A little package arrives

I get home from work to find a hand written, brown enveloped package waiting for me on the stairs. The wife has kindly brought it in from the porch and placed it where it can be found easily on my arrival home. She knows what will probably be inside, but she still has to ask just to hear me admit it to her.  She wouldn't want to miss the chance to chastise my frivolous spending on such luxuries.

 

 

 

The wife, satisfied I haven't bankrupted us, goes back to checking her news feed on Facebook and I open my new toys and dream of lilly pads and smooth water on a quiet sunny evening on the river.

 

 

Hitting my targets for the summer

Like a few other bloggers I've been a bit quiet lately in terms of posts. I have been out a hand full of times but not really had much to report of late . Here's a quick catch up of the past few weeks for you.

I think I'm getting a bit lazy and settling for the easy and convenient option of lure fishing more these days although to contradict myself, I have been planning a few trips for barbel in the coming weeks, but we'll see what happens with that.

front hook removed

I'd love to catch a nice chub on a lure this summer, it's another one of those boxes to tick. My favourite local stretch of small river was the venue to try this out where the chub can run to 5lb plus and the average stamp is in the 3 to 4lb bracket. This is a small intimate river and you must creep around and remain stealthy if you are to have any chance. The water clarity on arrival was decidedly crystal so my presence on the skyline would have to be kept to the absolute minimum. I tried a few spots that have always produced for me in the winter on baits, and I saw a few smaller chub mooching around in places. With some gentle casting to the edges of trees and along streamer beds, the lure landing with an enticing 'plop', I could not get the fish interested in the small plug or crayfish jig I tried.

Finally, I reached the last spot that was fishable and after one or two tentative casts, the lure snagged some strands of streamer weed pulling up a few clumps and dislodging clouds of sand and silt which fouled the water, and must have spooked any fish hiding under the raft I was trying to tempt them out from.



weedless lure required for this swim !

This, a favourite swim, was completely overgrown and nigh on impossible to fish with all the excess vegetation about, so I called it a day and headed to another stretch of river where things are slightly more open.

Here the water is certainly more accessible and although it looked like it would hold some decent chub and perch it also screamed out barbel ! My mind has a tendency to jump about a bit when I see a swim that looks this good.

 

 

The barbel would have to wait on this session though  and I ended up with just one small perch on the jigged crayfish and a jack to a surface plug.

 

 

 

 

 

I visited the Lincolnshire countryside last weekend and managed to get out to look at a local drain that is near the mother in laws caravan park where we stay. It looks mouth watering to say the least and gave me a good idea of the fenland drains of piking legend.

 

I talked to a chap pole fishing who landed a few skimmers and an eel of about a pound or so while I was there. I have no doubt there will be some decent pike to be had in here too. I will be visiting again in a few weeks so I will have the lure rod to hand I'm sure.

 



Lincolnshire drain in summer

 

 

 

Since returning from there, I have only managed to get out for a few hours and landed this small jack after losing a larger fish during one of the downpours of rain we received this afternoon.

 

 

 

 

Funnily when the rain stopped so did the action, so I moved to a nearby canal to see if I could muster a zander or perch. I didn't get a touch but I did meet a guy fishing with an ultra light set. He told me he'd been out in the morning and took up to 20 zeds and a number of perch from another stretch of canal. He then went home had a sleep then came here this afternoon and took a chub and some perch. The lure used was a tiny orange worm (like a small curly tail ) it certainly got my mind ticking over as I have thought about going more ultra light set up than my current set up. If I could catch half of what he claims he can achieve in a session with a set up similar, then it would be a very worthwhile investment I think !!  

 

Next time maybe some barbel ... and hopefully a lure caught chub who knows ?



A morning lure fishing on the river

Plus 3 minus 2

 .... Is the result of this mornings jack pike tally.

The first of the fish coming on the Big S,  proving that they do indeed catch.  Although I think I still need to work out what my best technique is for it, surface or diving, fast or slow etc.  I'm not that au fait with cranks as yet but I'm looking forward to trying them a little bit more this summer.


Big S  - success !!

The pike in my regular spot were not really willing to take a lure this morning. I had two or three follows on the purple real eel with a nice medium size pike closely flanking it all the way in as I wound it slowly.  Heart pounding to watch but equally frustrating when they don't go and inhale the lure at the last minute ! When I tried the Big S though a small jack took it second cast. After that I think the resident fish had become a bit spooked, so I moved down 20 yards or so to the next swim.

I tied on the orka shad tail and lost another jack straight off. Following this up quickly with another that managed to stick this time.  Interestingly as I returned it another pike, possibly the one that had come off shortly before, came slowly up to it  nose to nose. They paused for a second eyeing each other up, then both bolted in opposite directions as if wary of a confrontation, a bit like cats meeting at the garden gate. I lost another fish out in the middle that whacked the lure but came off on the powerful first run, only another small fish though.

First one on the Orka 7.5" Shad-Tail  

Lastly, I cast down further to my right alongside the margin and tempted a strike from yet another small jack, this came unstuck as well. However, next cast it followed again and snapped at the lure right by my feet,  hovering for a while before whooshing back to his station with a flick of the tail, leaving a cloud of sandy silt in his wake.  I drew the bait slowly past his lair once again and he snaffled it practically under the rod tip.  Jack pike do have some power and he proved this by ripping some line off the clutch before I subdued him and netted the third and final jack for the morning.



Orka shad tail - no 2

Nothing big from this stretch yet but I have heard that there can be the odd large female terrorising the match anglers from time to time, so I will keep on trying as it's pretty close to home and easy to nip down for a quick session at the drop of a hat.