Tuesday 30 April 2013

Spring Tench.


 A brief catch up on an evenings fishing over one of my local lakes and after a couple of hours fishing on a float setup I managed to coax a fish into feeding and after a strong battle a lovely Tench slipped over my net.


5lbs 14oz first of the season and hopefully many more to come.

Saturday 27 April 2013

Fluff Chucking Part Three.


 Today's fishing comprised of what wasn't, all week I had a trip to Marsh Farm planned and all the bait and gear was by my parents front door last night in preparation to just wake up get showered and dressed but just after 5am, it wasn't my alarm that woke me up to get a move on but the sound of a torrential rain storm battering the windows, it was raining so hard that I could barely make the houses on the other side of the road, with that I turned my alarm off and went back to bed for a couple of hours, what a shame! I was really looking forward to going there for the first time, maybe next week.

 But I'm on holiday for a week or so I'd decided to head off out with a fly rod after Trout again, I'd seemed to hit a purple patch the last couple of sessions and I hoped I'd continue that rich vein of form, it is something I'm enjoying a lot, plus the casting is also improving with every outing.


 Fishing for these powerful fish on this light rod and reel is immense fun and could never get bored of it and today was no different because I had banked four Brown Trout to 2lbs 13oz ( 2lb 12oz, 2lb 4oz, 1lb 2oz ) and my first Chub this season on the fly, all my fish today fell to a fly that I had made a couple of years ago up in Cumbria and I still have no idea what it was I'd made, if anyone can shed light on it then let me know. The tail is made up of old Christmas tinsel and the fish seemed to adore it.




A plump 2lb + Chub on my tinsel fly.



Best of the day, again not a monster but great fun.

 The only thing that went right today was the red tinsel fly, but I'll make it out to Marsh Farm next week, I have a date with a Cruscian Carp. Also I have just purchased a Panasonic GF3 compact DSLR camera which is what took these pictures at first glance it's a great camera light and small but nearly all the main features you come to expect of from a full-size DSLR and with Full-HD recording as well so watch out for my attempt of a fishing video. (should be a laugh).


Sunday 21 April 2013

Fluff Chucking Part Two.


 After a week since my last outing with the fly gear I decided to go back out in search of Brown Trout, having not been selected for today's game I had a rare Saturday at my disposal and with the sun out and not a cloud in the sky the condition's were almost perfect, but when I'd got down to my chosen beat the wind was almost non-existent which was a far cry from last week's hairdryer gales, so the conditions were even better.

 I brought along a different selection of flies this time to try and mix it up and find out what flies get responses and which ones don't, I really fancied it today more than I did last weekend due to the fact I should be able to cast and lay my fly line in it's intended path.

 I had only been walking 5-10 minutes and I had already seen a couple of good sized Trout but they were in spots that weren't viable to cast to, so I had to watch them and move, seeing them made it hard as I couldn't fish for them because the swims I had fish from last weekend were devoid of fish this week, was just showing me how much they move around, so for the first hour or so I was faced with seeing Trout in the swims I could not fish and the swims I could cast in had nothing to fish for.

 But with perseverance I did manage to find a swim that both had a fish in it and that I could cast to it, on my first cast down and the retrieve I had a follow from a nice brownie, so not to waste anytime I quickly cast back down and as it hit the surface the Trout rose and nailed my fly, instantly leaping 3ft into the air I was in to a good fish, it charged constantly around and stripping line, just to add to it as well she ploughed through a bunch of sticks in the inside edge which nearly snapped me up, using 4lb tippet that wouldn't have been hard, but after another 4 or 5 leaps and a couple of minutes she was in the net and reviving. A lovely fish that had fantastic markings and colour.




 A pristine 3lbs 5ozs Brown Trout.
 A few of the Trout here are very silvery so it was very nice to catch a properly coloured one, but after that catching that I did manage to find more Trout but again they were in very obscure positions and casting to them wasn't possible and in amongst that shoal were 4 brown Trout to about 4lb an a few Chub to around 5lb maybe even bigger but the Trout were my only target, so I watched and waited to see if they were going to a more accessible position but after 5 minutes of hoping it became clear they weren't going to move, so I was on the move again.
 Another hour or so had elapsed with not a fish in sight, I was starting to think that was going to be action for the day, albeit a fish not a monster but a wet net and a bend in the rod is all I really came out for and to relax whilst wetting a line, the day though was to get another piece of action when I was tracking upstream I noticed a brownie sat in mid stream just off the bottom so I came away from the margins and moved 10 yrds up and when I peered over the edge slowly I noticed the Trout moved up with me, so I had to push up another 10 yrds to get in a casting position, when I did it took about 5 casts to get it to even show an ounce of interest but all that commotion of that fly passing over it's head on about the sixth cast he came up and nailed the fly with serious vigour, it's been a while since I've had a take that violent and the Trout certainly didn't like being hooked, constantly shaking it head and leaping out the water trying to break free, the light gear was being put through it's paces again, these Trout can fight and very well too.
 My first cock fish for a long time, all that I've been catching recently have been hen Trout, so it was good to see a male fish on the bank, another three pound + fish banked the head of Trout here are pretty good.

3lbs 1ozs of pure power, notice the small kype.

Thursday 18 April 2013

My capture records for 2012-13 season.

This is a record of the fish caught between 1st April 2012 and March 31st 2013.



Bream
10lbs 14oz PB
Barbel
14lbs 6oz PB
Carp Common
21lbs 7oz
Carp Mirror
31lbs 3oz PB
Carp Koi
4lbs 10oz
Chub
3lbs 1oz (fly caught), 5lbs 7oz
Crucian Carp
 
Gudgeon
2oz
Tench
6lbs 14oz
Roach
2lbs 7oz
Rudd
1lbs 14oz
Roach/Bream Hybrid
 
Ruffe
2oz
Dace
11oz
Perch
1lb 15oz
Pike
4lbs 7oz
Zander
 
Eel
10oz
Bleak
2oz
Silver Bream
 
Rainbow Trout
 
Brown Trout
5lbs 12oz (fly caught), 3lbs 10oz



Sunday 14 April 2013

Fluff Chucking Part One.


 After a very hectic few weeks at work and the not so seasonable weather, I really wanted to get out but with a mixture of the rivers being closed and the Bream, Tench and Carp months not started yet I decided to grab a fly rod and go in search of Brown Trout in what had to have been the best weather we've seen in 6 months, so not to waste a good opportunity I headed out very light with a small selection of flies, hoping to wet a net for the first time in a month.

 The day got off to a slow start with a number of good swims worked and spotting a few Trout amongst the ranunculus but no takes on the fly, my main choices for the fly were, pheasant tail nymph, blue flash damsel and the black buzzer which have all in the past done good things, so today I stuck to what I know best and but the wind had other ideas, for the entire session it blew and I found it very hard sometimes to muster a cast without a dreaded bird's nest or the fly or line ending up in the bankside vegetation, not to be disheartened by the constant bombardment I picked swims where I had the wind either behind me or blowing downstream.


 
 
 The river looked in immaculate condition with it looking probably the best I've ever seen it and a couple of other fly anglers said the same thing as we had a conversation about the local riff raff still fishing the river for the coarse species with feeder rods and pellet rigs, between us 3 guys who were fishing the correct method, we saw another 4 that weren't and flouting the law, but where are the powers that be to put a stop to it??
 
 It took nearly an hour to register my first interest from a Trout which fell to the pheasant tail almost as it hit the surface a nice swirl was created as a brownie just under a 2lb nailed the fly.
 
 
 Just what the doctor ordered after a baron spell of a month, a fine scrap I will add as well, giving me about 5 huge leaps into the air one of which must have been 3ft or more, Olympian trout indeed. Note the wind blew off me hair as well!!! it was that strong.
 
 Next swim and I managed to stumble on to two brownies both of which were under a pound, so not to waste time I got about 15ft above them and cast the fly out and let it pass over them and on the retrieve the rear one of the two nabbed it giving me again a good account of itself.
 
 
Number two home safe, as they all do, catch and release strictly.
 
 Two for the Pheasant tail now in as many casts, all of a sudden the fish wanted to feed, for an hour before these two I had done the same thing and only got the occasional follow but I guess that's fishing eh?, when I fly fish even if I know there is more fish in the swim I'll leave them and move on to another swim not to piss them off too much, but after that second fish the session went quite again and it was probably another hour before I saw another fish, there was obviously more upstream than the lower part of the beat.
 
 I was to be greeted though by quiet a chunky Trout when I noticed a couple of Chub sat on a gravel run a short and fat spotty came up stream and very delicately took my fly off the surface barely breaking it, as soon as I saw my fly disappear into the fishes gob I struck then all hell broke loose, on a 7ft 3/4 weight fly rod and 4lb tippet I feared the worst and when it took off, it did so quickly that it spun the reel too fast and I couldn't control thus putting me in a massive tangle which wouldn't allow the fly-line through the next eye of the rod or back onto the reel so I just gained on the fish the old fashioned way and paying out line when it charged off when it got close to the net.
 
 
 
A lovely 2lb 11oz Brown Trout, back to fight another day.
 
 Just after I put that cracker back the heavens opened and in the attire I had decided to go with today, it all of a sudden didn't seem a great idea but thankfully it wasn't substantial, just another April shower, it had been a good day and seriously thought about calling it a day, I had plenty of enjoyment even if the wind was making life very hard, but I thought I'd have a cast or two on my way down to the end of the beat and I'm glad I did, a couple of blind casts and on the third retrieve an almighty bow wave came up behind my blue flash damsel and smashed it with some serious power, as soon I saw how powerful the brownie took it, I thought seriously whether my tackle would cope with such a battle but I've had bigger on this gear so I rolled with it and after a battle of about 4 minutes I slipped my net under what was the biggest of the day by quite a distance.
 
 
A true Brutus, 3lb 13ozs and what a fish too.
 
 
After the pictures, she was returned to her watery home, great sport.
 
 Once I had revived that big spotty I packed up and headed home but on route the child in me was curious about what life lurked in the margins so with a couple of scoops with my net I captured a nice fat Frog and an energetic Newt. I'd love to come back and do a part two, weather depending!.
 





Monday 8 April 2013

Back on the banks.


 After a quiet a long absence by my standards from the waterways I had finally managed to break the monotony of work and got out on my local canal in search of a Perch or Pike, over the years I have always struggled on the grand union canal in north London but today, the sun was out and probably one of the best days of the year so far for fishing so I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

 Today I spent the day spinner and lure fishing using a range of different colours and sized ones, throughout the morning I had tried a few locks and bends on the canal trying to find some fish shoaled up but after a couple of hours and a few hundred casts, I managed to blank but somewhat unsurprisingly but it was nice to finally get out and with the sun out as it was and with Chris for company who also blanked it was a nice day out, maybe another time I might get lucky.


London's Grand Union Pike hunt.
 
 
Camden Lock, an old Bream haunt of mine, but no predators apart from the black death.
 
 
 
The weirdest thing I've ever seen aswell, a Heron eating bread!!??!! erm, aren't they carnivores, what will I see next, a canal Pike on the bank?. Tight Lines until next time.



 

Wading About for Ladies.

   As the season drew to a close I got an invite from Mike once again to join him on the beautiful Wylye, how could I ever say no!!  Conditi...