How did you get on?

[bullet]

Down to the Coast today, overcast and cloudy at home and no wind, down there also overcast, but mizzling and a very fresh southerly which was whipping things up a bit including copious weed.
On initial inspection, I nearly went straight home, but went for a wander further along and it seemed to be a bit better..

I like to fish Topwaters here, but that was going to be no good today, so I went for a fluttery metal, wound back fast through the gaps.

Not much doing, then a savage take just as the lure was coming over some boulders.
A brief but fierce tussle brought me the first fish of the session. At 45 cm that was Supper sorted?

As the tide pushed up, the weather and conditions improved, but I couldn't find anything else apart from a few really small ones so called it a day.

 

[silvers]

So I thought that I liked September ....

first double header since my operation ... and I survived quite well ... although the fishes were not as co-operative as recently.

Saturday was third round of the Barford league. this time I was on peg 73, which is a chub flier in the wintertime ... running on to a shallow area that is almost a Ford. I drew the same peg at a similar time last year ,,. Catching a number of roach on hempseed, despite the attentions of Mr Pike! Iirc I had 12 pounds or so for 3rd in section.
this time I pretty much wasted the first three hours thrashing the water with a waggler and very little result ... apart from many missed bites from tiny dace. I eventually stripped that rig off and put on a “Bolo” style with heavy shooting bulked down ... and immediately started to pick up the odd better dace ... Doh! I weighed in 7 pounds 4 oz ... only good enough for 6th in section this time ... but another pound would have put me third! Double doh! Oh, and I never had a bite on hemp!

Sunday was the annual Bedford Hospital Cup, with proceeds in aid of a great cause, and 50 anglers on the stretch of the Great Ouse at Willington. the river was in a dour mood with bright sunshine and I really struggled all day. i was pestered by bleak (until I fed them off) and had to fish a Heavy bulk close to the hook to stand a chance of getting through them. With two hours left I was picking up tiny roach regularly but felt I wasn’t going anywhere, so gambled for a big chub or two by feeding much more heavily. That killed the swim totally with no chub showing! I was going to Chuck back, but weighed in for my own interest. 6 pounds 7 ounces of perch and roach (mainly small). Turned out it was enough to win the section ... even more amazing that it was good enough for 5th prize! Only a pound more was third ... I really could have done that very easily ... but match fishing is all about decisions ... some good, some bad! This weekend was a story of bad decisions, rescued by a reasonable result (on Sunday at least).

 

[nottskev]

I enjoyed the day at Boddington. I didn't do a write up as others had said it all. I think it was Ray who said "people argue online but get on fine in real life", and we made a friendly corner in our bit of the huge res. We all felt for Simon, who was feeling rotten.

You know how it is in the middle of winter, you dream of sitting out in a t shirt on a warm evening catching lots of big fish? It doesn't always happen like that, but the gods were smiling on me today. After a leisurely breakfast and a light lunch, I got to the river sometime in the afternoon.
With the river low, clear, slow and starved of rain, and the sun high in a cloudless sky, no-one had any right to expect to catch barbel. I picked a swim with trees in the water downstream, a fallen tree right in front and a canopy shading me from the sun

I cattied in a few pouches of left-over Boddington hemp and a few 8mm pellets and left it alone for 15 mins. After the knotless knot debacle of losing a couple of barbel, I fished straight through to a palomar-knotted hook with the pellets on a band pulled through. Not the most elegant rig, but that's not the main thing with barbel

I'd decided to go for a kind of bait-and-wait approach. I chucked in on a light bomb and the first barbel was on after 2 mins.

A bit more hemp and another wait of 15 mins, and number 2 was trying to pull the rod in

Feeding without a line in the swim seemed to be working well, and another half dozen barbel of similar size came along. I was grateful that it all went quiet for a while. Keeping these fish out of the trees is quite a physical business, and I didn't mind a break. I fed the last of the hemp, and thought one more and I can happily go home. By now it was 6.30, and the big fish came out to play. The next bite, the fish feinted to go for the downstream tree, instead ran out across the river towards the far bank, and suddenly turned and swam back at top speed to the fallen tree at my feet. Winding as fast as I could, it got to the tree a fraction before I could catch up and get an angle to pull it away. I put the rod down, left it a bit, then pulled. Solid. I packed up a bit of gear, then tried again. Solid. Resigned, I pushed the rod up the bank, grabbed the line with a cloth round my hand and started pulling for a break. A few pulls.... and it moved! I scrambled to grab the other end of the rod and after a bit of splashing and expecting the worst, it was in the net

When you catch 9 barbel from a snag pit in the least propitious conditions, and only use one hook (and one pellet band!), you know it was your lucky day.

 

[Steve King]

Well done Kev!

 

[mikench]

Excellent fishing Kev and what cracking fish.


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[rayner]

Good fishing Kev, do you have to redrill the halibuts to get that band through.

 

[nottskev]

Good fishing Kev, do you have to redrill the halibuts to get that band through.

No, the holes look too small, but one of those cheap little Korum bait needles - just a a bit of wire bent into a hook - goes through with a bit of wriggling, and they stay on the band well without stops. The odd one splits, but that's no problem.

I can't find drilled 10mm these days, though so I drill Hinders large Elips if I want something between the 8 and 12mm's available.

 

[108831]

Do the chub get em off kev?

 

[nottskev]

Do the chub get em off kev?

I wish I knew, Alan. I've had a dozen barbel for every chub this season, and 3 of those chub came from one session. Avoiding chub is a problem I wouldn't object to - they are pretty rare on all 3 rivers I visit, Trent, Derwent and Soar.
I could only say they don't seem to pull off that easily. Funny you should ask - yesterday I'd oiled some 8mm's in some disgusting stuff called Polony Oil, and it was only when I came to use some I thought they might just slide off the band! Seemed to stay on fine, though.

 

[chevin4]

Went yesterday to my local stream it was very busy and by early afternoon it turned very hot and humid. There was little shade where I was fishing and with the heat and the early start I called it a day at 2.30pm. Given the bright conditions and low water levels I was satisfied in catching 8 barbel all between approx 2lb and 6lb each one fought well despite my use of strong tackle they certainly gave the old Alan Brown Hilton glass rod a good work out. Each bite was unmissable I can't understand why the majority of anglers there use quiver tips with barbel being the predominant species to me they are superfluous perhaps I am missing something.

 

[mikench]

I know its not proper fishing but i had to cast a line.?I knew the heat would get to me before er indoors did with a plaintiff call to go and pick her up. I thought a couple of hours would be enough and it was.

Antibes is in the distance. I decided one rod was enough with a one up and two down rig. I had 2,cocktail baits of squid, red mullet and prawn and one of prawn alone. At least my carefully prepared baits stayed on the hooks but no fish I'm afraid not even a tug. When the call came it coincided with a call of nature and I was frazzled. I'll go again later in the week.

 

[bullet]

Enjoy the good life, Mike!
Btw, why are you using a Bobbin?

 

[mikench]

Old habits die hard and I couldn't find my alarm. I usually drift off.

 

[108831]

I wish I knew, Alan. I've had a dozen barbel for every chub this season, and 3 of those chub came from one session. Avoiding chub is a problem I wouldn't object to - they are pretty rare on all 3 rivers I visit, Trent, Derwent and Soar.
I could only say they don't seem to pull off that easily. Funny you should ask - yesterday I'd oiled some 8mm's in some disgusting stuff called Polony Oil, and it was only when I came to use some I thought they might just slide off the band! Seemed to stay on fine, though.

Ive added that to my trout pellets,one tablespoon per 3 pts,shake them up and leave them to absorb it,I think its quite pleasant after absorbtion,ive done quite well for barbel with the boilies of that flavour,but they are a little too soft and chub rip them off the hair too easily,I too dont mind catching the chub,but I dont like em getting one over on me,lol.

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Mike said: "Antibes is in the distance . . . "

I love Antibes. The Napoleon Museum and the Picasso Museum are not to be missed . . . . . not to mention quite a few Michelin starred restaurants . . . .

 

[bullet]

Sounds great, apart from the starred Restaurants, Peter.
One of my fantasy business ideas is to have a chain of food trucks that park outside these, as I'm always starving when I come out, having spent hours eating thimble sized amounts of food!

 

[markcw]

Sounds great, apart from the starred Restaurants, Peter.
One of my fantasy business ideas is to have a chain of food trucks that park outside these, as I'm always starving when I come out, having spent hours eating thimble sized amounts of food!

Bullets "Bangers n Beans" ?????

 

[tommos16]

Up in Glasgow for Bosiet training this week (basically being dunked upside down in a model helicopter and escaping - not good) so tonight I thought I’d treat myself to some fishing on the Clyde down in Greenock.

Having only ever caught two small Blennies before, I wasn’t exactly sure what I was doing. Immediately I was getting rattling bites on Prawns, but other than one early fish lost I couldn’t connect to a thing.

Eventually scaled right down to size 16 hooks and immediately they turned into fish. Now they’re no monsters, but fishing from the back of the van and getting regular bites from a river close to my heart means the world to me. And my species count is now up by three! Wrasse, Cod (well, codling) and my favourite - a Flattie. I guess a Dab as it was pretty much translucent.

I can see myself slipping into more sea fishing, being only 20 minutes from the Mersey Estuary usually…

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[108831]

If you rubbed your hand along its back towards its head a dab feels rough,plaice and flounders do not,im no species expert but from the picture your flattie seems to be slow tapering from the head which may be a more unusual flatfish...

 

[tommos16]

I don’t recall it feel rough as I unhooked it, but as I swung it in it was basically completely translucent. Gave me a hell of a bite for its size, considering I was fishing with a 3lb carp rod (only thing I had available)


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