tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18221669372927970952024-03-13T01:35:59.032+00:00Andrew Kennedy's Angling Blog at Just-Fish.co.uk - Fishing Blog Coarse Fly Lure Pike PerchThe angling blog of Andrew Kennedy, UK-based angler, specimen hunter, freelance fishing writer and author & webmaster of www.just-fish.co.uk. Andrew fishes mainly for Pike, Perch, Barbel, Zander, Chub, Grayling, Tench and Carp. He has also coarse, sea, lure and fly fished all over the world for exotic species such as Mahseer, Sturgeon and Wels Catfish. Andrew is a dedicated, passionate fisherman who began fishing at just five years old. UK Fishing Blog Angling Blog Fish FishingAndrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.comBlogger72125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-75051130147343509112017-10-14T21:28:00.000+01:002017-10-14T21:28:36.172+01:00A woolly jumper in a bit of a predicament! <div align="left">
<div dir="ltr">
I've had a few strange happenings during fishing sessions this year. Such as a mystery animal sprinting towards me in the dark, straight into my legs before disappearing! By the sound of it's light, rhythmic scampering as it approached I'm pretty sure it was a stoat (definitely that kind of size) but I'll never know! </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Then, just last week, I had a most unusual start to an evening barbel session on the Derbyshire Derwent. <span style="font-family: sans-serif;"> I just had to write the story down for posterity! </span></div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
As I was walking to bait up a few spots I heard a faint bleat of a sheep, close by, but the only ones I could see where at the other end of the field. Another bleat; that came from the river! I looked below the sheer, high bank I was stood on and there was a sheep, completely stranded, above its armpits in water! </div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoTOOm8yfbNysc_Vc-yQw323jVLzC9K9I8RiEIq2BHkfd1DzjHYYXf0XXV2il3CIsH8xZL6meLm2AitPTdfo8AP2F3rhNoPvAeZRAL4vNAGis3ehZrLku5aZUF2gXxrH0UlQP8fIsFPM/s1600/sheep-stranded-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1440" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkoTOOm8yfbNysc_Vc-yQw323jVLzC9K9I8RiEIq2BHkfd1DzjHYYXf0XXV2il3CIsH8xZL6meLm2AitPTdfo8AP2F3rhNoPvAeZRAL4vNAGis3ehZrLku5aZUF2gXxrH0UlQP8fIsFPM/s320/sheep-stranded-01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji11SrEcCAz5KX8xMjH9CUs-pR4gl6tBl_HZzuSyliGHSASg0GewA2WGoPYi7aMveAmmSI09mhRkuHZOWiBT_fH0DATnEX08RcR7QLjPxwo5qSV1fGY24sEKlM5JGiYueRD6VzrPkJXyA/s1600/sheep-stranded-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji11SrEcCAz5KX8xMjH9CUs-pR4gl6tBl_HZzuSyliGHSASg0GewA2WGoPYi7aMveAmmSI09mhRkuHZOWiBT_fH0DATnEX08RcR7QLjPxwo5qSV1fGY24sEKlM5JGiYueRD6VzrPkJXyA/s320/sheep-stranded-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
With a high bank one side and deep water the other, this sheep was well & truly stuck there. There was a small ledge behind the sheep and, as I had my waders on, I thought if I could get the sheep onto that I could possibly lift it up back into the field. I didn't really think I stood a chance of moving it but I had my thigh waders on so I found a way into the water, which was only just shallow enough to not overflow into them.</div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div align="left">
<div dir="ltr">
<br />
The sheep seemed completely exhausted and thankfully didn't struggle, but it also didn’t help itself either. Getting it onto the ledge was awkward because its legs just went floppy! I could only grab handfuls of wool and this waterlogged sheep was surprisingly heavy, so there were a few precarious moments! With a bit of heaving I managed to move the sheep to a spot where we could both get our breath back. I knew I couldn’t lift the sheep any further up the high bank by its wool, so I thought hard what to do next. I spent a few weeks on a sheep station in Australia, about 15 years ago, and I thought back to how the sheep shearers dragged large sheep around by the legs, quite easily.</div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ49hztQKCC0RthVK2DDYcQuzwDu7dlJ6RQ7HV0DS4t_11wdzXrdZl96NPH30w7hmiZhd_WmZ9wK_DU6nFL0vWfk3MgNbVyvuMimgbiwxxrE1ELwdttN3nXnrHgfTyjJpoFe-Lhsei_Zc/s1600/Dag+Shearing+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1296" data-original-width="981" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ49hztQKCC0RthVK2DDYcQuzwDu7dlJ6RQ7HV0DS4t_11wdzXrdZl96NPH30w7hmiZhd_WmZ9wK_DU6nFL0vWfk3MgNbVyvuMimgbiwxxrE1ELwdttN3nXnrHgfTyjJpoFe-Lhsei_Zc/s200/Dag+Shearing+01.jpg" width="151" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6i4KFK_KFLO13ZUG8P0aJndUBWkemuvG0scE3Gd8ZD7C-XpRXIi3QkBokqKclY_YqS35iXmu9l-62qNFMUs5vQV0I_VQaPeg9-Jfw2E4C8RGWu27SKosh9DJzipC1X0WD1toErUkgYdw/s1600/Dag+Shearing+02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6i4KFK_KFLO13ZUG8P0aJndUBWkemuvG0scE3Gd8ZD7C-XpRXIi3QkBokqKclY_YqS35iXmu9l-62qNFMUs5vQV0I_VQaPeg9-Jfw2E4C8RGWu27SKosh9DJzipC1X0WD1toErUkgYdw/s200/Dag+Shearing+02.jpg" width="142" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0pXfZv6AVQSimcrROkyZ-1jriiwmuAfj_22RI4Mu87wf21Qe5WnJEbXyI8ih1Dg0iytZv7uoYn197U-hTt83OYaFXQAaAHozKFHgmI1IlY7EqhMWRuqWshl-OXYL2D99Y6yAQ6xBIP4/s1600/Dag+Shearing+03.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1143" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgg0pXfZv6AVQSimcrROkyZ-1jriiwmuAfj_22RI4Mu87wf21Qe5WnJEbXyI8ih1Dg0iytZv7uoYn197U-hTt83OYaFXQAaAHozKFHgmI1IlY7EqhMWRuqWshl-OXYL2D99Y6yAQ6xBIP4/s200/Dag+Shearing+03.jpg" width="142" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
So I rolled the sheep over, grabbed 2 legs in each hand and hoiked it up the bank. I managed to get it (and myself) up to safety and within a few minutes it was off happily chewing grass!</div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRZ7ZiUwYldPmG8P7bj6H_6FjnKSOxfGMgub1kvqV9OWANrjY7lF9PKHwJXKgGmkGmNKs1JFN8dsVEon_0ucehO9_79rhYGn2sBcTJ6OvIxZ2Ig7OOJCURnSxFY2ZgziqNSekwtsCyQI/s1600/sheep-on-ledge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaRZ7ZiUwYldPmG8P7bj6H_6FjnKSOxfGMgub1kvqV9OWANrjY7lF9PKHwJXKgGmkGmNKs1JFN8dsVEon_0ucehO9_79rhYGn2sBcTJ6OvIxZ2Ig7OOJCURnSxFY2ZgziqNSekwtsCyQI/s320/sheep-on-ledge.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
</div>
<div align="left">
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhruCC3j-ZyzSnjzJKndTVTRbbLUmjr4JrpwM7bTtFemEZkxvCZeOSoV7F5bxDU01et7aNamiUrO493PQ4E8rRVLLTMDfRv9eIp57y6ieeT6hksPLn16yPGhr6XsIJxSKEmEH4RCj-q4yo/s1600/sheep-on-ledge-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="1280" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhruCC3j-ZyzSnjzJKndTVTRbbLUmjr4JrpwM7bTtFemEZkxvCZeOSoV7F5bxDU01et7aNamiUrO493PQ4E8rRVLLTMDfRv9eIp57y6ieeT6hksPLn16yPGhr6XsIJxSKEmEH4RCj-q4yo/s320/sheep-on-ledge-02.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I was still worried for the chances of the sheep, so I searched for local farms on Google Maps and called the nearest one with a phone number. It wasn’t the right farm, but he knew the farmer they belonged to. He advised me that as long as the sheep was walking okay, "they’re pretty resilient things” and it should be fine, but he thanked me for my concern & efforts and promised to let the farmer know.</div>
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div align="left">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oydMt1kGMEngeBRNUK8GZe3_tODmB5gxzRw79HEoGwvyBGaRT4nOs5vI6-M0tze3_z6MCvM3nsSvuFbuup_8IHBPy4POyL9qH6j3yjs417pdAJy4N5izm__rqRZL5XaFJjXkbogFQiI/s1600/sheep-safe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1204" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2oydMt1kGMEngeBRNUK8GZe3_tODmB5gxzRw79HEoGwvyBGaRT4nOs5vI6-M0tze3_z6MCvM3nsSvuFbuup_8IHBPy4POyL9qH6j3yjs417pdAJy4N5izm__rqRZL5XaFJjXkbogFQiI/s320/sheep-safe.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
The night dropped quite cool later on and with the water so high up the sheep’s body, I’m sure it wouldn’t have seen the night through if I’d left it where it was. The two most likely outcomes would surely have been drowning or hypothermia. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
I was hoping for a bit of good karma after my good deed, but I didn’t get as much as a tip tremor all evening!</div>
</div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-35895222248360599012017-09-29T18:12:00.000+01:002017-09-30T18:33:08.024+01:00New website - a work in progress - Beta live now!<div dir="ltr">
<a href="http://www.just-fish.co.uk/wp/" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img alt="Just-Fish.co.uk new website Beta version" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1249" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUTpJ_jV33HYo0Yh2zY3tT2sVI_3oyj-2nLkeKzRHvhg6r118Nt7xR58Strv6C4TQcSEDCVZralhlAok7zSMDoaEXgD4sDTgIcsEjckoL-SXVW_fEuCcFh-V8uv-o6xqQjOrZnLFhxt5k/s320/Just-Fish+homepage+screenshot+-+2017-06.jpg" title="" width="249" /></a>My <a href="http://www.just-fish.co.uk/">old website</a>, despite a couple of updates & minor facelifts, is vastly outdated, not very visually striking, nor compatible with mobile devices. So a couple of years ago I started work on a replacement, based on the WordPress platform. A server error lost all of the work I’d done and my backup corrupted, so I had to start again from scratch! This setback put me off for a while but there are so many fishing articles and features on there that I felt I should really give them a new, modern home. </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
At the moment I have the main nuts & bolts in place. It's still very much in "beta" but I’m steadily importing & updating all my old articles, blog posts & photos, as well as adding a few new reviews, videos and features. It's almost as time consuming importing the stuff as it is writing it in the first place!</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Please take a look at the beta version at: <a href="http://www.just-fish.co.uk/wp/">www.just-fish.co.uk/wp/</a><br />
Leave a comment, on there or on here, and let me know how you think it's going, along with any ideas of how I can improve it (the looks will definitely improve!). </div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Over the winter I'm planning on improving the looks & layout and once I’m happy, everything will move to <a href="http://www.just-fish.co.uk/">www.just-fish.co.uk</a> and the old site will be no more. So please check back to see new content & improved looks as soon as I find the time!</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<br /></div>
<div dir="ltr">
Meanwhile, I’m also looking for guest contributors to have their fishing-related articles & blog posts featured on the revamped site…</div>
<div dir="ltr">
</div>
<div dir="ltr">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8K2YaMueblVmzp9JSevZ6qctdBGdhXXlNgBi9Bm7G1DFA6meQN1a8qh7umRtUnvySklyd-l09YiII3zX3jhUgC1POG7TA1UPZNQu1RLs4qS6P_0QvB4NupQjyHTHiA8SZ6XI8dlc2qI/s1600/guest-blogger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Guest fishing bloggers get in touch - Angling writers" border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy8K2YaMueblVmzp9JSevZ6qctdBGdhXXlNgBi9Bm7G1DFA6meQN1a8qh7umRtUnvySklyd-l09YiII3zX3jhUgC1POG7TA1UPZNQu1RLs4qS6P_0QvB4NupQjyHTHiA8SZ6XI8dlc2qI/s320/guest-blogger.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
Whether you’re a published angler or you’re interested in writing your first piece, if you have a fishy story to share (who doesn’t?!) and you’d like your writing to be showcased on my site, head to the "<a href="http://www.just-fish.co.uk/wp/contact-andrew/">Contact Me</a>" page. <u>F</u>ill in your details (including a link to your blog or website, if you have one) and send it to me with “Guest blogger” as the subject. I’ll be in touch soon to discuss your ideas and you could see your writing on the new site <u>soon!</u><br />
<br />
</div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-9817172049766519452016-02-17T18:00:00.001+00:002022-02-11T11:18:34.206+00:002015 - My Highlights - Part 3: Float Fishing in the Dark for Grey MulletSo, onto the final part of my 2015 highlights trilogy! The epic finalé. Hopefully it'll be more Toy Story 3 than Jurassic Park III; more Die Hard with a Vengeance than Superman III! There's only one way to find out...<br />
<br />
<b>Cornish manoeuvres in the dark</b><br />
<br />
On our first holiday with our (by now, 4 months old) baby daughter, fishing was never going to be high on the agenda, it would be a case of grabbing a chance if and when it arrived. We stayed in this country, which allowed me to take quite a range of gear with me so that I could exploit any opportunities which came my way. The first of these came in Poole, where we spent a week.<br />
<br />
Our hotel was walking distance from a bay of some repute amongst local angling bloggers I'd looked up before we went. A couple of evening trips produced my first two bass (which would have each fitted in the palm of my hand and they were returned as quickly as possible) and a couple of eels which had me fooled I might have hooked a bit better bass. Brilliant fun, a new species chalked off and all done without upsetting the family because high tide coincided with the time everyone was going to bed! <br />
<br />
After the week in Poole we upped-sticks to the Cornish coast and the delightful fishing village of Mevagissey, which would be our base for the following week. The drive took a little longer than we'd anticipated and it was already dark when we arrived on the narrow quay beside the cottage we'd rented. As I stepped out of the van to begin unloading our luggage my eyes were inevitably drawn towards the water. I made a double take; in the glimmer of a nearby streetlight I saw a ghostly shadow near the surface, skulking away from me. I only caught a glimpse for a second, but I knew I'd seen a large mullet. Way bigger than any I'd caught before.<br />
<br />
I've caught mullet in a few different countries and I've fished for them in many more places but fallen foul of the species' mystical bait-mouthing qualities and spooky nature. I had spent a frustrating day following a feeding shoal up and down a backwater on the Hampshire coast in my mid-teens. The last time I'd targeted them was at Coffs Harbour in Australia, back in 2001, where again I had seen big fish but failed to convince any of them that my bait was safe fayre.<br />
<br />
My more successful encounters with mullet included lowering a hand-line down from the deck of a ferry on a school trip in Greece. A bit of pilfered breakfast roll scattered on the surface got them going and they definitely hadn't been fished for with a vertical line before, as I hooked and landed a couple of them before I decided that the drop back down to the water was neither pleasant nor fair on the fish and decided to watch them feed instead.<br />
<br />
By far my most memorable tussles with mullet were back when - in my early to mid-teens - we holidayed regularly in Tenerife. I took along a telescopic rod each time (back when you could take them on a plane as hand luggage!) and would disappear for hours at a time, keeping myself entertained by fishing for the small wrasse and other species amongst the rocky breakwaters. As I grew bored with this kind of fishing and saw some of the locals pulling out much larger bream and mullet, my interest was piqued and I mirrored their tactics to catch a few (but not many) hard-fighting mullet. My PB mullet, a fish of around 2lb, will live long in the memory because I spotted it swimming around with what looked like a jellyfish wrapped around it. Luckily I caught the fish and found this "jellyfish" was actually one of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-17029136" target="_blank">ghastly plastic ring contraptions</a> which holds 4-packs of cans together. The fish had somehow swum through three of the holes when it was much smaller and as it had grown the plastic had become a potentially lethal ligature, just behind the head. One pectoral fin was pinned back against its flank and on the underside the plastic had dug in to around 15mm deep! How this fish was still alive, I have no idea, but the wounds were almost entirely healed up; there was little open flesh, so I carefully cut off the plastic with a penknife and set the fish free to hopefully live another day. It had survived that long inside its plastic noose, so who knows, it may have lived for a good long while. One thing this taught me is to always cut those plastic can holders up before they're thrown away. I've been anal about that ever since because I've seen the <a href="http://www.sandallpark.org.uk/2015/05/beer-can-litter-menace/" target="_blank">unneccesary suffering they can cause when discarded</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhcY95WO2sQ47Q5ucf8wejl1EHQ509qb412HF7gQ9cOSlQcxMbRyv-kwoEfAcIoCB6O1yQsDxTrY82IIWP6ni7-QCpqk5guAagkMQ2Xq7yHvXfSPftQVZCu10OjiC85oN9tqggU7YM-M/s1600/mullet.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Grey Mullet on harmed by plastic litter" border="0" height="154" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhcY95WO2sQ47Q5ucf8wejl1EHQ509qb412HF7gQ9cOSlQcxMbRyv-kwoEfAcIoCB6O1yQsDxTrY82IIWP6ni7-QCpqk5guAagkMQ2Xq7yHvXfSPftQVZCu10OjiC85oN9tqggU7YM-M/s320/mullet.jpg" title="My old PB Grey Mullet from Tenerife" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My old PB grey mullet, which was almost decapitated by a plastic 4-ring can holder! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Back to Cornwall! The next morning after breakfast I headed to the local tackle shop to get the lowdown on what was being caught in the area. "Not much" was the reply! Apparently my best bet would be to chuch some feathers at the mackerel from the breakwater, but that's not "proper" fishing to me. It's not very sporting and unless you're catching them to eat (I wasn't) or to use as bait (I had no way of freezing mackerel or transporting them home frozen to keep as pike baits) there isn't really much point in fishing for them.<br />
<br />
I could only really fish at night because we were busy sightseeing during the daytime, and for the first couple of nights high tide was around midnight, which gave me a decent opportunity to fish in the dark before it got too late. So my thoughts turned to that shady figure I'd spotted the previous night. In my wisdom I had packed a specimen float rod and match reel, a couple of stick floats and wagglers, and even a couple of starlites. I had the ideal setup for having a go for a mullet in the dark. I'd never heard of night fishing for mullet before, I had no idea if they'd even feed in the dark, but seeing that solo fish so close to the surface gave me hope that if I could find them I would be in with a chance.<br />
<br />
The following evening the weather was calm and dry, so I set out with my float rod and a couple of loaves of bread. My tactics were simple, walk around the quay scattering pieces of floating bread in a few areas and then visit each one in turn, listening for fish sucking at the bread and keeping an eye out for grey torpedoes cruising in the gloom or creating ripples as they feed. In a couple of <i>really </i>fishy-looking spots I made a bit of bread mash to throw between the boats, to give any fish not cruising the surface layers something to home-in on.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFpbkdJCethRuq-FvW-Pmj904E9YiK7rihrCGzytmqjHjV60YZH5TAbEfrU_LwAJs65idih7qWDrjHhhoqPC8FoxTsAfYgpl7wup5PXSRJBfyJJtHnuSsFd2DRxYA-IjbiEOMfNwTPj8/s1600/Fishing+in+Mevagissey_01.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Hoping that the big harbour grey mullet would feed in the dark" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxFpbkdJCethRuq-FvW-Pmj904E9YiK7rihrCGzytmqjHjV60YZH5TAbEfrU_LwAJs65idih7qWDrjHhhoqPC8FoxTsAfYgpl7wup5PXSRJBfyJJtHnuSsFd2DRxYA-IjbiEOMfNwTPj8/s320/Fishing+in+Mevagissey_01.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Peace and quiet! The tranquil quayside before the pubs chucked out!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After half an hour or so I had spotted two big mullet feeding
and regularly visiting a particular area. I made my first cast too
close to one of them and saw it spook but after a little more cautious
coaxing I was ready to have another go. As I concentrated on the water,
trying my hardest to focus on the dark shapes as they swam, playing
tricks on my eyes all the time (I would think I had my sights
locked-onto one and then it would seemingly shape-shift and become part
of the reflection of a boat or building!) I became aware of some drunken
shouting around the other side of the quay. I thought nothing of it
until they got closer and closer and I realised they were heading in my
direction. This wasn't the conversation of men who'd had a swift
couple, it was the top-of-the-voice drunken hollering of a group of
blokes who'd had a <i>proper</i> session. A skinful. And it became
apparent that they were in the mood for a bit of "bants" with me! Like
flies to shite, drunken people are instinctively drawn towards anyone
doing anything remotely interesting or different from the norm. Here I
was trying to fish for mullet in the dark; a great big steaming turd of attraction!<br />
<br />
I
thought <i>"just my 'king luck!"</i> and slowly moved towards the inebriated
fellows and away from my cautiously feeding quarry, so as to hopefully
head them off before they were close enough for the mullet to hear their
heckles. It worked for a while and as the first of the merry men
approached me and enquired about my success so far, I tried my best to
say as little as possible (so they'd get bored quickly or maybe even
realise that I'd rather be left alone) whilst being as polite about it
as I possibly could. After all, I was perched on a quayside in the
dark, there were four of them and one of me and I know from first-hand
experience that alcohol impairs logic. I'm not <i>stupid</i>. <br />
<br />
At
this point I should probably explain that I'm not down on anyone having
a drink or getting drunk. I've been in some proper tangles over the
years thanks to beer. I love a drink and I reckon if I'd been in their position and I saw someone fishing, I would have been on them in a flash! Probably forcing upon them whatever tactics first came to mind and professing that they'd be far better off following my advice than doing whatever the hell they were doing! It's not that <i>they</i> were drunk, it was that <i>I</i> was fishing. An over-enthusiastic passer-by can be off-putting when you're trying to catch a fish, but a drunken one (or worse still, group of 4 of them!) is just plain annoying.<br />
<br />
Their banter was good though! When I realised I wasn't going to get rid of them very quickly there was a bit more back-and-forth. When I said I was fishing for mullet there was an immediate reply of <i>"You're fishing for mullet and you've got a feckin' mullet!"</i>. The next line was "Are you <i>(impressively side-burned North Lincs. speed addict)</i> Guy Martin?... It's Guy Martin!" followed by a few laughs. Apparently my hair poking out from beneath my headlamp made it look like I had sideburns and apparently to their untrained south-western ears an Alfreton accent sounds almost identical to a Grimsby one!<br />
<br />
The blokes opened the side door of a nearby van which was adjacent to where I'd got the fish feeding. They started taking jumpers off and I presumed they were bunking in the back of the van for the remainder of the night. I decided the swim was a write-off until they'd gone to sleep so I wandered off to see if I could find any mullet elsewhere. A couple of minutes later I heard some shouting from the direction of their van and then a "Kashboosh!". To my horror one of them had jumped off the quay, right into the spot where I'd had mullet feeding 20 minutes before! My careful baiting and patient waiting of the past hour and a half had surely amounted to nothing? Another of the group jumped in, followed by another and then the other. They splashed and generally dicked around, completely unaware of what they'd done to my as-yet almost unfished mullet swim!<br />
<br />
I was dejected. I'd wasted all of that time when I could have been in bed like the rest of my family. I'd no doubt be grouchy next day thanks to lack of sleep and the impromptu freestyle diving competition wrecking my chances of a mullet. What happened next took me completely by surprise. As I watched the starlite bob only with the gentle undulations of the tide, the four men climbed out of the harbour, got dried off, piled into two separate vehicles and drove off! I was far too far away to take any registrations and these guys could barely stand up, let-alone drive. As I watched their headlights disappear up the hillside I could only hope that at this small hour they were lucky enough for no-one else to be out on the roads and in their way.<br />
<br />
A few minutes after they'd gone I thought I'd have one last roll of the dice by walking past the swimming area, along to some moored boats where I'd thrown in some mashed bread earlier on. It was darker here and quite out of the way from where the night swimmers had been, so there was a chance it was a place mullet would head to for a bit of sanctuary. I put out a few pieces of floating bread and flicked out my stumpy, bodied waggler towards the far end of the boats. It was at that awkward range where your starlite/isotope is still visible, but only just, and your eyes start playing tricks by making the float seem to move when it hasn't. I was fishing at around 14" depth, with a bulk of shot just beneath the float but with rubber float stops holding it in place, so I could alter the depth quickly. <br />
<br />
<i>"I'm sure that float just moved"</i>, I thought, momentarily before it sailed away in the opposite direction. A swift strike followed and I felt a little bit of resistance but no hooked fish. <i>"Damn! I've pricked it and probably blown my chance"</i>. I had a couple more casts before adding a couple of inches to the depth which resulted in an immediate bite. I struck again quickly and came back with nothing, so I decided that if I got another bite I would let it run until I was sure the bait was properly inside the mouth of the fish. Next cast the float started dipping and darting. My right arm was itching to strike but I fought my instincts and waited until the float moved off at speed. Then I gently lifted into the fish and immediately connected! <i>"Sweet Jesus!"</i>; I was not prepared for what happened next! The fish bolted like a turbocharged barbel, pulling metres of line off the reel as it went, and took me way out into the darkness where I could make out other boats, buoys and what were no doubt their mooring ropes and anchor chains!<br />
<br />
Crikey, these fish are unbelieveably fast, but somehow I managed to lift the line over a boat and steer the fish into open water where I was able to play it out and land it, with my extending landing net handle at full stretch and me laid out on the quayside, arm reaching down as far as I could. It was mine! A definite new PB and what a thrill! After writing off my chances a little earlier, I'd trounced the odds and landed a PB mullet in the dark from between the chandlery, after my swim was destroyed by four boozed-up bathers!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMUA749X1ocoz_sp4NmEzxUv8EfuWYJ01sHnffQARPeydMnIfged7-_sd3L75KtjZkCA4Gtn51iEmtY5mMRPK3w4WvFCwW_oY3nWH2TR32tEiDhiDc5JPy2EEYMX56Xvx9gBFASXo9nY/s1600/grey-mullet_3lb8oz_240315a.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="I was chuffed with this new PB mullet in testing circumstances, but a much bigger one followed it to the net!" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtMUA749X1ocoz_sp4NmEzxUv8EfuWYJ01sHnffQARPeydMnIfged7-_sd3L75KtjZkCA4Gtn51iEmtY5mMRPK3w4WvFCwW_oY3nWH2TR32tEiDhiDc5JPy2EEYMX56Xvx9gBFASXo9nY/s320/grey-mullet_3lb8oz_240315a.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A new PB, completely against the odds!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
After a couple of quick pics, I released my 3lb thick-lipped grey mullet to battle another day and although very satisfied with my new PB, I knew I would have to have another go for them because a fish twice its size had followed it almost into the landing net!<br />
<br />
Luck wasn't on my side the following few nights. We had some really heavy rain and I didn't have the gear with me to cope with fishing out in it. Plus, I doubted that fishing shallow for mullet would be much good in the pelting rain. The high tide for the remainder of the week had gone way past midnight and on the next calm night high tide was at 3am. When my daughter woke up screaming for a bottle at ten past three, I realised I had an opportunity. After the feed was done and she was happily back asleep I got dressed, grabbed my tackle and headed for the quay (with baby in the care of my fiancé). I threw some bread into both areas where I'd seen or caught fish on the previous session. Nothing was interested so I moved up to where a stream gushed (with all the previous nights' rainfall) into the harbour through a large outfall pipe. I introduced a couple of balls of bread mash and started trotting baits through. I got occasional bites and missed them but after throwing in a few pieces of floating bread I realised there was a shoal of small mullet in the swim, so I moved out of their way and back to where I'd caught my mullet from.<br />
<br />
Still seeing no signs of fish activity, I cast out between the boats. On the fourth or fifth cast I missed a quick bite. There was still something here at least. But bites were hard to come by so I cast around to different places between the nearby boats. After spotting a large mullet emerge from beneath the hull of a boat, take a piece of bread and disappear back into the darkness, I lowered my rig into the very spot. Another missed bite! <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxjGtyGq6JjP-4a4vG4UF-pKDD_t3DBfZhu3bTa3I4UvgidFfp1QvKDD_9f2ZUws3CxObBp3SGOzBc7yBQrVR7qqaoIwvlRSy5d0XTi-R6vIXluCkH1M18CoZ6XV-o5mWgAk3eUnfFcs/s1600/Fishing+in+Mevagissey_03.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzxjGtyGq6JjP-4a4vG4UF-pKDD_t3DBfZhu3bTa3I4UvgidFfp1QvKDD_9f2ZUws3CxObBp3SGOzBc7yBQrVR7qqaoIwvlRSy5d0XTi-R6vIXluCkH1M18CoZ6XV-o5mWgAk3eUnfFcs/s320/Fishing+in+Mevagissey_03.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" googl="true" style="text-align: center;">I cast around between the boats, trying to find a feeding mullet</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After a few increasingly frantic casts around this area I worked my way back towards the area I'd had the bite. This was just far enough out for the float to be surrounded by the gloom, rather than lit up by the quayside lights, so the only indications of any fish in the vicinity would be movements of the float. It wasn't too long before the float did move and I struck immediately. Nothing. At least tonight the mullet were living up to their finicky, difficult to catch reputation!<br />
<br />
Out went the rig, a little beyond the feeding area. I slowly worked it back towards me and a few seconds after the float had settled in the right spot it was swiftly pulled beneath the surface. Remembering the way I hooked the other fish, I decided to pause for just a second before striking. The float continued its angular path towards the stern of a boat so I struck before I lost sight of it. This time I felt the hook set. <br />
<br />
If I was feeling a little drained and drowsy from my early morning exploits, I was about to have that slapped out of me, courtesy of a mullet-shaped exocet and a titanic dose of adrenaline! My heart had only just returned to its normal rhythm from the battle I had a few nights prior but here it was again trying to punch through my ribcage from the inside! Wow, can mullet shift! And pull! Certainly on this light, balanced float gear I was using, anyway.<br />
<br />
This battle between the boats was never going to be straightforward and potential disaster struck just as I was thinking I'd got the measure of the fish. It dived under a boat to my right, faster than I could react, and found a boat component I didn't even know existed! This boat had a wooden beam fixed to the side of the hull, extending vertically downwards into the water for a couple of feet and the fish had wrapped the line around it! <i>(I've since thought that this beam is most likely a stabiliser to keep the boat upright in the empty harbour at low tide, but still, I didn't expect it to be there!)</i>. The mullet rose to the surface beside the beam and I felt physically sick! I could see it was huge and I knew that with such a short tether it only had to kick a couple of times and the hooklength would snap. My rod tip was waved around and plunged under at various angles before I felt the line work free a little. Luck was on my side and the fish followed, freeing itself to knock seven bells out of me again. They're real ego bruisers, mullet. Cheeky buggers. Even when you finally manage to hook one they find a way of flicking you a methaphorical middle finger!<br />
<br />
To my amazement, I found myself once again laid on the quay trying to guide another PB mullet toward my landing net. The battle was over and I was as stunned by the events - and the fish which filled the net mesh - as I was elated by them. This was one of the most memorable and genuinely fulfilling angling experiences I've ever had. The thought of it still excites me, six months later!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4hlqTuv7kyAKQTR8L4sfuZ8qsMnMZyWNF7fc_wmgPcjiaF5bYkdVO2v5wl9bZIEdBxnVCX2nsbIdzy35AlKZau3lUstYb0H5VEG5bhPjnEet5krHriWhd3yHoqlNV7pwnKZyGj_IMZs/s1600/grey-mullet_6lb8oz_270315a.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="A new PB Grey Mullet caught on float-fished bread in the dark!" border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgd4hlqTuv7kyAKQTR8L4sfuZ8qsMnMZyWNF7fc_wmgPcjiaF5bYkdVO2v5wl9bZIEdBxnVCX2nsbIdzy35AlKZau3lUstYb0H5VEG5bhPjnEet5krHriWhd3yHoqlNV7pwnKZyGj_IMZs/s320/grey-mullet_6lb8oz_270315a.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My second PB Mullet in a week! This one will take some beating.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here's the specimen. Possibly the same fish that had
shadowed my previous fish to the net; certainly a similar size if not
the same individual. Either way, I had a mullet of over six and a half
pounds in my net. A true Cornish beast, which I'll probably never
eclipse.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCK9qJEVVGJDm6x7srj5sO0LsyzymQcEAEqM7W9Doijd9-byn0O6ZPIdcVyXAE7nSqg3PVFanDv1v5zR5JQ90tmbt9o22nEZx75Q91-BB30WyyJoT0U2_GqynjzX4DLLXKHefsyiuSHlA/s1600/grey-mullet_6lb8oz_270315h.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Returning my personal best Thick-Lipped Grey Mullet" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCK9qJEVVGJDm6x7srj5sO0LsyzymQcEAEqM7W9Doijd9-byn0O6ZPIdcVyXAE7nSqg3PVFanDv1v5zR5JQ90tmbt9o22nEZx75Q91-BB30WyyJoT0U2_GqynjzX4DLLXKHefsyiuSHlA/s320/grey-mullet_6lb8oz_270315h.jpg" title="" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Back she goes...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0Cornwall, UK50.266047099999987 -5.052712499999984248.971635099999986 -7.6344994999999845 51.560459099999989 -2.4709254999999843tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-85952444245044892292016-01-11T17:30:00.000+00:002016-01-11T18:18:40.759+00:002015 - My Highlights - Part 2: Clear River Stalking for Chub & BarbelIn the second of my Highlights of 2015 posts I once again visit the Derbyshire Derwent, but a different stretch this time. The session provided me with a great insight into the lives of barbel & chub when this river is exceptionally low and clear...<br />
<br />
<b>Fishing for barbel & chub in clear water on the Derwent</b><br />
<br />
Every now and again, a fishing session comes along which unexpectedly knocks you sideways. Sometimes it can be a red letter day in the form of the number or size of fish you catch, other times it's the things you see or the whole experience.<br />
<br />
I had one such day last July, where it was the latter which made the day special. I caught some fish but the overriding highlights of the day were the things I witnessed. Forgive me if I get carried away describing something you see regularly, but because I don't fish during the daytime very often, this whole experience was something quite special for me.<br />
<br />
It started when I decided to head to a stretch of the River Derwent which I had only ever fished once, several years ago. It was primarily a reconnaissance session to reaquiant myself with the swims and try to find some fish-holding areas to target on future evening sessions.<br />
<br />
I started off by walking the entire stretch with a lure rod, a net, a small selection of lures, a baitdropper and some mixed pellets, casters & hemp. The thinking behind this mish-mash of tackle was to wander from swim to swim, watching the water and scanning the area using my polaroid sunglasses. If I thought a swim had potential for a lure-caught fish I would work a few lures through it and if I thought a swim had barbel or chub potential I would drop in some bait with the baitdropper.<br />
<br />
The day was very warm with bright sunshine and the river was running extremely low, so I had expected to find spottting fish (and catching any on lures) very difficult. I was mainly looking for any snags, undercut banks, deep depressions and gravel runs which may hold fish in the future.<br />
<br />
As it transpired, access to swims on the stretch was extremely limited and I had to bash my way through to the water's edge in a few places, only to find a sheer cliff straight down to the water. Not ideal! So for a while my casts were limited to 5 or 6 small areas where I could safely reach the water. I hadn't seen a sign of any fish but as I continued downstream, scanning the water as I wandered, I glimpsed something which stopped me in my tracks.<br />
<br />
At the head of a deep, shady pool between two shallow sections I'd spotted a group of seven or eight big chub basking near the surface. I dropped to my knees amongst the tall dry grass and Himalayan balsam as I racked my brain for other explanations of what I thought I saw. As I peered over the foliage I fully expected to see only an empty pool but the fish were definitely fish and they were still there, seemingly unaware or unperturbed by my presence.<br />
<br />
What's more is that not only were there seven or eight fish, as I looked more carefully I could make out many more - over twenty in total, all between 4lb and 6lb+ - and beneath them were a few big barbel scattered around. I couldn't believe what I was seeing, it was by far the largest group of specimen fish I had ever laid eyes on. As I watched, several individual fish drifted away from the main group, into the sanctuary of overhanging trees and then back again. Therein laid the problem!<br />
<br />
This swim was impossible to fish! In the near margin a fallen tree laid parallel to the bank from the top of the swim to halfway down. An Alder was growing on my bank, right in the middle of the swim and from there downstream there was a sheer drop of around 9 feet down to the water. This was the only fishable place in the swim, but it was already beyond halfway down the pool and I would be in an extremely exposed position, guaranteed to spook the shoal especially when it came to landing a fish. That is if I could steer a fish away from the near-margin snag or even cast far enough upstream thanks to the tree in the way! Needless to say, the fish would have the upper hand.<br />
<br />
I thought things through and decided that if I could reach the gravel shallows above the deep hole, I could fish down towards the shoal and confidently steer any hooked fish upstream away from the snags. I crawled upstream to see if my theory would be possible but alas, the main channel was a couple of strides from my bank and - critically and frustratingly - this channel was about 6 inches deeper than my thigh waders were high!<br />
<br />
With that theory out of the window I wrote off the swim as completely unfishable. Instead I decided to make the most of the spectacle by seeing if I could get the shoal feeding or if they would spook and disappear. I crept into a position where I could see most of the shoal, but remain hidden by the Alder, tentatively threw five or six casters upstream of the shoal and waited. I was delighted to see more than one fish move straight towards the falling bait and intercept them. Of this first handful, I think 2 or 3 casters made it past the fish but from then on almost everything I introduced into the swim was taken. After a few minutes I decided I'd better save my bait for swims I could actually fish, so I reluctantly halted the introduction of free offerings, slowly backed away from the swim and continued my search downstream.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbBTNGfg276DbvnfNC80eCeXaB3Y835o7gj5My10pcN_L48xNtZDlQqowK9oBZRb94CxSfTmteIwSJcuVQwHL2_g1G0CmuuC9djJouBrM4xZkscGavyYm7O2HLBmk9qDhaS1zghXG8OM/s1600/Derwent+Clear+Water+Swim.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Impossible clear water swim full of specimen chub and barbel on the Derbyshire Derwent" border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitbBTNGfg276DbvnfNC80eCeXaB3Y835o7gj5My10pcN_L48xNtZDlQqowK9oBZRb94CxSfTmteIwSJcuVQwHL2_g1G0CmuuC9djJouBrM4xZkscGavyYm7O2HLBmk9qDhaS1zghXG8OM/s400/Derwent+Clear+Water+Swim.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "Impossible" swim! (Apologies for my sketchy sketching!)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It took me almost 2 hours to battle through the undergrowth in my waders. Parts of the stretch hadn't seen a human this season and I was literally pounding a trail through. Unfortunately I didn't find too many areas to pique my interest and having only put bait into 3 or 4 swims well upstream, I wondered what my next move should be. During the long walk back to the van to swap my lure tackle for my quivertip & float tackle I decided to fish these swims on rotation as I walked back downstream.<br />
<br />
Nothing happened after an hour of casting a swimfeeder at the top of the swim and trotting below it and I had a nagging feeling about the"unfishable" swim full of feeding fish that I'd left earlier. Eventually I could take it no more and ventured down to the swim to see if the fish were still there and, more importantly, to see if I could work out a way to catch one. I was certain that if I caught a single fish it would spook the shoal. But with several of the fish appearing to be potential PBs, I reasoned that it would be worth a try in case <i>that </i>one fish was one of the biggies.<br />
<br />
When I arrived at the swim the fish were still there and a couple of pouchfulls of casters were soon being picked off by specimens. Soon I introduced hemp and a few pellets and these too were taken gladly. I continued to feed for almost an hour and got more and more excited as I watched the fish gain in confidence and I gradually worked the shoal downstream as far as I could. The odd particles that reached the riverbed were hoovered up by competing barbel, but due to the size of the chub and the near-margin snags it was the chub I wanted to target. As these were within a few inches of surface, and I could only flick a rig fractionally above the fish, so any float stem protruding beneath the surface was sure to spook them. In an ideal world I would have used a blob of floating putty to give me the weight to flick a bait towards the fish with minimal disturbance. However, I had none in my light stalking bag so I had to improvise.<br />
<br />
In one of my bits pouches I found a small hardwood float I'd been given and used once. It's designed to be fished shallow on stillwaters and is designed to be shot-free, so it's self-cocking. A tiny swivel is held to the float body by a silicone sleeve, so I removed this and used the silicone to hold the float in place at a depth of around 6 inches. I pinched 2 small Stotz onto the line between float and hook and fished straight-through to a strong size 16 specimen hook.<br />
<br />
I was sure I'd only get one shot at a fish and if I screwed up the cast the chance would be gone. As it turned out my first cast landed in the perfect spot but I didn't check my line quickly enough and as it fell it looped over a branch on the dead tree. I left it as long as I dared before flicking my rod tip and freed the line and then I watched as a good chub approached the bait and then turned away at the last moment. The bait moved downstream of the fish and I had to reel in, cringing as I waited for the fish to move off. They hung around but before I could make another cast there was a commotion in the middle of the swim. A large pike had appeared and taken a swipe at one of the chub on the edge of the shoal! Disaster, or so I thought, but as the pike skulked back to the streamer weed bed it appeared from I noticed that the majority of the chub were still present.<br />
<br />
I fed them a few lots of free offereings before I dared make another cast and although experience meant I missed the dead tree this time, the same thing happened with a chub which was interested and then not. Sensing my luck was running out I added a couple of inches of depth to the rig, to allow the bait to flutter and fall more naturally. This was the change I needed to make, as a chub approached from downstream and nabbed the bait, hook and all!<br />
<br />
A subtle wind-down was required, rather than a full-on strike, for me to stand any chance of not spooking the other fish. It worked in the sense that the chub didn't charge around the swim; it flopped around instead and allowed me to shuffle to the exposed spot where I could ship my landing net down towards the water, in full view of every other fish. My chub was safely netted and to my surprise most of the other fish still seemed to ignore my presence.<br />
<br />
Upstream I found a spot where I could reach the river to rest the chub in the net whilst I set up my camera gear and hurriedly weighed and photographed the fish. At 4lb 10oz it was a good way from being a PB, it was far from one of the largest in the shoal, but I have never worked harder for a single chub and the sense of achievement was immense.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimQQDxPJHTbagZ7Z2zjRWr2n61v5I750H80PvBhbQo9l0Mo6AzObihB61rSbSPkXGrZKOcnxF30FiVu7oGwNgE83WOcx1uXnL_rbpzOTpKeTAjaj7Ch2t7hwiNRK4ID5bRz-io80akKY/s1600/chub_4lb10oz_230715a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A 4lb 10oz Chub stalked amongst a caster & hemp feeding frenzy on a crystal-clear river Derwent" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhimQQDxPJHTbagZ7Z2zjRWr2n61v5I750H80PvBhbQo9l0Mo6AzObihB61rSbSPkXGrZKOcnxF30FiVu7oGwNgE83WOcx1uXnL_rbpzOTpKeTAjaj7Ch2t7hwiNRK4ID5bRz-io80akKY/s320/chub_4lb10oz_230715a.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
I had landed a fish from the "unfishable" swim but after the entertainment the fish in this swim had given me, landing anything was a bonus. I truly felt privileged to witness such a large congregation of big fish feeding confidently in such crystal clear water.<br />
<br />
When I returned to the swim the chub had vanished but a few barbel remained, grubbing around in the gravel. I decided to push my luck and try to land one and quickly setup the quivertip rod with a link leger and hook with a single banded pellet. Within a couple of minutes of flicking it out a barbel picked the bait. This time it knew what was going on and made for the snag before I had chance to get far enough downstream to stand any chance. I felt it bump through several submerged branches and I knew I was fighting a losing battle, but when the line parted my conscience was allieviated slightly by knowing my simple rig should cause the fish few problems.<br />
<br />
It was then I knew it was time to move on and I headed to a snag swim that I'd pre-baited earlier. From here I landed a 9lb 5oz barbel as darkness fell and I chanced one last move back to the "impossible" swim.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcaFbkpqjkOdaT4NoUtkkExrEIsgM5apX4vcKlw7DA-KEOQDFToW3dSL0zjh2XlA5iYvkMS2NbrMYxEfIJ7VRW0kBGLomsrS_3F0ch0dXtqRTybeT0xedgWrB_CpdzVCSDBqYGdp8GJo/s1600/barbel_9lb5oz_230715c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUcaFbkpqjkOdaT4NoUtkkExrEIsgM5apX4vcKlw7DA-KEOQDFToW3dSL0zjh2XlA5iYvkMS2NbrMYxEfIJ7VRW0kBGLomsrS_3F0ch0dXtqRTybeT0xedgWrB_CpdzVCSDBqYGdp8GJo/s320/barbel_9lb5oz_230715c.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
The reason for my return is that I thought with the cover of darkness I could fish farther downstream, up on the high bank which left me so exposed in daylight. That way I had an immediate advantage to bring the fish downstream away from the snags. I would think about how to land the fish if and when I got that far!<br />
<br />
Sure enough, fish were still feeding in the swim. Within quarter of an hour I missed a bite, which must have been a chub. Minutes later the rod wrenched round again and a barbel outwitted me in the darkness and just made it to the tip of a branch on the fallen tree. I knew this would be my last cast before home, so I turned on my headlamp. The fish was visible beneath the surface and if I could have reached the branch with my landing net pole (I had the Drennan Super Specialist extending 3 metre handle at full stretch!) I could have freed it but it was 2 feet beyond reach. I tried pulling from as many angles as possible. I even tried lowering myself down to stand on the snag but my hand holds were giving way and I ran out of options. In the end the barbel pulled itself free and left my hook in the branch, proving that - for barbel at least - this swim really was impossible. And unsafe!Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-52136258466195610582016-01-04T17:30:00.000+00:002016-01-04T17:47:32.555+00:002015 - My Highlights - Part 1: Trotting for Barbel on the DerwentIn April last year my life was changed forever by the birth of my
daughter! So whilst I've been experiencing the highs and challenges of
fatherhood, finding time to fish has become even more difficult. Time
to blog about it has inevitably proved yet trickier to find! I have,
however, sneaked in a short evening session most weeks since June and
I've really enjoyed the fishing I've done this season. More than I have
in quite some time!<br />
<br />
So I thought I would write
about my 3 angling highlights from last summer; a blog post for each. They include a first, a
PB and an exhilarating spot of close-quarters, clear water fishing. If
you like the sound of those, read on...<br />
<br />
<b>First barbel on the stick float</b><br />
<br />
A
couple of seasons ago I decided that I really wanted to catch a barbel
on the float. With almost all of my barbel fishing consisting of summer
& autumn evening sessions, I only managed 4 or 5 hours of
trotting for them last season, with only a few small silver fish and
minnows to show for my efforts. This year I decided to put some effort
in at the beginning of the season when, arriving at the river between
7pm and 7.30, I would still have a good couple of hours of decent
daylight available to me.<br />
<br />
Although I was hoping for a
barbel, so early on in the season I would be thankful to catch anything
bigger than a minnow! So, I got cracking from on my first session of
the season, which was to the Derbyshire Derwent. I had a spot in mind
with a good steady flow and depth of around 5 feet when the water is
low, which it has been all season on the DD. My rig was pretty simple;
8lb mainline with a large, wire-stemmed Avon float through to a size 16
specimen hook on a 6lb hooklength. I started off using a bulk-shotting
pattern, but I wasn't happy with how this was fishing so I soon moved to
shotting in a shirt-button style.<br />
<br />
Last season I
trotted maggots and was plagued by minnows but I also landed a few roach
on legered pellets. Interested to see if the Derwent could produce a
real specimen roach, I decided that feeding mixed-size pellets and then
trotting a 6 or 8mm banded pellet should give me a decent chance of
hooking barbel, chub, bream or even a decent roach.<br />
<br />
The
first session went pretty well. I used my first few casts to learn the
exact contours of the swim and after half an hour or so of steady
feeding I had my first bite. The fish charged around the swim,
convincing me that I'd hooked a small barbel or even a carp, but when it
tired and neared the surface, the fish which appeared was a chub of
around four pounds. A good fish on the float to kick-off the season
with!<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMlblALR8_GPDEQHWgViMj3fwSWawsA751rLjp_CLnPLHtSjMhLElOOscbeG1Q-SwTfv2nbjzRzptANKG9zhOUkgv6q0tGTr-RpEcOICCHIwtKgbIRSOhe-e9BjoOTjyyt0QLYN2RCy8/s1600/First+Fish+of+2015-16+Season.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Chub caught on trotted pellet" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMlblALR8_GPDEQHWgViMj3fwSWawsA751rLjp_CLnPLHtSjMhLElOOscbeG1Q-SwTfv2nbjzRzptANKG9zhOUkgv6q0tGTr-RpEcOICCHIwtKgbIRSOhe-e9BjoOTjyyt0QLYN2RCy8/s320/First+Fish+of+2015-16+Season.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
After
the chub I had no further action on the float, but spurred on by this
success I went for similar tactics next session, but I put in a few
casters, pellets and some hemp in with a baitdropper before I started.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Within
half an hour I was beginning to get bites on the banded pellet, which
to begin with where from small roach and then a surprise grayling. This
gave me a bit of confidence, but I was longing for a real tussle. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Occasionally
I flicked out the float slightly further upstream, giving the bait
chance to settle near the bottom earlier in the trot. Near the
beginning of one such trot through, the float buried and as I struck,
something pulled hard in the opposite direction. A barbel was hooked
and it soon dawned on me that all this time spent trying to tempt a
barbel to take a float-fished bait was the easy part; now I had to try
to control and land the thing!</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
So
began a couple of minutes of what I can only describe as enjoyable
panic! I had a little chuckle to myself as I listened to the tinny
'pings' let out by the drag clicker on the aluminium spool as it spun
and time seemed to stand still for a few seconds as I appreciated the
way this barbel was pulling on the float gear. At the same time I knew
full well that it was pulling straight towards a big bed of
ranunculus! </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
The
fish made it to the weedbed but with some internal words of
encouragement to calmmy decision making, a bit of gentle persuasion soon
had the barbel out and back into open water. I was glad I hadn't gone
for a lighter hooklength because this little episode would have been the
end of my battle. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Thankfully
my hooklength - and my resolve - held out and a fit, chunky barbel of
8lb+ was in the net. My first barbel hooked & landed on the float
and a personal goal attained! With a large ranunculus patch just in
front of me I waded out to rest the fish on top of it for a couple of
trophy shots before returning it.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3m21leNcLmsEANZg3C2x8jAB67RV1tjqyEKGvJRHdC7CsXXtY4-KJFRLm_3duzTCm-51Es6hYdWxgAbgUW_dVzek5I7UULfVQZ4xfh3HpwDE_Nf5vHB2GYMMbPhyphenhyphenisuR5YEhZCYP7OE/s1600/barbel_8lb5oz_float_020715b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="An 8lb-plus barbel landed on float tackle, trotting a pellet beneath a stick float" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJ3m21leNcLmsEANZg3C2x8jAB67RV1tjqyEKGvJRHdC7CsXXtY4-KJFRLm_3duzTCm-51Es6hYdWxgAbgUW_dVzek5I7UULfVQZ4xfh3HpwDE_Nf5vHB2GYMMbPhyphenhyphenisuR5YEhZCYP7OE/s320/barbel_8lb5oz_float_020715b.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4O3nLa4OLcnGYtAtcO9rrDrPuRtu9beQeg4sdwvDsi8iGWefkd4Y-TET2k3hPSYjScpdH9uzp_YX1_D_Hpg_bWTUEcXRw5Wyu2UGlamJnqE3Ri_2ir2cThenZa32fqTzMm6771dljWRk/s1600/barbel_8lb5oz_resting_020715f.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="My first float-caught barbel resting on ranunculus streamer weed" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4O3nLa4OLcnGYtAtcO9rrDrPuRtu9beQeg4sdwvDsi8iGWefkd4Y-TET2k3hPSYjScpdH9uzp_YX1_D_Hpg_bWTUEcXRw5Wyu2UGlamJnqE3Ri_2ir2cThenZa32fqTzMm6771dljWRk/s320/barbel_8lb5oz_resting_020715f.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
A
few minutes after I released this fish the light dropped sufficiently
to make trotting impossible, but it held on just long enough for me to
take my first grayling from this stretch. Not a big one at all, but
what it lacked in size it made up for in greed, as it also took a 6mm
pellet!<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-oGLQtzdEwdNDznqeC6TKoaY9BMNyxh60ZrJl0EDq-XWa-7rwAEi1RFp2Roj-yl7fhzm3MisFIcJiCfi7U9S-7xHzkaWfx1BP8tKMbxO2-lHMj9CttZGQMC-fCv4u9Ot7jGOdtqCDmkg/s1600/Grayling_First-POD_020715.jpg"><img alt="Grayling caught on trotted pellet" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-oGLQtzdEwdNDznqeC6TKoaY9BMNyxh60ZrJl0EDq-XWa-7rwAEi1RFp2Roj-yl7fhzm3MisFIcJiCfi7U9S-7xHzkaWfx1BP8tKMbxO2-lHMj9CttZGQMC-fCv4u9Ot7jGOdtqCDmkg/s320/Grayling_First-POD_020715.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
One
of the benefits of trotting during the last few hours of
daylight is that - regardless of whether you catch on the float or not -
the trickle of loosefeed going into the swim should draw fish in for if
you
want to fish static baits after dark. This is exactly what I intended
to do, so as the float rod was put into the rod bag a couple of
quivertip rods came out.<br />
<br />
A couple of biteless hours passed
by, but I was confident that some barbel would show up at some point
thanks to the bait that went in earlier. The water was low & clear
and with the commotion caused by landing the earlier barbel, I suspected
any others were making the most of the sanctuary offered by the
streamer weed.<br />
<br />
I was using 1oz open-end swimfeeders with
long hooklinks down to heavy-gauge size 14 hooks. To match what I'd
been feeding earlier in the session, I fished with a cluster of
mixed-size pellets on the hair which I then dunked in some Gloop from
The Hookbait Company and finally dusted the whole lot with groundbait
for maximum appeal. <br />
<br />
The tip on my upstream rod
(cast just in front of the ranunculus bed which supported my earlier
barbel for the photos) twitched promisingly a couple of times and my
hand was on it in a flash. As it started to wrap around I lifted into a
fish which plodded purposely around. We had a couple of stalemates and
it took a few minutes before I could really get the better of it;
conscious all the time of the volume of weed it could reach quickly in
almost every direction!<br />
<br />
Finally I worked the fish
upstream of where I was stood. By this point I'd realised it was a very
decent fish I was attached to, which is why it was plodding steadily
rather than charging around like the fish on the float had. As the fish
surfaced I eased it towards the waiting landing net and it was mine!
At exactly 12lb it ended up being my largest barbel of 2015 and came as a
huge bonus to what had already been a productive and enjoyable evening.<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsv0tR6x-r67qoZ2ZD06KVFvYft3J_84EUUSNDG50HKioa3_mSGQev7zsBM8vc3A-RSfSwefg5l3-YzcGe-OqC1eVnj4s6GwTMcQ77wJQWSP9JvNpRJRLCxMQobb-ZwucKLt6xgV2v7mE/s1600/Barbel_12lb_020715b.jpg"><img alt="A 12lb barbel which took my feeder-fished pellet cluster offering. My largest of 2015" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsv0tR6x-r67qoZ2ZD06KVFvYft3J_84EUUSNDG50HKioa3_mSGQev7zsBM8vc3A-RSfSwefg5l3-YzcGe-OqC1eVnj4s6GwTMcQ77wJQWSP9JvNpRJRLCxMQobb-ZwucKLt6xgV2v7mE/s320/Barbel_12lb_020715b.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-43180803321216520422015-10-12T18:30:00.000+01:002015-10-12T18:30:01.316+01:00Cat-Fish Kickstarter Project - Fly Fishing for Cats! Extravagant Fishing-Themed Cat ToyWhen I saw this project on Kickstarter, I just has to share it:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/737549484/cat-fish" target="_blank">https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/737549484/cat-fish</a> <br />
<br />
It's called the "Cat-Fish" and it introduces the idea of "fly fishing" for your cat. You have a mini fly rod & reel, castable fly line and hookless flies, which you cast out and try to lure your cat into taking the bait. What a genuinely unique and brilliant idea! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/004/651/578/1fee80826d67bd086c1084630051d706_original.gif?v=1444273303&w=680&fit=max&q=92&s=458a78e0bc9d78836c18fb336bf3e901" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/004/651/578/1fee80826d67bd086c1084630051d706_original.gif?v=1444273303&w=680&fit=max&q=92&s=458a78e0bc9d78836c18fb336bf3e901" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Practice your own fly casting skills at home, whilst exercising and entertaining your cat! <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/004/347/880/74c050578246b2aa13962e9ea95ebee3_original.jpg?v=1440056744&w=680&fit=max&auto=format&q=92&s=087dbb154d5e5009704df4104b98c78e" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/004/347/880/74c050578246b2aa13962e9ea95ebee3_original.jpg?v=1440056744&w=680&fit=max&auto=format&q=92&s=087dbb154d5e5009704df4104b98c78e" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />
What better way to spend half an hour on a dark evening or a wet & windy day, than bonding with your cat and keeping your casting eye in by casting out a little teaser lure in the kitchen or down the stairs?!<br />
<br />
I should probably add that I have absolutely nothing to do with this project (other than pledging to back it), but I love fishing and I also have cats who love to chase things. This project won't happen unless they receive pledges for the total target value. They only have a couple of weeks left to find backers, so if you'd like to own a Cat-Fish, or see it come to market, please visit the <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/737549484/cat-fish" target="_blank">Cat-Fish Kickstarter page</a> and pledge to back it! <br />
<br />
Cat-Fish are also on Facebook here: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/catfishtoy" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/catfishtoy</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/004/347/892/d3baa3ef77551826d314991f78646a2d_original.jpg?v=1440057051&w=680&fit=max&auto=format&q=92&s=c0d1f3a5bca347d593415bf6f65911e3" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://ksr-ugc.imgix.net/assets/004/347/892/d3baa3ef77551826d314991f78646a2d_original.jpg?v=1440057051&w=680&fit=max&auto=format&q=92&s=c0d1f3a5bca347d593415bf6f65911e3" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-48595901505634378692014-04-15T21:34:00.001+01:002014-04-15T23:25:00.396+01:00A Very Welcome Highlight to End the River Season<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's a now a month since the rivers closed and I'm just getting around to typing up my 'end of season round-up' post. I don't think I've fully grasped the concept of a blog! Well, better late than never, I suppose...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Somehow I've managed to once again have a poor end to the season. What's made this one different to previous seasons is that it followed a poor middle of the season and a disappointing start to the season too!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Okay, so I haven't had as many hours on the bank since November as I wanted, but the efforts I did make had brought me 0 fish on the bank since November too! A few evening sessions fishing for zander, a few of the same after barbel (in seemingly ideal conditions, too) and an all-day chub session all resulted in a single half-hearted bite and no fish hooked or landed. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In February I escaped the horrendous floods by heading to a canal which manages to remain clear no matter what the conditions. It was a slow day during which I fished static deadbaits, wobbled deadbaits and lures, which all generated very little interest. Finally a float-legered sardine I'd cast tight to a reedbed was picked up and line was being taken fast. In my eagerness I rushed to set the hooks. If I'd taken a second to look and think, I would have seen that my float was disappearing behind a clump of reeds, causing an angle between the rod and the hooks. A few strides up the bank before striking would have alleviated this, but I had a momentary lapse of angling intuition and instead struck from where I stood. The water erupted beside the reeds as a very large fish pulled back. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">No sooner had my rod hooped over than the fish buried deep in the reeds, a few more kicks as I scrambled to get a better angle of pull and the fish was gone, leaving my hooks embedded in the Norfolk reeds, which eventually defeated my mainline. Bloody Norfolk reeds, over the years I've lost more tackle in them than in trees, or any other snag for that matter. Despite their thin, hollow construction they are remarkably strong and even 15lb mainline is no match for them if the hook has a firm hold.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After that, I tried all sorts, went to see how other stretches of the canal were fishing and it became apparent that with one run, I was faring better than most. I decided to return to my original stretch and hope there were more fish around, or that the fish I lost might get over its inevitable sulk quick enough to be tempted by a different type of bait (if ever I lose a pike on a certain bait, or have a follow on a certain lure, my default response is to try a different bait/lure, which they may not view with as much suspicion as they would seeing the same one again). Despite a free-roving float - which I was drifting around the canal with the wind - bobbing encouragingly a few times as dusk approached, it wasn't to be my day and I left cursing the fact that I really f***ed up when it mattered most and lost what I think was a very decent pike.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Before I could get out again, the final week of the river season was upon me. I only had time to go fishing once after work that week. Conditions seemed perfect for barbel and I had some new boilies I wanted to try out, so I headed to the Derwent.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The weather was mild for the time of year so instead of heading to the deeper holes and runs that I'm usually tempted to try in February and March, I tried a swim which had shallows immediately upstream of it, and dropped to a maximum depth of around 6 feet mid-river. The water pace is pretty fast here, so it's not the kind of place I'd expect to find barbel when it's really cold, but with night-time temperatures hovering around double figures, there was every chance the fish could be hard on the feed in somewhere just like this.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Having lost a bit of faith in the baits I'd been using (I started to question the freshness of the shelf-life baits which seemed to have a more sour aroma than when I'd bought them previously) and only landing a couple of chub on luncheon meat all season, I was eager to try something new. I'd heard good things about <a href="http://81.19.185.2/~hookbait/wp/" target="_blank">The Hook Bait Company</a>, so I ordered a few different flavours of their freezer baits in 14mm & 16mm dumbbells.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I also opted to switch from a large swimfeeder to a small lead, just enough to hold bottom. The main reason for this is that with the heavy floods many anglers had stayed at home. Any rigs that were cast into the rivers would have landed in several extra feet of coloured floodwater, so as they landed they would probably go unnoticed by the barbel. Therefore the barbel would have had a very quiet few weeks of getting used to not being bombarded with heavy feeders and leads. Now the rivers had fined down and the water was quite clear, any large splashes would most likely be viewed with suspicion, possibly putting the barbel off the feed or causing them to move out of the swim altogether.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I still wanted a bit of scent going into the water, so I made up some small PVA stockings of groundbait, a few pellets and a couple of crumbled boilies then attached them to my rig with the very handy <a href="http://www.avidcarp.com/AVA-11_Item" target="_blank">Avid Carp PVA metal link</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I baited each rod with a <a href="http://81.19.185.2/~hookbait/wp/?page_id=127" target="_blank">3-B boilie</a> and a <a href="http://81.19.185.2/~hookbait/wp/?page_id=293" target="_blank">Big Squid boilie</a> and put them out mid-river, one in the deeper part and one at the bottom of the rapids, where it just started to deepen off. It was 8pm by the time I got both rigs into the water, which was disappointing as I knew this would be my last session of the season and I may have already missed the main feeding spell. I doubted whether I could face another blank and where it would leave me if the season ended without me banking a fish during the first 3 months of 2014. Still, I knew I could do nothing more so I sat back in wait, enjoying the mild late winter evening.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Twenty minutes later the downstream rod tip careened towards the water. Unmistakably a barbel bite! It had been a while since I'd hooked anything, let alone a barbel, so it was a fantastic but slightly unnerving sensation to feel something take line at speed. I couldn't do anything with it at first, the clutch was already as tight as I dared have it, but as far as I knew there was open water in front of me (Although anything could have been deposited by the floods.).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It took at least a minute, but it felt much longer, before I could get the fish under control enough to regain any line. I started making headway and got the fish halfway back to me when I felt a bump and everything went solid. My worst nightmare! I didn't know what snag the fish had found, but it didn't feel like I was going to be able to move it (It was probably a submerged clump of Norfolk reeds!). I started shaking, knowing that I had hooked something decent which could save the end of my season, but I was now within one wrong move of losing it. I tried to remain calm so I didn't do anything rash, like I'd done on the pike session, and after maintaining contact and pulling from as many different angles as I could I decided my best chance would be to slacken off for a few seconds and hope the fish moved off.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To my relief after trying this a couple of times the rig came free of the snag and lo and behold, it was still attached to the fish! I didn't want to take anything for granted now and tried to play the fish in as quickly as possible. After a few near-misses close to the landing net, the fish was safely nestled within it. First cast with the new baits and I'd landed what was clearly my best barbel of the season and it looked like it should definitely make double figures.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The weighing confirmed I'd landed my first double figure barbel of a disappointing barbel season, at 10lb 9oz. I cannot tell you the relief to catch a decent fish on my final attempt and to make it all the more special, it gave me such a memorable scrap. Hopefully next season the rivers will be kinder to me, but when I look back at last season it won't seem <i>quite</i> so bleak as I it might.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyr8oEYG3I25VZCOxHi0-xTBFZ7hUFdLSJW71VhkRW63Ho5hoUU4oGniHfR7VWqMGickZeWkHDlHc7WZTDXZIzyI4eGU91d98DWc8lWkMOkF6ERa_Jh7vW4Z8wyT4qk7zWsIQ4v3LX34/s1600/barbel_10lb9oz_130314a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="10lb 9oz River Derwent double figure Barbel" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwyr8oEYG3I25VZCOxHi0-xTBFZ7hUFdLSJW71VhkRW63Ho5hoUU4oGniHfR7VWqMGickZeWkHDlHc7WZTDXZIzyI4eGU91d98DWc8lWkMOkF6ERa_Jh7vW4Z8wyT4qk7zWsIQ4v3LX34/s1600/barbel_10lb9oz_130314a.jpg" height="300" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My first fish of 2014 and my last of the 2013/14 season also ended up being my first 10lb+ barbel of the season</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-11139021679454318282014-04-11T23:25:00.000+01:002014-04-11T23:25:18.005+01:00Short session summer barbel fishing article from Coarse Angling TodayIf anyone missed my article on short session summer barbel fishing in last years "river special" edition of Coarse Angling Today magazine and you'd like to read it, I have been kindly sent the PDF version. I've uploaded it to my website at the following link so you can download & read it for free: <a href="http://just-fish.co.uk/articles/Andrew-Kennedy_Time-Bandit_Barbel-Fishing_Coarse-Angling-Today_144.pdf" target="_blank">Download my barbel fishing article from Coarse Angling Today here</a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://just-fish.co.uk/articles/Andrew-Kennedy_Time-Bandit_Barbel-Fishing_Coarse-Angling-Today_144.pdf" target="_blank"><img alt="Andrew Kennedy's Barbel Fishing Article in Coarse Angling Today" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwa43E94gBSzR2pRmM1cJJXwj6sJLxXT3xTaNyO_B6K89dG4QubOyZSJ3ky7Lh-LD8tijbAM_FV6dKDAIJuiEHS3_pEvLi51bqiK2X32_MtnxuKTow4MP6kmM_hvwh-wY4o74w_TNI8aA/s1600/CAT-barbel-article-thumbnail.JPG" height="280" title="Short sessoin summer barbel fishing article" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
I hope you enjoy it and get something from it and I'd love to hear any feedback.Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-73594204415386965242014-01-08T00:52:00.005+00:002014-01-09T11:08:07.946+00:00Something to Chew on<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>I'm never going to fish <i>that</i> place!</b><b> </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I decided a few weeks ago that after putting off the idea for a few years - for various reasons: (<i>"It's not real pike fishing"... "It's far too easy to catch a huge pike on there"... "Results will drop off before I get there, like at Llandegfedd, Blithfield"... "I don't want to join the rat race in the fight for tickets and then rejoin it in the fight for best spots"</i>, etc.) - I would finally this year<b> </b>try for some winter tickets to pike fish at Chew Valley Lake. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwCla-62Dzi41M96pemxxPZxsLo2PRmM_itk5nH8H4-OnlJ97j0iAepNej5dqS-diPI4mTlJyHLOFlcg71E8GKfEKrImc_v2IeBBqOd4Yr2dMpKBxO6rjGaL5G9qj29h4nGDFkOqXCL8/s1600/pike_20lb12oz_051105_head.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGwCla-62Dzi41M96pemxxPZxsLo2PRmM_itk5nH8H4-OnlJ97j0iAepNej5dqS-diPI4mTlJyHLOFlcg71E8GKfEKrImc_v2IeBBqOd4Yr2dMpKBxO6rjGaL5G9qj29h4nGDFkOqXCL8/s1600/pike_20lb12oz_051105_head.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I love fishing rivers, drains and canals for pike. The looks and fight of a double-figure river pike are hard to beat, but occasionally I get the urge to seek out larger fish. Visits to reservoirs in the past haven't been too productive for me, but I have the tackle and - thanks to these previous trips - a bit of experience of reservoir fishing. So what if reservoirs are man-made? The pike in these venues are as wild as any from a river. They may have an easy, protein-rich food source of naive stocked trout, but this all adds to the challenge of reservoir pike fishing. Finding pike and then convincing them to feed on your offerings when the vast water is full of spotty easy meals is a feat in itself and at the larger waters such as Ladybower I get this magical feeling of being pitched against the elements, exposed in a boat or on a barren bankside, knowing that it only takes one run to latch into what could be the fish of your dreams.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmfqUMbH4pItBosdvOzIwpgXe9HwgJE-LR2X5So1NZgpTO_SELnBf9GjL9z_6bKbrNtZkdDpv96aXx4ZRUEo9n35Wa6GdThiJ5OINuoYLWiJ9PLQKjVE5iOnnShlrFbOi5_QVTgpMRBDI/s1600/ladybower_kenofishing_3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmfqUMbH4pItBosdvOzIwpgXe9HwgJE-LR2X5So1NZgpTO_SELnBf9GjL9z_6bKbrNtZkdDpv96aXx4ZRUEo9n35Wa6GdThiJ5OINuoYLWiJ9PLQKjVE5iOnnShlrFbOi5_QVTgpMRBDI/s1600/ladybower_kenofishing_3.jpg" height="302" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My views on Chew used to be quite strong, which is a bit odd to say I've never set eyes on the place, let alone fished it! Whether it was envy or desensitisation at seeing a seemingly endless stream of pictures of "yet more huge pike from Chew" I don't know, but I convinced myself that almost everyone who turns up at Chew ended up with a fish beyond the dreams of most. That these "artificially bulked-up" pike would just throw themselves at anything dangled in front of them.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It's actually the blogging community who have changed my mind about fishing there; reading blogs and articles about fishing Chew, written by anglers I respect, from <a href="http://www.speci-angler.co.uk/" target="_blank">Rob Thompson</a> and <a href="http://fishermans-journey.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Leo Heathcote</a>'s exploits to <a href="http://drpaulgarner.co.uk/" target="_blank">Paul Garner</a>, <a href="http://barbelblogger.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Phil Smith</a> and <a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/fm-features/coarse_fishing/specimen_fishing/17393-a-very-mixed-bag%3A-tony%E2%80%99s-specialist-scene.html" target="_blank">Tony Gibson</a>'s accounts of their own sessions at Chew. It became clear that there is much more involved in catching a big fish from Chew than the reports in the weeklies would have you believe. My fishing time is limited and I seem to spend less time each season fishing for pike, so I want to spend some of that time challenging myself and having the chance of landing an immense fish. With the pike fishing at Ladybower now consigned to a winter syndicate which I could not fish often enough to get value from, I really fancy trying my hand at Chew, but with a limited number of tickets available, all of which are sold over the phone, even getting a ticket to fish the place is not for the feint hearted.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXIdjl4833nvNoF3g754Th39NT6wwHwzVTlj8-3w_4srxJpGym7in26m0o50VaLYVpgRe8h68-jSKmdMKoLAqTzRpqZDymFkL8tluXdMD3YEt03IprbGV-QCCHPWeCsP3t4LqmL4T0E8/s1600/broads_keno.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPXIdjl4833nvNoF3g754Th39NT6wwHwzVTlj8-3w_4srxJpGym7in26m0o50VaLYVpgRe8h68-jSKmdMKoLAqTzRpqZDymFkL8tluXdMD3YEt03IprbGV-QCCHPWeCsP3t4LqmL4T0E8/s1600/broads_keno.jpg" height="270" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Hotline in Meltdown</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Tickets for next winter went on sale on Saturday Jan 4th this year, so this first day saw me redialling as often as I could (I was at work but it was easy to keep hitting redial on the hands-free desk phone) for the majority of the 9am until 3pm booking window. Over 700 calls later I still hadn't got through! The Bristol Water Fisheries Facebook page was kept fairly up-to-date though and each evening after close of business they would announce how many tickets were remaining out of the total of 3,200-odd boat & bank tickets. I was disheartened after Saturdays efforts, but there were still plenty of spaces left on Sunday & Monday so I tried periodically maybe 30 more times on each of those days and resigned myself to having missed out. Then on Wednesday I saw there were still about 100 spaces remaining so I gave it one last shot at a sustained redialling effort. Several hundred calls later I almost fell off my chair as I heard the phone actually ring! How I didn't clumsily hang up in the excitement, I don't know!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A few minutes later, after a brief conversation with a thoroughly pleasant and remarkably calm-sounding (considering the chaos of the past 4 days) bloke, I managed to book a boat for two consecutive days in late November. I didn't have any choice on dates by this point, but just to have a shot at fishing this legendary venue is enough for me!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b>Down with the System?</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I was conscious of the fact that every minute I was on the line, several hundred other frustrated anglers would be punching the redial button in vain, so I tried to keep it as brief as possible by avoiding moaning about the system, asking unnecessary questions or ranting on about how unbelievable it was to actually get through (though all of these things were just bubbling under the surface!). I wonder how many others failed to bite their tongue and selfishly babbled on to the tackle shop staff, causing further delay and anguish to their fellow anglers who were trying to get through? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I did, however, take the opportunity whilst my payment card was processing to ask how many lines in there actually were. The answer I got, straight from the horses mouth, is that there are two telephones manned by three people, which allows one person to take a break and/or fill out the necessary paperwork whilst the other two deal with telephone calls. This seems sensible to me, but many have been vocal on social networking, etc. condemning the booking system.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Why would a tackle shop which has four extremely busy days a year pay for more than two lines? Or outsource their ticket sales to a call centre or something? That would only mean tickets sold out quicker but cost more to cover the added costs of the extra phone lines/call centre! Maybe there is a better solution, but by my reckoning to sell 1640 pairs of tickets (as most are sold either as 2-man boats or two anglers in pairs) in four 6 hour shifts, they still manage to process 68 pairs of tickets per hour!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">After a while of </span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">hearing </span>nothing but the repeated sound of the engaged tone, it becomes the most annoying noise on earth and I'd given up hope of ever getting through. It was like trying to get Glastonbury tickets in the late '90s and early 2000s, when the event had become so popular that it could sell out without even trying, but the vast majority of tickets were still sold over the phone. The thing is, as punters we accepted the telephone ordeal as part of what you had to suffer if you wanted tickets for such a rare and special event! </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Nowadays, the huge music promo companies have invested millions into massive call centres and rock-solid web ordering platforms and as a result the ticket buying public have come to expect being able to have a quick, easy crack at getting tickets to pretty much anything. We've lost sight of there being any value in being one of the lucky few who've battled it out fairly and managed to get through a congested booking system. A boyband on tour or a major music festival is always going to be vastly more lucrative than a successful and sustainable pike fishing venue, so the amount invested in the booking system (which will be used week-in, week-out, taking bookings for hundreds of tours a year) is going to be gargantuan by comparison. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We can't expect this level of investment or service from a fishery. It's a bloody lake with a hut that sells a few bits of tackle, so rather than moaning that they don't have state of the art booking systems, we should instead be thankful that the general public have the chance to buy tickets for such a rare and special place. Many venues with the quality of specimen fish which Chew has restrict ticket access to an exclusive few.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Even with these huge booking systems, popular music events still sell out in minutes, people still have to queue on phones hitting redial or pressing refresh on their internet browsers. It just happens over a shorter period of time because these companies have so much order processing capability. If such a thing happened with the booking of Chew it would be sold out in a matter of seconds, which would actually be <i>less fair </i>than the current system because if anyone had a problem (e.g. loss of phone signal/internet connection/dead battery...) they wouldn't have a chance to try again later on.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Before I even had tickets I couldn't honestly think of another, fair way of allocating them which wouldn't cost an insane amount to set up or be a nightmare to administer. When my call was eventually answered, my experience couldn't have been better; which considering the strain they were under and the abuse they no doubt received, was pretty damned professional! Bristol Water Fisheries even <a href="http://www.bristolwaterfisheries.co.uk/news/statement-regarding-pike-bookings/" target="_blank">issued a statement</a> on Sunday regarding the number of emails they were receiving about the booking process from aggrieved anglers! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I almost feel like I deserve a fish now, just for going through the ordeal of making 1500 engaged calls! It was the same for everyone lucky enough to have got through though, and there will be many hundreds of disappointed pikers who weren't so lucky, so this will be in the back of my mind in the run up to actually fishing the venue. I have already been very lucky. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The reality is that the majority of anglers with tickets for next winter will blank, just as happens every year. The vast majority will not catch a monster, but having now got lucky in this first lottery of Chew, there are many more lotteries standing between me & the other anglers and the pike of a lifetime. With so much demand to fish here, who knows whether I'll ever fish it again? So here's hoping my luck holds out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE693UBRXNmdKoDCCLp38cJTvo_-FyY0vBf2E9mPnPQQNjJCCWjr9dI_wzHOIPqNG2ER-Hh6jTiXpx5__WFts7s_R__tGusfIyOTI3gQhoOCD9yxmOfarRoVn3hH3ugWfLXT3y-Zc0bgQ/s1600/pike_18lb14oz_191110.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjE693UBRXNmdKoDCCLp38cJTvo_-FyY0vBf2E9mPnPQQNjJCCWjr9dI_wzHOIPqNG2ER-Hh6jTiXpx5__WFts7s_R__tGusfIyOTI3gQhoOCD9yxmOfarRoVn3hH3ugWfLXT3y-Zc0bgQ/s1600/pike_18lb14oz_191110.jpg" height="400" width="357" /></a></span></div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-74532449261097593682013-12-16T08:44:00.000+00:002015-10-12T10:14:33.899+01:00Caught In The Act Parts 3 & 4 DVD Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1knAL2ajy-14cfaGD3LI9-IuiXgyPbjuKete86QHxnZChAjhBr3iF6n1nXLDZz48aZvFbOHgqb8sQvFE8WvmKrzAKSrvADkM5t52yOQboGJlrhYFvipcDTgTOyrLwuZLTbiQ12MIUms/s1600/CITA_3-4_product_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="357" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhY1knAL2ajy-14cfaGD3LI9-IuiXgyPbjuKete86QHxnZChAjhBr3iF6n1nXLDZz48aZvFbOHgqb8sQvFE8WvmKrzAKSrvADkM5t52yOQboGJlrhYFvipcDTgTOyrLwuZLTbiQ12MIUms/s1600/CITA_3-4_product_web.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Caught In The Act - Parts 3 & 4 (Autumn & Winter) DVD review</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I recently reviewed the second 2 x DVD set of the
excellent "Caught In The Act" by Bob Roberts & Stuart Walker, for FishingMagic. The two DVDs in this installment cover the seasons of autumn and winter You can read the full review at the
following link, but I've also included a few snippets below: <a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/fm-features/reviews/17378-caught-in-the-act-parts-3-and-4-autumn-and-winter.html" target="_blank">Caught In The Act parts 3 & 4 FishingMagic.com Review</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/dMTokIq2-t8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"From the very moment you set eyes on the package the atmosphere is already building... </span><span style="font-size: small;">Press play and the atmosphere further builds with the epic, soaring
classical title music which seems to audibly frame the stunning intro
visuals perfectly. By this point I was already sucked in and couldn’t
wait to see what came next." </span></span></i><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtTw8UoylkedfGAMQX5iDrTTjm5w655sEqGrv3k-VNREmrvKxdkT16gTomNzBkx_OUAGqfqJTClQUfAVncb5foHpb1D6b2I7wxgO4u8aZtoRpkNjlgrNV7EvhdGSDNnou5Uss2F_AsE4/s1600/CITA_3-4_perch+underwater_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJtTw8UoylkedfGAMQX5iDrTTjm5w655sEqGrv3k-VNREmrvKxdkT16gTomNzBkx_OUAGqfqJTClQUfAVncb5foHpb1D6b2I7wxgO4u8aZtoRpkNjlgrNV7EvhdGSDNnou5Uss2F_AsE4/s1600/CITA_3-4_perch+underwater_web.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Both anglers exude enthusiasm and confidence alongside a genuine belief
and interest in what they’re doing whenever they are on screen."</span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"There are no fancy rigs or ‘You must use this specific tackle item or
you won’t catch’ and the rigs that are used are well explained, with a
few bonus tips... The mixture of short but well-articulated rig and tackle talks in each
act blend effortlessly into the film between scenic wide-angle shots,
close-ups of the anglers in action and of course, the quality underwater
footage." </span></span></i><br />
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></i>
<i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"</span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Caught in the Act is essential viewing for all anglers, especially those
looking to reconnect with the simple pleasures of the pursuit of
specimen fish, in all seasons." </span></span></i><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lQCGdNAHbt_HdffW_XjJNg6_THMziegG51S0A59LMmlLmY_-O2ctau4n9kzQ-Hy2l1S6gE4sjoszZ4bJcv4EZb8bLneq3u-vg5fp2lEnUeGvPZZdZ-sdw8YDJBCPGOFvw9RvAgC9Eoo/s1600/CITA_3-4_river+4_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1lQCGdNAHbt_HdffW_XjJNg6_THMziegG51S0A59LMmlLmY_-O2ctau4n9kzQ-Hy2l1S6gE4sjoszZ4bJcv4EZb8bLneq3u-vg5fp2lEnUeGvPZZdZ-sdw8YDJBCPGOFvw9RvAgC9Eoo/s1600/CITA_3-4_river+4_web.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can find out more information about CITA on the Caught In The Act Facebook Page: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/CITAFILM">http://www.facebook.com/CITAFILM</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>If you're already convinced you can order CITA at the following page on <span style="font-size: small;">on Bob Roberts' Website: <a href="http://www.bobrobertsonline.co.uk/sales/">http://www.bobrobertsonline.co.uk/sales/</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Or if you still need some convincing, you can view more clips from Caught In The Act on Stu's YouTube page: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/Stubarbel">http://www.youtube.com/Stubarbel</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSIrsfmrvt65ypAKe4HzcKyXi3WvjVlygH3ISTTl773Ur0-ZQd8kEHjEw8V-_p9nkBtbAIM3tf3kw7PhEkXUm_hwLjoh8Au04xqVIrYsiNUQm04RotQOamVzuQH5rVHjnaaQCCT_gbgr4/s1600/CITA_3-4_grayling_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSIrsfmrvt65ypAKe4HzcKyXi3WvjVlygH3ISTTl773Ur0-ZQd8kEHjEw8V-_p9nkBtbAIM3tf3kw7PhEkXUm_hwLjoh8Au04xqVIrYsiNUQm04RotQOamVzuQH5rVHjnaaQCCT_gbgr4/s1600/CITA_3-4_grayling_web.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Don't forget you can read my full review on FM here: <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/fm-features/reviews/17378-caught-in-the-act-parts-3-and-4-autumn-and-winter.html" target="_blank">www.fishingmagic.com Caught In The Act parts 3 & 4 DVD review</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcgZFIM5rLBT5Uesw1vLbqLoWIVZF9h8MBovGBw8UR-f95e6phTSYs16oJeRkU5-H7q2ScG4QvStvxgO4g9Nd7GLIIl-vVbbfwJEc-61kmTunqZNPSRQB1QOVd5i4H_q8XXevjlzWYtQ/s1600/IMG_0954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhcgZFIM5rLBT5Uesw1vLbqLoWIVZF9h8MBovGBw8UR-f95e6phTSYs16oJeRkU5-H7q2ScG4QvStvxgO4g9Nd7GLIIl-vVbbfwJEc-61kmTunqZNPSRQB1QOVd5i4H_q8XXevjlzWYtQ/s1600/IMG_0954.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-57024786069300346412013-07-27T20:54:00.003+01:002014-04-13T18:53:17.090+01:00Short Session Summer Barbel Article in this months Coarse Angling Today magazine - out now!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Those of you who are regular readers of <a href="http://www.coarseanglingtoday.co.uk/" target="_blank">Coarse Angling Today</a> magazine, keep an eye out for my 5-page article on short-session summer barbel fishing. If you've never read it before and you enjoy multi-species fishing, it's one of the best mags out there...</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp25hBwj5nbGlFGC6fxbsPVWLivjXbwtuKtMuPCKxsr-bEtqPZLNa4VoiY-WnfcYJrCkGNlNakE2LvlYstjwX9Yo6_UBN5quC8AKTmUwVlh45nUuGpnKslGdPsOZWfrUbENu_oiPbL5F0/s1600/DSC_0078.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img bba="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp25hBwj5nbGlFGC6fxbsPVWLivjXbwtuKtMuPCKxsr-bEtqPZLNa4VoiY-WnfcYJrCkGNlNakE2LvlYstjwX9Yo6_UBN5quC8AKTmUwVlh45nUuGpnKslGdPsOZWfrUbENu_oiPbL5F0/s320/DSC_0078.jpg" height="230" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It's the first article I've had published in CAT (but hopefully the first of many!) and besides being apt for the conditions right now, it explains most of what a novice or first-time barbel angler needs to consider to have a go at catching summer barbel, after work. If anyone reads it and wants some further info, then I'd be happy to respond via email or on here.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">This months issue is a rivers special, with an extra 32 pages for the normal price of £2.95, so it's a bit of a bargain!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><u><b>UPDATE</b></u><b> - <a href="http://just-fish.co.uk/articles/Andrew-Kennedy_Time-Bandit_Barbel-Fishing_Coarse-Angling-Today_144.pdf" target="_blank">Click here to download and view the article in full, for free, from my website!</a></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Now for the official line...</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJvvlHf1Qq1QGhMyy_PwpA2dw10Rnh8DGV3JL7ke0ei4h_cBJKyBBL-T4KOeUgKUjue9NXEZ6rq4pW6URJ2qo1S-t3tGbaySVpPrWmIzdSntDCLxIMmj_QG0BinylxV1Y7QbhiTRP0Bw/s1600/COVER+CAT125.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img bba="true" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJvvlHf1Qq1QGhMyy_PwpA2dw10Rnh8DGV3JL7ke0ei4h_cBJKyBBL-T4KOeUgKUjue9NXEZ6rq4pW6URJ2qo1S-t3tGbaySVpPrWmIzdSntDCLxIMmj_QG0BinylxV1Y7QbhiTRP0Bw/s320/COVER+CAT125.jpg" height="320" width="226" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>The River Special of Coarse Angling Today is in the shops today! It can also be downloaded via the Apple Newsstand. </b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is what’s on offer: </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b> - Andrew Kennedy – Short Session Summer Barbel Fishing</b> Like most anglers, Andrew works full time and has a family to support, so making the most of his time on the bank is crucial.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Bob Roberts – Barbel - Just Fabulous or Simply a Fad? </b>Bob gives us his thoughts on the development of barbel fishing and why he thinks barbel are the new carp.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Dave Booth – Trent Barbel Past and Present</b> Dave relives a memorable campaign on the River Trent.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Jerry Gleeson – Summer Floodwater Barbel Fishing</b> Jerry has some tips for us in case the weather takes a turn for the worse and the rivers begin to rise.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Lee Swords – The Non-Tidal Trent</b> The Trent specialist talks us through an early-season session.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Lewis Baldwin - A Tale of Two Rivers</b> Lewis picks up his diary piece by recalling sessions on the River Wye and Dove.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Mick Wood – A Yorkshire Barbel Scene</b> Mick offers his opinion on the state of modern-day barbel fishing in Yorkshire.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Mike Townsend – Hit for Six</b> Mike raises the question: could the River Trent soon be challenging the more established southern rivers as a specimen chub venue.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Paul Elt – Summer Plans</b> Paul talks about his preparations for the summer and the fish he will be targeting.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Paul Garner – Fishing Photography Part 3: Let There be Light</b> Paul presents the third part of his six-part series.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Steven Du-Rieu – Steams and Dreams </b>Streams are pretty unusual places really, says Steven.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Stewart Moss – The One that Got Away </b>Stewart has compiled a few tales of sessions that will live long in the memory of the anglers involved, for all the wrong reasons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> <b>- Think Tank: Tony Gibson – Slippery Customers</b> Tony Gibson talks us through the reasons why he was bitten by the eel bug again. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Plus, Kevin Clifford Editorial, Hot Seat, Spezzie Watch, Tackled Up, News, Press Releases and Reviews, and Where’s the Catch? and Drennan 7 Series competitions.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To download the issue from the iTunes Newsstand </span><a href="http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/coarse-angling-today-magazine/id555649850" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Click Here</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> For those of you (like me!) who still like to have paper issues of magazines, you can take out an old-school postal magazine subscription of Coarse Angling Today on the Gifts4Anglers website, </span><a href="http://www.gifts4anglers.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=4" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here</span></a><br />
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You can also read my thoughts on the upcoming river season, and on why I love river fishing so much, in the following short piece on the FishingMagic website: <a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/fm-features/coarse_fishing/general_fishing/17014-new-river-season-%E2%80%93-andrew-kennedy.html">http://www.fishingmagic.com/fm-features/coarse_fishing/general_fishing/17014-new-river-season-%E2%80%93-andrew-kennedy.html</a></span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-40287638409092657482013-05-29T21:02:00.000+01:002019-10-12T15:51:51.667+01:00Spombing maggots by the gallon for Tench & Bream<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">After our fairly successful <a href="http://www.andrewkennedy.info/2012/05/spring-tench-carp-overnighter.html" target="_blank">session at Higham Farm last year</a>, Shane and I decided on a return trip this Spring, again for 24 hours and again targeting the resident tench.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Shane had hatched a plan of attack and I liked it. I really liked it. This time we would fish on the Specimen Lake, which can only be fished on a 24 hour ticket. Because of this, it tends to only attract carp anglers so the numerous other species resident in the lake only ever see the bank when they pick up a disgruntled carper's bait! Specimen tench and bream were definitely on the cards, plus who knows what large roach and perch could lurk in there.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Besides fishing this lake, our approach was a little unorthodox too. Rather than simply using scaled-back carp tactics, we would go armed with a couple of gallons of maggots each and fish positively by feeding aggresively - by introducing a large bed of maggots via a spomb, then topping the swims up when necessary.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I chose to hair rig a mixture of buoyant Drennan imitation maggots and live maggots to create a balanced Medusa bait designed to hover just above the lake bed, without any putty of shot to anchor it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">To create the maggot medusa I threaded an imitation maggot lengthways onto the hair, followed by a small tied-on rig ring. Then I threaded a mixture of real and fake maggots onto some 4lb mono with an eyed needle, passed the needle through the rig ring and then tied it off. This is a really tidy way to attach numerous maggots to a hair. Some anglers prefer to fish with just a couple of fake maggots but in this instance I wanted a big bait (I wouldn't have complained <i>too</i> much if one of the specimen lake's "nuisance fish" carp picked up my bait!) that would stand out over the large bed of loosefed maggots.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArj9RXGfaty3ynoqWFJSnrJjXMTktXyPfMzDWIMH5kDeaCci-YZjN-Hr64Y1y-FoOukKrva0vaihPeYvLu2RUfKQ45fqZp891VprvTV-5ULMc9-Q8Rb7-_IWZIjk-KQWKOzKkKpb3ADA/s1600/maggot-heli-rig-hair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgArj9RXGfaty3ynoqWFJSnrJjXMTktXyPfMzDWIMH5kDeaCci-YZjN-Hr64Y1y-FoOukKrva0vaihPeYvLu2RUfKQ45fqZp891VprvTV-5ULMc9-Q8Rb7-_IWZIjk-KQWKOzKkKpb3ADA/s320/maggot-heli-rig-hair.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My balanced maggot medusa rig ready to fish on the helicopter rig setup.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijRnMmRMg3qhupJQvrjlan88N5RkjVRm_LrPjbqnPvzeYtYv5haxN9UTmei0mrH_1EcKrqt7znvCxKeSSaWKjSKcPOejgT35L7D0uCcFMyDeWbxJ_QK5dEE4_32LMhC5UseeMFoyGY1c/s1600/maggot-running-rig-hair.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhijRnMmRMg3qhupJQvrjlan88N5RkjVRm_LrPjbqnPvzeYtYv5haxN9UTmei0mrH_1EcKrqt7znvCxKeSSaWKjSKcPOejgT35L7D0uCcFMyDeWbxJ_QK5dEE4_32LMhC5UseeMFoyGY1c/s320/maggot-running-rig-hair.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My medusa rig for the margin rod, clearly showing the fake maggot on the hair and two fake maggots tied on with the real ones. Also note this bait is glugged & ready to cast.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Shane got off work earlier than I did and had prepared the swims by the time I arrived. With only a couple of hours daylight left I quickly got settled in and cast out. I could have gone with a swimfeeder to introduce free offerings close to my hookbait, but I opted instead for PVA stockings stuffed with maggots.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">My two baited spots were a marginal corner with overhanging bushes to my right, and at the bottom of the drop-off from an island straight in front of me. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">For the margin rig I opted for a free-running rig </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">with an Avid Carp PVA bag clip attached to the lead eye:</span></span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkr3NZDpP6ypvaNrAYtT-Qin2oWKjevbsk0stTiE7h-j1wf1KYoS64yz9v3gpIppAtFXQDO5q2gjpH2Be3kYM6S6ahLaQ6CS1u4MEFnpohE83OXAwAD6KjkuR7LMbRIKVpf_aEPUNPh1A/s320/maggot-running-rig2.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">PVA stocking full of maggots, attached to the lead eye via an Avid Carp PVA clip</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkr3NZDpP6ypvaNrAYtT-Qin2oWKjevbsk0stTiE7h-j1wf1KYoS64yz9v3gpIppAtFXQDO5q2gjpH2Be3kYM6S6ahLaQ6CS1u4MEFnpohE83OXAwAD6KjkuR7LMbRIKVpf_aEPUNPh1A/s1600/maggot-running-rig2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVQxiqIC7cF_1Of0In5N6u29RBBh1YJZzZiCWJ2oCQ_02S699OfCIfQzWb7g-YUh2gIHHpJBgJPgKRnl2-ICrMf86eOJlyDzjJJr1wrUC0S3TEsmbhev5ieoVBFNbfYflKINhf0G665M/s1600/maggot-running-rig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBVQxiqIC7cF_1Of0In5N6u29RBBh1YJZzZiCWJ2oCQ_02S699OfCIfQzWb7g-YUh2gIHHpJBgJPgKRnl2-ICrMf86eOJlyDzjJJr1wrUC0S3TEsmbhev5ieoVBFNbfYflKINhf0G665M/s320/maggot-running-rig.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Free-running leger rig ready to flick into the margin</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</a></div>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">F</span>or the island rig I setup an inline lead to be fished helicopter-style, with a PVA bag clip attached to what would be the hooklink swivel if it was fished inline:</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRBsQZHsUzzqiky95aux_7-6Xa6JVkOop4aufWuTvAk_rB-CIG2V9zuAf2QLr1nmv4z0ABDXH_8XefWkbmwRY_LlwjX-E_7UM8d3X8NiTZMOixlkWZGiuBvQ_98yOo9hcpwBg6l3aStc/s1600/maggot-heli-rig2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSRBsQZHsUzzqiky95aux_7-6Xa6JVkOop4aufWuTvAk_rB-CIG2V9zuAf2QLr1nmv4z0ABDXH_8XefWkbmwRY_LlwjX-E_7UM8d3X8NiTZMOixlkWZGiuBvQ_98yOo9hcpwBg6l3aStc/s320/maggot-heli-rig2.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My adapted in-line lead setup to fish helicopter style. This was a really effective rig, both as an anti-tagle rig and as a fish-catching rig.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiivzfR-GLzreomJiYj6nf8QRpyEJdHI_2-M-wxw9qQcSPSr-Q1nun-7xwUuCtQn7DL7xaE4G-z6HTnD54fVGb-2SdbeZmVCT6hZouJWN8QK0WJ4jYRRNTBulruyQvxux-dXA5-hbjcbQw/s320/maggot-heli-rig.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="240" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The helicopter rig loaded up and ready to cast out.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Things started well for me, as I quickly landed 2 bream - including a new PB of 7lb 15oz - and a perch before sunset, then everything went quiet.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQR3u_I_gIAxly-WrIrMQlWMpLanwiTJOK66zUozOWUv4_bng8dxq2hF-SlZbJ3y4XVQs-sxefhJDksjiPjMt1LELy4PFc7SaEsf-EfT0dR3SxB69tAiNcfK0w4oHdvBO3E9O_diEmUY/s1600/bream_7lb15oz_220513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFQR3u_I_gIAxly-WrIrMQlWMpLanwiTJOK66zUozOWUv4_bng8dxq2hF-SlZbJ3y4XVQs-sxefhJDksjiPjMt1LELy4PFc7SaEsf-EfT0dR3SxB69tAiNcfK0w4oHdvBO3E9O_diEmUY/s320/bream_7lb15oz_220513.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A good bream from Higham Farm specimen lake - a very promising start...</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I got plenty of sleep because my alarms barely sounded all night. I did recast the rigs with fresh maggot stockings a couple of times, to keep some bait going in.<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Just before daybreak I was awoken by a screaming run on the margin rod. After a gutsy fight around the tree roots and low branches to my right, I got the shakes. I could see I was attached to a nice tench which would easily break my very modest PB. I finally had control of the fish and was guiding it across the surface towards my landing net when everything went slack! Hook pull! Damn it!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I swore quietly at myself for letting a golden opportunity for a PB tench slip through my fingers. Then I snapped myself out of my navel gazing and hastily rebaited the rod (I also changed the hook for a different pattern, just in case) and dropped the rig back in the marginal spot. I didn't have to wait long for this rod to scream away again and - although not a PB - I soon had a lovely tench on the bank.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzn0DzeJTNsLkUOHoJ-vZxwtX7XsBO0MHLctY_VFwypBRHjD-kdc8sR64b24d9kjijhoJPe0oMo82A6UA7ED6wPkG_yAryo-zjcSWsGWKV141z5qw78TbrMynl4GXsk6kBgT2x4yl7DOQ/s1600/tench_4lb5oz_230513b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzn0DzeJTNsLkUOHoJ-vZxwtX7XsBO0MHLctY_VFwypBRHjD-kdc8sR64b24d9kjijhoJPe0oMo82A6UA7ED6wPkG_yAryo-zjcSWsGWKV141z5qw78TbrMynl4GXsk6kBgT2x4yl7DOQ/s320/tench_4lb5oz_230513b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A lovely tench which <i>almost</i> made up for the bigger one I lost earlier.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">That was it for the margin rod, no more bites were forthcoming. But in the first hour of daylight the other rod began to see some action again. A shoal of bream had moved back over the bait - almost 12 hours after they last gave me a bite - and I proceeded to land a couple f<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">rom in front of the island in a frantic hour before things went dead for the whole day.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> </span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnIAtxZ1JSce2O_uEy5ZpJXnziVA1FYtfX4BooD5mbBghBK907i-VWhjHQAz3m2qI9kogcGMEybNdrsA_GsyDAM_tmbIHo-XthPD5ntCIBkTSltU5pymHyv3jEqSDGS8KK9qSpy60P9Q/s1600/bream_4lb%252B_230513.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrnIAtxZ1JSce2O_uEy5ZpJXnziVA1FYtfX4BooD5mbBghBK907i-VWhjHQAz3m2qI9kogcGMEybNdrsA_GsyDAM_tmbIHo-XthPD5ntCIBkTSltU5pymHyv3jEqSDGS8KK9qSpy60P9Q/s320/bream_4lb%252B_230513.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PmT8vyvcpnWFV2VfGTDBjQzc22qpHstfvOE87e-gVp1kQasEB1Mfd_62puBFyqSkYB766f92tAgM7LWXasnNHCKDEq9lM04zrtkAGKXFy4NaRgJhpNQlJskD4UroOy3aJ2xOGHVI0eM/s1600/bream_6lboz_230513b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4PmT8vyvcpnWFV2VfGTDBjQzc22qpHstfvOE87e-gVp1kQasEB1Mfd_62puBFyqSkYB766f92tAgM7LWXasnNHCKDEq9lM04zrtkAGKXFy4NaRgJhpNQlJskD4UroOy3aJ2xOGHVI0eM/s320/bream_6lboz_230513b.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A pair of decent bream from a small specimen carp lake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I was fishing on a 24 hour ticket and I knew I would be leaving just before the feeding spell had kicked in the evening before. I prepared the swim during the afternoon, laying down more bait, then packed everything up except the rods, alarms, bait and net. I started getting line bites and very tentative bites, but nothing proper and soon my 24 hours was up and I had to vacate the swim. I learned a lot about the venue's potential, and also about fishing with maggots for larger fish - a technique I'll be using plenty in future.</span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-18012470652302568212013-04-30T20:00:00.000+01:002014-04-13T19:54:31.927+01:00Farm lake carp - tales of the unexpectedThere are some things that as anglers we just can't resist. Such as an invitation to try out a neglected old farm lake "to see what's in it". The chances are it could be a real duffer; a puddle devoid of everything but sticklebacks and dragonfly nymphs, but there's always that chance. That <i>pesky</i> chance.<br />
<br />
So upon receiving one of these extremely rare opportunities, I couldn't refuse. A farmer was investigating the possibility of selling the fishing rights to a couple of acre lake on his property, which had been neglected and unfished (bar the odd poacher) for years. A quick recce was all I could fit in initially, but I spotted a few carp up to high doubles, maybe even a twenty, plus a
half-decent tench hanging in the shade of a fallen tree. I'd also
spotted a lightning fast tail swirl in the margins that really shouted
"pike" to me, so I made a mental note to visit properly the following spring.<br />
<br />
It was difficult to know what tackle to take with me because I wanted to get an accurate cross-section of the species present in the water, but I also hoped to catch the lakes largest residents - whatever they may be - to help the farmer to get interest from local angling groups. So I took the the whole gun rack! Armed to the teeth I was, with tackle for every species that could possibly swim in the lake.<br />
<br />
This scattergun approach, which often tempts my chaotic mind, usually leaves me with a complete lack of focus and thus, I miss out on catching fish by chopping and changing too much. However, on this occasion I knew I had to be versatile; it was pointless fishing for pike if none were present and it was pointless hoping for a specimen roach or rudd if it didn't contain those species.<br />
<br />
After my recce I'd decided my best chance of a specimen would be to mainly target the carp & tench, have an occasional chuck around with a lure, and have a dabble with maggots to see what else might reside in this mysterious water.<br />
<br />
I raked a few swims when I arrived and almost had to give up on my rake in a weedy corner. It hit a snag and went solid, no amount of pulling would shift it. I had to go wading through the overgrown, stinking silty margins to get an opposite angle of pull and thankfully I eventually got my rake back. Now I was in two minds; I had found a snag which may hold fish, but would the disturbance I caused by 15 minutes of tugging on a snagged rake have caused the fish to abandon this sanctuary? I opted to bait up this corner and rest it whilst I explored the other swims I'd raked.<br />
<br />
It was slow going for a while. I saw no signs of fish except for a few jack pike and a larger one of around 12lb, resting in the margins. I didn't need to catch these as I had a good visual confirmation of their presence, plus pulling a lure through the shallow margins they were laid up in would more likely spook them than tempt them to strike.<br />
<br />
My legered baits over the raked areas got no interest and I decided to have a bash with maggots on the float. I was aghast when after half an hour of this I'd caught nothing but a micro-perch. Still, it was another species I hadn't previously known was present. I later spotted some small rudd and possibly roach, but they were tiny and I decided not to focus on these any longer.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAhTe9Rt0bHofN6nUE4zBoqcC2cJRdVrod1D9mm2w5DjTV_uSdkBkLk7j4yvA6M5sryp7zesHThlE1jofvqm37Dj-EmbhPyksumVUPAiQ8fzdA46w3qipJnjA0IVHz9kasncus1lRrYo/s1600/carp_bait_240413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAhTe9Rt0bHofN6nUE4zBoqcC2cJRdVrod1D9mm2w5DjTV_uSdkBkLk7j4yvA6M5sryp7zesHThlE1jofvqm37Dj-EmbhPyksumVUPAiQ8fzdA46w3qipJnjA0IVHz9kasncus1lRrYo/s1600/carp_bait_240413.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
So it came time to cast into the reed-fringed corner where I'd found the snag. I had baited with some groundbait laced with a few mixed pellets, grains of corn, maggots, casters and broken boilies. Once again, the kitchen sink treatment! I liberally poured over some liquid coconut flavouring to appeal to the sweet tooth of any nearby tench or carp. I then opted to fish an inline lead set-up to drop-off if it got snagged, with a short braided hooklink and a dynamite stick of the same groundbait mix added before each cast. Hookbait was a stack of real and fake corn on one rod (which was the "searcher" rod I cast around to other areas) and on the rig going into the corner I hair-rigged a 12mm pineapple popup.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sYzN7DdUh5cet0xY5mjeYsHMnDzN9wZKvZRu5k_TldUeFLjZK-ml4ptIn8PUUnWKZf3eUXHS00S7NwJdqPXhAvtFfBSgS12lt_StO4h_iG39QhHSslozZB0lFCO6yMUVbgO9b9lKdno/s1600/carp_rig_240413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3sYzN7DdUh5cet0xY5mjeYsHMnDzN9wZKvZRu5k_TldUeFLjZK-ml4ptIn8PUUnWKZf3eUXHS00S7NwJdqPXhAvtFfBSgS12lt_StO4h_iG39QhHSslozZB0lFCO6yMUVbgO9b9lKdno/s1600/carp_rig_240413.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHCTZT4lr9aUuUXNnYwpa-mnVy2W4HNRzeGvYJJiIchaLk8ydn6e82DdJtDrb5GAm36Y2yMLzWc557XBb3zcNqgGVJwRtwYXeDKJhSrpQylxNCHBy64cUSj_Mjm2MsXkzQ7Z06ZNIqw4/s1600/carp_rig2_240413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWHCTZT4lr9aUuUXNnYwpa-mnVy2W4HNRzeGvYJJiIchaLk8ydn6e82DdJtDrb5GAm36Y2yMLzWc557XBb3zcNqgGVJwRtwYXeDKJhSrpQylxNCHBy64cUSj_Mjm2MsXkzQ7Z06ZNIqw4/s1600/carp_rig2_240413.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Because the lake wasn't fished, the banks were completely overgrown and access to some of the "pegs" involved crawling with the tackle through some dense hawthorn bushes, nettles and other vegetation. This is something that would have to be looked at if the venue was developed! It also meant that although the corner I was fishing in had good casting access to almost half the lake, I was penned in by vegetation at both sides. This was to become an issue later on...<br />
<br />
With the traps set, I waited and waited, gradually losing confidence that there was anything worth catching present. A passer-by stopped and chatted. He told me that over the winter there had been a gang of men on the water, up the trees dragging a large net through the lake! He had assumed they were the owners netting it to move the fish. I was assured by the farmer that this wasn't the case, so who knows where anything they caught ended up. Another venue? On the dinner table...?<br />
<br />
My heart sank. Was I fishing somewhere that had been poached to death? Would the carp & tench I saw the previous year have been removed by these unscrupulous individuals? Was this the reason that all I'd seen were small pike and small silver fish?<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8P4PrEc-jryauXqdSi3qs0xvtYhwK5nWLVT_tdupSWf9_-b__rOEVgwvGgeUSpMoKOwyKzn3OuNXgjckgv0-ejinmmFeR65BVQSbx2-LLY6xc5YO8xN8WPmp4XmJYfBeSnypXwCFUOZA/s1600/carp_rod_240413.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8P4PrEc-jryauXqdSi3qs0xvtYhwK5nWLVT_tdupSWf9_-b__rOEVgwvGgeUSpMoKOwyKzn3OuNXgjckgv0-ejinmmFeR65BVQSbx2-LLY6xc5YO8xN8WPmp4XmJYfBeSnypXwCFUOZA/s1600/carp_rod_240413.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
It was early afternoon and I was running plans through my head of what venues I could move to, to fish in a similar way but actually have a chance of getting a bite. I decided to give things another hour and if nothing happened I'd drive half an hour or so to a club lake I'd always meant to get around to fishing. About fifteen minutes later the bobbin on the rod cast to the corner snag smacked the underside of the rod and the baitrunner hit warp speed! I clumsily fell sideways off my chair, probably out of shock more than anything, and picked up the rod as I laid on the floor.<br />
<br />
As I leapt to my feet the water was broken by the huge shoulders of a carp, which kited to my right with phenomenal pace, skirting reeds as it went. I gave it as much sidestrain as I dared, which was just enough to keep the fish swimming and not getting its nose into the reeds. Eventually the reedbed ended and a large bush was partly submerged on the far bank. I realised I had to gain some line because at its current trajectory, the carp would plunge straight into said bush. It knew where it was heading a long time before I did!<br />
<br />
So I pumped the rod and managed to gain some line which steered the fish just short of the bush, but it didn't let up the pace in the slightest. By now the fish had swum more than 180 degrees in an almost perfect curve and when it reached open water I realised that if it tried to complete the circle it would hit the reeds and submerged bushes round the corner to my right, in the near margin. I reeled for dear life, barely managing to keep up with the speed of the fish. I didn't gain enough line and the fish did indeed keep up its circular route and before I knew it, the carp was 20 feet from me, 3 feet from the bank, floundering just the other side of a small bush in the water. I managed to free my line from the reeds it had gone through to get there, by flicking the rod tip upwards, but the line was snagged in the bush.<br />
<br />
I had no choice but to go in with the net and hope the fish didn't try to bolt before I got there, or it was goodnight Vienna! This sounds simple, but there was a wild rose bush to circumvent and the water was far deeper than my wellies. I went for it and in a few swift strides, I got my net round the back of the bush and enveloped the carp within it. Without hesitation I bit my mainline because this was the only way I'd free it. A bit of bushwacking got me and the fish safely back to the bank. I was scratched all over from the rose bush and my wellies were full of stinking silty water, but I cared little because I knew I had a PB carp in the net.<br />
<br />
I used to fish for carp regularly, at local waters containing few fish above mid-doubles and hence, my PB hovered around mid-doubles before I lost interest with carp fishing in general and sought to pursue a wider range of quarry. I've limited my carp fishing in the past decade and a half to the odd bit of the methods I love best, stalking, float fishing and surface fishing. I stalked a fish just shy of 19lb on a worm a good few years ago and whilst it would have been great to have caught a twenty, I wasn't bothered about putting a campaign in to catch one, there are many species I care more about.<br />
<br />
It was almost like this fish was sent to test my apathy towards carp, because not only had it mentally and physically left me in tatters, it was a beautifully proportioned, pure chunk of muscle; a dazzling specimen. To cap it off, this fish was a slow-growing leather carp and it was still in possession of that holy grail of carp fishing, its "curtains". This was definitely a virgin fish! It tipped the scales at a very satisfying 24lb 9oz and I'm thrilled and privileged to have such a pristine, previously uncaught fish as my PB. A definite selling point for the farmer to pitch to angling clubs:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLKezzFnM-Z0qbzTNBoeC_G3pcSMs4pkOSl5M5DXm1eqyt0xy0N2CATlfxKVs4ROSAdqcFwbJdQc-bSC42O0xiVtJMeevYADaBkL92OnLQlRi7EBsnDbv65N60bRNp6H-QJES0JnMHPE/s1600/carp_24lb9oz_240413a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiLKezzFnM-Z0qbzTNBoeC_G3pcSMs4pkOSl5M5DXm1eqyt0xy0N2CATlfxKVs4ROSAdqcFwbJdQc-bSC42O0xiVtJMeevYADaBkL92OnLQlRi7EBsnDbv65N60bRNp6H-QJES0JnMHPE/s1600/carp_24lb9oz_240413a.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYQzf9M5jCiwXKYBen9iGNC1U3BChT-dbQtX13ABuTwWUd6AcD3y1jCeFhg68wLb6UYJ5BpgPtozeMjUYaEPOGQ2OviAH6wTt80elHLDruFNtrHT62pZUNbcABoSQDKVr2aJu8DAG8KU/s1600/carp_24lb9oz_240413d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidYQzf9M5jCiwXKYBen9iGNC1U3BChT-dbQtX13ABuTwWUd6AcD3y1jCeFhg68wLb6UYJ5BpgPtozeMjUYaEPOGQ2OviAH6wTt80elHLDruFNtrHT62pZUNbcABoSQDKVr2aJu8DAG8KU/s1600/carp_24lb9oz_240413d.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
After this huge disturbance I decided to rest this swim and I'd noticed some floaters I'd catapulted up the lake were getting some interest, so I spent an hour or so gaining their confidence and getting an idea of which the largest individuals were. There were two fish which looked mid to upper doubles and once I was happy they were taking well I made a cast. The wind was blowing down the centre of the lake and soon my rig was blown well out of the feeding area, so with my second cast I used the wind to my advantage, casting away from the fish and waiting for the bait and controller to drift over them. It worked a treat and within minutes I hooked one of the bigger pair. It was a much less eventful scrap than the first fish, owed partly to the shape of the common carp, which was very short and stumpy, with a very short tail wrist. At 16lb 3oz it was a good fish off the surface and further proof of the lake's potential.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NqtqUMTNjs-J-9Gah9vX9AVcNN5jUwHsfanfprAd4Nr_R-nhtpAU8z3x70Mt4sVdI9Nbo-GYVk84Jbppi0Ao8xpfeW55Tic-4GsT2LupR0zH1AdkKZqB12m9v6xSthvmW_aGBk_87fg/s1600/common_16lb3oz_240413b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5NqtqUMTNjs-J-9Gah9vX9AVcNN5jUwHsfanfprAd4Nr_R-nhtpAU8z3x70Mt4sVdI9Nbo-GYVk84Jbppi0Ao8xpfeW55Tic-4GsT2LupR0zH1AdkKZqB12m9v6xSthvmW_aGBk_87fg/s1600/common_16lb3oz_240413b.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Further baits introduced in this swim failed to raise any carp, so I returned to my corner swim and within half an hour of casting I had a much more hesitant take on the pineapple pop-up, resulting in a tench just shy of 3lb. Another species that I could provide the farmer with photographic proof of. I fished on into dark and had no further action, but I was mightily satisfied with my efforts, especially after such a slow and unpromising start. It was an absolute dream come true to fish such a water which no-one else had access to. I think I showed what potential the place has and I'm fairly sure I landed its larger resident. Who knows, I had a great day but I have no plans on returning, however, I wish the farmer every success with opening the venue up to more people, as and when it happens.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeasD344jA1NgWvWiETgSXdTVtR7dJUWyVJM4XkKYqFfxfhKpODGaWPG9ydNaVedIEzThm9jGiGaeUE0xVpN9Fu0dOWRuYjL0sY4Q6DD8mhcPfL90xSbRuGmoCwR8_ZfvMu1e_B4GzHE/s1600/tench_2lb12oz_240413a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeasD344jA1NgWvWiETgSXdTVtR7dJUWyVJM4XkKYqFfxfhKpODGaWPG9ydNaVedIEzThm9jGiGaeUE0xVpN9Fu0dOWRuYjL0sY4Q6DD8mhcPfL90xSbRuGmoCwR8_ZfvMu1e_B4GzHE/s1600/tench_2lb12oz_240413a.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
Mission accomplished!Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-3837776668940576832013-04-22T15:05:00.000+01:002014-01-08T08:43:36.636+00:00Caught In The Act - Parts 1 & 2 - DVD Review - Bob Roberts & Stu Walker<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmoBnaW6LFPyeQtZ6Sz83FQhkY2pNMDyty6dYyrcPvLHwPC83MR-z1aOGG-UQO5c3roAXI58h7T7qm7EBD-topgDAoNB9kbIil3C4fG1d2EodWplt6OWv3wBxPIihhzzp9a_qZ7I3Onkc/s1600/cita_part1and2_artwork_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmoBnaW6LFPyeQtZ6Sz83FQhkY2pNMDyty6dYyrcPvLHwPC83MR-z1aOGG-UQO5c3roAXI58h7T7qm7EBD-topgDAoNB9kbIil3C4fG1d2EodWplt6OWv3wBxPIihhzzp9a_qZ7I3Onkc/s1600/cita_part1and2_artwork_web.jpg" height="361" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Caught In The Act - Parts 1 & 2 (Spring & Summer) DVD review</span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I recently reviewed the excellent "Caught In The Act" 2 x DVD set by Bob Roberts & Stuart Walker for FishingMagic. You can read the full review at the following link, but I've also included a few snippets below: <a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/fm-features/reviews/16864-caught-in-the-act.html" target="_blank">http://www.fishingmagic.com/fm-features/reviews/16864-caught-in-the-act.html</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/zBo2YHSVCH8?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"From the very moment you set eyes on the package the atmosphere is already building... </span><span style="font-size: small;">Press play and the atmosphere further builds with the epic, soaring
classical title music which seems to audibly frame the stunning intro
visuals perfectly. By this point I was already sucked in and couldn’t
wait to see what came next." </span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPLd_QTUqZvQkhcKAEvLgzpOrsrRV6ITGkLe4c8IVu-cTRT6ZxbB3kKf3HPG5gs01y-RJNQVkz9QKPRQfnu9rxRFdX3J0qUS7L6FX4VlA2Rp6Wm0OPZFX1z286h4jve2tR3TU3d8EPg8/s1600/cita_close_to_the_action_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPLd_QTUqZvQkhcKAEvLgzpOrsrRV6ITGkLe4c8IVu-cTRT6ZxbB3kKf3HPG5gs01y-RJNQVkz9QKPRQfnu9rxRFdX3J0qUS7L6FX4VlA2Rp6Wm0OPZFX1z286h4jve2tR3TU3d8EPg8/s1600/cita_close_to_the_action_web.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Both anglers exude enthusiasm and confidence alongside a genuine belief
and interest in what they’re doing whenever they are on screen."</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"There are no fancy rigs or ‘You must use this specific tackle item or
you won’t catch’ and the rigs that are used are well explained, with a
few bonus tips... The mixture of short but well-articulated rig and tackle talks in each
act blend effortlessly into the film between scenic wide-angle shots,
close-ups of the anglers in action and of course, the quality underwater
footage." </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">"Every single one of the acts made me want to go out and fish myself,
which is surely the ultimate test of any fishing programme. I highly
recommend that you watch CITA to judge for yourself, but I would rate it
as one of the best fishing programmes I’ve watched since ‘A Passion’ (For Angling)" </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98iq2mUFagz3NMgDjPuva5kEt5aEZcES319UUtvdRQJ4vkwIkpEikREYOyR2bWNib_6xKUb0c0bdjkeF9GWmC9M3qsG4mSHf80psqjIyhGp3QpCD6fMPxPGIJZYgs4Tn8Bi08hGEQffQ/s1600/cita_tidal_trent_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj98iq2mUFagz3NMgDjPuva5kEt5aEZcES319UUtvdRQJ4vkwIkpEikREYOyR2bWNib_6xKUb0c0bdjkeF9GWmC9M3qsG4mSHf80psqjIyhGp3QpCD6fMPxPGIJZYgs4Tn8Bi08hGEQffQ/s1600/cita_tidal_trent_web.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can find out more information about CITA on the Caught In The Act Facebook Page: <a href="http://www.facebook.com/CITAFILM">http://www.facebook.com/CITAFILM</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span>If you're already convinced you can order CITA at the following page on <span style="font-size: small;">on Bob Roberts' Website: <a href="http://www.bobrobertsonline.co.uk/sales/">http://www.bobrobertsonline.co.uk/sales/</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Or if you still need some convincing, you can view more clips from Caught In The Act on Stu's YouTube page: <a href="http://www.youtube.com/Stubarbel">http://www.youtube.com/Stubarbel</a> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3fBR6wdpBy6K_YfwqgAqaY0oAmBB1e51z785n61ccUtqx_d5t_q9jkJxdVSdPcGiHKhQwSvjMonnrWueauYnVJrJkFaxVAxrNxcDDpOF-SAgDagScG3aOuNNl-hiz1UY2FqZtzzAvKQ/s1600/cita_summer_rudding_web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-3fBR6wdpBy6K_YfwqgAqaY0oAmBB1e51z785n61ccUtqx_d5t_q9jkJxdVSdPcGiHKhQwSvjMonnrWueauYnVJrJkFaxVAxrNxcDDpOF-SAgDagScG3aOuNNl-hiz1UY2FqZtzzAvKQ/s1600/cita_summer_rudding_web.jpg" height="225" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Don't forget you can read my full review on FM here: <span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/fm-features/reviews/16864-caught-in-the-act.html" target="_blank">http://www.fishingmagic.com/fm-features/reviews/16864-caught-in-the-act.html</a></span></span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-1206922221784070852013-03-15T14:05:00.000+00:002013-09-21T18:15:09.930+01:00Fishing on the Fast Show, Screaming Reels on 4oD and a few interesting links<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"><b>The Fast Show goes Fishing</b></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<br />
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">I still love the Fast Show. A popular opinion is that it revived a genre - the sketch show - which many said was dead, but I think it defined the genre and set a high water mark which no other sketch show has ever reached. Maybe I'm biased because this programme was on TV during my early teens and was duly lapped up and mimicked by me and my peer group at school. In fact I specifically remember a golden TV scheduling season, when The Fast Show and Nick Fisher's Screaming Reels (which you can now watch on 4oD here: <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/screaming-reels/episode-guide">http://www.channel4.com/programmes/screaming-reels/episode-guide</a> and on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNx5fUq7Q-o&feature=share&list=ELDJytUmMOfHE" target="_blank">YouTube</a>!) were both broadcast on the very same night!</span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<br />
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">Comedian Paul Whitehouse is famously an angler in his spare time, as well as an <a href="http://www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=787&sectionTitle=Angling+Trust+Ambassadors" target="_blank">Angling Trust Ambassador</a>. He often allows his passion to influence his comedy writing, whether it's <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv1c9cu473Q" target="_blank">Ted's futile attempts at teaching Ralph how to fly fish</a>, to convincing Aviva to let him create an angling character, <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KjdmPEPWLs&feature=share&list=PL5AB77146C8F09964" target="_blank">Ollie the Fisherman</a>, for a nationwide advertising campaign! </span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<br />
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">My personal favourite example of Whitehouse writing angling into comedy has to be the following sketch, with Simon Day playing the brilliantly obnoxious "Competitive Dad", who takes his son Peter fishing for the first time... </span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<br />
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">"<i>Don't get cocky Peter. You're not an American!</i>" Brilliant clip!</span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
<span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/K8USITOUBqk" width="560"></iframe></span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<div class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent"> </span></span></span></span></span></h5>
<br />
<h5 class="uiStreamMessage userContentWrapper" data-ft="{"type":1,"tn":"K"}">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;"><span class="messageBody" data-ft="{"type":3}"><span class="userContent">Watching
this it's obvious that Whitehouse is an angler. The tackle and many of the terms & references are authentic; he's obviously had some
major input in the writing of this scene. The angling anoraks
("angloraks"?) amongst us will notice that Simon Day is set-up with a
spinner which he just casts out and leaves, rather than retrieving. No wonder he doesn't catch!</span></span></span></span><b><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></b></span></h5>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: small;">Pike chokes to death on Zander in Netherlands:</span></b></span>
<br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We've all heard the bulls*t stories of how gluttonous pike can be, "A pike ate my bull mastif/4x4/mother-in-law...", but this article shows one which really did bite off more than it could chew. The zander's dorsal spikes failed to put off it's aggressor and this was the result:</span></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65204000/gif/_65204757_maw.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Pike chokes to death on Zander" border="0" height="200" src="http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/65204000/gif/_65204757_maw.gif" title="" width="144" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">You can read the full story on the BBC News website here: <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20971848">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20971848</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">There's also another related story on the Daily Mail website, about a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2050410/Giant-pike-chokes-death-trying-swallow-huge-carp-pictures.html" target="_blank">pike found choked to death on a carp</a> in Suffolk. I've seen various fishing-related stories on there over the years and they're usually made cringeworthy by the ropey photographs and quotes from their subjects and "experts" (although in this case with Bruno Broughton they at least found an actual expert!), but I had to chuckle at the final sentence, referring to taxidermy costs: "<i>'So after a couple of days I had to bury it,' </i>said Mr Walker." </span></span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Human sedative drugs making fish greedy?:</span></span></b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyeEJEvPvpyLI9YiOMtnVmxdbnUp4NGE8juEA0jiUNfSj-m2G80Lo4ZGN0Hb9x4wbxa2GnAJRv31R4p1ZFsrHNxjW4m1U3kyGKJfJmcWqUC_aqhHG3MMIR24TwdYpgQJcrO4lF1zmz24/s1600/fat_perch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Fat Perch fish" border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyeEJEvPvpyLI9YiOMtnVmxdbnUp4NGE8juEA0jiUNfSj-m2G80Lo4ZGN0Hb9x4wbxa2GnAJRv31R4p1ZFsrHNxjW4m1U3kyGKJfJmcWqUC_aqhHG3MMIR24TwdYpgQJcrO4lF1zmz24/s320/fat_perch.jpg" title="" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i>Fat Perch!</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">According to this online article citing the journal "Science", a study carried out on the feeding activities of perch suggests that residues of </span></span><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">benzodiazepine passed in human urine may be present in watercourses, in such concentrations that it can </span>"turn fish into greedy, risk-taking loners"! Maybe that explains why there are so many big perch around nowadays!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://news.uk.msn.com/odd-news/sedatives-making-fish-greedy">http://news.uk.msn.com/odd-news/sedatives-making-fish-greedy</a></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These findings suggest that there is a need to improve sewage treatment so that the chemicals from medications we take don't find their way into rivers, where - as this study suggests - their effects on the natural world can't be predicted.</span></span></div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-15344368576855178032013-02-25T19:17:00.000+00:002013-02-27T18:42:24.421+00:00Hydropower - Environment Agency Consultation ends March 2nd<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is just a quick, but very important one. The Angling Trust is urging all anglers out there (AT members or not), to respond to an Environment Agency consultation about their "best practice guidelines" for potentially destructive and controversial Hydropower schemes. The public can add comments to the consultation without logging in to the EA website, which will help sway decisions made about future legislation imposed upon the operators of these schemes.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This type of electricity-generation scheme looks set to become more widespread in the UK but through both water abstraction and the fish-mincing turbines which are driven by water flow to generate electricity, such schemes pose a massive danger to both resident and migratory fish stocks and the quality & availability of river fishing.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This particular consultation focuses on setting water flow rates & abstraction limits and it's important that angling, fish stocks and other environmental issues are given utmost consideration when setting these limits. As anglers we need to ensure that opinion swings in this direction, which is why the Angling Trust has offered advice on how to respond to the consultation, to ensure we're all pulling in the same direction. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Please take a few minutes to read through the information and guidance on the <a href="http://www.anglingtrust.net/news.asp?section=29&sectionTitle=News&itemid=1496" target="_blank">Angling Trust website</a> and follow the link to <a href="https://consult.environment-agency.gov.uk/portal/" target="_blank">respond to the EA consultation</a>, which can all be found here: </span><a href="http://www.anglingtrust.net/news.asp?section=29&sectionTitle=News&itemid=1496" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.anglingtrust.net/news.asp?section=29&sectionTitle=News&itemid=1496</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be quick though, the consultation closes on Saturday 2nd March.</span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.anglingtrust.net/core/core_picker/loadandresize.asp?width=452&height=[auto]&vcrop=both&hcrop=both&quality=85&algorithm=5&id=2776&filetitle=hydropower+dead+fish+%28perch%29&extension=jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="283" src="http://www.anglingtrust.net/core/core_picker/loadandresize.asp?width=452&height=[auto]&vcrop=both&hcrop=both&quality=85&algorithm=5&id=2776&filetitle=hydropower+dead+fish+%28perch%29&extension=jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
</w:Compatibility>
<w:BrowserLevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 121.7pt;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Fish
deaths caused by Hydropower turbines</span><span style="font-family: "Myriad Roman";"></span></div>
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="156">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ansi-language:#0400;
mso-fareast-language:#0400;
mso-bidi-language:#0400;}
</style>
<![endif]--></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm all for us producing "green" energy from non-fossil fuel sources; it's an issue the whole world needs to address immediately, but surely when a means of generating power is damaging to the environment in other ways, it can't be considered "green"! Killing wildlife, preventing migration, disrupting natural river flows and potentially drying up spawning grounds, in my view is neither "green", "environmentally-friendly" or "sustainable".</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As anglers, we need to stand united, vehemently against the construction of these hydropower sites, which produce a preposturously low amount of electricity. The Environment Agency has identified 26,000 sites nationwide which are suitable for hydropower installations. So even if you don't think this issue affects you, it WILL be considered at a river near you! Even if all 26,000 proposed schemes are introduced, their combined output will constitute less than 0.5% of the country's electricity needs! There are far more viable alternatives which aren't nearly as destructive.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyhLgvoi40euININkLoUF7eJjQY0N5FZdnKVJqhfFdNTYovU-GbL1MiJK-Ree2QSsLqEU7rg9tTP1n63mfbG2iW04pmc3FRnuKKf-GeyujsWUhGaM9nzEidZ-n-HGbvYvZHnS-UakJwk/s1600/angling-trust-logo-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gsa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDyhLgvoi40euININkLoUF7eJjQY0N5FZdnKVJqhfFdNTYovU-GbL1MiJK-Ree2QSsLqEU7rg9tTP1n63mfbG2iW04pmc3FRnuKKf-GeyujsWUhGaM9nzEidZ-n-HGbvYvZHnS-UakJwk/s1600/angling-trust-logo-web.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Towards the end of last year the Angling Trust's legal arm, Fish Legal, won a </span><a href="http://www.fishlegal.net/page.asp?section=883" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">landmark case on behalf of anglers to stop the construction of a hydropower scheme on Saw</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ley weir on the river Trent</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">. The fishing on this section is controlled by Pride of Derby, of which I've held membership for over a decade. I'm delighted that Fish Legal were able to take on this case on behalf of the club and its members, and won. This action alone has justified my </span><a href="http://www.anglingtrust.net/page.asp?section=32" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Angling Trust membership</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, which I have taken out every year since the Trust was formed (I was an ACA member for years before that). </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It shows the power and influence that a unified body for angling can use and although everything the Trust does may not be in every anglers' personal interest, the many benefits to angling as a whole are clear to see.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">There will be a lot of companies looking to make a lot of money from these hydroschemes so they will be very determined to get them pushed through, but if we are vocal against it and stand together, we can stop them.</span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-5976679537233302152013-02-09T21:56:00.002+00:002013-04-28T11:46:14.553+01:00The Best of my Barbel fishing from last Summer<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New Years resolution: Update my blog more regularly!</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Three-quarters of the river season has already flown by since I last wrote, which is extremely slack of me, but hopefully there are still a few people out there interested in reading, so I'll update on how my Summer fishing went and then I plan to do a small post on what I've done since (unfortunately not many fish to write about since November!), by which point I should be back in the habit of writing on here more regularly.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The good news is that the fishing I did over the Summer was generally excellent! I concentrated on a single river, the Derbyshire Derwent, and on a single species, Barbel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The regular rain certainly helped this Summer, keeping the levels topped up and keeping the barbel feeding confidently. So many times in the past 4 or 5 seasons, I've heard anglers moaning - on the bank and on the internet - about the low river levels making barbel fishing difficult. Personally, I never moaned because I still managed to find a good few fish, but I must say that sport was definitely better this season with a bit of extra water and colour in the system.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've recently published an <a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/coarse_fishing/specimen_fishing/16819-a-summer-of-barbel.html" target="_blank">article on FishingMagic covering the tactics I employed last year</a> and I have an idea for a magazine feature ready for the beginning of the 2013/14 season too, so I won't cover any of that here but all of the fish were caught using large open-end swimfeeders filled with groundbait, mixed pellets and hemp, in conjunction with long mono hooklengths and a mixture of baits.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As usual, my barbel sessions were short, after-work affairs where I started in daylight but fished on into darkness. I caught a lot of barbel in the 8 to 10lb bracket, with a few going a bit larger. I was also very pleased to land a pair of smaller fish though. People I speak to on the bank have shared my concerns over the seeming lack of small barbel in our local rivers. Regular floods in the Summers surely haven't helped with recruitment, but there does seem to be a distinct lack of fish below 6lb in the Dove, Derwent and Trent. So, when I had my first barbel double hook-up, I was glad to see a pristine smallish barbel drop into the net. After a bit of a struggle I also landed the second barbel without letting the first escape! What a surprise, after landing nothing even close to this size for quite some time, both fish were like peas in a pod! Two fish of around the 4lb mark which were obviously of the same year class and probably shoal-mates. They were both fighting fit and after a quick snap which was sadly blurred by a raindrop on the lens, they were quickly returned to hopefully become the next generation of Derwent heavyweights. You can now read my <a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/coarse_fishing/specimen_fishing/16819-a-summer-of-barbel.html" target="_blank">article - "A Summer of Barbel" - on Fishing Magic</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAb14tDrxSg2t3ilwttoVrAhkGYOaqWH8kzgwB_ps1NPB_nTpGxB5rTj0tBxOzBE8hcPhHU1AGADtRV6XIwaGbPL7gDSXW6U8cDwOOjkXkwRsuqAbdSEblSOdl93ClHIHXOzDM1yfWuxU/s1600/barbel_brace_090812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img alt="Barbel Brace Double Hook-Up" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAb14tDrxSg2t3ilwttoVrAhkGYOaqWH8kzgwB_ps1NPB_nTpGxB5rTj0tBxOzBE8hcPhHU1AGADtRV6XIwaGbPL7gDSXW6U8cDwOOjkXkwRsuqAbdSEblSOdl93ClHIHXOzDM1yfWuxU/s400/barbel_brace_090812.jpg" title="" width="400" /> </span></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><i><b>Double hook-up landed!</b></i> </span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here are some of the best shots of a number of 8-10lb barbel that I landed last Summer:</span><br />
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" cols="2" style="width: 420px;"><tbody>
<tr><td><div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytp29ifrCpm0fhUj6JdVk3fevZTfhFe_8pU3i7EOw-DSztzr5-wEAmGuT8Bp6-kyS_0V1zNcB8ny6VZrEXgBCpqLzfiZGfKq4xsMI4HS53mJm65QILXfKWWHaKvzZLqJ_jH47ZKdEYJA/s1600/barbel_7lb15oz_290812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Summer Barbel" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhytp29ifrCpm0fhUj6JdVk3fevZTfhFe_8pU3i7EOw-DSztzr5-wEAmGuT8Bp6-kyS_0V1zNcB8ny6VZrEXgBCpqLzfiZGfKq4xsMI4HS53mJm65QILXfKWWHaKvzZLqJ_jH47ZKdEYJA/s200/barbel_7lb15oz_290812.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></div>
</td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyyM-eqK_QX3UcRtYgk834gmeoQyHJceA7JCLzLQ3IpVF7-Y3ugi0TSpkwinGKaqU2xbr7WwhtBZNqCLkjSziUGdA6_TY_OAub1UL9Ugo7iK8y0tHy9RvvUjCRPhQesk68zduiOIoMuY/s1600/barbel_8lb8oz_040712b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Summer Barbel Fishing" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEyyM-eqK_QX3UcRtYgk834gmeoQyHJceA7JCLzLQ3IpVF7-Y3ugi0TSpkwinGKaqU2xbr7WwhtBZNqCLkjSziUGdA6_TY_OAub1UL9Ugo7iK8y0tHy9RvvUjCRPhQesk68zduiOIoMuY/s200/barbel_8lb8oz_040712b.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghReMdKZ_dil4KWfDq912AjuH6t2croEl6nBg5HH_Pa7u3MKG1KeJzEoDFJNnJMFUacg4G2jXvWqQBg34cJH3R5shgW3B-HG3tMnYNkDnK10llwtJChFlhg4EJ04Kp21VpaPTRVtu9a2s/s1600/barbel_7lb15oz_020812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Quality Barbel" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghReMdKZ_dil4KWfDq912AjuH6t2croEl6nBg5HH_Pa7u3MKG1KeJzEoDFJNnJMFUacg4G2jXvWqQBg34cJH3R5shgW3B-HG3tMnYNkDnK10llwtJChFlhg4EJ04Kp21VpaPTRVtu9a2s/s200/barbel_7lb15oz_020812.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMcCpXha4AYsQdltnICIxOzYZdxCwn5bIwCeqOTIxVJafkcS9duXLoMGlh8dXDlboRT3XgsgJO_5Ox6y7ZJxkUuvcp69ZtSc7p0WodLv6r2mWp9R7b5RGEZPtf40mK7WRqRZd1Ji-zxU/s1600/barbel_9lb11oz_181012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Barbel" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOMcCpXha4AYsQdltnICIxOzYZdxCwn5bIwCeqOTIxVJafkcS9duXLoMGlh8dXDlboRT3XgsgJO_5Ox6y7ZJxkUuvcp69ZtSc7p0WodLv6r2mWp9R7b5RGEZPtf40mK7WRqRZd1Ji-zxU/s200/barbel_9lb11oz_181012.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgQU40Wc4cKgfVUzDr5B_brBK3vug723J0uiIbMd76Jz_NELF90PJDNsAfTn_QFw227Rt3-9uFSfGhPPpoyyM5AsIYhbek6wgFrtfqTBunUWp0I5ewDApjz6mRH19orEWaiMyAz_F3Qo/s1600/barbel_9lb1oz_240812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Big Barbel" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfgQU40Wc4cKgfVUzDr5B_brBK3vug723J0uiIbMd76Jz_NELF90PJDNsAfTn_QFw227Rt3-9uFSfGhPPpoyyM5AsIYhbek6wgFrtfqTBunUWp0I5ewDApjz6mRH19orEWaiMyAz_F3Qo/s200/barbel_9lb1oz_240812.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rvtsgZvBlVpY1CDqxKnl2lLNHqMhcgYvcCV3p3QgEK9Ks90bIr3uhVJ9Wy5TGbB5OWQuEqfuqkfz1UPVBhksbcLCaL4LsgFeFiPf-Y1ZZjuGTg_GEd-PQtQylY11AumDpfA1Gno4lAs/s1600/barbel_9lb3oz_180712b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Summer River Barbel" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_rvtsgZvBlVpY1CDqxKnl2lLNHqMhcgYvcCV3p3QgEK9Ks90bIr3uhVJ9Wy5TGbB5OWQuEqfuqkfz1UPVBhksbcLCaL4LsgFeFiPf-Y1ZZjuGTg_GEd-PQtQylY11AumDpfA1Gno4lAs/s200/barbel_9lb3oz_180712b.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBpfwlapmlTpUPWYIQlpJw3-YG5esHA3u7I7gWzUqMK5Up4h4ESYKG9pad7TnaqelXHSnYnN8EzShq1wh5Jkkzq3_Ebp61DQN43efTMN7o8LdVnhbxXX4NJr34Q2-jOUvENrqeAhwRpM/s1600/barbel_9lb9oz_180712.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQBpfwlapmlTpUPWYIQlpJw3-YG5esHA3u7I7gWzUqMK5Up4h4ESYKG9pad7TnaqelXHSnYnN8EzShq1wh5Jkkzq3_Ebp61DQN43efTMN7o8LdVnhbxXX4NJr34Q2-jOUvENrqeAhwRpM/s200/barbel_9lb9oz_180712.jpg" width="200" /></a></td><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh446BLEqCHVVe7b26P4b_zhdZSMc1ZeUeRzzpmUkp5l0r6kfAGTCgjmpx0_t2tUAXk9WAzgXTi1a9xDHcYcclW-KelD87ZhN3CfCUs365ofNrXkcerhdd5JSlfN3B_qNltyNWWOlFgONs/s1600/barbel_9lb8oz_181012.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="River Derwent Barbel" border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh446BLEqCHVVe7b26P4b_zhdZSMc1ZeUeRzzpmUkp5l0r6kfAGTCgjmpx0_t2tUAXk9WAzgXTi1a9xDHcYcclW-KelD87ZhN3CfCUs365ofNrXkcerhdd5JSlfN3B_qNltyNWWOlFgONs/s200/barbel_9lb8oz_181012.jpg" title="" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the first time I took more than three double-figure barbel in a Summer which, considering that I maybe fit in 15 to 18 sessions averaging 4 hours each, I don't think is bad going. These fish went 10lb 1oz:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPSTF2nKGE40cU7palLJvUAmMWLbb4p74eRali5mRAA9y6vSwFxWVMGQqZNHsq49Cs85PZsNhQXwpEE-3PCVcdb_-PhSiao3-WysfpaRA16N4wQJu-ZU17Pt7BNM81mLQmx_dB4ABzH4/s1600/barbel_10lb1oz_290812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Double Figure Derwent Barbel" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMPSTF2nKGE40cU7palLJvUAmMWLbb4p74eRali5mRAA9y6vSwFxWVMGQqZNHsq49Cs85PZsNhQXwpEE-3PCVcdb_-PhSiao3-WysfpaRA16N4wQJu-ZU17Pt7BNM81mLQmx_dB4ABzH4/s400/barbel_10lb1oz_290812.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">10lb 7oz:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc967fBVhehJ-SI7RjtYuFG-v_oVaWDnENL2e0hkb3eEMGj1ilWvljIEdb0cJJPWd_jY1imChA81Akol_ikd9EBawvafvl8ojUb-iQBZJxTOvJIrjiPZnxL7_NFBcTv49AV6jJP7pSpEs/s1600/barbel_10lb7oz_011012b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="10lb Barbel" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgc967fBVhehJ-SI7RjtYuFG-v_oVaWDnENL2e0hkb3eEMGj1ilWvljIEdb0cJJPWd_jY1imChA81Akol_ikd9EBawvafvl8ojUb-iQBZJxTOvJIrjiPZnxL7_NFBcTv49AV6jJP7pSpEs/s400/barbel_10lb7oz_011012b.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">10lb 8oz (which I later realised was a recapture of the fish above, 17 days later):</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7aOLJCsDirD6Ii3hltE_Wf3yvimcfFPR44NlBPkgJw3JvF6AkveKFiNenZRMlhJ3bNFr9Qv4eFN6q_qO8o2Vtv6CI42NV2T1st1tcIzM2JERfC145YRQcIM5MSPeilk5hskZP3KiK_w/s1600/barbel_10lb8oz_181012b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Big Summer Barbel" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7aOLJCsDirD6Ii3hltE_Wf3yvimcfFPR44NlBPkgJw3JvF6AkveKFiNenZRMlhJ3bNFr9Qv4eFN6q_qO8o2Vtv6CI42NV2T1st1tcIzM2JERfC145YRQcIM5MSPeilk5hskZP3KiK_w/s400/barbel_10lb8oz_181012b.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And to top off the lot, I managed to land myself a new PB! This fish was landed about an hour before the double hook-up above, from the same swim. Clearly the larger Derwent fish aren't in such an abundance that they only mix with individuals of a similar size and year class, as these fish must surely have been shoaled together to be caught from the same place in such quick succession. The fish put up an epic scrap, one that I was sure I would lose at several points, which I've described in the <a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/coarse_fishing/specimen_fishing/16819-a-summer-of-barbel.html" target="_blank">FishingMagic article</a>. The fish weighed 13lb 1oz and added almost 2lb to my personal best.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5myMQGzlDxNp-z5VJVulUFr_WCHkzqO5-ggUXkggxH5gv9tqG7_a3vsVET-qZmX7BbvQ4QIeNd148NLa8reL_0K-llv_MoyYsoYEFWxh31Jk-J4X-vdztPMjBfj3bzNb5X2Vw3wRG4I/s1600/barbel_13lb1oz_090812c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="13lb 1oz Double Figure Derbyshire Derwent Barbel" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx5myMQGzlDxNp-z5VJVulUFr_WCHkzqO5-ggUXkggxH5gv9tqG7_a3vsVET-qZmX7BbvQ4QIeNd148NLa8reL_0K-llv_MoyYsoYEFWxh31Jk-J4X-vdztPMjBfj3bzNb5X2Vw3wRG4I/s400/barbel_13lb1oz_090812c.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<h3>
<br /><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Other Species</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The only brief distraction I had, in terms of other species, was a couple of very short sessions tench fishing. I chose to fish with the most simple tactics, and used <a href="http://www.just-fish.co.uk/articles/18-lift-method.html" target="_blank">the Lift Method</a> in the margins to land a few hard-fighting tench.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOf-lDuAXWU_W_fFkywoTbQgCDPeKMMxiGv8tgICgcH-HM3tz3UeGyI6RrYC4guGlljdxUj220BOxU0e2ub5A2pafHuaqK0r7EoO0igrCpANR-qFTXRVgPRPmR7UW1J_6TvBnKySckYk/s1600/Brierley+-+Mallard,+Reeds+&+Float.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="A mallard close to my float on Brierley Park Pond" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkOf-lDuAXWU_W_fFkywoTbQgCDPeKMMxiGv8tgICgcH-HM3tz3UeGyI6RrYC4guGlljdxUj220BOxU0e2ub5A2pafHuaqK0r7EoO0igrCpANR-qFTXRVgPRPmR7UW1J_6TvBnKySckYk/s400/Brierley+-+Mallard,+Reeds+&+Float.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also used a centrepin reel on a stillwater for the first time and thankfully landed a fish on it too:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl9jkAMep7E_NoZuGx1VeiejFVHGp4R4Eek7O8alZr5ahzx9RmWasoB5NzFbuUPGhXZrwzWWjQwvJsZfesrZLv6IFc_8O86Cs-c5uB9rHkXR7Tl7uw2LN3wpv8-39-4NGHVDLpoQw4llo/s1600/tench-and-pin_brierley_3lb1oz_220812.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Tench caught using the Lift Method with a Centrepin reel" border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgl9jkAMep7E_NoZuGx1VeiejFVHGp4R4Eek7O8alZr5ahzx9RmWasoB5NzFbuUPGhXZrwzWWjQwvJsZfesrZLv6IFc_8O86Cs-c5uB9rHkXR7Tl7uw2LN3wpv8-39-4NGHVDLpoQw4llo/s400/tench-and-pin_brierley_3lb1oz_220812.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have another article pending about my trips to <a href="http://www.brierleypark.co.uk/" target="_blank">Brierley Park Pond</a>, where I caught these tench.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That wraps up the highlights of my Summer captures and my intention is to be back in the next few days to summarise my Autumn & Winter fishing so far.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<br />
<h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">R.I.P. Terry Lampard</span></h2>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Between me starting to write this post and me publishing it, I was saddened to hear of the sudden passing of one of greatest specimen anglers of all time, Terry Lampard. His captures and achievements over the decades speak for themselves and, having never met him, I can't add much that hasn't already been said elsewhere. What I can say is that he was an inspiration to a great many anglers - myself included - and widely revered & respected. Never one to shout his own praises, Terry was understated and humble, possibly even unaware of just how good an angler he was, or of the number of anglers he inspired.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Terry's death is a very sad loss to angling, but his contribution to specimen fishing over a great many years will ensure he will never be forgotten. My thoughts go out to his family and friends.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ian Welch has written a brief and eloquent <a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/news_events/news/16713-terry-lampard-%E2%80%93-an-obituary.html" target="_blank">Obituary of Terry Lampard on FishingMagic</a> which explains a little about his life and summarises and some of his captures and achievements.</span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0Derbyshire, UK53.122322 -1.513682099999982751.902293 -4.095469099999983 54.342350999999994 1.0681049000000171tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-43097733342276899602013-01-03T12:47:00.000+00:002013-09-24T12:20:25.396+01:00Winter Blues - Pike and Barbel Fishing<div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I only had time to get out fishing once between Christmas and new year. I'd had a pike fishing itch to scratch for a while and despite conditions which were far from ideal after the bout of mild weather and heavy rain, I decided to pike fish on the Dove, which is a spate river and therefore it's notorious for the speed at which the level rises and colour increases. So it was to my dismay, but no surprise, that I arrived to find the river coloured and rising! I should have been barbel fishing but my
heart was set on piking, so I had taken my barbel rods out of the van before I left
home!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I sat it out regardless and fished to the conditions as best I could, but I
only got a single dropped run all day. A run I didn't even notice at the time
because my float, cast to the far bank, would only stay in the slack water if I
let out a big bow of line. However, It was an extremely blustery day and the combination of wind and the flow meant my float was constantly dancing around all over the place, the drop-off was forever rising and falling and my alarm was sounding every few seconds. That was frustrating enough, but when I reeled in and found my decent-sized roach was badly slashed
but the teeth marks were all between the hooks, needless to say I was gutted! From the size of the marks on the bait, the pike was probably a good one. It must have picked the bait up sideways but failed to turn it around head-first before it moved off. Maybe the movement of the line going
down from the float spooked it or something. I'm 99% sure that if I'd had a
proper take I would have known straight away because the drop-off did ping off
in the wind the odd time, just not on that cast! Regardless of that, I decided
to try and find somewhere more sheltered where I could fish without fear of unwittingly deep-hooking a fish.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I gambled on a move to the Pride of Derby complex, to try on one of the lakes there for the last couple of hours. However, when I arrived at the gates, this was the sight that greeted me:</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RG8KzmfO9_Ebt_pdsv9UZXkVKy9xOEQmgkv9HNUwEJLoM7bINHE9W1cHirYDmo7ONyDXrtXqGWGOL9AJZFxA5kzhvEp-zh-HyKsQdFMUz275oa-3Y_3AwRMZkzTPqa_b40Shc1z1k8s/s1600/IMG-20121228-00345_clean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7RG8KzmfO9_Ebt_pdsv9UZXkVKy9xOEQmgkv9HNUwEJLoM7bINHE9W1cHirYDmo7ONyDXrtXqGWGOL9AJZFxA5kzhvEp-zh-HyKsQdFMUz275oa-3Y_3AwRMZkzTPqa_b40Shc1z1k8s/s400/IMG-20121228-00345_clean.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The heavy rain had pushed so much water into the Trent that it had flooded the entire adjacent lake complex. This seemed like a bad thing until I considered that the floodwater would probably mean I was the only angler there. I was in a van, and thought I might have the height to drive through the water to get to some high ground that I could fish from. So, not one to be put off from a fishing trip easily, I unlocked the gates and gingerly inched the van into the water, hanging my head out of the window to both monitor the depth and spot the edge of the track; one place I definitely didn't want to end up was on the surrounding underwater grass, or I'd be stuck there until the waters receded! Unfortunately my pluckiness didn't pay off, the water got so deep that I feared I might damage my van, so I had to slowly reverse back out of the venue. Had I had my thigh waders with me I could have walked to a peg, but they aren't part of my usual winter kit so they were at home! I thought about driving back to the Dove, but the combination of the poor piking conditions and by now, falling light, meant I decided to call it a day. Sometimes you have to know when it's time to quit.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I did bump into James Gould and Stu Walker
(who's been filming "<a href="https://www.facebook.com/CITAFILM" target="_blank">Caught In The Act</a>" and previously "<a href="http://www.youtube.com%2fwatch%3fv%3dpadwpgbhero&ei=nie9urkepeem0www9ogqba&usg=afqjcnfekmswdgzoxqhqegtm7h_tm2efyq&sig2=x5iyb6xs07vzdhb-z95hua&bvm=bv.52434380,d.d2k/" target="_blank">Barbel Days & Ways</a>"
with Bob Roberts) during the day. They were barbel fishing and I conceded that this was where the smart money was on such a day. Why the hell had I taken those barbel rods out! Both chaps were really friendly and I even got a
flattering "It's Andrew, isn't it? I've read some of your stuff..." from Stu,
but I then felt pretty stupid because I recognised him too, but I couldn't quite remember where from, or what his name was. D'oh!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Despite my feeling that the conditions had been ideal for barbel, I got in
touch with Stu & James later and found that they had just the one fish between them all day, which
didn't show until after dark.</span></span><br />
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Before that mild & wet spell ended, I got in an
after-work session myself and this time set my stall out for barbel. I'd soaked some boilies in a spicy, fishy mix and done similar with some luncheon meat in preparation. There wasn't a fish within a mile that could have avoided smelling my baits! It was pleasant to sit out in, despite not casting
out until 8pm, and despite seeing the odd fish rolling and conditions seemingly
perfect, I didn't get as much as a twitch on the rod tip. So, maybe there just wasn't a fish within a mile!</span></span></span></div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-90829186027290786242012-10-14T13:23:00.000+01:002014-01-08T09:03:59.334+00:00Autumn Salmon Fishing on the Tyne - Return of the Pretender!<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I really enjoy fly fishing. I don't do enough of it, but when I get the chance to go, it's great fun. When it comes to using double-handed fly rods and targeting the magnificent <i>Salmo salar</i>, that sentence is all the more true. I'd only ever had one salmon fishing trip, which was a day and a half on the upper Tweed, almost a decade ago. I had such a great time there I've been wanting a follow-up session ever since.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Incidentally on this trip, despite various calamities (including setting off my lifejacket inflator on a tangled cast!), I managed to land my first Atlantic Salmon, which was a very respectable 15lb in weight. The full story, which I shall one day have to tell, will inform you that despite being a complete salmon novice, I managed to land this fish alone, without a net. The angler I was fishing with had wandered a few hundred yards upstream from me and out of earshot. He had the shared net, so I had to improvise and tire the fish before beaching it and scooping it up in my arms!</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5JW7nDdV9LerUj7QKhL_IjKMA7JcuR3eoyUV9_r9uUb0QiCT0kS3OzoqJs3g3oKlcETj87y1IoTJ2wmJKMDrm63K5UYnAsO2eodw8IJQmcrsz6VzCoMqM3599-5BKgEXcpVp2idM9zNU/s1600/salmons2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5JW7nDdV9LerUj7QKhL_IjKMA7JcuR3eoyUV9_r9uUb0QiCT0kS3OzoqJs3g3oKlcETj87y1IoTJ2wmJKMDrm63K5UYnAsO2eodw8IJQmcrsz6VzCoMqM3599-5BKgEXcpVp2idM9zNU/s320/salmons2.jpg" height="311" width="320" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It was one of the proudest moments of my life! The great pretender in the pink-lensed polaroids managed to outfish all the other experienced salmon fishers on the beat that day. The score at the end of the day was: me 1-0 everyone else!</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The salmon, a cock fish, had been in the river for a long time, which explains its brown colouration. Despite the water being extremely cold on this November day, I was determined to release the fish and let it complete its life mission of spawning upriver. It took me almost 15 minutes of getting numb fingers to revive the fish, but it had got this far so who was I to end its journey? After the TLC I gave it, the fish swam away strongly.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizS3dvhP5bVcLLfWDr30Xjv0jYbDyFFHsOH85bSUfb1TKnYZdveVTf4WICBU9TDZlvaUrpFipnvL_9Rz3oPYHLp4rFoSXSnpIQ9FA7ojUSK55iXyvMF_VjMJ1OlAtIF_fomeWTGTbjeWw/s1600/salmons3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizS3dvhP5bVcLLfWDr30Xjv0jYbDyFFHsOH85bSUfb1TKnYZdveVTf4WICBU9TDZlvaUrpFipnvL_9Rz3oPYHLp4rFoSXSnpIQ9FA7ojUSK55iXyvMF_VjMJ1OlAtIF_fomeWTGTbjeWw/s320/salmons3.jpg" height="320" width="315" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To date, this was my only salmon session, so through complete inactivity I maintained my 100% for years! I really wanted another crack at them, but knew the odds of me catching another on my second session were very much stacked against me. I was due to go pike fishing last week, but then the opportunity presented itself to go after salmon and I couldn't pass it up.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This time I would be visiting the Tyne with another angler friend, who had a spare rod available on a productive beat. The river had been quite low, with salmon apparently stacking up downstream waiting for the chance to migrate. Rain had been forecast but didn't really materialise, so we knew it would be tough.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In the 9 years since I'd fished for salmon quite a bit had changed. Returning salmon as I had done previously (much to the open-mouthed dismay of many around me), has become far more the norm, as anglers have reacted to the continuing decline in wild stocks by doing their bit to help the species successfully reach their spawning grounds. According to the <a href="http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Resource/0043/00434129.pdf" target="_blank">2012 Scottish Salmon Fishery statistics</a>, the overall number of rod-caught salmon that were returned was 74% this year, compared to just 8% as recently as 1994!</span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">To assist with the easy and successful release of fish, the treble hooks that I used with my tube flies on the Tweed were now replaced with large single hooks, which many contemporary fly patterns are tied to work with.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifd6-5djoSizBF86aPkoKkZC-JIAe9wzq-IIzj1kUARxR7WF1VUFEecLC0vzh7tjijReWKf3L6cRw3m55vIvAfXebPEfMjzHvcnDGy8a-UfB5sUc35Vd25s0zHz59ObtoGScYZbTrOIgo/s1600/salmon_rod_101012b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifd6-5djoSizBF86aPkoKkZC-JIAe9wzq-IIzj1kUARxR7WF1VUFEecLC0vzh7tjijReWKf3L6cRw3m55vIvAfXebPEfMjzHvcnDGy8a-UfB5sUc35Vd25s0zHz59ObtoGScYZbTrOIgo/s400/salmon_rod_101012b.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The morning was fantastic; dull but crisp. "Down South" in Derbyshire, we hadn't had a frost yet, but the grass and bushes had a crunchy coating in the Northumberland countryside. It would be tough on the hands at first, to work a wet fly line in the cold air, but the physical effort involved in Spey casting is the perfect exercise to get the blood pumping to warm you up.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcH6M30V8pJdfX7_SSxuwa16YIyNO5Ak_fbC5dCTYZ8oVBe-zg2Zw75u23jN5qiV0skpwnEk8dJtnc0GRyCeF3kl8r7u9S8IfLM9dz7E1Z-zZHiKR9LvPjxMfSj-KrOPJXKiW4JQmiWv8/s1600/salmon_rod_101012d.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcH6M30V8pJdfX7_SSxuwa16YIyNO5Ak_fbC5dCTYZ8oVBe-zg2Zw75u23jN5qiV0skpwnEk8dJtnc0GRyCeF3kl8r7u9S8IfLM9dz7E1Z-zZHiKR9LvPjxMfSj-KrOPJXKiW4JQmiWv8/s400/salmon_rod_101012d.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The fishing was indeed tough, but I was comfortable and after some ropey casting at the start, I gradually managed to improve my casting. It felt like a real privilege to be stood waist deep, just fishing as nature went about its business regardless, all around me.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9BLdpQUKrj9zARqeunyTc3w4NmCSUPUDhgSUkcW-oyZuBjWQfFyGF48ViaHdSfJg9X4IFYx7Ec8yfGcOqB_J_0uzHWyelm1Njgsc0d6ksD4mS_nL6YSdx8hAO5v4ZKPdNViedBDEe38/s1600/salmon_fishing_on_tyne_101012c.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-9BLdpQUKrj9zARqeunyTc3w4NmCSUPUDhgSUkcW-oyZuBjWQfFyGF48ViaHdSfJg9X4IFYx7Ec8yfGcOqB_J_0uzHWyelm1Njgsc0d6ksD4mS_nL6YSdx8hAO5v4ZKPdNViedBDEe38/s400/salmon_fishing_on_tyne_101012c.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On the Tweed, the salmon had been running well. I'd seen the best part of a hundred leap from the water that day. The low water on the Tyne was preventing such a run, I saw perhaps ten salmon leap but that made it even more exciting when it happened, especially when it was just downstream of my fly. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We fished hard until just before sunset, stopping only briefly for lunch. We covered the short beat twice each from top to bottom, but apart from a couple of delicate plucks, we had no action.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiL_iO7nbxi8D7PRwEdRvqZUO2AksSe-abJwcU8dAYAUvT5jtsAXIDVipR0ZN0tPEH6dbOsCpp4GXn2EB9xa975oYiR5_odFy9fhtDhXRMAPIZxBisrLJWlpt1RexA2aO10gb4Z1HwDs/s1600/salmon_fishing_on_tyne_101012a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuiL_iO7nbxi8D7PRwEdRvqZUO2AksSe-abJwcU8dAYAUvT5jtsAXIDVipR0ZN0tPEH6dbOsCpp4GXn2EB9xa975oYiR5_odFy9fhtDhXRMAPIZxBisrLJWlpt1RexA2aO10gb4Z1HwDs/s400/salmon_fishing_on_tyne_101012a.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As it turned out, my best mate since childhood, Matt, went pike fishing to the venue I was due to visit that day. He landed his first twenty! Of course, I'm really pleased for him; he was there when I caught my twenties and I wish I'd been there to see his. Who knows, if I'd opted out of salmon fishing and gone piking that fish could have even fallen to my rod, but I don't regret having another go at salmon fishing. It was all more experience for me, in a faction of fishing
where I have scant little to draw upon. Next time I'll be that little bit
more prepared and practised, which could prove to be the difference
between a blank and a fish.</span></span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-41755627025947198602012-05-18T18:51:00.001+01:002013-09-24T17:50:11.817+01:00Spring Tench & Carp Overnighter<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I managed to pick a couple of days break in the early-May rain, to fit in a 24-hour session with Shane Calton. We visited Derbyshire's Higham Farm Lakes and tackled up primarily for tench, but with the head of carp, bream and other species in there, we knew it would be difficult to target them solely. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Higham is pretty local to me, so I used to fish this place quite regularly for the carp when I was 15 to 18, but I worked out that I have only been there once in the last 12 years!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">I was field testing a fair bit of <a href="http://www.cyprinus.co.uk/" target="_blank">Cyprinus</a> night fishing gear, including a <a href="http://www.tacklediscounts.co.uk/p-9034-cyprinus-maxus-carp-fishing-bivvy-shelter-rrp-52999.aspx" target="_blank">bivvy</a>, a <a href="http://www.tacklediscounts.co.uk/p-9230-cyprinus-bed-chair-memory-foam-extra-comfy-bedchair.aspx" target="_blank">memory foam bedchair</a>, a <a href="http://www.tacklediscounts.co.uk/p-10445-cyprinus-magmatex-3-5-season-fishing-sleeping-bag.aspx" target="_blank">3-5 season sleeping bag</a> and a <a href="http://www.tacklediscounts.co.uk/p-9243-cyprinus-carp-fishing-tackle-barrow-trolley-porter.aspx" target="_blank">tackle barrow</a>, which all performed superbly (<a href="http://bit.ly/15RyRDq" target="_blank">Reviews on FishingMagic.com here</a>).</span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXWPb7-FgSx9V7rWQVjGxPuRsl20IkvkEmXpzP8BcWihezaaVDpdCwzBHP37n_pd1IN21t444jyQHKt1vDQlk9c0b44N5bOisLY1WhwUm1bUvY2eA7w2v2oeIGU0tgwqq7AhKt2B2ufA/s1600/higham-cyprinus-setup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJXWPb7-FgSx9V7rWQVjGxPuRsl20IkvkEmXpzP8BcWihezaaVDpdCwzBHP37n_pd1IN21t444jyQHKt1vDQlk9c0b44N5bOisLY1WhwUm1bUvY2eA7w2v2oeIGU0tgwqq7AhKt2B2ufA/s400/higham-cyprinus-setup.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Before I arrived Shane had already landed a few bream in the 4-5lb bracket and as I was setting up he landed a tench of exactly 5lb, which was a very promising start.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kWKNzteisPFdR47ghdT8OvJROL5Mv70sCzZyLJk-BW3Bb33PdKGUQeo6aqpeKE8p3b2yuOqQ-kRuWyXAmVdeANnAVRGj-NnPG81fxL7oonyRm7gOortbFwrrWGDA6siC-Z6L2GIKmDA/s1600/shane_bream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="296" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2kWKNzteisPFdR47ghdT8OvJROL5Mv70sCzZyLJk-BW3Bb33PdKGUQeo6aqpeKE8p3b2yuOqQ-kRuWyXAmVdeANnAVRGj-NnPG81fxL7oonyRm7gOortbFwrrWGDA6siC-Z6L2GIKmDA/s400/shane_bream.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">It was to be the last tench we had between us, but we each notched up carp overnight and I also had a bream and a strange fantail brown goldfish-cross thing, which I should have really taken a photograph of, though I have caught similar fish from Higham in the distant past too. I had one breakage and two hook-pulls in the night, which were either the mothers of all tench, or more likely carp.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tTV6n5pzuBdtGyQNcJDX-1v1-iyE49_Upyn_ukJQs1Vo-TgZZLbMOZHYECp1Txa1PDi-pkzREhAeQ5LfShFTmdE_R90yroHI0d6M_BPsXuqhqKUgI-1nJRA7mUFCsTPCUl-5L90IBto/s1600/shane_tench_5lb_030512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2tTV6n5pzuBdtGyQNcJDX-1v1-iyE49_Upyn_ukJQs1Vo-TgZZLbMOZHYECp1Txa1PDi-pkzREhAeQ5LfShFTmdE_R90yroHI0d6M_BPsXuqhqKUgI-1nJRA7mUFCsTPCUl-5L90IBto/s400/shane_tench_5lb_030512.jpg" width="400" /> </a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Overnight I was setup on both rods with 6lb mainline through to 5lb fluorocarbon
hooklengths to size 14 Drennan Power Hair Rig hooks. One rod had a
helicopter rig above an open-end feeder and I alternated between corn
and meat on this rod whilst on the other rod I rigged up a small method
feeder and baited this with a 10mm pineapple & banana pop-up
which Shane kindly provided!</span> </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-6BtZt0pW60_5eiNJwJRRsIPVfYqReKYkL8XgwiVfR-_n9gRkE_-9Gh3GNKGulw7oW59vfQplaN028T6d7m5zPO2YouSxJZlgf0vieTDPB85ElryPxtRY3XGufwuohsifJDA2jvmL5A/s1600/tench+method+feeder+rig+01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4-6BtZt0pW60_5eiNJwJRRsIPVfYqReKYkL8XgwiVfR-_n9gRkE_-9Gh3GNKGulw7oW59vfQplaN028T6d7m5zPO2YouSxJZlgf0vieTDPB85ElryPxtRY3XGufwuohsifJDA2jvmL5A/s400/tench+method+feeder+rig+01.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Just as I was settling into my sleeping bag to get some sleep, the alarm on my margin rod - which had its bait placed </span><span style="font-family: Verdana;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;">just in front of a small bush - screamed out as a fish tried its best to swim between every root before I could lift up the rod. As soon as I felt the rod I knew I was connected to a decent fish which was a huge worry, what with my 6lb mainline being dragged through the roots! Thankfully I kept my calm, kept the rod tip underwater and applied steady sideways pressure. I think the fish had run out of ideas, as one-by-one I felt the line 'ping' off each root, my heart fluttering a little each time as I though it was the hook dislodging. I gradually felt more in contact with the fish and was able to coax it out into open water where I could tire it without fear of it finding more snags. Shane did the honours with the net and we both gasped as we realised this fish was a little bigger than either of us expected. It was a beautiful mirror of exactly 18lb. My biggest carp for quite some time, although I rarely target them these days.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGrAhCwigkVsRakyS-lWP5jcHjxVFowa1eTIAGfCnHk5Xd8VGKgbBIzohy2B3hyphenhyphenFLW9jX_OW_ZSx83K1VXlFtDW5tia2MbqSUqBJcOI8ES1pKu4yTcYkNDEIde_xYii95MlgOTgvjRqo/s1600/mirror_18lb_020512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTGrAhCwigkVsRakyS-lWP5jcHjxVFowa1eTIAGfCnHk5Xd8VGKgbBIzohy2B3hyphenhyphenFLW9jX_OW_ZSx83K1VXlFtDW5tia2MbqSUqBJcOI8ES1pKu4yTcYkNDEIde_xYii95MlgOTgvjRqo/s400/mirror_18lb_020512.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">The following day I alternated between taking photos of the gear I was reviewing and fishing on the surface with <a href="http://www.andrewkennedy.info/2011/09/carp-surface-fishing-rig-make-your.html" target="_blank">this floater rig</a>. I ended up taking another 3 carp off the top and lost a couple too.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">After a pretty terrible winter campaign it felt great to be on the bank catching, in fairly pleasant surroundings (I saw a few buzzards, jays & a treecreeper and had a field mouse visiting my groundbait bowl). Surface fishing got my juices flowing big-time! And when I latched into this 14lb common on my last cast, I actually caught myself smiling as the drag slowly "ticked" as the fish took line several minutes into the fight. This year, for probably the first time ever, I was really glad that the river coarse fishing season was over. There's no hiding from it; since the beginning of November I'd had a real stinker of a season and smiles have been sadly lacking from my fishing for longer than I'm happy to accept. But if this session was anything to go by, the spark is back and I'm loving my fishing again; at last!</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcCB4c4OpMwzPSgkkU23YJWGRE_Bed4zpOT4ebrijOQPJhjTvVTiAmwCRY6p9NG7LzcDRh9g-EWj0242a2PyuLhYSg1Cbb5XBfcfCaY62VGXcbFB2ybJokdUb__9E_avB5TxQHx1UeB4/s1600/common_14lb_030512.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgcCB4c4OpMwzPSgkkU23YJWGRE_Bed4zpOT4ebrijOQPJhjTvVTiAmwCRY6p9NG7LzcDRh9g-EWj0242a2PyuLhYSg1Cbb5XBfcfCaY62VGXcbFB2ybJokdUb__9E_avB5TxQHx1UeB4/s400/common_14lb_030512.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com125 Main Rd, Higham, Alfreton, Derbyshire DE55 6EH, UK53.123907822685283 -1.423759460449218853.104854322685284 -1.4632414604492188 53.142961322685281 -1.3842774604492187tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-7316381747660461762012-05-18T10:40:00.002+01:002012-05-18T10:40:14.712+01:00Royalty Fishery - Article Online now at FishingMagic<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the ball as always, I thought I'd better mention my latest article, which has been published on </span><a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">FishingMagic</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> for, errrrm, 5 or 6 weeks already! It details my trip down to the famous Royalty Fishery at Christchurch, Dorset, on the Hampshire Avon. It was my first time fishing the river and whilst I enjoyed the experience, it was certainly a trip of mixed emotions. I headed down there for two days with my old friend Matt and we primarily pike fished, although there were a number of barbel anglers who were catching well. We spent day 1 on the Parlour pool and bought a general day ticket for the second day.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was a really difficult article to write, it took several drafts to get it to read right, but now it's finished I'm quite happy with the result. I think it's worth a read if you've ever been to the Royalty, are planning to visit, or have ever considered or dreamed of a trip there.</span><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/coarse_fishing/general_fishing/15918-river-fishing-a-right-royal-day-out.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/coarse_fishing/general_fishing/15918-river-fishing-a-right-royal-day-out.html</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">See what you think and then please let me know what you think of it. If you're a FishingMagic member, you can post directly beneath the article. Or if not, feel free to post your thoughts below here.</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRkf4DyfZvpBWZfK1smBCVj1NjjpEI80ley9TIB30zUhZwFBycDg6P3JhC5jEZokcQvVKQE0E62Jn4bZwpbzEyYI_4VzpniY7xBXHIAzXzT0VZOB276RgEbObbc5OzZrOsBs_DnvyuJA/s1600/ak-royalty-01a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoRkf4DyfZvpBWZfK1smBCVj1NjjpEI80ley9TIB30zUhZwFBycDg6P3JhC5jEZokcQvVKQE0E62Jn4bZwpbzEyYI_4VzpniY7xBXHIAzXzT0VZOB276RgEbObbc5OzZrOsBs_DnvyuJA/s400/ak-royalty-01a.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXupfP9ca5WT7CsPcXl6_1Zlrg7xENKe4k5FeT3Uq_kKn9pZjSJYBi3AQeb5IVLwAxfINEkO2-N2kr4nFEpLpDjM-TxWA6IvqiOMYUGPZ7-3YpfrUhYRNSTTaLtyR3AwCjJJKholSu90E/s1600/ak-royalty-02.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" kba="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXupfP9ca5WT7CsPcXl6_1Zlrg7xENKe4k5FeT3Uq_kKn9pZjSJYBi3AQeb5IVLwAxfINEkO2-N2kr4nFEpLpDjM-TxWA6IvqiOMYUGPZ7-3YpfrUhYRNSTTaLtyR3AwCjJJKholSu90E/s400/ak-royalty-02.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-10892327811887551102012-05-05T18:34:00.000+01:002018-06-28T11:15:39.150+01:00Brierley Park Pond Anglers Association needs your help! New fishing club in Ashfield, Nottinghamshire<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Early this year I heard about a local angling club which had been setup to open fishing on a country park lake, on Brierley Forest Park near Sutton-In-Ashfield. This lake is within a couple of miles of both where I live and where I work, so I'd known it existed for quite some time and had heard that people would often "poach" there, because fishing wasn't officially allowed but was turned a blind eye to. I was really pleased to hear that a club was taking control of the lake, because one of the downsides to free, unofficial fishing is that it's totally un-policed. Anyone could fish there, however they liked, they could leave litter, thieve fish and use questionable methods and baits without anyone to check even if they had a rod licence.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Through hard work and persistence, permission was granted by the appropriate local bodies for a newly formed angling club to lease the lake and and open it up to properly managed fishing. On June 2nd 2012, <a href="http://www.brierleypond.co.uk/" rel="" target="_blank">Brierley Park Anglers Association</a>* will officially open up the pond to fishing with an open day at the water, featuring various family-orientated events and who knows, maybe even a visit from one of the club's high profile patrons, Bob Nudd, Keith Arthur, Julian Cundiff and Dave Williams.</span><br />
<br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">One of the things which impresses me most about the whole <a href="http://www.brierleypond.co.uk/" target="_blank">B</a>rierley Pond project is that it has a real "community" feel to it, with a large emphasis put on providing angling opportunities for disabled anglers and children. Wheelchair-friendly pegs are being installed and tackle donations are being sought, so that on-site tuition can take place, to actively encourage youngsters and those with disabilities to take an interest in fishing.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<strong><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Help/Sponsors Needed</span></strong></div>
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">In conjunction with the Environment Agency, <a href="http://www.brierleypond.co.uk/" target="_blank">Brierley Park AA</a> are installing numerous accessible fishing platforms and to fund these, club chairman Steve Savage ca</span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">me up with a novel way of funding them. He's asking bait & tackle companies, along with local businesses, to sponsor a peg, at a cost of £100 per season. For this price not only will the sponsor be helping anglers fish in comfort, they'll also get a name plaque placed on the peg and should the peg feature in any match-winning catches, it will be mentioned ion the website and in local media by name rather than by number (e.g. instead of "Joe Bloggs won with 12lb of roach from peg 4" you'll see "Joe Bloggs won with 12lb of roach from Terry's Tremendous Tackle peg"). </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">If you would like to find out more about becoming a peg sponsor at Brierley, or can provide any fishing tackle to be used to help teach local disabled people and children to fish, please </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">contact Gary Barfoot via the <a href="http://www.brierleypond.co.uk/" target="_blank">Brierley website</a> or search for <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/BrierleyPondCommunityProject/" target="_blank">"Brierley Pond Community Project" on Facebook</a>.</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
</div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLZOclMLxGl_wRauLNtk1zdnmNsPj43oKZmpzd9iQnTUItrNtGZHdyw6ysafZBtV-vQBUCGS_f4uE1H30SWLZGW2kF9YOurclxEum8Udw_FxAzDUiyKr-7hWiIqhyphenhyphent-CqZevF-KqttH0/s1600/brierley-01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="432" mea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQLZOclMLxGl_wRauLNtk1zdnmNsPj43oKZmpzd9iQnTUItrNtGZHdyw6ysafZBtV-vQBUCGS_f4uE1H30SWLZGW2kF9YOurclxEum8Udw_FxAzDUiyKr-7hWiIqhyphenhyphent-CqZevF-KqttH0/s640/brierley-01.jpg" width="640" /></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><strong>The Fishing</strong></span></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">I fished at Brierley during the winter and found it to be chock-full of silver fish. I was catching quality roach and rudd, more-or-less every cast. This was on a bitterly cold day and despite this, I was catching in less than 4 feet of water. The only conclusion I could come to was that I was casting into - to coin an old Yorkshire phrase - "One foot o'watter and three foot o'fish"! There are also a few carp well into double figures, along with lots of tench, bream, crucian carp, chub, perch and the odd surprise!</span></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<br /></div>
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">
<span style="font-family: "verdana";">The lake is just over a couple of acres in size and is quite shallow on the whole, with 3 or 4 feet being the average depth, but there is the odd trench and hole which go a little deeper than this. There are beds of Norfolk reeds, sedges and a few overhanging trees as features and one bank is completely fenced-off as a nature reserve, so the wildlife, as well as the fish, can get a little respite. Brierley lake has a healthy population of waterfowl with the standard coots, moorhens, mallards and swans sharing the water with the fish. </span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";">The lake is best suited to pleasure anglers, but it also has plenty to offer matchmen and the chance of landing an uncaught specimen; who knows what could be in there!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana";">You can now purchase season permits to fish Brierley for a very reasonable £30 per year adult or £15 juniors & concessions. There is a £6 joining fee </span><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">for your first year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There are also day tickets available, but these must be purchased prior to fishing (they can be purchased days in advance, provided you know the date you're going to fish), from the <a href="http://brierleyforest.com/visitor-centre/" target="_blank">Brierley Forest Park Visitor Centre & Cafe</a>, located 250 metres from the pond, near the car park. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #2b2b2b;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Brierley Visitor Centre & Cafe is open:</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #2b2b2b;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></span>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #2b2b2b; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">April – October</span>Monday to Friday: 11.00am - 4.00pm<br />Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays: 11.00am - 1.30pm</span></div>
<div style="border: 0px; color: #2b2b2b; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-weight: 700; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">November – March</span><br />Monday to Friday: 10.30am - 3.30pm<br />Saturday, Sunday & Bank Holidays: 11.00am - 1.30pm</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="border: 0px; color: #2b2b2b; margin-bottom: 24px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A wide range of food and drink is also available.</span></div>
<span style="font-family: verdana, sans-serif;">You can make out Brierley Pond as a triangular shape towards the top-right corner of the map, so you can see how close to the fishing this shop is:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"></span> <br />
<div id="mapviewer">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="400" id="map" name="mapFrame" scrolling="no" src="http://www.bing.com/maps/embed/?lvl=14&cp=53.124389040870426~-1.299844973278803&sty=h&draggable=true&v=2&dir=0&eo=1&where1=201+Sutton+Road%2C+Huthwaite+NG17+2&name=Poppy's+Pet+Shop&form=LMLTEW&pp=53.128431840000005~-1.3000595500000002&mkt=en-gb&emid=4fd17b21-2c55-7309-6d5b-5350f8ff0d99&w=500&h=400" width="500"></iframe><br />
<div id="LME_maplinks" style="line-height: 20px;">
<a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/?mm_embed=map&cp=53.124389040870426~-1.299844973278803&lvl=14&sty=h&where1=201+Sutton+Road%2C+Huthwaite+NG17+2&form=LMLTEW" id="LME_largerMap" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">View Larger Map</span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> | </span><a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/?mm_embed=dir&cp=53.124389040870426~-1.299844973278803&rtp=~pos.53.128431840000005_-1.3000595500000002_201+Sutton+Road%2C+Huthwaite+NG17+2&lvl=14&sty=h&form=LMLTEW" id="LME_directions" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">Get Directions</span></a><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"> | </span><a href="http://www.bing.com/maps/?mm_embed=be&cp=53.124389040870426~-1.299844973278803&lvl=18&sty=b&where1=201+Sutton+Road%2C+Huthwaite+NG17+2&form=LMLTEW" id="LME_birdsEye" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">View Bird's Eye</span></a></div>
</div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">There are also set to be regular matches held at the venue, so keep an eye out for the results. See the Brierley Pond Community Project website for further details: </span><a href="http://www.brierleypond.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">http://www.brierleypond.co.uk/</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">You can also browse or join the Disabled Fishing Talk forum, which I believe is moderated by Steve who is chairman of Brierley Park Anglers Association, at <a href="http://disabledfishingtalk.forumotion.com/f40-brierley-park-pond">http://disabledfishingtalk.forumotion.com/f40-brierley-park-pond</a>, where there is further info about the fishing at Brierley.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;">*Please note that Brierley Park Anglers Association has now been renamed <a href="http://www.brierleypond.co.uk/" target="_blank">Brierley Pond Community Project</a></span></div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0Brierley Forest Park, Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire NG17, UK53.1333536 -1.290292853.1238271 -1.3100338 53.1428801 -1.2705518tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-44117444217224006532012-03-08T14:01:00.001+00:002012-03-08T14:02:39.169+00:00A few new bits and bobs<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This little newsflash post is soon to be followed by a fishing update, but I just have a few things of interest I thought I should share...</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Firstly, Carl Allman of <strong>Rio Ebro Angling</strong>, who we chose to fish the Ebro with - for zander, roach, carp and catfish - last September, acheived second place in </span><a href="http://www.igfa.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">IGFA</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">'s World Record Acheivement Awards, as acknowledgement of him guiding anglers to a total of 18 line class World Records during 2011 alone! I'd like to say I was one of those anglers... but I'd be lying!</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rio Ebro Angling also have a newly redesigned website </span><a href="http://www.rioebroangling.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.rioebroangling.com/</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> and I urge you to check it out if you're thinking of venturing to foreign shores in search of fish this Summer. There is a limit to how many bookings a single guide can take and I assure you Carl is among the best, so make your enquiries sooner rather than later.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTGv-SLQuov9MmdsfzKZ3rhfi1BGIETauh_DmoebYY-pLMMx0l9Pmm4nk9rLrULT2O9tlxQ6UTqM5zkEzjvRJdpUW8tLPiy8hG-Gs8kpXBf0rvo44E2PFLHcDB49EqBoNn69MbdaHVPs/s1600/Rioebroangling-com+Homepage+2012+-+small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="366" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtTGv-SLQuov9MmdsfzKZ3rhfi1BGIETauh_DmoebYY-pLMMx0l9Pmm4nk9rLrULT2O9tlxQ6UTqM5zkEzjvRJdpUW8tLPiy8hG-Gs8kpXBf0rvo44E2PFLHcDB49EqBoNn69MbdaHVPs/s400/Rioebroangling-com+Homepage+2012+-+small.jpg" width="400" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wrote an article a little while ago, about storing and keeping worms, including lobworms and denbrobaenas ("dendras"). I've put it up on my website. If you want good, plump, fresh worms whenever you need them, without spending a fortune keeping them, it's worth taking a look: <a href="http://www.just-fish.co.uk/articles/41-keeping-worms-fishing-bait.html">http://www.just-fish.co.uk/articles/41-keeping-worms-fishing-bait.html</a></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.just-fish.co.uk/images/worm-keeping-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="343" src="http://www.just-fish.co.uk/images/worm-keeping-1.jpg" width="400" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I also have three more features up on </span><a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">FishingMagic.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, the first is a step-by-step photo guide on how to make your own buoyant leger stems which are both cheap and robust: </span><a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/coarse_fishing/predator_fishing/15751-predator-fishing-making-your-own-buoyant-leger-stems.html" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Make your own Leger Stems</span></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/files.php?file=leger_stem_complete2_669175976.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://www.fishingmagic.com/files.php?file=leger_stem_complete2_669175976.jpg" width="300" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The other features are two reviews of Cyprinus products. The first of which is an oval brolly/shelter called the V3. It's ideal for spring & summer overnighters or for really windy and wet day sessions; just the job for an all-round specialist like I try to be! </span><br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/reviews/15657-cyprinus-v3-oval-brolly-shelter-review.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cyprinus V3 Oval Brolly Review</span></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/thumbnail.php?file=Cyprinus_Oval_01_708681466.jpg&size=article_medium" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.fishingmagic.com/thumbnail.php?file=Cyprinus_Oval_01_708681466.jpg&size=article_medium" width="400" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The second Cyprinus review is of their flagship "Whole Hog" fishing accessory chair, which comes complete with all the rod support kit and a little side table too. It even has arm-rests and a reclining back - both luxuries I've never been used to in fishing chairs in the past. The review is here: <a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/features/reviews/15832-cyprinus-whole-hog-chair.html" target="_blank">Cyprinus Whole Hog Fishing Chair Review</a> and also, I noticed there were no instructions with this chair when I opened the box. There are quite a few parts and to put them together for the first time is a bit confusing unless you have diagrams or instructions. I've since found out that there is a PDF instruction leaflet available on request from Cyprinus, so I've also stuck it on my website for convenience, here: <a href="http://www.just-fish.co.uk/images/cyprinus-whole-hog-instructions.pdf" target="_blank">Cyprinus Whole Hog Chair Setup Instructions</a>.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.fishingmagic.com/thumbnail.php?file=Whole_Hog_5_239117999.jpg&size=article_medium" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://www.fishingmagic.com/thumbnail.php?file=Whole_Hog_5_239117999.jpg&size=article_medium" width="400" yda="true" /></a></div><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Lastly, I came across this video yesterday which shows a novel and quick way of removing a barbed hook from your body, should you be unfortunate enough to hook yourself. It does require another person to assist and it's not for the feint-hearted, but it's a pretty impressive technique:</span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/TTUQXpg76xQ?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-55126958750955511342012-01-09T08:43:00.000+00:002013-02-27T14:15:19.476+00:00Underwater River Ebro Catfish Fishing Video<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-FE-nsOci1rxsp756HHWxpYk4U6s-QyiFaqG9bH4ZR1nEiVz-fMQgACpbN5nAJ2I3CoxntU4Oz33L0usRfF3dtgH-OoFM-YKGdu1A2QoBOsrteGJADpx4FS_mVXq39_a5SgeOF9qWWFs/s1600/catfish-underwater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" gsa="true" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-FE-nsOci1rxsp756HHWxpYk4U6s-QyiFaqG9bH4ZR1nEiVz-fMQgACpbN5nAJ2I3CoxntU4Oz33L0usRfF3dtgH-OoFM-YKGdu1A2QoBOsrteGJADpx4FS_mVXq39_a5SgeOF9qWWFs/s400/catfish-underwater.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I've put up a little compilation video of all the underwater footage we shot (only with a small hand-held camcorder) when catfishing on the Ebro. You can view it below or on YouTube: </span><a href="http://youtu.be/rROVVKnSzp4"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://youtu.be/rROVVKnSzp4</span></a><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/rROVVKnSzp4?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></span></div>
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">More Ebro videos to come when I get time to edit them!</span></div>
Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1822166937292797095.post-36701489780345934352012-01-09T00:03:00.005+00:002012-01-18T16:34:14.447+00:00My Back needed some Muscle Mend-ing!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To follow on from the end of my last post, I was in agony with my back. It turned out I'd pulled some muscles down either side of my spine, around the lumbar region and for a pulled muscle, boy has it given me some grief! It was playing havoc with all parts of my life, at work, at home, sleeping... I couldn't even put a pair of socks on! Worst of all it was preventing me going fishing, so something had to be done</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After trying various forms of pain relief, such as Voltarol, nothing was doing the trick and after all, killing the pain isn't really getting to the source of the problem. A friend suggested I visit a sports massage therapist for treatment and recommended <a href="http://www.muscle-mend.co.uk/" target="_blank">Nigel Mallender's Muscle Mend</a> service. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">After the first 45 minute session last week, I felt a gradual improvement in the level of pain I felt and the range of movement in my back. Nigel showed me a routine of stretching and strengthening exercises to do each morning, which also seemed to help. Today I had my second session and now feel no pain from my injury. Having said that, I can feel it's still there and I'm very wary of aggravating it again, so I'm still going to be taking things easy with my back for the next few weeks.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm keeping up with the exercises and if things continue to improve, I'll risk going fishing again soon when hopefully I can end this blank spell!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can wholeheartedly recommend Nigel for anyone living in the Chesterfield/Dronfield/Sheffield area and if anyone is reading this from farther afield, who has a similar condition, get yourself off to your local sports massage therapist! As a bit of a bonus, the massage covered my whole back, shoulders and neck and Nigel was able to find & treat some pretty serious knots which had built up in my shoulders through a combination of my terrible natural posture, being hunched over a computer for way too long and my dislocated clavicle injury I picked up when snowboarding 3 years ago, as mentioned here: </span><a href="http://www.andrewkennedy.info/2010/02/its-been-another-lean-few-weeks-angling.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.andrewkennedy.info/2010/02/its-been-another-lean-few-weeks-angling.html</span></a><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For those interested, Nigel's website can be found here: </span><br />
<a href="http://www.muscle-mend.co.uk/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">www.muscle-mend.co.uk</span></a><br />
<a href="http://www.muscle-mend.co.uk/images/Musclemend-Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1yB8aZ0Ofot8jV9uFLKtTgh8C_Ybic4SJoIIK9Zdk7lg6YJWwZ6Tmmf5tKixhGPSyYyc_SHP7fNMo2O0x6V814vaGNJTId-SBobvHuoBLljm2AYs4VeaRdvf0fuDM_NF1Fb4z1C31aA/s1600/Musclemend-Logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" nfa="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV1yB8aZ0Ofot8jV9uFLKtTgh8C_Ybic4SJoIIK9Zdk7lg6YJWwZ6Tmmf5tKixhGPSyYyc_SHP7fNMo2O0x6V814vaGNJTId-SBobvHuoBLljm2AYs4VeaRdvf0fuDM_NF1Fb4z1C31aA/s1600/Musclemend-Logo.jpg" /></a></div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Fingers crossed my next post will be (soon!) about blowing off the cobwebs and catching some fish!</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;"><strong>Charity Predator Match @ Celtic Lakes</strong></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">One session which I was hoping to have, but with work and other commitments it seems unlikely I'll be able to attend is a Charity Predator Match at Celtic Lakes, Frisby, which has been organised by Peter Hill, in aid of Leicester Royal Infirmary's Children's Ward. The match is on Saturday 28th Jan and I believe there's still time to book a place if you're interested, you can contact Peter on 01162 313201 or 07598 339841. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana;">Pike, Perch and Zander all count in the match, which is £20 to enter. There are various prizes up for grabs including a week fishing on the Ebro and all proceeds will benefit the above, very worthy cause.</span>Andrew Kennedyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06119056430574760244noreply@blogger.com0