How did you get on?

[103841]

Another take her ladyship to Canterbury and I’ll spend an hour or two fishing trips today.

I’ve located some decent roach in the Mill pool and went armed with an ultralight match stick type float set up, just perfect for lowering into the pool, well it would have been had they not opened four of the sluice gates resulting in a torrent of water flowing into the pool turning it into a foaming jacuzzi.

I’d come unprepared for any other type of rig so aborted the mission, phoned the good lady and asked if she didn’t mind getting the bus home.

I made way back home and swapped the float rod for a lure rod and drove the short distance to the estate for a spot of spinning in search of the few elusive perch that reside in the lake.

Gusting winds and the onset of heavy rain didn’t allow me more than thirty minutes of hurling a Mepps spinner in various parts of the lake without any interest. Drove back into town before she’d got the bus and chauffeured her back home in some horrible weather.

I’d not visited the lake before this late in the year, I’ve been missing a spectacularly colourful treat, more like New England than the garden of England.

 

[mikench]

Lovely photos once again John!

Is the reel pictured a Ninja and if so do you like it?

 

[103841]

, it’s Mother Nature we should be thanking really but thank you Mike.

 

[nottskev]

A filthy day around here, at least fro 11am on. But it was mild and I felt like doing some kind of fishing. I health-checked the lobworms; I'd put them in a woven sack and fed them, and they were in better condition than when I bought them, so I thought I'd give the worm dropshotting another try. It was obviously going to pxxx down again, so I headed for the nearest place I could step out of the car and start getting snagged up, I mean dropshotting. I nearly abandoned the idea when I remembered the Council had turned the free parking on the embankment, 5 minutes away, into a pay-by-phone nightmare. It took 10 minutes of if-you're-losing-the-will-to-live-press-3 before I'd managed to pay for a minimal 2 hours. 20p!

They say perch like structures, so I parked here. Must be some at home, surely?



The footbridge has arches on the bank - and I found I was sharing the swim with 4 kids smoking weed, listening to some hip-hop stuff and discussing the finer points of life. They greeted me cheerfully "Hey!!! Fishin' !!!" but didn't bother me after that.

The first two chucks - you couldn't fish too close to the bridge itself; you could see the bottom in inches of water well past the last concrete step - told me where not to cast as my expensive swan shot joined the the rest of the gear on the bottom of this tackle-eating river. The next two came up with a couple of perch like this



At that point the university rowing club descended on the bridge for a conference, so I moved down a bit,
chucked in and lost the lot in another snag. So that was that. Total fishing time 30 mins, and I reckon the Council owe me 15p.

 

[103841]

You say you lost the lot Kev, what breaking strain are you using and do you use a lighter BS below the hook for the weight?

 

[nottskev]

You say you lost the lot Kev, what breaking strain are you using and do you use a lighter BS below the hook for the weight?

I've got a light braid, 10lb, with a metre of 6.5lb flourocarbon. The shot pull off easily enough; when the flouro snapped below the joining knot, the hook must have been in the snag.

 

[103841]

I've got a light braid, 10lb, with a metre of 6.5lb flourocarbon. The shot pull off easily enough; when the flouro snapped below the joining knot, the hook must have been in the snag.

I now use 20lb braid and 10lb Fluoro above the hook, 6lb below it, doesn’t seem to put the perch off when they’re “on it” however, if you encounter a submerged shopping trolley or push bike, it’s game over.

 

[stillwater blue]

I got out twice yesterday, I fished dawn and dusk. I was invited for a morning after pike on a private and very pretty lake with a good friend of mine, I'd fished the lake years ago for carp but hadn't fished it in probably 10 years and had forgotten how shallow it was.



The pike aren't really fished for so we where hoping for good sport but as it turned out it was very quiet. We managed a Jack each and both where caught in the margins on the side of the lake were the sun hit first thing in the morning, I suppose they where after a bit of warmth.



In the evening I was back on the river targeting zander. Normally I like to roam but as I had less than an hour I decided to stay put in a normally productive swim that covers a lot of water. The current was slightly quicker than normal so I ended up fishing a 10g jig head with a 10cm lure. I caught a very small zander first cast and then it went quiet till just before dark where I had two bites in 10 minutes from ever so slightly bigger zander.

 

[dicky123]

I'm loving trotting on a little river at the moment, some nice Dace to 8oz and Roach the same. Had around 30 fish, some so small put right back and not in the net. I've several days free next week, will be back on the river. We have also had a bit of rain my way, can only help.

Rich

 

[dicky123]

I'll try again with the missing three:

Dave's chub:

View attachment 5909

How and what were you getting them on buddy? The Chub looks amazing, iIm after a 7lb fish this season 6LB 10OZ being my best to date.

Taken from the opposite bank of the Avon!

One of my dace:

View attachment 5910

Some of the Stour roach:

View attachment 5911

What and who did you get them, float or ledger?

 

[dicky123]

I had planned to spend the day on the river yesterday but when receiving a text in the morning with the dreadful news of Graham’s passing I really didn’t have the stomach for it. As it happens the heavens opened up and it rained all day, a very dark day indeed.

Had to get out today and a complete reverse of the weather found me sitting by the river on a cool but sunny morning.

Trotting with maggots (proper fishing), roach were the target but failed to show with a hour gone but then slowly they started feeding in spasmodic spells with one or two requiring the net.

This photo is reminiscent of a pose another member use to favour.

Hard work over the next few hours but managed to put together a few roach, chublets and a lone perch. At last knockings I hooked something big, maybe a carp but it shed the hook after a few moments of some nice rod bending.

I was treated to an aerial dogfight between a crow and two gulls, they flew overhead and disappeared behind me, I have a feeling the Crow had the last word.

Looks a cracking swim nice views, plus a decent bag of quality Roach, well done mate.

Rich.

 

[Neil Maidment]

I returned to the Dorset Stour in midweek for a late afternoon into evening session confident that the chub wouldn't show up until well into dusk but hopeful of a few roach until that time came.

I trotted bread punch, disc or flake under a dumpy pellet waggler for the first couple of hours and found a lot of small roach several of which attracted a couple of small pike on the retrieve. Nearly had one of those pike in the net because it just wouldn't let go.

But in amongst all that I also had two proper roach of 1:08 and 1:10 one of which showed signs of pike damage.





The first chub turned up at well after 4pm and then I lost another. That was enough for me to switch to feeding maggot with a couple of reds on a #18. As the light faded they switched on and I had quite a few, mostly around 5lbs.



I came with a plan to fish on into the proper darkness but not with my normal switch to a static method. An amusing concoction of a starlight stuck to the float tip. I'd tried this before sometime ago and had a couple but this time it really worked. I had a procession of decent chub for the next couple of hours but made a schoolboy error by forgetting my head torch which made baiting up and netting a bit of a challenge.

I eventually left them to it mainly because a couple of swans gave me a close up fly-by and I was very cold (I was wading).

Might try it again but was happy to prove a point to myself and the audience of two barracking mates on the opposite bank!

 

[103841]

That first photo is stunning Neil, as is the roach.

 

[nottskev]

My winter roach and bream places are out of order these days, with net bans due to nearby KHV problems. I'm hoping they'll soon be lifted now the water has cooled. In the meantime, I'm stuck for likely stillwaters, so at lunchtime I went back to the "new" one I tried a couple of weeks ago.

It's a pretty place, with islands galore, trees everywhere, and a good stock of mixed fish - so I'm told.



Hoping to catch roach, I set up with one swim fed with caster, the other with pinkie and maggot. I had a roach on double pinkie first cast, and thought that was a good omen



But it wasn't! An hour and a half later, despite messing about with feed, shot, hooks and line, I still had had one bite. Quite frustrating, as it was a lovely, mild day, colour in the water........ if you can't catch in these conditions....

It's a short day these days, so you can't wait forever for them to come on. I resorted to underhand methods. Back to the car for some micro pellets and a tub of weird bait, well past its sell-by date, that looked like coloured, fruit flavoured Tic-tacs (remember those?). I set up a short quiver-tip rod with a small 25g hybrid feeder (forgive me, god), put my glasses on and eventually tied up a 4" hooklength with a bait band. I was prepared to do whatever it took to avoid going home having caught one roach. With all this assembled, I put on a Tic-tac, loaded up the dampened micros and lobbed it to what I judged ( and what do I know) to be the most carpy bit of the island-studded vista in front of me.

5 minutes later, something tried to pull the rod in, and the first of 8 carp and 4 F1's saved the day from oblivion.

 

[peter crabtree]

Possibly the last of the dry, sunny and mild weather we’ve been enjoying in the SE lately today, so I was keen to make the most of it.
Add to that a burning desire to try out my new acquisition, a Normark microlight 12’ float rod.
Decided to try a much discussed spot I’d never tried, the infamous ‘ back of B and Q’s’ in Hemel.

Many a match has been won from this bend on the GUC. The water was a bit clear and a bit of a floating leaf trap. Light waggler, 2lb line and a 22 b511 to 0:06 was my opening gambit. Didn’t seem to matter whether it was double squatt, single maggot or caster, chublets were on it like a shot.
These were followed by the perch and a few better roach.
Sent a text to Rob, the artist, who lives nearby and within the hour he arrived with his gear..

We both had problems with the leaves but both caught a few. Robs slightly unconventional stick float approach worked a treat and he well and truly battered me, landing a big skimmer, a perch around a pound and various roach and hybrids.

 

[seth49]

View attachment 5949
On my own again today, so early start I was there at sunrise, mild with a light southerly breeze.tried a different pond today for a change, set my pole up, and prepared six mm expander pellets, opened a tin of corn, also had some dendros, and bread.

Also put my greys prodigy barbel up with a pin as a sleeper in the margin, for the carp later,started catching roach on the expanders some nice ones as well, this was the biggest.
View attachment 5950
Also had this chub.
View attachment 5951
And after a lot of swirls and seeing carp in the margin I managed this one, eight and a half pounds and gave me a good scrap too,like playing them on the pin, feels more direct somehow.
View attachment 5952
Also had a couple of Rudd, a small perch, and a few skimmers, grand total of thirty three silvers and one carp.
Also had a eurofighter flying round for a while, a robin was with me most of the day, and saw a kingfisher catch a small fish, lots of fieldfares about too. A good day enjoyed it.

 

[108831]

Been today,I'd organised to meet a mate on a shallow lake with a good head of tench,bream and odd decent carp,had a text from him before I was going to leave home,the fishery has closed for four months,well that buttered it and I ended up in the deep club lake I'd fished through the summer,well the small roach are still feeding so I ended with 53 roach between 2.5ozs and 10ozs,having like bothering the shoal at times,during a quiet spell I had a bite and found myself attached to a good fish,which at first I thought was a tench,it three out to be a like(which was pike when my tablet corrected it ) around 10-12lbs....

 

[tigger]

Seth, that's no roach bud, it's a heinz 57 .

 

[wetthrough]

Back at Dunham and on my own. Just as well. Wouldn't have wanted anyone watching. Arrived 7:30 and it's cold but tolerable. Fishing an 18s to 2lb loose feeding just a few maggots and caster and get a skimmer on maggot around 8:45 which considering how cold it was looked like being not too bad a start. Lots of leaves which were a bit of a pain but manage top get a couple of more skimmers by midday. Get hooked into something a bit bigger, probably large skimmer and it threw the hook, the first of five altogether two of which were probably Carp of one sort or another. Then did my impression of a fly fisher striking into thin air and decorating the trees behind me getting the main line caught on the back of my coat in the process, line everywhere I couldn't get at. I think I lost more fish to hook pulls and missed more bites than I've done all year. Still, better than being at home.

View attachment 5953

Bits and pieces the rest of the day, 11 in all including 2 Gudgeon some more skimmers and whatever this is.

View attachment 5955

and saving the day at around 3:30 at around 4 1/2lb

View attachment 5956

 

[O.C.F.Disorder]

In the dead of night, in the middle of nowhere and on the last cast.

Apparently he didnt read the rule book and happily munched my 9 inch roach on double size 6 trebles.