2017-2018 Season

[steve2]

With the 2017-2018 season now ended how was it for you? My own personal reflection when I could get out was one of a few good days followed by many blanks especially when pike fishing.
I had some good Tench over 6lbs and bream around 8lbs but my pike fishing would rank as my worst ever.
I didn’t catch any Chub and very few Perch.
For the first time in years I never found time to fish a river.
Hopefully 2018-2019 will be better and hopefully yours will be too.

 

[john step]

Mixed, very mixed. Family commitments saw the fewest outings for years. I usually took the easy option for getting my string pulled when time was available ie local waters. I run my fishing diary Jan to Jan. I recorded only 76 days fishing for 2017.

Similarly the pike started well then fizzled out towards the end of winter.

Then to cap it all my local river The Witham got a massive fish kill in March this year. Still waiting for those guilty to be named..............GRRRRRR.

 

[mikench]

Overall a satisfactory one with some excellent highlights! I must get out on the rivers more but that is entirely my own fault going for the easy tried and trusted rather than the unknown! I will be more adventurous!:thumbs::eagerness::target:

 

[soft plastic]

Very good season for me, especially the summer and autumn. Fished entirely natural venues and had some bumper catches of roach and hybrids on the seed and some great catches of bream on the feeder. Also managed a couple of trips over to Ireland for the bass and that too was productive. Hoping for the same this year.

Sent from my E6633 using Tapatalk

 

[rayner]

started off quite tricky ( new venue) seem to have got to grips with it then had more fish than ever up to September.
After September all went down hill very quickly. Not failing to catch but failing to get on the bank.
I'm ready for an up turn, it's well over due.

 

[rich66]

A satisfying season in some ways, achieved a couple of new PB’s Perch to well over 3lb no scales ! Would have got me on the club big fish of the year awards.
I need to experiment more but I always feel as I’ve not achieved when I blank so usually revert to maggots if my patience doesn’t hold. I’ve certainly fished more last season than ever before but it never feels I’ve enough time to go as often. I really need to up my presentation game and have more confidence in myself

 

[Tee-Cee]

Almost all of last year taken with house renovations which dragged on, as they are always likely to do. Once complete, the months either side of Xmas taken up with unexpected health issues so fishing put on the back burner until recently, and for what I've caught since...............
I did have a two week spell where I did quite well (topped by a near 3lb perch and a few decent roach) but this followed by poor returns and yet more health issues. Hopefully the coming season will be an improvement.

Still as keen as ever, though.........

 

[Teabreak]

I joined a new club last last year and exclusively fished one stretch of the Thames close to home and on my back from work so I fished it quite a bit. Nothing special caught but learnt a lot and looking forward to next season. I was planning on only keeping to one rod and reel but you lot here keep putting ideas in my head and I've got another two rods and a new reel. Need to get out on my clubs lakes til next season starts. They're a bit further afield so I may only get a few trips in and the weather needs to be a bit milder for me. Bring on summer. Haven't fished since November.

 

[S-Kippy]

Very mixed season for me. I had an awful lot of stuff to deal with workwise before finally retiring in mid July so my season didnt really start until mid summer. New club and new waters but more time meant i was able to do them and myself justice. Got me first ever cat and upped my pb crucian catching shedloads of good tench along the way. The autumn saw me dabbling with carp fishing and that went quite well too with another pb and my target weight exceeded 5 times. It was all very different to what I usually do which was very refreshing.

Rubbish winter though. Lousy weather, car problems and a dreadful bout of flu kept me away from the banks from November until probably February....and once I did get out I struggled. I tried for a big perch but failed miserably...best being low 2's.

But looking forward to the new season and another crack at the 3 c's....crucians,cats and carp. I might even have another go at those elusive Wey barbel....M25 permitting !

 

[103841]

A season of waters all new to me so a lot of learning.

Summer....great
Autumn......ok
Winter/Spring....rubbish

 

[nottskev]

Close season was great, with good catches of roach, tench and bream on three lovely waters. It all went downhill as the season opened, with the local Trent poor for a month ( I went back to my close season waters) until the roach switched on in mid-July. After that, some enjoyable sport on stick, waggler and pole, but with only roach and dace available, it got a bit repetitive. Two trips to the Lake District and some wild water feeder fishing broke things up nicely and reminded me of Irish holidays. I had some nice September tench fishing - with the fish feeding in the afternoon; I enjoyed the leisurely start to the day. I fished the Derwent numerous times in the autumn, but unless I drove well out of the area to where chub still live, the catches were monotonous - grayling, grayling and more grayling. Nothing against grayling - but I was fishing what was once a Mecca, if I can say that, for roach and chub. When the rivers either switched off (Trent) or came up (Derwent) I reverted back to stillwaters, and enjoyed some great fishing, with unexpected bags of roach plus unseasonal tench in January and February. After Christmas, the rivers here were a write-off, and I resorted to fishing for chub on little streams and ditches - and thoroughly enjoyed it. It was my first season while being a member of FM, and my season was definitely improved by two days out with Mike, Graham (The Crow) and Steve (Binka), and being on the forum added a welcome dimension to my fishing. Wait a minute. Do I think I've won an Oscar?

 

[S-Kippy]

Wait a minute. Do I think I've won an Oscar?

Most Promising Newcomer....and you forgot to thank your sponsors.

 

[Bobnewboy]

Well, as explained in my joining first post, this has been my first season of fishing, starting last August. Summer and autumn were excellent, based as I was at Apps Court Lakes, Bushy Park’s Leg of Mutton pond, and Hampton Court’s Long Water, but that only introduced me to small roach, small perch, and ever larger common carp. My PB for commons is now just shy of 15lb so I’m quite happy with that.

Winter and spring have been a very mixed bag and not a patch on my first summer/autumn.

My rather limited species count was rather bothering me, so I ‘discovered‘ a local stream for free fishing, and have added small dace, chub, rudd, ruffe and gudgeon while also adding whip fishing to my repertoire. Gotta love the simplicity of it. I have now caught a couple of mirrors as well, but I still have to add the other big species such as tench, crucian carp and the like.

A lot of my fishing time now is also spent exploring new waters. I have been visiting Twynersh fishery, Frog Island fishery in Gomshall, and yesterday I visited the ponds at Brookwood Country Park - nice people and ponds.

Overall I have been really enjoying my angling this year as it’s all new to me, with a steep learning curve even while I have restricted myself to float fishing. I think that once I have reached a good standard I may well dabble in some other techniques such as ledgering. There’s so much variety in angling that I can’t ever seeing it becoming dull.

Cheers, Bob

 

[103841]

Have you fished the Thames yet Bob?

 

[Bobnewboy]

Have you fished the Thames yet Bob?

I’m afraid not. It is very local to me but it seems a bit daunting, a bit like turning up at a huge featureless lake and not knowing where to start. Also the other stuff that goes with river float fishing w.r.t techniques, including reading the river and the like are still dark arts to me at the moment. I would and should join a club, but the impending sale of our house and a westward move (just been “retired” by my company) mean that I’m loathe to do so just now.

So I’ll gladly hang out on here and cream off the useful information that is so freely shared! ???

 

[carpinbob]

Terrible season after losing my job , then the wife got taken in hospital and took over 6 months to recover . Only managed 3 sessions.

Hopefully 2018/19 should be better even if only on the fishing front.

 

[seth49]

Started well with new pb carp 17 1/2 pound in may, plenty of bream roach etc, then the rains started, apart from a few days here and there it was a very wet summer and autumn, then it turned cold, normally get a few days in winter after the roach etc.

This winter I never fished after the 24 th on November till two weeks ago, just wasn’t fit, and the fishery I’m a member of never fishes well when it’s raining, being spring fed it just seems to put the fish off.

Did ok with the carp last summer, had 64 so not to bad there, mick had over seventy but he concentrated more on the carp than me.

Do want to get back on the river this year, for the barbel and chub, haven’t river fished for three years hardly, been concentrated on the new fishery, time for a bit of a change, just hope we get a good summer this year.

 

[mikench]

Do I think I've won an Oscar?

Sadly no Kev but you certainly deserve one! Trips out with you, Binka and Tigger were certainly highlights of the season! It seems so long ago now!