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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

10.08.21 - Willows

Well, that was a strange evening. Only just got into the carpark at 3.30 and walking to one of the only one of my preferred swims left, people seemed to be catching. In 6 hours I caught just the 6 fish. But they were tench of 3lb and 1lb 3, mirrors of 8lb, 16lb 10 and 4lb 8, plus right at the end in the virtual dark, a common of 15lb 9. So though I struggled for bites, I ended up with just under 50lb of fish! Funny old world. BTW the larger tench gave no fight whatsoever despite h
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

15.6.21 - Willows

I've never seen so many fish. With the temperature soaring to thirty degrees, the surface was alive with cruising carp.  Out came the dog biscuits, with the plop-plip of every cast bringing surface attention. Gobbling down every freebie, the canny fish  could tell if there was a hook/line involved, mouthing then instantly spitting my otherwise identical bait out time and time again. Commons of 5lb 15 and 6lb 4 came when I increased their urgency by catapulting in freebies, but the bloody du
Willows

17.8.21 - Willows

Not a great success. My three preferred swims were already taken, but that's OK, I've done well previously from the one I chose. Tossed out the method feeder at the island, and threw pellets out over it,  but though I had sporadic attention on the bobbin, nothing seemed to want to take it for real despite changing hook baits several times. Switched to and from float fished maggot over hemp and managed a meagre 1lb 4 tench, 5 bream around the 6-8oz mark and three roach. Nothing exciting until in
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

23.10.21 - Willows

A mixed day. I predominantly fished the margins on a virtually deserted lake. Within 5 minutes, I'd hooked a good carp on float fished single corn dipped in my top secret ingredient, that had the centrepin screeching and took me right, left and central before falling off the hook, unseen, after around 10 minutes of fun. If this wasn't annoying enough, I then missed bite after bite after bite, the float dragging under every 5 minutes or so, yet I couldn't hit any of them. I began to suspect crays
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

11.3.22 - Willows

Hmm, though the end of the running-water season approacheth, I could not resist a last chance at Willows before the planned transfer of 50 of its larger carp to other lakes the next day. What's more, with rain is due, I always feel it will be easier to huddle under a brolly on a lakeside rather than a river bank.  It started off dry and still, and with two fish in the first three casts, I anticipated a fine haul. Then the first of two, two-hour rain stints kicked in and the strong S/SE wind
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

06.11.21 - Willows

A Saturday morning to fish, and yesterdays frosts gone (though still requiring a fleece, waistcoat and thick coat). With the winter rule of 2 rods being allowed on the lake, I fished a light float to my left, and a boilie on a bomb in the margin to my right. I've never used a boilie before, but these were kindly donated to me and with it still nippy, was not sure the fish would be bothered to break into the cargo of a method feeder. Nothing on float, not even a bite on maggot/caster or
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

11.5.21 - Willows

There was a repellent south wind when I arrived, creating quite a chop, and with anglers on my fave sheltered swims on Alders, I went for Willows, with the wind on my back casting at the island. A good evening. Commons of 9lb 7, 8lb 6, 10lb 14 all in beautiful condition, and a tiddler Mirror of 3lb 8. 30lb+ of fish is always a good day. I hit every bite too, for a change, albeit I lost two more fish. 
Willows

13.8.21 - Willows

Regular readers will know that  a week ago at Willows I achieved:  (a) 6:45am til 11:30  - nothing (b) 11:30 - 2:30 - 5 carp.  (c)  2:30 - 4:45. - Not even a nudge Following this, a revered and sagely angling guru wisely ordained that 'the knack is to 'ONLY be on the bank for (b) ! 4 hours at the 'right' time is better than 10 hours at the wrong...' Seven days later, with different bait and tactics, though I spent the first two hours before crossing the causeway to Willows, the sc
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

4.9.21 - Willows

A nice mornings fishing. Lots of line bites, knocks and spells of fish playing with the feeder, and some rod-yanking takes that somehow failed to connect. The sum total was 3 mirrors of 5lb 2, 6lb 2 and 7lb 8, ending with a bream of 3lb 8 was probably about par. 
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

20 & 21.8.21 - Willows

Two long stints at my favourite lake (when it's playing ball) to test my theory that the carp swim round the central island in the morning, move to open waters in the afternoon and slink out to the margins for their tea. Friday: dry and with the lake to myself at 6:30am pinged the method feeder out towards the island. By 9. I'd had visits from commons of 7lb, 4lb 10 and 9lb 12, all on the same orange wafter. It was set to be a fab day and I held my smile even when fourteen Canada geese splash
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

15.5.21 - Willows

OK, so I went for an experiment today. I've fished Willows a lot this closed season and have sort of got the hang of chucking a leger up against the island, but have also looked at the margins and just wondered... So, with the lilies starting to emerge at the bankside I stuck on a float, far more interesting to star at than a bobbin, chucked in some balls of mashed bread and cast a rod length out. After a couple of missed bites, in true Mr Crabtree style, the float zipped away and I was into a g
Willows

22.05.21 - Willows

Woe betide my landing net of shame. More a different world than a different weather system as the previous days stormy winds have died away and the morning session starts still and clear. Alders does its best to lure me with a shoal of fish bubbling the surface, but I walk my tackle by, as today is a Willows day, And so it should be, as I soon have a Mirror in at 5lb 9. But having lost another when a Drennan hook-link, brand new on this morning, snaps as the loop, it goes quiet. M
Willows

30.3 - 2.4.22 -Willows

Wednesday - A last short afternoon of the season as the gardening season has properly kicked off, and I have to pay for the maggots some how. Arrived at Willows at 2:30 to two surprises: There was only one other chap fishing, and the carp were up on the top everywhere. It was a still afternoon, certainly not the warmest, but there they were, sucking at the surface, some only 3ft from the bank, with groups of 3 or 4 fish seemingly liable to pop their heads up at any point. I fancied I’d either ca
Willows

9 & 10.11.21 - Willows

9th - 3:30 til 7:45. Had just a few tentative bites, then, at last, a solid one. I struck, there was strong resistance and I brought in...a large branch. Did the vegetation really make a grab for my bait? Then I struck into a carp which pulled yards from the centrepin. I played it for a minute or so, but sensed that it wasn't firmly hooked. I was right, and off it fell. After that, while I always felt the fish were close - though not as near as the rats than were scampering around the undergrowt
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

10.4.21 - Willows

Having sat since first light and with no sign of fish life, I was comforted when the bailiff turned up suggested I was doing the right thing, method feeding towards the island. He suggested I change my pale pop-up hookbait to a fluorescent wafter. In the few minutes that we spoke, three carp jumped clear of the water by the island in front of me. After he left no more fish rose. A coincidence, surely?!? Later on a chap came and set up along the bank from me. He cast out then turned to start
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

17.9.21 and 18.9.21 - Willows - the King of Fishing post!

Friday: A bonus early morning 3 hours. Despite being put off seeing a guy fishing topless in shorts while I was considering running back to the car for a third layer, I was warmed by two sparkling mirrors of 9lb and 8lb 15. It was one of those mornings where the quivertip was trembling throughout, but despite changing baits, I didn't manage to convert the action to bites. Lost one at the end which would have made it a great sneaked session. Saturday: 7:30am til 2:30. An autumnal misty start
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

8.6.21 - Willows

The hot weather continues, though with a warm southerly breeze rippling the surface, there was hardly a carp to be seen, My attempts to loose feed doggy bikkies to see who was around proved futile, as within seconds I had terns diving hard into my swim and those bloody ducks from Saturday swimming down for their tea.  So I switched to plan B, the method feeder, thinking that my swim was shallow enough for the wafter to be spotted wherever the fish were,  and soon lost a good fish, it fallin
Willows

29.12.21 - Willows

With the temperature in unseasonable double-figures and the rivers low, I thought it rude not to have a bash on the lake. Not an auspicious start as mid-first cast, the pop-on spool on my reel popped-off and flew into the drink. I carefully hand wound the 100 yards or so of line and had it on the surface about 10 foot from the bank when the backing knot gave and it sank irretrievably lost to the depths. Spare spool clicked firmly on, I had no bites as the showers lashed in until 11am w
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

18.04.21 - Willows

It's a funny old world. Last Tuesday evening there was such a strong wind blowing through that I had to pop back to the car for gloves. But through the chop, I could see the silhouettes of the carp, dozens of them, swimming in packs under the surface. I fished a zig rig on the bouncy surface and just under it, then tried the bottom, 6-inches and 2ft off it. I've rarely seen as many fish as I saw that evening, but left with a blank. Saturday - A Spring scorcher. Lovely to sit in the sun. Bit
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

9.4.22 - Willows

Another frosty start, and having had a 'meh' day at Dobsons yesterday, I made for my default lake of Willows. Here the water temp at 11 degrees was down a degree, and I wondered if it would have any effect. Maybe it did, because after fish at 9:20am (a pretty Mirror of 6lb 6, 10:20am (a Common of 8lb 9) and 11:20am (a 1lb 3oz tench), the old '20-minutes-past-the-hour' trick evaporated and so did any more catches. The surprisingly few anglers around the bank also struggled. The morning
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

28.06.22 - Willows

A last chance to make amends for the month. My nerdy spreadsheet shows that June 2021 brough a total weight of 221lbs 7oz, while this crummy month has limped to 118lb 2oz with just this session to go. Regular readers will know that I've being finding it quite scratchy for weeks now, and tonight was no different. The wind which has accompanied so many of my recent trips was here again, blowing hard from the south causing a proper surf, ruling out my intended float fishing plan. So method fee
Willows

26.8.22 - Willows

After last Friday's bumper haul, I'm keen to give it a go in the same swim. There's a slight chill in the air first thing which perhaps explains the lack of the fishy surface movement seen last week. It's fairly quiet on the bottom too, though 'takes' at 6:30 and 7:30 both end with fish dropping off the hook after several minutes of playing. Later in the morning, my luck changes, and in come a 7lb 2 common, tench of 2lb 6 and 21lb 10. Then a mirror of 7lb 10 and more commons of 6lb 10, 6lb 4, 7l
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

01.11.22 - Willows

A strange evening, my first Tuesday evening after the clocks went back. I'd intended to do some evening chub fishing on the river, but with strong winds and yet more heavy rain due, I felt an evening huddled under the brolly would be a slightly less uncomfortable than roving the banks. Naturally, I was the only one on the lake as I was blown down the bank. With the two-rod winter allowance now in place, I cast one to the island, the other along in the margins. I made friends with a mallard
Bayleaf the Gardener

Bayleaf the Gardener in Willows

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Willows

2021 07 27 - Willows

Lovely to sit in the southerly breeze after last weeks heatwave, and even better to completely miss all of the threatened showers that scudded by. I tackled up where I thought the wind would be blowing the fish towards me under the surface chop, but nobody sent them the memo. Nothing for over two hours, then in a millisecond, the world went from silence to chaos as the rod reared into the air and the tip bent round like an Allen key as the alarm screamed out in, erm, alarm. Whatever had tak
Willows

5.4.22 - Willows

A good evening, even if it was pretty chilly in the strong S-SW breeze. But it went to plan. I set up in my swim at 3:15, anticipating fish arriving in it about 6 (though hoping they might be there already, of course) 6:00 - The first bite came on-the-dot. It was a slow bite and a long lethargic fight, but it eventually came in as a perfect 13lb 8 Mirror.  6:15 - A personal best 8lb 3oz Bream 7:00, 7:35, 7:55 and 8:10 -  Commons of 8lb 2, 6lb 6, 9lb 9 and 4lb Not sure if
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