A change is as good as a rest

 

 

Fishing one method all the time can get a bit samey, and if you’re not careful can end up more like a chore than a pleasure. Although this hasn't happened yet with my lure angling, the changing seasons have triggered my need to revert back to some of my origins in angling.

As with most anglers starting out in the generations before the rise of the commercial water, one of the first methods I ever attempted to learn was to stare endlessly all day long at a little orange tip on the surface of the water anxiously waiting for it to disappear, pulled under by some unseen force. It was the strangely hypnotic action laced with the hopeful anticipation of the expected result that tapped into a basic need within me. This desire to catch fish has often been linked to a latent hunter gatherer instinct. Float fishing can be a bit like laying a trap then waiting to spring it at just the right time in order to catch whatever has fell for the ruse. It's the feeling that this simple event can give to the angler that sparks off a lifelong passion that some of us will never tire of.
Sometimes with fishing we will dip in and out from time to time getting a fix here and there only during the warmer months for some maybe, whereas others myself included, can barely go a few hours without thinking about where the next bite, run or take will come from and by what, and as importantly how it will happen. There are a myriad of different ways that have been concocted to catch fish and being humans we always like to keep it challenging, so we are forever devising more and more ways to stack the odds. Be it by totally new methods or tackle that sometimes stack the odds more in the favour of the fish. Ultimately though, as long as it scratches the itch or provides the necessary kudos we are seeking then we can find a method that works for us.

Sometimes however, I find it good to just sit quietly for a few hours casting a simple float no more than a rods length out into a small secluded pool, occasionally throwing a few hand full’s of ground bait and fishing kernels of corn on the hook to see what will come along.

Occasionally the float even disappears and the trap is triggered.

 

 

Whilst on a weekend away.....

Friday evening and after a last minute decision to head to the in laws caravan in Lincolnshire for the week end, I was soon sneaking a few bits of kit in the back of the car between bags of clothes and beach towels.  First thing Saturday morning and I was up and about looking at a dyke !



With rudd topping all over the corner in front of me, I baited up with some crumbled bread and small pellets, then proceeded to drop a link lead over the top with a pinch of bread folded over and hooked through the fold in the way Jeff showed me on the Warks Avon a while ago. (Try it, it really works & no more agonising if it's still on !).

The first bite was missed but soon after the second pull was struck in time finding a hefty resistance that I wasn't really expecting. I was hooked to something that had the ratchet on the pin singing and my initial thought was small carp. The fish headed straight into the near margin reed line then tried to bury itself on the bottom some 8ft down sending up a fizzy cauldron of bubbles from the silty clay. I guessed it might be something else which was soon confirmed when a tench rose to the surface before sliding into the net. A nice short fight was had on light gear with a 4lb fish, the biggest landed on the new (ish) 9ft feeder rod so far. The rod easily subduing the lunges made by the fish admirably, giving me great confidence for the small stream chub fishing I purchased it for.

Sunday mornings session and I was out again to fish the other dyke to the left. A local angler I spoke to yesterday at dyke one told me that there were some good fish to be had in both waters, particularly the roach, bream and tench. Fishing armed with some corn and spam form the local shop now I was hoping to draw the bigger fish in. Unfortunately in dyke no two it was not to be. Despite seeing some nice fish roll I only managed a small skimmer / bream.  The water was gin clear and I suspect the fish were not too used to seeing much bait thrown in. However the ever faithful corn did the job on this occasion.

That was it for my total of 4 hours on these water, the promise is definitely there for some decent fish and I look forward to trying again next time we're in the area.



Into some fish again .... tench, crucians, barbel

I felt like I'd not been out fishing much at all recently, I had of course but only for a few short little sessions here and there for an hour or two in between domestic commitments and work. These little bankside visits have not really produced the fish I'm after but they have been a good way of learning new swims and sussing out ideas for future sessions. I know that some of these ideas may not come into fruition for a while,  even a year or two, but they will always lie dormant in my mind just waiting for their opportunity to germinate and burst into life.

Back to the present day though, and it occurred to me that getting a bend in my rod was getting a bit overdue, so last weekend I headed out to a club pool to fish for crucians on the pin and float for the afternoon. It was a great little session with quite a few fish caught and a nice afternoon was spent waiting for the float tip to rise or sink. It's not what you can call a relaxing time in the sense that you can sit back and chill out. No, you must be on full alert at all times poised and waiting for the slightest movement up, down or sideways and then let your instincts decide whether to stick or twist. The decision won't always be they right one but as long as the sport is consistent the averages will generally fall in you favour the more that time passes.

A mixed brace on the pin & float

I found that the crucians were not willing to take a maggot this time  but there were plenty of small to medium roach and rudd coming one a chuck that were ! When I switched to corn I immediately landed a small tench of about 2lb, then followed this up with a fat goldfish, before my intended quarry, a crucian, finally succumbed to a neat little punch of luncheon meat. This was quickly followed by another tench while the crucian was still waiting in the net for its photo shoot.  Staying on the punched meat in the hope of more crucians  I then proceeded to get hammered by tench after tench all around the 2 - 3lb mark. No further crucians were forthcoming but then I had to pack up soon after at 5:00pm.  With more time I may have fed the tench off eventually, allowing more of the crucians to get a look in?

A "Gold" Goldfish  (why stock goldfish when you have a good stock of true crucians that will get spoiled by hybridisation???)

How a Crucian should look - to my eyes

Thursday 5th July

For tonights session I headed to the River Dove in hope of a nice fat floodwater barbel before the expected deluge of a months worth of rain will hit tomorrow (Friday).  I have been keeping an eye on the forums and other blogs and  noticed that there are quite a few fish coming out due to these perfect conditions, so never to look a gift horse and all that I got over there to see if I could join the party.

I'm pleased to say that I on my first cast after baiting up I was straight into a fish and soon had a fine summer barbel on the bank. This is the second smallest fish I've landed from the river so my average is still not looking too bad. It was just past ten pm now and I had planned to stay till midnight. I could  have fished on but it had started to rain quite heavily and looked pretty ominous overhead. The intense muggy heat made my natural barometer suspect another thunder storm brewing. I'm not much a fan of being out in the open holding a carbon lightning conductor in my hand so my uneasiness got the better of me and I quickly called time and trudged back to the car satisfied that at least I'd caught a reasonable fish for my trouble. Only halfway back across the fields and I was regretting my decision but it was too late now to go back and set up again what with work beckoning next morning.  Half an hour later loading up the car ready to head home the skies had cleared nicely again and the threat of storms had not developed - typical. In hindsight I should have stayed on till midnight as I'm sure more fish would have come - especially judging by the results others have been reporting over the last week or so. C'est la vie !

Look at the paddle on that !!

Worming one out.....

A couple of sessions on the tench lake again this week, the first on Sunday morning last from 6:00am. With not alot to report from that one except for the fact that despite it being mid May I was dressed in my full winter garb and felt colder than I did on days in January. With the north easterly wind cutting through and chilling my bones all morning keeping the temperature no greater than 8 deg C, by 11:30am I'd had enough.  With only one  liner to show for five and a half hours fishing I headed home feeling a little defeated. This water can be cruel sometimes the prevailing conditions seem to really effect it more than other waters at times.  The day before when it was slightly warmer the fish had seemingly been queueing up to be caught, one lad landing 12 fish plus a decent bream into double figures. Now the other two anglers and me on the lake, we could bearly raise a bite between us.

Wed however was completely the opposite with the temperature soaring up the scale to 23 deg C in the space of three days. Unfortunately this didn't seem to encourage the fish much and I struggled to get any interest. James was down again (same as Sunday) fishing the float in the next peg along but he struggled for bites too. I heard that some of the other anglers had found the going tough over the last few days also, dramatic temperature change is never a good thing I feel, it takes a few days of consistent weather the keep the fish on the feed, especially here. 

Earlier in the day while on my lunch break from work I popped into a tackle shop to get some fresh reds and decided to splash out on a shiny white smomb to see what all the fuss was about. I've gotta say within two casts of it I was converted. It flies well, feels lighter than a spod and with no spills is perfect for any bait, except for a real stodgy mix I suppose, but that won't affect me anyway.

Full darkness had descended at about 10:00pm and despite a couple of liners I'd not had a proper run yet. I saw a fish roll just further out from the baited area and wondered if they were on the mooch in my swim now?  James came round on his was back to the carpark, we chatted about tench and the usual stuff as you do, when the left hand rod suddenly screamed off on a 'proper un' I lifted into that familiar solid curve and pumped what felt like a nice fish in towards me. The fish took a bit of line so I hoped it would be decent. Then it suddenly seemed to give up in a very bream'esk fashion I hoped I might be into one of the binlids until a reasonable tench slid over the rim of the net. We both guessed a mid six based on its size but it only went 5lb10oz which goes to show how inaccurate we all are at guessing weights.

Dodgy phone cameras -better than nothing I suppose!

That was it I gave it another half hour and had one more dropped take on the worm, but no more fish were banked. The worm rig taking the only customer all evening which was interesting, I expect the fish were not around my swim in any numbers and I only managed to entice the odd passing fish to show any interest as they were moving through rather than get a decent shoal to stop around and feed.  I have struggled to get into the bigger fish so far this tench season but hopefully I can turn that around in the next few sessions.

You've had a nightmare son !!

First session on the local pit this year after tench and I was full of hope and anticipation as I drove along the motorway from work. When I arrived I found that the only other two anglers were in the peg I wanted and the next available one to the left of it.  Instead I picked a spot on the opposite bank with the wind blowing a nice ripple diagonally in to the south east side across the swim out on front of me.

With a bit of bait spodded out, cage feeders rigged helicopter style were soon sat on top of the bait - rods still set up from Sunday meaning I was good to go in no time.  While I waited for some action I made up some more hooklinks using size 14 Korum S5s. To these I added the obligatory fake red maggot up the shank covering the eye. I decided to change one of the helicopter rigs to my old faithful inline maggot feeder. The right had rod was now fishing said maggot feeder over the bait and I sat down to ring Andy while I waited. Within minutes of our conversation starting the rod was off on a stormer! I shouted to Andy on the phone now on the floor " I'm in" and played the hard fighting fish in gently making sure that the clutch was loosened off enough to avoid and mishaps. It was coming  in good as gold nothing to worry about just take your time, I turned the fish again and it dived the clutch giving a little then nothing but slack ! what !! the bloody hook had pulled.

With the rod back out I sat down to contemplate the situation, the fish hadn't been that big I told myself, you can't tell of course but I guessed no bigger than six pound (at least I  hoped). The left rod was off soon after and again a fish was gingerly played in. As it headed to my far left trying to get into the reeds along the margin I forced a turn on it, the fish seeing my point of view for a while. Then with a violent headshake it was off, the hook giving out at the bend!

Fish number three came shortly after on the maggot feeder again, this one headed up the margin to my right this time. I managed to get the fish turned and out from under the near bank tree, line sickeningly grating on branches as I did. It was now safely out in front of me  just requiring a gentle bit of coaxing into the net, when the hook pulled for no particular reason! Oh bother I said ( or something like that ) these hooks re just not working, just about stopping my self from chucking the rod in.  I searched in my bag for a different hook pattern settling on some size 10 ESP raptors instead.  The maggot feeder was off again before I had time to finish tying the new hooklink. Right just be very careful I told myself , but the fish was off before I had time to settle into the battle.

That was 4 lost fish in about 40 mins of solid action. The hooks were just that bit too small to have a fake maggot on the shank and cope with the weight of the feeder up the line, these factors must have been responsible for loosening the hook from its hold at any moment.

The maggot feeder was re rigged with the new hook pattern and within no time it was off again. The fish came in  steadily and without too much fuss I slid it over the net, easy !  Only a four but it was a relief to get one in finally.

a plump four

I kicked myself for not changing the hooks sooner, but on reflection if you get one hook pull you put it down to bad luck, two or three and you start to question your tackle judgement,  by the forth !! well I was already in the process of changing the hooks by then. 

Funnily enough with both rods fishing maggot feeders now, the feeding spell was over just an hour or so after it had started. And the lesson learnt, well that's plainly obvious now isn't it !

April turns to May ...time for a catch up

Lately I've not been out fishing as much as I usually would, due to other influences mainly ( work,  family, the dreaded DIY) but also the weather has played a big part. I just haven't been in the mood to sit enduring blanks in this cold spring we are experiencing. At this time of year I would now be in full tench mode but for one reason or another it's taking me a while to get started and in the swing of it. My usual tench water takes a good while to wake up even in a warm srping, generally two weeks after most other waters , so I havent felt like punishing myself there as yet. Reports had been a bit hit and miss so far this year so I didn't think I'd missed out too much.

A protruding vent - spawned out already ?

 I went canal zeding for a couple of hours about a two weeks ago but only managed just one small zedlet of no more than two pounds. It did take a strip of trout that I was trying out as bait for the first time though, proving it'll be a rare occurrence if nothing is either learned or confirmed on every session out on the bank.

Finally I got out after my first spring tench this morning for a short 4 hour visit to a local pool where I knew I could rely on a few runs (hopefully).  The usual peg I would fish was taken on my late-ish arrival at around 8am so I headed to a swim I've never tried before and set about preparing the rods in earnest. With only 4 or 5 fishable spots on the whole pool it was shit or bust, so out went several cage feeders full of ground vitalin and hemp with a sprinkle of dead reds for good measure (silty bottom on this pool). Both rods were out and fishing within the hour and that included setting them up from scratch hook lengths and all (quite fast for me ).

I'd expect some kind of indication after about 40 mins on here but after an hour here was none.  Doubts about the swim choice started to creep in.  Soon a bit of online scrabble on the smart phone with the wife had her accusing me of being bored with the fishing! not a bit of it.  She should know by now I could happily sit there biteless all day and still think I had a chance till the last second of the session, boredom just wouldn't get a look in.  Shortly after my carefully worded reply, not admitting any kind of defeat being on the cards, the left hand rod was off with a strange stuttering take, the line falling slack then picking up again but without registering anything on the alarm the second time ?  A fish was on though and after a slow steady fight the years first tench was in the net. Quite pleasing to have caught on my first attempt this year, something that doesn't always happen for me. Nothing massive at 4lb but its a start.

So that brings me bang up to date, I will be back at my usual tench water next session as I hear on the grapevine this evening that the fish have started to come onto the feed big style today, so I'm hoping to get in on the action pretty soon... watch this space.

Blenheim Palace... "It's a funny old game"

Blenheim Palace - a grand view indeed

Friday morning and we were off to Blenheim Palace for Keith's 40th Birthday fish-in. The day started early at Jeff’s house with a cuppa and a bacon sarnie at four in the morning! The car was quickly loaded and we headed off down the M40 towards Oxford. Obviously the only topic of conversation on the way down was of fish and all forms of fishing, so much so that we only went and missed the bloody turning off the M40 for the A34! 
Luckily this didn't matter as the rest of the lads were a bit late too. We finally arrived at the gates about 6am and met up with Keith, Pete, Martin and David. Tackle and bait was hastily loaded onto the boats, and walkie talkies handed out for direct contact with each other during the day (great ploy Keith).

Jeff was first to man the oars as we headed out onto a misty lake full of optimism. The others, being slightly quicker to organise themselves, meant we were lagging behind slightly but followed the other boats up towards the grand bridge.

Anchored up near to Keith and Pete’s boat,  we began by fishing a light float for perch with a sleeper rod out each for pike. Pike floats on and with baitrunners set so that any run would be sounded by the clicking of the clutch alerting us to a taking fish. Keith duly caught his first pike of the day within minutes of us arriving. The fight was quite an amusing affair as the fish swam around the anchor chain, but Keith skilfully threaded his rod under the chain to untangle the fish landing it safely, and without further incident. He caught another smaller fish a little while later.

I'd love to say that plenty of bites were forthcoming for us too, but there were no definite indications for hours that could be undeniably confirmed as a fish.  Jeff said he had a bite at one stage and I thought I did once too, but they were hardly what you would call sail away, if they were bites at all?   Jeff’s post covers the morning in more depth but suffice to say that in the grounds of such a fine palace we pretty much royally blanked from 6:45am right through to about 3pm. Jeff's brace of crayfish later on the only catch made on our intrepid vessel all morning.

"next bite and your mine"

got  ya!

After a stint down the other end of the lake over lunch, where we were thouroughly entertained by a grebe feeding small perch to her 3 adolescent chicks, we eventually came up with an inspired decision. "Let's head back to the bridge and see if there are any more fish up there - the winds blowing up that end of the lake after all". This turned out to be the best decision we made all day.

Back in position by the bridge I lobbed out a roach deadbait on the pike rod, and turned my attention to the float rod with a worm on a size 10 hook intended for perch or tench. I picked a position just a rods length out from the boat and baited it with a few handfuls of casters and maggots. It wasn't too long before my first proper bite of the day happened; I struck it clean and felt a heavy thud, thud, thud feeling as the fish hugged the bottom. I quickly made a grab for the landing net for the first time in about 8 hours of fishing, but before I really had time to think about what was happening the fish had woken up and had shot off under my pike line toward the middle of the lake. The clutch, being set a little too tight for 3lb line verses a strong fish (most probably a nice tench), meant the inevitable result - it quickly parted at the hook!

I tied a new hook on and got the float back in position checking the clutch again, gutted that I may have lost the only real chance of the day.  It was only minutes later though, that Jeff alerted me to the fact that the reel on my pike rod was starting to turn and rather quickly too, I struck and had a fish on!  On my request, Jeff moved my other rod to the back of the boat so it was out of my way, leaving me to play the hooked fish.  A welcome 8lb pike was the result of the take, saving my day from the dreaded blank we had been expecting since the mornings results.

A minute or so after this photo was taken, one of those totally unexpected events that can sometimes happen in fishing from time to time unfolded on our boat. Remember I said Jeff had moved my other rod, well he shouted out something about my rod? I turned round to see the rod hooping over just as Jeff was picking it up. "Feels like a tench" he said, the fish still deep and out of view. As it rose up through the surface layers I had a feeling it wasn’t, but I must leave it to Jeff to tell the rest of this part of the story. A mad 10 minutes had just ensued to lift us out of the doldrums and hopes were now high for more action.

I started to get more bites on the light float rod but I somehow kept missing them, not that I was too worried as the pike rod did its best to keep me occupied when a ticking clutch indicatd it was off again. This time a gentler run which stopped after a second or two.  With the float still moving across the surface of the water, and with rod already in hand line wound tight, I struck into the second fish of the day.  A short fight brought the fish closer to the boat where it surfaced in front of Keith and Pete.  "Bloody hell it's a tench!" Keith blurted out...and he was right.

4lb 8oz (sardine lover)

This fish was hooked fair and square in the mouth where it must have been mouthing the sardine tail at the cut end and picked up the trailing hook.  It's the first tench on a deadbait I've ever caught that's for sure. I don't think I'll be swapping from my traditional tench baits though; the nuisance pike might be a bit of a problem!

Pete (left) and Keith

Keith and Pete joined us again after my news update on the walkie talkies, and had some nice fish, both landing tench, Keith with a 7lber and Pete a new PB at 5lb 8oz.  Keith also landed yet another Pike at 15lb.

It was approaching 6pm when my pike rod was suddenly away again on another sardine tail.  I hit the fish, and so began one of the most epic battles with a fish I've ever had.  This fish felt in a different class to any previous pike I've ever played before as it went off on several powerful runs, stripping line off the clutch at will.  Now I'll freely admit that the clutch was set quite light, as I didn't want to risk a hook pull especially after losing that fish earlier on the float rod. The fish managed to take out some of the other lad’s lines during the fight.  Jeff's pike rig was first on my righthand side and was collected on my line dangling like washing. Then the fish surged across to the left over towards Keith and Pete's boat taking out one of Pete's floats ( I think he managed to free it though somehow).

The water still being quite warm at this time of year meant the fish was quite energetic, displaying some exhilarating tail walking, throwing the bait dramatically in front of Keith. Finally, it was in close to our boat but it wasn't happy, surging off on several more runs each time I tried to get its head up. I managed to get it towards the net that Jeff had waiting; the fish coming in on the surface like a large croc, gliding nicely over the cord.   Jeff wasn't quite quick enough lifting it up though and the fish tail-walked out of the net ever so slightly more pissed off by now!  My knees started to knock I think, and I was just waiting for it to throw the hooks.  Luck was on my side thankfully, and as it came in again  I guided it across the net cord again I shouted "lift, lift” to Jeff.  Faultless this time he lifted the net up with precision, engulfing the largest pike I've ever seen in the flesh, and a hard won prize was eventually mine.

After some speculation by the other lads the final weighing revealed my new PB of 18lb 10oz smashing my previous best by a cool 7lb. What a turnaround this day of two halves had been, and in the end was a very special one destined to live long into the memory I'm sure. Thanks to Keith for the idea of getting us all together and for the invite.

Martin & David plus "Blackie" the Antipodian Swan

Finally, commiserations must go out to Martin and David, who I know tried damn hard all day to get into the fish, but were just unlucky.  At least they got to see the potential that this beautiful lake has to offer though.

Better late than never ...

Crucian fishing is a summer sport I know, so leaving it till the leaves have started to turn was always going to be a little risky. This wasn't the plan earlier in the year of course, in fact I had trips to Marsh farm and other known crucian waters planned for this summer, but for some reason I haven't been able to get motivated enough to go for it until now.
The plan for this morning was to try a well known local lake where I've fished in the past for a morning stint bagging a few 2lbers and with an outside chance of something bigger.  For the challenge I also need to catch a king carp  of some kind, so a sleeper rod complete with pop up would have been lobbed out in hope of a nice bonus fish.  Unfortunately when I arrived there was a match on, bugger !

So onto Plan B - head to a club ticket lake to fish for cru's of a smaller stamp, but they'd be crucians at least. After waisting over an hour driving round the Midlands I was finally set up and ready to fish for about 9:30am.  Using a float rod and pin with one of my own crowquill float efforts ( they're actually rook quills), crude but as I found out,  perfectly functional and sensitive enough for these shy biting scallys.

A swim on the deepest side of the pool along the dam wall was chosen, in a quiet corner next to an overhanging bush. A few balls of some old method mix I had knocking around in the shed with some added green betaine swim stim combined to make a nice seedy, crunchy ground bait that would get any fish in the area picking over the tasty morsels it contained, hopefully they'd home in on my hookbaits too. 
A few roach and rudd, no more than bait size, were first to the table taking caster on the hook, which was pleasing as I knew the float was doing the job it was designed for.  After a while though, I started to think that I would go home with out landing any crucians.  I changed the size 16 hook for a small red drennan size 20 maggot hook and stuck on a red maggot.  It wasn't long before I was hitting a sudden sharp bite, the float disappearing and the rod bending into a thumping fish that circled round and round in a familiar motion. Was it a tench, was it a crucian ? the first boil on the surface didn't give away its identity until a sudden flop on the surface as it gave up and I quickly slipped the net under my first buttery bar of gold of the summer.

1lb 5oz

A badly over exposed shot, rescued slightly by a bit of grey scalling ! 

After a little trouble with the scales during the weighing, the battery running out at a crucial moment,  I swapped it for a spare and was able to give the fish a number.  Shame it wasn't the prettiest crucian I've ever seen, with an old injury or deformed tail and a bit of a manky mouth !

A small tench came to the net next, one that also took a red maggot.

The sun finally came out about 12 noon and it was almost as good as a summers day, it didn't seem to affect the fishing as I managed four crucians in total and a few more roach and rudd.

It was interesting when the bites started to get more and more finicky as time wore on - as if they were learning that something was up.  Changing the bait to corn or caster didn't help either as I could only hook any fish using red maggot. They did play about with other baits at times, but the bites were so miniscule it was near impossible to decearn them as bites. Proves the point that it's always a good idea to have a selection of baits to see what works best on the day.

The average stamp seems to be about a 1lb in this pool now with me landing three at a pound or more and just one under that mark.  This is a nice improvement since I last fished for the crucians here about 3 years ago. Who knows, if they are still on an upward trend and keep packing on the weight they could be averaging 2lb plus in the coming years.

More tales and some tench...

I've fished a couple of times since my last post but had nothing really significant to report, well except for my attempt on a new stretch of canal for zander. I spent most of the session watching carp bubbling all around me even under my rods whilst I was blanking for the zeds!! Then last Sunday morning getting caught out during the rain,  I landed a 5lb bream and whilst dealing with the fish, watched my chair get blown over by a gust of wind and my trusty camera that was sat on the chair roll off and straight into the lake. Unlike Jeff and his phone saga, I did manage to save it but it isn't really working now. I fear the cost to repair it might not be worth the expense, so I expect I will be looking for a new one soon instead of a new float rod or some reels ! I've had to resort to using either my phone camera or an old 2 mega pixel job, so you'll have to excuse any grainy looking shots for now.

Possibly the last shot ever from my trusty cannon A650IS

The reason behind the cameras demise !

 Yesterday however, I decided to give the tench lake another go for an after work session, after a short rest from it recently.  By 7:00pm I had the bait spodded out and the maggot feeders cast in position, all I could do now was sit back and hope the fish would play ball.   Thankfully it didn't take long to find out as one of the rods ripped off on a vicious take, the rod hooped round on the strike and I was finally into a tench again. The fish fought well for its size but was soon safely landed.

A lovely little 4lb honeydew tench, a colour of tench I've only ever seen in this lake.

The next fish came shortly after on the other rod, nicely christening my new (old style) fox micron alarm. Slightly larger than the first it was still a way off this years target of 8lb.

practicing my anglers serious face !

The new hook patterns and increase to the hooklength I'd made recently seemed to be doing the trick, with both runs connecting without a problem so far.   The third run then convinced me further still, I hope I've solved the problem of dropped takes that I've been experiencing this year ?

Fish number three took off down the lake to my left taking line off the clutch, leaving me worried it would head under the overhanging trees and snag me.  I tightened the clutch up and got it under control again, it came in as good as gold now and I soon had it scooped up in the net. This one looked a better stamp, a nice fat ball of a fish that looked ready to go pop any day now. At 6lb 6oz she is a years best and helped notch a few more points on the board for me.

That would be my last fish of the evening, but not the end of the action.....

As darkness drew in I started to get some stuttery bream takes but they just wouldn't connect for some reason?  A few of these takes were struck at and a few left to develop but none resulted in any fish.  I ended up swapping over to corn on both rods but this didn't change the results as they still managed to avoid capture.   As far as I know my line was as flat as possible, being kept slack and with flying backleads on.  I can only put it down to a problem with the hook and rig mechanics,  either that or all the takes were line bites ? I doubt it's the latter and think it's the former that was at fault here though.  I will have to have a tweek with the rig and see if I can resolve this one on my next opportunity. The rigs were all working fine on the other bream pool I've been fishing, so it's a bit of a mystery.

As I write the new season has already begun, and I know the draw of running water will soon take me away from these lovely fish again for a while.  There's my first river zander to catch, or maybe a river carp and not forgetting the obvious barbel, chub and grayling of course.  Bring it on ! but I still hope to stick at it with the  lake's beautiful tincas and bream at least a few more times though the summer.

Unlucky for some....

....Not for me this time however, when I fished an after work evening session on Friday the 13th.

The tench lake was empty on arrival, due probably to the sporadic showers that were falling intermittently.  With the fall in temperature I was a bit concerned that the fish might be off the feed.  Keith and Danny had been down the day before and I'd not heard any news, so I presumed they'd not fared well?

I chose to fish the same swim as last time, predictable maybe, but I have unfinished business there now after the fish I lost last time.  Also the snag has been removed so I hoped I'd have more chance of landing any hooked fish.  The rods were still clipped up so I just had to get the bait spodded out and get fishing.  As I was setting the bobbin on the first rod, it ripped up to the blank signalling an indication, then settled back down again. This wasn't just the rig settling but definite signs of fish.  I raced to get the other rod set up and in the water.

Half an hour later the second rod ripped off after a few single bleeps minutes before.  The fish came in quick to the right hand bank under an overhanging tree. I tussled with the fish to keep it from snagging on any trailing branches, feeling a sickening grinding on the line for a second. Luckily it came through and was in front of me in 6 ft of water off the marginal shelf.  I thrust the net out and drew the fish up and in first time.

5lb 9oz

I had to wait two hours for the next fish, but with a dropped take and a few indications in between to keep me hopeful it was worth the wait.  This second fish came in to the right again and headed for the same tree, it was a bit more powerful and threatened to head for any snags that might lurk near the bank.  I had to drop the rod tip down into the water and heave the fish out. Thankfully this worked and again the fish was out in front of me, but I still had quite a tussle as it did a couple of powerful dives to try and break for freedom. The clutch took the strain and the fish finally succumbed and was netted.

another stunner hits the mat..

6lb

I spoke to Keith soon after and whilst chatting to him the same rod was away again, but it was another dropped take, the strike only meeting with the weight of the feeder and not a powerful tench !  I wondered if this might be a problem with my rig set up? I read an interesting article in C.A.T. where Dan Williams talks about the same problem, putting it down to the use of short hook links. His observation is that the feeder will swing about near the head sometmes causing the hook to pull free when playing the fish.   My problem is with dropped takes so I'm not sure what was happening for me, as the hooks were coming back sharp and the bait was pushed far enough back on the hook to not be a hindrance to achieving a good hold in mouth of the fish. 

My links were 12lb ESP Ghost Fluoro as I wanted a reasonably stiff link to keep them from tangling on the helicopter rigs I had been using.  However I had changed one rig over to my usual inline feeder so the need for the stifflink would be less important.  I usually use amnesia on this set up which is more supple allowing more movement of the hook and allowing it to lift up easily off the feeder and into the fishes mouth. So I wonder if the use of a stiffer short link was preventing a good hook hold as the fish took the bait and belted off, the weight of the feeder might be dragging the hook back out at some critical pressure point during the run. I will be experimenting over the next few sessions to see if I can eradicate this problem, especially considering any of the fish that take my bait could easily be a possible new pb !

This week - some ups, some downs

I returned to the tench lake this morning to pit my wits against the lakes residents again.

After setting up in a somewhat awkward swim, I spodded out a healthy bed of freshly cooked hemp, almost two pints of maggots and a few balls of groundbait laced with casters, corn and molasses.

With the table set I punched out the feeders, maggot aligner on the right, popped up corn on the left and sat back to contemplate what might be. I didn't have to wait  long as the maggot rod was away within half an hour of casting in.  After slipping on my arse on the way to the rod I managed to get back to my feet with rod in hand bending into a nice heavy lump that kited steadly to my left. The fish came in quickly but was reluctant to come up in the water. It hugged the bottom and felt nice and heavy. Soon it was close in and I reached for the net somewhere up the bank behind me, I stumbled around grabbing for it.

With the net now in my left hand, I was readying myself to claim the prize.  Giving the fish some side strain I got it up on the surface, a huge golden flank emerged, looking every inch a PB shaker if not  breaker of somewhere between 7 and 8lb I would estimate. Suddenly it lunged down hard and fast as they tend to do, but stupidly I'd forgotten  to check my clutch and it was set way to tight. The rod hooped over as the fish plowed down to make a break for it - the hook pinged free and the fish was lost.  I was just ever so slightly gutted as the realisation of what had just happened sank in.

The next take resulted in another hard fighting tench, this time the clutch was good and the fish was played in carefully, after a tussle trying to get it off the deck it was finally on the surface. This was a big male, very dark and lumpy, I was ready with the net, the fish not yet ready to be netted headed for a snag to my right,  I'd almost  stopped it but it managed to reach some thin wispy top twigs from a sunken tree branch.  Somehow the hook was transferred from the fish to the twig and another fish was gone.  Arrrgh.

I was pretty deflated by now and thought I'd surely lost my chance of any fish.  But after a couple of hours of  moping and cursing my luck, I was  suddenly fighting another tench and this time it was actually drawn all the way over the rim of the net for once. But before I had time to think, the other rod was away and I was now faced with the problem of how to get a second fish in with one already in the net.  I somehow scooped the second fish in without the first escaping. I'd quickly gone from losing two fish, to havng two in the same net in what was a very hectic couple of minutes.

A brace of average females......

These were both females of similar size, I weighed the biggest at 5lb the other was a good four I'd say. The next feeding spell came about half an hour later, when the next shoal came through my swim and brought two males to my net, again both at the same time.

.... the males to match

My morning session was up soon after and it was time to pack up and go home.  There were still some indications happening on the rods, so maybe there would have been a few more fish, who knows?
I can't wait to get back on the lake for an evening session during the week.

Biggest Male at 4lb 5oz

Earlier this week....

For my first session of the week, I fished a new water to try for some crucians. After checking out the likely swims I picked one and started setting up the float rod.  I pulled out the centrepin as I'd been waiting for an opportune moment to put it to use. Unfortunately I'd left 6lb line on it, hardly light tactics conducive to crucian fishing. Luckily my margin pole saved the day, so i attached a made up rig and fished as close in as I could. After a few hours I ended up with a small net full of roach bream and hybrids, no crucians but it was a pleasant enough session all the same in nice surroundings, I vowed to return in a months time when there would more chance of them feeding consistently.