()><(((º> A perfect Storm<º)))><()

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.

()><(((º> Wet And Wonderful<º)))><()

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.


tight lines and best fishes!

()><(((º> Hot Weather Whiskers <º)))><()

Hello and welcome back to fishing for Memories.

Weather currently roasting hot indeed and not making for the easiest or best conditions,but patience is a virtue and all good things come to those who use their watercraft to its best potential,so please keep plugging away,although I would love some rain as the rivers could really do with a bit and this would help with sport.


Robert and I got down to the gentleman's river on Thursday evening,weather hot and humid and the rivers water level down again by another 6 inches or more,you could stand in the side where it was dry,however though there was still some reasonable depth ranging from 4 to 5 foot+ in the channels and that was good consolation.

I put a couple of handfuls of pellets into my swim along with a couple of small balls of heavy ground bait mixed with hemp and rested the swim for over an hour and decided on one rod boilie and one on a 16mm halibut pellet.Robert however opted for two rods out with pva bags filled with chopped boilies and small pellets,with 16mm and 20mm Halibut pellet hook baits on each rod.

Meanwhile I was being kept company by the kingfisher again who had taken to perching on one of the branches of a bush,I got some more video footage this time of it,what more can I say,such a beautiful bird,the video I Took of the Kingfisher is at the bottom of this blog entry.


After I felt my swim had been given a chance to recover from my disturbance,I placed both rods out 3/4 of the way across to the far bank,one rod to a cabbage patch and the other placed underneath a bush.The evening wore on and boy was it hot and humid too,apart from some small fry there was little to no activity but as darkness beckoned to envelope us in its cloak,it was getting to what I would call "magic Hour" where you know the fading light gives you a little edge and the fish drop their guard.My swim started having a few Bream rolling in it and it was not long before I caught a couple not huge at 7lb each,but welcome in the slow conditions both on the halibut pellet rod near the cabbage patches,at 11pm my boilie rod which was fished under the bush shot off upstream and the Shimano Exage reel sang merrily,I lifted into a heavy plodding resistance that continued upstream hugging the bottom,I felt the line clip on a snag and a sudden panicky feeling set about me,luckily the weight must have just clipped a snag and i was safe again,gradually I played the fish back each time it responding in another deep run,eventually after an excellent fight a Barbel of 9Lb8oz was sat recovering in the net,it had been slow going but this fish putting in an appearance made it more than worth the effort,it was in pristine condition and second Barbel of the season from the gentleman's river for myself.








About 1 hour later I heard Robert calling for me,I turned up at his swim to find he was into a good fish that had wedged itself into a cabbage patch,after Robert applied some sensible pressure it was out and bolted off downstream again,after eventually coming close to being landed it shot off and tried to embed itself in a snag further downstream,thankfully it didn't make the snag and Robert had a lovely 9 pound Whisker nestling in the net,we was both feeling very chipper and happy.













This ended our session and we headed off homeward again,both very happy to have had another two Barbel grace us with their presence in such hot conditions.

Once again thank you for reading and good luck and tight lines wherever your fishing at the moment,till the next post best fishes and goodbye.

()><(((º> The Sweet 16th<º)))><()

Hello and a warm welcome to everyone from us at fishing for memories,guess what the 16th of June came at last,I hope everyone had a cracking start to the season,I notice from some river reports it has been slow going for some on the Thames and other rivers,personally I would not say no to a drop of rain,but I know if I wish for a little bit of rain it might end up in a Noah's Arc amount.

Well Robert and myself got out for a short session on the gentleman's river and it was a rather blustery session but beautiful nonetheless.The night before the river season starts I get so excited I cannot remain calm,almost akin to a child on Christmas Eve and over all the years of fishing this feeling has never deserted me.The buzz of anticipation filled my body with a vortex of emotions of seasons past.

Robert and I got out at and setup by 8am,both our swims looked in superb condition water level down by about 2 feet.Robert opted for Donkey choker pellets on both rods fished to some cabbage patches,myself opting for 20mm Shellfish B5 on both rods,fishing 3/4 of the way across to nearby features and opposite bank cut/drop off,all setups were basic running rigs with 12lb TFG gunsmoke mainline and 2.5oz flat pear weights coupled with 10lb and 12lb Drennan sink braid hooklinks and size 8 Gardner Talon Tip hooks,basic tidy rigs as usual (a good basic rig will out fish a complex messy one).

I was sat on the bank contemplating the beginning to another season,surrounded by a plethora of flora and fauna about 3 hours into the session the master of all fishers paid me a visit,I am of course talking about the Kingfisher,he perched on my rod for around five minutes whilst making sorties to catch fish,I managed to get a very very short video of him dropping from my rod,but managed to snap off some fantastic photos of him,an absolutely marvelous sight as always.






For such sights of wonder and beauty nature charges us nothing,but I feel in these days of technology and electronica some of the younger generation have been sucked into a hazy dreamland to which they lose sight of such gifts bestowed upon us by nature and that is truly a pity.



Evening drew in and at 7pm I heard Robert call "I'm in" and indeed he was with a strong battling fish that kited off downstream and tried to wedge itself in a sunken tree and then into a cabbage patch,but after some careful playing it finally was back upstream and resting in the net. "looks a nice fish for a season opening" I chirped to Robert and sure enough out on to the mat and weighed it went 9lb 5oz,the perfect starter to the season and very happy we were indeed.







As evening past into the first hours of darkness my swim was still silent,but I thought to myself what if the rod that the Kingfisher had been sat on might have been a sign of providence and had he blessed me with his magical fishing charm?

I was soon to be answered on that thought when the swinger flew up and the baitrunner went hyper and gave line like it was going out of fashion as the fish shot off upstream,I lifted in to feel a strong bottom hugging resistance that plodded away and ticked of line upstream,I shouted to Robert that I was in,as I was playing the fish I mentioned to Robert "this feels a solid fish",gradually I regained control and it was not long before she was nestling in the folds of the landing net,Robert commented "looks a dead chunky fish" and he was not wrong at all,she was slipped into the weigh sling and went 10lb7ozs,new start to the season and a double figure fish to get proceedings going,happy days indeed!









Along with a handful of Bream averaging 6 to 7lb this ended a lovely and fitting commencement to the start of the fishing season for us,two beautiful Barbel and two very happy anglers.Until next time on fishing for memories Tight lines to everybody and best fishes!

()><(((º> Late evening Short Session<º)))><()

Robert and myself have been waiting like hungry underfed wolves for the River season to begin and only 15 days left now,it seems like an eternity as I am sure many of you waiting to fish the rivers will agree but hang in there guys.

The waiting I must admit got the better of me and I decided to go for a short 5hr session for some Carp on a stillwater,the weather has been rather glorious these past few days and a lot of fish are heavily into their love making action.

I turned up at the water late evening and decided to fish what i consider to be a slightly deeper area where there is a run off and decided on a light baiting approach.I had some spare Shellfish b5 base mix left and the day before had made 1 kilo of mixed Dumbbell and round baits ranging from 15mm to 22mm.The usual tactics were employed running rig 3oz weight 12lb Drennan sink braid and a size 8 Gardner Talon tips.

One rod was placed near the runoff to my left and the other out to a small plateau at around 60 metres.The lake itself is not that deep and has some very silty areas.

It was an absolutely gorgeous evening with a light breeze across the water.






My confidence was not that great,with such hot weather,but I had hoped that fishing one of the deeper areas and with the breeze it would give me a chance,a few hours ticked by,I had forgotten the mozzi repellent,bad idea Mark really bad,I was gradually being gnawed away whilst they performed doodlebug attacks on me,the evening wore on and all was silent.My left rod that was placed near the runoff let out a single bleep,at the time of looking a bat had flown nearby so I did not think so much of it. Five minutes later and the Delkim flat lined and I was into a rather frisky and powerful fish who tried to wrap me round the run off area and then tried to ditch me in a weed patch.

Eventually into the net it slipped,a chunky looking mirror,which went 21lb8oz exactly,I was very happy indeed as this fish had come just 1hr before the session had to end.







A nice end to a short session in lovely balmy weather,now back to thinking about the river season opening!

As always thank you for reading,wishing everyone tight lines and good fishing from us here at fishing for memories.

New Season & Planning

Hello there and welcome back to fishing for memories.

Well it has been a while since I last posted,life has been very busy the past few months and real life scenarios took over.However the past couple of weeks myself and Robert have been planning for the up and coming start to the river season and have been configuring and reconfiguring our plans where bait and tactics are concerned. The rivers look in superb condition with the rain recently and now sunny conditions. Spring is well and truly in the air and we are looking forward with baited breath to June.

What I also feel that needs to be commented on is the fact that on more than one occasion we have spotted people fishing the Thames in the current closed season which as I am sure said people are aware is illegal,the EA were telephoned about this but the reply which we got was far from helpful,along the lines of "we cant be everywhere".

This is a pity and makes me wonder if it would be better in the long term to have no close season,least not on our bigger rivers like the Thames/Trent and such.

I do feel that the Thames needs better patrolling to stop illegal fishing/poaching I also feel its a bit of a sad state that fishing Clubs can have voluntary bailiffs doing a decent job checking if people are members of said clubs,yet the Environment Agency cant afford some extra paid staff to do a similar job,I would have thought they would have the funds to employ people part time to do the job.

Anyhow Robert and I are looking forward to hopefully a fruitful 2009/2010 season and if it is as good if not better than 2007/2008 season then we will be very happy indeed,we both have our eyes set on some new pbs,I would absolutely love to have a 30lb English river Carp,Robert came close in 2007 with his 28.8 Mirror and I would not mind a 15+ Thames Barbel either,although I am probably being greedy wanting both.

Robert has set himself similar targets as far as Barbel and Carp are concerned,so hopefully the gods will smile on one of us,One thing we both agree on is that our Chub Pb`s are going to be a very tough nut to crack,it really will take a very special fish to break those.

So until my next post I would like to wish Tight lines to everyone who is looking forward to the new season on the rivers and on the Thames.

()><(((º> Barbel Slideshow<º)))><()