Catch Up

It's been a while, I've finally recovered from the rather damp Redmire jolly and it's about time I was back on parade.

I'm happy to say that I have nearly completed Christmas shopping, the very thought of fighting the crowds nearer the time fills me with dread so I make a habit of completing the deed early, thus enabling me to sit back and watch the slackers with a smug knowing grin.

 I've been given a couple of interesting photos to share with you all.

 The first is evidence of just how harsh the velcro-like pads in the jaws of the Wels Catfish can be to flesh, even on humans. This picture is the aftermath of a friends capture of a 50lb'er.

 

This week I also saw a photo of a sizeable carp with pad damage on both sides. It's quite amazing really, the size of fish these giants will consider as food.

 On the subject of carp, take a look at the following picture (apologies for the quality). This fish was taken fairly recently from the famous Willow Lake at Billing Aquadrome. Could it be one of the old Leney's? It's weight was over 30lb and although doesn't have the good looks of the Redmire stock, it does look similar to the Leney's of Savay. What do you reckon?

 Another item that has recently come my way is a Kingfisher Guild certificate, apparently awarded (before my time) by the Angling Times to juniors for noteable catches. Does anyone else have one framed up in the toilet or suchlike ?

What about my fishing then? Well I have been out a bit. The trip was supposed to be a venture in pursuit of fine roach on the Grand Union canal. I have this hunch you see about a stretch of the canal and it's likelihood to give up a decent roach or two.

 My Dad was invited along, it's nice to catch up and chat fishing. It has to be said that although we have many similarities we do differ in one area. When I fish I like the quiet solidarity and shy away from the crowds. Not Dad, he invited two of his mates and my Mum along, bless him.

 Unfortunately, we were unable to fish the intended area,beaten by two minutes by a Preston Innovations laden trio, blimey I thought that carpers carried some kit!

Having finally found a spot for three anglers (one mate stayed in bed, Mum arrived later) we set about tackling up. I had brought along my Lucky Strike, Speedia combo with roach in mind but with warm weather and an unlikely swim...it could only mean one species....bream.
 They loved my float fished punched bread....

Fishing was hard. It seems to be the order of the last couple of weeks from what I hear in the shop. It was nice to be out though and I wasn't unsociable all day. I did share my cake, McVities Carrot with sultanas, not bad. I think it was all gone by the time Mum turned up though.



IP Cake Rating ****

Am I Losing My Way ?

OK, hands up, I admit it, for the foreseeable future I am what them that may scoff would call a 'fish chaser'. I've been lured in, for me it has become a personal quest against a single fish. As I sat alone on the lake this week, those questions appeared in my mind.."What if She didn't survive the winter".."What if She's been stolen".."What the #### am I doing here, searching for a single fish, when it's difficult enough to extract any of the residents of this lake"..Are these the musings of an obssessive ?
 Of course, as a rule I take great joy at all of my captures from the smallest Gudgeon, I wonder at them all and feel priveledged with every capture, but something this week has troubled me....I'll set the scene..
 The night was warm, I was back on the lake, back on my own, I've continued to bait up the area of my last capture with my mainstay boilies and succeeded in placing three hookbaits within an area about the size of a football pitch with an average depth of twelve feet.
 I lay in the bivvy watching the shadows of Rabbits and Mice against my bivvy as Spurs were unceremoniously battered in the ether of my tiny (quiet) radio.
 Like countless times before I stared out to the lake wondering where at that precise moment She might be.
 The ripples on the water of the ever gathering frogs played with the light of the nearby football pitch floodlights as loud groaning goods trains trundled by in the distance. All too familiar scenes and sounds, in many ways I long to be rid of them, for my quest to end, sooner, rather than later. She keeps me going back. I drifted into slumber.
 At approximately 3am, a bleep, right hand rod, then another, the bobbin twitched and a slow ponderous take occurred. Strolling out to the rod, shoes on this time, the run had become steady and I struck. This one pulled back a bit and kept deep, it felt a good fish, you know the type ?, a plodder.
 The fish took line, a lot, and my heart started to beat faster. This is the time I think about knots, hook holds and line strength, I retrieved a little line, but it took it all back and then some. The fight went on, maybe fifteen minutes in reality, it seemed like more.
 At this time I allowed myself the luxury of considering that I might be attached to a rather large Carp, which could actually be The Common.
 The fish started to tire and slowly, carefully, I lulled it towards me until it was close enough to think about getting the net.
 I switched on the headtorch to see what delight lay before me.....My heart dropped, the only emotion I honestly felt was...disappointment. There in the clear margins lay Silurus Glanis, the Wels Catfish. It simply hadn't crossed my mind that this fish would not be a large Carp, it's take and fight, along with the time of year pointed towards Carp.

I have, in the past dedicated much time in pursuit of these strange and interesting creatures and have caught them to well over 100lb ( and not in the Ebro either .) I loved that time and built up a lot of respect for the fish that Kevin Maddocks described as "The Neglected Giant".
 I am slightly disturbed at my apparent distain for the capture, so I ask you out there..Piscatorially speaking, Am I losing my way ?

Spawning Glory

With nearly every Cyprinid in the lake well into their yearly courtship I decided to take Dan in search of Catfish. It always gives me a moral dilemma with regards to bait. I knew our best chance would be a livebait fished in the upper layers but instead opted for bottom baits this time. We arrived to find the lake quite busy with anglers, and the only "double swim" available was at the other end of the pit to where I really wanted to be.


Needless to say, we had no runs and the night was wholly uneventful, except for a rather angry Pike that somehow became attached to my line near the rod end as it cruised through the margins.


The bay in the pictures below was full of spawning Carp and we just spent the next morning watching the show.


I even managed to capture a passing Dragonfly in this photo...

7 Things You Should Take Fishing In France.

You've worked all year and you've booked yourself a nice trip to France for a weeks fishing.Yes,you have all the tackle and bait sorted,but what have you forgotten? Well here are a few items that may make your trip go a little bit easier.
1) A European Enabled Sat-Nav System - I know us fellas all think we can read maps and know the way everywhere,but trust me,when your going around The Paris Periphery,and it's rush hour with lunatic motorcyclists tearing about and you need to know what lane to be in.The Sat-Nav is a godsend.
2) A Bait Boat - Some call it heresy,but I reckon that even old Dick Walker would've used one in certain situations.On a trip to France you don't have months to build up a picture of the lake bed using a marker float.Bait boat,echo sounder a couple of hours...job done.Wether you choose to deposit your baits with it is entirely up to you.
3) European Health Insurance Card - Even if you have Travel Insurance,things will be a lot easier, quicker and possibly cheaper with one of these if the worst happens.Details here.
4) An Open Mind - Don't go abroad thinking you are going to catch lots of massive fish every day. You will only be putting unnecessary pressure on yourself. Go without preconceptions,chill out,enjoy yourself and then, just maybe, you might catch a whacker.
5) 'Entente Cordiale' - I have found time and time again in my travels abroad that a little diplomacy works wonders. Don't expect the French people to speak English.Even if you attempt to converse in their language badly,it will be appreciated. Take a phrase book to aid in such things as shopping for food, and a bottle of English wine for use when that friendly "Garde du Peche" fellow passes by. This effort can bring big rewards as I found out once when a local told me that there were huge Catfish to be had in the local stretch of river..(I caught one of 106 lb from the very spot).
6) Feeder/Float Rod - Carp and Catfishing can be a waiting game, and what better way to pass those runless hours than fishing for other species.Who knows what you may catch from Pumpkinseed to Ide. A piece of bread or a dug up worm is all you need for bait.
7) Good Friends & Family - Don't go abroad with a bunch of herberts you hardly know. It's no fun being a long way from home when you're not enjoyong yourself. Good mates,family,weather,food,drink,laughter and perhaps a few fish = good times.

Go now,relax.....enjoy.

The '56'

I am blessed with the amount of quality angling nearby and am lucky enough to bailiff a couple of those "special" waters...
There's a lake nearby that I hold dear,now a public park it was once host to some of anglings finest.This lake produced a Carp of 31 lb in 1960 putting it in the same bracket as Redmire and Billing Aquadrome.I've heard tales from the captor of how he allowed a certain Jack Hilton to fish his pre-baited swim.Jack,apparently hooked and lost a massive Carp,and was unhappy that the fellow hadn't warned him of a submerged snag!!..Many other great anglers have graced the lakes banks and some years ago I was fortunate to share them with the late,great Fred J Taylor.
All these years later,there are still a few old Leney fish to be caught and there's even a Redmire-esque wooden railing above one of its banks.
Well the angler is spoilt for choice with very large fish of all species including Carp over 40 lb and it's now famed Catfish population which grow to over 60lb in weight.
It was Summer,one of those lazy,balmy evenings when one eats,drinks and fishes in that dreamy time of year when the smell of barbecues and citronella dominate the air.We had cast our lines,myself for Carp,my friend John for those hardest fighting of freshwater fish the Wels Catfish.
At about 10.30pm after chatting in the warm air and admiring the acrobatics of the local bat colony we heard a single bleep from Johns alarm.We strolled to his rods to see the bobbin twitching.."It's a Cat,he's mouthing the bait and can feel the resistance..he'll leave it a while then come back for it".Nothing happened for a few minutes then a few bleeps,"he's still interested" said John.Another Catfish angler arrived in the swim,"When I had my 40lber it did just that,then ripped off a few minutes later"he said....we waited....About 30 seconds later the bobbin rose and the alarm sounded just enough for him to strike."He's coming towards me"said John,I looked up at his rod tip waiting for the fish to turn,It didn't,it just kept coming,no titanic struggle ensued and after a couple of seconds,there,sitting in the margins in the glow of our headtorches was not a monster Cat,but a Bream...yes,a Bream of about 2 lb with two 28mm Halibut pellets hanging outside its mouth and a size 2 hook in its bottom lip.The look on John's face was classic.I wish we'd taken a photo..56mm of pellet that little fella tried to scoff and he's now the stuff of folklore and legend on this lake..the '56' Bream...how I laughed.