First day out for a spell

[arbocop]

I'm out this Friday, first time since October and even then it was only two hours. Really looking forward to it. Trotting maggot and legering bread flake for chub. Might even do a bit of freelining.

 

Mike

[Tigger]

I'm out this Friday, first time since October and even then it was only two hours. Really looking forward to it. Trotting maggot and legering bread flake for chub. Might even do a bit of freelining.

 

Mike

 

 

Good luck arbocop .

 

Hey Brian, how did you get on bud ?

[lutra]

Good luck arbocop .

 

Hey Brian, how did you get on bud ?

Had two go's at it on Sunday. Trotted bread for a couple of hours in the morning and had a hand full of chub. A couple 3-4 pounders, but the rest were small.

 

Trotted maggot on the lower river for the last hour or two of light and had a few pound of small stuff. Same again last night, but with one better chub. Not sure where the better roach are hiding, but hopefully the weather will hold out for the last week and a bit, so might find them yet.

[Tigger]

Had two go's at it on Sunday. Trotted bread for a couple of hours in the morning and had a hand full of chub. A couple 3-4 pounders, but the rest were small.

 

Trotted maggot on the lower river for the last hour or two of light and had a few pound of small stuff. Same again last night, but with one better chub. Not sure where the better roach are hiding, but hopefully the weather will hold out for the last week and a bit, so might find them yet.

 

 

Sounds like you had a couple of good sessions .

I do know there's been a few very nice roach coming out on that lower stretch so I reckon you've got a very good chance of catching a few if you target them.

I'm actually toying with the idea of trying it down there myself later today if I can make the time to go....then again I might just go down the road.

[Tigger]

I did manage to get out today but only on my local small stream. First trott produced a nice chub about 2 1/2lb, second trott produced another fish maybe 2lb and then the next three trotts produced three more fish of about 3lb, so first five trotts and five fish . My next trott down the glide and once again the float was dragged under but when I struck and missed the fish somehow. I re-baited the hook and cast out straight into a freekin' tree, I was to eager to wind in another fish . After some frantic tugging the hook came free but when it did it shot back and got into a messy tangle round the rod ! I couldn't untangle it so I had to tackle up again. I fed the swim while I re-tackled and was confident of a bite first trott down...I was right as the float dipped under and I struck into another chub. The chub bolted straight up into the air and then swam straight upstream towards me. It had a bit of tug and war with me before it slipped over the net. While I was unhooking the fish I noticed a long thin slash down it's back end that had fresh blood running from it. Then I realised why it had jumped clear of the water when I hooked it....a pike had obviously spied it's chance and tried to make a meal of it.
I only caught one more fish in that glide and that took my bait a good 50yds downstream so it looked as though the pike had put the frighteners the fish. That last chub was the very same one i'd caught a few days ago some 400 yds upstream !... easily recognisable by a large hole in it's throat. I was amazed to see the hole was recovering nicely .
I decided to go downstream but the wind got up making trotting quite alkward and only managed another four fish. Not quite the prolific session I thought it was gonna be after those first few trotts .
Still it was an enjoyable way to spend a few hours .
Just thinking of when I can get back out on the bank, maybe try a different river next time out if the conditions allow.

[lutra]

Nice one Ian.

 

I think my lack of better roach may have been down to me trying new pegs. I went back to a tried and test spot last night and was getting a few from the off. But as they say nothing ventured nothing gained.

 

Weather looks good for the last weekend. With temps up in the teens it should be good. Would be nice to end the season with a few barbel on the float gear.

[Vagabond]

I was supposed to have spent the last couple of days salmon fishing, but a last-minute check with my host brought the news that his stretch of the river was still unfishable. The other half of the expedition went well though, a walk along the Severn washes, which yielded 51 species of birds, including merlin, peregrine, white-fronted geese, common crane and a spoonbill.

 

Saw lots of red kite over the M4 between Reading and Swindon, and again on the way back.

 

Back home now, and hope to have a go at the local roach next week.

[Tigger]

Nice one Ian.

 

I think my lack of better roach may have been down to me trying new pegs. I went back to a tried and test spot last night and was getting a few from the off. But as they say nothing ventured nothing gained.

 

Weather looks good for the last weekend. With temps up in the teens it should be good. Would be nice to end the season with a few barbel on the float gear.

 

 

Yeah, I know hat you mean Brian you've gotta expect blanks or slow sessions when exploring new pegs, but it's usually worth it in the end when you drop onto a good one.

Weather report is looking good , after tomorrow this horrible wind is dropping off and last nights rain should have run off. Just a question of getting out on the bank really and giving it a go. As you say it would be nice to get a barbel or two on the float... can't be botherd catching them on the ledger rods, sooner catch dace on the float.

 

 

Dave, I think you should change your username to Twitcher .

[Vagabond]

Dave, I think you should change your username to Twitcher .

Definitely not, Norma and I go for a country walk and take note of anything we see - old fashioned birdwatchers, in that we watch birds' behaviour rather than just listing them. (for example, we watched the spoonbill filtering the water for invertebrates, the merlin pursuing a jackdaw and the cranes dancing)

 

Twitchers hang about on birders' forums, waiting for a poor little lost bird to be reported as blown in from America by the Atlantic gales, then descend en masse on the location. Their collective behaviour is akin to a cross between train-spotters and football hooligans. Once they have "ticked" a bird they lose interest in it.

 

If we accidentally come across twitchers, we hastily relocate elsewhere - if we want to watch rare American birds, we go to America. Finding twitchers on your patch is rather like finding a bunch of "four-rod" bivvy boys camped in your barbel swim.

[Tigger]

Definitely not, Norma and I go for a country walk and take note of anything we see - old fashioned birdwatchers, in that we watch birds' behaviour rather than just listing them. (for example, we watched the spoonbill filtering the water for invertebrates, the merlin pursuing a jackdaw and the cranes dancing)

 

Twitchers hang about on birders' forums, waiting for a poor little lost bird to be reported as blown in from America by the Atlantic gales, then descend en masse on the location. Their collective behaviour is akin to a cross between train-spotters and football hooligans. Once they have "ticked" a bird they lose interest in it.

 

If we accidentally come across twitchers, we hastily relocate elsewhere - if we want to watch rare American birds, we go to America. Finding twitchers on your patch is rather like finding a bunch of "four-rod" bivvy boys camped in your barbel swim.

 

Last year there was a pair of short eared owls moochin' near my fishing spots and the amount of the twitchy types that appeared and sat all day waiting for them to fly by was amazing, they where there for weeks ! They had tripods with huge lenses on their cameras and had all the tribal gear on lol. It was funny as the owls kept coming over near me and sitting about on the ground and every now and again I would put them up to watch the twitchers stand to attension and start taking pic's lol.

 

Hey Dave...what tune where the cranes jigging to ? LOL.