How did you get on?

[john step]

I know you retired guys won't have a clue what I'm on about talking about "other pressures" mg::wh but does this happen to anybody else or am I right to carry on taking this situation extremely personally??

As one of those retired old gits I can assure you that when you do retire, life still throws all those bu55eration factors at you purely designed to stop you fishing. That oft repeated phrase "I don't know how I had time to go to work" is certainly true.

Talk about the BU55ERATION FACTOR. I had to break off from typing this as my sandwich maker has called me to the kitchen. There is a leak on the cold water pipe in an inaccessible place after we have just had some kithen fitters in . GRRRRR

 

[dorsetandchub]

John,


I threw it in as it was the only way I'm going to be attracting any bites for the foreseeable future......

PS: I'm only jealous. This working lark is seriously overrated. I'm quite liking the idea of becoming a full time off grid spoon whittler....

All the best....do you need directions to the kitchen?? mg:

 

[no-one in particular]

Its not often I get it right, I was spot on yesterday. I didn't think I was going to catch anything; I didn't. Pat on the back to myself.
Self induced really, I am sure if I went for some chub it would have happened but I went to the canal for a change, never fished it in the winter and totally blanked; its more of a summer venue. Still, thought a roach might have made a guest appearance.
Became very windy and chilly so packed up early and made up the time in the pub.

Nice spot of a Sparrow Hawk flying along the bank; a female. Never see the male, its always the female. Strange that, I don't think I have ever seen the male.

 

[maggot_dangler]

Well glad I am not the only one that blanked yesterday Grrrrrrrrr.

Sent from my 8055 using Tapatalk

 

[Tee-Cee]

Cold, hard morning, drizzly rain with a dose of gusty wind added in for good measure.......but at least I didn't blank !

Float motionless for two hours, which didn't surprise me one little bit. What did surprise me was a sudden dip and dither which developed in to a firm take and a reasonable fight saw an 8" perch fight all the way to the landing net. ( Yes, I netted it... )

That's as exciting as I can make it, I'm afraid..............

An couple of hours later saw me hunched over a hot bowl of leek / potato soup along with chunks of home made bread, waiting for the rugby to come on. Better that than flogging a dead horse....

I didn't think about fishing again for the remainder of the day.......................

Gathering my thoughts for Wednesday, though !

 

[barbelboi]

Of course your float was motionless for the first two hours Tony, I keep telling you - you leave too early........................

 

[stu_the_blank]

A couple of hours lobbing dead baits, one run, dropped!

Very wet on the banks, and damp and cold, but really good to get out. Was planning to get out this weekend but will see how the temperature goes. Not exactly a fair weather angler yet but am leaning that way! A couple of big toothy lumps would cure that though.

Stu

 

[aebitim]

Thanks for the moral support, Pete. I wish the lottery were random in the same way though, arguably, it probably is as I never seem to do any good there either....

Gloat, Gloat, nice to know the monkeys back in its rightfull place xxx.
What happened to Sundays call then??????

 

[Chefster]

The Tuesday open at Tunnel Barn Farm yesterday,only attracted 20 anglers ,split between Club and Canal pools,so plenty of space!
I couldnt believe it when i drew peg 1 on canal pool,an out and out flyer,which produced over a 100lb on saturday in the winter league!!!!
Its a corner peg with plenty of options to go at.....To cut a long story short,i fished that many lines trying to find the fish,i ended up disappearing up my own ar$e:eek
I caught a fish off every line i fished,but that was all i managed to do,i couldnt catch more than 1 fish off every line i opened up,i fished from 6m to 16m,worked really hard,and in short was a busy fool!!....A paltry 25lb for nowhere....56lb won ,54lb 2nd and 35lb 3rd......Back to the drawing board:doh::doh:Tight Lines ,Gazza

 

[peter crabtree]

Just shows chefs overcook things now and then innit....

 

[bracket]

Slow on the River this morning. When I arrived it was -2C, Six inch of water on and boiling through. However no wind.



Because of the temperature I was well wrapped up. Thermal vest, fleece shirt, fleece hoodie and three quarter length weather jacket plus thermal socks. This was great until while 11 o'clock when the Sun really broke through. Before long I was sweating my cobs off. A slight disrobe was called for. First, to do this I had to remove my bait apron and managed to deposit half my bait into the river in the process and that is when the "grumps" began. The first ninety minutes produced three bites. One I missed and the other two bumped off good fish. Changed the hook and promptly lost two more on the trot. Why is it you can, unerringly and with a 100% success rate, hook your: cuffs, sleeves, the inaccessible areas at the back of your jacket , but struggle to hook bites? Had a complete next hour without a bite, but that ended when a cormorant surfaced in my swim then took to wing. Finally picked up three hand sized grayling which were followed by a nice 2lb fish (well 1lb 15oz actually, but I will settle for 2lb)



Another blank period followed, then two grayling each around a lb and that was it. By that time ASDA was calling so I wrapped up and made tracks. Pete.

 

[dorsetandchub]

Gloat, Gloat, nice to know the monkeys back in its rightfull place xxx.
What happened to Sundays call then??????

My turn to gloat. Picked up a pair of Browning Ultimatch reels off fleabay for next to nowt. Give you a buzz later. Sorry, mate, busy time. Meant to and got distracted.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Bracket.........The frustrations of your days fishing beautifully delivered in your post. A really good read.......

The pic puts you on the bank......

 

[john step]

The Trent is over 2 metres up so it was back to stillwater piking.
I fancied a different venue so I headed up to the banks of the Humber to a well known lake I havn't visited for a few years.

What a disapointment. The lake has reasonable depth but according to the locals, the weed was brought in and the ecology changed dramatically since the floods swept through here a couple of years ago.

The water is crystal clear and I could find nowhere where the thick matted weed was more than 18 inches below the surface. It has not died down all winter. It was impenetrable.

I stuck it out in the sunshine for a few hours as I paid a day ticket, skimming a deadbait across the top but didn't expect much. I was correct.

Nothing stays the same. Perhaps it will revert in a few years.

 

[peter crabtree]

Chucked a bag of bits in the car at 2:45 this afternoon and by 3 I was on a new to me peg on a local stream.



Trotting flake on a 3BB stickfloat and size 14 hook I had 2 tentative bites both missed. After an hour I moved to my banker peg. 2 more missed bites on the flake then a fish on the 3rd...



Blank avoided I carried on, as it got darker it was ' one last cast time ' and after a fairly long trot the float buried. At first I thought I was snagged up but the snag started pulling back and after a spirited fight in the flow I landed a bonus bream.

 

[Pete Shears]

Spent yesterday reservoir piking - no good for fishing,water very coloured after Mondays monsoon but nice sunshine & bird watching - long tailed tits, blue tits,robins,wrens,egrets,buzzards,red kite,lapwings,2 pairs of bullfinches - still today was on the Wreake for a few hours,river level was up on my previous visit & coloured,managed to get one chub ,nothing was very interested in feeding but again the sunshine was superb ended up watching 2 kestrels circling higher & higher until 2 crows blundered in to upset them.

 

[sam vimes]

I had my first opportunity to wet a line this year. I had to take a day off to deal with those lovely people that supposedly needn't be taxing, but invariably are!
Once I'd had my fill of lift music, and run an unavoidable errand, I managed to get to the river a short while before 3pm. My usual winter banker peg is a bit deeper after the floods. Sadly, it also seemed strangely devoid of anything bar one daft trout. I suppose that might have a bit to do with the distinct lack of my bait going in.

After about an hour of very little action, I upped sticks. I was just in time to see the dirty great black cloud headed my way. As I got to the new peg, the heavens opened with a delightful mix of hail and snow. Fortunately, the fishing was a little better than the weather. Ended the day with an OCD satisfying six grayling and four trout.

 

[S-Kippy]

I'm really struggling with the concept of a "bonus" bream.

 

[Pete Shears]

Out on the upper Soar near Narborough today - river fishable but going through just a little too fast.Settled on a big bend with a back eddy of steadier water and had a trout of 1lb on trotted bread and that was it.Tried worms,legering bread,worms, cheesepaste & crust - nothing at all,looking at the rubbish strewn across the fields the river had been four feet or higher earlier in the week but what was disappointing was the amount of rubbish left stranded on the fields - plastic of all types & sorts,beer cans ,tennis balls even a steel 15" car wheel with the tyre.
It's surprising there are any fish left in the river.I spoke to the farmer before I left,he said he ha a quad bike with a trailer which he can fill to overflowing with all the rubbish before he turns the cattle out of the barns in the spring so they don't kill themselves on all this.

 

[peter crabtree]

At this time of year skip, on a small and shallow town centre stream with just a couple of slices of bread, anything's bonus innit?