Month: <span>September 2021</span>

My regular readers, or should that be reader, might have noticed that I haven’t been posting lately. This is due to me getting hayfever/sinusitis for the first time this year and taking a while to sort out medication that would help. I don’t mind having the symptoms of a cold but when it got to the point of not having the energy to go fishing then it was time to take action!

I actually had a health check on Monday, for those of you not yet in your third age and who don’t know, you can have them every five years. It is just a load of questions and blood pressure and blood tests but I suppose it is a screen for problems that may occur. Anyway the girl asked me how I was and when I told her she got a specialist nurse in straight away who prescribed me a more serious nose spray which has actually started to work so I went fishing. Blanked. That’s it really!

I felt OK to go and had a bit of time one afternoon so thought that I would go and stay into the evening. Went to my “go to” water where I always catch something and walked round to see a few carp feeding on the surface so set up a rod with some bread but they weren’t having any and as the afternoon wore on they disappeared. I then switched to a method feeder and also put my feeder rod out but nothing. Still, it was a sunny afternoon and I was just enjoying being there so I wasn’t too unhappy. At about five thirty I thought that I would move swims and put the float rod out for a few rudd or roach for a bit of fun before packing up but I wasn’t even getting them!

Then I got a bite on the feeder rod, in fact it was so strong that the rod was on its way into the water so I had to grab it quick! It was a strong fish, must have been a carp and it swam to the right, left and then the line went slack so I thought I had lost it. In fact it had swum towards me and gone into some tree roots next to my swim as I found out when I reeled in. The next half an hour was spent trying to coax it out, letting the line go slack hoping that the fish would move and eventually just applying pressure until the inevitable happened and the line parted. It was very strange as once the fish had got in the roots the line was locked up and there was just no movement in it at all. Anyway, as it was nearly dark I packed up and went home having achieved my first blank on that water. Still, never mind, it happens to us all!

I suppose there is always next time but I think I will give that water a break for a while until it perks up a bit. The club has plenty more which I ought to try although some of them close soon for the winter. I hope that the medication keeps working and that the pollen count gets lower so that all this sitting out in the country while fishing is not going to affect me too much. Then I will have something to write about in my blog!

What with life, family and a flu jab which left me feeling rough for a couple of days I didn’t manage to go fishing last week so when I found that I had no commitments this Monday morning I thought that I would grab the chance. I hadn’t prepared anything as I had still been feeling under the weather and didn’t know how I would feel when I woke up but I was fine so I just loaded all my gear in the car, made some tea and sarnies and off I went. When I don’t have anything in mind I usually revert to my “go to” lake which is near at hand and not far to walk from the car, which is what I did this time.

Parking next to the lake I decided to have a look at the nearest swims and in one of them several carp were basking at the surface under some tree branches. I quietly crept away and got my landing net, and mat ready then looked for a rod that was set up for surface fishing and found that I didn’t have one. The nearest thing was an adjustable zig rig so I put that one together and made for the swim to find that the fish had gone!

Undaunted I cast out, right into the overhanging branches! Fortunately I was able to retrieve my rig and cast out again near to where the fish had been. Then I had a sit down and recovered my breath from all the running round I had been doing. I kept my eye on the water and although I could see carp around there were none near my rig! After a while I decided to put out my feeder rod only to find that the quiver tip had split in half! As I had no others with me I put that rod away and got out the float rod thinking that I would have some fun catching rudd and roach for a while. Well that was my idea but clearly not the fishes as I didn’t get so much as a bite for an hour then the float went under and I was in. Not a big fish and as it got closer I could see that it was a skimmer bream. I was dithering over whether to use the net or just swing it in and as I was thinking it got off the hook and swam away! I should have used the net!

It was still quiet and nearly lunchtime then I had another bite, the float was going sideways like it often does with a rudd. I struck but missed it so re-baited with a maggot and tried again. Nothing doing so I was thinking about what to do next, have lunch or go for a walk round and see what was happening. I took the rods out and laid them down, I knew they would be quite safe as I was the only one on the lake and there is no public access and went for a walk. I got right round the other end of the lake where it was sheltered and warm in the sun and could see carp on the surface in several swims. That decided it, there was no point in carrying on fishing where the fish weren’t! I hurriedly packed my gear into the car for the drive to the other side of the water although this still left me with about fifty yards to walk. I was glad that I had brought my barrow and soon had my gear at one of the swims and set up a rod with a bubble float for surface fishing. I looked in the next swim which was in the corner of the lake and there were fish about three feet from the bank. I went and got my rod, landing mat and net, baited the hook with bread and cast out near the fish. Nothing happened, a couple of them looked at it and turned away then there was a sudden swirl and they were gone.

Undaunted I retrieved the line and the bread fell off, which it tends to do, so I re-baited and cast out a bit further to where some fish were showing. This time I got a bit more interest, one fish looked at the bread then backed off, another fish took the bread then spat it out then the third fish came in and took the bait and I was in! I could feel the fish pulling and I was adjusting the clutch but it didn’t seem to be doing very much and the handle of the reel was going backwards every time I took my hand off it. I was a bit confused and the fish took full advantage of this to get into some rushes. I put some side strain on, putting the rod tip into the water and eventually the fish came free and it was time to think about landing it. I reached back for the net, which had got caught in some brambles and while I was freeing it the fish was off again and the reel handle was winding backwards. When I got the net sorted I looked down at the reel and saw a complete birds nest of a tangle around it so I gave up on it and started to play the fish pulling the line with my hand. Fortunately for me he wasn’t pulling too strongly by now and I was able to get him into the net and onto the bank, which was probably more than I deserved!

I always take the hook out of the fish first, I could see the shank of this one and could reach it with my forceps and it was soon out. I weighed him in the net and he came to 11lb, then time for a few photos before retuning him to the water, it was then that I noticed the dead and decomposing seagull next to me! 

I went back to the swim with all my gear and sat down to sort out the tangle and it was then that I realised that the reel was set to backwards wind, which I never put it on and explains why I was confused. I then set to re-bait the hook but there was no hook there! I must have broken the line with the forceps and when the line came free assumed that the hook was out. I felt really bad but there was nothing I could do about it now, just remember to check more carefully in future. 

It was now gone two o’clock and I hadn’t had any lunch so I decided that I ought to eat and have a break, so I did. After lunch I put a rod with a method feeder out and cast hopefully at carp who were patrolling in the distance but caught nothing else. The fish were no longer close in and the lake seemed to have gone quiet. I did get a visit from a bailiff again, the club are really going to town on checking its waters this year and soon it was time to go home and get the dinner. Only one fish but it was a good one so I felt happy, I really like catching carp on the surface, seeing them take the bait is a really exciting moment! 

A couple of trips this week, the first to the local canal with the Mrs, her first time out with me and she only came because I promised we wouldn’t be long and she could bring her knitting! I even gave her the comfy chair while I perched on an old stool that I had when I was a kid! How’s that for love and devotion? Anyway we didn’t take the car as it is less than ten minutes walk but my rucksack got heavier and heavier on the way, must give it a clear out again!

The fishing was poor, I put the feeder rod out but gave up after a while as every time I brought it in it was covered in weed and I suspected that the bait was hidden from the fish. I only had one bite on the float rod which was a small rudd. This time last year I was pulling roach and rudd out of that spot every cast! Anyway I got fed up when I cast into a tree and had to re-thread the rod so we came home. Funny thing is my wife said that she actually enjoyed it!

I woke up early the next morning and as there were no plans for the day I thought that I would go to one of the club waters where I had success before with carp and tench. I arrived about eight, which is early for me, and as there were only a couple of anglers there I was able to choose a swim with no trees overhead! There was a bit of a chilly breeze though so I set up my brolly to give me shelter, it is still cloudy here in the east although it did brighten up a bit during the day. I was fishing method feeders on the carp rod and feeder rod with boilie and sweet corn as baits. I cast the carp rod far out and fished the feeder rod close in near a reed bed.

Time passed and not much happened apart from me filling up the feeders regularly and a squirrel coming to visit me. It was a nice spot and very peaceful so I was trying to enjoy that and be patient and not get frustrated at not catching. I also decided not to persevere with the same methods and to change things around a bit so put a smaller hemp boilie on the carp rod and maggots on the feeder. I did get a few knocks on the feeder but didn’t manage to catch anything. 

My thoughts were miles away when I heard a voice from behind my umbrella, it was a bailiff asking to see my membership. This is the first time I have ever seen a club bailiff and I think it is because people have been leaving a mess and abusing the waters. He told me that other people hadn’t been catching much either, which made me feel slightly better, maybe it is these north and easterly winds that we have been having for a couple of weeks now. Later in the morning I changed to the float rod and immediately began catching rudd quite close into the bank. This kept me occupied for a while as it was a nice change to be catching but as I have said before I had hoped to have moved on to catching bigger fish. As it was lunchtime I took the float rod out and just left the carp rod so that I would get some peace in which to eat my sandwiches.

While I was eating I thought about why I wasn’t catching. I had seen carp jumping, bubbles in the water and rings where they were coming to the top, I had changed tactics, used groundbait and particles but still wasn’t having any luck. I decided to make another change and fish the carp rod closer in where I could catapult some pellets and boilies and go back to the feeder rod with a pellet on a hair rig but before I could I had another visit from a different bailiff, the club are certainly patrolling their waters well at the moment!

I set up the feeder rod and put it back out next to the reed bed and relocated the carp rod. Just as I had got it set up I noticed that the quiver tip was bending round and the rod was jumping. I quickly picked it up and I was into a fish, I wasn’t sure what it was as it was shaking its head just like a carp and I had to play it fairly gently as I was on quite light line but on the other hand I couldn’t let it get into the reeds. After a short fight I got it up to the surface and could see that it was a tench. I netted it with my coarse net, which was probably a mistake as it only just fitted and the handle bent alarmingly and quickly had it on the mat for a photo. I did notice that it had quite a bit of mouth damage and turned it over for the photo to get its better side.

I decided to weigh it as I am not yet experienced enough to guess accurately and it came in at exactly four pounds. On its return to the water it quickly swam away and I put the feeder rod back in hoping to catch some more. Then it was back to the carp rod and a few minutes playing with my catapult firing out boilies. I had had one or two bleeps on the buzzer but nothing that developed into a bite so decided to give it a bit longer then get my other rod out and fish an adjustable zig rig in case the fish were feeding higher in the water. It didn’t make any difference as I didn’t catch anything else and by mid afternoon I packed up and went home. Before I left I took a final look around and a couple of photos of the swim to show that I had left it in good order. It is such a shame that mindless morons can spoil things for the majority but it seems to happen in all areas of life.

So, not a great session but I did catch one decent fish, I am beginning to wonder if I had beginner’s luck last year or maybe it is the high pressure and cold winds stopping the fish eating, I will just have to wait and see!