no-one in particular
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Ha, right, don't no why I thought you said canal. still a great chub anyway.
How did you get on?
- Thread starter peter crabtree
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The Runner
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Cracking chub there Simon.
GX had a match on the river down at Uxbridge today and that would have won on its own. By a long long way….
A 2lb bream won it, 8oz second and two minnows got third !
GX had a match on the river down at Uxbridge today and that would have won on its own. By a long long way….
A 2lb bream won it, 8oz second and two minnows got third !
Return to the Warks Avon for the first time since October ... 21 hardy souls fishing the weekly Barford open on that stretch. plenty of space. the morning was very cold (-2 in the car, colder on the bank) and the freezing fog barely lifted all day. the river was in winter trim, with a good flow and decent colour. In these conditions there would be roach in the arm (deeper and less flow) and chub in the main river. I drew a familiar peg (84, two above the Sherborne confluence) that I had already had twice this season, along with drawing the pegs above and below once each. This time there was no angler pegged either side with the spacing.
I had a nice run down to a bush on both sides of the river, so fished most of the day with a stick float in the approx. 7ft of depth.
I tried bread to start with, but no bites in the first 45 mins and no raps on the straight lead either.
so it was regular feeding of maggots and hemp ... and just plug away to snare a chub. This is the kind of angling that I grew up with ... You just catch chub at reasonably regular intervals when they decide they want a munch.
I hooked the first after exactly two hours, the next after 3 hours, and then the final two in quick succession with an hour to go.
Four chub, 11 pounds 3 ounces ... third place behind two weights of 21 pounds from the two most regular winning pegs on the river.
Another few quid in my fishing kitty.
I had a nice run down to a bush on both sides of the river, so fished most of the day with a stick float in the approx. 7ft of depth.
I tried bread to start with, but no bites in the first 45 mins and no raps on the straight lead either.
so it was regular feeding of maggots and hemp ... and just plug away to snare a chub. This is the kind of angling that I grew up with ... You just catch chub at reasonably regular intervals when they decide they want a munch.
I hooked the first after exactly two hours, the next after 3 hours, and then the final two in quick succession with an hour to go.
Four chub, 11 pounds 3 ounces ... third place behind two weights of 21 pounds from the two most regular winning pegs on the river.
Another few quid in my fishing kitty.
no-one in particular
Well-known member
Long time no fishing, weather just the wrong side of bearable but good enough, sunny, no wind and about 8c at a guess. Sea or fresh, opted for a bit of winter chub stretch. First swim no bites for an hour so moved down to another stretch just below a bridge, usually good for a chub. The river flow was slow at first but picked up a bit and coloured. I had about 3 bites but missed them, looked like chub. I was laying on in about 12ft of water but then went shallow about 6ft and trotted down slowly. This seemed to have done the trick and the float slid away. Nearly got snagged in some weed as the chub made a last dash for it in the near bank but he came away in the end with a bit pressure. A decent chub for here, never caught one over 4lb and this might be close, over 3lb anyway. On brown bread, ten hook and one of my adaptable floats More pleased with the rod, must be over 90 years old but played the fish lovely. Packed up after that but well pleased with the one fish.
More pleased with the rod, must be over 90 years old but played the fish lovely. Packed up after that but well pleased with the one fish.
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
Funnily enough Mark, tomorrow I’ll be fishing a match on the Grand union canal at Hemel Hempstead which is chub or bust,Ha, right, don't no why I thought you said canal. still a great chub anyway.
I’ll post tomorrow evening if I catch a few?
no-one in particular
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John Aston
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A couple of very enjoyable short afternoon sessions on the river produced 8 pike and a thumping great grown on brownie.
I only weighed one pike at exactly 11lbs - one was a fair bit bigger, one about the same , a couple of high single figures and some
smaller chaps .
All on size 1/0 5g Jig with Fox Bleak paddletail , using 3000 Daiwa and 7-6 light lure Drennan rod . Huge fun .
Some pike anglers used to deeper rivers and lakes might be surprised at location - best two fish came in thigh deep slow run over gravel , but I guess that's where their food - trout, grayling and dace - live.
I only weighed one pike at exactly 11lbs - one was a fair bit bigger, one about the same , a couple of high single figures and some
All on size 1/0 5g Jig with Fox Bleak paddletail , using 3000 Daiwa and 7-6 light lure Drennan rod . Huge fun .
Some pike anglers used to deeper rivers and lakes might be surprised at location - best two fish came in thigh deep slow run over gravel , but I guess that's where their food - trout, grayling and dace - live.
Pete Shears
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After a blank on the Wreake last Friday followed by a 'one fell off' run on Saturday piking on the local reservoir ,it was a trip to the upper Soar this morning, only -3C. Very scenic with the frost on every twig and blade of grass, walking across the fields certainly kept the cold out,met up with a mate at the downstream end of the fishery planning to move back upstream during the morning.
No bites in the first two swims but managed a chub at 1lb 14oz from the third. Moving upstream again,did a bit of pruning to dead nettles to create another swim,the winter floods usually do it. Nothing on legered crust so moving upstream to a swim on a big bend also drew a blank.
Kept hearing a green woodpecker sounding off in the distance,not many other birds about but one bird scattered the pigeons and from its profile against a bright sky I reckon it was a peregrine.
Moving again to a straight stretch near the barns,managed to get 2 brown trout at 14oz and 1lb 4oz before packing up.
No bites in the first two swims but managed a chub at 1lb 14oz from the third. Moving upstream again,did a bit of pruning to dead nettles to create another swim,the winter floods usually do it. Nothing on legered crust so moving upstream to a swim on a big bend also drew a blank.
Kept hearing a green woodpecker sounding off in the distance,not many other birds about but one bird scattered the pigeons and from its profile against a bright sky I reckon it was a peregrine.
Moving again to a straight stretch near the barns,managed to get 2 brown trout at 14oz and 1lb 4oz before packing up.
peter crabtree
AKA Simon, 1953 - 2022 (RIP)
Today I fished my codgers canal match, 10 of us turned up in -3 degrees and a heavy frost. The water was clear and there was cat ice all along. Set up a simple waggler rig with a 22 hook and punched out minute pieces of bread across by the moored boat.
2 hours in at midday I’d had no bites and neither had many others.. I changed hook to an 18 and tried double maggot, again hard against the boat. Kept pinging loose maggots in the vain hope of a match winning chub which can show up at this venue.
Alas none did and the only bite I had all day resulted in this 3oz chublet.
Enjoyed it anyway as it turned out to be a very nice day eventually and it’s been a good while since I have fished one of these weekly canal matches..
The winning weight was just 2:12:0 so nobody did that well and a fair few blanked….
2 hours in at midday I’d had no bites and neither had many others.. I changed hook to an 18 and tried double maggot, again hard against the boat. Kept pinging loose maggots in the vain hope of a match winning chub which can show up at this venue.
Alas none did and the only bite I had all day resulted in this 3oz chublet.
Enjoyed it anyway as it turned out to be a very nice day eventually and it’s been a good while since I have fished one of these weekly canal matches..
The winning weight was just 2:12:0 so nobody did that well and a fair few blanked….
After blanking on natural venues the last couple of weeks, I let myself be persuaded to fish a local club lake that, I assume, is kept mainly for match fishing - it contains almost nothing but thousands of small carp. Not my usual cup of tea at all, but it is close, usually empty, and I guess i was desperate enough to feel a fish pull that I agreed.
I caught a few of them, from babies of a few ounces going up to about 4lb. It didn't feel all that satisfying - perhaps it wasn't the catching itself that I was after... I think i'd of been happier on the river bank catching nothing.
I caught a few of them, from babies of a few ounces going up to about 4lb. It didn't feel all that satisfying - perhaps it wasn't the catching itself that I was after... I think i'd of been happier on the river bank catching nothing.
markcw
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Yesterday was a recce day, I went for a walk along a couple of stretches of the Thames near me,
The back channel was up a couple of foot but looked fishable, nice steady flow ,not pulling through like it normally does when flooded, but I reckon in a day or two when it drops some more it will be a better prospect.
The main river below the lock was fine, one guy was spinning for the perch and hopefully chub. He hadn't caught anything while I was there.He wasn't casting to far out, he said further out are were the pike usually patrol and catching one one a light spinning outfit is an experience you don't want to often . It's a fine balance between fishing light for perch and heavier for pike.
Above the lock is was more or less like a wide canal ,hardly any movement on the river.As I was weighing up options on where to fish today on there ,the wind got up and blew straight across the open meadow towards the river. A couple of people walking past commented how cold it was, I was fine ,had a sweatshirt on under a hooded fleece ,and a PI DF30 coat over that , plus a pair of fleecy joggers and mukluck boots. Was warm as toast.
Walked a little further up river from the Littlemore stretch over the bridge to the Kennington stretch .
More flow here, a bloke had a cage feeder cast three-quarters the way across and was fishing a Waggler set around four foot deep. Bait was maggot for both set ups. A few tentative bites on the feeder but that was it, and nothing on the waggler.
I decided to give there a miss today after doing a phone call to a day ticket venue with a couple of pools I fish.
It wasn't frozen apart from a bit of cat ice at one end where you can't fish anyway, There were four fishing the pools and we're catching .
That decided it for me, Seatbox was already on my trolley, holdall ready to go with pole and a few topkits in it,
All I had to do was take box off trolley because I wouldn't need trolley, grab bait and net bag and holdall and be ready to go this morning .
I have just scraped ice off car windows,...
So another phone call will be made around nine o clock to see if the pools have a lid on them .
The back channel was up a couple of foot but looked fishable, nice steady flow ,not pulling through like it normally does when flooded, but I reckon in a day or two when it drops some more it will be a better prospect.
The main river below the lock was fine, one guy was spinning for the perch and hopefully chub. He hadn't caught anything while I was there.He wasn't casting to far out, he said further out are were the pike usually patrol and catching one one a light spinning outfit is an experience you don't want to often . It's a fine balance between fishing light for perch and heavier for pike.
Above the lock is was more or less like a wide canal ,hardly any movement on the river.As I was weighing up options on where to fish today on there ,the wind got up and blew straight across the open meadow towards the river. A couple of people walking past commented how cold it was, I was fine ,had a sweatshirt on under a hooded fleece ,and a PI DF30 coat over that , plus a pair of fleecy joggers and mukluck boots. Was warm as toast.
Walked a little further up river from the Littlemore stretch over the bridge to the Kennington stretch .
More flow here, a bloke had a cage feeder cast three-quarters the way across and was fishing a Waggler set around four foot deep. Bait was maggot for both set ups. A few tentative bites on the feeder but that was it, and nothing on the waggler.
I decided to give there a miss today after doing a phone call to a day ticket venue with a couple of pools I fish.
It wasn't frozen apart from a bit of cat ice at one end where you can't fish anyway, There were four fishing the pools and we're catching .
That decided it for me, Seatbox was already on my trolley, holdall ready to go with pole and a few topkits in it,
All I had to do was take box off trolley because I wouldn't need trolley, grab bait and net bag and holdall and be ready to go this morning .
I have just scraped ice off car windows,...
So another phone call will be made around nine o clock to see if the pools have a lid on them .
Well I went yesterday,I didnt leave early enough for the river so,with heavy heart I went to a commercial☹,anyway,the lake I wanted to fish has a match every Wednesday,so I fished the other one,which is shallower than I remember(around 3-4ft),well I fished hemp and maggot and had bites from the get go,small roach,perch,skimmers and perch,I probably had 50/60 fish,probably more,I tried feeding a lot more,but it made no difference to the small fish,so a slightly disappointing day as I like using the landing net....?
I find I go where I can get bites in winter. If they are small and the bites are plentiful thats OK. For me better than a blank.
markcw
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Well after clearing the thick frost off the car , and waiting for daylight ready for traffic to die down I emptied a bucket of water that had ice on it, Refilled it and went back inside.
Came out later ,the bucket was getting a skim of cat ice on it.
The was a slight wind as well, Even though I have warm wet weather gear and base layers, I decided against going.
The venue is 3' deep at the most with margins ranging from 9" to 12".
I would have caught but would have had to work hard for every fish, I didn't fancy going out at 16 metres to a sheltered part of an island, I don't mind the cold weather ,it's the wind and wind chill factor that makes it uncomfortable.
So I thought I will see what it will be like tomorrow ( Friday)
Been outside and it's going to be a cold night , no cloud cover at all. So it's a 50/50 chance of me going.
Came out later ,the bucket was getting a skim of cat ice on it.
The was a slight wind as well, Even though I have warm wet weather gear and base layers, I decided against going.
The venue is 3' deep at the most with margins ranging from 9" to 12".
I would have caught but would have had to work hard for every fish, I didn't fancy going out at 16 metres to a sheltered part of an island, I don't mind the cold weather ,it's the wind and wind chill factor that makes it uncomfortable.
So I thought I will see what it will be like tomorrow ( Friday)
Been outside and it's going to be a cold night , no cloud cover at all. So it's a 50/50 chance of me going.
markcw
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Well it's -4 degrees at the moment, the venue I was planning on going will have a lid on it, Other option is spinning on the Thames ,but going by the non action when I went to see what it was like the other day from known hot spots by a bloke spinning there that is very doubtful.
mikench
Well-known member
Very wise Mark.
Same match again this week ... river slightly lower and clearer, had been really cold all week. 21 anglers again, but some different to last week.
very short story, drew one peg above the one I had last week ... at which my heart sank as it’s a noted barbel peg but has had no chub form for 20 years.
Borne out by facts, I gave it four hours without a bite before an early bath. Above me also blanked but peg above him Won the match ... that’s chub in winter for you.
first blank of the season ... my lowest weight other than that was 3 pounds 3 oz ... so could be a lot worse!
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