How did you get on?

[103841]

Don’t despair Chris, lure fishing is like any other fishing and blanks are inevitable. I always try and take some lobworm with me, often works when artificial doesn’t.

I’m intrigued as to where these sections are that you describe, I think I know the area you describe as having a 20/30ft sheer bank, pm me if interested I may be able to offer some useful info.

 

[ChrisGA]

Hi

Definately not despairing. I think the annoying bit is trying to figure out what style to chuck at them, texas/dropshot/lure, and then rerigging. Just trying to figure the best way to be able to switch. I think I have a method for the next trip.

 

[103841]

Just walked the stretch through town and after some rain there is a bit of colour which may get the fish feeding more confidently.

One thing you did mention in your introduction was that you are using a 1 to 9 gram rod, ok for small perch but get a decent pike and you’ll have trouble keeping it away from snags, I’ve had them to 8lb but also seen a twenty come out by Sainsburys. Definitely a need for hit and hold.

 

[peter crabtree]

6 codgers turned up at Boxmoor this morning in torrential rain.
One went home and 5 opted to fish.
Drew end peg and set up 12’ Normark microlight with an Image canal balsa waggler..

Quite a heavy float but I needed to cast across to the boat which was a fair chuck.
The rain had stopped as we started at 10, in fact it was quite pleasant.

I started down the track with maggot over gb where I caught small chub and skimmers for the first hour. All the while I was pinging maggots across to the boat.
I’d plumbed up both the track and the boat and marked my rod with a chinagraph pencil, useful things..

Shallowed up and tried a cast across to the boat, immediate interest from small chub. Mainly around 6 to 8” .

Pretty much stayed on that line for the rest of the match, it was solid with those chublets.
Ended up with 8:11:0 which was enough to win the day. Runner up had some chub too with one or two bigger ones for 7:5:0.

 

[wetthrough]

Am I glad I didn't fish Tuesday as originally planned. Woke up around 3am Sunday and there was something in the air telling me Monday was the day to go. Got up, checked the weather and Tuesday had gone from not being ideal to disasterous, thunderstorms the whole works. As luck would have it I had everything ready to go except for retying hooklengths but I have enough to get me through. Rain is forecast from around 5 to 7 so back to bed for a bit more shuteye. Get back up to take the GB out of the freezer... Set off to fish the West side of the Dam at the far end opposite where mikench and I fished a couple of weeks back. The big stuff has been avoiding me on the Dam despite being around but Mike has very kindly given me a selection of pellets from his modest:wh collection. I'm quite keen to see if the chocolate orange wafters do the trick. I don't really have hooks big enough for the others.

Just from the walk in:



On the bank at around 7:30. Two rods 13' for 10/15M and 10'6" for the margin. The sun's low and poking through the trees which makes seeing the float hard but it won't be long before it moves round.



The pegs on the opposite side are where Mike and I fished a couple of weeks ago.

The margin turns out to be quite deep at 5', in fact it's 5" deeper than the 12M mark. It's a perfect day for waggling. Barely a breath of wind despite the forecast 10mph, not to hot, it feels good. No sign of the big stuff yet but it's early days and I'm picking up nice Roach and have 19 to around 5oz by 11. Bites started to tail off at 12M so fished the margin and picked a few up there.

Well the big stuff did eventually turn up around 2 o'clock ish. It wasn't exactly looking like a jaccuzi but they were here and there. They weren't looking at any of the regular baits I have (as usual), maggots dead and alive, caster, bread and corn so on the with the wafter. Sadly they weren't interested in the wafter either. I gave it a really good try switching from regular baits to the wafter but no interest. Bites were generally worked hard for throughout the afternoon. Pristine Roach to around 6oz and I felt like I'd fished well so packed up around 5pm quite happy with 59.

 

[103841]

A short session spinning for the elusive bass of Whitstable this morning whilst dodging the showers.

Al I caught was a glimpse of a rainbow.

 

[mikench]

Tigger and I decided to have a fishing trip together. The river was the preferred venue ledgering for barbel but the recent rains indicated that it was unlikely to be suitable so a Stillwater was chosen. In the event the river may well have been suitable but c'est la vie.

I was there early and set up a feeder and float rod.

View attachment 7630

I had a 4lb Chub to start and then a variety of carp ie a mirror, common and F1. I also had gudgeon , skimmers, roach and hybrids. This fought like the latter but may not have been.

View attachment 7631

Ian caught a lovely common on a simple rig with maggots . I have made notes.

A day with Tigger is always enjoyable and educational. He is the consummate angler using great skill and experience with the minimal of complicated gear. I learn a lot and continue to be impressed with Ian's casting ability with a pin, his impeccable equipment and his overall skill. I can and will learn a lot from him.

Thanks again Ian and I hope you found the float stops under your windscreen wiper. I look forward to next week.

 

[john step]

Different water today in continuous rain. I tried for the perch challenge with a small dead bait but only managed one at 1lb 7ozs.
Nice fish but I was after its Dad.

 

[lakhyaman]

A "haor" is a depression in the land, crisscrossed by rivers, sometimes small in area but as likely to cover many hundreds of square kilometres. Come the monsoon(mid June) the rivers flood these haors transforming them into vast bodies of water which is soon covered by emerging vegetation of many species; waterlilies, many types of grasses, lotuses, reeds, you name it. A plethora of fish species, released from the confines of the streams and remnant pools of the dry season, fan out into this haven of shelter and rich feeding and fill it with fry. In a mere three to four months many of the smaller fish species will have grown to near full size and others which grow larger will already be showing their potential. Rohu, Catla, Mrigal, Kalabans, just ova a few weeks ago will be pushing towards the kilogram mark and the predators, all manner of siluroids, will be keeping pace with them. Come September end the waters begin to recede and soon the fish will follow it into the rivers. This is the time that people like the Colonel and myself wait for.

Ghungajhuri Haor is a reasonably large Haor, well over a hundred square kilometres. To reach it is a two hour journey by "country" boat on the winding and muddy waters of the little Kaurangi river.


Our "country boat" and the muddy Kaurangi

As you twist and turn the villages fall away and the river widens and clears until it merges into the expansive waters of the Haor.


The river merges into the waters of the Haor

The Colonel and I were late in starting and would only get a couple of hours. If we played our cards right it would do. We had taken along large pots and battery aerators with the intention of bringing back alive all the many species and numbers of fish we expected to catch to release into our ponds on the tea estate thus diversifying the gene pool with that of wild bred fish.

We parked the boat in a patch of lilies and quietly lowered tiny hooks baited with the flesh of grass shrimps or tiny red worms through gaps in the vegetation and watched the bright red of little crystal wagglers with beady eyes. The Colonel and I had two rods each in the bow while Selim, the field supervisor of the estate, and the ubiquitous Mandan fished a rod each over the stern.


Red tipped crystal waggler

A sudden bobbing of my float and its disappearance resulted in a stinging catfish taking to the air at the end of my line. We handled him carefully for he has a spine which if he sticks into you will give hours of intense pain and you will be laid low by a violent fever. For all that he is a much prized fellow. If you do have a fever, then a watery curry of stinging catfish and bottle gourd is sure to put the strength back into your body to fight and recover. Pregnant women eat bowls of this dish for the flesh of the catfish ensures you do not suffer from anaemia or a lack of redness in your blood. I suspect it is all symbiotic medicine. The catfish when cut bleeds heavily and so if you eat him you too will have strong red blood. Nevertheless he is actually very edible when put into a proper fish curry.


The Stinging Catfish (Heteropneustes fossilis)

We were filled with hope. But that was it. When day began to merge into night Mandan pointed the boat towards home.


Mandan pointed the boat towards home.

The Colonel and I quietly sipped our tea utterly at peace with our failure. In the most crowded country in the world the haor is a heaven of no people!

As for that catfish, he is still swimming in the haor.

 

[sam vimes]

After a frustrating day watching the threatened rain fail to materialise, I went for a spur of the moment trip to the river for a couple of hours. I knew that there was going to be over a foot of extra water, but I wasn't prepared for the torrent that greeted me on arrival. I'd intended to fish a touch further down from the white water I fished recently. However, it soon became apparent that I was wasting my time.

I took my cue from the goosander working some steadier water a few hundred yards upstream and got on Shanks' pony. I ended up fishing over gravel that had largely been exposed a day or two ago. A bit further out it had been just about enough to get your ankles wet. I wasn't overly hopeful, but had nowhere else to go. Nothing much happened initially, but, after several runs through, I had a trout to keep me interested. Out of nowhere I had a flurry of fish, grayling dace and chub, then it started chucking it down. This put paid to the bites for a while.

Eventually, i did get some further bites, but the minnows had moved in. Managed a further chub, dace and grayling before knocking it on the head to get in time to listen to the football.
Four grayling, four (good) dace, four chublets, one trout and far too many minnows.

 

[103841]

I have to say that the diversity of this thread just gets better and better with wonderful reports from Skye to Bangladesh with plenty of rivers, canals, lakes, ponds and coastline in between.

Michael Palin? Pah!

 

[no-one in particular]

Ditto the above from S63. I wonder what Lakhaman thinks of our fishing in rain sodden(ing) canals? It must be as fascinating to him as his is to us

 

[mikench]

A well written and informative post Lakhyaman thank you. It was helped by some lovely pics of a water we cannot comprehend. You can keep the catfish though.

I'll bet some of those weeds and lily pads would give Boaty McBoatface a tussle.

 

[rayner]

A well written and informative post Lakhyaman thank you. It was helped by some lovely pics of a water we cannot comprehend. You can keep the catfish though.

I'll bet some of those weeds and lily pads would give Boaty McBoatface a tussle.

There's been a name change of the Boaty McBoatface, it has now been relaunched with the name Sir David Attenborough.

 

[rayner]

Pole instead of bomb fishing, feeding by cupping GB rather than firing pellets with my catapult to catch skimmers. the venue holds a fair number so a fair chance.
I cupped ten balls of Sensas magic with half a kilo of micro pellets. I like magic cos it's sticky, holds firmly together until it reaches the bottom.
Ten balls to last my session cos Bream hate feed landing on their heads.
By the time my tackle was sorted thirty minutes passed before I was ready, giving the the bait time to rest.
First cast a skimmer of around eight ounce, was quite a busy morning with a lot of bites to expander pellets, fish up to one and a half pound. Slowed a little in the afternoon.
The fish were still there at Three o'clock when I packed in

 

[peter crabtree]

After the rain we had earlier in the week I thought it best to get down the river Colne. The swim I fancied is right downstream at the bottom of our club stretch. After the long walk down I was pleased to see some colour and a fairly brisk flow...

Once again I set up my 17’ accy and Ryobe reel.
The swim is only 2’ deep and the gravel bars were discernible even with the colour.
I was a little concerned about a huge amount of raw sewage which went into the river Chess in Chesham on Monday. This lovely chalk stream was once again polluted with ****, it’s only 9 miles long and is a tributary of the Colne.
Set up a 4bb stick float to a 18 wide gape. Started trotting with casters and first chuck a nice perch.
During the session I also caught gudgeon, roach, chublets, and a couple of cracking dace..

Eventually the sun came over the trees behind me and lit up the water, time to go ( or arrive for the last 3 hours ) ..

As I packed up the Bailliff came along and walked back along the river with me. He showed me a couple of spots which he had waded in during a clear up. I was surprised seeing their locations and at the depth he found..As we looked at one of these holes a very big fish spooked with a massive swirl on the surface...blimey!

 

[mikench]

I know! Shame as I always smile at the name Boaty McBoatface.

 

[Pete Shears]

A couple of hours rambling along the local canal using a light drop shot rod and soft lures.Only two small perch,other unseen fishing nibbling and letting go.Saw two small chub swimming along together just under the surface,other smaller fish flipping over regularly,I bet the bright sunshine and recent rains have affected them again.Legged it just in time to avoid a shower and get home to watch Englands game against the US.

 

[seth49]

Decided to go on my own yesterday, mick decided against going after seeing the weather forecast, it turned out not to bad, after driving through a torrential shower on the way there, it was fine soon after I reached the fishery, as you can see from the photo below.

Blue skies and bright sunshine, and just a couple of showers in the afternoon.

Thought I’d try a different rod today, I bought a Fox twin tip, barbel rod in a sale a few years ago, it has a 1.75 lb tip and a 2.25 lb tip, so thought I’d try the 2.25 tip, bit more power, but still a nice through action,it worked well with my Matt Hayes centrepin, rigged up with a method feeder as usual, I’ve been using the Preston ones, which let you take the feeder off, but leave the rest on the line, as I carry this rod rigged up, ready to go.

Decided to feed some hemp as well as 2 mm pellets, just to be different, as this peg is fished every day, it seemed to work as I got more takes today than usual, it’s fished by dropping the feeder in by the out of bounds rope, about three yards from the bank, and walking back to your chair about five yards away, paying line out as you go, twice today I nearly had the rod pulled from my hands as I did this, bait was either robin red pellets, orange wafters, or for a change mussel or prawns, all worked today just kept changing them.

I landed nine carp, between eight and ten pounds, five commons and four mirrors, but as happens I must have lost as many again through hook pulls, usually in the first few seconds of play, some days it’s like that.


Couple of the bigger fish, the carp here fight really well, the commons especially, they don’t want to give in at all.
The fifth fish I caught today was my 150 th carp from here this year, not bad for twenty pounds a year, for us old uns.

 

[108831]

You probably suffered the hook pulls due to using the heavier test curve,to be honest fish of that size are probably better player on a 1.25lb t.c. rod,maybe a float rod,balanced tackle is key,though is totally dependant on swim problems...