How did you get on....?

[peter crabtree]

A poor turnout on the GUC at Marsworth. In fact just me and my old mate Brian. We selected our pegs and got set up. I opted for top two plus four while Brian set up top two plus two. In gin clear water and bright sun it was hard going with just a few gudgeon each on punch. It clouded over and Brian started catching decent roach. I noticed he had shallowed up. I did the same and bingo a roach a chuck on the punch. Then I noticed Brian was catching netter roach, he had switched to hemp on the hook. By lunchtime it was raining and a blustery wind coming down the cut so we packed up.

How did you get on?

 

[nicepix]

Today was bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky so I opted for the River Charente. This is a small river in the area where I live, but grows to become the major river in the department by the time it reaches Angouleme. Unlike the Vienne which I have to cross to reach the Charente it is not wide, fast and shallow over rocks and gravel. The Charente is more of a meandering river taking its time to wind through pastures.

Doobs and I set off after lunch and got to the village of Chantrezac around 1pm. We had a reccy and then went back to the car for the tackle. This is about the only place where the river has any pace and gravel.



Tackle is basic; a six foot, one piece 'River Don Special', 1500 reel, 4lb mono, a foam pad to sit on and a few bits and pieces......



End rig was a short length of 4lb flouro', two size 14 hooks and an 1/8 oz weight. Not seen is a float stop above the lead swivel that gives me the option to fish a fixed rig.



Bait equally simple. A handful of home made groundbait and a few red worms from the compost heap.



So, off we went, Doobs who is now as deaf as a post leading the way into the field where there were molehills nearly as big as she is. I left a business card on the gate. Hopefully the farmer might pay me to get rid of a few for him . We selected a spot on the shallow side of the river and cast across into a deep channel. The church clock struck 1pm just after I cast and at the next strike half an hour later we moved upstream a few yards to be able to cast into an eddy under a tree. By the time the clock had struck twice we were into a nice chevin having had a classic drop back bite that you get when ledgering upstream.



It was hooked clean in the scissors on the bottom hook. Sorry about the disgorger. I had no forceps so had to improvise. I had a few more rattles but no proper bites so we returned to the car and got the Kelly Kettle fired up for a brew. After which we dropped downstream and fought our way through thick cover to get to the top of a pool where in the past I've seen a 4 - 5lb river carp and a brace of barbel. Strange how pappy the dog is when facing cover while fishing yet if there had been scent of pheasant or partridge she's have been all over the place.



There was no activity so I plopped a bit of groundbait in, returned to the car for another cuppa and went back for the last hour before dark.
Sadly, the fish weren't playing and by the time the sun had gone down it had dropped to about 4 C and the almost full moon was just showing above the tree tops.

So, that was my afternoon. I would have preferred to have had a go at the zander on the big lake especially as I'm running out of season, but the conditions weren't right with this high pressure sitting over us all week.

 

[tigger]

I had a couple of hours trotting before the sun went down.

 

[binka]

................

 

[nicepix]

I enjoyed that long awaited stick float session that I've been promising myself for the last few weeks (months?) although I didn't fancy the river much when I arrived as it was still gin clear and a strengthening wind right in the face made things tricky at times but I was pleased with the end result considering the only agenda I had was to enjoy a few hours running a float through again and hopefully snatch a few bites along the way.

I fished white maggot and fed around four pints to keep 'em interested and must have ended up with around a hundred fish which were mainly chublets in the 4oz - 6oz bracket with a handful of dace, roach and bleak thrown in for a very enjoyable and respectable bag of fish.

Great fun...

Well, that's the pike baits sorted for the rest of the season

 

[sam vimes]

Poked my nose in down at the river yesterday. The EA river levels website is usually a few hours behind real time and it was showing a dropping river. Unfortunately, it must have bucketed down up the dale in the missing six hours. The river was well up. The stretch is fairly straight meaning that there are few places to get out of the main flow. Had about ten minutes watching a float whizz down a trot in about quarter of the usual time before giving up the ghost.

Kept my eye on the weather and the river levels. I knew it would still be up but would have dropped significantly. Unfortunately, I was beating today. Got finished up about two this afternoon. Knowing that the forcast for tomorrow is grim, which is likely to have the river unfishable for a day or two afterwards, I chanced my arm on a quick hour or two. The river was still well up, but had dropped two or three feet on yesterday. Nine grayling, the bulk being fingerlings and quite a few fish lost in the strong current made the trip well worth my while. I lost something that felt fairly substantial after playing it for what felt like an eternity. Just trying to hold it was difficult. Shifting it back upstream was almost impossible. The only thing tempering my disappointment was that even the small fish put up more fight than normal in the flow. Hopefully the ones I lost weren't anything particularly special.

Now I've got a brace of pheasants to butcher and then I'll have to listen to/watch my football team get a pasting in the cup.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Had 5 hours yesterday and today on a small Stillwater after roach. The two sessions couldn't have been more different as Monday was mild at 13 D and around 6 D today and the water had risen a couple if inches from run off.

Tried some South Korean bodied floats with a 1mm X 100mm antenna that I bought back in the 80's. Very nice sensitive tip BUT I could not see it with my poor eyes!! Came home and glued a couple of tiny Eddystone Tatler polystyrene rig floats on the end and varnished them a couple of times.
Went back this morning to try them and they worked a treat with no perceptible difference in balance!
I shotted to give a very slow drop to 8' depth, the float stood up and very slowly dropped until it settled, with just 15mm showing. It took a dust to get it just right and the fish I caught took on the drop so the float when settling just continued to go down.
Bait was flake on a 12 to 1,7lb bottoms......

The antenna of 1mm (probably fibre glass, but I'm not sure) is as fine as I've seen on a float, but IMO can only be used close in, unless you have 20/20 vision!!

No great size fishwise, but good to catch and make the effort worthwhile....I shall go again on Friday with a few casters.

 

[neil1970]

I managed a short session today in the same location as last week.
The river had more colour and pace to it, due to yesterdays rain.

The day was full of delays, so I was a bit dismayed when I looked at my watch to see it was 3.30pm after setting up.

I managed to fish 3 swims and had a roach from each before moving on.
The largest about 5oz; all caught in the dwindling light.

I returned to my first swim with a glow in the dark tipped float and fished til 4.45 with no bites.

A frustratingly short session, but better than nothing.

 

[tigger]

I managed a short session today in the same location as last week.
The river had more colour and pace to it, due to yesterdays rain.

The day was full of delays, so I was a bit dismayed when I looked at my watch to see it was 3.30pm after setting up.

I managed to fish 3 swims and had a roach from each before moving on.
The largest about 5oz; all caught in the dwindling light.

I returned to my first swim with a glow in the dark tipped float and fished til 4.45 with no bites.

A frustratingly short session, but better than nothing.

At least you got out neil . This time of year's a pain with it going dark so soon. Even if you could get out at midday it seems to be dark in no time at all. Next couple of months will more than likely be worse as the temp's will probably drop off and kill the fishing, not only that fishing in freezing conditions isn't enjoyable....for me it ain't that's for sure. I might put my gear away until the last couple of weeks of the season when it fishes it best .

 

[flightliner]

It took a dust to get it just right

WOW! Its been years since I heard that description used. Steady on TC some wont know what you,ve described there.

Went to my little trent tributary today but its so low and clear, and with it so shallow and sunny to boot thought maybe I was pushing my luck and so it proved, no barbel!

 

[peter crabtree]

Nice pics Nicepix. Were some taken in Australia?

 

[neil1970]

Lovely day today, managed to get out from 9am til 2pm on the river Gade on Croxley Moor.

I walked the entire stretch of available of river (about 1/2 a mile), throwing a very small handful of mashed bread & hemp into likely swims along the way.

Then walked back trying each swim for 4-5 casts

10 fish+ fish were taken all from the same spot: sitting on a concrete footbridge (not the one in the pic) and literally dropping in the stick float at my feet, and watching it travel 40ft or so downstream.

Small roach were had on bread punch, dace and minnow on one white maggot, chublets and one silver bream on 3 maggots (red & white)

A really enjoyable 5 or so, unhurried hours, on a lovely little river which has a lot of species to offer if you can find them.





biggest fish of the day!

 

[jimlad]

I knew that this morning was my window of opportunity, the one I've been waiting for since I finished work for Xmas. The rivers are up and down like a yoyo, and with further flood water currently piling it's way down the wild river, I had to get out. The fact that gale force winds and torrential rain coincided with it didn't help!

Arriving in dark and parking up, I had a bad start with car becoming stuck, which I had to rock out, but eventually after a fair walk, I slid my way down the bank into my peg. Float ledger fished smelt, my favourite tactic, was the way forward, balanced so that any movement on the bait would be indicated. I flicked out to some slack water adjacent heavy flow, alongside a nice crease, and waited for my chance. Ten minutes later, the float moved away before stopping. I held the rod, heart thumping, and waited. It seemed like forever, but in reality about thirty seconds later, the float laid flat, bobbed, and started moving away. I held the rod, waited for the thump thump of a fish, and hit it. All hell broke lose, the fish dictated everything, and using braid I could feel every movement. She went on run after run and It took a lot of coaxing, but eventually I'd tired her and she came over the arms of the net. A beast of 24lb 13oz.

There's very little that's beats river piking in winter. Once returned, I sat in the rain, wishing I had a cigar and a whiskey, with a grin on my face. A great way to see off 2013

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[geoff66]

a cracking end to the year jim lad well done

 

[nicky]

Super fish well done

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[sam vimes]

Not long back from a long day in dismal conditions. I'm not much for winter carping but, as the rivers are so up and down, that's what I did today. I'm never particularly confident of catching on carp tactics at this time of year, so catching thirteen was a pleasant surprise. Nothing even came close to double figures, but it was nice just to see bobbins moving again. It was a little strange that out of eight anglers on the lake, only two, me and my mate, caught. I actually felt very sorry for the two anglers that had fished overnight, for nowt, only to have two chancers turn up and catch. I know I'd have been brassed off in their shoes.