How did you get on?

[tigger]

I got out the door at half two this avvey and set off up the road to the river for a trotting session.
The river had been up about 2 1/2 ft overnight and dropped back down again but was still a few inches up on my previous visit. The water was a wierd grey colour and full of particles so the clarity wasn't good.
My bait was a pint of reach red and white maggots, I know I should have taken some corn but I just couldn't be bothered to go and get it out the freezer. Target species was anything that obliged and maggots catch pretty much everything in the river.
I waked about a mile to my first run and from the forst trott through I did ok catching a number of small chub to about a pound and dace to about 12 ounce. Once i'd got bored there I walked about half a mile to a glide. I left my gear there and went scoping out some secret swims in a very awkward place to get to, infact that half of the river is totally out of sight from my side being behind an island covered in trees and undergrowth and being at the base of a steep cliff like banking on the other side. The water looks unfished and probably is as for the biggest part of the time the place is impossible to get to. As I sneaked through the undergrowth which was well over my head I came to the other side and poked my head out for a look, first thing I saw was a barbel jump clean out the water straight across from me and beneath a overhanging tree! ...."i'll be back" I said to myself as I slipped back into the jungle .
I made my way back to my gear and before I got going fishing I emptied my waders and brushed myself off as I was full of sticky seeds, nettle stings and insect bites after my adventure across the secret island lol.
Once I started fishing a barbel angler I know came walking along the bank and I let him drop in 60yds down stream of me since I only wanted to trott in the choppy faster water anyhow. Once I started fishing I was getting a dace, a chub or roach a trott, best chub was probably close to 6lb and I had a chunky roach which i'd guestimate at being about 1 1/2lb so I was quite happy . My barbel fishing friend had got jacked off watching me winding fish in and he wound in his feeder and marched off downstream to another nice bit of water below. Even though I was still catching fish I had got bored again and moved back downstream about 150yds above the barbel angler to a smootth glide where i've had hundreds of barbel and cub over the last few years. First trott through produced a chub of about a pound which was a good start but despite catching lots of dace and chub in the glide I didn't catch anything bigger than that first chub of a pound.
By this time hunger pangs came on strong which made my mind up to wind in and make a move home.
All in all an enjoyable trotting session and tonight i'll most likely be dreaming of those hidden swims behind the island .

 

[Another Dave]

Inspired with confidence from poster spoonminnow in the Mini lure fishing thread, i set off for an hour at 10:00 with my 5'5" lure rod tackled up with a cherry red Crazy Fish 1.8" Polaris on a small 1g jighead. Also had a small roving net, my old phone with the ok camera, and a set of tiny cheap Chinese scales, along with a few spares in a small shoulder bag.

Started at the cliff swim, some tiny chub showing an interest but i couldn't induce a take. Then at 10:07 this nice one came out of nowhere and hammered the lure:



Moving downstream to a spot between two ash trees:



where i had a small perch, really enjoying myself here but no more follows, so i moved down to a swim opposite the 'Thorns' swim i cut out last year. I soon had a take from a pike of a couple of pounds, but the hook didn't set. I was amazed pike would go for a lure the size of a brandling, but a chub + perch + pike would have been nice combo for half an hour's lure flicking... To avoid bite-offs i switched to a larger Polaris that i'd pre-rigged on wire, this time a buoyant version, presented on a size 4, 3g jig:



10:40AM No further interest from Mr Jack so i dropped the lure on the river bed and rolled a smoke, thinking that if i had a child with me they could be twitching the lure - tiniest of twitches made the lure look like a dying minnow with its head stuck in the light covering of thread algae that's appeared on the bed. Maybe i can invent some kind of gadget so i can fish like this with the rod in rests, i pondered. Lit the smoke and gave a few micro wiggles and suddenly a really decent perch steams in from upstream and stares at the lure. This is the moment, potential PB right under my nose in 18" of gin clear river. Clutch screams and soon:

 

[103841]

Stonking stripey Dave.

 

[mikench]

Well done Dave! I managed a few hours this morning on my local Mere armed with float rod and maggots!

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You can just make out my peg in the middle distance between the lily pads!

Had about 30 roach but everyone was a devotee of king Louie from Jungle book!

Maggots always bring out the tiddlers! I enjoyed it though and as a family weekend approaches that was my last opportunity for a while!!

 

[flightliner]

I needed a change so headed back to a water in Derbyshire that I had fished during the close season.
I had taken some nice Bream there in may so set out my gear to try for more.
Simple long range feeder was the plan against some far bank reedmace with a two rod setup coupled to optonics and hangers.
No rush, it was midweek and I was ready to fish at ten am, I spombed a little bait out, scalded pellets, dead maggots and a little sweetcorn all in a very simple brown crumb medium,
Some thirty minutes in and the optonics tells me to lift into the taking fish that turns out to be a nice medium sized Bream, a good start.
More bait launched with the spomb and within minutes I'm into a Tench.
Netted and released I put four more freebies loads out with the spomb to do it's intended purpose.
I expected a bite pretty soon but one never happened so an hour later I decided to launch a few more spomb loads of bait to the reedmace.
It was when doing this my indicated shot up and once again I had another nice Tench , nice but where had the Bream gone?
It was quite then, maybe two hours gone and then up comes a Bream rolling over my baited area, nice, I was full of expectation but sadly nothing happens so out with the spomb for more enticement, I was certain the Bream would eventually feed if I kept the bait going in, unlikely to happen if I didn't , well, that was my thoughts on the matter so back in the margins with my spomb.
Then it happened, I'd just put three loads in and was retrieving the spomb to reload when a Bream rolled at the worst possible moment and collided with the two open halves of the spomb, disaster!
That was it, spooked, the fish legged it and I can only assume it's mates went with it!
Here's a Tench---
best free image hosting
Nb - note the eyes on the fish-- looking down, a sign it's up and together , if the eyes are looking straight forward it needs more time to rest, Barbel anglers take note.

 

[103841]

During this hot spell, I’ve been staying away from the local lakes and the river is particularly hard work at the moment, the sea however is warm and just right for a spot of paddling.

I seem to spending a lot of time studying tide timetables, would have been helpful to understand they are mostly shown as GMT, all sorted now and have found an excellent site that has a mind boggling amount of info, plus BST is used.

Lots of blanks with trips backwards and forwards to my local beach and a few further along the coast, all useful though as I get to grips with casting further out into the surf and getting a balance between lure and rod.

The blanks hardly matter when for the past couple of mornings I’ve been treated to the sight of a pod of porpoises coming into the shallows just yards off the beach, the views ain’t bad either.

A trip to the harbour next for a bit of drop shotting.

 

[thecrow]

Nb - note the eyes on the fish-- looking down, a sign it's up and together , if the eyes are looking straight forward it needs more time to rest, Barbel anglers take note

I had never heard that before Mick, it just goes to show no matter how long an angler has been fishing there is always something to learn.

 

[peter crabtree]

With ages ranging from 60 to 88, 13 old farts turned up at the GUC near Berkhamstead this morning for our weekly codgers match. A cooler day than of late and some tall trees for shade both made it a comfortable day.

Everyone caught plenty of small fish which is normal for this particular pound, one codger hooked a big chub but lost it.
Another codger managed to fall in up to his waist, the banter was fierce...
How we laughed when another codger set up a 17' Acolyte and centre pin, but we weren't laughing when he won the match with 5lb:6 of roach and skimmers all on punch.
All in all a fun day in the sun...

 

[no-one in particular]

The blanks hardly matter when for the past couple of mornings I’ve been treated to the sight of a pod of porpoi

A trip to the harbour next for a bit of drop shotting.

Just a thought, if you get tired of chucking a lure try a bit of float fishing, big sea float, yellow is a good colour, sliding,-- stop knot, float, bead (clip, optional) large/largish drilled bullet appropriate for float (looking for weight for casting here) swivel and a couple of hooks. If your reels well loaded you can cast a fair way and as your wading out maybe further. If the current is running LR or RL you could "trot" a bit.
I use sandeels, you can buy a packet of these from most tackle/bait shops, I go for the small ones and one on each hook. A easy way is thread the hook through the mouth and out through the gills, I find it withstands casting as long as you don't absolutely thrash the rod. A slightly better way if you can work it out is carry on pulling the hook through the gills until it is completely free and reverse the hook and thread it through the belly (through the anal hole is best that's half way down the eel), when you pull the line it should all straighten out nicely and you have the hook hooked in the belly under the sandeel and the line coming through the gills and out of the mouth.

I keep the stop knot on the line when I am lure fishing (or a samll elastic band is good, leave it on or take it off as and when) and my bottom float trace ready made clip, bullet and hooks. Then I just snip the lure off, thread my float on and then attach my hook trace, this fairly quick and easy. I can float fish for a while and then just as easily swap back to a lure.

Bass and mackerel love a sandeel, you can work a bit of movement into them when float fishing and if you spot some disturbance on the surface cast into it or near it and let it drift through. Or just try it anyway disturbance spotted or not.

I only mention this as I know lure fishing can get a bit tiresome and float requires a bit less casting and retrieving so a change now and then is helpful or as the go to method. I generally dont do this off the beach because of distance but as your wading out you might find fish within casting range but off a harbour wall, pier, jetty, near rocks, when your in deeper water, always worth a thought as a method, as with lures best in a clear or clearish sea but a dirty sea not out of the question..
Anyway, just something that might interest you, nice pics.

Something like this should give you an idea but with a few minor adjustments for easy hook link removal as described and I like two hooks personally but one is fine. And more than 5lb line than shown here; just something I found to give you a better idea.

 

[flightliner]

I had never heard that before Mick, it just goes to show no matter how long an angler has been fishing there is always something to learn.

Graham, a carp Angling friend told it to me some some forty years ago and It's something I always look out for.
I've found it a very useful guide over the years and if a big fishes eyes are "centred" it's given extra recovery time.
Ps, check it out in the mags !!!
Pps, got to go-- first hemp n tare day of the season, all the signs and portents are in alignment on the Tidal Trent-- woo woo hoooo!

 

[peter crabtree]

I was disappointed this morning, the rain had given Metroland a miss overnight. I was on the towpath at 7:30 and it was cool and cloudy, the canalised river Gade was easing through nicely and had colour.
With no sign of my neighbour I decided to walk upstream a bit further than usual, set up under a disused footbridge where I've caught well in the past.

Trotted punch down the middle, feeding a golf ball of liquy and a pinch of hemp every run through. The roach soon arrived and quite a few were netter size. After a few hours I changed to maggot, more quality roach were joined by some feisty perch and a couple of Ruffe.

 

[Redeemed]

anywhere particular in Derbyshire? I'm always on the lookout for a good spot.

 

[john step]

These are not the biggest perch I have caught!!!! However they they and about 20 others plus a rudd were caught on a method completely new to me. I have had help and advice from a couple of anglers on here and I would like to thank them for that help.

Soft mini lures. I shall be doing it again but probably not for a full day in the blazing sun. I AM COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY KNACKERED.

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[O.C.F.Disorder]

Went to the river today and long story short ended up reuniting 4 baby moorhens with their momma, savind a baby duck from dog, had a few great perch, saw another eel and caught a foot long! Great day out with my better half. Imgur: The magic of the Internet

 

[Pete Shears]

Have had two visits to the reservoir this week and not blanked.Three bream to 5lb 3oz,better than nothing but was hoping for tench.I think a lot of fish are mid depth as casting long into deeper water produces nothing at all,thinking cap time.Still wildlife watching soon fills the time with buzzards,white egrets,herons,terns,a pair of great crested grebes with a single youngster.The only fish moving have been jack pike attacking fry in the thick weed beds and I have seen three carp crash out but way out of range for the tackle I am using.

 

[nottskev]

My river season is definitely starting with a whimper rather than a bang, not that I've been out more than half a dozen times, what with the weather, and the closure of some stretches, and a couple of weeks abroad. It's funny how you can fish all through the winter and spring, dreaming of sitting out in a tshirt - then lose interest when the warm weather arrives.

Outings so far have been to the local Trent, which is having another good summer for roach and dace. Some of the pegs are a bit er.... "vertiginous" could be the word.



I love those pictures southern posters occasionally post - where you stand at the water's edge on neat, flat grass - in your carpet slippers, presumably. Getting near the water here can be a major challenge.

Still, once you get down there, it's comfy enough



The last time I fished here, the roach were moody and fussy, so this evening - I started around 5.30 - I went for a peg in an area with more dace than roach; they're a bit more likely to play ball, even though they don't have quite the same cachet. ( No offence to dace or dace fans). Hemp and tares is the recipe for the roach, but I went for hemp and caster in the 3ft swim, with a small wire-stem stick, 4 no 6, on a pole top 5 with a couple of sections added. The wind is always downstream here, and the pole lets you get behind a light float.

It's lovely fishing, with a brisk flow over smooth gravel, and the fish are canny and fast-biting enough to make it rewarding.

The fish were mostly dace, with a few perch, but a few roach did join in later on



By 8pm I was feeling hungry, and the chap who'd stopped for a chat was kind enough to take a snap, which was handy, as there's nowhere to lie a keepnet down at the bottom of the high bank. The catch was no big deal, but with a bite - often missed - every put in, it had been the kind of evening you look forward to in January.

 

[no-one in particular]

A couple of hours on the high tide this afternoon. Still no mackerel or bass and no mishaps this time but this young chap was delighted with this Red Gurnard. His first sea fish and he was very chuffed with himself - remember how that felt and note the rod, remember them! He caught it on crayfish tail which he bought a tub of from the sea food stall, now why did I not think of that, an old dog can still be taught a new trick from a beginner!
As I walked back and pulled in I had one on my rod but it slipped off as I tried to pull it up, a common occurrence on sea walls. Treated to a display by the red arrows on the way home, brilliant to watch-just amazing, highly recommended if you ever have the chance and they upset a few seagulls which was a real treat; all in all a pleasant afternoon.

 

[108831]

Went yesterday on my local p it and caught 27 roach between 5 and 12ozs,2 bream best 5lbs or so and two tench with the best one going a very nice 7-1,my second seven this year,this fish unusually was caught in 14ft of water on the slider,near!h all tench come from the margins.

 

[103841]

Like Mark I too could not find the Bass yesterday, a morning trip to Westgate followed by a gorgeous hot evening visit to Seasalter yielded nothing. Did have a moment though.

Standing on the end of a jetty were a group of six people, two elderly the others middle aged. They were looking at an object floating in the water and remarking how the tide was taking it out to sea. I thought I was doing the decent thing in asking if they would like me to cast out and retrieve the item.

“No thank you, it’s my fathers ashes”

mg:

 

[103841]

Where were you fishing Mark?