Canal Rudd - Part Two

 With yesterday's success on the Rudd front I woke up this morning with a plan of where I was going to try, I wasted no time this morning on getting started with a slice of bread broken and tossed out to seek out the feeding fish and await the swirls to begin, but I saw something I didn't expect as a huge bow-wave broke out in amongst a weed bed, it shot off up and then double backed straight towards and under the bridge I was standing on, I first thought it was a crazy Pike but I had never encountered that before, then as some reeds downstream of the bridge started moving violently and then it revealed itself, in the half light I could make out a large head of an Otter as it popped up to check where I was, still able to see me on the bridge it went under and the bow-wave began again, an Otter on that canal could be devastating and could have a profound effect on such an intimate water, if it was a rogue then hopefully it buggers off but as the day progressed I was catching fish with suspected Otter damage, so I suspect it has been around a while or comes to visit on a regular basis to wreak havoc on the fish stocks.

Love fishing at dawn.

 Upon seeing that Otter I changed direction and headed away from where it was heading with the hope that things had settled down and the Rudd begin their morning munch, below is a piccy of the best I managed at dawn but I did see one a little bigger than my largest.

A stunning 1.4, didn't realised I looked so rough!

 I maybe had a dozen to 1lb 4oz before breakfast but I couldn't find many larger ones so after brekkie I hatched another plan and hoped it would pay off, 4 miles or so of walking up and down searching for a good one to cast at I had finally done so in the shape of a cracking 1.9 in pristine condition, this was followed up by a string of fish (1.5, 1.5, 1.3 & 1.0) these were all taken in a small section of the canal in very quick succession which was great sport and a bonus Tench on free-lined bread.

Not the biggest but it played very hard to get.

Notice the suspected otter damage on the upper lobe of the tail.

 And below is a couple of Rudd that were taken later on in the day and through all of the smaller fish I managed to bag myself a 2lb plus specimen and from what I can tell there simply isn't many of them in the canal so I feel very pleased to have snared one on the second day, the other fish weren't bad either as I banked a 1lb 8oz and a 1lb 10oz 2dr.

2nd biggest of my trip to Somerset.

A dirty fight off this beaut, my best for a very long time - 2lb 1.5oz 

 The largest Rudd really did fight hard and I did think that I'd lose it when it ploughed straight into a bank of weed and when I freed it from there she made a bee-line for the near-side reed line and very nearly did lose it, I scrambled up the bank for the net and mugged the fish before I could lose it, a huge sigh of relief when I looked in the net to see it laying up after what must have been just a tiring for the Rudd as it was me!.

A lovely place to spend some time, London is such a shite place to live.

Rudd Country.

Canal Rudd - Part One.

 It's been a while since I've wanted to get a start on my Rudd fishing, I did have a half-hearted attempt at Frensham Small Pond after the resident fish but it turned out to be hard work, so to make thing's tougher I decided to head down to Somerset in search of Britain's prettiest species of fish and I sure you would not argue, wild Rudd in beautiful surrounding's.

 The weather forecast all last week made bleak reading and thing's weren't turning out well, come yesterday evening the forecast was exactly what I was hoping for, bright sunshine and light wind is my ideal condition's for stalking Rudd and armed with a couple loaves of bread the hunt was on, I began my three-day quest with a stunning fish which was in great nick, after 20 minutes I had one on the bank, but this trip came with a target of a 2lb plus specimen with a 3lb+ fish unlikely but who knows what could happen!.

 As the day progressed the larger Rudd were starting to show, between me and my host we began to get some better stamp of fish, here are some of the fish that came to net during my first day on the cut...

Early doors and perfect condition.

Biggest of the day at 1lb 8oz.

Immaculate pound plus Redfin.

1lb 6oz...getting bigger.

Big Dace in a Wild Place Part Two.

 The large Dace that I have seen recently and been lucky enough to catch a few of have been flickering through my mind over the last week so I had to satisfy my mind, a forty minute journey completed and I arrived roughly where the fish were last time but I know Dace move in their shoals a hell of a lot, I have never found them in the same place twice and finding them again is not easy as there is plenty of water with the addition of bank to bank weed with only small amounts of gaps but those are the only options.

 With the temperature reaching 27c by midday-ish the sport was tough and the Dace weren't feeding hard and I only managed one of 8oz 7dr, not a monster but with the abundance of natural food things are currently tough, as it gets cooler it will improve, plenty of Chub to 4lb 6oz also made an appearance but in the process of coming in to the net ruined the swims with their frolicking, but better than nothing I suppose.

Barbelling Session's.

 With my Rudd campaign looking to resume soon I thought about getting amongst some Barbel and with a few little pocket's of spare time knocking about I have been getting myself on the bank and hoping for a wrench or two to mix up my fishing a little.

 The other evening with a little rain predicted I set about building a swim and awaiting the fish to turn on, it took longer than I thought it would but a quick move proved pivotal as this slender summer Barbel fell to my BFR, the first of many no doubt and that was quickly followed by another of smaller ilk (5lb or so) but equally as powerful, oh how you miss a good scrap.....

The largest around the 7lb mark.

 So that evening session was a success and I wanted to get myself back into the swim that had produced previously for me but I had taken my father (James Snr) on a little guided tour for a Barbel with the hope he could manage one of these magnificent fish, size wasn't on the agenda as he doesn't get out much. We started by fishing likely looking areas and allowing a bit of time for fish to move onto our bait's but as we aimed to take a roving approach we quickly scrapped this idea and I thought trotting in these condition's would serve us best.

 Using 6BB Avon spigot floats fished at various depths we could get our baits into awkward position's with minimum of fuss, this tactic didn't take long either to provide a fish, a swift take on my rod had me scrambling to get the net prepared when the Barbel finally gave up, on relatively light tackle it put up a good showing. After unhooking and a brief check-up to see if it was okay she bolted off into the deep after reviving in the net.

 As I said size wasn't on the agenda and I simply wanted my Dad to get one, but it wasn't his day as I changed tactic again and I connected with a very decent Barbel, with my polarized glasses I could see the fish twist and turn deep in the pool, straight away I could tell it was a double and my heart started pumping hard all I had to do was to stop it from heading for the far bank vegetation and mid-river snags and I was okay, this was easier said than done but after some serious side strain she began to ease up, one last dive for freedom was curtailed early doors and just managed to get her into the net which was followed by a swift fist pump.

Amazing fish, feels good to catch such immaculate specimen's.

 Eagerly wanting to know what weight it would go I had the scales out and got a shock when after deducting the net she only registered 10lb 8oz, a frame of a certain eleven but did I care?, did I hell, a lovely fish glowing in the sun on a perfect summer evening, behaving well for a couple of photographs it then returned strong to make somebody else's day, my second double in as many weeks. Very happy with that result and it ended well for my father too a he banked a lovely Chub of 4lb, not a Barbel but a fish all the same.

Not Quite To Plan.

 It has been a funny week in regards to the weather as it has been up and down like a fiddler's elbow, the fishing has been indifferent and recently I have been thinking of having a short break to allow the systems to sort themselves out, so bearing that in mind I planned on tackling early morning Bream. The 4am alarm sounded and hit the snooze button immediately for I wasn't ready and not enough sleep had been caught, I did finally get out and on the bank for roughly six, when I arrived I was met by drifting weed and a brisk down wind which made fishing extremely difficult, I did attempt to fish it but after just half an hour I knew it was futile so I packed up headed elsewhere.

There is a river there somewhere....

 Thing's looked better upon arrival at my next venue, surrounded by beautiful woodland and not a soul in sight I set about targeting the Tench and Bream that I know are present, both species are known to top 12lb+ and with specimen's like that available it's not hard to see why I really love fishing this lake, at first I was getting a few small pulls under on the float but nothing materialized, with a quick change of bait though saw a brace of lovely Tench fall in quick succession just off a large bunch of lily-pads, the fights were mind bending and very nearly lost both fish on numerous occasions as they seeked the cover of the vast padded area, needless to say they both deserved a well earned rest and laid perfectly still for a nice side-by-side shot.

Two in a bed - 6lb 1oz & 4lb 3oz.

 It was rather a quick fire bit of fishing as I remained biteless for nearly an hour before a small Bream of 2lb showed a liking to a small prawn, it was very slow after that and moved a couple of times around the lake but nothing doing, so another change of venue and also change of discipline as I decided to do some long trotting for Dace and Roach, with a slight possibility of an early season Grayling.

 I have never fished this stretch before so I really didn't know what to expect and it was set in some picturesque settings, so all I needed was some fish.....after 2 hours of trotting I had a thoroughly wet net with seven lovely Roach to 13oz and around a dozen Dace to an astounding 13oz 7dr, a specimen Dace picked out of a shoal of fish that averaged just 5oz, so I was glad I got my hands on the grand-mother of the bunch, very happy days indeed and another really big Dace to add to my collection.

Average sized fish of 5-6oz.

A proper good Dace.

Photo of the 13oz Dace will be put up as soon as I can sync my phone.

Summer Tenching.

 This evening I tackled Enton for a few mid-summer Tench as I felt like a slight change in my target's, before doing this though I felt a short trip back to where I caught those good Dace in the hope I would find some slightly larger specimen's, upon arrival at the river it was hammering through and not necessarily the condition's I wanted, nevertheless I had made the effort so I was going stay and try. Two hours of toiling away in the coloured water I had all but gave up, I did try but wasn't going to leave empty handed as two pristine Chub were the only willing participants.

Not a Dace!

 So enough of the failed river trip and on with the Tench, I headed up the road to Marsh Farm's Harris Lake with the view to banking a few late-afternoon tinca's, my tactic for the evening was fishing the peacock waggler on the pin, to start with things were hard and the fish weren't playing ball just yet, I knew the Tench wouldn't really feed until 730 onwards, strange but true and although some will still feed during the day it's very sporadic sport, so I knew I would have to wait. After plenty of waiting and tinkering with my end tackle the float raised and buried itself with aplomb, my first fish of the session was in the bag after a good scrap.

Not big but a start.

 Not a lump but it was a good fight and the next cast provided me with another sturdy tinca, it's funny how a 3-hour period could be such a struggle then like the "flick of a switch", it all fell into place, it can sometimes feel there that your not fishing it properly but you are almost certain you are and then the fish arrive and it all comes good, the next fish was roughly 4lb followed by another at 4.10.

In anticipation......

 They were typical stamp but the next fish was above that, the float slipped away just like the others but the fight was less erratic and by that I could tell it was a better fish, it wasn't a long fight and she soon slipped into my waiting net, a much better fish indeed.

Ah....that's better. 6lb 4oz.

 Chuffed with that Tench, but maybe a Crucian to wrap up the day??, the answer was "no", but I did have a few more Tench to bring up the dozen and maybe 45lb of fish, not to shabby I must say.

In again, hard fighters on 3lb line.

Back she goes, great to see them go back strong.

Big Dace in a Wild Place.

 Target: Dace.

 Tactic: Long trotting on the centre-pin.

 This evening I had a couple of hours spare after work and went out in search of some quality Dace, a couple of sessions have proved hard going for the Dace but the Roach have picked up the baton whilst providing me with some great sport. The condition's were almost perfect and the river was low & clear thus making my job a little tougher hence the reason for the trotting.

 At times swims were devoid of fish so being mobile was very important for it allowed me to hop between makeshift holes in the reeds which is what I had to cram myself into, I knew good fish existed and hoped they were still around, mashed bread was fed throughout and apart from the occasional Chub to 2lb a solitary Brown Trout of 2-2/8 fought hard on the very light tackle. After a fair amount of casting I finally found some Dace as one started to wriggle in the current after nailing my piece of flake, a nice one of 8oz 3dr (Below).

 I could see a few fish breaking the surface further down stream at around 35-40 yards, after catching that first fish the shoal pushed down into slightly deeper water and I couldn't bring them up as they were weary so I had to get down to them, as soon as it hit a certain spot the float would bury itself, three Dace came on seven trots and all of them were over 8oz with the largest weighing 11oz 5dr, just the sort of specimen's I was looking for and I'm sure there are larger fish, but those larger Dace will have to wait as dusk had settled in and the light level dropped too much with the float becoming invisible, four Dace to just under 12oz was a great start with a pound plus specimen a real possibility.

Best of the day, all in great condition.

Pretty Little Mirror's

 Recently my fishing hasn't gone down the route of specimen hunting as I have a few trips planned for my summer targets of Rudd and Bream, so I spent some time doing some more trotting and catching good quantities of Roach and Chub with a couple of Barbel spoiling the party on 3lb line which was very enjoyable, plus a couple of evening trips to North London in search of Bream and Carp with varied success on the Carp front and the Bream not showing full stop.

 A crazy moment also on the river as I managed a Koi on 3lb line of roughly 4-5lbs in great condition, certainly not a native but good to see all the same managing so well in what can be a tough environment, especially come the winter.

Weir-Pool Roach.

 Target on this occasion was the marvellous Roach and my tactic for the relatively short session was long trotting and feeding bread constantly into the swim to keep the hungry shoal occupied, I didn't have a target size but I know of good fish to 2lb exist albeit few and far between, I had plenty of fun in bagging up, in a little over 2 hours I had maybe 20-25 quality Roach but the largest maybe slightly under 1lb, not massive but very enjoyable, below are a couple of fish from the bunch, I have really enjoyed this match style fishing of late and although I won't go as far as saying it may be my next chapter in my angling career it's certainly something worth thinking about if I ever want or need a different outlook on the sport I love.

Hard Work.

 Easy when it comes together though.

 Since purchasing my Farnham ticket I have only managed 1 trip out in search of Tench, so a couple of days ago I thought I'd head down to one the rivers on the ticket in search of Barbel and Chub using my preferred tactic, rolling. When I arrived early on it was clear that it wasn't going to be easy as the river was seriously overgrown and the water was barely pushing so my plan was straight out the window unless I walked the banks and find the water I wanted. Miles of walking searching out water proved to be fruitless for the most part and some bits looked so picturesque but in places it was only 4-6ft wide instead of 20+, it was that bad I continued past some that looked good but just couldn't bring myself to cast a bait in.

Beautiful but almost unfishable for large swathes.

 After more walking I had finally seen my first fish in the shape of a lovely big Barbel around 13lb accompanied by 3 smaller ones but were in such a position that casting to them was impossible so I just stood and watched them for a few minutes in envy, downstream of where I saw the Barbel I decided to have another roll under some trees into a deeper pool, first cast nothing, the second roll through my finger felt a slight tap-tap and I struck immediately into what I thought was a Barbel but turned out to be a good Chub, a few minutes and she was in, a proper bruiser and come the winter will be a cracking fish to save a blank as it was on that day.

My first Loddon Chub of 5lb 9oz.

 Above is my prize and unfortunately it was the only fish I managed on the river but as I found it so difficult I turned my attentions to Frensham Small Pond in search of Rudd, I wasn't to be disappointed either as I had roughly 30 in two hours but the largest was only 12oz, so my quest continues for some large Rudd but having never been I was pleasantly surprised by how well kept it is, I'll be back in the famous words of "Arnie".

Banking yet another Rudd on Frensham.

 I did also see some Red Kites hunting a field adjacent to me and managed to get about 20ft from a couple along with some pictures that turned out fairly well I think, with a high powered lens I know they would be better.

Stunning creatures to watch. One of a dozen on the hunt.

 Now a brief catch up for a trip the other morning before work where I headed out for a Barbel and with only 2 hours available I wanted to make it count and boy did it, after just 20 minutes in my first swim my quiver-tip lurched over to the surface of the river as a Barbel tore off downstream before plodding about heavily whilst gaining back some line after it's initial burst, I could see she was a goodun and as it cruised over the lip of my net I knew she would be a double figure fish and on the scales it was confirmed at 10lb 4oz, but as I forgot my tripod in the mad rush I had to make do with a mat shot. After that pristine Barbel I fished on for a little while but no more joy, I headed off to work a happy man and my first double figure Barbel of the season. (photo to come later).

 Another trip before that proved successful too as I had a quick session on the trot and again I was spot on the money with another couple of Barbel to roughly 6.8 along with a Chub around 3lb.

Very rare snail, that liked my rod.

Perfect rolling water.