After spending this evening down my local stretch of river litter picking,I feel a need to have a rant about so called "anglers" who bring their rubbish be it food,drink and bait packets and cannot be bothered to take their rubbish home once finished with,these muppets for want of another word then dispose of items in hedges and bushes surrounding some of the most beautiful unspoiled stretches of river,I spent the evening gladly clearing the rubbish up and filling two black bin bags full of their crap which included Stella Artois Cans and Cider Cans and excessive amounts of toilet roll,which had also been dumped into the side of the river.
It saddens me terribly to see such shit being left behind,you are not anglers,you are not welcome to grace the banks of such water and you are not welcome in my presence and it is the minority like you that give the Anti Brigade extra ammunition and also sully the reputation of decent thoughtful anglers.
there is one word for this type of angler and that is SCUM,if you can bring something then you can damn well take it home.
Hello again and welcome back to fishing for memories.
I managed to get out for the first brief overnight session of September on the river last Friday afternoon,in what I can only describe as very windy weather indeed and rain,but you will not catch fish trying to wait for the perfect weather system.
I think too many anglers try to look for the perfect weather for fishing and whilst this can be good,far far too much time can be spent and wasted on such contemplation,do not let yourself become a slave to this way of thinking,try to be spontaneous with some of your decisions and do not end up becoming stale,unimaginative and a stick in the mud.
Just lately on the river having spoken to a few anglers,it has been a bit harder going,they put this down to a lack of rainfall and are finding the bites coming later and later into the night and more warily.I have found this at times,but I have been very lucky to not have blanked yet this season,but I am sure I have now tempted fate by mentioning.
I got to my chosen swim very late afternoon,the Blackberry bushes looking very ripe and the bird life was having a field day with them,the Balsam was looking a bit tired,but still with many flowers swaying about to and fro in the gusty winds catapulting the remaining bees about. The sky had taken a heavy Autumnal look,the clouds were low,moody and racing by,I was also greeted by the lovely sight of Red Kites hovering effortlessly on the wind,whilst scouring the ground for some prey.
I opted due to the shallowness of the swim in question to fish both rods on fluorocarbon hook links of 10lb,with both rods set as low as the bushes would allow,rather than fishing both rods on boilie as I had intended,I decided instead on 15mm Halibut pellet and given the added wariness of this swim,I did not use any pva at all and lightly lowered both rods into position on to gravel runs.
As the evening drew in there was the odd rattler on the rod tip from smaller fish which resulted in a kamikaze Gudgeon being hooked on my size 8 hook,they never fail to give a good bite.The taps and knocks on the rod tip slowly disappeared and the most massive full moon I have seen reared its huge head across the river,the wind had pushed all the cloud away and I was sat basking in the bright light of the moon,in fact I could have sworn it was daytime it really was incredibly bright.
The dew was now showing signs of becoming heavy and the droplets glistened on my rods like rows of diamonds,I always feel my chances lessen when a heavy dew builds.All was quiet and it was getting late,it did cross my mind that I might be in for a blank,but when your in such beautiful surroundings blanking is well worthwhile,I sat and commenced to nibble on my pack of Hob Nobs,whilst taking fleeting looks at the skyline,I was rather hoping for some cloud cover to roll in from the southwest but this did not look like happening,the moon big,bold and sky dotted with stars,I thought to myself "it truly is a good night to be an owl out hunting",their calls began, later on a Barn owl flew over my head and perched on its usual tree upon the far bank.
My rods remained still,some weed and other bits of junk passed by me,the water looked wonderful,its ebb and flow caught from different angles by the full moon,the water activity was silent but for the odd sign of Mink diving in further downstream.
It was late,I sat and pondered a change to mussel boilie on one rod,but for some reason I felt my best chance would still be on the pellet.
My left rod which had been like the other so very silent did not bother to signal its intent with a single warning bleep but instead tore off downstream from the marginal gravel run and I was met by the resistance of a superb fighting fit Barbel,I tightened the drag of the tiny Exage reel in my effort to halt the fishes run to its chosen destination "snag land".
Slowly bullying it I brought it to the bank side and there it nestled in the net it's back glistening in the gaze of the moon,a wide smile broke upon me,the happiness the fish had bestowed by gracing me with its presence shone through.
It felt a nice well shaped fish with a distinct pink spot above its left gill cover. The scales did not disagree as the needle flicked round to a healthy 10lb 8oz.
It was early morning 5am or thereabouts when I decided to pack up and pad my way home,one very happy bunny indeed.
I have put together a little video of this fishing trip,I am by no means a professional at video editing so please forgive me any errors.
Once again as ever and until next time,tight lines from myself at Fishing For Memories and may your landing nets and weigh slings be forever wet.
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.
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!
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.
Hello and a warm welcome back to fishing for memories.
Firstly may I say that I am glad to see that some of you have taken the time to sign the guestbook and more so that your enjoying reading the blog,it is nice to see that you enjoy it and any feedback is always most welcome.
I got out for an overnighter last Friday,knowing that there was a decent low pressure system and felt that the added wet weather would help,when I finally got to my swim it was raining steadily and I decided to get the brolly up fast,apparently my brain was working faster than anything else and as i walked to place my brolly i slipped and landed in a bed of stinging nettles,I can safely recommend this to any angler prior to fishing as it really is most invigorating and does really liven up proceedings.Nettles and stinging rashes aside I got the brolly placed and sat down to set up my rigs,I decided to go with shellfish B5 boilies on both rods to start with,placing one rod into a gravel patch near some streamer weed and the other rod just off a cabbage patch area.
The river looked sumptuous,the extra rains had done it a lot of good and there was a nice flow and light colour to it,I sat back and relaxed for the evening watching woodpeckers tap tap tapping away at nearby trees and Mr & Mrs Kingfisher patrolling back and forth like a pair of mini jets,The dragonflys were in and out as frequently as the sun,lovely creatures.
it was as light faded into darkness that my left rod on the gravel patch sounded and the rod wrapped round and sped off,I was into a very solid,deep running fish,I felt the line ping through some weed and then a thud of a cabbage patch and then eventually freeing up and back in contact with the fish,it was eventually resting in the net,not a long fish but solid and dumpy and weighed 9lb,a very nice start to the beginning of a wet night.
I baited up and clipped on a pva bag with crushed boilie and pellet,opening my flask of tea I noticed that the nettles behind me had been moving,now these reached up to where i had my boilie sack which was in the frame of the umbrella,Mr Dormouse had scaled the nettles Mission impossible style and had been chewing into my boilies much to my rye smile,but kudos where it is due and it was a daring mission and he had his reward,alas I was left with the holes.
I sat back watching the clouds,large,black and very moodily moving by overhead with just the odd glimpse of a star every once in a while,the rain continued to steadily increase,eventually hitting its crescendo,the left rod sounded a bleep bleep and the swinger hit the top,the rod bent over to the left,the fish did not run,I was into a fish that on first contact did not move an inch and just sat still,eventually it came to life and I could feel I was playing a reasonable fish,it hugged the bottom with deep runs then would stop and hug the bottom and then go into another run, eventually in the net I could see I had a nice looking Barbel,this fish would be very easy to recognize in the future,as it had a very crinkled area on the bottom section of its tail,it weighed in at a pleasing 10lb.
I was very happy indeed and sat back to treat myself to a pack of digestives with tea,everything tastes so good when things are going well.
The night wore on,the left rod was now silent and the right rod near to the cabbage patches had been very quiet,the darkness was slowly changing and I could see it was 3am,the rain had eased some what,I considered the time I had left and sat back,my right rod bleeped once and again and slowly run off,I struck and was into to what I thought was a Bream as the fish came in slowly but heavy,it was not until I got it to the margins that two things happened,one being I saw it was another nice Barbel and the other being that it woke from its apparent sleepwalk and decided to play merry hell and tear off from the margins and the welcoming folds of the landing net,with me standing with probably a visible exclamation mark hanging over my head as it decided to try and head off like a torpedo downstream,narrowly avoiding my other rod,the crisis was averted and I eventually got the fish into the net,I was greeted by a very light coloured almost faded Barbel that weighed 9lb 2oz,very nice.
Whilst the rain had stopped and early morning came,I decided to head homeward bound,wet but nonetheless a very happy chap.
I hope everyone's enjoying their fishing,the long range forecast for August is for more rain,so in theory if we do not get flooded,the fishing should be good,but on another note,what happened to the predicted hot summer?
As always tight lines to everyone from myself at fishing for memories.
Hello there and a very hearty welcome from myself here on fishing for memories.
Well the suns gone for now and been replaced by showery and at times windy conditions,Good! Although the rivers are still running slow considering the rain we have had,I guess the ground is so dry it will take time to make a larger impact on water levels.
However it has no doubt helped and on Friday I just had to get out for an overnighter as I felt certain something would develop given the conditions,when I got down to the river it looked in fine shape and form indeed,I had some fresh freezer baits I had mad in my effort to get the fish to get their heads down and was looking forward to putting them to some use.
I always feel that it is imperative to not allow yourself to become to set in your ways and bang your head against a brick wall,do not misunderstand me,sometimes you can over complicate things,but I always feel if I am not trying something,be it even something just basic,then I feel I am doing myself a disservice,in this case it was just a basic adjustment partly of bait,nothing really earth shattering,but having some fresh freezer baits filled me with more confidence than usual,that and a combination of the weather which I will admit filled me with the most confidence.
I got to my swim a little later than I had planned after Mum had got stuck in traffic.Everything looked great upon arrival and I setup one rod downstream onto a clear gravel gravel area that had some streamer weed,just the right spot to lay a nice little table of food for Mr Barbel,my other rod was cast to a similar spot but directly in front of me in between some very heavy cabbages.
My Rod cast directly in front of me had fresh shellfish freezer boilie dumbbell shape 18mm size and with this I opted for a pva bag of crushed boilies,however not the same as the hook bait in flavour,I like to try never matching boilie free offerings to the hook bait as I feel sometimes this helps if the fish are wary,the pva bag was filled with crushed banana and caramel boilies.
On the downstream rod I opted for the old faithful 15mm halibut pellet with a pva bag or 8mm pellets.Both rods on running rigs with size 8 Animals and 2.5oz flat pear weights,Drennan sink braid hooklinks of 10 and 12lb respectively.
The scene was set and a wet evening drew in,feeling peckish I opened a Hotbox meal of Tika Masala and listened to the last few overs of the Ashes test match,lets hope we can ball them all out today and get a needed win at Lords!
Anyhow all was quiet,with just the odd Perch and Chub along with the freshwater Sardines that are Bleak breaking the surface,I was at peace though and a man could die a happy soul at such times,My Tika Masala was about ready and I tucked in.at 10pm my rod with the freezer bait on signaled one bleep followed by another and then just went into a full blooded run,I was into a good fish that powered off downstream and somehow managed to avoid my other line,it tried to snag me a few times but eventually was sat very lively in the net a lovely well proportioned linear of 11lb 9oz and a very nice looking Carp, 1-0 to the freezer bait,I was most happy indeed.
My central rod was placed back out and I sat back and had a cup of tea as a reward,however half way through the cup of tea and the downstream pellet rod tore off,no bite no warning just a single tone run,as soon as I set the hook i knew I was into a good fish which decided to tell me where it would run to and proceeded to bully me like hell on a stick or more aptly put,like hell on a Carbon stick.This fish just did not wish to give in and tried every trick in the book,but was in the net after one last long run,I was staring down on to a very nice Barbel,slipping it into the weigh sling i knew I was into a large summer double,sure enough it went 12lb on the dot,I was made up and thinking "I could get use to this".
So it was 11.15, I was sat thinking "Ok two fish in a short time,possible red letter incoming?".My central rod answered with another screamer,I was into a smaller but very lively Barbel of 5lb8oz and for its small size it put up a good spirited fight,I guess it was taking lessons from its larger cousins,perfection in miniature.
By this time I was wondering who had decided to bless me,so I paid tribute to the rain gods by sprinkling a cup of tea on the ground (no word of a lie).After this fish all fell silent and I was sat so pepped up I could not relax,so opened a pack of Hobnobs, no fisherman should be without a pack of hobnobs on an overnighter seriously!
I sat listening to the owls and foxes calling out as well as mosquitoes dive bombing me,least this time I had some deet protection.1 am came and went,a dormouse was sat at the side of my empty hotbox meal,eating some left over rice and was clearly enjoying what was for it a banquet. At around 3am my left rod gave a fast bleeeep,the swinger was back up and down in a swift jerky motion,half of me said Chub,but all fell silent again,I dozed slightly,nodding off,head rolling forward like the nodding dog from the Churchill insurance adverts,I was gone,awash with thoughts of what had been quite an overnighter,it was then that my rod placed downstream sounded again,this time tearing off,I was pulled out of my sleepy dream cloud and was playing a fish that has to go down for me as one of the most moody and agressive Barbel on and off the bank that I have had the pleasure of catching and weighed in at 9lb 4oz,happy times indeed.
The downstream rod was re-cast and I opted for a change in pellet size to some older 17mm pellets,which I unfortunately cannot seem to get hold of any more,so keep them for hook baits only,this with another tiny pva bag clipped on the hook.
I sat down to finish off my Hobnobs and have a cup of tea or ten,there I was thinking to myself "heck seems like my lucky night". 4am called to say hello,the cloud and rain had lifted and the night was clear,stars were out along with the moon,not full but still very bright,eventually the morning was making itself ever more evident as the sun rose to oppress the stars twinkling overhead the time drew on and it was gone 6am,I was sat considering that as it was clear and the sun was up,it would perhaps be curtains,apparently my central rod did not agree and single toned off upstream,I was into another good fight and had to lock the reel down more than usual as I felt the fish was going too far too fast,the Exage`s progressive and responsive drag replied and still gave a little,just enough but also with enough sternness that allowed me to bully the fish into the security of the near bank once more and back out in front of me,there sat in the net was a superbly proportioned and pristine Barbel of 9lb 8oz
Well what a session,was I happy? I think if I was not then there would have to be something very very wrong with me,four Barbel and a Linear makes Mark one happy fellow,at 7am I decided to pack up and head for home one very happy lad indeed,whilst packing up I saw a deer having its breakfast and sauntering my way,so got a small video of it and have added it to a montage video which you will find below,along with a couple videos of the 9lb8oz barbel and the 12lb fish as well as the pictures you see here.
I hope you have enjoyed this latest update,feel free to sign the guestbook,I have also added another anglers fishing Blog to my blog list that is the blog of Dave Lumb a very high quality and well written blog it is too.
Until next time on fishing for memories it is a very happy goodbye wishing you also some good catches with the current weather system we have.
