ian g
Well-known member
I laughed when my mate first showed me them but when you fish on slippery river banks in winter they can be a life saver. They really do work well
How did you get on?
- Thread starter peter crabtree
- Start date
dibbers first came to my attention from Kevin Ashurst’s book “world class match fishing”. He was gifted the rig of Jacky Morzieres at the end of a world champs match in the 1970s and used it first for catching Gudgeon on the Trent (up to 20 pounds of them).
like big Kev, i make mine from peacock quill rather than balsa. They do fish better with a side eye (c. 5-10mm from the tip) ... but these days I’m lazy and just fish them double rubber (dispensing with the side eye). I only paint them on the flat top - dab of epoxy to seal the quill and then just paint the blunt end. I used to be able to see them at 14m, but now i find them trickier beyond about 8m.
shotting is easy as they are dotted right down so only that flat tip is visible. They’re the only float I use for on the drop on the whip (as a match angler) and as Nottskev says ... bites are very often sailaways.
Inspiration for us both from Mr Ashurst. I've got his two books, and more than once I travelled to matches to watch him fish. I was watching him fish at the Evesham festival circa 1993, and he was fishing a little dibber in about 6' of water. What I remember is that he each time he put the rig in, he would do so several times until, in his eyes, it went in and the bait went down just right. No such thing as "good enough". A few pegs away, I saw the unflappable Bob Nudd throw his rod down after missing three bites on the trot fishing for roach on the link leger. Plenty of drama, for the informed onlooker! I still put side-eyes in mine, but getting araldite off your fingers is a pain.
wetthrough
Well-known member
White spirit gets it off, if it hasn't set!
The Teme on a rainy day,wow,you either end up in the river,or can't get up the banks,very frightening after a heavy shower during the summer,dog screw and a rope is a must,looks odd when your screwing it in when it's dry though....
seth49
Well-known member
Cold start to the day, I had to scrape ice of the windscreen before I could set of at 5.30 am today, back on usual fishery hoping for some tench, but they weren’t having it today, just a couple of skimmers were the only silvers I had.
I did start a paste swim while the main swim was settling, first carp came of then I landed one, then lost two more and caught an F1, that swim died after that, so fished the one I’d baited for the tench but not a bite.
Went back on the paste line but nothing doing here, so I fed the margins either side and had my sandwiches while I watched for signs of carp, had a bit of a social after with Mick and Neil,before going back to my swim and seeing signs of carp over the feed, so margin rod on alarm in left margin, with method feeder and chocolate orange wafter in there and fished right side with pole close in.
Finished with four more all on the margin rod, nothing on the pole, so not a bad result, perhaps the frost put the tench off, still not a bad day eventually, enjoyed it.
I did start a paste swim while the main swim was settling, first carp came of then I landed one, then lost two more and caught an F1, that swim died after that, so fished the one I’d baited for the tench but not a bite.
Went back on the paste line but nothing doing here, so I fed the margins either side and had my sandwiches while I watched for signs of carp, had a bit of a social after with Mick and Neil,before going back to my swim and seeing signs of carp over the feed, so margin rod on alarm in left margin, with method feeder and chocolate orange wafter in there and fished right side with pole close in.
Finished with four more all on the margin rod, nothing on the pole, so not a bad result, perhaps the frost put the tench off, still not a bad day eventually, enjoyed it.
I went to one of those places where the fish are bigger but bites fewer. I was hoping it wouldn't be a repeat of Monday's blank. The day didn't start well. I left without a drink, stopped at a garage to get one. It has a small M&S Food Store, so you can end up behind people with a basket of shopping. I was about to pay after a long wait in a long queue, when I watched a bloke pull in behind my parked car, blocking it completely, As I left the shop I said, you'll have to let me out, you've blocked me in. I can't. he said, I'm in the queue now - yes the back of a long queue. Luckily, the police were in for pies and doughnuts, and when I suggested we take the problem to them, he moved his van. Out on the main road, a dual carriageway, I saw the ambulance lights a few cars back in my mirror, so I pulled ahead of the car to my left, indicating to pull it into his lane. I did it 3 times, and each time the d**k closed the gap on purpose making rude gestures, until he finally realised everybody was letting the ambulance go.
Anyway, all knuckle-draggers forgotten when 20 mins later I'm passing the big houses in the middle of the estate with the woodland ponds
Just one angler on, so I headed for the opposite bank. I get more anti-social every year. I declined for a couple of years to add this water to my ticket for estate ponds, as the rules more or less insist on a carp-style approach which I didn't fancy, but I like the place and my lighter barbel gear and a bit of poetic license get around the strictures. Polystyrene blobs played a big part today. I'd made some bobbins gluing hair grips in them, and I used another as a float on a margin float rig. Another first - I tried fishing in a chair with arms. Never again.
It's a deep pond, with 9 or 10' over the first shelf, and I fed both swims with a mix of hemp, shredded meat and a bit of corn. I got a total of 6 bites, missed two and ended up with two carp and two barbel.
This one came on a pop-up on a chod rig (debris in the swim) Help, what am I doing?
What a fat carp this one was!
Anyway, all knuckle-draggers forgotten when 20 mins later I'm passing the big houses in the middle of the estate with the woodland ponds
Just one angler on, so I headed for the opposite bank. I get more anti-social every year. I declined for a couple of years to add this water to my ticket for estate ponds, as the rules more or less insist on a carp-style approach which I didn't fancy, but I like the place and my lighter barbel gear and a bit of poetic license get around the strictures. Polystyrene blobs played a big part today. I'd made some bobbins gluing hair grips in them, and I used another as a float on a margin float rig. Another first - I tried fishing in a chair with arms. Never again.
It's a deep pond, with 9 or 10' over the first shelf, and I fed both swims with a mix of hemp, shredded meat and a bit of corn. I got a total of 6 bites, missed two and ended up with two carp and two barbel.
This one came on a pop-up on a chod rig (debris in the swim) Help, what am I doing?
What a fat carp this one was!
That looks a lovely venue Kev.
I did 'similar' to you Kev(regarding venue with fewer but larger fish),my result was far less encouraging with a blank session,I had a half an hour spell when my float went under every cast,but after that I remained biteless...
went back to moor monkton yesterday and this time fished the cyprio lake.had 4 carp altogether and lost 3 more.of the 3 i lost one of them shot under the platform and got tangled around the platform leg.managed to get a couple around the 6lb mark and the other two were around the 3lb mark all on mussel on the waggler.there was a (roving) match on and as i was leaving i gave one of the match anglers some prawns and mussels as he'd been round for a chat an hour or so before the match started and told me he hadn't brought any.
mikench
Well-known member
Kev I see your bobbins are designed, by the look of it, to stay on the line. Am I right or are they just foam bobbers as floats.
no-one in particular
Well-known member
Nothing to say about yesterday, went to the jetty, I was going to try and make the maybe flounder beach but couldn't do it. Not a snitch again, used up the left over bait from last week half of which went into the rubbish bin on the way home. Never mind, had yap yap with me so not lacking in company and it was nice in the sun sitting on MY bench provided by the council after someone who had the cheek to sit in it cleared off. Easterly breeze was a bit strong though which might be killing it and they are staying with us for a while. Just a couple of cormorants crossing the sea and some fulmars up on the cliff on the bird front, not any migrants yet.
I might take yapyap to a carp lake next, he doesn't like fishing but he still wants me to catch him one fish.
I might take yapyap to a carp lake next, he doesn't like fishing but he still wants me to catch him one fish.
Last edited:
mikench
Well-known member
I had a few hours on the beach yesterday and ended up not even tackling up. I was the only one for miles, there was an onshore breeze and for a non tidal sea, some large rollers. I guessed others knew better than to try . The squid is in the freezer for another day.
The leger ones have a hair grip glued in and are tied to a tent peg below. I use the ones in the pic as a float for a simple rig, over depth with a couple of small shot on the bottom. Btw, the hair grip pulled off the line too easily (as in fell off) but a cm of pole float rubber pushed on the legs tightened it up just right.
Last edited:
seth49
Well-known member
On our other water today, we’ve been waiting for it to warm up a bit, I’d had a look on Sunday morning and the two who were fishing were both catching tench, so I was there at 6. 45am this morning, I was first there so got the peg I wanted, decided to fish my pole at three sections plus top kit, fed a bit of chopped worm and ground bait, and fished single red maggot on the hook.
Quiet at first then started catching roach Rudd and perch, then it went quiet for a bit till the float buried and I had a small carp, and then started catching some tench plus three more small carp, I caught steadily through the day in patches, if it went quiet I fed a bit more chopped worm and ground bait which seemed to give me more bites.
Red maggot was better as hook bait than worm, had very few bites on worm , so a good day for me, mick had one carp, and Neil had a few fish but not many, I really seemed to have improved this year, feeding properly seems to be the key.
I finished with 38 fish on the clicker, 15 tench, 4carp, and 19 various silvers, so a good days fishing really enjoyed it, apart from a crazy male swan which wanted to eat my feet.
Quiet at first then started catching roach Rudd and perch, then it went quiet for a bit till the float buried and I had a small carp, and then started catching some tench plus three more small carp, I caught steadily through the day in patches, if it went quiet I fed a bit more chopped worm and ground bait which seemed to give me more bites.
Red maggot was better as hook bait than worm, had very few bites on worm , so a good day for me, mick had one carp, and Neil had a few fish but not many, I really seemed to have improved this year, feeding properly seems to be the key.
I finished with 38 fish on the clicker, 15 tench, 4carp, and 19 various silvers, so a good days fishing really enjoyed it, apart from a crazy male swan which wanted to eat my feet.
Ray Roberts
Well-known member
Headline in the Sun;”ANGLER BOOTS SWAN IN MOUTH” Read all a baht it.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
mikench
Well-known member
And in the Queens Platinum jubilee year too.
Last edited:
Hugh Bailey
Well-known member
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2005
- Messages
- 333
- Reaction score
- 244
Smashing fish!
For one reason or another I have hardly wet a line in 2022 but with the weather warming up & with Tench in mind I had my eye on a venue I have known about for a while but have never fished. A mature gravel pit of at a guess about 20 acres that sees little angling pressure apart from the odd pleasure angler or lure chucker. A bit of research showed it had been dug in the 70s and although it had no track record for Tench (or anything for that matter) I just got a feeling about it plus there is nothing like a bit of mystery to keep the interest up. The other advantage was that it was just a 20 min drive so meant it was a realistic proposition to have a bash at in the limited time I would have available.
Nice & quiet with very few other anglers but weed everywhere..
I had already made a couple of recce trips with a plumbing rod walking round to try and get an idea of the place. Depth went down to about 11 foot with some extensive shallow areas but also some nice looking deep margins. Access in some areas was not too easy so I had to cut a channel through the rushes to get to the water. One thing was in abundance however and that was weed, it was chocker with it. No area I could find was weed free but eventually I found a few likely looking spots on which to concentrate.
A view of the first swim, access to the water in some areas was not so easy ...
For tactics I decided to fish a couple of rods with running leads with bobbins on a long drop. I opted for flat leads on a paternoster link the idea being they would fall more slowly through the water and help present the bait on top of the weed. The first session of a couple of hours I blanked, not a sniff or sign of a fish & I wondered if this was going to be a sign of struggles to come. The second session however of again a couple of hours I had a take and hooked into a fish in the margins that powered off but I managed to turn quite easily. As it rose up in the clear water I saw the green flanks of a Tench and I was chuffed as it slipped into my net, not a monster but the size really did not matter. It was very satisfying to catch a target species from a new water off your own back.
A nice start on the new water..
Its certainly given me the impetus to have a few more sessions to see if any surprises turn up. The other plus point being so far I have had the entire lake to myself ..perfect !
Nice & quiet with very few other anglers but weed everywhere..
I had already made a couple of recce trips with a plumbing rod walking round to try and get an idea of the place. Depth went down to about 11 foot with some extensive shallow areas but also some nice looking deep margins. Access in some areas was not too easy so I had to cut a channel through the rushes to get to the water. One thing was in abundance however and that was weed, it was chocker with it. No area I could find was weed free but eventually I found a few likely looking spots on which to concentrate.
A view of the first swim, access to the water in some areas was not so easy ...
For tactics I decided to fish a couple of rods with running leads with bobbins on a long drop. I opted for flat leads on a paternoster link the idea being they would fall more slowly through the water and help present the bait on top of the weed. The first session of a couple of hours I blanked, not a sniff or sign of a fish & I wondered if this was going to be a sign of struggles to come. The second session however of again a couple of hours I had a take and hooked into a fish in the margins that powered off but I managed to turn quite easily. As it rose up in the clear water I saw the green flanks of a Tench and I was chuffed as it slipped into my net, not a monster but the size really did not matter. It was very satisfying to catch a target species from a new water off your own back.
A nice start on the new water..
Its certainly given me the impetus to have a few more sessions to see if any surprises turn up. The other plus point being so far I have had the entire lake to myself ..perfect !