End of the year 2017

I've enjoyed my fishing this year it's been frustrating at times due to weather and work.As you have probably read over the years I like to fish for various species,My Favourites Are Perch,Pike ,Bream,Tench and carp.I also like to fish the odd match aswell and I don't normally plan out the year ahead but 2018 I might just try it out.I haven't fished for pike now for over 3 years ,basically I lost enthusiasm and turned to perch of which I've thoroughly enjoyed and now have four 2 plussers under my belt.For me fishing isn't a planed out event for me,I go when I can even if the weather isn't on my side,I'm  not lucky enough to go with work commitments when conditions are bang on.So next year I hope to split my sessions up and fish some different waters.Ive got my eye on a Big Res for my love of feeder fishing,A new water to try For Carp.Maybe a Return to a Tench/Bream water if I can get on again.

An Old Picture,Chris said I should do a Rod Pod Blog,Maybe.

Anyway Tight Lines for 2018 and what remains of 2017 Stay safe....

A Real Hard Frost 28-12-17

Well the dream team were back together today for a Roach Perch Session .The frost was real heavy the night before ,would it prove to be a bite less day.We arrived at the lake,Chris set up in his usual swim fishing his helicopter and maggot feeder ,Me I set up further down fishing Lobworm close in feeding maggots.The wind was cold and the ground pretty frozen from the overnight frost.

View from my swim until the cold wind picked up and was making it difficult to watch the float,Chris had a few small roach under his belt until the hail stones came down real heavy.Chris must have moved his brolly 3 times during the hail periods we had during the morning,Me I had no brolly .

Around lunchtime after another heavy hailstone period again I decided enough was enough and decided to move further up past Chris into a more sheltered corner.As morning became afternoon Chris had caught a few skimmers and two Lovely roach,biggest 1lb 8 Oz.

Lovely conditioned roach .At around 2-30pm Chris suggested why don't we move lakes,of which probably suited me more than him.So we rounded up all the gear and moved.No more hailstones but the temperature had dropped and it was last chance saloon for me or a blank.Fresh lobworm,chopped up some lobs and fed a few maggots and sat back.There were plenty of swirls and perch chasing fry I was hoping they'd discover my Lobworm .Chris was casting around looking for a bite .Anorher coffee was poured trying to keep warm and occasionally topping the swim up with a few reds.

The moon in the distance was looking splendid in the sky ,but time was running out as we approached Dusk.

I just needed my float to sail away but as darkness was coming in thick and fast I admitted defeat as I could no longer see my float.A great day out catching up with Chris and an enjoyable day seeing Chris catching two lovely Roach.

Till the next time or Next year...................

Perch Perch Perch 23 December 2017

Well I've not been out since my last perch session due to a bad cold and I also have had an abscess in my mouth ,so more dental work in January.I decided to fish a different lake since my last session in a peg I've fished before .Tactics feeding red mags and lobs on the hook.I arrived at the lake to heavy mist,visibility was poor but as I was fishing close in I could see my float.Temps today were supposed to be 10 degrees,but felt like 4 with the north westerly that was blowing on my back.It would take about 2 hours before I had a small perch.I trimmed down my lob as the float would sail away and there was nothing on,just small perch grabbing the lob.I carried on feeding a few chopped lobs and 5/6 Mags as I was building the swim.Around lunchtime the mist seemed to be clearing,but it wasn't that long before it came back.My next bite produced a better perch ,so at least they were getting bigger.As the day wore on I was cold and believe me I was wrapped up ,as the coffee got lower and the food was gone I was wondering now if anything was goin to come from this swim.It was due to go dark at 4 pm so I decided 3-45 would be pack up time as I had to be home to sort something out.At around 3-25 my float went ,rod bent,pin clicking and I really thought I had a decent perch.As I netted my prize,I smiled it wasn't a monster but well worth the wait.

Went 1lb 4 ounces,was really pleased.Any way till the next time and Merry XMas Bloggers.

A Brace Of 2,S 18 November 2017

Well I was really looking forward to my first proper perch session of the winter but first I needed some Lobworms.My usual place I was getting them from you can get them once a fortnight but the last lot I had were Rubbish.So I went online to Willys Worms and ordered them before lunchtime Wednesday and they arrived Thursday afternoon,well packaged and looked top drawer.I decided to take my float rod and pin and ledger rods if the weather was rainy and I'd fish static with alarms.I arrived at the lake and the weather was predicting 7 degrees,North westerly wind and higher air pressure than last Saturday.I opted to float fish and headed to a peg I fancied where there is a slight drop off in the margins.I fed little and often and with little happening apart from the slight drizzle I headed back to the van for a butty and a brew.i went back to the peg and had another 30 minutes.I decided to move and fish another spot.Another nice deep margin spot that in an hour all it produced was a small perch.I decided at 1pm to go back to the morning peg and stick it out till dark or when I couldn't see my float.

I carried on where I left off feeding little and often and a few chopped lobs went in aswell.As the afternoon wore on my float was lifeless,it was cloudy,overcast it looked pretty perfect but seemed I would have to wait and be patient and hope the perch would feed.Good signs were fry jumping to my left and plenty of fish topping.As I sat there mid afternoon I topped up with a few more bits of Lobworms and within a few seconds my float sank I counted to 3 and struck,Fish on ,centrepin clicking,rod bending as it put up a good scrap.It went over the net,it looked good too I was happy my patience had payed off.

2.7 and a new PB by 3 ounces,well chuffed.I could of gone home and settled for this but onwards and upwards let's see if there was going to be more to come.I re baited my hook,fed the swim,swung the float out on the spot and poured my last coffee and kicked back knowing mission completed and was just trickling some maggots in aswell .It was probably a good 30 minutes before my next bite,a dip on the float and moved to the left and I struck,this felt better as it was heading for a snag.I got it under control and a few lunges and the stripy was in the net.Looking at the fish in the net I was thinking it was off similar size.Back out with the camera.

And it was bigger,And another PB 2.15.......

It was a wide fish,look at its belly.Time for one more I thought,wishful thinking on my part,as the light faded and I was struggling to see my float,I packed up very happy and headed off home.

Till the next time bloggers,Tight Lines .

No Lobs Just Maggots.11-11-17

Today would of been a Perch fishing day but no Lobs meant I would have to target something else on the lake.Now before I go on and no doubt Chris will be reading this at some point and throwing is turmeric outta the pram,The fish I would be goin for would be ROACH (Sorry Chris ).Anyway let's get down to what was happening and where.Well did you really think I was going to say where I was fishing HAHa...........LOL....So I would be fishing two rods,both on maggot feeders and maggot hookbaits .Id be fishing the deeper water in someone's favourite peg Shhhhhh He he.Upon arrival it was misty and low pressure,quite warm too.By mid morning all I had to show for my fishing would be two drop backs and no fish caught.The mist was still quite thick and I could still see my far bank markers I re casted my right hand rod,sat back and poured a coffee,then just as I was relaxing the bobbin dropped back ,rose and hit the rod blank.Fish on,felt breamy with a couple of jagged knocks until it kited under my other line.I guided it safely away and now I'm thinking Big Roach.As I slipped the net under my prize I realised now that my roach dream was a .........................

Tench,you wouldn't believe it would ya,it's November aswell.As the morning wore on I managed 4 Roach in lovely condition a Skimmer and plenty of drop backs then nothing.The sky had cleared,the sun was out but the temp had dropped from the morning.The fishing now was non existant has I paced my drink and cigarettes out of boredom waiting for my next bite,and yes it was another small roach followed by a skimmer.Before the witching hour approached I had a nice perch.As darkness approached nothing was happening,no Ciggarettes or coffee left and time to pack up and head to the Chippy to warm up.I learned some things today,1 I got the hook pattern wrong ,a lot of drop backs caused lost fish .And No 2 don't fish ya mates swim.........

Cold maggots "................

Anyway till the next time bloggers,Tight Lines ..............

November 5 2017 Dream Team on the River

It's been a long time since the dream team fished together.Yes Chris is back out for our winter campaign,glad he's covered the motorbike up and is always a pleasure to fish with him,by the way it was his idea of dubbing us the Dream Team.Anyway let's get on with the blog and I'll tell you all about it.We had discussed midweek the plan was to fish a stretch of the ribble if the levels permitted and we had a stretch in mind,well I thought so till Chris said fancy going to a different stretch,so me being so kind we headed to the different stretch.When we arrived it was blue sky's,no cloud cover and full sunshine.You can't order the weather you won't so make the most of it and let's go for a long long walk .I had two tactics today,tip rod,maggot feeder and maggot on the hook and then switch to liquidised bread and bread on the hook for some chub .Chris would be on the pin fishing maggot trotting.

Chris getting prepared to wade out.

Float on its way through on first trot.

Chris casting out.3 Trout and a grayling and then Chris came back for a brew.I was still waiting for my first bite and as Chris sat down ,2 Taps I'm in.Grayling on for me .

After the grayling this was followed up by two trout.Chris was back trotting and was into more trout.After lunch we moved into another swim.Chris swapped to feeder now .Wasnt long before I was catching dace one a chick,only small.Chris had a few too.As the day wore on we moved again ,time for some bread I thought and Chris wanted to trot a swim he'd had success in before.We settled in to our different swims.The conditions were still bright and I was convinced I might get some chub action .

Chris running his float through his new swim .Id  managed a couple of minnows on maggot before I'd gone in with the bread.Chris could only manage another minnow whilst he was trotting.The bread wasn't working.The sun was dropping slowly,temps dropping so one more move.

 The last trot for Chris but it wasn't happening.

My new companion,I'm sure he wanted me bread........"......................

A lovely day,not great for fishing.Enjoyed being out with Chris again.

Tight lines,Till the next time.

Its Been Too Long 23-9-17

Well it seems like ages since I last fished the river,I've been very busy at work and other stuff has got in the way of me getting on the bank.I finally arrived at the river at 6pm giving me plenty of time to get a peg and set up for the evening .The river was looking good and a nice level,no crap coming down so I decided to bang a float stop on each rod to catch any debris just in case the river started rising.5 Oz leads and pva bags would be my chosen tactic tonite.As usual pellet on one rod and boilie on the other rod were the bait choice,with 4 mm pellets in the Pva bags.It was a lovely evening,plenty of cloud cover and very warm.The peg I chose was about 60 yards down from where I last fished,one rod mid river the other slightly upstream.As I settled down for a coffee a few twitches started so a nice early indication fish were in the swim.It would be just before darkness and my first pull was a good one,Barbel on and a good fight in the flow as it tried to head for a snag ,thankfully I guided him away and over the net.

A nice barbel,fell to a Pellet,Game on.....................

As darkness fell it seemed to get warmer ,the bats were out in force tonite one flew into my rod.An hour went by and a double twitch I struck and fish no 2 was a lovely chub which came to the net.

A Lovely chub,Another pellet casualty.

As the night went by with no further knocks or twitches I decided to re position my rods to search out the barbel.More coffee,more cigarettes and nothing to show .Then a twitch and I'm in again,nothing big but a first on a pellet.

Fish no 3 ,A Dace to a 14 mm pellet..................

I packed up at 11pm it was dead and nothing happening.Nice to get out and chuffed with the catches

All the damage done by pellet.................

Till I'm out next Bloggers ,Tight Lines.

Gingham Fishery 2-9-17

So today was the annual fishing match with Breaking Surface Forum,of which I may add there now on Facebook as Breaking Surface Uk.14 would be fishing the match.Upon arrival at the fishery I was looking forward to see how much it had changed since last June when we fished the last match as the owner had been installing new steps down to the pegs last year and some new pegs.Well nothing had changed,the banks were overgrown,the path around the fishery needed strmming and would be difficult if you had a trolley .The peg I had and others were just soil and there was hardly any room to set up.The steps are steep and there is no longer handrails to get down to the pegs.so in a total of nearly 15 months nothing has happened work wise .Ive fished matches on here before and pleasure fished ,but after today I don't think I will be going back.The overgrown banks just attract midges and unless you have repellent you will get bit to death,anyway let's get on with the match.......................

All in was 10 and I drew peg 3,Eddie had drew peg 14. It was a lovely warm day,not even a ripple on the water .My method would be method feeder and slow sinking feeder.For the first hour apart from a couple of liners and a lost fish I had nothing to show .Fish were cruising in front of me,so a change to slow sinking feeder saw me catch 3 carp within the next 45 minutes.The idea was to cast the slow sinking feeder out,3 pellets over the top and leave it for 40 seconds on the bottom as you can get a bite if they follow the feeder down.Fishing round the lake was real slow,not many carp coming out,the lads to my left were catching small stuff on the pole which seemed a good method to fish as the carp could turn up at any time.As time flew by it was getting frustrating as I threw everything at them but with no bites.For the last 30 minutes I fished the method as I thought with the pellets I'd pinged out maybe they would be feeding,How wrong was I ,time ticked down and it was all out and time to weigh.

My Bait tray.

Over grown vegetation.

You can see on far side pallet pegs,not solid at all.

1 22lb

2 21lb

3 17 lb

Me 10-13 lb 

I couldn't remember the exact ounces of 1-2-3 but not great weights for fishing here.

Tight lines,Match gear packed away,Time to get back to the river.

Finally Back Fishing 26-8-17

Well it seems like I havnt fished for ages,my last session was an evening carp fishing on a local water of which I caught a lovely common .I set the camera up ,got the fish ready for a quick snap for it to slide from the mat back into the water ,I was gutted as I didn't have another bite that evening .............

Wet mat..............

Anyway in between being busy at work and goin to America for a much needed break,I couldn't wait to wet a line on my return.Seems the rivers have been up and down while I've been away and as this last week I've suffered from jet lag,I was definitely gonna hit the river for some much needed barbel fishing on a different stretch that was carrying some water.I arrived at the river and immediately knew where I was heading.Ive only caught chub from this swim but I know barbel get caught here so I set up my rods.Usual start pellet on left hand rod,boilie on my right hand rod.I would be fishing feeder on both rods with a mix of crushed halibut pellets,hemp and a good squirt of MC.I was approaching this swim differently tonite,casting each rod out every 20-25 minutes to get some bait down before dark and once it goes dark casting out every 30 mins on each rod.It wasn't long before my left hand rod pulled over,felt chubby and wasn't on long.I checked my hook and it was blunt. A quick change of hook length and fresh pellet and re casted to the spot.It would be just before the sun went down when my left hand rod twitched violently,barbel time and after a few good runs,She was mine and in the Net.

Second barbel of the season with part of its tail missing.I recasted and sat back with a nice coffee as the sun went down with no further action as darkness came.Lots of midges out tonite,so annoying but I had my spray to keep them away.At around 9-40 my left hand rod flew over and a better feeling barbel was on the end working my clutch for quite a few runs,Eventually and the third attempt I netted what looked like a double.I reeled in my other rod and rested the barbel.I got the barbel ready for a Picture then weighed her.Ive never caught a deformed barbel before,a very long fish with a slight kink in  the body.

A cracker at 9-8...........

Look how much the tail dips down..............

Any way a good evening out,nice result 2 Barbel............

Tight lines Bloggers,glad to be back.............

Photos From the Bank

Browning Rig Tube ,holds 15 Rigs

Low River.

Some Boulders up river,Tackle Graveyard .

Big Boulder up River.

Anker charger,40 minutes to charge iPhone 6s,brilliant bit of kit.

Soon be dark,But they Didn't bite.

A carpers dream,Handles lined up.

Tight lines till I'm next out Bloggers.

A Tale of Two Saturday's

So last Saturday the weather was glorious again and I couldn't wait to get to the river for a barbel session.When I set of it was lovely but as I neared the river the weather changed and it was now spitting and I thought it would clear up.Once I'd parked up it was now heavy drizzle with a driving wind and unfortunately for me I hadn't got any waterproofs or an umbrella ,so basically I was screwed and retreated to the van and give it an hour to see if it cleared up.It got worse and I decided it was time to go home,Gutted.............

Anyway roll on last night ,another glorious day and with no rain forecast I headed to the river knowing it was gonna be a lovely evening.I loaded the barrow and went on the long walk down river to a swim I hoped was free,only saw one angler and had the swim I wanted.Tactics this session would be feeders on both rods,Pellet and Boilie Hook baits.My feeder mix was the usual crushed halibut pellets,crushed boilie and Hemp and a Good splash of MC Glug.I decided to put 6 feeder fully over two spots,rest the swim and have a coffee then start fishing .I cast both rods out on the spots and sat back taking in all the wildlife and scenery of a low river.It wasn't long before a huge snatch on the boilie rod which was probably a chub.I reeled in now bait.This happened twice and I changed to a short hair.I was getting twitches on my right hand rod too.

The Ducks were hungry tonite but where were the hungry barbel.I kept casting every 25 minutes and before it went dark I changed hookbaits to fresh and cast out for the last time as it was nearly dark.

It was getting dark now and what an awesome red sky.At 10-15 pm my right hand rod hooped over and my clutch was going into meltdown as I played a strong pulling barbel.At the second attempt I netted my prize.I reeled in my left hand rod as I was resting the barbel and wanted to take pictures.

First of the night,a long Barbel at 7.5...........

I rebated both rods and cast out,coffee time and take a breather.It was slow going still,a few taps but nothing really was happening.The temp was dropping now and mist was drifting down the river and the moon was so bright in the distance.

Not a great shot of the moon,no need for isotopes in that glow.At around 11-25 pm my left hand rod hooped over and another awesome fight of these fantastic Barbel,plenty of clutch action and I was thinking it could be a double.I waded out and netted my second barbel of the night.

A nice chunk Barbel,went 8 on the dot.A pleasing session that made up for last weeks nightmare with the bad weather.Nothing came after this barbel ,so I headed back on the long walk very happy catching two barbel.

Till the next time bloggers.

Last Minute Bite

So barbel season is underway and my first session last Saturday resulted in a blank in a peg that's a banker for me of which I've only ever blanked once before.So this Saturday I arrived at the river with a long walk on my mind to unknown territory for me.I loaded the barrow and realised no chair,Damn I wasn't happy.I used my unhooking mat and sat on my barrow I thought.I arrived at my swim and had a good look around at areas to fish.I was soon set up,boilie left hand rod,pellet right hand rod and fired a few chopped Dumbells out and a pva bag of crushed Dumbells on each rod.i sat back poured a coffee and was surveying the water.Fish were topping,I saw a big salmon jump 3 times,now that would be a big catch having a salmon on.Nothing was happening and I was contemplating moving 100 yards up river until I spotted head torches on the other bank.I decided to sit it out,I used my pellet rod as a roaming rod ,upstream ,across stream,casting every 30 mins.At about 10 pm I casted my left hand boilie rod out with a fresh bag and sat back,yet another brew.Id made my mind up at 10-30pm that I was packing up at 11-30 as it was a long walk back and I had too work in the morning.So sat there motionless rods,I was getting frustrated until my right hand rod twitched,but nothing came off it.so with time ticking away as 11-15 approached I had a slight pull on my boilie rod,go on I thought.Then nothing so bang on 11-29 I got up to reel my right hand rod and my left hand rod pulled over,fish on and what a fight.Screaming clutch on 2 occasions and my first Barbel of the season hit the net.

Had a damaged Tail,fought like a double.Till the next time bloggers,Tight Lines .

Anker Powercore 20100 Charger

I've only just purchased this product and thought I'd share this for those that want to charge ther iPad mini ,iPhone or ecig whilst out fishing.If I'm out fishing for carp or barbel I might look at social media or even eBay whilst waiting for a bite.The trouble with doing that is it drains your battery very quickly and I know I could use a car charger,But that's no good back in the van whilst fishing.So after being recommended the Anker Powercore I thought I'd do a short blog on it and a review once I've been on the bank.It weighs in at 12.5oz ,comes with a nice protective bag,the charging lead and two USB ports so you could charge two items at once.It will charge an iPad mini Twice and an iPhone up to 7 charges

Of which is more than enough,even for a quick overnighter.This product is a ultra high capacity power bank ,with a powerful 4.8 A output .

The Powercore,switch on side to power up and 4 led lights.

Two USB ports and charging point.

Nice protective case.

Charging lead.

The cost of the Anker Powercore is £33.Might seem high to some,but to me it's essential whether I'm fishing or in my vehicle.I will do a review next time I'm out.Until then keep it Level and Tight Lines.