Last Action of the Season.

 Now if Carlsberg did fishing trips I'd have bitten off your arm for it. On a whim, I phoned Brian ( AKA PikeMan ) and pitched a plan, he said yes, 440am I was on my way the next morning to collect him, we were heading south. Target, Grayling. Find a big one and hope for the very best. After a crazy evening the day before trying find a tackle shop to get maggots I couldn't wait just to get home, sort some bits out and grab some sleep. Midnight came and went and I was still wide awake, as the excitement of the unknown kept me from sleeping. At some point I obviously managed to conk out as I woke to hear my alarm buzzing away.

 Like a coiled snake I was up and out, but only to forget where I put my centrepin, cue the f*ing and blinding under my breath as I rampaged in silence through draws, boxes etc to find it. Why must things insist on vanishing when you want them the most? utterly frustrating and Brian's express service to the river was now late!

 Once I finally arrived we shot off south and hoped that the river would be fishable as I did put the feelers out the previous evening to try and work out whether it was a no go or that in parts it was okay. Upon arrival down a long winding track we finally came to the river and yes it was up but I certainly felt we stood a chance.

 A deep sweeping pool was our first port of call which in the past has played host to some exceptional fishing, however size of the fish have not been of specimen proportions and hoped one day we would cross paths with possibly one or two fish that would exceed the 2lb barrier, no doubt they are already present, they simply haven't been caught by me.

 After a fast start from Brian it was myself that got the first decent pull on the float and very quickly realised it was a big grayling, a few rod lengths out, twisting and turning in the strong flow my knees jangled as the fish then went broadside with its sail-like dorsal fin proudly erect and causing me all sorts of problems as the line gained was stripped off and some as it now played a foot under the surface about 30 yards downstream before it mercifully stopped taking line. Another minute or so of tussling and finally Brian swept up the grayling. That was nerve wracking.

 In the water she looked a good "2lber" and throughout the fight I thought it all along but on the bank she felt lite and when she settled on 1.14 I wasn't surprised as such. At some point this would be comfortably over that milestone.

 I guess you can't be disappointed with a beauty like that! For probably another twenty minutes or so we continued to try our luck but it quickly became apparent there wasn't much feeding in that area so we moved downstream, my luck was in for sure!

 As we bunny-hopped pegs it was even more apparent that it wasn't going to be an action packed day, scraping the odd fish together was testament to how difficult it was turning out to be. That said on possibly my 10th or so trot, fishing a fraction over-depth I got a sharp tug on the float and soon enough I doing battle with a good fish, with it being unsighted had me wondering if I'd hooked another good Grayling and soon enough the culprit broken the surface, flashing a massive dorsal well clear of the waterline, it was time to stop playing hard and ease her in. Yet again, just like the first used every trick in the book to avoid coming to the net as it went broadside and flew off down stream, all I could do was hold on, matching it would have surely been a disastrous decision to make.

 Patiently waiting for my chance to gain on her up the inside margins I took my chance as she slowly eased up to the waiting net with Brian in control of the situation. Another good'un in the net, convinced this was over two pounds I awaited the reading on the scales....1lb 13oz?! how? I asked myself, she looked bigger than the first that should have been over two pounds too. Have they spawned already? that is the only explanation I can muster, yet they were pristine without a mark on them and I know Grayling don't mess around then spawning, affairs can be vigorous so I had doubted that reason since.

 As to why the fishing in general was tough I can only imagine it is that the river has flowed with plenty of detritus for weeks now and that the Grayling are only just getting back on the feed, as by 2pm I had caught four trout and five grayling. As we approached the later stages of the day a couple more Grayling were added to my days total but found fishing very hard, even bites were few and far between.

 Then I decided to leave my gear with Brian and went for a wander with the polaroids and about quarter of a mile downstream I caught sight of a few small Roach, those were sights for sore eyes, but then my eyes began to focus through the gentle ripple and glare of the sun and the small Roach were ganged up with big Roach and big big Roach, the sort I've been searching for a couple of seasons. I watched them for five minutes before heading back to grab the gear, with silt puffing out the gills of the Roach it was time to get a bait to them.

 Bogged down by boots covered in mud the walk to the gear and back was taxing, all I could think of was a big Roach slipping up. Maggots and bread available and a couple of hours to try winkle one or two out. Once I got the depth right and worked out they wanted bread and not maggots I was getting bites, but so fast and tentative I couldn't hit them which was frustrating until about an hour in we both realised we had to let them hang themselves as they were cornering the bread flake and it was taking 20-30 seconds for the fish to get close enough to the hook point.

 Even with tiny pieces of bread just covering the hook point it took some skill to finally connect with the first one which was about half a pound, from that moment on it was a case of sticking to the task and the rest followed suit, some really nerve wracking moments followed but it was a thoroughly enjoyable evenings fishing as I came close twice to breaking the two pound barrier with a pair of Itchen pearlers. The biggest that weighed 1.15 was played to my rendition of "Another day in paradise" as it felt like it and enabled me to see past the fact I was playing a large Roach that at first I didn't think was close to two pound or over until it was in the net, by that point I thought I was in the money.

 Awesome fish and I was proper over the moon, my days tally stood at 11 Roach ( best two @ 1.15 & 1.14 ), 8 Grayling ( best two @ 1.14 & 1.13 ) and 5 Trout. A tough day but brilliant too. That was the last action of the season.

1.14 (top) & 1.15 (bottom) awesome fishing.

 A great end to an indifferent season owing to many factors external to angling, the next twelve months will hopefully see me get on the bank a little more.

 Tight Lines all.

 James.

Time For Fat Dace.

 As February the 1st comes along my mind starts to wander from what I have been targeting and slowly the want to target Dace kicks in. They are great summer sport with bags often weighing 10-20lbs can be had on good days with smatterings of Chub and Roach thrown in. Now is the time though for anglers serious in attempting to achieve the dizzy heights of specimens of the pound mark and possibly beyond.

 In my lifetime lady luck has shone brightly as I approach double figures for pound plus specimens (currently eight) and many back up specimens from 13oz and up. It was time for lady to shine once again. It is time once again. This time I want to see if some of my past leviathans can be beaten or will they simply be a memory, to never be beaten. A loaf of Hovis certainly is the sort of bait to winkle them out.

A 6gr avon wire stem, just to keep on the creases.

 I got down fairly late as all the people on the damn roads didn't realise I had fishing to do! inconsiderate people I tell you! After finally battling my way through the hoards the river trundled through in front of me as I parked up. Gin clear but carrying a nice bit of water which wasn't surprising as since 1st of Feb came along we have been catching up on all the rain we should have got from January. It was from recollection the 7th driest since records began and it did seem that way.

 The conditions filled me with hope and not before long my 6gr avon wire stem was hurled out towards the far bank where I hoped Dace would be holding station, just out the flow, hugging the creases. My plan sounded great but the Chub didn't get the memo as I netted one after another, good sport, not the target. Try as I did they would not leave me alone..after the third or fourth run I started to think the Chub were simply in a ravenous mood and that Dace simply wouldn't get there first and I was very nearly right, that was until this cracker turned up. Best of the year so far and hopefully the first of many (If I get the time).

My one and only of the day at 13oz flat.

 Not to cut it short but for the Dace, that one fish was my lot, so much so that I changed target and headed downstream. It wasn't just a big Dace that I'd get my hands on. It took nearly half an hour to start getting bites, hitting them was another problem, the sheer speed that the bait was being hit in the fast pace of the water provided another problem that I had to negotiate, I'm all on for problem solving but I did very nearly give up nearly an hour in until one finally slipped up and it was a lovely Roach of 1lb 7oz, then I had obviously done something different, as I hit another five in the next dozen or so trots, a couple more around the pound mark. The best was to come and just as dusk was settling in too. Oh and this little fella popped along too.

Love a gonk.

 Doing nothing different by this point it was obvious that the bigger fish were switching on as I connected with a ripping pull of the float, in the flow all the fish felt good but this one didn't feel like a Roach at all, such was strength. As she rolled on the surface I could see it was a very good one and looked to be over the magical two-pound mark, the remainder of the fight was played with caution. In she went !

 Excited to see if I had caught my first two pound plus Roach of the season I put her straight on the scales...

 ...One Pound Fourteen ounces...oooooohhhh that was close and if I had lost her I'd have sworn it be a "two". Full of excitement I slipped her in the keepnet and got the bait back out there. Three trots later the float began to reach the end of the run where it shallows up to a weedy/gravel bar, as I began to retrieve the float some 25 yards it dipped and vanished, for a split second I thought it was a little fish as it swam upstream, straight up to me. I didn't think for a second that I'd be connected to yet another Roach of fantastic proportions! This one looked bigger than the fish, not in length but the girth was nothing that I have seen the likes of before! With jelly legs still only just recovering from the first I had its sister in the net! This one felt heavier and again I wasted no time in weighing her.

 One pound fifteen ounces.....oooooooohhhhhh thats even closer :), I didn't know what to do with myself, to know and catch Roach like that is good for the soul, especially where they came from and it's past pedigree is slowly being rediscovered and enjoyed. The light was failing fast and I really wanted to get a couple of pics before the sun set, disaster set however when I had a flat battery which I possibly ran out photographing my Dace earlier on...I must charge them as a matter of habit because its not the first time...

 What a day it was, challenging is certainly a way of describing it, trotting 15-40 yards with 25-30mph cross winds and 6-10 inches of additional water to contend with, not to mention a very achy arm after a day of constant trotting, been a while since I fished that hard and I had to. It was a case of effort equals reward.

 A brace of Roach for 3lb 13oz and a few drams, 13oz Dace, Trout to 3lb+, Gudgeon to 1oz made for an enjoyable trip.

Happy as a pig in....

Wrapping Up On the 2017/18 Season.

 At the beginning of the season which had just finished the "Blogger's challenge" was resurrected for a part two. The previous one I found very interesting and almost forced me, albeit willingly in the end, to target various other species that I typically wouldn't give much attention to if any, that includes watercourses for that matter.

My canal PB @ 10.04.

 Canal systems where I spend most of my time are unfortunately not what they used to be twenty to forty years ago. However, I found out to my pleasure that they aren't dead and buried entirely. Stocks are low, fish are extremely nomadic but through all of that, a little patience and watercraft paid dividends way beyond my comprehension when first visiting these waters just three years ago.






My season actually began at the start of last May, this was to coincide with the bloggers challenge. Obviously with the rivers closed to coarse fishing I stuck to abstracting what I could from the canals and improving upon some of my stillwater personal bests.

 This proved to be successful at times, where other species like the Tench simply did not want to know. Golden Orfe, for once did show in good numbers and in one day I broke my PB of 5lb 2oz twice in a day (5.10 and 6.12 ).

The reminder of the spring and early summer was hard going and it took until June 16th to banish a few blanks which had began to accrue. By the close of play of the opening day I had banked Chub to 6lb 8oz which was only two ounces shy of my fairly long standing personal best. By the end of the summer/early autumn the fishing had picked up no end when I hit a purple on various venues around the southern half of the country.

Canal rudd to 2.05, river rudd just shy of 2lb, my first ever golden rudd all came within four manic days, more canal bream were tempted on slow sinking bread and crust to an eye watering 10lb 4oz which is a new canal best for the species. Then a procession of good chub were taken on the D.Stour to 5.15 and H.Avon to 6.04 which was topped off with a 9.09 Stour barbel which showed awesome power to evade capture which ultimately was a battle I won.



 Big gudgeon to mid 2 ounces began to show in the latter part of the autumn along with some decent dace over 12oz, a new personal best crucian carp of 3.08 with a back up specimen of 3.07 and a monster of a river carp (common) which whilst I was playing could have bet a thousand pounds that it would be a thirty! it transpired that she would miss that mark but at 28.03 I could only pinch myself to feel if it was real! the circumstances to its capture and the tackle used filled me such adrenaline I struggled to compose myself and the experience went by so quick I don't remember some of the goings on afterwards. I was a wreck and easily one of the most nervous battles I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.

 If only all seasons were this good! it took some effort and not to mention miles of driving!

 With everything bore in mind it was time very well spent and I could have done better at times, yes.

My winter was punctuated by five weeks abroad travelling south-east Asia. This was a great adventure that opened my eyes to a little bit more of a world that I sometimes wish I had not seen but to build a more broader perspective of how other cultures live you have to see it for yourself to understand, the three day and night trek through the jungle was incredible and would love to do it again, but, for longer and more off the beaten track to immerse myself in what is one of the most picturesque places I have had the pleasure of seeing. It's not all bad!!!

 Before and after that travelling my fishing mainly consisted of trying for a 7lb chub (unfortunately I missed out this season, again.), a new personal best pike which I achieved, with a stunningly long and thick specimen at 22.15. My new PB was paired with a mint 18.03 specimen which had attributed to my best days piking ever in what is a fairly fledgling attempt to become a decent pike angler having barely targeted them in my 25 years of angling.

Other sessions consisted on targeting a 3lb grayling, which again did not materialise. Three grayling over 2lbs did slip up with the best weighing in at 2.03. Chub were becoming difficult to track down but when I did manage to get amongst them I was blessed with two cracking bags, the best of which consisted of sixteen fish with four over 5lbs, the best weighing 5.08.

 Roach, now this a species that has tormented me for almost two seasons in regards to my quest of a 2lb specimen to add to my collection of awesome catches, it took all the way up to the second to last day of the season to finally cross paths with one that I was lucky enough to land. Flashbacks of the summer where I lost a right monster that could have beaten my long standing personal best were playing in mind, but there was to be no sour end and a beauty of 2.02 lay on the mat in all its glory. Simply splendid!

Looking Back on 2016 With Fond Memories.

 When the year started I had so many ideas in my head but knew that some would have to be put off as time would be slightly tight, one of my biggest wishes was to track down a double figure canal Bream and after a short campaign after my return from Asia I achieved it, but that wasn't the only target I set that I achieved, below is a short snapshot at how the previous twelve months unfolded.

 January was a Dace month, a few trips were made and I had huge success, having landed a great haul of big Dace I lost the largest I contacted. 15oz 4dr was the biggest I slipped into the net and larger I know existed. Dace weren't the only species I roved about for, Barbel also made an appearance with a few landed and two into the double figures.

My largest Dace of January.

A pair of large chalkstream Dace. 

One of two doubles caught in consecutive swims.

 February was much the same as I targeted the Dace shoals as they fed through the winter, plenty of rain had risen the rivers slightly and sport became patchy as I struggled to hit the conditions right, but when I did it was a great feeling and the best part of it was breaking the pound barrier with a huge Dace, not to mention the capture of what was my fifth two pound plus Roach of the season!.

Simply colossal, 1lb 0oz 4dr

The smile says it all, 2lb 2oz 5dr, love it.

Not a specimen in weight, but the prettiest Roach I've ever seen.

Target achieved!

And this one wasn't far off either!

 As the river season approached it's close I made one last push for Dace in March and was rewarded again with a good catch of fish to 14oz 6dr, all of which one day will hopefully reach that mystical size that are so rare, strangely enough it seems as if this particular river and area could hold maybe as many as a dozen at that size!.

Not too shabby at all, 14oz 6dr and my best of March.

 Moving on to April and May, myself and my now fiancee had a month or so set aside for some travelling, that involved flying off to Asia and enjoyed some much needed couple time in the jungle, bustling cities and the picturesque beaches and seas. I did catch some fish in Asia, I caught many Mekong Catfish to 160lbs and the fight still gives me nightmares.....they possess brutal power indeed. Before heading out to Asia I did catch a few Golden Orfe which included catching a new personal best, also a couple of trips out for canal carp proved successful as a Common's and Mirror's fell to stalking tactics on bread flake.

New PB at 5.02

 Once I had arrived back from Asia it was nearly time to get fishing as the river season was fast upon me, a few ventures were fielded and the first was to try and better my PB Bream, I did just that on a 24 hr session on a reservoir, I didn't beat it by much but it didn't matter to me. Then on the back of the reservoir session that I cut short I counted my lucky stars as I achieved one of my years targets in the form of a double figure Bream from a canal (10.01) only just!!. I also caught some good Dace, a lovely low 2lb Crucian and a lump of a river Carp, 25lb 6oz was the largest river Carp I've had in a few years.

My only Bream of the 24hr trip, 11.07.

One of my season target's achieved, one very happy man. Rare fish is that!

A brutus of a Carp, plenty of water enabled this Common to fight really well
and the flow of the river made it equally exciting as well as scary. 25.06.

 Now July was a brilliant month of fishing, I had the pleasure of taking my boat up to the Fens for a few trips and managed to catch a good haul of Rudd with six over 2lbs, the two largest at 2.06 and 2.05. The Chub fishing was also very good fun as I'd stalk them in the summer sunshine amongst the runs of dense weed, a good head of 5's were landed and plenty of back-up fish of upper 4's and below. 

Lovely fish, shame about the marking up.

Stour Chub are awesome fish.

Not far off of six pounds, great condition.

Best Rudd of the season at 2.06, stunning fish.

 Moving on to August, for me it was a very quiet month and fishing wise I didn't do an awful lot, I did however manage one trip abroad with the missus to see some friends and also a single trip to the Stour for Chub. It went very well and in the process caught my first Grass Carp and Asp which were both great fun!

Stunning Dutch Grassie

My best Asp of the trip.

Biggest Dace of the summer, a clonking 13oz+

Best Chub of the summer at 6.01

Also some cracking Barbel turned up aswell on short trips after work.

  During September I found fishing difficult and coupled with limited time on the rivers the rewards were scant, the Stour provided me with snippets of what could be achieved but nothing large made it to the bank. Plenty of 4's were about it.

 Then October was fairly similar in a few ways but there was one real stand out catch, which was resulted in a Barbel which missed the double figure mark by a matter of drams.....

 November started off with a couple of Thames Pike but the highlight of this month had to be finally cracking the Dorset Frome's specimen Grayling population, I'd spent three trips in the previous season and on the second trip of this campaign I nailed a biggie. 2lb 11oz of power and beauty rolled into one, lovely fish and the fight was heart-stopping as it tried tirelessly to shed the hook by burying it's head in stone and gravel, very dirty tactics and after hitting the current broad-side I had the chance to finally land it 70 yards downstream from where I caught it !

Smashed my PB and one of angling dreams achieved.

Another large Stour Chub which came right at the end of a tough day.

 Then December. Again this month seemed to fly by with the approach to Christmas but it didn't stop  the barrage of Barbel that followed, over three trips I enjoyed over a dozen Barbel, two of which weighed 11.02 and 10.15. It was fantastic fishing and during the winter it's fishing that most would not expect! I just hope more sessions like that come around soon enough.

9.04

8.01

5.02

4lb+

11.02

10.15

5.03

A very good Dace to finish the year, also had one of 14oz 2dr to go with it.