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  1. Kennet & Avon Canal - Thatcham 0700 - 1200 Mild/warm, still and overcast - 13ºC -> 17ºC. Neigh on perfick! 18 Perch: In order of capture: 2lb 14oz, 2lb 11oz, 2lb 8oz,*, 2lb 6oz, tiddler, ~, 2lb 6oz, 1lb 6oz, 3lb 3oz, 2lb 6oz (again! all different fish I think!), 1lb 7oz, 3lb 6oz, 3lb 2oz, 3lb 0oz, 3lb 14oz (equal PB!), 2lb 13oz, 1lb 3oz, tiddler,tiddler,~. !!! Nearly 40lb of perch ! 1 Tench*: 4lb 3oz. 2 Chub~; 1¼lb and a chublet. WOW - make hay while the sun shines. Or rather catch perch while its a dull overcast day!!! Never been so disappointed to catch a 4lb tench - for a couple of minutes I was convinced I was connected to a huge perch. I knew it wasn't a pike - never even entered my head that it wouldn't be a perch! Most fish caught by 1030 - and the run of 4, 3lbers in 4 casts was just after a couple of barges had come through the swim. Often the death knell for sport but not today! Had planned to do a lot of wandering and did fish one new swim on the way back to the car - did mean I didn't have a keepnet with me - which I have taken to bringing for perch sessions - putting them back 40/50yards upstream didn't seem to affect the swim, mind! First time I've ever had 5, 3lbers in a single session! Pics below are of the 3 biggest & the tinca...
  2. Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Godalming 1430 - 0930 Warm and with sunny spells. Quite breezy at times (as it ALWAYS is here - must be the windiest place in Surrey!) 16 Tench; 5 over 4lb, biggest 5lb 2oz, all the rest between 2½ - 3½lb, 11 Roach, 4 over 1lb - biggest 1lb 8oz! , 1 Perch, 1lb 9oz (on float fished meat at midnight), 6 Rudd. A cunning plan that was hatched a year ago. The day started with me popping over to the tackle shop for GAS exchange books (and key) which allowed us access beyond the normal Day Ticket restrictions. Just as well too, as I caught 15 of my tench during the hours of darkness. Paul had an even better day (or rather night) after a slow start - fewer tench than me but he did have crucians show up in the morning accounting for a dozen with around ½ of them over 2lb - me 2 swims down had not a hint of them - in fact for the last couple of hours I couldn't buy a bite on float fished maggot whilst Paul was getting crucians at a fish a chuck (well nearly! ). We both couldn't believe the size of the roach we were catching - Paul had 3 over a lb and like me had more which were close - he also had a 2lb perch - on ledgered corn/worm cocktail... A tench at dawn - pic of my 5lber. Pauls biggest Crucian (2lb 13oz) A tench heads for the lillies - my only 'daylight' tinca. A Surrey dawn Pleasing in appearance - even more pleasing in disappearance (H T Sheringham)
  3. Newbury AA Stillwater - Widmead 1700 - 0730 Cool and breezy (very) with short sharp showers to start. Overnight felt very chilly in the wind (temps were down to 10ºC) so the quilted, thermal one-piece suit made a rare appearance. I went from feeling chilled to toasty in a matter of minutes (though that might just have been struggling to get in it!) 1 Tench; 4lb 3oz. 2 Bream, 5lb 2oz & 4lb 3oz. 1 roach & 1 perch. A session that failed to live up to early promise as all my fish were caught in the first couple of hours. However that was it and I didn't get another bite after 2100 - just the odd bleep on the lead and bloddy crayfish worrying whatever bait I fished in the margins. Paul had a similar experience - catching 3, 6lb+ carp before it got dark - then nothing. Though he did get a bream just as I was packing up. Sausage du jour was Pork and Bramley Apple, accompanied with a couple of fried egg sandwiches and a mug of tea - lovely!
  4. Newbury AA Stillwater - Widmead 1930 - 0000 Warm overcast and muggy night - lovely shirt-sleeves evening though needed plenty of DEET - mozzies were in almost plague like swarms! Temp still 16ºC at midnight. 1 Crucian; 3lb 3oz. 1 Tench; 4lb 9oz. 2 carp 6lb 3oz & 6lb 13oz. 1 Rudd. Mission accomplished - 1st crucian of the summer and it's a real goodun! Things didn't start off quite so well - had the 'smaller' carp practically 1st cast on my float gear - took an age to get in and completely trashed the swim. So no bites afterwards for ages. Had switched to trying to get a few carp off the top and had not long put back the other one when a very large crucian rolled in my over where I'd baited earlier. A useful reminder to stop fannying about and get back to what I'd come here for. Swim really came alive in the first hour of darkness (22-2300) with fishing rolling and lots of bubbles. Crucian caught at around 2230 with the tench some 20 minutes later. My 4th biggest ever Crucian...
  5. Harris Lake, Marsh Farm Fishery, Nr Godalming. 1530 - 0930 Overcast and muggy becoming cooler am. (And DRY despite the forecasts for days beforehand forecasting rain!) 14 Tench; 7 over 4lb, best 3 - 6lb 2oz, 5lb 7oz, 5lb 5oz. 6 Crucians; 3lb 1oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 3oz*, 2lb 1oz*, 1lb 15oz, 1lb 10oz. 4 Roach - 3 over 1lb (!) best 1lb 6oz. 3 Rudd - all 10-12oz. 3rd time Paul and I have done a night here and this cracking session was following on from last season's successful experiment which also copied the same pattern of not a lot happening until it got dark and then steady action during the night. Though all the roach and rudd were caught within the first couple of hours of arriving; a rather unexpected and very pleasant 'Welcome to Marsh Farm'! The feeding switched was flicked around 2230 - and the fish came out in 'bursts' through out the night - often 2 or 3 in quick succession followed by up to an hour staring at a stationary float. There were some notable differences to previous trips - one was bait de jour. Last time out we eeked out a precious few prawns between the 2 of us as bait (they were meant to be Paul's lunch) - as that was all we could catch on - so this time we came armed with tonnes of them - so of course - I didn't get a bite to them - and Paul hardly any better. Nearly all my fish came to good old maggot (I had 4 tench on meat - the only exceptions). Fished float fishing the margins lift method (as per usual!) I think all of Paul's float caught fish also fell to maggot or meat - and he also had a lot of tench on corn - though these were caught ledgering out by the island (the cad!) Another curiosity was in the difference of catch returns - Paul ended with 10 tench and 10 crucians - but the vast majority of his tench (8 I think) fell to the ledger rod - his float rig caught mainly crucians - whereas my float approach - some 20m away in the next swim - using the same tactics (and bait) produced mainly tench. *These 2, 2lb crucians were shamelessly poached from Paul's swim. We were packing up and I was chatting to Paul in his peg and looked into the water to see a group of crucians right close to the bank in no more than a foot of water mopping up some bait that Paul had thrown away. Watching them, they would scoot in, feed for around 20 seconds and then leave - to return a minute later to repeat the process. Simply waiting for them to return and lower a bait in front of your chosen fish resulted in an instant take - 1st time I've ever 'stalked' crucians! Paul wasn't too amused though! All in all a great night's fishing - though the lack of any breakfast (the onsite tackle shop have stopped selling bacon butties ) was a bit of a let down. Plumby's stove will be packed for our next trip here! A couple of the roach... Crucians - my 3... Paul's biggest (2½) Tench - my 6 and a 5½ for Paul.
  6. Johnsons Lake/Harris Lake, Milford (a ) 1515 - 2330 - Johnsons (b ) 0000 - 0345 - Harris (c ) 0415 - 1030 - Johnsons Warm and sunny. Night was also quite warm despite mainly clear sky. Johnsons: (a) 1 Perch; 2lb 2oz and a micro - carp (smaller than my hand!). (c ) 1 Crucian 3lb 1oz, 1 Tench 7lb 6oz. 1 Mirror carp (only slightly bigger than my hand at 2lb 10oz!) (b ) Harris: 5 Tench; all over 3lb with 2 over 5lb. 3 Crucians; all over 2lb to 2lb 9oz. A quick return to Milford and after a night on Harris on Monday/Tuesday this time Paul and I were up for more of a challenge. Just as well as conditions were somewhat challenging. We don't have the required permit to do a full night on Johnsons so the plan was to fish as long as was 'legal' (2 hours after sunset) and return as soon as allowed (an hour before sunrise) which means at this time of year little more than 4 hours to 'kill'. My plan for this time was to nip over the fence (OK style) to fish Harris while Paul - quite literally hit the sack - and got in over 3 hours kip!. I even pre-baited and plumbed a swim on Harris so that I could drop into it immediately in the dark. So Part 1 afternoon/evening on Johnsons - and what a grueller it was. Paul and I couldn't so much as buy a bite - despite numerous changes of bait and tactics. Eventually at around 2100 he snaffled a 5lb+ tench which I went to help him with (or not as the case maybe - ask him about my new unhooking method!). On recasting my float rod - loaded with 2 white maggots I was wondering why the float wouldn't cock - until I realised I had a fish on - a nice perch taking the bait on the drop - so after 6 fruitless hours both our blanks were 'saved' in the space of 5 mins. Nothing of note followed just a TINY carp which gave a good facsimile of a crucian bite to add to my irritations... Part 2 could be described as the 'easy interlude'. Paul took it easy - while I had it easy! First cast in my new swim on Harris - over my pre-baited area produced the 2-09 crucian - bites and fish came in quick succession until the action tailed off at around 0300 - ALL my fish caught over the pre-baited part of the swim. Part 3 started with us deciding to target a different part of the lake and 'follow the wind' - which meant us setting up shop in two swims either side of a large bed of lilies - a classic looking summer lake swim if ever there was. Now at least we started to get bites - the problem was connecting with a fish. I'd bumped a couple before at last connecting with something that was solid if unspectacular in resistance - unmistakably a crucian. And when it popped to the surface like a cork it was unmistakably a BIG crucian - guided thankfully to my net - a bit of a beat up old warrior it pulled the needle down the 'right side' of the 3lb marker! Next was a small (and unwelcome) mirror carp before another bite was met with a heavy somewhat ponderous fight almost like a large bream - this turned into a fat female tench - which as I guided it to the net got me thinking - could be a pb! Not quite a PB - but my biggest tench for 4 years. All the while Paul on the other side of the lily bed had the irritation of my repeated requests for a photo - without the need for reciprocation! By now the sun was rising higher and with it hopes of a big crucian getting lower until a switch to caster at last did the trick for him, First off a lovely conditioned crucian which had us both guessing 'could be' but alas wasn't (a 3lber) missing out by an ounce. His next though clearly was and at 3lb 3oz turned out to be the day's best. By now I had quite a ripple in my swim and if I was getting crucian bites I clearly couldn't see them to hit. Paul was still getting the odd clear indication but couldn't connect. So ended a challenging session - but an ultimately successful one! Fish on! (at last!) My perch heads for some near bank brambles... but doesn't escape! Paul's 5lber - it really wasn't this dark - Perch above was caught right after....! Sunrise My 3lb Crucian (with apologies from the photographer for the lack of focus!) And my 7lb tinca.... Finally Paul's 2 crucians 2lb 15oz 4ozs heavier
  7. Harris Lake - Marsh Farm, Milford. 1100 - 0130 Bright, hot and sunny (mainly) 3 Tench: 5lb 14oz, and a brace of 3lbers. 2nd Paul Goulbourn Memorial Cruican Fish-in attended by 16 IAC members. Fishing was hard going for most though a few crucians were caught - the biggest going to Krzystof (sp?) - who won the trophy for biggest cruican with a 2lb 4oz fish. Quite a few resorted to the training pond just to get bites! I always planned to fish on after the event and was hopeful that history would repeat itself as I had a lot of fish after dark at last year's event. 3 tench as it got dark augured well though despite briefly having crucians rolling in my swim I couldn't so much as buy a bite once it was dark. So whilst I had planned to fish till dawn I figured 2 or 3 hours extra kip was the better option!
  8. Willows Lake - Thatcham 1900 - 0500 Warm overcast night - lovely night to be out! 4 Carp; 6lb 5oz, 6lb 14oz, 7lb 12oz, 13lb 9oz. 5 Tench - best 2lb 7oz and all the others C2lb±2oz. 1 Crucian; 3lb 3oz. ½doz+ perch - all small. Nice to see some tench in Willows - bin many years since I've had this many in a session. All fish fell to lift method tactics less than a rod length out - with simple maggots as bait - did also bring a feeder rod but it stayed in the quiver all night. Snaffling one of the lake's big elusive crucians is always the target here - so extremely pleased to get one! Most fish caught before midnight except for 3 of the carp including the bigger one which took an absolute age to get in on a 4lb bottom!
  9. Harris Lake - Marsh Farm Fishery Nr Godalming. 1730 - 0500 Warm overcast night - lovely night to be out - in shirtsleeves til the early hours. Pity then that at 5am the heavens opened, accompanied by an impressive electrical storm - so a hasty retreat was beat to the car - for some much needed kip! 10 crucians all over 1lb with half over 2 - biggest 2lb 15oz. 6 Tench - all over 3lb - best 4lb 3oz. A doz or so perch, roach and rudd. After the frustration on the barbel front it was nice to get my fix of crucians and tench. We had talked about moving to Johnston's at first light - but the weather put paid to that and I rather welcomed an excuse for a bit of kip in the car. Paul continued fishing in the rain - picking up crucians galore on the feeder. As my last visit - most of my fish fell to chopped prawn while Paul picked up a lot of fish on good old bread flake. The view from Paul's brolly... ( I was fast asleep in his car at the time - and anyways only cads use buzzers for crucians!) A pic of my 2-15 - Paul has done an excellent job photoshopping out the massive rip in the crotch of my fishing trousers! http://i964.photobucket.com/albums/ae125/Chris_Plumb/Crucian2lb15oz_zps2728b25b.jpg
  10. Marsh Farm, Nr Godalming 1545-2245 Johnsons 2315-0530 Harris 0600 - 0930 Johnsons Warm day - chilly night(well certainly cool at day break). 14 Tench - best 3; 5lb 14oz, 5lb 2oz, 4lb 14oz. 6 Crucians - all bar one over 2lb - biggest 2lb 11oz. 6 Carp 7lb 10oz and 5 tiddlers - and I do mean tiddlers, one was no bigger than my thumb! 7 Rudd - biggest 1lb 1oz (!) A session where the plan was to concentrate on Johnsons - hopefully for one of the big crucians and/or rudd at dusk. Move to Harris to bag up on the tincas and crucians (or in Paul's case head for the car for a kip) and return to Johnsons at day break. Parts 1 and 2 of the plan worked to near perfection - Paul had a couple of big crucians from Js (biggest a 3-02) while I had my first 1lb+ rudd in over 18 years (13/7/96 - Knotts)- all be it caught on ledgered cockle! The baby carp were actually a bit of a pain often imitating a much larger crucian in the way they fought and the 7lber was also a slight disappointment - as having eventually teased it in on 3lb bottom I was convinced I was attached to a really big tench until I eventually picked it out in my headlight and realised it was a carp. Harris fished as expected - 9 of my tincas and all my crucians were caught on here. Chopped prawn again the winning bait. Alas when we returned to Johnsons in the morning neither of us could so much as get a bite - and this despite Paul's swim resembling a Jacuzzi with bubbling fish! My biggest tench of the session - which is uglier - me or the tench!? Paul's 3lb crucian. Dawn over Harris
  11. Johnsons Lake - Milford 1100 - 2315 & 0300 - 0900, with a 3 hour kip in the car sandwiched in between! HOT! Sunny and Sultry - temps hit over 30ºC. Finding a shady spot was a (THE) major factor in considering swim choice! 8 Crucians: 3lb 9oz, 3lb 2oz, 3lb 0oz, 2lb 14oz, 2lb 13oz, 2lb 10oz, 2lb 6oz, 2lb 5oz. 21 (!) Tench - a dozen over 4lb; best 2, 6lb 13oz & 6lb 1oz. 1 Roach; 1lb 10oz (!) and, somewhat ironically, the only fish under a pound was a tiny (smaller than my hand) common carp. WOW! Wasn't expecting that! Given the conditions I thought I'd be in for a bit of a struggle - hence the plan to have a dusk AND dawn session here. However first cast resulted in the roach - a real surprise - and the bright conditions clearly didn't put off the tench - I'd had 11 by tea time when the crucians, which I was really here for, at last put in an appearance. Dawn continued in the same manner though catches were slightly more evenly split between the species. By 0700 I was bathed in full sunshine and beginning to feel hot and bothered - so was almost glad that this seemed to correspond (at last) to cessation in bites. I rotated baits between prawn, meat, hookable pellets and maggots (started by giving a hour on each) and nearly all fish fell to prawn (with the exception of the roach and a couple of tincas on maggot). All fish caught float fishing a rod length out! A trio of beauties (Crucian is my 3rd biggest)
  12. Johnsons Lake - Milford 1200 - 2315 & 0300 - 0900 Warm and overcast and quite breezy. Quite the best night to be out - no need of warm clothing - or a shelter! 8 Crucians - best 4: 3lb 11oz, 3lb 8oz, 3lb 5oz, 3lb 4oz, 2X2lbers & 2X1lbers. 9 Tench; 3X5lbers to 5-15 and 6 of various sizes. 5 Rudd, 1lb 11oz & 1lb 8oz and 3 smalluns. 1 Roach. Wait 27 years for a decent rudd and then 2 come along at once. 1-06 was my previous best rudd - from way back in July 1991! The 1-08 held the crown for no more than a couple of hours before a stunning looking fish of just under 1¾lb graced my net. The thinking was that the evening would be relatively quiet with the footy on - but I didn't expect to get the place to myself - I was the only angler on the railway bank in the evening! Cracking haul of crucians which mostly fell to float fished prawn as did the bigger rudd ( the smaller one was on maggot)
  13. Jubilee Lake - Thatcham 1400 - 0500 Clear and breezy - night was cool and clear but not as cool as forecast (kept too busy to get cold!) 10 Carp; 23lb 10oz (!), 11lb 15oz, 10lb 11oz, 10lb 6oz, 10lb 4oz, 9lb 14oz, 9lb 5oz, 8lb 13oz, 8lb 6oz, 7lb 7oz, (Over 110lb of carp!). 2 Tench 3lb 11oz & 3lb. Last year I made the mistake of fishing here in the school holidays - and got very irritated by the noise from other anglers. No such worries last night - I had the lake to myself once the sun had gone down - just the rats for company (!!) and a lovely view of Jupiter and Mars traversing the southern sky. All fish after dark - didn't get a bite until gone 2130 and they switched off at 0400 - made for a very busy night. Tench on float fished meat in the margins - plus a couple of the smaller carp - all other carp on feeder with either hair-rigged pellet or prawn as bait. Biggest on pellet - my best ever common.
  14. Johnsons Lake - Marsh Farm 1600 - 2315 & 0245 - 0500 (with 3 hours kip in the car) Warm, muggy overcast with showery rain all evening. Bright an breezy in the morning. 11 Tench; 5 over 5lb, best 3 - 7lb 7oz, 6lb 7oz, 6lb 4oz. 3 Crucians; 3lb 14oz (new PB), 3lb 2oz, 2lb 10oz. 2 Rudd to 10oz. Another cracking June trip here - 4th season in a row - though this one was definitely more eventful! My hopes weren't high to start with as reports from the first few days were of anglers struggling. Most of these were casting to the horizon and after carp whereas I would be float fishing the first few yards of lake for crucians. Things did get off to a slow start but quickly got going as the light faded. The 2 rudd were all I caught before 2000 - then came the 3 crucians in ascending size order - I thought the biggie had to be a 4lber and was shaking as a weighed it! After that the tench moved in - bullying the crus out of the swim methinks as I didn't get another sniff of one. The morning was just as eventful - for all the wrong reasons because I, err, fell in !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! No half measures either, slipped/tripped just as I was casting out my float rod and went head first into the drink. Lost my glasses and head torch - thankfully I have some prescription sunglasses which got me home. Phone seems to have gone into some kind of safe mode so it 'might' be ok - currently drying out....Pride comes before a fall they say! Pity as I was still catching and had planned to stay much longer......
  15. Johnsons Lake - Milford 1530 - 2315 Warm and sunny with quite a stiff breeze until dusk. 2 Crucians; 3lb 3oz, 2lb 15oz. 6 Tench - all over 3½lb - best 2; 5-12 & 5-02. 2 Carp (very small - one may have scrapped a pound the other less than half that!). 3 Rudd - all small. Very pleasant evening's float fishing the margins - as usual not a lot until dusk (just the rudd) - first fish (the 2-15 cru) at around 1930 - thereafter steady sport until 2300. All fish on prawn (apart from the rudd - on maggot).
  16. Alders Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 2230 Warm and quite breezy. 2 Tench; 2lb 6oz and a pounder. 4 Perch. Yet another new swim - feel I've given this lake a proper go now and whilst not blanked hasn't been as productive as last summer - when I caught mainly bream and hardly any tench - complete opposite to this summer!
  17. Willows Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 0600 Cool clear night down to 7ºC at dawn and very misty and damp with dew. 9 Tench: All over a pound with 3 fish over 2lb. 7 Carp biggest 2, 12lb 2oz & 8lb 15oz all the others between 3½ - 6½lb. 1 Crucian 2lb 2oz. 4 perch. A return to the swim of a fortnight ago hoping for - and getting - a similar return for what will probably be my last overnighter of the summer. As before, started off float fishing maggot but the micro perch were in residence nailing the bait before the float even settled - so a switch to meat was swiftly called for which they ignored. Really pleased to snaffle another of the lake's elusive crucians. Hopefully the tincas will put on a bit of weight in the coming seasons......
  18. Alders Lake - Thatcham 1800 - 2300 Warm and overcast. 3 Tench - all between 1-2lb. Another Monday evening and another new swim (bin working my way around the lake this season trying a different swims each trip.) Bites at a bit of a premium - much as expected - but at least when they cam they produced and end result - unlike last week!
  19. Chris Plumb

    2 Sep

    Alders lake - Thatcham 1800 - 0000 Cool and overcast after heavy shower. 3 Bream; 4lb 13oz, 5lb 2oz, 5lb 6oz. 2 Tench; both circa 1½lb. That was a fun evening - seeing my starlit float rise and go flat with satisfying regularity. First bite as it got properly dark at 2030 - with slow but steady action there-after! All fish on meat.
  20. TAA Stillwater - Thatcham 1800 - 0600 Warm night becoming increasingly cool (9ºC) by dawn. 4 Tench - 2 4lb+, 5 Carp biggest 2 14lb 9oz & 10lb 6oz. A quick return to try and find some more tench - a plan which got off to a great start as 4 out of the first 5 fish were all tincas - caught float fishing the margins as well. Alas the carp then moved in! 14lber was one of the mankiest beat up fish I've ever caught - hence no pic!
  21. Signs to me that spring has properly arrived are seeing the first bluebells, the hearing of the first cuckoo, and the first outing after crucians. The bluebells hadn’t let the side down, stunning displays in the woods around Aldworth, Berkshire, well worth a visit, and don’t miss out The Bell in Aldworth itself, my favourite pub of all time! The cuckoo listening had also been successful, so two out of three so far, signs were positive, now all I needed was a crucian. The weather hadn’t been in my favour for a visit to Marsh Farm so far this year, and still wasn’t perfect on the day I ventured down. The web-site gives detailed match reports in which crucians were starting to feature in numbers and a call to the on-site shop the day before gave me more encouragement with both lakes apparently fishing very well. Those that fish this venue will know it can be a bit of a wind tunnel, even on relatively still days, so with gusts of up to 40mph being forecast I made sure I had a few pegs for the brolly before setting off from home. Settled into my chosen swim by 7 am, one float rod, and one feeder rod cast out, I waited in anticipation of seeing that classic flash of gold on the end of the line. Watching a float and a rod tip bounce around gives ample time for contemplation of life, and as the fish were initially very reluctant I had ample time to do this. In my current situation this isn’t always the best thing to do, as some readers know, I was diagnosed in February 2014 with kidney cancer. Fifteen months after surgery, one kidney lighter and undergoing treatment for the cancer that has spread to my lungs, life is still reasonably good…if you exclude the side effects of the treatment, the coming to terms with the fact that IT project management can not be done as a part-time job, the loss of income accordingly, and the watching your family struggle to understand why fate has dealt such a vicious hand. However, with modern medicine the survival rates are good, and I am determined to be in the statistic that says I have a 50% chance of still being alive…and fishing, ten years from now! I don’t think the statistics actually mention fishing, but I am sure you understand my intention! Too much to take on board at times. Anyway, contemplation was kindly interrupted by the tip of the feeder rod giving a more pronounced bounce than a gust of wind could create and within a couple of minutes my first fish of the day was on the mat. A small tench of just over two and a half pounds, now if this had been a crucian I would have been more than very pleased, however, I was not overly disappointed as it meant a possible blank had been avoided. A second tench soon followed the first, larger this time at 3lb 14oz, maybe not such a bad day ahead after all. Float fishing was proving nigh on impossible in the wind, I had given up trying to get away with using a pole float…spotting the float itself was becoming similar I suspect to trying to locate a U-boat periscope from the air in the middle of a stormy Atlantic in 1943!! Even a switch to a quite thick bodied waggler did not make bait presentation any easier. Another two tench each side of the four pound line on my scales fell to the feeder rod before a short adjournment was required, involving a 50 yard chase of my unfettered brolly as it was picked up by a gust wind and swiftly propelled along the lake side. Fortunately I was able to catch up with it just before HMS Brolly attempted to undertake its maiden voyage across the other lake! Being that I was catching fish on feeder fished pellets, and my float rod had been abandoned, the local robin population decided that as I was obviously going to have maggots left at the end of the session, I should feed both them and their young. A short break from fishing, I took a stroll to the on-site tackle shop on the way talking to two of the other five anglers who were fishing the same lake. Whilst I would have much preferred to have been float fishing I was able to at least gain encouragement in that I was the only one of us who was managing to catch much of anything at all, total for the other four was a single small roach. Returning to my swim a few quid lighter….I’m sure I am not the only angler who cannot resist buying at least one item when in a tackle shop, whether you need it or not…I fished on for another hour or so and another couple of tench, before the gusts of wind started to contain raindrops and I decided to call it a day. Last fish of the session was also the largest, at 4lb 6oz, no crucians, but seven tench in not ideal conditions was not a bad return for the morning. Just a footnote on the subject of kidney cancer, mine was picked up almost by accident, as part of a routine scan for another ailment. Apparently this is very common now, which is good news, as it means many patients don’t get to the stage where the classic indicators are encountered. Some of the early symptoms, high blood pressure, back ache, tiredness, and weight loss are similar to those displayed by other illnesses, …so, reader, make sure you have a good GP who is prepared to investigate all avenues when you go to see them with any of these!! I make no apology for including this in a fishing blog, if my writing serves as a nudge which then leads to an early detection and therefore a vastly improved survival chance for just one person, then I’ll be happy to have helped someone.
  22. Having failed to catch a crucian carp during my previous visit of just under two weeks ago, I was sure this outing would be more successful. After all, Marsh Farm, Harris Lake, as per the web site, “famous for crucian carp”, and having caught nearly a hundred of them last season, my last outing must surely have just been a blip on my success rate. To further increase the odds in my favour, I was here for the night, and the hours of darkness are usually guaranteed to bring a crucian or two on the feed. Whether I would actually be able to stay awake for the night would remain to be seen. For the first time I had brought my barrow to carry my gear round to the chosen peg, about 400m from the car park. Last season I had been fit enough not to require this, but the cancer, and the treatment were taking their toll and I wasn’t as fit as 12 months ago. Setting up in the afternoon sun was very pleasant, but even though it was currently warm and dry I chose to get my overnight shelter up. One of the side-effects of my treatment is fatigue and taking this into account the large pile of equipment included a sleeping bag, with strict instructions from my wife, Kim, to use it !! I sometimes think cancer has a bigger impact on those around than it does on the patient, I can’t even try to fathom the amount of confusion, frustration, and fear that goes through the minds of Kim and my daughters, Clare and Emma, let alone the rest of my family and friends. The latest cancer statistics (2011) show over 330,000 new cases were diagnosed in that year, I wonder just how many readers of this blog know someone (me excluded!!) with the disease? Of that number, just over 10,000 were kidney cancer, and despite my predicament, as I like statistics, I can’t help but think where I fit into those for 2014 ? Anyway, in the sunlight the crucians hadn’t yet decided they were hungry, however some of the other residents in the lake were, including this little perch of 11oz. Across the lake to the east I could see some ominous looking clouds heading in my direction and it was a good thing the shelter was up, as within a few minutes of being sighted, they were overhead. My geography lessons from school gave me the skills to identify the grey fluffy things as nimbus….rain clouds. Okay, so the drops of water spattering my shelter from height helped this detective process somewhat. A few random spots of rain began to fall, shortly followed by a lot more of them! Fortunately the shower was just that, and within 20 minutes the weather had calmed down again, leading to a very nice mild evening. Throughout the night the tench and my kettle kept me busy and awake, enough to keep me out of the sleeping bag with several five minute naps being sufficient. The mild damp conditions although pleasant for a night sitting by the lake also encouraged one of my favourite creatures to be out and about….slugs….yuk….hate the damn things, especially when I find one sliming its way up the front of my coat! It is only in the last few years that I have switched from taking just a flask to carrying a small stove and kettle, one of the best upgrades I have ever made. A mug of freshly made steaming hot tea, in the depths of night, is so much better than the luke warm contents you get out of a flask made up over 12 hours previously. Just after my third mug had been enjoyed, well, it had been once I had evicted the slug from the handle, I had a tench on both rods at the same time. Bringing both fish in, at the same time, on my own, and in the dark, made me appreciate those times when I’ve been able to call on my regular fishing companion and best mate, Chris, to give me a hand. Although I acknowledge it is usually me giving him the hand with the netting process and not the other way round ! Over 10lbs of tench in the net, pity it wasn't just one fish though! These days the first entry on my list of things to make sure I have packed into my various bags is, tablets. On top of those for my blood-pressure, I also have my painkillers, several different flavours, and those for my cancer treatment, Pazopanib. Most of these are taken early morning, an hour before any food, although I also have an evening top-up of the slow-release morphine. Fortunately, the dosage of these is low enough that I am still allowed to drive, as I think I would be near on suicidal if I couldn't get out and about without pestering one of the family for a lift! After 12 months on the treatment for my cancer I still struggle with the pronunciation, so they are known as Pazowotsits in our family. These are described in the trade as tyrosine-kinase inhibitors, and they work, hopefully, and very simply, by blocking tumour growth. I take 600mg a day, and the two scans since starting the treatment last May appear to show the stuff is working. If the side effects are anything to go by, then I am hopeful the cancer cells are having as much fun as I am at times! I’ve seen some spectacular sunrises when out fishing, but unfortunately the one I sat though on this morning didn’t get anywhere into even the top 200. It kind of just went from cloudy and dark to cloudy and light and that was it, maybe next time! The fishing slowed down with the increasing light levels and I was happily distracted by trying to get a picture of a tern swooping down to take insects off the lake surface. These birds are so fast, a quick hover, a dip down, and then they are away. Twenty or so snaps later, this was the best I could get. With the thought of a cooked breakfast and then some sleep at home, I packed up, fourteen tench, plus a couple of perch and rudd was a good score for the night, but yet again no crucians! Maybe the robin which decided that my kettle made a good perch could provide some insight !!
  23. Harris Lake, Marsh Farm fishery, Milford 1900 - 1000 Warm, becalmed and overcast night - don't know what the minimum temperature was but it must have been min-teens ºC. Simply a lovely night to be out fishing - could've got away with shirtsleeves ALL night if it hadn't been for the odd persistent mossie! 12 Crucians; 7 over 2lb (!) best 2lb 7oz. 6 Tench; all over 3lb - best 2, 4lb 7oz & 4lb 14oz. A roach (small). Last hurrah at this venue for another summer and it didn't disappoint! Action picked up after a slow start - then followed the usual pattern of 2 or 3 fish in quick succession followed by a bite-less hour or so. Sun breaking through the cloud cover at dawn, slowed action even further and I had just 2 fish in the last 3 hours - though one of them was my biggest tench of the session. All my fish float fishing the margins - or a rod length out - most fish on chopped prawn - though I also had 3 fish on meat and 3 on cockle. Paul in the next swim had a near identical but opposite return. 18 fish as well - though his was made up of 13 tench to 5lb and 5 cruicans to 2¼.
  24. NAA Lake - Widmead 1930 - 0645 Mild night despite clearing skies - very pleasant under the stars (and some late Perseids). No morning dew either. 7 Carp - all between 4lb 14oz & 9lb 7oz. 1 Tench; 4lb 14oz. 2 roach and a rudd. Steady session with a 5lb+ carp 1st cast and a fish every hour or so thereafter until it got light when bites dried up completely. Had intended to fish a different lake - but it was rather busy (school holidays - sigh!) so dropped into a swim that I'd walked past on my way to the swim I'd wanted to fish, which was seething with bubbles. 4 fish on the feeder (2 on pellet, 2 on boilies), and 4 fish on the float in the margins (3 on chopped prawn - including the tinca, the other on maggot).
  25. Another relatively early, for me at least, start, I was driving up the A31 in the Guildford direction just as the sun was rising. And a spectacular one at that, so good that I needed to stop to get a picture. Only one problem….not many places to stop on this stretch of the A31, and the lorry in front of me was being driven very strangely. Indicating left when there was nothing to turn left into, and probably only going 40 mph. I think he was trying to tell me that it was ok to overtake, but I didn’t want to, I wanted to stop to take a picture. Up ahead, a layby, with a reasonable viewpoint, lorry pulls into it, followed by me, and lorry driver jumps out….with his camera….to do exactly the same as me! Anyway, big grin and a thumbs up from the lorry driver as I continue on my way, arriving at Johnsons later than I should have done, but early enough for me! The sun was still on it’s way up, I really should concentrate more on fishing than trying to get a decent photograph! Usual tactics were employed, float fishing with one rod, and a cage feeder on the other rod. The fishing was slow today, with honours shared between the two methods, two tench on the float, with the feeder rig snaring another tench and my smallest crucian so far from this lake weighing in at 1lb 14oz. I have yet to find the big tench that inhabit this lake, largest of the day being the 4lb 4oz one below…..another visit is required I think!!
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