My Opening Gambit.

 

 Well, it wasn't the opening day/s that I had planned, to cut a long story short during the winter the rat or rats that I had in my shed had gnawed a whole in my boat the size of a credit card, I was fuming considering I didn't notice until I had reached my launch site 93 miles from home, having set off at 3am and inviting my mate Chris to join me for a mission across the Fens in search of monster Rudd. SS Rudd was no longer.

 Chris and I both did what we could on the bank to get her afloat but there was to be no salvaging that. Around 9am we decided bank work was our go to alternative and did so for a few hours and I managed one decent Rudd of 1.13 along with a load of fish around one pound, but there was an overriding sense of complete disappointment, I was super pissed off at it all and no doubt Chris was happy just being there but for me it wasn't enough and really wanted to captain us to some brilliant fishing which I know can be had.

 We got to around midday/1pm and decided it was best if we tried somewhere different where we stood a chance of better fishing so we packed away but unfortunately Chris didn't make it to the new venue as his car was giving him trouble and had to head off home / garage to get the issue resolved. With that I carried on went about my business but the fishing in the high sun was tough going and a lot of the Rudd were tucked away in the eel grass, I knew the latter hours would be best but I packed up at 8pm, to be honest the disappointment of the eaten boat had killed the enthusiasm so buggered off home. 

 Less said about that trip the better.

Tench Campaign Part 4.

 

 Well as the river season draws ever closer and the thought of stalking monster river Rudd and feeling the tug of the bronze torpedos as I get my 40 Rivers Challenge back underway it would seem my time after Tench has come to a close (still 4 weeks to run on my ticket), it has been a super start on a venue I'd never seen before and knew little of, I came away after 6 visits with 23 Tench with 19 over 7lbs and 3x new personal bests weighing at 8lb 5oz, 8lb 14oz and 8lb 15ozs. 

 Part of me wants to get back on there before July 15th as there are certainly doubles in there fully spawned out, my only reason for not going back is the time spent there is possibly taking an opportunity away from catching a big Barbel from a river within my challenge, its a quandary I must overcome, those big tench that I was catching across late April and May are truly special creatures.

 Tench number 22 & 23 came on a short overnight session last week when I decided to have one last go for a real fatty before they got down to business, little did I know they had already been at it and considering the condition of the two Tench I had they were going hard at it, with that knowledge I packed up and went home, two 6lb plus fish to round off my short Spring campaign wasn't a bad return.

 There may yet be a part 5.....watch this space.

 Anyway, it's June 16th tomorrow, Rudd fishing wherever the wind takes me and hopefully get some great content for a film for the Drennan Specialist platform. Good Luck to you all. 

Tench Campaign Part 3.

 

 Well, before I get to the trip I have just finished with I'll catch you up on a visit I paid last week Friday.

 I blanked...

 Well, that's been taken care of let's get on with the trip I finished up on earlier today. I had loaded the van on Thursday morning with all the fishing gear I required for a 36hr stay and the bare minimum of work gear! I finished work around 3pm and set off for the motorway and thankfully my trip from Fulham to Mid-Kent was very smooth and I was back on hallowed grounds and fishing by 5pm.

 Every time I pull up to gates the thoughts of monster fish laying up in the net are rife! There are fish here to make the most accomplished specimen angler shake with nerves and excitement in equal measure. I just want one fish of that standard, until such time that happens I will do my best to empty the place!!

 I got my first run within an hour or so of getting the rods out and it was a good one too of 8lb 3oz, just 3 weeks ago that was a joint PB! now it's a lovely fish. That was quickly followed up by a big male of 8lb 0oz and then a fish of around 6lb. The fish in here are special. Then the rods fell silent until 1am when I lost a Tench to a hook pull not far from the net.

8lb 3oz, great start.

 With my alarm set for 0340, I was awake and raring to go by 0330 ( who needs an alarm when the dawn chorus was deafening, a wonderful thing to experience, which also featured my first Cuckoo of the year ). Strangely the arrival of dawn didn't bring a single bite, I had to wait until 0630, then it all went berserk. I will add the details at this point of what and how I was fishing. 

 Overnight I had issues with little Perch (wasps) pulling the worms off my hairs and got to a point I had to change it up because I wasn't fishing with bait on the hook after 20mins or so, so I made the decision to switch back to snails as I had fished in my previous two trips. Also I had two rods fishing on a plateau which was about 8ft deep and one rod fished to my left about two-rod lengths off the bank in 12ft of water and this spot for me was devastating, for nearly two hours I couldn't keep the bait in the water. 

 I had a run of very good fish starting with a 7lb 7oz tench, this was followed by...7lb 10oz, 7lb 8oz, another 7lb 10oz, 7lb 4oz and a 5lb+ fish, my newly set PB was broken and then broken again, by these two absolute stunners! 

New PB 8lb 14ozs.

New New PB 8lb 15ozs.

 The stamp of fishing I was having in that period of 7am to 11am was pretty awesome, my open water rods also contributed but the margin spot was having it off! 

The 8.15 in all her glory without my face init.

 I was hoping I may have a session like this on here before they spawned and by the looks of most of these fish that aren't ready to go yet, the water temp at 20.3c would suggest otherwise but bar one female most were in this shape, not swollen heffers! 

 The sport didn't end right there as I took another at 8lb 1oz which gave me the right run around, my biggest male tench yet. 

Beauty and the Buff.

 

 And I would love to say that it carried on after that 8.01 male, the effort to keep the bait flying out and rods constantly re-baited was keeping me busy, but that feeding spell gave way to silence, an unexpected one too given the carnage that had just occurred but that silence stretched all the way through to 0615 this morning when my rod tore off for a final time with my smallest fish of the trip around mid-5lb.

 All in all I finished up with 13 Tench, lost 4, bit off by a pike 3 times ( third time I nearly netted it ) and heard the cuckoo for hours, all very nice given my previous attempt, will I get one more chance before the fish spawn? Only time will tell.

Tench Campaign Part 2.

 

 After sessions one and two had been completed very quickly I had eyes on another trip as I wanted to keep my eye in and keep getting over to the pit, unfortunately I had to wait a week for the next gap to become available such is my busy life outside of angling! 

 Sunday afternoon I got all the gear loaded in the van and off I went, half an hour drive later I was hopping out the van to unlock the fishery gate, and not long after that I was back in my peg that I have now began to work out even though my second visit resulted in a blank, I simply put that down to the lack of activity and feeding fish rather than a poor area and bait not presented well.

 Having renewed my rod license this time I went with for the first time in my life a "3 rod" license which allowed me to get a third rod out, just that little bit more a chance of that special fish. Around 2030 the rods were out and groundbait laced with dendrobeana and worm liquid were launched out to my three spots, two around 20m out and the other around 35m just behind a gravel bar, the two nearer rods my side of the gravel bar. 

 I didn't have to wait long for liners and within two hours my LH rod was away and an angry fish fought tooth and nail to get off my size 12 XT feeder hook and when "he" finally came in it was clear it was a good fish and on the scales it was confirmed I had indeed broken my PB, only by 2ozs but that doesn't matter, that was my first desire on this water, get a new PB and then my second target is a double. 

Brute of a male Tench.

My new PB, 8lb 5oz.

 Hopefully this PB doesn't last as long as the last one did!. As midnight came and went all I had was a little Eel trouble where my RH rod was being pestered so that kept me focused until even that didn't come back, that at least gave me the chance to get some sleep until my 0330 alarm. I was up on the alarm and all three rods were refreshed and all the spots were topped up with more betaine green mix and dendro' and once again I waited around for 2 hours or so before my next run but amazingly the amount of shows and bubblers was ridiculous, a lot of it over my left hand spot, so when the rod went I wasn't surprised it was the LH rod again, this time a female and a Tench of similar size to my first fish weighing in at 8lb 2oz.

Mega looking creatures.

 Then between that fish and when I packed up I managed three more Tench which were all of a good stamp, those fish weighing 7lb 15oz, 7lb 4oz and 6lb 10oz. I was super chuffed with that return and know I am slowly getting the grip here.

Such super creatures.

Downey Emerald Dragonfly Larvae.

My little part of 35 acres, very nice.

Tench Campaign Part 1

 

 For many years I have dabbled in the sport of tench fishing but never with any conviction and certainly never with a view to catching double figure specimens, you can only catch what's in front of you and only now that is a possibility. 

 Just before I go any further on the tench fishing I will also add that recently Dynamite Baits had got in contact with and offered me a proposition I could not refuse and now am sponsored by Dynamite Baits going forward as a result of the parent company being Rapala VMC I also have access to Okuma and Rapala tackle too, it just gets better. As a kid I'd grown up using Drennan tackle for most of my fishing and on the bait front have used their hemp, robin red pellets, source boilies and paste etc for many years, now I can keep some extra very much needed pennies in my pocket!

 Anyway, now you are up to date with that I will get back to the fishing and the lakes I have chosen is a mature Kent gravel pit with some very nice fish present, double figure Tench are a real possibility, this is one specimen fish that has been missing from my list, 8lb 3oz is certainly a modest fish but one I have thought about beating for some time, now I have this ticket I will do my best to make that happen.

 Only 35mins drive from my house it's perfect for even just short trips after work when I get the chance I will be heading over. A couple weeks back I had my first trip there and was just using it to get an idea what I was facing and just putting the tactics that I know to the test and hoped that something would happen and after a couple of hours I had my first run which was in the shape of a lovely 7lb 1oz male tench. 

Possibly my best male Tench.

 From that point on I had fizzing tench and rolling fish over me for hours, later on in the afternoon the left hand in open water went again and a nice 6lb+ Tench was nestled in the net, this was going well I thought! 

Number 2 in the net, 6lb+ female.

Into the night I fished with total focus but the bobbins remained steady. I had to get some sleep and set my alarm for 3am so I could get up and refresh the rods and get more feed out there and hope for a mad rush of fish, the sunrise was majestic and a prime example of what fishing can reveal, I wouldn't be up at that time for anything else. 

💙

 Around an hour after sunrise my open water rod went again and once again a nice tench around the 6lb mark was landed, I am told the fish average 6-7lbs so it looked like I was amongst some good fish but not monsters. The day seemed to fly by and Tench showed everywhere around me but my rods were lifeless apart from the odd liner. Before I knew it my time was up. 

Loving the new rods, bloody ace!!!

I'll be going 3 rods from tonight!

Fake caster on the method.

Heli rig fished with snail.

Factor 15, yea man

Angling selection, black :) 

 My second trip there was just for the day and slipped into the peg I had had success in previously but unfortunately the Tench weren't as active and for me whilst the rods were silent I topped my already tanned body.

 Back out this evening, fingers crossed for more action!!

Mmmmmm Tuna.

 

 Not every day you go away on a family holiday 3500 miles away, seemingly going with no intention to fish only to be contacted by friends saying someone has seen you at the airport at Gatwick and he's on my flight....couple of days later a chap called Adam Bass contacted me to see if it was me for sure, of course, it was! Adam and I have trodden the same paths over the years but had never met nor spoke via social media platforms beforehand.

 This world is a strange place and noticeably how small it is...he was staying in Makadi, just a few miles from where my family and I were holidaying, soaking up the delights of the Egyptian climate. The conversation we had was great and a really nice chap, then proceeded to ask me if I fancied joining him on his charter out of Makadi Marina, after a very short waffle with the mrs the deal was done, I was going on a boat in the Red Sea for game fish, LAVERLY!

 A few days passed until the morning arrived that I was due to go and by 6am we were nearly ready to rock and we were afloat and gone by 7am. A number of fish were possible but I was just happy to get out on a boat, my sea legs needed an outing :) 

 Adam very kindly suggested as the guest I should have first run...I did try to say no but he wasn't having any of it, so when the freespool was sent into meltdown I was up! 10mins later a nice SkipJack tuna was aboard and dispatched quickly as it was approaching mid morning, stuff your normal elevenesses, sashimi skipjack is where its at, bloody lovely and the chef done a brilliant job with it later on with a light batter, brown rice and fresh salad. 

First blood, athletic SkipJack

 Adam then had a skipjack and then I hooked something that was a lot better than the skipjack and it played me hard, this fish didn't want to come up as we fished over nearly 100m of water just off the coast, after about 15mins she was nearly done and with a steady battle alongside the boat the captain reached out with the gaff and 20kg+ Yellowfin Tuna was boated! what a fish and what a battle. 

Readying a YF!

Mega!!!!

Ditto

Ditto

 If I thought skipjack carved off a 10min old fish was great then this yellowfin was in a different league, my god it was incredible !!!!

SkipJack sashimi

Nom Nom!!!

Yellowfin Sashimi

I am certainly a conservationist with my angling but when you are abroad the rules are different! Plus they are life experiences and one that one must enjoy during your lifetime. Great company, great fishing and great food on the deep blue sea in wonderful coastal scenery. 

Adam battling a spirited SkipJack

 After that yellowfin Adam lost a good fish so it was back to me, the next take was something you could only dream of, the sheer speed and power that this fish went at had the reel screaming! Atef the captain was 100% sure it was a DogTooth Tuna, the characteristics of the fight were to him made it undoubtably so. I just couldn't do much with it, in the end the flourocarbon leader must have cut across its teeth and she was gone, I was gutted but looking back just to experience that type of sustained power is a first for me. 

 Adam, if you ever read this, cheers brother!! It was a blast.

End of Season Review.

 

 The 2024/25 season was certainly one of the quickest, I can not believe its over already but it was pretty good! 

 Highlights of the season are fewer than I would have hoped for along with only one new personal best set.

 My Spring angling was not easy but topped my Bream campaign with a 15lb 10oz specimen PB, I had a fair few doubles too in the aftermath but the 15lb barrier was always my target. 

 The summer seemed to come and go very quickly but the capture of my first 3lb river Rudd was most certainly the cherry on top, there was a couple of cracking back-ups too but barring that it wasn't until early September that things on the Barbel front kicked off.

 That trip up to the Nene in early September bought an end to a 6 trip drought when a 12lb 8oz torpedo slipped up as darkness fell amongst large swathes of cabbages where I found a gravel run which no doubt is used by the fish as a highway between areas, but the Barbel I had the following evening off the Soar was certainly not expected but sometimes thats how angling goes! 

 To be cradling a 12lb 9oz Soar Barbel was much more than I could have dreamt but as I said the angling universe works in strange ways. Rivers number 25 and 26 had been completed inside 24hrs!

 Next up was the Wye, a river that certainly gives up its fish, just not big ones, early October that all changed, when that rod went over around 10/11pm I knew it was a big fish, yes it only just made the cut but they all count! 10lb 1oz and river number 27 had been completed.

 For the majority of the autumn and winter I was on the tools and only fished a couple times, some nice Grayling were caught and Chub, it wasn't until recently on the Dorset Stour that I finally had another proper result when a day spent hunkered down in foul weather was rewarded, not only was it river number 28 completed but weighing 15lb 6ozs it was the 4th river I have had a 15lb+ Barbel off of, a figure I want to increase over the duration of this challenge as a sub-plot.

 And the STATS are in....

 Sessions - 20

 Blanks - 12

 Barbel Caught - 18

 Doubles - 4

 Mileage - 4120

 Only 20 sessions for Barbel in 9 months, now that is poultry! Next season I shall have to do more! and the majority of that was the Kentish Stour.

The Dying Days.

 

 Well, the lead up to the end of the season didn't go as planned, unfortunately the weather wasn't great but still wanted to try. First off I planned to get myself up to Yorkshire for a go at the Y.Rother, a river I had purchased a ticket for back in the summer but it wasn't until 7th of March that I finally got up there! 

 203 miles of tarmac had to be covered and it was my new vans inaugural journey! sadly my trip ended up with a blank on that river, I arrived at 4pm and fished until 4am but had one little chub wrap and the temps had dropped so much that my confidence had ebbed away and opted to leave there at 0430 and yes there were loads of other options such as the Swale, Idle, Y.Ouse, Y.Derwent, Wharfe and the Aire but the conditions up there were very different to the south, so opted to drive back 203 miles to home, not a wink of sleep for 39 hrs, once in overdrive I can do long spells without kip but I do pay for it later on as when I do get to sleep and finally wake up I suffer with really strong headaches where I sleep so deep.

It's hard industrial past on full show.

Not seen waste as bad as this before, eye opening
amount of plastic littering the trees.

 However, before I did that I drove to a secluded woodland in Kent as I had gotten wind of a very rare "legitimate" small population Large Tortoiseshell butterflies, for me it was one I needed as I look to complete my list, as I ambled around I bumped into Terry Hearn who was also searching for the LT so we had a chat about things fishy and fluttery and after 4hrs of searching we came across what we were looking for "species number 53" was in the bag (not literally), success! Now with the gear in the van and a 20 min drive across the beautiful Kent countryside could I finally get that KS Barbel I so badly want?

YESSSS!!!! Finally got to photograph one, lifer.

 Nope.....of course I didn't....again. But, I did see something else that was mind blowing, 3 Beavers! just 20 metres away from where I was fishing, I couldn't quite believe it. Oh, and I also had a nice chub of 5lb 9oz and 3 Bream to about 4lb.

5.9 Chevvy.

Barbel' friend, shame no Barbel seem to exist here :) 

Beaver dental work

ditto

yikes 😳

 After that on March 12/13th I arranged to take my Dad down to the Dorset Stour as we looked to go for a big end of season Chub and Roach, I knew of areas where they were present so we targeted them, another stroke of misfortune meant that neither of us caught across both days! It was not easy at all, but at least we had a good catch up! 

 Last day of the season was spent with Brian who I knew was in London owing to his hospital commitments, with that I opted to fish super light and went about searching for fish in any nook and cranny they may have been held up in, by the end of it I had landed 10 glistening chalk stream Barbel to 7lb 2oz and Brian managed 10 also to 7lb on the button, it was good fun and a far cry from the rigours of my 40 Rivers Challenge! 

7lb 2oz, best of 10 😜

Who says you can't celebrate a draw!

 Roll on June 16th, we go again!