New River Season, Commercials fun and New youtube Series...

A warm welcome to this weeks blog update i hope i find you all well and your nets wet.  Sat at my desk in work and these very dinner hours will now be the time where i sit down and devote some time to the written blog, lets see how we get on! I must say it does feel good to be back at the screen putting my thoughts down on paper rather than worrying about lighting and if i have the shots needed for the video of the session.

So lets get right into it,

The River Season Looms...

We are now in touching distance of the new river season and i have to say this closed season has flew by in the blink of an eye.  A trip last week to the bait shop to pick up a new licence saw me sneakily nipping down to the river for a look, she looked low and very clear of course but boy did she look beautiful.  The air was fresh and the banks willd from the 3 month exodous.  The angler inside me knew where the swims where hidden, i made most of them after all, it was not long till i was stood in familiar swims throwing floating crust down to obliging chub.

The river alive with fish a few bits of bread threw in the margins soon attraced some attention as roach and chublets moved in on the free offerings. As you can see in the short clip below, a low and clear river but a river full of life.

I left excited for the river season to come and the trip to the bait shop saw me picking up some tackle for the coming season as the thoughts of casting a feeder and running a float through still flowed through my thoughts.

New Youtube Series...

So recently i sat down and thought about all the things i do with fishing away from the bank and got down on paper all the ideas i have got coming up.  Future content for Warrington angling centre and Cheshire Particle and some ideas for the Youtube channel and for this written blog.

Some exciting stuff made the spider diagram of ideas and one such one was a new midweek series on Youtube.  A short video each week containing all things fishing, my upcoming fishing that weekend, my thoughts on the previous weeks and some Question and Answers i have received on social media.

If you enjoy reading the channel and watching the content and have any questions on my fishing or anything in the fishing world you would like my views on then post them in the comments on here or on social media and i will answer them on the blogs.

The first one went live last week, check it out below, any feedback is welcome!!

Closed Season Commercial...

So the closed season has flown by in a flash as said above and i have to say i have really enjoyed it.  I started off hoping to fish the odd commercial and then move onto the canals but isn't it amazing how fishing has this habit of sending us on its own little adventure.

We start of down a path and like the very rivers we are missing fishing takes us down its own meandering route.  This closed season has saw me splitting my time really between two ventures, firstly a series called "the hunt for the Gems of the Lake", a series where i target a water full of small carp but within its depths lies a few original carp that go up to around 18lb and are in fantastic condition.  A quest to catch these gems was started and i think has nearly come to its close during this closed season, A link to the playlist is below.

The gems of the Lake Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCdCawZSE3o

The rest of my time has been spent really on commercials and i decided very early on that this closed season i wanted to get better on commercial fishing and learning the different methods of catching fish on these venues.  It was an area i felt i was turing up and catching the odd carp or silvers but i had very little understanding of the how and why i was catching and i really wanted to improve my knowledge on these.

I started of fishing for silvers and had some lovely nets of roach over 2olb and then as it warmed up so the carp moved into play and time was spent learning margin fishing, fishing on pellets and finally fishing the method feeder.  All these areas i felt i was very weak in and although i am still learning i am certainly more confident now on going a commercial than i was before and feel i now can tackle these with a set game plan.

So really in that closed season i achieved what i wanted from my fishing and i now move onto the rivers and canals.  The canals did not feature but i am hoping that will change over the coming weeks as i spend less time on the commercials and more on the canal.

So that pretty much covers some info on where i am at now with the fishing and a bit looking forward, lets get into some fishing...

Puddle Chucker Fun....

So a few weeks ago i was back at my dads house and sorting out some of my old fishing gear and i came across a rod holdall that had a good thick layer of dust on it.  Closer inspection revealed it to be my old Drennan 10ft Carp Puddle Chucker feeder rod, a rod that had now seen any use for a good 3 to 4 years at least.

I had recently been watching a guy on youtube called Jamie Harrison, a Bait Tech sponsored angler and a feeder fishing guy and watching his videos i thought hey why not get it out and give it a go, it proved to be one of the best decisions i have made and the sight of this became common place as this my laughing with excitement at some of the battles i had with fish using this rod..

The session below is one such session:

Arriving at the lake i was armed with only my seat box, a landing net and my puddle chucker.  I had literally a few hours in the morning and i just wanted to get a bend in the carbon.  Work had taken its toll during the week and i had put many of the household jobs on hold till the weekend, this meant a severe lack of fishing time!

The bait for the session would be simple, micro pellets with a few 4mm mixed in coated in stinky stuff with Bait Techs the juice dumbells as a hook bait.  It had worked before and i hoped it would work now.  Captures on this combo this summer have surely got me confident in this set ups ability to catch fish for sure.

"Small Margins Matter In Fishing"

The more i fish the more i am convinced that small margins in fishing make a huge difference.  On this session i was fishing to some reeds and i took my time to clip up so the feeder was landing bang on in front of these reeds.

The reeds moving violently ave the game away and i knew it was only a matter of time before one of the carp came across my carefully laid trap.  Well that was the plan anyway at least in my head.

An early set back came as the tip wrapped round and a fish bolted hard for the base of the roots.  It was a short battle but as soon as the line went slack i knew the hook had pulled.  In a morning where i might only get one chance it was a real set back.  I just had to hope the commotion had not ruined my chances.

A fresh hook length put on, not that the previous one had snapped, but i always do this to put my mind at rest that the best rig possible is out there working for me.  The feeder still clipped up i was soon back on the sweet spot and if another fish did turn up i would be ready.

Like a coiled spring i waited for the tip to go round and when it did it was a lovely slow pull and i was onto the rod like a hawk,  A huge boil off the reeds told me this was a better fish and i think the slow take ave me the early momentum to turn the fish and get it out in open water.

A reed bed near by offered the fish a dark safe home to bolt for but again the puddle chucker shocked me as its power through our the rod kept the fish under control.  Slipping the net under a beautiful dark common it was mission completed.

A perfect common of around 14lbs i think it was and it felt good in the palms, well rested i returned her to the lake and thanked her for her time with me.

A short video of the session is here:

Till next time

tight lines all,

Danny

Rivers Open: Cracking Chub On The Stick Float...

A warm welcome to this weeks blog update i hope i find you all well and your nets wet.  The river season is well and truly open now and Facebook has been awash with mainly flood water barbel pictures.  The rain kept on copming down till late evening on the opening day and the only highlight was getting home from the carp to catch England pip Wales in the football.

We knew opportunities to get out on the river come the Saturday would hinge on a dry day on the Friday and with that we said a little prayer to the rain gods and prayed for a window of opportunity, in all honesty i feel like i am writing a winter blog here not a summer one, ridiculous weather we are having.

On to the update:

New River Season Preperation..

I have to say with all the stuff going on in work with over time and loads of jobs being done in the house the new river season really did creep up on me.  This season is without doubt the most unorganized i have ever been for the start of the rivers, normally by now i have spring cleaned my tackle box, replaced some weights and give my reel a through clean.

The beauty of the rivers is in their simplicity and in short its only a few components that come together to make up the stick float rigs i use so much and with my gear levels looking in an ok state i think i was only a new packet of weights away from being ready to go, so not too bad.

Although time to prepare for the season has not been there physically the mental thought processes have been working for some time and i did have a few changes i wanted to make in how i approach the rivers this season.  The main one is cutting down on the amount of gear i take with me, it has been ok carting my big Preston Onbox with its metal footplate to the banks of the river Dane these past few season as the walks have been quite short.  This season will be a lot different and long walks over rough farmland terrain are looking like being the norm, a wild river with wild surroundings will mean i will be lucky to have the luxury of having a peg where i sit on my basket at all.

The cutting down of gear started with me utilizing the Octoplus infinity box i was sent to review a few weeks ago, this box bos light and robust will be ideal for those river trips.  Its deep storage will spread the load i carry more evenly between my box and my net bag and should mean a more enjoyable walk to and from the river and if a swim is box friendly then i have a nice comfy box to sit on.

Of course terminal tackle would be an issue and i invested in a small tackle box above and in it is all the terminal tackle you need to fish a stick float.  This box will of course be built upon or joined by another box when we hit areas where bigger fish like barbel might be on the agenda but for my first session out this little box was ideal.  A huge reduction in weight carried losing the huge heavy box and the mountains of terminal tackle i carry but never use when fishing the river on the stick.

A Stinky Delivery...

I have really enjoyed the passed few weeks working with Stinky Stuff Bait Spray and incorporating it into my fishing for carp has been very interesting and rewarding.  Sessions where the flow on the lake has been towards the snag it gave me the confidence to know that smell was lapping into their hiding space and hopefully drawing them out.  Future blogs will show just how good this bait has been for the carp and it was great last week to receive a delivery from Stinky Stuff of two more bottles of their other products in the Stinky Stuff Match and Stinky Stuff Bubblecream.  The bubblecream is a really interesting one having spent most of my childhood next to a sweet making factory it brought back quite a few memories of summer nights where the streets where full of this sweet smell.

Excited to get out on the bank and a little teaser of sessions to come the Bubble cream is just as good as the crayfish for catching carp.

Glorious First River Session - Chubbin'

As mentioned in a previous blog June 16th passed by for me on a local lake fishing for carp, not the ideal way i wanted to spend the glorious 16th, but with rivers flooded it was better to be catching fish than struggling on a swollen coloured river.  Truth be told i had a nice day catching carp and thoroughly enjoyed my morning fishing for them and that will be covered in an upcoming blog.

Thursday gone and it was straight into a days work on Friday.  Looking out of the windows in work it was hard to judge temperature, dam air con, but i could see that the sky was cloudy but thankfully we had received some strong winds that kept the clouds passing over us and not dropping their rainfall.  It filled me with hope for the rivers the next day.

Fridays for me normally follow a set routine that see's me nipping into Widnes Angling Centre for my maggots and terminal tackle bits and pieces but seen as i already had 2 pints of red maggots left from the no go session the previous day it felt weird to fall out of this routine and not nip into the shop on my way home.

During the closed season hemp seed has featured in my canal fishing but i have to admit that despite having close to 10kg of hemp under my stairs i did take the easy option and buy some tinned stuff.  It splits nicely and is convenient for the canal sessions where you are not really using that much hemp seed.  The rivers are an entirely different animal and less care needs to be taken in the preparation for the rivers as i dont use it on the hook.  This coupled with the fact the batch we have at the moment is terrible and will not split well for us meant that come Friday night the kitchen was "high" with the smell of hemp seed on the boil.  I have to admit though i was in bad books as upon finding half a packed of chill mix in the cupboard and dded said mix into my hemp i was was soon busted by her in charge who had that put away for Saturdays tea!! House stinking like a drug den and using spices ear marked for meals i was not in good books, if the chub liked it though surely its acceptable. :-)

A quick sort of the tackle box and all the essentials loaded into the Octoplus box it was a chance to make up a few hook lengths and get the gear in the hall ready for a 2am wake up call the next morning, no rain i was excited to say the least. Over the past few years we have really put the time and effort in and now have quite a large portfolio of waters to choose from.  Time spent on these rivers in both high and low water and also time spent away from the bank studying how fast these rivers drop all pays dividends in the end when it comes to the fine lines between un fishable and fishable levels.  This info can not be gleamed just form the EA chart as it only gives you a number which means very little if you have nothing to refer that too as in how the river will be and fish at that level.

From huge spate rivers to tiny brooks all where looked at and we came to a decision to fish a river we knew would hold its colour and have some pace but we could also find a few fish willing to take a bait.  The walk to the river was quite a long one and i instantly felt the benefits of the new box, so much easier and lighter to carry than my preston seatbox.  Looking at the river in the darkness we could see she was still carrying a bit of pace, unexpected pace if we were honest, but we knew as the morning would draw on this river would drop and with it the pace would settle.  Setting up on opposite inside bends of an "S" shaped bend in the river we both had slack on our inside with the river moving fast around the outside bend.   It presented us with 2 main areas to catch, one just off the main flow as the river would naturally flow and two in the deep er inside slacker water under our feet, both i knew would bee good areas.

Setting up my 13ft Korum float rod i fed hemp right in line with some overhanging brambles as this is where i thought maggots fed at the head of the run would reach bottom.  A few hand fulls of maggots i knew would get the chub on the feed and in the flow, this huge influx of bait does quicken the process i have found on this river.

The set up a dave harrell 6 number 4 wire stem  stick float was the chosen float and with the extra turbulent flow i went with the dome top as i felt this would give me more control in the flow.  A size 18 hook to a 1lb 7oz hook length i was all set to go and it came a no surprise that second trot down the float buried and i was rewarded with my first chub of the season, it was great to be back on flowing water.

The chub in the swim and having had no pressure over the passed months i felt sure the next chub was not far behind.  Low and behold hald way down the run i was again into a aggressive and hard fighting chevin that made for the overhanging cover time and time again before giving me plenty of grief under my feet,  not a huge chub but two in the net in the first 10 minutes it was a great start to the session.

When the chub are in the swim every thing else barring trout i have found clear off and it was the same on this session you could tell when the chub had spooked or moved out the swim as i started to pick up smaller chublets and dace.  These are great to see as these are the next generation of fish coming through the ranks and although they dont always show its reassuring to know they are around and ready to make the jump into the main chub shoals when big enough. 

The dace and chublets came and went like the wind and after a few trots though without a knock i knew the chub had moved back in.  It took a few goes down but eventually i sussed it out and just holding the bait back slightly on my hemp would see the signs of a bite develop with shudders on the float, letting the float go would see it sail under with unmissable chub bites.  I can only liken chub bites on the stick to the bites you get from carp on commercials.

The action from these chub then was solid taking four on the bounce in what was crazy fishing as the cub really bullied in on the swim.

Fishing the swim i did i knew i was fishing for one shoal of chub as there was no way a shoal was moving through the rapids above and below this deep run.  The chub went and in came the dace and chublets again until eventually bites dried up completely.  My uncle had the same issue just down stream and had also had some chub and some nice roach.

The session finished for me with a 18lb9oz net of chub, dace and chublets and it was an excellent first session on the river.  Plenty of bites and had a few chub pull back so i left a happy angler.

Early Morning Carping Fun off the top......

The next carp session i got out was just after my 18lb pb and at this time i was treating carp fishing as something i would do when i wanted a challenge but at the same time some fun.  Armed with a loaf of bread and my floater rod i headed off to the lake.  Arriving at first light it was cold and many would be forgiven for dismissing floater fishing but i knew the carp would be in the shallows form the previous evening and being shallow i knew there was a good chance of them finding my free offerings of kingsmill.

upon arriving i threw in a few bits of bread all over the swim and under my feet.  Setting up the net and the floater rod it was a case of waiting for the carp to start taking.  Sure enough the rods was not even of its rod wraps before i heard the first swirl and slurp as a carp came up for its break fast.

I arrived at the water at 4.30am and i had to be leaving at 7am to get back, washed and showered before a full days overtime in work so it was a short session.  These short approaches seemed to see me do well with the early mornings also keeping the ducks away as they didn't seem to come to life till later in the morning.  The water colored i sprayed the crusts with some stinky stuff bubblecream to add some extra smell.

A cracking hour or so's fishing later i was leaving for work with 4 carp under my belt to just over 10lb.

Well thats another few trips on the bank caught up with and this format i think will continue for the next few weeks with carp trips added to the end of my other fishing,  I guess it adds loads of diversity to the blog as if you like rivers or carp fishing there is something there for everyone.

till next time

tight lines

Danny

Smashing my Carp PB's and Mixing Canal Groundbait...

A warm welcome to this weeks blog update i hope i find you all well and your nets wet.  Still loads of fishing to catch up on hence the 3 blogs in two weeks but i guess that is not a bad thing.  This weeks blog sees a bit of talk on the new river season and a question i have been asked a lot this season around how i prepare my ground bait for canals, really simple this but a few parts of the process are vital.  We finish up with some short sessions i have done recently for carp that saw the PB's roll in.  I will go into detail next update on my set up and how i have been fishing for these carp.

On to the update:

Canal Groundbait Preparation

This is a subject i covered on the blog last year and i included a video in the update so if you are looking for a bit of a video of what i am about to write then its on the following link.

link: http://satonmyperch.blogspot.co.uk/2015/05/baits-for-canal-fishing-and-tench-on.html

So you get on the bank and you are ready to attack the canal in front of you, before you do anything else groundbait should be running through your mind, it is the first thing i do when i arrive on the bank is knock up the ground bait.  The mix needs time to soak up the water and settle before you can make a decision if it needs more water or not.  Ideally you mix it up and by the time you have set up all your gear and rigs you should be there or there about sto go back to it.

Canal fishing it is important to remember we are dealing here with a branch of angling that is so delicate and all parts of our approach need to be really refined, lines, baits and of course our ground bait needs that extra bit of care and attention when fishing a canal.

Opening the bag of ground bait you could be forgiven for thinking its all just a bag of finely breadcrumbs and additives but you would be wrong.  A quick run through the riddle of the dry mix reveals there is more in the bag than meets the eye.  The one i use has quite a bit of dry hemp in it but i have in the passed riddled other roach and bream mixes that have contained a huge amount ogf particles like hemp and maize flakes, for canal fishing i remove these as its just extra feed that will soon fill up the fish.  Remember we are here to catch fish not feed them.

All the below came out of half a bag of groundbait riddled straight form the bag

This extra feed removed you are left with just the crumb mix.  I add water slowly in a round bucket and spend a good few minutes really working the mix to get it as mixed in as possible and when i can form a ball in my hand with just a soft squeeze and then it breaks up completely to nothing when i rub it between my hands i know i am there.  This mix is then left till after i set up all my gear and i have plumber my lines.

Going back to the mix you will normally find it has soaked in most of the water and is drier than when you left it.  Add more water here will you get it to how it was before you left it.  Maximizing how much water your ground bait can take will see you left with a neater mix.  Once you are happy with it, unfortunately this stage does only come with time and practice as you can feel the mix is right, if you get me.

I then pass the whole mix through my riddle shaking at first to get the small bits through you are left with just the wet balls of ground bait.  These left in the mix will fill the fish up and we need to break theses down.  Gently rub these lumps though the riddle.  What you are left with now is a fine fully mixed in base mix ground bait and you can now control what you do with it and more importantly how much feed you want to include in the mix.  The most important part is you are now in control and have a mix with high attraction but little feed content to work with, an excellent starting point to build a swim with.

The "Glorious" 16th Arrived...

The actual fishing part of the blog is still a few trips behind but i feel its important to keep the main body of the blog up to date with current events.  Sat here now the night before the river season is due to open and all i can hear is the patter of rain against the window and the angry rumble of thunder i the distance.  All in all a very drab way to start the season and three months ago little did i imagine i would have to be checking the same flood tables come june 16th.

To put this in perspective in terms of my fishing being a angler who float fishes the river, a river only has to be slightly in flood for the river to be unfishable for me.  There are of course hundred of barbel and chub anglers out there jumping with joy at the sight of this extra rain, rightly so too, i would if it where me.

The fishing this year ironically enough should see me targeting barbel but there is no way i'm going straight onto the banks of a flooded river i have only ever been once to try for a barbel.  This season is going to see us taking strides into the unknown with two rivers that could not be further apart in appearance and size in the Dane and Weaver.

Not to spoil an future blog too much but the opening day actually saw me carp fishing and although not where i wanted to be ideally i caught a few carp with one being a pristine 14lb common below.  This eased the pain of not making it onto the banks of the river i can tell you that.

on to this weeks fishing:

Smashing Those Carp PB's

So with overtime schedule well and truly in place it was again short evening sessions from around 5pm till dusk that where proving to be the norm for me and my fishing.  Leaving work at 4pm it was a nice relaxed gathering of the gear and drive to the lake knowing the better fishing didn't really come on till the surrounding trees hid the sun from sight.  Again travelling as light as possible it was a rod rest, rod, net and some tackle placed in a bucket that i would be taking.

Bait wise it was again the trust wet micro pellets round a method feeder and sweetcorn on the hood.  Each cast the method was sprayed with some Stinky Stuff Crayfish spray.

Most people i saw in the evening fishing the lake popped into the first swims by the car and why not it was close to the car and quick to get off the lake but i found this swim to be better early in the morning as the sun was first to hit here.  Based on that thinking but flipping it i guessed the fishing would be better in the evening right down the other side of the lake as this would be the last place the sun would hit.  The down side to this was the fact the pegs where really overgrown and muddy under your feet and the added cover and foliage certainly meant added attention from the mozzy's.

In all angling we have to have a theory to work toward, a way of thinking the scenario through, before we hit the bank.  I guess the more you think over your fishing and the more time and effort you put into you session before you hit the bank then the more successful you will be.  In all fishing you can just turn up and cast any bait anywhere in the lake and catch the biggest fish in the lake but to be successful over time i feel you need to work a little more at it.  Luck is always needed but you can do your best to increase your odds by formulating a plan.

On this session i had one rod, fishing towards a snag its all i dared, it was placed just down in the margin to my left besides a overhanging bush.  Dark and mysterious water beneath and being un-fishable beyond its leaves it look the perfect place to find carp.  Having seen some nice carp caught by my mate Ste i knew there where better fish to be had in the pool and my mentality was now in trying to find a method that would see me picking up these better carp.

The rod placed on the bite alarm it did not take long for the tell tale taps on the tip to start, over time i have learnt to read the taps and work out if bream where at the feeder or carp, but at the time of this session i was dipping and diving for the rod with every line bite and aggressive move of the feeder by feeding fish.  The rod of course then wrapped round and it was hands on the reel to stop the fish in its tracks before it reached the safety of the roots.  Out in open water the fish was a different prospect and was soon in the net waiting to be unhooked, a nice single figure mirror.

The fish returned and the hot sun beating down i could see the odd car moving around in the upper layers and i knew it would be a waiting game for them to settle down and go on the feed.  I also knew there was the odd fish holding in the back of the snag i was fishing as tell tale swirls of them moving gave away their presence.  They where deep in though and i knew would need tempting with regular casting to build up a bed of smelly bait in the area.

A few casts and signs of a fish on the bait started and this one must have been on the feed hard as it did not take long for the the violent taps to result in a run.  A hard fighting common was my reward.

The swim after this went through a big lull and with the sun beating down hard and the mozzys biting even harder i did consider calling it a day.  Its a tough one as you know if you wait it out the fish will come but it comes down to the decision if you can be bothered waiting for it.

The lull in activity was passed a by a bit easier by some nice sized bream moving into the swim.  They where great to see and i guess any fish is better than no fish on the bank.  They showed me the need to keep casting regular as there was plenty of mouths to feed.

Although the bream where a good addition to the action i also knew they where a sure sign that the carp where not on the feed or in the area.  These bream would soon be pushed out by a group of carp coming in.  A hour or so passed and the started to finally sulk behind the tree line. As the last of its light lit my nearside margin i saw a large group of carp sulk into the baited area, where my theories correct? where these fish moving to the now warmer end of the lake?.

The excitement levels grew and having just recast i knew this shoal would be met with a nice bed of pellet.  Signs of feeding fish where soon showing as big bubbles rose from the swim and then there was two beeps on the bite alarm and a slow bend in the rod.  Grabbing the rod there was solid weight at the other end and thankfully the fish moved slowly out into the lake by itself.  The fights itself was more of a battle of attrition than any long runs for freedom as the carp shook its head from side to side.  It woke up under the rod tip briefly but as fights went it was quite poor and it was only as i slid the carp over the net i saw it was a decent fish.  Ont the scales i was rewarded with a new PB of 13lb 2oz,

By the time i had taken the pics and slid here back it felt right to call it a day on the session, i left buzzing and the woes of work where left by the waterside, i love fishing.  Video is of the carp going back in the warm evening glow.

Second Special Session in a week....

So with the last PB still seeing me floating on air i returned to the lake later that week to find the banks a bit busier and the swim i was sat in the previous week fully occupied.  I decided to set up on the other bank and there was only one spot to put the bait and that was right on the edge of the sunken tree.  This side of the bank allowed you to fish close to the snag as you have the angle to apply pressure on the fish to get it away from the snag.

To do this type of fishing you do need to have the backbone in the rod and the right strength line.  I had loaded these reels with 15lb maxima from my previous car fishing and knowing how snaggy this swim is i upped the hook line from a 7lb to a 10lb hook link, boy was a glad i made that decision!

Some would say this i far too heavy for just carp fishing and they might be right but its what i had to work with and in my opinion its better to know you have the strength to get fish out rather than be losing fish and leaving them with tackle in their mouths.  In passed sessions i had become accustomed to the set up and i could tell from how long the feeder took to hit bottom just how deep it was.  Dropping the bait about 2 foot from the snag i was pleased to find it quite shallow, great news i thought.

The rod in place the drag set quite tight and i positioned myself just next to the rod so i was straight on it.  The action was really really really slow and it seemed to take an age before i got a bite but eventually three taps on the rod and again two beeps on the tip saw me lifting into a fish.

This fight was epic it was hit and hold at the start which saw me dunking the rod below the water and holding the clutch to not give the fish an inch of line.  The rod bent round and a huge boil coming up just of the tree i knew i had stopped the fish but i just needed it to turn.  Thankfully she did and she zoomed out into the lake making one heart stopping long run to the middle she was one powerful fish!

The run stopped i noticed a little lad who was fishing with his day on the next peg appear to my left.  I had my heart in my mouth every time the fish came up to the top as i knew it was a nice fish but every time it came up and shot off on another run this little lad would jump in the air living every second of the fight!  It was funny to watch and added to the fight.  It was some fight as even when i got her up in the water she had some power and time and time again made hard lunges for the snags.

Eventually and with my arm feeling like it was about to fall off the fish showed signs of giving in and thankfully went into the net first time, she was a huge common and i knew it was a pb for sure, easily the biggest carp i had seen on the bank.  The fish rested in the landing net i sat back and got my own breath back!

I knew my mate was on his way down for a natter so i left her to sulk in the carp net for a few minutes while i recovered!  Time to weigh the fish and i nipped along the bank to see if the little lad wanted to come and have a look at the fish.  I knew struggling lift the net form water it was heave and onto the scales i was over the moon to see them settle on 18lb10oz, now that is a carp PB i thought!!

Speaking to the young lad while waiting for ste it was great to hear he had just started fishing with his dad and his biggest fish to date was a roach.  It was great listening to his stories about fishing and to see his reaction to the carp which just added to the experience but i think most of all about this evening i will remember him jumping up and down out of the corner of my eye.

A quick chat with ste and he took some great pictures for me of this special fish, cheers mate.

A good chew of the fat with Ste about our plans for the upcoming river season and he was off on his way.  After he left i fished on for a hour or two and picked up two more fish.

The night for me will be remembered for that special fish.  A upper double i knew just had to come sooner or later but as in most fishing it comes when you least expect it.  Two new personal bests in a week and i was absolutely buzzing!

Till next time

tight lines

Danny



 

Margin Carp and FishMobile Woes

A warm welcome to this weeks blog update i hope you are all well and your nets wet.  Well what can i say? At the moment fishing feels like it has taken a huge distant step back in my time and life really has taken over!  Thankfully from a blogging point of view i have two trips saved up to keep this ticking over but the Angler in me is dying to get out and wet a line and not being able to do so is killing me.

In this update the fishing sees me targeting carp in the margins of a little pond while the introduction takes a look at my overloaded work plate and my ever so absent spare time and freedom plate.  With little else to cover in the introduction its going to make for a shorter blog this week.

Fishmobile Woes and The Overtime Flows...

So i am currently about to start my second full weekend of over time this coming Saturday and Sunday and with it working on a fortnightly basis it has meant time to get out of a weekend has been hugely restricted.  The over time running for two days meant a period of continuous work 12 days without a break and this meant come last weekend i had little desire to wake up at 6am to go fishing.

The over time is a must though there are jobs we put off late last year to concentrate on Christmas time that now desperately need doing and this over time is just too good to pass up.  The rivers are closed from a fishing point of view so there isn't to much of me that is really missing fishing the local canal, although that is not even on the cards given the current transport issues.

Fishmobile

As always when some overtime comes along the car suddenly decides to start spluttering and developing problems and it has meant over the passed two weeks getting out on the bank has been a impossible.  The car needs a new drive shaft, hopefully getting fixed as i type this, so all my driving has been strictly a needs must movement to work and getting the kids to nursery.  A trip to a local waterway when your car starts shaking if you go over 40mph was duly deemed in the Silly idea category.

All in all the Fishmobile is in the last chance saloon as far as its longevity with me goes.  The car has done me really proud in the time i have had it and has got me down the motorway to wales and back most weekends over its life with no trouble at all.  This year though problems are mounting and it gets to the time where you think is it time to cut the loses and get a new one.

I am hoping after this job and the few others it has had done that it will put it back in the good standing it once was and there is still plenty of river bank visits left for this car......Fingers and toes crossed for the big girl as without her it would be a blog all about fishing my local canal and pond...

Margin Carping...

So bank holiday weekend and after a tiring session on the Friday at Cheshire fisheries catching well over 70ld of silvers and carp it was not until the Sunday morning i found myself travelling along the quiet country roads to go fishing.  A little pond was my destination and my hope was to catch some of the bigger residents right under my pole top close in.

A venue with a nice depth close in i decided against copying the other anglers shipping out 13-16m of pole and decided to play the keep as quiet as i can and have patience card.  Hoping the carp would come to me.  Mixing up a good amount of micro pellets mixed with corn and maggot i put down a decent bed of bait to attract the fish in and hoping to just single out the bigger carp form the roach i decided on using corn as bait.

The few anglers round me started picking up the odd fish which did get me thinking if i should rethink my plan but taking a few seconds to think it over i was confident the fish would come into the margins.  It took a good hour or so before the tell tale signs of fish started to show with bubbles coming up over my baited spot.

Fishing the margins like this are so exciting and whether its bubbles of the reeds next to your float knocking it all serves to increase the excitement levels within.  You know a fish is around and feeding and almost a sense of expectancy develops.  It seemed to take an age for the float to go but when it did i struck and was shocked to feel such power on the other end.  The extra depth certainly added power to the fight and with elastic spewing out of my top kit i knew it was a race to get down to my top two section and start putting some pressure on the fish using my puller kit.

The fish fought like a demon and even when in the margin it would not give up.  My first carp on the bank it went 8lb on the mat and what i loved even more was the nice colours on the fish.  A nice dark back and nice underbelly.  The mouth left little to be desired but i guess fin perfect carp these days are very hard to come by on waters.

There was plenty of bubbles round my general area now so i quickly fed some more micros and corn and it was not long till i was again connected to another hard fighting carp.  This fish felt in another league to the first but i felt more in control having already experienced the power of the first.  Judging how much power to use i was soon feeling like i was in control and slipping the net under my second carp in as many minutes i was made up.

On the scales this fish actually went less than the first but it looked a lot bigger.  The fish was a beautiful example of the species.  Dark back and golden scales that just looked mint through the dappled morning light coming through the trees.  Carp are not really a species i fish for much but i must admit enjoying catching them when i do target them.

In keeping with the manic fishing i then lost one fish due to a hook pull and it was a good way into the fight as well which was really odd as it didn't half pull on the initial run.  I found when piking in the winter on the river that even small fish fight a lot harder when in a depth of water and these carp where again proving that depth of water does really add to the power of the fight.

As expected by the Jacuzzi i was now fishing the 3rd carp was not long in coming after the lost fish and it was certainly the pellets they where feeding on.  I dropped the amount of corn and just fed the odd grain with a cad pot pull of pellet and it was working a treat.  Again the 3rd carp had nice markings and it was a pleasure to catch.

The action was thick and fast during this period of around a hour where i felt i could do no wrong as the carp hoovered up bait in the margin swim.  The final carp of the day was the smallest but it was a beauty.  It had deep brown scales and a almost mahogany look to it,  It reminded me of the colours of autumn and i then decided that before the piking starts up in winter i am going to have some sessions for these carp in their winter colours.

This carp finished off the session nicely and after a 3o minute stint with no bites i decided to call it a day and spend the rest of the bank holiday Sunday afternoon with the family in the sun.  A fantastic end to a fantastic day, fishing and family, a perfect combination.

Till next time

tight lines

Danny