Crucian

Best wishes Budgie, sorry to hear your news. Paul.

Thanks Newt, Brilliant, I would love to watch one fishing. Paul.

I can well remember my excitement at catching my first 2lb roach from the Weser, but the only reaction I got from the regulars was 'oh yeah, how many'.... I hadn't caught roach that size either before or since. When the Weser flooded in winter, which it often did, we used to fish the little feeder streams which would become so full of big roach that it was almost boring after several hours of catching a fish every cast. Difficult to imagine now, but it happened regularly. Being soldiers, we had access to a lot of restricted military areas on the Weser that were hardly ever fished, including two 'Tug pools', we were a bridging regiment, Royal Engineers and the tugs which we used as safety boats were moored up in one of these pools. A small stream ran into one of these pools and when the roach were spawning, it seemed as though you could have walked across their backs, they were so numerous, big ones too. All of a sudden, the roach all but disappeared, no one knew why. All sorts of theories were put forward by the locals, including 'salt' from the east? but it was never the same again and it happened almost overnight. very strange. We used to fish a series of lakes at Hess Oldendorf which were connected to the river by an open channel. These used to become full of bream, real 'dustbin lids' when the river flooded. I too gave up match fishing on my return to the UK. I was posted to a place just outside Cambidge and fished one match on the river Cam. The match was won with a few oz's of very small roach. It was enough for me and I sold my match gear. The ice fishing sounds interesting. Paul.

Isn't that the truth? good point, well made.

Budgie, I tried this stroking thing, 'why not' I thought..... but it coughed, and then started to shrink.... became much more placid after that... Did I stroke for too long?

Very good memories Budgie! great river and great company. You are right about the roach disappearing, I had forgotten that, didn't the locals reckon it was salt or something coming down from east of the border or something like that? We were actually on our way to visit hameln when helen became ill, we had been touring europe for some time in a camper van and were coming back from Portugal (great fishing) when Helen became seriously ill, which meant we had to return to the UK. So didn't get back to hameln after all..... one day maybe. Changes in the carp scene! where shall we start? I too remember the reaction to our optonics. Still got mine and still use them now and again, more reliable than my latest 'tackle tart' delkims, only joking, but the delkims have been back 3 times now and they're only 2 years old. Never had the optonics serviced and they are still going strong after more than 30 years. Mind you, same with my old 300's, still use 'em, can't wear 'em out. Do you remember lending me some carp sacks one night so I could get some pictures in the morning? well...I had never seen a carp sack before but I'll never forget your face when I lifted them out with 3 or 4 carp in each one... you were kind enough not to take the p*** at the time, but you must of thought 'what a plonker!' I didn't know any better... had never seen a carp sack before.... I thought they were like a keep net for carp........memories. Still got those photo's too. I do remember the local 'carp gear', treble hooks, spuds, rods stuck vertically in the bank complete with several bells on the end and the 'anglers' all having a social (lots of beer and bratties) 200 yds up the bank! bet you can't remember the old boy catching that pike from the lake we carp fished or the pike match that you organised on the same water... good days. I enjoyed my fishing on that river. Didn't you catch some nice zander from the barge harbour? along with a young german lad, a specimen angler too was'nt he? a rare thing in germany, in those days. I agree about the potential, I often think about it, do you think there could have been any cats in there, if so they wouldn't have been hungry! what about the 'nase', remember them? As for those HGFC hoodies, didn't we think we looked cool, I can remember Ernie sat on his box with the hood pulled up, he looked like a gnome, we couldn't stop laughing .Remember Manfred? he took the P*** so much, Ernie took it off and spent the rest of the match shivering..... and it was a five hour match.... in mid winter too. Good days.....very good days.

Worms, I also agree, light tackle is a joy to use, where appropriate. I too use cane rods, not for any reason in particular and certainly not because it has become fashionable over the last few years, I simply prefer the nice forgiving through action that a good cane rod provides. I have caught plenty of barbel, not to any great size, I hasten to add and have never felt 'undergunned' at any time using 6/8lb line. Regarding fish exhaustion, following a prolonged fight, I think that returning barbel quickly and holding them in the current to recover should be part of every barbel anglers standard approach to fish care. I accept that my next comment may be controversial, but please be assured that is not my express intention; I used to regularly fish for carp and other species in known snags, this usually involved fishing 'locked up' with heavy gear, and 'hit and hold' tactics. I caught plenty of fish, but couldn't accept the regular mouth damage that occurred, and believe me it did happen, too often for my liking. I no longer intentionally fish known snags as a result... on many popular and heavily fished waters, the snags represent the only sanctuary for pressured fish. I question the need for 3lb + tc rods and 15lb + line for most carp fishing. I often hear the argument that it is needed for the extreme distances needed to catch fish in a particular water. The near bank margins are often the most neglected areas in these waters as a result.... makes you think, doesn't it? Having said all that, I don't think that fishing for large fish on ultra light gear is sensible either. Appropriate, balanced gear and the best fish care we can provide should be our first consideration and hopefully will ensure that we still have fish to catch in the future.

Hi Emma, I have fished the Weser many times at Minden and almost certainly fished the same match in 1982. I was posted back to the UK the same year. I remember the Hartz mountains well, there was some good trout fishing in the streams around Goslar (hope I have spelt that correctly). Good skiing too. Hope you enjoyed fishing the Weser, I would love to go back and fish it again. Weren't those big barges something else, I have seen anglers and loads of gear washed into the river with the wash......good times. Best regards, Paul.

Hi Jayson, It's nice to hear that there are still some fish in the Weser, it was a brilliant river to fish in the late 1970's and early 1980's. It had everything an angler could wish for, we used to fish a summer league, organised amongst ourselves and soldiers from our sister regiment in Hameln and it often produced in excess of 50lb of mainly roach in a 3 hour match. The sidestreams were good fishing when the river was in flood in the winter, most of the roach would go a pound and often better, this was on 3lb line straight through to a size 14 and double maggot. It would produce good bream in numbers from the slower stretches, the occasional barbel and even odd carp and some biggish chub. We often caught a fish called a 'nase' (not sure I've spelt that correctly, it means 'nose' in german) they were like a cross between a roach and a barbel, loveley fish of around 2/3lb that fought like tigers. Eels were plentiful too. It probably was an ex soildier you were talking to, most of us picked up a bit of the language. I would be interested to hear how the river is fishing. I have fond memories of it, the best river I ever fished. Best regards, paul.

Hi, I couldn't agree more. I too use cane rods for much of my fishing these days, B.James mkIV carp and mkIV Avon (1.1/4lb tc) Not just for the pleasure of using nice tackle but for the forgiving nature of the rods as well. I think you have to be sensible with lighter tackle and wouldn't fish tight to known snags or in heavy weed, but would use appropriate gear instead. Light tackle is hard to beat in my opinion, it's worth remembering that Chris yates landed his 51lb fish from Redmire on an Avon mkIV... makes you think, doesn't it... I fished at a local stillwater only yesterday, using an 11ft cane float rod and had a lovely mixed bag in a few hours, including tench and bream to around 3 lb and rudd to around a pound, all on a rod which cost me £5 at a car boot sale... rain as well, it was delightful day.

Hi Newt, I forgot to mention that the member I wish to contact is Dick Dastardly. Thanks and regards, Paul.

Hi Newt, Thanks for the welcome, much appreciated. The person I am trying to contact is 'Budgie' Burgess. If you could give him my email address please. We haven't spoken since I left Germany in the early 1980's. Thanks and best regards, Paul.

Hello all, As a new member, this is my first post. Whilst browsing 'Anglers net' this evening for the first time, I noticed a face and a nickname that was familiar to me, this took me down memory lane, back to my Army days and the time I spent in BOAR . We mainly fished the river Weser both for pleasure and in regular competitions both among ourselves and with our German hosts. An interesting aspect of our fishing was the newly formed specimen group, started and run, I believe, by an 'Anglers Net' member from the Kent area. Being a new member, I am, understandably, a little restricted as to how I post and contact other members. However, if the member concerned wishes to contact me, please do so, I would love to hear from you again. Not being very computer 'savvy', I'm not too sure how this can be done, any suggestions appreciated. I hope all members have had a good start to the new season. Thanks for a great site. Best regards, Paul.