The Glorious Sixteenth

At a work party on my river syndicate last week a member (no, not me) unceremoniously decended a tree whilst attempting to trim a branch, somewhat faster than he had climbed it..if you get what I mean.
 Far from receiving the sympathy and concern of his fellows, he was met with raptures of laughter and applause.
 The syndicate leader, a chap of deadpan, dry wit was grateful, "Thanks for that my old mate " he said, "You have entertained us greatly and for that we will name that swim in you honour." The poor chap seemed to cheer up on hearing this, only for the syndicate leader to shoot him down again with, "There you go then members, this here is now "The C*** Swim"...To more raptures of laughter.
 Oh how it would've been a delight to spend the opening night/day on that glorious river The Gt. Ouse, it was not to be.
 My quest continues with abandon at the home of 'The Common' but in the last few weeks a veritable festival of Tench has descended upon me, not such a bad thing I hear you say but the pleasure is curtailed by the heavy tackle I am using due to weed and the possibility of monstrous Catfish.
 The weather seems to go from the sublime........

to the ridiculous...........

and all in a days fishing.
 The "Glorious Sixteenth" found me then, near a public path, beside the park lake that is 'Her' home. You know the kind of place...where men go to shout at their dogs, or get shouted at by personal trainers.
 Visitors arrived at my side at a constant flow as I attempted to set up my home for the night. Some were welcome, my parents, on the look-out for a Kingfisher (which did turn up about twenty minutes after their departure), some were unwelcome, the gossip-mongers, ready to stab a fellow piscator in the back at the earliest convenience, I'll have no part in that.
 Darkness fell and the Bats, at first seemed reluctant, there don't seem to be as many mosquitoes about for them this year...yet.
 They soon put on a fine display of aero'bat'ics, I do love the little critters.
 Conditions have changed on the lake bed and I had decided to try different rigs to my usual, and as if to sign in the new official season, at midnight exactly my right rod was away resulting in quite an impressive Tench and probably the biggest from the lake this year, the lack of sporting battle and lack of a decent photo dictates that it would be pointless to say its weight, but, it was BIG.
 With the rig and bait back on the spot I soon drifted off to sleep dreaming of early season Barbel and Chub, how I miss them.
 At 2am the same rod leapt into life with what can only be described as a tanking run. I struck and the rod arched over, I could feel the fish thumping around, a long way out in the lake.
 Constant pressure soon had the fish heading in the right direction and after about 10 minutes the fish was in the net, a stunning Mirror, not a stockie, but one of the characters, these fish aren't huge but I believe they have age and guile, I was happy.

By 4am the lake was alive with 'boshing' fish, many were Carp, perhaps the Lunar Eclipse had cast some unseen spell on them, I just new that I'd get a run and sure enough I was in again.
 This time the battle was a more dogged affair, until about fifteen minutes in everything went solid.
 I know the routine well, give constant but not heavy pressure for a while, it wasn't budging...Put the rod back on the rest for as long as takes for the fish to find it own way free,, an hour later and no movement...Last resort, straight line, walk backwards slowly, the fish started to move and the fight was back on.
After another ten minutes or so a Mirror of 20lb+ was thudding around in the margins, as I guided her to the net she seemed to look at me knowingly, the hook pulled and she waved me 'Goodbye'.
All in all an eventful night which has helped in taking my mind off of that river for a while yet.
I packed away and headed home a content fisher.

Old and New, Green and Blue

This post finds ol' Gurn having to do a bit of the old 'backstroke', yep, just a couple of months ago I posted that I wouldn't be following the masses and using a barrow for transportation of my carping kit...Oh dear, then, as this week saw me acquire a brand spanking new Nash PegOne Barrow.

 I am now officially old in my eyes having succombed to using the mind instead of the muscle, common sense has prevailed and I think this model will be ideal for the overnighters I generally do these days. I will let you know how it performs.

Also new in the Gurn armoury this week is a new set of rods, I won't say that I've upgraded, my old Greys' have done me proud and I've caught the fish of my dreams on them. I have, however, purchased a set of three Century FBS rods. I have bought them with one eye on a future venue, but also feel they will cope better with the "nuisance" Wels Catfish I will inevitably encounter this year. Once again, I'll let you know how they perform.

What then of the fishing ? Well my quest continued along with the company of Lady Sarah. We opted for my old, cold-weather swim, not the good Lady's ideal choice, being as it was, facing into the cold North Easterly that seems to have sneaked back in through the back door. I thought some fish may have followed it though and the plan was to set all three baits no more than twenty feet from the bank.

 The bivvy went up...eventually, thanks to having another pair of hands to help, bless her.

 There really hasn't been many catches on the lake to give me any guidance, I generally follow my own path anyway.

 Two on pop-ups, one on bottom bait, a small scattering of my mainstay boilies as freebies this week.

 The swim is one of the more secluded on the lake but unfortunately the fellow who had walked an entire lap of the lake, chatting on his mobile so loudly that he actually probably didn't need the phone (his mate would've still heard him) decided, as I knew he would, to come blundering straight towards us. I strolled towards him, behind the bivvy, in a way that polite anglers do, so's not to enable him to walk into the swim and make himself comfortable, even then he felt the need to yell at me for 15 minutes before continuing on his loud route around the lake.

 As the darkness fell, our only other vistors were my old mates, the bats. Lady Sarah looked on, amazed at there twilight antics..a special time.

 As we bedded down, listening to the wind outside, I wondered how many more nights lay ahead in my quest, will it end, will I catch Her ?

 2 a.m. and my right rod is away, I'm on the rod quickly and strike, a plucky fight, but this is no Carp...or indeed Cat, a fine Tench came to the net. I was joined out in the cool night air by Lady Sarah, bless her, she was still half asleep, answering "Ey ?", "What ?", "Pardon", to everything I said to her. It's a strange thing but I've never really been in a fish catching situation at night with someone who doesn't instinctively know what to do, you know, get the net, sling, mat, forceps. All these things are what fellow piscators immediately do. I apologised later to her for being abrupt when this didn't happen.

She's a fine partner, great company...alas, I fear she'll never make a good photographer !!!

 Dawn broke to two welcome sounds, the high pitched call and bright blue flash of the Kingfisher and the first audible sign of the cuckoo this year.

The wind still blew hard and cold as we packed away, The Common, is still uncaught this year.

Thinking Ahead

I managed a cheeky overnighter on a local lake this week.The large Tench were rolling over my baits but weren't at all interested in eating it. If I'm honest, my mind is elsewhere, I have a work party to attend at the weekend on my river syndicate and it's here that my fishy thoughts have turned to. I have been quite disappointed by my close season Tenching but will have a go when possible. Another increase of a few degrees will see me on the trail of a rather famous fish, yes, it does have a bloody name, but it's not a Carp!
Speaking of Carp, I see that my recent 40lber made the Anglers Mail this week. The culprits who sent the photo in were my friends at Pallatrax.

Things Are Hotting Up

With the recent warm spell a stroll out with the good Lady Sarah was in order. Cunningly we ended up walking hand in hand around the reservoir complex at Tring. These lakes are renowned in the angling world for producing massive specimens of all species. I believe that they have held British records for at least three species, and their banks are still home to a dedicated band of fishermen willing to brave the windswept and steep banks in search of that special fish.

I'm drawn to Startops Reservoir personally and will one day take on the challenge to bank it's marvellous booty of monstrous fish.

Strolling around this vast expanse it soon became clear that Lady Sarah and I were not the only ones coupling up. In the crystal clear water, large Carp could clearly be seen grouping up in anticipation of the yearly spawning ritual; Ducks chased Drakes, Dragon and Damselflies flew together and Swans cemented their lifetime relationship. It's that time of year.A time of courtship and joy. Something's definitely in the air down Tring way.

Opportunity Knocks

"Luck is being ready for the chance."



I have travelled many meandering pathways in this fishing life, some have lead to disaster and pain, but most have taken me to places and situations that will be forever etched in my memory as times of joy,elation...almost on a spiritual level. Only those of you that live this piscatorial life, will ever really understand this. Here follows a tale of chance & opportunism culminating in one of those truly sublime moments.


The weather has taken a turn for the better and on Saturday I'd offered to take the lad from the shop, Dan, to a local lake on Monday night. He would fish for Catfish, myself for Tench.


The couple of days rolled round quickly and on Monday morning I phoned a friend who was fishing the lake.."There's a few on here mate", he said. I thought for a while, then decided to switch to my regular (quieter) venue which also contains both species.


Having notified Dan of the change of plans I received a message saying he was unable to make it, apparently he had an exam the next morning, so a good nights sleep was in order. For a moment, with me being flu'ed up, I wondered wether to go anyway or stay in a warm bed.

Just an hour after leaving work I found myself by the lake in a swim that had been neglected for a while. I knew it had a marginal shelf and it was an area I'd been baiting since Winter time. "Ripe for a big Tench", I thought.

The only other fisher was one Carp angler who goes by the legendary name of "Shakey" Lee.


I set both my 1.75 test rods with method fished mini-boilies over a concoction of Green groundbait, red maggot, betaine pellet and various particles down the marginal shelf.


Sitting back, I enjoyed the entertainment of an Artic Tern dropping and re-catching a fish that was clearly too heavy to fly with.

I thought to myself that on Saturday I'd agreed to be sitting somewhere completely different at this time but felt happy with the choice; especially when across the lake a large Carp boshed clean out of the water.

The light faded and air became cool,quiet in that transient world between day and night, I zipped myself into my sleeping bag and soon drifted into sleep, peace...tranquility.

'Da dat daaa da dat', wide awake I stared at the bobbin of my left rod, bouncing, like a luminous yo-yo...I struck...no real resistance...7lb Bream. I rebaited, re-cast. An hour later 'Da dat daaaa da dat' from the other rod...I struck...no real resistance...7lb Bream. I decided to re-cast but not to introduce more free offerings. Sleep, peace...tranquility.

At about 4am...'Da dat daaa da dat' I struck...MASSIVE resistance...snap...see you later...Carp? I'd made the error of expecting the expected, that isn't what happens in angling though, I should've known better..However,this was a valuable lesson.

At about 6.30am in half slumber 'Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa' the proverbial single toner, left hand rod tip waving like a tank aerial. I'd re-set the clutches and struck very softly, this was returned with solid resistance and the clutch sang as line flew from the spool. The fish just tore into open water and I was happy to just let it carry on, very quickly I realised that this was no Bream or Tench and I feared for my relatively light Rods and line. Around ten minutes later , this unseen beasty kited left along the margins and I had to lean out over the waters edge with rod at arms length. I had to try to stop it. I winced as I tightened slightly and gave it a small amount of pressure..it turned..and headed at full tilt straight towards me. Reeling in the slack as quickly as possible I gained line and the fish was in front about three rod lengths out. Great boils came to the surface as much water was displaced," Catfish?" I pondered.

Off it went again to the left and again I had to exert pressure. The fish turned and then something happened which both scared and excited me. The fish came rapidly along the clear margins and for the first time, I sighted her. "Bloody Hell, thats a 30+ Carp" chugging off now to the right. Around twenty minutes into the fight I finally began to think that 1) My size 10 hook wasn't coming out...and 2) I had a modicom of control and I might just land it.

I was worried that I may spook the fish with the net so got on my knees amongst the rushes. After a few more minutes of spirited scrapping she came around in an arc up the marginal shelf and swam straight into the waiting net..I fell in a heap on the floor trembling with adrenaline coursing through my veins.

Looking down at this majestic creature I saw something I recognised. This was a fish I knew well. It is unfortunately missing the lower lobe of its tail due to neglect from an idiot angler some five years ago (he is now banned for life from many of the countries top waters). It has been given the unoriginal name (I hate names for fish) of "Cut Tail" and is the biggest Carp in the lake. I phoned "Shakey" who arrived in my swim in double-quick time and duly took care of all weighing and photographic duties as I gazed in awe at the mass before me. A truly wonderful fish that despite its injury is thriving and healthy. It was an honour to hold her in my arms for a few fleeting seconds..It was an even greater feeling after resting her a while to see her swim strongly away, a bit wiser and forever to be there in my memory...The weight....40lb 3oz.

As I think back now about this capture two things strike me..The first is the chain of events, decisions and enthusiasm that lead me to be at the lake at that time. They were a mixture of chance and knowledge. The two things all anglers need.
The second thing that strikes me is just how responsible we all are for the welfare of these fantastic creatures that give us so much pleasure .

A Night in "Deadman's" and the Green Reward

I have written before about the tricks ones mind can play upon oneself when angling alone at night. Personally,it takes a lot to spook me and I generally enjoy nocturnal solitude. However,there is a pitch that I have avoided night fishing for many years. Let me set the scene...
I was fishing for Carp over ten years ago,when from a neighbouring lake a single gunshot rang out. Obviously,at the time I was oblivious, but that shot was a friend tragically ending his own life in his bivvy on a neighbouring lake. To this day,I am baffled by the incident and for many years I didn't fish the lake. When I finally did, I found that the pitch has been disrespectfully christened "Deadman's".
With trepidation I have fished in the said swim during daylight hours a couple of times but never at night,however, when I turned up at the lake on Monday evening to find it deserted, I dared myself to fish there.
The wind howled and the trees rustled (of course it rained a while..again) and with the thought of what had happened all those years ago fresh in my mind you may have excused me for being a tad unnerved. A visit from my old mate Brian and a couple of large Bream diverted my attention but Brian was soon gone and I was alone again as darkness fell.

Something strange happened...the wind dropped and the lake fell flat calm,stars appeared;animals,birds and even road traffic fell silent. Although the night air was cold I felt comfortable and at ease. This night session I'd put off in my mind through a mix of respect and dread had actually become a tranquil,enjoyable time....I soon drifted asleep.

No fish in the night meant I was awake with the dawn chorus.I reset my traps of method feeder with mini boilies, and rebaited the areas in the knowledge that the next couple of hours were primetime for my intended quarry..Tench.

Around an hour and a half later the bobbin of the right rod rose and my alarm sung,I struck and immediately knew that this was a tinca. What a clever fish it was,diving into every weedbed and set of lily pads it could, it was no match for my newly customised rod though. As it sat in the net,I looked down at this most beautiful of gifts, I gave myself an imaginary pat on the back...and not just for catching my first Tench of the year.

Dedicated to M.L...Rest In Peace my friend.

Full Of The Joys of Spring

There are times when one fishes which, fortunately for me, are joyous enough without the appearance of a fish.
I found myself aside a venue this week in search of a double figure Tench,which on the face of it,is optimistic to say the least.I haven't actually caught a Tench of any description this year,the blank being sometimes inevitable when one targets large fish on tricky venues.With excuses out of the way then,I have to admit to enjoying myself thoroughly.
It's always nice to catch up with the local anglers on a lake you haven't thrown a bait in for a while.I love the sense of kinship between fellow fishers, who have been on similar quests.
With the rods out,just to be sitting,eating and chatting with these seasoned piscators reminded me of the reasons,other than the fish,that we indulge in this pastime.
It didn't seem so long ago that I sat on this lake alone,freezing,trying to extract a fish from between the ice,and yet there I was,now,surrounded by the joys of Spring.
The Greater Spotted Woodpecker tapped out its manic percussion and for a moment my mind drifted back to the avian headbangers of France.After a while I was given the pleasure of my first (English) Kingfisher of the year as it flashed past my pitch,giving out it's high pitched call as it went,and I know that every other I see this year will give me the same joy.
As dusk drew in I was gifted a fine aerobatic display from the large colony of local bats, I'm no expert but there were two different species, one large(Horseshoe?),one small(pipistrelle?),feasting on the ever increasing insect life.
Then, onwards to sunset,they are all different and all special.A Tench rolled over my bait...it was to be the only one I saw.

Night Of The Julians & The Curse of Izaac Walton

After a mad Saturday evening dash after a day in the shop,I found myself beside the lake I'd fished throughout the Winter. This time of year, of course, there are a few more anglers present and I was one of eleven, not my ideal scenario but they are good guys and I settled in for the night.
My quarry for the next couple of months is to be the beautiful Tench. I find them to be most beautiful creatures,their scales tiny and smooth,the variation of colour from bright gold to almost black and those mysterious red/orange eyes along with it's alleged healing properties all add to its mystique.Even the latin name tinca tinca conjures up an image in the minds eye.
Now,although the lake is not famed for its Tench, and has, to my knowledge never produced one of double figures, there remains a viable population that occassionally grace the nets of Carp anglers.
I set my stall out with method feeder and mini boilies fished on the hair,fishing both rods in the margins. Soon the traquility was interrupted by the sound of an alarm opposite.My mate Birdy,also angling for Tench was in to what turned out to be a fair sized Julian (Bream). This turned out to be the order of the night with Julians caught in abundance from his side of the lake as they began to congregate for spawning. I myself managed to scratch out three,one being particularly big,but alas no Tench,or Carp all round.

This was the smallest one of my trio,but all Bream caught around the lake,forty in total, ranged from 6 to 10 lb.

One thing has been bothering me for some time now.It is now getting so serious that I received two phone calls from fellow anglers regarding it during the session.It would seem that I am cursed, the curse being that around 95% of the times I fish,it rains.Now let me show you a couple of photos from this session.When I arrived the lake looked like this... Lovely blue sky,insects buzzing,anglers in shorts enjoying eating and drinking al fresco and enjoying the balminess of a Spring evening.

Sometime later.....
Greying skies,heavy rain and anglers running for cover.I blame the whole thing on Izaak himself.

Readers of Chris Yates' ramblings will know that all things related to angling,be it fair or foul are in the lap of Mr.Walton and I fear I have offended his spirit so much that I have been cursed with a plague of rain.

Whilst on Redmire last year (in a small gap between downpours) I asked Izaak for a sign...the instant reply was the only clap of thunder of the weekend.Yes,yes I know all this is irrational,but so is spending masses of time,effort and money trying to catch fish that are promptly returned back to the depths soon after.

All comments on how to appease Izaak will be welcomed.

Bait - HNV versus Particles

Let's imagine that an angler sponsored by a bait company catches a newsworthy Carp or Tench on a piece of sweetcorn.How many of them do you think would admit it?,and how many would say that it was caught on his sponsors latest bait? Of course it is impossible to answer but can we consider that a lot more fish are caught on high pressured waters on particles than are publicised?
I know for a fact that many fish are caught from the so-called "Circuit Waters" on nothing more than Tiger Nuts or Maize.Does this then blow Fred Wiltons HNV theory (described here by Paul Selman) out of the water?
Why do Carp and Tench keep getting caught on baits of little nutritional value?...I have a few thoughts on this..Many say that the fish just love the crunch of Tiger Nuts,Maize and Hemp,but why? The answer is obvious,because they think they're that common natural food....Snails..Snails of course have a high nutritional value.With this in mind,is it possible that the fish are being duped? If the fish are also eating HNV boilies,it is acceptable to believe that they don't actually know which bait is the one providing them with their nutritional needs so they keep eating both.This of course suggests that like humans,fish will eat whatever is easiest and most plentiful and therefore that mass pre-baiting will pay off whatever the nutritional value.
The point of all this waffle, is that this year, for my Tench and Carp fishing,I will use one rod with a HNV boilie and one with particles.
I will of course keep a tally of captures,so the proof of the pudding, will indeed, be in the eating.

Frozen in time

There's an old estate lake in the middle of an ancient wood not far away.Edged with mighty Oaks and Scots Pine.It's now half ruined boathouse conjours up visions of long since past men in straw boater hats rowing or punting their sweethearts on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
I still remember the first time I gazed upon its muddy,leaf covered expanse on one of my very first fishing trips as a boy..I would've been about three years of age and apparently gazed in wonderment as my elder brother caught a Rudd,nearly fell in,got a welly full of water,took it off and peered in(looking for fish).
The lake was well known for its specimen Tench,pristine and almost black..I actually caught my first one here,bizarrely,not on the bottom but on a grain of sweetcorn fished no more than four inches under a porcupine quill next to some lilies.It weighed all of three quarters of a pound and I'm ashamed to say that I was so excited I kissed it.
I have been drawn to this lake ever since and visit it in every season of every year.It's Tench,marvellous golden Rudd and large Perch are long since gone and the lake is now used as a farm for the now 'en vogue' commercial fisheries,and as such is stacked with small Carp clones.
As the site has SSSI status the angling stopped many years ago,not that I would wish to catch its current occupants.I do however still get lured to this beautiful place,frozen in time,frozen in my memory.