The Occasional Angler

Audio slideshow: The Eel Man of the Fens

2010-08-24T10:59:00.000+01:00

Audio slideshow: The Eel Man of the Fens.

Peter Carter's family has been eel fishing in the Cambridgeshire Fens for the past 500 years.

The 45-year-old, from Outwell, near Wisbech, believes he may be England's only remaining eel catcher who makes and uses traditional willow traps.

Mr Carter has been working with the Environment Agency to help stem the decline of eels in UK waters and is concerned for the future of his family's traditional way of life.

Taken from the BBC website.

August Bank Holiday - Bishops Bowl nr Leamington

2010-08-19T09:36:00.002+01:00

With very few free days to rest let alone go fishing in the middle of wedding season - I noticed that Bank holiday Monday was free - "I'm going fishing" was the statement I made to Kate and paused for the refusal... I was greeted by silence... I checked if she had heard me which she had and subsequently approved my request!

After searching the Fisheries.co.uk website for a variation in location, I narrowed down the choice to either Weston Lawns or Bishops Bowl, both within 30 minutes drive of Coventry. After feedback from Jeff on his preference on venues I have opted for Bishops Bowl. My reasoning is the appeal of the rather wild and uncharted Green Hill lake.

I have managed to tempt my Dad along for the day, he retired nearly twelve months ago and I think he needs to go fishing!

I would appreciate any knowledge or advice about tactics/bait etc. I even found a post about barbel being present - true or false? If any one wants to join us we plan to be there about 8-8:30am Bank Holiday Monday (30/8/10).

Bank Holiday Fishing Plans

2010-08-10T10:58:00.000+01:00

Just wondered if the cov/warks bloggers had any plans for the bank holiday Monday coming up? Thought it might be fun to meet up and get a few hours of fishing in somewhere local? Any suggestions/takers?

Reels

2010-08-05T16:23:00.002+01:00

Fixed Spool Reels:

Ryobi Target XR350.

This is my main reel for feeder fishing, it has a mammoth capacity taking over 350 yards of 15 lb line. I use 4 lb line with plenty of 8 lb backing line. This is fantastic for distance casting and has a rear drag system.

Abu Garcia Enticer.

This is a new addition and yet unused addition to my kit. I wanted a second spool for the Ryobi but with a price tag of over £20 I opted for a secondhand reel (which actually came with a spare spool). Not as well constructed as the Ryobi however the rear drag is more robust. Fitted out with 4 and 8 lb lines.

Closed Faced Reels:

DAM Quick CFM

Given to me by one of my fishing mentors in my early escapades, this reel has served me well and worked perfectly even after 15 years of being sat in the shed. Made in West Germany indicates its age but those Germans certainly know how to build a quality product! This lives up to its nickname of 'the coffee grinder' with its distinctive noise made from its geared innards. I can't fault it! Loaded with 4.4 lb Drennan float line

Abu 501

I haven't pictured this as I need to drop it back to my Dad so he can start to enjoy his retirement. A quality little Abu closed faced reel - need I say more?

Best celebration ever in football

2010-07-29T15:38:00.000+01:00

Leeds canal closure

2010-07-26T12:46:00.000+01:00

From BBC website:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-10758843

Nearly half of Britain's longest man-made canal will close next week as extreme drought conditions continue in parts of Britain.

The Leeds to Liverpool canal will be partially closed by British Waterways unless water supplies improve.

British Waterways say they have no choice but to shut the canal, but it is a move that will have an effect on local businesses.

Remembering your lines!

2010-07-21T14:12:00.000+01:00

I noticed during my last fishing session that my reel line is getting a little tired and needs to be replaced. I normally carry two reels in my bag, a DAM 'coffee grinder' closed faced reel with Drennan 4.4lb float fish line and a Ryobi open faced reel with Maxima 8lb line. These particular brands were an automatic choice for me as they were what I used in my formative piscatorial years. However I wanted to take this opportunity to open the discussion to the blogging community for any recommendations or suggestions.

Has line technology improved over the last 15 years? Are the older lines still popular due to the fishing community being stuck in their ways or doe the old adage stand true - if it ain't broke don't fix it?

I am being torn between Daiwa Sensor and the Maxima for my ledgering requirements - does anyone currently use this?

Your comments will be most welcome!

Kev

Catching The Impossible - Channel 4

2010-07-07T11:55:00.000+01:00

Last sunday whilst grabbing some breakfast before heading off to a wedding shoot I caught a few minutes of 'Catching The Impossible' on Channel 4. The program sets a challenge weight for each species for Martin (nephew to John Wilson?) to catch, this episode resulted in a 1.5 pound dace being landed - just 3oz shy of the UK record!

Narrated By Bernard Cribbins the program has a very British pace to it unlike other current fishing programs! I remember Bernard doing the voice over for a Passion for Angling in the early 1990's which featured Chris Yates and Bob James getting into various piscatorial scrapes.

It's on again this sunday at 6.55am - I'm away in Paris shooting a wedding but I have set the V-box to record the series.

Warwickshire Avon, Saxon Mill

2010-07-05T16:16:00.001+01:00

Here's a quick post with the photos from my last trip to Saxon Mill a few weeks ago. Things are very busy for me at the moment with my day job and the photography business taking off so I'm working pretty much a 7 day week at the moment! For more details on the day read Jeff's post. I used this first trip of the season to practice waggler fishing which resulted in a 4 pound bag of dace and chubb from above the weir. I have never really done much waggler fishing but found the technique interesting and will be my focus for this season when I get chance to go fishing that is!! Here's the pics:

The Art of War - er no - Worm Fishing by Alexander Mackie

2010-06-25T09:32:00.000+01:00

I have made a purchase of a first addition c1912 of the Art of Worm Fishing by Alexander Mackie. It was worth a bid for £5 on ebay! Hopefully it will make interesting reading! I shall keep you informed. Amazon are selling reprinted paperbacks here: The Art of Worm-Fishing: A Practical Treatise on Clear-Water Worming [ 1912 ]

Coventry & Oxford Canal Exhibition @ the Herbert Gallery

2010-06-24T09:43:00.001+01:00

From 26 June until 30 August, the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum will welcome its new FREE exhibition An Inland Voyage: Life on the Coventry and Oxford Canals displaying a snapshot of local heritage through photography from years gone by.

An Inland Voyage reveals the remarkable photographic archive of Coventry factory worker, Robert Longden. During the late 1940s and early 1950s he documented an intimate history of a working life now long gone.

For more information follow this link:

http://www.activcoventry.com/community/detail/LIFEONTHECOVENTRYCANAL-6948.html

UK Fishing Directory

2010-06-15T15:44:00.001+01:00

UK Fishing Directory - Midlands

Came across this directory - looks like an extensive list of places to fish across the UK - lots in the local area included

Waggler fishing with James Robbins on the Avon @ Stratford

2010-06-15T15:35:00.002+01:00

Possible poisoning at the canal basin?

2010-06-04T10:08:00.002+01:00

I visited my wife at her photo studio yesterday at the Coventry canal basin warehouse and took a few minutes to look for signs of fish. Things were looking promising with shoals of roach easily passing the 1.5 pounds mark basking in the sunshine and grazing on the odd bit of bread crust from the moored canal boats.

After a few minutes I spotted a dead roach on the surface around the 9 oz mark - there were no signs of damage or disease - then across the cut I spotted another and another. I walked the length of the basin an counted about a dozen fish - mostly roach - dead on the surface! Then amongst the surface debris a unidentifiably fish of around 4 - 5 pounds in the same state as the others. This one had signs on damage as it was missing most of it's head but one thing struck me about all the fish - they were bent over double - is this a sign that the fish were in distress when they died? Maybe poisoning? There were no signs on diesel in the canal - I was wondering if any one had heard of a contamination problem recently?

Carp-turing on camera!

2010-05-17T16:00:00.003+01:00

One of my work colleagues has just shown me a fantastic photo of a french angler battling with a 33lb carp. Thought I'd share it with you and a link to the article on the Guardian website: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/picture/2010/apr/26/eyewitness-montpellier-france-fishing-carp

Harry Codini

2010-03-22T11:41:00.002Z

On Sunday I took part in the Cod fishing challenge from Grimsby/Cleethorpes with my dad and uncle Ben. Ben works at the marina and has a lovely boat called the 'Coastal Surveyor'.

This was my first sea fishing trip on a boat and a return to my birthplace of Grimsby. I hadn't been back for years and the first time I would get to see what was left of the world famous fishing docks. As a kid I followed the mighty mariners - Grimsby Town FC, experiencing their rise to the old second division. Unfortunately both the football club and the docks are on the verge of disappearing for good - one about to drop out of the football league and the other barely noticeable - there are only a handful of boats left.

The cod season was also suffering- reports were of a terrible season being made worse by a strange red seaweed. Ben had tested his boat a few weeks before with my Dad on the river Humber - out of four boats only 3 fish were caught - pretty poor for a once fertile cod spot - a prime example of over fishing.

We arrived at the dock with the sun shining, greeted by Uncle Ben and a boat fully stocked with rods, bait and sandwiches ready for the off. There were 40 boats sailing from the marina and another 30 or so launching from the beach at Cleethorpes. Our chosen spot would be towards the North shore of the Humber heading due north from the dock gates. The radio was ablaze with banter and safety announcements from the other anglers and organisers - a re-assuring sound as this was my first trip on a smaller craft and the professionalism of the organisation was excellent.

The fishing was going to be an epic affair - 10.30 am start and a 6.00 pm finish. Rules allowed two rods per person with two hooks per rod, our bait selection was squid and black lug worm. Ben had rigged the rods with a variation of patternoisters and straight ledgering. The river had a heavy flow, with the tide due to turn around 2 pm we settled down to fish.

We watched the boat traffic pass by, holding on to the side when larger vessels came down the nearby deep water channel, waiting for the cod to turn on.

The radio was a good gauge of the other competitors, most hadn't had a bite which would be the general theme for the whole match. There were reports of a few fish around the 6lb mark. The fishing was so bad we got excited at catching the odd crab.

The fishing was slow, not even a bite, we waited for the tide to turn to see if our luck would change. A large cargo ship passed by which prompted Dad to recall how many fish he had caught course fishing when boat traffic had churned the swim up - cue the only bite of the day!

Dad landed a 4.5lb cod, the blank was saved for the boat!

There was very little to report for the rest of the day as the fishing was very poor, Ben and I didn't even register a bite! The sight of all the craft retuning to port was a heart warming specticle. The winning fish weighed in at 12lb winning £1600 for the angler from Boston. A local write up can be found here. The sportgrimsby website has a video of the boats launching from the beach.

Anker's away!

2010-03-09T22:22:00.002Z

Jeff and I headed off after seeing the ladies on their way to work at the NEC on Saturday morning. As per usual I probed Jeff for the lowdown on todays location and tactics. I had taken 10 minutes the night before to check out the website for the farm the so I quizzed Jeff about the weir detailed as one of the attractions, "What weir?" Jeff replied, this is when I hoped I had read up on the right place.
Once we had secured our day tickets we headed off to the start of the permitted fishing on the River Sence, we were greeted with the River being at least 3 feet lower than Jeff's encounter less then two weeks earlier. We walked the two fields closest to the farm buildings to scout for a starting point, we were amazed to find as little as 10-12 inches of fast flowing water with fresh streamer weed patches - quite early in the year we both thought! The water was crystal clear and was being powered by a small weir further up the by the road bridge - it looks perfect for game fish, but what about the the course fish?

I setup a float rod to try and battle against the flow but was soon to write this off due to the rapid changes in the bed depth and hidden reed beds. We moved to different pegs down a half mile stretch to try and get the best from this shallow river, after about an hour of perseverance we decided to move to the confluence of the Sence and Anker in search of deeper water. This brought us to a spot known as King Dick's Hole, an 'S' shape section about 7 meters across with plenty of room for trotting round both bends. I put a sleeper rod out with a maggot laden feeder try double my chances for the first bite of the day. Jeff was getting a few enquiries but nothing positive, possibly roach nibbling the end of the bait. A couple of lure fishermen turned up on the opposite bank which cut short our attempts at this spot.

Still no fish!

After negotiating a rickety fence and a drainage ditch, we accessed the Anker another half mile further down stream, the river had gained at least 3 feet in depth and turned darker in color. Out went the feeder, bring on the fish!

I waited, the lure fishermen passed by, I waited, the lure fishermen came back,

All of a sudden there was activity from Jeff's peg, I ran to perform landing net duties - fish on! After a good fight a large shape loomed from the murk - A nice chub made it's way to the landing net - it barely fitted in Jeff's landing net! After the usual pomp and ceremony of unhooking and photo op it weighed in at just under the 4lb mark - in lovely condition! After returning the fish to the swim we moved further down stream.

We stopped at what looked like an old mill pool - as Jeff remarked - it looked very 'chubby'. The possibility of a blank was looming on the cards as it was now mid afternoon.

By now I had put the float rod away and settled on the feeder approach. I opted for a mashed bread and maggot cocktail in the feeder with a bunch of mixed maggots on a size ten hook. It after the third cast the rod tip twitched, I had been battling against the flow of the river all day so I almost put it down to the feeder slipping - until it went again!

I connected to a fish! Now to land it!

Jeff came to my aide with the landing net and hoisted the fish from the water. It was a chub, it looked a good size - I was nervous as Jeff weighed it - in my head the drums rolled - would it be over a pound? "2lb 9oz" Jeff said, I was so excited (can you tell?)! My biggest fish since my return to fishing!

A safe return to the water a few pegs away and back to the fishing. I was still getting over from the adrenaline rush when the rod tip went again, fish on! I tweaked the clutch as this felt like a better fish and I only had 4lb line as my hook length. the fish was landed, and looked in top condition.

Jeff weighed the chub in at 3lb 2oz, cue the happy angler photo #2

After a few more casts we headed back towards the farm to try the Sence again for more chub with no avail! The day had resulted in 3 bites and 3 fish - a long day for just a few bites but a 100% hit rate and a very happy angler!

Is it a sign?

2010-03-05T12:20:00.001Z

Last night I dreamt of a 10 pound bream - is it foresight for the weekend? or just my wishful subconscious?

Sence and sence-ability!?

2010-03-02T12:59:00.002Z

Yes I know... it's been a very very long time!

Let's see, I've moved house, decorated most of it, been to New York, helped with my wife's wedding business, Christmas and so on!

Excuses these may be but time consuming they were/are. I have a weekend available to grab a bit of fishing thanks to Judy and Ruth helping Kate out at the National Wedding Show at the NEC this weekend. I will do my duty by building the stand on Thursday afternoon to give a clear weekend for a bit of R&R.

Jeff has suggested a trip to the River Sence after his last exploits at the weekend so I'm up for it. I'm still awaiting 'the big one' from my return to fishing from over a decade' break (that is a fish over a pound) and with Jeff getting some nice small chub in tough flood conditions I have the hunger to drown a few maggots again!

Watch this space... and keep your fingers crossed please!

http://www.mythefarm.co.uk/fishing.htm

Saturdays big fish folly

2009-09-25T09:18:00.002+01:00

On Saturday Jeff and I are revisiting Anchor Meadows in my quest of a decent fish. Our last visit produced Jeff's P.B. Barbel weighing in at 9 Lb. With my new John Wilson Avon Quiver itching to catch some fish and Jeff's promise of it's caliber with good sized quarry, we're off at 6 am for a full day!

I will be stripping my gear down to bear essentials and might add a new quiver rod bag to my inventory to aid my mobility. Jeff and I had a interesting beer fueled debate about the finess of hook sizes last night so I'm off to the tackle shop to purchase whale harpoon scale hooks - to me that's anything over a size 16!

I might take time out to investigate these interesting circular marks in the meadow next to the stretch we're fishing - I'll get Jeff's opinion on these as he is an expert (retired) metal detectionist.

90% of eel population may of gone form our rivers

2009-09-17T14:22:00.002+01:00

Interesting news story from the BBC this week

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8258367.stm

New Kit to my arsenal!

2009-09-16T14:02:00.002+01:00

Time to ditch the seat box and heavy wooden tackle box for a lighter approach. With thanks to my wonderful wife Kate - I am the new owner of a Korum tackle/bait bag. This has several pockets/compartments to fit all my gear and bait in and with the addition of a small camping stool I will be well on my way in keeping a bad back at bay!

Also I have added a John Wilson Avon/quiver system rod to my kit. All the feeder rods I had were around the 9 ft mark - perfect for Lincoln fens/drains - not so good for big rivers. I have read good reviews on this rod and when Jeff told me he had one and couldn't fault it I was sold! I managed to get this one in as a birthday present from a mate and found one on eBay for a steal! If you're in the market for a new one try here.

Kev

Belated Blythe report

2009-09-16T13:11:00.002+01:00

Sorry for the delay in my posting on the Blythe trip. Where do I start? this was my first outing on the Blythe and Jeff had built my hopes up with reports of 4lb+ chub on his last visit. I am in search of some decent fish and hoped this would be the occasion.

We left Coventry and were parked up within 20 mins, Jeff lead the way bank side via a walk down a few country footpaths and over the odd stile. I thought I had packed light but was cursing my seat/tackle box/nets by the time we found our starting point.

The Blythe is a tiny river, my first of this size, maybe 20-25 ft at it's widest and 3-4 ft in places. The first swim I plumbed was about 3ft deep but the water was so dark you could'nt see the bottom. I opened up with a waggler but soon changed to a stick float to cope with the flow. I had a small chubblet at the first peg but that was about it, Jeff and I walked further down stream, picking the odd peg to trot down but most of these ended in snags.

This trip was turning out to be a tough one, every other cast ended with snags or tangled tackle from the head wind. There was very little cover from the wind so both Jeff and I resulted in using our brollies as wind breaks for some respite. Jeff targeted a pool of 40 ft across where he had heard reports of some bigger fish, I targeted its outlet point which was 3 ft wide with a fast flow and opened up to some reed beds - this produced a nice couple of roach about 4-5 oz in fine health. Jeff came around on the move again after little success.

We moved to the end of this stretch of river, this was a shame as there looked to be a tantalising stretch of river with a road bridge just further down. The spot I picked had a couple of feet of lillies in front so Jeff Lent me a longer landing net. I decided to chuck a sleeper feeder rod out packed with hemp and maggots and continue with a stick float. After a couple of trots I hooked into a nice roach but bumped it off, I had a good look before it escaped. The next cast resulted in a 6-8 oz roach, which in comparison probably put the one that got away at around 1lb mark - Jeff got excited that I had a shoal in front of me but alas the bites dried up with not a sausage on the feeder.

We moved pegs back towards the direction of the car to save a longer walk later. The river was around 25-30 ft wide here, on a bend with little to no flow. Jeff was surprised at how little we had caught and thought it was down to the low water level. This is where we had our best run on catches - this is where we came face to face with an alien invader - the crayfish!

We caught more crayfish than fish after this session. We did pick up the odd fish in between crustaceans, including a very nice perch for Jeff at 1lb 4oz to lob worm. The sun started to go down, the wind kept blowing the clouds hadn't moved - we were both cold due to the promise of bright sunshine all day and matching clothing to suit.

This was one of those days, although I'm glad we caught, it was a hard days fishing/crabbing! I have put my order in for a tackle bag for my birthday to lighten my kit. Here's to the next trip, may that better fish come and maybe I invest in a pack horse!

photos to follow!

Kev

This weekend's trip

2009-09-04T22:16:00.002+01:00

Jeff and I are off to the Blythe, this is a last minute change from the coventry canal. I picked up some bait a lunch time at lanes tackle on london road and struggled to park up due to the number of anglers visiting the shop for weekend supplies. It was so busy I had to come back later. Great to see the interest in the sport - however I do hope Jeff and I can get a decent spot on the river!

As always you can read about our trip in my future posts - I hope to catch something over the 2 lb mark, Jeff tells me of a 2 lb roach being caught recently. I have cooked up some hempseed for this trip - first time of cooking my own!

Tight lines everyone!

Kev

Float fishing techniques on the Ribble

2009-08-28T16:55:00.005+01:00

English rivers

2009-08-27T09:14:00.003+01:00

Following my recent trips to the Avon and Wye rivers I started to wonder how many rivers this green and pleasant land holds. Jeff tells me about his trips to random rivers around the country and this has started an urge for me to tick off as many as possible. I then searched for how many rivers there were on the internet, top and what looks like the most comprehensive hit was wikipedia - this was when my jaw hit the floor!

I didn't know how many rivers to expect, maybe 30-50 in the UK? Looks like I may need to scale down my quest to a regional level - there's hundreds on them! Perhaps I needed to of started this list about 15 years ago!

Find the rivers listings HERE

Avon chub article from Total Fishing

2009-08-26T13:02:00.002+01:00

Just found an interesting article on the Total Fishing website on feeder fishing for chub on the Avon. Some interesting tactics are used that can apparently be used for barbel too.

Click Here

To the Wye @ Whitney - well nearly!

2009-08-24T20:31:00.002+01:00

Day 1

The usual intrepid band of Judy, Jeff, Molly, Kate and myself headed off at midday on Saturday with our compass set for Whitney on Wye - a slight change of plan from our initial desired location of Derbyshire. Our couple of hour drive was extended by a 'slight' detour to a public house at Hawbridge by the Severn. This liquid refreshment was welcomed as the weather was scorching.

We arrived at our pre-determined campsite at Whitney, Jeff and I were expecting the perfect pitch next to the Wye that we had been shadowing for sometime, but as we pulled in from the main road we were welcomed by a wooden 5ft palisade fence surrounding a mass of canoeist and their tents - living up to its name 'the pound'. We were directed in to a tiny slither of the campsite, the only spot that was left, where we pitched up. Jeff and I were eager to see what the fishing was like as we were told that we could fish in front of the pub - heaven or what? We rounded the front of the pub to find a group of canoeists hauling their steeds up a set of wooden steps with the rest of the waters edge fenced off. To the left and right of us were long stretches of picturesque river that looked like they needed fishing.

Whitney on Wye - The pound campsite

We were disappointed with the setup so Jeff and I went on a search for a good spot whilst kate and Judy popped into Hay on Wye to get provisions for the evening - yes wine!

With Molly in tow we headed down the road towards the toll bridge about half a mile away, the whole route was lined with wrought iron railings adorned with 'no fishing' signs. When we arrived at the toll bridge we crossed to the midway point to view the river conditions and spot any possible fishing locations. We could se the river bed - it was 3-4 feet deep and every few seconds a flash of silver, then another, then another -FISH! We couldn't identify the species but I would gauge them at 12-16oz. That was the easy part, we couldn't see anywhere to fish along this stretch, Jeff suggested the town waters but this would limit us. We headed back to the campsite to meet with the girls to tell them the bad news.

Day 2

After an evening of drowning our sorrows we awoke to a hive of activity around us from our fellow campers. Molly had been active all night - visiting the neighbors tents and scavenging left over BBQ food. This was to be a god send as one of the canoeists told us about a fabled campsite in a farmers orchard next to the river about 12 miles away. Judy made the call whilst we studied the map. Like a well drilled team we packed up the tents and belongings, packed the cars, had our fried breakfasts and headed off to find the promised land. Our saviour had passed on a print out of an OS map which we had to cross reference to the road map - Kate and me took the lead car and navigated the way to Bycross farm.

We arrived on the site and made our way through the apple orchard and parked up. Jeff and I darted out of the cars and headed bank side. The campsite was right on the river edge about 20ft higher than the current water level. Jeff spotted a parting in the undergrowth and we headed down. The river was crystal clear with patches of green plant life and golden sand/pebbles to either side. In front of us was a darker area where the river dropped of to 7/8ft as it formed the bottom of its ox bow. There was just enough room for us both to fit in the peg. We returned topside to setup camp and ready ourselves for an afternoon of fishing. We paid up with the farmer an probed him for info on the fishing, he mention that trigger word that starts Jeff's pulse racing - barbel! Kate and Judy left for a shopping trip to Hay on Wye whilst Jeff and I setup.

The Bycross farm swim

The weather was lovely, nice sunshine and very little wind. The swim was interesting, the main flow of the river was left to right, however there was a back flow for the 25 feet. We both decided to have a crack at those barbel, I set up a feeder with 8lb main and a 5lb size 10 hook length. Jeff went for a ledger on two rods. We were casting about 35-40 feet out in the faster water, I quickly changed to a 1.5 oz ledger as the flow wasn't strong enough to take out the ground bait I had. There were fish rising ad jumping all around us, even in the shallows there were hundreds of minnows and fry. I decided to set up on a stick float with a size 16 hook to see what was closer in. The float wouldn't stay still, fish were attacking the bait and float as soon as it hit the water. Bleak were coming out on every cast, so I increased to 5 maggots, they still were taking the bait. I tried sweet corn which lost most of the bleak and Jeff and I got 6/7 small chub on the bounce. I did lose two good fish, this was probably down to hook size.

Jeff had joined me in the stick float approach after loosing 5/6 ledgers on a unseen snag in front of his position. The bites dried up on the corn so we switched to lob worms. Jeff hooked into a fish that was putting up a good fight, as it neared the surface we spotted it green stripes - perch. Jeff got 5 in total with the best around the 1.5 lb mark. The afternoon session was great fun and we caught a nice steady amount of fish!

Bag of Perch

The girls returned from Hay with some nice salmon fillets to BBQ. Jeff and I fetched the fir wood and built a campfire at the top of the bank where we were fishing. The food was excellent - thanks Kate/Judy- and we had some liquid refreshment before we carried on for a few more hours.

Jeff struck at a good bite and was in on a reasonable fish, I jumped up with the landing net in hand to see a lovely chub rise up from the dimming waters. It was in beautiful condition, maybe 3 lbs or so. This would turn out to be the fish of the trip and what a cracker it was. We retired to the campfire where Jeff and I set put our aims for the next day - Jeff, his first bleak - myself, anything over 2lb as I seemed to attract quantity not quality in the fish world!

Jeff's Chub

A warming sight after a pleasant day

Day 3

We awoke to the sound of rain around 7am on the Monday morning, a quick wash and a cuppa got me ready for action. Jeff joined me on the bank, we had switched sides from the day before to vary the swim. The rain was on and off and heavy enough to make the float disappear under the droplets in the river. I switched to my ledger rod and put the brolly up, set for a long day. Jeff realised that he didn't have his brolly with him as Judy had borrowed it for the gallery. He headed up to the tent when the rain got heavy. I was fishing with chopped lob worm to ration the last tub we had for the day. First cast had me into a small chub on the drop, promising I thought! The next cast was a little short and ended in lost tackle. After a fresh hook and ledger, and a short visit from Jeff between the showers, I got a bit that differed from all the others during the trip so far, this one went through the whole rod - at last my decent fish? After a short but reasonable fight I landed my prize, not the 2 lb + fish but my second barbel - ever! - another youngster around the 1 lb mark. I shouted up to Jeff as I landed it but he didn't hear me, once the baby barbel was safely in the keep net I rushed up to Jeff to confirm that there was his nemesis in our presence. Needless to say Jeff was quickly down the bank and under a makeshift brolly - my golf umbrella strapped to left over fire wood from the campfire.

Barbel no 2

We persevered with the terrible weather which along with Molly, was quickly changing the bank into a dangerous quagmire. After a nice 1 lb perch - possibly a PB for me, we gave up the ghost. The girls were wet through and there was no sign of a break in the weather. A trip to the same pub we visited on the way down warmed us enough to go home satisfied that we had found a little treasure on the Wye. We will return!

A very muddy Jeff

To the Wye @ Whitney

2009-08-22T08:49:00.003+01:00

In a few hours I will be heading to Whitney on Wye for an few days camping with Kate, Judy & Jeff - of course the rods will be in the car for a spot of fishing. A post will follow and I hope to get some photos too!

An afternoon by the canal

2009-08-16T21:08:00.004+01:00

Yesterday I snatched Jeff away from Judy just 12 hours after his return from London on his working holiday. Our chosen venue was the Coventry canal in Longford for afternoon session of drowning maggots. This was my first experience of canal fishing so I has brought along several types of bait, mixed maggots, castors, sweet corn, bread and a dozen of our allotment's finest earthworms that varied in size up to snake size proportions!

A 5 minute walk from gallery we picked a spot where Jeff had spied fish earlier that day, I chose a place with a tree opposite in the hope that the fish were using it for cover. I had over packed, I'm used to river fishing with a trolley to cart my gear around, so I was glad we had only walked 5 minutes. Jeff advised that a waggler was best for the canal so I chose a medium sized black bodied/orange tipped float from my newly refurbished tackle box. (I'll post some photos when I get around to it)

Within 5 minutes of casting with a baited hook Jeff was in with a small bream, were the fish gods smiling on us today? About 30 minutes later I got small perch and Jeff got a tiny roach - the smallest he'd ever caught on the canal. We stuck out for another 45 minutes before we decided that the fish were somewhere else.

We moved spots to about 500m away from the M6 bridge, the tree cover was thicker and the far bank had changed from pilings to soil, ideal we thought - there were a couple of lilies to throw into the mix - the fish are bound to be here. We stuck out the waggler, tho I changed to a crystal bodied/yellow tip because the black body of my original float could be seen through the top 6 inches of water confusing any bites. No joy with the maggots, castors or sweet corn so I switched over to the worms. This was the bait of choice, I got a 4-5 ounce roach within a few casts - Jeff said I was only the forth person he know to of caught a roach on the canal. I got a perch 20 minutes later, and Jeff got one 30 minutes after that but the rest of the trip was sparse apart from the welcome refreshments from Judy!

As we packed up our kit a decision was made "we need flowing water". Jeff and I plan to visit the Blythe on our next local trip, although a trip to the Dove might be on the cards to take the girls with us!

Fishermens Gifts

2009-08-07T08:21:00.002+01:00

Having attended another wonderful Fishbone private view, we were invited to Judy's for the 'after show' drinks, this was earlier than usual as we were Jeff-less, he was posted to London on work detail but the reports were that he was attending a Bach recital in return for his good behavior!

After we had settled in to our seats and the red wine was passed round to top our glasses, Judy passed me a rather well presented magazine, she relayed the story of Jeff spending £6.00 on said glossy fishing magazine and him saying he was "buying it for Kev". This magazine was a specimen fishing edition with tips on how to catch the biggest and best examples of the most common of course fish. I think the 'buying it for Kev' was man code for justifying the purchase of a item you want to read - but cost a bit more than your usual spend, but it reminded me of how I received several bits of fishing tackle from various anglers when I was growing up and finding my feet in this fishy endeavor.

The exchanging of gifts is a bonding process - just like the exchange of knowledge with tips on swims and techniques. I was instructed in my technique from various people including my dad, Paul Derry and Bill Allen amongst others. These guys 'taught me all I know' and also kitted me out with advice on purchases and with hand-me-downs gems to get me on my way (which I still use today). These guys were mere men in the daily humdrum of life, but seen as intellectual scholars or gods to me starting out in my piscatorial ways.

This gives us anglers a bond which goes further than friendship, it's more elemental, from the soul - a passage to manhood (or ladyhood). You can speak to total strangers bank side knowing there is no hidden agenda, no threat of physical violence (well I hope not), we're in it together - united as one!

Kev

Welcome one and all!

2009-08-03T16:50:00.001+01:00

Welcome to my postings on the wonderful world of fishing. I grew up in Newark-upon-Trent so I had access to a wonderful river on my door step. I regularly fished on the trent and occasionally at the Balderton lake until 1997 when I had other teenage distractions to follow. Thanks to Mr Jeff Hatt my passion for angling has resurfaced and a trip to the Avon last week has got me hooked again! I will post my fishing adventures as they occur and when I find the time to.

Thanks for reading!

Kev