How did you get on?
- Thread starter peter crabtree
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Ruffe or Gudgeon were the target yesterday. Gudgeon won. Only my 4th on the lure and a bit smaller than than the other ones, but still a pleasure. One BB, Berkley Fish Fry on a no.14 hook. Splitshot rig.
That’s such a pretty fish, in the four years I’ve been back fishing I’ve yet to catch one! When I was a kid they were nothing other than a nuisance.
mikench
Well-known member
I really like gudgeon and have caught a few in the last couple of years but never more than 1 or 2 per session! Anyway today I set off in the general direction of 4 waters in close proximity and chose the first!
Just the one bite all day! I tried maggot on the float and not a nibble! The bream was caught on the feeder on meat! A lovely day to be out but the fish didn't want to know! I heard and saw a flock of oyster catchers flying overhead and landing in the field opposite!
Just the one bite all day! I tried maggot on the float and not a nibble! The bream was caught on the feeder on meat! A lovely day to be out but the fish didn't want to know! I heard and saw a flock of oyster catchers flying overhead and landing in the field opposite!
seth49
Well-known member
Nice bream that mike.:wh
mikench
Well-known member
For a bream Keith it was! I wish I'd weighed it now; around 4lb I reckon and silver! Most of the larger bream in that water are bronze! It saved a blank!!!
I have just packed my pike gear for tomorrow !! I could well chicken out and fish for roach !!!
I have just packed my pike gear for tomorrow !! I could well chicken out and fish for roach !!!
A beautiful warmest day of the winter on the river. The river was quite benign and I was able to hold bottom with only a 50 gram groundbait feeder. Lighter 8lb line on my Dreenan Acy distance feeder. Dead reds and red worms.
I had two bites.
This one at 10lb on the nose....
View attachment 6411
And this one at 11lb 9 ozs.
View attachment 6412
Worth the club book for these alone.
I had two bites.
This one at 10lb on the nose....
View attachment 6411
And this one at 11lb 9 ozs.
View attachment 6412
Worth the club book for these alone.
maggot_dangler
Well-known member
Well actually got to fish the river almost in my back garden the Tern on Sunday .
Looks nice fairly fats flowing in most places i saw with some deepish pools in places , I had only got bread with me so did not expect a lot trotted a flake of bread down had some big pulls and tugs one gave the rod a bending but alas i failed in my attempt to extract said piscatorial offender form its watery home .
Speaking to the locals all oyu hear is thers no fish in there theres otters down stream ,, ??? well IF there is otters ther is OTTER FOOD ie FISH Duhhh anyhow i shall attempt againg soon but with maggots and worm see if i can do better .
It was a Blank Sort of but i did find fish had them on the line OH well ..
PG ...
Looks nice fairly fats flowing in most places i saw with some deepish pools in places , I had only got bread with me so did not expect a lot trotted a flake of bread down had some big pulls and tugs one gave the rod a bending but alas i failed in my attempt to extract said piscatorial offender form its watery home .
Speaking to the locals all oyu hear is thers no fish in there theres otters down stream ,, ??? well IF there is otters ther is OTTER FOOD ie FISH Duhhh anyhow i shall attempt againg soon but with maggots and worm see if i can do better .
It was a Blank Sort of but i did find fish had them on the line OH well ..
PG ...
Tee-Cee
Senior Member
Some great posts the last couple of days, and good to see others catching well.................
I went today and managed just one carp of circa 4lbs. Not a roach in sight..
Always another day, I suppose.
On the positive side it was glorious sitting in the afternoon sun, and wonderful to be out!
I went today and managed just one carp of circa 4lbs. Not a roach in sight..
Always another day, I suppose.
On the positive side it was glorious sitting in the afternoon sun, and wonderful to be out!
fishplate42
Well-known member
I finally made it to the bank on Saturday, the first time since November - and I caught fish! If you want to read the whole story, you can find it on my blog HERE.
It was, shall we say, an interesting day. Even getting there was an adventure. When I eventually arrived at the fishery, I was so late that I qualified for a half-day ticket! I only had a few hours left to fish and I was fishing light, so it did not take long to get set up. The one guy on the lake was bemoaning the lack of action; he had not caught a single fish all day. That was just what I wanted to hear - not. He continued to tell me how he had been fishing for over sixty years and he could not understand it.
My first fish of the session and the year. I had plenty more of that size too
Thinking I was going to be in for a blank, I set about rigging one of my cheap tele-poles with a light rig and and a small float. I fed a few maggot into the swim next to a small clump of reeds. Within a couple of minutes I was on to a fish. A small roach, not huge, but not a tiddler either. Continuing this approach, I was catching lots of fish every couple of put-ins. I was fishing with maggots. The other guy did not have any, so I gave him a handful hoping he would catch something, as by this time he was feeling a bit cheesed off. He still caught nothing and eventually gave up and went.
I could not understand how he had ever caught anything. He was float fishing with a huge, long waggler float with about eight inches sticking out of the water and using heavy line. He was also also using a bomb rod set up, but I could not see what. The other thing he was doing was throwing in great handfuls of lumpy-looking groundbait all over the swim. I am no expert, but even I know this did not look like the tactics required to catch anything on a winter's day, even if the sun was out.
After he went, I cast a float set up, on light gear, out over where he had been shovelling in groundbait. First cast, I caught a small bream - or maybe it was a big skimmer!
The best fish of the day came from the other guys swim, after he packed up
I went home happy and felt that, at last, I might be learning something about this fishing lark...
Ralph
It was, shall we say, an interesting day. Even getting there was an adventure. When I eventually arrived at the fishery, I was so late that I qualified for a half-day ticket! I only had a few hours left to fish and I was fishing light, so it did not take long to get set up. The one guy on the lake was bemoaning the lack of action; he had not caught a single fish all day. That was just what I wanted to hear - not. He continued to tell me how he had been fishing for over sixty years and he could not understand it.
My first fish of the session and the year. I had plenty more of that size too
Thinking I was going to be in for a blank, I set about rigging one of my cheap tele-poles with a light rig and and a small float. I fed a few maggot into the swim next to a small clump of reeds. Within a couple of minutes I was on to a fish. A small roach, not huge, but not a tiddler either. Continuing this approach, I was catching lots of fish every couple of put-ins. I was fishing with maggots. The other guy did not have any, so I gave him a handful hoping he would catch something, as by this time he was feeling a bit cheesed off. He still caught nothing and eventually gave up and went.
I could not understand how he had ever caught anything. He was float fishing with a huge, long waggler float with about eight inches sticking out of the water and using heavy line. He was also also using a bomb rod set up, but I could not see what. The other thing he was doing was throwing in great handfuls of lumpy-looking groundbait all over the swim. I am no expert, but even I know this did not look like the tactics required to catch anything on a winter's day, even if the sun was out.
After he went, I cast a float set up, on light gear, out over where he had been shovelling in groundbait. First cast, I caught a small bream - or maybe it was a big skimmer!
The best fish of the day came from the other guys swim, after he packed up
I went home happy and felt that, at last, I might be learning something about this fishing lark...
Ralph
markcw
Exiled Northerner
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But why not Pete! They knew I was coming and in a state of excitement with a new rod to try out! Bit inconsiderate in my book!
You should have tried half a maggot on a 20's hook and lighter hooklength Mike. The place looked good, is it local ?
mikench
Well-known member
One maggot on a size 18 to 2lb hooklength is as small/ light as i go Mark! I can barely see a size 20! I will take your advice though as my pursuit of decent roach wil continue today unabated! The pike can wait! I do have some size 20 somewhere!
mikench
Well-known member
Well despite the advice that unseasonably warm daytime temperatures but frosty nights are not indicative of good fishing conditions and so it proved! I lasted about 5 hours without a bite or even a nudge on the float! I tried maggots, worm, prawn, pellets, meat and tares but nothing was interested. Boredom set in and I came home early! The mere looked good though.
A very frustrating water! I blame the rod.
A very frustrating water! I blame the rod.
jon atkinson
Well-known member
I used to think that if a fish wouldn't take a maggot on a #18 then it wasn't worth catching - a few too many blanks put paid to that philosophy & these days when fishing with maggots a #20 is default even dropping to a 22 if the situation dictates...
mikench
Well-known member
I tried a size 20 hook and a single maggot but no joy! I reckon the fish were elsewhere!
Keith M
Well-known member
T
When I used to fish on the canals with a float rod it used to be standard practice for us to use 1.1lb hooklengths to size 20 fine wire hooks for single maggot and size 22 if using single pinkies we caught some very nice fish using that; including several Chub of around the 2.5lb to 3lb mark.
On a cold winters day however it would be either be 0.5lb or 0.75lb line with hooks down to size 24 most probably with squatt or small pinkie.
I haven’t had to use such light gear on a float rod for quite a while now and 2lb hooklength with a size 18 hook is about as light as I would think of going nowerdays.
Keith
When I used to fish on the canals with a float rod it used to be standard practice for us to use 1.1lb hooklengths to size 20 fine wire hooks for single maggot and size 22 if using single pinkies we caught some very nice fish using that; including several Chub of around the 2.5lb to 3lb mark.
On a cold winters day however it would be either be 0.5lb or 0.75lb line with hooks down to size 24 most probably with squatt or small pinkie.
I haven’t had to use such light gear on a float rod for quite a while now and 2lb hooklength with a size 18 hook is about as light as I would think of going nowerdays.
Keith
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The plan today was to fish a section of the Stour I hadn’t fished before with the exception of a few strolls with a lure rod. Just outside Canterbury lies Fordwich, allegedly the smallest town in the UK, a CDAA controlled water with four lakes running alongside the river making for a beautiful SSI complex.
On arrival I was surprised to see how full the car parking area was, lots of carpers making the most of the lovely weather I thought, I thought wrong, unbeknown to me a group of old codgers had organised a knock up on the river and had taken virtually all the available swims. I should have turned round and either headed home or to another venue but with just one swim free I decided to give it a go.
The river was extremely low and clear, just 2ft deep in places, I wasn’t optimistic. I scaled down as far as I’m able, I can see a size 20 hook Mike but struggle to cope with the simple task of impaling a maggot or unhooking a fish but needs must so 2lb mainline through to a 1lb hooklength was rigged up and it took a fair while to get a bite. You may recall that it was only yesterday that I said I hadn’t caught a gudgeon in years,well I’ve landed one now!
Infact, like buses, a few more were had along with some minnows, I soon tired of this and decided to quit and save my bait for another trip tomorrow to a venue a few miles downstream with a decent bit of depth.
Glorious day though, the recent photos on this thread show beautiful blue skies as if through a polarised filter, not something we are accustomed to in February.
On arrival I was surprised to see how full the car parking area was, lots of carpers making the most of the lovely weather I thought, I thought wrong, unbeknown to me a group of old codgers had organised a knock up on the river and had taken virtually all the available swims. I should have turned round and either headed home or to another venue but with just one swim free I decided to give it a go.
The river was extremely low and clear, just 2ft deep in places, I wasn’t optimistic. I scaled down as far as I’m able, I can see a size 20 hook Mike but struggle to cope with the simple task of impaling a maggot or unhooking a fish but needs must so 2lb mainline through to a 1lb hooklength was rigged up and it took a fair while to get a bite. You may recall that it was only yesterday that I said I hadn’t caught a gudgeon in years,well I’ve landed one now!
Infact, like buses, a few more were had along with some minnows, I soon tired of this and decided to quit and save my bait for another trip tomorrow to a venue a few miles downstream with a decent bit of depth.
Glorious day though, the recent photos on this thread show beautiful blue skies as if through a polarised filter, not something we are accustomed to in February.
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Fished Bedford today and caught 17 roach to 8ozs,a skimmer and hybrid both around 8ozs,the most entertaining thing was four mistle thrushes squabbling on the far bank,haven't seen any for 12 or 14 years and at times they came and sat in the trees above me,so had a real close look,nice.
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
18 codgers were obviously tempted out by the unseasonably warm weather today on the GUC near Hemel.
I drew just short of my banker peg but ended up doing ok. Light waggler with an on the drop rig down the middle caught me roach galore.
Bread punch on a 20 b511 doing the business.
Nearly all the bites were on the drop as planned.
None bigger than 4oz though but enough for another win for me with 6:10:0.
Second had 5:5:0 and 3rd 3:2:0.
I drew just short of my banker peg but ended up doing ok. Light waggler with an on the drop rig down the middle caught me roach galore.
Bread punch on a 20 b511 doing the business.
Nearly all the bites were on the drop as planned.
None bigger than 4oz though but enough for another win for me with 6:10:0.
Second had 5:5:0 and 3rd 3:2:0.
mikench
Well-known member
I'm the same John. I can manage a size 18 but a 20 is just too small! I struggled to impale a maggot and it made no difference at all! I caught a few branches though both submerged and on all sides of me! I get more clumsy.
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I had a go on the river today, lovely day it was n'all. Gott'a say the water felt cold through my waders though! The river level was just right and I had a decent sesson, no barbel but a few nice chub to five or more pounds, a nice trout of about a pound and a half, a nice sea trout about 2lb, some seriously nice grayling to a guestimate of 3lb plus!
The fish were all caught mid river and so I didn't bother with pic's, although I did try to take a picture of a chub of around 3lb but it turned out i'd video'ed itmg:.
The fish were all caught mid river and so I didn't bother with pic's, although I did try to take a picture of a chub of around 3lb but it turned out i'd video'ed it
mg:.