How did you get on?

[sam vimes]

well, I spent 3 hours walking up and down the canal trying various lure and only one bit of excitement when I hooked a underwater branch for a split second I thought I'd cut a bite

That sounds like almost every lure fishing experience I've ever had.
I keep giving lure fishing a try occasionally, I do have the gear, at least for now. However, it's the precise reason that I've not got overly excited by the current wave of enthusiasm for drop shotting.

 

[denzinho]

I spent the morning trotting on a private river yesterday. Was my first go with a pin, and after a couple of tangles I got the hang of it
Was fairly quiet though- had one chub of a couple of pounds, a small brown trout and a small wilde trout.
Then swapped gear and headed down stream to find some pike. No luck for the pike, but had this 5lb10oz brownie on a 8" sardine!
Then to top it off, had the same fish again half hour later from 20yards up stream!

Beautiful Trout that, bet the scrap was great.

 

[sam vimes]

After procrastinating for too long yesterday, I failed to get out when I'd intended to. Part of the reason was an inexplicable slug of water that arrived sometime on Sunday and still hadn't fined down quite enough for my liking. I just didn't have a particularly good feeling about it. However, I often combine a trip to certain stretches with a grocery shopping trip. That grocery shopping trip couldn't be put off any longer, so I may as well have a few hours today, even if I still had doubts.

The river had fined down enough to be a realistic prospect, but the wind was whipping down the dale and definitely not in my favour for trotting. The first swim wasn't much fun due to the wind and a distinct lack of action. However, what really struck me was the water temperature. Despite only being ankle deep, I just couldn't stand it for very long before it got painful.

I still had a nagging doubt about the day, but moved to a place that I could trot without needing to get into the water and where the wind might be less problematic. Despite being more comfortable and easier to fish, things didn't get much easier. Saved the blank with one small trout and one small grayling before trotting off to the supermarket with a little daylight left.

By the time I left, I think that the clues added up to give a plausible explanation as to what was going on (other than the distict possibility that I got things hopelessly wrong). As both spots are usually pretty reliable, and have been very recently, I don't think I was doing too much wrong, other than being there at the time. The inexplicable slug of very cold extra water, there'd not been much in the way of precipitation since last week, probably means that it was snow melt. There had been some snow on the tops at the end of last week and we did have a good warm front move through on Sunday. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!

As it's forecasted to be a bit on the windy side right up to Christmas, tomorrow is looking like a good day to go. Hopefully, the light winds and decent temperatures will help and the cold water might have flushed through. Can't help but feel that it might still be fairly heavy going, but it's better than staying at home.

 

[neil1970]

A lovely morning, with high hopes, ended in my 5th or 6th lure fishing blank.
This time dropshotting on the GUC, Chess, Chess Basin, backwater and Colne.



As I said, lovely morning

 

[barbelboi]

A lovely morning, with high hopes, ended in my 5th or 6th lure fishing blank.
This time dropshotting on the GUC, Chess, Chess Basin, backwater and Colne.



As I said, lovely morning

Not surprised you struggled Neil, looks a bit like a road from here..............

 

[peter crabtree]

Even I can't identify where you were in the first pic Neil and I'm local? The second is a bit more familiar...

 

[neil1970]

I may as well have been fishing on a road Jerrymg:

Back path of Bury lake Simon.

 

[peter crabtree]

Of course it is Neil, Jerry should know that path innit?
He trudged all the way round it once trying to find the car park...:doh

 

[bracket]

I did a short session on the river today, fishing a stretch new to me. I had a walk up and down and picked out two promising pegs to try. I ran the stickfloat through the first peg but after ten minutes decided against it. Does anyone else get that, the peg looks OK, flow and depth ideal, but your not happy with the way the float goes through? Switched to the second choice, a peg on the outside of a bend, with the current hitting the bank at my feet then a steady five foot deep glide running out and down the centre of the river. Took a grayling third run through and picked up the odd fish from then on. After two hours the river started to come up and what had been a steady glide started to boil like a washing machine. I have fished enough of those pegs to know it's time to go. So I knocked it on the head and went home, with the prospect of 90 minute of trolley rage at ASDA to come. Not a bad result, I finished with eleven grayling and for a change, not one trout in sight. Pete.

 

[barbelboi]

Of course it is Neil, Jerry should know that path innit?
He trudged all the way round it once trying to find the car park...:doh

I might know the path Simon but I've never fished it..................

 

[no-one in particular]

I did a short session on the river today, fishing a stretch new to me. I had a walk up and down and picked out two promising pegs to try. I ran the stickfloat through the first peg but after ten minutes decided against it. Does anyone else get that, the peg looks OK, flow and depth ideal, but your not happy with the way the float goes through? Switched to the second choice, a peg on the outside of a bend, with the current hitting the bank at my feet then a steady five foot deep glide running out and down the centre of the river. Took a grayling third run through and picked up the odd fish from then on. After two hours the river started to come up and what had been a steady glide started to boil like a washing machine. I have fished enough of those pegs to know it's time to go. So I knocked it on the head and went home, with the prospect of 90 minute of trolley rage at ASDA to come. Not a bad result, I finished with eleven grayling and for a change, not one trout in sight. Pete.

Doesn't that just look like a lovely swim Pete, if that doesn't make you want to go fishing, I don't know what would.
Much more inviting than the path in the previous.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Well, it's definitely a pathway...The thing is, how long did he sit next to it waiting for a bite ? I looked for a rod rest but couldn't see one, so he probably took the pic after he'd packed up..

Perhaps he'd had a few too many he night before...................or he's developed 'river' blindness!!


So young, as well..

 

[nicepix]

I might know the path Simon but I've never fished it..................

It probably looks different 'out of normal hours'. He's not used to having the sun in his eyes

 

[aebitim]

Looked at the new posts hoping for a fishing report.

 

[greenie62]

Looked at the new posts hoping for a fishing report.

mg:Tim,
You should know better than that!mg:

 

[barbelboi]

Looked at the new posts hoping for a fishing report.

Been sort of groundhog day sessions Tim ( gravel pit roach not quite hitting the two line and small river small chub in the 3/4 bracket) so haven't bothered posting them, I keep looking over my shoulder expecting to see Bill Murray. I'll be out again on Friday and will report 'whatever' and take a pic - even if it's only the road.....................

 

[peter crabtree]

Looked at the new posts hoping for a fishing report.

Me too Tim.. however in this instance the banter hi-jack was probably instigated by myself...

On the whole most of the 100+ pages of this thread have been great reports and truly appreciated by me and many others...

If you have any other issues with this thread please go to www. How did you get on/ complain.com

 

[Tee-Cee]

Okay, you asked for it...

The weather continues to play silly bu$$ers with one very cold day followed by one that felt more like Spring ! I don't really know how this (almost daily) considerable change in temperature really affects fish, but on this occasion I caught more on the cold day which reached a max of 6 degrees....Yesterday at noon it was 14 degrees in South Bucks.

Red maggot, (along with the occasional fish on hemp at midday) continues to catch, but the bites seem to be getting very finicky with lots of dips of the float and then nothing. This can be followed by a really positive 'take'..
Continual changes in set-up ended up with 99% of the shot under the float and only two dust down the line which helped, I think, make the bites more positive. Depth is also a problem as taking the odd fish a foot off bottom can be followed by one when fishing well over depth, and then by one up in the water. I've stopped feeding loose hemp and just use a dropper to get a few maggots down quickly, (in an effort to make them feed at one leve)l and yesterday this seems to have worked - I will test this again this morning, but either way it does keep me busy and focused...
Yesterday I had a roach of a lb (not too bad for the water!) and I can honestly say I just knew it was a better fish just from the bite it gave. The float top was sitting 3/4" above the surface (to help with vision) and it just sort of, sank, oh so slowly until it was level with the surface.......almost in slow motion in a way..
Perch, attracted by the red maggs, became a problem toward the end of the session but even 10" jobbies are welcome as the bites slowed to a stop with the roach.

This morning I might just try a bit of Sensas Black in one side of the swim and try flake over the top, although this particular bait seems to have lots it's attractiveness over the last two weeks or so, which is a pity as I love using it !

Anyway, I'm off in 45 mins, so better get the kettle on for the flasks.................Looks like another fine day !!!

 

[aebitim]

Thanks guys, wish I could report something but had a month of hell with family illness and havent fished since the LIF, it could change today though as I might be able to get a couple of hours in this afternoon. Great thread just going a little off track, bit like this post really . . .

 

[binka]

I had my first outing in a week and a half today.

I fished a local lake that I’d not been on since last winter and stuck it out on the waggler despite the hoolie that was blowing all day, kept things simple and fished where I could comfortably feed and keep a bait anchored and after a slow to steady morning feeding cautiously and catching around a dozen roach and perch I decided to go for broke around midday and balled in which did the trick and resulted in a bite a chuck for the remainder of the afternoon.

The rig became quite crude with the steadily increasing amount of bulk down the line along with the size of the droppers needed to avoid towing through but the favourable sou’westerly seemed to cancel that effect out as the fish fed well after a bit of encouragement.

Nothing big but very welcome all the same and an enjoyable day, I finished with around fifty fish around the 4oz - 6oz mark from what was a very choppy water along with a permanent dew drop on the end of me nose…