How did you get on?

[binka]

I had planned on a session over the weekend but never imagined it would turn into fourteen hours wandering around, trotting worms under various different sizes of homemade bobbers.

I’ve had too many of these type of days to know that what is supposed to be a perch session often manages to morph into something completely different and whilst I did get a few small samples of the target species, to around a pound and a quarter’ish, it was the other brutes which made the headlines of the day.

I took the 15’ float rod and the ‘pin with the heavier line on it and I was thankful that I’d maxed the hooklink to the rod’s upper line rating which is 7lb and plenty enough to cope with the occasional rogue barbel…



It wasn’t a barbel that was to be the test though.

I’d been doing pretty well on these but a couple of swims further down the river, in the middle of what seemed like a biblical downpour, all hell broke loose as I hit into a very plucky kind of bite which ran hard and fast straight across the main flow to the far bank and all I could do was literally try to hang on without anything giving.

It was then a long game of heave-ho form both parties for the next few minutes until my suspicions were confirmed and I slipped the net under a nice river carp which went 16lbs 3ozs on the scales…



I’m not sure how long I was playing it but the sun was back out again and drying everywhere nicely by the time it came to a quick pic, it was certainly fun bending 15’ of carbon to the corks and I was very impressed with how the rod coped with it all, it’s certainly the biggest fish I’ve taken on it in the eight months or so since I bought it.

A slight sense of irony in that I’ve encountered big river carp in this area twice before and I’ve come off worse on both occasions despite the fact that I was using far heavier gear, one escaped to a hook pull and the other crafty so and so doubled back on me, from upriver, at the speed of lightning and wiped the hook onto an overhanging branch under my feet so maybe a lot to be said for gently coaxing instead of full drag mode?

All in all a nice, varied day out with a few highlights thrown in for good measure… :w

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Well. I went back to the swim on the Warks Avon where I had some nice roach on the barbel rod and 10mm bait.

This time I was after the roach. 5lb bottom and black cap filled with mini pellets and casters and a size 14 hook. Drennan seven series 1.25 quiver rod.

Although I tried it was impractical to trot due too willow overhang both sides and above.

Bloke opposite bank decided to mow/trim the grass and light a fire (smoke my way!) After I had droppered in some bait in far bank hole. Bxxgger.


Fishing nitially very quiet then....a brim about 4-5 lb followed by another. Both unhooked in the water.

Small roach followed and a few small chubs. Where were those big roach? A couple of dace then wham. I managed to keep in touch for around a minute without ever being in control. A barbel ? I woukd bet on a river carp. But unlike Binka, this one did me on an inside tree in the water about 20 yards downstream. Just couldn't extend the rod enough to keep it away.

Few more bits then home.

 

[flightliner]

It took me a couple of days to get over my trip eastwards last week, a bad back of all things, not nice, and with limited time decided to fish a nearby reservoir that has a few nice tench so, ten minutes max saw me by the waterside .
Two rods kitted out with method feeders hooked up with corn and plastic castors were soon in position by a weedbed after an initial spodding up with a combo of sweetcorn, maggots, castors and a few mini trout pellets.
Conditions were perfect, a stiff breeze, generally dull and overcast with the odd ray of sun breaking thro.
Sadly, no one had told the tench.
My first take came some five hours --- a long wait when expectations are high- a solid dropback on the corn baited rod but disaster struck with the fish coming adrift of the hook some five seconds in--- b - - - - r!!!.
Another two hours patiant vigil paid off with another dropback that produced a really nice male tench of 5-11, a good fish for the water.
No time left, beaten by the clock again.

 

[Pete Shears]

On the reservoir again this morning in a cold NW wind with drizzle every now & again - had some roach & skimmers to corn on the feeder,lost a good bream which surfaced adjacent to a thick weed bed,then dived into it shedding hook. The only other thing of note was I had a massive drop back bite & striking everything went solid,then everything started to move - a roach of about a pound with a ten pound pike hanging on to it - the pike let go when it came within netting range leaving me with a very mangled dead roach - off to Devon on Friday for a weeks carp fishing on a very private secluded lake.

 

[tigger]

I had to got to a friends house today and as he lived near the river I thought i'd have a little trott after leaving their house. I'd checked the river levels before setting out and the river was just a foot up and seemed to be dropping off. Anyhow when I got to the water it was rising and quite coloured....bu££er!
I gave it a go and fished for an hour and caught a chub of about 4lb and a nice trout of about 2 1/2lb but it was obvious that the conditions where getting worse for trotting so I wrapped up and went bailiffing instead. I spoke to quite a few anglers and only one or two had caught a couple of small dace on their legerd gear, everyone else had blanked...strange as the conditions where spot on for legering.
I'm hopi'n to get out tomorrow, just don't know where yet, i'll have to wait and check out the levels on a couple of rivers before committing myself.

 

[tigger]

I finnished up going over to the larger river yesterday, it was still up around a foot and carrying colour. I headed for a spot where i've had some good catches of barbel and chub with the trotting gear and I was lucky to find it available when I got there. The extra foot of water did make a massiive difference to the swim as it's a fast flowing spot at low water anyhow so it was making the water really push through. My normal float in this swim would be a carbon stemmed avon bolo of 4 grames but yesterday I used a 6 grame wire stemmed bolo to give a little more control over the trott. Anyhow I had a chub of around three pound after a couple of trotts through, then another one that looked like a god six (I hadn't taken my scales). I had a few more chub very similar to the larger one so they where a really good stamp of fish. Things went quiet for a spell and then I started catching a few odd small chub of about ten ounces. After that the bites dried up altogether so I replaced my float with a small bomb and fished upstream. The result was pretty much instant and another clonkin chub that i'd estimate at six pounds plus. I was using a hardy specimen avon rod and was trying to christen it with a barbel and give it a propper bend but for some reason the barbel just weren't feeding or weren't there. I had a few more of the nice sized chub and then a little barbel of about ten ounces before wrapping up and heading home for some grub.
Gott'a say....the rods a belter !

PS, sorry for the lack of pic's, I can't put them on this pad thing, still gott'a get a computer after having been burgled a spell back.

 

[thecrow]

Today was a day of sunshine, showers and snot, I had intended to fish a commercial that's quite near to home I hadn't visited it for years and when I turned up I wished that I hadn't when I saw a large pile of burned rubbish and pop cans next to the track I turned around and headed for a day ticket lake instead. Its an old estate lake that I hadn't fished for many years



had a drive down the track that runs alongside the lake and decided to fish half way down in a swim that had weedbeds both sides of it, could only find around 3 feet of water at best but decided to stay put anyway, cant be doing with moving about nowadays.

Started with sweetcorn on the hook and feeding hemp hoping to change over to tares later on. first chuck the float disappeared, it was the slimiest skimmer I had ever caught snot everywhere, 2 skimmers later and I changed to tares on the hook hoping for some roach, a few came to the tares no big but roach all the same.



Over the next hour or so I had a few more roach and then hooked what I hoped was a good roach, it wasn't it was another slimy skimmer of around a pound, from then on it didn't matter where I cast or what bait I used the skimmers found it. Gave up in the end they had defeated me and I wasn't going to sit feeding them for the rest of the afternoon so I packed up and went home. I will go back there though as its such a lovely water.

 

[peter crabtree]

Went down the Thames near Marlow S. Bucks today with the teenage superstar.
Sat up on a high bank with a drop of 6". I fished the slider out near the middle while he opted for pole @13m. Roughly 10 to 12" deep running through on the Wagg feeding hemp and caster I wasn't getting any bites until a chublet succumbed but that was it. Changed to cage feeder, GB and maggot for 2 hours.
Still nothing....
Meanwhile DB was picking off the odd roach and dace and had an impressive 4lb at the end. Feeling shattered now as it was bloody hot sunshine all day and a long schlepp back to the car....





Blank avoided....

 

[barbelboi]

I took a stroll down the lane for another few hours (you know the times) on the overgrown stream.

Once again I took some chub and 'lets to around 3lb, lots of roach to about this size..Another small barbel slightly larger than the last one, a few perch but no dace yet.

A most enjoyable session with fish from four accessible pools along a (approximately) one mile stretch and some faster shallows....

 

[steve2]

Back on the river lure fishing today I couldn’t understand why I missed a couple good take until I checked the hook on the new lure. I had forgotten to remove the sleeve that was protecting the hook point. Had a few small jacks after that.
Got talking to an angler walking the banks he was telling me that he as moved back from Ireland in search of some good fishing. The EE he tells have netted, and dead lined the lakes he use to fish in Ireland leaving many waters without a good head of fish. Unfortunately I had to tell him that the river I was fishing had also been hit by EE and many of the bigger fish removed. I caught them at it one day BBQing roach and dace.

 

[peter crabtree]

Back on the river lure fishing today I couldn’t understand why I missed a couple good take until I checked the hook on the new lure. I had forgotten to remove the sleeve that was protecting the hook point. .

Crabtree bad angling award Steve....:whmg:

 

[maggot_dangler]

Yet another Club Comp Wednesday night .

Second AGAIN! this is getting boring , should have been first by a mile but got into a decent doubles carp and not the line but the Hook broke just as i was getting the landing net under it that would have put me at least 10lbs ahead .

You can imagine the level of Miffedness involved not an appy bunny never had a kamasan b911 break before .. long list of unprintable expletiffs ..


PG ...

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Walked to the River (the Fish In bit) after 3pm for a quick dangle.

Was a busy day with couple of old codgers sitting together having not had a bite all day.

Popped into a swim that is difficult to fish but usually holds some fish even if not feeding.

One chap passed me to say that the river was really dead. He had managed 18 barbel Tuesday as the river dropped, 12 on Wednesday and just 3 early on today with nothing after 11am.

Well, using maggot feeder filled with pellets and 8mm hookbait the tip stood still for the 10 min first, second, third ,( you get the picture.) Difficult cast. It was about 30 yarder upstream with willows above.

Finally a thump and drop back. Fast winding made contact and after a fierce fight a 8lber was in the net.

20 minutes later a similar fish was netted. Jane came and sat with me, realising that unhooking mats are slippery as she slid waterways on the magic carpet! Stopping her sliding in whilst grabbing the now nodding rod was the option.

The fish was about 6lb. Jane washed the mud of her shoes and talked about buying new ones!

One more barbel and a mini chub and home for dinner at 8pm.

 

[neil1970]

nice chub on the lure, with a silly vid via a go pro preset to go with it, sorry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgMYymSpfBM

 

[wa1115]

with a silly vid via a go pro preset to go with it, sorry

Haha, thought it was going to be a trailer for the next Jaws movie with the overdramatic film score. Great job! ?

 

[peter crabtree]

A few weeks ago I told my neighbour to let me know when he's next fishing and he knocked on my door yesterday to say he's going today. We fished a new to me stretch of the GUC near Hemel.



Due to the permanent tow on this canalised river Gade section I fished a 0.4g pole float rig tied to my line on my new 13" ultralight.
Slowly trotting punch down the middle I caught some nice roach and skimmers from the off. Meanwhile pinging maggots across to the far shelf.
After an hour or so the first boat came through and the punch line dried up.
Changing bait to double red maggot I shallowed up and tried across. First bite was this little fellow...



I hooked a couple of bigger perch and lost 3 absolute clonkersmg:
In all I had around 50 fish, roach, perch, ruff, gudgeon, dace, skimbobs and chublets.



My neighbour's tackle was a bit crude and he only used bread flake close in but had a few nice fish all the same.
I will have to go back and try for those big perch one day soon......

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Simon. I fished that bit or very near a few times if its close to the mad roundabout.

By the old Roses Lime factory and also by a little weir lap run off the other side of the road.

As you found out...some cracking sized perch and there use to be some very large trout.
Worm was the bait then.

 

[peter crabtree]

Neil, nowhere near the mad roundabout although I often see some nice bits of the canal near there but wonder where tf do I park?
This was further east nearer Kings Langley.

 

[The Runner]

Bottom end of Apsley just down from the Golf Course, Simon ? Looks vaguely familiar but haven't fished round there in ages

Got back an hour ago from a few hours down the Colne, Nothing dramatic, about 20 dace and a dozen perch split between three swims over five and a half hours, Really hard to keep the odd bite coming. No sign of any roach or chub, and only two barbel men there which tells its own story.
Speaking of which, only found out last night the result of last weeks club match on the next stretch down, which I had to miss. Mate won it with 10-13, 10-1 of which was a barbel without which he would have still come second...

Royal Berkshire tomorrow.

 

[thecrow]

Fished a local commercial this morning hoping to contact some of the Crucians that I had been told were in there, chose a corner swim for no other reason than it was comfortable for me to fish and was out of the wind.



Started on sweetcorn feeding a small pinch of hemp every cast and just now and then half a dozen tares just in case the crucians didn't show I could maybe get the roach feeding.

After around 2 hours fishing no crucians had shown up but plenty of roach had, nothing to shout about but welcome all the same. this is about as big as they got.



Decided to change from sweetcorn to tares and this turned up, not a very good picture.



Carried on fishing for a few more hours catching roach fairly regularly but no more crucians packed up and was home in time to watch the F1.