A little trotting yesterday...

[Tigger]

I bet he was very pleased to see you catching though

 

 

Paul, he was over the moon LOL. I didn't see anyone else catch ewt so I think I was quite lucky !

[Tigger]

I had the latter part of the afternoon on the river today. There was a trotters nightmare when I arrived at the swim..."a strong down stream wind". Since I was casting across the river and trotting tight to the far bank the wind was a serious nuisance that meant I had to mend the line constantly to keep the float trotting down the right line. At the end of the session i'd had a few chunky dace, a few micro chub, some monster minnows and four barbel. I lost another three barbel, one to a hook pull and the line parted at the hook with the other two. I think they'd scraped the line on a rock (maybe in a similar way to a chub, who knows). I hate leaving hooks in fish! Only plus side is they won't be carying line and the hooks are only 14's, but still not good.

 

 

[barbelbarmy]

Tigger every photo has a different rod and reel, how many have you got? Spotted the ex-demo Hardy, which model is that and how do you find it?

[Tigger]

I haven't got many rods and reels bb, more than I need but I know a lot of people with many more than myself. The Hardys rods I have are the first run of marksman rods that they brought out, the specialists, I have the 14ft version and the 11ft avon. They are nice rods and imo better than the supero range having better quality guides etc.

My favourite rod is the normark avenger MKII which is 13ft...not to be confused with the latter 13 to 14ft masterline version. The version I have came straight after the Team normark 2000's. I did have the 2000's but sold them to fund the MKII's which I prefer. The drenna acolytes are nice rods but the guides seem to chew my line up when i'm really bending into a fish. I prefer the older drennan rods such as the im8 and im9 ranges. The im8 specimen float rod is superb and I often use that for barbel also.

[Tigger]

A couple of hours on the river after tea today wasn't very productive. I had the same downstream wind as yesterday p!$$ing me off and making a leisure activity feel like more of a chore with having to constantly mend the line etc. Fish where hard to come by and I really had to wark hard to get one ! I had a pod of full grown ducks giving me hasstle, everytime I cattied out some corn I had to throw them a handfull behind me first otherwise they where swimming across the river and diving in my taking spot to get my sweetcorn. There was such a shortage of fish that I had to take a pic of me bag LOL

 

 

[Chris Plumb]

At last I can join the party! - my first float caught barbel of the summer - from the Kennet this morning - a rather snubbed nose fish of 5lb...

 

 

 

C.

Edited September 13, 2015 by Chris Plumb

[Tigger]

Well done Chris I bet that felt good m8

 

After tea today I had a couple of hours trotting for dace on the local stream. It didn't take long to locate some and I had lots of them, a few small roach, some tiny chub, some small chub and a few chub ranging from one to two pound. I was getting dace pushing a foot long.....

 

 

 

 

Edited September 13, 2015 by Tigger

[Vagabond]

There was such a shortage of fish that I had to take a pic of me bag LOL

There has been worse !

 

In the 1990s the carp "experts" were having a hard time, and instead of pictures of fat carp, the mags were publishing pictures of fat carp anglers "mooning" at the camera.

 

I can't do better than quote Jim Gibbinson on the subject :-

 

"Nobody knows quite why carp anglers feel the need to display their bare buttocks, although similar behaviour in baboons and chimpanzees is well documented"

 

Keep the pics of bags, barbel and bags of barbel coming !

[Latimeria]

In the 1990s the carp "experts" were having a hard time, and instead of pictures of fat carp, the mags were publishing pictures of fat carp anglers "mooning" at the camera.

 

Don't give him ideas, please!

[Chris Plumb]

Cracking dace Tigger - a foot long dace is going to be north of ¾lb and closer to a pound if it's a female in spawn come Feb... I love big dace - completely envy you!

 

C.