How did you get on?

[mikench]

This vid might help Ralph! There are others by the same chap about the use of wondertress! Credit for this may go to S63( John) on a previous thread !

YouTube

 

[S-Kippy]

I'm still off the meds so thought I'd make the most of that [and the weather] and get out.

The Big Feller has been pestering me to have one last go at the cats but on a different water. I didnt really fancy it but agreed simply to stop him moaning.So off we barrelled to this place he's been banging on about for a while and about 15 minutes later we were back in the cars heading elsewhere. What a joke ! I dont doubt there's some big cats in there but I'm not paying good money to fish a reed fringed bucket. The whole place wasnt much bigger than my back garden and there were 2 guys on there already both with 2 rods out. No thank you very much.

Back to our normal cat water which was virtually deserted.....even the hot island swims were free but a lot of the bankside cover has been cut back hard and it didnt look anything like as fishy as it normally does. I decided to go fish a shady corner while the BF stayed on the island. LH rod in the edge and RH rod about a rod out in a nice shady spot. First chuck on the LH rod and it was twitching away so something was on the prowl. I was so engrossed in this I nearly missed the RH rod roar off. I'm in and its a cat too......usual scrap ensued and it was all going well until the hook suddenly fell out. I've no idea why because those Eagle Claw are so sharp and such a shape that once they're in they usually stay in. Not a massive cat....around 15-16lb I guess. Quitebig enough thank you.

And that was it other than the usual twitches and one pick up and drop until about 4 when the RH rod went off again and I'm in again. Tremendous scrap ensued and I thought I'd got one of the bigger cats but it turned out to be a supremely disappointing [but very handsome] common of 15-8. Nice fish but not what I went for.

I left himself down there. Fishless when I left but I bet he winkled one out somehow.


Why does it persist in turning my pictures round ? Howl ! And dont ask me what that roach thinks its doing.....I cant get rid of it !

 

[Pete Shears]

Another piking trip to a different reservoir,only 140 acres this time,plenty of space to blank.Beautiful sunrise and two deadbait rods out,sit back and watch the water.Plenty of fry exploding everywhere with the larger fish including one carp swirling on the surface.Around 8am the black death arrived,two or three at a time then one group of six,better than last week though when a group 26 flew in making about 40 in total.My mate had a run and a nice pike of 9lb 11oz,a little later I had a run resulting in a pike of about 7lb which after pinging out the single hook in the net it tail walked over the rim and was off.Another angler to my right had one of 13lb+. Then it all went quiet apart from a group of five buzzards wheeling way down the reservoir and another group of three behind me and a green woodpecker calling nearly non-stop in the woods below the dam.

 

[fishplate42]

Forget Whitehorse and Mortimer and watch Ralph and Tim!!!

Very good, but I think the former would be far more entertaining. They are professional fools, we are still learning.

There was a point on Monday when Tim held his bait up, which by then now looked like one of Top Cat's bin-finds, and asked if it was worth changing it mg:

Ralph

 

[fishplate42]

PS walked the town stretch this morning, Millers full of chub which I hope stay there til Thursday.

Sound good, I wish I could get there myself but, at long last, the house is going on the market this week and I don't suppose I will get a chance any time soon. Once it has sold, it will be a different matter. I will be able to get there as often as you - maybe more!

Look out Kent, you are getting another dangler

Ralph.

 

[jon atkinson]

First report for a while so apologies in advance for the rather 'catch up' nature of this submission!

I enjoyed reading Mick's grayling exploits the other week - he very kindly furbished me with the details of that stretch ahead of our trip to the Peak District a few week's ago. I was rearing to go on the Friday but the preceding day's deluge put paid to that - Mick very kindly took the trouble to call me on the Thursday evening to advise me not to bother - how nice is it when people go out of their way to help?

Watching the news that evening showing a woman being rescued from her car in 4' of water in Sheffield confirmed it. We decided to drive out to Dovedale to walk the dogs on the Friday instead

If any further confirmation were needed...

We got home to find that we'd been burgled which put paid to any thoughts I'd had of grabbing a couple of hours locally on the Sunday...

I was doing some voluntary work the following Sunday morning, but took my kit with me & headed out to Blackbrook basin afterwards. I do find that this water blows hot & cold - last Sunday was the latter :wh There was just one guy there fishing the pole - he hadn't had anything but had only been fishing for 20 minutes. Weed can be a real problem here...

20 minutes & a slightly 'achy' back later, I could get set up! I fished a 3bb glowtip antenna with a single maggot on a #20 B911 on a 1.75lb hook length. It was very slow, but not completely dead with some roach & perch showing, but none of any size. After an hour I felt like stretching my legs so wandered down to see how blokey was getting on... he'd gone! I stuck it out for a few more hours but it didn't get any better, but it was still a nice day to be out.

Sunday just gone I felt obliged to do the right thing by my good lady; ordinarily she goes bouldering on a Saturday & I aim to get an early(ish) start fishing on the Sunday, but I was at a conference in Liverpool on the Saturday, so she was dog sitting all day, on top of which she dropped me in town for 08:00, came back in to pick me up afterwards when it became clear that the massive crowds viewing 'the Giants' made getting the train back a non-starter & then dropped me back in again for a black tie dinner that evening... a keeper for sure!

So we walked the dogs on Sunday morning after which she went climbing. Once she was back I nipped along to Ince Blundell fishery - my nearest day ticket waters for a short, afternoon session in search of roach with some left over maggots.

I fished a 2AA Drennan green crystal insert waggler to a #18 B911 F1 on a 2.10 lb hook length, loose feeding a few maggots with each cast. Not much happening for the first 15 minutes, but then the roach started to show reasonably steadily along with a solitary rudd & a small perch, which had the 'honour' of being the only one not requiring the net. That having been said I do tend to net everything over about 5", but all of Sunday's silvers were of a reasonable stamp with this about the best of them...

Things slowed down after a couple of hours - there are a few lumps in this pond so I didn't want to go any lighter on the hook length but I did scale down to a #20 which brought a couple more bites, but they were few & far between. I was thinking about calling it a day when the float dipped once more & this time it took off heading straight for the reed bed to my right. I was hoping that it was a late tench, but it was always going to be a carp!

I must admit that I was fully expecting it to do me with my expectation that the hook would straighten rather than the hook length snap but I kept the pressure on (relatively gently) & it eventually came back out of the reeds. A further 5 minutes or so & it was safely netted. Today was of course the day that my scales wouldn't play ball, but I'd guess a low double & a suitable point to sign off.


I have a bonus session on the Wirral tomorrow as wifey is working from home on my day off, so she can mind the dogs & then it's up to the Ribble with a work colleague on Sunday in the hope of some barbel Tight lines to one & all...

 

[103841]

Another trip to Hythe, 20 degrees, clear blue skies and wall to wall sunshine, what’s not to like? Well actually there is, it was most probably far too bright for the bass and any other species to want to come out and play.

Tried for nearly four hours, two either side of HW, didn’t get a touch, my only consolation being four bait rods out just along the beach and those guys had a blank too.

Did catch the sun a bit though.

 

[mikench]

Nice pics as usual John! Great post Jon and well worth waiting for! I hope the burglars didn't get any fishing tackle!

Markcw had two choices today! He could either join his chums Gordon(wetthrough ) and yours truly for a scintillating days fishing or check his secret hoard of Normark rods in his tackle shed! He made a very wise choice and stayed home!!

The weather was glorious and very hot but the fish were conspicuous by their absence ! Gordon was consistent and had 11 fish but none of any size whereas I had 3 plump F1's on cockles ! Mind you I went through at least 10 different baits and waited over 3 hours for the first, and then, like buses , they all arrived in rapid succession! I tried the float but had no response at all on anything! I was particularly disappointed by the lack of interest in my perfect dead krilled maggots! All in all a disappointing day but everybody( the place was packed) had a similar tale to tell!

Markcw still has his hoard of Normark rods!

 

[john step]

Another day perching on my res. The 5 biggest were between 1lb 6ozs and 1lb.14 ozs. on hair rigged prawn and rudd tail.(Rudd of which were a plague when I tried red deads).

Nothing to submit to to perch challenge but they are getting bigger though.

Also got a sun tan

 

[iain t]

A short session this morning on the Rother(Sussex). Started baiting at 4 am. The target was Dace, Roach, Rudd or anything small that came along. Kit wise i was using a 13ft Drennan Silverfish rod and a pin-loaded with 3lb line with a 2lb hook link and a size 16 hook. The water was very mushy looking and running quite slow but that didn't seem to bother the fish. After over 20 Dace and a few skimmers i changed my hook bait from Hemp to sweetcorn. Without a nibble, for over 30 minutes i thought i should have stuck with the Hemp when bang the rod nearly bent in half. It nearly came out of my hands. Whatever it was it was yanking hard, thinking it must be a large Chub it headed straight into the weeds. With a 2lb hook link and a soft rod not meant for anything bigger than a small Bream, i thought any minute am going to ping off. Letting the line go slack i waited for what seemed ages but probably only a minute or two i started to reel in slowly. Sod it, it's off. Then i felt a bit of pressure i realised i still had it on. Blow me, it was a Barbel. I just got it in the net before it shot off again. Think it forgot it was hooked. After letting it rest in the water i took it to the mat and weighed it. 11lb.2oz.
Returning the fish i could feel my legs shaking. I shouted "YES" at the top of my voice. Even had a couple of Moos from the Cows in the field.
The only downer was my camera was dead and the phone i take fishing is as old as the Ark.( Nokia 3310)
Although this isn't the biggest Barbel I've had, it was and going to be the most rememberable.

 

[jon atkinson]

Mighty fine skills Iain - good job sir!

 

[103841]

Mighty fine skills Iain - good job sir!

Ditto!....

 

[Pete Shears]

Back on the usual reservoir for a bit of piking today.Turned out to be very noisy with about 300 greylags and canadas flying in & out all morning.Had two finicky runs before 8am and both fish nicked the bait and it then went dead - no fry being chased,no bigger fish rolling - nothing.Did see my first flock of redwings or fieldfares of the autumn,a little bit too high against a dazzling sky to identify properly and a group of long tailed tits were in the willows most of the morning.

 

[tigger]

The weather man was right for a change and today was a cracking day, not to hot and not to cold with a nice little breeze.
As I headed off up the motorway I tried to decide which stretch of river to go for and since I am spoilt for choice it's hard work making the decision! Anyhow, I arrived at the river about 2.30pm this afternoon, and it was low and quite clear, pretty much perfect for me with the float gear . I waded out and cattied in a few pouches of maggots and corn and then went back to the bank for my rod. It took around half a dozen trotts through before the float bobbed under and I struck into a very hard fighting barbel, it looked a decent size so I weighed it and it was a whisker over 10lb. Next few trotts produced a couple of greedy minows and then a lovely grayling of about 1 1/2 lb.
The next two barbel where similar in size to the first one, maybe a few ounces shy but I didn't bother weighing them but it was nice to catch such chunky fish in succession. I then hooked what I think was a very large trout but unfortunately it come off after giving me a right old scrap, I never actually saw it! After that I had eight more barbel of about 6 to 8lb. The next barbel I hooked managed to get my line under something and I lost my float! After loosing my float and the fish I had another two barbel of about 6 or 7lb and then the next fish felt a little different, heavier and harder to move off the bottom. Eventually I got it in the net and had to weigh it....a new PB float caught barbel for me being 13lb 7 ounces, give or take an ounce. My previous best on the float was 13lb 3 or 4 ounces so not much bigger but it's there, it was a bit heavier lol. I had one more 6lb'ish barbel (making a total landed barbel of 15 fish) after that before my bottom shot got stuck in something, maybe between rocks and my line snapped so I left it at that and wrapped up. All in all a great little session and probably my most enjoyable of the year as the weather was just right, the river was just right and the fish were feeding .

 

[The Runner]

Looked like today was going to be the only window of decent weather this week with heavy rain due tomorrow and gales on Friday, so nipped up to Staffin for a bit of lure fishing. Lovely clear day with a great view on the way in across Staffin Bay to the houses of Glasphein and Brogaig with the Quiraing behind
View attachment 5739

Walked down about half a mile past the slipway, got there just past two hours into the ebb so not the best tide for the venue. Worked my way along the ledges without much joy for a while, one coalie about half a pound on a jellyworm the only sign of life. Got to the far end about an hour before low tide, lots of kelp in the edge and very rough ground further out but nice flat ledges to fish from
View attachment 5740
View attachment 5741
and started getting a few takes. In the two and a half hours before called it a day had nine pollack and another coalie, all pretty much peas in a pod around this size
View attachment 5742
View attachment 5743
No real size but good fun on lightish spinning gear. Did lose one much better fish (the average size here is usually a lot bigger) which annoyingly I got out of the kelp twice only for the hook to pull. A couple of fish on yellow jellyworms, rest on the ever reliable Savage Gear roach paddletails.

Wind and with it the swell were gradually increasing, retreated to a higher ledge as the tide rose but the swell and backwash over the lower ledge would have made landing fish problematical for the next hour or so, so tackled down.

Quiet on the wildlife front today, a few gannets around quite close in early on, one seal popped its head up, and a diver of some sort (too far away to tell which species) went past low to the water.

 

[john step]

A short session this morning on the Rother(Sussex). Started baiting at 4 am..

Nice fish. BUT....4AM !!! Thats not the morning its the day before.:wh

 

[markcw]

Nice pics as usual John! Great post Jon and well worth waiting for! I hope the burglars didn't get any fishing tackle!

Markcw had two choices today! He could either join his chums Gordon(wetthrough ) and yours truly for a scintillating days fishing or check his secret hoard of Normark rods in his tackle shed! He made a very wise choice and stayed home!!

The weather was glorious and very hot but the fish were conspicuous by their absence ! Gordon was consistent and had 11 fish but none of any size whereas I had 3 plump F1's on cockles ! Mind you I went through at least 10 different baits and waited over 3 hours for the first, and then, like buses , they all arrived in rapid succession! I tried the float but had no response at all on anything! I was particularly disappointed by the lack of interest in my perfect dead krilled maggots! All in all a disappointing day but everybody( the place was packed) had a similar tale to tell!

Markcw still has his hoard of Normark rods!

Markcw wishes he had a secret hoard of Normarks, instead of a number of pole sections that have appeared over the years, and not got a clue what they will fit, they don't even fit each other !! Anyway after more or less sorting through my tackle sheds the other day and evicting a few things the wife had decided to find a home for in the smaller one. I was ready for a day out today with Mike & Gordon, especially after Mike sent me a text extolling the virtues of his newly dead krilled maggots and offering me some with the words "You don't need to worry about getting bait ,you can use some of these" So I thought "Ok, that will still leave Mike with another 15 varieties of bait to use," I go into the porch yesterday afternoon to look for something and I see a card from the Post Office saying There was a recorded delivery at the post office for me and to collect today ( Wednesday) , I must not have been in when they called, and they didn't read a note in my porch window saying "any parcels/letters that cant be delivered even if need signing for, to be left at the trophy shop across the road" So off I go early this morning across town to the post office,wait for about 20 minutes to be served even though I was 3rd in the queue. I mention about the note in the porch window and get told if the postman has time he would take things across the road, FFS he delivers there after my house!! I told the stroppy woman that by the time he had got the form from his pocket, filled it in, and put it through my letter box, he could have crossed the road. I also told her I used to work for them so I know how the system works, she then went quiet, Anyway back across town in heavy traffic again, I get home to be greeted with the words "Shall we go to Cheshire Oaks ? " ( a designer outlet village), So that is where I ended up going, and came away £100 lighter in my wallet. As for the recorded delivery ?.. it was not a speeding or parking fine as I thought it may be, but 2 "BOSS Box" stickers for a box I am refurbishing. Mike & Gordon, I am going fishing next week come what may, I will confirm days available later this week, Mike.. you keep your maggots , I will get my own bait.

 

[Another Dave]

Returning the fish i could feel my legs shaking. I shouted "YES" at the top of my voice. Even had a couple of Moos from the Cows in the field.

Absolutely brilliant, almost felt like I was there for a second.

 

[no-one in particular]

Just two or three hours yesterday, missed the best of the tide, got there at high water and fished it down. The sea was a bit choppier than I expected and there was quite a bit of weed floating around. I thought should have brought my beach-caster but the carp rod and 2oz weight handled it OK except there was a stiff cross wind which cut my cast down to about 50 yds.
Straight away tat-tap-tap, small whiting which was all that happened, stripped my bait and landed two which were probably as big as they got, about 8 inches. Still, kept me interested and it was a lovely day, down to shirt sleeves. Not many birds this time, just one Turnstone and a pair of seagulls that sat on the beach for all the three hours staring at me malevolently. The other day Curlews and Oyster Catchers but not a very good picture I am afraid.
Just a note- my free south east mag "The Freshwater Informer" (but has a sea section as well) reported September was very good for Bass with some very good specimens caught on all the Kent and Sussex beaches (they have a day off when I fish) which they reckon will continue through October (except when I fish). Plus some very small Cod showing up about a 1lb however, I think its the same as the small Whiting which are in plague proportions apparently, only these very small ones are escaping the nets and don't get the chance to reach any size, haven't seen what we used to call big channel whiting for years, big shoals of them; they used to get to 1lb-2lb+ and very tasty as well. The Bass are feeding off these little whiting they reckon so, definitely the beach-caster next time for more distance and maybe some big baits.
A big blow coming over the weekend, should stir things up a bit and maybe bring more fish closer in.

 

[108831]

The weather man was right for a change and today was a cracking day, not to hot and not to cold, nice little breeze, only complaint was the sun was reflecting off the water making it awkward to watch the float.
As I headed off up the motorway I tried to decide which stretch of river to go for and since I am spoilt for choice it's hard work making the decision! Anyhow, I arrived at the river about 2.30pm this afternoon, and it was low and quite clear, pretty much perfect for me with the float gear . I waded out and cattied in a few pouches of maggots and corn and then went back to the bank for my rod. It took around half a dozen trotts through before the float bobbed under and I struck into a very hard fighting barbel, it looked a decent size so I weighed it and it was a whisker over 10lb. Next few trotts produced a couple of greedy minows and then a lovely grayling of about 1 1/2 lb.
The next two barbel where similar in size to the first one, maybe a few ounces shy but I didn't bother weighing them but it was nice to catch such chunky fish in succession. I then hooked what I think was a very large trout but unfortunately it come off after giving me a right old scrap, I never actually saw it! After that I had eight more barbel of about 6 to 8lb. The next barbel I hooked managed to get my line under something and I lost my float! After loosing my float and the fish I had another two barbel of about 6 or 7lb and then the next fish felt a little different, heavier and harder to move off the bottom. Eventually I got it in the net and had to weigh it....a new PB float caught barbel for me being 13lb 7 ounces, give or take an ounce. My previous best on the float was 13lb 3 or 4 ounces so not much bigger but it's there, it was a bit heavier lol. I had one more 6lb'ish barbel (making a total landed barbel of 15 fish) after that before my bottom shot got stuck in something, maybe between rocks and my line snapped so I left it at that and wrapped up. All in all a great little session and probably my most enjoyable of the year as the weather was just right, the river was just right and the fish were feeding .

It's lovely to read about multiple catches of barbel,a distant memory for most,congrats on your float pb,not to be sneezed at mate.