How did you get on?

[mikench]

Great photos Nick! Very artistic! I had a couple of hours today on the same venue, same peg and same tactics ! The result was 12 of my friends but like true friends and relatives , it is always lovely having them to stay but nice when they go home!

As no other species were interested in spam, prawn or pellet I packed up ! I did have one fish which pulled the hook at the net! The tentative knocks and knock back bites convinced me it was an urgh but the fight it put up persuaded me it was a carp! However it fought all the way to the net and looked like a bream but still fought and slipped the hook!! I was dumbfounded ! Was this a schizophrenic bream which thought it was a carp or a hybrid of some sort! A rhetorical question and we will never know the answer!

Unlike Monday when I was one of two anglers on 3 lakes today there were over 50 and a few kids with parents!

 

[nicholaslukey]

Those 2 images together like that have a real surreal look about them

 

[Pete Shears]

^^^^ are you in any way related to the “one and only Billy Shears” ?

Wish I was - there could be royalties due

 

[Jelster]

An hour or so on an other local stretch of the Colne this afternoon resulted in a couple of nice Roach, a Chub of around 3lbs, and a submarine that I never got close to stopping Snapped my 2.5lbs hook link within a minute or so. The stretch I was fishing is very weedy, and I wan't expecting anything big.

Could have been a Barbel, or a big Chub, or maybe even a Carp. It took a bunch of maggots on a 14 hook with 3 SSG as a casting weight.

So after that, I stuck a float on and bashed out a load of Perch, Roach, Dace & Chub. Almost a fish a chuck.

Had to pack up after about 90 minutes as I needed to get back. Still, a bit of fun. I've now used up all my maggots, which means I have no excuse to go out for the rest of the week, so best I get on with the house, that's why I stopped working in the first place.

Still the sooner I finish it, the sooner we sell it and move to Gloucestershire (and the Wye!).

 

[thecrow]

Today was fish like a prat day and I joined in wholeheartedly, considering the rain we have had I fished the wrong swim, used the wrong tackle, wrong tactics and the wrong bait.

After pulling out of 3 fish it suddenly occurred to me that the hook might be blunt and need changing :doh: I blame my age and failing brain function.

Somehow I managed 4 Tench that must have taken pity on me, still next time eh :fish2:

 

[sam vimes]

A short trip back to the spot that kids in the river put paid to me having a go for the chub that I saw lurking. The remnants of the weekend downpours meant that it was a touch up and the colour of stewed tea, no chance of spotting anything from the high bank this time. Things started promisingly with a dace, chub, grayling and trout on the first four runs through. Then the minnows turned up with a vengeance. From then on in it was a case of wading through umpteen minnows for mostly small chub and the odd dace. Unfortunately, the big chub failed to materialise. The day was made by a couple of gudgeon and a cracking brownie at 3lb 1oz.

 

[S-Kippy]

Cracking looking brownie, Chris. I bet that was fun !

 

[tigger]

A short trip back to the spot that kids in the river put paid to me having a go for the chub that I saw lurking. The remnants of the weekend downpours meant that it was a touch up and the colour of stewed tea, no chance of spotting anything from the high bank this time. Things started promisingly with a dace, chub, grayling and trout on the first four runs through. Then the minnows turned up with a vengeance. From then on in it was a case of wading through umpteen minnows for mostly small chub and the odd dace. Unfortunately, the big chub failed to materialise. The day was made by a couple of gudgeon and a cracking brownie at 3lb 1oz.

View attachment 5299

That's a superb trout Chris, did it fight as good as it looks ? .

 

[tigger]

Wouldn't post but when it did it did it twice!

 

[tigger]

I headed out late afternoon today with great expectations, fished only one swim and really tried to get something decent sized, all I caught was small to chub to a pound or so, dace, gudgeon and minnows !
What made it worse was I caught those small fish on a hardy specimen avon rod and 8lb sensor fished straight through....so not much of a bend in the rod !

 

[sam vimes]

Cracking looking brownie, Chris. I bet that was fun !

That's a superb trout Chris, did it fight as good as it looks ? .

It didn't do the usual nutter trout acrobatics, but it put up a bloody good show in fast shallow water. At one point it decided that going up the riffle above me was a cunning plan.

 

[lambert1]

Managed my first trip in ages. I had a particular swim in mind that had a run through that was not choked with weed and although it was quite a walk to get to, it was well worth it. I started catching shortly after arriving and but for a few lulls I caught consistently from about 2pm until 9pm, which was wonderful and so enjoyable. The fish were so much more cooperative than last time and to my mind this was due to rain a few days before and lower temperatures. I did not land anything of any size, but got bumped off three times by bigger fish that shed the hook and I suspect were Trout. I was using an 18 and although it was fine for everything else, I could not get a hold on whatever it was for too long. I upped to a 12 and four maggots and was amazed how many little ones still managed to woof them down! I did connect again with something bigger and again it shed the hook. It did not matter that much as I was having so much fun. I lost count of how many Roach I caught and I also managed four Gudgeon, which is always a pleasure. Had a battle of wits with the Dace which I will call a draw. All the fish were in superb condition which bodes well. I was knackered by the end and the time flew by. All this fun for £3 for a pint of maggots! It is amazing how theraputic this sport of ours can be!

 

[mikench]

How does the old saying go " 3 steps forward and 2 steps back"! Well today was an interesting day! I set out to my local Mere with the sole intention of float fishing for roach! I was accompanied by a Matchpro Ultralite 12' rod and a stradic reel with 4lb main and 2lb hooklink to a size 20 hook! I had some pinkies and some bronze and red maggots!

All morning I tried but the only takes were from carp which headed for the adjacent Lilly pads and all was lost ! Not a nibble from the roach. By lunchtime and fishless as I was snapped off 4 times and once after an epic struggle which the rod coped well with! I also lost a few tussles with the lily pads with no fish involved!

View attachment 5301

I switched to my feeder with a light bomb and a small boilie after those pesky carp! I had a take and after a real battle involving the lily pads on both sides of my swim I finally landed a 15lb common! The Korum quick change adaptor for the landing net failed yet again and I am going to give them up as they are not robust enough for any large struggling fish! My efforts had not gone unnoticed and two fellow anglers were intrigued by my rod which appeared green even from 60 yards away and which , to them had bent over from butt to tip and still landed the fish which they had decided I had little chance of so doing! Hats off to the Hardy Supero 11' feeder which I would trust with my life!!!

In all the excitement and the adrenaline rush I forgot to take a photo ! It was a fin perfect common however! I switched to the float rod after this and retrieved my maggots from my cool bag! Unfornately a large ice bag had sprung a leak whist defrosting and water had found its way( osmosis probably) into the maggot boxes! The pinkies had escaped and were everywhere! I hate them and when wet they have powers of escapism that defy believe! The other maggots were just as bad and I discarded them all! You wouldn't believe the nooks and crannies they managed to invade. I am still finding them! 2 pints of wet wriggling obnoxiousness! First and last time I use pinkies as even the roach didn't want them! I had at least 20 small perch on the maggots I could still use and the rod was a delight so more adventures ahead starting tomorrow with a trip out with Markcw on a local commercial! Hmm crucians I think!

 

[markcw]

What happened to less is more Mike ? Pinkies, bronze and red maggots, boilies …. I would assume more would be there somewhere,
If you were getting bites and snapped by carp on float and pinkie set up, all you had to do was set feeder rod up and still use pinkies, think of all the bait you would have had left, barring the icepack incident. P.S I have some maggots for tomorrow if you need any.

 

[mikench]

To my mind pinkies , red and bronze maggots are just maggots ie one bait! I always have a good selection of boilies in the car just in case I succumb to the dark side!

I forgot to mention I switched the hook length at one stage to a 4lb with size 12 hook but still no bites! Contrary these fish!

After handling wet bronze maggots my fingers were reminiscent of a 40 a day Capstan full strength smoker!!!!

 

[Another Dave]

Instead of fishing this morning i ventured out with a non matching pair of gardening gloves and some secateurs. It's time to re-open the 'Thorns' swim i made last year. This is very close to my door and has the advantage of offering some deeper water. Much as i've enjoyed this season's shallow, clear water, it's nice to have a bit of mystery in the murk.

I wish i'd taken a 'before' shot but all went well and i used to slaughtered willow herb to make a nice carpet. The brambles, roses and blackthorn cuttings i worked into the bushes to make a better screen. Went back at 5 with a rod, and boy was the sun right in my face. A swim for a morning session i think.



Caught a few roach on bread - first river roach of the season - but the sun shining down on me twinned with a reflection of the sun shining up at me soon had me feeling like i was being microwaved. Hopefully have another go in the morning, interesting bit of water this year, almost completely still in front of me. Will try a small waggler tomorrow, the large stick float i had on today felt completely wrong for the job.

 

[103841]

I couldn’t have picked a better time to have a go at my first attempts at catching fish from the sea. They say catching Bass is easy, finding them is a different story, that has certainly been true with my initial experiences.

With temperatures nudging the 30 mark again I could not muster the enthusiasm to visit the river or any of my local lakes. With a high tide at 5pm tonight it seemed a nice idea to have a paddle as the tide turned at my nearest bit of coastline along Seasalter.near Whitstable.

My last few visits have been to Westgate On Sea which is thought of as a more productive area to catch fish but I’ve blanked on the last four occasions so it was not only nice to have a warm water licking around my legs but a real bonus to catch three Bass in a one hour session. They were so small I couldn’t even describe them as Schoolies, more nursery fish would be a better description, welcome any way. I did hook what I’m sure would have been a pb but lost it ten yards out.mg:

For those interested, the lure was a 28g Dennet Super Sprat which casts for blooming miles! plenty of braid loaded on the spool essential!

 

[Another Dave]

I did hook what I’m sure would have been a pb but lost it ten yards out.mg:

Next time mate, next time.

 

[swizzle]

I have not had the time to take full advantage of the rivers yet. I have however been taking advantage of the close proximity of the sea and the late high tides in the evening. I have mainly been fishing for bass off of the rock groynes at night, fishing simple running leger and pennel rigs with a whole squid or half a mackerel as bait around 5 yards off of the rocks. It has been great fun and the biggest landed to date was 7lb 5oz.

 

[markcw]

To my mind pinkies , red and bronze maggots are just maggots ie one bait! I always have a good selection of boilies in the car just in case I succumb to the dark side!

I forgot to mention I switched the hook length at one stage to a 4lb with size 12 hook but still no bites! Contrary these fish!

After handling wet bronze maggots my fingers were reminiscent of a 40 a day Capstan full strength smoker!!!!

Bronze = 1 , Red = 2. Pinkies = 3, Boilies = 4 . These are the number of baits.. NOT revised snooker ball scores :wh