Bayleaf the Gardener
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Blog Comments posted by Bayleaf the Gardener
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Well done , Chris, for pulling the iron from the fire (perch from the ice?) after a tricky day. I had an even more paltry session on the Moors the day before, mind you, it was minus-4 as I arrived, so may have been better off practising my triple-Lutz's on what was then thick ice on the canal.
I always expect to struggle, but it's a worry for the river when masters like you have a sub-parr(!) day.
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Almost certainly - but I wont have word said against your friend and mine, the gudgeon
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22 minutes ago, Chris Plumb said:
Aye - well done - Red corn can be a brilliant bait for chub at this time of year - the trout are spawning and I reckon the chub mistake the red corn for trout eggs which they must see quite a bit of in the winter...
That must render your favourite fish, the brownie, cannibals? I refuse to be drawn into suggesting that it's dogfish eat dogfish in the piscatorial world, as it's your birthday week and that would be unfair. Trust you had a good few days, even if your football team didn't offer you much cheer.
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1 hour ago, The Flying Tench said:
My congrats, too, particularly for the chub, but also for the perch on lure a couple of days ago despite the cold weather.
And I'm enjoying your 'preposterous' book!
Aw, FT! I'm very touched. Thank you so much for getting the book. No fishing references in it whatsoever, I'm pleased to say. i hope you continue to enjoy it
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Aw, thanks Peter. It was a fun day, as ever. I felt sorry for the fish; they were like ice blocks
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I like your style - sneaky! I'd heard that you rubber-wearers get all of the fun.
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You called it: I've already touched base with the Newbury Field Club, West Berks Heritage Forum and Angling Heritage, all of who have been incredibly willing to help, and I have been bothering the good folk of the West Berks Museum and Newbury library. I'm also a Friend of the Newtown Road Cemetery and have helped out a tiny bit with their own inscription cataloguing.
I hadn't thought of the Thatcham Historical Society, but as much of the NAA water is on their patch, I will certainly drop them a line - thank you!
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Nice haul, Chris. I feel sorry for the grayling, as it seems heavily pressured. They must all have been caught hundreds of times, so must find those maggots irresistible (well, yours, anyway!)
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Hi FT
Thank you for your considered reply. The NAA membership currently stands at about 750, so that's a much lower hit-rate.
It would purely be a labour of love than a money-shaking exercise. I have self-published a book before, (Preposterous Tales From the Newbury Short Story Teller is still available on Amazon!), and appreciate it's a load of work for scant return. But self-publishing costs nothing financially; Amazon print each copy on demand, and take a cut of whatever the author sets the sale price at, so it doesn't 'matter' of it sells one copy or a million. Thus there is no financial risk.
I think there might be a slightly larger audience, as it will tie in much local and social history, such as the pubs and hotels mentioned for meetings that have gone or been renamed, and the stories of some of the local dignitaries that were on the early committee, the graves of some are still in Newtown Road Cemetery. There are more examples. but I won't pull all of the goodies out of the bag yet!
It's a good call to look at other club histories - thank you - I shall certainly add this to my to-do list. It will be a long-term process, I may even have caught a 2lb chub by the time I finish it - who knows, but one I'm looking forward to.
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..and your bleak! Thanks for your support, Peter.
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Yes, I think it was it's enormous size that had me confuddled. No excuses though: it's a bleak. Doh.
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You're right! A bleak - how appropriate. The others were dace, I promise.
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Ha ha - yes, you've advised me correctly before. I promise to listen this time! Out of interest, what is the second rule?
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1 hour ago, Chris Plumb said:
Size 18/3.6lb is a bit light for me - would never fish that if there's a chance of a decent chub around. Today for example I was on a 14 drennan super spade (hand) tied to 0.18mm dia (6.6lb). Would rather land what bites I get even at the expense, sometimes, of fewer bites!
Thanks. Chris. Sound advice. Every session is a school session. I presume it's double maggot on a 14, though this seems a big hook for the task.
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Hi FT
Here are the NAA Regulations re two rods with a single angler from the rulebook, I think it answers some of your queries:- Anglers are permitted to use two rods on Collins, Knotts, Dobsons, Pallets Pool, Bellwood, Brimpton, Aldermaston and Dixons when in possession of a two rod permit
- Anglers fishing with a single rod may use an additional rod for pike fishing. The two rods must not cover more than 10 metres of water, and must be placed 2 metres of each other. It is not permissible that both rods should be equipped and baited for pike. Anglers fishing with two rods on a Specimen permit may not use a third rod for pike fishing.Personally, when fishing a pike rod, I tend to fish a light maggot set up too, fished one rod length out, where allowed. This gives me something to focus on while waiting for those rare runs, (I try to keep both pike and waggler floats in the same line of view at the same time). I think that potentially, the loose feeding of maggots may help draw pike in should the silvers start feeding. By fishing so close in, I can quickly throw the float rod out of the way should a pike run start.
I'd be interested to hear if others have different/better approaches.
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FT - You are too kind. I'm quietly reasonably pleased overall, but though as I think it was Vic Reeves who said, 67% of statistics are made up on the spot, mine show that I need to crank up my skills on the rivers.
Pjg -I'd be happy to trade as many of my measly sub-1oz roach for your fat chub as you like. I can deal with all paperwork.
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In my limited experience, I've not had a roach bigger than 6 ounces in the canal. Out of the NAA waters I've been told that there are good roach in both Bellwood and Collins (neither of which I have fished much), with my own p.b.s coming at Willows and Knotts. These may have only been 12-ounce tiddlers, but still seemed like bars of solid silver to me. Thank you for your kind words re blogs, but I'd favour CP's as he always has far more fish in his posts.
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Sound advice, Chris, but I didn't pick it up soon enough to take heed and prevent a blank. I'll maybe give it a go in the week ahead and report back if I do.
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Hi FT. Nothing more technical than a single maggot (red or white: seemed to make no difference) on a size 18 on 2lb hook length. (I would have gone to 20, but there seemed no need). Not sure my local tackle shop sells pinkies. The maggots were over a week old and quite tired, but this didn't seem to put the roach off. There being virtually no flow (apart from barge wake) I used the smallest stick float I could get away with, shirt-button shotted, and set just above the bottom (ie I adjusted to the point where I stopped dragging the bottom or picking up leaves). It was prob about 4ft deep and while there was bleak activity on the surface, the roach seemed to be on the bottom. I used my 15ft float rod pretty much as a whip and fished 2 lines, one say 6ft out, the other maybe 18 (ie both my side of halfway). The swim is quite sheltered, next to a bridge and close to some bankside reeds. I tossed in the occasional small ball of liquidised bread and maybe 6 loose maggots every 4 or 5 mins. There, I can't claim any great wisdom to this, but it seemed to work when most of my trips seem to fail, and hope there is something in it that might bring you good juju.
Thank you for your Christmas wish, which I of course return. My presents kindly included a fishing jumper and a voucher for Thatcham Angling, to which I will be rushing when it next opens, and checking on pinkie availability.
Good luck: keep the faith - it will happen!
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Must admit, I'm not a great fan of fishing into dark on rivers as I'm clumsy enough in the light tbh. Then again, I don't think I've really done any since night fishing as a teen at Molesey. I can remember the panic that bringing in a large and angry eel caused us youngsters at 2am. This said, I've enjoyed lake fishing into the dark lately, where somehow I feel less likely to kick my tacklebox into still water, and landing a fish without mishap seems more plausible. I must try again.
If I am to topple into the water, the Didcot B sounds the place to do it. If I were a fish, I'd certainly be choosing the warmer water now, maybe downstream of that entry pipe where the residual warmth joins the natural flow of food, but hey, what would I know.
To cement my solidarity with your run of bad luck, I insisted on a blank when went to Knotts lake yesterday, in a swim I'd encountered large(ish) roach and perch last year, and has enough cover to look pikey. I wasn't disappointed: the only fish I wound in was the half-mackerel on the pike rod. Does this count? It didn't fight much. Not a single touch on float either, the rotters. Ah, well, turkey it is for Christmas dinner after all.
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Ah, F.T. I know that feeling only too well. I can offer no advice, but do extend the arm of solidarity.
Fish, eh? Your posts remind me of me - I feel that technically, I tend do the right thing, but nobody tells that to the fish.
Offering no solution, and not knowing the Thames (well, not since Kingston and Teddington circa 1976) but making suggestions from what you have written:
- short sessions - a much wiser angler than me on this site once said he'd rather fish 2 hours when they were feeding, than 6 hours when they weren't. Do your times coincide with the warmest time of the day, or when research shows other anglers are catching on the venue?
- Looking at the Angling Press, I notice that many of the large chub seem to come the first hour into dark.
- No obvious chub swims - maybe fish venues that have them, or research where they've been caught in the past.
- random casting of cheese paste. Maybe throw in a few freebies in, say 6 areas, then fish them in turn? If the water is clear, they say bread or corn is good.
- clear, low water. Blooming difficult. I think anyone would struggle.
- how about piking? I'm giving them a go tomorrow. Without wishing to appear rude to them, they seem to me to be less finicky than some species this time of year and dare I say, less fussy over baits/techniques.
There, don't listen to a word I have to say as I don't have the catch record to back it up, but I hope there's a thing or two to think about. But top rules are (i) only go if you're enjoying it, which it sounds like you are, and (ii) it beats playing golf, so think yourself lucky!
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Erk -you've made my mind up for me, Chris. If you struggled on the Moors, I'll have no chance tomorrow, so will try for a pike at Dixons with the potential to have another bash at my Hambridge canal swim later on (had 43 roach there in less than 2 hours @2 degrees yesterday after the 50 last week. OK, all small so far, but fun). Enjoy that annual clean and have a great Christmas.
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Hi FT. Thank you for your support in this clear case of rod self-annihilation. There are as many lure anglers on SM as crayfish these days, and one assumes they must catch occasionally. The many YouTube videos suggest the perch jump out of the river at you. As you know, fishing is all about confidence (and keeping your hook out of trees) and I must admit I was twitching my rubber worm with some apathy. Maybe it will take a fluke catch to give me the required faith.
It was a beautiful roach session, thank you. All roach are pretty fish and though none of them were kissable in size, I can't wait to have another tiddler bash down there. After 50 roach, the two modest perch felt like blue marlins. I remain hopeful for the bigger ones next time and maybe, just maybe, a gudgeon or even two.
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What a fab morning, Congrats, particularly on the chubby chub. You are an inspiration! No brownies or gudgeon though...
29.1.22 - Marsh Benham
in The Newbury & Port Talbot Blanker
A blog by Bayleaf the Gardener in General
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Hmm, it only looked 4-9 to me in the net.
OK, I'll owe you an ounce next time.