How did you get on?

[103841]

Managed to grab an hour on the town stretch whilst her ladyship did battle with the Canterbury shoppers, took nothing other than a lure rod. One decent perch lost at the net but the blank was saved with one of the smallest chub Ive had this year, very welcome none the less.

Merry Christmas all you How Did You Get on'ers.

 

[mikench]

What size lure John? Nice chub!

 

[103841]

What size lure John? Nice chub!

A 2" Relax Shad Mike.

 

[maggot_dangler]

Return trip to the pool today after the normal saturday chores .

Out with the nbread once again and true to form almost instantly a Carp picks up and tries to do a runner with the bread not a monster high singles . but the sirprise was a very nice Tench no scales with me but i wouild say around 5.5 to 6 lb the one fish i did not expect to catch also had a nice collection of Crucians spent three hours there then it got cold i packed up and headed home .

Pleasent times was had ..

PG ...

 

[mikench]

A tench over Christmas would be very nice and I live in hope!

 

[maggot_dangler]

A tench over Christmas would be very nice and I live in hope!

I did have a word with some of the oloder members no one has caught tench this time of the year before there and Crucians are not exactly common in the winter must be the weather ..


PG ...

 

[peter crabtree]

Thought I'd make the most of this mild spell while it lasts and have another go at the very local roach on the canal. Just 5 minutes from home and almost a park the car on the towpath spot, no need for trolleys etc. Armed with just my whip and a few slices I set up a 5m rig to give me plenty of scope.

A large fish was splashing and swirling on the surface to my left, probably a pike, a kingfisher plopping in to my right and small fish dimpling all over the place made it interesting as I prepared myself for a few hours fishing.
A few gudgeon to start with, then the roach started biting and didn't stop for the next 4 hours. Once I'd punched out all 3 slices of bread and caught over 70 roach and gudgeon I called it a day. Nothing huge but a satisfying session in relative peace and quiet.

May have a go for that pike next time down....

 

[maggot_dangler]

Thought I'd make the most of this mild spell while it lasts and have another go at the very local roach on the canal. Just 5 minutes from home and almost a park the car on the towpath spot, no need for trolleys etc. Armed with just my whip and a few slices I set up a 5m rig to give me plenty of scope.

A large fish was splashing and swirling on the surface to my left, probably a pike, a kingfisher plopping in to my right and small fish dimpling all over the place made it interesting as I prepared myself for a few hours fishing.
A few gudgeon to start with, then the roach started biting and didn't stop for the next 4 hours. Once I'd punched out all 3 slices of bread and caught over 70 roach and gudgeon I called it a day. Nothing huge but a satisfying session in relative peace and quiet.

May have a go for that pike next time down....

Looks like you got a touch of colour in the water there i have all but given up on my local canal for now it is like an aquarium crystal clear to the bottom even the Herons are having a hard time getting a meal ...

PG ...

 

[mikench]

I doubt I've caught that many in total! Well done!

 

[tigger]

Feelin shyte today, back, hip and neck still playing up from an accident a few weeks back but I forced myself out to do a spot of trotting. A couple of hours would be enough so I arrived at the river at 2pm. The river was rising slightly due to an incoming tide so my hopes where high. It turned out that my hopes where scuppered because being as high up river as I was and the tide turning out to be a small one the river only rose several inches.
Anyhow the first fish was sòon pulling back and because it was hooked at about 60yds it was able to kite hard across the river and into the overhanging vegetation....bu££er!
I had to hold my rod up as high as possible winding in to keep my line taught to the fish as I struggled through the horrible old nettle stalks. I managed to extract the fish after some serious faffin' about lol.
Next swim and another fish which went across stream and things all went solid mid river, barsteward had done the amazing trick thwy somehow do and had left my hook embedded in a twig/branch. I knew what it was because I put my rod down and played tug of war with it until it came free from the river bed and I was able to extract it. I had been atatched to that snag several times this year so was glad to throw it up tue bank. I caught two more chub pretty much identicle to the first and they both did the very same trick and kited into the submerged vegetation and I had to play operation game to get them out.

Theartist, just incase you read this post you may understand why I can't use light bottoms....chances are i'd loose as many fish as I landed and they'd be sporting a hook and nylon. It's a case of horses for courses and to use any light lines or bottoms would be a disaster.



Looks like spaghetti junction in skies above my head!

 

[ian g]

I walked up to my favourite the big slack under the willow .It looked fantastic , like a mill pool as the river was still carrying a good bit of water but was pretty clear. I set up my Drennan Ultralight match pro and plumbed up around 12 ft a rods length out , Fished maggots on an 18's hook and fed a few maggots every cast . Loads of bites and some nice dace though mostly much to big for the perch . Spent about an hour and a half at this . The sun was shining hard most of the day , I put a small chub out on the tip and soon had a take from a really small jack which came off near the net. Put a float rod out with worm for perch , feeling pretty confident but not a sniff , even the little chub ignored it . The livie was away again and I netted a nice perch 2.2 lb which had quite a distinctive mark on it's lip . I didn't have another live bait so I put a worm on the tip and started fishing maggots on the float , caught a few more dace then a little gudgeon which went out on the tip rod . As the light started to go I hooked a decent fish on the float and landed another perch , which went 2.1 lb and also had a similar distinctive mark on it's lip pretty sure it was the same fish

 

[nottskev]

I felt like doing something different this afternoon, and I remembered hearing some blokes in a tackle shop talk about a brook said to contain chub. It was in an area new to me, but after a bit of nosing around I was walking next to a heavily-forested ditch looking for spots where I could see the water, not see the bottom, and lift a rod above my head. I found 4 in a 150m stretch leading to where the brook fed into a swampy pound at the end of a disused canal. We are not talking Hampshire Avon or Dorset Stour here.

The first swim, or gap, had a nice depth of 2'6”, so I ran my floatfished lob tail as far past the tree as I could see – about 5' – and laid it on there.

The float buried but instead of a chub this small but perfectly formed pike came out of the water. It made a commotion out of all proportion to its size, so I moved off to where any chub might be lurking undisturbed.

The next swim had a 4' run down to a fallen tree, so I sat well back and let the float come to rest against the tree bridging the water.

Two minutes later, the float disappeared under the tree and I thought I had my chub for a second. Until this perch, a fair size for a tiny brook, surfaced.

For niche-rod enthusiasts, I should point out that the rod in the photo – my medium brook rod; how niche do you want to get? – is a Harrison 9' fly rod blank, custom-built with a short 18” cork handle. But I was wishing I'd brought the kind of rod you can beat nettles down with, and about 6' long, as I couldn't move in any direction without hitting something.


Next I moved to the least attractive looking of the micro-swims, a fairly bland little stretch under a proper parrot cage of tree branches. The float was gone before it cocked and out came another perch, not big, but I've had plenty smaller.

And the absurd ending: until I finally got line and float terminally knitted around the foliage, I caught another 22 perch, similar in size, in as many put-ins from the same square metre of water. I didn't get a chub though. If I were to go again, I'd take a pair of shears and a few sections of pole. Much better to poke out a top kit then bash your rod into the branches. With the longest trot about 10'. you might as well leave your reel at home.

 

[103841]

That looked like hard work, frustrating at times, a little perilous but above all some great fun catching some very wild fish.:thumbs:

 

[108831]

The day you take the pole Kev you'll hook decent chub,probably would had had some on bread flake.

 

[tigger]

That looks like my kind'a fishing Kev, great stuff!
I'd stick with the rod myself, maybe use a smaller spinning rod and small reel if it would make things easier. I wouldn't clear anything either, it might attract others.

 

[thecrow]

I doubt that many of those fish hag been caught before, they all looked in perfect condition.

 

[binka]

I got my river session in as planned this morning straight after work and I was fishing shortly before the nearby church bell chimed 9am.

The sole purpose, other than getting out, was to test the new feeder rod and so I tried to cover all bases and not fish that heavy as to deter the smaller stuff whilst giving myself a sporting chance if Boris showed up.

The swim looked good, ten feet under the rod tip along a crease with overhanging cover and although I had taken a fixed spool reel I opted for the indulgence of the ‘pin given such a short underarm swing would be required.

I used a small 20grm Drennan maggot feeder to 6lb main and 5.14 Preston Reflo hooklink, a size 18 B911X for the single and double red maggots and I went with a 1.5 oz tip…

Before any tackle boffins remind me that this rod only comes with 2, 3 and 4oz tips the Hardy tip rods all have interchangeable tips and I had also taken the ones from my Ultralite bomb rod which are 1oz & 1.5 oz along with a 1/2 oz glass tip which I bought as an extra, a nice little bonus in covering all angles with both rods.

First swing out and I feathered the ‘pin as the feeder hit bottom and I thought I felt a tremble on the tip, I didn’t react and waited a couple of minutes and sure enough another tremble followed, shortly afterwards I swung in a small chub of around 6oz.

Job done as far as the rod christening was concerned and I then enjoyed a good couple of hours, taking several more chub to around 2lb…

Things went very quiet towards midday until the point where I couldn’t buy a bite and so I decided to break down the gear, rig the other ‘pin with 10lb mainline and try the 3oz tip in the hope of getting into something bigger.

Spot the difference…

To sum things up I had a quiet afternoon up until around 3.20pm when the tip rattled over and I at long last lifted into a Boris!

All went well and after doing the hard work and getting the fish back from across river with a smug feeling of satisfaction everything then locked up and he’d done me in a snag below my feet.

Buqqer!

I know this swim well and that snag wasn’t there a few weeks ago so I’m assuming it’s come down with the recent floods and set up camp there.

After a good pull I retrieved a stout branch with my bent hook still embedded in it but no fish!

I think there might have been another fish in it had I decided to whip on a new hook but given that the light was now falling I decided to take the reasonable walk back to the car, along some treacherous bankside, before darkness fell.

At least I had a good chance to gauge the rod at both ends of the spectrum and I have to say it lived up to expectations, I’m very pleased and looking forward to putting it through its paces on stillwater now.

I think I need a float session first though, just to split things up a bit.

Plenty of krilled maggots left and I will play it by ear for tomorrow depending on how I feel in the morning but I do fancy getting out down the local town centre mill pool whilst the nutters are busy at home stuffing themselves with turkey and pulling crackers… :w

 

[108831]

I felt like doing something different this afternoon, and I remembered hearing some blokes in a tackle shop talk about a brook said to contain chub. It was in an area new to me, but after a bit of nosing around I was walking next to a heavily-forested ditch looking for spots where I could see the water, not see the bottom, and lift a rod above my head. I found 4 in a 150m stretch leading to where the brook fed into a swampy pound at the end of a disused canal. We are not talking Hampshire Avon or Dorset Stour here.

The first swim, or gap, had a nice depth of 2'6”, so I ran my floatfished lob tail as far past the tree as I could see – about 5' – and laid it on there.

The float buried but instead of a chub this small but perfectly formed pike came out of the water. It made a commotion out of all proportion to its size, so I moved off to where any chub might be lurking undisturbed.

The next swim had a 4' run down to a fallen tree, so I sat well back and let the float come to rest against the tree bridging the water.

Two minutes later, the float disappeared under the tree and I thought I had my chub for a second. Until this perch, a fair size for a tiny brook, surfaced.

For niche-rod enthusiasts, I should point out that the rod in the photo – my medium brook rod; how niche do you want to get? – is a Harrison 9' fly rod blank, custom-built with a short 18” cork handle. But I was wishing I'd brought the kind of rod you can beat nettles down with, and about 6' long, as I couldn't move in any direction without hitting something.


Next I moved to the least attractive looking of the micro-swims, a fairly bland little stretch under a proper parrot cage of tree branches. The float was gone before it cocked and out came another perch, not big, but I've had plenty smaller.

And the absurd ending: until I finally got line and float terminally knitted around the foliage, I caught another 22 perch, similar in size, in as many put-ins from the same square metre of water. I didn't get a chub though. If I were to go again, I'd take a pair of shears and a few sections of pole. Much better to poke out a top kit then bash your rod into the branches. With the longest trot about 10'. you might as well leave your reel at home.

Don't believe what it says below your post I LIKE YOUR 'POST'....

 

[tigger]

I got my river session in as planned this morning straight after work and I was fishing shortly before the nearby church bell chimed 9am.

The sole purpose, other than getting out, was to test the new feeder rod and so I tried to cover all bases and not fish that heavy as to deter the smaller stuff whilst giving myself a sporting chance if Boris showed up.

The swim looked good, ten feet under the rod tip along a crease with overhanging cover and although I had taken a fixed spool reel I opted for the indulgence of the ‘pin given such a short underarm swing would be required.

I used a small 20grm Drennan maggot feeder to 6lb main and 5.14 Preston Reflo hooklink, a size 18 B911X for the single and double red maggots and I went with a 1.5 oz tip…

Before any tackle boffins remind me that this rod only comes with 2, 3 and 4oz tips the Hardy tip rods all have interchangeable tips and I had also taken the ones from my Ultralite bomb rod which are 1oz & 1.5 oz along with a 1/2 oz glass tip which I bought as an extra, a nice little bonus in covering all angles with both rods.

First swing out and I feathered the ‘pin as the feeder hit bottom and I thought I felt a tremble on the tip, I didn’t react and waited a couple of minutes and sure enough another tremble followed, shortly afterwards I swung in a small chub of around 6oz.

Job done as far as the rod christening was concerned and I then enjoyed a good couple of hours, taking several more chub to around 2lb…

Things went very quiet towards midday until the point where I couldn’t buy a bite and so I decided to break down the gear, rig the other ‘pin with 10lb mainline and try the 3oz tip in the hope of getting into something bigger.

Spot the difference…

To sum things up I had a quiet afternoon up until around 3.20pm when the tip rattled over and I at long last lifted into a Boris!

All went well and after doing the hard work and getting the fish back from across river with a smug feeling of satisfaction everything then locked up and he’d done me in a snag below my feet.

Buqqer!

I know this swim well and that snag wasn’t there a few weeks ago so I’m assuming it’s come down with the recent floods and set up camp there.

After a good pull I retrieved a stout branch with my bent hook still embedded in it but no fish!

I think there might have been another fish in it had I decided to whip on a new hook but given that the light was now falling I decided to take the reasonable walk back to the car, along some treacherous bankside, before darkness fell.

At least I had a good chance to gauge the rod at both ends of the spectrum and I have to say it lived up to expectations, I’m very pleased and looking forward to putting it through its paces on stillwater now.

I think I need a float session first though, just to split things up a bit.

Plenty of krilled maggots left and I will play it by ear for tomorrow depending on how I feel in the morning but I do fancy getting out down the local town centre mill pool whilst the nutters are busy at home stuffing themselves with turkey and pulling crackers… :w

Glad to hear your prezzie is to your likeing Ste, it looks the bizz in the pic's!

Difference is easy to spot, a silver un and then a black un .

 

[mikench]

One handle and three handles!