How did you get on?

[flightliner]

Up befor the lark today as I fancied a steak n mince caught Trent chub.
I headed for a stretch that I have'nt visited for a long time now , one that's heavily fished these days with all the rubbish and **** (and I do mean ****) that goes along with to much pressure.
Long and short of it I fished 8-30 to 12-30 without a bite a nd needed a nanosecond to decide I would sooner be anywhere than that stinkhole.
I had a good lookround before dropping into another swim a few miles further away.
The steak wasn't doing it so reluctantly switched over to flake and mash, a last resort that didn't change things so almost dark I upped stumps and making my way to the car dropped into a swim full of boils and turbulence for a last ten minutes.
First drop in with bread and wallop- the tips whipped round and a 7-1 Barbel hits the net.
Next put in and I'm in again but this time with my target fish -- a nice chub that tho not weighed this time would probably have gone close to four pounds-- result.
here's the Barbel.

 

[jasonbean1]

I think he wants his belly tickling:laugh:

 

[jasonbean1]

last Friday evening saw me down the Cherwell for a few hours after work, dropped in a swim I had been trickling a bit of bait into while I waited for the water to drop, 2nd chuck good chub 6lb 1oz....then the otter decided to turn up and that finished the evening off.

Sunday saw us on the canal for a club match, I drew the wrong end where most blanked and I managed one 10oz perch myself on worm, 4lb 4oz won it.

 

[flightliner]

I think he wants his belly tickling:laugh:

Lol , yes you could be right Jason, strange tho as it was the right way up when I uploaded it-- very strange
The blurred pik was 'cos it was so cold.

 

[jon atkinson]

It was forecast to be quite parky on Saturday night so I decided that I would accompany the wife on dog walking detail before fishing on Sunday, and sure enough we woke to a suitably frosty but bright setting. I'd decided to give Brookfield another go & arrived shortly before midday. The peg at the far end is the deepest so I opted for that despite it facing the sun - sunny intervals were forecast but for the first couple of hours it was actually quite relentless - I was almost uncomfortably hot! More of a problem was the reflected glare off the water surface - it was literally blinding .

As ever, it was great to be on the bank, although there wasn't much of note to report on the fishing stakes; plenty of small roach on red maggot & caster. Switching to punched bread attracted skimmers as well as roach, but nothing much over 1lb. High point of the day was watching a barn owl patrolling the opposite end as I was packing up at twilight.

Still, managed to keep the inevitable blank at bay so far this year - I've a feeling that run will end next Sunday whilst dead-baiting with Thomo :wh

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Two days to report.

First on Hants Avon. Got carried away after a dace and then cracking deep 1lb 10oz blue tinted roach. Fed too heavily and although another couple of roach best 1.5 and 8 or so very big 10-12oz dace, should have done better.
Mate Rog also had a 1.10. Roach and 20 or so dace along with 4 or so roach over the lb. The roach were pristine.

Day 2
On the Stour. Struggled with 3 chub, best probably 5lb. And one dace.
Few anglers chatted to did generally even worse. They just were not having it..
Must not complain given the conditions.

Back to the H Avon tomorrow.

 

[Neil Maidment]

Here you go Graham - photo courtesy Dave T. and a cracking image is as well



That's how and where (in that same swim) I did my shoulder in last year (Rotator Cuff injury). Didn't realise it at the time but by the time I got home I couldn't get my arm above my shoulder

Sorry I wasn't able to meet up with you all this week, honestly missing it

Those roach sound an excellent choice for tomorrow.

 

[lakhyaman]

I haven't been back to my lake for over two and a half months. I finally got there last weekend. It was as tranquil as ever.



The Nageshwar tree was coming out with its new leaves and looked as if autumn was coming instead of spring.



I have over the last couple of years acquired a large number of twin tip rods of various make, celebrated and obscure - the ones that have a quiver tip option to the normal tip. I took along six of them to test as they have been lying mostly unused. I tend to use float rods, specimen/carp rods, feeder rods, as and when I need them as opposed to using these jacks of all trades.

I fielded a Daiwa Theory Barbel rod - 2 1/4 tc, a Hardy Supero Barbel rod, A Greys Prodigy VX Barbel, A Rovex John Wilson Avon Quiver Deluxe rod, A JW Young Travel Barbel rod, and a JW Young Travel Avon quiver rod.

I caught fish on all of them. The lake was having one of its quirky days and only yielded up Catlas, 11 of them, from 5 1/2 kg to 8 kg. They were good enough to test out the rods. All the rods performed adequately.

I have to say that the Daiwa gave me the most pleasure in playing and landing an 8 kg catla of all the rods. The Hardy Barbel was steely in its resolve and was a pleasure to use as well. The others did there job and the much hyped john Wilson Avon Deluxe Quiver with the Avon top handled a 6 1/2 kg fish very well and I would have no problems using that rod again. But, unexpectedly, the rod I least enjoyed playing fish with was the Greys VX Prodigy Barbel. It is a rod I have used before but could not remember how it handled. Somehow that vibrant telecommunication between the fish and the angler was not transmitted to me as well as the other rods and certainly miles behind the Daiwa and the Hardy.

Its just the way I found them and really does not mean a thing as they neither broke nor failed to land the fish.

I could put you to sleep with a near dozen images of the Catlas but one will do.


Catla (Catla catla) 8 kg in Mandan's hands with the Daiwa on the ground.

Incidentally I fished them all with the same weight of Drennan flatbed feeder. The bait was a replica foam pop up boilie well glugged in Robin Red liquid. The method mix was my fall back Quick Oats soaked in the liquid from tins of red kidney beans, butter beans, green peas, chickpeas, and sweet corn which were all added to the oats which was then well laced with Robin Red liquid as well.


The bowls matched the Robin Red!

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[mikench]

I like the "Spode" cup and saucer! A very civilised way to fish!:wh

 

[john step]

I presume it was your own tea?

 

[lakhyaman]

Mikench

It is a tea estate!

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[mikench]

Excellent and tea , I find, always tastes nicer poured from a China teapot into a China cup and saucer! However not on any of the waters available to me! What would the carpers say!:wh

 

[peter crabtree]

Today was my first outing in a week, with the promise of a slightly milder day and a south wind I wasn't going to waste it. My last time out was last Thursday when I trotted bread on a gin clear river Colne, it was so cold I only stayed 2 hours and blanked to boot!
Today I picked a section of canal where I knew the wind should be on my back, but on arrival it was slightly more along the canal from right to left. This turned out to be quite handy as there was huge rafts of floating ice which slowly dispersed to my left and made space to cast across.


11' Ultralight, 3lb maxima straight through to a Drennan super specialist size 16, and a canal balsa waggler was my set up for the chub which live here...
Only took maggots so fished one red one bronze and pinged continuously. It was only about 2' deep across by the overhanging snags and that's where I believe the chub hang out.
First bite a small chub followed by another then quiet. More ice drifted up pushed along by a passing boat. I had to stop for an hour while it very slowly drifted away.
Ate my sarnies and resumed fishing at 2am, first chuck a better chub around 3lb.
Quiet again until around 3:30 as the light started to dim, another fit chub then nothing. As it got darker I pushed the float up and tried the bottom of the far shelf, instant bite on the drop and a much bigger chub followed by 3 more in the last half hour, by now it was getting quite dark and colder by the minute.






A thoroughly enjoyable day with 7 chub, a roach and a skimmer for around 20lb..

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Back to the Hants Avon and a very busy stretch, without a choice of a prefered swim.

Would have been different if it hadn't taken more than an hour for the 11 mile trip. Bournmouth is the worst traffic jam excuse for something that works worse than Bombay roads. Lights, roundabouts and crossings.

Rant over.

Chose the wrong swim and 2 huge dace later in 2 hours moved.
11 chub pretty much in the next two hours but all between 1and a half and 2 and half. All at 30yards...But some sport at least. Did hit something bigger but had me in a overhanging tree on the inside!

Did pop into Rog's lively swim for 6 dace and 2 smallish roach when he went for a walk,

Great three days in Wessex and great to meet up with DT and Rog again. Missed you Neil..Even if the pic of that old fella looks like he has crapped himself playing that fish!!!!mg:

 

[Another Dave]

I could put you to sleep with a near dozen images of the Catlas but one will do.

View attachment 3744

I would love to see more pics of these, they're other-worldly to me. I tried to search for 'catlas' but google doesn't seem to know about them, do you know the latin name?

 

[flightliner]

A bonus afternoon saw me back on the river by 1pm , save for not having to move like I felt compelled to do on monday my time and result was almost a mirror image of it.
mashed bread in a feeder with flake and maggots on alternate casts produced me one bite at 3pm that gave me a nice 8-12 Barbel , a fish that gave a good account of itself and had me thinking it may have been a double.
Not in the least dissapointed it was'nt as it put one or two doubles I,ve had in the past to shame.
Fished an hour into dark but other than a single twitch My catch was complete.

 

[108831]

A bonus afternoon saw me back on the river by 1pm , save for not having to move like I felt compelled to do on monday my time and result was almost a mirror image of it.
mashed bread in a feeder with flake and maggots on alternate casts produced me one bite at 3pm that gave me a nice 8-12 Barbel , a fish that gave a good account of itself and had me thinking it may have been a double.
Not in the least dissapointed it was'nt as it put one or two doubles I,ve had in the past to shame.
Fished an hour into dark but other than a single twitch My catch was complete.

The fish 7-8lbs often do,don't they.

 

[jasonbean1]

dropped in on the Cherwell after work as the air temp was up and making it bearable to fish into dark. bumped into daltons who posts on here in the car park. he had been wandering with bread and cheese and picked up a small chub for his efforts, always good to put a face to a name.

I dropped in the swim were I had the 6 from the other night and straight away I had indications, Over the next hour I managed to strike at thin air 3 times and so moved to the next swim, sat there for 10 mins the tip tapped a few times and gradually bent round and a small chub of around 3 was in the net...blank avoided, stayed for another hour without a touch so buggered off home.

 

[lakhyaman]

I would love to see more pics of these, they're other-worldly to me. I tried to search for 'catlas' but google doesn't seem to know about them, do you know the latin name?

Catla catla is the Latin name. You could try Fishbase.org

Closely related and much larger: Catlacarpio siamensis.

All the best

Lakhyaman

 

[Another Dave]

Had brief opportunity this afternoon. Rod was tackled up days ago for searching out roach and dace in eddies, pint of maggots in the shed for even longer so despite the weather i had to get out.

I'd already sen the river this morning when i did a reccy with the dog, a couple of feet up and a khaki colour. I'd seen my usual eddies were gone, but eventually spotted from the far bank that a tree had gone in just upstream of my Thorns swim. Which is 5 minutes from my front door so i had to give it a go.

Got there at half 3, threw a few handfuls of slimy, frothy maggots in and set up. Size 20 single maggot. Float got a bite straight away, at least 6 ft of water under the tip. Missed it. Soon gave up on the float, river was really pushing despite the fallen tree creating a chaotic eddy of sorts. Put a small bomb on and reused the hooklength, couldn't be bothered to change the rod tip for a quiver under the circumstances. Piled in more feed, a small roach came off, again just under the tip.

Rolled a desolate smoke and tried a few casts in other areas of the swim but the current insisted on sending me leaves and twigs so i went back the easy way, straight down under the tip. After an hour's fishing i was on the true One Last Cast and something that looked like a blank saving bite, very subtle. Picked the rod up and it all went very solid.



Guessing a pound and three quarters but it fought like a demon and absolutely made my day.