A Fishermans Journey

New rod success!

2012-02-12T18:04:00.000Z

The weather, as we all know, has been pretty rubbish for fishing of late but ive been itching to try out my new lure rod and today i decided to do just that . I was more interested in just having a cast around to see how the rod behaved with different lures than catching but if a fish came along of course i wasnt going to complain!
I tried a good few swims and i was thoroughly impressed , the rods 3-18gram casting weight is ideal for fishing small shads and worms and very sensitive, i could feel every bump and tap as the lure bounced along the bottom. After a couple of hours fishing a deep and slow stretch with no action i decided to head to another area where the water was predominantly fast and shallow. My thinking was that the fish might be more concentrated into smaller areas and the increased flow would be forcing them to move about a bit more.
Third swim into the new stretch and i had a hit on my first cast. A solid thump on the rod tip and a big swirl just below the surface saw my first hookup of the day. It didnt stay on for long though and within seconds my lure was spat back at me. A couple of casts to the same area later and i hooked up again for a repeat performance, it was most probably the same fish. No more action followed that so i moved on .
On my second cast in the next swim a small jack went for the shad as i got it under the rod tip. The fish missed first time and i left the lure hanging for split second which was all it took for the Pike to spin around and engulf it. I set the hook solidly this time and after a bit of fumbling with my collapsable net i soon had it on the bank. The light rod had tamed it admirably and i was well chuffed to have christened it in tough conditions. I fished on for another hour or so but the weather closed in and it began to rain so i headed for the pub instead.

Small but very welcome!

The winning lure, a 2.5in Kopyto shad on a 7g jig head

Scratching for bites on the Trent

2012-02-10T18:24:00.000Z

I managed to get out of work on time for once today and as i pulled out of the carpark the sun decided to make a rare appearance . I say rare because this past week has seen temperatures plummet following last weekends snowfall . Thankfully though the snow didnt hang around for long where i live and even though we had a dusting as recently as last night the roads remained clear. Anyway, driving home i was invigorated by the sunlight and had a sudden urge to go fishing . The thought was still with me when i got home so i chucked some kit together, liquidised half a loaf and made my way to the Trent for the afternoon.
The river has been carrying a load of snowmelt from last weekend in recent days and now, although it was still up slightly, it was a lovely green colour and it looked very nice indeed . I decided to head to the swim i caught from last week which was at the top of the stretch and work my way down from there.
Despite passing several frozen lakes on my way to the river, It wasnt until i got settled that i realised just how bitterly cold it actually was . There was still patches of snow dotted around the fields and the quieter margins of the river had cat-ice forming . I gave the first swim a good hour and never had a sniff so i headed to the next one which also proved to be a grueller.
By the time i got to my 4th swim i was starting to seriously contemplate a blank session . The conditions were tough but surely something was feeding out there, experience has taught me that no matter how bad the weather is there will always be a fish of some description willing to pick up a bait somewhere . And so it proved as, after about 20 minutes, i recieved a slight knock on the tip which was followed by a judder and my subsequent strike met with solid resistance. The fish didnt pull much and wasnt very big but i was most relieved to get it in the net, a just reward for some hard fishing!

The swim had plenty of water to go at and i had another few casts to search it out but had no more joy. By now time was getting on a bit so i hurriedly upped sticks and headed to a final spot downstream which has been good to me in the past. I had a bite within minutes and once again the rod hooped over . The excitement was shortlived though because within seconds the hook pulled and the fish came adrift . I was hoping i wouldnt have spooked whatever fish were down there but it turned out i obviously had because nothing else showed any interest . I packed up very cold but pleased to have caught!

Struggling to get out

2012-02-03T21:08:00.001Z

As the title of this update suggests, ive really been struggling to get out on the bank over the last 2-3weeks. Things have gone a bit mental at work and ive been stuck there six days a week, i hope things calm down a bit soon because its killing my fishing! What fishing time i have managed to grab has been made up of a couple of very brief trips to the Soar and the Trent in pursuit of the ever reliable Chub.

A couple of weeks ago i found myself sat next to the Soar staring at a quivertip in some horrendous weather conditions. The wind was a howling upstreamer and was coupled with some squally showers and i really regretted not packing that brolly!
Despite the conditions the fish were really biting and i caught a string of small Chub between 1-3lb . Spotting bites was tricky in the wind and when it picked up even more i finally admitted defeat and headed for home.

Theres certainly plenty of these in the Soar at the minute!

A couple of days later i headed down to a different stretch of Soar in a bid to find something a bit bigger but that trip coincided with an extremely heavy hailstorm which had me heading for home without even wetting a line . Im no fair weather angler, not by any means but i do have my limits!

My next trip was an afterwork trip to the Trent, it looked ok according to the EA river levels site but upon my arrival i found it very coloured and pulling through like a train, not great for Chub and after a biteless couple of hours id had enough.

I was getting really frustrated by now and felt that everything was conspiring to ruin my fishing prospects altogether . A bit of retail therapy was called for and i decided to treat myself to a shiny new lure rod for fishing ultralites aswell as some tasty looking Jerkbaits to go with my heavy setup . I plan to fish lures a lot more this year as i find it a very absorbing way of fishing and its also a style that requires very little preparation beforehand . To go lure fishing is just a case of chucking a rod and kit-bag in the car and going, no bait to source and prepare or anything.

New toy - Sweeeeeeet!

Back to to the fishing anyway, some really wintery weather has been forcast for February and as i write this heavy snow has been forcast for the next couple of days . With this in mind i managed to finish work early so that i could get a few hours in prior to things getting messy .

The Trent was finally looking right for a bite or two and, although it was very sunny and absolutely freezing i fancied my chances. I dropped in on a couple of swims and couldnt raise so much as a twitch let alone a fish. It was getting late in the day and i was starting to get a little dispondent .

Just as i was thinking about a move i noticed a fish swirl in the next swim downstream so my mind was made up . Within minutes my bread-loaded feeder was cast into the new spot and awaiting some fishy attention. Within a couple of minutes the tip plucked before smoothly pulling around and i struck into a fish . It hung deep in the flow making me think it was bigger than it actually was but at 4.2 it was a nice way to save a blank.

I recast, hopeful that there might be a few fish tightly shoaled up down there due to the icy conditions and i wasnt disappointed . Another bite a few minutes later resulted in a another Trent standard Chub of 4.4 . That fish proved to be the last of the trip and all to soon the wintery darkness began to fall .

If we do get the snow theyve predicted then it could really mess the rivers up for the end of the season, i hope it doesnt as theres quite a lot i want to try and fit in before then - if i can get out in the first place!

A brace of Trent bruisers

Rub-a-dub-dubs!

2012-01-20T20:32:00.000Z

Last weekend was a bit of a non-starter with regards to fishing as the only free time i had was spent attending a work party on a couple of our clubs lakes . It was good to meet up with a few familiar faces and we got lots of work done in the process . The Trent looked bang-on and i was left wishing id brought some kit along so that i couldve dropped in after wed got done on the lakes .

Friday 20th January

It was Thursday evening and I had spent all week at work with Chub on the brain and after not fishing last weekend i was really up for a trip somewhere. A Friday after-work session beckoned provided i could get finished early enough so i packed some kit into the car in readiness .
I awoke the next morning and looked outside, rain, quite heavy too by the look of it . All morning at work i kept casting baleful looks outside and the rain never stopped, i was starting to get a little concerned about what all this water would do to the river levels . To top it all off i was involved with a real bugger of a job which meant an early finish would be out of the question too, a fishing trip was looking less and less likely by the minute.
In the end i thought sod it and managed to wind things up and get gone for about half two, a couple of hours later than planned but it still left me with a bit of daylight, certainly enough to put a Chub on the bank . It was still chucking it down and even as i made my way to the Trent i was still in two minds whether to even bother .
Soon enough i found myself pulling into the carpark and then walking across the fields with my gear . My Igloo suit did a good job keeping the rain at bay but i was sweating like mad by the time i got to the waterside . I was slightly put off when i saw that the river was carrying about a foot and starting to colour up a little as this meant my fancied swims were unfishable due to the extra flow on the river.
After walking downstream for a few minutes i came across an area that is usually quite shallow and fast but with the extra water it was actually a lot more steady than normal and there was a nice eddy along the margin with a bit of a bush overhanging. Based on what i knew of the swim at summer level i guestimated there was about 5ft of water in the eddy, plenty deep enough to hold a fish or two.
After casting in it was around 10 minutes before i had an indication, the tip plucked slightly before smoothly pulling around . I struck and soon had a nice winter chub in the net of 4lb4oz.

It was nice to get one so quickly and with the weather being so horrible i decided to stay put in the swim and see what else, if anything, might be lurking down there . I didnt have to wait long to find out as the next bite came on the drop and an identical Chub to the last was landed, another four pounder.

This was starting to shape up into a good session and after missing a bite and then bumping a fish over the next 20 minutes i was confident of catching another. Soon enough another slow pull on the tip met solid resistance on the strike and i soon slid the net under a slightly bigger fish of 4lb10oz.

Three fish from the same swim over such a short time had me convinced they were somewhat stacked up down there and on my very next cast i missed another bite! I recast and was pleasantly surprised to see the tip bounce over on the drop, another fish on . This turned out to be the smallest of the day and missed out on the 4lb mark by 2oz.

By now it was getting dark and i was very damp so i decided to call it a day, id had a good result for just an hours fishing on a wet day in January . That swim has certainly been noted for future reference!

Mixed Fortunes on the Perch front

2012-01-08T20:13:00.000Z

Saturday 7th January

Canal Perch - Nothing but bones!

I had a small window to fish this morning so i decided to take my lad Lewis for a wander along the canal with the lure rod for an hour or so. The weather was overcast with a light wind and the water clarity was pretty good indicating that no boats had yet been through.
I was hopeful of getting at least a pull or two but despite working the stretch pretty hard nothing was forthcoming . Lewis took it all in his stride through and seemed to be enjoying himself especially when we came across the toothy remains of a small Pike on the towpath . Sadly that was to be the nearest we would get to a fish of any description and it wasnt long before we were headed home.

Sunday 8th January

Commercial Perch - Its coming together nicely!

Todays session was to be a visit to a local commercial with my old mate Phil seeing as the rivers were still out of sorts . After cracking the method late-on in my last session i was keen to get back down and have a proper go at them. We arrived at the complex for first light and made our way around to our respective swims. The weather was the same as yesterdays and once again i fancied our chances.

Bites proved to be really hard to come by in my first choice swim despite careful feeding so when the wind picked up and changed direction making for uncomfortable fishing a move was required! Phil felt the same and seeing as we had the whole pool to ourselves there was no shortage of swims.

Once settled on our new spots we began getting bites straight away and after a procession of Roach to the maggots it was time to switch to the Prawns. It was a while before the fish responded to them but once they did we went on to land some nice fish. The action was slow but steady and we found we had to fish tight into the edge in mere inches of water to get the Perch . Being heavily stocked with Carp, the water is quite coloured which worked in our favour for fishing practically under our feet as we were.

Phil had the biggest Perch of the day which went an ounce shy of 3lb and was a new pb for him . Nothing huge for me but i managed half a dozen including some nice 2lb plussers so i certainly wasnt complaining! Hopefully one of the lakes biggies isnt too far away for me now although it looks like i might have to play the numbers game as there seems to be more mid sized fish in there than i originally thought.

A trip to the cut

2012-01-02T17:38:00.000Z

Monday 2nd January

Today was the last day of my Xmas hols so i was determined to get out and do some fishing . The weather had turned very cold overnight and the sky was clear which meant bright sunshine aswell, not great conditions . Id heard some good things about a local canal and had been hankering to give it a go for while so i decided to meet my mate Rob down there for an afternoon of lure fishing . This was to be the first time ive fished a canal for as long as i can remember and i wanted to see what ive been missing out on .
The water was fairly coloured when we arrived due to boat traffic so a bait with a big commotion was required to get the fish to spot it . I borrowed a spinnerbait body off Rob and attached a jighead with a 3inch curly-tailed grub, and even though it looked the part I couldnt believe it when the lure got hit on the first cast!

The fish was just shy of the 2lb barrier and provided a most encouraging start, i could get into this canal fishing lark . A couple of miles of canal later with nothing else to show for it soon brought me back down to earth though! Rob too was struggling so it wasnt just me . A few more boats had been through which had turned the water to chocolate colour and i dont think that helped matters . Still, i had an enjoyable day in good company and even managed to avoid the dreaded blank . Ill be back down for another go soon enough although i think itll be an early morning attack to try and avoid the worst of the boat traffic .

A new year begins - Goodbye 2011

2012-01-01T14:41:00.001Z

I begin the first post of of the new year by wishing everybody a healthy and prosperous 2012 . As i write im feeling decidedly worse for wear after last nights boozy shenannigans and much as i would like to be on the bank fishing it simply aint happening today !
Before i discuss my fishing hopes and aspirations for the new year lets have a look at how i rounded off 2011 ......

Commercial Perch - Another piece of the jigsaw

I had originally planned my last session of the year as a Chubbing trip to the Trent but heavy rain pushed the levels up again and put a lot of colour back into the water so i made a last minute decision to head back to the commercial i fished the other day. I felt that i hadnt fished it very well last time and that id been side-tracked by the Roach somewhat.
I got to the venue at around 8ish just after the lake was supposed to open its gates but was gutted to see a long queue with no sign of anybody coming to open up. After a 20 minute wait a few people drifted away to fish elsewhere and i decided to take matters into my own hands. After a bit of a hike and some jungle warfare i finally got the waterside and fishing for about 9am, at least i had the lake to myself though!
A prawn baited maggot feeder was soon in situ and i eagerly awaited my first pull. I didnt have to wait long to get a few knocks and twitches and eventually i had a hittable bite. The rod hooped over and after a good scrap i soon banked a Carp of around 10lb, a nice fish for a grey December day!

Unfortunately this seemed to kill the swim stone dead and i never had a touch for the next hour or so. I put small bits of Prawn on the hook to tempt a bite or two and eventually started getting amongst a few Roach. This was all well and good but i was there for the Perch so i setup a float rod with maggots and decided to have a mooch around to see if i could find any concentrations of baitfish.

After a short while i found an area in the shallow water on the back of the wind where i was getting a bite a chuck from small Perch and Roach so i relocated all my gear around there. The margin was about 2ft deep and part of me was thinking that it was way too shallow for a big Perch but if the baitfish were there in numbers then why not the stripeys?

Out went a Prawn and almost imediately i began to get slight knocks on the float, small fish i probably. By now it was getting late in the day and time was starting to run out, i had about an hour before darkness fell. The float suddenly bobbed a couple of times and shot under catching me by surprise and i missed it. This repeated itself a couple more times and i still convinced it was small Roach pecking away at the Prawn that were responsible.

I hooked the prawn slightly diffently on my next cast and once again, after about 5 minutes the float bobbed a couple of times and i struck, half expecting to hit thin air. This time the rod hit solid resistance and i was well chuffed to see a spiky dorsal break the surface and i got the net under it pretty sharpish! It wasnt huge at 1.10 but as the title of this article suggests it represented another piece of the jigsaw that will hopefully lead to the capture of its grandad .

I was slightly miffed to have discovered the winning method and area so late on in the day and i only had a couple more chances before i had to pack up both of which i missed . I do think a lot of the little knocks were small fish and the trick is to spot the difference between them and proper bites from the Perch . Its not often Perch bite in such a finicky way and i realise now than the quivertip was the wrong way to go about things, i was probably getting pickups and not even realising it.

2011 - A good year i reckon

Looking back over the last year i think its been quite a good one all in all . The blog seems to be doing pretty well with over 10,000 page visits to date so many thanks to all you guys for supporting it and continuing to visit!
The year started with some good Chub sport on the local rivers which continued as the new season unfolded too . Lots of big 4s and a few 5s culminating in a new PB was more than enough to keep the interest up .
The closed season brought with it some great Tench action and although i narrowly missed out on a PB i was well pleased to catch fish to over 8lb . I really enjoyed my Tenching last year as ive not done a great deal of it in recent years.
I started the new season with another somewhat neglected species on my mind, the Barbel . My target was a 12lber and despite catching quite a few fish at a good average size over the summer, it wasnt until the autumn that i started hitting some doubles and eventually that elusive 12lb+ fish . In between all this i managed to find time to catch a few reasonable Perch to 3lb+ aswell as PBs for both Roach and Catfish aswell!
I wanted to do more Pike and Zander fishing this year but my other fishing commitments meant that they had to take a backseat . Sometimes this multi-species stuff really gets in the way of itself in terms of finding time to fish for everything so you have to try and prioritise what to fish for often at the expense of other plans. Speaking of plans, what of those for the year ahead?

2012 - More of the same please!

Hopefully ill be able to build on what i learned last year and put even more fish on the bank (we can all hope cant we?!). As i touched on earlier, time is the real enemy for me and seeing as i cant fish for everything all of the time i intend to keep an eye on conditions and choose my target species and venues accordingly.
This year will see me fishing even more new venues as i think ive gone as far as i can with some of my old ones and its time to move on. I already have a couple of brand new tickets in mind but i will have to be careful not to spread myself too thinly .
A number of commercials with big Perch potential have come to my attention recently so that is something i hope to be pursuing more this year . Tench and Barbel will also feature prominently once again the coming months. All this aside, my main goal in 2012 is to continue to enjoy my fishing and everything that goes along with it, ive not got any properly set plans, im just going to go with it and see where i end up.

Another Breaded Barbel!

2011-12-29T16:06:00.001Z

Thursday 29th December

I had a whole day to fish today and with the weather still being mild i decided to work a couple of familiar stretches of the Trent in the hope of banking a nice Chub or two. It was very windy upon my arrival and although the sun was trying to poke through the clouds there was a fine rain in the air which made for a very vivid rainbow, i just hoped there was a big golden Chub at the end of it .
I soon settled in a sheltered spot and put the brolly up to keep the rain off a bit . There was quite a bit of flow in the middle but there was a nice marginal spot to my right with some reeds which looked chubby and this was where i decided to concentrate some bait. After a while of total inactivity the sky cleared and the sun came out proper . My impatience started to kick in and i was thinking about a move, id been there an hour without so much as a twitch .
I packed my bait and bits back into my bag and was just about to reel in when the tip juddered slightly, pulled around about 2inches and held there . It could almost have been weed catching on the line but i struck anyway and immediately found myself having to backwind as a powerful fish made its way downstream.
I was getting an uncanny sense of deja-vu after the events of boxing day and sure enough, after some hair raising moments when the fish got out into the main flow, i soon had a nice looking Barbel sitting in the landing net . It was a real solid fish and took the needle on the scales around to 9lb2oz .

Another cold water Barbel to the bread, im starting to think there might be something in this ......

After that i decided to move anyway and after a couple of hours of not much happening other than catching a couple of skimmers, i was finally beaten by the weather . The wind really picked up and the rain came back with a vengeance making for some pretty uncomfortable fishing so i headed back to the car and home.

Boxing day Barbel

2011-12-26T11:17:00.001Z

After a hectic Christmas day i was looking forward to my traditional Boxing day fishing trip to blow the cobwebs away . Boxing day has been pretty good to me fishingwise over the years, it gave my first 20lb Carp around 20 years ago and numerous good bags of Perch and Chub ever since . I didnt have long today as we had relatives coming over later so a quick Chub session was to be the order of the day and conditions looked good . The river had about 18inches on it and was running clear, the weather, although windy was overcast and extraordinarily warm for the time of year.
The first spot i tried gave me a good few knocks on the tip and i suspected that small fish were the culprits . This was proved soon after as a positive pull resulted in a small Chub of about a pound. I continued to get the tiny twitches for another half hour or so before i decided that i was flogging a dead horse in terms of bigger fish so i opted for a move.
The new spot was very windswept and i was forced to sit in the teeth of it. I knew there was a deeper hole in the river bed here and that the Chub congregated in there during the winter so it was well worth braving the elements for.
I was surprised to not get any indications straight away as past experience told me that it was usually a pretty instant spot regardless of conditions. I continually trickled in tiny bits of bread to compliment the hookbait and soon enough began to get a few indications. Suddenly the tip wrapped around and a good fish was on .
It bore deep and it was quickly apparent that this was no Chub and on the light gear it was putting up a really good account of itself . As it neared the bank i saw a big flash of gold in the murk and my thoughts of Barbel were confirmed. It behaved itself pretty well and was soon nestling in the bottom of my net .
It wasnt a big fish at around 5-6lb but its the first time ive had one this late in the year and it made my session . I never bothered recasting after that as i didnt have a great deal of time left so i headed back to the Christmas excess with a fish-shaped glow inside of me.

Commercial Perch - Following new leads

2011-12-24T19:51:00.000Z

Saturday 24th December

Its Christmas eve, all presents are bought, food is sorted and all the other little jobs that go hand in hand with Xmas are taken care of . Now i find myself with a free day what do you suppose i should do with it? ask a silly question!
The rivers looked well out of sorts for some Chub action which is what i really fancied doing so instead i decided to head to a small commercial fishery in Derbyshire which id been tipped off about. Its got form for producing some good Perch and although it had been originally brought to my attention over a year ago this was to be my first visit to the venue.
The weather was overcast, windy and cold as i stepped out of the car and it wasnt showing any signs of getting better so i headed for a spot where i would have my back to the wind. Id been told it was very good fishing in the margins but upon seeing the lake for the first time i was shocked to see that the majority of the reeds in the edge were completely out of the lake due to the water level being nearly 3feet down! A legacy of the ridiculously dry summer weve just had.

The water levels were well down

There was still one or two nice looking spots with reeds still in the water although subsequent plumbing revealed them to be very shallow . I ended up opting for an open water swim which at least appeared to have a bit of depth to it and i reasoned that given the low levels and cold conditions, the fish would be as deep as they could get, thats what i hoped anyway.

It looked the part but it was only 18inches deep

I setup a tip rod, baited it with a Prawn and cast in . After about 10 minutes i recieved a real wrap around of a bite and i couldnt believe i missed it . Over the next hour the same thing happened another 4-5 times despite changing my hook size and even the bait size. It didnt matter anyhow because whilst i pondered what i was doing wrong, watery sunshine began to appear through the clouds and the bites dried up completely.

I switched to floatfished maggots and began to pick up a few Roach and Gudgeon straight away. Some of the Roach were clonkers , a couple were certainly over the pound mark . I discovered id forgotten my scales when i decided to weigh one so i cant be sure on exact sizes.

After a while i decided to feederfish the maggots further out to see if there was any Perch in the deeper water . It turned out that there was! the little chap in the pic below perked up my confidence a bit but it was pretty short lived because his grandad refused to play ball and the Skimmers moved in .

All too soon it was time to pack up and even though the big Perch didnt show i certainly saw enough to make it worth a return visit . Merry Christmas everybody!

Back to the brook

2011-12-18T11:01:00.001Z

Saturday 17th December

The weather has still been pretty cold over the last week and today was no exception . I had a few hours spare this morning and planned to spend them on a local brook in pursuit of its Roach and large Dace. The brook in question is the same one i visited about this time last year when everything was covered in snow so i reasoned that it should be good for a few bites given the conditions. There had been an extremely hard frost overnight and upon arriving at the bankside i was a little disappointed to see that it was running very low, very clear and there wasnt a fish in sight which was unusual, this was going to be tougher than i thought.

I couldnt raise so much as a sniff in the first couple of spots i tried but after heading to some slightly deeper water upstream i began to find a few fish. The fish werent exactly crawling up the line and i was having to work for every bite but i had some nice Dace and a couple of small Chub . Before i knew it id been there nearly 4 hours and it was time to head back.

As i got to the shallower runs downstream near the car i spotted some fish dimpling the surface near a bridge so i put some bits of bread in and they began swirling at it straight away. I made a cast and caught one imediately, a nice Dace, the biggest of the day at 10oz . As i walked past the spot id just caught from i spotted the rest of the shoal and was amazed at how well the fish were hidden considering the water was only about 6inches deep!

Below are some pics from the day and hopefully they give some idea of just how small and shallow the place is . Its incredible how the fish seem to thrive in there despite living in what must be a very tough environment . The place becomes a torrent when it floods and when its low the fish are sitting ducks for predators . I could get in there and walk along it for miles and it wouldnt come above my knees yet it wouldnt surprise me in the slightest if it threw up a real monster of a Dace one day . Anyway thatll have to wait till next time ..........

Youve probably noticed one or two changes to the look of my blog of late . This is because, apart from freshening things up, i want to make room for bigger pictures and stuff . There may be one or two more tweaks still to come but i intend to have it all sorted for the new year so please bear with me!

Winter finally arrives

2011-12-11T14:26:00.002Z

Its been a while since my last update but sometimes life gets in the way and the fishing has to take a bit of a backseat . A close family member was recently hospitalised after an accident so my thoughts have been dragged away from the riverbank and on to more important things of late .
I have been out on the bank a couple of times though since the last entry and the first week of December brought with it the first real wintery weather ive experienced this season . Bitterly cold strong winds coupled with a mixture of frosts and rain served to put a bit of a dampener on the fishing as my recent results clearly show!

Just prior to the weather turning i had another after work session on the Derwent in the same swim i caught the Barbel from last time around. It was very mild and breezy but even though it was dark i could see that the river level was about 6 inches down on when i caught the Barbel . As a result the flow had dropped considerably and with it the Barbel seemed to have disappeared too . Over the course of the evening i went on to catch Chub of 4.6, 4.10 and 4.12 .

After that trip the weather turned ugly and with it my thoughts turned towards Pike. Most of the local rivers were carrying a bit after the rain and i really didnt fancy them so i headed for the Soar which seems to behave completely differently to the Trent, Derwent and Dove . This is probably because it flows from the opposite direction to the other three as a result it wasnt carrying and i needed a bend in the rod so thats where i went.
I spent a morning leap-frogging along a short stretch near my house and managed four takes, landing two and losing the other two to hookpulls. The biggest was around 8-9lb but they served to boost to my confidence considering the weather conditions.

The next day i went to a different stretch hopefully for more of the same but despite working it for about 5 hours with a variety of baits and methods i never had so much as a sniff. The weather was in stark contrast to that of the previous day though being very bright and sunny with an exeptionally strong, cold wind.

My most recent trip was, once again, to the Soar and this time conditions looked good . It was much milder than what it had been and was overcast, i was looking forward to a good day. My plan was to jump from swim to swim down the stretch giving it an hour in each before moving onto the next. The first swim had a nice overhanging tree with about 7ft of water underneath and it looked cock on ........

.... and it was as the first Pike of the day quickly took an interest and the float began to bob about before sliding away. After a brief tussle a lively Jack of about 5lb was soon sliding into the net. At this point disaster struck and the net broke at the spreader block! I ended up gloving the Pike out but obviously my session ended there as i didnt fancy gloving out a lump should i be lucky enough to hook one . I went home with the intention of returning with another net but it started to rain heavily and i got roped into some DIY as i walked through the door so that was that then, doh!

A tale of two rivers

2011-11-22T22:52:00.001Z

Sunday 20th November

Trouted out on the Dove

I wasnt sure where to go on Sunday until i had a phone call from Phil who was planning a day chasing Grayling on the River Dove . I decided to tag along with a mind to catching some Chub and maybe a Perch if i could find one.
As we headed up the A50 at first light it was apparent that it was going to be a very murky day indeed with a lot of fog about and no wind, Good conditions i thought hopefully. Once we arrived we went our separate ways, Phil to his favourite Grayling swim and me to the nearest Perch swim.
Nothing happened whatsoever for me in the first swim so i moved and after taking a Trout and a Crayfish in the new swim that too went dead. After that i decided that Chub might be a better bet and chose my next spot accordingly, i also switched from Lobs to breadflake.
It turned out that the Trout seemed to be really switched on to the bread and i just couldnt stop catching them! everywhere i went i caught them and i lost count in the end . By the time we packed up id probably caught around 20, mostly Brownies with a solitary Rainbow chucked in for good measure . No Chub materialised for me although Phil reported catching one of about 3lb aswell as a load of Grayling. Interestingly Phil fished maggots and only landed one Trout all day so the lesson is, if you want Trout, get on the Hovis!

Tuesday 22nd November

After dark dangling on the Derwent

Whilst at work earlier today i was thinking about that swim i caught the Barbel in last Saturday and i decided that it certainly warranted some more attention . When i finished at the workhouse i headed home with great plans for an evening session and after digging out my last tin of Spam from the back of the kitchen cupboard i made my way through the rush hour traffic to the river .
Once out of the car and walking across the fields i was surprised at how cold it felt, the sky was very clear and the air felt like a frost could be on its way. I setup, got cast in and almost straight away i started getting twitches as the fish got straight on the bait. Within a few minutes the downstream rod buckled over and a fish was on, unfortunately it found a snag and after a horrible grating on the line the inevitable happened and the line parted .
I retackled, recast and rebaited thinking my chance had gone . After an hour or so of total inactivity the same rod went again and after some hard bullying i soon had a small Barbel of 6lb exactly in the net. Upon closer inspection i was delighted to find that the hooklink i had lost earlier was embedded in the fishes lip next to the new one. I released the fish safely, pleased in the knowledge that the lost fish from earlier was no longer trailing my rig around.

Once i got settled again i had another bite, this time on the upstream rod . The line was truly hissing off the baitrunner and as i struck i felt the fish bump off the hook. Cursing my luck i recast and decided to commit all the bait i had left into a final all or nothing push.

It paid off because at about 8.15 the downstream rod went again and a fish was on. This certainly felt bigger than the one earlier and so it proved as a nice fish of 10lb2oz was soon posing for a pic on the mat .

I packed up after that as i had no more bait with me. I had been there less than 3 hours but the new swim had well and truly proved itself and i shall certainly be heading there again very soon . Im really getting into my Barbelling at the moment, i dont normally fish for them much after October but from my results of late i think ive been missing a trick . The fish are really starting to bulk out and are in great condition at the minute so i think ill be sticking with them for a while yet............

A lucky double

2011-11-19T16:57:00.002Z

Saturday 19th November

My trip today was to be a morning session targetting some Perch on the Derwent . Although the weather is still very mild at the minute there wasnt a cloud in the sky this morning so i knew i would be up against it Perchwise. To counter this i took half a loaf of bread along aswell as the maggots and worms just in case the Chub were having it.

I arrived at first light and found a nice looking swim, it had a tree in the water downstream with a good depth around it and some slack water, it certainly looked the part. Almost as soon as i cast in it was obvious the swim was home to thousands upon thousands of minnows. The tip didnt sit still as the tiny fish pecked every bait i put out there to pieces . After two hours with nothing to show for it i decided to move swim . The sun was out and extremely bright by now so i decided to switch my attentions to Chub and picked my next swim accordingly. It was fairly shallow and quite wide and was a spot id caught a few from in the past .

After about an hour on the bread with no indications i switched to a worm fished alongside some reeds to my left. At least there didnt appear to be any minnows in this swim, in fact there didnt appear to be anything in there, it looked dead. Just as i was thinking of another move a large fish splashed on the far bank prompting me to reel in and cast to it on the offchance.

Within a couple of minutes of recasting i had a couple of tiny taps which had my hand hovering over the rod. Another tap followed by the line dropping slack had me striking and the rod took on a healthy curve, a very healthy curve in fact!

The fish charged upstream pulling line off the clutch, this was no Perch or Chub! I managed to coax it away from some snags on the far bank and soon it was charging about mid river which is pretty much where it stayed for the next ten minutes! I was only fishing a 5lb bottom and although i hadnt seen the fish yet i assumed it was either a Carp or a Barbel so i was being as careful as i could not to lose it yet trying to keep as much pressure on as i dare. I began to feel it tire and as it swam near the bank downstream of me i got my first look at it and it turned out to be a decent looking Barbel. Suddenly it decided to give up and roll on its side whereupon i netted it much to my relief!

It was a short solid fish in mint condition and it tipped the scales around to 11lb3oz, a Derwent PB and a very lucky one too i reckon!

As i returned it i decided to whip out my phone and film a quick clip of it and the results are below. I dont know why its turned out in slim-o-vision though and i have no idea how to change it . I packed up and headed home after that as i didnt fancy struggling on any longer . What a way to save a blank!

11lb3oz

A nightmare session amongst other stuff

2011-11-14T19:59:00.000Z

I was due to visit my Brother who is fresh back from Afghanistan this weekend but even so i managed to sneak a fishing trip in first thing Saturday morning. The river Derwent and its Barbel were to be my targets and i arrived at first light to find the river looking good.
As i approached my first swim things started to go somewhat downhill for me . As i negotiated a nearby barbed wire fence i caught my sundridge trousers on it and ripped a 6 inch gash in them, nice. Nevertheless i had some fishing to do and i was soon setup with a big lump of meat in position down the margin to my left.
After a few minutes i had a typical bouncy Chub bite and connected with a nice fish. As i got the fish ready for netting it became caught around a sunken branch just under the surface about a rodlength out. Fortunately my net has a long pole and at a good stretch i was able to reach the fish. At this point things really went tits up!
My net pole decided to part at the spigot holding the two halves together and the business end dropped in the river and began to sink out of sight. I quickly grabbed my rod rest and attempted to hook it around the last visible part of the handle. All i succeeded in doing was pushing it further away and it disappeared so i put the rod rest down and concentrated on landing the fish. After some firm pulling, the braid saw the snag off leaving me to hand-land the Chub which looked a good 4. As i returned it i accidentally knocked my rod-rest into the river losing that aswell!
As i forlornly packed up what was left of my gear my mood was lifted as i noticed my lost net pole sticking up out of the water a few yards downstream at the bottom of a high bank . I walked down to it i was gutted to see that the only way of retrieving it meant having a paddle . I bit the bullet and was soon waist deep in Derwent but relieved to have got the net back. Obviously i wasnt hanging around after that lot so i skulked off home with my tail between my legs!

The highlight of my weekend wasnt actually fishing related for a change . An impromptu visit to RAF Waddington on remembrance Sunday courtesy of my brother allowed me to indulge in my nerdish fascination with military hardware . The Vulcan bomber they have there was of particular interest as i recently read a book about it and its famous role in the Falklands war . Its such a shame that a piece of British history like that is now nothing more than a rusting hulk tucked away in a quiet corner of the base hidden from the public and all-but forgotten about.

A new PB, dont ignore whats on your doorstep!

2011-11-06T12:46:00.001Z

Sunday 6th November

I was hoping to continue yesterdays form with a full day at it today. I had plans to hit the Derwent and spend a bit of time roving about dropping in likely looking spots. Unfortunately with me, things rarely go to plan and after a late night of fireworks, bonfires and drinking with friends it was gone 8 oclock before i even got out of bed. To make matters worse i opened the curtains to be greeted with clear skies and very bright sunshine, not good!
I very nearly didnt bother going, especially when my better half started cooking some bacon up! i had quick look on the net to check the river levels and was pleased to find they hadnt changed a great deal on yesterday, there might be a chance after all .......
My kit was still ready from yesterday so i threw some clothes on, packed the car and headed down to a local stretch of the Soar about 5 minutes away from my house. The river looked extremely Autumnal bathed in the morning sunshine. The golden leaves shimmering on the trees, the dying beds of reeds and the slightly swollen river combined to create a real sense that summer is well and truly gone now and everything now readies itself for winter.
As expected there was nobody else down there save for the odd dog walker and it wasnt long before i settled in a likely looking swim. Once again, curried Spam was the bait of choice, its a bait ive gained real confidence in of late and i now prefer it over the usual pellets and boilies. Im convinced thats its a lot more instant than the others and if theres a Barbel in a swim it wont be ignored for long!
And so it proved, after 10 minutes of fishing the upstream rod tip pulled around and after a brief tussle a chunky Barbel of 8lb12oz was landed . This turned out to be a repeat capture of a fish i caught on bread back in February . The fish has very curious shape to it and was instantly recognisable even though on this occasion it was quite a way upstream of where i caught it before . The conditions obviously werent that bad after all!
After returning that one i recast and sat back to see if anything else would come along. I was just catapulting some freebies around the upstream rod when the downstreamer suddenly signalled a vicious take. I struck into the fish and almost straight away i could feel it grating through something. Whatever my line was caught on though was moving and steady pressure kept me gaining line on the fish. After an anxious couple of minutes a large clump of weed hit the surface with what looked like a very good Barbel trailing about 3ft behind it. At this point the Barbel woke up an decided to go mad under the rod tip, the clump of weed making things very tricky. Braid isnt great for playing fish on a short line due to its lack of stretch and ive learnt to my cost in the past that a properly set clutch is absolutely essential in these situations. The reel performed exeptionally on this occasion and it wasnt long before a big lump of Barbel was lying on the mat.
At 12lb6oz it was a new Personal best and i was well chuffed!

12lb6oz

A big, solid lump of Barbel

After walking all those miles along the Trent, Derwent and Soar this season i finally get the 12lber ive been after within spitting distance of my front door! After returning the fish safely i had that lovely mission accomplished feeling, i didnt have the desire to fish on any longer even though there seemed to be a few feeding so i got packed up and headed for home.

Back to Barbel

2011-11-05T11:07:00.000Z

Saturday 5th November

Some heavy rain towards the end of the week looked like it promised some rising river levels so with this in mind i had planned an after-work trip on Friday. Unfortunately i had tough job on at work which delayed me to the point where it wasnt worth going so i decided upon a first light attack on the Saturday.
The trip didnt start great because as i unpacked the car by the river i realised i had picked up the wrong rod bag! my Perch gear and Barbel kit are both in identical bags and id picked up the wrong one, doh! I drove home to get the right one and i was back at the river within 20minutes so all was not lost just yet.
When arrived at my chosen swim i was pleased to note that the river was indeed carrying a bit, maybe about 6inches although the water was still fairly clear. I was pretty confident as i cast my curried Spam hookbaits into position.
After about 10minutes my right hand rod decided to do a see-saw impression on the rod rest and i lifted into what felt like a small Barbel. It turned out to be a very deep bodied Chub of just over 4lb and provided a pleasing start to the trip.

Chunky!

The weather was very overcast and murky this morning and the air felt damp even though it wasnt actually raining. There was quite a bit of rubbish coming down the river and it appeared to be still rising, I recast full of anticipation for some more action.

After a short while i recieved a good bang on the right hander once again, the tip then went around steadily and stayed there, line was slowly ticking off the tight baitrunner. I lifted into a fish but it was imediately apparent a lot of weed had built up on the line which hampered things a bit. The fish swam upstream of me in some serious flow and with it pulling all that weed aswell i had a feeling that this might be a good one. It wasnt long before i had it dangling below the scales though and a weight of 10lb10oz was confirmed.

10lb10oz

After that i decided to pack up as i had a few errands to run in town, i was back home for 9.30. Another short session does the business!

About time we had an update ......

2011-10-30T19:44:00.001Z

Ive not been out a great deal since my last entry, twice to be exact, but ive still been catching a few despite the weather starting to turn a little colder. I dont know if its just me but Autumn seems to have started very abruptly. That heatwave at the start of the month kind of lured us into a false sense of security and all of a sudden now the trees are losing their leaves extremely quickly and the lakes and rivers have a distinct wintery feel to them.

On Friday 21st I had an after work trip to a club water with a proven reputation for some very large Perch . Even though ive had the ticket for nigh-on six months this was to be my first visit and i had high hopes. I found a nice looking swim with some large beds of Canadian pondweed to fish too and started plumbing the depth. It was soon apparent it was very deep for a tiny pool and i had 9feet under the rod tip. My intention was to floatfish Lobworms and see what came along, the pool holds a lot of small Carp and i was hoping they wouldnt be too troublesome.
After 10minutes i had a sail-away bite and connected to a nice fish, i was surprised when a Chub of about 2lb was netted. Another half a dozen of these followed to well over 4lb aswell as a Carp of about 3lb but the Perch were conspicuous by their absence.
A switch to maggot brought a string of Roach, Rudd and Crucians, i also had a couple of small Perch to about 8oz too. I only had a couple of hours of daylight left and i was just reeling in yet another tiny Roach when all of a sudden there was a big swirl behind it. I lowered it back in and just as it disappeared into the murk there was a heavy thump on the rod and my line started to steadily pull out towards the middle of the lake.
Obviously i didnt stand a chance on a size 18 hook which was already in the Roach but i struck and the rod hooped over savagely before springing straight leaving me with a very tattered and very dead Roach. So they wanted a bait with a bit more wriggle did they?
Within 5 minutes another roach was being lowered in, this one however was liphooked on a size 4 and suspended beneath a chubber float. It barely had time to settle before it shot off and my strike met with a bumped fish.
Cursing my luck i hooked up another Roach and once again it was taken on the drop . There was no messing this time around and a Perch of about 2lb was soon bristling indignantly in the bottom of the net. This was followed about 10 minutes later by another one of a similar size. Another bumped fish and a missed run occured before it got too dark to see any more . I packed up having taken something like 25lb of fish and my appetite for another trip there was well and truly whetted . I had left my camera in my other kit bag so there are no pics to remember the session by unfortunately!

The following day i attended the annual Milton Keynes Specimen Group bash and as ever it was another good-un. Mick brown was the guest speaker for the evening and he did a great job of keeping us all entertained with his slide-show and fishy ramblings. It was nice to catch up with a few old aquaintances aswell as meeting one or two new ones and I even won a tacklebox system in the raffle too which was a nice bonus!

My most recent session was spent chasing Pike and i gotta say it was pretty tough going . I covered a lot of water over a good couple of miles and despite starting at first light it wasnt until mid afternoon when i had my first pickup. The water was painfully clear and as I twitched my bait for the umpteenth time that day i noticed a decent looking fish glide in and turn away from it at the last minute. It stopped sideways on about 6 ft away from the bait eying it up. I twitched it again and the Pike turned, another twitch and with a gentle flick of its tail it sidled up to the bait and engulfed it in one fluid movement. After a bit of gill flaring it turned and i struck, the rod hooped over and after a very energetic battle which involved lots of tailwalking i slipped the net under a very lean and mean 12lber.

A move to another swim followed and as i prepped a rod to be cast out i glanced into the water and froze. A Pike of similar size to the first had literally just taken up residence in the margin to my left and, sensing an opportunity, i slowly turned and picked up the now baited rod and gently lowered it in about 3feet away from the fish. The Pikes fins visibly bristled and it moved very slowly towards the bait which was now resting on the bottom .

After staring at it for what seemed like an age the Pike flared its gills as if it was trying to blow the bait up off the bottom. The bait moved a little and the fish ever-so-gently mouthed it before a final flare of the gills saw it disappear from view. I struck and the fish twisted and rolled on the spot for a split second before spitting my dead Roach back at me and shooting off leaving a shower of silvery scales shimmering in the water in its wake, gutted.

I stayed put in the same spot and kept a bait in the margins. After a while a jack of about 3lb showed up and started examining the bait. It obviously didnt like what it saw though and slowly swam away out of sight. Five minutes later after i had sat back down, the float bobbed under and stayed under. I stood up for a peek and was surprised to see that what looked like my lost fish had returned and was sat there shaking its head with my bait in its mouth! no wonder that jack didnt hang around! I struck and had a repeat performance of the first round, it had gotten away yet again! I packed up after that with plenty of food for thought and plans to return for some more 'sight' fishing very soon!

Blenheim blank and some Dove respite

2011-10-17T19:53:00.001+01:00

Sunday 16th October

As i mentioned in my last entry i had a boat booked at Blenheim palace lake for this weekend with my old mucker Phil. We set off from mine at 5.15am with the intention of arriving lakeside at around 7ish and despite being very foggy all the way down there we made good time. The punt was fully loaded and cast off by 7.30 but if anything the fog had got thicker and we couldnt see more than 30yards ahead of us. Because of this we opted to head for some snags just up the bank from the boathouse until we could see a bit more and work out our options. There was 13 boats out in total so competition for spots was quite high.

A foggy start

The lake slowly began to reveal itself as the fog lifted and what a view it was! Blenheim is an absolutely stunning water and im sure anybody else who has visited it will surely agree. The only thing which marred it somewhat was the seemingly hundreds of Cormorants adorning pretty much every tree around the lake. The waters biomass mustve been huge at some point to support that many birds but ive a feeling the place is all but denuded of small to mid-sized fish nowadays. Ill certainly never moan about seeing the odd Cormorant on the Trent again after seeing the size of Blenheims population!

Once we anchored up and commenced fishing, it didnt take long for another of the lakes problems to manifest itself as Phils floatfished lobworm was quickly snaffled by a bloody Crayfish, this was gonna be another grueller........

I wish Cormorants would eat these buggers!

Phil missed a couple of other bites and i still hadnt had a sniff by the time the sun came up proper so we decided upon a move. All the well known areas were occupied by other boats and there was even two groups of anglers bank fishing so we headed to the bay on the opposite side to the boathouse away from the crowds. After another Crayfish and having some other chaps move in on us we saw that the area around the grand bridge had become free so we headed there.

The Grand bridge

Although ive fished the lake before ive never fished around the bridge as its always been stitched up and upon our arrival there i was struck by how shallow it is. We moored to the right of the main arch and the lakebed was clearly visible.

The sun was now well and truly up and it was actually starting to get really warm. The fishing wasnt though and we sat there for a biteless couple of hours, not even seeing the slightest sign of a fish, before we decided to head back to the area we had begun in. At least the grebes had been catching the odd tiddler back there!

We moored up in the same spot and commenced some hard fishing, floatfished lobs to the snags and floatfished deadbaits along the bank either end of the boat.

The boathouse in the afternoon sunshine

We both had a few suspicious crayfish type knocks and twitches as the afternoon wore on . My pike float eventually went under at about 4ish but i struck into nothing, the bait looked like the crays had been at that too. As the light began to go and the other boats began to come in i finally had a proper bite on the worm, the float shot away and i went to strike only to find my line caught under the rope-tie thingy on the edge of the boat and i promptly missed it!

We fished on until dusk for no more action so we headed back in. We were the second from last in and the guy in the boathouse told us that only one 9lb Pike had been caught all day from all the other boats that had already come in. It had fished pretty tough then by all accounts but im looking forward to going back next year already!

Monday 17th October

I had today booked off work as a backup plan to catch something should Blenheim not work out. It didnt so i decided to head out for my first Perching trip to the river Dove this season . After last seasons results there i was fully prepared for another grueller but im a glutton for punishment and theres something about fishing for Perch there that really gets my juices going.

Last season taught me a great deal about the areas where Dove Perch tend to frequent and im convinced, certainly in the areas ive been fishing, that there are only several small groups of fish in any given stretch. They certainly arnt in every swim like they are in the Trent, Derwent and Soar, there just isnt enough of them in the Dove.

With this in mind i decided to start in a swim ive caught from before and work my way from there. Out went the worm and after about half an hour of steadily feeding maggots over the top i had a bite which nearly pulled the rod off the rest! I couldnt believe i missed it! the fish had switched on though and, on my next put in, another wrap around bite resulted in a fat Perch which was just shy of 2lb. I missed one more bite over the next half hour before deciding a move was in order.

I headed just upstream and i had a 2lb fish before id even put any loosefeed in! No more bites were forthcoming after that so i upped sticks to look for another swim.

2lber

My next swim was one ive fished several times before yet ive never had a bite there. It looks bang-on for a Perch and ive never understood why its never produced for me but on this occasion the wind was howling down the river and this swim offered me a bit of shelter.

I was only going to give it half an hour, more to give me a break from the wind than anything else, so i was more than surprised when the tip pulled around and i hooked what felt like a decent fish. Unfortunately the knot on the hook went but i was soon cast back in with renewed enthusiasm for the swim. A couple of gentle taps had me striking into another Perch and there was no mistakes with this one, the scales read 2lb6oz.

2lb6oz

I returned the fish about 40 yards downstream and after hooking two in the swim already i expectantly made another cast. I trickled in half a dozen maggots every couple of minutes until once again the tip juddered slightly before gently pulling around. Another one in the net, 2lb4oz this time.

2lb4oz

The rest of the shoal had obviously melted away after that because i couldnt get another sniff . The weather too had closed in by now and, not wanting to get a soaking, i headed for home.

A belated update

2011-10-09T20:39:00.000+01:00

Ive just realised that my blog is becoming somewhat neglected at the minute . This is due to several reasons but thats not to say that i havent been fishing, far from it in fact. Ive been out a few times and caught a good few fish, nothing spectacular but its been enjoyable.

I had a trip to the Derbyshire Derwent with the lure rod one evening and, after catching several small perch, i hit a nice Pike only to have it spit my lure back at me after a brief tussle. A change of lure saw me get another pull shortly afterwards which resulted in a fish of around 11-12lb.

A Bream trip on a local club lake proved to be an interesting day out . The bream werent obliging in the slightest but i did end up catching a shed load of perch thanks to a bit of opportunistic angling. In front of me I saw loads of Perch in the margins and everytime i threw in a few maggots they were on them like piranhas. Firstly there was about a half a dozen tiddlers and after half an hour or so i had 20-30 better fish competing for the maggots. It was fascinating stuff watching the swim build before my eyes!

I didnt have any float gear so i locked a flouro pop-up on the line with some leger stops and tied a size 18 to a length of 2lb line. Two maggots were put on the hook and the rig was lowered in amongst the shoal. Within seconds a fish grabbed the bait and when i got it out i was surprised because it was way bigger than it looked in the water. I put it at about 2-3oz as it approached the bait but in my hand it was about 6! I went on to catch one after another for the next half hour including one which i caught, put back and then watched it swim up to the bait and take it again imediately!! The biggest i landed was about a pound or so.
Strange as it may sound, i could tell which ones were going to take the bait because they approached it in a completely different manner to the ones which would swim up and inspect it before ignoring it. I added a tiny shot to the line to make it sink a bit quicker but after this the bait was completely ignored, once i took it off i started catching again.
One or two roach made an appearance but they were very shy compared to the perch and tended to shoot in out of nowhere before disappearing again just as quickly.
The water was deceptively deep, i was fishing about 2ft and the fish were swimming up vertically off the bottom. I plumbed it at 6ft yet it didnt look much more than 3ft!

A couple of trips to the Trent quivertipping lobworms and bread followed and once again a lot of Perch were caught aswell as some decent Chub and Roach. The god awful weed is still bad but everything is starting to turn towards winter now so hopefully it wont be around for too much longer.

Im looking forward to next week as, inspired by Jeffs, Keiths and Lees antics in their blogs (see the list to the right) i decided to book onto Blenhiem palace lake before the weather turns too cold. Ive fished it before but only when its been really cold and ive struggled somewhat, lets hope its a bit better this time around .......

Keeping em coming

2011-09-24T15:57:00.000+01:00

Wednesday 21st September

As i hinted in my last entry ive not had much chance to get out lately due to other commitments and its been over a week since my last trip. I decided upon an evening session on Wednesday though and headed down the river with a mind to catch some more Barbel. After catching a couple last time around and resting it for a week i headed back to the same swim.
The weather was cool and very cloudy with a brisk upstream breeze and although the river was still very low and clear, i fancied my chances. Luncheon meat was my bait of choice today seeing as all my fish of late have fallen to it and i had spiced it up a little with a liberal dusting of curry powder. You will see from the pic below that i use a paste coil on the hair when fishing meat as i find that once its screwed into the bait then it really isnt going anywhere and it stands up to being pecked at by small fish for a lot longer aswell .

It was around an hour after casting out that i began to recieve a few twitches before eventually the rod tip slammed over. After the initial run the fish didnt really do a great deal other than keep deep so i thought it might be a good one. When i saw it in the water it looked fairly long but after netting it turned out to be quite skinny. The fish was very lively on the bank and the needle on the scales flickered between 9.14 and 10.2 so i settled on 10lb exactly, nice.

All too soon the darkness began to descend, i was till get the odd knock and twitch from small fish but didnt get any more real bites until just before dark when i hit into something that felt very strange indeed. It was thumping like mad on the end of the line yet it felt heavy almost like it was snagged on something. After some steading pulling the culprit was soon revealed as a clonking great Eel. At 3lb5oz it was a good fish too and after it covered me and all my kit in foul smelling slime i decided to call it a day and headed for home.

Friday 23rd September

Todays trip was on a stretch of my local river Soar, the scene of my 11lb barbel capture the other week. It was T-shirt weather when i arrived and although the action was very slow it was nice just to be out, might as well make the most of the good weather whilst it lasts!

Nothing was forthcoming for the first couple of hours and the river looked pretty dead . This couldve been down to the number of boats on the river today of which there was loads. Eventually though, just as i was passing the time of day with a chap off one of the aformentioned boats my upstream rod rattled off and after a typically hectic scrap a small Barbel of 7lb6oz was landed .

After that, i stayed on until dark for no more action whatsoever with barely even a tap on the rod-tips and i packed up pleased at not blanking. At least i seem to be catching fairly consistently at the minute .

Saturday 24th September

Today i hit the grand old age of 35 and after a hearty breakfast i decided to head out to a spot of bailiffing and have a chuck about with the lure-rod for a couple of hours. During my rounds pretty much everybodys ticket was in order and i only had to ask one chap to leave for having no ticket. Its amazing how people open up to you when your out checking tickets and i had a couple of very interesting conversations with regards to some future Barbel areas to try.

So what of the fishing? well, i dropped in on several swims but it was very slow indeed, no follows or taps on the lure whatsoever . I persevered and did eventually manage to get a hit in the end and from a nice fish too. It wasnt as heavy as i initially thought when i first saw it but at 2lb8oz it was a good Perch and most welcome.

Rolling into Autumn

2011-09-14T20:55:00.000+01:00

The weather continues to cool off with strong winds and showers indicating that Autumn is pretty much upon us. My fishing of late has been a hotch-potch of mixed fortunes really since the 11lb Barbel of my last entry but stay with me cos it comes good in the end.

Friday 9th September
I had an afternoon of fly fishing on the river Dove at Eaton Dovedale planned for today . It is something ive never done on a river before and i was keen to give it a bash. My pal Rob, an experienced fly fisher, was on hand to show me the ropes and after some patient tuiton on his part i was soon able to roughly put a fly where i wanted it.
The weather didnt lend itself to fly fishing being quite windy and with it going overcast too, the fish werent rising much. Nevertheless i was enjoying myself even though i hadnt caught anything yet. One or two tiny fish got the heart racing a bit as they swirled at my fly but i couldnt connect with anything. Rob fared better and managed a small Trout and a Grayling after much searching.
The only real chance i got was when i miscast short due to the flyline getting stuck on some nettles at my feet and a decent Trout took the fly as i angrily untangled myself catching me completely off guard. I panicked, tightened down to the fish, completely forgetting to set the hook and unsurprisingly it managed to shake itself free!
After this i borrowed Robs float rod and some maggots to extract a couple of nice Grayling and save a blank! Fly fishing the rivers is definately something i will be doing more of when i get a chance ........

Saturday 10th September
A real grueller of a Barbel session ensued when i popped down to the Trent for a short evening trip. I arrived to find some sizeable rafts of weed coming down and after casting in it was soon obvious the dreaded green stuff was at all levels of the water column. I was getting wiped out by the stuff every few minutes. Despite this i managed to hook a large fish which had me backwinding from the off. It powered off downstream and although i managed to turn it and gain some line, i could suddenly feel the line grating on an unseen snag. Everything then went solid and despite trying to pull from both upstream and downstream of the snag the hooklink eventually parted.
After this i had to cower under my unhooking mat as i was subjected to some pretty fearsome rain showers during which i was still battling the weed every 10-20minutes. Not surprisingly, once the showers had subsided, id had enough and headed for home, very wet and very dejected.

Sunday 11th September
I was amazed to get another pass out for an evening session tonight and, after mobilising Keith, we headed for the Trent once again. After a walk along the stretch it became apparent that the river was carrying a little extra water but the weed still looked bad so we settled on swims where we could fish the margins and hopefully stay out of the weeds way a bit.
To cut a long story short the ploy didnt work very well although i did manage to hook a couple of Chub, losing one and landing another of about 4lb. Keith lost a very big fish after having his braid cutoff on yet another unseen snag .
The Trent is a proper tackle eater and is hard work at the minute with all that weed but he who dares and all that ........

Tuesday 13th September
I headed to the river again for some more punishment after work tonight and although there was a nasty upstream wind i was greeted by a rolling fish as soon as i arrived at my chosen swim which was encouraging. I got setup and after about half an hour of fishing i recieved a savage pull on my right hander before everything went slack. I quickly realised the fish was swimming towards me and i reconnected with it mid-river where it put up a great account of itself. Once banked i weighed the fish in at 8lb14oz, a tidy start and the night was still young!

Obviously it all went a bit quiet after that one for a while but soon enough i began to get a few twitches and bangs on the rod-tips again as small Chub pecked away at the baits. Suddenly i recieved another fast take which had the baitrunner hissing yet when i struck there was absolutely nothing there, how does that happen?

After recasting i continued to recieve plenty of enquiries and really had to sit on my hands to stop myself striking at some of the knocks. I was amazed at the amount of fish activity tonight and found myself having to recast more due to fish stealing my luncheon meat as opposed to the usual weed wrapups.

Just as it got dark i had another proper take which resulted in another Barbel . This one went 8lb8oz and seeing as id forgotten my head torch it rounded the evening off nicely!

Thats all the fishing ill be doing for the next week as i have a lot of other stuff on, typical, just when id found a few aswell!

Aahhh, thats better!

2011-09-06T20:35:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 6th September

The weather turned decidedly inclement today, overcast with strong winds and showery rain. All day at work i was itching to be down by the river and as soon as i finished i grabbed my kit and headed down. Im a little short on time but without going into great detail it turned out to be well worth the effort!
A seasons best Barbel of 11lb2oz was duly landed after falling to a Spam stringer on a 3ft hooklink. My duck is well and truly broken!

11lb2oz

Back on the road to er ...... no Barbel?

2011-09-05T20:09:00.000+01:00

As the title of this entry might suggest i am now fully mobile once again after purchasing a shiny black Ford Focus last week. Its not shiny any more though as ive pressed it into hard service already, driving down dusty farm tracks and across some pretty rugged fields in pursuit of scaley slimy things.
I finished August with an evening Zander trip on the Trent and a bumped fish as the only action i had . A few lads i know turned up with the same idea to catch the Zeds and despite the lack of action we had a good chinwag so it wasnt all bad.
My next trip was another evening, this time in pursuit of a Barbel from the Soar. I had to clear a swim as nobody had been down to the area for while and after seeing a couple of Barbs roll in the spot early on i was confident of some action. I had a couple of good pulls just before dark which resulted in no hookups and when the rod screamed off just into dark i really thought it was Barbel time! Nobody had told the 2lb Chub which had hung itself on my line though and i packed up soon after with nothing else to show for my efforts. Since that session ive found out that another lad fished the same swim the following evening and had a 12.8! Always the the bridesmaid and all that .....
The weekend arrived and on the Saturday morning i headed to the Trent to do my Bailiff rounds. Ive started to take a lure rod with me when checking tickets just to drop in a few likely spots whilst on my travels and on this occasion it proved quite effective. 5 Perch to around a pound and a couple of bonus Chub in the 3lb class all put a nice bend in the rod.

A late evening Barbel session on the Trent rounded the day off and although i stopped till around midnight all i could manage was two Chub. The best of the two was comfortably in the 4-5lb range and might have gone bigger but it was dark and i couldnt be bothered with the rigmarole of weighing especially seeing as it wasnt a Barbel! Phil, my fishing companion certainly fared better though. He stayed on all night and tempted Barbel of 10.14 and 10.4 amongst other fish . That Bridesmaid job is becoming a fulltime thing for me!

I was down the Trent again on Sunday evening for a spot of Carbelling as id seen a few Carp whilst doing the bailiff thing the previous day. A veritable banquet of vitalin, boilies, hemp and corn was carefully laid out for the Carps inspection . Several fish head and shouldered over the bait during the course of the evening but my indicators remained motionless right up until i packed up at about 10.30. Prior to when the drizzle started after dark It was a lovely evening to be out and i feel we wont be getting too many more like it this year.

The occasional angler

2011-08-20T19:39:00.001+01:00

This entry is something of an update rather than the usual report mainly because ive hardly been out . Im still looking for a worthy fishing vehicle and hopefully ill be fully mobile again in the next week or so.
What of the fishing then? well, since my last entry ive been a grand total of three times . The first was an evening Barbel session on the Trent and other than a tiny Chub the fish werent obliging whatsoever. The temperature plummeted as it got dark and the moon shone like a torch in the sky . Ive never paid too much attention to moon phases but even so, im never confident in a full moon which is why it got the blame for my crap session!

Great for werewolves, not so great for Barbelling (not for me anyway!)

My next trip out was another evening session, this time in pursuit of Zander for the first time this season. Again the Trent was my destination and i headed straight for my favourite area and had to beat out a peg in the himalayan balsam as it appeared that nobody had been up there so far this season. The action was a lot slower than i was expecting but it wasnt too long before i was doing battle with a jack of about 5lb. The lead got snagged in some boulders under my rod tip though and i ended up getting cut off. I hate leaving traces in Pike like that but i only use single barbless trebles when Zandering so hopefully the fish will manage to shed the rig without coming to much harm.

Around an hour later i hit into what felt like a big Zander on the rod in the central channel. I was convinced it was a Zander right up until a largish Pike of around 15lb sounded on the surface . At this point it woke up and behaved in a far more pike-like fashion, making short fast runs and tail-walking all over the place. As i went to net it i could clearly see my hook in the front edge of its bottom jaw. I reached out with the net and i couldnt believe it when a final defiant flare of its gills had the hook flying back at me! Its head was on the drawstring as it turned and slowly disappeared into the murky depths. Bugger! The Zander never played ball in the end either despite me stopping into darkness so i packed up on a blank.

The ubiquitous rod shot

My most recent trip was last Thursday and i went out for the afternoon on a stretch of my local Soar, target Perch. After walking the stretch there was a lot of Chub in evidence around some moored boats so i spent an hour or so chucking a light link leger at them baited with maggots. A string of small Chub to around 2lb fell to the tactic before i got itchy feet and headed to my fancied Perch area.

Livebaits werent hard to come by and every put-in with floatfished maggots resulted in a small Chublet so it wasnt long before i had a float paternoster bobbing about next to a likely looking bush.

In the dangerzone......

The bait was hit in less than a minute by a tiny perch with eyes bigger than it belly, in fact it was only a couple of inches longer than the Chublet it took! This swim proved to be full of these small fish and i was catching them as fast as i could catch baitfish to give to them!

Greedy bstard!

A move was called for and after doing so i quickly found the next spot wasnt much better! To be fair the fish were a little bigger although the fish pictured below was pretty much the biggest one i had.

Biggest of the day

Once again i moved, this time to a spot where ive good fish before . Bait catching was a bit of an issue here and i struggled for bites. It soon became apparent why the small fish were scarce in the swim though because once i did manage to catch a baitfish it was quickly mullered by the resident Pike (see the pic below). I couldnt raise any more action after that so i packed up pleased at catching a few fish albeit small ones .

Jacks were troublesome ....

Starting em young

2011-08-08T22:44:00.000+01:00

Sunday 7th August

Ive not been out at all this week due to some major car trouble which has resulted in us becoming a one car family for the first time in over ten years. As a result this has drastically cut down on my fishing opportunities and the situation looks set to continue for the next couple of weeks until i can sort a new motor out, nightmare!
Nevertheless i managed to get out on Sunday afternoon and instead of heading to the river i opted for a trip to a local brickpit with my daughter Charlotte. Shes been on at me for ages to take her fishing and the pool in question has a good stock of small Carp and silvers so action was guaranteed.
The heavens opened just as we made our first casts and within minutes the great British weather was throwing everything it had at us! Thunder, lightning and torrential rain battered us as we sheltered under a little nylon brolly. I couldnt believe it, i was expecting a nice easy afternoon of sitting in the sun catching 3-4lb Carp on bits of floating bread! I was tempted to pack up but it soon started to brighten up and with all the fish showing it wouldve been rude not to stay and catch some of them!
It didnt take long to start getting a few, they werent interested in floaters but maggots fished shallow with freebies sprayed over the top at regular intervals brought us a string of fish, mostly rudd and skimmers. I put out a pellet on a method feeder along the margins and this was soon rattling off as the resident Carp took an interest.
We stayed around 4 hours and had a decent bag of fish by the end of it. Charlotte certainly enjoyed herself even though she struggled with casting and striking a bit . She wants to know when were going again anyway so the weather obviously never put her off at least!

More new spots and a few new tricks

2011-08-01T21:38:00.000+01:00

Monday 25th July

Ive been reading a lot about rolling meat for Barbel of late so tonight i decided to try it out for the first time on a local stretch of the Derwent for an hour or two. Theres only so much you can learn from reading about it and as i made my first cast i wasnt sure what to expect.
My rig was total simplicity, a size 4 buried in a rough cut chunk of spam and 2 swan shot pinched on the line about 10inches from the hook. After a few casts in a couple of swims i hadnt had any discernable pulls and i was starting to doubt my technique, was i getting it wrong somehow? I felt i was getting better control of the bait with every cast but the fish didnt seem to be playing ball.
The next spot i tried was the one where the Swan thwarted my plans the other night and i could see a few Chub ghosting about but no Barbel, they wouldnt be far away though. I cast in line with a nice run between the streamer weed and watch the bait trundle through. A couple of fish inspected it but never picked up until i started to retrieve it for another run down. As soon as the bait lifted a Chub dashed sidewards and grabbed it but i bumped it unfortunately. They didnt seem spooked so another cast was made, this time the bait disappeared from view behind some weed. A sudden double thump on the tip had me striking into a fish and after a brief tussle i landed a Chub of 4.4, at least id caught on the method now, i was well made up!
Obviously after the disturbance the fish did a disappearing act so i moved to another swim. I had no bites after 4 or 5 casts so i decided to try holding the bait back every 5-6ft and let it step its way down the swim. It was deeper here than the last spot and i couldnt see the bait so i was relying on feeling for a bite . When it came it was unmistakable, a sudden smooth pull which took the rod with it! i struck and the culprit was obviously a Barbel judging by the speed i was now backwinding! I locked up and applied some side strain in a bid to turn it then everything went slack. Closer inspection revealed that the knot on the hook had given way, yet another lost fish then, my own fault for not checking the knot after that Chub.
After that i was a bit gutted and the light was drawing in so i headed for home. Rolling is certainly a method ill be trying again very soon .

Friday 29th July

Tonight was time for what has now become my weekly trip out with my pal Keith . We had originally planned to hit the Dove but didnt fancy it on the day and opted for yet another new area of the Trent instead. I say new but ive fished the pegs on the lower and upper ends of the stretch before but considering they are over half a mile apart that leaves a lot inbetween where ive never wet a line! Judging by the amount of swim clearing we had to do it didnt look like anybody else had fished there either!
I cast out a 4oz lead rig about 3/4 of the way across in the main flow and found it was holding bottom well until the drifting weed hit it. To beat the problem i was forced to backlead which is something i hate but sometimes its a necessary evil and it certainly did the trick on this occasion. My other rod was a blockend feeder setup which was cast down the edge along the crease. The reason for using a blockend was to hold a flavour trail near the bait rather than having it washed away within seconds, a trick i picked up off one those underwater Barbel DVDs that are doing the rounds at the minute. Both rods were on Boilies.
Nothing happened until the last half an hour before dark which seems to be the magic time these days. Suddenly i was getting the odd tap and fish were starting to show regularly out in the middle. I was feeding a few pellets along the inside crease every five minutes or so and just as it was getting dark i recieved the 3ft twitch! I picked up the rod and struck only to bump the fish off! If i didnt have bad luck i wouldnt have any luck!
Fish were still showing in my swim so i quickly recast and rebaited. This time the knocks and taps had stopped completely and i was convinced id blown my only chance of the evening. Suddenly, out of the blue the same rod wrenched over and a Barbel was well and truly on! The thing went mental and its a good job my other rod was backleaded otherwise id have been in right mess. Once landed i weighed it at 8lb2oz.

Keith also chipped in with and 8lber of his own so it turned out to be one of our more successful trips in the end and from an area which has certainly shown some potential. The blockend feeder thing seems to have some mileage in it too considering i never had sniff on the standard rig out in the flow which is where the fish were showing.

Sunday 31st July

I was Trentbound again this evening, the conditions seemed pretty good for a bite or two being muggy and overcast with a warm breeze. Both rods went out with blockend feeders tonight and i also droppered in about 2 pints of hemp aswell to see if itd have any marked effect.

To cut a long story short it didnt, all i caught was a Bream of about 3lb and had a few other Breamy looking knocks. I stopped till 10.30 in the hope of an afterdark Barbel to no avail. Keith managed a fish of 8lb2oz though.

At one point i nearly jumped out of my skin as a couple of blokes on dirtbikes came thundering past within inches of my head. I was sat to the side of the path and if id leaned back in my chair at the point they came past they would have taken my head off. Just prior to packing up we were treated to an impressive fireworks display coming from a nearby hotel which probably had the Barbel reaching for their tin hats!

I seem to be really struggling with the Barbel this year for some reason. Lots of trips for not many fish and the Trent in particular has been very tough for me so far. I need to take a step back and maybe stick to one venue or have a look at my approach. There are other venues which offer much easier fishing but i want to catch the fish which i know to be present in the ones im on now. At the minute my 2011 target of a 12lb+ fish seems a very long way off!

Back to business as usual

2011-07-24T18:56:00.000+01:00

Wednesday 20th July

After spending a long weekend in Wales followed by a couple of nights staying with some friends in Wiltshire i was gagging to get back on the river and after arriving back home i didnt waste any time in doing so! After unpacking i was sat on the banks of the Trent within two hours!
The river looked really good to be honest, wed had some rain whilst id been away and id been informed it had got to around 2ft up at its peak. Today it had 3-4inches on it but still carried a nice bit of colour, the slight flush through seemed to have cleared some of the dreaded drifting weed out too and there was none of the usual great clumps of the stuff in evidence.
I got setup in a likely spot and it wasnt long at all before the tip banged over and a very tatty looking Chub of around 3lb was duly banked. Whilst i was down in Wiltshire i took the opportunity to pop into Hinders at Swindon and picked up a 10kg bucket of Elips pellets and it was one of these i caught the Chub on. I was hoping that might be the start of some frantic action but as ever, i found myself twiddling my thumbs and biteless for the next couple of hours. I was picking odd strands of weed up on the line but the situation was ten times better than it was before i went away.
About half an hour before dark i switched one rod over to boilie and within ten minutes i found myself connected to another Chub. At 5lb2oz it was new best for the season so far by an ounce and really brightened my session up . I packed up shortly afterwards. The pic below really doesnt do the fish justice, it was incredibly thick across its back.

Thursday 21st July

After last nights Barbel failure on the Trent i headed to the ever reliable Derwent for a morning session today just to get one under my belt for the week if nothing else. The river was fairly clear with nothing on it when i arrived although it mustve been up recently because one or two snags had been dislodged and some swims had tide marks indicating the river had been up around 18inches to 2ft.

I dropped straight into a known spot which ive caught from already this season and after a biteless couple of hours i was scratching my head and thinking about a move. The swim looks like its had a bit of hammer recently judging by the empty luncheon meat tins and beer cans strewn everywhere. I headed downstream to a couple of other swims a bit further off the beaten track.

When i got there i didnt fancy either of them, ive caught Barbel from both in the past but i couldnt put my finger on it, they just looked wrong somehow. I carried on downstream, hacking through the thick Himalayan balsam until i came to a spot which really caught my eye. Id fished it about four years ago and lost one, ever since then its always been one ive walked past in preference to other swims yet this time it seemed to call out to me strange as it may sound.

I cast in and sat back more in hope than expectation and after an hour of absolutely no indications whatsoever i was getting a little dispondent. Suddenly the baitrunner went into meltdown and i hit into a fish which flat-rodded me straight away such was its speed. I can honestly say ive never had a battle with a Barbel like the one i was now experiencing, it just wouldnt give up. One minute it would be on its side looking ready for netting and the next it would be half way across the river again hugging the bottom, brilliant stuff! I managed to net it in the end though and at 8lb8oz it was no monster but with its tatty dorsal fin and other scars it looked a right bruiser and it had certainly given me a good kicking!

I didnt even bother recasting in that swim after that, instead i had a walk even further downstream. As i did so i casually looked in the river for signs of fish like you do and after a short walk i suddenly froze. I couldve sworn id just seen a Barbel flash in the murk, sure enough, after a minute or so it did it again only this time it was accompanied by another, this was my next spot then!

The run the fish were in was only about 3ft deep and surrounded by streamer weed, fortunately the first cast was smack on at the head of the run and i quickly followed that up with a pouch of freebies to pull them up to the baited rig. After about 20minutes i was just starting to get little plucks and twitches which normally indicates theres a fish or two around the bait when the resident dumbass Swan appeared. He decided he didnt want to swim upstream anymore and that hed fly instead which is fine exept that his runway happened to be my nice Barbel filled gravel run. Obviously after hed clattered his way through it the fish were well and truly gone and he landed a mere 50 yards upstream wiggling his backside giving me the swan version of the two fingered salute, Gutted.

I decided to pack up after that as i was now miles from the car and the sky was looking dangerously like rain. Spotted these Goosander on the way back, i wouldnt like to be a Roach in the Derwent these days .......

Friday 22rd July

I spent the morning wandering around some of the less fished areas of the Trent with the lure rod with the intention of finding a suitable area for tonights Barbel session with Keith. The weed seemed quite bad in some areas compared to others but eventually after much legwork i found an area that made me confident of catching just by looking at it. It was slap bang in the middle of nowhere and it was obvious that nobody had been near it for years yet there was some lovely Chub to be seen in amongst the streamer weed and i felt sure the Barbel wouldnt be too far away.

That evening myself and Keith tabbed our way up there full of anticipation, there was lots of fences to negotiate and lots of foliage to batter down but we got there in the end. Its one thing getting to these places with just a lure rod and a small shoulder bag full of bits but when your encumbered with a full rod bag, a big rucky and a chair aswell as a net and a coat its a completely different ball game as my now knackered shoulder will testify!

The fishing wasnt as good as we were hoping with just one small Chub to my rods. Both of us were getting a few Chubby knocks on the tips throughout the evening and Keith lost a good Barbel as it was getting dark which was encouraging. Some big fish rolled in front of us too so ill definately be back there soon. 6oz was needed to hold bottom but the drifting weed was practically non-existent in the swims we fished so the baits held position for a good amount of time.

As we trudged back to the car the heavens opened and we got well soaked which just added to a fairly disappointing evening. Its all part of fishing though and your never gonna catch anything sitting at home. Time for a bit of a change for my next trip i think, i fancy breaking out the liveys for some Perch i reckon .........

Sunday 24th July

Today was to be my first trip for Perch with livebaits this season and i headed for a local stretch of the Soar. The conditions really didnt look great for it, very bright and quite hot with the river itself being very low and clear . Still, i had the maggots and they needed using so i headed down just for the morning before the sun got too warm .

My general method of fishing this way is to fish a swim as normal trotting with the stickfloat and feeding it up and to have the livey paternostered on a second rod at the tail of the run. The idea being that the feed attracts the small fish which in turn pull the bigger Perch into the swim and hopefully the first thing they come across will be my bait.

I managed to catch a small Dace on my first run down and out it went in readiness as i continued to build the swim. I caught loads of Roach, Dace, Bleak and Perchlets over the course of the next couple of hours but the bigger stripeys didnt seem to be having it at all. Suddenly the rod tip on the paternoster started tapping as the bait was obviously agitated by something, within a minute the tip slammed over and a Perch was on . I saw it flash deep down in the water before suddenly it came off! wounded! it looked half decent too.

I hooked up another bait and recast, this time the bait was hit within seconds and a chunky fish of 1lb12oz was quickly netted. Out went another Dace and again it was hit almost straight away, another lost fish! After that the shoal must have dispersed because no more takes were forthcoming.

An hour or so later and i had a Gudgeon kicking around on the paternoster which was violently taken by something. That too came adrift purely because the hook had turned around and was masked by the livebait so the Perch was never hooked. I usually hair-rig my liveys to avoid deep hooking but the trouble is it does allow the hook a certain amount of movement which can work against me on occasions.

It didnt take long to get another bite and there was no mistakes with this one as a nice 2lb6oz Perch slid into the net. That was to be it for the remainder of the trip, the sun was starting to burn so i made tracks pleased at getting a 2lber in tough conditions. Id like to have fished the evening instead but i had things on so it wasnt possible, i might try and squeeze an evening in one night after work this week.

The lure of the Trent

2011-07-12T23:17:00.000+01:00

This week i have mostly been walking the banks of my local Trent chucking shiny bits of metal at unsuspecting fish and even though ive had some success its not exactly been mega prolific.

Monday 4th July

This was a good evening in terms of numbers of fish. It seemed that every peg contained hordes of tiny Perch and more often than not i had several little 'wasps' snatching and banging the lure as it neared the end of the retrieve. I ended up catching 8 or 9 Perch up to about 1.8, all good fun though and way better than an evening in front of the telly!

Saturday 9th July

It was a bright sunny morning as i headed out for a couple of hours . The stretch i fancied had a match booked on so i headed elsewhere and it proved to be a real grueller. There was large clumps of weed drifting down in every peg it seemed and the fish werent exactly crawling up the rod either. After the evening with the Perch last time around i had brought my ultralite gear to be a bit more sporting and allow the fish to give a better account of themselves. It didnt do me much good though and after an hour or so all i had was two tiny perch of about 4oz apiece.
Eventually i came upon a lovely swim with an overhanging tree and about 2ft of water over golden gravel gently flowing underneath it. More importantly there was five decent looking Chub holding station in the swim accompanied by a large Perch which was hanging close to the bank. I made a cast and all the fish drifted downstream a little although they didnt look overly spooked. My next cast was across the fishes noses and the Perch visibly bristled at the Lure at which point one of the Chub charged in and hit the lure hard. The light rod buckled over and the Chub put up a really good scrap. It was a good mid-4lber and it saved a tough session.

That evening i returned in a bid to catch a Barbel with my pal Keith . Other than a couple of chubby type knocks i ended up with a blank but Keith managed an 8lber just as it was getting dark. The weed situation seemed to be a lot better than it was earlier in the morning though.

Sunday 10th July

I managed to sneak out for a couple of hours in the afternoon to try and make up for the previous nights blank. I headed for the Derwent this time and i had a banker spot in mind which i felt sure would give me a Barbelly fix no matter what. It didnt disappoint and i had a nice 8.4 within an hour of casting in . Mission accomplished i headed for home just in time for supper!

Monday 11th July

My better half gave me a pass for yet another trip out tonight, i reckon she must have a fella on the go or summat trying to get rid of me all the time, good luck to him i say! Anyways, i headed back to the Trent with the lures and what a poor trip it turned out to be! I had a follow from a very large Perch which turned away at the last minute (dont they always?) and then sat under a weedbed refusing everything i ran in front of it. A short while later i hit into a lively Jack which threw the hook as a went to glove it out and then, just as was getting dark, i finally caught a fish! Still, it saved the blank, bless it!

Hotting up

2011-07-03T00:30:00.001+01:00

Wednesday 29th June

Todays trip was a fairly spur of the moment affair, i had a few jobs to do after work and once these were done, i got home, had some dinner and sat down with nothing to do other than watch the wifes Soaps. Sod that ill head up the river for a couple of hours i thought, so i did.
I headed to the Derwent cos the Trent weed was starting to get bad again and i was setup and fishing for about 7ish. I had a couple of good pulls early on but no hookups but i kept trickling feed in and soon connected with a nice Chub of around 4lb or so. The 30lb braid took no prisoners and subdued the fish in no time.

Despite stopping till dark i had no more action other than another couple of bangs on the tip. The river seemed to have risen slightly whilst i was there cos the flow was noticeably quicker and there was weed drifting down too, strange because weve had no rain really.

Saturday 2nd July

I woke up Saturday morning with no intention of fishing till the evening, however it was really sunny outside and a shame to stay indoors so i managed to get a morning pass for a walk along the Trent with the lure rod. I headed to an area well off the beaten track which i fancied having a look at with a view to some future Barbel sessions.
The fishing started quite slowly which wasnt surprising considering the bright conditions and all i could muster in the first hour was a tiny perch with eyes bigger than its belly!

I did have a spectacular strike from a lovely double figure Pike on a 6inch Freestyler and it led me a merry dance until its tailwalking enabled it to shed the hook. After that i had a good look around at some swims, dropping in the odd spot with no success. I spotted some nice Carp in one area and made a mental note to return and have a bash for them at some point.
All the spots id tried so far had been slacker areas and seeing as id had little success i tried a much faster, shallower swim in a bid to maybe tempt a chub. First put in and the spinner got hit by a slightly better Perch.

Maybe i was onto something i thought and after no more pulls there i sought to find some more similar swims. I had a couple of follows in my next couple of spots but no hookups. I switched from the Mepps to a Sandra in an attempt to keep the bait down near the bottom in the quicker flow. The lure was absolutely smashed on my first cast with it and i was pleased to find myself connected to a proper Perch. At 3lb5oz it was the biggest id ever had from the Trent and it well and truly made my morning.

It wasnt until id put the fish back that i realised id moved the dial on the top of the camera to a different setting by accident which is why the photos above are so rubbish colourwise not to mention the fishes tail was curled around on the bottom pic too. The graffiti on a nearby bridge said it all ..........

I was on a real high from that last capture but my day wasnt done yet and in the very next spot i tried i latched into another good fish. This one went 3lb1oz on the scales leaving me gobsmacked. Ive fished the Trent many times for Perch and never had a three yet on this trip id had two in 10minutes!

The sun was now out in full force and was really starting to burn so, pleased with what id already had i headed back to the car. As i did so i decided to have a cast into one last swim. After a couple of casts i was just about to lift the lure out of the water when a large Perch rose out of the depths and inhaled the lure right before my eyes. This one scrapped like hell and after netting i thought it might even provide me with a hat-trick of threes. It wasnt to be on this occasion though but at 2lb8oz i wasnt disappointed, not one little bit.

That rounded off a very enjoyable session and i headed home for some lunch making plans for an evening of Barbelling ...........

After spending the afternoon in the garden with the kids and then having some dinner, i made my way to the Derwent for the evening. I only had minimum kit with me cos the area i intended to fish was a real hike from the carpark but it wasnt too long before i got setup.
I didnt have to wait long for a pickup, about ten minutes to be precise! The tip walloped over and the braid sang in the rod rings. I played the fish hard to stop it getting into a nearby snag and soon enough the fish was netted. At 8lb8oz it was a good start.

After that i moved on and found a nice spot with some deep water and a heavy current going under some nearbank bushes, it looked nailed on for a Barbel. I needed 5oz of lead to hold bottom but i was confident of some action. After a while i had a bite and connected with a powerful fish which shot upstream and the hook pulled. I recast and had a repeat performance almost straight away. I was a bitted gutted at losing two on the bounce but that was put to rest about half an hour later when i landed a right battered old warrior of a Chub which went 5lb1oz, the best of the season so far!

By now the light was beginning to fade so i quickly headed for another spot i had in mind. By the time i got cast in it was nearly dark and i was struck by the sheer numbers of small fish that were showing. Cormorants have given the river a proper going over in recent years so it was nice to see lots of small fish still present in there. A fast take soon had my mind back on the job at hand and i found myself doing battle in the pitch black. The fish repeatedly weeded me up but after a few hectic moments rummaging for the net and head torch with one hand whilst holding on for grim death with the other, the fish was safely banked. It went 9lb4oz and brought a great days fishing to a happy end.

Barbel, braid and the return of the dreaded weed

2011-06-26T11:09:00.001+01:00

Wednesday 22nd June

I had Wednesday booked off work to go fishing, i was meant to have a few days off but an ultra heavy workload caused by everybody else going on holiday meant i could only get the one day so id have to make the most of it. I really wanted to get back on the Derwent to even the score after losing a couple of nice fish last time around so, after dropping the kids off at school, i pointed the car towards Derby.
The river was painfully low but it was quite overcast and there was rain in the air so i was hopeful of a bit of action, I had a spot in mind so i headed straight there. It didnt look like thered been many down and i took note of a couple of new snags that had appeared during my 12month absence from the stretch.
The swim was tight so a one rod approach was all that was required and after casting in it wasnt long before i started to get a few bangs and twitches on the tip. I peered over the bank and could clearly see three Barbel in the vicinity of my rig, one was twice the size of the other two and clearly a nice double. As i watched, the larger fish suddenly bolted across the river and my baitrunner screamed. I grabbed the rod and a brutal struggle ensued. There was a nasty snag upstream and i had to really bully the fish on a short line, i could see it twisting and shaking its head in the clear water midriver. It shot towards the snag and i was forced to lock up in a bid to turn it, unfortunately this was a bridge too far for my mainline and it parted a the knot leaving me gutted.
Obviously there was no more Barbs to be seen in that area so i moved on to another stretch. The carpark on the new stretch was deserted so i thought itd be a good opportunity to fish the known flier peg down there. Id not fished it before and when i got there i was a little disappointed to see there was hardly any flow on it. There was a lot more broken water downstream which looked more Barbelly but having heard of the swims reputation i stuck to my guns and got setup.
Within 30minutes i hit into a fish and after skulldragging it away from the snag opposite into midriver i soon had it in the net. At 9.2 it was a good start and my first Derwent Barbel of the new season. Another one of 6.12 followed shortly afterwards and my confidence in the peg was sky high, now i know why its so popular!

9lb2oz

6lb12oz

Unfortunately, things went a little downhill after this due to another angler showing up determined to fish the snag opposite me regardless of me being there or not. Despite me being the only other angler on the river for miles he setup upstream of me and cast down to my swim. A slight argument ensued and he went on his way somewhere downstream. After this i couldnt get any more action so i headed to the Trent for an evening session.

As soon as i saw the river and the clumps of drifting weed coming down i new it was going to be tough going, nevertheless i found a nice looking spot, droppered in a load of hemp and pellets and commenced fishing. Regular readers of this blog will know how i detest the dreadful stringy weed which seems to blight the Trent every summer, fortunately it wasnt as bad as it looked on this occasion and i was able to keep the bait in the water for a decent amount of time for a change. The Barbel didnt want to play ball though and one Chub of 4.2 was all i had to show for my efforts by the time i packed up.

Saturday 25th June

I had planned an evening of Barbelling on the Trent with Keith this evening but i found myself at a loose end in the morning so i headed to the Trent to do a spot of trotting for some Roach. Some good bags had been reported over the previous week so i fancied a bit of the action myself. It wasnt to be though and i struggled to get around a dozen fish in about 3 hours of fishing. A couple of other anglers nearby also really struggled too so it wasnt just me being crap (thats what i kept telling myself anyway!).

Keith picked me up in the afternoon and i soon found myself sat next to the Trent once again. Conditions were pretty good, warm, overcast and extremely muggy with very little wind. After losing a few barbs lately ive decided to switch my mainline from 12lb mono to 30lb braid and this was to be my first session with it. I use braid for all my lure fishing but ive not used it for bait fishing before so this was a totally new experience for me. At 0.1mm diameter its less than half the thickness of the mono ive been on so it should offer a lot less drag in the water too.

The weed wasnt too bad again but it was definately worse than weds and i was getting around half an hour to fortyfive minutes inbetween casts. The Barbel didnt show at-all, in fact nothing showed not even a Chub to either of us and we were both left scratching our heads by the end of the session. You win some you lose some i guess!

Good to be back!

2011-06-20T20:23:00.001+01:00

Friday 17th June

At last the much anticipated time had arrived to fish some running water! I finished work at 12.30 and hurriedly made my way home to collect my kit and have some dinner before heading to the Derwent to hopefully do battle with some of its Barbel.
I had an area in mind already and because its a good hike from the carpark i was extremely confident of having the whole stretch to myself, i wasnt to be disappointed. A couple of fields away from the carpark and it was fairly apparent that nobody had been this far down for months judging by the thick undergrowth encroaching the barely visible path. Fighting through heavy foliage in search of that perfect Barbel swim is all part of the exitement for me, i was in heaven! Eventually, after about 20minutes of walking i came to some open fields and my fancied area.
The first swim i setup in was one of those spots that really jumps out at you, a really obvious one with a fallen tree in the water mid-river and a deepish looking run down the inside of it which screamed Barbel! I got setup, cast a boilie alongside the snag and sat back to await events.
After a short while i began to get a few bangs and taps on the rod-tip before eventually hooking and landing my first fish of the new season, a nice Chub of 4.8.

I couldnt get another pull after that so i moved on and tried a couple of other swims. During this time the weather closed in and it began to drizzle. No more bites were forthcoming so i looked for a swim i could settle in till dark. The spot i decided on was fairly shallow but had some nice overhanging trees which looked like they could be hiding a fish or two.
After around an hour or so my rod-tip absolutely buckled over and the bait-runner hissed. I lifted into the fish only to find myself backwinding imediately, i applied some side strain in an attempt to steer it away from some snags on the far bank downstream but unfortunately it made it and transferred my hook into a branch.
The rain had really set in now and did nothing to improve my mood as i re-rigged and re-baited. The river looked dead, nothing was showing whatsover so i was quite surprised to recieve a couple of taps on the tip which turned out to be the prelude to a properly savage bite which lifted the rod butt off the floor!
I hit into it but i could feel the line grating on an unseen snag mid-river and i was no surprise when the line parted shortly afterwards. I packed up after that, i know when ive been beaten and this was one of those occasions. To add insult to injury, my car went tits up on the way home and its looking like i might have go and get another one sooner rather than later, bugger!

Sunday 19th June

I was Trent-bound for my next trip and my mate Keith joined me, it was his first time on the stretch we targetted so i was determined to try and get him a Barbel. We had a walk to recce some likely looking areas and i was surprised to see that nobody at all was fishing this popular area on the first weekend of the season. The was a chap upstream in the distance but that was it so we had our pick of the pegs.
The first swims we setup in proved to be quite difficult to fish mainly due to the amount of drifting weed coming down, This stuff was the bain of my life last season and it seems to have shown up even earlier this year. Anyhow, we moved upstream to swims where we could fish down the inside margin and have a realistic chance of a fish or two.
Keith got off the mark almost imediately with a couple of smallish Chub but i couldnt settle and after an hour or so i was on the move again. I was drawn to one spot in particular, its a favourite winter Chub spot of mine but this time it looked cock-on for Barbel. There wasnt enough water in front of me for two rods so i concentrated on just the one. The weed was still pretty bad but i was fishing upstream and the bait was holding position for much longer than in the other swims.
Eventually the tip sprang straight and then nodded violently as a heavy fish made off with my boilie. I knew it was a Barbel straight away due to its ability to hold station in the heaviest flow before taking line as it swam upstream in it. The thing pulled my arm off for a bit before i finally netted it and after weighing it at 9.10 i knew my season had begun proper.

After returning it and recasting i sat back to watch the sunset, the river was absolutely alive with fish of all sizes and the scene was in complete contrast to the other night on the Derwent. I just knew the action wasnt over yet and it was no surprise when i had another take and found myself connected to another heavy fish out in the main current.

The first run had me thinking Barbel but then it calmed down and thumped away in the depths in a very Chub-like fashion. I got my first glimpse of it under my feet and it turned out to be a small Carp! It weighed just shy of 10lb, A typical Trent Common.

As the light faded i had quite a few more taps and bangs but no more hookups and i suspected that Chub were responsible. After packing up i walked down to Keith and it turned out that he too had some nice fish under his belt. No Barbel on this occasion for him but six Chub to nearly 6lb was a good result i thought. Anyway, thats the first weekend of the new season out of the way, its good to back on the rivers again, onwards and upwards!

Nearly there!

2011-06-11T18:17:00.000+01:00

Saturday 11th June

I had a walk along a stretch of the Derbyshire Derwent this morning in order to refamiliarise myself with the place in preparation for opening week. Id not been near the stretch for two years and i was pleasantly surprised to find it hasnt changed a bit, everything was exactly as i remembered it.
The light conditions wernt great for fishspotting and there was a good ripple on from the wind but i did manage to find a few . I spotted a small group of decent Chub holding station off the end of a fallen tree and i saw some other individual Chub and Barbel ghosting across the gravel amongst the streamer weed. I didnt see any Carp which was unusual but as i headed back to the car i managed to get a useable shot of a couple of small Barbs (biggest about 7lbish) framed on the gravel mid-river. Cant wait to get down there and wet a line now!

Short session success

2011-06-08T21:45:00.000+01:00

Wednesday 8th June

Had an extremely quick evening session on my usual Tench water this evening to use up the weekends bait . After finishing work, having some dinner and getting stuck in traffic on the way to the lake I was fishing for about 6. With time being at a premium i dropped in a handy spot near the carpark, the wind was pushing towards me and i fancied my chances.
The weed had come up with a vengeance since my last trip there a couple of weeks ago but there was still clear areas to be found and soon enough the feeders were in position. I didnt have to wait too long for a bite and i duly landed a Bream of around 5-6lb on my right hander. The next bite came around an hour later to the left hand rod and i struck into a good fish. It took all of 30seconds to get itself weeded solid but some steady pressure and gentle coaxing soon had it moving again and eventually i netted a very plump Tench which weighed 8lb on the nose.
As i returned the fish my other rod rattled off and i hit into what turned out to be a Bream which fell off in the margin as i was thinking about netting it. I recast and gave it another half hour before packing up more than happy with my evenings work.

8lb

A Bee in the bonnet

2011-06-07T21:13:00.000+01:00

Monday 6th June

Since my last blog entry i developed something of an obsession with catching a Tench from the tricky water where a caught those Rudd last week. The plan was to fish short evening trips until i actually caught one and in the event it turned out to be surprisingly hard going!
Despite being very deep in places, the pool has an absolute plethora of features, in fact it probably has just about every possible fish holding feature you can think of and it screams Tench everywhere you look. However, as i mentioned before, its Tincas dont give themselves up easily and after speaking to other anglers recently, to catch more than one in a session is a relative rarity.
I headed down on Wednesday last week after work for few hours and i only managed one bite all evening. The hooked fished shot off through a weedbed to my left and i was left cursing another hookpull. After that my swim remained stone dead until i packed up just before dark. The local mouse population was surprisingly tame though and seemed to be very partial to micro-halibut pellets!

The next trip was Saturday evening and i arrived at the pool to find that the hot weather of the previous couple of days had caused an algal bloom and the water had turned pea green. This didnt put the fish off though and i managed 4 bites in about 4 hours. I only hooked the one though and after beating me up for five minutes or so it swam around a sunken tree and cut me off. The problem i had was that the 15ft float rod i was using didnt have the backbone to be able to control the fish and ,despite putting a savage curve into it ,the Tench pretty much went where it pleased throughout the battle. I headed for home with big plans to beef up my gear ready for the next round.

This brings me nicely up to the most recent session on Monday evening wherupon i returned armed with my 1.25lb Drennan Avon rod . At 12ft it couldnt quite reach over the marginal weed as easily as the float rod but i was much more confident of gaining the upper hand should i hook anything decent. The fish were certainly active tonight, lots of bubbles and movement on the float had me hovering ready to strike several times. It wasnt long though before the float slid away and i bumped a fish off the hook. This had me worried that the rod was now too stiff to hit bites at close range. Three more bites had me striking at thin air over the next couple of hours until finally at about 8.30 i latched into some solid resistance. Right from the start i was able to show the fish who was boss and i was able to bully it away from the snags and reeds with ease. Admittedly it wasnt a huge one at around 2lb or so but the sense of relief and elation at finally netting one was huge. After taking a quick pic for the blog i packed up a happy man.

A change of scenery and some mixed bags

2011-05-30T07:59:00.000+01:00

Friday 27th May

Reports from the Tench lake have been pretty poor to say the least of late, the lake seems to have properly switched off for some reason. With this in mind i headed out with the float rod to a club water with a reputation for being quite tough. Its a mature and very deep lake with clear water and lots of marginal cover. The Tench arnt huge but they dont give themselves up very easily at all and seeing as ive never caught one from the lake i decided to take up the challenge and do so.
I arrived lakeside at around 4ish, there was only one other angler on the lake and the secluded corner i fancied was free and the wind was pushing into it. I placed a bolt feedered corn hookbait along the margin to my right and floatfished corn along the left hand margin. I had about seven feet of water tight to the reeds and after feeding some groundbait, corn and pellets as i setup it wasnt long before i was fishing.
Within five minutes of casting out the float dipped and being caught somewhat off-guard i promptly missed it. Next cast the same thing happened and i hit a skimmer of about 2lb, an encouraging start.

The swim went a bit dead after that but within half an hour a patch of pinhead bubbles appeared next to the float and i hovered over the rod in anticipation. Nothing happened however, despite my swim beginning to resemble a jacuzzi my float never even dipped! i tried going overdepth and also tried maggots and pellet to no avail. I had a think and setup an ultra sensitive rig which involved the use of a tiny 1/8oz free-running lead and a pole float .
I gently lowered it in amongst the fizzing bubbles and began to recieve tiny knocks almost imediately and within a few minutes the float slid away proper. I hit into a heavy fish which powered off along the bank before heading out to open water whereupon it bent the size 14 hook straight! At least the new rig seemed to do the trick.
The bubbles started up again after a while and i missed another couple of bites . I tried maggots but everytime i did i just got a small Perch so i decided to stick with the corn. The feeder rod was a bit quiet although i did bump a fish off and catch a nice Rudd of about 12oz on it.

I love Rudd and its nice to see them showing in the pool because i didnt even realise there was any in there. Lots of fish began to show on the surface as the light started to fade so, with no further Tench activity, i decided to shallow up the float and fish maggot to see what they were. I was pleased to catch three more Rudd before it got too dark to see the float. Id love to see them get a real foothold in there because they are few and far between in these parts and they are a delighful fish to catch.

An enjoyable trip i thought, although i caught no Tench on this occasion i did get a few bites and learned a bit more about the water, it will give up one of its emerald prizes sooner or later!

Sunday 29th May

The plan for todays trip was to target Bream and Tench on another club water, my mate Keith accompanied me and it was his first time on the place. The weather was overcast and windy with an ever present threat of rain although thankfully the rain managed to hold off for most of the session as it turned out.

Due to some overindulgence the night before it was around 11oclock by the time we got to the lake and even though it was a Sunday there wasnt a soul there so we had our pick of the swims. We opted for a large double swim overlooking the main body of the lake and hopefully some big shoals of Bream!

We fished four feeders along the same line at around 60yards and it wasnt long before the first fish of the day was landed, a Perch of about 12oz. We were getting lots of tugs and pulls on the maggots which indicated there was a lot of small fish about and this was confirmed as a succession of Perch, Roach and Rudd were caught. At one point Keith had what looked to be a good sized Roach but it turned out to be a Roach/Bream hybrid unfortunately.

It was about 2 hours before the first Tench of the day made an appearance, a scrappy male of about 3lb to my rod. As i landed it i noticed a large shadow close behind which turned away at the last minute, the Tench had a lucky escape! A while later Keith had an even smaller Tench which was grabbed by what i assume was the same Pike, it spat it out though but still followed it right up to the rim of the net. It wasnt a huge croc but certainly a nice double.

On the Bream front it proved to be pretty slow for me with only one fish landed, Keith on the other hand managed to find a few and went on to land 5 of them for a total weight of over 35lb. I did manage a last gasp Tench of 5lb on the nose prior to packing up just before Dark.

Another enjoyable trip out then, plenty of bites, good company and the rain held off , what more could we ask for? heres some pics from the day .........

Slow but steady

2011-05-26T21:03:00.000+01:00

Sunday 22nd May

This is a bit of a belated write up but i thought id better get last weekends fishing writeup out of the way before this coming weekends adventures begin. After a weekend of doing a few oddjobs around the house I opted for an evening session on the Tench lake. The weather was sunny but very windy and with there being a good chop on the lakes surface i was confident of a bite or two .
The swim i chose was right in the teeth of the wind but also right next to the main entrance which meant a constant stream of passers by. This wasnt a problem until i landed the first Tench of the day around half an hour into the trip and I was suddenly surrounded by curious members of the public. The fish had gone through my other line during the battle and was tangled, i ended up netting the lot and my swim looked like bomb site with rods, line, nets and Tench everywhere. This didnt stop the crowd converging upon me with shouts of "lets have a look?", "what is it?" , "didnt think there was anything that big in here" and the old perennial "are you going to eat it?" I inwardly groaned at the barrage of questions and winced as a couple of kids stepped over my rod, camera phones in hand to capture the moment for posterity. After unhooking i placed it back in the water as quickly as possible in bid to get the people out of my swim asap. As i picked up the rod a woman walked through the line pulling the size 10 hook deep into my thumb. Through gritted teeth i had to graciously accept her apology as i used my forceps to remove the hook which was in well past the barb!
After all that trauma had subsided i recast and settled back down, the weather looked to be on the turn with some very heavy looking clouds rolling in. Even though the rain held off, the stream of public walking by reduced considerably and i even caught another Tench, this one around the 5lb mark. The session was looking up!
Seeing as i was right near the carpark my better half decided to bring the kids down to see me and amost on cue, as they arrived, the sun came out and my right hander signalled a take. Another scrappy albeit small Tench was soon on the mat much to the kids amusement although number two child wussed out when it came to the family photo cos he was scared to get too close! hes only two but hes gonna grow out of that one whether he likes it or not!

After they left i managed another small one just before dark and that was all the action i had . Four bites for four fish in about six hours fishing, not too bad i thought. Reports from other anglers on the lake over the last week suggests the fishing has slowed right down and with a bank holiday weekend coming up i might leave the place until we get another blast of warm weather. I fancy a spot of float fishing and a change of scenery this coming weekend, not sure where yet though...........

Frustrating

2011-05-19T22:27:00.000+01:00

Tuesday 17th May

After the weekends success i was keen to keep the pressure on and planned a couple of midweek sessions, the first being a Tuesday evening trip. There was a few other anglers on when i arrived so i headed for a nice quiet area and got set-up.
Despite fishing pretty well, keeping my bait tight and casts accurate, I suffered three lost fish in the first three hours. All were damned hookpulls again same as the majority of other lost fish ive had of late. At first i thought it might be down to the hook size and pattern but ive played about with four different patterns in various sizes and seem to still be losing fish. I normally use very short hooklinks, could this combined with the feeder bouncing around 3-4 inches away be causing the problem? further investigation is very much required. Anyway, I found myself with about an hour of daylight left and nothing on the score sheet and was really cursing my luck.
As the clock ticked past 8.30 i had another take and finally landed a fish, at 7.3 it was a fairly decent one too and i felt somewhat vindicated after losing the others earlier.

7lb3oz

This feeling was shortlived however as ten minutes later i lost another fish! This time the hookpoint had turned. Soon enough the darkness began to close in and it was time to pack up. I left the rods out lying on the ground as i packed everything else up and was pleased when the left hand baitrunner started ticking over resulting in a last gasp Tinca of 5.14. Thinking back, its amazing how many 'bonus' fish ive landed over the years just by leaving the rods out to the absolute death, quality.
Before i left i piled all the bait i had left into the spot with the intention of coming back tomorrow for the night.......

Weds 18th/ Thurs 19th May

I had a day booked off work on Thursday due to an appointment so i siezed upon the opportunity to do a rare midweek night. Upon arrival at the lake there was only two other anglers on so i had a good choice of pegs. The wind was cold and the sky was clear meaning a potential cold night ahead yet despite this i went against my better judgement and headed back to last nights swim . Even though its very shallow i hoped that the bait i had put in would have kept a few fish mooching about.
Within a couple of hours i was regretting setting up there, something didnt feel right and i had that unconfident empty feeling we all get from time to time where you know youve made a mistake and let yourself in for a grueller. A move was out of the question as it was getting dark fast and the location of the swim made any kind of move very difficult indeed, those that read this and know the lake will know exactly which peg i mean!
I landed a tiddler of about 3lb and lost two fish just before dark which didnt do a great deal for my confidence, the swim looked dead. Whilst there wasnt much happening in the water though i felt like a regular doctor Dolittle as a procession of woodland creatures passed by the bivvy door. As well as the usual waterfowl and small birds, i had a Pheasant, a Weasel, A Squirrel, some Bats, several Rats and the little chap pictured below. In fact the mouse got so confident it actually came inside the bivvy at one point.

Into darkness the fishing didnt get any better really, i had a Bream at about 12.30am and a Tench of around 5lb at 2.30am and that was it until i lost a fish at about 7am. That was all the action i had for the session and packed up slightly disappointed.
I might give it a rest for a few days i think to recharge my batteries a bit, four sessions in six days is a lot of fishing for me and the fishing itself is starting to get a bit monotonous . Same rigs, same baits, same swims, yes im catching fish and im sure ill continue to do so but God, how i long for those rivers to open!

The push continues

2011-05-16T21:30:00.000+01:00

Sunday 15th May

As the title of this entry suggests, my push for another big Tench continues, this time in the shape of a quick evening session. I hit the lake at around 3pm just as the last of the weekenders was leaving, i had the whole lake to myself, a rare treat indeed! Despite this, swim choice was still fairly limited due to the lack of them . Seeing as none seemed to jump out at me after a good mooch around i settled in what was normally the most popular swim on the lake purely because i might not get another chance in there anytime soon!
I had brought the Bismarck (my crappy baitboat) with me for its first outing in ages and after much faffing about which reminded me just WHY it was its first outing in ages, i finally got some baits out and started fishing.
It was around an hour before i had my first bite and after a decent scrap a nice Tench of 6.12 was soon posing for some pics. Two lost fish on the bounce followed over the next couple of hours before i hooked into another beaut of 7.2. That was to be it for the rest of the session because shortly after that 3 car loads of youths pulled up and they all piled into the woods behind me on a camping trip . Judging by the racket of large branches snapping accompanied by much shouting and the smell of burning it sounded more like wanton destruction than camping . Either way, i wasnt gonna argue with em over it and seeing as i now found myself on my own with gang of drunken chavs 30yards away my session appeared to be going downhill fast. I was happy enough with what id already caught so after enduring the disruption for an hour or so with no further action on the rods i decided to call it a day.

6lb12oz

7lb2oz

Persistence pays .......

2011-05-14T11:04:00.000+01:00

Friday 13th May

With it being Friday 13th i fully expected the day started out on a downer and sure enough it did! I was given a real ball-ache of a job to program up at work which put paid to any thoughts i had of an early finish and it was gone 2pm by the time i managed to get out of the workhouse. I rushed to get home and halfway there the car decided to die on me for no apparent reason. I managed to get it restarted and its been fine since but i do hope its not symptomatic of some serious wallet damage coming up in the near future!
I had already prepped my kit the night before so it wasnt too long before i was eventually setting up lakeside. The weather was sunny with a coolish breeze and the lake looked good for a fish or two but despite this it was a fairly slow start and it was about 2 hours before i had my first bite. The fish was fairly small at 4.4 and although it looked to be in good condition fin and mouthwise it was very skinny with some curious red blotches on it, a skin complaint perhaps?

Blotchy!

After this i started to have some problems on my margin rod with the lakes resident dumbass Swan . It would not leave me alone and i ended up hooking it and it went mad, i could see my feeder hanging from its mouth as i attempted to bring it in and then, thankfully the hook came free, phew! It buggered off up the top end of the lake and i thought that would be the last id see of it ......... how wrong i was! Twenty minutes later it was back and hooked up again! Sweet Jesus those birds are thick! This time it decided to attempt take off and as it clattered across the surface the hook bounced out of its beak, no harm done. Unbelievably it even came back again after that but fortunately it seemed to hang back off the baited area and i had no more trouble with it.

Back to the fishing anyway, after the Swan antics the swim needed time to settle. The weather had closed in drastically by this time and i was subjected to some serious thundery showers, not fun when you havent got a brolly with you i can tell you! I was soaked and seriously thinking about packing up but in between showers i managed a Bream of about 6lb and another Tench of 5.10.

5lb10oz

Once the worst of the showers had passed over it began to brighten up but the temperature felt decidedly fresher. The breeze, although cold, was drying me off nicely so i carried on fishing and was soon rewarded with another Tench. This one was only about 2lb and was the smallest ive ever had from the lake, it was in mint condition and shows that at least one or two babies have managed to survive the hordes of Pike present in the water.
A lost fish soon afterwards was all the action i had until just before dark when my right hander signalled a slow take. I initially thought it was a small fish or a Bream because it pretty much came in like a wet sack until i got it in the margins whereupon it woke up and suddenly felt much heavier! As it slid into the net i glimpsed the fishes girth and knew that it was something a bit special. On the mat it looked big, surely a seasons best or, dare i say it, a PB?
She went 8.8, an agonising 2oz short of equalling my PB but still the second biggest Tench ive ever landed and i was over the moon. A just reward for putting the time in on the water, hacking through so many smaller fish and coping with all the various other challenges the lake presents.

8lb 8oz

Id finally caught what id been after from the lake but with just over 4 weeks to go before the river season begins im not going to be finishing on there just yet, theres still time for another and who knows, i might even get that PB after all!

Back to the Tench

2011-05-07T21:59:00.000+01:00

Friday 6th May

I had originally planned to do a night on the Tench lake ive been fishing but work and family commitments left me with little time to prepare so i settled on a quick evening session instead. A quick scout of the pool upon my arrival showed the place to be pretty busy, in fact the carpark was full! I scanned the far bank with my binoculars and spotted a free swim right up the top end. It was really warm and quite muggy so i was a sweating, knackered mess by the time i got around to the swim. It was a new spot for me but as i took stock of what lay before me, a Tench rolled exactly where i was thinking about placing my bait. Thatll do me then!

I commenced fishing and it was about an hour before i hooked my first fish of the day. It found some lilies straight away and after a bit of hefty pulling i managed to free it whereupon it promptly found a snag down to my left and the hook pulled. Bugger! little did i know it but those lilies and that snag were to prove a complete nightmare over the next couple of hours....

The next one i hooked i bullied mercilessly, hauling it away from the danger zones as quickly as i could. It was only a small one but they all count and it was nice to get one under my belt. I tried to take a quick snap in case i needed it for the blog but my camera batteries were totally dead, yet another bugger! looks like id have to try and get something useable with phone-pics.

Over the next hour i hooked two more Tench, losing both to hookpulls due to excessive bullying. I uprated my hook size and hooklink strength to compensate and was pleased to land a nice Bream shortly afterwards. At 9lb4oz it was the heaviest id ever had from the lake and i had to be careful because she appeared to be carrying a fair amount of spawn.

Nice Bream, crappy phone-pic grrrr!

After this i went on to have a total mare with the snags. I landed three more Tench, 5.0, 5.12 and a cracker of 6.14 but i lost another five (yes 5!) fish to the lilies. Most were hookpulls apart from one which snagged solid and ended up breaking me off. The swim was also really shallow and i kept getting pickups off a particularly dumb Swan which, despite several pebbles and a method-ball landing on it, simply wouldnt take the hint!

Even though i had caught some nice fish, i packed up with a bit of an empty feeling after losing so many. Thoughts of what couldve been, what i couldve done differently and how id approach the swim in future filled my head. When i got home i uploaded the pics id taken on my phone onto the pc and was somewhat miffed to find them pretty much unuseable. I was hoping to bring you pics of my second biggest Tench of the year so far but id chopped half its tail off and it was blurry as hell, more bugger!

Saturday 7th May

After getting home last night i spent an hour sorting some kit and bait out with the intention of going back down today to even the score a bit. Those losses were totally unacceptable and this time i decided to try and avoid that area of the lake as best as i could.

I know the books and magazines tell us to use watercraft when we arrive at a venue to determine where to fish on the day but id wager that the majority of us often arrive at a venue with a particular spot in mind. A so it was when my mate Keith and i arrived at first light except that someone was already setting up there! some swims were free on the far bank (away from the snags this time) so we headed there, beggars cant be choosers on these busy waters! sod the watercraft, in these situations you have to try and make the most of whats actually available.

Soon enough the fishing began and the weather was a complete contrast to the previous evenings hot conditions. It was still warm but it had rained quite heavily in the night and now the sky was overcast with a distinct danger of more rain to come. Hopefully the fish would feed a little better during the day under these conditions as opposed to mostly first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

After the intial first few feederfulls of bait had gone in it was a good while before i had a hint of any action. Eventually a screamer of a take and a short scrap resulted in a plump female Tench of 5.8 on the bank. It was nice to land a fish in totally snag-free water after last nights debacle.

5lb8oz

After this the action continued in a very steady manner, it wasnt red hot hauling but the fish came along in a steady stream at a rate of about one every 45mins to an hour. I landed nine in total to a top weight of 5.10, nothing huge but plenty of good solid sport.

I did witness something unusual though, i was just landing a small Tench of about 3lb when an even smaller jack of around 2lb decided to latch onto its tail. It wouldnt let go and i very nearly netted both fish when a larger Pike of around 8lb decided the jack would make a good snack and grabbed hold of it! for a few seconds i actually had three fish on the end of my line at once until the jack finally let go of the Tench. It managed to get away from its larger cousin too in a shower of scales which left the bigger fish sitting there somewhat bemused!

All in all quite a decent days fishing and i only lost one fish all day too! Below is a few pics of some of the fish caught.

5lb4oz

5lb10oz

5lb5oz

On the slabs

2011-05-02T19:59:00.000+01:00

Monday 2nd May

Having been away on a break all week with the family i was chomping at the bit to get back on the bank especially after last weeks bagging session. The lake i have been fishing of late had been producing some fantastic bags of fish to other anglers whilst i was away but i felt it had been a little hammered and fancied a change of scenery. I geared up on Sunday evening with a mind to visit the pool at Tamworth that i fished back in March but when i awoke on Monday morning i really couldnt get motivated to drive all the way over there. Phil had mentioned during the week that he was going to try his luck on a local club water on Monday so, with a lack of any better offers i decided to head there myself and join him.
It was about 7am when i arrived in the car park which i thought was fairly late but i was quite surprised to see only one other car present. The skies were clear and the sun was already out in full force but there was a really good blow on the water which boosted my confidence no-end even though it was coming from the East. A couple of Carp boshed out in the waves and i was soon scurrying around to a likely looking swim laden with kit.
I spent a short while having a bit of a cast around to see what was in front of me before commiting some bait to a spot and casting both rods on top. As usual i fished maggot hookbaits, my confidence in them is sky high at the minute and theyre always my first choice where Tench and Bream are concerned.
I didnt have to wait long for a bite and soon enough a feisty Tench of 4lb was landed closely followed by another of 4.8.

The bigger of the two Tench

After catching those two in quick succession i was looking forward to a good day but a quiet hour or so afterwards soon calmed me down a bit. It was around mid-morning and the sun was really starting to burn when i had a drop-back and found myself attached to the first Bream of the day. At 6.12 it was a 'proper' Bream and i certainly wasnt going to complain if a few more came along .............

................ and came along they did! over the next 4-5 hours i landed 10 more dustbin lids. Apart from two smaller fish of 3lb and 5lb all the others were between 5.12 and 7.2. The lake has no history of big catches of Bream that i know of so i was most chuffed to have landed around 80lb of them by the time i packed up. If it wasnt for the fact that i ran out of bait i reckon i couldve topped the ton quite comfortably because they were still biting when i left. As i did pack up i managed to hook a cheeky Jack of about 2lb which hit the maggots as i reeled in and duly landed it to cap off a great days fishing.

Below is some pics from the Day;

6lb+

Some of them were bristling with tubercles

Double header

Maggot muncher!

Taming Tincas

2011-04-23T21:47:00.000+01:00

Friday 22nd/Saturday23rd April

Even though it was good Friday and pretty much everybody else was enjoying a nice sunny bank holiday, i was one of the unfortunate few who found themselves at work. Fortunately i was able to finish at lunchtime and head straight down to the lake for an overnighter. My old pal Rob was also down and seeing as hed been there since early morning i already had a pretty good idea of how people were on and what had been out before i even arrived.
It was very busy anglerwise by all accounts but Rob had managed to bag a couple of plumb swims and had already caught a couple before i arrived. I settled in the swim to his left, a spot id never fished before which gave me command of quite a bit of water well away from Robs swim. My chosen tactics were to fish small method feeders over a bed of groundbait which was balled in at about 60 yards range with a catapult.
The session didnt take long to get going and turned out to be really productive. Seeing i was catching a few i jotted down a running total as i caught them, below is how the session panned out.

2.00pm - Arrive at lake and get set up
3.30pm - Lose fish
4.00pm - Bream 4-5lb
4.45pm - Lose fish
6.30pm - Mirror Carp 18lb6oz
7.00pm - Tench 4lb14oz
7.45pm - Tench 7lb11oz
8.15pm - Lose fish
9.00pm - Tench 5lb4oz
9.30pm - Bream 5-6lb
10.15pm-Tench 4lb8oz
10.30pm-Bream 6lb12oz
10.45pm-Tench 5lb7oz
11.15pm-Bream 5-6lb
12.00pm-Tench 5lb8oz -after this i wound in to get some kip!
5.00am - woke up and cast back out
5.30am - Tench 5lb6oz
5.45am - Tench 4lb12oz
7.00am - Tench 7lb11oz -this was a recapture of last nights biggy
7.45am - Lose fish
8.00am - Tench 5lb9oz
8.15am - Lose fish
8.45am - Tench 4lb
10.00am-Packed up

As you can see i certainly had some action! I was particularly pleased with the Carp because they are a relative rarity in the water and i landed it on a 5lb bottom. The 7lb Tench was a beaut and i was amazed to catch it again less than 12 hours later and i swear it actually fought harder second time around too! Rob also did pretty well landing 9 Tench, most of which averaged 5-6lb, plus a couple of Bream.
Below is some pics to remember the session by ............

7lb11oz

Action shot!

Nice carp, shame about my lily white legs!

First and smallest bream of the trip

5lb+

Something different

2011-04-18T22:11:00.000+01:00

Monday 18th April

Just a quick update tonight cos im short on time. I had the urgent need to go fishing today for some reason and, feeling a bit adventurous, i decided to have an evening on a local pool i know in pursuit of a Catfish or two. As expected i had the whole lake to myself so i headed to an area where ive caught Cats from in the past and commenced fishing. Within 20 minutes of casting out my right hander rattled off and a chunky Carp was soon banked.

I was fishing big pellets and was getting bangs and pulls every few minutes so there was clearly quite a lot of carp activity around them. I wasnt there for an evening of mudpig action however so i switched both rods over to deadbaits.

After a quiet couple of hours i had a scorching take and hit into what felt like a juggernaut that was determined to make it to the far end of the lake. There was no mistaking what this could be, nothing can flat-rod you quite like a Catfish! After a short but thoroughly brutal scrap the fish was finally netted and it looked quite decent.......

At 18lb 4oz it was decent enough to be a new pb for me anyway! Quality stuff, another short session pays off!

Park life

2011-04-16T16:46:00.000+01:00

Saturday 16th April

Todays trip was back on the same pool as last week, a few fish had been caught during the week so it looked quite promising. I arrived in the dark at 5am and was surprised to find i had the entire lake to myself so I headed for the going area where the fish had been coming from of late. Its a public access lake and my chosen swim had the added bonus of being in a wooded area which meant that hopefully i wouldnt be getting bothered by people quite so badly as is often the case in other areas of the lake, not that im an unsociable sod of course!
Out went the feeders just as it was getting light and i was full of anticipation especially as one or two Tench were starting to show out in front of me. The lake was flat calm and the shiny black backs of the rolling fish glistened in the halflight. The resident birdlife was waking up too and the cacophany of noise, especially from the Geese, was unbelievable.

After about half an hour i recieved a slow take on the left-hander, i hit dogged resistance and it felt like a decent fish but unfortunately it came adrift after a few moments. Never mind, it was an encouraging start anyway and an hour later i was in action again. This one felt a lot smaller and so it proved as a chunky 4lb male Tench was soon lying on the mat. It had a severely deformed bottom lip which left me wondering how the hell it managed to feed properly, it certainly wasnt a photogenic creature anyway so i put it back without one.

Whilst i was waiting for another bite i had a bit of a play with my new camera. There was a Heron in some treetops about 150yards away and after a bit of trial and error i managed to get a half decent shot (i think anyway) of it. Considering the distance i was quite impressed, ill be keeping my eye out for various wildlife photo opportunities now i know i can take useable pics at range.

Back to the fishing and it was approaching mid morning before i had any more indications. The bobbin slowly rose towards the rod in a very deliberate fashion and as i struck i felt the culprit bump off the hook. Probably a Bream? judging by the way the take developed it had to be.

I recast and within minutes i had an identical take on the same rod, sure enough the fish came to the surface imediately and surrendered in typical Bream fashion. A couple of minutes later and a Bream of about 5-6lb which looked as old as the hills was banked.

After that i couldnt buy another bite despite stopping well into the afternoon. The water clarity was very much clearer than last week and the bottom was clearly visible for a good way out. This was proved by the sheer number of Coot pickups i had over the course of the morning! The clear water combined with the bright sunshine probably didnt help my cause a great deal. Neither did the kids who ploughed through my swim in a rowing boat, the mega-annoying Swans that repeatedly swam through my lines, the 50th person of the day to ask me if id caught owt, the youths on bmxs racing up and down shouting to each other or the Ducks,Coots and Geese that seemed hell-bent on attacking each other right over my baited area all morning. Park life eh!

Ill definately be back for more next week.............

Cut Short!

2011-04-10T23:20:00.000+01:00

Sunday 10th April

Firstly, apologies for no updates over the last couple of weeks, a combination of a nasty cold and the fitting of a new bathroom put paid to any chances i had of getting out last weekend. Thankfully however ive had the oportunity to get out a few times in recent days and although its been somewhat tough and slightly lacking on the fish front ive still enjoyed myself.
Thursday evening on a local club pool saw me targetting some Tench with little success. Id never fished it before but my old pal Phil had a bit of a result there earlier in the week and i figured it was worth a bash. Other than one missed chance i blanked but it gave me a good taster of the place and i will be back.
On Friday afternoon i headed for another local club lake, this one being a decent sized gravel pit. I didnt even see any sign of a fish let alone get any bites, another blank!
My next session was to be on Sunday and i needed somewhere which would give me a good chance of catching something in order to restore some confidence. As i racked my brains, one lake in particular kept popping into my head and after a quick recce on Saturday afternoon my mind was made up. With the bright daytime conditions of Saturday being predicted to continue into Sunday i figured an early morning start would give me the best chance of catching something.
I arrived at about 5.30 and setup in the half-light, out went two bolt-feeders baited with maggots and half a pint of maggots was then spodded on top of each. Once settled i sat back to soak up the atmosphere of the place, the dawn chorus was in full swing, mist was rising off the lakes surface and the sun looked pink as it tried to burn through it.

Nothing happened for a good while until around 8.30 when my right hander signalled a steady run. The fish had me backwinding from the off as it headed towards a large tree on the far bank. A bit of steady pressure saw it turn but unfortunately it began to kite to my left which wouldnt have been too bad exept that it went behind some nasty looking branches which were sticking up out of the water in the margin. I could feel the line grating and was just waiting for it to part. Amazingly, despite much tugging it all held together but now the line had looped around a solitary branch and the Tench was well and truly stuck about 15 yards out from the edge. I could clearly see it and had no option but to go in the lake to rescue it. I waded out and eventually managed to scoop it at full stretch with the net. At 6lb it was a nice fish and provided some consolation for getting wet!

After returning it my swim resembled a bomb site, my shoes were full of silt and i had a distinct aroma of wet dog about me. I packed up somewhat beaten but certainly not out of the game and i left with a mind to return for the evening stint.
I re-arrived at the lake for about 4.30 and setup in a different area to the morning. The action was surprisingly slow but i eventually managed to pull a small Tench of around 3lb out of the hat as the sun went down. That was the only bite i had but at least id managed to catch a couple over the course of the day.
The warm weather over the last week or so certainly seems to have got nature kick-started and summer only seems just around the corner. The Koi in my garden pond havent been as hungry as what they are now for several months, i darent put my fingers near the water in case i dont get them back!

Cooling off

2011-03-27T09:16:00.000+01:00

Saturday 26th March

For Saturdays trip i was back on the pit i visited last week. The weather forcasters had given out a cold front coming from the north which meant quite a drop in temperature for this weekend and they were right. Daytime temps had been up to 17-18degrees in the week but as i drove to the lake the gauge in the car was hovering around 5degrees, not good for Tench.
When i arrived i was surprised to see that the lake was really busy, in fact i couldnt get anywhere near the area i fished last week as it was totally stitched. With this in mind i decided to head around the far side which looked pretty clear . There was a couple of other chaps also unloading their cars so i had to be quick, oh the joys of day ticket waters!
After a Linford Christie style sprint i arrived, totally knackered, at a peg which gave me good command of quite a bit of water without the threat of other anglers cutting me off. Once id composed myself i set about having a lead around to check the weed situation. I found that the clearest area seemed to be to the left of the swim at around 50yards, anywhere closer or to the right of the swim was hopelessly weeded out so i decided to put all my eggs in one basket and fish both rods to the clear spot.

Shortly after casting in the Roach started attacking the baits the same as last week but i was using long hairs so it took a bit longer before the inevitable happened and i hooked one. Over the course of the morning i ended up hooking several but they seemed to be a better average size than the ones last week. All were 8oz+ and i weighed the biggest at 1lb2oz, a nice fish.
I wish the Tench and Bream were as forthcoming but unfortunately they werent! A nice Bream rolled over my baited area at lunchtime and gave me a nice confidence boost but it wasnt to be, other than the Roach, nothing else wanted to know. A Carper fishing nearby had a Bream of 10lb+ and another had a 22lb Mirror but they were the only other fish to be caught around the whole lake as far as i know.

After packing up at teatime i stopped off to have a look at another pit id been tipped off about and was quite impressed with the look of the place. It was a far cry from the pit id fished earlier in that there wasnt a soul fishing on it whatsoever! Thatll do me i thought, once the weather improves ill give it a bash.

Too early for a Tench? Never say never!

2011-03-20T21:09:00.000Z

Sunday 20th March

With the rivers finishing last week it had been my intention move onto to a couple of commercial fisheries ive had my eye on for a Perch or two but as ever, my fickle nature came into play and wrecked my plans. A conversation with a mate last week got my Tench juices going and by the time the weekend came around i had a session planned on a pit at Tamworth where i had a few last year. We had some frosts over the last couple of nights and i had some doubts about whether the Tench would be moving yet, the pit holds some good Bream aswell though so if the Tincas werent on it then hopefully the Bream would be.

I arrived at the lake and the conditions look pretty damn good, calm, mild and overcast with a slight drizzle in the air. The water in the pit is always as clear as tap water and its very shallow so i needed any help the weather could offer. Looking out across the lake there wasnt much sign of anything fishy going on so i opted for a spot which gave me good access to some slightly deeper water off the end of an island which i reasoned could be a good area to pick off any passing fish.

A few exploratory casts told me that there was still a lot of tough old blanket weed about left over from last year but fortunately the clearest area seemed to be exactly where i had intended to fish off the end of the island. I rigged up two rods with the ever faithful maggot bolt-feeders and cast them out.

Once settled the rod-tips banged intermittently as Roach attacked the maggots and after a while one of about 6oz hooked itself. I went on to get several more over the next couple of hours and i got the feeling that i had to do something to ward them off a bit so that the Tench and Bream could get a look-in.

I started by upping the hook size and utilizing a maggot clip on a hair with the intention being that it would look a bit too crude to the Roach and that even if they did pick up the bait then they wouldnt hook up due to the length of the hair. It didnt work, i gave it an hour and they were still chewing on the maggots and i even managed to catch a couple more. I wasnt happy with how the rig looked either, im not a fan of maggot clips and i felt that there was way too much metal on show at the business end for the Tench to pick up the bait.

After a bit of a think i replaced the black-cap maggot feeder with a small open ended feeder packed with groundbait. I dropped the hooksize down to a 14 and instead of a clip i used a micro ring on a long hair and threaded about 7 or 8 maggots onto a length of line which was then tied to the ring. The resulting rig was much more low profile and i was well happy with it.

After a while of fishing the new setup i was still getting the odd twitch from the Roach but nothing like as bad as before. I had a feeling they had been homing in on the maggots coming from the feeder and mopping them up before anything else got a chance to find them. Now i was using maggot-free groundbait, it wasnt AS attractive to the Roach and there was still going to be some food particles around should anything bigger come along.

Time was ticking away uneventfully but as it approached 4oclock i had another Roachy take. I picked up the rod, struck and was pleasantly surprised when it took on a bit of a curve and the fish on the end actually pulled back! I soon netted a rather tatty looking Tench of about 3lb. It could well have been the smallest in the lake but it was concrete proof that there was one or two on the feed!

Pleased at getting one under my belt at last i rebaited and recast both rods for the last hour. I had to clear off by 5 if i was to get home in time for the sunday roast but even so i was well confident of another take beforehand. I had just started to tidy some gear up when the right hander signalled a fast take, the baitrunner was properly hissing as i picked up the rod. This one felt a bit bigger than the last and despite it finding some reeds in the margin i eventually managed to scoop it out and confirm a weight of 5.2.

A passerby did the honors with the camera and after returning it i called time and headed for home. I was quite happy having put my earlier doubts to rest, the pit hasnt got a huge stock of Tench and to get a couple in March was pretty good i thought.
I really should go Perching next week before the Carp get mega active but if the Tench are feeding then i fear it may already be too late!

Final week on the rivers

2011-03-13T20:49:00.001Z

Monday 7th March

After the Roach success over the weekend i was keen to get back on the rivers because the last week of the season has usually been pretty successful for me in the past. If i had known what it was going to be like this week beforehand though i dont think id have bothered! The weather given for Monday was not good for fishing, an overnight frost accompanied by sunshine and clear blue skies made for some incredibly bright conditions.
I started the day on the river Derwent fishing for Perch and despite trying several swims i couldnt get so much as a sniff. The water was as clear as tap water which didnt help. A move to the Trent had me faring no better although the water there did have a little more colour to it. In order to save the trip i dropped in on the Soar on my way back and scratched out a Chub of about 4lb on breadflake.

Tuesday 8th March

Headed for the Trent with Chub in mind but conditions were identical to yesterday and i couldnt buy a bite. Bread, cheesepaste and worms couldnt tempt a sausage so i headed for the Soar again. I missed a bite first cast and then that was it, total blank!!

Wednesday 9th March

Feeling like i was in a bit of a rut i decided to head to the Dove for a change. The weather was somewhat different to that of the last couple of days being cloudy with a stiff breeze. I fancied it for a Perch or two but after a couple of hours of dropping lobs under any likely looking bushes and in various slacks i was still biteless. The wind was making bite indication tricky cos i only use a 3/4oz tip for Perching and it was being blown about all over the place.

Eventually i had a couple of decent plucks and connected with what felt like a good Perch to start with but turned out to be a Chub of around 3lb.

After that i headed back to where id started and within minutes the tip slowly pulled around and i hit into a decent fish. I could feel the line grating through some overhanging branches and a large boil followed by the glimpse of a stripey flank was all i saw before the hooklink parted, gutted. No more action came after that and i headed for home somewhat disappointed.

Saturday 12th March

I decided to grab a quick evening session on the Derwent on Saturday, target Perch. Ive not fished the Derwent much at all this season mainly because ive not had my usual Derwent tickets which is a shame cos ive had some really great results from there in past years. I aim to redress the balance next season but anyway back to the present, i arrived at about 4ish and there was a couple of anglers already there without a great deal to report. Conditions looked spot-on, very overcast, mild and no wind whatsoever, i was very confident of some action.

I settled in a spot where a large raft of debris had collected around a semi-sunken tree and placed my legered worm alongside it. I kept a steady trickle of maggots going in and knew from past experience that although this area usually only yeilded a couple of bites a session they were usually good fish. After a while the tip jagged quickly and i struck too soon and missed it, cursing myself i placed the bait again and waited.

By now it was getting darker by the minute and i knew time was running out, it had started to drizzle aswell which wasnt pleasant. Just as i was thinking of calling time i had a pluck on the tip and my hand automatically moved into hover position over the rod. Ten minutes later nothing had developed and it was too dark for another cast so i packed up scratching my head somewhat. The other lads downstream reported a couple of nice fish but they too said it had been hard going.

Sunday 13th March

I was in two minds as to what to do today on what was to be my last trip of the river season. After a gruelling week i really wanted to make the last session count. The given weather was dull and wet in the morning before brightening up for the afternoon. I thought about heading back to the Derwent seeing as it had produced one or two Perch to other anglers but after the time ive put into the Dove this season and the disappointment of losing a couple of biggies, i was drawn back to it in a bid to settle the score.

I got up a bit later than id planned and i had to sort some bits for the kids but even so i was pleased to be headed up the A50 by about 8.30. Even as i drove i still couldnt decide where to go but as i approached the turnoff for the Derwent i found myself putting my foot down and driving past it, the Dove it was then.

I was pleased to see only one other car in the carpark and i headed straight to the scene of my last Perch encounter. It was drizzly and overcast and i was well confident. As is usual with the Dove it soon knocked me back down to size and i was fighting an uphill struggle to get a bite. A couple of small Grayling fell to the worms though which boosted me a little cos id not caught Grayling on lobs before. The temptation was there to switch to maggots and start hauling but i was there for a Perch and nothing less would do.

I wandered downstream and found some likely spots but some rather over-friendly bullocks had decided i was far more interesting than eating grass and wouldnt leave me alone. As soon as i sat down i was surrounded which isnt great when your trying to be a bit stealthy!

In the end i had to leave that field altogether, even a tap on the nose with a bankstick didnt deter them. It was a first for me, ive never been cowed off the river before!
By now it had brightened up considerably and i was convinced my chances of a Perch had gone. I sat down next to a nice looking slack and cast in whilst i pondered my next move. I was taken completely by surprised when the tipped suddenly pulled around hard and stayed there. I picked up the rod and it became apparent i was connected to a nice Perch and i soon had it ready for netting. Trouble was, the net was still sticking out of my rod bag which was out of reach at the top of the bank! I had no choice but to pick the fish out of the water by hand, no mean feat when your 3ft above the water, good job im a lanky bugger! At 2lb12oz it turned out to be my best from the Dove so far.

After photographing and returning it i had another put-in whilst i tidied my kit up and couldnt believe it when i had another bite straight away. I bent into it and it headed towards to middle of the river whereupon the hook pulled. Bloody hell theyre like buses! I chanced another cast and had a repeat performance, this time however i managed to stay connected to the fish and soon had it ready for netting, it was a similar size to the first one . As i reached for the net there was a huge swirl where the fish was and i was gutted to see a very large Pike slowly swimming away with my Perch firmly clamped in its jaws. I was still connected to the Perch but there was always only going to be one winner in this tug of war and i was soon winding in minus my hook.
I retackled and stayed in the spot for another hour but unsurprisingly any remaining Perch had melted away and i had no more bites. The Sun was out in force now and i decided to call it a day happy that id finally had a half decent Perch from the Dove.

Well, thats another river season done and dusted . I really enjoyed the Chubbing and learnt a lot which will be put to use next season for sure. I didnt do nearly enough Perching and i wouldve liked to have done a bit more Barbel fishing but theres always next time around. Im looking forward to it already!

Roach, a mission accomplished

2011-03-06T15:17:00.000Z

Friday 4th March - Sunday 6th March

This weekend was one that i had been waiting for with particular anticipation, 48hours of Roach fishing on a lake which would probably give me the best chance of landing a 2lb+ specimen that ive ever had in all my years of angling. Id heard about the place on the grapevine about 18 months ago and fellow SVSG member Rob had already been for a taster session last year, landing some cracking fish including a 2lber. The venue is a three hour drive from my house and with big Roach being a bit thin on the ground in my locality it was time to bite the bullet and get my arse down there.
Rob joined me for this one and we set off at 3.30am with the intention of arriving as the gates opened at 7. After an uneventful drive we arrived a bit earlier than expected which gave us a bit of time to walk around the lake and select a couple of likely swims. There had been a hard frost overnight but even so there was a few Roach topping in the middle which served boost the old confidence a bit. There was five Carp anglers on but they were still in bed so we couldnt tap them up for any info. Shortly afterwards the bailiff opened up and as we paid him he informed us that a 2lb Roach had been caught the previous weekend so there was one or two showing.
As we setup the sun made an appearance and the frost began to disappear quite quickly . I went about setting my house up first but Rob had his rods out before anything else and it paid off because he landed a 1lb9oz fish before id even cast in! "Good here innit?" he grinned.
After the early success there was no more action for an hour or so until my right hand rod signalled a bite and i ended up bumping the fish on the strike. We were both using bolt feeder rigs with tiny hooks and it soon became apparent that if we struck then the fish would invariably bump off as i found out to my cost on my next bite too. A gentle lift into the fish was what was called for and i soon landed a pristine bar of silver which weighed 1lb5oz, only an ounce off my pb!

With one apiece under our belts we settled down and concentrated on getting some bait out in front of us. All 4 rods were fished at the same range, about 30 yards, and spread along a strip about 30 yards long. We had a gallon of maggots between us and we were recasting the feeders every 20 minutes to build up a carpet of feed. Thankfully the lake only contains a few small Roach aswell has the big ones otherwise it could have been a bit of a nightmare fishing single maggots on the hook like we were doing. My next bite a couple of hours later turned out to be a new PB of 1lb7oz, it was another pristine specimen and i was over the moon!

A quickfire fish of 1lb4oz followed within minutes leaving me gobsmacked at the sheer size and quality of the fish present in this water. As the day began to turn to night, Rob had added a couple more pound plus fish to his tally and we both had a couple of tiddlers too. Rob assured me that the place really came alive at night and sure enough from about 7pm onwards we had several bites in quick succession.

I had another PB at 1lb8oz and Rob had a Stunning brace of 1lb13oz and 2lb3oz, the 2lber being a new PB for him. The sky was very clear and the weather was shaping up for another frost so it was really quite bitter and I finished the night off with a 3lb Carp before retiring to bed and warmth. At 3am i was awoken by a Carper in the peg next door who was trying to land a fish which had swam along the bank and through my line. It was quickly sorted though and i was soon taking pics of a nice 20lb Common. As a bonus though the sky had clouded up and the temperature was on the rise.

The next day began very slowly and after missing a bite first thing it was a couple of hours before i had another which resulted in another Carp hooked. This one was a bit bigger than my 3lber from the night before and i never really stood a chance with a size 18 hook and a 2lb bottom. Suffice to say it led me a merry dance before breaking me off.

At about mid morning i hit into another Roach which felt a lot better than the others id had, taking line from the off. After a quick tussle it was obvious that this was a better fish and upon peering into the net i knew id finally caught what id came for. The scales registered 2lb2oz, i was blown away.

It was a magnificent fish in every way, and even as i write this now im still a bit shell shocked that ive caught a 2lber, happy days indeed.
Anyway, back to the session, that fish signalled the start of quite a lull and it was late afternoon before we started getting bites again. A flurry of tiny Roach saw us into darknes which is when once again Robs swim really came to the fore. He went on to land something like 20 more Roach over the pound mark between six and midnight, no more 2lbers though. I had a fish of 1lb10oz plus some tiddlers to round my day off .

After a good nights kip and an early rise it was time to pack up the gear ready for the long drive back. I recast the rods just before i started to tidy my stuff up in the hope of a last gasp lump. Once eveything had been put away i picked up my left hand rod and packed it away, just as i put it in the bag the other signalled a bite and i found myself connected to a Carp. With nothing to lose i decided to take my time with it on the light gear (2lb bottom) and couldnt believe it when i eventually landed it, a great way to end a great session!

The Barbel cometh

2011-02-27T19:49:00.000Z

Friday 25th February

I managed to get away from work early today which meant i had time to get a quick afternoon session in. Wed had quite a bit of rain in the week and i knew the rivers would still be carrying a fair bit of extra water and colour. A check on the EA site told me that the Soar was the one to head for if i was to have any chance of a Chub or two.

When i arrived the river was a bit higher and certainly more coloured than i anticipated with about a foot or so of visibility in the margins. A bit too coloured for Chub? maybe, but i was there and i certainly wasnt going to leave without wetting a line.

My favourite spot on the stretch was pulling through too quickly to hold bottom but a few yards downstream a small slack area had appeared behind an old reedbed which looked tempting. I cast out a bit of breadflake and let it swing around into the slack. As soon as the rig settled i had a sharp rap on the tip which i struck and missed. This happened again on the next cast and i hit into and landed a small Chub of about 2lb which was encouraging as it meant that the colour wasnt putting the fish off too much.
No more bites came from that spot so i had a wander downstream, the river was carrying about a foot so most of my usual areas were quite unfishable. On the flipside however, the extra water usually creates new swims which wouldnt even get a second glance under normal conditions and it was one of these which i decided to fish next. It was a small bay, under normal conditions its totally dead water and full of reeds but on this occasion there was a fantastic looking crease where the main flow passed across the mouth of it and the water was eddying around nicely.
I made a cast to the crease and sat back to await events. Before long i had a couple of small taps followed by a kind of tremble on the tip, something was obviously playing with the bait so i struck. The rod hooped over and i thought i was snagged, that is until i felt a heavy kick on the line and found myself backwinding furiously! The fish headed out into the full force of the floodwater and seemed intent on staying there, this was no Chub, the way it was hanging stationary in the main flow meant it could only be a Barbel surely. I kept the pressure on as much as i could, i was only using 5lb line so i couldnt bully it too much. After about five minutes of stalemate the pressure began to have an effect and i finally coaxed the fish out of the flow and into the slack. Despite this it still kept deep and it was a good few minutes before i got the net under it. I peered into the net to see a very odd looking Barbel, It had a bit of a twist in its back and had the fattest belly of any Barbel ive ever caught, in fact it was more Carp-like than anything else! It went 9lb2oz on the scales anyway, my first Barb of the year and the first ive ever caught on bread.

I did move to another spot after that but other than a couple of half-hearted knocks there wasnt much happening so i was soon homeward bound.

Sunday 27th February

More heavy rain yesterday meant that the rivers were now well up, in fact if the EA site was correct then the Trent was carrying over 4ft! After Fridays Barbel action and after speaking to a couple of mates who had been amongst a few it was obvious that the fish were having it after the mild weather of late. With the current conditions it seemed logical to break out the Barbel gear.

Once again i headed for the Soar as it was carrying the least amount (about 2ft) and would be a somewhat tamer fishing experience than the Trent in full flood! Phil joined me today as he hadnt done any Barbel fishing for a good while either. The area we fished was downstream of a set of lock gates which meant a large slack with a good crease on the edge of the main flow was the predominant feature. We spread our rods along the crease and waited, i took a temperature reading of 47f and the river was definately dropping.

There was a lot of rubbish circling around in the eddy behind the locks which kept catching the line but it wasnt as bad as some of the stuff which was coming down the main flow. Trees, branches, car tyres, a fire extinguisher and even something that looked like a dead badger came flying past! It wasnt long before Phils rod tip buckled over and a fish was on, it put up a good scrap, punching well over its weight but soon enough a small Barbel of around 5-6lb was lying on the mat, a good start!

Shortly after this the heavens opened and the river, after having dropped about 2 inches during the morning, was visibly rising again. We stopped in the swim for another couple of hours to no avail before moving onto another area altogether. Again the swim in the new area was another crease swim and looked really good for a fish or two. We stuck it till dark through some pretty nasty weather and never managed even the slightest hint of a sniff between us.

Theres only a couple of weeks of river season left and with them carrying all this extra water the outlook seems quite bleak for some late river Perch and Chub sport. Maybe this weekend has served to force a shift in my tactics and ill be pursuing Barbs until the close, who knows? I have some time booked off work the week after next so we'll see but in the meantime a PB Roach beckons..............

Uncharted territory

2011-02-20T16:42:00.001Z

Friday 18th February

This week i managed to get an after work session in, the first of the year infact, and i decided to experiment a little and try for a Chub or two on fish baits. Ive not fished with fish baits intentionally for Chub before although i have caught them on livebaits and lures meant for Perch. Ive read so many accounts of outsized Chub falling to chunks of Mackerel and Sardine that i had to give it go in the hope of a late season lump.

The only bait i had with me upon arrival at the river was a tub of Prawns and a couple of Sardines. This was deliberate on my part to stop me falling back on the old faithful bread and cheesepaste if i was to struggle! Prawns arnt exactly what i had in mind as an out and out fish bait because many species of fish love a nice Prawn or two as we know but i took them anyway to build up some confidence towards sticking a chunk of sardine on!

I baited the swim with some liquidised bread mixed with broken up Prawns and made my first cast. It was about 10minutes before i had a bite which was promptly missed. I didnt make the same mistake on my next cast and was rewarded with a Chub just shy of 4lb. A good start i thought and after another half hour of no bites i upped sticks to another swim. I missed a bite straight away on the Prawn here and decided that there might be a few down there so the Sardine chunk was put into action.

It was a good while before i had any indication, in fact i was starting to wonder if the bait was even still on the hook. Suddenly i was alerted to a sharp tap on the tip, i had visions of six pounders going through my head so as you can imagine when the tip pulled around hard and i struck into thin air i was somewhat disappointed! Still. id had a bite so there was something down there which liked the look of the bait. A short while later and the light levels were really starting to drop now as daytime became night and i was struggling to see the tip. There was no mistaking the next bite though, the tip pulled around so hard i thought the fish had hooked itself but once again there was nothing there.

After this i packed up, pleased to have had bites on the sardine but frustrated to have missed them. I can only assume the fish were holding the bait in their lips and moving off causing me to strike the bait clean out of their mouths.

I was gonna fish all day Sunday but heavy rain on Saturday put the river levels right back up which put paid to any Chub aspirations i had. I couldnt get motivated enough to head for a lake so i never bothered in the end.

You might have noticed that ive added a facebook link on the right hand side of the page. Ive set up an account for fishing only with the idea being that visitors to the blog can contact me and give me some constructive feedback on the blog . Im not exactly genned-up on the whole facebook thing and its a bit of an experiment really so bear with it and for gods sake add me as a friend or ill be a very sad and lonely facebooker!

A game of two halves

2011-02-13T14:03:00.001Z

Saturday 12th February

After my recent success with catching Chub from some new areas i was chomping at the bit to get out this weekend. After last weekends surprise floods the rivers were fining off nicely, the Soar was still low and clear and the Trent appeared to be carrying about a foot with a tinge of colour to it. The weather was still very mild although a bit of rain had been forcast. My intention was to fish a couple of spots on the Soar in the morning before heading over to the Trent to see if it was worth a go in the afternoon.

First half - The Soar

I arrived at first light and headed straight for the area i had the five pounder from last week as i felt id found something of a holding spot. The action wasnt as instant as i had been hoping and it was after about half an hour of building the swim with loosefeed that i managed to kick-off with my first Chub of the day in the form of a mid-3lber on breadflake. After this i was still getting knocks and taps but nothing strikeable so i tried a switch to cheesepaste in a bid to tip the balance in my favour. Within minutes id hit into a slightly better fish of 4lb exactly which pretty much wrecked the swim in its bid for freedom and no more bites were forthcoming.

I decided to head about 100yards downstream to a spot where a very shallow run dropped off into a much deeper glide, the kind of spot which screamed Chub! It certainly held a few because within ten minutes id caught another two, both very small though in the 1-2lb class. One was grabbed and spat out again by a large Pike as i brought it in and although it lost a couple of scales in the process it seemed fine when i returned it.
Not wanting to sit there catching small ones and getting mauled by Pike i moved on again to another spot. It had been dull all morning but now the sun was coming out in earnest which made me think i might start to struggle for bites in the clear water. Sure enough it was a good while before i had another but i managed to hit it and another 3lb+ Chub hit the back of the [landing]net.
By now i was well into stoppage time and the halftime switch to the Trent was well overdue so i packed up and made my way over there........

Second half - The Trent

Upon arriving at the river and selecting a couple of swims, i baited up,had my lunch then commenced fishing. The river was indeed carrying around a foot and was slightly more coloured than i thought it would be with about eighteen inches of visibility in the margins. My chosen area was noted as being tough for Chub but if i caught one chances are that it would be a lump.
I spent about an hour in the first swim with no indications whatsoever so i moved onto my other one with the intention of fishing it till dark regardless of whether i had bites there early on or not. I wasnt disapointed because it was well over an hour before i had the first hint of a knock, i struck, missed and put it down to Roach pecking at the bread. This carried on very sporadically over the next couple of hours, just getting tiny taps, nothing worth striking and yet my bread was being taken off the hook everytime i reeled in. I scaled down hook and bait size to try and connect with at least something to no avail.
By now the sun was beginning to set and the light levels were dropping fast, the indications on the tip had become noticably more frequent, probably one every five to ten minutes. I began to pack my gear up and was literally down to just the rod and landing net when i had another little tap, out of frustration and with nothing to lose i hit it and was shocked when the rod hooped over and a decent fish made for the middle of the river. After a few hairy moments involving an overhanging tree it was soon netted, a nice fish of 4lb10oz, smaller than i thought but still a nice one and the biggest of the day, an extra time special!

I mentioned in a previous entry that i was going to get a new camera cos my other was getting a bit rubbish. Well ive now got one and the pics above are the first results, they do seem better and the camera has more functions for dealing with crappy light conditions so ill have no excuse soon once ive mastered it!

Blown away!

2011-02-06T17:50:00.000Z

Saturday 5th February

The title of this weeks entry pretty much says it all about Saturdays trip. The whole country is currently being battered by gale force winds which make makes for some pretty uncomfortable fishing. Due to the winds south-westerly direction and the area of low pressure thats brought the wind with it, daytime temperatures have been up into double figures.
Despite hearing the wind howling past my bedroom window when i awoke, i wasnt deterred and i still headed for the river full of anticipation after last weeks success. Upon arrival i was a bit gutted that the wind was going to be directly in my face in my chosen area but i still setup nevertheless. To cut a long story short i ended up sitting there for about four hours constantly being punished by the weather throughout. Bite indication was next to impossible although i mustve had at least one bite because at one point i wound in to recast and found myself connected to a fish which swam upstream and then the hook pulled. It got to the point where i couldnt stand it any longer and headed for home.

Sunday 6th February

I awoke this morning to find that the wind had dropped a bit on what it was yesterday so i decided upon a rematch to even the score after yesterdays disaster. I couldnt get down till around midday but after checking the EA rivers levels site i was shocked to find that the river had risen nearly 3ft overnight! I checked the levels on the other rivers in the area and all but one said the same thing. The Soar was still crack-on though by the looks of it and that was where i headed for.
I was undecided as to what to fish for so i took both my lure gear and the Chubbing gear so that i could have the option to do either depending on conditions. It was still windy when i got to the river but nothing like as bad as yesterday. I broke out the lure rod and had a wander along the stretch as i hadnt been there for a good while and it would be good way to reaquaint myself with it. Apart from a Jack which came off as i was about to glove it out there were no other enquiries so after an our or so i headed back to the car for the Chub stuff.
The wind had come back with a vengeance by now so i headed for a spot where it would be coming off my back just so that i could fish in a bit of comfort. The peg wasnt one i would normally choose with Chub in mind so i was quite surprised to get a bite on the bread within a couple of minutes of casting out. That one was missed but when i had another on my next cast i managed to connect with one. It was a lively fish which i thought might go 4lb but it ended up going 3lb14oz.
Despite that fish splashing about all over the swim i decided on a recast due to the fact id had a couple of bites in quick succession which possibly meant there was a few fish present. This hunch proved correct as i missed another one within five minutes, in fact i went on to miss another half a dozen over the next hour! I couldnt work out what i was doing wrong, the bites were really good too, nice smooth pulls the kind that you dont usually miss!
In the end I decided to do away with the rod rest altogether and simply hold the rod as still as possible and feel for bites. This did the trick and i connected with the very next one i had. The fish kept deep and it wasnt until i got it near the net that i saw it looked a good fish. It went 5lb2oz, a good fish for the Soar so i was well chuffed!

In it to win it

2011-01-30T14:08:00.000Z

Sunday 30th January

After yesterdays grueller i woke up this morning with intentions of washing the car, taking the kids out and all the other stuff that normal people do on a sunday. However, when headquarters said she had no plans this morning and that i could have a couple of hours fishing the angler within took over and i began to ponder my options. It was getting on for 9am and we were going out just after lunch so i didnt have much time, in fact i was in two minds whether to even bother. In the end I thought sod it, you gotta be in it to win it (hence the title) and headed for the river.

I was going to try a different area to yesterday, a slower and deeper stretch with form for producing one or two good fish. The weather was different to yesterday in that it felt much warmer, that icy wind had totally dropped which made all the difference. I intended to stay put in one swim seeing as i was so limited for time and keep some bait going in to draw the fish to me rather than my usual ploy of searching the fish out.

I soon found a spot and got setup, the river was looking pretty good i thought as i introduced a couple of golf balls of liquidised bread into the swim. I wasnt really expecting to catch much so i was caught somewhat off guard when the tip pulled around after about 20minutes of fishing. I didnt need to strike such was the ferocity of the bite, i simply lifted into the fish and after a quick scrap it was soon in the net. At 4lb2oz it was a good start and boosted my confidence no-end.

After that fish i recast, rebaited and sat back with that nice warm feeling of not blanking inside me. After a while of no more action the wanderlust began to take over and i could see a tasty looking spot upstream which looked worth a go. I headed up there but not before i had introduced some more bait to my first spot with the intention of returning before i left.

The spot upstream didnt produce a sausage so after about half an hour i found myself back in the first spot. Within 10minutes the tip walloped over and i was into another fish. This one felt heavier and stayed out in the main flow for most of the battle but soon enough i had it on the surface gulping air and i slid the net under it. It looked a decent one and after carefully zeroing the scales in the sling she went. At 5lb4oz i was over the moon, a new PB!

After that i didnt feel the need to recast so i headed home for lunch with the family. I was a little disappointed with the pics of the fish, i know its a self-take but for some reason the pics came out very white and i had to play about with them on the computer to get them anywhere near viewable. The camera must be on its way out i reckon, looks like im gonna have to fork out for a new one especially if i want decent pics for this blog.

Anyway, thats the first PB of the year done, i do hope its not the last though!

Even the Chub wont bite (much)

2011-01-29T14:47:00.000Z

Saturday 29th January

Ill start this one with a little bit about last weekends Chub trip. I headed out first thing in the morning and the weather was bitterly cold, overcast with a biting wind. A total contrast to the double figure temperatures we experienced the week before! To cut a long story short the session was pretty much uneventful with only one half-hearted bite in over 8 hours of fishing, very poor hence the lack of write up from last week. A load more canoeists came down the river too with one even getting stuck in the bush i was fishing too, that cant have helped my chances!

Onwards to this week then, again i headed out at first light and again the conditions were very similar to last week. If anything though the wind was actually colder and it hurt my face as i made my way across the field to my first swim of the morning. There was frost on the ground and the river looked pretty dead, several cormorants flying overhead just added to the feeling i was getting that this was gonna be another grueller.

My feelings were proved right as the first three spots i tried yielded absolutely nothing whatsoever, not even the slightest hint of a bite. As the early afternoon loomed i headed for a new spot in a last ditch attempt to catch something. I cast out and after about 45 minutes of watching the tip nod gently in the current i was thinking about calling it a day. Suddenly i noticed a slight movement on the tip which somehow looked 'different' to the regular flow movement i had been getting. I focused and my hand hovered over the rod in anticipation, when it happened again a few seconds later i struck and the rod took on a healthy bend. I took my time playing it to the net as i really didnt want to lose it and miss my only chance of the day. It didnt look overly big as it slid into the net but upon lifting it out it was bigger than i thought which was confirmed when the dial on the scales went around to 4lb10oz.

After returning it i didnt fancy putting myself through any more punishment in that wind so i headed for home pleased to have caught. Will i get a five pounder before the season ends? the annual last knockings Perch campaign is looming so time is fast running out.

Winter Warmers

2011-01-16T21:31:00.001Z

Sunday 16th January

Will someone tell me whats going on with the weather? After all the snow and ice of the last few weeks everything seems to have been turned on its head this week and weve got mild winds, lots of rain and daytime temperatures comfortably over 10 degrees. Double figures in January? im certainly not complaining about that one! On the flipside however, the rains raised the river levels dramatically and put lots of colour into them which put paid to any Chub opportunities i was hoping for this week. I didnt fancy a grueller chasing winter Barbel so with the lakes de-icing themselves nicely over the last week i decided to target Roach and Perch on a little gem of a pool i know just down the M1.

Phil was to be my partner in crime for today and we both had high hopes for a good days fishing. The place is known locally for its specimen Carp but its also a pretty special silverfish water and with this in mind i went straight in on a bolt-feeder setup with maggots. I began by catapulting half a dozen tiny balls of groundbait in, i didnt want to introduce any via the feeder as i didnt want to overfeed the swim. the only thing going in the feeder itself would be maggots and even then it would only be every third cast, upping it to every second one if they were having it.

I didnt have to wait long for a bite, probably about 10 seconds to be precise! the tip went around and a skimmer of around a pound was soon languishing in my keepnet, hopefully a sign there was a few fish feeding. Sure enough, over the next hour or so i went on to land a succession of Roach, real quality fish too. As you can see from the pic below, you dont get many to the pound!

The bolt feeder was working a treat with every bite rattling the rod in its rest as the fish hooked themselves, all had to do was land the fish, rebait and recast, easy! After a while though the sun made an appearance the bites stopped abruptly. After a bit of headscratching and seeing a couple of fish jump in front of me i had a feeling the fish had moved up in the water column in response to the increased light levels and the bait falling from my feeder on the cast so i tackled up a float rod set shallow.

Immediately i was back amongst some fish and even managed a couple of nice Perch which surprised me considering how shallow i was fishing. Soon enough the bites on this line dried up, probably due to the fact i was fishing at range and the wind made baiting up with the catty nigh on impossible. Back to the bolt feeder it was then.

As morning turned into afternoon the action slowed quite a bit compared to this morning but even so i was still getting bites. This time though i was getting a lot more tentative plucks instead of rod wrenchers. The sky began to cloud up just after lunchtime and it wasnt long before the first spots of rain began to fall. I put my brolly up only to have a strong gust of wind destroy it by turning it inside out and ripping a big gash in it, serves me right for buying cheap crap i guess.

I continued to catch a few throughout the afternoon by alternating between the float and the feeder including a nice brace of 2lb Perch the biggest of which went 2.5.

The rain got heavier and heavier and it was getting dark so we decided to call it a day. I lifted my net out and was pleasantly surprised to find id had around 20-25lb of mostly Roach, the biggest of which was pushing a pound. Phils net turned up the biggest fish of the day in the form of a 2.10 Perch which was PB for him. All in all a pretty good day for January!

New year, new spots, still catching!

2011-01-03T21:05:00.001Z

Monday 3rd January

Today represented the last day of my xmas hols and as such i planned a whole day on the bank in the company of my old mate Phil. The plan was to spend the day roving about for Chub, dropping in likely looking holes, giving it an hour and hopefully catching a few. The area we had in mind was one neither of us had targetted for Chub before so it was something of the unknown for us both.

The river was carrying about 3inches and was a nice greeny colour. The air temperature was surprisingly cool with the car reading minus1 as we drove down, my numb fingers when i arrived at my first swim confirmed the subzero reading!

The fishing began slower than expected and it was over an hour before i finally got a bite and put a 3.8 on the bank. The fish bore a nasty looking scar on its side (not shown in pic) which looked like it had been inflicted by a cormorant. Ive seen several of these birds on the river each time ive been down in recent weeks and today was no different. I suspect the frozen stillwaters have had something to do with the sudden upsurge in their numbers on our rivers.

As we fished on through the morning butes proved pretty tough to come by although Phil managed 3 Chub to 4.8 and lost another. As i reached the bottom of the stretch i came upon the inviting looking spot in the pic below, that tangle of roots had to hold a chevin or two!

And hold them it did! after casting just upstream and baiting with a steady stream of tiny balls of mashed bread, the tipped walloped around and a pristine fish of 3.12 was duly banked.

After banking that fish i was headed for another similar spot upstream when i came face to face with the spanish armada, a fleet of about 40 canoes and kayaks! The stretch is supposed to be non-navigable and despite trying a couple more spots it was pretty obvious the area was well and truly buggered, the Chub had vanished. A new plan was called for cos i certainly wasnt ready to go home yet and after a quick consultation with Phil we found ourselves headed for the mighty Trent.

Again the area we headed for was another new one for us from a Chub perspective but even so it didnt take us long to get a couple of bites. The first i had practically ripped the rod off its rest but i wasnt quick enough and the tip sprang straight before i even picked the rod up. I missed another bite shortly afterwards but made it third time lucky as i connected with a trent bruiser of 4.8.

Eventually the darkness began to close in and it was time to pack up. I didnt realise just how cold it had become until i picked up my landing net and it was frozen to the ground! the car said minus3 but at least it was still warmer than what is was a couple of weeks back!

Looking back as a new year begins .....

2011-01-01T20:31:00.004Z

Ill start by wishing all followers of this blog a very happy and prosperous new year. Ive really enjoyed keeping this blog going and it seems to have been pretty well recieved by you guys too judging by conversations ive had with some of you. At the end of June i added a counter to monitor the traffic visiting my blog and in six months its registered 600 hits which i find staggering. A big thankyou to all of you who have stuck with me so far!

I said this entry was going to be a bit of a look back so here goes, what of 2010? It wasnt a great year for me in terms of big fish, in fact it was quite mediocre compared to the couple of years previous. Despite this, I was still pleased to beat 3 PBs which included Grayling, Eel and Perch . The Perch one in particular was probably the highlight of the year for me because it came from a very tough venue and was the culmination of a lot of hard work for both me and my old mucker Paul who also caught his PB within 10 minutes of mine!

I fished several new venues last year which is something i like to do as learning about new spots always increases my options and im never stuck for somewhere to go. I never discount a potential venue until ive fished it and can then gauge if its one worth sticking with in the future or one not bothering with at all. Its all part of the bigger jigsaw for me.

The weather and water conditions proved to be the most troublesome things to affect my fishing last year. It started with heavy snow and lots of ice and ended with the same which is never great for the angler but the thing which got me most was that god awful drifting blanket weed which plagued in the Trent over the summer. I purchased my tickets last year with the express intention of fishing the Trent heavily for both Zander and Barbel. This was all well and good but it quickly became apparent that the weed was gonna make it extremely difficult and it got worse as the summer continued. Keeping a bait in position for any length of time was nigh on impossible as the line would be festooned with weed in about 15-20 minutes on some evenings.

I gave it up as a bad job in the end and headed for other rivers which, due to the lack of rain and very low water levels, proved to be pretty tough cookies in their own right. I didnt have the ticket for the one venue i knew id do well on in those conditions either which peeved me somewhat.

Im quite pleased that ive managed to keep a few bites coming my way over the recent cold snap though and it just shows that you can never write a trip off until youve been out there and done it.

So what will 2011 bring fishingwise? Well, for the time being i will be sticking with the Chub fishing until February when i will then switch to Perch until the rivers close. Im planning a Bream assault on a large local pit during the old closed season with the express intention of beating my PB and also a spot of Tenching too if i can squeeze it in.
Ive already worked out which tickets i will be having next year and once the rivers open again in June itll be Barbel, Carp and Chub all the way through the summer months. Ive not done any serious Barbelling for a couple of years now so its about time i got amongst a few i reckon. Come the Autumn ill probably have a hankering for a Trent Zander and ive got a couple of ideas for some areas to target for a big Pike or two as the winter approaches. These plans will no doubt change due to my fickle nature but it gives me some sort of path to work to in the coming months.

Good luck to all you lads in 2011 anyway, tight lines and bulging nets to you all

Another Quick-un

2010-12-29T14:17:00.006Z

Wednesday 29th December
Ok, i know i said id wait for the snowmelt to flush through before heading back to the rivers but with all this holiday time on my hands i couldnt help myself but get back out there and I awoke this morning with a mind to go and pester some Chub. The daytime temperatures are now well up on what they have been so even with the melted snow in the water i figured i would be in with a chance.
The EA river levels site told me that the river hadnt risen any further than what it was yesterday nor had it dropped. With the prospect of visiting relatives this afternoon i only had a couple of hours of fishing time but as weve already seen from my past blog entries, thats more than enough time. I love short trips as i find i fish much better through being forced to make the most of what limited bank time i have.
I arrived at the river and carried out my usual routine of baiting a couple of spots before settling down to fish. The water was slightly more coloured than yesterday and although there wasnt as much debris coming down it still felt bloody cold! After around 30-40 minutes i had my first bite which i connected with but the fish found a snag and all was lost unfortunately.
A quick move to my other baited swim and i missed a bite virtually straight away. This repeated itself on my next cast exept that i bumped the culprit and thought my chance had gone. The weather had closed in a little by now and it was starting to drizzle so i decided to stay put for half an hour rather than heading back to my first spot which i felt hadnt rested enough anyway.
About 30 minutes later I was just thinking about that move when the tip jabbed around a couple of times and i connected with a fish. After a short tussle i slid the net under a very pale looking Chub of about 3lb, at least id finally caught something! After returning it the drizzle got heavier so i headed for home happy to have a few more winter bites under my belt.

Toughing it out in the Tundra

2010-12-28T15:56:00.002Z

Sunday 19th December
Theres been a serious lack of updates on here over the last couple of weeks what with Christmas and all that so heres a brief update on what ive been up to of late.

As you will be well aware, the seriously cold weather returned with a vengeance just prior to Christmas and during all this, in my wisdom i thought a days Piking would be worthwhile if only to get me out of the house. Ill tell you now, it wasnt!

The day didnt start very well with the temperature in the car reading minus 10. Undeterred, Phil, my fishing partner for the day and i headed to our favourite livebait catching spot. After wrestling with the line freezing in the rod rings and much swearing we actually managed some bites, unfortunately though they were from Chub in the 1-2lb class. After catching 2 of them and losing a nice bait sized Roach as i swung it in we couldnt get another bite so deadbaits it was!

It really was bitterly cold and the margins in our chosen Piking area were well frozen, despite this though, the river looked pretty good as long as you ignored the mini icebergs floating downstream!

After a few chilly hours the sun made an appearance which made things a little more bearable and Phil had a half-hearted pickup on a Smelt. The rod hooped over on the strike then sprung straight, the fish was bumped. Sadly that was to be the only action we saw on a day that had me questioning my sanity by the end of it, still, i got a nice shot of a wintery sunset as we packed up though.

Tuesday 28th December

After a chaotic Christmas full of screaming kids, visiting relatives and serious over-indulgence (not to mention the wife crashing my car and buggering the front wheel) i was desperate to get out on the bank again. The weather had decided to warm up a bit and the snow which appeared last week was now in major thaw mode. With pretty much every lake in the area still frozen it had to be a river we would be heading for so me and Phil decided to revisit the scene of last weeks Piking tragedy. With ground underneath the thawing snow still frozen there would be a lot of snowmelt going into the river which wouldnt improve our chances but at least the air temperature was (only just) above freezing which was a bonus.

The river was indeed carrying a little when we arrived but it wasnt coloured up. It soon became apparent that fishing to the far bank was a non-starter because the river was rising quicker than we first thought and aswell as the increasing flow there also a lot of debris coming down too. We placed our baits along the margins and sat back to wait.

After about an hour my right hander signalled a positive take and i struck into a Jack of around 4-5lb which surprised me a bit as it had picked up a rather large Sardine which would have been more suited to a much larger Pike. Not that im complaining of course!

The fish had some impressive bite marks on it which shows there might be one or two decent fish in the area for future visits.

That was the only action we had between us for the rest of the day but the river conditions were getting worse and worse as the session went on. Might have to wait till the snowmelt has flushed through before my next trip out.

Christening my new 'Pin'

2010-12-12T16:39:00.005Z

Sunday 12th December

After yesterdays delivery of my new centrepin and a trip to the tackle shop to get some line to load it with i was gagging to get out and try it out . I had been thinking about getting one for ages especially after watching Martin Bowler use one to deadly effect in 'catching the impossible. Last week i thought sod it and went and ordered a cheap one to try out. It would be another string to my angling bow i reasoned.
Up until now i had never even used one let alone owned one so all week ive been watching videos on youtube and reading articles in a bid to try and demystify the dark art of centrepin usage. This afternoon, armed with all my newly learned knowledge, i got the chance to put it to the test.

Once i got to the river I tackled up and decided to have a few practice casts in an unfancied area well away from my hotspots. After about 20 minutes of birdsnests, swearing and general aggro i found i was actually getting somewhere near mid-river fairly consistently albeit quite untidily. I couldnt wait any longer, i had to go and use it in anger!
The river was carrying quite a bit more water than yesterday so i headed for a quiet area i know which was just off the main flow and an easy short range put-in . After walking along the bank and making a surprisingly graceful cast i clicked the ratchet on and sat back to await some action. The tip nodded gently in the current for a few minutes before pulling around sharply enabling me to connect with a fish. The ratchet screamed as the fish took off downstream, i gained some line back and the fish changed direction and headed back upstream past me forcing me to wind like mad to keep in contact with it. After some more screaming clutch and frantic winding i soon had it in the net, a fish in the 3-4lb bracket same as yesterday.

My first fish on a 'pin', i was over the moon and whats more i now realised why the centrepin has such a huge following these days. Playing that fish was an absolute joy, that direct connection is something ive never had with a fixed spool. Hopefully as i get better aquainted with the reel and the techniques it requires, that fish will be the first of many!

Classic Chubbing

2010-12-11T16:43:00.005Z

Saturday 11th December

A break in the icy weather was forecast for this weekend and sure enough by the time friday came around, daytime temperatures had reached a heady 6degrees! With this in mind saturday morning, i headed to a local stretch of the Soar with Chub in mind.

The river looked good and i quickly set about baiting a couple of likely spots with some liquidised bread and leaving them to settle before tackling up a light link leger setup. I cast out and sat back in anticipation. After about 20minutes the tip pulled over very slightly in a fashion that couldve easily been mistaken for weed brushing the line but intuition told me to strike and i found myself connected to a lively fish of about 4lb.

Now i was tuned into what kind of bites to expect i was more than ready for the next one when it happened after i moved swim. Unfortunately the fish found a hidden snag and made good its escape. Normally id move swims after losing one lke that but something told me to make another cast. It turned out to be a good call cos a 3lb fish was soon banked after some hefty bullying to keep it away from the snag.

I moved to my last baited spot in a bid to wrap up the mornings sport with a hat-trick. After missing a couple of bites i hit into another Chub which put up a great account of itself on the light gear i was using. At around 4lb it brought my short session to a nice close and i headed for home and the dreaded x-mas shopping happy with my fishing 'fix' for the day.
Once i got home i found the postie had delivered My brand new centre-pin reel and a totally unexpected £150 refund cheque from my power supplier. What a great morning!

Childhood revisited in the white stuff

2010-12-05T13:17:00.011Z

Sunday 5th December
Well, what can i say? the weather over the last week has been horrendous to say the least! Heavy snow and temperatures down to minus 20 in some parts of the country, around here the lowest i personally recorded was minus 9 so its been positively balmy! As anyone that fishes will tell you, these conditions arnt exactly great for a good days sport, however, there are always a few bites to be had if you know where to look.

I havent been out for a couple of weeks for various reasons beyond my control (the weather!) so i was determined to get out at the first oportunity. All i wanted to do was to go out and get a few bites and get my string pulled and with this in mind i decided to spend a morning revisiting my childhood on a brook which runs through a housing estate where i used to live.

As a kid i used to spend hours down there attempting to catch sticklebacks and stoneloach. Every so often, as i walked up the brook with my trousers rolled up and net in hand, some much bigger fish would frantically shoot past me often bumping my legs as they made their escape. At the time i had no idea what they were but i knew i had to catch one and i guess it was here that the early seed of becoming an angler was well and truly sown.

As i got a little bit older and my uncle introduced me to the art of catching fish on a rod and line, i began fishing down there proper and was amazed to catch Chub, Dace, Roach, Gudgeon and even the odd Trout! All this from a brook that wasnt much deeper than a couple of feet and resembled nothing more than a drainage ditch.

Fast forward 25years and the brook is still very much there albiet somewhat narrower and shallower but the fish are still there to be caught. With this in mind i tackled up an avon rod with a light stickfloat setup and headed forth onto the tundra . The brook was running very low and clear despite the snow beginning to thaw and with the banks being high with no cover, long trotting was to be the order of the day to save spooking every fish in there. I had worms, maggots and luncheon meat with me and after trying a couple of spots without success i eventually managed to catch a small Chub on a worm.

As i made my way along the brook i saw several decent Chub in the 3-4lb class swim past but they werent remotely interested in anything i put in . After trying some more spots and catching just one more Chub it was apparent that they werent overly keen on the bigger baits so i scaled my gear down and went with the maggot only approach in a bid to get some more bites.

The change brought an instant response and i started getting amongst some lovely Dace, really pretty little things and fat as butter, a Perch even made an appearance but the Roach were conspicuous by theie absence. I worked my way back downstream catching one or two from each spot i tried and before long i was back at the car. It was only then that i realised just how much id enjoyed myself.

Id only been out 3 hours and had a load of bites in subzero temperatures. The fish were all perfect and i highly doubt theyve even seen a hook before, what more could any true angler ask for? Size is irrelavent on days like this.

Back at em

2010-11-21T20:00:00.004Z

20th/21st November

After my enforced layoff over the last couple of weeks due to an operation on my foot i was truly itching to get back on the bank. All week id been planning a day out Perching and up until the Thursday it was looking like it would come right with falling river levels and mild temperatures. We had a bit of rain on Thursday which didnt seem to be enough to affect the rivers or so i thought! A check on the EA river levels site told me the water had come back up a bit which in itself wasnt a problem but it meant that the colour which had been running off all week would have returned which isnt great news for Perching.

Not to be deterred, i packed the lobworms and headed out anyway on the Saturday morning. My first port of call was the Dove and one look at it had me pointing the car towards the Derwent instead. Here the river was carrying about 6inches or so with a tinge of colour and looked pretty good if im honest. Half a lobworm was soon in position under a nearside bush, a spot where ive caught 3lbers in the past. 2 biteless hours later and i was scratching my head and the wanderlust was starting to set in.

Soon i was back on the road and heading for the Trent. Upon arrival ,one glance told me it was a non-starter so in a last ditch attempt to find some Perch i headed for the Soar. This river flows up from the South and is therefore not affected by rain over the peak district like the Dove and Derwent, its also the nearest river to my house which is always a bonus! Sure enough it looked bang-on, normal level and ever-so-slightly coloured, awesome!

I headed for an area id not Perch fished before but had earmarked for a fish or two ages ago. After walking for around 15minutes or so i came to a nice looking spot and was soon drowning a juicy great worm. After a short wait i had a couple of small Perch and missed a good few bites. I then decided to move cos in my experience, if your catching small ones then the bigguns arnt around as a rule. This story repeated itself in my next two spots so i packed up to save wasting any more valuble lobs!

It was great to be out again though and i quickly seized upon another chance to get out on Sunday afternoon whilst the missus was cooking the Roast. This time i headed to an area with a bit of past form and with it getting dark so early these days i would be there at the crucial time, the Perch witching hour!

I was encouraged when it took over half an hour to get a bite as this meant the small fish werent about. I connected with something that felt fairly decent but it came adrift after a few seconds. This isnt usually a good thing when Perch are involved as a lost fish can often spook the rest of the shoal. This was proved out as it took another hour to get any kind of indication whatsoever whereupon i took two 8oz fish in quick succession which meant the bigger fish had either moved on or gone into hiding deep inside the snag i was fishing to. It was soon too dark to see and i headed home for that roast dinner.

Apologies for the lack of photos to accompany this weeks post, when i actually get something worth photographing you can be sure it will be on here first!

A Spot of Piking

2010-10-30T19:16:00.005+01:00

Saturday 30th October

Ill start this post with a little bit about last weekends trip. It turned out to be something of a non-starter really, i only had a few hours spare so i opted for a quick livebaiting session on a stretch of my local river Soar. To cut a long story short, i caught plenty of baitfish but there didnt seem to be anything around to eat them other than the tiny Jack pictured below which was little more than livebait sized itself!

Not to be deterred, i headed out this weekend to another bit of river with my mate Steve in the hope of something a bit larger. A couple of hours into the session later and my small joey mackerel was picked up by a nice fish of 13lb8oz.

Other than Steve getting a dropped pickup that was all the action we had for the day which was a little surprising cos the conditions were pretty good i thought.

Well, thats it for this week, short and sweet i know but time seems to be at a real premium for me these days. Ive got an operation on my foot next week so i doubt ill be able to get out on the bank for a couple of weeks, i think im gonna go stir crazy!

A Frosty Reception

2010-10-17T18:45:00.004+01:00

Sunday 17th October

Stepping outside to pack the car at 6am this morning i was quite surprised to find that wed had a fairly decent frost overnight. Its the first time ive had to scrape the car in months and although i welcome the first frosts as the start of my winter campaign i was a little concerned about what effect the sudden temperature drop would have on the fishing as its been quite mild of late.

I arrived at the river for first light and the thermometer in the car never registered above zero for the entire journey there. The grass in the fields was white over, the thick mist was rising off the river and the sheep were all huddled together, i love this time of year!

I headed for a proven spot and set up a float rig to lay-on with worms tight to a snag. After a good while with no bites the usual 'grass is greener' mentality began to set in as i started to wonder if id be better off in another spot. I neednt have worried though because the float bobbed a couple of times and then slid away decisively. A firm strike met with solid resistance and after a short but dogged scrap i had what looked to be a nice Chub in the net. It had the length and frame of a 5lb+ fish so i was little disappointed when the scales showed it to be hollow at 4lb4oz. Still, it was nice fish on a cold morning and i know it will be a definate 5 towards the backend of the season.

After that, other than some unwelcome Crayfish attention i had no more interest from that spot so i moved on. Again, in my next spot the Crays gave me more problems and i reasoned that if they were active there then the Chub and Perch certainly werent so off i moved again. Despite fishing hard for the rest of the morning i only managed one more good bite which i missed.

The sun was extremely bright due to the clear skies which didnt help matters but the sudden temperature drop was the main reason it was so slow i think. A few more frosts over the next few weeks will get the fish better acclimatised and moving to their winter quarters hopefully.

The Cray twins!

2010-10-11T18:21:00.004+01:00

Sunday 10th October

Firstly, apologies to followers of this blog for the lack of updates over the last couple of weeks. Headquarters demanded that i do some decorating which basically wiped out any chances of me wetting a line at all last weekend. In other words i havent been fishing at all for two weeks, nightmare!
With the DIY all but complete this weekend i decided to get out on the bank sharpish before i went stir crazy. I had to get back on the rivers urgently so a trip to the Dove with my mate Phil was hastily arranged. Id been looking to get back on this river again for a while but with all the rain of late, conditions havent been to my liking down there. The dryer weather over the last week gave me hope that the river would be somewhere near cock-on and upon arrival we werent disappointed. It looked to be carrying around 2-3 inches and was running fairly clear with a slight tinge of colour.

My intention was to use quivertip tactics and worms in the hope of a Perch or two whilst Phil went for stickfloat and maggot gear to fish for Grayling and Trout. Starting off near a weir, Phils tactics proved to be a winner from the off as he took a procession of Grayling and Trout to around 10oz. Me on the other hand found myself struggling a bit, the slightly increased flow on the river meaning my usual spots were pulling through a bit too quickly for Perch to be holed up. The minnows were like pirahnas attack my worms as soon as they hit the deck but i persevered and eventually landed a Perch after a good couple of hours hard fishing. Not a big one by any stretch of the imagination but it was my target species and a handsome reward for some hard fishing.
The sun was coming out by now and Phil sarted to catch some larger Grayling including 3 gooduns at 1.8, 1.12 and 1.14. A large signal Crayfish also put in an appearance to Phils rod proving to us beyond any doubt that this highly invasive species is now well established in the river.

After a while of no more bites i decided upon a move and Phil fancied one too so we headed for the lower end of the stretch. We both doubled up in a peg on a relatively slow stretch so we could have a chinwag . It proved to be good decision for us both because i went on to land a new pb Grayling of 1.12 and Phil had a 4lb Chub which was one of the fattest ive ever seen (probably due to the Crays) and a 1.10 Grayling. I also landed another Crayfish.
Well thats it for another week, definately gonna be out next weekend, not sure where yet though. The Trent could well be on form after the recent high water, maybe the dreaded drifting weed has been washed away, we can but hope!