in a run of F1,s ,before the line died.
Next port of call was the track at 6 sections,first put-in a 5lb mirror,then a few f1,s ,then skimmers moved in!...I,d been feeding my top 2 maggot line with 4 maggots,every few minutes,so gave that a try,2 quick F1,s then nothing...Last hour i stayed on the long pellet line and added another 4 mirrors,and an F1,losing quite a few in the process..
Scales came and 61-0-0 was winning lake,i had no chance of that,as i put 43lb odd on the scales,Mike,next door had weighed 46-0--0,which put him in the frame,so i had to settle for the section,as we were the top 2 on our half of the pool........I should of done a lot better,but with the weather lately,im finding it hard to stay focusedAny way,i,m fishing the match again on thursday,so hopefully,a better result,or at least ,better weather...Tight lines,Gazza

 

[peter crabtree]

After my usual ' I must get out but where? scenarios this morning I recalled a club match last autumn where someone caught 4 big perch in the last hour of our river Colne fixture.



Fished stick float and maggots from 2pm to 4:15







Caught around 16 fish, 3 species but nothing big by any means.
Saw a couple of kingfishers chasing each other up and down the far bank too.
Happy days.....

 

[flightliner]

Neil1970, gorgeous foto, the light shining thro that perch is amazing, and its expression is almost saying you're gunna get a pasting for putting me thro this indignity.
Seen much bigger but not better. Love it.!

 

[bracket]

I have just got back from a short session on the Frome. Much better conditions today. The river is at it's normal level, overcast sky and mild, plus the 30 mph wind forcast never materialised. So everything right for the stick. I was on a six foot deep peg pushing through and used a 12 No 4 float with two No 8 droppers and two No 8 backshots. Fishing just overdepth and second run through had this grayling.



Caught steady for the rest of the time, with only two short periods of twenty minutes when they switch off. Finished up with 34 grayling and two brown trout. Best grayling went 2lbs 12oz. I am still waiting for that elusive 3 lb'er.



Only downside to the day was that I seemed to get a bit of moisture on the camera lens, which spoilt what few photos I took. Fishing alone I find it difficult enough to take good shots as it is. I don't like keeping the fish out of the water too long, so if I don't get a good shot first time, so be it, the fish goes back in the water. How do you other lone anglers manage it? Pete.

 

[greenie62]

Nice one Pete! - I reckon the Lady has splashed your camera with her paddle-tail - they just won't stay still will they!
:thumbs:

 

[tom_moran]

Last night I went to the k and a canal for a short session after work. After all the good advice I had a good feeling, managed to get out of work a little early which gave me about 30 mins of light when I arrived. Sadly even though the water was clear enough to see lots of fish it also meant I could see they just weren't Interested in anything I had to offer. Big shoals of perch and roach. They barely touched anything. It may be the I'm just arriving too late as it's nearly dark before I'm fishing and the frost we had the night before probably didn't help. Did get a very low fly past by some military helicopters at about 7pm though which was nice. And the spot I went to looks like it has great potential so I won't give up

 

[Chefster]

TBF vets match today,a few of us guest with them,cant fish for pools,just pride and a practice!!,they are a smashin bunch and some really good anglers..
There was 50 on it so it was on New and Extension pools...The drawbag was kind and it gave me a flyer,peg 21 on Extension..All i needed to do was not stuff it up...Anyway,5 hours later,and i did stuff it up,,and got well and truly beat by Alan Higgs(TBF Vets),off the next peg 22,who had 42-12-0,and a lake and overall win,i had to settle for 2nd on lake and overall,as my 22 F1,s only went 36-12-0....So not a bad result out of 50,but i missed bite after bite all day,tiniest dinks on 2mm and 4mm expanders...Most fish came at 6m,a couple at 8m,a couple at 14.5m,but wind was too strong to present bait well long,even though there were fish there,i sacked it off,i never had a bite on the short maggot lineNew pool fished a lot harder,and Ron Allum(Banbury Gunsmiths) won over there on peg 38 with 29-0-0...Not out now till next Tuesday,due to workTight lines,Gazza

 

[robtherake]

I don't like keeping the fish out of the water too long, so if I don't get a good shot first time, so be it, the fish goes back in the water. How do you other lone anglers manage it? Pete.

As badly as you, mate. I hate the idea of keeping a fish on the bank for even a second longer than necessary so I get nervous, and when I get nervous I get clumsy so I'd rather put the fish back than mess it about. Besides, the swines don't stay still for a second....must be my fearsome appearance, eh?

 

[Neil Maidment]

Nicely done Pete! I fished the Frome yesterday and struggled, less than a dozen grayling with the best around 10oz/12oz all in a howling downstream wind!

Decided to fish the Stour instead today, more of which later.....!

 

[Pete Shears]

After having 2 blanks on different reservoirs chasing pike, it was out the Wreake again for a few hours today - 2 chub on the first 2 casts ( to 1lb 13oz)then 2 swans flying by spotted me and landed either side of my rod - no more bites there then. Moved upstream & could only get unhittable rattles on the quivertip so another move resulted in the smallest fish, a chublet of about 8oz, on worms,couldn't hit any bites on bread. Sat back watching a kestrel wheeling overhead and a green woodpecker perched in a blackthorn around 30 yards away and I heard & saw the first skylark of the year flying over singing constantly.

 

[Neil Maidment]

Turned to the Dorset Stour today having struggled on the Frome yesterday.

I've just described my efforts on Facebook as "fishing like a Muppet wearing a blindfold" and I reckon that was being very generous. But fortunately the Stour chub have no idea what sort of idiot is on the other end of the rod.

I couldn't settle and wandered around the bank like a lost soul but eventually stopped and pondered an old favourite of a swim with a long trot alongside an even longer bank of reeds. Fed a load of red maggot as I tackled up but can honestly say I was not very hopeful, even less so after the first hour had passed!

Then the float buried and a satisfying thumping was felt at the other end. A very decent chub eventually came towards the net, at which point I lost it! More feed, another chub hooked at the extreme end of the trot.... lost half way back towards me!!!

They obviously felt sorry for me because shortly afterwards I hooked four in four trots. Fair enough, numbers 1 and 2 were also lost mg: but I finally got number 3 and, surprise surprise, number 4 in the net. both big Stour lumps nearer 6 than 5. Got a brace shot as I had one resting in the landing net as I hooked the second :wh

View image in gallery​

More feed (again!) and I managed a couple more of similar stature but also lost another three I won a few battles, they were winning the war

Understandably, things went a little quiet, but the best was yet to come. As the light began the fade, an unseen lump buried the float, again right at the end of the trot. This one was a little different as it just thumped around out in the heavier flow rather than head for the reeds. A long, long, patient fight ensued as I inched it back towards me and eventually to the net. Quite a bit bigger, I thought it was my 4th 7lber on the float but not quite, a few ounces short

View image in gallery​

I do love trotting the Stour when it's in full winter trim

 

[robtherake]

I want to be you when I grow up, Neil. Top angling mate.:thumbs:

 

[flightliner]

An early run south on the A1 this morning to a near Trent layby to meet up with Steve (Binka) for a days barbelling.
Dawn had just broken but it was 9am when I cast my first rod just short of mid river that was deceptively pacey, loaded with a feeder full of softened mini trout pellets and hemp with two twelve mm trout pellets for hookbait, the other upstream rod was a straight lead with a lump of luncheon meat.
Steve wes in supping a warm cuppa a few minutes before me which was the very thing that I did as the wind had a decidedly cool edge to it.
An hour later and save for one short rap that could have been some below water moving material I was fishless so after another half hour I put the hooks in the rods buttrings and went down to steve with the Flask.
halway thro my coffee steve had a bite resulting in a nice chub--- a start-- hopefully one that would get better. While stood there I couldnt help notice that there was something about steves tackle that I couldnt put my finger on , I was puzzled to say the least but whatever it was I couldnt work it out so took a foto that would maybe help solve whatever it was a little later on,
Around one pm after a longish wait my upstream rod hooped over and after a short protacted struggle Steve put the net under a lovely barbel of 11-15.5 , sadly the fish was badly marked from what appeared to be an attavk from an otter!.
That was it, nothing for both of us untill we cleared away at dusk, a little sad, but thats angling. We both agreed that it was likely on account of snow that had fallen the previous morning, snow that had fallen on the peak district and fed by the Derwent into the Trent which had put fish off feeding,
Great day out tho whatever the result, thanks for the company Steve,

 

[bracket]

Very impressive Neil. Great photos. Pete.