Lemington Lakes Roach

A couple of weeks ago Angling Times printed an article about an interesting control of stock at Lemington Lakes. One of the pools at this commercial fishery has undergone a five year programme of netting of stunted Roach so that the remaining stock could grow on to a size that would be of interest to specimen anglers namely over the two pound mark and approaching a colossal three pounds.
I only live about thirty minutes away yet I have never fished there. i am not sure why, it is a lovely peaceful location and the complex is immaculate if not a little too manicured.

My intention was to arrive early but that was scuppered by a late night playing pool (and drinking) I eventually got there mid morning and was surprised but pleased to find I had the whole complex to myself. I popped in the on site cafe/tackle shop, which is also too clean, to get a ticket and some advice on the hot Roach pegs. The lady gave me a map, whilst pointing me in the right direction and also imparting some interesting information on some possible summer Crucians. The best pegs also happened to be the most exposed part of the Cotswolds. I needed to be and was well dressed, multiple layers, double long johns, woolly hat, snood etc and I needed it.
I plumbed up an insert waggler to float fish close in and I also set up a feeder rod with black cap feeder and helicopter rig.

There was a gale force wind blasting across from left to right and I struggled to stop the float from drifting into the edge. I gave up after an hour and changed that rod to a helicopter also.

Eventually the repeated casting of he feeders attracted fish and I had a hook up. The fight was so nondescript I thought it was a Bream but was pleasantly surprised when a nice Perch popped to the surface.

1lb 3oz

Whenever I fish for Perch I struggle or fail so maybe I need to target Roach more often to catch more stripy Sergeants!

Like buses a second fish immediately followed this time the target species but not of the size the article promised. 

I had another small one before landing one of a much more interesting size. 

1lb 4oz

Not a 'two' but it was evidence of the potential for a monster. I fished on for a bit, took one more Roach (small) before the wind managed to break through my layers and attack the bone.

I will be back for another go soon.

Still struggling

If it wasn't for Chub and Trout my Winter fishing would have been a total disaster this season. I have blanked for Pike, not been able to get near the Grayling rivers and also not seen ideal Roach conditions either. Today I hoped would be different.
With the recent slight increase in water and air temperatures and a dull overcast day forecast I naively thought that there was a good opportunity there to catch a Barbel, I was way out.
I should have known that it was going to be a bad day when I got a couple of miles down the road and realised I had forgotten my rods-idiot! The rain had started as forecast so I decided to head to a swim that I knew had great Barbel potential in these conditions, I had a 'twelve' from there in similar conditions.

Blatant excuse for posting old success photo

I started out with two rods both baited with meat and a few freebies on PVA stringers. They remained motionless, not even a Chubby twitch. An extremely tame Mallard entertained me for a while and would even let me feed her by hand.

To begin with this was mildly amusing but it became a nuisance as she followed me the whole day, begging for titbits constantly. Anyway after a couple of hours I knew plan A had failed so I tried plan B, boilies and a swim change. Plan B failed too.
Plan C. As an afterthought I had chucked some cheesepaste in my bag but my Barbel rods are too insensitive to easily detect the delicate pluckings of a Chub and although I had a couple of bites that was as much success as I was to have, I missed them both. Besides having set my heart on a Barbel a Chub would have been an anticlimax anyway.
I went home damp and feeling sorry for myself but it was better than being at work!

Best part of the day!

Struggles

I will be really glad to see the back of the longest Winter ever (or so it seems) . Rain, floods, snow, floods, rain, floods, the pattern has seemed endless but there are finally some signs of spring. The Daffodils are only days away from bursting open and giving us a splash of colour, we have planted two hundred bulbs around the wife's horse field, the show should be spectacular. It's for the kids really we shall see if they appreciate it. The sun has also been coming out and the temperatures this week have been gradually improving.
On the fishing front I managed to get out for a few hours and the river looked spot on, decent clarity and I felt confident of a fish or two. However in over four hours fishing I did not muster even a bite. I tried maggot feeder, trotting, fast water, slow water and cheese paste and not a twitch. I gave up just after lunchtime.

I still had some maggots left so on the way home I dropped in at the little brook to trot the mill pool section. A big Dace was the target but I was plagued with these..........

and Chublets so I gave up and went home. The end of the season is almost upon us, one more weekend , might try for a Barbel.

Bushy Lures at Bushyleaze

The 'home tied' fly box is filling up nicely with various patterns, mostly copied but some made up and I have been itching to get out there and get them wet. I have promising myself a fly session for a few weeks waiting until the river was unfishable again and this weekend it was exactly that. Most of my fluff chucking lately has been on Lechlade so it was time to try it's sister water Bushyleaze. The average size of the fish is not as impressive as Lechlade and it is a much bigger water so it represents a bit  more of a challenge.
A 'pea souper' greeted me on arrival, the far bank was barely visible but that's where I headed on the advice of the ticket lady.

With little fly life around in the Winter months I decided that lures would probably be the best approach. We have no idea exactly what fish see and there has been talk of red being the first colour to 'disappear' underwater but I think thats a load of rubbish. Red maggots nearly always out fish other colours, Carp find red boilies without any bother and Trout love red flies. First cast with a red lure and I had a follow but the fish turned away last minute. Several others followed without conviction until after about ten minutes I had a take. It wasn't a huge fish but it put up a cracking fight trying to bury it's head in the nearside rushes several times. As my arm began to ache I netted a 3lb 2oz Rainbow, immeasurably satisfied to have caught one on my own creation.

 I decided to move away from the swim thinking the commotion of the battle would have made the fish do the same. Again the lure went out and a few casts later I was playing another fish but the hook pulled. I stuck with it and within minutes I had another take and landed another Rainbow weighing exactly the same as the first, 3lb 2oz.
I had only bought a three fish ticket and I was seriously in danger of landing my quota and being home very early so I changed tactic and area to make the session last a bit longer.

A fruitless hour followed, my patience waned and I wandered back to the original spot and put the red lure back on.
The lure has a lead underbody so sinks fast and fishes deep if it is retrieved slowly and the next take was right on the bottom. This fish was either foul hooked or of a serious size as it sped off like lightning stripping me down to the backing before disaster struck. The braid backing was embedded in itself and the hook link parted like cotton. I didn't let that disappointment get me down, setting up again with another red lure and within no time I was battling another Rainbow. This time it was my turn to win and I filled my ticket with a 4lb 2oz Beauty.

Time for an alternative trophy shot and I packed away in the now brilliant sunshine and still made it home in time for lunch.

Pastures new

The conditions were spot on Friday, the sun came out, the river levels had dropped back and there was a tinge of colour to the water. There could be no excuses.
This week I had decided to try a new (to me) stretch of the Warwickshire Avon, Wasperton's Manor Farm or 'Man A F' as the sign states. I know this stretch is familiar to a lot of bloggers who have trod it's banks many times and now I know why. It is a beautiful section of river and it looks fishy, really fishy!
Today I was chasing Chub (again!) and there are so many overhanging trees, a favourite haunt of Chub that I didn't know which one to cast towards first. I started off upstream of the car park.

I set up well away from the water, simple running rig, cheese paste as bait and having cast out I opened the flask and was just pouring a brew when the tip flew round. Inevitably I missed it. Why do fish bite at the most awkward moment, sod's law I guess. That turned out to be it for that peg and an hour later I ventured downstream to the next likely looking spot.
Within ten minutes the tip gave a small indication, I hovered ready for a strike and then it wrapped round again. This time I connected and played out a spirited battle before netting a chunky Chub. Putting Chub straight back is a sure fire way of killing the swim as they seem to spook all the others in the vicinity so they are one of the few species that I will put in a keepnet.
I carried on in this swim despite a lack of further action as I felt confident of catching more and eventually I did. The next fish hooked shot off downstream and my main line became tangled around a nearside bush. I managed to carefully pull the fish back to netting distance and fortunately landed another chunky specimen. I was not as lucky with the terminal tackle though, it had become way too tangled and I lost the lot.

 I set up again and fished on for a bit but the commotion of the previous fish had put paid to any further sport.

A pretty pleasing day, it is always nice to catch especially on a first visit to a new stretch.

3lb 8oz and 3lb 12oz

A Session of two halves

As I finished setting up the sun rose above the trees beautifully illuminating the far bank. An overnight frost meant it was still chilly but a decent day weather wise was in prospect.
The venue was Coppice pool and the target big Perch. Two rods were baited, one was to be a sleeper rod, half a lobworm coupled with chopped worm in a feeder cast over towards the island, the other float fished Prawn.
The first indications came from the worm and after a lot of unhittable twitches I struck into a fish, not the target but a decent Roach close to a pound. Following that there was nothing, not a sniff. The worm remained untouched, the same as the Prawn. I swapped about a bit, even trying maggot but strangely even they remained untouched. By 1pm the sun was blazing high, not ideal for Perch fishing and I had had enough. Time for a change of plan.

The Avon has been full of snow all week and although it is dropping I did not fancy the colour of it so stayed away. In the next village to home there is a tributary of the Avon, an overgrown diminutive brook that is full of surprises so I decided to venture there.

In the summer this waterway is almost inaccessible due to the vegetation and human sized nettles but with it being Winter and the recent floods almost all the bank is fishable. I found a lovely glide that ran under some trees and around the bend and fed some maggots while setting up. Initially I had planned to trot for Grayling this weekend but the Wye is washed out so this would do nicely as an alternative. Second run through and it was fish on. A plucky battle ensued until I landed a nice wild Brown Trout, out of season so quick photo taken and carefully released.

This disrupted the swim and no further bites were had for about half an hour but eventually I landed my real target, a Dace. After that they came thick and fast and they were almost peas in a pod. I  lost count of how many I caught but it was well over 30, none weighing less than 3oz and none more than 6oz. I really enjoyed myself and every time I hooked one I thought it was going to be a biggie(8oz).

Stunning little fish and a few of them had obviously been pigging out recently, good bellies on them.

As the light started to fade I had four more out of season Brownies and decided to call it a day. I really enjoyed the afternoon's fishing and cannot wait to target the stretch with a fly rod in the summer

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!