The Third Age Angler Posts

Being well into my third age I decided to give winter fishing a miss this year. Either it is going to rain, is raining or has just stopped raining, in which case the banks are treacherous and the river is in flood.  Or, if it is not raining, it is freeing and the water is frozen over and where it isn’t the banks are treacherous. I had a bit of a fright a while back where I was sitting on a low stool that I have had since I was a kid. I was sitting on a nice platform on the river bank and when I came to stand up, I couldn’t, my poor old knees had stopped working, I was stuck! I could have rolled forward and then stood up from the ground but there was not enough space. I would have fallen into the water! I struggled for a bit and eventually managed to get out of my predicament but it made me realise that I was getting old and needed to take care on the bank.

Anyway, I wanted to get back to my small river before the season ended. The land near the river was usually completely overgrown but it had been cut down recently and I wanted to see if there were any new swims that I could now access. The weather was warmish and sunny and it hadn’t rained for a while so the river should be fishable. In fact, when I arrived, it was quite low and I had to walk along and find a deeper pool to fish. Although the banks were clear the river itself is wild and overgrown so care has to be taken not to snag and I had several instances where I got caught up but luckily I didn’t lose any tackle.  I found my first swim where the bottom dropped away and threw a few maggots in. I was using a ten foot float rod and was soon trotting a float downstream, second cast and I was into a roach of a few ounces. A few more maggots trickled in and another bite, I was more or less having a bite per cast with the odd dace or rudd thrown in for good measure.

            I was enjoying myself but after a while I decided to move up the river to explore a bit. The first fifty yards were very shallow and I could see the bottom and a few fish darting away as I approached but soon came to another swim. A few maggots were thrown in and I was into fish again. The same pattern was repeated of a fish almost every cast and I was feeling pleased with myself, I had mastered this fishing lark, it was easy! Again, I moved on after a while and found another swim. This one looked deeper and very fishy and I was soon casting my line out and retrieving it from the undergrowth. The wind was blowing across the swim and taking the line into the bushes. I was lucky in managing to retrieve it every time, only one thing was wrong, I wasn’t catching any fish! My balloon was burst, within thirty yards or so I had gone from hero to zero! I decided to give it a bit longer but all I got was a tangle so complicated that I decided to sort it out at home as it was nearly lunchtime. 

            That was the end of my river fishing for the year, a good session which was spoilt a bit by failing to catch at the end. Still, I had fished two swims successfully and found fish. Not very big ones but I will try for them later in the season, a quivertip rod with an old fashioned ledger weight to get the bait right on the bottom might pick me up something bigger, perhaps a chub or two. For the next few weeks it will be back to the club lakes until the river season opens again in June. I hope that the vegetation hasn’t grown too much by then and I can still get to the river!

The first swim, not easy to fish but they were there!

At last I had a free day and was able to go fishing. The sun was shining, it was warm and there was a strong breeze and it was a great day to be out. I had in mind to go to a lake that I had not fished this year and which held both silverfish and carp so I loaded up the car with all my gear and set off. I hadn’t gone far when my car displayed an error code, it had been jerky yesterday but was running fine today and as I didn’t have far to go I decided to carry on and deal with it when I got home. When I arrived at the water there was a notice on the gate saying that the water was closed due to a match. My own fault, I should have read the club handbook! 

So, where else could I go? A quick think and I was soon on the way to another water which was not too far away and was actually on my way home. It too had a variety of fish so I could put a carp rod out and float fish for silvers. The first thing I did was have a walk round to see what was what and I had a chat with a guy who had been fishing for a while without much luck. There were a couple of swims that looked promising, both opposite an island and I chose the one which had some bushes which would shelter me from the sun for most of the day. Having had three operations for basal cell carcinoma I am aware of the damage that sun can do to your skin and always use sun cream during the summer.

Having got all my gear to the swim I tackled up and put out the carp rod with a method feeder and boilie then got my float rod rigged, put in some groundbait and maggots, plumbed the depth and sat in my chair ready for a bit of a rest. Unfortunately, or should I say fortunately, the float dipped and I was into a fish, a nice little rudd who was soon back in the water. That is how it carried on for a while with rudd and roach taking red maggots almost as soon as I cast out. Having mastered the art of catching small fish I decided to vary my tactics by varying the depth and trying two, three or four maggots but without much luck as I still kept catching small ones although for a change I got a nice little perch. All this time I was re-casting the carp rod after filling up the method feeder but was getting nothing to indicate that there were any fish about, not even line bites.

I decided to change my bait on the float rod in the hope of catching something bigger and put a piece of sweetcorn on the hook and then sat quietly while nothing happened! Still, at least it gave me the chance to get my flask out and have a cup of tea in peace. I decided that if there is one thing worse than catching little roach and rudd all the time it is catching nothing so I changed bait again, this time pinching on a small piece of bread. This didn’t do any good either so I went back to maggots and was soon into the fish again. It seemed that this was the bait of the day! I decided to ring the changes and rigged up my quiver tip rod with a method feeder to fish right on the bottom. I also decided to change the flavour and size of boilie on the carp rod to see if that would work any better.

I still haven’t got the hang of a quiver tip rod. I started using an inline method feeder as I was getting in a tangle with a conventional cage feeder but was wondering if that was the wrong thing to do. When the tip started quivering and I struck I would miss the bite and often if I waited a while until the take developed it would taper off. I decided to persevere and putting several maggots on the hook and filling up the feeder I cast out into the same part of the swim which I had been feeding with groundbait and maggots and fishing with the float. True to form the tip started quivering and lifting the rod I could tell that I had missed the bite. Deciding to wait a bit longer I was more successful and brought in a decent size skimmer of about a pound in weight. A little while later I hooked another one of about the same size and brought it into the net. All the while I was bringing in the method feeder on the carp rod filling it and re-casting. There was a stiff cross-wind and on one of my casts the wind took the line across a reed bed, much to my annoyance. I decided to leave the feeder where it was and hoped that if I got a bite the fish would swim away from the reeds and free the line. It was not to be and I reconciled myself to losing my feeder and wound the line in. When I got to the reeds I gave the rod a jerk and the feeder flew over the top and landed in the reeds near to me and I was able to retrieve it!

I had no luck on the carp rod at all although I was still catching on the quiver. I thought I had another bream but it was a perch which was followed by another perch. By now it was mid-afternoon and I thought that it was time to pack up. I would get home in time to phone up about the error code before having my dinner. So, not a bad session, I must have caught about twenty fish or more, mostly roach and rudd but with bream and perch as well. I was well pleased with four different species but not so pleased that I had blanked on the carp rod as I had previously caught there. On the way back to the car I passed the guy who I had chatted with at the start of the day, he was moaning about not catching much and asked about my day so I told him. There is something wickedly satisfying about doing better than the guy in the swim next door and trust me, it doesn’t happen very often! As for the car the RAC came out and cleared the fault code and it has been running fine since then. It ought to, it’s only three months old!

There are pros and cons of the little pond over the road. The main advantage is that it is literally less than a couple of hundred yards away from my house, I haven’t yet timed it but I reckon that if I had my rod set up I could be fishing withing five minutes of closing my front door. The other great advantage is that it has lots of lovely fish in it, rudd, roach, tench, carp and all kinds of ornamental goldfish, thanks to the local residents.

It has a few disadvantages though. It is slap bang next to a main road and the traffic noise is awful but it does ease in the evenings when the number of heavy lorries decreases. It has suffered terribly from weed, once summer has arrived the only way you can fish is to rake a hole in the weed and fish there, nowhere else is free. The club has been working on this and it will be interesting to see how it fishes this year. The other disadvantage is that the fish are small, at least the ones that I have caught! Beautiful, perfectly formed, but small! Oh yes, one more thing, it only fishes when the water has warmed up and is no good in the winter at all.

As the temperature around our way has picked up, I decided to spend a couple of hours there one evening and see if the fish were biting. Maggots are the ideal bait there and with memories of evenings spent catching a fish a cast I went to the local tackle shop only to find that it was shut for the afternoon. There are other tackle shops within driving distance but there also other baits so I decided to give them a go. When I got home I spent a successful few minutes lifting up the missus’s plant pots and gathering a handful of worms. Then it was to the freezer to grab some white bread which I keep for catching carp off the top but on this occasion it would be used for fishing for smaller fish.

It was a nice evening and I was soon on the bank and I decided to plum the depth to see what effect the club’s weed cutting had had. The usual technique is to fish shallow and above the weed but I found that I was able to fish deeper this time. I cast out into the usual kind of area and peppered the float with groundbait, no maggots to feed this time but I figured I could manage without. I sat back, relaxed and waited. It was a still evening and the float was just a tiny dot on the surface, I have learnt that bites on this water are very shy and didn’t want to miss any. Time passed, I brought the hook in regularly and checked the bait, the traffic grew lighter, the birds were singing, all was right with the world, well almost everything, a bite would be nice!

The bird song was getting more intense and although I can recognise some birds, others elude me. I got my phone out and opened the Merlin App which quickly recognised the usual suspects, robin, wren, blue tit, great tit and then a song thrush. I haven’t seen a thrush for several years and it was good to hear that one was around. You know that old saying about doing the same thing but expecting to get a different result, I reckon that it applies to fishing so I decided to give worms a try. It didn’t make any difference though, a couple of hours had passed without as much as a knock. It was getting dark and I was thinking of packing up when the decision was taken out of my hands, yes, I got a tangle. I don’t know how it happened, I lifted the rod behind me and cast out but nothing happened except the float rattling around the rod! One look told me that my time was up, there was no way that I was going to be able to untangle that bird’s nest before it got dark and if I just cut the line and tackled up again it would be just as dark! Time to go home then, at least I didn’t have much to pack away and I was soon home. Just time on my walk to reflect on my session, a blank, and decide that it wasn’t my poor fishing technique it was just too early in the season for the fish to be biting. I will be back in a few weeks and hope that they have woken up by then.

I just thought that I would include this photo of the water on a different day as I had no fish to show!

The weather forecast looked the same for this week as for last, one bright day followed by clouds and rain and as I don’t like getting wet I decided to go fishing today. I couldn’t go back to the river as it is seriously in flood so it would have to be one of the club’s still waters and I decided on one which I haven’t fished for a while but where I have always caught something. The only problem with it is that it is about a five hundred yard walk from the car to the swim I like to use in the end lake in a series of three. It had been a clear and chilly night so I wasn’t in any hurry as I wanted to let it warm up a bit. This allowed me to make a quick trip to the tackle shop for maggots and a visit to Tesco to fill up the car, not that I had far to go.

Back home and thinking about what gear to take, in the end I decided on everything as I didn’t know what conditions would be like at the lake. On arrival I quickly saw, wet and wetter! I loaded everything on the barrow and splashed my way across the field to the swim. I must be getting old as I had to take frequent stops to catch my breath. Either that or the muddy ground was making it extra hard work pushing the barrow! When I got to the swim I could see just how high the water was, usually there is a beach which slopes gently into the water but there was no sign of it and instead the water was halfway up the vertical bank behind it leaving me nowhere to go but in the field behind. The wind was chilly and blowing from behind and anticipating this I brought my umbrella which I tilted and pegged down to give me some shelter. I know that you are supposed to fish into the wind but on this water that is not possible as that bank is overgrown with trees and bushes and there is nowhere to reach the water so I just had to make do. My feeder rod was already set up with a lead and was soon out with a red maggot on the hook. I then had time to set up my float rod, throw in some groundbait, cast out and sit down in the shelter of my brolly. 

Time passed, I altered the depth of my float to try and find the fish with no result. It was nice enough sitting in the sun and admiring the view but I wanted to catch some fish! I usually fish in fairly out of the way places but wherever I am there are always sounds to be heard. Today there was some birdsong, but not a lot, a few aeroplanes, including a big dark painted passenger plane, maybe belonging to the military and a brightly painted biplane. A buzz saw was whining away in the distance and closer by the wind was sighing through the trees. When you are outside for any time you notice the wind, when I was putting the umbrella up it was quite strong and I had to stop it being blown away but it went up and down all day. Sometimes the float was bobbing through little wavelets while at other times the surface was still and quiet. After about an hour without any success I decided to change tactics and put a small method feeder on the feeder rod but as I was changing over one of the rings came loose and was rattling up and down the line so I decided to pack it away and get a carp rod out of the bag. There are three rods in the holder and I wanted the one set up with a method feeder, I couldn’t see which one was which until I undid them and took the tip protectors off, guess which one it was, you are correct, the last one I tried. I was keeping an eye on my float while setting up the rod and this time when I looked around I couldn’t see it so I put everything down and picked up the float rod and landed a nice looking roach of several ounces. I popped him back and put out the carp rod with a buzzer and cast out my float rod again.

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The afternoon passed, there was no carp action, not a buzz, not even a line bite to give me false hope. A blue tit came and sat in the bush beside me for a while, the sun started to go down, I got chilly and as there was no action I decided to call it a day. As I was packing up I heard the unmistakeable sound of a carp slurping from the direction my crusts floated but try as I might I couldn’t see it. It confirmed what I already knew, that there are carp in this lake and that they feed on the downwind side, still no hope of fishing there though! I gathered all my gear together and struggled through the soggy field back to the car park, pausing to have a chat with another angler in the first lake who had only caught one small roach, I had lost count but must have landed around fifteen and felt smug about it! So, another session, I didn’t blank, didn’t break anything important, didn’t get tangled up and didn’t fall in! All in all a successful outing and I am hoping for another dry day so that I can go again soon.

I hadn’t consciously given up fishing, it was just that I didn’t go! It was thanks to a Christmas Present that I got the itch again and finally went! The present was a book, “How We Fish” by Paul Whitehouse and John Bailey. John who? I hear you ask. Well, he is the guy who does all the work behind the scenes for the TV series “Gone Fishing” and is a consummate angler. I don’t think much of the TV programme as a fishing show but the book is fascinating, giving lots of details of the guys fishing lives and how they set up for the programme and is full of anecdotes. It got me in the mood again and I was waiting for a milder and drier day so I could get back to the river that I fished last summer and see how it was.

Anyway, back to the swim to set up and I decided to trot maggots at a depth of about eighteen inches and see what happened. The river was quite clear and I could see the bottom in places but not in my swim, which had a bit of depth. First cast and the float bobbed and I had caught a little roach. I swung him to hand and quickly unhooked him and popped him back. Second cast and another roach, this continued for a while until I got something a bit bigger, as I reeled it in I could see a nice perch of a pound or so which put me in a bit of a dilemma, should I swing him to hand or use the net? The bank was quite steep and high and I was fishing with very light gear so thought that I had better play safe and use the net, the only problem was that I had left it behind me and it was out of reach. Putting the rod down I made a dash for the net and returned to the rod to find that the fish had slipped the hook and made off, so much for barbless hooks! That will learn me, get everything ready and to hand before I start fishing in future. Of course, I already knew that but didn’t do it on this occasion for some reason. I consoled myself with the thought that the fish had got away safely which was better than breaking the line as I swung it in and leaving the hook in its mouth.

Not surprisingly the swim went quiet after this and so I picked up my gear and walked upriver where I found a swim that I didn’t even know existed as it was so overgrown in the summer. Someone had been working on it quite recently as there were newly cut tree branches on the bank which proved very helpful in reaching my float when it got tangled in the vegetation! I was soon fishing again and some more small roach until I decided to change bait to a worm that I had found in the garden with the result that I caught some more small roach! I had brought my feeder rod and decided to give this a try with some bread crust but didn’t have any luck so decided to move again. As I walked upstream I came across a dam of trees, branches and debris which was keeping the water back and making a deeper swim upstream where I decided to give it a go. It was another swim that was inaccessible in the summer although it was only a few yards from where I was fishing last summer.

The swim was on a tight bend with some fast-flowing water and some slacks and I soon had another little roach on the bank. Then life began to get more interesting as I caught a couple of dace and chub instead. Time was getting on and the weather was getting duller and colder so when I caught the hook in a branch I decided to pack up and go home rather than tackle up again. This was when I found that the feeder rod wouldn’t come apart. It has been stiff before but I have always managed to do it but not this time. Fortunately, at ten feet long I know that I can fit it in my car and so it wasn’t a big problem.

So, what had I learnt? That the river is quite different in the winter and much more accessible. As long as it is not in flood it is easier to fish as I could get to swims that I didn’t even know were there and could trot a float down much more easily than in the summer as the weed wasn’t there. I had enjoyed being out in nature and had walked past a group of snowdrops in bloom and seen a kingfisher as it darted past and then came back for an encore a few minutes later. I really envy those anglers who get photos of them sitting still as all I get is the quickest of glimpses as the flash by. They are beautiful birds and I don’t mind sharing the fish with them. I had enjoyed myself even though I had only caught nippers and have promised myself that I will go again soon, all I need is a nice day and yes, I do know that I am a wimp! 

I still haven’t been getting out much, what with the rain and medical appointments but yesterday I was able to grab a couple of hours in the afternoon to go back to the stream to try and catch some more chub. I had been thinking about the best method to use in such a small, shallow fast flowing swim and had decided to try a kind of paternoster rig where a lead would sit on the bottom and the hook would be a bit above that and stream out from the line. As the water is so narrow and there are nettles and other vegetation all around I also thought that a shorter rod would be easier to handle and so decided to try my telescopic rod which I bought as it was on offer and thought that it would come in useful sometime and has never been used. Rigging up in my shed I was all ready and only had to wait to collect my missus from the dentist, have lunch and then go.

It was a warm, cloudy day with some periods of sunshine and I felt overdressed with my camouflage waterproof trousers over my shorts but I needed to wear them as I would be walking and stalking through some dense patches of nettles and thistles. I also put on a sweatshirt  to cover my arms and I was ready. I climbed over the gate into the field and was making my way to the swim when I came across a couple of goats. I had never been near to goats before and didn’t quite know how they would react but carried on walking towards them. One of them ignored me and carried on munching while the other ran away into the small fenced field which was its home where a couple were sitting enjoying the afternoon. They called the other goat and it soon followed so I was free to carry on walking without fear of being savaged! The path had become even more overgrown since my last visit, usually the summers are very dry in our part of the east of England and vegetation starts to wilt and die off by now but the rain has kept the plants growing this year.

I arrived at the swim and dropped off my gear a little way away and crept up to the bank, there they were, several chub swimming against the current and clearly visible in the gin clear water. There are several places where you can get near the bank and could see by the flattened grass that I have not been the only angler on this stretch. I tossed some bits of bread in to attract a bit of attention then crept back to my gear and set up the rod. I decided to fish the swim furthest upstream to start and gently lowered the line into the water. I could quite clearly see the bread streaming out from the line and by lifting the rod tip I could alter the height of the bait in the water, the only problem was that I couldn’t see any fish! I decided to move to the next swim where there was room to lie down and as the sun had come out I took my sweatshirt off and laid it on the ground as a cushion. I was having more luck here as I could see lots of little fish nibbling the bait and was hoping that a larger one would be attracted by them and come in and swallow the bread. 

I was so engrossed in this that it took some time before the message from my arm got through to my brain and when I looked down I could see that my forearm was covered with ants and what’s more they were biting me! I quickly brushed them off and reached into my bag for the bite cream which I always carry with me. I had a number of bites and they were swelling up and I was beginning to wonder what I would do if I had an allergic reaction as I was in a wilderness, miles from anywhere and doubted that anyone would come that way for several days, it could even be weeks before my body was found! Fortunately, the cream started to do its work and the swelling eased although it was still painful. I decided to move swims again and this time instead of laying on the floor I crouched down in an attempt to avoid the ants! I was watching the bait and could see the same thing happening, lots of small fry nibbling the bread until suddenly the line was shaking, fish on! It wasn’t very big and I soon got it to the bank when I was surprised to find it was a rudd and not a chub! A quick photo then he was popped back and I was fishing again. I had proved that my rig worked and felt confident that more fish would follow but it was not to be. I changed bait to maggots without any luck, lots of small fish nibbling but the larger fish had vanished and as it was getting near time to go home I called it a day.

So, what had I learnt? In general terms that we, as anglers, can go to some pretty remote spots that would be difficult to get help to if we needed it. I have had one ride to hospital in an ambulance with my heart attack and would hate to think how they would find me in some of the places that I fish. I think I will look up the What3words locations for these and make a note of them. In fishing terms, is it that however careful you are near the bank it is easy to spook wild fish and they will disappear? Or is it that once the sun comes out the fish feel more vulnerable and go into hiding? Or was it the time of day? Last time I was here it was morning and I know that the afternoon is not the best time to go fishing although I have to go when I can. Perhaps my hook size was too big, I was using a 14 hoping to get a bigger fish but perhaps it was too visible in the clear water. Lots of things to think about before my next visit as I am not finished yet!

As I mentioned last week, I had all my carp gear set up ready to go and was just waiting for the right time. I had also listened to some advice I was given about going at different times of the day and decided to go late afternoon and into the evening. It is not always easy for me to go then as my wife is not in good health and I have to cook the dinner but I cooked at midday and made sandwiches for the evening. Going later in the day meant that I wasn’t in a rush and had time to prepare some method mix and put everything in the car in good time. I took my carp rods as well as a stalking rod and my float rod, just in case.

I left at about four in the afternoon and it is only a few minutes to the lake especially now they have stopped the water leak and re-surfaced the road in the village. When I arrived the car park looked full but I just managed to find a space. As I had plenty of time I decided to have a look at the water and see if there was room. It was quite windy but not cold so I thought that a swim with the wind blowing towards me, would be the right one to fish. I was lucky that most of the anglers seems to be on the other side of the lake so I went back for my gear and chose a swim which had some shelter from the wind and an island about 20 yards away. I don’t usually cast towards islands as I invariably overdo it and end up in the trees, losing my hook length, but I thought that the fish would be swimming between the bank and the island and so I might be in with a chance.

I had two rods, one with a method feeder using a pink wafter, fishing not far out, close to the reed bed and one fishing mesh bags a bit further out towards the island. I soon got the method rod out, then filled up a mesh bag with Robin Red pellets of different sizes which I was trying for the first time, using a 15mm drilled pellet for hook bait. I had a bit of a problem with my alarm on this rod, but a change of battery seemed to do the trick. With both rods out, I had chance to sit down and relax, no float to watch this time! I re-cast the rods every 10 minutes or so, which kept me occupied, I had no indication that there were any fish around, no line bites, no fish rising, none slurping in the margins. Then my method rod started to twitch, the bobbin slowly rose and fell, but it didn’t develop into a bite and I was left, wondering if it was a fish or the wind doing it.

I was beginning to think that this was going to be another blank session when the mesh rod indicator started beeping and the rod danced around. Fortunately, the bait runner was doing its job and the rod didn’t get pulled into the water before I got hold of it. I picked it up struck and knew I was into a fish. I could tell it was a reasonable one but wasn’t sure what it was as it wasn’t shaking its head in the usual carp fashion. Perhaps it was a big tench as I’ve had them out of this water before. It put up a decent fight and I was careful to steer it away from the reeds when it made for them, and to bring it back when it went the other way. I played it carefully, not wanting to lose it, but soon had it, near the bank where I could see that it was a carp, a mirror. Reaching behind me I got the net and put it in the water then the carp was off again and it was another few minutes before I landed it. I left it in the net in the margin while I got sorted out, which gave the fish time to recover, as when I put it on the mat, it started flapping about. It looked half decent so I thought I would weigh it and it came in at 14lb, which is my largest carp so far. Not wanting to keep the fish out of water for too long, I quickly got it back in where it rested in my net for a few moments before swimming off. I then had a breather feeling happy that I had caught, especially a personal best although I know there are much bigger fish in this water and I can do better!

The rod was soon out again and I was sitting down and getting into the routine of filling the method feeder and mesh bags and casting out again. I hadn’t had any luck with the method feeder near the reeds so decided to cast it a bit further out. I also changed the wafter to a pineapple boilie on the basis that if one thing wasn’t working it was worth trying something else. Time passed the sun was going down, I put on a sweatshirt and decided it was time for a bite to eat. This was the signal for ducks to converge in my swim as soon as they spotted my sandwiches, but I hardened my heart and didn’t throw them my crusts, hoping that they would get bored and swim away, which sort of worked.

Then I saw and heard a small group of birds swimming in the distance, making a cry that I’d never heard before, so I got out my phone and opened the Merlin app which listened for a few seconds then told me they were Great Crested Grebes. As far as I can remember this is the first time I’ve seen or heard those birds. Another hour went by and I was wondering if I was going to catch again when the method rod indicator beeped and I was into another fish. I could tell at once this was a carp, it was going like a train first one way then the other. I let it take some line but was wary of letting it get into the reeds. This fish put up a better fight and I thought it was bigger than the first until I saw it come to the surface when I could tell it was a smaller common. It took me longer to bring this fish in and when I got it into the net, I left it next to the bank for it to recover and for me to position the mat and get ready to pull it out. I lifted the net, no fish! I couldn’t believe it, I was sure that I landed it and with the net handle well on the bank and the top of the net out of the water it couldn’t have swam out, I had lost it! I picked up the rod, reeled in the slack and could feel that it was still on, right under the rod tip! I soon had it in the net properly this time and pulled it up onto the mat. It had got some of its strength back while it was resting and started to flap about all over the place and I had to wait until it calmed down before getting the hook out and taking a photo. It was a beautiful looking fish, I quickly weighed it, 9lb, a smaller fish than the first, but a harder fighter. I soon put it back and he was away, I re-baited and cast out again, hoping for a third fish.

This was not to be, I fished for another hour or so without any sign and about 8 o’clock decided to pack up and go home, happy with two nice fish in just over three hours. I had done what I had planned to do and had caught a P.B. so all in all not a bad session!

Taking some advice from my feedback I have been thinking about how I approach my fishing and decided that having one float rod and a carp rod was probably not doing either method justice and I could try fishing one style at a time. I spent some time in my shed going over my tackle and got my carp setup all ready to go as it was going to be my next session. Then, you know how it is, I didn’t get time until the morning I was sitting in bed drinking a cuppa and looking through Facebook when I noticed that there was a warning about a burst water main on the main road in the middle of the village, the importance of which will become clear later. I then got a message from the surgery saying that I had an appointment that afternoon which gave me a few hours free to go fishing!

Then I remembered the burst water main, to get to any of our lakes I would have to drive that way and there was going to be chaos. It would be a nightmare and the alternative route is tiny lanes that would be full of traffic trying to avoid the queues. I also didn’t have a lot of time as the morning was getting on but did have enough to go back to the river which happened to be in a different direction and would avoid the jams. It wasn’t what I have planned for my next outing, but I did have unfinished business with the fish that I could see but not catch. I had been thinking about them and was wondering if a kind of Paternoster rig, which would have a weight on the bottom of the river and leave the hook swimming in midstream, would be the way to go, but I have not rigged my rod this way yet. It is only five minute’s drive to the river then a short walk from the car park so it didn’t take long to get there. I knew we had had some rain, but there is a monitoring station nearby and it wasn’t showing too high, a water level. It also didn’t show the level of water in the tunnel under the roadway which you have to go through all bent over to get to my first swim and as I was only wearing trainers there was no way I was going through that! So, it was a matter of scrambling over the fence and down the bank through the nettles to get there. The first job was to get the garden shears out and cut down enough vegetation to make a place to put my chair, tackle et This done, I put the feeder rod out with a plain lead and maggot and took my float rod and started trotting down the river.

I soon caught a tiny little dace and thought there would be more about, but all I got was minnows and a tangle at the rod tip when I missed a bite. I tried to undo it but eventually cut the line and re-threaded and was fishing again. There was nothing on the feeder rod after a while I got a nice dace then it went quiet. As I still had some time left I decided to go and look at the swim where I saw the fish the other day but first went back to the car to drop off my chair, shears and to put on my waterproof trousers. Then, with my rucksack on my back, rods and landing net in hand, I climbed over the gate and made my way to the bank, a bit further up from where I had been fishing. When I got there, I crept quietly forward and knelt down so as not to be seen. The fish with there again and taking some more advice from my feedback I cast some bread upon the water. It was swiftly carried away by the current so I couldn’t see if the fish had taken any interest in it. I decided to dry some squashed up bits of bread as they would sink through the water and soon had fish nibbling them as they fell, although their interest waned once the bread had reached the bottom. This was encouraging and as the water was a bit deeper, I thought I would try with my float rod, but on the first cast caught, the reds and lost my hook length.  I decided that fishing with a float rod was not my best idea so tried with my feeder rod. I cast over the other side of the stream and could see the bait right down to the riverbed although I couldn’t get fish interested in it.

Then I noticed there were fish on my side of the river, where I could lower the line in carefully without making a big splash and scaring the fish. As the ledger weight was directly under the rod tip I could hold it off the bottom, leaving the bread in mid water where the fish were. I could see them nibbling the bread and soon had a small dace on the bank. Pleased with my success I put a bigger piece of bread on the hook and tried again. The smaller fish crowded around the bait once again, but then a big one appeared and my bread disappeared and I had a fish on! It gave a bit of a fight on light line and I was worried about losing it so I scrabbled around in the nettles for my landing net, ignoring the stings to my hand and soon had the fish resting in it. It was one of the biggest ones that I had seen and I was really pleased as it was the first chub I had ever caught. The hook came out easily and it was time for a photo before using the net to return the fish. 

Looking at my watch I could see that it was time to go, which was fine as I had accomplished what I sit down to do and reckoned that landing the chub I’d probably spooked to the fish in the swim anyway. I gathered up my gear and went home with a smile on my face and a spring in my step, “I love it when a plan comes together!”

Before I start writing about fishing I would just like to say, “Thanks,” to those of you who encouraged me to continue and made suggestions on how to get over my current lean spell. One of the ideas was to have a change of venue, which I had been meaning to do, especially now that the river season is open again, so it was back to the river for me.

The river is only small and very overgrown with no real public access so I have fished in a spot by a road bridge with room to sit down and put my tackle together but this swim wasn’t producing much last year so I thought that I would go for a walk along the bank and see where else I could find. I have walked it before and know that it is covered with nettles and other tall plants so I took my shorts off and put on jeans, wellies and a long-sleeved top, not much fun on what was going to be the hottest day of the year so far but I wasn’t going to be long.

I climbed over the gate and made my way through the field on a shorter piece of grass until it got near the river then had to wade through the undergrowth. I could see that one or two people had been this way before me as some of the plants were bent but there was nothing like a path or even a trail. I picked up a fallen branch to help me beat back the tallest nettles and soon found myself on the bank. To say that there was a swim would be an exaggeration, rather a space where you could actually see the water with a screen of plants in front of you to keep you hidden. I stayed and watched for a while and could actually see fish rising which showed me that there were still some here! I then moved up the river and found a few more places where I could fish although all very shallow and with plenty of weed. Then I came to a swiftly flowing section where the reeds had grown across and the stream had narrowed and was flowing quickly. The water was clear and I could see fish of all sizes from minnow to a couple of pounds, I couldn’t wait to fish it although I knew it would be difficult.

A couple of days later on a grey day when the temperature had become more bearable I spent some time in my shed sorting out my tackle and setting up my rods, replacing the waggler float on my match rod and putting a plain ledger weight on my quiver tip rod, a quick trip into town for maggots and I was ready. I had cut down my tackle to the bare minimum, rods, landing neat and one tackle bag but when I picked it up I could hardly believe how heavy it was! Still, I could manage and it wasn’t far to walk once I had parked the car. They say that time spent on reconnaissance is never wasted and because I had been there before I was soon able to make my way to the nearest swim and start fishing. I had to put my rods together and get my bait out a little way from the stream where there was a flat patch and then creep through the jungle towards the water. I quickly found that this style of wild fishing needs a great deal of care with your rod as there are plenty of things to snare your hook but I gently lowered the line in and was fishing. I threw a handful of maggots in, and set the float to about eighteen inches as I could see the bottom in places and had to guide it between clumps of flowing weed. A couple of casts and I was in, a small dace was soon on the bank. This was followed by several more and I was having fun but wanted to explore the other swims, especially the one with the larger fish and so I moved upstream.

The next swim was just as difficult to fish but again I had some dace then it was off to see if the bigger fish were there. I crept towards the bank and looked down, the fish were in the same place as before and trying not to spook them I dropped the float in, once again being careful to avoid the weed banks. The current took the float rapidly downstream away from the fish and I tried again without any luck. I soon realised that this wasn’t any good and that I needed to use the ledger to keep the bait on the bottom near the fish so I swopped rods and soon had the bait in exactly the right spot. I then experienced one of the most frustrating half hours of fishing as I could see the maggots on the hook and the fish swimming right past them taking not the blindest bit of notice! I was soon running out of time and decided that I would have to have a think about how to catch these fish and I just had time to go to the spot near the bridge on my way back to the car and give it a try. Again, this place was more overgrown than I had seen it before but I got my match rod out and after a few casts was into a very small dace proving that there were fish here as well! I noticed that the river was higher than in previous years, which was a good thing as it has been too shallow to fish in the past but couldn’t really work out why as we haven’t really had that much rain after quite a dry spell.

After that one dace it was time to go. I had had a successful morning catching wild fish in overgrown places and to my surprise although I had got snagged several times I was able to free my gear and didn’t lose anything. So, I had failed with the larger fish but the important thing is that I got my mojo back and went home happy! There is aways another day!

I seem to start every blog with saying that it has been some time and once again it has. Not that I haven’t been fishing as I have managed it a few times but there doesn’t seem to have been much to write about. I first started the blog as a way of analysing my fishing as a returner during covid after a long absence and had some initial success I have hit a wall and only seem to be catching rudd this year! Anyway, here is a round up since my last blog entry. 

Spring was late in my part of the world and we seemed to have a cold easterly wind which went on for ever. My next trip out was in the middle of April at my “go to” lake where I only managed to catch two rudd on the float rod and nothing, not even a twitch on the feeder. After several hours of getting colder and colder I packed up and went home!

My next session was an evening one at the pond over the road. It was only a couple of hours and the weed wasn’t too bad yet and I pulled out a number of small rudd, tench and carp. A pleasant time but looking back at the photos I noticed that I was wearing fingerless gloves so it must have been chilly!

Then there was a gap of about three weeks, it was still a chilly wind and so I decided to return to my “go to” water as I knew that I could hunker down behind some bushes and keep relatively warm. When I arrived, to my surprise there were people fishing in the sheltered swims, they had obviously had the same idea as me! I thought that I would stop and see how they were getting on and as I walked over to them an elderly chap stumbled towards me with blood streaming down his face. He said that he had just fallen over and seemed to be a bit shocked while his mate sat there carrying on fishing.

I asked him if he had a first aid kit, which he didn’t and so I got mine out of the car and spent a few minutes cleaning him up and put a plaster on his nose to try and stop the bleeding. It wasn’t too bad an injury, just a bit of a scrape, it didn’t need stitches or anything and he went back to his fishing! I moved around to the other side of the lake and put out the float rod and feeder rod and was soon catching rudd, only small ones and nothing on the feeder rod and after a few hours getting blown around I packed up and went home for a warm.

Then summer came, we were in second week of June and it was hot. The wind was warm and gentle. I decided to visit a water where there was a good chance of getting a carp as well as silverfish. This water is the only one that the club has left which needs a key for the gate padlock and it has been tricky to open although previously I have managed it. Today I couldn’t. I wiggled, I jiggled and eventually cursed but it didn’t do any good. I was stuck outside and after a few more attempt decided to give up and go somewhere else. It was a bit more of a drive but soon I was there, in the gate and unloading my gear ready for the long walk to the water. 

This lake is an old gravel pit with steep sides which makes it a bit tricky to fish although at the far end the banks are flatter and there are plenty of trees for shade, which was exactly what I needed and so I made my way there. As I passed each swim I looked in to see if there were any signs of fish but there was nothing. I got to my swim and set up with a carp rod with method feeder and boilie and my float rod. I was soon into rudd an was enjoying catching at almost a fish a cast but what I really wanted was the buzzer on the carp rod to sound. Instead of which I heard a voice behind me, it was a fellow angler who was fishing light and making his way around the lake. We chatted for a few minutes and he told me that there were plenty of carp on the surface in the swims I had walked past a couple of hours before. When he had gone I decided that it didn’t make much sense to keep fishing where the fish weren’t and took my stalker rod, white bread, landing net and mat and made my way to the other end of the lake. When I arrived I could see the fish and so threw some bits of bread in for them. I crept a bit further forward and cast out, nothing happened. The carp weren’t really interested in eating as they slowly cruised around with just the occasional fish looking at the bread and sometimes sucking it down and sometimes not. Nevertheless I kept on fishing and eventually got a bite, fish on! Soon he was into the water lilies and spat the hook leaving me disappointed and frightening all the other fish away. 

I waited for a few minutes but they were well and truly spooked and so I carried on walking around the lake as I could see carp in the distance and tried again. Once again the fish were very shy and showed no interest in my bread and as I was now directly in the sun and baking I decided to go back to my original spot in the shade for a drink and a spot of lunch. That accomplished I stuck the carp rod and feeder rod out and had a relaxing time while I didn’t get a bite at all. Towards mid-afternoon I decided to call it and went home, once again failing to catch a carp and only managing rudd. I have fished this water a number of times without catching a carp and thought that I was going to break my duck today but it was not to be.

So, there it is, my fishing trips this spring, not very exciting and I have got a bit disheartened at not catching anything decent. Maybe I had beginner’s luck when I first started but I would often come home buzzing from having caught a decent fish. Recently I have come home disappointed and a bit fed up. Still, I expect that everyone goes through these patches and I will just have to keep on keeping on and it will come good in the end.