How did you get on?

[sam vimes]

I went to the Tees for the afternoon. I've never fished the stretch other than at normal levels. This was an exploratory effort to see what might happen with some water on. The way the natives talk about it, chances would be slim. However, many people seem to say the same about any river carrying extra water.

The first place I tried was a peg I fished several times in the last hurrah of summer in September. I couldn't buy a bite. I gave up and moved on in about an hour. I picked my next swim by applying similar ideas as I would on my local. The risk being that it has quite different characteristics. It wasn't exactly astounding but six finicky little dace and four grayling suggest that I just about got it right at the second time of asking.

 

[john step]

A different water to try for perch on worm/deadbait/prawn. What is it with these carp nowadays that like deadbait. The only perch I saw was a 6 incher that fell off at the bank as it was too small to take the roach properly. Back to the drawing board.
Nice sunny DRY day though.

 

[peterjg]

Last Friday I fished the Thames and did ok catching several roach (biggest about 12ozs) and a few snotties on legered flake. Nicely coloured but already lots of leaves coming down.

Today in view of the rising Thames and Kennet I fished a small lake for roach. Two rods: LHR float fished flake on a size 12 hook and caught several roach (biggest 16ozs), 3 crucian to about 11/2lbs, 3 fantails and a common - on the RHR caught roach to 12ozs and 3 carp on swing tipped 8mm Robin Red pellets. It sounds wrong but I fed groundbait over the pellet hook bait and 4mm RR pellets over the flake hookbàit - the aim being to not encourage small roach near the flake hookbait and to encourage activity near the tiddler proof pellet. Frosty start with a chilly NE wind.

 

[Pete Shears]

After a frosty start I spent a couple of hours with the spinning gear at the local reservoir.Thought it would be nice in the sunshine,saw a dragonfly as I strolled along the bank,a NW breeze but the water like stewed tea and roaring over the overflow like a white water rafting course.Tried different spinners,spinnerbaits,grubs,worms etc - nothing,no fishing turning,then the breeze went colder as it swung to the north then east and it clouded over - no other nutter there,time to go . . .

 

[rich66]

Having the week off I thought I’d risk going to see what the local river/canal was like. My normal spot must have been 4 foot under water and a quick stroll said it was a ridiculous idea even to try. So back home for another day, maybe Wednesday will be better ?

 

[john step]

Thank goodness that the lakes can still fish. Global warming has at least one advantage.

 

[no-one in particular]

A quick walk round the pier yesterday. Quite a few fishing, mainly foreigners who seemed to have appeared lately, watched three small Whiting come up, the Dover Soles look like they have gone but one bloke said he had a small Plaice earlier. Another said last week he caught two mackerel and put out a strip on his other rod and caught two bass, they were just undersized so he said he put them back.
The sea was dead calm and quite clear, like a summer sea and if November is mild which it sometimes is these days; we might get more of this. I might try later in the week when I have more time and the tides switch to later. If these conditions remain I might try a spot of float fishing with sand-eels.

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[sam vimes]

Whatever happened to Autumn? It seems to have gone from summer to winter with about a month for autumn.
A couple of pretty cold hours on the river for six grayling and two trout. Not a sign of any minnows, despite the colour having largely dropped out of the water.

 

[seth49]

Frosty start this morning, arrived at the fishery at seven thirty, first there as usual, thinking the fish had moved into deeper water, we went to two different pegs that gave us about ten feet of water to fish in, set up my two greys prodigy barbel rods, with the tip carrier and a two ounce glass tip, one with a maggot feeder, and one with a cage feeder, I’ve been using the Preston feeder which have a stem on the line, and allow you to use a variety of different feeders without having to cut the line and tackle up afresh.

First cast with maggot feeder I had this beauty.

Two and a quarter pounds, and as fat as butter, not bad for a frosty morning in late October.

Sadly that was it, never had another bite after, mick had nothing either, and no one else was catching much either just the odd skimmer and small roach, at two o clock we called it a day and packed up. The east winds and change to colder weather seems to have put them off, it wasn’t very pleasant in the east wind either, might leave it for a week to see if they adapt to the colder conditions.

 

[103841]

Amazing how many times a tench is caught early on then nothing for the remainder of the session.

 

[wetthrough]

Decided to try a new venue yesterday. One of the many puddles scattered around leafy Cheshire.



Possibly not the wisest decision I've made. An unfamiliar water, depth unknown, an overnight frost and cold east wind, on the bank at 7am. Turned out top be 105" - to slide or not to slide. Ended up with a semi slider. Regular waggler with an 18" gap between the float and bottom stopper. GB in, some loose feed and wait. Telling myself if the fish aren't in front of me from the off it's going to take a while for them to home in on the free offerings. I waited, and waited. Packed up at 3pm cold with not so much as a sucked maggot.

 

[mikench]

Was that on your WA card Gordon?

 

[wetthrough]

Yers, Sandiway.

 

[mikench]

You are a brave man! It's like an inland sea. I tried it once with the same result.

 

[rich66]

Had a day on the lakes today, had to detour around the other side of the village as the road was still flooded.
Started on the maggots I’d bought last Wednesday, had a few more or less identical roach followed by a couple of bream all on the float. That started to die off & after trying a few different lines I
dropped a second line in on a feeder. Sweetcorn was doing nothing nor was peparami (just as well as I ate most of it).. tried my old standby Robin Red 8mm pellet and bingo 1/2 hour later nice little scrap from this common carp. Lost a ghostie at the net about 15 minutes later on the same pellet, damn hook opened up

 

[103841]

How weird, just come off Facebook and thought “I know this fish” well done Mr Braker!

 

[john step]

Still on stillwaters as the rivers are in flood. A deep local farm reservoir for perch. I could only muster small ones on deadbaits/worm/prawn. However I did manage a particularly small perch and I thought "why not". On it went popped up and I had a sail away bite. Record perch here I thought.

Not so. A 13lb mirror in very good nick had taken the livebait fair and square.
I had several F1s on the prawn. All said and done a lively day in a cold easterly wind.

Must get my pike gear sorted as I have not looked at it since March.

 

[rich66]

How weird, just come off Facebook and thought “I know this fish” well done Mr Braker!

I thought I’d spotted you the other day too !

 

[Pete Shears]

A couple of hours on the canal this morning in that cold easterly,still no rain and the sun was shining but better still the muddy colour had dropped out.Eventually managed one perch,4oz max and felt fish striking the rubber grub lure but not taking it.Spent about five minutes watching a red kite give flying lessons to two crows sending them dizzy.

 

[The Runner]

Evening all, long time no post. Was away much of September and have mostly being doing some mountains in the rare windows of decent weather up here lately. Had a go last week on Loch Greshornish for only a couple of undersized dabs, tried it again yesterday from the other shore

beautiful day , down to T shirt for a couple of hours but only found a couple of 12oz coalies on mackerel strip.

So on to today, wanted a days lure fishing but all the rain we've had would make the walk ins to Aird/ Kilmaluag/ Brothers Point/Rubha Hunish etc either horribly swampy or very precarious so settled on the easy option of Staffin
Still very wet underfoot as walked in from the slipway, lovely day again with a clear view across to the snow capped Torridon mountains

Had a pollack first chuck and after an hour had five and a coalie, pollack all this size

and continued to catch steadily, by 1pm had nine pollack and eight coalies with the latter becoming more prominent as it got towards low tide. Coalies were a little smaller though

Already far and away my best day here, 1 45 saw me up to eleven of each, and then, whether due to the tide bottoming and turning, or something else, things really got lively. For the rest of the day it was literally a take a chuck from coalies with only two more pollack, although the average size dropped a little

Lost count of them when in the low 30s but know I had another eighteen in the last 45 minutes so with a final score of thirteen pollack and at least fifty coalies can safely say that its my best bag shore fishing. Was getting takes at just about any depth, had two or three take the lure off the surface as I lifted it out.
Packed in at 3 45 as the swell was getting a bit naughty for the bottom ledge where I was standing and backwash would soon make it impossible for a while to fish from the middle one.
Every fish on the same lure, a small bleak paddletail, which is now looking a bit sorry for itself....