This session saw me on a very popular stretch of the Thames, the same section where only the week before a very large catfish had been reported as lost at the net after an hour long fight.
Upon arrival at around 1930, there was one other guy just packing up further along the stretch, but other than that, there was no one else around.
One thing I noticed immediately was that the water level was up to almost over the bank, which I think was probably down to the EA holding the water back from the weir upstream. The water was still crystal clear, I could pick out bits on the bottom about a rod length out, thats how clear it is!!
I set about setting everything up, as the water was so clear and not moving at all, I decided to fish with a slack line and bobbins resting ont he floor, just as I would for carp in a lake, coupled with a flying back lead, I was sure that I had laid the line along the bottom.
Hooklengths again, 8lb mono, size 8 hooks, on one with 2 glugged 15mm boilies, the other a standard 18mm straight from the packet, both rigs were cast out with PVA bags full of mixed Halibut pellets.
I put a scattering of boilies out mid river and fished one rod over these, the other rod was fished "roving" style, and cast around the swim every half hour.
Darkness came and with it as did the rats, now I dont know what it is abot rats, but they freak the hell out of me, and with one running back and forth under my rods, setting my alarms off due to the slack line, it did nothing to calm me!!!
A fish would have taken my mind off of it but that was not to be, I packed up at 2200, fishless!!!
Im not too bothered about blanking, after all it seems 90% of the people I have spoken to are all in the same boat, so it seems being in the right spot at the right time is something I have not achieved yet!!!
Sunday 27 September 2009
Saturday 19 September 2009
Another spinning session 19 Sept
This weeks session was a return to our perch / lure spot that we seem to have discovered.
Im sure its the massive amounts of fry that congregate this area that keep the perch, chub and pike there.
We arrived early afternoon, (Claire's sister and boys were already there with a bucket and net trying to catch tiddlers) and Claire began setting up her rod with her now very popular Mepps aglia spinner.
Again the spot produced chub and perch to me and Claire, along with a bucket full of roach fry and a single, fin perfect perch of probably an ounce!!
There is still no one else fishing the spot despite it being very popular with kids etc, so its still an area marked out to explore further with a feeder or barbel rods.
Im sure its the massive amounts of fry that congregate this area that keep the perch, chub and pike there.
We arrived early afternoon, (Claire's sister and boys were already there with a bucket and net trying to catch tiddlers) and Claire began setting up her rod with her now very popular Mepps aglia spinner.
Again the spot produced chub and perch to me and Claire, along with a bucket full of roach fry and a single, fin perfect perch of probably an ounce!!
There is still no one else fishing the spot despite it being very popular with kids etc, so its still an area marked out to explore further with a feeder or barbel rods.
Sunday 13 September 2009
Barbel Blanking 13th Sept 09
This week finally saw me out with the barbel rods to the same spot I fished a few weeks back.
I was working all day but managed to get out half hour early, so it was home, grab a bite to eat and the rods and out.
My original plan was to fish and area I have not done much barbel fishing before, but due to romours of a big fish being lost doing the rounds on the internet forums, it was packed there with all the decent pegs gone.
I decided to drive to a spot a little closer to home, and an area that I have caught from in the past.
I arrived to find the swim empty, in fact the whole stretch was empty, which was a little strange to say the least as there are normally at least one or two anglers there.
I set up 2 rods, identically, with 10lb mainline, 8lb hooklinks,korda flying backlead and size 10 hooks with a 1inch hair rig and 2oz gripper leads. Bait wise I stuck to tried and tested, glugged source 15mm and Prawn & shellfish 15mm on the other. The close in rod was the prawn bait and was followed by around 30 freebies, and 50 8mm trout pellets. The source rod was attached to a PVA bag of mixed halibuts soaked in source liquid andcast just past mid river.
I decided that as I have faith in these baits and methods, I would cast them out and leave them there for the remainder of the session, knowing how hard the river has been this year I didnt want to risk spooking ay fish that may have been in the area.
Well I would love to say that I bagged up, but I didnt, the wind was pretty bad bouncing the rod tips all over the place so I couldnt see any indications on them, I had to rely on the alarms to alert me, but they remained motionless!!
There was a distinct lack of fish topping last night, normally the river comes alive at dusk with fish rolling all over, but I saw 2 small fish top when I first arrived then nothing for the rest of the evening.
I think on my next session I am going to spend time leading around to find any features.
I normally just presume that the middle of the river is gravel and just chuck the rig out, but as last night proved when I reeled in to find my bait gone and my hook attached to a swan mussel, it shouldnt be a chuck and chance it approach.
So Im going to search out some fishable features to see if it improves my catch reports at all.
I was working all day but managed to get out half hour early, so it was home, grab a bite to eat and the rods and out.
My original plan was to fish and area I have not done much barbel fishing before, but due to romours of a big fish being lost doing the rounds on the internet forums, it was packed there with all the decent pegs gone.
I decided to drive to a spot a little closer to home, and an area that I have caught from in the past.
I arrived to find the swim empty, in fact the whole stretch was empty, which was a little strange to say the least as there are normally at least one or two anglers there.
I set up 2 rods, identically, with 10lb mainline, 8lb hooklinks,korda flying backlead and size 10 hooks with a 1inch hair rig and 2oz gripper leads. Bait wise I stuck to tried and tested, glugged source 15mm and Prawn & shellfish 15mm on the other. The close in rod was the prawn bait and was followed by around 30 freebies, and 50 8mm trout pellets. The source rod was attached to a PVA bag of mixed halibuts soaked in source liquid andcast just past mid river.
I decided that as I have faith in these baits and methods, I would cast them out and leave them there for the remainder of the session, knowing how hard the river has been this year I didnt want to risk spooking ay fish that may have been in the area.
Well I would love to say that I bagged up, but I didnt, the wind was pretty bad bouncing the rod tips all over the place so I couldnt see any indications on them, I had to rely on the alarms to alert me, but they remained motionless!!
There was a distinct lack of fish topping last night, normally the river comes alive at dusk with fish rolling all over, but I saw 2 small fish top when I first arrived then nothing for the rest of the evening.
I think on my next session I am going to spend time leading around to find any features.
I normally just presume that the middle of the river is gravel and just chuck the rig out, but as last night proved when I reeled in to find my bait gone and my hook attached to a swan mussel, it shouldnt be a chuck and chance it approach.
So Im going to search out some fishable features to see if it improves my catch reports at all.
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