How did you get on?

[cal_sutt]

Had a little walk around along the river today, there was surprisingly little colour in the water but the level was up. It's been raining for an hour or so now and the Idle always fishes better after rain, shall be fishing the link ledger with sweetcorn hookbait for roach and chub as it tends to work well. Theres a few barbel knocking about where I'm intending to fish, they're only up to about five pounds (as far as I've seen) but it shall be a laugh with 4lb line on a 30 year old 13ft match rod, shall report back tomorrow with (hopefully) some success.

 

[binka]

...............

 

[barbelboi]

Please note that the like is not reflected in any way in respect of the snotties Steve............

 

[binka]

Please note that the like is not reflected in any way in respect of the snotties Steve............

Lol... Thanks Jerry

Best of all is that I stopped on the way home for some cold beers and went into the shop covered in bream snot... my gear stank, the car stank, I stank!

Duly showered with landing net and unhooking mat awaiting the rain on the back garden whilst I enjoy one of those cold beers

 

[Tee-Cee]

Sounds a great day, that!!

Mine was more sedate and relaxed....Fished from around 5.30 in what can only be described as a very chilly (cross) wind bought about by the sudden overnight rain. However, a quick cup of tea put the world to rights and I was into my first roach within 15mins.

For a change I fished 4mm expander pellets on a 16, sometimes on the bottom and sometimes just off if bites slowed, and although not all the fish needed the net I was well pleased with 20 fish by 9am.
Then things changed as the cross wind (definitely NOT a breeze!) increased in power and blowing line caused problems so a bigger float and back shot helped, but the presentation didn't seem spot on for some reason.....
For no rhyme nor reason the roach suddenly stopped feeding at any depth but several small tench and a lowly crucian followed (still on pellet) which was fine, but not what I wanted so a change to flake and the roach came again, although not in any numbers.

I can only think the carp entering the picture caused all other species to stop feeding, but stop they did ! I has several, still on light gear, which tested my patience, including one very large Mirror which took off across the lake, and as I raise the rod even higher it came to the surface briefly and looked around 15lbs or so. I eventually 'lost' it in the pads but not before it had ruined the whole end tackle....Beautiful colouring though, in the sunlight..

Still, it was a lovely mornings fishing made all the more pleasant by endless cups of decent tea...Oh, and total peace and quiet....


Out again Monday/Tuesday when hopefully the promised rain will at least have had the effect of 'freshening' the water, somewhat...not to mention the foliage which looks rather brown at present !

 

[flightliner]

Lol... Thanks Jerry

Best of all is that I stopped on the way home for some cold beers and went into the shop covered in bream snot... my gear stank, the car stank, I stank!

Duly showered with landing net and unhooking mat awaiting the rain on the back garden whilst I enjoy one of those cold beers

Makes me smile Binka, its the sweet smell of success!.great day, great fun with great mates.

 

[denzinho]

Lol... Thanks Jerry

Best of all is that I stopped on the way home for some cold beers and went into the shop covered in bream snot... my gear stank, the car stank, I stank!

Duly showered with landing net and unhooking mat awaiting the rain on the back garden whilst I enjoy one of those cold beers

I try not to handle bream anymore, just because there snotty and they stink. Nice fish though. Sounds like a cracking day though Binka. I caught a Chub today of 1lb 8oz which I was happy with on freelined bread.

 

[cal_sutt]

Went down to the river yesterday to wet a line, it looked perfect from a distance - about a foot to two feet deeper with a nice colour to it. Then I got closer...

You could see (vaguely) to the bottom and it seemed okay but a bit weedy, I had a go anyway and lost a barbel but oh well. It was quiet after that and getting weedier, by 10am your bait wouldn't even get to the bottom, it would be in the water.no more than five seconds before a great big chunk of weed wrapped around it. 11am came and it was horrific, rafts of weed above and below the surface reaching lengths of 20ft and there were some that almost covered the width of the river. The Idle is known to be a bit weedy, but I have never seen it like that - even when there's been a couple of blokes 30/40 feet upstream of you who are cutting weed.

Anyway, after losing four or five hooklengths and a link ledger, I gave up with the river and decided to go to the canal while I still had an hour or two left. I wanted to float fish shallow but I didn't have the right shots or floats with me!mg: Anyway, I opted to fish on the bottom (which never usually works until evening) with a single SSG link ledger down to a size 12 hook topped with triple red maggot. I fished from 2pm until 3pm and had three "pound-or-so" perch and one nearer to 2lb as well as quite a few of around half a pound plus a skimmer of about a pound and a bonus two pound tench.

Going to the leave the river for a while, at least until there's less weed flowing down. It's a shame really, because the colour and depth is spot on - hopefully that won't change too drastically!

Pike fishing Monday night for a change on some old club ponds that shut a few years ago, then Tuesday afternoon shall be a session on the float on the canal. Then, if the river's calmed down a bit I shall be barbel fishing on Wednesday and Thursday. I shall return with feedback from Monday night's escapade!

 

[chefster]

I fished the penultimate Qualifier for the TCCO final yesterday at Toft carp lake,i was feeling very confident,especially when i drew out peg 55,usually you can get there or there abouts from this peg!Anyway,to cut a long story short,i completely ballsed it up,i opted not to fish the feeder and stick with meat@5m,a method that has helped me frame and win lately..wrong decision,it never really got going,my margins wouldnt work due to neglect on my part,pinning all my faith in a meat line ,that never came good..I ended up with 60lb+ for nowhere1st Place went to Martin Paynter(unbeatable venue expert)with 150lb!,2nd was lloyd (Gudgeon machine)Hayes with 135lb+,and Ivan(The Terrible)Mills was 3rd with 131lb+,there were 7 weights over a ton!!so i was absolutely kicking myself after,but never mind,luckily i,ve allready qualified for the final at Holly Farm in september,so that wasnt on my agenda yesterday,just personal pride!!!..got a club match at the Grebe fishery on thurs,lets try and do better,all the best,Gaz

 

[greenie62]

I ended up with 60lb+ for nowhere

Hey Gaz,
Was this a 'tactical' setback - so that you get better odds from the bookies for the final?
Good Luck mate. :thumbs:

 

[chefster]

Hey Gaz,
Was this a 'tactical' setback - so that you get better odds from the bookies for the final?
Good Luck mate. :thumbs:

Cheers mate,i,d like to say "yes"-but in truth it was a huge cock-up,the cold water from all the rain had really put paid to the meat line-i got beaten both sides,by feeder anglers!!,and after my recent results at the venue,i was very complacent-and paid the price!!Gazza

 

[peter crabtree]

Not quite as eventful as last Sunday but nice to be back on the GUC.
An interclub match Tring v Luton at Slapton in rural Bucks. A fairly wide pound with overhanging hawthorns across. That was where the bream were, I fished 10' bomb rod with half ounce carbon tip. Mini cage feeder to 4lb line and a size 18 crystal bend hook to 3lb bottom. Also balled it in down the track with groundbait for my pole line.
It was raining and blustery so I started on the tip across as tight to the overhanging branches as I could. Double maggot got me lots of twitchy bites and in came some small roach and perch. Changed to double caster and the tip went round positively. A bream c.4lb in the bag. A couple of boats went through and it went a bit quiet. The wind dropped and I went out on the pole line. A couple of decent perch and some nice roach and Rudd. Then the skies darkened and the wind turned into a hooly so back on the rod.
2 more bream and skimmers until, with half an hour to go, I hooked a carp and it raced off under the branches and smashed me up.
Too late to set it up again so back on the pole for a skimmer and another good perch.
Weighed in 9lb 12 for around 7th place.
Winner on pole 16m over all day had 31lb 8 mainly bream.
2nd 27lb 4 pole long.
3rd 21lb 8.
14 fished....

 

[barbelboi]

Not bad for a granny..................

 

[The Runner]

Just got back from three days in Poole with the other half.
Had a nice lemon sole in the Poole Arms and she had a lobster...

 

[nicepix]

Had a bit of a mare. Little Wife and I had failed to co-ordinate our diaries causing a logistical issue regarding transport. In other words; she needed the car

As a result I had to settle for three hours in a swim I hadn't intended fishing and in retrospect, was the wrong choice. In short I blanked

 

[greenie62]

Had a nice lemon sole in the Poole Arms and she had a lobster...

As long as you didn't have crabs! mg:

Sorry - but you tee'd it up for a tap-in!

 

[Tee-Cee]

Oi! Keep my name out of it, if you don't mind !!

 

[Tee-Cee]

Well, the rain certainly 'freshened the water' and it did look a lot better, but it also had a marked affect on the air temperature which, I like to think, helped make the fish indecisive, if not downright fussy, as to what bait they fancied this morning.
After Saturdays success with pellet, and reasoning that it would be still fine in the slightly changed conditions, I confidently started with them today. Nothing happen for the first 30mins apart from tentative bobs of the float, (already dotted down to 1/4") which fail to materialise into anything positive, or anything I could hit, although I did try....

I change to flake gave me several small fish, but again the bites were finicky to say the least, and even these stopped for no reason I could fathom, so for the next hour or so I sat fishless...
I tried several alternative baits along with many changes in set-up, all to no avail, and just as I was contemplating a change of swim I caught three tench in quick succession followed by a nice crucian of around 11/2lbs, all on pellet ! This was followed by another, almost to be expected 'quiet' spell............
It was never going to be day of fish coming to the net at regular intervals (obviously!) so I experimented with elderberry and hemp feed and then hemp on the hook at various depths and this gave me three 9" long roach to lovely sail away bites, but this quickly followed by the loss of four more coming to the net.....

I will only add the language at this time was 'choice' and out loud, which, in all probability bought on sudden five minute downpours over the next half hour....You know the type; dry one minute, and everything soaking wet one minute later....delightful !!

Am I deterred ?? Not a bit of it, as I shall go again first light tomorrow.......................

 

[barbelboi]

Usual early start on the river tomorrow, about 10sh, look forward to a few hours trotting........................

 

[neil1970]

4.30-7.30 pm

Casters caught a tiny trout, then an larger one, then a tiny perch.
I lost something larger due to a hook pull.