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About this blog

the downs and ups of a pleasure angler

Entries in this blog

Lunatic Heifers 24.6.14

7-9pm   I went to a stretch of the Thames that has many hazards to put off anglers - a dicey bridge, rough fields to drive over, cows galore. But the guy in one of the fishing shops (a skilled angler) assured me it was a good place for trotting for roach, so I braved the hazards. All OK on the way there, but a bit trickier on the way back. There are gates at each end of the dicey bridge, and these are necessary to stop the cows crossing. I drove onto the bridge and shut the gate behind me. P
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Lower Itchen Fishery 14.10.13

2 - 6.30pm I haven't been to LIF for 6 years! Partly straightforward neglect, but in recent years also cos I can only normally handle a couple of hours standing due to back trouble, which doesn't really give value for money. But the back was great today - I stood most of the time and fished 4.5 hours.   The aim was to end a pb famine. My pb grayling is only 1lb 4oz, so as the grayling at LIF regularly go to 2lbs I felt I had a good chance - and of course a 2lber was the second aim.   The ri
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Lots to look at!

Well that's the positive spin on 3 blanks! I think the real problem is that I'm a pleasure angler who aims a bit high for the hours that I'm able to dedicate. But they were still 3 enjoyable sessions.   21 June. Went down to the syndicate lake at lunchtime, and there were loads of carp in the shallow end in the hot sun. I threw in a few dog biscuits, and one or two were taken, and I gambled on them growing keener in the evening. But they weren't!   28 June. Had a crack at the crucians on a
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Local Lake 6.5.16

7-9pm. Bright warm day, so decided just to fish dusk in the hope of some decent roach. Started on caster, and it was soon clear they were up in the water, so I fished half depth. Bite a chuck small roach, but no big ones so switched to a bigger bait. Prawn is popular for perch and roach on this lake in winter, so tried half a prawn on the bottom, but just had a couple of modest perch and 2 monster gudgeon. Finished off with double caster on the bottom, and had roach of 10oz and 15oz.
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Lemington Lakes 17.7.12

On the way back from my Wye trip I called on an old friend in Moreton-in-Marsh, and after an excellent lunch went to try Lemington Lakes, a commercial fishery only a mile away. If nothing else it would be an interesting contrast to the Wye! I had seen a feature on the roach fishing there in an angling mag, though I think a lot of the roach have since been transferred from Westminster Lake to Priory Lake and Abbey Lake. After parking the car the first lake I came to was Abbey, and a carp angler t
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Lambourn 30.1.12

Quite cold (AT 3degC dropping to 0degC). I decided to have a crack at ledgering for grayling. The main reason was so I could have gloves on to keep my little handy pandies warm, but I also wondered if I'd be able to get a bait into one or two places that my trotting skills aren't adequate to reach.   I'm aware that some anglers reckon you shouldn't ledger for grayling because of the risk of them swallowing the hook, but I tried it a few years ago on a different river and didn't have any probl
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Lambourn 13.2.12

3.45-5.15pm A welcome relatively mild day, with AT 6degC. My original plan was to go for perch on the canal, but in the end I decided the water temperature might still be too low, and went trotting on the Lambourn.   There were a lot of people around, including some youngsters, being half-term. A couple of boys aged about 11 were fishing. One combined a 5ft float rod with waders to be an effective grayling catcher. The other, amazingly, was trying to fly fish with proper fly line but only a
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Lambourn 12.12.11

3-4.30pm Went to the swim that was so productive last week with high hopes. I wondered if I had worked something out about how to snitch the bigguns. Not to be. 5 grayling from that swim, but nothing over three quarters of a pound.   Tried 2 other swims. The second was bite-a-chuck for tiny grayling. Had 5, but as many got off, not sure why. Anyway, ten grayling in all, and it's got to be encouraging having so many small grayling around - they are obviously spawning well. I guess the EA kne
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Ladygrove Park Lake, Didcot

For some reason I haven't had much enthusiasm for lake fishing since I moved to near Didcot a couple of months ago, and have made do with trips to investigate bits of river (the Thames) in preparation for the start of the season. But the helpful guy in the fishing shop assured me today that LPL isn't just carp, but has quality roach and perch, so I decided to have a go. Just a couple of hours before dusk. I fished a small segment of lobworm over 3mm carp pellets, which said guy in fishing shop a
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Ladygrove Park Lake 15.8.14

7.30-9pm A short exploratory session. My aim was to see whether fishing with maggot would tempt any of the better roach, or just get loads of small ones. I baited with 3mm halibut pellets, with maggot on the hook. First bite was a lovely 9 inch roach, and I was optimistic, but I didn't get any bigger ones - though it was 'bite a chuck', and there were several reasonable roach as well as some skimmers. For the last half hour I switched to sweetcorn, and immediately got a better stamp of skimmer,
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Kennet weirpool 20.2.12

3.30-5.30pm   The plan was to fish with maggots and lobs for perch, chub and maybe trout. From which locals may be able to deduce the weirpool! But when I arrived, although the AT was 9degC, I was shocked to see the WT was still only 5degC, which I feared might not be to the liking of sergeant stripey.   So it turned out. I started with trotted maggot to try and find out where the fish were, but didn't get a touch. Switched to lobworm with maggot feeder, and chose to try a number of places
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Kennet Ruffe 21.10.13

5pm - 6.45pm My first Kennet ruffe. Not much else I can say about today! A nice, reasonably mild October day and I was shielded from the wind. The venue was a canal turning area where 3 streams come in as well as the outflow from a canal lock. I've been told specimen roach have been caught here, and a couple of weeks ago someone told me he'd had a big bream. I fished maggot feeder, and I thought I was bound to have some action, but it was not to be. 3 mini fish and that was all.   I started b
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Jigging for perch 20.11.15

3pm to 4.45pm Thames   Plan A was to go roach fishing, but all the clouds disappeared and I though lure fishing might be a better bet. My new ultralite rod will have to wait for Christmas, but I thought it would be an interesting experiment to try jigging with a 12' feeder rod, with the most flexible tip. This would build on my tuition by Kappa a few days ago, and I would use two methods: casting to the middle of the river, and slowly working the lure in; and jigging below the rod tip.   I f
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Jigging for perch 16.12.13

2.30-4.30 Private weirpool   I'm lucky to be able to fish a private weirpool on the Kennet, and had a a tip-off from someone that had had bite-a-chuck success jigging for perch there. His approach was making half a turn of the reel handle at a time - a slower approach than the one I had (generally unsuccessfully) tried - so the purpose of the trip was to learn a bit more about jigging rather than to try and catch a monster.   First cast caught a small perch, which was certainly a confidence
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Hemp'n tares 4.9.14

5.30-8pm. Went to the 'easy Thames' where dog-walkers go, where the banks are clear of nettles, and where there was a decent flow and 7 feet of water one and a half rod lengths out. Ideal for trotting. The aim of the session was to try hemp and tares.   My experience of fishing with hemp is mainly limited to the 'good old days' when I was a teenager. My twin and I got on the Green Line bus from north London to Walton-on-Thames one day, and fished for roach. It was a killer bait in those days
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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hemp 'n tares 1.7.16

2.30-5pm   On the web you can find stories of amazing roach sessions with hemp and tares four or five years ago on the Thames near Oxford. I tried a few times last summer with limited success, but thought I'd have another go on a different stretch. I fed hemp, and alternated tares and caster as hook bait, a six foot deep swim only a rod length or two out.   About 20 roach up to half a pound. An enjoyable session, but I never really got them going. My aim is to find some roach around the poun
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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general

Grove Pond 31.5.23 Mixed Bag

This is mainly to let you know I'm still around, though it's a while since I went fishing - mainly because of the state of the Thames, and then waiting for the lakes to warm up. Today I went to find a new lake at Standlake called Lincoln's Lake. Problem, I never found it! Doh! So I drove down to Grove Pond and had an enjoyable time float fishing maggot. Almost no bites from small roach, but a 2lb carp, 3.5lb tench, 11oz crucian. I'll let you know when I find LL!
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench in general

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Update

Grove Pond 30.4.21

3.30 - 5.15pm  This lake belongs to Wantage Angling Club, of which I am a member.  After a series of cold nights, and bright sun all afternoon, I had few expectations of catching fish, but I was pleasantly surprised. I float-fished maggot and had about 15 small roach, about 5 rudd (best a chunky 7oz) and 3 nice crucians, all about 6oz. As far as I know this lake doesn't hold any mega-specimens, but it's a very pleasant lake to fish.
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench in Update

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general

Grove Pond 23.5.22

3-5pm mainly cloudy My first fishing session for three months, not being allowed to drive following heart surgery. It was good to be out! I float-fished double maggot, more than half the time up in the water.  1 tench (approx 3 lbs), 2 small crucians (both up in the water), one rudd, 2 roach. Nothing earth-shattering, but an enjoyable session, and somehow my brain is better able to plan future trips having had the first session of the season.
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench in general

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general

Grove pond 20.8.21

2.30 - 5.15pm I started off 'up in the water' with hemp and tares and casters hoping for some of the quality roach and rudd I've had in the last couple of months here. I had 6 roach in the first hour, but none were over about 5 ounces, so I switched to fishing on the deck practising the lift method. One nice bream about 3lbs, and 3 crucians all about 8 oz. Enjoyable fishing. 
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench in general

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general

Grove Pond - Hemp and Tares 25.6.2021

5.15 - 7.15pm. I'd had a crack at the roach with hemp and tares a couple of days ago, but was frustrated by very few hook-ups. This time I did much better. I wondered if the tare was sliding round the hook and masking the point. Switching from size 16 to 14 helped a lot. They were still very fast, tricky bites but I managed 23 roach and one rudd up to half a pound or just over.
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench in general

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Grayling 16.1.12

3.30-4.45pm Cold and bright, so a short grayling trip on the Lambourn. I took some sweetcorn along in the hope it would winkle out a pounder.   First cast in a swim I haven't found much use in the last couple of years, and a beautiful 1lb 3oz male grayling took my maggot as I was winding in. Perhaps he thought it was a nymph? Anyway, mission accomplished on first cast! Only the third pounder I've had.   Then pretty hopeless fishing by me, and too many tangles not helped by the cold. Just
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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Gravel pit perch 30.4.12

I decided to try a local gravel pit where I know the perch run to over 4lb. I fished it at this time of year a couple of years ago and had one of 2lb 6oz, but when I tried it a month ago I blanked. Possibly the fish were spawning then, but after blanking I always need a bit of assurance from the fish that they are still around.   WT 12degC - no change in a month. 7.10 - 8.45pm   Float fished maggot for the first hour - just one small perch. Switched to lobworm and had one reasonable perch
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The Flying Tench

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Gold lame worm 1.9.14

5.30-7.30pm Kennet Spent the first 90 minutes alternately sheltering from the showers and ledgering for a monster chub that got into a snag and broke me up last time. Alas, he wasn't at home - or maybe he objected to the broomhandle and rope approach I used to try and avoid a repeat this time! Spent the last half hour jigging with my gold lame worm with the wiggly tail. It seems fish are appreciative of glamour, and I was pleased to net a 3lb 13oz chub and a 2lb 1 oz perch.
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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France 27 July to 4 August 2013

A family holiday in the Vendee region of the west of France. I managed three short sessions on local lakes which had all been created by damming little rivers: Apremont, Jaunee and Gue Gorand.   My aim was to try and make contact with some of the local roach. For some reason I reckon some reasonable sized ones will be found in these lakes - though my reason for thinking so is limited to one not very specific comment on a French angling website. In the first two cases I suspected from my exper
The Flying Tench

The Flying Tench

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