How did you get on?

[S-Kippy]

Another go after the crucian yesterday having been bullied into it by the Big Feller who is still smarting after his biteless blank last week.

Arrived early and much as I love being out and about early doors I do not like the getting up at sparrow's fart any more. Decided to have another crack at the swim that gave me two good crucians last week armed with a bit more knowledge about the water and the antics of its occupants. I'd been fishing a good [biteless] hour before Grumpy rocked up who'd had a bad night and a worse morning....having to return home when well on his way for his wallet,permit and chair. He dropped into the adjacent swim so if nothing else we could have a bit of a natter if the fishing proved to be slow.

Now...we were fishing virtually identical rigs/baits and only a short distance apart. To be fair to him Phil freely admits to being "no lead angler" and is really not that comfortable sat behind alarms as "I dont know what I'm trying to do". He is a brilliant float angler [running water or still] but he happily concedes that I am better when it comes to the feeder etc.

Long story short. Despite quiet spells I had fish moving through my swim all day. Phil couldn't buy a bite. By about lunchtime I'd had 6 tench between 4-5 lb whereas Phil had lost a carp and foulhooked a gudjin. I was getting indications of some sort regularly whereas TBF was staring at motionless indicators. I gently suggested that he wasnt casting often enough or far enough and he did up his game a bit but still to no avail. When I added another 3 tench and a lovely crucian of 2-11 I thought he was going to pack up. Instead he reeled in and went for a walk and a chat with the other anglers there.

He returned an hour or so later during time which I'd added another 2 tench, another lovely crucian of 2-13 and a beautiful rudd of around 1.5lb. It was about then I think he surrendered. The sun was now beating down on the shallow water [and me!] and had it not meant we'd be hitting the M25 at 5pm I'd have gone then. As it was we stayed until we guessed it would have calmed down at about 6-30....long enough for me to winkle another tench out and for Phil to finally hook a crucian only for it to fall off at the net. Just one of those days for the Big Man I think.

So...I had 12 tench with the best nearer 6lb than 5....another 2 lovely crucian and the biggest rudd I've caught for years [there are fish twice that size in there !] and TBF had a solitary gudjin from the swim next door. Why they didn't drift past me to him occasionally I really dont know but if it carries on like this I will be fishing there solo before long I think.

Still a bit stiff and sore today but not as bad as last week.

 

[maggot_dangler]

Got the the local canal today .

Blowing a blue huey but stuck it out good thing i did had a cracking day of decent perch in the 1lb plus bracket the odd bream and some very nice roach much to the dismay of the EE headcases they were not catching a thing , i got pestered by a couple of pike but they clead off after a short while .

Did not use a keep net so no idea of overall weight but must have been top side of 30lbs i would have thought pleased with the result any how .

The other news the rain is helping raise the water level at the club pool back to what it should be and the tempoary pump on the spring seems to be working well , Just need to get this borehole sorted and all will be rosey once again .

PG ...

 

[binka]

A long awaited session on a day ticket stretch of the Trent for me today with two people who I will be flattered to consider friends after such an enjoyable day, namely Pete (aka bracket) and his son in law Chris.

I say long awaited as the trip had been planned months ago to coincide with Pete’s long journey up from Dorset to stay with local relatives and we met at what was known as The Bromley Arms by the side of the river at around 9am this morning.

Upon arrival at our chosen stretch we unpacked the cars and fanned out, occupying swims along a hundred yards or so of river and I, in my ultimate wisdom, picked what must have been the slowest swim on the river which turned out to have little if any flow for two rod lengths but not a problem, I would fish it and make do as I’m far too lazy to up sticks and move.

The weather forecast had improved on what it had been predicting earlier in the week and we were lucky in that we didn’t see much in the way of rain but a very brisk wind made things difficult for both float presentation and loose feeding.

I spent the first couple of hours sending through an 8 no.4 stick but the strengthening upstream wind made it nigh on impossible to fish effectively as I needed to get it a couple of rod lengths out and then I had the dilemma that if I lifted the line off the slack water closer in, which was impeding the trot, the wind just held it up instead and so I decided on a change and rigged up the long rod with a 4grm bolo float but not before taking a few small dace, perch, roach and pulling out of a barbel on its initial run.

I decided to have a walk downriver before fishing the new rig and I duly dumped a few handfuls of hemp and pellet onto the line I had been feeding with maggot and I then went to see Chris who was immediately below me and was getting a fish a chuck on his stick rig, he was just in the throws of whipping on a bigger hook in order to hit a few more bites and after a chat I then moved on to Pete who was enjoying himself a few swims below with plenty of bites and fish from his old stomping ground, he’d also firmly stamped his mark by winkling out the first barbel between the three of us too.

After arriving back in my own swim I set the rig to lay on over the feed I had put in earlier and it was probably fifty minutes or so before the float slid away and the ratchet on the ‘pin sang out . This turned out to be a nice barbel, this time safely netted and just at the right time as Chris was making his way to see me and he kindly took a few quick snaps…

After I slipped her back Chris then, after a good chat, disappeared back to his swim and shortly afterwards Pete graced me with his company and very interesting company it was too as he was around and rubbing shoulders with the best during the best era in the Trent’s match fishing history and as these people were very much my peers during my early teenage years it was fascinating to hear his stories, the only thing in too short a supply being time to hear more.

Pete made his way back to his swim and we fished on for another hour or so before I called it a day due to the constant battering of the wind, as I walked down the bank back to the car Chris had just done the same and as we sat talking Pete joined us soon afterwards and we drew to a close a very enjoyable day with a few fish and a great craic with no shortage of ribbing thrown in for good measure.

It’s a summary of how things should really be and I’ve not even mentioned the five foot, fifty kilo piece of driftwood yet or the fact that all three of us had somehow copped for at least one wet leg.

Still, if three grown men can’t go out to play without coming home wet then what’s the world coming to?

Thanks for a great day Pete, my best to Chris too and I'm very much looking forward to the next time… :w

 

[tigger]

I bought a hardy marksman supero 11ft 6inch float rod for a very good price the other day and got out between the rain showers to try and christen it today. I went to a small outlet of a lake for the short session and first trot down the swim the float buried and the rod was christened with a small chub of about a pound. I continued to christen it throughout the session catching a mixture of chub and some large dace.
I hooked into a fish a good way downstream and as I wound it back towards me it didn't fight at all and just swam upstream towards me. I did wonder what it was as it had showed no sign of a fight..."maybe it's a bream" went through my mind and as it came level with me I thought I'd lift it up and have a look to see what it was.
It didn't want to come off the bottom. I knew from its behavior that it would be a barbel, all be it a tiddler At this point it decided to put up a fight and for a small fish it tried it's utmost not to be landed...little bu££er .
Anyhow I could see from the rapidly approaching black bruises in the sky that a storm was approaching so I scrambled up the bank, and through the jungle, back to the car.
Reaching it just as some huge blobs of rain started to splat around me.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Top reports from great anglers, and a very good read sitting here looking at the rain absolutely cascading down!

I might just have another beer............

 

[bracket]

My son in law and I had the pleasure of being invited to fish the Trent with binka today. It is always nice to put a face to a name, it gives you an extra dimension on the forum members you converse with all the time. Binkas already written an in depth report on the session which needs no further input from me, other than to say, whilst watching him fish I thought "That floats going through like a plank of wood" but in fact it was a plank of wood, no doubt the subject of his next artistic project. Also just to put the record straight, I walked up the bank to see if they wanted to fish for another hour, only to find both Steve and my son in law had packed up. Light Weights! Pete.

 

[sam vimes]

Snatched an opportunity to get out in a break in the rain. Didn't leave the house until 1830. The wind was still a bit strong for my liking, but the direction was reasonably benign. My reason for going was to give a rod I'm not convinced about a try in conjunction with a centrepin that the least of my favourites.

After a horde of minnows and six or so dace, the eighth bumped, or lost, better fish saw me abandon the test rod for an alternative. Added loads more minnows to the tally and a dozen or so more dace. Unfortunately, the losses seemed to have spooked the better fish. It took some big black clouds and an early dusk to see me manage a 12oz chublet and a decent grayling over a pound.

 

[binka]

"That floats going through like a plank of wood" but in fact it was a plank of wood, no doubt the subject of his next artistic project.

It's lying on my garage floor right now Pete, having already been power washed down.

It's a pb without a doubt but it smells a bit cheesy!

Probably just anthrax or something, nothing to worry about

Another six weeks and it will be fully dried out and ready for its first coat of varnish...

 

[thecrow]

Today was to be my first river visit of this season. I had found a stretch of the Trent where I could park my car behind my swim, why I hadn't thought of the stretch before I don't know as it was the next stretch down to where I fished some years ago old age I suppose . At £10 for the season including another tidal Trent stretch its really good value.

While driving the 70 miles to the venue I was a bit disturbed to see lots of very low angry clouds the more north I got the more I saw and sure enough it had been persisting it down very heavily when I got there.

Still on through the gate and then tried to drive along the bank to where I wanted to fish ( I visited the stretch Tuesday) I had only gone 50 yards when I became stuck and found out that automatics are not very good on sodding wet ground I was only able to get out of the mud by using the winter bit on !the gearbox but it was a close thing. After getting out I checked some of the nearby swims for access but I was unwilling to risk going into the river by sliding down the muddy bank.

So that was it drove 140 miles round trip not to fish but I did find out how poor the car is in mud (I wonder if my eldest would lend me his Audi Quattro 4 wheel drive next time ) because there will be a next time just have to wait for a bit of dry weather eh

More a how didn't you get on.

 

[tigger]

More a how didn't you get on.

I wasn't sure if I should put a like on your post Graham incase you thought I was tekkin le peace, but I did anyhow....better luck next time cockle .

 

[thecrow]

I wasn't sure if I should put a like on your post Graham incase you thought I was tekkin le peace, but I did anyhow....better luck next time cockle .

Just thought I would share the disaster that the morning was

 

[mikench]

Sorry to read of your disappointment Graham! The weather is so poor for the time of year and I didn't get out today but plan to do so tomorrow . My experience of 4x4's and we have two, is that it is the tyres that make the difference between having grip and not! Low profile tires are useless on a 4x4 if you venture into mud or snow!

 

[sam vimes]

Went to do my shopping and grab some bait (fresh bait delivery day at my local). Stopped off at the river for a look on the way back. I had half a mind to have a few hours this evening. You can't see the river properly from the car. As soon as I opened the door I could tell from the noise things weren't good. There's the best part of three foot of extra water and it seems to be still rising. I think I'll give it a miss!

 

[peter crabtree]

Thought I'd have a change yesterday and give the roach and dace a day off.
Just armed with a robust feeder rod and some 8mm pellets I headed down to the Colne. Set up a small cage feeder with a size 12 hook with a hair and band.




The flow and colour looked good for a barbel which have been showing well this season to other anglers here. I cast up, down, in front with my fish meal groundbait and had just one bite, a bream of 6lb.

As I was packing up a mate turned up so I told him I'd put some bait in the swim . When I got home I looked on Facebook and the jammy sod had posted a pic of a nice barbel he'd caught 20 minutes after I'd leftmg:

He was kind enough to attribute his success to my expert pre baiting though...

 

[Tee-Cee]

I suppose all you can take from that is at least you were fishing in the right place!

Still annoying, though...

 

[Pete Shears]

Another breezy morning on the reservoir,wind still SW/W but the water very clear and very few fish topping.Set up the two method feeder rods,one cast long the other at various shorter ranges.
Managed two bream,a skimmer of about a pound and a half and later another about a pound heavier,both on the longer range rod.
Wildlife watching took over with ten white egrets stalking the margins along with four herons,two buzzards circling above,better move now and again they might think I'm roadkill or something.Four too many cormorants were the downside to a pleasant morning.

 

[seth49]

One of four from yesterday evening,
With grateful thanks to nottskev for his info on posting pics with post image.
Cheers mate.

 

[skov]

Headed to the Great Ouse for a couple of hours last night to try a swim I'd previously spotted while out with the kids.
There was a nice amount of flow and lots of little fish topping, so out came the float rod and half a pint of dead maggots. It started off as a total Dace-fest, with one a chuck. Tiny at first, but they gradually got bigger until I got a clonker of a Dace. I was convinced it was a chub until I inspected it in detail!
Speaking of Chub, a couple of 1-2 pounders came along, one of which made a decent attempt at unpowered flight and had me exclaiming 'woooo!' in excitement
As the light started to fade the Dace bites dried up and a few roach, and a weird roach-bream hybrid that fought like stink, made a welcome appearance.
When it got too dark to see the float I switched to a ledger rig with a couple of worms on the off chance there was anything bigger lurking. Watched it for 45 minutes or so and was just about to pack up when there was a little knock on it. A few seconds later it went again and I stuck into about a pound of angry eel, which rounded the evening off nicely!

 

[S-Kippy]

Back to reality for me yesterday. With Mrs S at the Athletics I decided to relaunch my Wey barbel campaign even though that meant negotiating the M25 of a Friday afternoon.

The 25 didn't disappoint. I crawled round to my exit but arrived at the river to find only 1 car in the very limited parking place and that belonging to Tim who lives locally & bailiffs the beat regularly. He wasn't fishing so that meant I had the whole stretch to myself. Unheard of !

Before anybody else rocked up I scuttled off double sharp to probably what is the nearest thing there is to a banker barbel swim on the whole beat. The river was up about 9 inches,slightly coloured and I've honestly never seen it looking better. To say I was confident is putting it mildly.

However....this is me and this is the Wey so I packed several hours later having had 1 very ordinary chub of about 3 and a half pound from my only bite. Where the barbel were or what they were up to is beyond me. I know this swim and I fished it well with a bait that I know works. I can only imagine that Captain Whiskers was not in residence last night...not while I was there anyway. Probably scoffing my freebies as I flew home round a now almost deserted M25.

Just beat Mrs S home who was absolutely buzzing after watching Sir Mo win Gold again. I'm off there tonight to see Bolt in the 100 M. Going to be close but how can you bet against the bloke ? He's a freak....but not even he would have beaten me to that swim last night ! For all the good it did me !mg:

 

[binka]

A very ordinary few hours on the river this afternoon, I nearly didn’t bother but the allure of hanging a worm down the nearside shelf with the long rod for a perch or two finally had me up and out.

Lots of small fish around and my dead maggot and finely chopped worm certainly attracted the eels, I had three which were all between a pound and a pound and a quarter.

I enjoyed it but can’t really say I ever felt settled and the further allure of a fridge full of cold beer saw me heading home well before I expected to be.

Nice to be out though…

:w