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no-one in particular

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Another early morning trip to the river and another fruitless one, even with some advice from here I wasn’t able to find a barbel, I might do better finding hens teeth!

However, these trips are always enjoyable, I’ve seen all kinds of wildlife activity not seen before and this morning saw a very bizarre sight, a pike swam pass me with its head above the water facing skywards with its jaws wide open, I grabbed my phone to take a pic but I spooked it and sent it scurrying jaws firmly shut, is this common behaviour?
Could be trying to get extra oxygen from the upper layers but I have never seen Pike do that before. Or was it sucking in flies, they are protein to a lot of animals so why not Pike but again would be very unusual.
 

barbelboi

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With the wind dropping I decided on a stroll over the fields for some free lining lobs for chub. I picked on one of the back waters that has produced some big 6’s for me in the last couple of years – but not today. The gear was the Titan2000, pin, small bag net and mat – the method was stealth and moving on after a couple of runs. Seven chub, one decent, the others around either side of the two pound mark – fished from 13.30 – 16.30 with a mixture of white cloud and long brighter periods
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108831

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I don't like fishing after dark these days,I do it when on holiday in October for a few hours,but would rather not,all the best in your quest for a barbel,I look forward to reading the gory details,because it will be a very exciting experience,that I can definitely tell you...
 

tigger

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I popped out for an hours swiming the stream for the latter part of this afternoon, no sooner had I walked to the river and the skies opened up releasing a deluge! As I only had a tee shirt on I left my gear on the bank and jogged back to the farm yard where my car was parked for a waterproof wading jacket and got my hand towel....something else i'd forgot ?.
Anyhow, despite the heavy rain the fish were feeding and I caught one on pretty much every trott. There was no monsters but there were some very decent sized dace. After about half an hour the rain stopped and the wind rocked up straight after, so powerful in fact that it actually bent my rod into an ark as I trotted the float. What made it even worse, it was a down stream wind!
At least the rain had stopped though and I caught fish in every glide I trotted my float through. I coverd about half a mile before i'd had enough and made my way back home for a brew and some jack bit.
This is some fish from one swim....


 
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markcw

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Had a few hours on Newlands today, didnt bother with maggots, took bread, pellets and corn.
Only set short margin pole up and feeder rod,
Margin pole was set with a 4 x 14 float shorted with number 8,s and 2 number 10 droppers to a 14 B911 hook on 0.21 reflo.
The feeder rod was the Shimano Speedcast at 12' and a 2oz tip. Reel was Shimano DL4000 loaded with Shimano Aernos line, Feeder was a 20g Preston ICS banjo feeder and a 2g PI flying backlead, Hooklength was 7lbs Guru with a size 14 QM1 hook and quickstop.
Primed margin with corn, and pinged some Robin red 8mm pellets out to where the feeder would be going.Groundbait for feeder was Ringers red meaty method mix.
Loaded the feeder and out it went to 30 yards, left in for a minute and reloaded and cast out again. Did this a few times to get a bit of bait down. I kept 3 grains of corn going in the margins every 5 minutes,
After a while and with only a couple of knocks on the feeder I reeled in, Changed feeder toa 20g inline lead and 5 x 10 mil discs of bread to create a bread mushroom.
This was cast out to drop just short of island at 40 yards away. Carp had been seen rolling where I cast , After 10 mins the baitrunner goes ,so lift into the fish and start bringing it to the waiting net,
The rod handled it with ease even when the carp tried to go in the margin lilies and under the platform. Netted it first attempt,.
It was around 8lbs, released it in next peg, Renewd bread mushroom ,cast out again. Meanwhile I kept feeding the corn margin.
In the end I had 6 carp on bread at 40 yards between 6lbs and 10lb, and 2 around 4lbs on corn in the margin.
I was the only one catching along that stretch ,so I was rather pleased with myself.
Below is one of today's catch on bread.
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S-Kippy

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I actually managed to get up this morning,only to be greeted by cat who had thrown up on the lounge carpet. Not the greatest start to the day.

Off to Godalming to fish the members lake...some hope. Despite arriving at 0545 the car park was full, there were 5 cars in the overflow and every " disabled" pull in round the lakes had a car in it. Its always busy there but I have never known it like this....the sooner this furlough lark ends the better as I am convinced that is what's doing it.

Anyway....I probably could have found somewhere on the members lake but I'd left the gate key in the car and didn't fancy trekking all the way back to get it and then walking halfway round the lake to find a free swim...so I dropped onto one of the day ticket lakes and fished a swim I know as I needed to catch a fish or two after the last few weeks. It was overcast, warm, nice breeze....should have fished its head off but didn't. Probably because its getting battered.

I managed 2 crucians at 2-7 and 2-3 plus a tench of about the same stamp. I lost another tench which I think was foulhooked and missed a churner that it shouldn't have been possible to miss. Crayfish were very active and a bit of a pain. Only bait they seemed interested in today was real corn....my previously lethal soft hook pellets didn't produce a single bite.

I packed up when the cloud broke and the sun came out. Did I enjoy it....not really. Did it shake me out of my lethargy....I'm afraid not. Everywhere is still far too busy for my liking...I do not go fishing to fight for a spot, fish in a line nd listen to inane nonsense all day long. If that's what its going to be like down there then I can't see much point in being a member of the club....I might just as well buy the odd day ticket as so far this year I've only managed to get on the members lake once.
The trouble is that just about every member has a night ticket which means it dont make no never mind what time you get up when somebody is overnighting in all the best swims....which is precisely what they do. Fish till midnight then reel in and have a bit of a kip until dawn then start fishing again. Add to that all these blokes on furlough and what chance has Uncle Skippy got of getting an half decent spot. No wonder I'm fed up with it all....and this is not a cheap club to belong to.


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That's the 2-7
And that's the 2-3
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You might notice I got a few whitebait with the 2-7. It often happens this time of year...you net your fish and get anything up to a mugful of roach fry as well.
 
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theartist

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Pottered about with a matchstick for the last two trips for a dozen barbel, around thirty chub and some pretty nice roach and dace. twice the length of my hand and four fingers deep(sounds like a good night out) these pigeon chested ones will be well over a pound come February, will digress more in my blog soon ;)

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S-Kippy

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Was that Harris Skip?
Yes it was Jezza....I dont fish Richardsons as it is full of bream,signals and idiots. Harris is a bit harder and tends to put most of the idiots off....plus there is only the odd bream,though I am delighted to say I have never caught one from Harris.
 

The Runner

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Had been going to go over to Ullinish/ Bracadale today for another look for the elusive (and I'm beginning to think mythical) Thornbacks but forecast was for bright sun and would have a fresh wind in the face there so changed mind and went back to Kilmaluag where it would be off my back. Would be fishing the tide down so decided to fish a few hundred yards to the left of where I was the other day as the ebb tiderace usually runs close to the point there (Rubha na Tragha) and after the mile walk got there to find it running hard and just off the rocks.
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Straight into fish on a bleak paddletail with 10 gm jighead along the edge of the run- better average size of fish today and after 90 minutes had ten pollack.
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Slowed down a bit as the tide dropped and the run moved further out but added a few more by changing lures regularly. After four hours of the ebb it died completely as the fish seemed to move out beyond the ledge (still about 20 ft of water on top of it but don't think they liked the sun) and couldn't present the lure how they wanted it. Tried mackerel strip on a slider but only two little pollack and a coalie all about 8oz.
Unusually a couple of other anglers had appeared , fishing near where I was on Saturday, and seemed to be getting a few as they now had the tiderun. Decided for the last 90 minutes to move further to my left towards Bun Idein where I could see the water running quite hard between the rocks and a small outcrop about 30 yards out.
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Immediate result, added four more here, all better fish and lost a real beast that couldn't do anything with and which eventually threw the hook after I'd got it out of the kelp three times. Twice here as well had pollack launch themselves out of the water at the lure as I lifted it out.

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Final score of I think 18 pollack ,certainly not less than that, not including the little ones on the float so one of my better days.
Got back to the road and spoke to the other anglers who turned out to be a couple on holiday who I'd met at the same place at the same time last year...They'd had about twenty pollack between them and the woman had had an 8lb cod first chuck.
And I'll never make a wildlife photographer. Failed miserably to get a shot of the merlin chasing a meadow pipit on the walk in, or of the peregrine that sailed overhead in the afternoon. So you'll have to make do with a jellyfish.
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seth49

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Back on the same pond as Tuesday, looks like most of the members here are fine weather fishermen, while the weather has been cool and wet it’s been very quiet, nice day like today and it was busy, at least another eight fishing today, at least we were the first there so had pick of the swims.

Tackled up with my Kodex 9ft carp rod to fish as a sleeper in the left hand margin, with bomb and pellet, and my margin pole for the right hand margin, with either worm, corn, or paste for bait,
Quickly had a take on pole on worm, which promptly dived in the reed mace and cut me of, and also trashed the rig and float, so tackled up again and carried on, only needed a top kit to fish close in with other sections to hand if needed, was done the same again about four times through the day.

Then the alarm sounded and I had one one the carp rod, about five pounds in weight, did manage two on the pole, I was feeding next to some irises and could see them moving when a carp came in the swim, and I’d fed another patch further from the snags where I fished in the clear.

Did get one more on the carp rod to finish with four in total landed, should have at least doubled that, it was a warm pleasant day and it was nice to fishing in the warm for a change,

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barbelboi

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Yes it was Jezza....I dont fish Richardsons as it is full of bream,signals and idiots. Harris is a bit harder and tends to put most of the idiots off....plus there is only the odd bream,though I am delighted to say I have never caught one from Harris.

Yes, I think my son and I had the best days there in the early 00's just after the opening and before the the big Johnsons stocked crues died - bet there's not many that come out on the heavy side of three and a half pounds nowadays...............
 

S-Kippy

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Not from Harris....nor Johnsons tbh though there are still a few big lumps in there but they are old fish now & going back. The Harris fish are coming on.....they are younger and in a few years they may rival Johnsons. Harris used to have some big tench though they are few and far between now...average seems somewhere between 3 and 4 pound.
 

103841

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Like many of us I’m sure, sleep isn’t easy on hot nights and waking up at 4 this morning I thought I may as well get up and with nothing planned until 10am I nipped over to the estate for a couple of hours. Sat there at 5am in a t shirt, the air already warm and for the first time in ages there wasn’t a trace of breeze, everything was silent and still apart from birdsong.



I thought at such an early hour I’d be amongst the fish but they weren’t showing in any numbers, a few small roach and finally a tench putting a nice bend in my Crystalight rod, first tench on this rod Chris!



Back home in time for breakfast.
 

markcw

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I dropped my partner off at work, on the way back home ,stopped at Tescos for sandwich drink and crisps to take fishing with me. Got home had breakfast, fed the cat, and loaded the car, Back to Newlands via the tackle shop for a couple of bits, £25 lighter I get to Newlands, Set up on peg 9 , Feeder, pellet waggler and margin pole, Bait for pellet waggler was 12mm banded pellet soaked in F1sweet pellet oil. Bait for feeder rod was 10mm tutti fruiti boilies
Pouched some pellets out in on swim and boilies in the other,
Out with the feeder towards the island 40 yards away, then had a few casts with pellet waggler and feeding pellets each cast,
R
The margins were primed with Dynamite baits corn again soaked in F1 oil .
It was a case of Go big catch Big.
Nothing doing So scaled down bait size ,and Go Small catch Small .Nothing doing .
So next case scenario was Go Home ,which I did.
 

103841

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Yesterday I was fishing on the lake at 5am because it was too hot to sleep, last night was no different so went to the beach for the same time this morning, just after HT.

Conditions were perfect, no wind, no weed, no colour and no sunbathers, I tried every conceivable lure, plastic, metal and some flies too, not a touch.

I was at the beach hut yesterday afternoon. Bit of a different setting at 5pm compared to 5am.



 

rich66

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Last day of my holiday, thought I’d get down to the lakes before everyone else. Tried one I’ve rarely fished before known as a silvers lake due to the lack of carp.
Pint of maggots and light tackle, plenty of little perch Roach Rudd and an odd bream or two.
Decided around 10 to stick out my swingtip with a cage feeder on with a Robin Red pellet as there was a few bigger fish smacking about in the lilly pads.
Had a couple of small fun carp on that. 11:30 it was heating up and I’d just about ran out of maggots. Hung around till 12 am went home.. back to work tomorrow.
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peter crabtree

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Having recently joined Old Windsor angling club I fished my first match with them today on their stretch of Thames by Windsor castle.
A team event against Send ac, a Surrey club who fish the river Wey and Wey navigation...
Drew the next peg down from the one I fished last Thursday. The first thing I noticed was a wasps nest under the bank, right below where one would normally sit. There were hundreds of wasps going in and out and my first thought was oh dear, or words to that effect!
I had visions of them crawling all over my sweet corn and hemp, and of course my hands....
I had little choice but to get in the water. Fortunately it was shallow close in.

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With the water an inch from the top of my wellies I had to be cautious, also the river is prone to rise and fall with the lock gates in constant use..
Set up my usual, 15’ ultralight, 3.4gr insert waggler to a 18 carbon match hook.
Balled in 15 baby heads of hemp based gb at the off and cautiously tried double caster first to see if the bleak were going to be a pain.
They were!
So I plumped for corn which worked quite well the other day. Back up baits were tares and elderberries..
It was very slow to start with, a 6” chublet was first then nothing. An hour had passed before my first roach hit the net. It remained patchy for the entire 5 hours, I managed to get through 6 hooks, then lost a really big roach which snapped the 2lb hooklink.. Very frustrating to be honest, I just couldn’t get into a rhythm or get the roach lined up, that and the constant stream of pleasure boats, some massive white things with wakes like a tsunami slamming against my seat box and collapsing my keepnet made it a chore. On the bright side I was in the shade thank goodness and didn’t get bothered by the wasps at all.
Weighed in just 5:3:0 which was disappointing but surprisingly got me 2nd in section and an envelope..

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11lb won it overall and I was just one roach short of winning my section, that damn roach I lost is going to haunt me tonight, bugger!
 
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