A quick catch up

A hectic couple of months has seen my blog entries dry up, I've started a few posts but have never found the time to finish and publish them. Thankfully things are beginning to settle at home and a job change a month or so ago means more spare time for fishing.

I've continued my eel and tench campaigns, however I'm still some distance from achieving my targets but I feel like I'm heading in the right direction

A quick sum up of the last couple of months
Eel sessions -

Only 3 attempts since my last update, on a different water on each occasion, 2 eels landed and 2 lost.

The fish landed went 1lb 12oz and 2lb 4oz.

Whilst fishing a carp water I lost an eel of about 3lb at the net and on my most recent session I lost an eel which felt huge, completely in a different league to any eel I've hooked before, unfortunately it slipped the hook after about 10 seconds and I didn't get to see it.

Tench sessions -

Just the 2 tench sessions, the first on a mature gravel pit that I have been waiting to fish for a year. The session was a bit of a disappointment, water still a bit cold no sign of any tench but a nice 2lb + perch as consolation prevented the blank.

2.02lb, worm, lift method

The next session was closer to home, I managed a tench first cast but it was only a few ounces. My caster and chopped worm approach was all wrong for thus water as I struggled to get past the perch, a switch to pellet later in the session saw me land a few more tench but the were all small, the largest was just shy of 3lb.

Barbel distractions -

I was planning on waiting until September before fishing the rivers but a chance to fish opening day saw me on the bank on the evening of the 15th awaiting a midnight start. A disappointing session really, a few knocks nothing more. A second session saw a visit to my banker peg, but again another blank. A short barbel session on my local river (barbel blanks are the norm) saw a solitary chub landed. Another visit to the same stretch as opening day, Ben and I both landed our first barbel of the season, both fish were bests for us both from this river.

8lb 14oz for Ben, mine 8lb 4oz

That's things up to date, I'll be focusing on my eel and tench targets during July and August, in fact I'm out tomorrow evening for a few hours tench fishing on a hard water, a probable blank but the water is capable of throwing up some decent fish.

A short eel session

As usual a hectic weekend left me with little time to fish, I was planning a tench session on a tricky water but after a quick recce of a local urban lake on Saturday afternoon I decided on an eel session. During the recce water temps were into double figures which was surprising given the low temperatures and northerly winds we've had recently.  I hadn't fished this water for about 20 years, I spent many a day during the school holidays fishing here with my mates, catching crucians, gudgeon and small skimmers on the whip. I think my first crucian and skimmers came from this water, nothing over 4oz, but at the time we thought they were awesome.

During that time no eels were caught, nor did we hear of any being caught. I've heard of a few coming to carp anglers recently so I thought I would give a go, not that hopeful of catching but a few hours on the bank and a chance to shake the eel kit out.

I arrived later than I hoped, about 20 minutes before sunset, but eventually got two rods out, both on running leads, one with lobworms, the other with half a roach. No action for the first hour, then I started getting pestered by the ducks. On a couple of occasions a duck dived down and picked the worms up (how they manage to find the bait in 4ft of water during the dark I'll never know), but it was becoming an issue so I was considering changing bait when the alarm on the worm rod sounded, again. This time I turned the head torch on, checked for ducks and couldn't see any, line was peeling from the spool and was being taken into the water, a definite take.

My first take of this seasons eel campaign, a little surprised and very happy until the strike meet with zero resistance. Whilst the rod was out of the water I changed bait to a prawn, hoping for less hassle from the ducks, it worked. The alarms remained silent for the next hour and despite the bitterly cold wind I managed to doze off in my chair. It had gone half past midnight when I woke, I doubt I was asleep for too long but this isn't the type of venue to fall asleep and leave your gear unattended, I decided to stick it out until 01:00 then pack up.

The prawn rod ripped off at 00:40, a very positive take, I struck immediately and felt the weight of a fish, I assumed it was a carp but after a second or so I knew it was an eel. It put up a decent fight even on the heavy tackle I use whilst targeting these creatures, I failed on my first attempt at netting the fish as the net had snagged in the shallow margin, but eventually netted it.

A decent eel to start the season with, I struggled with and eventually gave up with the self takes, so only managed a mat shot.

2lb 8oz - 31 x 6.5"

Very pleased with this capture, my first from this water, first on a prawn and the earliest I have caught an eel whilst deliberately targeting them.

I think I'll struggle to get out this week and I'm decorating two bedrooms at the weekend so probably won't get time then either. I have a weeks holiday in at the beginning of May, two sessions planned so far, a tench session on a farm pond and an overnighter for the eels on a carp water which supposedly holds plenty of eels.

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.

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. 

Hard going (bait test #3 and 4)

I had a couple of sessions over the bank holiday weekend, both on the difficult water where I have been targeting the tench. I braved the elements on Friday evening and fished until midnight, this was my first eel session of the year, although I also had a rod out for the tench. Both eel rods had dyson rigs with lobworms and a small trout head as bait and I fished the method feeder with small boilies on the tench rod. A difficult session in horrible weather conditions, no sign of any fish, not even a liner.

I also managed a short session first thing on Sunday morning, better weather conditions this time around although the result was similar. I had two rods out for the tench, both close to marginal snags, one rod with popped up sweetcorn over a bed of hemp the other with my small homemade boilies with a few scattered freebies. Again no fish landed, a liner was the highlight of the session! A few fish were on the move though but the week of northerly winds has dropped the water temp by 3°C and this definitely won't help get these fish on the feed.

So that's bait test 3&4 and I'm still to catch on the bait, I'm not really fazed by the blanks and I'm confident that the bait will catch. I might try an easier club water next time I'm out, although the water I'm fishing is a nice place to be, sometimes it would be nice to actually catch something....

Latest eel session

My latest attempt for eels was on a similar stretch as my last session. I arrived at the river for about half 7ish but as I rushed organising my gear I'd forgotten a few bits so had to quickly head back home and pick them up. Eventually by about 2100hrs I was setup and had 4 rods in the river, 1 rod for the pike and 3 for the eels.

Fishing wise things were very slow, a few fish topping but no indications on any of the rods. I noticed a large flash across the sky and straight away thought it was a meteor/shooting star, after a quick check on google confirmed that it was the tail end of the Perseid meteor shower that has been going on for the last few days. Shortly after the meteor a very large bevy of swans (had to look that up as well) went by.

Just before midnight I had my first take on an eel rod. The rod was setup with a 'modified' dyson rig and I was using a small roach head for bait. As soon as I struck I knew it was an eel, it gave a short but very aggressive fight and I could see that it was lip hooked, I managed to net the eel at the first attempt and the hook fell out in the net.

A new p.b - 2lb 15oz

I thought the eel was over 3lb but after a quick weigh the avons fell just short and settled at 2lb 15oz,  a new p.b. I sacked the eel until the morning and whilst I was sorting out the rig I had a take on a JS rigged worm, however the run was missed and I struck into thin air. I had another take on the same rod 15 minutes later and this was also missed. Things went quiet until just after 0300hrs when again I had 3 takes in a half an hour period but again these were all missed. Just after first light I reweighed the eel and managed a couple of photos, the photos didn't turn out that great as I had been playing with the settings on the camera and the eel was very active, twice nearly making it back to the water before I could get a photo.

After I finally managed a self take the eel was returned and it swam off strongly. This eel measured approximately 32" x 7.5".

Time of takes -

2353hrs - eel 2lb 15oz, Dyson rig, roach head
0007hrs - missed run, JS rig, worm
0033hrs - missed run, JS rig, worm

0307hrs - missed run, JS rig, worm
0327hrs - missed run, Dyson rig, roach head
0341hrs - missed run, JS rig, worm

There were two definite feeding spells both lasting half an hour or so each, I am going to keep a record of these and hopefully a pattern will emerge over the coming seasons.

I'm aiming to fit in a couple more eel sessions over the next couple of weeks before concentrating on the pike again.

Man vs mink (new eel p.b)

After catching my target perch on the previous couple of outings I decided to renew my eel campaign. During my 3 eel sessions this season I haven't managed to bank one yet, although I have caught some nice fish, the 'snigs' have remained elusive.

I decided on a change of venue for my latest session, the lower stretches of my local river. The reason for the change of venue was simply that it is 5 minutes from my front door to the riverbank and I have caught plenty of eels (bootlaces) there in the past.

I was on the riverbank by 2030hrs and had 4 rods in the river soon after, the rods were setup as follows -

Rod 1 - Dyson rig set to fish 2ft from the bottom (right margin)
Rod 2 - J.S rig with ledger stem fished mid-river
Rod 3 - J.S rig with ledger stem and block end feeder filled with chopped worm, fished mid-river
Rod 4 - J.S rig over a bed of dead maggots (left margin)

I took roach and sand eel dead baits and also had plenty of worms to use.

Baits in the water, sit back and relax

I didn't have to wait too long for my first run, just after dark the backbiter on the 2nd rod lit up and line was peeling from the spool. Eagerly I was at the rod within a second, I took up the slack and struck into thin air ! The next run came to the 3rd rod, again line was peeling from the spool, I waited slightly longer before striking but again I struck into thin air !








Just before midnight I had a run on the left hand margin rod, I hurried to the rod took up the slack and struck. I felt the kick of a fish then things went solid, I was snagged. As I was reeling in a large branch it started fighting back! I brought it to the surface and I could see the white underside of an eel on the end of the line but the line was also wrapped around a branch. After a bit of a tussle I netted the eel and managed to untangle the line from the branch. On checking the net it was obvious that this was a definite p.b. I quickly unclipped the trace, weighted the eel, took a quick photo with the phone and placed the eel into a sack which was staked in the margin.

The margin rod was baited and recast, just as I was settling down on my chair the 2nd rod went again. I rushed over to the rod and in the excitement I managed to slip into the river, I quickly dropped the rod and grabbed the vegetation (nettles) to pull myself onto the bank, needless to say when I eventually got control of the rod the eel was well gone.

Spot the mink 

After a few choice words I sorted myself out and once again I had 4 baits in the water. I was sitting back enjoying the peaceful surrounding when the bushes starting to rustle, this went on for a while. It sounded like two or more animals were fighting/mating. Initally I thought they were rats, then then noise they started making made me think they were cats, something ran from the bushes and entered the water, otters? Eventually I realised they were mink.

Spot the mink (2)

The mink were extremely active and didn't seem concerned by my presence, I think the scent of my dead baits and the eel in the sack sent them into a bit of a frenzy. A mink tried to attack the sack, shining a torch on them even throwing stones didn't seem to deter them. In the end I had to keep my head torch on the brightest setting and use a storm pole to keep them away from my gear and the sack.

After a good 45 minutes they finally got the message and left me alone. Needless to say I didn't get any more takes whilst all this was going on. I had a final take at around 0410hrs, which again was missed. I took a few photos of my new p.b eel and released it back into the warm water.

The first of the year.

A new p.b 2lb 7oz

Pleased with the first eel of the year and also a new p.b, I was shattered so I headed home to get a few hours sleep.

Still no eels but a brace of p.b tench

Last night I fished my syndicate water for eels, things didn't start too well with a few issues at home meaning I didn't set off until half past 8. Things started to pick up as I got to the car park and I found that I had the water to myself again. By half past 9 I had 3 rods in the water, 1 dyson rig with a small perch deadbait and the other rods were JS rigs with homemade ledger stems baited with worms and a roach head.

After 45minutes I had a take on the worm rig, which was a perch of around 4oz. On this rod I was using a blockend feeder instead of the usual lead, this was filled with blended worms to try and attract the eels.

Small perch

Over the next few hours everything stayed quiet and I nodded off listening to the radio, at around 0130hrs I was woken by back biter sounding and line was peeling off reel on the worm rod. I was in a bit of a daze but I got to the rod quickly, closed the bale arm, wound down and struck, I felt the kick of a fish then everything went solid. The fish had taken me into the weed bed, I kept the pressure on as I was convinced it was an eel and I didn't want it taking me further into the weed, eventually the fish was clear and came to the net fairly easy. It was a surprise tench and a definite p.b. The tench went into a sack so I could get a decent photo at first light.

4lb 15oz - the first p.b tench of the night

Three hours later it was light enough for a photo and as I just about to take the sack out of the water, the worm rod was off again. I managed to stop the fish from getting to the weed bed and although it tried to put up a fight it was no match for the heavy tackle I was using. I netted it fairly quickly, another tench and it looked a fair bit bigger than the first.

Second p.b tench of the session, 6lb

After a couple of photos the tench were returned and I recast the worm rod whilst slowly packing up, within a minute of the bait being in the water I had another take, line was peeling from the spool and I was hoping for an eel, unfortunately it was another perch of similar size to the first. I packed up and was home for just after 6.

I had 4 runs in total and landed all of them, I was slightly concerned/frustrated that I didn't get any attention from the eels but a brace of p.b tench more than made up for it!

Stick float session

On Tuesday I had another morning fishing the stick, the river was very low and clear and with the bright sun I struggled to get anything of size. Bites were steady but mainly from minnow size chub and dace, I had around 50 fish but nothing bigger than 5/6oz, I will probably wait until the river gets some more water in before fishing again.

The largest of a very difficult session

Overnight eel session

A water I have access to still follows the traditional Yorkshire close season, giving me access to it from the beginning of June onwards. Last night was the first opportunity I've had to get out for the full night. I arrived at the water at around half seven and was pleased that there was only one other car parked up, however the car belonged to a carp angler who was only at the water to do some pre baiting, that meant I had the water to myself.

I decided to setup in a corner where I had access to a couple of marginal snags and a lot of open water. I spent the first half an hour finding features and gaps in the weed, I set up a different rig on each of the rods (3) I was using, a JS rig, a JS rig with a bouyant stem and a dyson rig. The JS rigs were baited with worms and cast towards the snags in the margins, one was fished over a bed of dead maggots the other had no loose feed. The bait for the dyson rig was a roach and the rig was set to be fished around 2ft off the bottom. Before I could cast the dyson rig I had a take on the left margin rod, line was peeling from the reel, I closed the bail arm and struck into thin air. The dyson rig was cast into a weed free spot around 20 yards out and I baited and recast the left margin rod. I was unsure if the take had been an eel or small fishing picking the bait up.

A view from the swim

The next 3 hours went by without any indications, just before midnight I had a very positive take on the dyson rig. Line was peeling off the reel, I closed the bail arm, leant into what felt like a decent fish, then a second later there was nothing. Confused I reeled in and checked the rig and it was obvious that I had been 'biten' off, almost certainly from a pike. I had been using a trace of around 5 inches of wire and 6 inches of strong stiff mono (Amnesia) which is a pretty standard eel trace. The trace had been bitten off just above the mono to wire swivel, I was annoyed as this is the first bite off I have ever had. I made a new long trace for the rig and recast into a similar area. Around two hours later I had another take on the dyson rig, instantly I knew it was a pike.

A small jack taken at 2 in the morning

I decided to use worms on the dyson rig in an attempt to avoid the pike, the next take was on this rod. However the run was missed but I'm pretty certain that it was an eel.

This water has produced eels to 7lb to carp anglers in the past and I'm hoping to night fish it regularly over the warmer months. I think that the water has a fairly low stock of eels and I'm not expecting to catch many, but I've got a feeling that if I do catch one, it will be one to remember. Next session I am going to use the dyson rig on two rods and use a full length trace when using deadbaits. Hopefully I will be able to fit in my next night session next week.

Tench session

Last week I had a short tench session on a local water, again I struggled to find any tench feeding, as did the other anglers. I ended up with around 40 roach and a few perch.

Net of small roach caught during the last tench session

First eel session of the season

Last Thursday evening I had my first eel session of the year. I fished a water I know fairly well and although it is not a 'known' eel water I have heard of a few captures over the years. I was at the water by around seven fifteen and I had 3 rods in the water by half past, all rods were rigged with a John Sidley rig, two baited with bunches of worms and the third with a roach head.

First night session of the year

The water was alive with various small fish topping and the odd large carp crashing in the margins. I believe that the water only holds a small head of eels, so I wasn't overly confident in catching one at my first attempt, however the water holds a reasonable head of tench and I was half expecting to catch one of those.

The few hours I could fish passed fairly quickly without an indication on any of the rods. I packed up around midnight as the temperature had dropped sharply and I needed to be up early the next morning. I wasn't entirely surprised with the blank and it was enjoyable to be out on the bank after a couple of weeks struggling to find the time.

I am hoping for a short session tomorrow, back on a farm pond where I have been targeting perch, I am hoping for a decent perch but will be happy just to wet a line.