My Day At Fishomania Internations 2015

A warm welcome to this week blog update i hope i find you all well and your nets wet.  This week has been manic behind the scenes with plenty of emails regarding product reviews, use of my material on blog and even one around Sunglasses from America! Of course there is always the emails from readers of the blog and i work through these as fast as i can so if you have sent one in i will get back to you on your questions or compliment emails on blog. 

So on with this little update:

Being a person who watches fisho mania on sky most years it was on i was really excited when asked to join my Mate Garry and a few of his work mates on a trip down to the Fisho Mania finals.  It was decided to go down on the Sunday for the International finals and to be honest i was made up about this as the two anglers fishing, Des Shipp and Will Raison, are both anglers i like and always take time to listen to their hints and tips on line.

The evening before the trip and with a day chilling out the next day planned and the weather cracking the slates outside i decided to pick up a few beers on the way home from our fishing trip to the river and chill out in the garden.  Waking up the next morning i instantly regretted the decision to have a few beers as with a pounding head i struggled to wake up.  The noise of rain on the window initially had me wondering if the trip was still on at all, a quick text and it was all go for the day ahead.

Meeting up at 8.45am with Garry and his mates it was a quick trip to McDonald's for breakie before heading off down the M6.  A nice chat about all things fishing confirmed there was plenty of common ground amongst us all and shows really how angling can being people together to share experiences and tactics.  Baring a holiday to devon and the odd trip to Stapley Water Gardens this was a rare visit for me below the holmes chapel junction of the M6 and having only ever fishing Flushing Meadows Fishery i was intrigued to what a high end commercial fishery on a huge scale would look like.

Arriving at Cudmore Fisheries i was first intrigued by the little river leading alongside the path to this place and then we pulled into the main field to park, £10.00 parking fee was paid and we began our walk.  The first lake we saw must have been a new enterprise as it was very much in the construction stage with little bank side natural cover.

As we moved further into the venue so the pools seemed more natural and developed with some lovely looking pools hidden away like this one behind the main company tents.

The commercial area held a few tents loaded with angling tackle all displaying their items very well and i was really impressed with the range of items available from poles to seatboxes you could pick them all up if you so wished and some had a really good deal on them.  I had recently had a pike at my net on the river so i was in the market for a new keep net so a bargain of a keep net for £12.00 was a must buy for me, i decided to return at dinner time and pick it up,lesson learnt.  Other stalls where selling items such s long river rods up to 17ft, ground bait bulk buy deals and there was also a Womens international stall where Tommy Pickering had taken time out of his busy schedule with Sky to talk to anglers.

Moving further down the commercial area we came to a set up by the environment agency that had a aerated tank full of all fresh water fish this attracted a lot of attention during the day and was a really interesting addition to the section and i thought a good touch to show people who don't fish just what fish are in our waters.

We then decided to have a walk round and there where loads of little events and tutorials going on from Carp fishing and Pole fishing tips to fly fishing and i think in total it covered all aspects of fishing and there was also places to have a go yourself.  We spent a bit of time on the lure fishing but when Garry spotted an angler who he follows closely called Sam Edmond's.  I must say i recognised his face off TV but not an angler i follow week to week but after speaking to him for a good 20 minutes it was obvious he knew his stuff and i must say he was great to talk too and learn about a type of fishing i knew little about in drop shotting.  He took time to go over all his lures and like any angler who loves his sport he had plenty of stories to share, great guy.

We then moved onto the main Arena lake, walking up the hill and then looking down over the lake my first impression was how big the venue was, it looked a lot smaller on TV.  There was plenty going on and when we arrived there was around a 45 minutes till the all in and already anglers where busy pluming up and preparing bait.  We settled in behind Des Shipp and our plan was to spend most of our time watching him and then move around to Will Raison later on.  Rumours going round where Des was on a bad peg and i overheard someone saying he had been quoted as saying as much to someone as he went for a toilet break.

Des is an angler i have plenty of time for and always watch his tutorials on Youtube and i have noticed he always replies to comments on facebook after he posts with nearly all getting some kind of reply and i think that is fantastic to see.  This was evident as he took time to sign caps and speak to anglers over the rope barrier and had a laugh and a joke with the crowd as he got wired up for the sky cameras.  It was during this time a man appeared beside me and Garry with a pair of binoculars, at first i thought nothing of it till i noticed he was part of the Holland team.  As the time came near for the anglers to bait up fro 10 minutes they became fixated on Des's side tray obviously trying to work out what bait he was using and where he was putting it.

It really shocked me and really hit home how serious of a competition this is.  i am not saying for one second the England team where not up to the same tactics, i didn't see any evidence of it, but to be sat so obvious right behind an angler did shock me.  To the fishing and Des got of to a slow start as cheers came up from the other side of the lake as Will landed a fish.  It seemed an age before the first fish came to des but as it did so did one or two more and then it seemed the bites died before the shoal moved back in again and this continued for the first two weigh in its seemed. 

Watching it live really was enjoyable and it showed me just how much time and effort goes into their preparation as not only did Des have a few top kits but he also had two waggler rods set up and a feeder rod to cover all eventualities, preparation is the key.  The guy next to Des was having a terrible time with a duck that would not leave his float alone and he also lost a nice fish due to a hook pull while we watched.

It was great to hear all the banter on the bank and listen to  anglers suggesting what he should do to catch more fish or what they would do, i was thinking about how nervous i would be with all these people behind me.  After the forth weigh in England had started to build a bit of a gap on the opposition and with no carp in the lake over 7lb it was not going to be possible for one big fish to see one of the nations come right back at the England team.  We decided at this point to go and get a bite to eat. 

A tasty Hot dog with plenty of refreshing raw onion filled a hole if leaving me a little eye watered.  A quick check in for the keep net and all had be sold so a lesson learnt there.  We had another good look around the lakes before heading back to the main arena where we decided to move round and sit behind Will Raison who was catching plenty of fish but was actually being beaten weight wise by the angler next to him.  Settling in it was clear the England team where working to a set plan where they knew bites would come over time to win the match. even at this point. 

Then a weigh in was set up right in font of us and i with the Sky Camera looking straight down the lens at us i knew we just had to have been on sky Tv.  Getting home it was clear we was right in shot for this weigh in haha.

I think not long after this the Belgium team i think it was made a mistake in their plan as with loads of fish showing over the far side towards the island the angler decided to go over to the waggler.  Fish where all over his area but the float did not move.  During this next hour Will decided to stay close in on his pole line and picked up fish steadily whilst still feeding his margin line, a line the Belgium angler never once fed.  During this hour Will caught steady and the Belgium angler seemed to grow in frustration at missed bites and the swirls around his float but no bites.

In that half hour he weighed in no fish while Will put a few kilo on the scales and this half hour followed by Will then going down the edge and catching steady for the next half hour ended Belgium's chances in my opinion, a crucial part of the match and great to see in action.  Watching will i was amazed how fast he worked, shipping in and out and feeding at speed he was catching fish quicker than most could ship out!!

We watched Will till the penultimate weigh In before moving round to the main stage to get a decent view of the ceremony at the end.  Right at the front we had a great view of the teams as England collected their prize money and trophy.

This rounded off a fantastic trip to Fishomania finals, a day i really enjoyed and to be honest a lot more than i thought i would do.  It was certainly better than watching it on TV although being there you do lose that knowledge of knowing who is catching where and whats going on with the rest of the lake.  I do think  the lack of big fish ruined the event though as i think seeing some big lumps come in the margin would have added more excitement to the event as with a number of weigh in's to go both Will and Des knew all they had to do was keep catching steady and there was no way of being caught as there was little chance of them going half a hour without a fish and a nation adding 5-6 kilo to go into the lead.

A fantastic day and i can not wait for next years final!!

till next time

tight lines

Danny

River Dane Stick float and First Fisho-mania trip...

A warm welcome to this weeks blog update i hope i find you all well and your nets wet.This weeks update introduction i share some news about my first trip to a angling event, a look at how my new garden in the new house is coming along and we finish the update with a recent trip to a restaurant on the weaver.  The fishing covers a trip on the river dane and a stop off on another waterway on the way home. Lets get into it..

First Angling Event #Excited!

This weekend i will hopefully all being well attending my first ever angling event in the form of the Fisho-Mania Finals.  It is an event i have watched many times on TV but never really thought about visiting but this year I'm hoping will be different.  A few weeks ago i was asked if i was interested in attending the event with Gary and a few mates and after checking the schedule i found there was scope to go so i jumped at the chance.  It is an event i am excited about attending and i cant wait to just sit and watch one professional angler all session and see how they fish a match. 

Many times on TV i have just wanted them to have a choice where you can just watch one anglers, a bit like player cam on the football.  Fishing the day before i am hoping to get a good session under my belt for that weeks blog and then just relax and think about a day in the sun watching the fishing.  So roll on the weekend and fingers crossed for some sun and fantastic fishing!!

Garden in Bloom

Moving into the new house the garden front and back was a nightmare with the grass out of control and covered in weeds, borders and paths where not visible under a blanket of grass and weeks and the square planting area by the gate was thick with deep rooted weeds.  Over the past month or so we have slowly began working on the gardens and although the battle with the weeds is ongoing we are starting to see some results with the plants we have out in with the star being this blue Hydrangea!, i love walking passed this plant on my way too and from work!

The back garden is a haven for all wildlife with all manner of birds being regular visitors including the local sparrow hawk.  Regular followers of my blog on Facebook will remember last week when we got out the paddling pool and had some water fights we were amazed to see a frog appear from nowhere! it was amazing to see given the garden is quite well boxed in by other gardens at all three sides and bodes well for my idea of adding a pond to attract some wildlife into the garden, lets hope i don't end up with a pond full of frogs spawn!!

Riverside Meal

This week also saw us taking a well earned trip out with the kids to a local pub for dinner.  The riverside situated right on the banks of the weaver is always a great choice for me.  Right on the banks of the river you can sit out having a nice cold pint and some food and watch the water which on the day was alive with fish i have to say.  As far as i am aware fishing is free on this section and judging from the signs of fish a good days sport could be had.

The food was nice and the company even better so if you are into fishing and looking for a nice place go thats right next to some river then head here. 

On with the Fishing...

River Dane On Stick and New Venture...

The river dane again attracted out attention this weekend and for the love of god i have no reason why it did.  We have had a torrid time of late on this river but again with my long rod not fixed our options are really short.  The rivers are so low at the moment as well it means the choice of swims is really cut down as you need to be finding cover once that sun comes up to stand any chance of the bites keeping coming.

I set up in a shady swim with plenty of tree cover and really easy access to the peg.  A slack on my inside and the main flow coming of a sunken tree to my left the flow was gentle as it then sweeped round a bend.  I knew the peg well and knew from experience to expect bites close in early on with them tailing off and then the chase of the fish over the far side as they followed the shadow of a overhanging tree,

A 6 number 4 stick float down to a hook length of 1.7lb line to a size 18 eyes whisper barb hook attached loop to loop.  The bait as always was 2 pints of maggots and a pint of hemp seed, a batch that wouldn't chit completely despite hours boiling.

The beauty of getting to know these pegs is you have a good idea of where you are going to fish so you can start baiting up as soon as you arrive, a tactic that  normally See's instant bites on your first trot through.  All set and ready to go you have that magical moment in any session, the first cast.

That first cast is a real leap into the unknown and with river fishing you do not ever really know what is going to come your way.  This is even more so the case with the Dane as she flows into the Weaver close by and you really could be catching what ever is in the river that day.  One day a huge shoal of bream might think of going up there and be settled in your swim, you just never know and that is why i love river fishing so much.

The first fish of the session was a surprise to me as it was a skimmer, on this river you can almost put your money on the greedy chublets being first on the hook as they move in and gorge on the free offerings.  Not today though as the skimmer above took the mantle of first fish.

Normal service was resumed on the next trot down as a greedy chublet came begrudgingly to the net and safely joined the skimmer in the keep net, a nice start.

The chublets moved in quite early on and i was getting them right up in the swim, a quick stop on hand fed maggots and just feeding hemp down the swim soon saw them moving back into line over my hemp seed. 

The swim was building nicely and what was even better was the fact that if i got through the chublets and small roach then right down on the hemp seed where the flow really slowed a little i was often rewarded with a better stamp of roach or perch.  The key was getting the line to go into the faster flow and impart some movement into the bait and this seemed to bring the bite on.

There are some nice roach about in this river but tracking down this traveller can be hard as they do seem to move around a lot, roll on winter eh when you can track them down to their winter haunts.  As the session went on i was starting to think i had some nice fish together and then the swim dies completely! Trotting through the rubbles signifying a good head of fish int he swim where gone and so was any signs of fish around, like a light switch going off the swim died.

Trotting through it all became clear as a sharp dip on the float saw me connect with a small fish that then saw a pike nail it and come clear out of the water as it did.  It was a fantastic sight to see as the pike spectacularly took to the air to nail the fish as it came in.  It only looked like a small pike and that had me worried as piking in winter had taught me these pike done really move on and normally keep feeding in the area.

I had so many small pike in winter take my bait and get them right in the edge before they would come off and then 20 mins later off your bait would go again with the same fish.  I always take a pike rod with me on river trips for the very purpose of catching pike and putting them back in upstream so i can carry on catching the silvers.  A small silver fish was offered out and trotting it down the pike float soon zoomed under, a few seconds and a hard strike and one angry pike made its way in.  Like a defiant teenager it struggled but eventually in it came and i was made up as these fish have such lovely colours when they come from rivers.

To emphasise just how much a pike can disrupt a swim it took me a hour and a half after returning the pike upstream to get another bite which was a roach.

The swim was producing the odd fish but i was working hard for them.  My uncle in another swim had gone a good few hours without a bite or any sign so we decided to call it a day, pack up, and then give a little waterway a go on the way home.  The final net was not really what we had set out for but sometimes in this sport you have to take the rough with the smoother and as i have said many times in this blog.  When you go out each week you see the highs and lows in sport and you have to ride through these lows and experience them to then appreciate the good times when they come.

The waterway a mere spit of water but worth trying as a diversion from the dane and hey we had nothing to lose and if anything the change of scenery was welcome.  We only fished for a hour or two to get a feel for the place and a few roach and some perch gave us a base to build on showing us there where fish present and worth another visit.

Well that is a another weeks blog updated i hope you all have a good week and the weekend brings you the wettest of nets.

Till then,

tight lines

Danny

River Mania to Become A Reality??

A warm welcome to this week’s blog update and I start this week’s update by talking about a new river competition that is set to take place later this year with a working name of River Mania.   The idea of his competition is for River anglers to have a big money competition on a similar scale as the still water competition Fisho-Mania and is the brain child of the famous river match angler Dave Harrell.

The idea that is being suggested is to have 20 matches all around the country with 60 pegs in each match the 60 pegs will be split into 3 sections with the winner of each of those three sections going through to the final 60 peg match for the prize money.  The prize money being mentioned is up around £10,000 for the winner with good back up prizes if the participation levels throughout the whole country are high enough.  Obviously for a competition on this scale to work it is going to take some massive organisation by both angling clubs and match organisers and I am pleased to say it seems that enough angling clubs have contacted Dave allowing their waters to be used for the idea to be passed over to the Angling Trust for serious consideration.

Fishing the banks of my local river every week it is easy to see how low in popularity river angling has become compared to the busy still waters and commercials and it is not too hard to notice when you are one of the youngest faces on the bank.  The arm of river angling has declined from what it was many years ago and there are sections of rivers that once where lined week in week out with anglers that now have one or two pegs on them with the rest completely reclaimed by nature. I know of two places this is the case on the River Dee and I also know from fishing the river that apart from the busy winter venue I fish that me and my uncle only saw a handful of other anglers on the bank during the whole of our summer campaign. 

I myself have never fished a river match before but I would certainly be looking to take part in this competition as I feel it will be not only a really exciting experience but I would love to be part of something that I believe will really help the promote river angling in this country and in time I really think we will look back at this competitions introduction as a moment that possibly changed river angling in this country.  I know there are a few river anglers who read this blog so let’s try and spread the word about this fantastic competition and get this idea as much support as possible as at the end of the day it is only us anglers that can make it a success.

More information on venues and prize money is expected to be released shortly so check out the link below for more information as it breaks.

For more information check out Dave Harrell’s Facebook page here: http://www.facebook.com/DaveHarrellAngling

Dave also talks about this idea in this interview released a week or so back:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JZqVvzomX0

This past two weeks the blogs mini carp blog has taken a front seat and I have been putting my exploits up on there, baiting up and my first session are on there so far along with some information on my plan for the rest of this year’s quest so feel free to check it out on the page bar at the top of the blog or on the following link.

10lb car quest mini blog: http://satonmyperch.blogspot.co.uk/p/10lb-carp-mini-blog.html

As part of this mini blog I have found myself returning home just as the sun is setting and it has presented me with a perfect opportunity to capture a few pictures of the local nature reserve and the Mersey estuary.

On to this weeks fishing:

Friday afternoon was spent enduring a cold blank in pursuit of the carp for the blogs mini blog so come Saturday I was determined to get a few bites and that float going under so I decided to put my faith in my local commercial Flushing Meadows.   I actually called in this place last weekend and the pool I fished in this update was frozen solid with no chance of fishing it as you can see below.

With this in mind I arrived on the banks of flushing a few hours later than normal and it was gone 9am by the time I settled in my peg.  There were a few other anglers on the pool when I arrived and the peg I had wanted to fish was taken so I settled on a peg on the far margin on the above photo, I picked this peg as it gave me plenty of margin to go at and the option to fish deeper water straight out in front of me.

My plan for the day was to fish solely maggot and fish it high up the shelf to see if any carp where willing to feed the weather was surely warm enough for carp with clear blue skies and the warm sun on my back I was confident of picking up at least one.

The action was really slow and it seemed an age to even get the roach going let alone any carp but eventually I managed to get the roach feeding and was rewarded more with numbers of fish than quality but at least the float was going under.

The roach continued to come in fits and starts and it was noticeable the angler on the back of the island was having a really good day and catching a lot of carp, this can be the case on flushing meadows at times and myself and my uncle have had many a session on there where one of us has been bagging up on nice carp while the other is scratching around with bits.

The sun on my back and the float going under steadily I was a happy man but I just felt I should have been picking up a carp if they were feeding so ferociously for the other angler so with around a hour and a half of the session left I began to up the feed rate and really pile in some maggots hoping to prey on the greedy nature of the carp.  A few small roach and eventually I got what I was hoping for as the elastic melted from the end of the pole tip what I hadn’t remembered to change my top kit to a thicker elastic and it became really obvious early on in the fight that I was connected to a decent carp and that I was in for a long battle on only blue hydro elastic.

The fish was in no doubt as to who was in charge in this exchange as it powered from left to right and back again, I did all I could to gain control of the fish by submerging the tip of my pole in the water to increase the strain on the fish and I managed to turn the fish a few times from reaching the other anglers, I was in a right mess!!  Eventually I got the carp under my feet and I saw how big it was and I estimated it to be around 5-7lb and I must say around 5 minutes into this fish my arm was beginning to ache and as one of the other anglers commented “its having none of it”. 

The fish was getting to the stage when it was beat and I had the fish under some type of control and all of a sudden the line flew back at me, it baffles me at times how a fish can impart so much pressure on the hook at still not come off yet the stage in the battle where the fish is under control but still on a tense elastic the hook pops out.  I must say I was gutted as it would have been the first carp of the year and I knew in the conditions it could have been my only chance of a carp in that session.

The session continued to count down to its end and as time was just about to be called I struck into another strangely delicate bite and was connected to another carp but it was not in the same league as the previous one and armed with white hydro elastic it was soon in the landing net and on the bank.  It was a strange looking carp as it didn’t look like a common carp or a mirror but more like a really big crucian mixed with a common.

It was only when turning the fish over for a picture of its other side I noticed the fish only had one eye.

This was the last action from the trip and I must admit after the hard session the night before I was happy to get a few bites and left the fishery with my fishing itch well and truly scratched for another week.

This weekend I am hoping to get out on the bank both days, Sunday I will be on the carp quest as it is forecast to be the warmer day and I am undecided at the moment as to whether to go to flushing meadows or visit a water on the WAA card.

Till next week I wish you all

Tight lines

Danny