Fun with Floaters

The bases were loaded and the Carp obliging. A few hours spare in the evening so I loaded the van with dog biscuits and headed to the local puddle looking for a bit of action. The lake was empty of anglers so I catapulted bait into several likely looking areas to work out where the fish were hiding. The lily pads soon sprung into life as hungry Carp pushed their way through on the way to a free meal. The competition was enough to risk a cast and within minutes one slipped up and fell for the biscuit with a hook dangling just below.

The close proximity of snags forced me to play the fish fast and hard. Thankfully  the tackle was strong enough for the task and the hook held firm so I could net a good looking Common weighing 15lb 2oz.

I do so enjoy floater fishing. Three others fell for the tactic over the next couple of hours.

All Commons but the first fish was the biggest. An extremely pleasant way to spend an all too rare evening by the waterside.

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.

A pb-I Think

Another afternoon spent chasing big Perch in a particularly pretty commercial fishery. 

Martin was already ensconced in a fishy looking corner and was catching regularly. Sadly not the target species. It didn't take long for fish to find my prawn hookbaits also and between us we landed a procession of Carp and F1s..........

and Chub to 1lb 12oz.

A few bonus points towards the bloggers challenge but that didn't make them any less a nuisance. I'm not sure I have ever caught stillwater Chub before so maybe I caught a pb (of a fashion) but not one I'm going to shout about. I really dislike Chub and especially Barbel being stocked into commercials, it does not sit right with me. They are river fish and should remain that way.

We fished long and hard but the Perch just did not want to play or weren't allowed to by the other fish. A hazard of fishing over-stocked match puddles! Fun though!

One Bite Can Make All the Difference

I'll start this post the same way as everyone else seems to start theirs at the moment: River bank high, chocolate coloured, drop in temperature etc. Fishing time is precious so rather than flog a dead horse we headed to the local commercial in search of the elusive monster Perch that grow fat therein on a diet of stunted fish and left over match bait.
The fishery in question has a reputation for throwing up five pounders but funnily enough there are no photos to verify these massive specimen and I doubt they were even weighed. Anyone who is inexperienced in catching big Perch will no doubt be way out when trying to guess the weight of these fish. I've had a few now and I still never get it right.
The fishing was slow, tediously slow. We blamed the cold, not unusual for this time of year but this has not been a usual year for weather!

It took a good few hours before finally we had a bite, first blood to Martin. A decent sized double figure Carp. I'm not sure why, maybe because the fish was freezing cold but Martin thought he would give it a cuddle. Or maybe he's not been getting much lately!!

It obviously warmed the fish up as it gave a powerful flip and Martin ended up juggling it about for a while and then doing his uncanny impression of Keith Arthur.

Back under control he resumed some serious posing again.

Another spell of inactivity followed before I caught a Carp of my own. One of those fish that give commercial fisheries a bad name. So ugly that I did not even take a net shot. Half it's mouth was missing on one side. the other side not much better, it had three dorsal fins where there should only be one and a nasty sore just above it's tail. It had suffered enough and I felt guilty that I had put it through more!
An hour later, early afternoon the float twitched but didn't fly under, just edged its way away from the marginal tree towards the centre of the pond. A positive strike and it was obvious that this was no Carp as the rod tip jagged about in a way that could only mean Perch. Soon enough it surfaced and the hook which was only held by the tiniest flap of skin thankfully kept its hold. At last we had what we came for, Even though it fell short of the three pound mark by only one ounce I was still overjoyed at my biggest Perch for this fishery and believe me I have fished there many times.

I pulled my usual dour Yorkshireman pose before Martin said something mildly funny to make me giggle. 

2lb 15oz

And then he got all artistic with the camera but to be fair the result below was worth it.

Two more small Perch followed before we called it a day, we were cold to the bone but it only takes one fish to make a difficult day worthwhile.

Morrisons beats Tesco

The conditions were perfect for a days Perch fishing, little windier than I would have liked but dull and overcast for the whole day. 

Armed with plenty of prawns I headed to one of my favourite commercial puddles and deployed the bait under super-sensitive floats. The first couple of hours were frustrating to say the least as the floats dipped and rose, Any strikes were met with fresh air. I thought the culprits were small fish nibbling at the large bait until eventually I swung in an angry little crayfish with a lump of Prawn in its mouth and a size eight hook in its leg.

All morning I had been using Tesco finest prawns and didn't have a fish to show for them. I changed to Morrisons fresh farm prawns and had an instant result. Strange that the fish had a definite preference or was it that they just switched on at that exact time? 

Sadly not the Perch that I craved but at least the rod had had a bend in it from a pretty little F1.

Almost instantly another Carp fell for the bait, this time a Common.

Then finally the target species showed up, the first of four landed in total and the first one ended up being the biggest, weighing two pound on the nose. A decent fish but they grow a lot bigger in there.

I lost count of the number of Carp that gate-crashed the party, they were good fun on light tackle though.

Not an easy self take!!

Tazzy got bored and proved that she is crap at hide and seek.

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??

Some Commercial Activity

It is never easy choosing where to go after a great foreign fishing trip and even more difficult at this time of year. It feels like that awkward in between stage, waiting for the rivers to open and a lot of fish in the lakes are in spawning mode. A local commercial was my venue of choice as I knew the fishing wouldn't be amazing anywhere but at least here I would get a few bites.
The Carp were crashing in the margins all day and obviously had their minds on things other than feeding as I only landed two small ones all day. However a few Rudd and Roach obliged along with the annoying little Perch.

However I had the most success with Bream.

Several landed throughout the day up to a biggest of 4lb 10oz, some were spawn-laden females.....

and in amongst them a few spiky males covered in tubercles.

In between bites the bird-life amused me, swifts taking insects off the surface

and a female swan that was desperately trying to ward off the attention of an amorous male.

Nice to be out in the sunshine but I am itching for the rivers to open.