How did you get on?

[ian g]

First trip of the year for me to one of favourite stretches. I arrived at around 10.45 , no one else on . I headed upstream finding a big bag of rubbish on route , looks like a large kids picnic , what I don't get is why bag it all up and leave it in the field?Collected it all up on my way off and deposited it in the bin. As I approached the bend a heron took off , followed by two cormorants so hopefully some fish about . The river looked bob on but obviously the cold spell made me think otherwise . I set up a tip rod with a maggot feeder and lobworm as bait . I put out a float rod with worm again and waited . Two hours with no sign of fish I swapped to maggots on the tip rod and had a few knocks and crushed maggots before catching a small dace , then a chub 3 3/4lb , As I was sorting the chub out the worm rod was away but I missed the bite . Nothing else on the worm but a few small dace on the tip . Seems a long time since I've been fishing and the weather behaved so I enjoyed the afternoon . Hopefully the conditions are now improving so maybe the fishing will too.

 

[John Aston]

A nice start to the new year. A balmy 2C , but after the 40 minute walk upstream it felt warmer. Grayling were my prey - what better to fish for in this cold ? - but proved elusive with not a bite in 2hours and about half a mile of river. But it's wooded downstream and for whatever reason I started catching as soon as I went into the wood , with an hour of daylight left . Seven grayling , none weighed but biggest three were 1-6/1-12 range I'd say .

All on trotted worm with a 4.5AAA float , centrepin and Harrison 12ft GTi . As ever , most came from water 18"- 2.5 ft deep, and pulled like carthorses - such beautiful fish. And only a single trout hooked, which after a big leap threw the hook anyway .

 

[ian g]

I thought about chasing grayling on the Dee yesterday , might have been a better option

 

[John Aston]

90 minutes dropshot paddle tail on the Swale today - before the dreaded snow melt arrives. Four perch , three about a pound and one of exactly two pounds . The big fish was hooked at 40 yards range and made a lovely thump- thump in the deep water. But discretion was the better part of valour today - the banks were either frozen grass and snow or insanely slippery mud. Thank God for Drennan 3.5 metre landing net poles...but even so I wasn't risking any longer .

I forgot to mention about yesterday's grayling trip that on the rock hard bank of the river, in the spot I always see it bloom first , were the first fragrant leaves of wild garlic- the smell of spring .

 

[Philip]

There had been a couple of days of hard frost but with a hour or so free over the weekend I shot off for my first session of the new year down to the river for a quick dabble. I knew where I wanted to be in such bitterly cold conditions, one of those hallowed spots of river angling - a warm water outlet. However on arrival the swim was underwater, I had not anticipated the rising river levels however on closer inspection it was still fishable but would require a bit of improvisation. A tree stump in the water became my front rest and my front rest was redeployed as a makeshift backrest. I then plonked myself on a little folding stool with my feet in the water which was noticeably tepid to the touch, good news as it meant the hot water treatment pump was on.

There was a submerged wall just in front of me with a drop into deeper water over it. The main river was racing through but there was slack close in & I was able to hold bottom with a small running lead. A piece of bread was folded over the hook and lowered off the rod tip into the deeper water just over the wall.

I didn’t have to wait long before the tip started trembling and 15 or so minutes later it bent over and I struck into a fish that tore off downstream towards a large weed cage in the water which along with the submerged wall made the swim very tight to play fish in. However despite me playing it as hard as I dared the fish somehow made it past the weed cage which by some miracle it managed without the line getting cut off and continued to race downstream. It was now impossible to play the fish back to me again past the cage so I had to follow it downstream. This was easier said than done & the next 10mins or so were nerve racking as I inched my way past a line of trees and slippery rocks passing the rod round them until I was in a position below the cage and free to play the fish in open water. Eventually I netted a pristine Mirror Carp that shone in the winter sun.

I followed it up shortly after with a small common & then a real odd”un, a fish that looked like an ornamental goldfish with a huge fan tail but with normal bronze common Carp colour.

A river odd'un ...look at the tail on that...

Its what I love about fishing the rivers, you never know what will turn up next. I decided to call it a day and returned home happy. No monsters but 3 Carp in a couple of hours on a cold winter river was a good result.

 

[Steve Arnold]

Lovely story, it's sessions like that on the river that make for wonderful memories!

 

[nottskev]

The level at the marina had come down, but was rising again with no rain .... I didn't think the roach would like the snow melt so I opted for those cold water fall-backs, trout and grayling on the Derwent. But if the Trent had some melted snow coming in, the Derwent, draining the Peak District was much worse, pelting through even the deepest stretches. I only gave it a try on a well, I'm here basis. First couple of goes with a chopped worm feeder under the bank, and I found the bottom is full of branches and a deep bed of dead leaves and debris. Reeling in was like raking the swim. I tried suspending the bait off the bottom, with a feeder in a long loop and the hook on the tag end, 18" above it

With a bit of extra lead and the rod almost vertical, the bait stayed clean. But would any fish take a worm that must have been flapping about like a flag in a breeze? Well, one did, and that gave me permission to pack in the pier fishing.

So much for the fishing. But I did enjoy a drive around and fish and chips in Matlock Bath.

 

[nottskev]

Well, it was nice to get more than one bite this afternoon. And quite a social outing, too. One friend had asked me to show him how to to fish the slider on seed baits, and another fishing friend who lives nearby wandered over to chat with us. The level in the marina was down to something near normal, but the water was a rather sick colour - you can see in the pic below - and very cold. For the first couple of hours trying to get bites was the name of the game while friend got to grips with the method. We struggled to get a bite on maggot, never mind the hemp/tares I was meant to be demo'ing.

Eventually, a few fish showed interest, but it was slow going

There was a brief interruption when, after managing not to do this in a lifetime's fishing, I stuck a barbed hook (Kamasan B560, size 18) in my finger. I swung in a chunky roach that dropped off just as I was about to grip it. Disgorging yourself is, I suppose, just fishing karma. It bled way more than you might think. I cleaned my hand with some alcohol wipes to offset the many diseases offered by the Trent, and walked round to the chandlery where, luckily, they sold plasters. The woman in the shop told me her fly fishing dad came home once with a hook in his ear and her mum had to cut the eye off with snips. So, It could have been worse.

Back fishing, a local cat joined the social

Fishing friend had some business to attend to and wrapped up at 2.30. Typically for January, the last hour - I packed up at 3.30 - was the best, and the roach suddenly remembered they liked hemp and tares. It's sweet fishing when your float cocks to a black dot in the reflection of a grey sky and then disappears.

 

[John Aston]

. The woman in the shop told me her fly fishing dad came home once with a hook in his ear and her mum had to cut the eye off with snips. So, It could have been worse.

I first read 'eye' as 'ear'. Ouch

 

[nottskev]

I first read 'eye' as 'ear'. Ouch

Ouch indeed. Once, when the rheumatoid eye condition iritis got out of control, I had a steroid injection in the eyeball. A hook in the finger is definitely the lesser of those two evils.

 

[Alan Whitty]

I've had my eyeball sitting on my cheek three times in A&E when I got stuff in my eye at work whilst the doctor is getting whatever it was out, metal or wood dust, a most surreal situation where your brain thinks it can look in the direction it wants when obviously it can't..

 

[@Clive]

I went up to the main basin of one of the two big lakes. It is virtually unfished and has never been stocked. Last time I hit on a shoal of fish that kept me entertained for three hours. Today I tried a different swim with float and swing-tipped maggot feeder for zero bites. I moved to the other swim and got the same result in slightly less time. The second rod had a herring deadbait on and was also untouched. Not even the crayfish bothered it. Just wasn't happening.

 

[Alan Whitty]

Strange, wonder why that was Clive...

 

[@Clive]

I don't know Alan. The weather has just broken from a ten day spell of -3C overnight and 4C or 5C daytime. It was 12C today. I noticed that the cormorants weren't concentrated in the deep water as they have been for over a month, but scattered all over in smaller groups and not settling anywhere. Won't be long before the roach begin moving to spawning areas in the shallower bays so the big shoals may be breaking up. I was on the end of a relatively warm SW breeze near to a bay so expected the fish would be in the undertow, but obviously not.

It is a big water. More than 8 miles round at this time of year. And there are few features to target. The drop off and wind direction are just about the only things of note.

 

[Ray Roberts]

I went up to the main basin of one of the two big lakes. It is virtually unfished and has never been stocked. Last time I hit on a shoal of fish that kept me entertained for three hours. Today I tried a different swim with float and swing-tipped maggot feeder for zero bites. I moved to the other swim and got the same result in slightly less time. The second rod had a herring deadbait on and was also untouched. Not even the crayfish bothered it. Just wasn't happening.

The way it goes sometimes, I've fished in what look to be ideal conditions and blanked and the exact opposite. Last winter I had some quite good catches of tench and crucians on days that your common sense should have told you not to bother.

 

[Skoda]

Ventured out a couple of days ago, first time since mid-December; new venue for me, on the charmingly named River Lark. I didn’t expect to catch, and I wasn’t disappointed. However, the day was bright which was a change from the dull, misty, cold ones we’ve been experiencing for the last few weeks here.

Tried a new local tackle shop on an industrial estate which is only four miles from where I live. I had the distinct impression that I was the first customer that day at 10.30am. Had a quick look around, seemed very well stocked; how can they afford to stock thousands of pounds worth of tackle on selling one pint of maggots a day? Anyway, they were really friendly, answered my questions about the river, told me that it would be about four or five feet deep, full of big rudd, big perch, roach and even winter tench! Classic tackle shop chat. (To be fair he actually said it might be hard today!)

Settled into a well-used swim near a bridge, plumbed ten foot of slowly flowing water in front of me and started trotting a stick float a third of the way out. Stuck that out for about an hour and changed to a tiny maggot feeder whilst having lunch, finishing with the last of the Christmas cake. It was surprisingly warm in the sun.

Never had a bite all day. In my youth I would have scratched around changing methods, dropping down hook sizes etc. but nowadays I tend to sit there trying to keep warm, hands in pockets, thinking about my next confidence-boosting trip to a commercial.

Packed up just before four o’clock, actually really enjoyed the day and looking forward to returning when conditions are more favourable.

Andy

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

Never had a bite all day.... nowadays I tend to sit there trying to keep warm, hands in pockets, thinking about my next confidence-boosting trip to a commercial.

Timely post. This is my first winter fishing right through and it's been tough. One of my mates has been trying to get me to fish his club's estate lake which is full of carp. I've resisted until now, being of the view that carping is catching and not real fishing. I'm on the brink of admitting defeat and joining him.
.

 

[mikench]

It’s all fishing. Go on you will enjoy a bend in the rod.

 

[nottskev]

I don't want to be left out of the blanking. In fact, I've blanked twice this week. Tuesday, I set about catching a chub from a river in perfect winter trim with some lovely bait: steak, plain or glugged in some imitation blood gloop on the hook; mince, separated with krill and breadcrumb, in the feeder. It was more What Are You Eating Tonight than HDYGO

I fished this til the light went in several swims with perfect chub habitat - long inside bend, deep water right under the trees, lovely crease etc - without a bite. Blokes fishing opposite - it's a wide river - caught nothing I saw on the float down their bank.

One of the swims I fished had such a fantastic deep slack between fallen trees that I went back today to fish for a perch (a chub.. a perch .... it's not as if I have illusions about this river in winter) and I float fished worm or maggot over chopped worm fed in groundbait and soil. Again, not a bite. I passed a bloke piking on my way down, and again on my way back, and he'd caught nothing either.

The Trent - definitely the best river I've lived near. And the worst.

 

[Kevin aka Aethelbald]

Next time I go out on the Avon I'm fishing two rods. Never done it before, but needs must.
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