How did you get on?

[John Aston]

A mild day, the river running at 4.5 metres less than last week and the chance to catch my first fish of 2021 . My quarry was chub - I'd have preferred trotting for grayling but I'd struggle to term my grayling river as local, so I decided to avoid the risk of public shaming for ..err...having sat in the car for another 20 minutes each way.

12 Ft Drennan Avon , 6lb Maxima and a quarter/ half ounce bomb - with a Kamasan B983 size 4 on Reflo hooklength . Bloody great lump of blue cheese mix (with fish sauce , turmeric and olive oil ) on a pad of crust. I was shocked to get a knock first chuck - I wouldn't have been 10 years ago but there are not as many chub locally now . Obviously I missed it , but two swims later , a lovely stab- stab- wallop bite and a good scrap with a feisty chub of 4-7 , a little above average for here . Ironically , that would have been fish of the season when I started fishing the Swale, back in the Pre Cambrian era , when dinosaurs stalked the earth , puffing Embassy Regal and driving Escort Vans .

Two more swims, in one of which I fell a*** over t*** on the incredibly slippy mud , but managed no bites, and then a perfect crease swim to finish off. I'd only just poured the last coffee when I had an unmissable chub bite - which I missed , obvs .

But how nice to be out - I'd been enjoying my daily 2-5 mile walks but you see more when you fish. I had buzzards wheeling and mewing , moorhens busy in the margins , a big flock of fieldfares on the far bank and a sparrow hawk sitting 20 feet away .

Sanity restored .

 

[mikench]

Sanity restored .

In short supply at the moment. Nice post.

 

[john step]

Good to see your post Pete and that you are making full use of the opportunity to fish. I must do the same when the rain stops.

Its tough going out there. The match boys are struggling for a few tiny roach and perch on size 22s and pinkie and punch. (Pleasure not matches) Will improve when it warms.
Just got my gear ready for another sesh tomorrow on another local water where I hope to get a carp to bend my rod! It will be a tucked behind the brolly job.

 

[peter crabtree]

First decent day for a while so I was off down the Colne in town by 10am. The river has fined down a bit but still very coloured .
On my arrival at the swim I soaked a couple of slices of bread and fed the resulting slop before setting up 15’ ultralight rod with a 4gr Drennan loafer float, Olivette and dropper shot. Size 12 hook and a big lump of flake.. The anticipated chub failed to show so after a half hour I tried maggot feeder, still nothing.
Moved upstream to another swim and sat on the maggot feeder for another couple of hours, also to no avail. Nice to be out though..

 

[barbelboi]

I’ve not posted on this thread for a while as it’s all been a bit ‘groundhog dayish’. A few trotting sessions this month on the river and streams over the back have produced some roach and chub trotting 50/50 flake travelling light as I generally do. Either the Titan2000 or Accy ultra, pin, small bag of bits and a net.

 

[mikench]

Worth the wait Jerry; nice fish.

 

[john step]

I braved the mud with my barrow today as the lane to the lake was just too bad to risk getting stuck.
I had some roach,rudd, small perch and a 3.5lb chub and two carp on dead maggot and worm on a tiny waggler.
The chub was a delight as these occasionally find their way in from a stream inlet.
Great to get a bend in the rod and use my new landing net head!





And finally for all those carp lovers on here.

 

[seth49]

nice carp, I do like fully scaled mirrors.

 

[john step]

nice carp, I do like fully scaled mirrors.

Thanks. Made especially pleasant caught on a 58 year old reel and a 40 year old rod!

 

[Philip]

With low pressure & warmer rain pouring in I knew there was a chance so shot off for a quick dabble. The little river was over its banks in places & a dirty colour so I left the bait out longer in each spot to give them a chance to find it. The dense trees and foliage make it a fight to even get a rod out in some places. Standing there in the mud and rain was not pleasant but I was rewarded with 3 Roach, the best going 1.10, my third of that weight in the last couple of weeks (one a recapture so 2 different fish). I wonder what else this tiny water might hold..

1.10 ..I was lucky ...the hookhold was precarious and I had to drag it up river in the current...

Look at the rudder on this one ! ...

Terrible conditions ? ...

 

[xenon]

With low pressure & warmer rain pouring in I knew there was a chance so shot off for a quick dabble. The little river was over its banks in places & a dirty colour so I left the bait out longer in each spot to give them a chance to find it. The dense trees and foliage make it a fight to even get a rod out in some places. Standing there in the mud and rain was not pleasant but I was rewarded with 3 Roach, the best going 1.10, my third of that weight in the last couple of weeks (one a recapture so 2 different fish). I wonder what else this tiny water might hold..

1.10 ..I was lucky ...the hookhold was precarious and I had to drag it up river in the current...

View attachment 12996


Look at the rudder on this one ! ...

View attachment 12997

Terrible conditions ? ...

View attachment 12998

Amazed you caught anything in that cocao-nice fish.

 

[no-one in particular]

Not much of a report but nothing better to put up. I was going fishing yesterday but then I realized I had read the outside temperature gauge wrong it was 5c not 10c so I found an excuse not to go, too bloody cold.
However, I had a wander along the seafront and cam across a little group of anglers, they had had a few little whiting and one dab, that was all; about par for the course this time of year.
Some pics for those that might be missing their seaside holiday and I did find a fishing weight.-

 

[peter crabtree]

Once again I took advantage of the 14° temperature here in the SE. Met a mate at Boxmoor on the GUC. The water was almost clear so it was waggler across to the moorings opposite. With chub in mind I tied a 18 B611 straight onto my 3lb2 maxima mainline which was a bit of a gamble in the clear water, but it didn’t seem to put the fish off.

Double maggot as tight to the green boat as possible was where the bites started. A few roach, Rudd and perch first until the chub moved in, almost certainly attracted by the loose maggots I was regularly pinging across.

Ended up with 7 proper ones + bits, I’m guessing over 20lb all told.

 

[barbelboi]

With a dry, 12C mainly white cloud and calm sort of afternoon I took a slightly longer stroll over the fields to one of rivers which was up with a strong flow. Although we have little rain here the rivers flow from the west and are topped up by all the rain in the west midlands. The target was chub and the set up was the 1.5 Harrison Specialist (due to the fierce current), pin, small bag of bits, mat and net. After 3 hours of rolling Danish blue (fished from 1-3) on a roving approach I managed two fish – hard going but satisfying.....

 

[balalur]

Went fishing yesterday afternoon.My local river being very high and un-fishable, I went over to a club lake/pond near me to test my new Darent Valley 11ft (0.75lb) Specialist Rod that I have just purchased. Fished from about 14:30 until 17:30. Tried maggots,worms,bread and sweetcorn. Not a single bite until 16:50 when I caught a tiny little perch on half a dendrobaena.Then I had 4 roach and 2 more perch in 15 minutes. At 17:05 was already dark and the fish stopped biting. Tried my 10ft Shakespeare wand for half an hour into the darkness with nothing to show for...
My new rod handled the small fish surprisingly well-the tip bent nicely when hooking the roach. I have to try it out for bigger fish in order to make a better idea about it but for now it looks promising.

 

[mikench]

You will find it handles most fish and I've had carp to low doubles. A super rod for the money.

 

[Andy1990]

Managed a few hours on Monday afternoon after a couple of weekends not fishing due to the river being in flood. I hadn’t left the house for over a week by the time Monday came around and the previous weekends had been spent up a ladder decorating so I was more than pleased to get out on what was a glorious break in the weather. The small river was still carrying a bit of extra water but not enough to put me off and as I walked to the first swim there was just a hint of spring in the air. My intended quarry being Chub I set about with a light link ledger with bread, maggots and lob worm in the bag and some crumb to feed. I fished poorly if truth be told and discovered that the top eye of my quiver tip was missing when I came to thread the eyes at the first spot. The spare tips were safe in the rod sleeve in the car and to far for me think about going back for one. Not ideal but not un-fishable either so I flicked two SSGs and a lob worm straight into an overhanging tree I was intending to get tught to/under. The resulting tussle caused no end of commotion and resulted in a swift move downstream before I’d managed to get a bait in the water. Still, I eventually made a successful cast and managed two Chub from the same swim, and lost one at the net from another. Whilst I knew my top eye had gone walkabout, I didn’t realise the second eye had also suffered, losing the inner guide and leaving only a sharp-ish edge. My line was a mess after a playing the first Chub and this had caused it. I thought about heading back but stripped the bad line back and managed to remove the offending eye leaving a rather stiff quiver tip to carry on with. Nothing huge but a really pleasant few hours with a couple of fish to show for it.
Cheers.

 

[peter crabtree]

With the banks of the Colne closed off due to the flooding I headed down to a small stream which branches off the Chess and empties back into the Colne. A quiet spot in the town centre (Rickmansworth) in the grounds of an old Manor House. Sitting out on a jut, the river opens up below me, a spot familiar to Rob (artist) and Neil1970. Trotting single maggot on a 22, 501 and 11ft rod whilst loose feeding sparingly, I began to get some bites. Roach and dace plus a micro perch, about 6 in all during the hour and a half I fished.

 

[john step]

A local pond today. Where else? My Sigma wand and tiny reel, tiny bites magnified by this bite finder.
Four carp to eight plus on prawn and bread.
I know everyone loves carp on here but its local, its cold and its good to get something on the end instead of vegetating at home.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
BALALUR glad you kept the Sigma. Also that reel...A rapidex?

 

[balalur]

A local pond today. Where else? My Sigma wand and tiny reel, tiny bites magnified by this bite finder.
Four carp to eight plus on prawn and bread.
I know everyone loves carp on here but its local, its cold and its good to get something on the end instead of vegetating at home.
Thoroughly enjoyed it.
BALALUR glad you kept the Sigma. Also that reel...A rapidex?

Looks like you had a good days fishing John!
That is a Trudex centrepin reel and the rod used after dark is a Shakespeare Mach2 XT wand designed by James Robbins, I think.
In my opinion one of the best silverfish rods ever ?!!! In the last 10 years I have caught thousands of fish with it from minnows to chub, roach, rudd, perch, pike to double figure carp (while fishing for other species). For me it’s the perfect tool for the small southern rivers that I fish. Few years ago I have bought a second one that I haven’t used-I keep it as a back-up just in case.