How did you get on?

[john step]

Sat it out into several hours of darkness in the descending freezing fog hoping for a lower Trent zander last night.
Did I get a run? Did I heck. Blanking is getting a bad habit. I wonder if I would be more successful at tiddlewinks?mg:

 

[Pete Shears]

Disturbed a a buzzard as I walked across the field to the Wreake this morning,it flew off and settled in an oak tree in the far hedgeline.Continued towards the river and put up a hare from under a tangle of hawthorn.Seemed to be colder even though there was no frost but the breeze was stronger,settled to fish the deep pool as the water was still low & very clear.Tried flake,crust,worms and back again,eventually getting a bite on flake landing a chub of 3lb 1oz which had been through the wars by its wonky scaling - cormorants ?. Could not get another bite and was packing up at half past nine to go home.

 

[peter crabtree]

Myself and 2 other codgers went for a crafty practice session at next Tuesdays match venue . It was very mild with just a hint of breeze, the water had a bit of colour but the level was down around a foot.

I chose a swim with white water in front of me so I could fish with my blacked out waggler which I find easier to see.

I find this float extremely effective for punch fishing, with 95% of the shot at the base then just 2 no10’s and a no11 dropper 4” above the hook, this gives a slow sinking bait on a very fine hooklink (0:07) and a fine wire 20 B511 hook. I set the float so my bait hangs about 4” off bottom, this works brilliantly for punch bread.
With the float dotted down to a pimple, even the subtlest of bites were easy to spot.
I stuck with the punch all day and fed liquy every time the bites slowed. Ended up with a nice bag of roach and gudgeon.
I had 6lb:4, beating my mates 5:12 and the other ones 2lb.

Roll on Tuesday....

 

[flightliner]

I decided to return for more of the chub I had earlier in the week, same swim tho low was screaming to be tried again.
Same set up , same bait, flake and liquidised bread on a ten hook.
I expected an early bite or indication but one never came except for the occasional false "bite" from weed coming downstream on the currant.
Despite the lack of encouragement I kept recasting every fifteen to twenty minutes or so along with two half golfball sized helpings of mushed bread hoping that it would encourage a chub come evening time.
Five hours on I began to think no chub were about and a Barbel or two had moved in.
It may be just my experience but I have long thought that Barbel and chub are rare bedfellows -- others may have had different experiences but it's a thought.
Dusk arrived and without warning the rod tip flew round connecting me to a very feisty fish that I thought may have been a chub but with no trying to get entangled in the marginal weed I figured a Barbel, and it was-- all 7-8 of it.
Not what I set out for but very welcome in the circumstances

Almost dark now and again the rod flew round and another , bigger Barbel graced my net after a few giddy moments heading well upstream towards a few sunken snags that I've dealt with in the past and on the scales it went 8-13-- a result.
roll on next week !

 

[no-one in particular]

Five hours on I began to think no chub were about and a Barbel or two had moved in.
It may be just my experience but I have long thought that Barbel and chub are rare bedfellows -- others may have had different experiences but it's a thought.
!

Not experienced enough to know for sure but when feeder fishing places like the Avon and the Kennet it often happened the small stuff would come first. Then the chub would move in and the small stuff would disappear. And then the barbel would move in and the chub would disappear. It was a pattern that happened often enough, same for my brother who used to fish with me-So it would seem they don't like feeding together.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Well, I took a chance yesterday morning and zoomed off to a still water at 07.15, knowing full well I might well be zooming back home again, if the lake was still frozen over! A pal had said much of the water was skinned earlier in the week, but I thought what the hell, it will give the car a run out!

On arrival I walked to the water and lobbed in small stones to make sure the ice wasn't sub surface, and found two thirds was pristine clear water, so I zoomed back to the car for the gear (I did a lot of 'zooming', yesterday) and was making my first cast by 08.15 in very pleasant, mild conditions. I felt confident................

An hour later and the float hadn't moved, so I changed the set up to fish over depth and within 10 minutes the float dipped before making a lot of fuss to actually submerge. Solid 'I think I've hooked a snag' resistance met my gentle strike, but, as someone famous once said' the bottom started to move ' as the fish finally woke up. Light roach gear (2lb main line, 1,5lb bottom and 20 hook) meant it was more a case of fish spinning the 'c/pin in a controlled manner, before I had my way and recovered the same amount of line. This went on for some 10 minutes before I managed to steer the lumbering brute into my very sad looking net. It weighed 6/7lbs..

Thirty minutes later a repeat performance another of the species weighing some 3/4lbs and that, sadly, was the action for the session.......

In the remaining hours I tried every method known to man (or me, anyway), searching high and low for a roach to gladden the heart, when even a 6" specimen would at least show they are feeding somewhere! I went down to a 22 and single red (always guaranteed to catch something, but 'always' is a lot to ask) and messed around at 2/4' deep where a dozen nice roach had given me a nice morning only two weeks ago, but another roach 'blank' had to be recorded, come going home time...........

Driving home, I thought long and hard about where those roach might be without coming to any conclusion that made sense, so I can only presume the cold, snow water entering the water over the last few days has turned them right off anything that wriggles, BUT I will be raiding the wife's compost bins for a few worms in time for the next outing in a few days time, just in case...............

If it was easy, we wouldn't do it .........................would we??

 

[peterjg]

I've been doing a lot of roach fishing on the Kennet and Thames with varying success but now that the water temperature has plummeted I thought that a session after grayling would be a good idea.
I started on a stretch of the Kennet where I have caught quite a few grayling (along with dace and chub) before. When I arrived I found to my horror that a huge willow on the far bank had been cut down, ruining a great swim. I fished there anyway but not a bite, the fish had moved? I tried a side stream which was only 3ft deep and again no bites. Moved again, found 51/2ft of water and still blanked. Eight hours of fishing and no bites, so much for my cunning plan. Water temperature was 41F.

 

[wetthrough]

Back on the Dam again yesterday. Decided to take a roving approach to find out where the little beggars are hiding. Six pegs fished in all at the opposite end to the Dam wall which is relatively shallow, about 4'6" at its shallowest (margins aside) getting deeper as you move up the Dam. Used a ~2AAA Drake semi loaded bodied waggler with a peacock quill of about 1/8" dia. I'd normally start of with a Glow Tip Antenna but there can be a significant tow on the Dam depending where you are. The Drake covered me for most eventualities without being too insensitive. 2lb hooklength to 20s LWG hook. Finished fishing on the last peg at around 7'.

Fishing from about 10AM not a nibble on the first five pegs. Peg six got me a bite at 3:50, a Micro Roach. Another bite not long after and a bit bigger then another even bigger still, all of 3ozmg: We're on a roll and it's going the right way, not. Next one back to the start with another Micro Roach. All to maggot. By this time the light is fading so packed up and off home. I don't like packing up in the dark. Last time I did I left my tackle bag on the grass verge. Didn't realise til I got home. Tore back (it's about 9mls) and thanks to the good and honest people of Lymm it was still where I'd left it

 

[Another Dave]

Took the kids down the river with some red and pink maggots. They soon lost interest and went off to piddle about. I managed and hour and a half's trotting, with tiny chublets and about 20 dace, nearly all a decent stamp. Probably only used a third of a pint, and by the time we had to go i was just getting into the tiny roach which usually means better ones just behind. Ah well, good while it lasted and not at all cold.

 

[Tee-Cee]

.....and it got the kids out from under the wife's feet, Dave!

I thought that was very good of you..........

 

[Another Dave]

I'll be honest Tee-Cee, it was a stressful day.

 

[mikench]

I'll bet! She is clearly a little angel but even angels have their moments!

 

[john step]

Annual club pike match. Only 5 turned up. Guess who was the only one who didn't catch one however small mg:

 

[Notts Michael.]

Got out for a couple of hours in the cold, but sunny and very blustery weather today, the river Erewash was a good 8 inches or so higher and a bit more coloured than a week or so ago, no luck in the first 2 swims tried, then as I was thinking of packing up, the first and only bite of the day was definitely not subtle! a drop back, then rod tip waggle and swing around which lifted the butt off the bank as the rod pivotted in the rest!

the lively chub with the split 'swallow tail' was 1lb 12oz, caught on a hair rigged size 14 barbless with 3 12mm bread discs held on with a pointy bait stop. I've been testing different diameter tube punches I made to see what combinations of size and quantity looked like on the hair in a glass of water in the kitchen as my squeezed on flakes are a bit hit and miss, this combo stayed on well and definitely worked A cracking view of a low pass by a Kingfisher looking great in the winter sun topped off the day, it sat for a good 5 mins around 20ft away while I tried not to move and spook it.

 

[flightliner]

Annual club pike match. Only 5 turned up. Guess who was the only one who didn't catch one however small mg:

Looks like you're on a roll at the moment.
Any twenties out in the event ?

 

[peter crabtree]

Although I usually avoid commercial Venues I was tempted back to the same one as last Sunday..
Someone had organised an open match on the other lake which is solid with carp. This however was a silvers only affair.
With some of the better local match men fishing I had my work cut out.
After a quick look at the lake beforehand I could see the far bank pegs had the wind behind them, the road bank was also calm.
As I pulled my hand from the drawbag and saw my number I gasped at realising I’d drawn the wind in the face bank..

As I set up I started to freeze in the icy wind.
The pole was out of the question so I plumped for the waggler. Plumbed up just over the near shelf, around 3 rod lengths out finding 6’ depth.
Using the same blacked out waggler as last Tuesday with the slow sinking 20 b511 to 0:07 I set the float to fish a foot off bottom.
Small punches of bread whilst feeding sparingly with liquy and hemp I soon got the roach going.
I know from previous matches here that feeding too heavily just attracts the carp so I kept it to a minimum.
After 2 and a half hours I’d accumulated a fair net of roach, from what I could see the far bank was quiet. Conditions deteriorated with violent gusts of icy wind, sleet and hailstones, straight in my face.
It would have been futile getting the brolly up so I had to grin and bear it.
At least I was catching roach, although they came and went for the last 2 hours. Used just 2 slices of bread the whole 5 and a half hours and at the scales I had 6lb:9oz which was enough for 3rd overall.
Surprisingly first and second both fished the tip with 9lb:5 and 8lb:8 respectively..
13 fished.

 

[S-Kippy]

I knew you'd be out somewhere even in this, you lunatic.

 

[peterjg]

Peter Crabtree's well 'ard! - not like some of 'em softy northeners on 'ere!

 

[mikench]

Guilty as charged!

 

[peterjg]

Me as well!