()><(((º> Sunny Days & Fishing Ways <º)))><()

Hello there and a very warm welcome back to fishing for memories.


Heck the last few days have been very hot haven't they?

Despite the heat I opted for an overnighter down the river,although my memory kindly failed to remind me to take my hat and polaroids,I would remember to curse my memory but alas I would probably only forget to do so anyway.


I decided prior to going to make up a small batch of Shellfish B5 boilies as well as some extra maize.


If some of the species of trees were showing hints of Autumn with the odd tint of yellow,the weather was in disagreement and screamed summer,the Balsam was brimming with bees and the Blackberry bushes were full of big juicy berries,I love the different moments of each season as it merges into the next and Autumn is one of my favourite seasons for fishing so I am looking forward to it kicking in.


I managed for a change to get down to my swim by 6am,some what of a miracle for me,the sun was blazing and it was then that I cursed the fact I had no hat or polaroids,I mean who forgets their cap and polaroids,boy did I curse myself. The sun was already feeling toasty and I didn't fancy my chances during the day to be fair,I put a very light amount of maize into both areas and settled on fishing one rod with a shellfish B5 boilie and the other on an 15mm Halibut pellet,both rods with mini pva bags of crushed boilie and pellet.I placed my right rod near to an over hanging trees and left rod to a marginal gully about a rod length out.


More or less straight away I was getting taps and knocks on the left rod (halibut pellet)about thirty minutes later the rod trundled off and rattled and shook,I struck and was greeted by a a shakey resistance,as I played the fish in I saw a nice Chub of what I would estimate to be around 5lb and that was the last I saw of it as it shook the hook and swam off,"damn and blast" I muttered,I decided to re bait and get the rod out again,but no more decent bites followed,only taps and knocks from small fry.


The heat continued to grow without sign of abating and by 12pm the brolly was up and I was sat pouring sweat and it felt like the brolly was not really helping all that much,so I threw my coat over it and commenced drinking water like a camel for the rest of the day.It was a very quiet late afternoon when I decided to reel my rods in and rest my swim as well as grab a bite to eat,an All day Breakfast Hotcan being the meal of choice,I sat back and tucked in as the sunlight gradually faded,whilst I watched the bees popping in and out of the Balsam and wondering exactly how much pollen one single bee can carry?



One last sip of tea and I placed both rods back out,dusk had fallen and the owls made their presence known with their shrill hunting calls,what seemed like a group of vixens began calling out with their screeching and rough barks,the bats flitted in and out of the nearby tree and weaved their way over the water occasionally clipping the rod tips,an environment at peace and myself an angler drawn into that magical place where you feel as one with nature.


it was coming on for 9pm when my left rod signaled a slow bite and I was into the first fish of the night a Bream of around 6lb which was unhooked and placed back,three more of its cousins followed shortly after all on the halibut pellet rod. It was around 10.45 that all fell silent from the Bream and they faded away into the night,the left rod was silent for about 15 minutes and then lurched over and single toned off,I was into a solid fight that hugged the bottom and paced upstream and downstream,my mind said "barbel",it was soon resting in the net and weighed in at a pleasing 9lb.








Before recasting the left rod I decided to have a little check on the boilie rod and I found the bait had been chipped about a bit by Crayfish,not something I mind as I find they act as good attractants for the fish.


Both rods were recast and it was around 2am when the pellet rod wrapped round and was away again,this time bolting straight into mid water and angrily charging about,it felt a nice fish,as I got it to the margins it decided to throw a wobbly and sped up and down along the margins,not my idea of fun at all as the margins are littered with some heavy underwater snags and roots,eventually heart in mouth it was in the net,a Barbel and a good looking sized fish that looked like a double and sure enough the scales did not disappoint as they tipped round to 11lb.








Up till now the boilie rod had been quiet,but I have faith in the Shellfish mix as well as the area the rod was placed in,although that means little if nothing if the fish still don't play ball.

It was 4am when the rod signalled a steady take that saw the swinger hit the top of the rod butt,I jumped up and was met by a real bullish fish that tried to bolt out and leave me for dead on some nearby underwater tree branches,the water swirled,the fish stayed midstream,I decided to hold firm and let the rod tip absorb as much lunges as possible,this paid off and the fish changed direction from the upstream snag and kited downstream,walking down I grabbed my other rod and moved it so as to make some room to land the fish,it was then that it broke the water in front of me. A lovely common carp,heart pounding heavily I slid the net under her and sighed a large sigh of relief,she was one old looking river warrior and looked spawn laden as well as quite battle scarred with some scales missing and a tatty dorsal fin,its times like these that im glad I carry some Orabase which I have been using a while now thanks to some advice given via the Cemex forums a few years back,this really helps with aiding in repairing and healing as well as cleaning damaged areas on fish,as it creates a protective barrier when used that seals and aids with speeding up the healing process.


Out on to the landing mat and into the weigh sling and the scales tipped round to a very pleasing 19lb,lovely.




















That was the last fish of the session and as dawn broke and 6am beckoned I packed up a very chirpy chap and moseyed on home.



Well till next time at fishing for memories,I would like to wish you all tight lines and above all enjoy the places that you fish and respect them,take only photographs and leave only footprints behind you.

()><(((º> When It Rains It Pours <º)))><()

Hello there and a warm but fishy welcome back to fishing for memories.


We have seen a fair bit of rain in the south east last week and it was over the weekend that I got out for an overnighter on a stretch of my favourite river.Getting to my swim wet and very late evening (around 10pm) in the pouring rain,I was greeted by a very high and rising river,that was very coloured,almost like gravy,despite the rain it was nice,very humid.I opted to fish larger 22mm halibut pellets in conjunction with size 8 Gardner talon tips and 3 1/2 oz leads.


I decided to place both rods not further than 1 to 2 metres out,right under the bank and in the slack area of water between reeds and lily pads,I did this due to the pace on the water and felt any patrolling fish might be happier to come along the margins out of the main current.

Getting down to the river later than I usually would like,I felt it would be maybe a bit of a quiet night and for most of the night it was,until 3am when the left rod which was more or less fished only 1 metre out absolutely belted off and I was into one heck of a good fight,especially with the extra flow,the fish just did not want to play ball whatsoever and came in under the rod tip trying to bury itself into the reeds and pads,luckily it escaped the roots and was sat recuperating in the net.The Scales tipped round to a 10lb exactly,happy days.









There was no more bites after this fish and dawn gradually broke,I don't like staying too long past what I call prime times which I have found to be up to 5am normally,it was a sunny morning,but the water was still nicely coloured and I fancied I would still have a chance of maybe another fish,both rods were recast with small pva bags filled with pellet and crushed boilies.


The left rod started getting light taps and then screamed off,I was into a very nice fish that was powering away,I locked down and managed to play it in,it broke the surface and I saw a lovely Common Carp of around 16lb,not massive but a nice looking fish,just when I thought all was well it then darted downward again and hit a snag that I had no idea was there and I felt the dreaded ping as the hooklink severed on what I later found out was the end of a sharp underwater log,I was gutted.



I decided to put another rig on and try for one last bite,the time was approaching 8am and the sun was popping out and feeling very humid for so early in the morning,with my rigs lowered down quietly into the same marginal spots,I waited,with the thoughts of the carp I lost running through my mind,so many what ifs and buts and should haves fill your mind when you lose a fish and I was consumed by having lost this fish,almost feeling cheated.

This time the left rod did not even give a bite,instead after a massive wrap round it screamed off downstream like a runaway train,I was into a real solid and powerful fish that was intent on going across the other side of the river,I was into a good fight,I decided to ease off slightly so that the fish would drop its level of resistance,this helped some what and I regained line on it and saw it cruise just below the surface film of the water,it looked like another nice chunky Barbel.
Once resting in the weigh sling it went 10lb 8oz.







After that I decided to pack up and whilst on the way home pondered over losing the Carp,but nonetheless very happy with two cracking conditioned double figure Barbel,some you win and some you lose,if we knew we would land every fish when we went fishing I do wonder how often we would go?


I have also uploaded a small video of this fish as it was a real nice looker.





As always from myself here at fishing for memories tight lines to everyone and the very best of fishes!

()><(((º> Ruddy Superb<º)))><()

Hello and a warm and wet welcome back to fishing for memories.



I decided to have a slight departure for a change on to a quiet still water for the day for some Rudd and Roach,I have never really tried to target them,so was looking forward to it,The feeder and float rod were hastily put in the car along with a bucket of crumb,maggots and hemp and I set off.



Arriving at the lake I decided to fish an area that had a lot of debris as well as some pads and reeds there was a lot of wildfowl activity in this area too,with the usual moorhens and other wildfowl regularly making sorties back and forth to make underwater feeding excursions







Both rods were set up with fine fluorocarbon hooklinks of 2.6lb and size 12 hooks,one rod with a cage feeder and the other rod with a Crow quill float.


I had brought some sweetcorn with me as well as animal feed maize I decided to put the feeder rod out with two grains of sweetcorn to the reeded area with wildfowl in the picture above and then fished the float in a similar area nearby but on maggots,feeding both areas intermittently with the animal maize.


Most of the day was very active with small rudd and lots of tiny Perch picking up the maggots on the float as well as a few small Roach on the feeder rod,but no sign of any larger specimens especially Rudd.At late evening the feeder Rod swept round and a fish I had no hope of controlling disappeared into the sunset with my hooklink,most likely one of the wild carp that reside in the lake,I was a bit crest fallen as I do love catching these torpedo like fish that look majestic and fight like demons on steroids.


I replaced the hooklink and baited it this time with one of the smaller grains of animal maize instead of sweetcorn and cast to the same spot,the evening had drawn in and darkness was gradually trying to engulf me in its cloak,my time was coming to an end,but I was happy.


I had brought the float rod in and decided to concentrate for the last hour or two on the feeder setup only.All was quiet not one sound of another person except myself,the lake came alive with bats sweeping in low across the water having their evening meal,an owl called out in one of the nearby trees.


The feeder rods bite alarm which was on low,bleeped once and the swinger climbed slow but steadily,I lifted in and was met with a solid resistance,thud thud came the reply from the other end,I played it as carefully as the hooklink and snags would allow,all the way to the net I had my heart in my mouth,it was certainly not a Carp and as it broke the surface film of the water I got my first glimpse of a chunky heavy weight specimen,which once in the net was a glorious Rudd immaculately conditioned.Scales out and fish weighed 3lb1oz a new personal best,I felt pleased as punch.







I had enough time for one more cast,but there is another day for such things,I packed up and went home a contented chap,dreaming about the knights in silver scaled armour with yellow eyes and proud upturned mouths that inhabited this lake.