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About this blog

I started this blog in March 2021, having blanked in over half of my fifteen winter trips to various waters of Newbury Angling Association. The rivers, canals and lakes are fine, I'm just not very good at catching the fish in them. Oddly, i seemed to get a bit better for a while, but 2023 has undone all that. In July I moved to South Wales, not entirely for the weather, but to enforce a change in my fishing luck.

Entries in this blog

Willows

3 & 4.2.23 - Dobsons & Willows

Friday. Piking at Dobsons. Deadbait out on rod 1, with a feeder and tiny bait/hook out on rod 2 hoping to find the odd roach or bream. Changed swims, baits, depths, but apart from one pike run (missed) at 8:30, had nothing all day. Had hoped that given a week of warmer temperatures that the fish might be waking up hungry, but not today. Then again, it was forecast for 11 degrees this afternoon, but in a stiffish wind it felt far from that. Saturday. Grey and windless. Much better. Had commo
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

29.11.22 - A mixed week

Tuesday 22nd, I felt a little better after a heavy cold over the weekend and took my stuffy headed self to the fresh air at Marsh Benham with the intention of completing my recovery. Lasted about 3 hours with worsening headache until I could barely hold my rod. Managed 15 roach of fair dimension, 9 dace, 3 perch and a 2lb 10 brownie before going home to bed. Slept most of Wednesday, came through a bit on Thursday and re-pitted my wits against MB on Friday. The water was very low if a bit fa
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

6.9.22 - Willows

OK, so the heatwave has definitely gone. This evening the SW wind was blowing grey and black clouds hard and fast overhead making it look more Mordor than Berkshire. The chop on the water meant float fishing was out and pinging the method feeder out towards the island brought only phantom bites as the wind caught the bobbin. I chanced that the carp may be sheltering so came back to a rod length or two out near the cover of the lake's lone overhanging willow. A bite soon ensued. Winding in,
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

8 & 9.3.22 - Willows

With just a week left of the moving water season, I probably should have spent my 3-hours in a river or canal, but given the blanks lure fishing on my last two Tuesdays and the pretty strong winds, I pitched for the  comparative shelter of my tree-lined default location, Willows. Sorry guys. But it was a good move. The fish turned out to be where I suspected they might and in that short session came 7 carp: Mirrors of 6lb, 10lb then 6lb 10 and Commons of 5lb, 6lb 8, 2lb 12 and 7lb 10. Four
Willows

12.11.21 - Willows

Ok, Ok, I know you must be bored with the same old Willows entries, but with morning rains due and a stiff breeze, I opted for a huddle under the brolly than face the exposure of the rivers. I was the only one fishing there all day, which, as a true misanthrope I loved, but then the fish were mainly of similar thinking. The first swim brought just a handful of roach (to a fair 7 ounces) and some skimmers. A change of swims to get the wind out of my face brought more of the same before
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

Willows - 5th, 9th & 10th October 2021

Autumn is here, and while the books will all tell you that the carp are feeding hard, sensing the forthcoming winter, the continued unseasonable warmth has maybe stopped the message getting through. Little to report from 3 sessions frankly, with a mirror and 5 commons cross the piece - or should it be 4? - I caught the photo'd fish an hour after dark in single corn float fished about 2ft from the bank. It didn't give much of a fight, and was particularly well behaved on the unhooking mat. M
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

28.08.21 - Willows

Arrived early to find five cars already parked and the warming sight a whole family fishing from consecutive swims on the western bank. For the second session running, I hooked a carp within thirty seconds of my first cast, a mirror of exactly 10lbs, hard fighting but another candidate for the ugly fish and ugly angler awards. Within a couple of hours, alternating between an orange wafter and a Robon Red pellet, I'd caught commons of 5lb 13, 10lb 8 and 7lb 13 as well as a greedy 8-ounce bream
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

24.8.21 - Willows

Willows was busy as ever, and I chatted to a number of anglers on my way to one of the remaining swims. A few had come out, but one guy had been there since 8am and had not caught a thing - and now it was early 4. I chucked in a few balls of breadcrumbs mixed with pellets in the far margin opposite my narrowish swim then set up and cast out. Before I'd even got my seat set up,  the rod was dragged across the bank and I held on for a 7lb 9 mirror - wow! Tonight was going to be the night. I had
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

22.06.21 - Willows

1 - The birds. As if being pestered by geese, cormorants, ducks and terns wasn't enough, I had two grebes building a nest in the edge of the lilies by which I'd intended to fish. Not only did all their tromping about on the pads scare any fish down to the safety of the depths, they had sex right in front of me. Three times. It wasn't much to see and blimey,  I thought I was quick. 2 - The fish. My only bite in the first 2-hours came on a method-feeder with single chocolate orange wafter and
Willows

19.06.21 - Willows

A slow day. At least it was dry after yesterday's torrents, but thirteen degrees was less than half of what it was on Wednesday and the ten days or so previously, which shut the fish up. It seemed a struggle for everyone around the lake. I had some occasional bites of float-fished sweetcorn and bread, but my only two successes in the whole day were both on the method feeder in the margins: a beautiful little 3lb 8oz Common and then on the last cast of the day, a 3lb-er that I didn't bother weigh
Willows

4.6.21 - Willows

After recent excesses, today was pretty quiet for me and the four other anglers on the lake. one who spent more time spodding than fishing. I scaled down to a single grain of corn after initial inaction to stimulate  a 2oz and then a a spunky 6oz roach. There was no future in this tiddler-bashing so I switched swims to throw a method feeder at the reliability of the island.  With still nothing more than the very occasional  indistinct line bite, I chopped and changed 'twixt float and feeder tryi
Willows

9.3.21 - Willows

What with it having been a glorious early spring day. I managed to sneak one-and-a-half hours in at Willows before sunset this evening. As soon as I arrived, the wind got up with the expected change of weather approached. 7 Canada geese, 1 grebe, 8 trains (7 passenger, 1 goods), 3 crows, 1 pheasant, 3 Chinnock helicopters (probably the same one, three times, to be fair), 7 pigeons, 1 moorhen, 2 coots, 1 red kite, 1 other angler. 0 fish. Did get a bite soon after starting, but unusually wit
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