Jump to content

tiddlertamer

Members
  • Posts

    558
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Posts posted by tiddlertamer

  1. Fishing: Is it just about catching fish? Or is there something else?

     

    This might sound strange to many but a recent post by me about looking for float fishing glides and the enjoyment this type of fishing made me wonder how others approached fishing.

     

    Is it simply the quest to catch the biggest, rarest, hardest fighting, or largest quantity of fish or is it simply enjoying an escape to the river bank and the chance to enjoy the surroundings whilst keeping an eagle eye on the progress of your float down the swim?

     

    What does fishing mean for you? What floats your boat in the world of angling?

  2. I live in London. I love the Wandle but it's less a float fishing river and better suited if you ledger. I guess fishing should be about catching fish but I quite simply love the technique of float fishing.

    I used to fish the Lee up by Welwyn Garden City and float fishing swims were there but limited.

  3. I've dropped out of angling pretty much for the past two seasons due to a serious cycling habit - but the allure of the rivers is drawing me back.

     

    Once June 16 hits I hope to wet a line.

     

    Unlike my my inventive fishing partners who employ a range of fishing techniques for a range of species, I will invariably drop into a trotting session with float and fixed spool reel (my centrepin days never really took off).

     

    I guess my hopes for next season include a summers day, sun shining (yes I know that knocks my chance of catching), hearing the water burbling past and my float smoothly edging down the swim, across gravel beds between streamer weed.

     

    I'll probably lug my gear along by train and public transport. Happy to cough up a few spondoolies for a day ticket.

     

    But where? Countryside or urban I don't care. I don't want you to put me on your fish. But somewhere interesting where I'll have a sniff.

     

    Thanks folks

     

    Tiddler Tamer

  4. Sssssshhhhhhh! :D

    I wouldn't worry. Mainly 'southern softies' lurking on here... :) Not about to pillage northern waters any time soon...

     

    I agree from my experience of catching dace that they like fast flowing gravel shallows. Any advice on what type of float and shotting pattern works well in these conditions?

  5. I love dace. My biggest is 10oz which looked big, a pound+ dace must look other-worldly. I doubt very much I'll ever see one. In fact, I know I won't!

     

    There's a small river near me with some good dace fishing. Autumn seems to be the best time, as long as there's water in the river. That shouldn't be a problem this year, but lack of water for the previous few years is what's kept me from it. Hopefully the dace are still there, I'm looking forward to going back this season.

     

    TT, if you fancy a day or two there once the rivers open, let me know :)

     

    Hi Anderoo. Greetings too to Rusty. And the legendary dace snarer Plumb! And before this becomes an Oscars speech, everyone else who has replied.to the dace thread. Much appreciated.

    Let's sort out a day trip out to a small river to see what we can catch.

    I'd be happy to provide a small trophy to the winner of the Anglers Net Dace Dash...

    I'd particularly like the irony of the winner walking away with the trophy whilst people who caught large chub and barbel walking away empty handed... :)

    New river season a go go

  6. I must confess I spent nearly all of the last river season caught up with cycling training ... until with a week to go before the end of the season I ventured out to the River Avon near Salisbury... and how I missed it...

    And whilst I,caught bigger fish on the day, the 11 ounce dace, a new personal best, was the most rewarding.

    I've decided to get back onto the river bank again next season and target a new dace personal best.

    I believe some of the people that use this site - Chris Plumb take a bow - have caught dace over a pound. Respect.

    Whilst some anglers disdain dace, they surely are the smallest but pluckiest fish species that anglers enjoy catching.

     

    I don't expect any details on swims. LOL!

    But any advice on which stretches of southern rivers throw up good specimens and tips on tactics would be appreciated.

    I tend to use trotted double red maggot with a fixed spool reel. Way to go?

  7. Thanks for sharing.

     

    I've been away from angling and Anglers Net for a few months, busy cycling and running and busy on their forums, but your post has inspired me.

     

    Thanks for posting.

     

    The only sad thing is that torrential rain, certainly in my part of England, will make our rivers very difficult to fish over the next few days... :rolleyes:

  8. In your dreams TT, 15 pages on how to save fish or even catch them, it'll never happen :rolleyes:

     

    Poor old Wandle, its only crime - and also its punishment - is being stuck in south London. It's such a wonderful little river. I used to live very near to it in Colliers Wood, I never fished there but used to walk along it a lot spotting fish (between pollution incidents). There was a guy I'd often see down there in waders who I'd talk to, fly fishing fishing for trout.

     

    I agree that the fines dished out are paltry, and are no kind of deterrent.

     

    I've had many a lovely hour fishing the Wandle. Although it meanders through South London, there are some surprisingly beautiful spots.

     

    OK, so occasionally you'd catch a shopping trolley or try to steer your float past a burnt out moped which had been dumped in the river, but it certainly had big fish... I just always caught the small ones... :rolleyes:

     

    The Wandle Trust did a great job cleaning it up.

     

    They are now appealing for witnesses to the pollution incident:

     

    Wandle Trust

  9. A new pollution incident has occurred on the river Wandle, a chalk stream which flows through south London.

     

    It follows a fire at a sewage works at Beddington.

     

    It's not the first time it has been hit by pollution from these works. Back in 2007, chemicals leaked into the river, causing a massive loss of fish.

     

    The firm running the works was hit with a £50,000 fine and restocking took place which was just starting to show dividends, with people reporting better and better catch reports.

     

    Let's just hope that this incident isn't too devastating and that the firm running the sewage works gets another larger fine and puts in place back-ups to prevent this from happening again. And again... :(

     

    I enclose a link to a local paper covering the story and also a blog from a keen Wandle angler, which I hope he dosn't mind me linking too:

     

    http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/Beddin...tail/story.html

     

    http://www.pikeblog.com/

     

     

    OK folks - can I suggest it would be slightly more helpful to be discussing ways of combating the polluters that are killing our fish rather than having long drawn out discussions on how to kill them - the fish that is, not the polluters... :rolleyes:

     

    Just a thought. :)

  10. A new pollution incident has occurred on the river Wandle, a chalk stream which flows through south London.

     

    It follows a fire at a sewage works at Beddington.

     

    It's not the first time it has been hit by pollution from these works. Back in 2007, chemicals leaked into the river, causing a massive loss of fish.

     

    The firm running the works was hit with a £50,000 fine and restocking took place which was just starting to show dividends, with people reporting better and better catch reports.

     

    Let's just hope that this incident isn't too devastating and that the firm running the sewage works gets another larger fine and puts in place back-ups to prevent this from happening again. And again... :(

     

    I enclose a link to a local paper covering the story and also a blog from a keen Wandle angler, which I hope he dosn't mind me linking to:

     

    http://www.thisiscroydontoday.co.uk/Beddin...tail/story.html

     

    http://www.pikeblog.com/

  11. Last month has just been confirmed as the wettest June on record.

     

    How has this record rainfall affected fishing UK rivers for the better?

     

    I must confess that I haven't been out on rivers since last season - due to spending far too much time on a new racing bike which has proved a real health kick - but I fancy a slightly more sedentary weekend, albeit creeping a few miles up and down a river.

     

    I normally associate June with slightly sluggish rivers at a relatively low level compared with the last days of the previous season when conditions often begin to pick up after the end to frosts and freezing winter conditions.

     

    This year I guess there is a bit of colour in the water and a bit of flow too. Quite different from conditions in previous years, where in larger rivers such as the middle Thames, it's almost as if the current stops and the water takes on a rather strange hue.

     

    I tend to enjoy the challenge of Avon float fishing with maggot bait.

     

    Are there opportunities out there this year which you wouldn't normally get but which are there this year due to the wet weather?

     

    Or should I get back on the bike? :)

  12. Here's a silver bream from the Thames last season:

     

    DSCF2178-1.jpg

     

    Hi Anderoo

     

    Fishing season beckoning so back at Anglers Net I'm afraid... Spent the last three months cycling hundreds of kilometres a week in a bid to get fit and take my mind off the wonders of fishing the beautiful rivers we have in the UK. And which are open from Saturday. Yay!

     

    I've a book on my bookshelves by John Wilson casting doubt on whether the silver bream is a distinct species...

     

    Just a juvenile bronze bream?

     

    Not a viewpoint I agree with but thought it might be of interest to Anglers Net readers.

     

    Possibly tosh but clearly a viewpoint held by some anglers in the 1990's...

  13. A friend told me that some of the angling forums appear to have rumours of a record chub of nine and a hlaf pounds coming out of the river Lea.

     

    Anyone heard anything?

     

    What a splendid fish if that is true. :)

     

    I'd just love to see photographs of this fish, let alone catch the monster!

  14. Is it just the south having a problem with a low level of water in our rivers?

     

    Perhaps we are just exagerating?

     

    How are you angling northerners getting on?

     

    Or are certain rivers being hit hard?

     

    A lack of rain?

     

    Abstraction?

     

    What's really going on?

  15. According to the Guardian, there are low water levels in the upper stretches of the Kennet. It's so bad there's been fish kill and this is in a month where you would expect much higher water levels.

     

    It probably affects game fishermen more than coarse fishermen in this case but I wondered if any other rivers or stretches or river had been similarly affected?

     

    Here's the article:

     

    Guardian

     

    What's the situation in your local area?

  16.  

    Ok - I dont want to sound nasty but this lad needs some serious lessons in both filming and fishing <_<

    Cant wait to watch parts 2 to 5

     

    I think you are being unfair on the guy.

     

    He's offering up his time and expertise for free.

     

    He may not be the 'new' TV presenter who will sweep the ratings but then he is just young. Maybe one day...

     

    A good example of the benefits of new media and the chance for everyone to have their say.

  17. I do believe that's the second of your guess the weight competions that I've won TT :D Still haven't received the prize for the first.

     

     

    If you win a third Guess the Weight competition, do you think the same rules apply as with the World Cup Trophy?

     

    That means you not only get to fish my favourite swims, you get to keep them... :unsure:

  18. I'd keep hold of them - they could come in handy when you get that 2.15 perch...!

     

    I find perch weights really hard to guess, even in real life. One time this season I was over a pound out on a guesstimate!

     

    (BTW the offer of a day's fishing here still stands, if you fancy it this autumn/winter.)

     

     

    Sounds like a splendid idea. Will pm you sometime in the next week with possible dates.

     

    Conditions should be 'sock on' in the next few weeks. :)

  19. Blimey, I was way out - nice one TT! Hopefully I'll see one that big at the weekend. I still reckon 2lb+ is the mark of a big perch.

     

    By the way, and I hate to ask, but are your scales digital or mechanical?

     

    I've had digital scales in the past and they were a nightmare.

     

    These ones are mechanical. They clearly aren't perfect though as the slightest nudge ensures they need readjusting so that they are zeroed again... :wallbash:

  20. A great fish whatever the weight TT, well done.

     

    Knowing how a 2lb perch in the water suddenly becomes half that on the scales I'll go for 1lb 13oz

     

     

    Time to reveal the winners and losers. :)

     

    After quickly unhooking and photographing the perch, I popped it on the scales and got a weight of 1.14. Went to release fish but noticed scales weren't zeroed properly.

    Reset the scales and got 2lb on the nose.

    Zeroed scales once more and got a reading of 2.1

    Not happy at three different weights I zeroed the scales one final time and took one final reading before releasing the fish - 2lb again...

     

    So I'm going for 2lb. And new scales. :rolleyes:

    Whilst it's not in the league of other perch caught by Anglers Net denizens, it certainly made feel decidedly chuffed. :)

  21. Following on from the perch topic that reflects many of the river fisherman's targets at this time of year, I enclose a snap of a perch snaffled on a legered worm - on an old fashioned but effective drilled bullet - from the wonderful Hampshire Avon.

     

    But guess the weight!

     

    Top prize is a day's fishing on my favourite swims; booby prize is two days fishng on my favourite swims... :)

     

    http://s963.photobucket.com/albums/ae117/t...current=351.jpg

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.