I Hate Rod Pods 30-8-13

Ive never kept a rod pod any longer than over winter for rocky banks for pike fishing,or during the spring to summer.I bought a diawa mission pod as a stop gap because i needed it.I was surfing various sites for a much lighter one and saw a KJB rod pod on a buy it now or best offer,made an offer and was accepted.
It came today and its classic old school and really light.It fits my bream and tench fishing perfect.

Will look better when my Delks and rods on it.....................................................

Boilie Stop Or Glue

Boilie stops for hair rigs must be the most popular when using most baits,but when it comes to pellet,you could lasso or pellet band.Now i prefer to glue my boilies and pellets on the hair,i make my rigs and leave the hair long ,then dependant on the size of bait i can glue my pellet or boilie as close to the hook as i want,or add more baits...............

Probably the best glue ive used.Trouble is with these types,by the time i go again its blocked up and hard to pierce the nozzle while on the bank.Always carry a spare in the van........................

Then i discovered these at my local trade centre,very strong also and more user friendly............

Two pre-drilled pellets ,i slide long hair through the pellets,slide a float stop on,blob of glue on float stop.Then slide pellets to required length,then glue both pellets together....................................

Summer bank holiday barbel 26-8-13

Well what a lovely day the bank holiday was,garden all finished and julie working,i thought i would get out for a barbel session.I headed up the 61 and within 4 mile of jct 30 a traffic jam,soon cleared and was back on track.I arrived at the river at 12-30 and it looked lower than friday night.I headed down river to where i fished friday.I had a few knocks on one rod and no more action,time to move..................

Thirsty work ...............................................
I moved down river to another swim,taking in the wildlife and soaking up the sun.I wasnt confident of a bite.
I kept casting the feeder every 15 mins,hoping to draw some fish up,im thinking by mid afternoon i would of been better coming after tea.

This fella covered some swims today....................................
Anyway it was fast approaching make your mind up,move or stay....Then the rod hooped over,im in.

Low conditions,bright sunshine.Only bite,very happy.................................................

New Personal Bests

The Ribble -Roach 1.12

The Ribble Chub 4.7

Barbel Galore 24-7-13

Finally aranged a river session with camoman a.k.a Clive.We headed up the m61 at 5pm to a new stretch of the ribble.We arrived at the river which was up a bit and headed down river and fished a beached area at 50 yards apart.It wasnt long before i was into a 7 lb Barbel...................

Then followed by a couple of small chub,looked like the paste was working..............

Then as darkness came,so did the barbel.This one was 7.5.I had in total 7 barbel and 2 chub then

a 1.12 Roach and a new PB ...........................................

As the evening wore on the action was unbelievable,i lost a really good fish.Then the same rod re cast hooped over,clive came over to take a picture,my right hand rod roared off,i said get this clive becaude i was resting a fish,then..................................

a 8.2 for clive on my rod,well pleased ,saved a blank...........................................

A great evening,s fishing in great company,hope to do it again soon............................................

Shimano Purist Rod & Net Quiver 19-8-13

I wasnt really in the market for a new quiver,but i picked up a couple of whiskers and they wont go in my 2 rod quiver.I spotted this on ebay and made an offer.Its very light with the 2 rods,landing net pole.The other pocket would take an umbrella.I put my net inside my mat with my sticks.So this quiver will double up for all my river and Bream fishing.

Thers another pocket on the other side..................................

The rods exposed at the top end with tip protector that comes with the quiver................

Northern Angler Homemade Feeders 18-8-13

Just purchased some feeders from Northern Angler Lee Barlow at £1-50 each.These feeders are very well made and come in 50 60 and 70 gram.He will soon be making them up to 6 oz.If you would like to purchase any contact lee at coarseandpredator@gmail.com of drop him a message on his blog http://leebarlow82.blogspot.co.uk/

An evening on the river with Northern Angler 16-8-13

well i finally arranged a session on the river with my mate Lee.We arrived at the river at just after 5pm,an old haunt for me,nice to be back for a change.We headed over to an area lee had some knowledge of,unfortunatley it wasnt fishable.We headed down river to swims we knew well.We were now faced with a fallen tree over a 9ft drop.

Lee crossing the tree,after he had cleared the vegetation..............................

We headed to two pegs a 100 yards apart,a tight swim for lee and me under the spooky tree.
We both had an hour and moved,me down river and lee up river.Just after 8-45 Lee came to join me in the next peg.Wasnt long before my rod hooped over and a good fight produced a spasher 5 lb,er.

Thanks for the picture and netting lee.........................................

I stayed in theis peg ,and lee moved up river to the stalking pegs.I fished till 10-15 in my peg and went to look for Lee,and dropped in at the side of him.

The sun going down in the peg i caught my fish.We didnt catch anymore and headed back to the van.Also Lee never shared the crisps he had with me,Lol....................................................

Browny 1 Barlow 0 ,Good company as usual and as been catching some nice fish aswell...
http://leebarlow82.blogspot.co.uk/ Have a read of Northern Anglers Blog.

Late night on the river 10-8-13

I arrived at the river at 6-30pm.A lovely evening walk as i headed up river ,i arrived a spot i fancied about a mile walk from the van,on a bend.I set up two rods,one with feeder and one with a pva bag.Pellet as usual and shrimp sardine boilie.It took about just over an hour to get my first bite,a chub.........................

Chub 4.7,New Ribble P.B................................................

A couple of pictures from my swim.....................................

It was getting near midnight and id not had a twitch,i decided to stay till 12-15pm,then my rod hooped over
a good scrap and a barbel was netted and rested,dissapointed the self take didnt come out................

A scrapper 7 barbel...............................................
Both fish fell to the shrimp and sardine boilie,well pleased...........................................

Fishing Memories 6-8-13

I was thinking today about early fishing memories when i was a child.It all started about 1978,well i think it was.We fished two waters,one was the Dam at pendlebury and the other was Clifton marina,which now is called Manchester park lake.Most of our summer sessions were at clifton marina,a 12 ft shakespeare float rod and an intrepid reel,it was all float fishing.They were building the m62 motorway and in the middle of the marina was a telegraph pole with phone lines coming from it.Our local tackle shop belonged to eddie battersby.It was only a small shop with a glass counter,tackle in the window.Me and my mate used to window shop,simply because we never went in without any money.

Eddie was a nice guy,handy my uncle new him well,got my first air rifle from there aswell.Shame the shop is now a loans 2 go,the last owner was just not commited enough,simple............................

My first seat box was a plywood construction wrapped in pvc,a nice cushion though.My mate said dont buy that,it weighs a ton,i said we get the bus.By the way he was right,walking up to the bus stop at clifton was a killer,but it was comfy................................

We spent most of our time catching gudgeon,well i did.I was really into it by now and asked my mum could i upgrade my reel to a better one,mum replied ask your dad.I did and was told i could not have a mitchell match or an abu ,anyways settled for a mitchell 324,happy now.

We used to colour our maggots red with cake colouring,we were covered in the stuff and it wouldnt wash out,lol........

Now wheres my maggot box,oh dear its in the garage in an old cupboard,you can guess now,lid off flies out and run......................

My biggest regret from quiting fishing at the time i left school to pursue a golf career was selling my stuff.
My uncle knew a rod builder in bolton and took me too his house as a treat and he built me a custom fiberglass rod for spinning,8ft.I miss that rod........................................

I did find the original mitchell 324 box at my mums,full of hair curlers.I purchased a mitchell 324 at a car boot,just for sentimental reasons

Mitchell 324....................................

Original Box......................................

Not a minter......................................

Wychwood folding landing net

Ive just purchased the new wychwood folding net,it is £24.99.A great deep net ,that folds up nice and neat and fits inside my un-hooking mat.It replaces me using my 42 inch net ,which just wasnt practical.

Mine is the large size.................................

The net rolled up.........................................

Easily comes away from the spreader block...................................

First barbel of the season 3-8-13

Ive wanted to get on the river sooner than today,but the with the river being low and clear has stopped me going.With the rain fall we have had this week the river is a better level.I planned to leave home about 4pm and fish a new stretch of the ribble.On arriving at the river,there were two anglers fishing the comfy looking pegs,i headed up river to look for some faster water................

After looking at two pegs i decided to drop into one with the faster flow,tactics,feeder and boilie and p.v.a bag and pellet,both hook baits wrapped in my paste.I up streamed the feeder rod and down streamed the bag rod,time for a brew.......................

I decided to sit it out in the peg after about an hour,i was too relaxed to go roaming.I ended up casting about quite a few times looking for some deeper area,s.At about 8-30 i found a nice deep area,i dropped both rods about 20 yards apart.

At 8-50pm my feeder rod gave two good knocks,im in.After resting the barbel,a quick pic and she swam off strong.I really thought as it went dark i would be into more,that wasnt the case.Anyway a wet net and my first Barbel,happy days......................