How did you get on?

[S-Kippy]

It was nice to meet up with Skippy and Phil at Bury Hill today. When I arrived most of the pegs with the wind off your back were taken. The rest of the lake was empty. I made my way to the far side expecting the island to give some relief from the wind, which it didn’t. I fancied a crack at the roach and started with hemp and caster. This was a bit slow to say the least. It didn't help that the surface was covered in crud, I expected this but the wind kept gusting from different directions, blowing the crud back and forth. I decided to go lighter and set up another rod to fish liquidised bread and punch. At this point I had only had one dubious looking crucian and a Tench. Well it was worth re-tackling as I ended up with around a dozen Tench and ten roach, five over the pound with the best going 1lb 7oz. There was a bit of a commotion a couple of pegs up where a guy landed an 11lb Zander on a pellet and 3lb bottom. Eat your heart out Skippy, lol. All in all not a bad day.

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Nice one Ray. I would have wandered round to see you before we left but frankly I was so bloody chilled by then I just wanted to get out of that flippin wind. I know there are a few zander in Milton but I didnt know they went that big !

Good to see you again and a Skippy Iron Man award to you for fishin in shorts. I was double fleeced and still cold !

 

[Mark Wintle]

I've rejoined one of the bigger local clubs after an absence of about 8 years and have been revisiting old haunts and exploring a few new ones. One collection of three ponds nestled next to the Hants. Avon has never caught my attention before and one pond I'd never even see though I had caught sight of anglers fishing it from the far bank of the Avon in the days when the club had rights on the entire estate. The only knowledge I had of stocks was that originally it had crucians and tench but now had carp, tench, pike and perch. Apart from my usual match rod and pole I stuck an Avon rod in the holdall plus a reel with 8lb line and hooks to match.

I found the pond OK and yesterday afternoon once the rain had gone it was grey with a fresh breeze. I tackled up a match rod with 2.5lb line a waggler and an 18 and started fishing in 6ft of water with maggots, feeding maggots, sweetcorn and a few pellets. There is lots of blanket weed on the bottom so the bait fouled easily but it wasn't long before I had some bites and three tiny perch. Then a patch of bubbles two feet in diameter appeared. Tench? I switched to a 14 with a soft pellet and the float disappeared. Despite heavy pressure I had little or no effect on what felt a heavy fish that ran to my left and ended up stuck in blanket weed. I kept pulling and it came free but with a big clump of weed around the float. I managed to get the fish close in and brought the float to hand and removed the weed before the fish, still staying deep, ran to my right. Gradually it and my right arm tired and the fish started to come up in the water and after ten minutes I got the net under it. It was a common of 23-4, my best ever common and biggest English fish.

Continuing with a match rod was clearly no good so I tackled the Avon rod with 8lb line and a waggler with a size 10 hook. After a while more bubbles appeared I got a bite and hooked another big carp but in the tail. After a long one-sided fight the hook pulled. I then missed a succession of bites during which there were many smaller patches of bubbles before getting a 3lb tench. I decided to pack up at 8pm and at 7:55 hooked another heavy fish which gave me the hardest fight I ever had with any fish, lasting 15 minutes but with the butt of the rod bent the entire fight. Eventually it came up and stayed up and I netted another common which weighed 24-0. Knackered, I went home.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Congratulations on your (two) new PB's! (London bus syndrome, I suggest..)

I think you did very well considering the tackle used..

 

[103841]

Yes, a great feat to land your pb, congratulations.

 

[S-Kippy]

Beautiful fish, Mark. I dont mind the odd carp when they are that handsome.Well done.

 

[Mark Wintle]

Beautiful fish, Mark. I don't mind the odd carp when they are that handsome.Well done.

The fish in the lower picture of the 24-0 was a truly magnificently proportioned fish with wonderful colouring. The first fish had the colouring but a bit of a gut-bucket.

 

[mikench]

Returned to my current favourite venue( Markcw knows the one) and set up as light as I could; 18 hook to 2lb hooklink to 4lb line! I was after roach , rudd and crucian! I was broken of at least 5 times by a carp of some kind but landed a couple of F1's, a small mirror and a crucian! I was using spam and 6mm expander!

I decided in a fit of high dudgeon to go to a size 12 ( it was actually smaller than a 14 ) to 4lb and guess what ; I caught another 12 crucian to 12oz at best and a couple of common around 6lb. It defies belief and I consider going light is difficult!

I really enjoyed the day and plan to return tomorrow! Bizarrely the margins for which the 8' rod was designed for only produced a couple of fish and all the rest came from the far margin! I will try the float tomorrow for a change!! You gotta love this fishing lark! Beautiful common Mark!

 

[old school]

I've rejoined one of the bigger local clubs after an absence of about 8 years and have been revisiting old haunts and exploring a few new ones. One collection of three ponds nestled next to the Hants. Avon has never caught my attention before and one pond I'd never even see though I had caught sight of anglers fishing it from the far bank of the Avon in the days when the club had rights on the entire estate. The only knowledge I had of stocks was that originally it had crucians and tench but now had carp, tench, pike and perch. Apart from my usual match rod and pole I stuck an Avon rod in the holdall plus a reel with 8lb line and hooks to match.

I found the pond OK and yesterday afternoon once the rain had gone it was grey with a fresh breeze. I tackled up a match rod with 2.5lb line a waggler and an 18 and started fishing in 6ft of water with maggots, feeding maggots, sweetcorn and a few pellets. There is lots of blanket weed on the bottom so the bait fouled easily but it wasn't long before I had some bites and three tiny perch. Then a patch of bubbles two feet in diameter appeared. Tench? I switched to a 14 with a soft pellet and the float disappeared. Despite heavy pressure I had little or no effect on what felt a heavy fish that ran to my left and ended up stuck in blanket weed. I kept pulling and it came free but with a big clump of weed around the float. I managed to get the fish close in and brought the float to hand and removed the weed before the fish, still staying deep, ran to my right. Gradually it and my right arm tired and the fish started to come up in the water and after ten minutes I got the net under it. It was a common of 23-4, my best ever common and biggest English fish.

Continuing with a match rod was clearly no good so I tackled the Avon rod with 8lb line and a waggler with a size 10 hook. After a while more bubbles appeared I got a bite and hooked another big carp but in the tail. After a long one-sided fight the hook pulled. I then missed a succession of bites during which there were many smaller patches of bubbles before getting a 3lb tench. I decided to pack up at 8pm and at 7:55 hooked another heavy fish which gave me the hardest fight I ever had with any fish, lasting 15 minutes but with the butt of the rod bent the entire fight. Eventually it came up and stayed up and I netted another common which weighed 24-0. Knackered, I went home.
View attachment 4725
View attachment 4726

Well done boy,looks like you have found paradise

 

[Bob Hornegold]

Brilliant Mark, well done-Bob

 

[markcw]

Returned to my current favourite venue( Markcw knows the one) and set up as light as I could; 18 hook to 2lb hooklink to 4lb line! I was after roach , rudd and crucian! I was broken of at least 5 times by a carp of some kind but landed a couple of F1's, a small mirror and a crucian! I was using spam and 6mm expander!

I decided in a fit of high dudgeon to go to a size 12 ( it was actually smaller than a 14 ) to 4lb and guess what ; I caught another 12 crucian to 12oz at best and a couple of common around 6lb. It defies belief and I consider going light is difficult!

I really enjoyed the day and plan to return tomorrow! Bizarrely the margins for which the 8' rod was designed for only produced a couple of fish and all the rest came from the far margin! I will try the float tomorrow for a change!! You gotta love this fishing lark! Beautiful common Mark!

Your set up is my feeder set up on there, may go to a 14 hook if needed, My pole set up can be lighter, the elastic does the work. unless against snags the beef up accordingly, How many free visits have you got left Mike ?

 

[mikench]

6! However I would still go and pay as it's such a nice place!!

 

[markcw]

It is, I think you will like Lloyds Meadow as well. There are around 3 or 4 more fisheries near Lloyds Meadow.

 

[peter crabtree]

Bit of a late start today, had to go up the tackle shop first for some hemp. Got a bit delayed with the school run traffic there and back so I opted for a close by canal pound.



Always a good roach venue in winter but what about today? Very bright sun and a NE breeze which had an edge to it...
Cupped in a good helping of hemp down the bottom of the far shelf.
A tare on the 18 hook produced little interest, just a couple of bobbles on the float.

A change to double red soon got a response, good stamp roach, but it was slow.

Later this floated by...




No way was I touching that.....

Predictably it didn't fish too well, they came on a bit late and I'd had enough after 6 hours...

 

[Chevin_Rutilus]

What is it that floated by? I can't make it out

 

[Tee-Cee]

I thought it was me with my dodgy eyes....

My memory of fishing canals is that many undesirable items float by but this has me stumped!


I'm intrigued.................




I have to say you knock out some stunning condition roach, Simon

 

[Ray Roberts]

I didn't know there were any in Milton. I had a chat with one of the workers and he said they put a few in to keep the small stuff down. If you had taken a walk round you would have seen me ditch the shorts for something warmer, lol. I couldn't get tares anywhere. I will give them a go eventually, once I find some. I fancy there are some exceptional roach to be had but the Tench absolutely trash your swim and have a liking for bread.

Nice one Ray. I would have wandered round to see you before we left but frankly I was so bloody chilled by then I just wanted to get out of that flippin wind. I know there are a few zander in Milton but I didnt know they went that big !

Good to see you again and a Skippy Iron Man award to you for fishin in shorts. I was double fleeced and still cold !

Sent from my SM-G900F using Tapatalk

 

[peter crabtree]

Later this floated by...




No way was I touching that.....

The clue is in the 'touching' .

A bit cryptic but think about things you wouldn't touch?

 

[mikench]

Frogs, live cables and poisonous snakes!

 

[103841]

I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole......boom boom.

 

[Redeemed]

A tale of two fisheries.
So me and the lad set off for Barlow fisheries. It was on our "to fish" list, and seeing as it was a bogof job in the Angling Times this week all's well and good.

The lad eventually rises and we get to Barlow about 12pm, and it's heaving. there were a few pegs but it looked like an old folks home had put them all in a bus and dropped them off for the day.

So, we turn round and head for Barlborough Springs on the other side of town.


Get there at 12.35, and have a choice to make of the two ponds. We decide on the first one which I mistakenly thought was the beginners pond, but more on that later.


One chap just pulls a 13lb carp out and we think hey ho we're good to go. You can actually see the behemoths cruising just under the surface and fishing no deeper than 2 feet was the call.

The boy hooks into one and it came off, I hooked into a slab of something immovable and in a split second it snapped my 3 1/2lb hook length.


Before we can get going again the bailiff/owner turns up for cash, and promptly moves me and the two other guys off to the other pond. Apparently what I thought was the "beginners" lake was actually the carp lake! as such our landing nets weren't big enough so we had to move. no biggie.


We set up on the other pond and the fish are just laughing at us. Cruising the surface, mouths open, pretty much chewing the lad's float but not taking the bait


We tried everything: float, mesh feeder, bomb with popped up bait, a lightweight leger with bait au natural and popped up. we tried corn, maggot which just got us mithered by small roach, we tried margins, down the track and the far bank.

Not a jot. A line bang that rattled the rod and a few nibbles where small fish were chewing the maggots off the hook but other than that nothing.


Bread was not allowed neither was surface fishing otherwise some floating crust might have been lethal.


To rub it in the guy who had the 13lber on the other lake pulled a 9 lber out on the second one, just a peg down and the exact same tactics as us, just got lucky I suppose.


So we got the Blankety Blank cheque book and pen, again, but we live to fish another day and another venue!