mikench
Well-known member
I've copied your rod rest stand John and now have the clamp the right way round! It looked a relaxing afternoon!
How did you get on?
- Thread starter peter crabtree
- Start date
Haven't been out for a few weeks and had some old maggots to use up.
Quite grey out, but warm enough.
River was looking nice, and the Chub were fairly keen on the old mags.
No size to any of them, but they all put up a good scrap.
A Kingfisher was flitting up and down most of the morning, probably starting to think about breeding.
Quite grey out, but warm enough.
River was looking nice, and the Chub were fairly keen on the old mags.
No size to any of them, but they all put up a good scrap.
A Kingfisher was flitting up and down most of the morning, probably starting to think about breeding.
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I've copied your rod rest stand John and now have the clamp the right way round! It looked a relaxing afternoon!
I’m quite good at relaxing Mike.
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
Yet another warm day with cloud cover and no wind..
A couple of mates were going gudgeon hunting on the GUC near
Berkhamsted, so I joined them at 11am.
Punch again on the featherlight waggler rig set 4” off bottom and the roach were really having it.
Strange thing was my mate to my right, relaxing in his chair, was only catching gudgeon?
Although sport dwindled after the first frenetic hour I kept the roach coming, albeit smaller specimens. My biggest gudgeon was 23gr and my mates best was 30gr. Another mate caught a 4lb chub on single red maggot whilst going for gudgeon...
By 4pm I’d had enough squinting at my pinprick float tip and packed up. Certainly my best day’s fishing this week.
A couple of mates were going gudgeon hunting on the GUC near
Berkhamsted, so I joined them at 11am.
Punch again on the featherlight waggler rig set 4” off bottom and the roach were really having it.
Strange thing was my mate to my right, relaxing in his chair, was only catching gudgeon?
Although sport dwindled after the first frenetic hour I kept the roach coming, albeit smaller specimens. My biggest gudgeon was 23gr and my mates best was 30gr. Another mate caught a 4lb chub on single red maggot whilst going for gudgeon...
By 4pm I’d had enough squinting at my pinprick float tip and packed up. Certainly my best day’s fishing this week.
sam vimes
Well-known member
Back to a water that, until the last month or so, I've not fished for decades. I'm still nowhere near getting to grips with it, but today was my best effort yet. However, it didn't look like it was going to be any good until quite late on. I fished from lunchtime until around 1600 with barely a bite worth the name to show for it. Once I'd bored my way through that, it finally came alive. In about an hour and a half, I managed a couple of bream, a few little roach and a carp around 8lb. The latter was rather interesting on a really light actioned canal/waggler rod. No real danger of losing it as it plodded around like they tend to in cold water. It took an age to make any real impression on it though.
Well,I've had a most confusing day,fished a swim at Bedford where there are a good head of bream and roach,decided to fish the feeder,fed eight largish cage feeders full of bait,then fish a smaller open end feeder,well first cast after five minutes the tip went round and I landed a four pound bream,next cast I had another bream bite which somehow I missed and that was it,no more bites,no sucked maggots,nothing,incredible in the conditions,mild,coloured water that's falling,perfect,or so I thought...
Well,I've had a most confusing day,fished a swim at Bedford where there are a good head of bream and roach,decided to fish the feeder,fed eight largish cage feeders full of bait,then fish a smaller open end feeder,well first cast after five minutes the tip went round and I landed a four pound bream,next cast I had another bream bite which somehow I missed and that was it,no more bites,no sucked maggots,nothing,incredible in the conditions,mild,coloured water that's falling,perfect,or so I thought...
I know the feeling.
Pete Shears
Well-known member
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Back the local reservoir yesterday on another piking trip with 9C showing in the car.Deabaits rods set up and cast out,only about four goosander this time but ten great crested grebes and coots seemed to have appeared from nowhere and starting to scrap over feeding areas.Had a dropped run about 9am,three colleagues on the opposite bank also appeared to be untroubled by hungry pike also.
Saw my first bumble bee and small tortoiseshell of the year.Buzzards and red kites were circling over the fields near my car when I left.
Saw my first bumble bee and small tortoiseshell of the year.Buzzards and red kites were circling over the fields near my car when I left.
The Runner
Well-known member
Change of scenery, working next week so got sleeper down from Fort William on Friday and fished club match on Colne at Uxbridge today. Everyone wanted a draw on the backstream in the 50s as the low numbers in the sluice have been grim for a few weeks and the main river (11 to 49) likely to be big fish or bust , sit it out and hope that the one bite you're fishing for is from a barbel as one of them could easily be enough to frame.
Anyway, drew 53 so happy with that, opposite the pub beer garden , and unexpectedly river slightly above normal- pipe being laid across the river immediately below Longbridge and a couple of heavy tarpaulins holding up the flow just above the bridge. About 2' 6 of water , a bit shallower and quicker down the peg and a nice crease with a yard of slower water tight across to the new flow deflectors/ hurdles. A few more of these on the inside below me and had a quick check to see if could get behind the first one with pole- not unless I wanted to fish it at 16m, no.
View attachment 6374
Set up little 2no4 stick, bomb rod and pole with dibber, 2 8s and a 10 down, all with a 20 silverfish match to .09.
Started on punch on the stick , nothing, poked pole over at 7m tight to the hurdle, nothing and after an hour was biteless, definitely not what I expected. Refed the far side with another small bit of likki and finally the float dipped with a roach about an ounce and things gradually picked up over the next three and a bit hours, roach, small dace and the odd perch alternating punch and pinkie (couldn't get a touch on big maggot) and was expecting a good last hour and a half as the sun went behind the trees and the light dropped. Fat chance, river dropped a couple of inches and the flow totally changed, coming at an angle towards me off the hurdle, bit of a boil down the middle and virtually slack across, as can just make out on pic
View attachment 6375
The roach didn't like this one bit and for the last 90 minutes all I could find were half a dozen small dace well down the swim and one half decent perch
Ended up with 5 12 which got me 4th on the day
View attachment 6376
7-3 of roach and perch was third from four pegs above me, two below was second with 9-3 mostly dace and Bob on the main river got greedy getting three barbel for 23-5 (next best on the main was I think 1-11)
Nice day out even if it didn't seem as warm as forecast; a few red kites about and one egret flew over.
Anyway, drew 53 so happy with that, opposite the pub beer garden , and unexpectedly river slightly above normal- pipe being laid across the river immediately below Longbridge and a couple of heavy tarpaulins holding up the flow just above the bridge. About 2' 6 of water , a bit shallower and quicker down the peg and a nice crease with a yard of slower water tight across to the new flow deflectors/ hurdles. A few more of these on the inside below me and had a quick check to see if could get behind the first one with pole- not unless I wanted to fish it at 16m, no.
View attachment 6374
Set up little 2no4 stick, bomb rod and pole with dibber, 2 8s and a 10 down, all with a 20 silverfish match to .09.
Started on punch on the stick , nothing, poked pole over at 7m tight to the hurdle, nothing and after an hour was biteless, definitely not what I expected. Refed the far side with another small bit of likki and finally the float dipped with a roach about an ounce and things gradually picked up over the next three and a bit hours, roach, small dace and the odd perch alternating punch and pinkie (couldn't get a touch on big maggot) and was expecting a good last hour and a half as the sun went behind the trees and the light dropped. Fat chance, river dropped a couple of inches and the flow totally changed, coming at an angle towards me off the hurdle, bit of a boil down the middle and virtually slack across, as can just make out on pic
View attachment 6375
The roach didn't like this one bit and for the last 90 minutes all I could find were half a dozen small dace well down the swim and one half decent perch
Ended up with 5 12 which got me 4th on the day
View attachment 6376
7-3 of roach and perch was third from four pegs above me, two below was second with 9-3 mostly dace and Bob on the main river got greedy getting three barbel for 23-5 (next best on the main was I think 1-11)
Nice day out even if it didn't seem as warm as forecast; a few red kites about and one egret flew over.
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
It’s always a little daunting fishing the Thames at this time of year..Conditions weren’t perfect with bright sunlight but at least it was mild. There was a very slight tinge of colour and the flow was steady. Set up a sliding waggler for 30yds out in 10’ of water and a feeder rod with cage feeder.
At the off I balled it with heavy groundbait on the waggler line and commenced trotting through. After an hour of no bites I decided to try the tip with single maggot, had a stonking rattle on the tip which turned out to be a grebe hitting my sunken line...
Other Angler’s were walking, a sign of no action...
One tiny dace had been caught after 2 hours, then in the next I had a small roach on the tip. Then I saw the angler in the next upstream peg land 2 netter roach, had they finally switched on?
No.
It was what I call an ‘ugly father’ day, father being the Thames..
The 2 roach weighed 1lb:2 and won by a long chalk.
The dace was 2nd @ 0:1:12. My roach got me 3rd @0:1:8..
11 fished. Venue Mapledurham near Reading.
At the off I balled it with heavy groundbait on the waggler line and commenced trotting through. After an hour of no bites I decided to try the tip with single maggot, had a stonking rattle on the tip which turned out to be a grebe hitting my sunken line...
Other Angler’s were walking, a sign of no action...
One tiny dace had been caught after 2 hours, then in the next I had a small roach on the tip. Then I saw the angler in the next upstream peg land 2 netter roach, had they finally switched on?
No.
It was what I call an ‘ugly father’ day, father being the Thames..
The 2 roach weighed 1lb:2 and won by a long chalk.
The dace was 2nd @ 0:1:12. My roach got me 3rd @0:1:8..
11 fished. Venue Mapledurham near Reading.
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The Runner
Well-known member
GX are on the Thames at Dorchester in a couple of weeks- looking at that, glad I should be hundreds of miles away...
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I don't suppose I should even post this as I never actually fished mg:.
It was a balls up from the off, my local tackle shop had no maggots because of the imbecile that orders stuff hadn't ordered any and so I had to go to another shop a few miles out of my way.
Anyhow, I got the maggots and made my way up the motorway to my intended spot. This spot was usually always vacant and it was ok to fish when the river is still up a bit and pushing through. I had to drive through a farm thick with a mixture of sloppy cow shyte and mud. The track was strewn with deep pot holes filled with it, so my car looks like i've been off roading through cow shyte! As I drove down the track someone was just getting their stuff out of their car, "where you fishing", I asked him?
He was only going to my intended spot, I really felt like slapping him hard! That was the only spot on the stretch suitable for me to float fish in the conditions so i'd got my car shitted up for nowt !
I decided to drive to another stretch upstream and walked across the fields to a usually good spot. When I got there the river was rattling through and I just couldn't be @rsed to put my rod together.
I finnished up collecting a few fancy rocks and a maggot box full of small pebbles for the aquarium and came home....what a **** up that was. Only snag now is the weather is looking wet for the next few days, so the river will probably rise again.
Fingers crossed the bbc weather have got it wrong, I might be lucky as their forecasts have been way out for a good spell now.
mg:.It was a balls up from the off, my local tackle shop had no maggots because of the imbecile that orders stuff hadn't ordered any and so I had to go to another shop a few miles out of my way.
Anyhow, I got the maggots and made my way up the motorway to my intended spot. This spot was usually always vacant and it was ok to fish when the river is still up a bit and pushing through. I had to drive through a farm thick with a mixture of sloppy cow shyte and mud. The track was strewn with deep pot holes filled with it, so my car looks like i've been off roading through cow shyte! As I drove down the track someone was just getting their stuff out of their car, "where you fishing", I asked him?
He was only going to my intended spot, I really felt like slapping him hard! That was the only spot on the stretch suitable for me to float fish in the conditions so i'd got my car shitted up for nowt !
I decided to drive to another stretch upstream and walked across the fields to a usually good spot. When I got there the river was rattling through and I just couldn't be @rsed to put my rod together.
I finnished up collecting a few fancy rocks and a maggot box full of small pebbles for the aquarium and came home....what a **** up that was. Only snag now is the weather is looking wet for the next few days, so the river will probably rise again
.Fingers crossed the bbc weather have got it wrong, I might be lucky as their forecasts have been way out for a good spell now.
Today I went to a pond where there is always a good chance of a bite. I fished dead reds and worm and had about 20 silvers and 6 mirrors. It seems churlish keep going back there but every where else is not fishing- even the other waters on the same complex. At least the rod got a bending.
Another Dave
Well-known member
10:55 AM to 12:05 PM, not much of a slot but i had an idea i wanted to test down the usual stretch. Mainline is 6lb braid, a short nylon leader and a 'cheb' rig with a tiny 1g tungsten weight and size 10 hook. But we're not lure fishing, the bait is dendros.
River low and clear. First swim (Cliff Swim), second cast. I bumped the weight downstream by holding back similar to how you might when trotting and had a hardfighting chub, pound and a bit i'd guess.
Nothing in the next two swims, then in the swim where a new access point opened up this year i let the weight roll around in the current then the quivertip bent right round. Over two pounds i reckon.
Had a third fish that sizewise was somewhere between the two but nowhere suitable to put him for the pic. Not sure what to call this method but it works for me.
River low and clear. First swim (Cliff Swim), second cast. I bumped the weight downstream by holding back similar to how you might when trotting and had a hardfighting chub, pound and a bit i'd guess.
Nothing in the next two swims, then in the swim where a new access point opened up this year i let the weight roll around in the current then the quivertip bent right round. Over two pounds i reckon.
Had a third fish that sizewise was somewhere between the two but nowhere suitable to put him for the pic. Not sure what to call this method but it works for me.
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mikench
Well-known member
Dave is the match for perspective or used a float?
Another Dave
Well-known member
Yeah perspective. Ledgering with a jighead feels ok but for float fishing i would use a more conventional setup.
Keith M
Well-known member
I used to use this method (or similar) on my local stream when I used to live in Cornwall, and I used to catch quite a few smallish brown trout which I used to eat for my breakfasts.
Using 3lb line with a couple of small shot on the line to sink the line and half a worm on the hook (and nothing else on the line) I let the current take my worm downstream a little then very slowly retrieved it upstream, and I used to catch quite a few small trout using this method.
Keith
Using 3lb line with a couple of small shot on the line to sink the line and half a worm on the hook (and nothing else on the line) I let the current take my worm downstream a little then very slowly retrieved it upstream, and I used to catch quite a few small trout using this method.
Keith
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