Thursday 28 April 2011

Carp, Coppice Pool

Nothing too exciting to report but managed to fit in a short session at Coppice Pool this evening. As the weather was just about staying warm enough took one rod and the dog biscuits and landed two Carp off the top, the first was about eight pound, a common that I put straight back and the other fish was an 11lb Mirror.

Saturday 23 April 2011

Floater Carp, Stubb's Pool

This glorious spell of weather continues unabated so with a few hours late afternoon at my disposal I headed back to Stubb's Pool armed with just one rod and a tub of flavoured floaters. The water was crystal clear and the prolific weed growth was plain to see but I was determined to play the fish hard and fast and avoid a repeat of the 'big one that got away' that left me gutted the other night. 
It took me a while to get them going but eventually they noticed the treats drifting over their heads and they starting slurping them up mostly in the corner where the breeze pushed them. The problem with this corner is that it is choked with weed. I do hope the BAA clear it as it says on their website. 
The first one hooked and landed was the 9lb 9oz Common (above) and what a fight it gave me as it charged at every patch of weed in sight. 
About 3/4 of an hour later I landed another golden Common of 13lb 2oz and then finally a pretty looking Mirror of 7lb 10oz.
I wasn't the only person surface fishing there today. A couple of lads were fishing what they called beachcaster style. Rods high in the air line not touching the water at all to a pike float and then down to a lead. There is then a small piece of line hanging off the main line to the bait which is just touching the water. It did not look cricket it to me, I could see the reason why but pike floats and leads for floater fishing? I'll stick to delicate presentation and a bit of finesse. They blanked anyway so that made me smile!!

Friday 22 April 2011

Still chasing Tench

I am continuing my Tench campaign for a couple of reasons, one is I know there are plenty of eights to be caught and a good possibility of a nine as the year moves on and they get closer to spawning and two there is a good chance of also catching a double figure Bream. This amazing run of good weather is probably putting the Bream off for now but the Tench are still feeding and they seem to be getting bigger. 
The best today was this 7lb 11oz specimen which followed three others weighing 5lb, 6lb 2oz and 7lb exactly, all falling to worm hook baits at St. Johns, Linear.
This partly made up for the disappointment of losing a monster Carp in the weed at Stubb's pool last night but with the Lighter nights and sunny weather I will be back for that one that got away.

Monday 18 April 2011

Tench Overnighter, Linear

My gravel pit campaign continues and I managed to get a pass out for an over night session so headed for Linear in the hope that the Bream would feed at night and the Tench at dusk and dawn. I arrived at the complex at 3pm but struggled to decide where to fish. All the lakes are busy on a weekend and my first choice swim had gone so I fished on the point of one of the arms on Hardwick. 
By the time I had everything set up it was 6pm and I enjoyed the stunning evening in peaceful surroundings. The lake was like a mill pool and the only noise came from the water chickens and the occasional Carp crashing out of the water. The usual worm baits were unusually quiet as dusk approached and then finally on dusk I had the first bite of the session. A Tench was the culprit, not a hoped for Bream but the fight was great and I thought I was going to lose it in the reeds but just managed to turn it in time. A dark beauty of 7lb 5oz. I think they are on the munch and in a few weeks an eight or nine may just be possible. 
My thoughts of this being the turning point were wrong and there was no more dusky action and in no time it was dark. Well I say dark but the moon was so bright in the cloudless sky that the head torch was barely touched, only required for close up baiting work or to get another beer from the back of the bivvy.
Not long before the beers started to take effect and I retired to the bed chair to get a hopefully broken by Bream night sleep. It certainly was a broken night sleep but not in the way I had hoped! A nearby (hard to tell) rave started raging about an hour later and all I could hear was the thudding bass. Strangely it had the effect of both waking me up and sending me to sleep also. I know I am getting older and not in to that scene but I did not expect that on a peaceful nights fishing! It was gone 5am by the time it finished!! Why don't those kids just start earlier and then finish at say 3am?
I woke at 6am to peace and quiet and a misty Tench like morning.
I rebaited and cast several times but nothing was stirring, the fish were probably still asleep after the rave. 
With a scheduled finish time of 12pm I finally had another run at 11.30am. Again a Tench was the culprit and only a tad smaller at 7lb 2oz. 
These fish are strange in their habits of being most catchable around midday, not exactly textbook.
 The water was as clear as an aquarium and I spotted several big Carp mooching about, one was a monster that must be well into the 30s, maybe a change of species is in order.




Friday 8 April 2011

More Tenching, Linear

A beautiful warm spring day was forecast so I headed back down to Linear to try and better last week's Tench. I managed to land four in total and missed a couple of runs. First fish of the day was 6lb 9oz(no photo) and that was followed with a 6lb 2oz.
Then I landed a 5lb12 fish.
And then finally the heaviest fish of the day was probably the shortest as well.
This big headed fish weighed 6lb 11oz. 

Saturday 2 April 2011

First Tench Foray, Linear.

A session that took a lot of getting going but turned into an enjoyable days fishing. A very quiet, biteless morning without even a liner to show for my efforts. Once the weather warmed up a bit the Tench got on the feed and I finished the session with 6 fish, ranging from 5lb 5oz to 7lb 6oz.
6lb 4oz
5lb 5oz
7lb 6oz
6lb 15oz
7lb 0oz
I feel that the harsh winter has put them behind in terms of their weight this year but am sure they will average a lot more in a months time.
The quiet periods gave me time to watch the various birds doing their rituals and whilst I am no ornithologist they were interesting to watch.
I would be grateful if someone could tell me what sort of birds these are? They were doing a mating ritual all day and it was very entertaining.