At least I know they work....

Friday 25th September 2009

I decided to have a go at making my own boilies from scratch and after doing some research on the net I came up with a recipe for some Tuna cat biscuit with halibut and betaine boilies or CTHB for short. I made the base mix using semolina and soya flour. I also went on to make a second batch but added some anchovy essence (naming them CTHB Anchovy).

My CTHB Boilies fresh off the production line


Rolled into different shapes .....for an extra edge ?

Although I have added a few different flavours to the recipe I hope that it will still work well to draw fish to the boilies by combining together to create an attractive fishy flavour/smell.

I arrived at the Trent just as it was getting dark and found it lower than I have ever seen it before. I soon had both rods out with one of each type of boilie on. There were no indications from either rod for the first hour until my second cast on the rod with the CTHB flavour. I had a few inquiring taps first, then the rod finally banged round and a nice 4lb 5oz chub was the result. It proved that they at least work to attract Chub, I just need to get them in front of some feeding barbel now to fully test their potential as a Barbel catcher too! I can't wait for ideal conditions to return... roll on some rain.

My first customer at 4lb 5oz

.....that took a liking to this little CTHB beauty !

The Anchovy flavour didn't produce any interest this time but I will continue to give it a try over the next few sessions until I can decide if it's a success or not. I don't tend have much joy using shop bought shelf lifes usually revertung quickly back to the humble pellet for any success, and have only tried one packet of frozen lamprey boilies a couple of seasons ago without any success barbel wise. I am looking forward to see if my own boilies will 'cut the mustard' !

Trent again and things get bleak...

Thur 17th September 2009

I started off fishing for bits to use as deadbaits for Zander, and quite enjoyed myself hauling in small chublets, perch and even a few bleak, my first of the species that I can remember! These were all dispatched and unceremoniously shoved in a carrier bag ready for use later. I set up the dead bait rod next using a simple running lead rig with a 20lb wire trace and two size 8 trebles. I left this in until a while after dark. Meanwhile I had a Barbel rod out too with either source flavoured pellet or halibut boilie on.

I eventually gave up on the dead bait rod and decided to concentrate on the Barbel, as I had spoken to two lads a few swims up that had been bivied up for a day so far and had caught a couple of Barbel each the night before. I now had two rods out with boilie or pellet on but managed just one small chub of about a pound all evening. I was quite satisfied with the session though as I worked out how to tackle livebaiting for perch in this swim, it's perfect for it with a nice depth slow margin flow and lots of bait fish. I had caught a few 1/2 pounders while fishing for bits on red maggot, so fiqured there must be the odd bigger fish lurking down there in the shadows.

Dove am session

I had to drop my parents off at East Mids Airport for 6:30am, so not being one to miss an opportunity I decided to fish the Dove on the way back for a couple of hours.


I fished two rods, one with source flavoured pellet and one with hallibut boilie. The only indication I had all session was a sharp pluck on the boilie during the first cast. Apart from that there were no further indications from any fish. I did hear a large fish splash under the far bank willows soon after I arrived and saw some large ripples wash out from under there, but they were obviously not in a feeding mood. The weather was warm and sunny and the river was very low and clear (the lowest I have ever seen it). Another blank ensued as I had to pack up at 9:30 am to get back home in time to take my daughter swimming. I enjoyed being out on the river in the morning for a change despite not catching and as long as I feel that I have learned something then no trip is ever wasted.

Trent evening session...

Fri 11th Sep 2009



I fished two swims but found the weed coming down in the first swim I tried difficult to manage.

 After a few hours I had noticed fish topping further downstream from me so decided to move there.
This second swim was deeper and had a slower flow which ment the suspended weed was not so bad, I only ended up having a couple of casts with the two rods but managed to catch a chub of about 3lb on some pellets I had flavoured with source liquid.



After landing the chub, my line had tangled up on the reel so I decided to call it a night and pull the rods in as it was now around 11:30pm.

Sept so far....

After returning from Holiday on the I fished the Dove on the following Sunday (6th) and again didn't catch. I did get my ticket checked by Jim Ufton, the current Dove River Record holder, who was fishing the peg next to me and told me the river was not fishing particluarly well this season, he wasn't sure exactly why??
Suffice to say we both blanked, so I didn't feel too inferior fishing along side him. He also confirmed that a 15lber had been out from this stretch last season (which was why he was there presumably??).
We talked about stretches on the Trent and he reccomended a stretch to me which I plan give a go soon.
He seemed friendly enough but I couldn't help thinking to myself that it must be hard work chasing after the largest Dove fish all the time, but then again I suppose if you can get out three or four times a week like he does, you might as well go for it!

That's probably why he enjoys sessions on the Trent so much as it must be more of a relaxing pleasure fish for him, the fish are not bad either, being a good average stamp at around 9 - 10 lb with the outside chance of a surprise lump.

August ... more of the same

Fished a morning session on the Dove but blanked again. I was on Holiday in Menorca for two weeks at the end of Aug though so only had time for a couple of short sessions.