How did you get on?

[theartist]

Nice looking chub Mick.

After waking twenty minutes later than intended,don't use an alarm clock anymore i'm retired,I decided to drive north of Bedford to try a stretch of the Ouse I haven't fished for twenty yeas or more,on arrival the river was still too high and pushing,plus a blustery downstreamer put paid to my wanting to float fish for roach and possible specimen perch,so a disgruntled Alan got back in the car and drove forty miles back to the small river,car park wasn't mullered,so loaded up the barrow and set off,thtough the two small gates I had a surprise,the bailiff had wd40'd the padlocks and I stunk of the stuff and was covered in it,strolled up,past the flyers hoping for a peg at the top end,as I went through the gate said bailiff was chatting to a guy in my hoped for swim,couldn't believe it because this fella is a friend of forty five years standing who I didnt know was a member???,anyway afterba long chatand the morning drifting away I set up in the swim above him,a favourite of Rob's,fished the stick all afternoon and had several nice roach to 10ozs,four barbel to around 6lb 8ozs and a chub around 4lbs,spent the day watching 'Eric' the big roach(not the one with the scale damage Rob),a pleasant day with good company,my mate caned the chub too,happy days....

Thought I saw your car there Alan, I managed to get there at ten and you still beat me there going via the Ouse!, not sure you need an alarm clock lol

There was a lot of other cars there before me as expected so headed across the road to the other stretch, was hard work but had a nice day roving, getting plenty of chub and roach and tones of gudgeon, some right clonkers too, it felt good to be out at last. Saw 7 kites above me at one stage and two egrets working the meadow, not sure what for

Packed up at fourish and Alan's car is still there, the stamina of the man ??

 

[108831]

Packed at 4.15,chatting with my mate,takes me three weeks to pack my oil rig up,lol.... Stamina,bloody knackered....

 

[rubio]

Had couple of hours on river yesterday. Last time it was thick and high, now dropping fast. Steady run of roach in 4 to the pound bracket on bread under a crowquill. Possibly heavier than necessary. Plenty of half pound chublets too. Tried worm on and off but no perch bigger than the chub.
I took spinning rod and fished a deadbait too. Smaller blades were frequently exploding the surface but 2 enquiries led to nothing.
By the time I left flow was almost nonexistent and bites completely dried up.

 

[Kevlar78]

Bitterwell Lake (Bristol) yesterday. Eerie fog over the water at 7:30am which cleared by 9:00
Forgot to buy maggots on Saturday (schoolboy error)
Float fished betalin-soaked corn at plumb depth after laying a bit of homemade ground bait down. Lots of movement in the water, bit beyond my range, but nothing to show for it. Feeder and boilie crew had no luck as I walked around the perimeter to stay warm. Few lads begrudgingly staring at the end of a pole with no luck either.
Beautiful day (eventually) but not one bite. Went shallow and fed little and often hoping for a drop, but nothing.
Hung on until 4pm with a dry net
Nice place though and good to be out.
I'll go back....

 

[sam vimes]

An expected delivery turned up just early enough for a short session on the river. I chose to forgo my favourite rod in an attempt to decide whether or not to actually sell one of the horde. After six grayling (which might have been nine but for three long range releases) and five trout, the cloud rapidly thickened to bring on dusk a little earlier than I'd anticipated. I had not even managed to get in two hours of fishing. The rod wasn't too bad, I suspect having previously used it with braid had given me an unfairly dim view of it. Unfortunately, I'm still not keen on the reel seat and it still seems prone to bumping smaller grayling. I think the writing is on the wall.

 

[tigger]

An expected delivery turned up just early enough for a short session on the river. I chose to forgo my favourite rod in an attempt to decide whether or not to actually sell one of the horde. After six grayling (which might have been nine but for three long range releases) and five trout, the cloud rapidly thickened to bring on dusk a little earlier than I'd anticipated. I had not even managed to get in two hours of fishing. The rod wasn't too bad, I suspect having previously used it with braid had given me an unfairly dim view of it. Unfortunately, I'm still not keen on the reel seat and it still seems prone to bumping smaller grayling. I think the writing is on the wall.

I'm guessing an tricast rod?

 

[silvers]

Nice looking chub Mick.

After waking twenty minutes later than intended,don't use an alarm clock anymore i'm retired,I decided to drive north of Bedford to try a stretch of the Ouse I haven't fished for twenty yeas or more,on arrival the river was still too high and pushing,plus a blustery downstreamer put paid to my wanting to float fish for roach and possible specimen perch,so a disgruntled Alan got back in the car and drove forty miles back to the small river,car park wasn't mullered,so loaded up the barrow and set off,thtough the two small gates I had a surprise,the bailiff had wd40'd the padlocks and I stunk of the stuff and was covered in it,strolled up,past the flyers hoping for a peg at the top end,as I went through the gate said bailiff was chatting to a guy in my hoped for swim,couldn't believe it because this fella is a friend of forty five years standing who I didnt know was a member???,anyway afterba long chatand the morning drifting away I set up in the swim above him,a favourite of Rob's,fished the stick all afternoon and had several nice roach to 10ozs,four barbel to around 6lb 8ozs and a chub around 4lbs,spent the day watching 'Eric' the big roach(not the one with the scale damage Rob),a pleasant day with good company,my mate caned the chub too,happy days....

Not fished for twenty years Alan? go on ... gimme a clue or PM

with no matches on at the moment, I had a short session on the local Warks Avon At Barford.
Intended quarry was roach on the stick float, but high pressure and a clearer river than expected didn’t fill me with confidence ... let alone hearing that my favoured pegs were fished the day before and also a lot less flow than the EA gauge would imply!
but needs must ... first peg I settled in was virtually standing still, but produced about 4 pounds of dumpy roach and hand sized perch to about 6oz In maybe 90 mins of fishing. Bites dried up and the afternoon sun was in an awkward spot ,,, so I moved upstream a couple of pegs to a much shallower swim with some flow. I had a really nice perch of about two pounds and a few more roach and perch in 75 mins fishing here for a total of about 5 pounds ... so a nice little session in lovely weather.

 

[john step]

Another pleasant day on the canal. No photos, just about 40 small roach and perch. Thick frost last night and its nice to have somewhere to go to get plenty of bites in the winter.
Thats the last of my maggots used up.

 

[Pete Shears]

Had a wander along the GUC this morning when the frost had lifted,my preferred spot was a no-go,cars parked everywhere- all these people must have their daily exercise because we are in lockdown - hordes of them wandering aimlessly along the towpaths like extras in Shaun of the Dead.
Eventually parked up at a less favourable stretch and had one pike about 8oz but pleasant in the sunshine watching large flocks of fieldfares and redwing.A white egret flew by twice and watched a sparrow hawk glide by over the hedge and then along the other side seeking breakfast.

 

[Roger Johnson 2]

Had an hour or so at the bottom of the garden this evening, as currently, I can’t go anywhere else. The total blank was not unexpected after 3days of clear skies and morning frosts. However Mrs J had been busy and I returned to fresh baked Apple Cake, so not a totally wasted evening!


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[chevin4]

Dusted down the pike rods yesterday and went over to a local lake. Had three nothing huge best 11lb 13oz caught on a popped up Smelt. All the the runs came between 12.30pm and 2pm all fish in immaculate condition and fought hard on my Dave Lumb P1 rods

 

[mikench]

What a great day! Well actually what a disappointing day. Gordon and I arrived at our chosen venue in the dark. The pegs I might have picked were already taken so we settled for 2 we knew and hoped for success.

The view to my left and the maestro to my right. Bites were very scarce and I only had 3 all day. I had 2 common and lost one to a hook opening out. This was the first. A nice fish around 6lb.

Gordon startled catching finally and had quite a few roach, a skimmer and a lovely Rudd. It was cold though in a southerly wind which came in gusts. There were at least a dozen other anglers and most , if not all, struggled. I left about 3.30 just as Gordon caught his handsome Rudd. He'll probably have caught dozens since then. I used up my maggots but couldn't buy a bite on anything else. Thanks Gordon and it's your choice next time ; you'll struggle to do worse than I did today.

 

[john step]

Nice pics Mike. The hook straightening out was quite probably a foul hooker anyway?

 

[mikench]

Quite possibly Pete but the Drennan Red maggot hooks have a habit of opening out.

 

[wetthrough]

Gordon startled catching

True, it came as a bit of a shock after 7 hours! Caught a few more bits after you'd left, just small Roach but better than nothing. Here's to next time

 

[108831]

Went to the stretch of the Ouse that was too high on Saturday,wont be returning in a hurry as the access point needs the expertise of Sir Edmund Hilary,ricked muscles in my back and shoulders lifting the tackle up and over the fence,fishing was pretty goodv though,had 96 roach from 2ozs-12ozs,27 dace 3ozs-5ozs,the bleak came on in the afternoon and were a pain,I even caught 5 roach on hemp,never had them this late on it,caught on a new method for me,bolo float at around nine feet deep,nice fishing....

 

[rich66]

Hard slow day today, surprised to find my masochistic brothers facing into the wind, personally I prefer to sit out of it and fish the calms. However 2 bream 3 roach and a sprinkling of tiny perch is far better than a day spent in home. All taken on single white maggot size 20 hook.

 

[Ray Roberts]

Quite possibly Pete but the Drennan Red maggot hooks have a habit of opening out.

Not keen on those hooks anymore. I think they are too fine in the wire, particularly as they are advertised as carp hooks.


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[mikench]

I'm thinking the same Ray. Fine for roach but nothing much bigger.

 

[sam vimes]

Are people confusing Carp Maggot with Red Maggot because they are both the same colour?
Either way, if you can use barbed hooks at your venue and require a maggot hook with good strength, I can heartily recommend the Wide Gape Match. Until this summer, when I've started to use bigger hooks, almost all the fish I catch have fallen to these hooks. From tiddlers to 20lb carp and everything in between. The only time I recall opening one up, even in the smaller sizes, is when I've pulled out of a snag. I don't understand why Drennan seem to describe them as a small fish hook, they are far more than just that.