How did you get on?

[Graham Elliott 1]

It wasn't upside down on my pc?

 

[peter crabtree]

There you go...

 

[mikench]

What fantastic pike and well done! Posts like this make one feel inadequate and my initial response was to say nothing about my miserable experiences this afternoon! I had to stay in( perhaps just as well) to await a delivery from Boots of baby stuff to take to Dubai on Saturday when I shall meet my new grandson! I set off to the local Mere to try slider float fishing!

I had purchased a float as used by AS in his vid on slider fishing. It is about 12 inches long and weighs about 2 kilos!!!! The first to slide was not my float but my Korum feeder arm as it came away from its fitting on my chair and disappeared into 6 feet of water! I spent a half hour trying to retrieve it using my landing net, long bank rest and even a length of line with my biggest hook attached! I failed just like my fishing! I pondered whether to break my rod into smithereens, go home or take up residence in one!!!

The weather was benign so I switched to a standard float with maggot on the hook. In the last hour I caught 3 small roach! The only success of the day was using my new little stove and kettle and brewing a nice hot cup of tea. I was the only one there and overall it was depressing! Please guys keep your fantastic catches to your selves and if that Maidment bloke is watching do not show me some fantastic, stunning Chub!!!:wh:thumbs::thumbsdown:

Tomorrow is another day and if I can summon the enthusiasm I do have another cunning plan! I wonder if Baldrick could fish!

Mind you I was casting my missile at least 50 yards with little effort! Quite amazing!

 

[S-Kippy]

There you go...

View attachment 3850

Beautiful fish, Graham. Well done mate.

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Thanks S-kippy. I await that 4lb perch from you.

 

[Pete Shears]

On the river Wreake this morning with a faint drizzle in the air which cleared leaving it feeling mild even though the car was telling me it was only 3.5C.The level was up and muddy coloured so ended up fishing some slacker water with a cage feeder,liquidised bread and crust on the hook - a chub of 10oz first cast,followed by three more between 1lb 4oz & 2lb.
A shrill whistle alerted me to a passing kingfisher and saw a green woodpecker twice over the opposite bank.Soon the knocks on the quiver tip faded away so I moved upstream to leger in a different back eddy in another pool and two more chub,1lb 12oz & 3lb.Tried worm,prawn and cheesepaste without a knock so was on the way home around 11am.

 

[S-Kippy]

Thanks S-kippy. I await that 4lb perch from you.

Could be a long wait Gra. Ive spent too long this year sat behind alarms and as a consequence my float fishing has gone to pot. Tonight I'm thinking about what I should have done earlier but isnt it always thus ?

 

[103841]

I dillied and dallied and couldn't make up my mind whether to stay home in the warm and watch the Olympic action or head to the river. Got totally absorbed in the speed skating but I kept thinking of that image Graham posted of his huge pike.

So with the skating over I bit the bullet and loaded the car with a few bare essentials and headed off to Grove Ferry. The sun was offering a lovely warmth in the 5 degrees but that easterly wind is so unforgiving and after ninety minutes got the better of me. Tried several things but not a single hit. Not a total waste of time, tried out a weedless rig and I could confidently throw it into some very snaggy swims retrieving it without a problem.

The weather forecast is all doom and gloom and the days left til the end of the season are fast running out.

Proper snagfest swim, where are those perch and pike?

 

[john step]

Proper snagfest swim, where are those perch and pike?

Not nice at this time of year in the cold and wet, but dusk into dark for perch and pike at this time of year can be the time to get a run.

 

[bullet]

Out after a few Grayling today with a friend, trying to make the most of what is left of the season.
Bit chilly, but the fish were fairly obliging, ended up with around a two dozen between us, most around 10 to 12 inch, a couple of Chub to around 2lb, and a few decent Dace.
A few hooligan spotties put in an appearance, both of us having the annoying experience of having wound them up from about 20 yarrds downstream, to then have them throw the hook under the rod tip and end up with the rig about 15 ft up in the willows above!

 

[sam vimes]

With today seemingly being the last of a relative mild spell and the wind being pretty light, I toddled off to the roach pool for the afternoon. I was there, bang on time, for the cheaper after 1200 ticket. Unfortunately, I got waylaid on the way to my peg by one of the regulars keen for a chinwag. That delayed my start until well after 1300. By about 1600, I'd had 45 roach, chublets and hybrids, my feet were like blocks of ice and the fish were starting to go quiet. Only my OCD stopped me packing up and heading for home. Fortunately, another five fish came along in fairly short order and I scuttled off home to get warmed up.

 

[ian g]

I wanted to grab a quick session on the Severn , I was on the bank by the hawthorn for 4 o'clock .Level had dropped considerably as had the temperature . No interest for 20 mins then the float slips away and I connect with a decent fish which turns out to be a 4 1/2 lb chub nice but not a perch . Slow for a while then as I wind in another pike shoots out and grabs my worms great fun on the float rod hooked right in it's snout. Quick weigh 7 lb 6 oz. I gave it another ten minutes but wasn't sure if the pike had screwed up the swim so moved to were I fished Sunday , bites from the off resulted in 3 perch , two around 1 1/2 lb and the best 2 lb 5 oz plus another decent perch lost at the net. It's a bit of a snag pit here and I jacked at 6 ish when I had to pull for a break. I've been busy with work and home lately but I hope to fit in another couple of mid week trips as the days lengthen before the end of the season.

 

[Graham Elliott 1]

Great fishing that Ian. Well done.

 

[maggot_dangler]

Spent a bit of time on the club pool yesterday .

A few more decent perch had a couple of roach heart was not fully into it yesterday for some reason so called it a day at 14:30 and headed home .

Have nmot enjoyed this winter at all i dont normally have too many worries about winbters but this one had not been good for me must get my head back into fishing mode .. needs some nice warm sunny weather .. ..
##


PG ...

 

[Aussie Bob]

With a nice warm humid day and the wind finally dropping went out with the fly rod expecting a hatch. Conditions were perfect but there was nothing rising. Tried a dragonfly nymph , damsel and dog knobbler with no interest. There was a decent hatch of small spinners but the fish weren't rising to them. A bit of a commotion near to the bank at it looked like a perch was cornering fry I cast right into the area and there was minnows jumping everywhere but no hook up and it went quiet. I thought the trout would switch on to the spinners but apart from a couple of rises nothing much was happening , I changed to a royal stimulator and left it out there with minimal casting ..the sun started dropping and then dozens of swallows were swooping picking off the insects it was quiet surreal just to how many there were around. Had to give it away when they started trying to dive bomb my fly ! Was keen to try and continue into the dark but a lack of a head torch forced me home. Of course as I was walking away a huge trout jumped and snatched something off the surface ....typical.

 

[mikench]

I managed a few hours yesterday on the large shallow Mere which once held fish!:wh My binoculars were in hand more than my rods! I practiced my casting and made several hot cups of coffeee with my new toy. I fantasised about being stranded in the wilderness of Kamchatka and realised that if i had to rely on catching fish to survive, I was doomed! Coot breast fillets however!!!

From now on I am going to follow Skips advice and if the atmospheric pressure is above 1022 as today, stay home and play with the robovac!!

 

[nottskev]

The dire forecast didn't materialise, around here at least, and by lunchtime it was quite pleasant, without the icey wind that's been a fixture lately. I thought I'd try and catch a chub from a small local river, as I only had kitchen bait options.

The river has a low stock of fish and limited swims. It is a mostly shallow riffle and pool affair, so it's not hard to spot the chub's winter quarters, and I sat down confidently in a swim where I'd never failed to catch a chub or two. 20 biteless minutes later, a man and his dog stopped and told me how surprised he'd been to see an otter, just where we were, yesterday morning. I'd guess it's about 20 mins from the Trent confluence, and no big deal for a motivated mammal to nip out, pick up a takeaway and check the property prices.

I moved to two other "banker" pegs, without a bite, and ended up way beyond where I'd usually walk, in a gap in the trees with a bit of depth under them.



With a single shot on the line and a bit of teasing and twitching, you could get your bait under the trees below you, and this got two bites - a little chub of 8oz, and this more respectable one.



It's a nice little river, pretty and pleasant to fish, but it's one of these borderline "knife-edge" waters, always hovering between making a recovery and lapsing into being too poor to fish. I can't imagine it is geared up to support large predators in anything but the very short term, but I'd like to be proven wrong ( as opposed to just being told so ) I uploaded the pic several times - the chub is the right way up on my pc!

 

[mikench]

Well done Kev! There is hope for us all!

 

[nottskev]

Well done Kev! There is hope for us all!

Cheers, Mike. I bet your River Bollin has a few chub in the deeper nooks and crannies.

 

[mikench]

Quite likely! I must give it a try !