I’m suffering severe fishing deprivation, so much so I have painted a picture of one. Well I say painted, copied from a Christmas card on my iPad. This lack of winter fishing will be made up for next year as I embark on my first salmon adventures. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to you all.
Looking over the blog it seemed a little game fish heavy of late, so here’s a carp. This was early June 2012 fishing on a commercial day ticket venue just on the edge of the M25. Perhaps not the most romantic setting but it is tucked away in a little woodland area and boasts plenty of well kept chunky carp.
This was my first night fishing trip, so to hook a pretty 27 lb common before tea I was pretty lucky. This was the only fish I caught that night and it’s something I want to do a lot more of.
My first pike on the fly, Caught at denham country club on the river Colne. This was a long time coming, my 5th trip chasing pike on the fly. A slim fish of about 4lb, hopefully next time I will catch his mother.
A pretty 4lb brown caught at manningford fishery in Hampshire. This was one of three good hard fighting trout I caught in late September. A great day at a top venue.
Its been rather a busy summer, all fun and games, but not good for keeping up on blog posts. So here begins “random blog back dating”.
23 June 2013. Golden Pond Fishery, Stockbridge
A quick session while visiting mother for her birthday. I know what your thinking but she had gone to church so i crowbarred in a micro session. Its a pretty little fishery, 1 acre, and really well managed. I had been before and the locals happily told just fish the margins, simple light tackle on the float. Perfect. Sure enough after a little moving about I found a few fish and they seemed to all move in the margins. I fished a center pin, 8 lb main line, 6 lb hook link to size 14 barbless hook.
I had decided to start on a little corn and immediately picked up a few small fish including this little chap, which i think is a gold fish of sorts but I’m really not sure exactly.
Then it was time to have a shot on the prawns. I had recently read in a popular fishing magazine they were a good natural bait which i hadn’t explored before. Apart from being a little soft and tricky to thread onto the hook I could well see the benefits, they stank. I could see a decent size fish cruising up and down feeding at about a foot in depth. My 90 minutes was coming to a close so i was keen to hook into a decent fish. I flicked my rig in its path and on the drop the fish took the prawn. It was a cracker and fought hard, taking me on a small tour of the 1 acre pond.
Not only a good fight but a lovely colour. All in all it was a top morning, I had to pack up sharpish to make it back in time for the birthday celebrations. On the way out I met the bailiff and had a brief chat. He explained the margins were so productive because of the way they cut back underwater, creating a perfect hiding place for fish and great fishing on a little venue.
http://www.goldenpondfishery.com/index.html
https://vimeo.com/70253658
Scottish brownies, butterflied, rolled in oats and pan fried in butter.
Just a short post, the first barbel of the season, an absolute cracker. Fished on the river Colne a simple swim feeder rig with a super short hook link to a size 16 hook. . . In classic clumsy style I had left my mat in the previous swim, poor form. However the fish was given a good rest and took off happy.
River Colne
15.02.2013
Like most fishermen, I’ve always got my eye on the weather. So in the run up to last weekend I was growing quietly confident I would have a good crack at the river Colne. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Despite the recent fair weather (hence my enthusiasm) short violent downpours from the beginning of the week had swollen the small river to bursting. In parts the river met the lake adjacent to it, Little Britain, the flow was rapid and the water a dark cocoa colour. My confidence slipped away rather quickly as I walked up stream looking for a spot with some potential, baiting a few swims as I went. When I arrived at the weir, the top end of the stretch, I decided to work my way back downstream trotting on a few of the better looking swims hopeful of hooking a decent chub.
My set up for the day was pretty classic trotting material, a Fox 12 foot Avon style rod and my recently acquired Mordex Merlin centre pin, loaded with six pound mono. I had opted for quite a chunky wire stem float due to the rivers pace, a shirt button style shot pattern, 3lb hook link and a no. 16 hook. The plan was to drag various baits along the bottom as close to any snag as possible, occasionally alter the depth and try a variety of baits.
Walking with the current I picked out any promising features, flooded bank spots, overhanging branches, thick bramble bushes and so on. After each run I dropped a mild offering of bait into the water, micro pellets, maggots and occasionally some sweet corn, hopeful the yellow colour would find a fish. Each attempt was as hopeless as the last, so much for all my built up enthusiasm. I wasn’t however going to be put off and headed for one of my preferred swims which has produced a few festively plump chub in the past. Feeling comfortable in this spot I trickled in a little bait, had a cup of tea and watched the water. A few calm water spots indicated deeper water and I flicked my line in watching the float zip away on the quick current. Nothing seemed on, continuously I switched baits, shot patterns and hook sizes. As my motivation faded my mind wandered, I was mentally packing up quite looking forward to the warmth of the van before deciding on one last cast.
The fluorescent tip of the float suddenly shot down and I struck hard, the rod tip lunged forwards and the fish twisted and shook in the current. It felt heavy and moved like a chub, hugging the deck briefly then veering off for a snag. As I dragged the beast towards the surface I was reasonably concerned it would break the hook length so I played it with caution. Occasionally I allowed it to take some line off the centre pin and enjoyed that satisfying ratchet click. As I leant back on my rod and applied some pressure my heart sank as two heavy blocks of wood joined by a thick piece of rope appeared at the surface. Unbelievably none of my tackle snapped, I dragged the wooden structure onto the bank and viewed my ‘catch’, glad to be fishing alone and without spectators.
This had been a tough day, cold, flooded and a solid blank, apart from the obscure wooden object. I had been convinced this was a fish, even letting a little line out as I played it to the bank. Needless to say I packed up shortly after the wooden fish incident and headed back home.
flycoarseandkitchen 