''That magic day''

The day I'm referring to is the day when everything came right. Either a multiple catch, or an outstanding single specimen.

Many of us of a certain age will have experienced red letter days. But inevitably one will stand out from the rest for a variety of reasons. What's yours ?

In my own case, I am torn between two. One was a catch of four twenty pound plus pike in one day. The other was a multiple catch , again of pike off the river Trent. That catch comprised of 18 double figure fish, the smallest 14lb plus, and the largest 19-12lb.

I am reminded when I think of those catches of the words of old Fred Wagstaffe when being interviewed about a big catch of pike over in Ireland. ''Yes but that's more than any reasonable pike angler could hope to achieve in a single day'' Good that.

that red letter day was my first time in Ireland early 1980s first morning
on the main Shannon on the sheebeen stretch pre baited night before
1st cast tip went round bream on and that was it one after the other we stopped for a bite to eat and all 4 of us said what a morning lets empty the keepnets we cant keep putting more fish in so we all put the lot back never used our nets again in Ireland martin/caelan

There are two occasions back in the eighties that spring to mind. As i live close to Tring reservoirs a lot of my time was chasing the big bream on wilstone and the roach on startops. The best night on wilstone resulted in 8 bream with 5 doubles and a personal best of 11-10. Winter on startops roach fishing was at that time a challenge as a lot of the specialist tackle available now was non existent then, Beds were camping beds and not very comfortable and sleeping bags were not very thick anyway the magic night was 3 roach at 2-15.. 2-15.. and 2-14. With a thick frost on the ground they certainly warmed you up....

Derek Gibson said:

The day I'm referring to is the day when everything came right. Either a multiple catch, or an outstanding single specimen.

Many of us of a certain age will have experienced red letter days. But inevitably one will stand out from the rest for a variety of reasons. What's yours ?

In my own case, I am torn between two. One was a catch of four twenty pound plus pike in one day. The other was a multiple catch , again of pike off the river Trent. That catch comprised of 18 double figure fish, the smallest 14lb plus, and the largest 19-12lb.

I am reminded when I think of those catches of the words of old Fred Wagstaffe when being interviewed about a big catch of pike over in Ireland. ''Yes but that's more than any reasonable pike angler could hope to achieve in a single day'' Good that.

Click to expand...

4 twentys in one day is certainly a day to remember, I can only aspire to those numbers!!

Over the years I have been fortunate 3 times to be at the right spot at the right time when numbers of big roach were really on the feed.

terry m said:

4 twentys in one day is certainly a day to remember, I can only aspire to those numbers!!

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But I was on a water that enabled me to do it Terry, with a good head of big pike.

I’m torn between a few as well, I’ll go for my first 20lb carp (25 .11) from Billing in 1965 together with two smaller 20s during the session as backup (I’d fished Billing with my father and a friend since ’59 but it was only in the early 60’s that they first sold night tickets). All on balanced bread paste/crust – a ’57 onion BJ MKIV/Mitchell 300 and the hippy hippy shakes............

Wow some amazing catches being described....I remember reading about the Startops roach and the dedication the anglers had to put in to get them.

My own memorable catch...462 Rudd in one afternoon from Hordle lake in Hampshire.

I should point out I was about 10 years old, none would have made it to even 1oz in weight and its still the most fish I have ever caught in 1 day

Broke two Pbs on my first trip to the Kennet years ago with a 3lb Perch and a 20lb 10z pike on trotted maggot - the latter taking an age to get in as i was after Grayling and tackled up fine. I don't fish for pike so to have such a beast on my mat was something i'll always cherish, that and the fact that had i caught it a few minutes later the gamekeeper would have whacked it on the head. I had to put it back as it was a catch and release fishery after all I told him

One 36 hour period which stands out was a catch of three Barbel over 11 pound in a multiple catch of over 20 fish from the Trent then dropping in to the Dove on the way home and landing a 16 pound barbel (split pec).

The flip side of that story is that it was three years ago this summer and I've not been able to get my enthusiasm up to try and better it, in fact I've actually dropped both of those cards now.

I had a 16lb Bream and an 11lb Tench one night when fishing for Carp on a very large gravel pit, they don't count of course.

Yea right !!



Bob

An afternoon on the Trent back in 2007 when it was in serious flood-- 24 barbel with doubles to 15 plus, went back the following late afternoon and had another ten-- all 34 came from one tin of luncheon meat.
Three consecutive afternoons- again on the Trent but this time float fishing I took 43 barbel for a little under 350lbs.Total bait used was just a little less than one and a half pints of maggots.
Pb on float--a differant day in winter - a 13-13.

Just a few-My first sea trout accidentally caught (only about 3lb), my first big Mullet deliberately caught (over 5lb), both memorable for their fight. The time I caught 9 decent chub in one go, I only ever seem to catch one or two so, 9 was a big deal to me. A swim my brother took me to once, it was a mile walk to get to to it and I caught over 20 barbel, I stopped counting, that was somewhere on the Kennet. The first time I won the sixpence for the most fish from my Dad, that was on the Kennet also, I stood in the water in my wellies and float fished down a glide and caught loads of roach and chub, I was about 12 years old. (I don't think he ever gave me that sixpence) tight old sod. The time we filled a boat with cod, memorable because I caught a near record Black Bream, it was over 6lb if I remember rightly.
Nothing stupendous but, they stick in the mind for various fishy reasons.
I forget to mention the time my brother and I caught some big cod off Dover breakwater, it was a exceptional day spoiled because my brother decided on the way home, to walk through the town center with the biggest one slung over his shoulder. I was extremely embarrassed and he's a prize berk.

what a great read about all them great catches someone should write a book
on red letter days an no porkies LOL

---------- Post added at 03:11 ---------- Previous post was at 03:08 ----------

HI BOB hornegold
were was that place with double figure bream if its not a private pit

Having fished for over 50 years there have been a fair few, but two stand out for me for different reasons.

As a nipper I grew up reading about the Hampshire Avon and the fabulous Roach that swam its lengths. In fact one of the main reasons I moved to the Salisbury area was to be close to that lovely river.

So, one of my "magic days" was when fishing close to the confluence of the main river and a carrier stream (and long before P4A I hasten to add) when I caught 14 roach for close to a total of 21 pounds, including 7 over 2 pounds.

The other that stands out for me was during my match fishing period when I spent a very long time practicing to perfect short whip speed fishing for bleak with whips from 2½m to 4½m.
Try as I may I really couldn't really master the style until a good friend showed me a few tips; more about rhythm than "speed" and he was so right.

On my next 3 hour evening match I took (a counted) 458 fish for just over 24 kilos, so that averaged out at over 2 fish per minute, and in fact in the middle of the match it was more like 3 to 4 a minute.
Every one of those fish went back and swam off strongly too after the weigh-in!

It is a form or style of fishing that I truly enjoy even these days whenever a suitable venue is available.

caelan said:

what a great read about all them great catches someone should write a book
on red letter days an no porkies LOL

---------- Post added at 03:11 ---------- Previous post was at 03:08 ----------

HI BOB hornegold
were was that place with double figure bream if its not a private pit

Click to expand...

caelan,

Not Private, it's on the Fishers Green Consortium ticket !!

Although I had the fish on a different section of the pit.

And try the Osprey Specimen Group Book, that's full of Red Letter Days ?

Calm Productions | Home

Bob

cheers bob
I know that fishers green water I was working on the national grid sub
station this week right by the river

Aside from my original post, there have been other magic days where I have played the role of spectator. Playing netsman for my son when he had a catch of eleven double figure pike from a Lincolnshire drain at the age of twelve, many years ago now, but never was a father more proud. The tradition has continued with my grandson who, at the age of fourteen, with only six months tuition in lure fishing nailed his first twenty pound pike. I will never forget the expression on his face, from awe to joy in seconds, true magic moments.

If pressed, I would ''today'' say that I derive as much, if not more pleasure from aiding someone to achieve a personal goal. Since most of my own goals were achieved some years ago. That's not to say the odd biggie would not be welcome, it's just that it's not all about me and my fish anymore.

And there has been some spectacular catches described on this thread. They've certainly got the blood coursing in this old warhorse.

Nice thread Derek.

I could probably pick a few which centre around a particular fish, a notable one being my return after thirty odd years to my childhood lake on a cold January afternoon and bagging a 20lb+ pike on a wobbled smelt despite the fact there were supposedly only jacks in there.

I think it was a particular breakthrough in a general sense back in my early teens which wins it for me though.

For a few years prior I had been pretty much brought up on small rivers such as the Devon and the upper Witham and despite me being able to catch fish on stillwaters these rivers presented a different challenge altogether.

At the time my dad used to buy a lot of livestock off the farms and consequently found some nice stretches of river amongst the farmland which he visited and knowing the farmers he in turn got permission for me to fish them and for a couple of years from the age of around ten I had been picked up by a fishing mate of his and carted off for my weekly dose of frustration as I could never hit a bite!

Even the very capable fella who mentored me was completely lost for an explanation when I wandered down to him with that same disappointed look on my face and then, for my thirteenth birthday, I had the surprise of my life as I was presented with a 12’ carbon float rod which had been made by a fella who ran one of those (at the time) fairly common pet shops which also sold a fair bit of fishing tackle and the rod was a revelation compared to the old split cane which I had been using up until then.

It was over six months before I had the chance to try it on those rivers and the first time out was early October after the weed had died down on the upper Witham which used to carry a really nice green tinge that hid the shoals of quality roach, dace and chub which were very prolific back then.

First flick in with the stick along with a pinch of maggots and feeling slightly nervous the float had barely travelled ten feet before it buried and I was amazed to have struck into a small chub of around 6ozs… If it was the only fish I had that day I would have been over the moon but it wasn’t as the float kept on burying at various distances along the swim throughout the day which produced chub over 4lb, some real quality roach up to a pound and plenty of dace and gudgeon, and I probably had around thirty pound of fish that day.

Very much as though it was yesterday in my mind and what for me sparked three or four years of what was a golden era… I would give my right arm for fishing like that on those sorts of rivers nowadays.

Catching my first carp.

I can`t remember exactly how old I was, sometime in my early teens. It was a glorious sunny day on a small privately owned pond. I was fishing for crucians with a small hook and a tiny piece of bread when I latched into something that felt huge. After a battle that seemed to take hours I finally had my first carp in the net.

How big was it? Well my grandad said it was 5 or 6lbs. With hindsight and experience I suspect it may have been smaller. Maybe he was right, maybe he was wrong, or maybe he just exaggerated a bit to please an excited young lad.

In truth though it doesn`t really matter how big the fish was. What really matters to me now is the memory of fishing and sharing that day with my granddad.