How did you get on?

[S-Kippy]

Another bash at the Farmoor trite for me this afternoon.

With the annual staff appraisal bunfight behind me and the next round of business related nonsense not till Friday I thought I'd get meself out before the weather breaks. Left it a bit late so didn't get to the ressie until nearly half 3 which gave me barely 4 hours before the gates shut at 7-30. The wind was very much stronger than I'd expected and i had the choice of standing in a line with 12 other anglers and the wind behind me or doing a bit of manfishing fighting the wind but with the whole bank to meself. I just cannot fish in a line anywhere so off to the windswept empty bank for me.

It was challenging to say the least. A fish first chuck at least showed me they were about but it was hellish difficult in a strong crosswind to slow the flies down. I have a few tricks to combat that and eventually I worked out a way of getting the flies to fish round steadily. It was not easy though....not easy at all. Most definitely " not for boys" as Phil would say but I thoroughly enjoyed the challenge as there was always just enough going on to keep the interest going. I find it much more satisfying to earn my fish on a difficult day or in challenging conditions than when it's easy.

Anyway....with it being bright the fish were deep and it was the point fly that took most fish. This was a reasonably heavy goldhead hares ear which I'd deployed as a sea anchor to slow things down so that the other flies fish properly. Often the anchor fly is basically sacrificed to help the others but not today.

I had 9 fish with a couple of others lost which was a pretty good return given the conditions. I was more than happy with that as I fished really well and if I'd been lazy and not applied meself fully I could easily have gone home with only 1 or 2 fish.Packed at 7 as the wind had worn me down....I thought it might ease off later in the day but no such luck.

 

[maggot_dangler]

Well day out on my normal little pool .

bit cool to start but soon started to warm up the UV content was so high that i have actually got sunburn on my slightly duff right leg this whilst wearing long trousers .

Fish were slow to wake up but started small and got better as the day wore on , a good collection of small roach skimmers perch and one small crucian , then it started to wake up starting with a nice Tench of 4lb2oz followed by a couple of perch of almost 1 lb each then the snotties fired up 23 of them ranging from just under 1lb to something over 3lb .

As they say in the Black Country Bostin ar finally gave it neck just short of 19:30 and headed home well pleased .

PG ...

 

[binka]

a few had look of rudd or quite possibly rudd/roach hybrids, not all but some, maybe decide yourselves if Steve puts the piks up later on.

Always a pleasure Mick, here they are...







I reckon you should have this one on your wall, it's a great pic...

the carp angler nearby came down to look and was pretty impressed which was nice, he had had some ten carp on the zig rig , agood session too but what can you expect from another guy from Mansfield!!

Amen to that

 

[Tee-Cee]

I suppose some do look a bit ' golden ' in colour BUT the ' groupie ' are most definitely roach, and a bl**dy fine set of fish they are too...

Sixty five years a fisherman and those pics have set the heart racing - can't wait to get out tomorrow morning !

Trouble is, will I be able to sleep.......................................

 

[flightliner]

I suppose some do look a bit ' golden ' in colour BUT the ' groupie ' are most definitely roach, and a bl**dy fine set of fish they are too...

Sixty five years a fisherman and those pics have set the heart racing - can't wait to get out tomorrow morning !

Trouble is, will I be able to sleep.......................................

Is'nt it nice to know ther's no cure for the addiction. Surely that calming sentence will have the effect needed for a good nights slumber?.

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

I thought there is possibly a bit of rudd mix tbh in most, especially with depth of fish and colour. Some brim in the first pic looking at caudal fin.

Lovely fish though.

 

[flightliner]

I thought there is possibly a bit of rudd mix tbh in most, especially with depth of fish and colour. Some brim in the first pic looking at caudal fin.

Lovely fish though.

I reckon on three roach Graham, maybe four fish that are rudd or rudd/roach hybrids, no roach / bream hybrids in the piks, I had one in the catch but returned it with the bream prior to the piks being taken.
Maybe a lateral line count of the two top fish will help clarify it a little better.

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

FLIGHTLINER.The tail in the first pic is very breamy including the colour or even ornamental.

It might be the camera mind.

 

[steve2]

The trouble with many fisheries these days is that they stock many different varieties of fish. I know that some of the fisheries have a stock Ide/Orfe that can look like big roach.
Any way it’s good catch what ever they are.

 

[flightliner]

The first fish is a roach, Its the angle that I,m holding it is deceptive insomuch as the head is furthest away and with the tail being nearer the lens it looks much bigger and distorted, almost like a fantailgoldfish at first glance.
I,v fished the place about three years now and had loads of big roach n bream bags but this is the first time I,ve seen these golden hued fish, strange.

 

[barbelboi]

After two days of pottering in the garden in wall to wall sunshine the forecast today was sun and white cloud so I decided on another crucian session on the 2 acre club lake in the middle of nowhere. I arrived a little earlier this week, 10am, and again lined myself up alongside the marginal reeds (fishing tight in with a depth of just over 1m) with a 14' rod 2lb hook length to an ’18’ and a 4x14 float dotted down to nothing and fished under the rod tip.

After the two obligatory carp to start the session I hooked my first crucian just after 11am and ended with nine of them, together with five carp, three tench and a couple of decent roach. There was a brisk breeze gusting throughout the session so I decided to pack up a little earlier to rest my eyes after being glued to the dotted down float. I packed up at 2.45pm to check out the river before driving home - great fun on light gear.......................

 

[john step]

Lovely day wagglering for roach in the sunshine. I kept missing the lightening fast bites on soft pellet until I switched to a small bead punch and for some mysterious reason the bites slowed down and I had 18 up to a goodly pound ( didn't bother weighing).

I look like I have a sun tan but it stops below the neck!!

 

[binka]

I stole a few hours this afternoon to use up bait leftover from a session yesterday, still desperate for a taste of summer fishing whilst the weather held out.

I visited a local day ticket water where I had done well this time last year, a very old lake which the owner has traced back over four hundred years.

On reaching my swim I set up the chair at a near right angle to the water and fished a very light dibber set up literally brushing the newly shooting reed stems to my right in the hope of an early crucian and I tried to convince myself that the gentle breeze which was twitching the tops of the reeds was instead a foraging fish.

It must have worked because I had a string of crucians and tench, nothing huge by any standards but all good fun on such light gear just lowered off the rod tip…



I know we are talking about crucians and floats in another thread and that type of float is what I’ve switched to instead of the usual sensitive antenna type of float, the tiny tip is dotted right down (3 x no.10 total capacity) and is still visible when it dips below the surface, I don’t strike when it dips below but watch and wait the extra second or so until it moves off and disappears out of sight which worked a treat and allowed me to get away with a size 10 hook with a worm section impaled on it.

I think this is where some might be striking the place to a foam, even with smaller baits, whilst trying to hit half bites instead of letting them develop, it’s almost as if the crucians are doing a very subtle “tester bite” and waiting for a reaction before committing to the real thing if the nip end of the bait doesn’t disappear before them in a flash…






Some weren’t as subtle though and occasionally had the rod tip hooping over before I could barely lift it…




Half a kilo of worms, a five quid day ticket and the feeling we’re in the middle of August!

Bargain… :w

 

[neil1970]

Thats enough of that now...

 

[rubio]

Couple of hours loosefeeding red maggot for some small roach and perch. Quite slow and not a single crucian. I fished a swim new to me and I think I could have done better, so with a bit of bait left I might just try again tomorrow.
Also had a very short chuck down on the beach the other evening. First bass(tiny) of the year and some pin whiting. Be worth another go on a better tide.

 

[Tee-Cee]

A local lake was my choice this past week with mixed results over several session. I had one day of 30 + roach of no great size, and others of a dozen or so but of better quality.

I had intended going after crucians by choice with roach as a back up if this failed, but the former were not interested to any great extent with just the odd fish, so roach it was. I had the usual array of baits but with high white cloud and hazy sun I decided to give giant hemp a bash feeding with smaller grains and up in the water. Unfortunately, size of hemp does not equate to size of roach and although I had a number of fish up to a pound I also had many in the 6" range which was rather frustrating. Fishing of this kind is very enjoyable, but intense with rod in hand the whole time and the constant grains going in, so I did what I have done of previous occasions and suddenly changed bait - sometimes with maggot, sometimes with wheat and occasionally chickpea, none of which improved the size of fish. Similarly flake and the punch fared no better ....
Numerous cups of tea, although enjoyable did not induce more bites..

A chickpea did produce a pretty tench of around 2,5lbs which went off like a train, but it would have been so much better had it been a crucian....

The constant change in the weather ( temps from -1 in the am to 16 at midday ) didn't help my cause, but nevertheless I enjoyed every minute, made so much better by newly finished floats behaving perfectly !!

Roll on next week when ( flavoured ) newly made white bread from the breadmaker will be given very chance !!

 

[peter crabtree]

Having missed the opportunity of fishing the last four warm days I simply had to get out this morning. A cold NE wind blowing and the canal gin clear, things didn't look promising. 13ft light float rod, a Billy Makin loaded canal blue waggler to a 22 B511 hook to 0:07.







No groundbait, no hemp, no nothing, just double squatt at dead depth whilst liberally pinging in a pinch of squatts every so often. I honestly expected to blank but after an hour my float buried and a small dace saved my bacon.
Neil1970 turned up and as we chatted I had another bite.
Another small dace.



I fished on for a bit and it started to rain so I called it a day...
Glad I went though...

 

[flightliner]

A day nearer home today, a late start, no need to rush.I intended to fish hemp n tare up in the water as yesterday I had called in at a nearby commie to see my neighbour who was doing just that very thing, seeing me he handed his whip to me while he laid back to rest his aching back in the warm sunshine, I reckon I had a dozen nice roach to ten ounce or so as well as losing just as many--- great fun tho.
Anyway just before setting off I dived in the freezer for my leftover mussels from earlier in the week just in case I had to change my plans.
There was a ma4ch on the lake which forced me to the far side bank, one thats lined with heavy growing water lilies that were just beginning to show which wasnt a good omen.
A tiny red topped four inch homemade sarkandes reed float that took five number eight shot shirt buttoned was my rig and for a change seeing as I was fishing tight in the margins I put my old Trudex cp on the rod.
It was all underhand casting some six feet from the rodtip which was a boon really as most of the lads using the water are pole anglers and for a lefty like me its noticable that any trees that get pruned tend to be done with right handers in mind .
I think i was doomed from the off using the chosen hemp as the water lillies below were really thick and close together and going further out was a no no on account of some overhanging branches overhead which forced me to reconsider a change of method, sad as I was looking forward to taking some nice roach that are presant in the water.
A change to a loaded waggler with four number eight shot down and laying on with mussel (again) as bait allowed me to still underhand the extra distance needed to clear the lilly stalksso, a few pouches of hemp or any tench and a few chopped up mussels scattered in the same area proved to be an instant success!.
A carp, maybe six pounds tops gave me the runabout before the compulsary barbless wide gape hook slipped its obviousy unsure hold---- b - - - er!.
All ended ok however as two smaller carp hit the landing net as well as a tench of some two pounds tops.
Had to go, things to do, stomach to fill, gear to get ready for my next trip ---- All good !.

 

[binka]

All ended ok however as two smaller carp hit the landing net as well as a tench of some two pounds tops.

Sounds like a good day Mick, here's your carp...



I reckon you borrowed the scissors off Izaak Walton himself

All stocked up with fresh cherry pies here and ready for the off tomorrow

 

[barbelboi]

Off again tomorrow Steve!!!!!!!!! - You're really taking this small tench challenge seriously..............