Paulg

Some very fine tench there! Good pics too!

Oh wow.....brilliant fishing Tigger ....can I come fishing with you please

I've pinched this from Vineys "Frustrating session" thread as I think it deserves a thread of its own Both are really interesting in content and there is room for further discussion in each, but if continuing in just one thread it might get a tad confusing....or it would for me at least On these Upper Thames chub Steve....I bet a free-lined slug would be a superb bait! I've used them with almost devastating effect on the Kennet, to the extent that on more than one occasion I've been bringing a chub to the net, with the slug hanging outside its mouth, only for another chub come and try to take it !

As you say, the "new unhooking method"....successful removal of the hook from the fish, however we are left with a hook completely unusable ever again I like that action pic of you playing the perch!

Not even a tench on the feeder, couple of beeps on one cast but that was it...time to review the mix I'm using with the feeder methinks!

Well done, must have been fun, a proper bit of jungle fishing!! Lovely looking bit of water Steve, what is that mark on the second chub? Sorry Viney, got distracted from the original question Maggots should be fine as bait, the trout can be a real problem these days as there are so many of them in some of our rivers. I'd guess OTIB (huge chub BTW!) is on the right lines with the barbel probably spawning.

One thing I am trying to achieve by including stuff about my cancer is to raise awareness of the disease. Like many of you readers, I too get a bit fed up at times with the amount of advertising on tv and radio about cancer as I believe over-exposure of any topic can lead to indifference. But I also believe that me writing about my experiences is coming in from a more real angle, and therefore more notice might be taken. That said, I know my friends will tell me if I am becoming boring! The problem with fishing for crucians is that the quest to catch one can become almost an obsession, especially when the trips to the lake are not successful. So, a new month and another evening finds me set up again on Harris Lake. The robin that visited me last time was strangely absent on my arrival, perhaps he had burnt his feet on the kettle! At least I could take comfort that my rigs and baits were not unattractive to the fish, certainly the tench weren’t being put off by any of it, and this one, weighing over 5 lbs was one of a dozen that I caught during the 12-hour stint by the lake. Looking back over the past 16 months since my diagnosis and then further back in time, I can now see some of the warning signs of something being seriously wrong, the beauty of hindsight….how may times have I heard people say that? Perhaps reading my hindsight will act as foresight for someone else in the future! Four months prior to the day I was told I had cancer I had been diagnosed with depression. If you look at the symptoms of both, there are similarities, and reading further into it, depression can actually be a symptom in its own right, of kidney cancer! In the months leading up to the depression diagnosis I had been trying to lose a bit of weight, eating more healthily, cutting down on my beer consumption, (that bit was hard!), and doing a bit more exercise. It was only when my weight, previously well over 13 stone, had dropped to under 12 that one warning bell started to sound properly. At the time it didn’t make sense to me that I should perhaps be talking to my doctor about something that I was trying to achieve! Anyway, back to that evening, it was lovely and mild, only a little breeze, overall a very pleasant time to be sat by a lake! Whilst I continued to catch tench on a regular basis throughout the evening and into the night, the crucians continued to ignore everything I was putting onto their dinner plates. However, just after 3:15 in the morning, the bleary eyes spotted a slight movement of the float, very different to the indications from a tench nosing the bait. The problem with staring at a starlite float for hours in darkness is that eventually the float will begin to move on its own. The eye strain kicks in, and the float starts to dance around like a mad thing, appearing to move first to one side and then another. You will blink to try and clear the eyes, and when they open the float will be steady as a rock….for about two seconds before it starts all over again. Shine a torch on the float, and it will appear stationary, switch off the torch and the dancing will begin again. And if there is any ripple at all, then it becomes ten times worse…and this fishing lark is fun! But, back to 3:15, or 3:20 now, the float dips for real, and a couple of minutes later, my long awaited prize is on the unhooking mat. Not a monster, but a 1lb 14oz bar of gold, and worth every second of the dancing float! Very pleased with my catch, the stove went on for another mug of tea, before casting out again, with slightly less bleary eyes! From then until I packed up at around 8:30 the float went under on a regular basis, and I finished the session with a total of twelve tench, and five crucian carp, none larger than the first one though. The hunt for a specimen two pound plus fish would have to wait for another day. In between the fish I even found time to have a look at the moon It is true when they say that you learn to live with cancer, well, it isn’t quite true, what actually happens is that your life adapts to accommodate the disease and the associated factors that it brings with it. Not only does the life of the patient adapt, it impacts that of the whole family. Our menu has had to be adapted to take into account the treatment side effect on my taste buds. Our days are now more carefully planned than previous, no spur of the moment stuff, and family rambles that used to be up to 8-9 miles are currently restricted to a maximum of 5 miles., which is still pretty good though! We go through a three monthly cycle, in between the scheduled CT scans, with the week before the results being the worst sector. The last scan, in April, was not as positive as previous so we are all now in a horrible limbo waiting for the next one at the end of July. However, that is over a month away and despite its looming presence on the horizon we will continue to make the most of the time available. To quote Gandalf, well, Tolkien really, because he wrote it..”All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us” ....and so we will. Just before packing up on what was going to be a lovely morning, I managed one final crucian, an ounce smaller than the first one,. At 1lb 13oz, it was a gorgeous sight at the end of a very fruitful overnight session. And as the day anglers were turning up, I drove away from the fishery with a big grin underneath the slightly bloodshot eyes, I had finally achieved my spring target, and was looking forwards to breakfast!

It is a crying shame....the big difference between previous mass extinction events and the one we are reportedly heading into now.....none have been manufactured by the actions of one of the lifeforms inhabiting the planet at the time? The BBC article suggests that Lemurs are top of the list....and the reasons....human intervention related. And to quote from the IUCN report...."The results show that, on average, 50 species of mammal, bird and amphibian move closer to extinction each year due to the impacts of agricultural expansion, logging, over-exploitation and invasive alien species." I'd guess most of the "invasive alien species" are doing the invading because of the human impact on their normal habitat. The report doesn't say how many are moving closer to the same end due to something non-human related, I suspect that number is quite close to zero? As I see it, this next extinction event is still preventable.....however the culprits will not act in time.....the result will serve us right really.

Dawn....a glorious time of day to be out fishing.

Scaling down to a size 18 and single caster got me this one while float fishing yesterday morning, 3lb 3oz. During the same session I fished a second rod, flat bed method feeder, fake caster....not a touch in over 12 hours fishing!

Not the biggest from my latest venture into the frustrating world of crucian fishing, but it was the best picture...2lb 1oz. This was one of a catch of half a dozen, two of which were a bit bigger, 2lb 5oz and 2lb 6oz.....and I'm going back down to Marsh Farm with Chris for another go in a couple of days. Hoping to find some bigger versions of the same species, fingers crossed. All these were caught on hair-rigged pellets, but I'll be trying fake caster and maggot on the next outing.

Gorgeous barbel Tigger, and all on the float, now that's what I call a good start to your river season

Cheers Ken

I keep forgetting to ask Anderoo, how are you getting on with fake baits? I'm trying a fake maggot/caster rig this season and it seems to be doing ok....for the tench anyway! Maybe worth another thread....but do people float fish fake baits in lakes....I've not thought to try them with that method?

And at 00:02 you'll remember you put it on the worktop in the kitchen so you didn't forget it

Lovely tench Tigger! All look in gorgeous condition.

Looking at the fishing regulations for Tatton Park, the only "certain times" is as you say Anderoo, during the old season dates, so no fishing between 15th March and 15th June inclusive. There is a certain area from which you can fish, and definitely no night fishing. So guessing this guy was fishing during the close season, and probably at night?

All the record submitted fish, or the same one three times, whatever, came from Johnsons. Whilst this is considered part of the MF complex, it is a members only lake, with Harris and Richardsons being the two lakes available to day ticket anglers. I don't know if Godalming have a cap on membership numbers, but their joining fee, £65, might put a few people off. Of the day ticket lakes, Harris is the one known for the better stamp of crucians, a 4.01 has been caught earlier this spring, however most anglers I've spoken to are finding it hard so far to get through the tench population this year. The remainder were miserable sods who didn't want to talk to me I have been down on two Saturday mornings during May / June, both after the 4lb fish had been reported in the angling press, and Johnsons did look busy, but there again, it has been the same at this time of year for the last three or four seasons. On the other hand, Harris and Richardsons, the day ticket lakes were both actually a lot quieter than I expected.

Oh, please, please, please...can someone video the first night of the season wherever Rusty is going to be fishing. And make sure he is issued with a life jacket ! I have this image of a bite alarm going off, followed by Rusty, looking like a caterpillar as he can't get the sleeping bag zip to work, crashing through the front of his new bivvy.....into the river Steve, if you are fishing with him....look after him....but as above, make sure the record button is pressed

You wouldn't be allowed to use this one on a catch and release venue

Sounds like it still has some quality rudd John I would guess a weed-rake might be a very good option for this lake, perhaps doing that the evening before a visit, and bait the cleared area with whatever you have got available, just make sure it is deeper than the swans can reach ! Paul

Whilst I now fish on lakes during the close season, and the 16th June is usually spent on stillwater I still really look forwards to my first river outing of the summer. I am very fortunate that I am spoilt for choice, with the Kennet, Loddon, and Blackwater all within very easy reach. More than likely I will be on the Kennet, probably after a barbel one evening during the first week. Further afield, I am trying very hard to get my brother-in-law back into fishing, and he has the Rother plus the Don on his doorstep, neither of which have I fished before....read a lot about them though!! Good luck to all, wherever you may head !

Well, third time lucky it was.....I got one, or more precisely five of them Blog entry to follow in a few days, but one pic to share, you see the bubbles in the pic below, and the ring just starting to spread from the float....that was my first crucian of the season having a bit of prawn for his tea ! Next second the float disappeared, and the camera nearly ended up in the maggots, as I went to grab the rod ! Not a monster, but a 1lb 14oz bar of gold...and I was most chuffed

According to one of the chaps in the on-site shop that I have just spoken to, yes they have. Also the "circus" have all gone off to play somewhere else now Apparently the tench in Harris are far more prolific than the crucians so far this season....which ties in with my results of 21 tench and zero crucians.....new aftershave has been purchased along with some lucky clover in advance of another outing!

Thanks very much John - hopefully me doing a bit of "talking" about cancer will help someone! Anderoo - attempt number three this coming Friday, I hope ! Paul