Hello there and welcome back to fishing for memories
I was sat thinking today about the very heated subject that is the re-introduction of the otter to rivers,this got me thinking back to when I was a young boy and when I use to frequently see otters on the river Loddon back in the late 80's.
Now it would be folly of me to try to surmise on what kind of impact they are having on certain rivers since their re-introduction.
Especially on rivers like the Ouse where there has been some high profile and well publicised cases of record Barbel being predated by Otter's,but I do feel that there is a lot more to some of the problems troubling our rivers than just the re-introduction of what is an apex predator,to a degree I feel it has been carpet bombed into looking like enemy number one,when it is not the only problem that is now facing many of our great british waterways.
Thinking back to yesteryear I can remember as a boy in the late 1980s seeing a few Otters on the Loddon,back then we did still have a good population of eels in the river and many an evening I would spend time deadbaiting for them,obviously with the decline of the eel populace in most of our rivers,this means when re-introducing such an animal it will thus target other viable food sources,our much loved Barbel being one of these.Now having seen many heated debates and discussions on many angling forums,I have to say I feel we have more than the re-introduction of the otter to blame as a problem with our rivers and stocks,there are many more problems.Where to start?
Over excessive amounts of Signal Crayfish in our river systems,eating small fry and eggs.Cormorants which do as they please readily gorging their way through fish stocks and not a mass cull in sight.
Large populations of escaped Mink as well as the problems with our Eastern European friends taking fish illicitly either by netting or night lines.
I have to sit and wonder with all of the above problems why the Otter has been lined up by some as enemy number one,when in reality re-introduction of this animal may merely be the tip of and addition to much more larger scale problems that face our waterways,food for thought perhaps.
Hello again and welcome back to fishing for memories.
Well I cannot say that I managed to get out and fish at all in January,what with the heavy snows and then the snow melt that followed I have to say I found it most depressing conditions.What followed was a bout of cabin fever and as soon as the snow decided to pack up its very heavy suitcases,thaw and move elsewhere,I decided with the slightly milder conditions to get in a session.
The night before I decided to get some small Pva mesh bags ready and as I did not have enough betaine pellets for the mesh bags and for on the hook,I used a few 15mm halibut pellets along with Crushed and freshly made Halibut and Belechan boilies in the bags.
I also decided to make up a nice light water based halibut and belechan paste which is cereal based and made to a plasticine concistency,I made this to wrap round the pellets and boilies.
Getting down to the river I was greeted to the sight of a red Kite taking off from one of the trees and being carried off effortlessly on the rather brisk northerly breeze,I was so very glad to be out fishing again,the river was running fast and still fairly high but lower than it had been after the snow melting.
After getting setup I popped the betaine pellet rod with paste wrapped round it 1 metre out and downstream on to a nearby gully and the boilie rod was placed expectantly upstream and near to a tree snag.
I have to say conditions favoured some big Chub to be feeding and whilst I did hope for a Barbel,deep down I knew that my chances were slim given the weather conditions.The day wore on and I had not got down to the river as early as I would have liked to,at around 2pm my boilie rod had a sharp couple of taps and then lay still and motionless,this signalled that perhaps Chub were about,I had fed some liquidised bread mixed with casters and maggots into my swim earlier in the day as I felt there was a chance of a Chub or two.
Sitting down nibbling Custard creams and sipping the odd cup of tea surrounded by nature and not any other disturbances,is to me something very wonderful,I watched the Woodpecker hop from branch to branch on the bare trees and a grey Squirrel dash along beside the brambles,only to spot it later digging up it`s winter food horde and having a good munch accompanied by two pheasants,whom to all intents and purposes looked like they were going to attempt a feathered mugging on Mr Squirrel.
The day had been pretty quiet and I had also brought with me some fresh prawns and decided to change the boilie rod to half a hair rigged prawn,by now it was coming up for 6pm and the daylight was fading away as I re-checked the Betaine pellet,this time round I thought I would place the betaine pellet back out with a slightly larger paste wrap and a cocktail of red and white maggots on the hook.
With both rods placed back out and in position I sat back looking at the full moon as it darted in and out between the heavy cloud and listened to the owls beginning their night time hunting calls,I had decided to fish until 9pm or whenever it began to feel too chilly for me,whichever came sooner and my toes were very chilly inside my waders.
7pm came calling and I sat drinking tea and wondering just where all the time goes,it always goes too fast when your fishing.
My betaine pellet rod bleeped a solitary bleep,my ears perked up and all fell silent again,40 mintues later and another bleep then another,the swinger smacked up and returned back down to earth,Chub was the first thing that popped into my mind and before I knew it the exage clutch jerked off and rod tip bent round,I lifted in and was met downstream by a solid sprinting resistance,the tell tale large flash of silver as my headlights beam hit the fish as it broke the surface gave it`s identitity away,it was a Chub and real nice one by the look of it,after trying to head shake the hook loose it was eventually sat in the net,wide backed,ample gut and in lovely condition,it looked a quality fish and worth weighing.
Sure enough it did not disappoint as the scales settled on a very pleasing 6LB,I was absolutely made up.
After slipping it back to its home,I re-cast and decided to give it till 9pm after all,at around 8:45 I heard a rustle from one of the nearby bushes and not long after this I heard the shrill howls of a vixen calling out lonesomely into the night and I decided this was my cue to head off home.
I have made a small bait and fishing trip video,it is by no means meant to be anything professional,just something to show the bait I was using and my fishing trip,I hope that you might find it enjoyable.
Until next time I would like to wish you the best of luck for the rest of the season and tight lines.
Hello again and a blustery welcome back to Fishing For Memories.
The weather the last few days has taken quite a turn for the worse,with rain and high winds.However there is still plenty of things that can be organised and planned whilst the elements are none to conducive.
I decided that I needed some larger capacity reels to replace my old and much loved Shimano Baitrunner 8000`s which are an integral part of my stillwater setup, after a lot of looking round and indecision I decided to order two Maver Tica Abyss free spool,pit reels from a seller in America, via Ebay for around £54 each inc delivery, they arrived yesterday and I must say after much toying with them they seem lovely, the real proof will be if they last as good as my shimanos have.
10 ball bearings and a capacity of 300 yards of 20lb line,along with what seems a very smooth and finely adjustable baitrunner system.
I also managed to pick up a Daiwa Regal Plus 5000BRI. Although not feeling in the same class as the Tica Abyss and showing signs of being well used, it seems in good working order and cost me £16 so I thought it would come in useful.
I do plan on loading these with fairly heavy line,I am considering Berkley big game,which has never really let me down and I have a lot of confidence in, or perhaps Nash bullet, I would use Fox soft steel again as that is what I have on my Baitrunners and it is fairly abrasion resistant, however I dislike the way it has a tendency to have memory issues and go all springy and coil up after you have used it for only a short time.
Either way I will be very interested to see how these reels live up to the wear and tear,especially the second hand Daiwa.
Hello there and welcome back to fishing for memories.
Before I start to tell you about my latest trip to the riverbank,I wish to digress some what. As you may know I normally fish a lot with my father Robert and I have had a few mails asking why he is not in any recent articles,the sad fact is he has not been able to make it fishing with me since July or thereabouts,his Parkinsons affects him very bad on somedays and on others not so badly. He also has a lot of difficulty with his memory.
when I get down to the swims on the rivers that we used to fish together it fills me with a lot of memorys and emotions,some warm some very sad,I sometimes envisage him being there with me.
Now I am not the most overly sociable chap going because with my Aspergers it makes it very difficult for me to socialise without feeling like i am a duck out of water,but I try as best I can. I miss the company of Robert a lot and our jokes shared on the bankside,as well as shared enjoyment in each others catches,I miss the person he once was,if not for him then I would not be fishing today,god knows the kind of things he had to put up with when I was a youngster and he taught me how to fish.
Aesthetically pleasing gifts for Christmas or Birthdays are all very well,but nothing is worth more than when one human spends his or her time to show and teach you a skill,it is priceless,do not take such things for granted.
I decided to scale down tackle accordingly so as to be compact,it never fails to suprise me how much unecessary tackle we can encumber ourselves with sometimes.
Keeping it compact
In the above picture,the rucksack contains both my non floodwater stc rods with reels attached,bait,tackle,rigs and camera along with food for myself,leaving me with only a seat,brolly,landing mat/net and rod rests which all fit into the seats carry bag.
After myself being too busy,I managed to get out on the river at the same time as a low pressure front came along bringing some welcome rain and cloud cover with it,on the way down to my swim I was greeted with that ever so rich aroma that you get this time of year a damp and richly intoxicating smell of decaying wood and fungi,the smell of Autumn.
My heart said "new spot?" my head disagreed and I was soon setting up in one of my much loved haunts,despite the weather reports claim of low pressure it was suprisingly blue and cool,but the forecast for a low pressure front to push in later on was still looking likely.
I flicked my downstream rod out on 15mm pellet and a tiny mesh bag with crushed boilies and pellet,no more than a rod length out and into a slightly sandy gravel gully,my upstream rod was placed out with the shellfish B5 freezer baits and a mesh bag with a mixture of crushed F5 elips boilies and shellfish B5 boilies,that was placed to a bush.
Not long after being setup,my left rod smacked over fast and bouncy and fell quiet. Chub came to my mind and not long after it ripped over again,too fast for me to strike and then fell quiet again,on checking the rod,the bait had been ripped off as I find can happen a fair bit with Chub.
So rebaited and recast I settled back and noted that the clouds were beginning to roll in and the forecasted rain began to drizzle lightly and along with breeze picked up momentum,all was at peace.
The left rod bleeped again,bounce bleep,bounce,silence again,ten minutes later it took off and I was met with a solid sprinting bullish resistance,the fish sprinted off again along the near bank margin,eventually a very chunky looking Chub was sat in the net,out on to the mat and weighed I was most happy,it was 6lb8oz and looked like it could push to be 7lb+ later on in the year.
Evening drew in very early as it does this time of the year,the rain eased and the clouds parted to reveal the blue star lined blouse above,the temperature dropped slightly,my left rod tapped and the clutch slowly ticked off,I was into a very slow docile fight that signalled a bream and sure enough it was,I did not weigh it and estimated it around the 6lb mark before unhooking it in the net and slipping it back.
The hours wore on,I was giving it until 1am or so,depending on temperatures,the boilie rod had been quiet for a while,but I have a lot of confidence in the spot and bait,crayfish activity had been very minimal as well,most trips they have been active enough
I dozed a little,head rolling back with the whiplash effect waking me up,the boilie rod bleeped once,I stood up and the swinger shot up and clutch ticked,I was into an interesting fight,interesting in that the fish was putting up a good lively fight,but I could not decide wether it was a Barbel or Carp as it diverted from going upstream and tried to go downstream and make some marginal reeds,it was then that I caught its golden flank in the headlight and saw a small but feisty Carp giving me a tussle,once into the net I noted what good condition it was in and went 6lb exactly,it really was in lovely condition and did not look like it had seen a hook.
Time was ticking on by now at 12am and the cloud that had so kindly covered me had now dispersed and the temperature was dropping along with it,I gave it another hour,no more bites materialised so I packed up and headed for home.
Until next time on fishing for memories,tight lines and all the best of luck to you.
Hello again and a hearty welcome back to fishing for memories.
I have not had quite so much time recently to get some fishing in,but managed to get out last week in midweek for a short and unusually for me non overnight session.
The day was far from ideal and coincided with high pressure and light cold snap we were having in the South of England,nighttime temperatures the wrong side of the dew point and as low as 4.7c,which from my experience is low for the end of September compared to what I have experienced in these global warming fueled recent years,This along with a very stupidly low river for Autumn did make me concerned.
But there's no bad time to go fishing and I decided to head off down to my stretch of river in anticipation of some Barbel,Chub or Carp.
The trees are now shedding their summer clothing and rusty leafs were spread on the ground, the Balsam was looking quite forlorn and turning a limey green,Autumn is a beautiful time to be out fishing,with the trees varying in colour and hawthorn bearing its luminescent yellow autumn berries.
I got to my swim late evening and planned to fish until 1am,that was if the conditions stayed blue and cloud did not make an appearance,I cannot say that I felt as optimistic as I usually do,it was one of those feelings you get use to having as an angler,where you feel the conditions are not prime and the fish are not going to play ball.
I opted to place both rods out on 15mm boilie,one halibut and other Shellfish,in my rush to get out I had misplaced my pack of ready filled pva bags,this was not going to help proceedings and I could have kicked myself for being so woolly headed.
Luckily I did have some free offerings to spare at the bottom of my rucksack and these were hastily placed round both rods,which were fished to near margin and far margin gravel gully's.
The days draw in swiftly now and darkness at around 7pm was soon upon me,I sat listening as the owls started prowling about and a couple of bats clipped my rod tips from time to time.It began to drop in temperature pretty fast,but this did not stop the crayfish activity and they gave my boilies a light chewing,not quit as malicious as they can be I can tell you.
Fish activity started at 7.40 with the halibut boilie picking up a couple of Bream of usual size for this area I was fishing 6 of 7lb mark,this then slowly faded and recommenced later in the evening on the shellfish boilie with another two Bream of similar size.
I was beginning to wonder if this would be the first time this season that I would not bank a Beautiful Barbel and sure enough this did turn out to be what happened.The temperature was by now 5c and it was heading the wrong side of 11pm,earlier in the evening I had had what I felt were the usual tell tale knocks from Barbel but these did not materialize into anything more.
By now I was feeling my umbrella and it was getting soaked in dew,my heart sank,heavy dew and lack of bites are for me synonymous,I stole a look at both rods which had beads of dew hanging from them like diamonds,looking at the sky I could not see a single cloud for miles,not even a hint of some faint wisps.
By now it was getting on for 12am and the heavy dew and lack of cloud sealed my decision to finish up around 1am.
My left Halibut boilie rod let out a fast beep and the swinger smacked against the rod and went slack and lifeless,I was thinking "hmm Chub",which would be nice,as the area I was fishing has some clonkers in it.
The rod fell silent for 20 minutes before it took off and ran downstream,I was into a sprinting fight and under the headlight I could see a solid shape and broad back of a Chub,it was still showing signs of some summer leanness but looked a good fish,once in the net I felt its weight and guesstimated it around the 5lb mark,the scales merrily tipped round to 5lb 8oz. No Barbel but I was certainly not complaining in the least with a lovely Chub which along with the Bream had cheered me up nicely.
This was the end of my short session and at just gone 1am with the dew getting ever heavier and the river still and silent,I headed off back home.
Until next time from myself on fishing for memories,may your Autumn fishing be grand and your weather system cyclonic.
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.
