How did you get on?

[peter crabtree]

Club fixture today on an Oxfordshire commercial, I can't say I like the place but must support the club where possible. We were spread over 2 lakes, one big and one much smaller. I drew on the smaller one with just 6 others, a corner peg with plenty of scope...



The lily pads in front were quivering with fish activity and fish were moving out by the reedbed. At the off I flicked a waggler out into open water, the float lifted and carp number one was on. A small carp had grabbed my double maggot and gave my Ultralight a good bend.
The chilling NW wind made for an uncomfortable day and my pole stayed on the roller, I didn't feel like fighting it all day so stayed on the wagg for 2 hours but hitting then missing the now scarce bites became very frustrating.
Plan B was to fish my left hand margin on a topkit. This proved to be successful and I caught carp, perch and roach steadily for the last 3 hours. You can just see my dibber float in this photo...

Weighed in 7 carps, a couple of roach and 3 chunky perch for 17:12 which gave me the section win and second place on the lake...

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

Decided on the Severn at Arley today, Jerryesque start around 9.00 am with the temperature only at around 4 degrees and rain forecast. For once the Met office had it bang on, intermittent showers all day, interspersed with bright sunshine, cloud and the occasional chilly breeze. Bait options were maggot or maggot as I'd left the castor and worm in the fridge First hour was the proverbial washout, tried at two rod lengths and the inside track without a bite or even a chewed maggot, first bite about 30m downstream produced a brownie which required the net and would have possibly made a reasonable dinner (it went back) Had a couple of dace before switching the topper for a bolo and fishing further out, not particularly spectacular but produced four more dace and a couple of roach. Packed in around 3.30 as I was starting to feel the cold, may be time to dig out the thermals!

 

[The Runner]

With no official club match on the book this weekend a quick ring round on Friday raised a dozen of us for a knock up back on the canal at Langley Boats.
Seems to get clearer every time we go there and the level is now at least a foot down making the "tight to the boat " line a bit too shallow in the clear water unless you draw a double boat.
Pegged from the marina back, I drew what had been far end peg last week but three pegs past me today almost down to Mansion Lane Bridge.
Set up 4 and 5m whips, waggler and two topkits with 4x8 and 4x10 rigs on a 3 elastic (found a shop that had some this week...)Just under 4ft down the track but a lot less tight over to the single boat which didn't look too promising if I needed to go over.
Cupped in some loose groundbait with squatt and pinkie at 8n off to either side and started on punch over likki on 4m whip straight in front. Caught steadily but not quickly on this from the off, 25 fish after an hour but then it switched off . Could pick up the odd fish over the groundbait either side but never lined up, at one point had a little run of 7 or 8 fish next to some weed just on a top 2 to my right but really hard work until the last half hour when the light dropped and a few roach reappeared on the 4m whip line. Never had so much as a bite across to the boat and probably spent too long trying for one.
Ended up with 61 fish for 4-11 and 4th, one out of the coin; 10-11 won it, then 9-10 and 6-12.
Bottom weight today was 1-14. We're on the Colne next week where I suspect that will be a very good weight indeed....

 

[barbelboi]

Jerryesque start around 9.00 am

Leave it out Ian - that's early breakfast time if I'm off fishing................

 

[jimlad]

Bright conditions after a cold night meant one thing for me today, grayling on the upper tees. Also gave me the opportunity to try out a couple items of gear.

I got out early afternoon for a few hours and managed about a dozen fish, most in the size bracket as below pics, and couple
smaller. I love the fighting qualities of grayling, and they are a smashing looking fish.

Bit of good news is the 14ft matchpro ultralight that I used for the first time. I thought it was a brilliant, and think I prefer it to the acolyte.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[jasonbean1]

cracking fish!

 

[Neil Maidment]

Various areas of the Dorset Frome opened up for grayling last week. I've managed a couple of trips so far and had a few ranging from micro ounces to around 1:08/1:12 but generally they have been somewhat hard to track down.

The same can't be said of the various "tourists" as I've had quite a number of seatrout mostly in the 1lb to 2lbs range. Every now and then a somewhat bigger one multiplies the swim wrecking properties of these spotted terrors and this one, which turned out to be around 8lbs, didn't disappoint in that regard.

Quite alarmed to see just how much of a bend developed in the Normark 13ft Microlite!

 

[103841]

Stunning photos Neil, a tad envious.

Still, we had a beautiful day down here in sunny Whitstable. But with an increase in air pressure and a sudden drop in temperature I managed to talk myself out of a few hours fishing and did some of this instead.

Gardening isn't one of my favourite pastimes and had to constantly tell myself that had I gone I would have most probably blanked..................


Or would I.

 

[mikench]

Be positive John in that the right decision was made and there will be plenty of time for fishing but not many warm sunny days for gardening!

 

[mikench]

Bright conditions after a cold night meant one thing for me today, grayling on the upper tees. Also gave me the opportunity to try out a couple items of gear.

I got out early afternoon for a few hours and managed about a dozen fish, most in the size bracket as below pics, and couple
smaller. I love the fighting qualities of grayling, and they are a smashing looking fish.

Bit of good news is the 14ft matchpro ultralight that I used for the first time. I thought it was a brilliant, and think I prefer it to the acolyte.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm going off you Jim! Envy is not a nice quality and I am full of it!

Cracking fish by the way!

 

[Pete Shears]

Back at the reservoir today but this time dead baits for pike instead of spinning.Arrived around midday for a change and fished until 1630ish,time to sit back and enjoy the sunshine,watching kingfishers and kestrels.Managed to get a pristine 10lb 8oz pike on a sprat with a single hook rig which was one more than the previous four trips when I was just lure fishing,might go back on Wednesday as the forecast is pretty much the same as today.

 

[bezzer]

On the Severn at Hampton Loade on Saturday (Kinver stretch), 1 Barbel of just under 7lbs on a piece of meat. Hard fishing as it was clear and a lot of rubbish (streamer weed and leaves) coming down the river.

Trying to attach a picture......

Imgur: The most awesome images on the Internet

 

[nottskev]

On the Severn at Hampton Loade on Saturday (Kinver stretch), 1 Barbel of just under 7lbs on a piece of meat. Hard fishing as it was clear and a lot of rubbish (streamer weed and leaves) coming down the river.

Trying to attach a picture......

Stick with it.... it can be done. Sent you a PM about posting pics. Cheers.

 

[Alan Tyler]

Trying to attach a picture......

Good luck with that, Sir!

 

[peter crabtree]

Only 4 old codgers braved the elements this morning on our weekly match.
The forecast ended up looking much worse than it actually was in the end...
A slight breeze and some drizzle was as bad as it got on the canal just outside Hemel..





It was a new venue for all of us so made it a level playing field and all 4 of us equally competent anglers too. It was anyone's chance to shine..
We fished 9am to 2pm. 2 anglers at one end and two up the other end by the lock..

Rod, reel and float only as usual so I set up a light waggler set tripping bottom down the track, luckily the wind kept the leaves at bay today...
Punch roach to start with, the odd gudgeon and chublets until the lock opened.
As my float started to move with the tow it buried, was this a leaf?
No, a nice skimmer had intercepted the mobile punch and hung itself...
Fish came and went over the 5 hours and there were quite a few boats passing in both directions, at least they coloured the water a bit as it was tap water otherwise..

First to weigh in was my friend on my right who had 4lb:9oz.
I was sure he had done me but as the scales settled on 4lb:9:8 I was surprised, I had beaten him by one gudgeon...
The 2 up the other end had struggled and had 3lb+ each so I took the money today

 

[Another Dave]

Out with the penny sized lure this morning when my partner went to the shops for an hour. Third swim gave me a spirited wee perch and the 4th one gave up a pound and something pike. Pretty much how i'd always pictured what light lure fishing should be like, but somehow never was for me in the old days.

Got back before she did but they can tell.

 

[theartist]

Went for a couple of hours to the river yesterday after lunch. By then the sun was fully out and right in my face, the first swim saw me blank and after getting over the shock half an hour later the second spot yields a pound chub first cast which was more like it. Half an hour later and i've been running my float through the best I can and still have a total of one chub. With the cold nights and the river dropping after what must have been an injection of cold rain, winter was well and truly kicking in and I was loving the challenge.

Swim three was a foot deep and six across, I kid you not, there's usually fish there but they scarper every time you walk up, by now though i'm desperate and am looking to whittle out a roach or small chub, stalking the tiddlers like they were giants. In fact the swim was chocca with fish despite it being so shallow nothing big but a pound chub is going to give me the right run around in such a tight swim.

Managed a roach first cast, sat back and had a warm drink to wallow in the glory as it must have been 7 even 8 ounces!!, thinking that's that, the chub moved in and it was one a chuck on the restart, geting better as the light faded, the difference moving swim makes, they were in the shallows and they were staying here. It was awkward though and proper wild fishing, i'll admit to tanglers anonymous that a got in a few of the T word, fishing fast water so shallow I was on the hooklength, it was going to happen, and with trees either side and fish under the rushes, lost a couple of floats too although it wasn't hard to jump in downstream to get them back. Ended up with around 30lb of chub to 3lb which ain't bad when you're scratching for silvers.

 

[flightliner]

A walk oer local fields ten day ago resulted in a badly sprained ankle -- OUCH !!!!!
Laid up then but yesterday I put minimal kit together and headed to the river Don near Sheffield for a mini roving session trotting for Greyling.
Some maggots acquired before starting were about the best I've had for a goodly while, so, with rod made up beforehand I was up n ready minutes after leaving the car.
I had walked well upstream to try a shallow area that often does me well and first run down the little blob float is sailing away with my first fish of the day-- very nice!
TBH it was so full of fish from the start I had fish "flashing right below the rod top in less than 18" of water-- in half an hour I had fifteen under my belt and still catching well.
I moved, this time to a lazier beat where tho I was "in" almost from the start bites tailed off -- maybe the fast water fish had to make a quicker decision to bite with it being a swim for such thinking -- the slower swim not so.
Anyway my last spot was a mix of the previous two but deeper.
It was slow at first but constant feeding of a half dozen maggots each cast eventually brought them upstream to fall for my baited trap.
By this time my ankle was giving me a bit of gyp so I called it a day --- total tally was 41 fish, all greyling with no silly suicidal spotty things butting in to spoil the party.
Not bad for a three hour spell!!
What a wonderfull change for a river that some thirty years would have dissolved anyone unfortunate enough to have fallen into it-- another few years and it will have salmon spawning along it's still not nice to look at industrial past legacy!

 

[theartist]

A walk oer local fields ten day ago resulted in a badly sprained ankle -- OUCH !!!!!
Laid up then but yesterday I put minimal kit together and headed to the river

Watch out if it was badly twisted mate, i'm still paying the price for not resting up properly from one which happened in May! A bad ankle sprain is worse than a broken ankle.

 

[barbelboi]

It’s been a fer funny old day (as a certain Yorkshire shopkeeper might say). I decided to have a change from flowing water and nipped over the fields to a local farm pond for some still water roach. Unfortunately the roach were not playing and couldn’t get a touch, even taking advantage of the windless conditions and dotting right down to next to nothing. However, surprise, surprise – the crues were feeding and managed to take 14. I slice of bread was used.

Yesterday I covered quite a lot of stream for a fair few roach on the stick, although could not locate the bigger versions on the day. Fished from 11am – 3pm both days.