Getting closer to a double. Tench, Hardwick

The insect life is all emerging showing us that summer is on it's way and the fish will soon be spawning and my opportunity for a ten pound Tench will have all but disappeared. Normally my enthusiasm for fishing for the same species week after week would have waned long ago but capturing a double figure Tench has become an obsession.
This weeks session I got closer but still no cigar. Cockney Steve and I headed back to the Linear complex for an overnighter on Hardwick. I landed 15 Tench in total, five over nine pound up to a biggest of 9lb 6oz. Steve had a nightmare with dropped runs, straightened hooks, weeded fish and snapped hook lengths. He gave up smoking this week and I think the fish were trying to test his resolve!
He did manage a pair though, weighing 7lb 11oz, both of them.

9lb 2oz

9lb 1oz

9lb 4oz

9lb 3oz

9lb 6oz

The last fish especially had the capacity to grow much bigger and therefore become a monster among Tench.

Next week I am landing that double. 

Beer Belly Bream, Twyford Pond

About six years ago I fished Twyford puddle and landed a couple of stunning Crucian Carp. I did not weigh them at the time and I have not caught one at any other time so they were personal bests but for some reason I did not take them seriously. Well, now I am. They count towards the challenge score board and also I want to add them to my pb list. Just got to catch one now. Probably easier said than done.

I arrived at Twyford early and had the pond to myself. I fished the same peg and tactics as my last Crucian success session and second cast I lost a fish to a hook pull. The wind then started to pick up and is exaggerated at Twyford due to it's elevated position which made the fishing difficult.

A few missed bites (could they be Crucian?) and finally I landed a fish, a small Bream. I followed this up with three other Bream to a biggest 4lb 9oz. A strange example of the species with it's distended belly, short tail and funny smell!

A change of bait and swim fishing close in under a bush using mashed bread and bread flake. This had been recommended by the local tackle shop owner and it got me out of the wind but still no Crucians. I tried this for a couple hours and went back to the other peg. An hour later I got into a bit of a tangle and decided enough was enough. 

Monster Carp and Tench, Linear

I never forget my camera when I go fishing. Sod's law states that the only time I do it was going to be a red letter session with a pb thrown in. I am leaving it at home every week now!

Me, my mate Cockney Steve and his mad dog Rebel headed down to Linear for an overnight session late Friday.  We arrived at 7.30pm and by 8.00pm I was fishing, Steve finally cast in his rods at 10.00pm, I have never seen anyone take so long to set everything up, probably had something to do with all the lager he was chugging. 

It turned into one of those evenings when with good company you just talk and talk and before we knew it it was 2am and too much lager had been consumed. We turned in for the night. 

I had three rods out, two on worm and boilies on the other and at 2.20am one of the worm ones had a screaming take. 10 minutes later and I landed a 17lb 4oz Mirror. I returned to my bivvy and managed to get some fitful sleep. 

At 6.00am the far too chirpy Cockney woke me with a cheery 'come on geezer lets do some fishing'. I staggered from my sleeping bag and rebaited and cast out. Still in a bleary dozy state at 7.20am one of the worm rods signalled a slow take. I struck and it was fish on. The fight was very plodding and heavy, I thought it was carrying a load of weed but then about thirty yards out a big tail slapped the surface. I knew instantly this fish was a personal best shaker. I kept the fact to myself so as not to jinx anything. About ten yards further in it rolled on the surface and my southern gillie, waiting with the net told me it was a mother, that did not help my already nervous disposition. I prayed the size 12 hook held and the 8lb line did not break. They both did their job and as we peered into the net we both knew I had smashed my previous 22lb best.

A 32lb 8oz Mirror was the prize and I was one jammy happy angler. My biggest ever English freshwater fish.

Steve with my mobile took some pretty good photos, otherwise the forgetting the camera scenario could have been a lot worse.

That was not the end of the fishing though, we had a full day of Tenching ahead of us and I landed 10 fish to a biggest of 9lb exactly, Steve chipped in with a couple of Tench too.

A proper red letter day, over 120lb of fish and a new pb, itching to get out there again!

Eel, Coppice Pool

I confess that Eels are not my favourite species but there is something different and therefore exciting about them and I enjoy the idea of setting out trying to catch them. A couple of years ago I landed a 2lber from Coppice pool so I headed there for a short evening reccy session. I had intended on getting some dead baits out the freezer and using them as bait but forgot so two tubs of Lobworms from the fishing shop had to suffice. 

I got there about a half hour before sunset and set up low resistance 'John Sidley' rigs on both rods. A short flick into the margins as close as I dare to over hanging bushes and all was set. Twenty minutes of peace ensued until suddenly both rods set off at speed! Talk about buses! 

I hit the left one and felt nothing so dropped it and struck the right rod and felt resistance. I could not believe it Eel in the net and not even dark yet.

I weighed it at 12oz, took this crap photo and put it back. I am not afraid of an Eely self take trophy shot but this was not big enough to get slimed and smelly for!

I rebaited and chucked back in for what I thought was going to be an easy and busy session but it turned into frustration, typical fishing!

Regular bites and chewed worms but thin air strikes. Most likely a mixture of Eels and silver fish and a lot of food for thought. Back next week for another attempt.

The Tench are putting on weight.

8lb 13oz

My blog is getting a bit monotonous but I make no apologies for being determined to get the bigger Tench. I am desperate for a double and have been for a couple of years since catching a 9lb 13oz specimen. We are at the time of year when they pack on the weight and the above fish was the largest of the session weighing 8lb 13oz. It was one of eleven fish totalling a combined weight of over 70lb. Three eights, four sevens, a six and three fives, a quality days fishing in very changeable weather. This was my first ever day session where I have put a bivvy up but felt it necessary due to the forecast of thunder storms, wind and rain. In the end it turned out fine but not until I had had a thorough soaking. 

I should move on to different species but maybe just one more session for the Tincas, will decide in the week.

8lb 10oz

Two personal best Trout, Yorkshire

I took the whole family to Yorkshire to visit my mum and dad for a few days but still managed to get out on the bank for a session. With the car rammed full of clothes, pushchair, toys, high chair etc the space was limited for angling gear so decided to use the opportunity to travel really light and fly fishing is ideal for just that. My fly rod is a four piece travel rod and a bag containing a reel, my fly box and net left plenty of room for the children's paraphenalia.

My Uncle Ken also resides in God's county and is a very keen fluff chucker so I called on him to use his local knowledge to choose a suitable spot to fish and knew he would join me for the day.

He said to meet him at Bellflask fishery, about 10 miles from my old folk's place, at 7.45am. I arrived at 7.35am and he was already there, tackled up and raring to go. 

Bellflask is a stunning old gravel pit which is situated alongside the upper reaches of the river Ure and I had to have peak over at the river, I couldn't resist as it is the river I learned to fish first, but further down stream where the Barbel and Chub are more prominent. It looked stunning but sadly the stretch is private.

It was a typical Yorkshire summers day, blowing a gale, and being an inexperienced fly angler I opted for a sheltered spot with the breeze behind me. I find casting difficult enough without the wind flying across me at any angle. I struggled through the morning but had scant consolation as so did the other more experienced anglers. At around 11.30am hope was renewed as Uncle Ken hooked and landed a monster Brown Trout which we guessed at around 6lb. A stunning fish that we were allowed to take home but we followed the unwritten code of the Brownies and unhooked her and let her swim off, on Ken's instruction. I agreed it is the done thing.

An hour later and Ken moved swim so I jumped in to his and promptly landed a Rainbow of 2lb 7oz. I had changed to a bluebottle type looking fly and straight away next cast I landed a 2lb 12oz Blue Trout, my first ever so a pb, also my biggest ever Trout. They put up brilliant scraps on my light 5 weight fly rod.

I could relax now and though I soldiered on with the same fly nothing else was interested in it so I swapped about both flies and swims. Nothing else worked but I did not care. The bag limit is four but if I had caught more they would have been released, these two were ample and perfect for a forthcoming BBQ. My son Max seemed impressed with them too when I showed him later, his sister wasn't!

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.

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!!

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.

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.

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. 

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.

Roach, bigger Rudd and bigger Perch

Headed back to the same pool as last week in an attempt to make acquaintance with the bigger relatives of last weeks catch. This time I took a kilo of worms and left the maggots alone thinking that was the answer, bigger bait, bigger fish. In the main it worked.
The smaller fish were on the bait first but after about an hour the stamp of fish improved and I landed a 12oz Rudd. Not entirely job done as I know for sure there are bigger still in the lake but a vast improvement.

Several more fish followed but nothing to trouble the scorers and then I hooked into something which felt altogether better. I feared it is was a small Carp but when it broke the surface and I spotted a big stripy my heart was in my mouth. I have lost big Perch before at the net, their bony mouths are difficult to get purchase into but thankfully the hook was firmly in the scissors. As always I thought it was going to weigh more than it did but I was still very pleased at 1lb 15oz. Shook the scales but it did not get to 2lb!

I fished on and caught plenty more fish but all in the 8-10oz bracket. A really enjoyable session.

Roach, Rudd, Perch and Carp

A day spent tiddler bashing on a spectacular intimate fishery that is full of silver fish, and the odd Carp. It is reputed to hold some good size specimens of Perch, Roach and Rudd and is little known so rarely fished. 

I spent the whole morning fishing flavoured maggots and hemp and built the swim in to a bite a chuck frenzy with only one problem, they we all small and carried no real challenge weight.

Our lad in the next swim was trying worm and while his action was a lot less frantic when he did land a fish it was of a much better quality. I helped him land and unhook a Rudd well over the pound mark and I could ignore it no longer. A change to worm brought about a slow down in bites but I still landed a few. No Rudd but a few nice Roach and some Perch, the biggest weighing 10oz.

I then decided to try the margins in search of it's dad and I thought I had cracked it when the float sailed away and tried to snag me. I managed to turn the unseen adversary and thought I had a record on but soon realised it was a small Common of about 4 or 5lbs.

The end result was a fun day exploring a new venue with about 40/50 fish in the net and a vow to return with a tactical change to land the bigger beasts that reside there.

Not so clever Pike, Warks Avon

There has been some debate in the fishing comic lately about Pike being the stupidest fish and today did them no favours.
I decided to venture on to new territory today and headed for a deep slow section of the Avon below Pershore, hoping to bump in to a Zander or two in the overcast conditions but it was slow.
I did however avert a blank by landing a Jack Pike, twice, from two different swims, over 100 yards apart, on the same bait!

The Pike was instantly recognisable from the large gash down it's flank. 

Twice it took half a Roach dead bait on a single hook rig. This was the first time I had tried single hooks, always using trebles in the past but on this result, two bites led to two in the net so I will definitely use them again.

Probably my last session on the river this season but I spent the afternoon sussing out a Barbel stretch that I am keen to get on in the summer.