How did you get on?

[john step]

Unofficial club knock up match today for those who like a day fishing on a Sunday. Frost on the grass and a niggling icy breeze at 8am this morning, a cormorant swimming up and down and gin clear margins didn't bode well.

Set up 4m whip to hand and 11' rod and line with waggler. At the all in at 9am I flicked out my light whip rig with punch and had an immediate bite, a roach was swung in, hook rebaited and out for another roach. This rhythm carried on for 2 hours, I lost count of the roach between 50 and 60 before they switched off.
My hands were so cold I had to stop for 10minutes before trying the waggler across with maggot. Started picking up some gudgeon and perch on this line then some roach. Others weren't catching much, 2 packed up after a couple of boats came through and churned up the silt. The cormorant was still going up and down too, seemingly unperturbed by our shouts and claps.. During the last couple of hours I alternated between whip and waggler and picked up a few more fish but nothing like as fast as earlier.

At the scales I had 6lb:9 which won the match comfortably with 5:7 and 4:2 running up...

11 fished...

Good result especially with the conditions.So much for the warmer South!

 

[103841]

In answer to the OPs original question, the answer would be "Not very well".

After what seems like an age, I eventually got a chance to shoe-horn in a couple of hours fishing. I even got to try my home-made rubber-band lure.

I was fishing in Canterbury and met my mate, and fellow forum member, John for a couple of hours of fishing. I say fishing as there was no catching going on!

The full story and a few pictures of the venue (there were no fish!) can be found HERE. Fish or no fish, I still enjoyed myself even if the only tug on the line was me trying, unsuccessfully to repatriate my shad from the clutches of the Tree Gods.

Ralph.

Was'nt going to post a HDYGO, but having read your piece Ralph I thought I'd just rub a little salt in our wounds.

I returned 24 hours later for some chub fishing, thinking the pike had gone into hiding after our dismal session. Started downstream at Barton Mill and made my way upstream stopping off at my favoured swims, tried cheesepaste and lobworms, nothing could induce a touch. Finished up at the pool, a day on the colour had gone and it was back to its now too familiar gin clear state. Once again couldn't get a touch on cheese or worm. A few minutes not one but three pike came out of the shadows as if to tease me. I didn't have a pike rig but still had a few deadbaits that I'd forgotten to take out of my bag. Chucked in a piece of lamprey and a sardine. It was interesting to see all three pike take an interest, one picking up the lamprey but then releasing it! A few minutes later one returned and snaffled up the sardine. Fascinating to watch them position themselves in an almost vertical plane enabling them to pick up the bait, the swirls we witnessed in the coloured water of the day before may have been their tails!

I also spotted a very decent sized perch beneath the wall where you were fishing, very crude but I stuck a lob on my size four hook and dangled it menacingly and the perch attacked with vigour taking the worm but sadly not the hook.

Yep, the fish were there, just not feeding, hope they are tomorrow.

 

[The Runner]

Club match today on the Slough Arm at Langley. Sharp frost and cat ice on the puddles on the towpath and a bitterly cold breeze getting up as the day went on with a heavy skim on the water which was as clear as always.
Peggers reported that solid with roach in front of pegs 7 and 8, which were promptly drawn by our top two canalheads .
Drew peg 1 at the near end about 100 yards past the now non-existent gate. Nice 4 ft down the track and about 2ft 6 across to the boat but unfortunately no inside cover for in case the blank saving perchlet was needed.
Set up 3 topkits, all with 3 elastic and 22 or 24 Green Gama to .06 as well as 5m whip and a waggler rod.
Was expecting a slow start. And got it. Two hours without a bite on either punch or pinkie so went for a walk, 6 to 10 all catching in bursts but only odd fish in the lower or higher numbers apart from far end peg who was getting a few. Decided to stick with the punch, two pegs to my right tipped back his three fish and headed off for a pub roast, three hours without a bite and Lyle on my right saved his blank and out of nowhere he started getting a few roach. Four hours without a bite, Lyle catching off and on now, five hours, five hours and twenty minutes...Finally, punch down the track a foot off bottom and a 4 ounce roach.
Last 40 minutes had 15 roach, mostly the same size, for 3-12
10-1 won it, then 9-12 and a tie for third with 8-11.
Could have done with those roach turning up a couple of hours earlier...

 

[neil1970]

I had a quick chuck with some lures on the river as dusk approached yesterday afternoon.
Third cast and a nice looking fish came to the net.

 

[greenie62]

I had a quick chuck with some lures on the river as dusk approached yesterday afternoon.
Third cast and a nice looking fish came to the net.

Yer 'avin' a larf - intcha?

The short upper jaw gives it a supercilious smirk I reckon!

Nice one Neil.:thumbs:

 

[mikench]

Beautiful looking fish though! Pike or catfish ; a no brainier in my book

 

[103841]

A couple of hours between errands this afternoon so headed straight for the weir pool in Canterbury and had a piece of lamprey out in the water for only a few minutes when the float started moving sideways against the current, hooked this one first time but was a bit lucky as the hook fell out in the net! My third pike, weighing in at 7lb 2oz.

Spotted some perch and fancied a pred double, didn't have my dropshot rod with me but did have the trusty whip that remains in the car at all times, hook, line and sinker were found for a makeshift drop shot set up using the top three of the whip.

As with the pike I didn't have to wait too long when my whip tip bent over looking more like a paperclip thought this was going to be a good perch but within seconds I knew it wasn't as the head shaking wasn't happening but powerful lunges were, one of the smaller chub I've had this season but on the whip it was one of the best duels so far. Caught with the tail of a lobworm.

With the light fading fast I fancied my chances of still catching a perch, "you'll have to leave now mate" I'd completely forgotten that the grounds of the pool are locked up at dusk and was being ushered out by the gatekeeper, nice couple of hours though.

 

[mikench]

Lovely fish John especially the pike. Do you take a photographer with you?

 

[rubio]

Yer 'avin' a larf - intcha?

The short upper jaw gives it a supercilious smirk I reckon!

Nice one Neil.:thumbs:

Or a "malevolent aged grin" as was famously said by Ted Hughes.

 

[103841]

Lovely fish John especially the pike. Do you take a photographer with you?

The pike photo was taken by a passing school boy who was so excited to watch me catch this fish, he's never fished before but going home to Dad with I hope a lengthy Christmas list!

 

[john step]

I had an exploratory trip to Nth Lincs drain. I haven't been there for a few years. Quite disappointed actually. The accessible places were well worn with plenty of rubbish.
The more remote areas were so overgrown I couldn't get to the water even with waders on.
So.. came back to my home lake in time for dusk and picked up a quick Jack so I didn't blank after all.
If I hadn't have gone to see I would still be wondering.

 

[mikench]

Great response John! A very happy schoolboy I would guess! A super fish

 

[Another Dave]

Here we are at the same swim as the last two times. Here's the bit just upstream of the reedy choke point. It's where i got that chub by 'trotting' a worm under an inch long mini bung aka strike indicator. 10:20AM.

Plan is to fish bread. A slice is soaked as i set up at the water's edge, i try to feed a few bits in like the i've seen on youtube. Don't be in a rush, the man said, OK.

Most of it floats, as does my hookbait on the first cast. Second trot through and nothing. Nearly decide to go back to worm, my go-to, but give it one more try and lo and behold i'm in, but the chub burrows into those dead reeds you can see on the near bank and the hook pulls.

My fantasy of building a swim faded over the next hour so i broke out the emergency lures. First a mini plug. Couple of nice casts then i manage to snag the far bank, snapped up.

Tried 6 more swims on the way home with a soft plastic on a jig. Absolute last chance saloon swim was The Thorns.

Second cast:

Just under 2 and 3/4, biggest chub i've had since the summer and an official PB. Three pounder here we come!

The Thorns is a swim that never fails to draw blood.

 

[103841]

Persistence pays off! Well done on your pb Dave.

 

[peter crabtree]

It was unexpectedly mild and raining this morning at 6:30 when I loaded the car.
It remained the same on the way up to Tring for our old codgers weekly match.
A rural spot on the Aylesbury arm of the GUC on a very short pound. At 8am we drew and it was dry but still mild, by 9am, the all in, it was freezing cold?

A nippy breeze really put an icy edge on proceedings too as we fished the first 3 hours, all biteless...I had tried punch, pinkie and maggot, both down the middle and hard across in the shallows. Time for a change of tactics. I swapped my waggler rig for a 0.3gr pole rig and chopped some worms, these were literally swung out over the nearside ledge into 4'6" of water in a small dropper.
Snipped the tail off a small dendra and impaled it on an 18 and swung the rig out. Almost immediately the float bobbed then buried, a decent fish was hooked but as I reached for my landing net it came off.... After a tirade of Anglo Saxon expletives I composed myself, rebaited with another worm tail and swung that out to the same spot. With the others still blanking and my swim seemingly dead again I couldn't stop thinking I'd blown it...
After another 20 minutes I fed another dropper of choppy in the same place and carried on. Eventually the float went under and I landed a small perch, was this the winning fish I thought?
During the final hour a jammy codger up by the top lock landed two slabs on red maggot and won the match with 8lb:2oz. Everyone else blanked so my 2oz perch got me 2nd place and the entire pools pot as the winner opted out at the start.

 

[Another Dave]

Can i just add that i did manage to get my plug back from the far bank on the walk back down the other side. Wouldn't want people thinking i was leaving hooks and traces everywhere.

 

[mikench]

I didn't think that for a minute Dave! A free plug didn't justify a trip to Essex!

 

[maggot_dangler]

Set out to have a look around today and possibly fish one or 2 spots i wanted to give the Tame around Sandwell Valley a try only to find ye cant fish it that rubbed me up the wrong way instantly as i had seen a few decent looking chub just stood watching the water , .

I know they say well fish swan pool but i dont like big waters like that i am not kitted up for them and dont enjoy them , Why we cant fish the Tame i will never know as you can get at it with extreme ease .

think i am going to have to have a chew on someones ear at Sandwell to get fishing allowed on these waters ..

PG ...

 

[Neil Maidment]

Nice frosty start this morning but the Stour was rising and really moving at quite a pace. I eventually picked a spot on the south bank really on the basis of not having the rising sun in my eye line.

That worked for a while but the somewhat north westerly wind picked up and became a very cold down streamer, not the best for trying to put a float through

But I managed a few nice chub and a single quality roach for my efforts.

I've just checked my new Korum digital scales at home and they're pretty accurate (unfortunately). I wasn't too impressed with their reading this morning! They most certainly must of been affected by the ice and frost :wh :wh

The best chub was 5:15 swiftly followed by a cracking roach of 1:15

 

[Another Dave]

What a beaut!