A Tough 'Test' of Tackle

I have definitely lost my fishing mojo this year having only been out on a handful of sessions but, Martin and Andy persuaded me that the annual end of year trip to the wonderful chalk streams of Hampshire was an absolute must. I'm glad they succeeded.

This year we changed venue but we were still on the famous river Test, the Godfather of all the chalk streams. Much lower downstream than last year so as well as the Grayling and Trout there was the chance of some good coarse fish. 

I plonked myself into the first likely looking swim, dispatched a few handfuls of mashed bread and when the float dipped on the second trot through I struck in almost misbelief. I expected bottom as I was still working out the various depths but the rod bucked and a powerful fish in the strong flow gave me quite a scrap. As it is a new venue I had no idea what I was attached to but when it made several bids for the nearside snags the culprit could only be a Chub.

What a start to the day, 5lb 1oz of chunky Chub, I collared Martin in the next peg for photo duties.

The big man was soon back in my swim with a large Brownie worthy of a mugshot, out of season so it went back unweighed.

What followed was a fabulous day's sport with four more Chub all over four pounds...

A surprising amount of river Bream the biggest of which I weighed at 4lb 4oz...

The unavoidable Trout, all Brownies and a pb which I shouldn't have weighed but it was over four pounds

A couple of deer grazed nonchalantly over the far side...

when the float dipped and I struck into something completely different from anything previously hooked during the day.

My first thoughts were Salmon but it stayed low so I changed my mind to Barbel....

Martin went click-happy with the camera taking plenty of shots of the fight...

and finally after more than twenty minutes I slipped the net under a stunning Carp. Not what I suspected in this fast flowing river, they really are everywhere!

The smile hides the relief

Not the biggest Carp I have ever caught but a stunner in all her winter glory and she 'test'ed all my skills on three pound line, a trotting rod and fast water. 

One of New Years resolution is definitely more Angling like this!!

Max Bagging Up

Max has got the bug bad. All he has spoken this week is going fishing, different species, places to go. He has always had a passion for animals but that has now transpired to all things fish as well.
This week I planned an action packed morning to add further fuel to the fire in his belly and to give him more experience of casting, playing and also unhooking some fish for himself. As sad as it is a commercial would be the best place but not somewhere catching pasties and mud pigs. A silver pool like the one at Willow Farm was ideal, plenty of bites and a lovely variety of silver fish.

First cast a decent Roach and he insisted the camera came out to record the historic moment. Several more followed along with some decent sized Silver Bream and a few dainty Perch.

When he started to get the hang of things it gave me an opportunity to get the camera out and take some action shots.

A quick learner it was a joy to hear his squeals of delight when he got a fish on.

Biggest fish of the day was this 2lb 2oz Common Bream.

Pleased as punch with a quality netful of Silvers. Back on the river next time....

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!!

One Last Hurrah

The final day of the season, still as special as always despite the close season rule changes on stillwaters. A last chance to sit beside running water for a whole three months. My chances to fish of late have been extremely limited but there was nothing that was going to get in the way. A whole day away from the business for which I owe my wife a large debt of gratitude. She will make me pay I'm sure!

I arrived late, the joys of getting three kids sorted for school but the whole day was ahead of us so I did not fret. Martin was already well settled in a swim, the first stage of his plan to fish the early morning for predators in full swing. I hadn't even finished tackling up before I was commanded over to his swim for photography duty. An excited Martin had a pb Zander in the net. At 9lb 9oz he had smashed his previous best by over six pounds, his half smile hiding obvious delight. 

My tactics were different, my target was Barbel and I intended to fill a swim with maggots and hemp, wait a while and empty the river of its slippery residents. A few Chub and a solitary Perch fell for the tactic, but they weren't exactly crawling up the line as I had hoped. 

Between bites I amused myself watching the lumberjacks trimming the tree opposite. With my vertigo I felt sick just watching!

On Martin's advice I chucked a second rod upstream with pellet and a pva bag and it finally gave me the prize I desired, not a monster but a Barbel landed and I was happy.

A Jenny Wren gave an opportunity for some playing with the camera.

Eventually as darkness fell the fish started to feed in earnest, Martin had sveral Chub and a solitary Barbel and I managed an Eel and a Chub of 4lb 5oz...

and finally a Bream of (strangely) exactly the same weight.

And so the sun sets on another season and I have just one target for next, to get more time on the bank!