A week of 2 Halves

I managed an evening session last tuesday on The Embankment near Trent Bridge and against all my instincts had high hopes. I planned to use my new centre pin and fish a feeder after dark. I may be biassed but the pin is beautifull and looks the business, its got such a smooth action as well. the first thing i noticed was weed in the margins and the second was how clear and sluggish the water was.
I kicked off with with some small roach and perch but not for long before the bites dried up on both the stick float and the feeder.
To make matters worse the local kayak club were out in force and with a 50m wide river to choose from they insist in litteraly clipping the rod tip. It drives me mad. No wonder fishermen and kayakers dont get on. I decided the river needed some extra flow and colour and hoped we'd get some rain before my next trip.
Rain was forcastfor wednesday night so I got my gear ready for thursday night and decided on the Trent Lock stretch.I was surprised after a couple of hours of rain the night before that there wasnt much extra flow or colour. I discovered that the maggots from tuesday had conveniently turned into casters so mixed half a pint of casters with hemp and pellet and fed a few bait droppers onto 2 spots near mid river. I fished feeder and 12mm pellet on one spot and worm and feeder on the other.
As with all previous stints at this venue I had to wait till dusk was approaching till things got moving. Most of the action happened on the worm rod taking 4 or 5 bream to 3 or 4lb and a perch around the pound mark. Finally the pellet rod went off and with my headtorch not giving a beam that reached the net it was a little hit and miss guiding the fish in. When I lifted the net it was apparent it was larger than usual and sure enough went 7lb 2oz . Whilst not a huge fish it was a)my personal best bream and b)not bad for a river.
Within minutes the worm rod went off resulting in another slightly smaller bream at 6lb 14oz. The worm rod had no isotobes on the tip and i had to try and silhouette the tip against the distant glow to the south. Several times the first I knew of a bite was the but lifting almost horizontal.
It was a great night and and a decent result, i was glad I had my jacket and made a mental note to bring my bib and brace over trousers next time.
There is still no sign of any chub or barbel and I'm begining to think I'm barking up the wrong stretch but the big bream and possible carp keep me coming back.

At last!

I errr decided work could do without me again and snook off to my local hole in the ground. I arrived on a hot and sunny afternoon and to think themissus predicted rain.....never.
I set up my carp rods and and looked around for where to drop them, as the weed has all been killed it seemed a bit pot luck. I cast one short and to my right so it was somewhere near the bottom of the slope and the other went out in front of me about a third of the way accross. Before attaching the baited rig I cast out, clipped up and checked there was no weed. I then wound in, baited up and cast both rods. It occurred to me that none of my replacement gear had been tested and wondered how it would stand up.
Next I set up my waggler rod as a bit of entertainment fishing a single maggot on a size 16. I'd put a couple of roach, skimmers and small perch when the heavens opened and a thunder storm errupted. I have to addmit that I havent seen rain that heavy or sustained in a long long time but to its crepit my Conquest waterproofs kept me comfy and dry even when stood in the heaviest downpour dealing with a troublesome bream.
Once the rain had passed I swapped the size 16 for a size 12 and swapped the maggot for a prawn. Within a few minutes the float slid away and a perch about 6 oz came to the net. A few minutes later and the float went away again and this time the fish went off on a spirited fight going through my carp lines and still managed to stay on. I was relieved to say the least to slip the net under a gnarly old warrior of a perch which pulled the scales around to 1lb 10oz my best by a fair margin.
A couple of bream about a pound took the prawn and with the sun heading rapidly for the horizon I decided it was about time to pack up.
Minutes later my nearest rod roared off and at last I was into a carp. It came in reasonably easy and decided to put up a spirited fight under the rod tip. With the complete absence of weed I was able to back the drag off and alow the tip and drag to do most of the work. It was about 10 minutes before I even saw the fish and was a definite releif when I lifted the net around it. A beautiful 16lb 1oz common was the perfect end to the short session.
My fox reels have come in for some raised eyebrows but the drag is exceptionally smooth with a really good line lay. I cant fault them.

Trent

I snook off early again a few weeks ago for an evening spell just above Long Eaton on the Trent. I chose the peg which blessed me with the bream last season and settled in with a single rod. Before tackling up I used my old Conoflex carp rod with a newly acquired GTE 6000B Baitrunner, you cant help loving those reels, with a bait dropper to load up a patch of river bed with hemp, pellet and corn loosely bound with pellet groundbait.
I let the swim rest for a bit while sorting my kit out then set to work........ yep not a touch all evening. Did I over feed the swim? Was the garlic infused hemp not right? Was it too cold (boy was it cold when the sun went down)or is it that the swim choice was wrong and the fish just weren't there or all of the above?
Anyway I'm already planning my next trip!

Prawn Sandwiches.

So here it is, May already and I havent even wet a line yet. I put that right last night on a quick trip to the canal in Beeston after work. Being the first trip I thought I'd go out on a limb and fish punched bread under a waggler. It wasn't such a risk considering the last time I fished maggot there I didnt exactly set the place on fire.
Bites came from the very first cast with small roach and chub coming to hand. They were only a few ounces but made for a interesting couple of hours. I kept waiting for the stamp to increase but it never really did. As the sun went off the water the bites slowed down and all but stopped, was it a pike or had the fish moved on?
As dusk fell and I fished half a king prawn on a quiver tip under some bushes in the vain hope of a perch or 2. And a vain hope it was too!
So the result was a small haul of roach and chub and the odd bleak in sun, rain, wind and calm. The end result was a pleasant if not cinterlating evening........ well what else would you do with some prawns and a couple of slices of bread?

Hardest day

It comes eventually to everything and everyone and theres no avoiding it but it doesnt make it any easier. The day finally came for my ever faithfull dog to move on and leave his pain behind. It was the hardest descision and the worst day I can remember but right for him if not for us. He was the best dog anyone could have hoped for and I pray he walks beside me.

A new year

Well its been a rubbish start to the year for 2 reasons, firstly I haven't managed a single trip to the bank so far and secondly I had some gear stolen including my carp rods and holdall. Dealing with the insuance company has been a real eye opener, the break in happened on the 4th of january and I'm still waiting. Asda insurance you fail! We'll see what the replacement rods are like when they arrive!
On the possitive side I bought a set of waterproofs and a new centre pin so hopefully I'll get to put them through their paces.