Winter Wonderland
Posted by paul mc, Nov 30 2005, 09:10 PM
just a short one this time 
After doing a workparty last weekend which involved pulling chopped down trees from an island across a frozen lake, we went to a small stream after some grayling. The stream is called wincham brook and is one of the few places i can class as a banker when most other places are frozen over. The set up consisted of 11ft rod with 3lbb line straight thru to the hook, 3AAA stick float with all the shot about 8" from the 16 hook which was dressed with 3bronze maggots.
The stream ranges from acouple of inches deep to about 3ft at the deepest, having all the shot near to the hook makes it easier to change depth for each swim fished. After trying 5 different swims without a bit we stopped at a deepish pool on a bend for a much welcome cuppa.After moving on thru 4 other swims i eventually ended up with 1 trout (about 2lb) and lost 3 dace at the net, i'll blame the new pattern hooks i was trying for the first time for losing the dace.
We eventually called it a day after about 3 hours fishing without even seeing a targeted grayling.
I have just booked a few days off work around the 20thDec where i will be trying the severn or the Dane again for some chub, hopefully ill be out spinning before going the match to watch LFC(the champions of Europe) beat Wigan on saturday morning 
Hopefully my next blog should involove a few pike, a couple of chub and LFC climbing up the league after beating the pie eaters 
River Severn
Posted by paul mc, Nov 14 2005, 09:27 PM
After my last episode on the river Dane after falling in the river i thought my luck has got to change sooner rather than later, so with this in mind i ventured down to the river severn last thursday(7th Nov) ignoring the warning of floods. River calll said that Abermule(near welshpool) was only 1.3m up and steady at 00:01 so i thought it would be on its way down after a night of clear skies and no rain. Arriving at the river i found it to be about 2 ft from the top of its banks and like chocolate. Not being put of by this i walked the stretch as i have not fished here for over 3years and spied a couple of likely swims. After tying 4 different swims giving each one about an hour without a bite and using leads upto 6 oz I decided to move onto my next stretch near shrewsbury for a night session, as i was having trouble keeping my bait static due to large debris coming down with the current.
Upon arrival at the shrewsbury stretch i found the river to have burst its banks and completly covering the fields leading to the bank.I decided to call it a day and after the short walk back to the van i jumped in and went to pull of only to find it stuck in the soft mud, after about 1 hour of lots of wheel spining, digging and shoving things under the back wheels(transits are rear wheel drive) to try and get some traction i eventually managed to pull away. On the way home i stopped off at Atcham Bridge and took a couple of pics see below.
Not one of the best days fishing with lots of walking and hard work getting my van unstuck but still a hundred times better than a good day at work 
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Rain Glourious Rain
Posted by paul mc, Nov 9 2005, 09:49 PM
Its been a while since my first blog as i have been preparing for a new job interview and getting my gear ready to fish the high rivers. Anyway after 2-3days of heavy rain i decided to get down to the River Dane near congleton Cheshire(the stretch near to the M6 if anybody knows the area at all) on sunday 6th Nov. After calling rivercall and finding out that the river, to my suprise was only 0.4M up and steady, i ventured down there. After the 1 mile (ish) walk with my tackle to get to the river i eventually arrived and it look just as good as when i was last there.Strange that it always seems to look good to me (pitty the missus doesnt have the same effect ).Anyway after choosing my first swim i baited up with a couple of handfuls of 14mm Halibut pellets, I left it for 20minutes whilst tackled up. All ready to go i casted in with a 3oz lead and 21mm pellet as hookbait. After about 1 hour i started to get my first twitches, before long i had my first fish of the day a small but always welcome 2lb chub. 20 minutes after releasing the chub i decided to move onto my next 3 chosen swims giving each one about 30-40 minutes each without so much as a touch. Upon my first cast in the fourth swim i was straight into another chub, this time a 4lber, I decided to stay on this swim for nearly an hour (bearing in mind i dont take an umbrella when river fishing so roaming isnt a problem)due to some seriously heavy rain coming down. Once the rain had eventually eased of i decided to move on and look for my next swim.As i walked downstream i seen a nice looking deep hole with a craese along its side, perfect i thought, the only thing between me and all those fish sitting in the hole was a 9ft vertical bank. Being the optimist that i am i decided to scale the bank still carrying my rucksak, set up rod in one hand and landing net/banckstick in the other. Whats the worst that could happen i thought well the worst happend i took my first step towards the swim and it was m last before i was standing waist deep in the river with only a pair of skeetex boots and gortex pants for protection.
Needles to say i decide to call it a day after that. After emptying all the water out of my boots i started to walk back to the van, after about 30mins and a couple of sore, wet feet i was eventually there.
Not the best days fishing but its always nice to catch from a river when its up and looks like chocolate, and its a day i wont forget in a hurry .
The interview that i spent so much time preparing for (it involved a powerpoint presentaion) never went as well as it could of done but a lot was learnt on both occasions.
I have just called rivercall again and the severm in 3m up so I am planning to goto there tomorrow starting at Abermule in the day then moving onto Rossal until about 10pm. Hopefull ill have more luck on there than i did in my interview and on the last swim on the Dane
Woodside Pool
Posted by paul mc, Oct 23 2005, 04:28 PM
Went fishing this morning to a small pool called woodside(Lymm AC) in Dutton. The pool is abou 1/3 acre in size and is an unusual shape, bit like the letter B. The pool is stocked with pretty much all the usual stillwater fish and a number of grass carp upto about 5lb. Carbon /compiste rods and pole's are banned from here due to overhead power lines, but using my old glass and cane rods makes it that little bit more interesting. I Arrived at the pool at about 08:30 and conditions seemed favourable(slight breeze and overcast). Set up two rods on the swingtip one in the margins on chick pea(testing a new flavour) and one close to a far bank bush on Elips pellet(courtesy of BFW.co.uk).After missing a couple of lightening quick bites i decided to call it a day at 12:30 without a fish coming to the net. 
Overall an enjoyable day in nice conditions and a few lessons learnt. .It's nice to be back on this pool after it being closed most of the season due to a large number of carp deaths in the area of late .
on Woodside Pool