Acolyte River Fun, Margin Carp Stalking and Canal Roach.....

A warm welcome to this weeks blog update i hope i find you all well and your nets wet.  It has been a mad week or so in work so finding time to blog has proven difficult to come by.  Again plenty of content to catch up means i have no end of trips to choose from and rather than write an introduction around topics in the angling world that have taken my fancy i have gone with a different update this week, all out fishing trips.

So in this updates its fishing trips from start to end and i still do not think i am going to be anywhere near up to date.  I guess with the car in for a job for the next two days and the idea i might not make it out this weekend if the job is not done then this is not such a bad situation to be in at all.  All i will say before we get into this update is my fishing at the moment is some of the most exciting fishing i have done.  Searching out new rivers, carp on the top, carp on the bottom, canal session and of course a cheeky few trips out for barbel.  Its been a great adventure.

So on with the update, we start on the banks of a river in search of anything that swims, any fish would be a bonus on the new drennan acolyte rod.  We follow this up with a one cast one fish carp session where stealth was the order of the day and we finish up with a trip to the canal on the pole.

A New Stretch A New Challenge....

We hit the banks as always at the crack of dawn hoping to find out normal haunt on the river at a nice level to fish.  We was met with a river in spate and totally un fishable on the stick float.  We had a back up option and this was to try a new stretch much further up the system where we hoped to find some clear water.

We arrived at the stretch and made the long walk to the bank expecting to find head high balsam and nettles.  What we found was quite well walked in paths and some nicely positioned swims, a luxury for us considering the past few months making our own swims with shovels before fishing.  Back to the car to collect the gear, again i traveled light with my octoplus box and minimal gear in my holdall, contained within the holdall was my new 14ft Drennan Acolyte Ultra rod and i could not wait to get out and give it a go.

The swim a gentle run with a sunken tree on the far bank it screamed fish and although it can be the wrong thing to do before you plumb up and run through i couldn't resist feeding the swim as i set up.  Holding the new rod in my hand it lived up to its name it was so light! Adding the shimano reel just balanced it perfectly!  The line threaded through the eyes it was clear that care was going to be needed with the ultra light tip section of this rod.  Red maggot and hemp where the baits of choice and i was soon ready to make my first cast in earnest.

A small river but plumbed up i found around 6ft depth in front of me and on a hot day was glad of it.  The first trot through brought a small chublet.

Trotting right down the middle of the river i soon found out that there was some streamer weed or a snag right on where i thought my hemp was settling.  Always the way eh.  A quick change of line and i found around the same depth at rod tip so i began feeding this line.  It was a harder trot involving me to hold back to get over what i think was a rock in the swim but doing so saw me picking up small roach and chublets at a steady pace.

The swim then died completely and i knew it was either big fish or a predator had moved in.  Till i see signs of predator activity i am always reluctant to try for the pike so i worked on the assumption it was a bigger fish in the area.  I then bumped a better fish right on my hemp before then striking and making contact with a better fish the very next trot down.

The acolyte i have to be honest felt light weight in power during this battle but being so light it might have been down to the fact i didn't know at this stage just how much strain i could impart on the fish.  A long tussle later a nice perch was in the net and surely this was the reason the "snack sized " roach had decided to vacate the area.

After the perch was caught i settled into a steady routine of trotting and feeding the swim and i caught steady but in spells if you get me? Long periods with no bite was followed by a good spell of steady bites fishing down the inside line.

The final net will not set any records but as first sessions go it provided something to build on and with my uncle hitting a nice bream on the feeder it provided plenty of food for thought.

Margin Carp Stalker...

A deluge of rain over a three day period saw me travelling to the lake not knowing that the level had rose a good few feet and the pegs where now under water.  Luckily for me i had donned my usual wellingtons so i was well equipped for the situation.  Access to many pegs was almost impossible so i set up on the banks of the first peg and contemplated whether or not to even set up.

Scanning the water for signs of fish i noticed movement right on the edge of the peg, carp being inquisitive they had obviously moved into the margins and onto the grassy areas looking for worms and insects caught out by the rise.

Feeding some corn and micro pellets close in i soon saw the water close in look agitated and what i call nervous water.  It was clear a carp had moved ting under my rod tips onto the bait.  A tail then come clean out of the water as a decent carp tipped up on the bait.

A method feeder loaded with micro pellets and corn on the hook all sprayed in Bubblecream Stinky stuff was carefully lowered onto the spot.  Short steps into the flooded peg the operation of placing the bait on the spot with little disturbance was achieved and the rod placed on the rod rest it was a waiting game.

It took a while but eventually the rod hooped over as the carp bolted out of the swim heading straight for a margin Lilly bed!  Straight onto the peg and into the water i went to apply side strain on this fish.  All my battles with the better carp in here had been played out mostly in the middle of the lake with a bit of a scrap under the rod tip, this was far different,  huge hard lunges for snags tested my gear to the max and it was pure power each time the fish went.  I can remember early on in this fight my arm aching and we thinking i was in trouble on more than one occasion.

The fish eventually began to tire and taking a huge breath of air i knew the time was close for netting,  Into the carp net she went and thank god for the flooded margin to me left as i left her in the net in the shallows while i got my breath back.

A nice carp of 13lb 8oz was on the mat and what a lovely prize she was...

She turned out to be my only fish of my 1 hour short session but i left grinning like the cheshire cat as i headed off to work for overtime.

MAP 101 2G Pole First trip on Bridgewater Canal...

The day previous i had been on the river using my new drennan acolyte but with a good pint of maggots left i just had to give the local canal a go early doors on the Sunday.  A early rise i was soon on the short drive to my peg and for some time now i had my sights set on fishing this bit of canal but with only half a pole i felt it not worth while as i always like to fish a line well over out of the boat lane.  With this new pole i could not do that and what a fantastic canal swim i had chose to christen the pole in.

A lot of reasons you hear fro people not fishing the canal is accessibility and where as this can be true on some canals on the bridgewater canal if you do your homework you can get close to the water and in this session i was closer than you would get on most commercials.

I only had a few hours and with only one match kit set up i decided to go all out right across the canal up near the boat.  I fed some ground bait and a good bed of red maggot via my new cupping kit, what a revelation this is, but i admit i had made a cardinal sin.  I fed right away without first fishing the swim for a bit and i could not for the life of me get the float to settle.  I knew it was shotted to go down to the tip but it would settle on one put in and not the next and others i would go solid then pull off.  After a hour or so of messing around i had put a few small roach in the keep net.

Not long after a guy come along, thank god he did, as he mentioned that it was good that they had been along and cut the weed back.  Apparently the weed on the far bank had covered a third of the canal recently and it seemed a lot of it had been left under the water.  All the float not settling made sense now but luckily it was not to late to re plumb up down the middle and feed the deeper line with ground bait and maggot.  On the session i found feeding two large jaffa sized balls from the off then little nuggets here and there was the way to go, a clear canal i think the colour in the water really helped and as the swim grew so the better roach showed.

Feeding lightly with hemp seed seemed to get them going again when the bites died but i was really impressed with the average stamp of roach on the day and fantastic to see such silvers are there to be caught if only people would go out and fish for them.  I continued to pick up roach steadily over the ground bait and it was great fun on the new pole.

The pole itself is certainly lighter than the old model and seems a lot stiffer, one thing that i thought would do my head in was the side puller elastic being visible on the side of the top kit in my eye line but i have to say i did not notice it and actually when the elastic was loose after a better fish it was simple to tighten it back up on the side pullet than looking for the internal puller kit on my old one.  The pole i am sure will do me fine for my fishing and i cant wait to get some elastic in the power kits for some fun with the carp.

The final net was a 10.7lb net of silvers and a fantastic few hours on the local canal.

Packing up it was a joy to be joined by a lovely family of swans and their cygnets, fish and wildlife on the local cut...bliss.

till next time i wish you all

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



 

23lb River Roach Net...Just had to Go Back!!

A warm welcome to this weeks blog update i hope i find you all well and your nets wet.  Well after a long wet winter trying our best to make the best of the dire conditions low and behold the end of the pike and river season is knocking at the front door.  With only a matter of weeks left till the end of the season then its a case of making the most of the conditions you are given.

In this update i cover where i am at the moment with regards blogging and what is in the back log coming up and also a little bit on the rather predictable topic at this time of year, should we get rid of the Closed Season?  The fishing sees us back on the river chasing roach and a session that failed to let me down.

Little Update..

So from a blogging point of view i have two roach sessions saved up including the one you are about to read and also we are just at the start of  February so not too far behind on that one and as always when blogging it is never a bad thing to have a back log of trips where you have caught fish, so look out for them updates coming soon.

I have also been very fortunate in being asked to review a few products over the coming weeks and they are all really exciting products to be looking at and reviewing.  The one i am currently doing is a fantastic bait spray from Stinky Stuff, so far one trip out with the bait enhancer and its looking to be a great little product, check them out here:  http://www.stinkystuff.co.uk/

Licences still are a hot topic for me at the moment as i still need to decide if i want to stay with the clubs i am in or if i want a new challenge.  Barbel are a species that i have never really targeted, more down to the rivers i fish not holding them in numbers than anything, but it would be good to have the option to sit and wait it out for a big fish on the river.  I guess in time i will make my decision on that one.

The blog still continues to be popular with plenty of traffic coming to the site and good reviews being received in email and social media, this is despite me having time to fish and produce a blog.  Many would say just get the blog out no matter what but my aims with this blog where to set it aside from all others out there by putting the extra effort in to talk about all manner of things as well as the actual fishing session and if it means taking longer to produce the blog but maintaining that quality then going forward that is what i will do.

Abolish the closed season?? 

You can tell the end of the season is nigh when this topic starts generating heated discussions on social media and it is funny how some people who have businesses that are designed around river fishing sales are really pushing the EA to remove this "outdated" and "From the Ark" rule.  It does always seem to generate a mixed and as i said sometimes heated discussion.  I agree the reasoning behind the closing of the season is complete nonsense on that some river and lake species will spawn before the close or still be spawning long after the rivers have reopened in June.  Common sense all points at the rivers following the canals and lakes and removing the closed season completely.

Where do i stand on it? Well as much as i really love the river fishing i also love the break from it and the freedom to then go and do other angling like fish for silvers on the local canal or go and spend a morning behind bite alarms for tench.  That is all well and good but above all that i just love the night before June 16th, your gear all set in the hall and that special feeling where you can not sleep through excitement.  Sometimes this is the start of a new adventure on a new river or waterway and a complete step into the unknown and others it can be a walk to a old peg as you trace the steps you made a few months earlier.  The feeling of the damp air as you approach the river at first light on that first session.  The banks you left all brown and lifeless in winter are now abundant in a sea of every shade of green imaginable, its magic, its everything i love about fishing.  For me, this is why i hope they keep the closed season.  The opening day of the season has already been booked off work ;-) .

23lb River Roach Net On The Stick....

So with the nice net of roach the previous week still keeping the blood flowing through my veins at a higher rate than normal i found myself again packing the car for another go at these bars of perfect silver.  Normally a week in work takes a lifetime to pass and the weekend to arrive.  This week was different work passed in a the blink of an eye and before i even felt like i had packed in the previous week i found myself back.  My feet fitting perfectly into the frozen boot steps i had left the previous week.

The banks where carrying a slippery sheet of white frost and the level had dropped a few feet.  I half expected to see another angler on the bank as it was only through us fishing a river in flood we fell on these fish, i felt sure the drop and the fact no rain was due would see more anglers on the popular river.

To show how truly mad this winter has been we are currently experiencing the first frosts of the year, i know we have had the odd frost along the way but this passed two weeks has been the first sustainable period of over night hard frosts, a sight we normally see around November in this country!  Most species don't really get to hung up with the frosts, chub, dace and grayling, the three that come to mind.  Roach can be an all together different animal and sometimes frosts can really hit these hard and put them off so i did  not really know what to expect.

The stick float and my 13ft korum precision float rod would be my main form of attack in the session.  Stick float fishing is such a simple set up and really consists of a few cheap components,  hook length, weights, hooks and a float.  The real skill with stick float fishing comes from time on the bank and learning to fish a stick, it is not something that can be taught as such.  You learn it and get to a standard of fishing the stick through repetition.

A freezing cold morning without a breath of wind it was dream conditions for fishing the stick.  The float weighted down to the bristle i was then able to add another number 10 weight to bring the float down so it was a mere pin prick on the water.  I did think about starting off by hurling in a few hand fulls of maggot to get the fish in the swim but decided as it was so cold to ease myself into the peg, i didn't want to ruin the fishing before i started.  With rivers you never ever know whats in the swim of how they will feed.  Some sessions you get through pints of maggot for 20lb others you feed 5 maggots every other trot and still catch 20lb.  Feeding is all on the day and how the fish are feeding.

Drip feeding the swim i trotted through for a good half hour to and hour before right at the end of the trot i struck into a small roach.  I prayed this was not a straggler from the main shoal!  The next trot down i held the float back onto he same spot and upon releasing the line to float went again  with another roach coming.  Slowly but surely from nothing the bites where coming each trot down and as time went on they came further up the swim till i had the fish where i wanted them, right under my feet ad the end of the keep net.

For a while it really was a case of getting through the small roach as a ratio of one decent roach to ten smaller ones was being played out.  When the float is going under each cast right under your feet and at some points three roach a minute are going into the net you know you are on your way to a decent net, even if no better fish showed the sheer number of smaller ones would make a net.

Around midday i went for a walk and spoke to my uncle who was also going well on his peg for roach and a nice coffee and a chat later i returned to my peg.  The rest seemed to have allowed a better stamp of roach to move in as i put together a number of better stamp roach.  Of course this shoal was not going to be missed by predators and it was no surprise that the odd lull in action saw a nice perch being caught.

As the session wore in it did become noticeable that there was a shoal of better quality fish that would move in and you would pick up a few of them on the bounce before the smaller roach moved back in.  This continued until later on in the afternoon where the better roach took up residence.  None of the big pound plus roach showed on this session but i was not complaining, on a cold winters day it was a bite a chuck and fantastic fishing.  As i always say winter is the best time of year for sure, the fish are hungry and tightly shoaled.  

As the session drew to a close i had a feeling i had a good number of fish in the net but with no big fish like last week i had no idea on weight.  Lifting the keep net i was shocked as i struggled to lift it onto the bank.   There i knew i had some fish and knew the net was at least over 15lb so you can imagine my shock when the scales settled over 23lb!! I was over the moon!

Another nice day on the bank and it did leave us with an challenge, how just to get those better roach? A nice problem to have but with only a few weeks of the season left and a product review looming for chub finding time would be the one.

Till next time

tight lines

Danny

21lb Of River Roach on Stick Float...Dream Fishing Part 2

A warm welcome to the second blog covering a Dream week off work i hope i find you all well and your nets wet.  In this second blog i will cover a weekend session fishing the river for roach and it really does go to prove the point i make time and time again on this blog and social media that the best fishing really does come in the deepest coldest days in winter.

So many times on Forums i see the comments "Was going to go today but being so cold i thought i was wasting my time"  This comment time and time again baffles me.  This time of year is by far the best time of year for fishing and it is certainly easier than in Summer.  How can it be easier than summer some would think? Well look at it this way and i use a canal for my example.  In summer you walk the canal and it is alive whith fish along its full length, fish of all species and sizes are spread far and wide along its full length.  Come winter and doing your homework you find that the fish are all packed into one area and the colder it gets the tighter they shoal in these areas.

The huge bonus here is that once you find the winter grounds, unless you get a huge change in temperature, then these fish will be here all winter.  The fish tightly shoaled and hungry due to the cold you can really bag up and when you take this idea and add it to a river scenario where the fish are even more on the feed as they are constantly swimming against the flow you will be amazed how ferocious these fish can come onto the feed.

Winter fishing is not for everyone and on the cold days i can understand how some just dont think about going fishing when they look out the window at a howling gale or a hard frost on the ground but if you are the type who thinks i dont want to go because i wont catch then just go out and try it.  You do need to do your homework to be on the fish but in most cases a walk on first light will give them away as the will always top as dawn breaks.  Winter really is the time of plenty for anglers and some amazing days fishing can be had for the price of a few pints of maggot and hemp seed.

On to one such session:

A Dream Winter Session For Roach.....

Waking up to the sound of rain tapping like an annoying alarm call on the window i knew we where in for a wet day on the bank.  A look at all the river levels and they looked to be OK but we both knew the rise was coming and would probably see the River rise during our session, not always a bad thing though as the fish can really come on the feed if they sense a rise coming.

The rain and the cloud cover that brought it had done little to increase the air temperature and it was a harsh cold that nipped at my nose as i loaded my fishing tackle into the car.  For the session i loaded my 13ft Korum Float Rod and my MAP125 Pole as i did not know what to expect when i arrived on the bank and if it was to be a session fishing a slack on a flooding river then the pole might come into play.  Walking the banks before the session the ground was saturated and slippy and the river up and slightly coloured, i was glad of my thermal boots for sure!

A good walk of the banks revealed two likely looking swims we had fished before, one with a slack on the far side and the other with a nearside slack, although at this point the main flow of the river was not too bad.   Plumbing up i found the bottom to be of an even depth but it was a deeper depression in the river bed i was trying to locate and eventually my float that was lying at dead depth sunk away revealing the line i wanted to fish.   Depth plummets are the most important piece of kit you can own for sure.

I started to run through the swim a few times before i committed to putting any bait in, looking for that snag free line, a clear trot found i began drip feeding 5-6 maggots every trot through and a few grains of hemp seed to coincide where i though my maggots where hitting the deck.  This way you feel your way into the swim, gaining an idea of how many fish are in the area.  you can then judge your feed based on what you catch and how fast.

Trickling maggots down the line and a few changes made to depth it was a good 45 minutes before my first bite and it was the tinniest of dips on the float but still a start and where there is one there is more.

I love river fishing for the mere fact you always feel like you can make something happen.  10 men round a lake and ones bagging how do you get the fish away or into your area but on a river you can slowly draw fish from no where up the river. Like a light switch going on the fish arrived and it was a bite a chuck with a bite coming every cast, only small at first but it was bites.

Not long after the bites coming on the rain arrived and it came on really heavy to the point the brolly went up.  The fishing went through the roof as the level began to go back up again.  The small fish at first although still showing where being mixed in with so solid size roach that had taken up residence right on my hemp.

It really was a bite a chuck fishing right through the session with small roach mixed in with the odd better one.  The key to bites was to hold back right on the hemp and as soon as the float righted itself again it would sail under.  Set in a rhythm of cast in, feed, hold back and then strike i almost was not even watching the float so loaded with fish was the swim.

Then came a run of bites i will never forget as a proper shoal of fish moved into the swim.  A hold back on the hemp and striking into something that felt a good stamp bigger.  Jagging from side to side in the current i knew it was a roach but i was not expecting it to be so big.  A huge slab of silver in my palm i quickly jumped of my seat box and raced to my uncles peg "jesus azz look at this!!" i shouted, it was easily a new pb roach for me.  What i did not expect was a few more to be down there and in the rest of the session i had 4 more special roach show.

The ones in the pic below went 1lb10z, 1lb8oz, 1lb,8oz and 1lb 4oz. Ant the mad thing was the fact that come the end these roach where the four biggest over a pound there was at least two more in that bracket.

As the session drew to an end i knew i had a decent net of fish.  I had been catching steady all session and some of the fish had been of a good size so i thought i had a few pound in the net.  My estimate was around the 12-15lb mark but when i come to pull my net in and lifting it i could feel the strain on my arms and net i knew i thought a little different.  On the scales the net went 21lb 11oz""

A 21lb 11oz mainly roach net i was over the moon.

My uncle had also had a fantastic day on the float with a net of 10lb of pristine roach and  nice chub

All in all a session to remember and as a stick float man it does not really get much better than this!!

A 17lb pike and a 20lb plus roach net from a river.....A truly dream weeks fishing

Danny

A Dream Week Off Work.......New Still Water Pike PB!!!

A warm welcome to this weeks blog update i hope i find you all well and your nets wet.  With the weather being so bad i have been out fishing quite a bit of late but i am aware the main blog has been quite sparsely updated.  The main reason for this is the fact that the rivers have been a complete mess! And as such my fishing has been mainly concentrated for pike. 

My idea at the start of the year was to separate my main fishing from my piking and write a pike diary.  As such it has meant that this has been updated more than my main blog but the downside of it being a, page within a blog, is that no updates are published on blogger to say an update on that page has gone live.  In reality it means that unless you follow the blog on Facebook, Twitter or Maggot Drowners website then you will not even know an update has gone live.

You can keep up with my pike fishing here: http://www.satonmyperch.blogspot.co.uk/p/201516-pike-seaon.html

As with buses you dont get any for ages then they all come at once and this is going to be the case with the blog over the next week as last week i decided to take a week off work to go fishing and spend some time with the family.  As such it means i have a few trips saved up and my plan is to split these into two updates.

So Why Take a Week off Work?

Well in short i needed a break, its been a long few months in work with more responsibility and pressure and with my new leave year coming round i decided to take a week off.  It was not all about being away form work though i timed the week off to hopefully coincide with my best chances of catching an upper double pike. 

Before Dave and Ste had both caught nice fish i had already spoken and mentioned to my mate Ste that i would love a nice pike to round the season off.  To this point in the season i had probably caught around 50-60 pike, at a guess, so i had done ok by my standards,  added in with that was 9 low doubles.

I booked a week of with the intention of putting as much time as i could into catching a nice upper double.  I have always said in my fishing i would never fail in anything in angling through lack of effort or time put in and if i got to the end of the week and i hadn't caught one then i could sit back and think " i did all i could" and sometimes that is the case.

So with a week off work I started my hunt for a upper double....

Sunday Morning Social...

Sunday morning and three of us hit the bank in search of pike.  I had been out with Azzer the previous day on a perfect river Dane and not had so much as a stretched maggot so i was eager to get a bend in the rod.

We walked the path to the water and i think we all felt an air of deflation as the over night heavy rain had left the water looking like thick brown chocolate milkshake.  A bit of colour is good but this was beyond what i had seen in the past.  We spread out our rods over a big distance and hoped for the best.

To my shock it didnt take 10 minutes for my float to move off,  we all wiped out eyes in astonishment i think.  Sure enough the float sunk away and a bit of me did think is this the one?  A hard strike and straight up came a small jack pike wrestling with my dead bait.  A battle it won a few feet from the net as its constant thrashing saw the hooks pull.

A hour or so passed with nothing on all our rods to suggest another chance was coming and we did all talk about calling it a day.  A quick glance and my float was away again and this time i made no mistake, a small jack of around 3-4lb was on the mat.  We did all call it a day not long after this fish as conditions deteriorated.  Not a great start to the quest for a upper double pike at all.

Monday Morning Session.....

Waking up really early on Monday morning i wandered down stairs to make a brew, a trip that on a Monday See's me dragging my feet before work.  Today was different.  The first day of a week of work and i was feeling refreshed and ready for the challenge ahead.  Loading the gear into the car i was not confident at all for some reason.

I could not put my hand on the reason why, was it the colour of the water the previous day? or was it the fact i didn't think that despite my efforts this week that i might get one? I will never know but loading the car there was a feeling that i was wasting my time even going today, it all felt so wrong.  I pondered unloading the car and creeping back into bed but decided against such a foolish act.

Travelling along the back roads i noticed the rain that had belted down all weekend had given up the ghost overnight and the roads where bone dry, probably down to the blustery winds that where already blowing.  Sometimes you really can drive on autopilot and the actual driving, although your brain must still process the mechanisms needed to drive, my whole trip there was full of thoughts of apprehension and a sense of pending failure.

The catching of pike as such was not my worry here, the location had produced loads of fish and i knew that catching would not be the problem, the key here was catching the size of pike i was targeting.  This is so far away from my "happy to catch what comes along mentality"  this was almost as close to specimen fishing as i could get.  My thoughts where though that it would be a case of time on the bank and a numbers game.

Out of the car and my confidence instantly boosted,  all the chocolate colour from the previous day had dropped over night and although not gin clear the water was a dark black in colour and looked perfect.  A spring in my step i walked to my peg in the morning sun light.  My first rod cast in on a smelt and i turned to set up the other rod and get it out in the swim.

A quick glance at the float and she was on her way out and in a second she disappeared into the depths, a early run and giving it a quick countdown i struck only for the hooks and no bait to come back at me, disaster!  The only consolation was the fish felt no resistance of a hook.  I quickly re baited the rod i was setting up and then repositioned the rod i had just lost a fish on.

I sat back and poured my first brew of the  morning, a cold drop in temperature saw blooms of steam rising from my position, like Indian smoke signals giving away my position to all around.  A few sips of the coffee and i noticed my right hand float twitch, very naturally but unnaturally if you get my drift? Something was about, a tug and then another and then a slow move away with the bait.  The float slid away beneath the oily morning surface.  Any who fish with me know i get over excited and dropping my brew i skipped to the rod.  Line was moving steady of the reel at this point and a quick countdown i checked the drag, wound down and hit the run.....

My 2.75lb Prologic Carp rod hooped over and stayed bent as the fish kept deep and hugged the bottom and i knew straight away i was connected to a double figure fish.  The fish held station with the drag on my Shimano reel ticking over as it did so just waiting to absorb and lunges.  A bit of pressure applied the fish came up slightly in the water and as it moved off a huge boil was left swirling in its wake.

Judging by the size of the boil i began to think more and more this was a fish i did not want to lose, but still only thinking it was a low double.  The fish then came into the margin right under the rod tip, the water clarity as such i could still not see the fish despite being only a trace depth deep below the surface.  It was then she gave a little and up she came, head first she broke the surface like a crocodile she kept coming up form the depths as the true length and depth of her body was revealed, right there was my prize and i considered dropping the rod, jumping on her back and wrestling her to the bank haha.

Then came the dreaded moment of any big fish fight, you know whats on the other end, what there is to lose and at this point she had gone on another long run with another huge boil coming up around 15 yards out.  The long the battle went on the more the odds moved to the pike.   With a light drag i coaxed her to the margin and i decided the time had come as she come up i took my chance and slip the Fox Rubber mesh under her prehistoric olive and gold flanks, he flanks in the net i knew i had nailed it for sure.  She would have to be made of balsa wood to not be a upper double.

I quickly unhooked the pike, and quickly got some mat shots before popping her in the weigh sling and weighing her. 17lb 11oz and a new still water Pb!!.  I quickly rang my mate Ste and what a great mate he is as without hesitation he said he would drop everything and make the long journey from where he was working, true gent!

The fish in a meshed sling and in the large landing net i kneeled at the side of the water for the full time it took him to arrive ensuring the fish was upright and holding the mesh away from the fish to ensure her gills could work.  I got a few soakings as she regained her strength but it was well worth it,  Ste arrived and in now time we had some nice shots, so good when the other person knows how to take a nice photo.  Thanks again mucka for taking the time to do it and the cracking pics. ;-)

 It was back into the net this time with no net to recover fully before being released.

Well what can i say i guess its a lesson in no matter how much you doubt the conditions, bait or magnitude of the challenge ahead it always pays to make the effort to go any way.  How many times do we formulate a plan, sort our gear and hit the bank ultra prepared yet it does seem the sessions where you feel its a waste of time that produce the best results!

I was all set for a long week on the bank and as such i nailed the fish on my second cast within probably 20 Min's of setting up.  I had two more takes that morning that where dropped but on the day i was blissed out looking through the pictures and called it a day around 11am and enjoyed an afternoon with the wife and kids.
pic of kids

 Oh What a Perfect Day!

Till the next instalment where we head out for a special days roach fishing i wish you all,

tight lines

Danny

River Roach and Dace Brace To Remember!!

A warm welcome to this weeks blog update i hope i find you all well and your nets wet.  Well finally the temperature has dropped and unlike the rest of the non anglers i am over the moon.  This update i share my thoughts on going fishing in the cold and then look back at some of my favourite memories of fishing in the cold and the snow. The fishing this week see's us heading out to take advantage of another window of opportunity on the river and this time i remember my scales.

On to the Update...

4 Below Are You Mad To Go??

The news is full of all manner of stories telling of the "Storm of The Century" is on its way or "brace for the Icy Blast" and although from time to time they are right on most occasions the weather is no where near as bad as they mention.  Angling is a sport that has many divisions and sub divisions but the biggest way to divide all arms of angling is into two brackets.  Anglers who fish all year round or anglers who fish in the warmer months, commonly know as fair weather anglers, there in my eyes is nothing wrong with being in either camp.

I am most certainly in the All Year round camp and one of the things i love most about angling is experiencing the great out doors in all its forms.  I find the sight of a canal path laden with ice covered puddles and snow covered river banks just as exciting as the sight of the first daffodils rising in spring and the new lambs in the many fields as you travel to your location.  Each season is as magical as the other in my opinion.  Winter is not a season to be afraid of, many look out and think "as if I'm going fishing in this" but others also look out and think they wont catch in the cold and in my opinion that is the thought process i aim to challenge in this piece.

Winter for me fishing wise is a season i love and although the bank sides are barren and died back it really is in my opinion the season of plenty and actually the easier months fishing for me.  Fishing can be hard don't get me wrong but if you have put the time into learning where the dace will shoal up or taken the time to walk a lake at first and last light to see where the silvers as topping then you are already half way there.  At this time of year location is everything and being on the fish is paramount as the distance fish will travel to their winter haunts can be huge but the difference between catching and not can be minute.

 A great example of this was a session me and my uncle fished on the river dee.  We both fished an area known to hold huge heads of silver fish in winter.  My uncle pegged below the bridge and me above it a gap of only 100 yards and both swims an even depth.  All above the bridge netted up to and above 20lb of fish while my uncle had 3 bites.  Again once you find the fish the lines of success can be so thin.

You have to be prepared to fish in the colder months with the right gear but with good thermal base layers and solid thermal boots you should be fine.  Target fish you know will feed in the cold and you will be amazed what great fishing you can have.

Cold Sessions To Remember...

So when the cold really sets in the excitement levels really start to rise and there has been a few times we have headed out with snow on the ground and had some fantastic sessions but the river Dee sessions really do stand out for me.  The first i remember was a session when me and my uncle headed off to the river in search of dace.  The roads all the way there where a nightmare and it was more out of relief than anything else when we pulled up to the pegs.

The weather for the day had forecast freezing rain, what the hell is that we thought, we ll later on in the session the rain hit and as it hut the floor it froze instantly.  I remember being warm in my thermal gear but my hands where sooo cold and every time i had to put my hand into my hemp that was no mixed with a freezing cold slush i regretted it.  The dace really showed up on the session and i remember us both bagging up on dace, a real show of what can be caught even when the temperature goes into minus figures.

full update of this session here: http://satonmyperch.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/ice-ice-baby.html

The next species normally on my mind when the cold and especially when the snow arrives is the pike.  A few years ago i set my heart on a pike in the snow and off i set to try and achieve that goal.  A stop of first for a bit of stick float fishing to catch some live baits and it was off to the spot i had in mind, same river mind.

The mighty river dee was my river of choice and i arrived at a spot i had caught some pike in summer.  The pike in summer where all jacks around 3-5lb but my target was a pike in the snow i did not really care about size of pike.  The bait lowered into the slack i waited and it didn't take long for the float to disappear into the depths.  A good hard strike and the rod hooped over, at this time i was not really into my piking and was using my 1.75lb barbel rod so you can image the bend.  Certainly not the tiny jacks of summer and yet not a monster, in the net i had my pike in the snow.  Was there more to come though? find out in the update.

link to update: http://satonmyperch.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/dreaming-in-winter-wonderland.html

There are of course many other sessions over the years where we have gone out in the snow but these and the ones that spring to mind.  Having been out yesterday as well in the snow with not so much as a touch you really appreciate the sessions you make the effort and it all comes good.

On to the Fishing...

Brace To Remember On The Stick Float...

The night before the session we had a good look at the rivers and decided to fish the same river as the previous session and in a twist we decided to just take one set of gear and fish the same swim taking it in turns of around 30 minutes to trot the swim while the other fished a lead into a deep hole. 

We arrived on the bank full of expectation and hope.  The swim we knew from experience held a good head of chub with the potential to give us both a bend in our rods for most of the day.  We expected to get the full day as there was no rain forecast and although the river was up a foot or so it had a nice clarity so we expected to catch.

Feeding the swim as we set up i was excited as i sat in the hot seat for the first half an hour stint.  The first trot down and i small little dace was my reward, a good sign as these fish in the swim would only increase the amount of fish In the net s.  A trot down again and the rod hooped round as i struck, a chublet came up in the water and into the net.  Two casts and two bites a solid start.  The nature of this swim is that you normally hit a few nice chub and then the swim can die for a half hour or so and then they come on again.  By fishing the way we did we hoped for one person to catch, then stop catching and then time it so the other person took over right on bite time.

The third trot down i hooked into  fish that felt like another chublet, this was till it came up int he water and i noticed it was a dace and a big one to boot!.  Fighting in the clear water i could see my prize right in front of me and it was a dace i did not want to lose.  A few anxious moments as the dace held in the current and then moved flank on in the current giving you that horror feeling of slack line and a lost fish.  Eventually she came up and slid into the net, a clonking dace and this time i had my scales, 14oz!

The next trot down i decided to go along the fast water to the snag and inched the bait down the swim.  Reaching the snag i held back and the float zoomed under, a nice bend in the rid again and in the fast flow it put up a great fight.  Again an unusual fight that had force but lacked the brute power of a chub.  Up the fish came and revealed itself to be a massive Roach!  Another big silver and a fish i did not want to lose.

My hands trebled as i lifted the roach from the landing net and marvelled at its beauty, a very rare fish indeed and one that certainly a new personal best for myself.  On the scales she went 1lb 5oz, although in the roach world a long way off a monster fish, for me, was two trots down the river i will never forget.

Handing the rod over to my uncle i sat back and thought about the two fish i had caught and was over the moon.  The only thing i love more than fishing a river is watching my uncle trot a float through, it takes me back to when i first started trotting and i would spend ages just sat in his swim watching how he fished the river.  Asking questions about why he fishes that line and why he holds the float back in that place in the swim was all a vital part of the stick float angler i am today.  Able to read a river and approach a swim on my own and feel confident i can catch fish is all down to those early sessions.

Trotting the float through it was no surprise that he was soon into some chub and a good standard to boot.  He took a number of dace and chub during his stint.  Taking over i caught some more but the bite had become really patchy.  The fish where not moving out and the river had gained pace.

For the next few hours we really struggled for bites with my uncle picking up the odd one on the float and a lead fished tight to the snag accounting for another.  Come pack up time at 2pm we had put around 15lb in the net, not the 30lb plus we had hoped for but a nice day on the bank with plenty of banter. 

This session will aways live in my memory for the two trots down in succession early on with a 14oz dace and a 1lb 5oz roach looking as pretty as a picture together on the mat.

One happy angler wishing you all tight lines till the next update

Danny