One weekend left!

[The Flying Tench]

Had my last session this afternoon (put it in my blog too but not everyone looks there!)

First cast with no tree bought me this:

 

Had no scales so any estimates on weight? My 'pin is 6" diameter, first and best fish from a very good session, season ended on a high after a few rubbish attemps!

 

*edited size of thumbnail!

 

Well I reckon it's 14", and I found a psot on AN where a 14.25" grayling weighed 1lb 2oz, so I guess it could have been 1lb 1oz?

[jedibond]

Went out piking yesterday with Dales as I'll be busy today and tomorrow what with the rugby and mothers day etc.

 

Didn't catch any thing and between us we had six rods out ! The weather though was very changeable going from downpours to sunshine in a matter of minutes so not sure if this had any effect on matters. Saw the bailiff late in the afternoon and he said it was really strange today as no one he had encountered piking had caught any thing when he'd have expected at least some jacks or perch.

 

Hey ho, never mind, just being out was good so I'll probably strip down a couple of reels and get my rods serviced before venturing over to a well run commercial that has some decent perch, roach and rudd in it during the close season. I'm joining Billericay & District AC and they have plenty of rivers to keep me occupied come 16th June so roll on June.

[Puzzled]

Had a last afternoon on the Ouse near Olney yesterday legering breadflake through several swims. My first take went like a train and got under some tree roots before I could get it's head up - not sure if it was a chub or a barbel, but certainly felt heavy. Turned out to be the one that got away.

 

Tried several other spots before I got a sudden bend in my tip again and this time got the fish to the surface quicker. It was an absolute beauty, a fin-perfect 4 1/2 lb chub full of fight.

 

He was pretty tired out by the time I'd banked him and I took him downstream a little to put him back using the net and where the bank wasn't quite so high. He swam off cautiously after a few seconds in the current and, as I turned to walk back to my swim, there was a huge splash. I went back to see if the chub was OK, only to see this 3ft long pike having a right go at him close to the bankside. There was a bit of a kerfuffle before I think (I hope!) the chub got away to safety.

 

That was the curtain down on my session really, no other bites after that, but that chub made my afternoon.

And the pike's probably!

[Chris Plumb]

Well I reckon it's 14", and I found a psot on AN where a 14.25" grayling weighed 1lb 2oz, so I guess it could have been 1lb 1oz?

 

Below is the length/weight table for grayling as published in the Fishing Gazette many moons ago. From my own experience contributing to the EA's National Grayling survey for 6 years the lengths are a little on the niggardly side - especially for fat late season fish....

 

Inches/Weight

9 - 0lb 4½oz

10 - 0lb 6¼oz

11 - 0lb 9¼oz

12 - 0lb 10¾oz

13 - 0lb 13½oz

14 - 1lb 1oz

15 - 1lb 5oz

16 - 1lb 9½oz

17 - 1lb 14½oz

18 - 2lb 5oz

19 - 2lb 10½oz

20 - 2lb 1½oz

21 - 3lb 9½oz

22 - 4lb 2oz

23 - 4lb 11½oz

 

 

C.

[Anderoo]

I'm trying to picture a 23" grayling - yikes!

[Will Wilkinson]

Had a few hours on the Ouzel today, felt very cold in the wind and the water temp was still low. Managed to winkle out 4 chub estimated weights 3 1/2, 4, 4 1/4 and 4 3/4 lb - I only bother with the scales for ones that look like going significantly over 5lb. Lost 2 others when they got into the roots of the overhanging tree I was casting to. All came to double red maggot with maggot feeder and were fit, good condition, fish. All in all a pleasant 4 hours despite the wind.

 

Will

[JV44]

Spent the day with Nick S off here on the kennet with a dawn start after Perch with Lobs which saw him land a jack first go and then i bumped what felt like a good fish shortly followed by Nick doing the same thing although both fish may have been Jacks again i like to think they were stonking Perch ,Robbie the trainee fishing dog came to but he is useless and missed loads of chub on the Cheesepaste

no wait that must have been me .

Got to be Chub under there End of the day fed up now

 

 

I lost a good Chub that shredded the hook length on the near bank tree roots and just to prove how good they are at it one did the same thing to Nick a couple of minutes later ,We managed a couple of Perch to Lobs late on at dusk to save face but sadly not of the size we had hoped for but had a great day with good company and best of all we were asked to witness this beast sadly caught by another angler fishing with his wife

 

 

 

What a cracking Pike well jealous face ,Nick S last chance saloon after perch

 

 

Having another bash tomorrow and the perch we did catch were stupidly fat almost like a football so hope to track one down Steve.

[Anderoo]

Blank here! Explored a new bit of river with Rich and Chris - very interesting. Rich had a cracking perch and a big chub rolled near my bread mash after dark. I think I'll be back there next season...

 

Oh, and although it was supposed to have been 11 degrees it felt more like 1...freezing again

 

One last try for a chub tomorrow afternoon

Edited March 13, 2010 by Anderoo

[Steve Walker]

I got up fairly early this morning, cleaned out the greenhouse, planted some seeds and then watched the Formula 1. Then headed out for some fishing.

 

I got to the river for about 4pm and fished the same swim on the Thames that I had a 2lb perch out of on the last day of last season. There is a nice trottable swim upstream of the inside line slack that I had the perch from, and the current is such that some of any feed put into the trot will end up in the slack. So I decided to start off by trotting maggot from the top of the swim, planning to move down to the slack later and fish it into dusk. This is the view from the slack, taken last week:

 

 

Trotting was slow, with a downstream wind making life difficult, but I eventually connected with a short but thick set 3-4lb chub which gave a spectacular account of itself and nearly tree'd me:

 

 

Nothing else doing, so at about half five I moved down to the slack. I thought I would have a little go with the float rod first - mistake, within a few minutes I had a good chub on which broke my hooklength while I tried to stop it seeking sanctuary in the tree roots. I took down the float rod and set up the quivertip to link leger two lobs on a #6. The next bite was a 4oz chub - greedy little sod, choking down two lobworms.

 

The next bite, I missed. It was getting dark, well into the Perching Hour. I speculated that it was unusual to miss chub bites once they got hold of a big bait (forgetting that I missed several chub bites on flake this time last year), and tortured myself with the conclusion that it was probably a great big perch, and that I was going to end the season on a missed bite.

 

The tip twitched a couple of times. I struck. Not a chub, no mad charge for the roots. Perch!

 

 

3lb 1oz, and a new PB by a clear pound! I will have that as a last fish and last cast of the river season.

[Kappa]

3lb 1oz, and a new PB by a clear pound! I will have that as a last fish and last cast of the river season.

 

Wow well done! Tried another new bit of the Thames this morning after I unexpectedly had a free morning. Lots of perch but only little ones, however I know there were alot of monsters there a couple of weeks back so I'll be back next winter!

 

Rich