How did you get on?

[john step]

Great fishing Kev.
My session today was a quickie evening one on the deep reservoir. I had a tele carp rod made up and ready to go. The heat was still there but there was cloud so the sun wasnt burning and unbearable.
Two carp biggest 12+. A photo for those carp lovers on here.

 

[mikench]

A very pleasant day in the circumstances. Gordon and I arrived around 6.30 am at a pool we had failed on once before and we were not too confident.

It’s around 1.5 acres and has some large carp which cruise about utterly indifferent to your bait and method. I set up my Tryptych on a buzzer and joined Gordon on the float. We both had loads of small perch and the odd roach but the larger fish eluded our best efforts.

The pegs are well spaced out and Gordon was mostly out of earshot but he heard my cry of relief when my buzzer sounded .

a lovely tench around 2 lb. This was followed by another so 2 tench makes me happy. Not to be outdone Gordon cajoled one of the cruising commons to take his pellet and a magnificent specimen eventually entered his landing net held by me. I hurriedly retrieved my scales and the fish was just shy of 14lb , a pb for Gordon. A bailiff and 2 others guys came to look and marvel at Gordon’s skill in landing such a specimen on a 16 hook to 5lb line. In all the excitement we forgot to take a pic. Well done Gordon. We might just go again.

 

[nottskev]

A very pleasant day in the circumstances. Gordon and I arrived around 6.30 am at a pool we had failed on once before and we were not too confident.

View attachment 21949
It’s around 1.5 acres and has some large carp which cruise about utterly indifferent to your bait and method. I set up my Tryptych on a buzzer and joined Gordon on the float. We both had loads of small perch and the odd roach but the larger fish eluded our best efforts.

View attachment 21951
The pegs are well spaced out and Gordon was mostly out of earshot but he heard my cry of relief when my buzzer sounded .

View attachment 21953
a lovely tench around 2 lb. This was followed by another so 2 tench makes me happy. Not to be outdone Gordon cajoled one of the cruising commons to take his pellet and a magnificent specimen eventually entered his landing net held by me. I hurriedly retrieved my scales and the fish was just shy of 14lb , a pb for Gordon. A bailiff and 2 others guys came to look and marvel at Gordon’s skill in landing such a specimen on a 16 hook to 5lb line. In all the excitement we forgot to take a pic. Well done Gordon. We might just go again.

Nicely done, Mike and Gordon. Don't NGT do an extendable table?

 

[mikench]

They do plus a small beer cooler and glasses. I haven’t as yet bought one.

 

[seth49]

Early start again yesterday on usual fishery, arrived just after 6am to find just one other angler there, the peg I fished last week was empty so set up there, I had a change from last time and set my float rod and pin up, as the better fish seemed to be close in, so usual feeder rod in margin on alarm, with a method feeder on, and a three inch hook length which I tried instead of the usual four inch one, seemed better as well, as I had three fish on that before I set the float rod up, it’s a Korum power float rod which should handle the fish in here.

Good to be using a rod and pin instead of my pole, and I can put it in a rest instead of holding it all the time, will be using it more now, I had quite a mixed bag of tench, crucians, barbel, F1s, roach, and skimmers, nice to catch a couple of crucians as along with tench there my favourites.

Bait was a choice of paste, corn, and soft pellets which all worked, and then switched to the margins for the carp around 4pm, using cockles for bait which also caught tench and barbel, finished with five carp to 11lbs 8ozs, 10 tench, 6 barbel, 2 crucians, 2 F1s, and 15 roach and skimmers.

So a good day enjoyed it, the carp on the float rod and pin were good fun, and one that was hooked in the tail took some landing as well.

 

[Pete Shears]

Greeted by a red kite swooping over the local reservoir this morning about 5am, kept coming back and about 8am it scooped up a dead roach from a weedbed and flew off being chased by a seagull and a crow.
Hoping again for tench with the method feeders I had 3 real bream and one skimmer,using small 8mm boilies had the roach attacking them and me getting one and eventually from about 40yds out a small male tench of 2lb 12oz on plastic corn. Bearable today with a cooling NW breeze
unlike yesterday in a S/SW breeze and cloudy managing only three bream.

 

[nottskev]

Didn't fish but I took a walk around the ancient ballast pit 5 mins away. A few circuits add up to the 2km that lets me lie down and open a beer with a clear conscience. It's a lovely old place

It's got a couple of dozen big old carp that have seen it all. Even the hardcore urban carpers who who bring to the job a lot of patience, guile (and stimulants), only get a take, if they're lucky, every few sessions. I've never had a take off them in several sessions over several years. It's fatal to walk around on a hot evening, as these wary fish know when you're not fishing and flaunt themselves, meaning I'll have to go back and have another try.

 

[S-Kippy]

Something different for me today.A few hours fishing float and pin on a commercial I last fished maybe 8-10 years ago. I was hoping for a barbel or two as they're in there and its years since I last caught one. No such luck.

I started where the bailiff suggested but had to move after an hour or so as I was getting bitted out something awful. The swim I moved to can fish right down the lh edge but it took me a long time to get any interest but at least it was relatively bit free. Not what I'd hoped for but I finished with 10 carp, 2 crucian and a chub plus bits. Nothing of any great size, best carp might have scraped 5lb but good fun on a float rod and pin. Strangely I reckon I lost as many as I caught and for no reason I could see....foulhooked a few too which is always possible fishing right in the edge. Paste was the most successful bait though I had bites ( and fish) on just about everything I showed them. The Acolyte + I used is a lovely rod but doesnt kill fish quickly enough imo....though that could just be me. Its still a 3 piece rod too which is a bonus.

The bloke fishing the only swim I really know on the lake ( and the one I wanted to fish) did very much better than I did though he was on the feeder and I particularly didnt want to do that today. I was under a tree so it was very pleasant in the shade and not too hot today. I sort of enjoyed it but I dont feel any great urge to go back anytime soon BUT no M25 so no traffic going or returning and its a quite lovely drive through the little villages of rural Berks.

I didn't realise quite how hopelessly out of touch I am with this kind of fishing on this kind of water. I can only get better.

 

[jon atkinson]

these wary fish know when you're not fishing and flaunt themselves

The brazen hussies - how very dare they!!

 

[mikench]

They are common Jon and mirror society.

 

[seth49]

Went to the syndicate water yesterday for a change, I was first there at 6,15am so straight to my favourite swim, just fished the pole today, as it reaches where I want to fish and feed better than a rod, usual chopped worm and ground bait which catches well here too.

Started slowly with a few small perch and roach, till a lot of fizzing bubbles announced the arrival of the tench, small ones to start with but getting bigger as the day went on, even caught a small eel, which is the first one I caught for years, turned into a good day as I caught 27 tench, and 25 assorted silvers plus a brief hookup with a large carp but only for a few seconds.

The other two went to the other pond on our club ticket, and struggled it is a moody pond that one, either fishes well or not, so I made the right choice in going were I did, certainly a good year for tench, my total for this year is now 263, I’m very pleased with that.

 

[mikench]

I cannot compete with that Keith but I am slowly catching up.

Gordon and I went to one of our current favourites and had it virtually to ourselves. As it doesn’t look particularly enticing regulars to the venue ignore it, thinking it hasn’t been stocked. We have no intention of informing them otherwise.

Gordon put on his jacket as did I as it was decidedly chilly under the cloud cover. It did warm up once the sun shone. Gordon used his Cadence 15’ and caught 20 nice roach around 4-8 oz and a few small perch. I fished with my new bomb rod and reel and thoroughly enjoyed it. The rod is a cracker and handled the 6 tench I managed to catch with aplomb and the variety of small feeder I used. The reel is light and performed well despite the wonky line lay caused because I loaded the spool with a very loose drag. When will I ever learn.

The tench were all like this and in excellent condition.

Another great day Gordon in pleasant but cool conditions which are preferable to baking in the sun. Thanks for your company. Oh I nearly forgot , Gordon landed one of the tench as Murphy’s sixth law operated as I visited the loo. He kindly landed it too and left me to gaze at it and unhook it. He is slowly succumbing to the dark side.

 

[Hugh Bailey]

Aplogies but off topic.

Mike, my daughters just travelled up by train today, expecting temperatures to be similar to here in the SE. Apparently it was “freezing “‘ so they’ve gone to Primark to get something warmer. Don’t think they will get much wear out of that in the next few days!

 

[mikench]

It was really cold in the wind and i was in shorts and crocs. I soon put a jacket and hoodie on. It will warm up considerably over the next 4 days.


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[john step]

1. On a club water predominately stocked with carp to use my feeder rod which is now resplendent with its new top section. Very slow after the heat but winkled out 3. They have grown well as the biggest a common was 14+. What was a pleasant surprise is the fact that the roach and rudd seem to be making a comeback after the black death. I had a 1lb+ roach and a rudd half that plus a poor unfortunate small roach foul hooked.
Good for the future.
2. Reading some of your posts I dont know if you know how lucky you are being able to go with the reasonable expectancy of catching a tench or two never mind whether large or small. Lovely fish.

 

[Pete Shears]

Another early start at the local reservoir to beat the heat - had a facing SW/W/NW breeze all morning, me and three others all wearing coats.
First cast on plastic corn - 4lb 12oz female tench which looked in good condition but its rhs was bright red - post spawning marks or being kept in a keepnet for too long in the afternoon heat ?
Ten minutes later another tench on the other rod baited with a pink pop up boilie, that weighed 3lb 10z, followed by a small roach.
After that apart from liners - nothing.
Sat back watching buzzards and red kites,when the wind dropped swallows and swifts magically appeared.

 

[markcw]

It was really cold in the wind and i was in shorts and crocs. I soon put a jacket and hoodie on. It will warm up considerably over the next 4 days.


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There was bit of wind on Hall Lane fishery yesterday .

 

[sam vimes]

The reel is light and performed well despite the wonky line lay caused because I loaded the spool with a very loose drag.

View attachment 22025

You didn't take too long looking at them then!
It may not have been entirely down to a loose drag, though it won't have helped. I didn't load up with a loose clutch and my line loaded with a noticeable bias to the rear of the spool. As there was no sign of shims in the box, just the spare line clips (three of the gummy ones), I checked the spool shaft. On inspection, there appeared to be one rather thick white (PTFE) shim washer. Once removed, it became apparent that one thick washer was actually two thinner washers stuck together. I removed one of them and reloaded the line. Lo and behold, no more uneven line lay.

The only minor fly in the ointment for me is that mine isn't quite as light as the published specs might suggest. However, 216g for a modern 4500 "Feeder" reel did seem a tad unlikely, especially when the 3500 "Float" version is supposed to be 210g. Fortunately, it's still lighter than an awful lot of comparably sized reels. It's light enough to allow me to follow my preference for oversized reels on float rods without wasting the benefits of rods at the lighter end of the spectrum. The big spool allows me to send a float a long way with very little effort. The 4500 sits nicely on my 14' Sphere and is perfectly acceptable on the 13'er. However, I reckon the 3500 might be a better match on the 13' and definitely will be on the 11'6" Hotrods. I think I may have to treat myself to the 3500 model at some point. No rush though.

 

[The Sogster]

I have been suffering from some severe health issues so haven't been since last year.

Yesterday I visited my local canal from 4.15am to 6.45am to test a new rod, the RVS River Ambush (see my review).

I just took the bare minimum, I.e. net and rod and a few slices of bread. Fished on a two swan link leger.
I managed 6 roach of between 4 - 6oz and a couple of skimmers around 10 to 12 oz.

 

[mikench]

Thanks for your thoughts Sam pm on its way. Pete I have bemoaned the lack of tench for 6 years since I started fishing but this year instead of the usual 4 or 5 at best I have had around 40 and cannot quite believe it. Big or small they put a big smile on my face. On this new water I have had several every time: I hope it lasts.