How did you get on?

[fishplate42]

I am truly amazed Ralph that a pike might go for a method feeder on the retrieve! Is this a eureka moment? Lovely fish though!

Me too! It happened to me a couple of years ago, but I did not land that one. see HERE, about half way down the post. Not only was it a nice fish, it was well mannered too; no thrashing around or getting snappy.

Ralph.

 

[mikench]

Most if not all of the waters I frequently fish( as opposed to being able to) do not have pike otherwise I might just be a bit more circumspect on the retrieve of my feeders!

 

[Aussie Bob]

After coming off night shift earlier this week and waking up ridiculously early this morning i eventually convinced myself that i was not going to go back to sleep so might as well get up and go for a fish. Quite cool with the wind up i was out with the light spinning rod and very old fly spoon with a new treble on it. Really didnt start well landing net needed to be reattached to my pack nearly tripped over my shoelace into the lake . Was half thinking about giving it a miss. A nice hit and a what i thought was a really small trout thrashed around and tried escaping by throwing itself up the bank , eventually doing a double flip back into the water. Was actually a reasonable size brownie probably just over a pound went straight back. Decided to keep moving and casting in between two boat sheds hooked up into what would be my p.b Perch estimated it at about a pound and a half. Was nearly half way round the lake so decided to keep going and do the full circuit. At the far end of the lake there is a stone wall with a path alongside of it so i dropped the spoon into the water and just walked it along not really having any expectations of catching anything ...perch number 2 would have taken the lure maybe 2-3 feet away from the path again not a bad size. I shouldn't really be so surprised that i caught it that close in last year i was fishing from pontoons and there were fish smashing up fry right under my feet. Kept on walking around the lake but i was now facing into what was a really strong wind and there was white caps. Tried a few casts around some boat sheds didn't get much luck and lost the spoon so decided to call it a day. Think the ultra light weight set up really suits the lake , the fly spoon i can cast a reasonable distance and retrieve it a lot slower than a normal size lure and keep it above the weed. I have previously tried floating rapala style lures but they all seem to dive down to the metre mark which guarantees hook ups in the weed. That's now 3 perch over the pound mark in the last 4-5 weeks after never catching anything over about half a pound so something is working. Hopefully the pictures uploaded ok...

 

[mikench]

After coming off night shift earlier this week and waking up ridiculously early this morning i eventually convinced myself that i was not going to go back to sleep so might as well get up and go for a fish. Quite cool with the wind up i was out with the light spinning rod and very old fly spoon with a new treble on it. Really didnt start well landing net needed to be reattached to my pack nearly tripped over my shoelace into the lake . Was half thinking about giving it a miss. A nice hit and a what i thought was a really small trout thrashed around and tried escaping by throwing itself up the bank , eventually doing a double flip back into the water. Was actually a reasonable size brownie probably just over a pound went straight back. Decided to keep moving and casting in between two boat sheds hooked up into what would be my p.b Perch estimated it at about a pound and a half. Was nearly half way round the lake so decided to keep going and do the full circuit. At the far end of the lake there is a stone wall with a path alongside of it so i dropped the spoon into the water and just walked it along not really having any expectations of catching anything ...perch number 2 would have taken the lure maybe 2-3 feet away from the path again not a bad size. I shouldn't really be so surprised that i caught it that close in last year i was fishing from pontoons and there were fish smashing up fry right under my feet. Kept on walking around the lake but i was now facing into what was a really strong wind and there was white caps. Tried a few casts around some boat sheds didn't get much luck and lost the spoon so decided to call it a day. Think the ultra light weight set up really suits the lake , the fly spoon i can cast a reasonable distance and retrieve it a lot slower than a normal size lure and keep it above the weed. I have previously tried floating rapala style lures but they all seem to dive down to the metre mark which guarantees hook ups in the weed. That's now 3 perch over the pound mark in the last 4-5 weeks after never catching anything over about half a pound so something is working. Hopefully the pictures uploaded ok...
View attachment 4159View attachment 4160View attachment 4161

Fair dinkum perch Bob! G’day to you!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Another Dave]

Great pics Bob!

 

[wetthrough]

Another blank today but Cicely Mill Pool this time. One bite or could have been a foul hook which snapped me off.
My bad really. There's always a chance of hooking a lump on there so I should have upped my hook length from
my usual cold weather 2lb.

Most unexpected given the temperature but a small carp cruised really slowly right in front of me from right to
left, dorsal skimming the top. Slowly turning away once past me, still skimming the top. Fired a few maggots at it.
Nothing, it didn't even change its course.

Used the Drennan Antenna again which I really like. I've pretty much used crystal wagglers exlusively up til now
unless fishing the slider. The antennas show up the shot falling much better which would/should if needed show
up on the drop bites better.

Just in case anyone's tempted to do what I did - don't! The antennas don't have an eye, they're for float adapters
only. I use a snap link float adapter as some of my floats won't take the silicone float adapters. I don't want to
have to strip everything down if conditions change and don't suit the antenna. In my infinite wisdom I drilled the
end of the antenna as you can see the eye, there's just no hole. When I did it the material didn't feel very tough,
it isn't. It couldn't take the strike and I lost one. If you need an eye on the Drennan antenna I'd recommend
whipping an eye on.

On the bright side the Kingfisher was quite active. Great to see. They're on every water I fish but I don't usually
see them more than once, very occasionally twice in a day. Did see two fly past in tandem on Lymm Dam last time
I was there. Second time I've seen two at once on the Dam.

 

[103841]

So funny you should say that. I popped into my local tackle shop today and amongst other things bought a couple of Drennan Antennas. I'm sure the older Stillwater Blues had an eye.

I'm going to make my own silicone float adaptors with a built in weight to make them partially loaded, just waiting for some tungsten 2mm rod to arrive.

 

[sam vimes]

So funny you should say that. I popped into my local tackle shop today and amongst other things bought a couple of Drennan Antennas. I'm sure the older Stillwater Blues had an eye.

I found, and bought, some mint unused Stillwater Blues last year. The eye is painted over, just as it is on the Glow Tip Antennas. However, the paint is not quite as thick. If you feel the need, it's easy enough to poke a pin through. If a drill bit is used, it needs to be no more than about 0.5mm to avoid removing plastic and weakening the eye. You also need to be careful not to split/fracture the paint which might allow water into the main body of the float. The best bet is to leave well alone and use a float adaptor.

 

[fishplate42]

I like the Drennan Antennas, BUT they are not very tough, and I have broken a few. I broke another one on Monday as I was only casting about 15 yards! They tend to snap off cleanly at the base of the antenna. At first, I thought it had parted at a join, but Drennan assures me they are one part float.

They are easy to mend by replacing the antenna with a length of plastic rod as sold in models shops (if you can find one) or by mail order. This is covered with shrink tube with the end of the rod dommed over by the heat of a flame. One advantage of modifying them is it is possivle to make the antenna any length or colour you cho

Ralph.

 

[wetthrough]

Aren't the antennas hollow?

Sam: Maybe the Stillwater Blues are different but the antenna didn't seem to have a hole, but I could be wrong. I drilled the hole as small as would allow the swivel adapter through. I'll whip some eyes on next time.

 

[markcw]

Another blank today but Cicely Mill Pool this time. One bite or could have been a foul hook which snapped me off.
My bad really. There's always a chance of hooking a lump on there so I should have upped my hook length from
my usual cold weather 2lb.

Most unexpected given the temperature but a small carp cruised really slowly right in front of me from right to
left, dorsal skimming the top. Slowly turning away once past me, still skimming the top. Fired a few maggots at it.
Nothing, it didn't even change its course.

Used the Drennan Antenna again which I really like. I've pretty much used crystal wagglers exlusively up til now
unless fishing the slider. The antennas show up the shot falling much better which would/should if needed show
up on the drop bites better.

Just in case anyone's tempted to do what I did - don't! The antennas don't have an eye, they're for float adapters
only. I use a snap link float adapter as some of my floats won't take the silicone float adapters. I don't want to
have to strip everything down if conditions change and don't suit the antenna. In my infinite wisdom I drilled the
end of the antenna as you can see the eye, there's just no hole. When I did it the material didn't feel very tough,
it isn't. It couldn't take the strike and I lost one. If you need an eye on the Drennan antenna I'd recommend
whipping an eye on.

On the bright side the Kingfisher was quite active. Great to see. They're on every water I fish but I don't usually
see them more than once, very occasionally twice in a day. Did see two fly past in tandem on Lymm Dam last time
I was there. Second time I've seen two at once on the Dam.

Some good tench coming out of Grey Mist at the moment, I got plagued by pike on there last year, Am waiting for the weather to warm up a bit, then going to target Ackers pit more this year,I used to work in Knutsford and passed the turning for Cicely Mill every day but never bothered to stop off on my way home, and never bothered with the tabley estate that is on the Lymm card.

 

[sam vimes]

Sam: Maybe the Stillwater Blues are different but the antenna didn't seem to have a hole, but I could be wrong. I drilled the hole as small as would allow the swivel adapter through. I'll whip some eyes on next time.

There's definitely an eye on the Glow Tip Antennas, or at least all of those I've bought have had them. However, it's buried under so much paint that it's difficult to distinguish where exactly it is. There's much less paint on the Stillwater Blues, so the location of the eye is much more obvious. I gave up on digging the eyes through a long time ago. I feel it's far better just to use a float adaptor. I'd probably use one even if the eye was clear when the floats were brand new.

 

[103841]

I like the Drennan Antennas, BUT they are not very tough, and I have broken a few. I broke another one on Monday as I was only casting about 15 yards! They tend to snap off cleanly at the base of the antenna. At first, I thought it had parted at a join, but Drennan assures me they are one part float.

They are easy to mend by replacing the antenna with a length of plastic rod as sold in models shops (if you can find one) or by mail order. This is covered with shrink tube with the end of the rod dommed over by the heat of a flame. One advantage of modifying them is it is possivle to make the antenna any length or colour you cho

Ralph.

No way are they a "one part" float, next time you have some araldite or similar made up Ralph run a small fillet around the join between the bristle and the body.....job done.

 

[mikench]

Cicely Mill is a delightful place and I miss it through giving up the WAA card. I caught my first crucian there but being so shallow it can be a difficult place to fish!

 

[tigger]

There's definitely an eye on the Glow Tip Antennas, or at least all of those I've bought have had them. However, it's buried under so much paint that it's difficult to distinguish where exactly it is. There's much less paint on the Stillwater Blues, so the location of the eye is much more obvious. I gave up on digging the eyes through a long time ago. I feel it's far better just to use a float adaptor. I'd probably use one even if the eye was clear when the floats were brand new.

Snap...I never use the eye on a float and if I don't use rubbers I use a float adapter. It seems daft to secure the float to the line via a eye which forces me to break my set up down completely when I can use an adaptor and swap and change floats in seconds.

 

[wetthrough]

Snap...I never use the eye on a float and if I don't use rubbers I use a float adapter. It seems daft to secure the float to the line via a eye which forces me to break my set up down completely when I can use an adaptor and swap and change floats in seconds.

I use a snap swivel link because some of my floats, ones with variable pre load can't be used with float adapters.

 

[wetthrough]

Cicely Mill is a delightful place and I miss it through giving up the WAA card. I caught my first crucian there but being so shallow it can be a difficult place to fish!

Yes, it's a lovely place to fish. Especially during the week when there's hardly anyone there but it isn't best suited to waggler fishing being so shallow.
I was in about 18" of water yesterday. It's only about 3ft at its deepest and that isn't in many places.

 

[wetthrough]

Some good tench coming out of Grey Mist at the moment, I got plagued by pike on there last year, Am waiting for the weather to warm up a bit, then going to target Ackers pit more this year,I used to work in Knutsford and passed the turning for Cicely Mill every day but never bothered to stop off on my way home, and never bothered with the tabley estate that is on the Lymm card.

I've considered Grey Mist but it would take me about 30m from Altrincham which is a little bit far for me. Not exactly a long way but every little
takes time off the bank. I've just joined Altrincham Anglers who have a couple of good sized waters not too far away this side of the 556.

 

[peter crabtree]

:focus:Anyone got a new fishing report?

 

[Chevin_Rutilus]

Not yet mein furher