Non-starter

It takes a lot for me to give up a chance to wet a line, but I'm currently struggling with a severe bout of hay fever. Usually if I get hay fever an antihistamine sorts me out. Not on this time. Zero sleep, swollen face, loss of hearing and balance, its knocked me for six.

Looking at the pollen count, it's going to be the same all week, but I've been out bought some stronger tablets and am fishing tomorrow regardless.

I'm just back from a recce of the stretch I'm heading to, although the river is fairly low, it looks good. Actually comparing the levels to last year they are fairly similar, I had some decent results from this stretch last season, hoping for a result tomorrow.

Previous sessions (last week)

Before heading home I managed a last session on the clay pit, a difficult session, 4 anglers on the bank and I was the only one who needed to wet a landing net. Two decent hybrids and a bream pushing 7lb, I can't complain too much as I've managed a few p.b's from this water over the last couple of weeks.

5lb hybrid and 6lb 14oz bream

I also managed a session on the Trent, aiming for the zander, but I also had a rod out for the barbel. Not a lot to report really no barbel, no zander but I did manage to catch a few bleak whilst bait snatching, a first for me, as we don't have bleak in my local rivers.

Not a complete blank as I did manage a couple of decent bream. Not the session I was hoping for but I'll be back for another crack at the zander at a later date.

A first bleak and couple of decent river bream

Out for first light tomorrow,  mid river stick float session, 4 pints of maggots, a few caster and a tub of worms, aiming for a nice mixed bag. Although a few good chub and perch would be more than welcome.

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!).

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.

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.

P.b Tench

I'm struggling for time to post updates from my most recent sessions, but as I have 2 minutes spare I thought I would share my new p.b tench.

A new best - caught from a mature clay pit, on a boilie/method feeder approach.

I also had a few other decent fish during this session, hopefully I can post a full update in the next day or so.

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.