Winter Session and Fly Tying Update

Snow melt. Definitely the worst possible conditions to try to catch a river fish. If you are out this weekend I wish you the best of luck, you're going to need it.

Comes into it's own in this weather!

I managed a mid-week session in the freezing temperatures pre-melt and to be honest I faired no better. I fancied my chances of landing a Pike or two and set my stall out accordingly fishing low resistance running rigs in a deep back eddy on a bend of the Warwickshire Avon.
The bait bucket was filled with Mackerel, Lamprey, Roach and Herring to cover every angle. I also fished three rods wanting the odds as much in my favour as possible.

All bases loaded

Four hours and several bait changes later and not a sniff, not even a dropped run. I was sure that fish were in the area but they were not interested in the slightest.
I hate blanking. With this in mind I usually have a back-up plan. In this weather it almost always involves Chub and to that extent I had chucked a load of cheese-paste in the bucket too. I moved upstream to a slightly quicker stretch and tried the cheese on my usual simple running rig. First cast a bite, I think my reactions had been dulled by the cold and I missed it. Within the hour I had another bite but struck thin air and that was the end of the action.
Disappointed to get a blank but at least I got to admire the first visible sunset of the year.

Fly tying update

Cold winter evenings, snow falling outside, roaring fire in the logburner, Mrs C watching crap on TV (Eastenders!), my time for messing about with feathers and thread. Mostly tying lures because they are easy but then you have to walk before you can run!

Also trying a few other patterns, a coch-y-bonduu

a pink buzzer 

and a rough house fly which needs work on getting the eyes right!

Any tips from the experienced fly tiers out there gratefully received!!

Chub in the Snow

With the Vale shrouded in snow I decided not to venture too far and so popped down to a local stretch of the Avon. The conditions dictated that I should be Chub fishing and armed with cheese paste I did just that. Not the most exciting of sessions but as usual a Robin visited, scrounging food. A brave little fella who would come right up to my feet for a bit of cheese.

I tried several different swims with little success until finally I located fish and landed this pristine fish of about three pounds. 

That was it for the day.

It was worth it

Overnight snow was forecast and the weathergirls got it spot on. Two extremely excited children running around the house woke us up early and they insisted on making a snowman before school. I did the right thing and obliged, after a coffee!
The next delay in my mission to get to the river bank came in the form of a family friend in need of a jump start, luckily he lives in the next village to the stretch of river I had in mind so I loaded the gear and set off on a rescue mission.
When I finally made it water side it had started to rain, heavily-also forecast. Now rain does not bother me but snow melt bothers fish so I cast out knowing that the chance of sport would be now and it would dwindle as the day went on and the river filled up.
Chub were the target, what else in these conditions? and I had a batch of freshly made cheese paste to tempt them with. Simple running rig, 4lb line and size 10 paste hook.
Cheese paste can be a hit and miss bait, Chub love it if it stays on the hook but the bites can be lightning fast and missable. I missed a few before finally connecting and a slow, dogged determined fight ensued. I was sitting atop a steep bank with the main part of the flow directly below meaning that when I got the fish to the net it wasn't easy to guide it in, I managed at the second attempt. As I peeked into the net I could see an old warrior of a Chub, it had been round the block several times but it was a big fish. I let her recover while I sorted out the scales. My personal best was a 5lb 8oz fish caught over twenty years ago from the River Ure in Yorkshire.

Floppy haired teenager catches big Chub

I never thought I would beat that mark with a fish from the Warwickshire Avon. I have caught plenty of 'fours' and some small 'fives' but I was elated when the scales pulled down to 5lb 12oz. I was cold, wet through but couldn't care less, new pb.

It would have been a 'six' in it's heyday but that was definitely some time ago!
Nothing more came from the swim so I went for a wander to warm up more than anything else. I tried several more swims without success, the snow melt was killing sport and to make it worse the sun came out to melt some more.

I fished on but only because it was a lovely change to have the sun on my back but the pb Chub remained the only fish caught today.

I have a new hobby!

Claire(Mrs Chatt) bought me a fly tying kit for Christmas, what an angel she is! It is rammed full of everything a novice fly tier needs to get started including various marabou, seals fur, feathers, whole wings, squirrels tails, tinsel, CDC, Ostrich Herl and a whole host of other stuff that I have also never heard of. There was also tools included most of which I had never seen before.

Boxing night I jumped onto You Tube, found a few tutorials and started tying. Quickly I learnt how to tie on, whipping tie off and a bit of thread management. I got excited and picked out some bright orange materials and put together a lure: marabou tail, silver bead head, chenille body and far too much thread holding it together, Claire named it a 'Joey Jaffer' and my first ever self made fly went in to the box.

Following that bit of fun I followed another tutorial learning about Peacock herl and hackle and put together a more traditional looking fly which I was pretty proud of......

not sure what it is called, the chap on the video didn't mention it's name so I will get Claire to make another one up.
Confidence now high I dug out a couple of books and put together a Black and Peacock......

a Spider.........

and a Cat's whisker.........

None of them perfect but I thought they would be good enough to catch fish. I have been itching to try them out so today I ventured off to see if they would work.
Maybe they would have worked if I had managed to keep them in the water long enough. The Cat's Whisker was lost in a tree second cast and Joey's Jaffa fell off inexplicably during the third cast, I think I got excited tying it on and therefore didn't! I went back to the shop bought ones thoroughly annoyed with myself.
The fishing was fairly uneventful, the overnight drop in temperature had sent the Trout down deep and they were difficult to spot but I did land one fish.

A great start to the new year, a 10lb 4oz Rainbow just a shame it was not on a home tied fly, never mind there's always next time!
Must go got to tie some more flies!-loving it!

2012 Review/2013 Targets

Another year has passed, time to reflect on the previous 12 months and make plans and set targets for the year ahead.
In 2012 I landed 23 different species, nine personal bests, five of which were new species so a productive angling year despite some pretty terrible weather. One highlight for me has been really getting to grips with the fly rod. This branch of our sport is beginning to feature more and more in my plans, fighting big Trout and Carp on light tackle and I can foresee me concentrating more time and effort on this in 2013 as well as targeting other species and new venues with a fly. Wild Trout and Grayling in natural habitats is a must do.
Fishing foreign climes in 2012 was excellent, catfish to 152lb and Tarpon to 125lb both amazing experiences. I am desperate to add further foreign species to my list, nothing booked yet but working on it.
I missed out on a few targets for 2012 namely a double figure Tench and a Twenty pound Pike but I will try to rectify those again in 2013 plus I fancy a shark trip or two again.

2012 in Review
January
A tough start to the year, just one Pike landed before a slipped disc scuppered any further fishing trips

February
was all about Chub, several landed but no monsters

March
went well as I thrashed my previous best Trout and upped my Rudd pb by a couple of ounces

April
A cat fishing trip to the Ebro landing over 500lb of oversized tadpole topped by a new best of 152lb

May
The start of my Tench campaign with fish landed to 7lb 14oz

And a bonus Bream of 10lb 9oz

June
Managed three trips during a family holiday to Florida landing Tarpon to 125lb plus Barracuda, Snapper, Sea Trout and Jack Trevally

Also got back on the Tench trail taking fish to 9lb 8oz

and bonus carp to 16lb

July
The fly rod came out and I landed Trout to 7lb and my first ever Carp on the fly

The weather warmed up and I caught Barbel

 and Rudd

August
The Barbel campaign got into full swing with the highlight being a brace of eleven pounders in consecutive casts

September and October
Spent targeting Silver Bream to a new best of 1lb 2oz and Grayling to 1lb 14oz

November and December
has been spent dodging the floods, targeting Chub

 and in the final session a first ever double figure Trout.

Happy New Year all and tight lines 2013

Boxing Day Battles

A traditional day for country pursuits and in our house that means fishing. A day I look forward to but not a day that has been kind to me in terms of fish caught or conditions faced. Last year I braved freezing temperatures to land two tiny Roach and a small Silver Bream. 2010 was the year the river froze and in minus 18C I found a spot to cast a line but went home bite less and shivering. 

Whilst the Warwickshire Avon continues to burst it's banks almost daily I decided to dig the fly rod out and go hunting for big Trout. My favourite small water is Lechlade fishery and I turned into the car park just after nine this morning. Gloucestershire has not escaped the barrage of rain either and the babbling brook that gently flows around the perimeter was full to bursting and parts of it were running into the lake.

Brook to the right joined to lake on the left

As I paddled through the water something flashed and caught my eye, a baby Pike had almost stranded itself, I went to give it a nudge and it shot off back to the lake.

Predation in miniature

 I started off slowly retrieving a damsel, with little success. Fish were spotted but nothing followed the lure and the ones that I cast towards ignored it completely. A couple of hours passed without incident so a change of tactic was required. A stalking approach with a flashy red lure. Despite the inflow of flood water visibility was not too bad and within minutes I had an interested rainbow, a little jiggle and it was hooked. The fight was fun but not spectacular, only one scary moment when the Trout got me wrong side of a bush but a change of angle by shuffling along the bank had me back in control. I had seen the take and knew it was a good fish, possible personal best, so there was a slight sense of relief when it slid into the net. The scales confirmed what I had suspected, 9lb 3oz, beating my previous biggest by 14 ounces.

9lb 3oz PB

I seem to have an uncanny knack of catching a fish and then losing the fly next cast in a tree-I did just that again! Thoroughly disgusted with myself I took a break and wandered up the far end of the fishery. I could see the odd fish patrolling the margins and there were some big ones, time for a quick brew and then back to the fishing.
The next couple of hours were spent chopping and changing flies trying to find a killer pattern and colour. I had a few follows and flashes but no bites. Just as I was beginning to lose heart I had a take. I did not see the fish but on a slow retrieve there came that moment that you only get fly fishing. A fish had taken the lure and time seemed to stand still as neither the fish nor the angler realised they were attached to each other. It then dawned on me, I struck and the Trout set off for the far bank, a blistering run that took me down to the backing. We both knew what was happening now. I managed to turn it and gradually started to claw back line. It then set off left down the near bank, I had no choice but to follow it, rod held high to avoid nearside vegetation. I turned it again and it went the other way. Again I followed it. Eventually I started to make an impression on it and I got my first glimpse of a very broad flank, I could see it was big. The runs became shorter and the head shakes less vigorous, I was starting to get the upper hand. I prayed for knots to hold, line to hold and hook to hold and after about ten minutes I squeezed the fish into my undersized net. A second new pb and to make it even more special my first double, 10lb 9oz, happy boy!

10lb 9oz-gonna need a bigger net

Fish limit reached just as it started to chuck it down, result, job done, home time.

Nearly twenty pound of fish, the smaller one for our freezer and the bigger one given to the neighbours-showing off!

Chubby Chasing

T'is the season..... for freezing temperatures, too much water in the river and sloppy muddy treacherous river banks. I expected a difficult session and thought the best chance of a fish on the bank would be a Chub. 

There was plenty of evidence of the recent floods around with piles of debris, plastic bags, bits of driftwood and even the base of a bed. 

On arriving at the river I was surprised to see how much it had risen turning it into a speeding dirty brown torrent. I still felt the fish would be feeding, not prolifically but all I needed to do was find them. Roving approach required then. 

I walked the full length of the fishery baiting up likely looking swims with a dozen or so lumps of cheese paste in each. There was a chance of the fish finding this smelly bait in the gloomy depths. I dropped in the last swim as the sun burnt off the last of the cloud cover, the warmth on my back most welcome.

The strength of the flow made it impossible to fish anywhere but the near side margin, the fish too would be there escaping the main flow. The first spot was very quiet apart from a friendly little Robin looking for a feed and a Woodpecker doing likewise on a far bank.

Right hand trunk from a long distance

The next swim I tried was equally quiet, my concentration was waning as it does when suddenly the rod trip did a huge lurch, I struck, needless to say I missed the take. With renewed confidence I stared at the rod tip-it remained stationary. It looked like I'd missed my only opportunity. Three swims later I was almost back to the van when I finally got another bite and this time I hooked up. A spirited fight followed which I won and landed a 3lb 7oz Chevin. Blank saved.

3lb 7oz

Soon after I hooked up again but suffered a lost fish. The swim went dead and it felt like my feet were doing the same. Home time.