Recent trips out on the bank have seen me bump into loads of people who read the blog, like buses you don't have many people mention it then all of a sudden you get people coming over for a chat everywhere you go. I love this side of the blog and if you do ever see me on the bank please do come over and have a chat its great to hear your fishing stories.
The past two weekends has seen me targeting carp for a product review i have got coming up for a carp sling and it was great to bump into a regular blog reader on the bank and share a moment that saw him catch his first ever chub! A keen predator angler it was good to hear his stories from the same canal we fish, share some of my hot spots i have come across for perch and then sat back and waited for a run whilst watching his roach swim get stalked by a small jack pike. We spend all winter chasing them on dedicated gear and how typical if fishing when you set up a roach rod and leave the pike gear at home, mr esox then finds you. Who would be a fishermen eh?
I can honestly say i am loving my fishing at the moment and in that i mean all aspects of it. The challenge of the fishing, different challenges with the writing and then the extreme challenge that is the youtube channel. Challenge is good in any part of life not just fishing it keeps you on your toes and makes the journey one to remember.
Cheshire Particle...
Cheshire Particle is a North West bait company run by Mark. Working from home to produce his own blends and mixes of particles he, in a short space of time, has gained a reputation for producing quality baits. The 2016 sponsor of the wales carp fishing is a testament to the hard work put in by mark and his team of anglers.
link to cheshire particle: https://cheshireparticle.com/
The range of products on offer is fantastic ranging from parti-mixes, pellets, nut mixes to his new range of snail boilies and of course his particle mixes with hemp tares and maize, it is a range where anyone can find a bait that fits into their fishing. I always like it when i come across anglers with an obvious passion for their sport and products and even more so when they are local, long term blog readers will remember me working with Beechwood baits a few years ago.
Of course this blog does stray into the world of carp fishing from time to time but when i was asked to work with Cheshire Particle i wanted to of course use items that compliment my fishing and dovetail nicely into my methods and ideas. The stand out was of course hemp seed and i was also very interested in the hemp oil the company produced and the different ways i could incorporate that into my fishing. A review of these two products will bin the coming blogs but here is a little taste of what this hemp and hemp oil can be used to catch.
Lymm Anglers Bailiff Role...
The world of fishing can be at times a world of gripes and discontent, certainly if you frequent facebook groups a lot you will certainly be open to this world. I, at times, have also been guilty of having a lot to say on certain subjects but offering little in the way of a solution to the problem but like i said earlier 2017 i made a resolution to be more positive and more proactive in my angling, April is fast approaching and i think i have been true to that word.
In the past 2 years i have seen the banks of my local canal, the bridge water, (Northern One) become a place i dont like, a place where you worry about its long term future and the effects certain types of behavior are having on the water. In the past two years i have seen the pike fishing be reduced to a shadow of its former self and increasingly in that time i was catching pike with large sea hooks in their mouths and trailing tackle where the angler had been snapped on really light lines with no traces.
More and more i was seeing anglers mistreating fish when handling them and after getting chatting to few anglers an ever increasing number of anglers with no licence. This year i got chatting to another bailiff and i decided to put my name down to join a team of dedicated bailiffs and as a group we are now completing checks on the canal and in only a short amount of time have i think got a message that the canal is now in safe hands and being well bailiffed.
For me a bailiff role does not just confine to the boundary of checking cards and i want it to become the canal i remember as a kid, i want to see anglers back on the banks fishing the canal, The lads and dads getting out and about to wet a line and create memories together on the local cut. To achieve this is going to take time and a lot of effort and hard work. I will certainly be covering in detail my sessions on there in the form of my youtube videos and on here and if you are local to the Cheshire area come and give this canal a go, you will not be disappointed.
You can acquire a licence here: https://www.lymmanglingclub.com/join-us
On to the Fishing:
Welcome to my...Pond Life...
So with a few product reviews in the past few weeks my fishing for once has been mainly dictated by the blog, not my normal way of doing things but some times it has to be done and carp fishing has been the area i have been spending most of mt time in recently.
As with all aspect of life it is always good to break away and spend a few hours doing something completely different, an evening on a local small pond with my uncle offered such an opportunity and it was away with the carp rods and out with the maggotts and hemp.
A small secluded pond situated in the ruins of an old monastery it holds a wealth of history and the pond itself is part of that with it being a stock pond for the monks when they inhabited the local area. How times change now someone taking carp from this pond for the pot would be seen in such a different light.
This pond is also quite sentimental to myself as both me and my dad helped to create the fishing pegs many years ago and s reward we where both granted with a fishing licence for life to fish the pond, a reward we drop in on from time to time, but in all honesty a place i fish quite infrequently. A place, like the local canal, that holds so many special memories of mine and my dads fishing trips.
So with only a few hours in the evening we decided to give this little pond a go. The margins lined with toads in quite a amorous mood it was one of those typical early spring evenings, a warm breeze and intermittent sun and cloud, i was interested to see how the fishing had changed.
Feeding red maggot via the catty over the top of my light pole float soon saw some roach coming on the drop. A decent pouch of hemp from the off would guarantee some feed on the bottom when the maggot arrived. A deep swim for a pond at 10ft i fished a rig full depth with little shot to catch in all the layers as the bait fell. Roach where soon coming steady on the drop.
As with all truly wild fish that need not our baits to sustain their existence their natural instincts soon kick in and caution outweighs the need to feed. Changing feed and depths can fool the stranglers but keeping the fish coming can really be a game of cat and mouse. My uncle was also getting steady bites and had actually landed a few small carp, distant ancestors of the very fish this pond was created for, the history of this place as i have said makes it so special.
A solemn silence soon came over my peg and it all felt very atmospheric as the float sat lazily dancing to the ponds tune as the slight ripple lapped up against the float. A rhythm soon interrupted by the slightest of line bites, a fish moving on the bottom was the obvious culprit and when the float finally gave in the ever excited angler on the other end of the pole and sunk into to depths i knew little of what was going to be on the other end.
A hard fight seeing the drennan aqua elastic oozing from the end of the pole it was a good while before the fishes identity was certified especially with the severe depth of this pond. Eventually through the surface came the shimmer of dark olive green and that most iconic of spring fish was slid into the landing net. A teddy bear eye and a paint brush tail she was by far the fish of the session and a sign spring had finally sprung.
As the session wore on to its end and we reached that most mysterious time in any session, the last hour, the witching hour, a hour when you know those wise old fish are starting their hunt for food and if you get lucky maybe they will slip up and allow you to admire their beauty.
The last hour as the oily sun dropped below the horizon my palm was graced with bars of gold time and time again as some lovely crucian carp moved in over the bed of hemp seed. A sight that brought those childhood memories flooding straight back.
A session end came in just as fast as the darkness began to fall and a cool mist began to creed over the pond, many say the morning mist is the ghost of anglers past then surely this mist rolling in just had the be the ghosts of the monks moving in to protect their pool through the hours of darkness.
Two nets that held so many memories.
Till next time enjoy you fishing and creating those special memories that will last a lifetime.
Danny
Danny
Pretty sure the fish in your hand is more of a brown goldfish than crucian. But, although it is hard to see, at least one of those in the net looks to be a proper crucian to me. Enjoyed that article.
ReplyDeleteWhat's that frog like thing? :/ looks kinda creepy to me.
ReplyDelete