How did you get on?

[S-Kippy]

Me and the Big Feller have been threatening to get out for some time now. We were going to Bury Hill today but with strong winds forecast the BF suddenly found a few jobs to do and talked me out of it.

I was sat there doing nothing when I thought " *******s....I'm going" so I threw my gear in the car and charged off round a strangely benign M25.

The lake was deserted so for once I could get in one of my favourite areas.True to the forecast it was blowing an absolute hooly and was alternately bright sun or pouring rain. Not good. 3 blokes turned up after lunch and for a second I thought I was going to be surrounded but they buqqered off down the far end. I was hoping they werent staying on after dark but no such luck.

The only thing that happened all afternoon was my brolly turning itself inside out no less than 4 times ! Not even a single bleep until 4-15 when the LH rod was away right out of the blue. The culprit was a very small zander of not much more than about 1-4 but a blank saver none the less. Another squally downpour at dusk then the wind dropped completely and the lake was like glass. This is never good at OBH and so it proved.

Meanwhile the 3 Amigos were driving me insane with their constant yakking and Gazzillion candle power headtorches which they kept shining on me. What is it with these idiots ? Why do you need a light on permanently ? Its just not necessary and incredibly inconsiderate.

Full dark came and went without a single bleep then at 6-30 off goes the RH rod and a slightly bigger fish of around 3lb. Next chuck I had a " half way up" which I probably should have struck but didn't. By 7-30 I'd had no more interest and the idiots up the bank were really pi$$ing me off but I thought I'd rebait and see if the " 10 to 8" mugfish was around. Sure enough at exactly ( I kid you not) 7-50 away goes the RH rod again and its the best fish of the session though still unremarkable at around 4-8.

The 3 Stooges were walking off as I was putting this one back so didn't get the frank exchange of views I was planning.

And that was it. I'd have taken a brace when I set off so I can't really complain about 3 fish from 3 and a half runs though the size was very disappointing. I'd have enjoyed it more if those goons had left their head torches at home and they learned to sit still for longer than 5 minutes.

A pox on them.

 

[103841]

Is Bury Hill now a membership only venue Skip?

I remember fishing it as a young teenager back in the seventies and the owner, Graham Rowles I think, wasn’t someone you messed with, can’t imagine him putting up with the behaviour of those louts.

 

[S-Kippy]

No...not yet but will be soon. Though you can still get a day ticket this year a membership scheme was introduced which cost £25 for the season. This gets you various privileges ( like being able to stay on after dark) and a discount on your day permit. Its not a lot but I fish it quite a bit in the spring for crucians and the winter for zander so I probably just about get me £25 back. What the future holds who knows as the current owner is having a house built where the old boathouse was and it seems likely one or more ( or part) of the banks will be off limits once the house is finished

Needless to say if the rumours are true then you wont be able to fish the best bits of the Old Lake and that which is left is very shallow and a bloody long walk from the car park. Might well be the end of my zander odyssey though the fishing has been going downhill for a few seasons now. The bigger zander just dont show snymore...either dead or bait shy. An alleged 17 pounder came out before Christmas but I've seen the pics and so have my mate Big Dave who has seen a few big zeds and he doesnt think its anywhere near 17lb....and I have to agree.

The current owner is David De Vere who I dont think is that interested in the fishing. He's been running the place down for years now.

Its all very odd. It would be a shame if the place was lost as its a lovely setting and, on its day, can offer superb sport.

 

[peter crabtree]

Nice colour and flow on the canalised river Gade this morning.
Would I get a bite today I wondered as I set up a light waggler on my Normark microlight 12’.
First run down the middle on punch and to my surprise the float lifted, I reacted and first roach was in the net.

Feeding the odd nugget of liquy kept them coming along with some skimmers and hybrids.
Had a great 5 hours fishing punch before they switched off at 2:30, which is usually the case here.

More than happy with that......

 

[mikench]

I would be too!

 

[108831]

Been today in howling wind,fished feeder and had three bream,nine roach and two dace,at least I was getting odd bites through the day. In the morning I looked upstream on the lookout for scullers when I saw an otter bumbling across the path,look at the two foot plus drop into the water and splosh,a whirl of the tail and gone,at three it returned from downstream,leaving a trail of bubbles to a point thirty yards upstream upon surfacing it watched me(watching it)as it swam to an island,where no doubt it had a holt.

 

[Tee-Cee]

I won't keep you too long with this.....

Enjoyed a lovely morning out in the fresh air yesterday, making my first cast at 8am. As other fresh air fiends have noted it was blowing a hooley, not continuously but more in strong squally gusts which at times had my Ultralight bent round in a curve, unfortunately not matched by any roach of note. In the end I was forced to bury the rod tip a foot under the water to keep the long, bodied float under control.
Within an hour I had hooked and landed a 3lb carp and lost another of some size as it took off across the lake and kept going! That was two hooks to the bad....
The next hour produced another carp of some 5lbs and, lo and behold, a solitary roach some 7" long. From that point on I fished with renewed vigour, stupidly thinking it was one of a shoal about to feed for a couple of hours. I was to be disappointed as all I caught was yet another carp of 4lbs or so.

I was pleased to see small roach topping out in the middle and I changed my rig several times to hopefully accommodate fish feeding well up in the water, but they didn't want to know. I even cast well out into wind ruffled water thinking they might be more confident about feeding (it's worked in the past!) and although I had one or two dips of the hard to see float, I failed to catch............

At 1pm, making a cast, I caught the edge of bush (wind blown, on-the-drop with No10/8 shot not easy to control in a near gale...) and I ended up with the mother and father of a 'birds nest' tightly wrapped around the rod tip! It took scissors to cut it loose and with ire rising I decided to give up and head off home to enjoy a bit of rugby, and a decent lunch.

In hindsight, I don't think I could've done anymore to tempt the roach and the whole morning had me thinking they were about to feed. In giving thought to my tactics last night (the tele was boring) and the fact that I varied my approach to find them leaves me thinking this coming week will see them a little more active, but it will be a slow process...
I intend being on the bank at least three times beginning tomorrow, and I can't wait!

(Sorry, I still managed to prattle on a bit....)

 

[Pete Shears]

A trip to the local reservoir yesterday for pike soon turned into another bird watching expedition with no runs whatsoever,the only time I had a beep from the alarms was when a gust of wind caught the rod tips.
Still two colleagues suffered the same fate,the strong wind and rain having coloured up the water.
Two pied wagtails kept me company all day,saw red kite,buzzard,bullfinch,over 25 goosander,six cormorants,a great white egret and its smaller cousin,herons,mallard,teal as well as crow,magpie & rook.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Who needs fishing......

 

[Pete Shears]

Scraping ice off the windscreen this morning then off to the upper Soar - a bit high was understating it but staying at home only guarantees a blank.Set up on a bend with crust on the hook and liquidised bread in the feeder,only had signs of interest when I switched to worm and had a chub of 2lb 4oz.
A song thrush high in an ash tree on the old railway embankment was just louder than the traffic on the main road and also spotted two goldfinches on teasels as well as great tits,blue tits & long tailed tits in the undergrowth.No more bites so moved upstream and had a dace of around 8oz on legered worm which a scar across its throat - cormorant damage but it fought well in the fast current.
Two buzzards circling the farm buildings in the distance when moving upstream yet again but despite two further moves no more bites on anything - crust,flake,cheese paste or worm.

 

[john step]

A lovely sunny warmer day for a change. I just wanted bites after a fishing famine.
I tried two waters on a club complex and could not get a bite.

Moved to a third which is deeper and started getting roach straight away. I had about a dozen and 4 interloper mirrors.

Saw buzzards. Got a facial suntan and came away happy.

 

[mikench]

It's at times like this that I am relieved I am unable to use a keep net! What a lovely day, warm sunshine at times, no wind and not really cold until mid afternoon! I had 22 fish all roach bar one bream. The former were all caught on maggot and the latter on corn! I floatfished! The first roach was a lovely fish around 12 oz and I didn't take a photo thinking many more of a similar size would inevitably follow! That and the bream were the only fish warranting a landing net!

It was nice to be out without freezing ones nuts off and being blown away! I spent an hour spinning for perch and pike but no response. I enjoyed the practice however and shall resume tomorrow at a different venue as the weather looks promising!

 

[no-one in particular]

Not much to say about yesterday, not a serious fish, not been for about 3 months and just wanted some fresh air and not been too well so hoping it might do me some good, which it did.
Couldn't get any lug, only salted for £6 so I settled for squid at £2. Prefer fresh lug, salted not much good and squid can be hit or miss.
Light wind and sea so settled for the carp rod and 2oz weight and a 3 hook trace. The camera tripod was good as a rest, that worked out well. But not a sausage, not even a twinkle, no little Whiting which there was a plague of before Christmas. Could be the bait but the sea had that dead feel about it so, didnt stay very long, nice day but still cold.
Loads of flocks of Curlews about and what looked like two big grebes out at sea about 500 yds away, couldn't quite make out what they were and couldnt get a picture but looked like Great Crested, never seen them in the sea before, but one picture of the Curlews albeit poor. The nature always compensates for a poor day I reckon.
Except the sea gulls circling above my head like vultures waiting to pounce on my bait grrrr, they are not nature, not natural. I was watching one trying to swallow a dead flatfish in a car park the other day, must have been there for months, covered in grit and engine oil.
Roll on the spring, better health, and fish.

 

[nottskev]

I'd missed the best days for the marina on the river - it had already gone down a foot and the colour was dropping out, but it seemed as good a place as any to try. I was up in time for an early start, but the ice on the windscreen and the white grass killed that idea off. Still, the swim I chose when I eventually got there had plenty to go at



With 12' in the open water and 10' right next to the moored boats, I wanted to try out the floats I'd made for light sliders as replacements for my disintegrating discontinued Drennans



The floats worked fine, and took what I'd hoped/guestimated - 2aaa,I bb, 3 no8. The fish were the problem! Usually here, they come to your feed and you can catch in one spot all afternoon. Today they didn't want to congregate - no idea why, no pike attacked the net or any fish. Instead you had to catch a few here, a few there, and I can't remember when I last had a plummet on so often.

The first fish of the day, a perch, was probably the biggest - and it came off at the net. The second biggest was also a perch



And a few of the bigger roach turned up



I got a bit tired of chasing fish around the swim, and set up a pole to fish for perch with chopped worm in groundbait next to the nearest boat. That didn't work at all, and it's the second time I've tried it, with the same result! The best way to catch perch here seems to be to fish for roach.

I'd taken some frozen tares with me - found behind some oven chips - and these caught a few nice roach, but for some reason - maybe they'd been defrosted and re-frozen etc - the majority were useless much. Still, noted for next time.

In the end it was nice to get a few bites, but it was all a bit random

 

[mikench]

I just got a pair! Not blanks but two consecutive days fishing without one!!! I could just stop there but won't! I had no plans to go fishing until er indoors suggested i go as she had friends coming! I think my flask was filled and butty made in 5 minutes!

I set out to an area where I have 5 waters all within a mile so I headed to this one being the furthest away on the basis that I could then turn back and try the others!



This water suffers from a drop in water levels in the summer exacerbated by a drought! Last October it looked really sad with water levels at least 4' below that I saw today! As I was there and it looked ok I thought why not!

I caught 8 carp , 5 mirror and 3 common all around the 5 lb Mark but one common, which I weighed as it put up a real fight, of 9lb!

It was colder than it looked in a stiff breeze but enjoyable non the less! I only packed up when my last cast with a clipped up length landed in a tree on the opposite bank!!! How can that occur; one will never know!

All were caught on spam with a dose of F1 liquid which I used to great effect last year! An enjoyable day!

 

[103841]

I fished the Stour through Fordwich today armed with a lure rod, net and shoulder bag.

No fish
No takes
No pics
No feel good factor.

It was a nice walk though and I got to meet at least four anglers trying their luck on the river either trotting or on the tip, they were not having much joy either with a few small roach and bream the only captures, none had any pike following their catches in unlike two weeks ago when it was a follow in every fish.

A worthwhile trip anyway as I plan to spend time trotting for roach on Thursday and wasn’t sure where to go, I now know, Grove Ferry.

Highlight of the short trip was seeing a buzzard soaring just a few yards from my house, that’s a first!

 

[Pete Shears]

A fantastic sunrise over the frosty fields this morning as I made my way to the river Wreake.Two hares some seventy yards away looked up and then ignored me completely.Level was up and the water coloured but staying at home guarantees a blank.A large bird took off from the top of an ash tree - a bloody cormorant,still it didn't come back.Settled down to fish where it would normally be shallow enough for the farmer to drive straight across in a Land Rover,being a foot up and off the main flow it looked ideal.First cast with legered crust - a chub of 3lb 9oz then nothing,absolutely nothing - flake,punch,worm and cheese paste tried to no avail.Moved upstream to fish the deeper pool.There was a massive tangle of broken branches swirling round and round,eventually snagging the bank.I ended up hauling it all out,it was fifteen feet long.Legering crust had a chub of 1lb 6oz and then as before,nothing.A kestrel flew by and there were two buzzards in the distance and a white egret had been patrolling the banks all morning.Left about 11am to stock up at the local tackle shop with worms.

 

[S-Kippy]

Me and the Big Feller tried something different today. An attempt to catch a big stillwater roach from a club water known to contain the odd good un.

Not a terribly good start by getting lost and clearly that was an omen as we packed several hours later in full dark neither of us having had a bite. TBH we picked a rubbish day, bright sun and chilly wind plus clearing sky at dusk meaning temp dropped and a big moon. Sounds like a list of excuses which I suppose it is.

Oddly enough I quite enjoyed it. The damned things are in there so I wont be giving up just yet.

 

[Tee-Cee]

Conditions looked to be dead right yesterday morning - 6 degrees, a gentle breeze coming from the south west and a lake devoid of people....
I set up in a familiar swim where I could sit well back and single fished red maggot to a 22, a method that usually produces a few roach. Nothing after an hour, not even a single dip of the float! I changed the set up slightly and fished over depth further out but still I couldn't buy a bite. Bigger hook, three maggots - still nothing..

Then our friendly bailiff came past for a chat and he told me another fisherman fishing the other side of the water and equally frustrated and as a last resort, had tried very deep water two rod lengths out, fishing maggots on a slider. Result was two small roach hardly worthy of the name, BUT it was fish and they were roach!
The bailiff moved off (I thanked him profusely for the info) and I immediately searched the float box for a slider float and within 10 minutes I was ready to go. All fingers and thumbs in trying to tie the slider knot (I don't like 'stops') and I was aware that a slider knot on unsuitable 2lb main line wasn't the best so I took my time and barely tighten the knot.

Second cast (into 15' of water) and the float dipped once, before sailing away. Strike, and I'm attached to a bloody carp of some 4lbs, followed by another of 6lbs five minutes later, followed by yet another of unimaginable size as it was out in the middle of the water in seconds, before coming off. Just as well. as it was hard enough engulfing the 6lb'er into the pan landing net!

I lost another later on and although changing the set up yet again I failed to catch a roach. Very disappointing, considering the conditions..................

On the way home I did think "perhaps I should set out to catch carp"...Where the roach disappear to beyond me1

Out again on Friday. (Very pleased I didn't go this morning as we have a very solid ground frost and low, heavy mist in the Chilterns.)

 

[mikench]

On the way home I did think "perhaps I should set out to catch carp"...Where the roach disappear to beyond me1

A very good plan Tony! It's the second principle of Murphy's law and works in many other contexts such as setting off for an appointment, train or plane and giving yourself an hour to get there and it takes 10 minutes. The converse is the 1st principle!

I have often gone for roach on maggot on size 18 and 2lb hooklength only to catch( get snapped off) by a carp! I gear up and catch nothing!