Its currently 09:00 and i am finishing my preparations for the day. After reading the DAS rules i discovered that tins are not allowed on the bank so i emptited my Tescos Value Corn into a bait box. Nearly 2 pints of sweetcorn for 30p cant be bad!
The TomTom is prepped with all of my destinations and i have printed off my rod licence for today. I also still need to put my eyes in (contacts) so that i can wear my sunnies in the lovely weather we are having in the South East.
One thing
Well i have spoken to my uncle and we are going to head for the same lake as last time, Castlefield Lake in Dorking. Apparently it is fishing well at the moment and with the good weather we are having in the south at the moment it can only get better i hope! Since we are going on the Monday hopefully it'll be quiet as well which will be great for me.
He has told me that the best baits for the lake are the simple ones, maggots, bread flake, corn and meats. We can get maggots at the tackle sh
The Gigantic Book of Fishing Stories - Edited and Introduced by Nick Lyons, Foreword by David Halberstam.
OK, I admit I'm a bit of a 'sucker' for angling anthologies - in fact I've just counted up the number of such volumes in my modest angling library and realise I already have 10 such books, not counting this one. Of these, my favourite 3 - and most comprehensive - are BB's, Fisherman's Bedside Book, The Magic Wheel, & Fish, Fishing & the Meaning of Life. I like anthologies
After a hectic weekend in Devon and then work on Tuesday and having the family round on Wednesday (my birthday) its been nice to have an actual day off to chill and do what i want. And what i wanted was to go shopping!
Gerrys of Wimbledon is a large tackle store some 25 minutes drive from me and i thought it only fair to have a poke around to see what they could offer. I had a list of tihngs i definatly wanted to pick up on the trip, the primary one being a chair to sit on (a Korum Deluxe A
This book is already well known to most ANers!
Angling Vagabond - a Glorious Boyhood by Dave Park
If I have one complaint about this book it’s that it finishes too soon - and somewhat abruptly. A sign of a good book - leave the reader wanting more! I hope the author sees this volume as no more than the opening salvo’s of a full angling autobiography. Dave Park (known to all on the AnglersNet forums by his nom de plume, Vagabond) is a much travelled Ichthyologist and I’m s
Well today postie delivered the goodies from Tackleuk.co.uk and just the other day i went to my local angling emporium (Anglers Base in Beckenham) to get some more terminal tackle.
From Anglers base i picked up the following which came to £51.xx and the gent serving me just took it down to £50 which certainly made me wnt to venture back in the future!
some pre weighted crystal wagglers (insert and standard)
two bank sticks
catapult
disgorger
reel pouch
a few bait tubs
a spool
Well my tackle collection has begun today with a win on Ebay. I picked up a 13ft Shimano Hyperloop AX. 13 lined rings, part cork handle, screw reel seat.
I managed to get it for £25 posted which included the carry bag it comes in as well as a rod tube. The deal on ebay was £30 but i had a £5 voucher which was very welcome. now i am waiting for my birthday to come around (April 13th) to put any money i get towards more tackle!
Today was my first day out fishing in over 10 years. Since last time I went i was 11 it seems only fair that i consider myself starting from a clean slate! Fortunately for me my uncle Mike is a keen angler and offered to take me out.
I arrived at my uncles’ house at around 9 in the morning with my camera bag. I have no tackle so it was just the camera, a sandwich and a bottle of drink to get me through the day. Fortunately my uncle had everything set to go, rods, reels, two landing nets, un
No fishing for 3 months so I thought I'd put up any new book reviews I do over the spring - this book is already in the Book and Media Reviews section (from the AN home page)...
A Can of Worms - the story of Barbel and the men who fished for them.
By Jon Berry
There can be few books which can be said to be the first AND last ‘word’ on their chosen subject yet this is exactly how I’d describe A Can of Worms. Jon Berry has turned to all his skills as a History graduate
Right that's it for another season. 07/08 was a pretty good one - despite only 1PB for Brown Trout - though this was more than double what it was at the beginning of the season!
Best BARBEL, 11lb 6oz, 1/10/07, Ledgered 14mm Halibut Pellet, River Kennet nr Thatcham
Best CARP, 9lb 6oz, 29/6/07, Ledgered 14mm Halibut Pellet, River Kennet at Woolhampton
Best BROWN TROUT, 8lb 12oz, 14/3/08, Trotted single white maggot, River Kennet nr Newbury
Best BREAM, 7lb 9oz, 18/6/07, L
River Kennet nr Newbury
0645 - 1845
Mild, overcast and calm. Some light drizzle early on (despite being forecast to rain all day!) 11ºC. River at normal levels with just a hint of colour - Couldn't ask for more perfect conditions!
8 Chub (5lb 2oz, 4lb 15oz, 4lb 5oz, 3lb 14oz, 3lb 10oz, 3lb 8oz & 2 chublets). 3 Doz Dace - handful of 'good-uns' - best 12oz, 1½Doz Roach, best 2; 1lb0oz & 13oz, ½doz Gudgeon, 4 Perch (all small), 2 Salmon Smolt, 2 Brownies,
River Lambourn - Newbury
1000 - 1300
River very full - carrying some colour.
2 Grayling 1lb 11oz & tiddler, 1 Roach - 10oz, 3 Brownies to 2¼lb
First hour trotting bread in the hope of a nice roach - but only attracted the trout. Biggest Grayling from the Lambourn this season. Checking back in my diaries its my biggest from the Lambourn since 2003 (to the day!)
Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham
0600 - 0900
Mild, Overcast/milky sunshine. Canal carrying some colourand quite full - forgot thermometer so no readings!
5 Perch: 2lb 12oz, 2lb 2oz, 2X'pounders' and a tiddler.
Crack of dawn session - though could have had an extra hour in bed as no bites until 0700. Unusually fish got bigger the brighter it got - biggest was last one banked. Barge coming through the swim at 0830 killed sport! Used Anglersnet Cent
Middle Kennet
0645 - 1815
Bright and very breezy after early rain. River at 'normal' levels and quite clear.
5 chub (4lb 13oz, others all around 1lb), 7 perch (3 X 1-1¼lb) 12 dace (just 1 good un - 9oz), 5 grayling (all 10-14oz), 3 small roach, 2 gudgeon & 20 trout to 3½lb.
A hurriedly re-arranged trip in the light of Monday's weather forecast (when we were due to go!). Biggest Chub and 4 of the Grayling on trotted sweetcorn. Perch on lobs ever
A late bit of rain soaked the potato bed and when I next went to dig a few spuds, the first forkful turned over was full of fat juicy lob-worms.
Too many to ignore, I fetched a bucket from the shed, added wet shredded newspaper and collected lobs as well as potatoes.
The bucket stood in the shed for a couple of weeks, demanding that I think about going perch fishing.
Now one of the problems of being retired is that the calendar soon becomes full.
And when there are not pre-ar
Thought I'd get out for a couple of hours stick float fishing in preparation for the Itchen Fish-in in just over a weeks time.
The 'river' (more of a stream really) was fined down nicely, and I was soon getting small roach and chub up to around 8oz from most of my favourite swims.
(Where the river is often just inches deep, deeper holes formed around features usually hold a few fish)
Early on, I lost a larger chub that took me by surprise and went straight into the tree roots.
River Kennet - Newbury
0700 - 1130
Dull & overcast with some breeze. AT 42ºF -> 52ºF. WT 46ºF - river at 'normal' winter levels. Little colour.
10 chub - 5lb 5oz, 4lb 10oz, 4lb 6oz, 4lb 4oz, 4lb 3oz, 3lb 14oz, 3½lb, 3lb, 2lb & a chublet! 1 Barbel 2¼lb, 6 dace, 2 brownies & 1 grayling.
Back to the swim that produced so spectacularly back in December. (See entry for 15 December). All fish on trotted double red maggot. Many/most fish caught on the fast shallows at the
Middle Kennet
0845 - 1745
Bright and sunny after a cold (-7ºC) start. River still 'full' with nearly all colour dropped out.
3 doz Dace - best 10oz. 3 Perch (2lb 2oz, 1¼lb), 1 Chub 3lb 11oz, 7 Brownies to 2lb, 1 Rainbow 1½lb. 1 Roach, 1 Grayling.
Usual day of playing 'hunt the fish'. Fish quite spooky in bright conditions - necessitating many swim moves - though the dace in the 'keepers cottage' swim were positively suicidal at times! Dace are clos
Middle Kennet
0800 - 1730
Bright, calm and sunny after a frosty, misty start. River still high with most colour now dropped out.
10 chub (3lb 7oz, 1¾lb & 8 chublets), 40 roach (best 1lb 3oz, 3 or 4 others ½ decent - most very small), 20 Dace (4 'good-uns', best 10oz), 7 Brownies - biggest 4lb 11oz*, 1 rainbow 2½lb, 2 gudgeon.
Most - actually nearly all apart from the 3-7 chub and a couple of brownies - fish caught in first and last couple of ho
Middle Kennet Carrier
0900 - 1645
Bright and and sunny after a frosty/misty start. 2 brief showers (& 2 brilliant rainbows) in the afternoon. River 'full' and carrying some colour.
50 Roach & dace (2/3rds Roach - 1/3rd Dace), 2 roach 'scraper' 1lbers (1 weighed). Biggest dace 10oz with 3 others around 8oz. 2 chub (2lb and a chublet). 7 Brown Trout - Biggest 5lb 10oz (new PB), 1 Rainbow (2lb+), 2 gudgeon.
Lovely day spent as Merv's guest on
River Lambourn - Shaw
0730 - 1030
Sunny and cold -2ºC -> 4ºC. River very high (As high as I've ever seen it) with a little colour.
9 Grayling (2 'pounders - biggest 1lb 5oz), 8 roach (best 1lb 2oz and another just shy of 1lb - rest small) 4 brownies (2 over 1lb) & 5 Salmon Parr.
Struggle for bites at first - got a little easier with some cloud cover - most fish on the 'church' stretch. 2nd (&3rd) respectable roach from here this winter.
River Kennet - Speen Moors
0800 - 1200
Bright and breezy. AT47ºF -> 49ºF. WT 46ºF. River still very high and over the bank in several places - has fined down.
50+ dace (biggest weighed 10oz) ½doz roach and chublets, 1 doz gudgeon.
Had planned to do some perching - but couldn't get to the swims I wanted as the banks were flooded. Surprised still to see so much water in the river after a dryish week. Most dace a good size with few under 4oz.
