How did you get on?
- Thread starter peter crabtree
- Start date
Cracking bream Simon. Looks in the peak of condition.
wetthrough
Well-known member
Had a day on the Dam yesterday. Fishing the east side to avoid the sun. It wasn't until around 3pm I felt the full force of it and then only filtering through the leaves on a tree to my left. Put a few balls of GB in at around 12/15M and unusually a golf ball of GB in the margin which might have been a mistake. Usually I'll just loose feed the margin with a few maggots, caster and hemp while I'm setting up the rods. Normally I can pretty much guarantee a few nice Roach early on from the margin. Not yesterday. Couldn't even pick up a tiddler in the margin although I did manage once decent fish to a Tare.
Trees trees as far as the eye can see and not one within reach, just the way I like it
Started fishing the 12/15M line laying on a few inches in 8' picking a few more up. Switched to fishing up in the water with the margin rod at ~12M , 2g float and getting plenty of bites and fish. If I saw any feeding bubbles coming up I'd switch back to fishing on the bottom.
Didn't manage any big boogers but had a spell of picking a few skimmers up to sweetcorn later on, four or five. Most of the better Roach coming off the top to Tare. 45 altogether with 8 or 9 netters to about 9oz.
Not a bad day and I was really glad I'd picked the East side when the sun finally came right round.
Trees trees as far as the eye can see and not one within reach, just the way I like it
Started fishing the 12/15M line laying on a few inches in 8' picking a few more up. Switched to fishing up in the water with the margin rod at ~12M , 2g float and getting plenty of bites and fish. If I saw any feeding bubbles coming up I'd switch back to fishing on the bottom.
Didn't manage any big boogers but had a spell of picking a few skimmers up to sweetcorn later on, four or five. Most of the better Roach coming off the top to Tare. 45 altogether with 8 or 9 netters to about 9oz.
Not a bad day and I was really glad I'd picked the East side when the sun finally came right round.
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Living in a lovely seaside town is very nice, especially after a lifetime living and working in central London but on days like this when the town's population quadruples with an invasion of DFL's it's best to avoid the town and beach just as MarkG has alluded to in his post earlier.
I wouldn't normally venture to the estate lake on a Saturday but didn't fancy being at home all day so made the short trip arriving at 9am. The skies were blue and the sun was already feeling very warm, a rare outing for my brolly.
Same formula as the last trip with a method feeder cast tight to the far bank. Unusually the method feeder wasn't attracting any interest other than a lone skimmer over the course of two hours. Ditched that and fortunately I'd brought with me an old 3m Daiwa whip I'd bought from Ebay last year, like a stick of spaghetti with a cork handle. I freelined a pellet wrapped in my method pellets.
Within seconds the tip of the wand was trembling with the method feed being attacked closely followed by a fierce wrap round, a bream of approx 4lb tested my fragile rig, knowhere to go with less than 3m of line to the flick tip. Safely in the net.
It was non stop with a further seven bream and six lovely plump roach with a further few bumping off. Will be bringing this little wand again!
Being a Saturday the visitors Started arriving mid morning and it was time to pack up and head home for some cool beers.
We're in mid July but it seems Summer has only just arrived, I hope it stays around for a while.
Early alarm on Monday, the hope is to drive across to Hythe for a spot of spinning in the Channel, nearer home the North Sea is still totally choked with weed.
I wouldn't normally venture to the estate lake on a Saturday but didn't fancy being at home all day so made the short trip arriving at 9am. The skies were blue and the sun was already feeling very warm, a rare outing for my brolly.
Same formula as the last trip with a method feeder cast tight to the far bank. Unusually the method feeder wasn't attracting any interest other than a lone skimmer over the course of two hours. Ditched that and fortunately I'd brought with me an old 3m Daiwa whip I'd bought from Ebay last year, like a stick of spaghetti with a cork handle. I freelined a pellet wrapped in my method pellets.
Within seconds the tip of the wand was trembling with the method feed being attacked closely followed by a fierce wrap round, a bream of approx 4lb tested my fragile rig, knowhere to go with less than 3m of line to the flick tip. Safely in the net.
It was non stop with a further seven bream and six lovely plump roach with a further few bumping off. Will be bringing this little wand again!
Being a Saturday the visitors Started arriving mid morning and it was time to pack up and head home for some cool beers.
We're in mid July but it seems Summer has only just arrived, I hope it stays around for a while.
Early alarm on Monday, the hope is to drive across to Hythe for a spot of spinning in the Channel, nearer home the North Sea is still totally choked with weed.
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Hugh Bailey
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Edit - wrong thread!
Ray Roberts
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First proper night trip of the year. My wife had a mini stroke earlier this year and now she seems to have made a full recovery. One of my club’s stretches of the river Eden near Penshurst has been opened to night fishing recently. The club put the new book online and I only noticed this by accident. I loaded the car and made my way down there. I started with maggot feeder but the bait was getting blitzed by small roach and dace. I gave up after a couple of casts. I had been feeding pellets close in about 18 inches from the edge. I mixed up some stiff fish meal ground bait and fished a feeder roughly halfway across and down stream. I set up a float rod and fished it slightly over depth under the rod tip with a banded pellet.
The river is quite shallow to my left and also where the tangle of tree roots are, however there is about 8/9ft of water close in. I have had some success with barbel from this spot before. Not this time however. I fished into dark and put a glow light on my float tip.
I caught steadily until the sun got up in the sky. I wound up with around thirty chub up to 3.5 lbs and a bonus couple of perch on lob worm. I saw a kingfisher whizz past and the amount of insect life was unbelievable. As soon as you switched on a head torch you would be swarmed by tiny midges. There were so many that they flew up your nose and into your mouth, which isn’t a pleasant experience. Overall it was fun and I had a pretty good trip. The only downside was on the way home I stopped off for breakfast and it was awful. I had ham, eggs and chips. The ham was actually glossy and it looked as if it had been cut out of scraps of pink lino in fact lino would have probably tasted better. Usually cafes lay the ham flat and put the eggs on top but this guy had rolled up the slices, like err, rolls of lino really.
Some opposite bank visitors. I only saw two other people the entire time I was there, which is just how I like it.
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The river is quite shallow to my left and also where the tangle of tree roots are, however there is about 8/9ft of water close in. I have had some success with barbel from this spot before. Not this time however. I fished into dark and put a glow light on my float tip.
I caught steadily until the sun got up in the sky. I wound up with around thirty chub up to 3.5 lbs and a bonus couple of perch on lob worm. I saw a kingfisher whizz past and the amount of insect life was unbelievable. As soon as you switched on a head torch you would be swarmed by tiny midges. There were so many that they flew up your nose and into your mouth, which isn’t a pleasant experience. Overall it was fun and I had a pretty good trip. The only downside was on the way home I stopped off for breakfast and it was awful. I had ham, eggs and chips. The ham was actually glossy and it looked as if it had been cut out of scraps of pink lino in fact lino would have probably tasted better. Usually cafes lay the ham flat and put the eggs on top but this guy had rolled up the slices, like err, rolls of lino really.
Some opposite bank visitors. I only saw two other people the entire time I was there, which is just how I like it.
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04-30hrs alarm call with the target of being on Hythe beach fishing just over the hour later, First mission accomplished and was greeted with a deserted beach and considering it's the morning after the night before, the beaches were free of rubbish, unlike Whitstable where it's a disaster zone.
I say deserted, not quite true, just one other person present and just my luck it was an angler in my favourite spot.?
I set up a couple of hundred yards away from him and over the next two hours hurtled everything out to sea bar the kitchen sink.
Not as much as a knock with no signs of activity for miles around. Like other places plenty of hot air though.
The other angler packed up at 8am looking as though he'd blanked, I swiftly moved into his spot and cast dangerously close to the rocks in hope of something, anything!
I'd had enough by 9am and the swimmers were starting to arrive. Time to head to my favourite beach side cafe for a much needed coffee. It's a mile along the coast and on arriving I found the place swarming with police and search and rescue workers. A lifeboat was making its way to the shore, I assumed it had picked up immigrants but I found out later from the cafe staff that they had just rescued a kayaker that had been missing since yesterday, A helicopter was searching overhead throughout the night but it was only shortly before I arrived that they found the chap. He managed with assistance to walk to the waiting ambulance, a lucky escape. I took a quick snap before realising a crowd had gathered all videoing the rescue on their phones, at that point I put mine away.
Another blank but a morning with a surprise ending.
I say deserted, not quite true, just one other person present and just my luck it was an angler in my favourite spot.?
I set up a couple of hundred yards away from him and over the next two hours hurtled everything out to sea bar the kitchen sink.
Not as much as a knock with no signs of activity for miles around. Like other places plenty of hot air though.
The other angler packed up at 8am looking as though he'd blanked, I swiftly moved into his spot and cast dangerously close to the rocks in hope of something, anything!
I'd had enough by 9am and the swimmers were starting to arrive. Time to head to my favourite beach side cafe for a much needed coffee. It's a mile along the coast and on arriving I found the place swarming with police and search and rescue workers. A lifeboat was making its way to the shore, I assumed it had picked up immigrants but I found out later from the cafe staff that they had just rescued a kayaker that had been missing since yesterday, A helicopter was searching overhead throughout the night but it was only shortly before I arrived that they found the chap. He managed with assistance to walk to the waiting ambulance, a lucky escape. I took a quick snap before realising a crowd had gathered all videoing the rescue on their phones, at that point I put mine away.
Another blank but a morning with a surprise ending.
Pete Shears
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Another early start at the local canal feeder reservoir to beat the heat - only one there, two method feeder rods out with immediate tweaks,beeps,etc as small fish pecked at the feeders.Four inch perch chasing my hook baits every time I reeled in to reload. The level still high for this time of year,plenty of perch chasing fry in and out of weed beds and right into the shallows. Managed to get four skimmers and one roach before it was getting too hot. A great white egret has turned up since my last visit and spent a few minutes watching a red kite circling over the field on the opposite bank.
Have not been fishing for a week or so due to having to remove carpets and decorate etc prior to having a wooden floor fitted. Just about ready for the fitting next week so was planning an early morning trip to my local stream to morrow. Had a notification through to due to the heat and to preserve stocks (particularly barbel) the fishery is closed. It makes sense really to many anglers are targeting barbel on the stretch with inadequate gear and thus playing fish to the point of exhaustion. Plenty to do still at home and of course can get in the brownie points for when I really need them.
Or even the autumn Alan. I think August for me is probably the worst month.
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The best thing about heatwaves like we are experiencing at the moment are the dawns and sunsets, temperatures cool to a comfortable tolerance and few people about.
I was on the beach at 5am this morning just me and a clipper on the horizon, waded out up to my privates, really enjoyable now the sea temperatures are rising. A few jellyfish about so was wary, not sure which ones sting, I'm sure to find out one day. Spent nearly a hour casting but nothing doing, thought I'd find some bass when a shoal of baitfish swam within yards of me, a sure sign things are hotting up, nobody seems to have told the bass yet!
HT is 10pm tonight, might venture out but there are rumbles of thunder in the distance, not promising.
I was on the beach at 5am this morning just me and a clipper on the horizon, waded out up to my privates, really enjoyable now the sea temperatures are rising. A few jellyfish about so was wary, not sure which ones sting, I'm sure to find out one day. Spent nearly a hour casting but nothing doing, thought I'd find some bass when a shoal of baitfish swam within yards of me, a sure sign things are hotting up, nobody seems to have told the bass yet!
HT is 10pm tonight, might venture out but there are rumbles of thunder in the distance, not promising.
Specihunter
Well-known member
Just went for some small perch, just to get my confidence back. So I had some fun and enjoyed watching my float
Ray Roberts
Well-known member
I’ve just stopped off for a couple of beers before I make my way home. I joined a new club last year and for the princely sum of £10 I can fish a really nice stretch of the river Eden and the club also has some sort of association with another club and we can fish their stretches and a couple of ponds too. I have just realised the couple of beers costs more than the over 65 membership.
Taking too much gear has always been a problem for me. This has now come to a head as I have had some knee and shoulder problems.
I made a box about eighteen years ago for roving. I was looking for something that would take my tackle and be okay to sit on. I saw the ideal box in a magazine and It looked just the ticket. I contacted the manufacturer for more information and a price as it wasn’t in the advert. The box was unbelievably expensive. I can’t remember exactly how much but it wasn’t far short of £400.00. I was in a job at the time that had a very well equipped workshop and the manufacturers kindly sent me a brochure and a set of plans. I couldn’t justify the purchase of the box but decided to make one. My best mate also wanted one so I made two. I didn’t make them exactly to the plans but to my spec. I dug it out of a cupboard today, cleaned it up and gave it a go.
The main problem is that usually you need something to put your gear in and to sit on. I have about six chairs the last one i bought is the most comfortable (Korum) but it weighs a ton. By the time you have this , a bag of some kind , a rod hold-all and a bag for the bait and food you are burdened so heavily, that if you were a donkey, being thrown off a Spanish church tower you would see it as an act of mercy.
Anyway perched on my new/old box I had a decent evening. I started about 6pm and fished through to just after 9pm. I started in the first swim which turned out to be less than three feet deep. I caught a fish a Chuck. I started with maggot on the float but the fish were pretty small. I started to use sweet corn and the fish were a better stamp. The best was a chub around 2.5lb. I moved a few swims down stream for the last half hour. This was a little deeper and I continued with sweet corn. Again it was a fish a Chuck and on the last cast I had a nice tench before packing up.
All in all a decent couple of hours.
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Taking too much gear has always been a problem for me. This has now come to a head as I have had some knee and shoulder problems.
I made a box about eighteen years ago for roving. I was looking for something that would take my tackle and be okay to sit on. I saw the ideal box in a magazine and It looked just the ticket. I contacted the manufacturer for more information and a price as it wasn’t in the advert. The box was unbelievably expensive. I can’t remember exactly how much but it wasn’t far short of £400.00. I was in a job at the time that had a very well equipped workshop and the manufacturers kindly sent me a brochure and a set of plans. I couldn’t justify the purchase of the box but decided to make one. My best mate also wanted one so I made two. I didn’t make them exactly to the plans but to my spec. I dug it out of a cupboard today, cleaned it up and gave it a go.
The main problem is that usually you need something to put your gear in and to sit on. I have about six chairs the last one i bought is the most comfortable (Korum) but it weighs a ton. By the time you have this , a bag of some kind , a rod hold-all and a bag for the bait and food you are burdened so heavily, that if you were a donkey, being thrown off a Spanish church tower you would see it as an act of mercy.
Anyway perched on my new/old box I had a decent evening. I started about 6pm and fished through to just after 9pm. I started in the first swim which turned out to be less than three feet deep. I caught a fish a Chuck. I started with maggot on the float but the fish were pretty small. I started to use sweet corn and the fish were a better stamp. The best was a chub around 2.5lb. I moved a few swims down stream for the last half hour. This was a little deeper and I continued with sweet corn. Again it was a fish a Chuck and on the last cast I had a nice tench before packing up.
All in all a decent couple of hours.
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Steve King
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Nice looking tench!
I will wait for the temperature to get back to something approaching normal before my next outing! I really can’t deal with this heat!
I will wait for the temperature to get back to something approaching normal before my next outing! I really can’t deal with this heat!
seth49
Well-known member
Decided to fish our other club water yesterday, it’s tree lined on the south side and half the pond is in shade for most of the day, arrived at 6 am with just one other member setting up, so I got the swim I fancied as it would be shaded and there’s a large patch of lilies in front and a smaller one in the left margin, started with my pole out to the lilies but the elastic allowed the first carp I hooked too go into the lilies, did get it out but decided to put my pole away, and fish my float rod and pin, so I could get them into open water quickly and avoid the lilies.
Fished a couple of baits, either mussel or six mm expander pellets which I had flavoured with banoffee liquid fished over 4 mm pellets, both worked with mussel seeming to be the best, caught steadily through the day a mixture of carp and tench, one of the tench was the golden one which I caught last year, lovely looking fish and it’s growing steadily.
Had a really good day, finished with thirteen carp between five and eight pounds, and five tench just over a pound each, also I caught them on a float I made myself from a Canada goose feather, a good day which was spoilt by dropping my camera in the water as I was packing up, it’s currently in a container filled with rice, for the next five days when hopefully it might work again, I do find I’m prone to dropping things more as I get older, so no photos today as this happened.
Fished a couple of baits, either mussel or six mm expander pellets which I had flavoured with banoffee liquid fished over 4 mm pellets, both worked with mussel seeming to be the best, caught steadily through the day a mixture of carp and tench, one of the tench was the golden one which I caught last year, lovely looking fish and it’s growing steadily.
Had a really good day, finished with thirteen carp between five and eight pounds, and five tench just over a pound each, also I caught them on a float I made myself from a Canada goose feather, a good day which was spoilt by dropping my camera in the water as I was packing up, it’s currently in a container filled with rice, for the next five days when hopefully it might work again, I do find I’m prone to dropping things more as I get older, so no photos today as this happened.
wetthrough
Well-known member
Spent yesterday on a club pool @mikench knows well. One of the few places you can get out of the sun for most of the day. You've seen it before but this is taken from the south end. You usually see it from the west, the first few pegs on the left. Come about 11am at the latest and the sun is behind the trees.
Started off quite well picking up reasonable Roach and Rudd. With the odd Perch thrown in for good measure to Maggot. Not much interest in caster just a few.
Around Midday the Rudd started taking sweetcorn and meat quite aggressively on an 18s so switched to a 16s which allowed me to put on a bit bigger piece of meat, a 6mm cube. Next cast a Bream of around 41/2lb.
Ended up with 32, a mixed bag of Roach and Rudd to around 8oz and two Bream of 4:5lb. Didn't see or hear anyone else catching until a late arrival on the pole about 5 pegs away on my right. He had two giving his red elastic a right good old stretch, not sure whether he landed them both, the second went in the net. Appeared to be just placing bread at aboout 2' deep by the many Carp that were cruising around.
Started off quite well picking up reasonable Roach and Rudd. With the odd Perch thrown in for good measure to Maggot. Not much interest in caster just a few.
Around Midday the Rudd started taking sweetcorn and meat quite aggressively on an 18s so switched to a 16s which allowed me to put on a bit bigger piece of meat, a 6mm cube. Next cast a Bream of around 41/2lb.
Ended up with 32, a mixed bag of Roach and Rudd to around 8oz and two Bream of 4:5lb. Didn't see or hear anyone else catching until a late arrival on the pole about 5 pegs away on my right. He had two giving his red elastic a right good old stretch, not sure whether he landed them both, the second went in the net. Appeared to be just placing bread at aboout 2' deep by the many Carp that were cruising around.
markcw
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I had a run up to Newlands yesterday to see how it was fishing, The carp lake is taped off due to weed problem, I didn't bother checking the lagoon.
The two I do fish Surmans and Bents, had plenty of fish on top swimming about and a few rolling.
There was no one on Bents and 3 blokes on Surmans,
Two of these had not caught and the other had had a couple of bream on the feeder.
I only went up to see in case I fancied a few hours around teatime or today.
But noticing that nothing was doing and that one of the regulars who knows nearly every peg was absent and had packed up early a few days ago after blanking made my mind up to give it a miss.
Lodge Farm is a possibility tomorrow if the Thames at Sandford s not to good, That's a visit later to see.
The two I do fish Surmans and Bents, had plenty of fish on top swimming about and a few rolling.
There was no one on Bents and 3 blokes on Surmans,
Two of these had not caught and the other had had a couple of bream on the feeder.
I only went up to see in case I fancied a few hours around teatime or today.
But noticing that nothing was doing and that one of the regulars who knows nearly every peg was absent and had packed up early a few days ago after blanking made my mind up to give it a miss.
Lodge Farm is a possibility tomorrow if the Thames at Sandford s not to good, That's a visit later to see.
markcw
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Can't beat a bit of dobbing with bread or other baits on the pole Gordon.
They either want it or they don't, Good sport if the do.But can be a wait and see game.
Brilliant looking water and a good catch in hot conditions .
Nice to get chub and tench from the same stretch - I'd say a tenner well spent.I’ve just stopped off for a couple of beers before I make my way home. I joined a new club last year and for the princely sum of £10 I can fish a really nice stretch of the river Eden and the club also has some sort of association with another club and we can fish their stretches and a couple of ponds too. I have just realised the couple of beers costs more than the over 65 membership.
Taking too much gear has always been a problem for me. This has now come to a head as I have had some knee and shoulder problems.
I made a box about eighteen years ago for roving. I was looking for something that would take my tackle and be okay to sit on. I saw the ideal box in a magazine and It looked just the ticket. I contacted the manufacturer for more information and a price as it wasn’t in the advert. The box was unbelievably expensive. I can’t remember exactly how much but it wasn’t far short of £400.00. I was in a job at the time that had a very well equipped workshop and the manufacturers kindly sent me a brochure and a set of plans. I couldn’t justify the purchase of the box but decided to make one. My best mate also wanted one so I made two. I didn’t make them exactly to the plans but to my spec. I dug it out of a cupboard today, cleaned it up and gave it a go.
The main problem is that usually you need something to put your gear in and to sit on. I have about six chairs the last one i bought is the most comfortable (Korum) but it weighs a ton. By the time you have this , a bag of some kind , a rod hold-all and a bag for the bait and food you are burdened so heavily, that if you were a donkey, being thrown off a Spanish church tower you would see like an act of mercy.
Anyway perched on my new/old box I had a decent evening. I started about 6pm and fished through to just after 9pm. I started in the first swim which turned out to be less than three feet deep. I caught a fish a Chuck. I started with maggot on the float but the fish were pretty small. I started to use sweet corn and the fish were a better stamp. The best was a chub around 2.5lb. I moved a few swims down stream for the last half hour. This was a little deeper and I continued with sweet corn. Again it was a fish a Chuck and on the last cast I had a nice tench before packing up.
All in all a decent couple of hours.
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