AddictedToScopex

I always forget about the closed season until early March and then I realise I need to get on the bank asap. I went again last night and managed another 6lber which was nice. Feeling the effects on my elbow today though so may give it a few days before my next one. Its harder to fish effectively when you are distracted by the pain. Hope your knee mends well soon. I plan to target tench once the season ends. I have been looking at a new ticket which seems to have some decent tench waters.

As you may or may not know I broke my elbow a little over a week ago and try as I might I just couldnt stop myself from enduring the pain and getting out on the bank on Saturday evening. With the closed season fast approaching I bolted for the good old river Ribble. With the river being up and coloured I opted for a different swim to my usual one of late. I set up the first rod on meat and cast out and began setting up the second. Within 2 minutes I had a 3 foot twitch but sadly the fish had taken the meat from the hook and swum off with a smile on its face. I was amazed at how quick it was given the state of the river but it filled me with confidence. I got the 2nd rod setup and cast in and then began working on the first rod to replace the meat. No sooner had I sat down the other rod (fishing a boilie) went screaming off. I landed the fish and it was about a 6lb barbel in great condition. I was hoping this would set the tone for the evening but despite a few more bites on the meat things went a bit quiet for a few hours. I sat watching the rods simply enjoying being there and decided on 10 more minutes before I went home. I rebaited both rods and cast them back in with mesh bags of mixed pellet attached with the same meat on the right and boilie on the left. I waited the ten minutes and then decided on five more as we always do A minute later I had another huge take. It was defiintely a much stronger fish than the previous one. I was hoping that meant it was much bigger and I wasn't disappointed. After a great fight (despite the sore arm) I slid the net under another great looking barbel. I weighted it and it went 11lbs and a quarter in the net. I put it at around 10lbs something without the net but I forgot to weigh the net. Its not always the size that matters with fishing anyway for me. It was a great reward for braving the rain and the pain and I was quite chuffed. I had gone 4 years fishing this stretch without a double but that one made it 3 doubles in as many sessions. I am going back tonight (nothing a bit of paracetamol and ibuprofen can't fix )

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I would love to see the tide change from carp but then I think it would only turn to overstocking something else etc. I love natural waters but there are so few around now. I think that is why I fish the rivers far more than still waters. Wyeknot I will look at the tench fishers as that could be a good place for info too.

Hi folks, Just wondering if anyone knows of any decent tench fisheries in the north west. Not looking for carp holes although I know that may end up being the only option. I am wanting to find somewhere that hasn't been completely overrun by carp ideally. I wont be able to go for a little while I don't think as I have broken my elbow meaning my rod arm is out of action for now but trying to make plans for somewhere new to try and I am itching to get among the tench as it has been years since I caught a good one despite having tried at wingham twice Thanks

Just had a quick read through the post and it has made me want to get out trotting again so once my broken arm is well enough I may treat myself to a trip to the river. I've often wondered what the tri cast rods were like so will be keeping an eye out to see your opinion of it.

It may be worth a venture to said pound shop for some spinner bodies as they do seem to be the more costly part of the spinner. My mother runs a beading company so I have asked her to keep an eye out for anything that could be used as one. I also got some metal beads from here for nothing which I am going to use as the spacers between the blades etc. It's a shame I broke my arm on Saturday as I was hoping to get out this week to give them a go

I had a little play with the blades and clevises that I received from Martin the other day. I'm waiting on some spinner bodies to arrive and then I plan to make myself a load more spinners for both pike and perch. I managed to repair some old favourites using the clevises and modified some existing ones to fit two blades instead of one as I have found dual blade spinners have produced far better for me. The wire I got was pretty cheap at about £5 for 100 lengths. It was quite fun messing around with them. I may even get round to painting a few at some point to see how they fare. Always good to catch on things you have made yourself I think. Thanks Martin. Much appreciated.

Received my wire today and my first job is going to be to repair some existing spinners I have and maybe modify them a bit by fitting two blades instead of one. Always done much better on dual blade spinners. The possibilities are endless now

I have some soft plastics that come pre scented but when I fished them side by side with other lures that didnt (for perch) I caught many more on the ones that werent. May have been down to the pattern and action though as the scented were pin tails and the others were paddle tails.

Hi Martin, I have replied to your message. Apologies. I have indeed been away for a bit and for some reason I didnt get an email notifcation to inform me you had contacted me. Please drop me a pm so I can make the necessary arrangements for payment. Very happy with the blades and clevices. I have just ordered some wire and will be getting some beads and hooks to make my own spinners for the coming spring and summer. Ive done a bit of fishing this winter but am getting a bit tired of cold hands now so waiting til the temps rise a little.

Yes I think that will be the plan. I would like to make some tandem spinners for the pike too as I have had a lot of success on them over single blade ones. They also cast nicely due to the extra weight.

Looks a nice piece of kit. Must resist the urge to buy more reels.

Happy new year fellas.

Its been a while since I have been so I will be watching for the booking thread with anticipation.

Hi Martin, Yes the clevis would be needed. Phone If I managed a 6-7lb perch I would be a very happy man. I have only managed a 3lber to date. I am now onto pike for the winter with my best so far coming from a canal at 11lbs. Makes a nice change to my usual method of fishing.

Me too. The blades rather than spoons for me however as I do not really fish spoons.

There is a fair amount of watching nothing happen but so worth the effort when somethings bites I am quite lucky really that my nephew has got into fishing as before that it was just me as most of my mates show willing but then let me down at the last minute. The nephew has had his first barbel and first pike with me this year and he has loved it. His dad works a lot so doesnt get much time to do stuff with him so it both gives me company and allows him to do things he may not otherwise do

Hi All, Just thought I would post a few pics from my recent piking exploits. Nothing amazing size wise but it is something that has given me a bit of a new vigour as the cold weather sets in. My first proper trip with deadbaits was around a week ago. I decided I would fish a dead bait rod all day and also use lures near the bait. This was to be on the river but after about 3 hours of catching nothing but leaves on the river I decided to up sticks and go to the canal. It proved to be a good move as after working my way half way up where I had planned to end up I had a small jack to the spinner. It was only about 3lbs but it cheered me up on a cold day. I then made my way down to the spot I expected to have the best chance on the deadbait casting in and waiting 10-15 minutes before walking another 20 yards as I walked. It was about half an hour before dark when I heard a slight click from the bait runner followed by a slow clicking as the fish moved off with the bait. I struck into it and had a decent fish on the other end. I was made up. My first pike caught to a static deadbait. It went 9lbs on the scales and gave me a massive smile on my face. I cast back in again but had no further action. I had a good chat to a local farmer before making my way back to the car in the dark. He was surprised to see the size of the fish from what is really a little fished bit of canal. Fast forward to this sunday just gone and I was back out again. This time with my nephew in tow. He had seen my picture of the pike and wanted to try his hand at catching one himself. I set him up on a ledgered roach and he cast it under a bridge. We sat and waited and after a while I noticed a definite plucking on the end of his rod. No line had been taken or anything. I assumed maybe an eel was picking at it. Not long after it stopped. After 5 minutes we brought the rod in to find the roach was gone. We rebaited and cast back into the same spot. This time it was just 5 minutes or so before the rod tip started moving again. I told him to get ready and as soon as the indicated dropped off I told him to strike. He immediately hooked into another nice pike. He enjoyed a great scrap and I netted it for him. He was buzzing with excitement. We weighed it and rested it and set it free. It went 7lbs on the nose. We didnt have any more that day despite trying loads of different spots and different baits but it didnt matter. He wont forget that one in a hurry!

Cheers guys. Had a couple of hours but no joy. Was a bit of a spur of the moment thing and just fancied trying something different. The Mrs isn't well so I'm making hay at every opportunity I was using half a herring float fished on the bottom and had starlights on my float so I could see it. The undertow seemed pretty strong which surprised me a bit. Was a lovely night to be out. Clear skies full of stars nice and peaceful. Beats sitting in front of the box

Got my thermal suit and hat at the ready. No flask sadly. If the bogeyman comes along I will politely ask him to stop walking round my damn swim

Wobbling deads can be a superb method. As you say though the longevity of the bait is what stops me doing it more often. It drives me crackers to have the bait hanging off the hooks by the time it gets back to me.

Hi all, I have been lure fishing for pike for some time now (a number of years) and have dead baited on occassion with limited success. I am going to go this evening and plan to buy some sardines or mackerel from Asda before I go and just cut them up as needed. I plan to float fish them using star lights on my float. This is a method I have used before and caught on. My question really is what tips would you give me with regards to locations in the evenings or any other tips that may be of use to me. I will post a catch (or blank) report as soon as I get chance. I wont be there all night but just a few hours of darkness. p.s. I am confident in unhooking them so no worries there

Filled it in for you

I would probably go for either a bit of light lure fishing in shady spots or I would get the maggot feeder out on the river.

I will hopefully get out this weekend so will report back