WHAT A GOOD DAY!

[Janet]

Wooo hooo! What a day!

 

I’m pleased to say that once again I flew the flag for us lady anglers….

 

Needless to say, I’ve been fishing again. Once again, I went with Paul up to our local club water, and what a great day it’s been. The weather was kind to us all day, apart from a few feeble spots of rain, which fortunately didn’t affect either the fishing or the fun. The sun made an occasional welcome appearance and it’s really been rather pleasant.

 

We had a slightly later start than normal, as we both had things to do, so I was collected at about ten thirty, then we headed up to the tackle shop for some highly trained mutant ninja maggots (a speciality of Steve’s…..) I’d already packed a tub of worms, together with some new feed pellets that I’d recently won for writing a tackle review for another (!) angling website and my trusty never failed me yet brown pellets. The worms are now safely back in the fridge, as they obviously haven’t been trained in the correct procedures, and failed to do a damn thing….

 

The weather was a bit overcast, but even the breeze was warm and there was a hint that the sun might possibly make an appearance later. We didn’t linger too long in the tackle shop, as we were anxious to get on our way. So many fish, so little time….

 

The journey up to the lake was entertaining, with lots of puffing and panting. No, it wasn’t Paul getting over-excited, it was Max, his big soft slobbery teddy bear of a Rottweiler, who spent the entire journey with his head stuck between the seats, dribbling like a good ‘un! Paul hasn’t taken him with us on previous trips, and I wondered how he’d behave, but he was a little darling all day – far removed from the usual dogs I have to contend with on the bank. We had a lot of fun watching him walking up and down the bank, desperately trying to locate the frogs that were creating a stereo chorus in between the two pegs. If ever a dog looked puzzled, he did!

 

To our surprise the lake was completely deserted when we arrived, and it stayed that way all day until Roy arrived mid-afternoon, looking very fetching with a remarkable piece of headgear (think Benny Hill and Fred Scuttle – you get the idea?) It didn’t take us long to get set up, fishing adjacent pegs as usual (well, I wouldn’t want to miss out on being serenaded with Paul’s musical offerings, now would I?)

 

I was using my new Shimano rod again, with one of my cute little matching Shimano reels. It’s only a dinky little thing, but it never lets me down. After all, size isn’t everything…..I started by throwing in a small handful of each of my feed pellets, and then decided to fish maggots over the top. Good move Janet! It was painfully quiet for the first hour, although there were several missed bites, but my patience eventually paid off, and soon I had fish coming to the net. Decent fish too, compared to the usual tiddlers I seem to attract. I have my own system for judging fish. If they are smaller than the length between my wrist and the tip of my fingers, then they are tiddlers. Anything bigger than that deserves to be called a proper fish. I’m pleased to say I only caught two tiddlers today, unlike Paul….he did say he was going after specimens, but I think he changed his mind and went for trial size samples instead…

 

Although it was only this morning, I can’t for the life of me remember who caught the first fish. My first three fish were rudd, followed by a couple of ide, and then a roach and a couple of small bream (don’t ask me why, but I really don’t like the name “skimmers”) I also had a couple of mirrors (they were both tiddlers, just the way I like my carp) and then I had my best fish of the day. Not the biggest by any means, but a new one for me.

 

As I tried to reel it in, I knew that it was something a bit different, as it was trying to charge off in all directions with a tremendous burst of speed, and leaping out of the water like a miniature dolphin on illicit drugs. I shouted over to Paul to ask what the heck he thought it was, but before he had time to answer, I managed to land it…

 

YES!!!!! My very first rainbow trout! We’d only just been talking about the fact that there are a few brown trout in the lake, but they are very rarely caught, unlike on the river where the brownies are verging on suicidal. I was over the moon with it. It weighed no more than maybe half a pound, but it lay in my hand like a gleaming silver bullet. It always gives me a real buzz when I catch a new species, and this was no exception.

 

Roy caught the biggest fish of the day, a bream which he said was about three pounds, but looked bigger from where I was sitting. That’ll be about right then….it doesn’t matter what Roy catches, whether it’s a double figure carp, a minnow or a stickleback. If you ask him, he’ll scratch his head, look at you a bit quizically, then utter the now famous words “Oh, it was about three pounds….” His fish are always about three pounds....

 

Just before Roy left, I landed what was to prove to be my biggest fish of the day, and the only one that warranted weighing (thanks for the help and the use of your scales Paul!) It was a nice bream that weighed in at 2 ½ lbs. Not as big as it looked, but still, it was a lovely fish – and I didn’t even realise it was hooked! I’d decided to reel in and rebait and as I did so, I felt some resistance, and thought I’d hooked one of the lily stems. It came in like a wet paper bag, but decided just before it reached the net that it really ought to put up a bit of a fight, just for show, and proceeded to lead me a merry dance.

 

I’m pleased to say that today I didn’t need to borrow one of Paul’s fish to test the action on my new rod. I did well enough on my own, and I’m absolutely over the moon with my new purchase. It really does feel good, and it suits me just fine. At the end of the day, the final score was Janet 14, Paul 10 (and mine were bigger, na na ne naa na!!) He played catch-up for most of the afternoon, and there was a lot of good-natured ribbing going on. I’m sure the score would have been different if only we’d both been able to hit all those impossibly quick bites, which came thick and fast all day. It really did get a bit frustrating at times.

 

Perhaps I really should allow him a few more points, as he went one better than me with my rainbow, and caught one of our very elusive barbel. Not a massive one, but a lovely fish. After seeing the bend in his rod as he played it, I was quite astounded to see it wasn’t as big as it should have been, if you know what I mean. I’ve only ever seen one barbel before, when I came up here as a guest last year, so I reeled in and went round for a look. They really are lovely fish, aren’t they? I can’t wait to add one to my list of captures. There are only a few in the lake, and they are very hard to find, so it was an excellent catch.

 

There was a slight moment of panic this afternoon, as Paul threw a bit of a wobbly at this idiot woman catching fish after fish, so he decided to throw a temper tantrum….it was so funny to see a grown man, standing on his peg and stamping his feet (and in the process probably scaring off any fish within casting distance!) Unfortunately his exertions brought on a severe angina attack, so I dashed round to help him find his medication. I wasn’t too worried about his health – I just didn’t want to have to stop fishing to have to call an ambulance……

 

All in all, it was a brilliant day. I haven’t had huge catches, nor any massive PB’s or anything to write about really, (but since when did that stop me?) but it’s just been one of those days when everything just feels right with the world. After a stressful week at work, what could be better than abandoning the housework and sitting out in the countryside, catching fish and enjoying some (I hope….) good natured banter.

 

I’d hoped to be home early, as I have packing to do for my holiday next week, but we ended up staying until just before nine, and even then, I was reluctant to go home. My motto is “If you can still see your float, then it’s too early to leave”. I can’t usually fish so late, as I’m normally reliant on public transport, so it was a real luxury to be able to fish until the last possible minute. Many thanks to my tame taxi driver.....

 

The weather was good, the fishing was great, and what can I say about the company? Well, apart from the singing, I couldn’t wish for a better fishing companion. Thanks Paul. It was much appreciated, and I had a great day. I hope to see you for a rematch soon.....

 

Janet

Edited April 27, 2008 by Janet

[Vagabond]

It always gives me a real buzz when I catch a new species, and this was no exception.

 

An entertaining read Janet, and even after 67 years' fishing, as I close in on 400 different species worldwide, I identify with the above quote.

 

Your mate's idea that all his fish weigh "about three pounds" seems pretty sound to me - big enough to be "respectable" but not so big as to attract accusations of boasting.

 

Have you read "Three Men in a Boat" by Jerome K Jerome?

 

There is a similar story there about numbers of fish. Getting fed up with catching (say) two fish and telling people he had caught four, only to lose out to the bloke who had caught just one and was telling folk he had caught two dozen, Jerome's angler evolved a new system.

 

Each fish caught he counted as two dozen, and he assumed three dozen to start with - so you could never catch less than 36 fish by his system.

 

Combine that system with Roy's and one could be well on the way to the front page of the weeklies

[Steve Burke]

Another great read as usual. I'm really looking forward to your book, Janet!

 

You mentioned fast bites that you often missed. There are several things that you can do to reduce these. The first I'd try is to move the bottom shot away from the hook. This should mean that the fish hold onto the bait longer, thus slowing the bites down.

 

Roll on the next trip!

[Janet]

You mentioned fast bites that you often missed. There are several things that you can do to reduce these. The first I'd try is to move the bottom shot away from the hook. This should mean that the fish hold onto the bait longer, thus slowing the bites down.

 

Thanks for the advice Steve. I'll try it next time - how far away from hook would you suggest? It really was getting ridiculous at one point. I should also perhaps have taken Paul's advice and gone down a few hook sizes, but I was having a lazy day....

 

I've just called him to check he's feeling OK, and he's up at the lake where they have people in the water, trimming back the water lilies. Nothing too drastic, but last summer they were getting very invasive and without a bit of careful management they would soon cover the whole lake.

 

He told me that some of the members are disputing my rainbow, as they weren't aware that there were any in the lake. How I wish now that I'd taken a photo! I don't know why I didn't, as I usually take one when I catch a new species. It definitely WAS a rainbow. I've caught enough brownies and eaten enough rainbows to be able to tell the difference! Oh well, I'll just have to go back and catch it again, won't I?

 

My next fishing trip will be a good one - I'm off next weekend for three weeks on a narrowboat on the canals, so I'll be able to fish every morning and evening! I haven't fished the canal since the end of last summer, so I'm really looking forward to it.

 

Janet

[Steve Burke]

Thanks for the advice Steve. I'll try it next time - how far away from hook would you suggest? It really was getting ridiculous at one point. I should also perhaps have taken Paul's advice and gone down a few hook sizes, but I was having a lazy day....

 

Try moving the shot an inch or two at a time and see what happens. You'll know you've gone too far if you start deephooking the fish, or you get missing or damaged bait such as sucked maggots.

 

Paul's advice is also worth trying and can often make a difference, although I try moving the shot first. There are lots of other things that could cause such missed bites, one of the most common being slack line. This is not unusual when there's a breeze.

 

Even though I'm basically a specimen hunter I often use match tactics. This means that when I'm float fishing in particular I'm frequently adjusting my tackle.

 

My motto is "If at first you don't succeed, try something different". There's little to lose other than a few seconds, but a lot to potentially gain.

 

But, like you, I sometimes have my lazy days!

[Paulfisher]

My day will come my dear!

[rarepleasures]

I should also perhaps have taken Paul's advice and gone down a few hook sizes, but I was having a lazy day....

 

I sometime use match swivels I found some in a tackle shop in York. Size 22 (?) which I think equates to a No 10 shot. I find it easy to change hook links using those than a loop to loop.

[Janet]

My day will come my dear!

 

I'm sure it will....one day....!

 

After all, my "beginners luck" is sure to run out at some stage....

 

Janet