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markcw

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I had decided on an early start to the Thames today,
Got up to it raining hard.
Waited for it to ease off before I was deciding to go.
Waited for mate to phone and say he was there.
Went to the garage to grab seatbox, bag of pellets and couple of rods.

Bloody Mice ....???

They had got into my bag I keep pellets in,
Chewed through a couple of packs of Fjuka pellets, and a bag of 8mm drilled halibut.

Crapped and p1ssed in the bag,
Looked into carry bag on space shuttle.
My hoody chewed to bits, a homeless person would have refused it.
Luckily my bib n brace was untouched as well as beanie hat.

Plenty of mouse crap in the carry bag.
My nets are in a large Eva bag that is off the floor so untouched.
I spent ages clearing bait bag up and carry bag, washed and disinfected.

Bib n brace and beanie hat get washed tomorrow.

I ended up going to the Thames , faffed about trying to pay car park by phone.
I wasn't fishing just sat with mate and it was like Mortimer and Whitehouse.
Got back to the carpark ,set satnav to get back, and nearly home when ended up in an area of LTN , so had to detour to bypass .?
What a day,
Tomorrow will be spent sorting tackle out in garage and put a lot more mouse traps down that I have purchased.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL. ???

AND MICE BEWARE ???
 
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108831

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Mark,on the Wednesday before Christmas we went to Rushden to drop pressies off and give our best wishes to the mother in law and her sister,upon arrival I was grilled about mice,they had some outside,I said that every garden gets mice at times especially if you grow veg or feed the birds,well I saw one,told her to get a couple of little nipper traps,bait them and place them under low gapped boxes,just so it is only mice you bag,anyway upon arrival home I looked out in the garden and two mice were sitting on two of our bird feeders,I went out and walked over to them,got to within two feet before they did an impersonation of a lemming,that night a cat came into the garden and ate two(good old cats eh),I set two traps up and caught one within an hour,then nothing,reckon they moved up a couple of gardens...
 
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markcw

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Al, I wouldn't mind but we have a resident cat ? plus a stray one that visits a few times a day to be fed.
The resident cat used to catch the odd mouse in the garden , but now seems to spend most of the day asleep, waking up to be fed.
I can see me starving the little sod and make it hunt for food.?
I have baited 5 little nipper traps with various pieces of Cadburys Roses .
 
S-Kippy

S-Kippy

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Pest Stop/Sure Set traps ( or similar designs) are lethally effective. Way,way better than Little Nippers. Meece cannot leave peanut butter alone and with this design they cannot nick the bait and escape either. Worth every penny and they're not that expensive anyway.
 
Steve Arnold

Steve Arnold

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Well, 2021 was a good year for my fishing, perhaps the best year of coarse fishing I have ever had!

After so much recent rain the weather has turned fine and sunny here in the Lot. Unfortunately my plans for December have not been fully realised - no barbel!

Yesterday was my last chance in 2021 for a December barbel. I have had barbel in every other month from this river but December barbel still elude me!

Alistair wanted to fish which was convenient as his car has 4-wheel drive. The river had been a metre higher a day earlier and many tracks would be covered with silt. Problem is Alistair would pick "comfort" over "fish" any day of the week, he would not be geared up to fish a river in spate!

My banker barbel swim was just about fishable, any fish in this normally productive swim would be tucked under the bank drop-off where our rod rests sit at normal river levels.

barbel swim spate.jpg


But I sensed his apprehension, a strong thought of discomfort I was sure. Not only would he struggle to fish in the conditions but the low winter sun would disappear behind the hill about 2.30pm. Until then we would have temperatures over 20c - after it might well drop to 5c.

No point seeing your "fishing" buddy suffer, it was his car as well!

So plan "B" was a few miles upriver where a stream enters the main river. I have caught barbel and silure here in previous winters, but today only spotted one pike in the clear waters of the stream.

Cajarc stream 1.jpg

Cajarc stream confluence.jpg


Normally there would be a few fish under that tree in these conditions. Today we just got to sit in the sun, I really should not complain!

We moved to the Cajarc town stretch for a last hour. In 2020 this "lake" above the barrage fished very well, 2021 it was barren! I can only think last winters severe floods have completely stripped the river weeds, roots and all. certainly there was very little to see here on my fishfinder when I took my inflatable canoe around the bay late summer.

But we "fished" in comfort a little longer, the air still quite warm as the sun dropped behind the Causse.

cajarc December 31 2021.jpg


2022 fishing starts with my New Years resolution - "Don't pass a good fishing opportunity by, a fishing buddies "comfort" comes a poor 2nd to getting those barbel!" ? ? ?

But last year was so good here, despite all the plague and politics stuff!

I wish everyone all the Best for 2022, have good fishing and even better health.(y)

Regards to all FM contributors,
Steve
 
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