Grayling Fishing River Test Timsbury

[Leon Roskilly]

Think I'll go and stand in the garden with my hands in my pockets for an hour or so to get acclimatised.

 

It's bleeding cold already!

[KAYC]

Is it to late to go back to bed?

[Elton]

Tight lines, everyone! Hope you manage to get your strings pulled!

[seph]

Tight lines, everyone! Hope you manage to get your strings pulled!

Elton,

 

You didn't fish there yesterday by any chance did you? The fast carrier was full of floats in the trees

 

Just got home and oh boy, am I glad to be home! It rained all day no stop, and I had forget my waterproofs, what a fool. Managed a few fish though, so not a complete disaster. A big thank you to Tony for organising things, and it was nice to see some old faces as well as some new ones.

 

I will be posting details of The Itchen fish-in shortly, so keep your eyes peeled.

[Will Wilkinson]

Again, many thanks to Tony for organising this. An enjoyable day, despite the atrocious weather - I had a new PB with my first ever Grayling of around 6oz, that PB lasted all of an hour before being beaten by an 8oz fish. Also caught a nice rainbow around 3 1/2 lb and a couple of brownies, one around a pound and the other might have made 2oz

 

Great to see some faces I've not seen for quite a while, and put some more faces to names as well. Looking forward to the Itchen later in the season.

 

Will

[lyn]

Well just back from my 100 mile round trip to raise a glass to meatballs and Argyll (1st time I have been with the AN crowd since Gerry died) and to say hi to everyone

 

Sue has told me I have to call my campervan a motor home because of it's size! It has been renamed 'The Anglers Net chuck wagon' they were taking bets before I arrived on how many could get in my bed

 

As it was so cold & wet I took bacon & hotdogs as well as mince pies & jam tarts ( I thought Budgie, Elton & Andrew were going ) Elton, seems we have a new type of angler on here as they were to polite to say they would like a bacon butty! I told them that was a first for AN members Didn't take them long to settle in though!

 

It was nice to see some familier faces and to make some new friends. I look forward to meeting you all again at another fish in. Someone asked for a summer one. I will organise a summer barbel trip down at Christchurch and you can have the choice of the Hampshire Avon or the Dorset Stour. We will make a weekend of it, that way you will have the choice of one day or 2.

 

I will have to let someone else tell you about the fishing as I was so busy in the 'kitchen' I didn't hear what was caught!

 

lyn

[Steve Walker]

More thanks for Tony & Sue

 

Despite the atrocious weather, I had a really enjoyable, relaxing day, pottering about from swim to swim and sitting around the shelter. I had about half a dozen grayling and the same number of trout from the fast carrier and some small roach (to about 6oz), a couple of nice little dace and a perch from the slow carrier. I think I bumped as many grayling as I caught, and I do apologise if anyone was in earshot when one of them came off and the float pinged up into a tree

[Leon Roskilly]

Glad I invested in some water-proof stuff that actually works (ex-army goretex camo jacket, goretex trousers I use for cycling, and goretex shoes).

 

The rain started before I arrived and pelted down all day, windy and cold too (but I was dry, and reasonably warm, apart from my fingers! they hurt).

 

Fish were prepared to play and I had grayling from swims on the fast carrier and the main river, before I made the mistake of going back to the car for an extra layer of warmth, and ended up playing with Tony U's new Kelly Kettle, which we got going, but which run out of fuel before the water was quite boiling (everything was totally soaked several times over, so no chance of finding a few dry twigs).

 

Somehow I couldn't work up the enthusiasm for walking back out into all of that freezing rain, so stayed under the shelter watching half drowned Anglersnet anglers occasionally trudging by (I hope that someone checked before we all left that there was no one left down by the river suffering from hypothermia).

 

Just as we had given up hope, Lyn turned up in the camper van, and after a short(ish) wait whilst Lyn and Sue did things in the kitchen, it was into the camper van for hot chocolate, followed by mulled wine, jam tarts and mince tarts, bacon butties and hot-dogs (thanks lyn, thanks sue )

 

On the way home it turned to near blizzard conditions along parts of the M25!

 

 

Thanks to all for a ...... er memorable day

[Tony U]

Well just back from my 100 mile round trip to raise a glass to meatballs and Argyll (1st time I have been with the AN crowd since Gerry died) and to say hi to everyone

 

Sue has told me I have to call my campervan a motor home because of it's size! It has been renamed 'The Anglers Net chuck wagon' they were taking bets before I arrived on how many could get in my bed

 

As it was so cold & wet I took bacon & hotdogs as well as mince pies & jam tarts ( I thought Budgie, Elton & Andrew were going ) Elton, seems we have a new type of angler on here as they were to polite to say they would like a bacon butty! I told them that was a first for AN members Didn't take them long to settle in though!

 

It was nice to see some familier faces and to make some new friends. I look forward to meeting you all again at another fish in. Someone asked for a summer one. I will organise a summer barbel trip down at Christchurch and you can have the choice of the Hampshire Avon or the Dorset Stour. We will make a weekend of it, that way you will have the choice of one day or 2.

 

I will have to let someone else tell you about the fishing as I was so busy in the 'kitchen' I didn't hear what was caught!

 

lyn

 

Lyn,

Thanks for the catering, Sue and I have just got back after a long stop at Fleet services to dry out, what a day for Sue to find out her waterproofs weren't.

The Killey Kettle workshop was nearly a success we almost got the water to boil thanks for that Chavender we will try it in the dry next time with firelighters; though I know Vagabond thinks that is cheating.

 

I wish the weather had been better but most caught and had a good day, despite the incessant rain.

A summer fish in yes please Lyn and a big yes from Sue.

Edited November 18, 2007 by Tony U

[KAYC]

I do not believe I missed the scoff!! ( die-hard angler thats me )

Started on the slow carrier because I could not face getting soaked setting up my float tackle so sat under a brolly and tipped bread and then maggot / corn for a while, Lost a fish that went under a boon that I should have known was there so switched to the float,already my fingers were so cold I struggled to whip my hook but after two perch I was becoming reasonably confident , the float dipped and I felt the unmistakable slow pull and head shake of a reasonable roach until the line slackened and the tell tale spiral at the end of my hooklength told me I should have warmed my fingers before tying the hook!!.

Moved around a bit and finished with one small roach two tiny grayling three perch that love sweetcorn two rainbows and five brown trout. Hard slog but there are worse things in life.

Thanks to Tony, Sue and Lyn for all their effort. See you on the Itchen