Latest pit session

My most recent session the clay pit was on Saturday, again targeting the bream and tench with a third rod out for the eels.

Bream/tench setup - 1.25lb series 7 avon, Shimano 5010, 8lb Hypersensor, 25g method feeder, 6lb sink braid to a size 12 super specialist.

           Bait - pellet based method mix, with different 10mm boilies for each species.

Eel setup - DLST P2, 8010, 50lb powerpro, running rig with homemade ledger stem to 20lb wire trace and a size 10 ESP Raptor T6.

           Bait - worms and squid. Small silvers are impossible to catch on this water.

I decided to move back to the first peg that I had fished on this water. It has a large gravel bar running parallel to the marginal reeds which I was hoping would hold some good tench, one rod would be cast here, the other in open water for the bream.

I bought some squid to try as a change bait for the eels, usually I prefer roach heads, but there seems to be very few small fish in this water, probably due to the large number of cormorants nearby. It took a couple of hours to get some interest in any of the baits offered and it was the squid on the eel rod which was taken first.

Squid caught eel.

The eel wasn't particularly large but up to that point it was a blank saver. An hour passed, nothing was happening so I decided to try and grab an hours sleep. Less than a minute after I laid on the bedchair the alarm from the open water rod sounded. I knew it was a bream straight away and it felt a decent weight but even on this light(ish) gear it didn't put up much of a fight and it was soon netted. Whilst the bream was resting in the landing net the margin rod ripped off, a definite tench take. After a good scrap, in which the tackle was well tested a good tench shared the net with the bream. A possible p.b bream and a good tench in the net, well pleased.

The bream did beat my best by 9oz, with the scales settling at 9lb exactly, the tench went 5lb 7oz.

Rain was forecast for about 10:00 so I had a quick sort out, recast the rods (the eel rod was left on the bank) and decided to try and get some sleep. I was briefly woken at midday when Ben caught a bream of about 4 and 1/2lb, but then I went undisturbed until 16:00 when I had top pack away and get ready for a night shift.

Only 3 fish to my rods this session a p.b bream, a good tench, a nice eel and 5 hours sleep a good session in my eyes!

Exactly 9lb

5lb 7oz

I've been having a lot of trouble with eel runs on this water, probably because the water contains lots of bootlaces. Many unhittable runs, loads of baits whittled down to nothing etc.... I thought squid might work and it did to some extent, but I'm hoping for a bigger eel from this water, which will be difficult as I can't fish beyond 17:00.

Next time I'm at the water I'll try fishing squid or worms on the dyson rig, hopefully the suspended bait will put off the smaller eels and allow the bigger one more time to find the bait.

I'm heading to a day ticket carp water in the morning, I've never fished it before and can't find much info on the place. Hoping for a good day as I'll be heading home soon and won't be fishing anywhere near as much as I am now, but on the plus side I'll be able to fish my local rivers again.