Getting Late

It's getting to be a bit of a push getting on to the bank before it gets too dark and last night the sun had already gone down by the time I dropped into a peg. With the low temperature hovering around 4 degrees I decided to fish around the deepest part of part of the venue and on the back of the wind. Unfortunately the cold wind was blowing into the deepest area and I was in a quandary. A bit like if a cat always lands on its feet and toast always lands buttered side down what would happen if you tied a slice of toast to a cats back?
To make matters worse the rain a week ago had flooded off the fields and into the reservoir bring an influx of cold muddy water. A drainage ditch is now in progress but it cant help the position we temporarily find ourselves in.
Anyway to cut a long story short it was a long cold dark evening that resulted in a blank. Pray for low pressure and I'll be back next week.

On A Frosty Night

I was out last night after work, I managed to get out of work early and race the sunset to my local water and get cast in before it got dark. The supper moon rose in a clear sky and the temperature dropped, in fact the moon was so bright that it threw shadows all around my peg. 

Sometime after dark the indicator on my middle rod rose to the but then dropped back in to position, I left it for half an hour before reeling in to check my presentation which looked fine. I rebaited and switched from a plain bottom bait  to a bottom bait balanced with a trimmed down white pop up. The rig was walked out down the bank and the line clipped up to a pre-set length so I knew I could land it back on the baited area in the dark. I cast out and settled back. Frost was forming on my rod holdall, and my feet were getting cold and I was beginning to wonder what on earth I was doing there when finally the indicator rose to the butt and and the indicator sounded but no run developed. I struck, more out of hope, and was met with solid resistance. After a dogged heavy fight I slid the net under a fish know as The long Common. Its the biggest fish in the venue and one I last caught about 18 months ago. This time she was a pound heavier at 24lb 8oz and I was very happy to say the least.

Whilst walking the lead back out ready to recast I discovered the reason the run hadn't developed. The line was still clipped up from when I'd cast before the run!

Weathered Off

There's not much that keeps me off the bank but this first low pressure system of the winter has succeeded. No fishing tomorrow.

Baltic

I arrived on the water last night and managed to just get chucked in before dark. A guy leaving had had a blinding day with all his fish falling to one rod, before he left I dropped in next to him and shamelessly poached his spot. As dusk approached the indicators on all 3 rods started twitching but with the clear skies and dropping temperature nothing developed except for a small mirror carp of around 3lb.
I spent some time looking straight up at the stars and contemplating my place in the world, after all its not like my alarms were interrupting me.
Next week will hopefully bring some mild weather and a timely finish at work.

Grandslam

Just for a change I went fishing last monday instead of tuesday night, I know I'm a crazy animal. With the temperature dropping slightly I was in 2 minds as to moving into deeper water on the lake. It had been reasonably warm during the day but I knew the temperature would drop after dark so i decided to hedge my bets and pick an area where I could target the margin and some deeper water. Just before dark my left hand rod ,which I had positioned just out from the margin on a spot I'd previously had some decent fish off, screamed off. Line was being pulled from the bait runner but when I engaged the bait runner and struck I was met with thin air. I'd missed an unmissable run and was really not impressed. Shortly after dark the same rod rattled off again and this time I connected with a reasonable fish, a thought appeared from nowhere that I hadn't lost a fish for quite some time. No sooner had the thought entered my mind than the tip sprang back and the fish was gone. Luckily I was on my own because the air turned blue. Funny how when I think about about winning the lottery it never happens. Around an hour before packing up I was beginning to count my losses when the right hand rod roared off. I long plodding fight ensued until I slipped a net under a common weighing an ounce under 15lb. It had been a night of mixed fortunes, loss, draw and a win. Once again DNA's Secret 7 had done the tick. Tomorrow will be more of a challenge with the temperature falling dramatically according to the girl on the weather tonight.

Before My Eyes

last week I managed my usual tuesday evening session. Some time after dark my right hand rod absolutely screamed off and I connected with a good wish that took line and stayed deep, plodding around under the rod tip. I netted the fish and caught a glimpse of a common carp in the mesh and assumed it was one of 2 large fish. However on lifting the fish out it shrunk as I watched it. Instead of a 20 something carp I was amazed to see a low double. Ah well you never can tell whats going to happen.

Jigging

I took my new Shakespear Ugly Stick lure rod to the lake yesterday to try it out with some perch in mind. Its an easy way to fill in a few hours. With the water still quite warm I opted for jigging with soft rubber lures rather than drop shotting. A 3g jig head twinned with 1.5 and 3 inch Fox and Berkley lures did the trick. The perch werent big but I was happy just to put some fish in the net.

Autumn Is Here

I made it onto the water as usual last night. Obviously at this time of year daylight is at a premium so given the chilly breeze that was blowing I opted for a swim in the shelter and positioned 3 baits. I had to wait until well after dark before my right hand margin rod slowly pulled tight and I was into a nice fish. After a spirited fight and picking up my middle line I slipped the net under 16lb 10oz mirror. A short time later the middle rod screamed but I struck into thin air. All in all it was an enjoyable but wild night.

Something Old Something New

I've often wondered what gains a modern bite alarm the 'digital' tag and how they are improved over my 20 year old Optonics so I've dusted my old units off and put them back into service. The main difference I can see is that the V that the rod sits in is a lot more shallow on my Optonics which can result in the rod being easily pulled sideways off the alarm. back in the day mods could be bought or made to keep the rods in place but I settled on a set of Fox snag bars. Other than that I the only other problem is the lack of a remote sounder box. To go with my resurrected alarms I splashed out on a new set of bobbins. I've been using Fox Swingers Mk 2 for years but they do have a couple of drawbacks. Unless you lift the rod vertically off the rests the line clip sometimes doesn't release also they're quite heavy even on the lightest setting. I splashed out on some ESP Barrel Bobbins. They come with small weights that can be moved to make the bobbin weight either 3, 6 or 9g and have clips that can be changed to grip the line rather than just hang. At £9.99 per bobbin the price is quite reasonable but the isotope that clips into the bobbin is a little more eye watering at £10.99 each. I used the set up on Tuesday night fishing into a stiff breeze. By pushing a bait spoon around a bush I was able to drop the lead into it and pull it around then slide it tight into the margin under the next bush along. It was a major faff on but as it resulted in a 12lb 12oz mirror it was definitely worth the effort.

In The Edge

I arrived on my local water complete with a fresh bag of S7 and set up with the a strong warm wind blasting straight into my peg. I flicked my left hand rod to a small patch of lilies a few metres away and my right hand rod under a tree tight into the margin. I thought long and hard about my rigs (for a change) and swapped my lead clips out for inline leads for my margin rods and allowed the line to lay completely slack. After a pair of small stock fish from the lilies the rod tip pulled around again and on striking I mistakenly thought I was into another small fish. While bullying the fish away from my other 2 lines it suddenly occurred to me that I was into a better carp. It was with great relief when I slid the net under a 17lb 7oz mirror. Half an hour before packing up and while I was catching forty winks the right hand rod flew off and after a short fight another mirror of 14lb 6oz ended up in the net. The irony is that I ended up getting snagged up and losing the end tackle on my carefully thought out right hand rod, with time getting short I tied on a lead clip and quick release clip and got the bait back in the margin and it was shortly after that I got the second carp. It just goes to show that sometimes you can over think things.

Tails Like Paddles

I made it down to my local water as usual last night and ended up in the same swim as last week, although I am a creature of habit this time I chose my spot spot based on a gentle breeze that was blowing into the corner again and more importantly it was as far away from another angler as it was possible to get. As usual I managed to get bothered by the stock carp until I lengthened the hair on my rig and critically balanced a 15mm S7 boilie with a trimmed down 15mm white Nash popup. There was just enough buoyancy to lift the baits but leave the hook laying flat on the deck. Shortly after recasting at dusk the line screamed out and a good deep fight ensued before I slipped the net under a 15lb 2oz mirror with a tail like a paddle steamer. So lessons learnt, always try something different (I'd never had much luck on the water with popups), be careful when taking pictures in the dark (this one is the best by a long long long way) and think carefully about where you intend to cast.

Strange Night

I was back on my local water on Tuesday night and really looking forward to it. I picked a corner that last autumn I had quite a lot of success in, its a little bit shallower than the rest of the water and is the scene of an old weed bed that was removed several years ago. When I arrived there was a warm breeze blowing into the corner and a group of decent carp were lounging in the sun. As soon as I dropped a lead anywhere near them the fish disappeared and that was the last I'd see of them. I had a run of small stock fish and couldn't shake the feeling that the small fish were ruining my presentation and cleaning up my free offerings and my enthusiasm started to slide. At one point the little blighters had all my rods out of the water and it was long before my usual packing up time when I called it a day.

I'm Back

Its been a good few months since I was at my favourite concrete hole in the ground but I made my return last night. It has been warm and humid all week and I set up into a warm breeze. I got the first rod set up and flicked down the margin before casting my second rod with a bare lead to check the drop. The place was stocked with quite a few carp in the pound region and as they're growing they're now becoming a bit of a menace. As I was casting my bare lead I got a few bleeps and pulls on my margin rod and then noticed the line had kited out slightly so decided that the small stock fish that had picked up my bait almost immediately would have to be dealt with. On lifting the rod it was a great surprise to see a decent bend pulled into the rod and a dogged fight under the rod tip ensued until with great relief I slipped the net under the mystery fish. It had stayed deep all through the fight and as I opened the mesh it kind of grew and grew. The batteries in my all singing all dancing fox scales let me down at exactly the wrong moment so I fell back on my faithful Avon set for a bet of retro weighing. The needle swung round to 19lb 10oz and after 5 minutes of fishing I was a very happy angler.

The venue always fishes a lot better in autumn and the stiff breeze and warm weather coupled with a good fish at the starting gun led me to believe it might be a very busy evening. However after 3 stockies upto around 2lb and a bream it occurred to me that it wasn't going to get any better. With a fish knocking on for 20lb already in the bag its hard to do anything else but smile.

Perch in Strange Places

After a series of unfortunate incidences I ended up diving at Ellerton water park with my eldest daughter today. The visibility was rubbish, the bottom mostly silty and very weedy and the day would have been wasted if not for the resident perch. As I've mentioned before they grow very large in this particular lake but today they ranged from clouds of fry up to around a pound. It was interesting to watch a small group of cannibal larger fish lounging in close proximity to the fry. They both seemed almost indifferent of the other until they drifted too close then it was back to business as usual. A little later we came across one of the lakes scenic additions in the form of a rusting car which turned out to be full of perch.

Drop Shot Fishing

I ordered some drop shot lures on Ebay today, I'm hoping to snatch a few hours at a time on local waters. I'll let you know when they arrive.

Last Gasp

I was back on my local hole in the ground yesterday. It felt like it had been ages! The corner near the enterance is not my favourite swim but when I arrived a warm wind was pushing the fish straight into that corner so I had no choice. I tried a zig rig, a pop up rig and plain old bottom baits and nothing seemed to be working. Eventually I had a screaming run on an S7 pop up which turned out to be a fin perfect mirror carp of less than 2 lb. Just as I about to call it a day and escape with a technical blank a gnarly little common of just under 10lb raced off with a bait positioned down the margin. Job done and I packed up and went home. A short session on the hottest day of the year could have been a lot worse.

Chubbing

I decided to have a complete change and do something different so I headed back to Low Dinsdale on the River Tees to stalk some chub. The only trouble with the stretch is that the banks are very steep which makes sneaking up quietly on the fish almost impossible. I singled out some swims at the top of the stretch and quiver tipped luncheon meat hook baits. the session kicked off well and I had 4 chub to just short of 4lb and then it all seemed to get hard work. It took another couple of hours to get another 2 smaller chub. I spotted my first ever otter which was definitely not a welcome sight and wonder if it was him stalking my fish that killed the swims off. On a bright note I had forgotten just how hard chub fight. I'll definitely be back.

Capenwray 2

I was diving at Capenwray again with my eldest and was struck by several things. Firstly the size of the roach, the fish we were diving amongst would be easily in excess of 3lb. The second thing that surprised me, and I hadn't noticed before, was the small size and few in number of perch. There was an almost complete absence of fry or prey fish.

British Monsoon

Because of commitments I didn't get onto my local lake until a bit later than usual so I decided to leave my carp gear at home and head out in search of some big perch. I decided to approach the job in hand with a float rod fishing with worm and a ledger rod with ultra light bobbins trialling half a frozen sandeel as bait. The ledger rod went out first and as I was tackling up my float rod I had a savage take which was dropped before I could reach it which is a shame because it was never repeated. I decided to leave my gear under my brolly at the top of the slope as I was fishing very close to the bank, this would have been fine if it wasn't raining. This wasn't ordinary rain this was torrential! On the plus side at least it was warm. I was fishing a worm hookbait slightly over depth under a waggler and feeding with maggots which paid off from the beginning. The perch came thick and fast but not the specimens I know live in the water but the biggest reached about 4oz. To make things a little more interesting a few small carp, tench and my very first crucian carp came to the net. All in all it was a very pleasant evening and one I aim to repeat before the end of the summer.

At Last ..... Again

Its floater season on my local water. For most this is a time of exciting takes and multiple catches but for me its when my orderly watery world descends into chaos. Out come the dog biscuits, catapults full of mixers, throwing sticks full of mixers and even spods full of mixers flying all over. Its a time when politeness, calm, consideration and peace go firmly out of the window. Mercifully the fish soon wise up and all that happens is that the floating rafts of dog biscuits draw the fish away from carefully baited areas without actually feeding. Its finally coming to the end of silly season and after suffering 2 blanks on the trot I finally managed to bag a welcome carp off the bottom. Out of 6 anglers on the water mine was the only fish on the bank. Take that! 15lb 12oz of angry mirror carp.

Ellerton Park

I dived at Ellerton Park again with my youngest daughter today. Its known locally for its carp but its a big deep weedy lake with crystal clear water. Although we didn't see any carp there are plenty of perch and one at the end of the dive would have easily exceeded 3 and a half pounds if not 4 pounds. That was only what we saw in one area in 45 minutes, who knows what else might be lurking in there.

More Like It

Tuesday afternoon saw me calling in on my local water after work. A brief walk round and I discovered the wind swirling about and the temperature decidedly on the chilly side. After talking to one of the guys I found out that there had been 5 sets of rods on the water ll day and only a single bream caught, my confidence slipped lower. I managed to find a more sheltered corner and got my rods out, one down each margin and one straight out around 25 yards. As usual I used DNA S7 boilies on simple hair rigs and semi fixed leads. about an hour and a half into the session 2 of the resident young rods on the water had stopped off to have a chat when my middle rod set off on a run that must rank as one of the fastest runs I've ever seen. After a strong determined fight a mirror of 17lb 5oz slipped into the net.

I always had the feeling another fish was on the cards and I tried a few changes to bring me an extra fish, pop ups and snowman but as usual it was a plain old bottom bait (tipped with fake corn) that brought me second run. Another mirror of 19lb 2oz in the net made me feel that my season was finally off the mark.

Little Thief

I returned to my local water on Monday, my good friend Jay had had an 18lb common the previous week and several 20's had been out and I was keen to keep up. It was a perfect evening, warm and a light breeze blowing into my face and I was fairly confident. A resident blackbird is getting more and more bold and comes to nearly arms length to be fed pellet and broken boilies. Its always entertaining to watch him hopping about. I spent a few minutes tying a new rig and critically balancing a bait, turned around to put some bits away and turned back to see that bloody bird running off with my newly tied rig! Since we started carping the decision to recast or not recast has always played heavily on my fishing mind. A good friend of mine advocates recasting often as your rig my be tangled or hung up on some debris and he does very well. Another mate advocates trusting your rig is correctly presented and leaving it for a long time and he does equally as well. Me? I just fret! Anyway the finally result of my evening session was carp 1 - me 0.

Plan B

Isn't it funny how things change over time? Its a constant reminder that things, good and bad, are only temporary and you should never view anything as permanent. There is a reservoir on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors that started out as a strict trout venue and was vigorously enforced with worm and fly fishing being the only method. We fished Scaling Dam as kids but the rising prices and the discovery of carp on our doorstep soon pushed the venue from our minds. Fast forward 30 years and I was back at the weekend just for a walk around with the dog and my eldest daughter and oh how the place has changed. Firstly the strict worm and fly rule seems to be long gone and it now appears to be the wild west as far as tactics and baits go and secondly the fact that coarse fish have started appearing. Among those coarse fish are pike and they'll be loving the roach that are exploding in population. I'm not sure yet of the numbers of pike or the size but Jay and myself will be looking at a session there after the summer as an alternative (a plan b .... I think this through you know!) to piking on the rivers. Day tickets are available on site, £12.00 for 2 rods, sea deadbaits and lures and its open until the end of november.

Kick Off

I managed to get my first over night session in last night. I was in search of carp at my usual venue but less than confident with the cold foggy weather we were forecast on the north east coast, they say its grim up north and they'd be right. Its been hotter than the Mediterranean everywhere except here! I was set up and cast out by about 6pm and managed to get a hot meal prepared and a cup of tea made before the dark added to the fog. I was fishing slack lines to try and keep them on the bottom so it was completely without warning when the baitrunner screamed into action. A short and disappointing fight saw a 14lb 6oz common slide into the net. As you can see from the photos the fog made taking pictures in the dark more than a chalenge for young Jack. Whilst taking the photos one of the other guys alarms sounded and it looked like shaping up to be a busy night, by the following afternoon it was apparent that looks can be very deceiving. One fact that was blindingly is that I carry far too much gear.

Annnnnnd We're Off. Nearly

I returned to my favourite carping hole in the ground to kick off the new season. It was bright but sunny day and whilst have a look around to find a peg I ran in to a couple of the lads. Charlie had managed a lovely fully scaled mirror at just over 20lb so my confidence was reasonably high. Settling into a quiet sheltered corner I looked around and accepted that it was a.freezing cold and b.the water was heavily coloured after the winter rains and my confidence started to slide. 5 hours later I was still fishless and the cold had arrived with the dark and I decided to call it a day. Not a successful start to the season on the carp front but a thoroughly enjoyable one. During the winter the lake has been restocked with bream, roach, tench and carp. Whilst I welcome the silvers and definitely look forward to catching some of the tench I'm a little worried about more than doubling the head of carp. Time will tell.

New Season

Its been a busy winter with everything except fishing on the cards. Here's hoping for a successful season in front of us.

Over Already

Due to a family problem I didn't make it on to the bank this weekend, the river season ends in a few days so in effect my season ended a few weeks ago. Its been an eventful 12 months but I certainly didn't crack the pike fishing. Maybe next season will bring me some better luck but for the time being I'm looking forward to getting back amongst the carp on my mid week evenings.

Early One Morning

I'm not a morning person, I never have been, but every now and again I get rewarded for my effort. The thing about owning a dog is that you usually don't get an option to stay in bed.

A Week On

Well its been a week since Jay and me took on the pike on the lower River Tees and its taken this long for the fires of disappointment from that session. I thought we had all bases covered but apparently we didn't. We started on the stretch where I was continually snagged up before dropping downstream to a more silty area. There is a large drop off about a rod length out into 10 feet of water and we positioned the baits at the bottom of the slope. We didn't have a single touch all day. There is one more weekend left of the season and I think I'll be back for a final throw of the dice but its fair to say that over the course of the last 2 years that stretch of river has left me with my spirits thoroughly blunted.

Saying of the Day 1

Always remember that there's a thin line between between fishing and sitting by the river looking like an idiot.

Sunday Is Coming

Morrison's came up trumps today and I managed to get get the sardines I needed to finish off my bait collection for Sunday. Yesterday I bought some frozen roach and smelts, not cheap at around £4 to £5 pounds a pack, the sardines on the other hand cost me around £3 for a dozen perfectly sized baits. Jay sent me a copy of a photo from the rough area that we're heading to, a lovely 19lb 5oz long lean river pike. The fish are there we just have to work out location, baits and tactics (yes only those minor points) to build up some consistency and some confidence.

Sardine Shopping Trip

Got a trip with my good friend Jay on Sunday so I've been getting some dead baits together in the hope of finally nailing a Tees pike before the season ends in a few weeks time. I managed some frozen roach and some smelt and I still have some lamprey left but I've always had a lot of faith in sardines (or dinos as we know them) so I'm planning on escaping work tomorrow to try and track them down. Wish me luck.

Vanishing Gloves

I don't normally buy clothes, or anything except fishing and diving gear in fact, but after Christmas I bought myself a really nice pair of Rab gloves. They were fairly expensive but good quality so I knew they'd last. Well they would have lasted if I hadn't lost one. I can't explain why losing things annoys me so much but it does. My left glove no resembles an old oak table..... varnished.

Norway Part 2

As promised I dug out some photos of the typical jacks and the lake that we.... well Glenn .... discovered. Pretty much unfished.

Norway '94

I served for a while in the Royal Engineers and one of my postings was in an outfit designed to terrify the Soviet Block from daring to invade through Scandinavia and break out into the North Sea. In order to do this we used to hold big multi national exercises every winter. As a return for hosting us during the winter we used to return in the summer on a construction tour. In the summer of 1994 we were based at Kongsberg and my recce sergeant had brought along some pike gear. The REME fitter who was working with us came back from a vehicle test run and told us that he'd found a lake on the Norwegianarmy range and the edge of the lake was full of small, long, green fish. We went for a wander to investigate and he was right, it was secluded lake that I doubt had ever been fished and looked to contain a good head of pike and perch. I managed to scounge some tackle and a small group of us headed over to the lake, we had to find some worms to catch some perch to use as live bait. It was a long process but we managed to put a few jacks on the bank and lost some better fish. It is entirely possible that no one has fished to lake since we left. In a slight side show I was fishing one evening when a huge moose appeared out of the trees on to the bank, I was amazed how big those creatures are. It was a lesson of taking the opportunities as they present themselves.

Chapman Angling

I've just ordered some pike terminal tackle from Chapman Angling, they're not the cheapest place around but the delivery is normally very quick and the range of stock is excellent.

Fruitless Pike

I headed out and braved the rain on sunday in my less than eventful search of pike. I headed to the lower Tees with a box full of assorted dead baits, favouring to ledger my bait as its quite deep. The trouble is that every time I reeled in I was snagged on the bottom so I doubt my bait was ever fishing propperly. I'm a bit perplexed about how I could snag the bottom in every one of the half dozen swims I tried but it seems I did. I even tried switching to a float but the same problems persisted. All in all it was a very frustrating and disheartening day, the kind of day that you don't want to hear the phrase 'still...... its nice to be on the bank'.

Last Session

Well the year was coming to an end and Jay managed to convince me of one last session before it did. We opted for a stretch of river on the Tees that niether of us had fished before, Jay opting for pike and I decided on some chub for a change. We havent had much luck with pike on the Tees and I havent had a chub in ages. The river was still a few feet up and pushing through quite fast having not recovered propperly from storm frank and storm Eve was already banging on the door. The banks at Dinsdale are very steep and backwaters, slacks and eddys seem to be in very short supply but at the very end of the stretch I found a slack area just upstream of a trailing bush. I'd mixed up some cheese paste and some liquidised bread and fed few bits into the swim and sorted out my gear. It would be fair to say that by the time I got fishing storm Eve was well and truly upon us and the gale force wind was hammering the rod tip, Jay enquired as to how I differentiated wind and currentfrom a bite and all I could do was shrug. The tip finally did something slightly different, I struck and to my surprise I was into a small chub of around a pound and a half. I changed swims and had no visible bites so I returned to my original swim and was soon connected to my second chub of the day which seemed to be intent on getting into the bank under my feet. Finally it was in the net and I weighed it just out of pure curiosity, pleasantly surprised to see it go to 3lb 10oz. I moved swims after getting no more bite like indications and the storm grew and grew, the rain was so heavy that you could scarecly see the far bank and broken branches were falling all over. As I fished on a strange, though not unexpected, thing happened as I expected a bite less I tried less. I stopped being so stealthy and my casts became less accurate and so it became more of a self fulfilling prophecy.

And thats the way it ended, we decided to pack up early and get out of the torential rain. I know there are some anglers who would have caught more and who knows how many bites I didn't spot but it was great to be on the bank with a good friend doing something I havent done for years. I'll be back. Good luck to everyone in the new year.