Six Sessions, One Post- Close Season Catch Up

Recently it has been a bit of a struggle to find the time to fish and when I have managed to get bankside the results have been poor. I cannot find the motivation to write about fishless sessions or ones involving tiddlers so hence the blog has been quiet.

Several weeks ago I took some floaters to my favourite Carp venue. The avian life were extremely interested in my offerings, especially the goose and swan pictured and I struggled to get the same response from below the surface. One missed bite was all I could muster and I went home cursing our feathered friends.

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Session Two and some very inclement weather gave Tazzy and I a proper soaking.

The cold rain made the sport sporadic to say the least. I was targetting silver Bream but only managed a few small roach and a couple of Bronze Bream and nothing special to boot.

Session Three was good fun, got the fly rod out and chased the Carp in the local puddle. Two small battling Commons landed made for a pleasant evening distraction.

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Session Four was a blank chasing Tench, the weather was still quite chilly and I don't think the Tincas had woken up properly from their Winter slumber. Even Tazzy looked bored that day.

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Session Five and the fly rod came back into play. A social evening with the big man at the picturesque Lenches lakes chucking bits of fluff at rising Trout.

The warmer temperatures have made the fish more active and I managed a brace of Trout up to 2 1/2 pound. The first one fell for a black gnat type pattern with buoyant white wings (I must learn the proper names of these things!), the second a large grasshopper type thing, it was getting dark so needed something big that my old eyes could see in the gloom.

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Session Six saw me back Tenching but this time on a red hot day in glorious sunshine.

The Carp were thrashing around in the margins obviously starting to get amorous and they gave me a constant barrage of line bites making it difficult to tell if I was getting actual bites. The Tench were conspicuous by their absence and after five bite less hours I was beginning to get frustrated.

Finally I had an unmissable run and after a bit of trouble with a weed bed I slipped the net under by far the best fish I have caught this year. A stunning female Tench pulling the scales down to 9lb 3oz. All the frustrations of previous sessions forgotten with one fish- gotta love this sport!!

Tenching in the Sunshine

Thankfully I had packed the van and set up the rods the night before. A birthday party (with a free bar) at the local pub meant I over indulged and over slept and was nearly an hour late for the 7am rendezvous with Martin on the banks of an Oxfordshire gravel pit. He hadn't let me down though and had commandeered us a couple of great swims on a prominant point with an expanse of water to fish in.  

The ugly duckling should have been written about a coot not a swan!!

The previous preparation saw me fishing instantly while the big guy tackled up and before he could even wet a line I was playing one of the stunning Tench that reside in this beautiful part of the world. She had been unable to resist a worm and weighed in at 8lb on the nose in the glorious golden sunshine.

I thought this fish could be the prelude to a bumper day but instead a long period of inactivity followed until finally around lunchtime I managed to land a slightly smaller specimen.

The fish were getting smaller but at least I was catching as a little feisty male then took a liking to the worm and gave me a bit of a runaround. It took off up and down the margins taking my second line with it.

Three-nil to the northerner and the big guy was beginning to get a bit desperate, climbing trees in the vain hope of spotting a few fish. 'Can you see anything up there' I enquired. 'Yes' came the response 'water'. I kept the camera poised in case he went for an unplanned swim but his footing remained sure.

Salt was rubbed into the wound with a fourth fish before I headed off home and left him to the final hour in 'my' swim. Didn't get a text so am presuming the move wasn't successful!

Strange Habits these Perch

The lighter evenings have opened up a few more opportunities for me to get bankside so late afternoon I set myself up in a very familiar Perch swim. About thirteen months ago I landed a pb Perch from this very swim and I hoped to better that in what is probably the last opportunity for a big Perch before they begin their annual mating rituals.

Martin joined me after work and set up on the side bank. As usual prawn hook baits were deployed and whilst they are excellent for big Perch there is a whole host of other species that find them extremely palatable. Carp, Bream and even a tiny Tench fell for them throughout the day but thankfully a few of the target species also picked them up. Sadly no monsters but the biggest was a respectable 2lb 1oz specimen that shone in the golden light. The mini Perch campaign has been disappointing with plenty of twos landed but no threes or the target fours.

We fished on into dusk but the strange thing about this venue is the Perch seem to feed better in the afternoon and switch off in the evening when you expect the best of the action. Strange but true.

Never Turn Your Back on a Spaniel

The weather has certainly turned and with it I had a change of target. My plan was to spend the day chilling out by a commercial puddle in the hope of nailing one of it's (reputed) monster Perch. Prawn hookbaits deployed I retreated to the shelter of the old brolly in an attempt to stay dry as the heavens opened and stayed that way for most of the day.

It didn't take too long before the float sailed away and I was attached to a tough wee battler, not the target but a handsome little Tench of a couple of pounds. One of its brethren soon followed and I started to fear the worse, a succession of teddy-bear-eyed Tincas beating the Perch to the bait every time. Getting my hopes up mid battle to dash them again on appearing at the net.

The disturbance must have spooked the shoal and the next fish turned out to be a targetted Perch but nothing like the size I was hoping for. It must have struggled to get the bait in it's mouth, greedy little bugger.

Despite the inclement weather quite a few fish were feeding, the float indicating lots of twitches and trembles, most likely small stuff pecking at the big bait. The insert wagglers I was using are super sensitive giving an excellent picture of what's going on sub-surface.
Eventually a positive indication, resistance on the strike and a solid Bream came straight to the surface, barely flapped and was easily glided into the net. I find stillwater Bream fascinating creatures but they really are pathetic fighters.

Another baby Perch followed, I almost threw it straight back but it had the darkest almost jet black stunning eyes that warranted a quick snap.

Despite my best efforts the action died off and whilst I fished on in vain hope a monster would show, it was not meant to be.

All the while Tazzy had had a good day exploring, chasing wildlife and she even managed to nick a ham sandwich off the bloke fishing three pegs down. Thankfully he found it amusing! Typical bloody Spaniel.

Sneaking off........

Skulking back........

What did I do wrong master??

Three Session Catch-up

Friday I managed to get two sessions in, one in the morning on my own and one in the evening spent in the company of Jeff and Martin. Both times it rained and both times I was after Barbel but I only managed one of about seven pounds, however I did land a lot of Chub.

Pellets were the bait of choice and whilst Barbel love them they are not discerning when it comes to Chub, a hazard of the game I suppose. I don't have a major problem with catching Chub, in fact I quite enjoy it but when heavy Barbel gear is employed the fun is definitely lessened.

Rain and cameras are not good bedfellows hence the quality of the photos might not be quite up to scratch but the cygnets below did make pretty subjects.

The rain held off tonight as I once again popped down to the Avon for a bonus session. There was a kind of change of tactics too as I felt like fishing for bites and a bit of fun rather than going all out for just one species. So with that in mind I popped into the tackle shop for a pint of maggots and some hemp. They were deployed on one rod but I still fished pellets on a 'sleeper' rod.

Several small Roach, Bream, and a couple of bonus Silver Bream came my way before as the light faded the sleeper rod suddenly burst into life. An interesting fight ensued that didn't have the all out pace of a Barbel or the short dogged bursts of a Chub but I was still surprised when my unseen adversary turned out to be a river Tench. Not a massive one and really I should have guessed it might be a Tinca as the swim does have previous form but a stunningly coloured example weighing 3lb 4oz.

The Little Tincas (and Big Ones!)

Three weeks ago I prematurely started my Tench campaign but that session ended with a big fat blank, the fish just hadn't switched on at all due to the cold water temperature. That previous session was preceded by a week of glorious sunshine but large gravel pits take more than just a few nice days to warm up such is their expanse and depth.
This week we have endured a kind of cold snap and I must admit I did think twice about going 'Tenching' but in the end I am extremely glad I took the chance. The Northeasterly gale was bitter for most of the day and necessitated three jumpers but when I put my hands in the water it actually warmed them up. Amazing the difference between the two worlds above and below the surface.
Linear fisheries is busy at the worst of times so with a bank holiday weekend approaching I knew I would have to get there early to secure a decent area. Having pulled up in the car park just after opening time I took a little meander to see what was available. A Carp angler was stood in the second swim, bucket in hand(they use these to save a swim, a tactic I abhor!) Never mind he was a friendly chap and when I told him I had come for the Tench he informed that two had rolled in a matter of minutes in that very swim.
"Are you gonna fish this spot then?" I tentatively enquired.
"No, I think I will keep looking further around".
Told you he was friendly. It is no exaggeration when I say I ran to the car and grabbed my tackle quicker than ever before.
The rods were already set up from the last session so within minutes I was fishing. My tactics for Tench are always the same, feeder fishing with regular casting dictated by the clock.
To begin with I recast every twenty minutes aiming at the same certain trees each time on the far horizon. This slows down to every thirty minutes after a while until the Tench arrive scenting a meal to their liking.
It is hard work but the rewards can be a lot of fun.
The buzzers gave the odd beep indicating line bites or finicky takes until finally at about 11.15am I hooked my first Tench. The fight was scrappy making me think it was a male. With the fish still about twenty yards out the other indicator burst into life. At first I thought I had crossed lines but the buzzer just kept going and going, double hook-up!
It is really off putting playing one fish know another is flying across the lake with no-one to stop its progress. I eventually bundled the male in the net, guessed it to weigh about six pounds and leapt across to the still beeping other rod. Amazingly the fish was still on, not snagged but it had swam somewhere beyond the horizon. The fight was much more laborious, obviously a female that had used most of its energy getting as far away from me as it could. I managed to net her alongside the other one and she completely dwarfed her male counterpart. I knew straight away it was a big fish.



With them both on the mat the hooks were removed and because of her size she saved her boyfriend from having a weigh-in. The friendly Carp angler had now rejoined me in the swim and seemed a bit jealous when the needle pulled down to 9lb 5oz. Not only had I (sort of) nabbed his swim but I then cajoled him into taking the photos. I owe him a pint or two whoever he is!

A rare opportunity for a 15lb brace shot but they were too slippery for me to do it properly.
What followed next was a mad hour when I couldn't keep all the rods in the water at the same time.
Next up was a big 8lb 10oz Male....

Closely followed by a 'seven'....

Then an 8lb 8oz female...

and a 7lb 6oz.

It was almost a relief when a period of inactivity followed. I still worked hard keeping the feed going in just in case I could entice one or two more fish to the bank, I am glad I did. A screaming run followed by a decent battle saw me land the biggest fish of the day all 9lb 7oz of stunning female Tench. In a few weeks this fish will fulfil my holy grail, weighing well into double figures. I have now caught thirty Tench over nine pounds without a single double! Surely it is just a matter of time(or timing).

There was still time for two more smaller males and I left at 3.30pm satisfied with a great days fishing. Nine Tench for over 70lb and as a bonus it was free because the bailiff never came to see me. Doesn't get much better than that!

Plenty of time left to walk the dog!