3 in a row

Most probably my last session here in North East Lincolnshire before heading home ended with a p.b carp. I'm too tired for a full update (just finishing nights and I still have reports to write up), so I'll keep it short.

I landed a few carp mainly small carp with only one double, a 17lb 9oz common which beats my previous best by almost a pound.

 
The carp was taken on a 15mm coconut bottom bait, over a decent bed of freebies. That's a new best on each of my last three sessions, very pleased, a new p.b for each of the species I have targeted whilst 'working' away.

Hopefully my next session will be on a river but as of yet I'm not sure on my finish date, all I know that it is soon. I'm aiming to get a session on the Trent, before heading north, then I will be concentrating on my local rivers. I can't wait it seems along time since my last river session (110 days and counting !).

 Hopefully I can continue this form on the rivers (not likely!).

Still on the stillwaters

With the nearest 'proper' river an hours drive away, I'm continuing to fish the stillwaters local to my accommodation.

On Tuesday I was back on the clay pit for my second session, conditions were less than ideal, bright, hot and a flat calm. I knew the session was going to be difficult and I feel I did well to avoid a blank.

After many missed runs I connected with one and landed an eel, nothing massive but a decent start.

Scaling down to a size 10 was need to hook this eel

I also managed a decent hybrid before calling it a day.

Wednesday I headed to the farm pond again, two rods for the carp and one for the eels. I've never seen an eel from this water but I've been told that the odd one comes out.

I was fishing 15mm boilies on a rod tight to some reeds and 10mm's on my second rod, which was placed near the pads. The smaller bait was the first taken and shortly after a  small tench was landed. A couple more tench and a bream of about 4 pound were also caught on this rod.

One of three farm pond tench during the session, the largest getting on for two and a half pounds.

The only take from a carp was on the rod with a 15mm bait on, unfortunately I lost the carp in the reeds.

On Thursday I fished the clay pit again, a different peg this time, similar tactics, again hopeful that the bream and tench would show.

I didn't have to wait long for the first fish, an eel took a worm bait within a few minutes of it being in the water, again nothing of size but a welcome start.

The first fish on the bream/tench gear was a 7lb 4oz bream, caught on a 10mm boilie/method feeder approach.

The second fish was a bit of a surprise and probably had outgrown someones garden pond. An 8lb 8oz grass carp picked up the bait and gave a good account of itself before it was reluctantly netted. Being only the second grass carp I have landed, the first being a pound or so, this was a definite p.b.

Next up was a hybrid of 5lb 4oz, definitely the biggest I have caught, so another p.b. The next two fish were both tench, my new p.b of 6lb 12oz and a male tench of 4lb 14oz. Both fish came to a method mix that I had specifically made for tench.

4lb 14oz male and a new p.b of 6lb 12oz

 The final fish of the session was a bream of over 5 pounds.

(top to bottom) 7lb 14oz, 5lb 4oz, 5lb 4oz, 4lb 14oz and 6lb 12oz)

Although I'm missing the rivers I'm really enjoying fishing for these bream and tench. I'm hoping to fit another session or two on the clay pit before my short term contract is over and then I'll be hitting the rivers again.

Farm pond carp

Another session on a farm pond which is only a couple of miles from my accommodation, the session was very quiet with only one take each so we managed a few hours sleep on the bank.

I had the first fish of the day, an 11lb 11oz common, Ben had the second, a mirror 10lb 6oz (which is the first mirror we have seen in this pond).

Unfortunately I'll have to delay the start of my river season but I'm back on a local clay pit tomorrow targeting the bream, eels and tench.

An overdue update

It's been a while since my last update, partly because I've been working away in North East Lincolnshire and mainly that I've had restricted internet access. I have had a few sessions, targeting the bream, carp and tench on three very different waters. A day ticket carp water, a small farm pond and a large mature clay pit.

During half a dozen sessions I've had since I've been working away, I've managed a few decent fish and had a bit of a red letter day on my most recent session, (the first on the clay pit) when I beat my bream p.b three times.

Some of my catches so far -

A couple of doubles, one from a day ticket water, the other a farm pond.

15lb 11oz the biggest so far from the farm pond

Bream, a hybrid and tench from the clay pit

(Weights from top to bottom - 7.01, 6.04, 8.07, 7.08, hybrid unweighted, 4.08, 4.06, tench 5.07, 4.13, 4.13, 6.07, plus another bream of 5.01 that was caught after these were released).

A new best 8lb 7oz

The largest of the few eels I've caught,

I'm hoping for a few more sessions before the end of my short term contract, hopefully I can increase 

my tench best and possibly catch a first zander. 

Bait test #2.... More jacks

Back to my difficult water on Thursday, targeting the tench and hoping to tempt one on my homemade bait. I also took a lure rod as I had entered a 'jigfly' competition on a local forum and I had been in possession of the lure for a while without catching.

Tactics were similar to my previous session, but this time I was going to fish two rods on the pod for the tench and the lift method in the margins. I arrived slightly later than I wanted too, for no reason other than I was dragging my heals. I decided on a few casts with the jigfly before getting the tench gear out, third cast and the lure was nailed by a small jack.

Finally something on the jigfly, nothing of size, but it now means that the lure has been posted to the next angler 

Lure rod away, tench rods out. Although this water can be extremely weedy, a bit of time spent casting a lead around the swim revealed a few weed free patches that I would be baiting up and fishing over.

2 tench setups, 1 with homemade boilies and hemp, the other fishmeal boilies with mixed pellets in a solid bag

The morning passed quickly, nothing on either tench rod and the float fished worms also went untouched. I had the occasional cast with the lure rod, (a salmo slider this time as I didn't want to risk losing the jigfly as I needed to post it on) two more jacks were landed, again nothing of size and by the looks of one of them it had been fortunate to escape from a recent attack, most probably an otter.

As midday came I packed the float and lure rods away, as I was content relaxing in the sun watching the water instead of a float. The occasional liner on the tench rods and the sighting of a large mirror carp cruising the warmer surface water, kept interest levels up, however time was passing by and I wanted some action on the tench rods.

I noticed a patch of bubbles beyond my right hand rig, probably about 15 yards or so and over the next hour these gradually crept closer to my baited area. The bubbles just started to creep into my baited area as I needed to pack away and rush back home for the school run, typical!

I'll be returning to this water next week, possibly an evening session and I might put a rod out for the eels as well. If there is any eels left in this water, they should be on the move by now.

Bait test #1

Yesterday I had a few hours on a difficult water aiming for the carp and the tench. I had a rod for each species on the pod and I was fishing worms in the margins on the lift method. On the carp rod I was using marine halibut boilies and I was testing my homemade baits on the tench rod.

I had the water to myself until mid morning when another member turned up, after an extended chat he revealed that he had fished the water for about 3 years and hadn't landed a carp yet! However he had been successful with the tench, catching them to over 7lb.

I had a couple of liners on the tench rod but nothing positive, as I was repositioning the carp rod I noticed the float in the margin 'dancing', but by the time I made it to the rod it had stopped. Shortly after there was some movement on the float, a classic lift bite. The float rose, wobbled then laid flat on the surface, I struck in to a fish......

A bloody jack! Not what I was hoping for but it saved the dreaded blank (something that will probably happen a lot on this water).

The number of carp in the water is low (probably only half a dozen), but they are of a decent size. I'm not too concerned about the carp but it would be nice to land one, the tench however are another thing and I will be targeting them again next week.

Nether Mill fishery (4 evening sessions)

I have been on a course for the last week and decided to take a couple of rods just in case I got the chance to get out for a few hours on an evening. I had a quick search online and found a fishery which was close to my accommodation. After finishing the first day of the course I was glad I bought some rods as I didn't need to do as much ' homework' as I first thought. I managed to fish Monday to Thursday evenings from roughly 5pm to around half eight.

Monday

I caught a small ide on the first cast which was tight to an island, but struggled for a further bite for the next 30 minutes. I then started fishing the margins and started catching small crucians and tench pretty much straight away. After the 2nd or 3rd crucian I had one of 1lb 4oz which I think is a new personal best, unfortunately I didn't take a very good photo and as there is a no keep net rule I couldn't get a better one later. I also lost a decent carp (unseen) from the margins.

Best crucian 1lb 4oz

I ended the evening with -

7 crucian largest 1lb 4oz
5 tench
1 carp
1 ide
1 perch

Tuesday

On Tuesday I fished at the opposite end of the lake as it was quieter there, the fishing was quieter as well and I struggled for the first hour or so. The first bite I connected with fought hard and went like a torpedo, it ended up being a surprise rainbow trout of 2lb 7oz. This was also a personal best as it is the only rainbow trout I have ever caught. I took a quick photo in the net as I wanted to get it back quickly as it wasn't in the best condition.

My first ever rainbow 2lb 7oz

 I finished up with -

4 crucian
3 tench
2 perch
1 roach
1 bream
1 rainbow trout

Wednesday

Half the lake was sectioned off for a match so I had to fish the quieter end again, however I decided to fish the opposite bank near a thick reed bed. It was hard going and I was struggling for a bite and it seemed that the other anglers fishing this side of the lake were too.

Eventually I caught a couple of perch, a roach and a small ide, nothing of size really and I was beginning to get frustrated then I had a run from a margin swim I had been baiting up. The run turned out to be a small ghost carp of around 3 or 4lbs, it fought very hard (as ghost carp usually do) and I was slightly disappointed when it came to the surface, as it fought as if it were much larger.

I hair rigged 4 pieces of corn and dropped the rig into the same spot, rebaited  and sat back for the final 45 minutes or so. Nothing happened on either rod and I decided to pack up, I left the margin rod out for as long as I could whilst packing everything else and just as I was about to pick it up the alarm went and the baitrunner started spinning. I struck into the fish and it felt a lot larger than anything I had caught during the week. The fish fought very hard and pushed the tackle I was using to the limit, it managed to get into the large reed bed twice but some how I managed to bring it out. Eventually after a good 10 minutes and a couple of attempts I netted a large common carp.


New best at 16lb 10oz

I thought the carp was going to be close to the 20lb mark, however the avons (only) went to 16lb
10oz but I was still very pleased as it was a new personal best for me, by a couple of pounds. I was surprised that I managed to land the carp on the tackle I was using, a Drennan series 7 1.25lb avon rod and 6lb line obviously not ideal for carp of that size. The rod performed well and despite being bent through to the butt on occasions I felt in control, well most of the time anyway.

Wednesdays total -

2 perch
1 roach
1 ide
2 carp

Thursday

The lake was fairly quiet with only two or three others fishing, I fished a peg near where I had caught  the bigger crucian in the hope of catching a few more. I fished similar tactics as the previous days with 1 rod float fishing the margins and the second with hair rigged corn or pellets. The crucians did occasionally show the were no larger than 10 ounces or so. I managed a few bream with the largest two being 3lb 15oz and 4lb 5oz, which was pleasing as these are the largest bream I have caught for a few years.


3lb 15oz

4lb 5oz

Thursdays total -

8 bream
6 perch
3 crucian
1 golden orfe
1 ide
1 roach

Although I normally prefer to fish quieter, more natural venues I thoroughly enjoyed the 4 short evening sessions I had at Nether Mill. I managed to catch a few species that I hadn't caught in years and managed to up a few personal bests. The fishery has a club like atmosphere and the bailiff 'Alan' is very helpful, at £4 for an evening and £5 for the full day I feel it is fairly priced as well.


A nice spot to spend a few hours

If any one is looking for somewhere to wet a line in the Barnsley/Penistone area I would definitely
recommend Nether Mill Fishery

Now I just need to find somewhere closer to home with a decent head of crucian.....

Short river session

I had a short 4 hour session on my local river today, targeting roach and skimmers. I was on the riverbank and setup by around 0730hrs, I initially started with a 5m whip fishing maggot on the deck and I started getting bites after a couple of minutes.

After around 30 minutes it was a bite a chuck and I was catching small perch and roach every put in. I decided to setup a feeder rod and fish further out to see if I could tempt anything larger into feeding. I clipped up the feeder rod around 40 yards out and balled in 4 large caster laced brown-crumb balls. After around 15 minutes I had a small eel on the feeder. I continued on the feeder line for another 15 minutes but I didn't have another knock. I went back to the 5m whip swim and it was still a bite a chuck, mainly small perch.

Better stamp of fish on feeder

After another half an hour I went back to the feeder and started to get bites straight away, a better stamp of roach and some similar sized skimmers.

Typical river bream

I had a couple of larger bream on the feeder, whilst the 5m whip swim was still producing numbers of small perch and roach. Bites were still coming on the feeder line, then I had a cast off and decided to call it a day as I had things to do in the afternoon.

60 (ish) fish for around 6lb

I ended up with around 60 fish in just over 4 hours made up of mainly perch, roach, a few skimmers, a couple of dace and a solitary eel. The largest skimmer being just under 2lb. Next time I'll try and concentrate on the feeder line and try get some larger bream as they run to around 6lb on this stretch of the river.

Last week I also had a day at a local commercial that I hadn't fished for over 10 years, I ended up with 15 small carp to around 1 1/2lb and around 15 roach and rudd up to a pound.

Long overdue update

I've had a hectic 6 months or so (car crash, job loss, family bereavement etc....) and haven't really had the time to get out and do much fishing. Things are finally starting to settle down now so hopefully I will be able to get out more now.

On the odd occasion I have been able to get out over the last few months I haven't really had much success !


1st time Pike fishing in the Lake District

Home for the 2nd day

A two day stint on one of the smaller waters in the Lake District frustratingly ended in a blank. Conditions on the 1st day seemed perfect but after 10 hours and one missed take I decided to move to the other side of the lake for the second day. The weather turned on the second day making casting any distance virtually impossible, I had to rely on the bait boat but as the weather became worse it became obvious I was going to lose the boat so I had to call it a day. A very disappointing blank but it was a good break and I'm looking forward to my next trip in the coming season.  

Next up was a water in the Yorkshire Dales that I had been wanting to fish for a while, I didn't really know a lot about the water (and still don't !), but after some research online I decided to give it a try. After about an hours drive I approached the water which is set in a very picturesque valley in the Yorkshire Dales, within 20 minutes of getting there the wind picked up and before long it was blowing a gale. Other than a follow on the lure rod I haven't got a lot to report. I will definitely be going back when the weather cools


Starting to blow.....

At least the dog had a decent time !

Other than the 2 mentioned sessions I only managed 1 or 2 quick lure sessions on the local river before the season ended.

Lure caught pike - Only fish of 2012/13 season !

 These quick sessions resulted in a solitary jack pike, the only pike of my season - a very disappointing season !

Since the end of the season I have had a couple of short sessions fly fishing the small streams of the North Yorkshire moors without a lot of success. More recently I have started going back to my fishing roots, match style fishing. I have had a few decent sessions on a local commercial complex with hauls pushing the 100lb barrier on a couple of occasions.

Pellet caught - 11lb 8 oz

14lb 4 oz Common caught in the margin

Pellet waggler caught common - 9lb 4oz

Hopefully over the next few months I'll be able to continue getting out every week or so and I'm also hoping to fit in a few night sessions for the eels before the summer ends.