How did you get on?

[robertroach]

Had a few hours yesterday on Hants Avon nr Ringwood. Weather dull and mild and windy, low pressure system, pretty much perfect for Winter fishing I always think. Target was chub and fished 3 red maggots on 12 hook. One chub, 3 grayling, one perch, one dace and a barbel. Unfortunately my spring balance only goes to 11 lbs, but the barbel was a lot more, so couldn't weigh it, only to say it was more than 11 lbs by a fair bit. Tremendous fight. Kamasan fine wire hooks sometimes bend but this time everything OK.
Going shopping for a better weighing scales before next trip.

 

[Tee-Cee]

robertroach........sounds like a lovely fish, and on one of my favourite stretches of the Avon...

I think the wife should treat you to a camera as well as the scales !!

Very nice fishing though, and many congratulations - a great present for Christmas !!

 

[bracket]

Hard on the River this morning. The river was in good nick but there was a wicked wind, downgate and in at you. I had the stick float back shotted with three No 8s and it still went through like a plank of wood. I managed seven grayling and five trout before fishing the float became a lottery. Not wanting to revert to "The Splodger" I packed up my trusty 40 year old river gear and made tracks at Noon. Pete.

 

[barbelboi]

The fishing conditions were far from ideal this week with big changes in weather conditions and very strong winds. I had a session small river trotting for seven small chub earlier in the week then today went back to a local pit for some more gravel pit roach. The conditions were very much against sensitive float methods with a strong NW’erly so I wasn’t exactly expecting a two plus fish. However, fished single caster (over caster/hemp) on a size twenty Drennan silverfish to two pound line and a dayglow float. Just the seven roach, all over the pound mark but nothing approaching the two pound mark this session – also two small double commons that were quite lively on light gear. Both sessions fished 10.30 – 3pm..

 

[stu_the_blank]

What absolutely georgeous fish Jerry. Perfect!

Haven't been able to get out for a fortnight. Work manic and weekends family business. Took the old man to Pompey last week for the 75th Anniv of the Battle of the River Plate, he was on the Ajax. Frankly worth missing fishing for, brilliant day, very few vets left now but quite moving to see these very old men taken back to the days when they were just kids put in extrordinary situations. Makes you realise how relatively lucky we have been!

Hope to get out between Christmas and New Year, I feel a Pike could be on the cards!

Stu

 

[peter crabtree]

Club Christmas match today on the GUC near Tring. Fished 9 to 1pm.
Overcast, drizzling and breezy temp 9 degrees. Set up pole and tied a 20 Drennan wide gape to 1lb:7 trace on a fine bristle 0:03 canal float. Quite tricky in the gloom. Fixing dust shot was a nightmare but by 9 I was ready. Not much room behind me for shipping back so fished 8m down the track.
Cupped in a small ball of liquy and fished punch an inch off bottom. Roach a chuck for 2 hours then someone flicked the switch and they were gone.
2 hours of gudgeon bashing with pinkie over chopped worm and no bonus skimmer or perch showed up...
Weighed in 3lb:2 for 6th overall.
Winner had 6lb:15. All roach on punch.
2nd and 3rd both had 6lb+...
19 fished.
Nice bit of grub in the pub afterwards with prize giving and raffle.

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

Down on the Salwarpe, plenty of fish but nothing that required a landing net, Dace, Roach, Perch, Gudgeon, Chubblets, the obligatory Minnows. Pike took a small Roach off the hook right under my nose, first one I've seen there. Slipped on the bank and b*ggered up my shoulder. Last river session now until January, we go down to Wales for the New Year and hopefully a few decent Roach and Perch from the pools.

 

[barbelboi]

Well done Ian for braving the windy conditions - I know what it's been like......

PS Just noticed you never gave me a like so $od you.........

 

[The Runner]

Club Xmas match on the Colne at Uxbridge with a good turnout meaning that some of the more rarely used pegs were in the hat.
Drew peg 39 which is serious big chub or nothing country. Hadn't drawn it in a match for ages but its one of my favourites for a pleasure session and can honestly say that hadn't had a chub under 4-8 or so from it in the last five years, although never more than two in a day. Reckoned that two bites and get them both out might be enough to win it.
Not quite- got the two bites, both in the last hour, and got the 3 oz chub out but had a B911 straightened by the other...
Won the peg to peg battle though as peg 40 only had a bullhead and a tiny perch...
Andrew Terpilowski who won it has been a club member for more than the 30 years that I have and this was his first match in all that time (apparently he won the last one he fished in 1980 or so on a coach trip to Evesham as well so he must think this matchfishing thing is easy). He had 3 chub for 11-12 from a not highly fancied swim and Tony Carter, our oldest regular match attendee at 84, showed us younger ones up with three chub for 7-15 from a swim that its fair to say nobody wanted.
6-8 of dace and then a single chub of 5-14 made up the frame with a few 4s and 3s after that.
Apart from the third place weight, all of the really fancied swims struggled. Everyone wanted 52 to 55 on the backstream or 58; Keith Arthur fishes a couple of our matches a year and has a notoriously rotten draw hand here- thought this had changed when he pulled 54 but he only had a few roach, 53 the same, just over a pound of mostly minnows from 55 and peg 58 actually blanked which is unheard of.
Food in the Dolphin afterwards was as good as ever, only downside for me was going in and walking straight into the pub's resident S**derland supporter...

 

[Paul Boote]

Club Xmas match on the Colne at Uxbridge with a good turnout meaning that some of the more rarely used pegs were in the hat.
Drew peg 39 which is serious big chub or nothing country. Hadn't drawn it in a match for ages but its one of my favourites for a pleasure session and can honestly say that hadn't had a chub under 4-8 or so from it in the last five years, although never more than two in a day. Reckoned that two bites and get them both out might be enough to win it.
Not quite- got the two bites, both in the last hour, and got the 3 oz chub out but had a B911 straightened by the other...
Won the peg to peg battle though as peg 40 only had a bullhead and a tiny perch...
Andrew Terpilowski who won it has been a club member for more than the 30 years that I have and this was his first match in all that time (apparently he won the last one he fished in 1980 or so on a coach trip to Evesham as well so he must think this matchfishing thing is easy). He had 3 chub for 11-12 from a not highly fancied swim and Tony Carter, our oldest regular match attendee at 84, showed us younger ones up with three chub for 7-15 from a swim that its fair to say nobody wanted.
6-8 of dace and then a single chub of 5-14 made up the frame with a few 4s and 3s after that.
Apart from the third place weight, all of the really fancied swims struggled. Everyone wanted 52 to 55 on the backstream or 58; Keith Arthur fishes a couple of our matches a year and has a notoriously rotten draw hand here- thought this had changed when he pulled 54 but he only had a few roach, 53 the same, just over a pound of mostly minnows from 55 and peg 58 actually blanked which is unheard of.
Food in the Dolphin afterwards was as good as ever, only downside for me was going in and walking straight into the pub's resident S**derland supporter...

Nice report of "The King" and a bit of water I've known and fished long before the club got it, Runner. Good to hear that the above-the-weir push-over pegs disappointed: how it should be.

Beside me as I write this a Cooper-cased bream that JackH agreed to sell to my Dad on the occasion of my 18th birthday (he'd said that I was "keen" when he first met me in shorts in his shop twelve years earlier) - "Bream, Caught by Harry Barnett, [The] XYZ Point, August 1906".

In 1982, at the same spot and on still-free water, I lifted a 12-06 barbel to my girlfriend's Nikon 35mm camera. Proper monster.

Cheers, fellas.

 

[Tee-Cee]

I've fished five days of the last seven in as many variable weather conditions, with catches to match....Everything from breezy and mild to cold and frosty with the occasional gale thrown in..
A dozen or so reasonable roach on one day in gentle conditions, followed by gales the next when only two fish came to the net, but then probably the wrong swim choice if I'm perfectly honest - I didn't cotton onto the ' prevailing ' conditions and paid the price.
Yesterday, so damned dark at 8am I could hardly see the line let alone the dust shot and two hook lengths went AWOL before I finally made a cast. Similar to Jerry, I used a 20 with single maggot and a nice fish 2nd cast promised much.
All seemed well when the float slid away again and my gentle strike momentarily connected with a fish, but this was short lived as the line went slack. Checking the end tackle I found my home tied hook missing which seemed to set the tone for the rest of the session as I caught nowt else, but suffered countless dips of the float and ' sailaways ' that frustrated me and dragged the confidence down to zero. I cannot remember the last time a home hook tie failed...
The tackle ( I'd even changed the reel line to 3lb BS ) with 1,5lb bottoms and all sorts of float/shotting combinations works well on most days, but yesterday it just didn't happen regardless of the wonderful conditions. I console myself in that the only other angler out failed to get a bite when he'd caught well just the day before on flake, which yields ziltch for me at the moment!!

TBH I really fancied today and tomorrow ( whilst the mild conditions last ) and the wife pushed me to go, but other things need doing. If nothing else I like to be fair so I shall not go again until after Christmas and will spend time finishing a few floats for trial in the New Year.....That's in my ' spare ' time !!
( In actual fact I 've run out of bait and I need to go looking for some new ground bait ingredients which will also be tried over the coming weeks. )

ps Surely someone on FM will hit some really big roach over the next week or so ???

 

[neil1970]

I managed to get out on the river for an hour an a half earier on today.

Fished 7 swims with diving plugs of various sizes and colours.

Although the water was relatively clear natural patterns weren't working and the first follow came from a half pound jack after a largish firetiger lure.

The only fish of the session fell to a white and orange 1.5" crankbait.

Small, but I'm happy as I've been blanking for a while now with the lures.

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

Well done Ian for braving the windy conditions - I know what it's been like......

Just got to find a few decent fish now Jerry. I've given you a belated "like", can't have you grumpy over Christmas

 

[barbelboi]

Just got to find a few decent fish now Jerry. I've given you a belated "like", can't have you grumpy over Christmas

I should bloody well hope so as well Ian - I don't go to all this trouble to get fishing for 10.30 for nothing..

Not out 'til the New Year now so I'll have to stick on a season's best roach so far of 1.15, and two 1.14 back ups................need some better scales for Christmas.......

 

[itsfishingnotcatching]

need some better scales for Christmas.......

Where's Del when you need him

A 1.14 would be good for me, there are supposed to be some even bigger where I'll be fishing after Christmas, but I've only caught to just over the pound mark...........so far

 

[rubio]

Finally got summat that pulled back. A very nearly 4lb chub. Great relief after struggling for a few sessions. Hope to get out for a couple more over next week into new year.
Next time I'll try not to leave my cheesepaste at home tho.

 

[peter crabtree]

Finally got summat that pulled back. A very nearly 4lb chub.
Next time I'll try not to leave my cheesepaste at home tho.

Nice chub rubio. Presumably a river you may not wish to name? What bait and method would be nice?

 

[Tee-Cee]

Gerry...Very nice fish, at any time of year !

As a matter of interest, do you use digital scales or the standard, but highly unreliable needle ones ? I must admit I never check mine with a weight, but then it isn't that critical for me....

ps Short answer please otherwise I will incur a racking off from Simon for going off subject !

pps It's Christmas so I think we can you've caught a ' 2 ' IMHO although I suppose the scales might be rusty and it was ' only ' 1lb 13ozs....................really tough, that !!

 

[Tee-Cee]

Gerry...Very nice fish, at any time of year !

As a matter of interest, do you use digital scales or the standard, but highly unreliable needle ones ? I must admit I never check mine with a weight, but then it isn't that critical for me....

ps Short answer please otherwise I will incur a racking off from Simon for going off subject !

pps It's Christmas so I think we can you've caught a ' 2 ' IMHO although I suppose the scales might be rusty and it was ' only ' 1lb 13ozs....................really tough, that !!

 

[barbelboi]

Tony, I tend to use a set of 'Flyweights' that are pretty accurate as they weigh the same as a friend's Salter ElectroSampson digi. However, this is the second season on the trot that I haven't banked a two plus fish so I'm putting it down to the very windy conditions (and the fact that I haven't targeted them so much recently) rather than the scales.................