AN Wobblethon - 24th February 2008

[Chris Bishop]

Cut-Off's flood banks have loads of giant hogweed, which by now is dead and usually dry as it's exposed to the wind.

 

Burns like hell with a bit of paper and cotton wool to get it going.

[Anderoo]

This made me smile. Bunch of us were fishing the Cut Off on Christmas Eve with a Kelly Kettle merrily smoking away when the police turned up.

 

Just thought we'd check yew wun't a load of furriners catching other people's fish an barbecuin' 'em on the bank, says officer.

 

[BoozleBear]

Just to check you have me down as a yes for this?

 

I take it you wouldn't mind if I deadbaited on 1 rod and wobbled / lure fished on the other? Or is it truly wobble-only!!!!

 

One thought, as it's sounding like quite a roving afair, should we all take alnding nets or would that be silly? Just a thought as if people (like I sometimes do) rely on the knowledge that other people will have one I can nab, we may end up fishing a quarter of a mile stretch with only 1 landing net. Highly unlikely but just thought I would flag it.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

[Anderoo]

Just to check you have me down as a yes for this?

 

I take it you wouldn't mind if I deadbaited on 1 rod and wobbled / lure fished on the other? Or is it truly wobble-only!!!!

 

One thought, as it's sounding like quite a roving afair, should we all take alnding nets or would that be silly? Just a thought as if people (like I sometimes do) rely on the knowledge that other people will have one I can nab, we may end up fishing a quarter of a mile stretch with only 1 landing net. Highly unlikely but just thought I would flag it.

 

Cheers,

 

Simon

 

Hi Simon, yes you're on the list (see the 1st post). Fish however you like, there aren't any rules! Trot for roach if you like On the day there might be better tactics than wobbling, we'll have to see what the conditions are like. But I would say that if you'd prefer deadbaiting, go for the cut-off rather than the wissey. I have caught pike on static deads from the river, but it's very hit and miss - wobbling or lures would be a better bet. On either venue, livebaits work well (and are easy to catch), if you have no moral issue with it.

 

Definitely take a landing net if you have one - you never know. On some bits of the river there's a fair bit of marginal vegetation and you need a net to reach beyond it. And as you say, if you don't have one the nearest one could be a long way away...

[Angly]

To night fish you'd have to buy a season ticket (also available from baliffs on the bank) which are £36. However, that close to the end of the season the baliff usually does you one for half price. No promises though!

 

 

Anderoo, presuming we're talking about the KLAA pegs, is their website advertised £28 Senior Annual Permit fee incorrect then?

 

Regardless, I'm now at the 50/50 'will I/won't I' stage due to my sister being in Addenbrooke's hospital recovering from serious brain injuries following a fall down the stairs in November. I think it's only fair that I should relinquish my place to someone who knows they can definately attend. I'd still like to be kept on the reserve list though please.

 

Geoff

[Anderoo]

Anderoo, presuming we're talking about the KLAA pegs, is their website advertised £28 Senior Annual Permit fee incorrect then?

 

Regardless, I'm now at the 50/50 'will I/won't I' stage due to my sister being in Addenbrooke's hospital recovering from serious brain injuries following a fall down the stairs in November. I think it's only fair that I should relinquish my place to someone who knows they can definately attend. I'd still like to be kept on the reserve list though please.

 

Geoff

 

Yes, that price is out of date.

 

Really sorry to hear about your sister, best wishes to her. Also sorry you probably won't be able to make it. I'll move you to the reserve list. I expect others to have to pull out for various reasons as we get closer, so with luck you'll be coming again

 

WayneX2, as you were 1st reserve, I've moved you to the 'will be coming' list

[BoozleBear]

Hi Simon, yes you're on the list (see the 1st post). Fish however you like, there aren't any rules! Trot for roach if you like On the day there might be better tactics than wobbling, we'll have to see what the conditions are like. But I would say that if you'd prefer deadbaiting, go for the cut-off rather than the wissey. I have caught pike on static deads from the river, but it's very hit and miss - wobbling or lures would be a better bet. On either venue, livebaits work well (and are easy to catch), if you have no moral issue with it.

 

Definitely take a landing net if you have one - you never know. On some bits of the river there's a fair bit of marginal vegetation and you need a net to reach beyond it. And as you say, if you don't have one the nearest one could be a long way away...

 

Nice one.

 

Will bring landing net, and stick to lures and wobbling if that's what works best. Will do the day but not the night - the missus won't let me get away with that much.

 

No moral issures re livebaiting, just too squeemish for it!

 

Cheers

 

Simon

[dant]

Anderoo do you think it's worth my while taking along a lighter rod to fish the inside ledge with a small livebait for the Perch? Have either venue got any real Perch form? Also what are the chances of Zander during the daylight hours as I shan't go through the night. I've heard the Zed fishing is a bit patchy in daylight hours on the Cut-Off. I'm going to try and get away with as little gear as possible for the day.

[Anderoo]

Anderoo do you think it's worth my while taking along a lighter rod to fish the inside ledge with a small livebait for the Perch? Have either venue got any real Perch form? Also what are the chances of Zander during the daylight hours as I shan't go through the night. I've heard the Zed fishing is a bit patchy in daylight hours on the Cut-Off. I'm going to try and get away with as little gear as possible for the day.

 

The simple answer is, I don't know! Does anyone have any good local knowledge on this one? If I was fishing for perch I'd choose the Wissey, and concentrate around the bridges personally. This might be a good opportunity to tell one of my favourite fisherman's stories though...

 

When I were a lad, I was float fishing at the wissey, catching lots of small fish - chub, roach, dace, perch, and gudgeon. It was summer and the water was sparkling clear; instead of watching the float we (me and a friend) would watch the maggot and wait for a fish to take it (often without the float moving at all!).

 

After an hour or two I walked onto the bridge to look into the river. On one side I could see hundreds of small fish where we were feeding maggots. On the other side, in the shade, there were hardly any tiddlers but instead there sat three huge perch, in the middle of the river as clear as anything. They were the biggest perch I'd ever seen, and loads bigger than I'd ever caught. Heart racing, I ran back to my gear, bit through the line and tied on a big hook, scooped a gudgeon out of the keepnet and raced back to the bridge. The perch were still there!

 

Trembling and in a right old state, I nicked the hook through the gudgeon's lip and lowered it into the water, about 2ft from the trio of bandits. Straight away, they stiffened and their fins started twitching...the biggest of the three pushed past the other two, sidled slowly up to the poor old gudgeon and with a big flare, sucked it in!

 

Shocked, I struck and the water exploded as the massive perch bolted for the marginal reedbed - and at that exact moment, the biggest pike I'd ever seen roared out of the reedbed, grabbed the perch across its flank, and tore off upstream, snapping my line like it was cotton, never to be seen again. Almost straight away the river was calm, like nothing had happened, and I just stood there like a goggle-eyed idiot, broken line flapping in the breeze.

 

(Looking back, I reckon the perch would have been about 3lb, and the pike somewhere between 15-20lb. It still makes me shiver now )

Edited January 7, 2008 by Anderoo

[BoozleBear]

Nice little story