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Frustration


gozzer

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Not posted for a week or so, been decorating, :(. I did manage to squeeze a couple of trips in though, both to the river. The first was the usual dace hunt, I seem to have them sussed out, I had another mid double figure net. Mostly dace with the addition of a small roach, a chub about 1lb, a couple of perch about 8oz, and two grayling biggest about 12oz.

My wife went on a shopping trip to Cheshire Oaks, last Friday until late Saturday, so I went fishing. My favourite kind of late autumn/early winter day, barely a breath of wind, a foot of extra water, a tinge of colour, and foggy, can't go wrong. Trotting a stick float through the flat calm swim was a doddle, could hold back nicely, shot it right down, and see every indication of the float. Only problem was, there were no indications, apart from a bit of weed on the bottom that occasionally caught the hook. I kept up the feed while I rang the changes with the depth, shotting, hook etc. After an hour, my first bite, a dace, then a half dozen more and the swim went dead. Half an hour later, a couple more, then another dead spell. This happened several times, I guessed something was spooking them. I put out a couple of lobs on a bomb, hoping that the big perch were about, nothing. I decided to cast around the swim and see if they were localised. On retrieving my third cast, the was rod nearly yanked out of my hand, and I connected with something that wanted to be on the other side of the river. After a short but spirited fight a pike of about 6/7lb was in my net, my size 6 hook neatly embedded in the scissors. I released the fish a couple of swims upstream, and when I started trotting again, the dace were back! Another half dozen, then back to scratching for them, just picking the odd one from around the swim, they wouldn't settle. Then I got a bite, struck into a dace, that suddenly bent my rod double! I played it for a few minutes, and even brought it to the surface, another pike with the dace across it's jaws, this one looked bigger than the one I'd landed, then the 1.7bs hook length went, and I swore. I had a few more dace but as before it was a struggle. The last hour before dark I fed some mashed bread, and fished flake, in the hope that a few chub would show, but they didn't want to play.

The club that own the water have a late season offer of a yearbook from Dec1st to end of March, for £10, and seeing as it's £5 a day ticket it's a good offer. There is a lot more water available with the yearbook, and the £10 covers the joining fee for next year, win, win. They've just got a new lake that's well stocked with true crucians, and rudd, so that will be on the cards for next year, it's a long time since I caught a crucian.

 

John.

 

PS, I did buy some scales, a set of Browning digital ones that were on offer. Only trouble is I haven't had to use them yet. I could have used them on the pike I suppose, but apart from it being the biggest fish I've caught for a few years, it wasn't hat special, and I didn't want to keep it out of the water for too long.

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Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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Great post & read John.

 

You could try making up a 3 or even 4 foot hook length for bread & bomb for the Chub. They might find it a bit more tempting, fluttering more naturally in the flow - & away from the bomb??

Fishin' - "Best Fun Ya' can 'ave wi' Ya' Clothes On"!!

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  • 1 month later...

Well I had my last trip of the year on Thursday, and the title of this thread summed it up exactly, frustrating! I couldn't buy a bite for the first 3 hours. I thought it was just me or my swim, but talking to a couple of other anglers, I found it was the same for them. One bite between them, and that was a small grayling on one guys first cast. They packed up around lunch time, and I was thinking of doing the same, when I had a sucked maggot without seeing a bite. The next 5 minutes saw four bites, and two dace and a roach to save a 'water licking'. I carried on for another couple of hours but apart from one time when my float just stopped, I struck and thought I'd hooked the smallest minnow ever, it turned out to be a three spined stickleback, the first I've ever seen from this river, in over 60yrs of fishing it!

My only other bit of excitement came when I was concentrating on my float, when a series of growls and barking started from about 3 feet behind my head. I turned to see three dogs of unknown lineage that had taken exception to my being there. I picked up a rod rest, and looked up the bank to see a man stood drinking a coffee, and watching them. When asked if they were his, he grinned and said yes. I then suggested (fairly politely), that he take them away. He made a pathetic attempt to call them back, which they ignored. I then threatened to bend the rod rest over the head of the biggest one if he didn't control them, he said I would be in trouble if I did. I replied that he would be in more trouble because I would then straighten it over his head! He then reluctantly caught one of the dogs and dragged it away, muttering something about me being mad and them not doing any harm. I told him that he shouldn't keep dogs if he can't control them, and if he past back this way they had better be on a lead. He scuttled of with a sarcastic, "Merry Christmas", to which I replied, "and a Happy New Year to you, it's a shame Santa didn't bring you dog handling lessons". He past later, but on the other side of the field.

I was quite proud of the fact that I didn't swear during the whole verbal exchange, and was congratulated on my achievement, by another dog walker who had see it all. He agreed with me that idiots like this tarnish the reputations of the other 90% of responsible dogwalkers.

Rant over :angry::rtfm:

 

John.

Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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I'm a dog keeper as you probably know John but I think you got the percentages wrong there as i'd say 90% of dog walkers are dick heads and could do with slapping about a bit.

It's those kind's bellends that get my dogs a bad name even though mine are on their leads under control!

 

By the way, all the best bud :).

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I'm a dog keeper as you probably know John but I think you got the percentages wrong there as i'd say 90% of dog walkers are dick heads and could do with slapping about a bit.

It's those kind's bellends that get my dogs a bad name even though mine are on their leads under control!

 

By the way, all the best bud :).

 

Hi Ian, and all the best to you too.

 

The 90% thing is about right for the dog walkers on this length. During the day I had several dogs come and have a look at what I was doing, have a quick sniff around, and leave. I was usually alerted by the owner calling the dog as soon as they saw me.

It's very rare for me to lose my temper, but people who have no regard for others, like that prat, can trigger me off, hence my rant above :crazy: .

John.

Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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It's the people who don't keep their dog in sight who annoy me. Right pain if you're fishing something like cheese paste or luncheon meat and Fido is trying to get his face in it while owner is hundreds of yards up the bank.

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Reminds me of an encounter many years ago at frensham ,dog chases duck knocking rods off rests ,i shout keep your dog under control ,owner shouts back i shouldnt be angling then goes off in a huff when i tell her if it wasn't for catching fish the pond wouldn't exist!

Now quite rightly dogs are banned from the beaches and some parts are anglers only .

At stockbridge where i bailiffed if a dog went swimming we told the owner to get to the vet immediately as it may have caught weils disease ,a vetinary exam cost should remind them to keep them under control lol

Edited by chesters1

Believe NOTHING anyones says or writes unless you witness it yourself and even then your eyes can deceive you

None of this "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" crap it just means i have at least two enemies!

 

There is only one opinion i listen to ,its mine and its ALWAYS right even when its wrong

 

Its far easier to curse the darkness than light one candle

 

Mathew 4:19

Grangers law : anything i say will  turn out the opposite or not happen at all!

Life insurance? you wont enjoy a penny!

"To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves and abhors, is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson

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There's no chance of dogs being banned here. The footpath, about 20yds from the river, is part of the Ebor Way, and a public right of way.

I was chatting to the president of the angling club, and he recalled a time when a large dog leapt over him and his tackle to get to the water. The owner said that the dog considered the swim to be his, because he swam there regularly, so the angler should fish somewhere else!

 

John.

Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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I'm a dog keeper as you probably know John but I think you got the percentages wrong there as i'd say 90% of dog walkers are dick heads

 

I think I was about 9 years old when I came to the conclusion that the world's troubles could be traced to the fact that 70% of the population were dickheads (or whatever we called them in those less polite days) 75 years later I realise I had the situation about right, but overestimated the average intelligence - your 90% is much nearer the mark. The 90% applies at all levels, from roadsweepers through dog-walkers to Ministers of the Crown. The procedure post-Brexit should have been carefully planned starting from the morning after the referendum - instead we look like getting last-minute panic action in the few weeks we have left before March 29th

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RNLI Governor

 

World species 471 : UK species 105 : English species 95 .

Certhia's world species - 215

Eclectic "husband and wife combined" world species 501

 

"Nothing matters very much, few things matter at all" - Plato

...only things like fresh bait and cold beer...

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