Something Different

Steaming out of Poole Harbour onboard a boat full of blokes, most of which I had never met, I was full of anticipation and excitement. The trip had not started well as the journey South had entailed a lengthy diversion and driving through some torrential rain. The car park was the first hurdle of the new day as the payment had to be made by phone app. I'm no luddite but this one had me scratching lumps out of my hair. What app needs your date of birth but only allows you to count back down on a calendar at a week at a time? By the time I had sorted payment I was the only one left in the carpark, I grabbed my stuff and hurried to the jetty. I was later to realise that my hat and many other essentials were still in the boot as the land slipped away behind us, on top of that, my late boarding put me in the crappiest part of the boat to fish from - bugger.

As those around me sorted their kit, it became quite clear that most of the rigs I had pre-tied were inappropriate but sod it, they'll have to do. I began to concentrate on the job in hand as fish after fish started to come aboard..... to everybody else. A run of Scad passed me by, then the Pout showed up. I did eventually get amongst those but, by the time I got into the swing of things, several other species had come over the side. Ballan Wrasse, Goldsinny Wrasse. a Baillons Wrasse (those last two were new to me and I wished I'd had them), then Mark Everard, the trip organiser, had a splendid Corkwing Wrasse. Jack Perks was with us and he had the greenet Ballan Wrasse I have ever seen, it was going well.

My Pout numbers increased and a heavier pull gave me a small Ballan. It was time for a move and a go for some plaice. I had an instant responce on my rag and prawn combo bait but, try as I may it would not develop into a proper pull. In the past I have fished the North Somerset waters where massive leads are required and bulky baits needed to retain some scent in the fast tides, bites there are unmissable but here was more akin to quiver tipping for roach and bream.

We stopped at a Bream area and suddenly it all fell into place. I had half a dozen beautiful Bream, a fish I have always wanted to catch. I did foul hook a tiddler many years ago but that was the real deal. A further move or two and I had a couple of Tub Gurnard and three Plaice, a new species for me. I was very content if a little tired from standing most of the day.

Mark and one other chap had taken 8 species each and our boat accounted for 13 different species in all. The sister boat that shadowed us throughout, also had a good day including an Allis Shad. For me there were several high points and seeing two of Mark's pout surface with Cuttlefish hanging on to them was awesome. But why just his? I tell you, he's a fish conjourer. Another chap has a Squid grab his feathers. It was a handful to untangle and it 'inked' copiously. Waiting for the ink to run out, I leant a hand and teased the hooks from amongst its tenticles, at one point it was holding my finger with its little suckers, that was the best moment of the day.

The day ended at the pub - of course, and Mark handed out some silly prizes. One guy (Martin) had asked on the round-robin email for advice on avoiding sea sickness. I proffered what help I could and we swapped a few messages on the subject, I dubbed him 'Barfin Martin' which caught on but awarded him a special prize for keeping a hold of his breakfast despite feeling queezy when holding a glass of water. I used to go sea fishing with a bunch of mates on a regular basis, I miss the banter, the quiet competativeness and just experiencing seeing something spectacular appear from the depths, I don't think it will be too long before I do it again.

Going Back

I've previously blogged about my first fishing trip way back in 1964 and followed it up with a nostalgic visit some eight years or so ago. Fifty Not Out I have fished the old waters from time to time and always found the Weir to be full of dace, roach and nowadays chub. Trotting maggots in the outflow guaranteed plenty of bites and lots of fish swung up over the fence and into your hand. Anything bigger was 'walked' along to a lower point where it could be netted. It was like fish soup.

This month, I passed my 60th anniversary, six decades of dangling baits in the hope of that feeling through the rod as a fish twists, turns or runs. It has rarely been as easy as snatching fish from the weir but it has always been engaging and entertaining.  There is though an old adage that is often used about fishing spots 'Never go back'. 

I have returned to the scene of past glories and found them destroyed by age, 'progress' or the apparent needs of the matchmen or carp chasers. It is always disappointing but a heavy sigh and a shrug of the shoulders is usually enough to assuage the soul. But not today. 

Let me explain the thrill of the weir to a young lad who grew up and took his own child to catch the magic of its atmosphere. The main weir outflow ran parallel to the bridge and fish could always be seen attacking loose feed or your hookbait. This flow met the lesser outflows whose clear waters ran over clean gravel that harboured trout and grayling. Then the entire force of the currents joined to go obliquely across the pool to where the gravel settled and formed a bank, the perfect roach area. You could catch almost anywhere, but a favourite method as autumn approached was to long-trot silkweed under a bulky float. The float would be dragged under by roach and even dace, it was thrilling and this young man caught a roach just a couple of ounces shy of two pounds using this method. Chub became more prolific over the years but, by roaming downstream a few hundred yards roach could be caught in good numbers.

The white water from the outlet used to push fast water across the pool

To mark my anniversary I decided to fish the weir one more time. I made a considered decision to avoid using maggots. Minnows were cherished when I was young but nowadays, although I do love a minnow, I know that they would only attract small fish. After all, with so many fish available, why waste time on tiddlers, an indication of how my angling developed during my life.

Looking off the high fishing point of the bridge I was immediately aware of how shallow it all looked and the abundance of weed that was growing there now. The main current now dribbled back against the weir sill and seemed devoid of life. The other outflows were too shallow for anything but tiddlers and were again uninhabited. A stronger flow was coming from the far end of the weir but, after a few feet was diverted by a bank of stones and ran across the main pool looking fishless. The banks, despite it being school holidays, were devoid of anglers.

Having set up my tackle I watched four paddle borders gather in front of me. Not something I ever saw in the past but the middle classes do love spending their money, don't they?  Having waved them goodbye, they were later replaced by five more borders and a canoe. To be fair, they did hold off from entering my swim but, in the good old days, all canoeists were greeted with a hail of maggots right along the river. Oh well, times change.

I did see a couple of small trout idling in the current but they soon spooked from my shadow. I scattered a few small pellets and they sank to near the bottom where the minnows bothered them until they could be eaten. As I fed the area a few dace appeared but never really seemed very interested in my offerings. Little chub drifted in and out and a small shoal of dace gathered over some deeper water nearby but these too were gone as fast as they had arrived. 

I fished away from my shadow, tried pellets, some paste that was too soft and some hookable pellets that simply dripped off the hook. I have never had success with hookable pellets. I turned to sweetcorn and impaled a small grain on a size 16, this was presented as delicately as I could but the grain on the hook was never approached.  Where are all the fish? Why are the few I can see acting so indifferently? I felt certain that maggots would have taken something but I had made my decision.

Dispondent

By now I was disappointed, my dreams of reliving the past had been shattered but, ever hopeful, I opted to give the backwater a go. I must explain that the backwater was very different to the fast and clear waters below, they ran slow and deep but the roach fishing could be great fun. It also threw up dace, I once had one of ten ounces, and grayling, chub, even carp. It was more of a challenge but with plenty of places to fish, it always held an army of kids and grownups armed with rods and ambition. Now there is a large cafe and a boat club that prevent access to some of the best water. 

I settled on a familiar swim and put on a waggler. As I set to make my first cast so the wind came up and continued increasing until I left. I was also visited by the canoeists from the club but they were young, saw my disapproval and headed back upstream. I did however have a couple of bites on pellet but failed to contact either. I guess it just wasn't my day.

I finally revisited the weir bridge, it had not improved but I persisted for a while. A group of lads walked past me and one cheeky little begger asked, "What you fishing for - rats? There's nothing in there except rats.... and sticks". He added as he threw a stick into the water. And that summed the day up. Whereas there used to be countless eager youngsters catching or at least trying to catch often visible fish. Where there were grumpy adults each looking for solace by the waterside and harumphing at requests for bait and hooks, there was now nobody. 

I wandered down into the town alongside the river and whereas just a few years ago there were plenty of access places down the bank for the anglers to scrabble and fish, now there were just three and one of those was so overgrown as to be useless.

Maybe all the local anglers are more sensible than I and they waited for less bright and windy conditions. I know that very few kids would be allowed to roam and explore without a parent's eagle eyes upon them and all things considered, fishing is just not attracting people the way it once did. Some were playing football on the green, and a small group with a couple of rods between them did drown a small amount of maggots in a very short time before they left, doubtless to play on a gaming device. Oh yes, they left a plastic bag and drink bottle behind not eight yards from a bin.

Remember these?

I smiled at the elaborate play area where our children can frolic on brightly coloured climbing frames and things that make their senses tingle, all standing on softened flooring. In my day we had a slide, the Weir one being particularly high, black and intimidating but we greased it with candle wax and flew off the end. There was too a 'horse' that sat five or six of us and which threw everyone about as its copious weight gathered momentum. It was a wonder we had no fatalities but, for those that were unseated, a hard concrete ground broke their fall.

My local river, the Wye, is dying on its ass and despite the goodwill of many, it continues to fade. I have long been aware of its ill health and that of many others I have visited over the years but not the Tone. It never was a 'prime angling location' in the way of The Royalty, Throop or so many others but, it was 'my' home river and it kept producing each time I fished it over so many years. But I do now fear for its future and for the future of our hobby.

Unclean

 Is it really July? Where has the time gone?

Talking of time, I'm approaching my 60th anniversary of using a rod and line. Where did that time go?

I left my blog licking my wounds from a rather trying session in France. It brought with it a realisation that I needed to reassess my fishing from top to bottom. Age, injuries and arthritis have all contributed and that happy little bunny that once hopped between swims and fisheries has gone forever. With it my ambitions have had to become realistic so, massive wild lakes abroad are a no-no and even the steep, high banks of the Wye or Teme are demanding a new respect. 

I've not been at my best for a long while. They have dubbed it the 'Hundred Day Cough'  which, along with the weather and my reluctance or inability to push myself, have all brought meagre results. However, I always aim to beat at least one personal best per season and I did that with my second serious trip. 

As PB's go it's a modest achievement as I am certain I have caught bigger bream in the past but haven't felt inclined to weigh just another six-pounder. I have learned that under rather than overestimating fish,  can work against me. So I put a fish on the scales and it went to 7lb 3oz or was it 4? It was a pound or so bigger than my official pb so who cares, it was a job done.

I've got into a routine of blank - catch - blank - catch - a low double carp on the next visit - blank - catch - a couple of chub from the Lugg, followed by a blank the other evening.

My heart hasn't really been in it. Catching bream can be fun but how often can you do it before it becomes tedium accompanied by a smelly net? They really are easy on this water, I'll go for them again but for now I turned to the carp that are a challenge. They only go to mid-twenties which I do feel are worthy however, there's something about the pace that I cannot put my finger on, it just doesn't float my boat.

The Lugg is a very noble challenge but, it does require a lot of walking and some terrible sheer banks. Add to this the coloured water from the fruit and veg cleaning and the inevitable raw sewage, well, no thanks. I found a swim last year where gravel gave you good visibility of the bottom and the numerous chub that hoovered up my pellets and hemp. On one occasion, they were joined by three nice barbel, a difficult target on the Lugg nowadays. I went back a few weeks ago and you can barely see the bottom but the visibility was just good enough to know that not a single fish entered the swim. Very grim.

Incidentally, whilst on the Lugg, my lad had three ahem, large ladies enter his swim, totally ignoring the chap fishing not ten yards away, and moved across him so that he had to reel in. Their conversation included, "Well, it must be clean if there's fish in here". This brought about a reply from Neil "Just make certain you wash your hands when you get home." Some people just don't get it, do they. 

If they'd seen what we've seen floating downstream.....

My tench lake is stuffed with weed plus the fish only seem to feed with any purpose if you arrive whilst the stars are still out. If the birds are singing, the fish have gone back to bed. I do not function after early starts anymore and night fishing for tench is overkill. I've lost interest there too.

What to do? Well, here comes the reason for the title. I need to fish but I need to be comfortable. I shall continue to look for suitable venues and, as the cooler weather approaches, I shall be targeting the zander on the Gloucester Canal for a very doable pb. In the meantime, I have taken the decision to fish Commercials in the form of the Docklow complex. My first look at Docklow was 24 years ago and I hated it, still do in many ways but, there are only so many fisheries around and this one has plenty of variety, easy access and, whatever water you fish, you still have to catch them. I've taken the grandbrats to a few commercials and have always enjoyed trying to make the best of a swim. I do not crave a 'fish a chuck' water and indeed, during my walk around most of the pools there today, I only saw one roach landed. So, I can target carp, tench, crucians or roach and work hard to avoid barbel as stillwater barbel don't count, and ide which should all be abroad - period.

Fishing there will make me feel 'unclean' as it goes against many of my principles but hey, we all have to cut our cloth accordingly - don't we?

Carp, Ciaran, and Catastrophe

During the last visit to the surgeon he seemed impressed and decided that a replacement shoulder could go on the back burner for a while. I even bragged that I'd been moving rocks around our garden pond when his face changed. "No, oh no, no, no," said he. You have to remember that, although things are going well, what is left of your shoulder joint is being held together by tattered bits of tendon and gristle. No heavy lifting!

It took a bit of absorbing but I could see his point which was echoed by the physiotherapist later. She told me that were I to do further damage, I would be left with an arm that would have minimal movement and remain that way. This could seriously affect my Hokey Cokey and it stopped my season in its tracks. I wasn't going to risk further damage and miss out on the year's highlight.

Since October 2022, I have had a French carp trip planned. My lad Neil, good mate Paddy and I were to fish an intimate lake of little more than four acres, which contained some fine-looking fish which grew to vast proportions. The timing was quite late but was chosen to coincide with the half-term to release Neil from school runs. We had all been very eager and there was no chance of me pulling out. I did, however, realise that my syndicate lake full of 30lb+ fish would likely have to be dropped. I had put my back out several times hoisting fish up the bank, for once I had to act my age.

And so to France and a quick mooch around the lake had swims chosen and we all tried to set up before the rain came in. I failed and got wet. In fact, I was having a mare. I hadn't carp fished for 18 months and the rust was obvious. My fingers became thumbs or toes, I was disorganised and it took me ages just to get a rod out. In fact, with one thing and another, it took me a couple of days to get all of the rods out. My head was all over the place, and my bait boat developed a new and sinister personality. 

On night one, Neil hooked a lump. A ponderous weight mooched along the bottom but he felt he was having an impact until - his reel seized. A far from cheap Diawa stuck and useless whilst a fish of 50 or even 60lbs waddled off into the weeds. Neil stripped his reel and got movement back but the fish had gone. He was later rewarded with a mid-double common but he was wounded.

The next morning he hooked a similar small common and again, the reel seized. I arrived to net the handlined fish but Neil was now seething and who could blame him. Luckily, the lake owner gave him one of his own reels to use for the duration.

All of this was forgotten the next day when I looked at my phone early next morning, "When you wake up, come and give me a hand".

We all met in Neil's swim and watched in awe as the net was lifted and revealed a golden-scaled beast.  I was pretty much a spectator as the fish was lifted onto the scales - I now know my limits - and they thumped down and 'errored'. My scales read a bit higher and they could manage the bulk that stopped at 65lb 5oz. To Neil's credit, he was fastidious with the weight of the sling and an eventual weight of 60lb 4oz was settled on but I am sure it was a few ounces heavier but who cares. Sixty bloody pounds! Moments like this are once in a lifetime and we drank in the elation. Neil even smiled in a photo - very rare. Amazing.

Paddy joined the fun by getting a 30-pound leather, things were looking good, apart from his photos.

The full moon was now waning and I felt the pressure to get on board and join the action but, I was struggling for bites despite working hard at it. There comes a point when you realise that it's not going to be your trip. I was happy enough working at it and, if I'm honest, just seeing that huge fish was enough to leave me sated, that Neil had caught it gave me a very warm feeling.

The weather had been wet. Every afternoon brought a downpour and I was thankful that I had purchased the 'Social Cap' for my Tempest bivvy. It effectively adds a lot of space for either socialising or, for me, to increase storage space and to keep the weather out of your bivvy, very useful in poor weather. It was my first trial with the Cap and, apart from the velcro straps proving inefficient at holding it to the bivvy and needing a layer of Gorilla Tape to secure them, I was happy to have a dry bed and room to stretch out. Then Storm Ciaran popped in for a visit.

I had a fitful night and several times had to venture out into the wind and rain to re-peg the Cap front, replace the tension bars that repeatedly fell off and to re-tape the Velcro. I led there, listening to an angry wind (on the outside for a change), the flapping of canvas and the falling branches all around. An old barrow I'd borrowed and left beneath a tree, was blown into my bivvy, it was getting rough. I pondered the idea of being trapped by a fallen tree - sleep was impossible. Then it happened.

The roar of the wind suddenly became deafening, the bivvy bent and twisted then, with one last violent push, I was cast into open air as my roof vanished and my gear was cast to the winds. My Cap had been torn off and my bivvy had launched upwards and was desperately trying to fly to the next county. I found myself with one leg clutched in my outstretched right arm and just about able to hold it as it blew this way and that. I then noticed that I was trapped. The tension strap, attached to my big green kite, had been pulled across my body which was holding me against my bedchair. What a predicament.

I got my wits about me and considered my options. Were I to release or cut the tension strap, I felt certain that the bivvy would be lost. Neither could I bring the bivvy back to ground - what a pickle.

I always keep my cool bag next to my bed as the flat lid is ideal for my watch, phone, spare torch and walkie-talkie. I reached for it but it was gone. I had a headtorch around my neck and began searching, nothing was how it had been. The groundsheet had turned inside out and everything was strewn. I called out for help but no reply. At last, I found my phone and rang Neil, he was obviously sleeping well. I rang Paddy who had heard my plea for rescue and was already on his way around. I lay back and relaxed as much as possible whilst trying to hold a large green parachute determined to head skyward in a hurricane.

I've known Paddy for nearly sixty years and I wondered what quip he would use on seeing me. Relieved to see his torch nearing, he appraised the chaotic and amusing scene, held one leg of the flying bivvy and said, There, is that better? I'll be off then.

I was soon released and scanned the scene of destruction around me. Where do I start? Neil put the bivvy back up and made it secure whilst we all gathered up the sodden kit spread around and threw it into it, a real quart into a pint pot scenario. It took an hour but the guys, both wishing they had put coats on, left me to find a small gap where I could lay in a damp sleeping bag and try to sleep. It was an interesting incident and Neil kept saying, in the days after, 'But what if the strap had gone across your neck'. It didn't, we survived and lived to tell the tail.

The real crippler came when I went to reel the lines in as I did not want to be disturbed again that night. I found that all of the bobbins had blown off the lines and one of the rods was up tight and bent. I lifted into  it only to find that I had been done in the lilies. My only hook-up of the week and I knew nothing of it and a fish lost.

The morning saw me trying to get things dry and tidy but it was a trial and was much the same after a lot of work. I took in the devastation around me, trees down, broken branches everywhere and a big drop in temperature.

A Poplar tree that succumbed to the storm

The island lost a few too

The remains of my Cap

Paddy had another fish of 19lbs or so I think. Whilst Neil had a 32-pound common. Again we gathered for the weigh-in and were joined by one of the owner's dogs, a particularly ugly little French Bulldog with no personality. It liked scrounging and was attentive as long as the food lasted. As we were eating our breakfasts, it was around our feet and happy. Neil took the fish from the weigh sling and revealed it to the air and mutt. It went ballistic and leapt at the hapless carp. At first, I thought it was trying to hump it but no, it wanted to kill or eat it. Neil fought it off amid some colourful language and Paddy ushered it about seventy yards down the path. He returned, thinking he had trained it but it ran straight past him and leapt again onto the unhooking mat growling and snapping like an angry weasel. I was beside myself and laughed for ages. Anyway, another lovely common for the boy. 

Grrrr

The object of a certain mutt's desires

I kept at it despite everything but the few bites to the others had dried up and the trip home looked grim. We had to wait another day before our changed bookings saw us leaving France and a bumpy crossing to Portsmouth.

We all learn from victories and failures. What if Neil had landed that first fish? It could easily be another sixty at this time of year and, having had one of the big ones come out last week, the two biggest fish often follow. Imagine the boy having a brace of 60's, it could spoil him for life - not to mention him spoiling mine.

I accept the blank as being all part of the game. I know I was on some good spots, and I kept at it until the last morning. Maybe it was for the best, imagine me trying to do it all alone and finishing my shoulder off on a big fish? Who knows, I'm big enough and ugly enough to put this one behind me, it's whether I do it again that's in doubt. I turned 68 during our stay and I know that despite looking less (or so I'm told), my body is ageing and I have to learn to be sensible and listen to whatever bit is complaining.

I guess I'll stop when the laughter does.

Weight

How important is it to weigh your fish? How often do you get your scales out? At what size do you get curious about your capture's weights? Like many would-be specialist anglers, I used to weigh far more fish than I do today. I recall my diary pages from 1970s tench trips as just a list of exact times and weights with little or no information of commentary added.

 When I fished the Tone in Somerset, I meticulously recorded the details of my chub captures even though they topped off at just 3lb 6oz. That was soon to change. I moved to Herefordshire and quickly discovered that the Wye was home to an enormous amount of fat chub and, bar getting a sighter or two early in the season, I was flicking four pounders off in the margins without so much as a second look. I'd check the weight of anything that looked like a 'five' and soon became quite adept at guestimating the difference between a 4.14 and a 5.01. 

But sometimes you lose your accuracy. I was happily watching my rod as a lump of meat explored a back eddy one day when John Bailey stopped for a chat. I instinctively reacted to a pull and quickly landed a nice chub. I slipped the hook out and immediately released it into the water at my feet, "A nice four", I said. John, slightly incredulous, replied, "I'd suggest it was beyond a four and by a fair bit in my opinion". I shrugged it off as just another chub but, was slightly irked that I hadn't been able to accurately log another five. Chub are like that, they can vary depending on body shape and just how fat they feel. I once dismissed a customer's first Wye fish as a nice but average chub, only for it to go 6lb 6oz. Boy, was I off the mark with that one. I have reached a stage where I do not worry so much about runner-up fish's weights and my son now slips back carp as mere 'low thirties'. I always put big carp on the scales. I also weigh any barbel that looks to be nine pounds plus, decent roach, tench etc. but, there is one fish that, until yesterday, I hadn't weighed for years.

Bream, love 'em or hate 'em, they can still demand some respect - honest. I've never had a double, far from it but, the best I ever put on my Avons was a 7lb fish that was foul-hooked. I had previously had them to 6lb 6oz and called that my pb. But, I seem to have suffered from bream blindness. I fished a small carp water that held just carp and a few large bream. I did take a couple of them one day and brushed them off as 5-6 pounders and a fellow member asked if I was certain as he's never heard of one under eight. When fishing the Severn and Wye, I sometimes envied mates who'd been pestered by eight pounders while mine were always under six. Am I just unlucky? I fished for bream on the first lake I mentioned and blanked whilst my son, fishing for carp, landed a bream of exactly eleven pounds. I did think it looked a little small for such a weight. 

Last week I had a chub that I put down as 'about three and a half', but I may have been under by a bit but, the tail is long so I told myself to weigh one or two to get my eye back in. 

Then, yesterday, I targeted some bream on another pool having heard of fish to double figures. The day was muggy and overcast, just the sort of summer day that, during the 80's and 90's would see me rush to Sedgemoor and bream fish on any one of several favoured drains. It felt cock-on for action and not long after my PVA bag of goodies and a lump of meat splashed down 35 - 40 yards out, the bobbin rattled to the butt ring. The wind was hammering into my face which brought a touch of drama to the proceedings. The familiar bream responses of pretending to be a plastic bag did little to enhance any excitement and a good-sized fish was soon netted. 'Hmm? Probably nearer 6 than 5' I thought and took a quick snap of it.

 I soon had a smaller one of maybe four pounds then another which, looked suspiciously large but was obviously smaller than the first fish. I decided to put a number on it just to set my mind at ease and so that my guesstimating would at least be more accurate. It went 6.02, and, as the two pictures will show, took up quite a bit less net space than the first. So, just how big was the first one? 

I think I'm going to have to go back and soon.

 Incidentally, if you do weigh every fish regardless of size, I suggest that you are being over fussy and possibly causing damage and stress needlessly to those fish. An ounce here and there means little so don't get so hung up on it. Catch a whopper though, and weigh away but please, do it quickly and carefully without allowing any fish to flop about on hard surfaces or to get dry. You know it makes sense.

Baby Steps

 Have I told you about my operation?

The last time I blogged was just before op no2 on my thumb and, I am pleased to say, it went well. This was followed by an op on my shoulder and that went horribly wrong but, it was followed three months later (July). by yet another and, as I write, that is starting to show enough improvement that I can now start fishing again.

Yes, this year has been one of pain and intense frustration with Spring being particularly difficult. Unable to cast very far or use a catapult, puts a crimp on one's ability to carp fish on a water that demands a degree of both. Yes, I can catch under my feet and have done so in the past but, in the spring distance can be necessary - believe me.

I asked the guy that runs our little syndicate if I could use a bait boat for the time being. "No" came the reply. I didn't want to fish unreachable spots or to gain any advantage over anybody, indeed most of my fishing is done well away from the well-used swims, but "No" was repeated, the miserable sod.

I looked around for another water and settled on Llandrindod, a major carp water back in the day but those fish are long gone and there's nothing much over 20lb in there. But there is more to fishing than size and learning a new water was just the challenge I needed. I spent a few days visiting their lakeside cafe and walking around the fifteen acres in search of fish. Some days you'd believe it was devoid of life but, on others, the fish rolled or showed themselves.

I see you

There is a central island that's guarded by a water-spouting dragon, well it is in Wales. The island is an obvious haunt for the fish on this shallow water and is a minimum of 60 yards from any bank, too far for my shoulder to cast or even wind back from. But plans continued and I even bought a bait boat, me, a bait boat? I hate the bloody things but then, I don't like being knobbled so needs must.

Don't you hate it when your boat is attacked by dragons?

The carp were spawning in early May (the sun shone back then, remember?) and by early June I was ready for a go. I'd set up one rod and was told to leave the water as the carp were spawning. Really? But yes, every now and then a pod would be seen at it and down came the shutters on the lake. It re-opened well into June by which time the complications with my shoulder meant I had to abandon my plans and endure the last operation.

It's August now and I'm just dipping a toe to see how I get on. I'm not looking for big fish just yet, just to get some of the rust off and remember how to tie a ledger to a float etc. I had a day on a small pool with my lad Neil and I was soon catching tiny carp whilst the boy pulled his hair out with crust. I would expect to get at least one or two fish that need playing and a landing net but, the only netted fish went to Neil which was probably just as well.

Small but beautiful

At last, a bending rod.

There is a lack of mixed fishery waters around here with carp being the usual main species. I just want to catch a mixed bag and get back to the 'feel' of fishing so, I visited a 5 acre commercial yesterday that's stuffed with carp. Why? well, I wanted to avoid the carp and have a go for the roach that inhabit the place with a chance of a bream or tench coming along. I always fish to a plan and this suited me for now.

Whilst many wannabe carpers went about their noisy business - one had an alarm that sounded like a child's cycle hooter that frequently sounded, albeit not from bites, and could be heard above his shouting. Meanwhile, I had found a ledge running out from a thicket of sedges which looked ideal. I baited with maggots and caught rudd like razor blades. I fished pomegranate seed (reduced in the supermarket and one bait I'd never tried) and had instant mega-fast bites again, from rudd. Occasionally, a slightly larger fish would get one in its mouth and my tally started to grow. I then fed pellets and attached one with a band to my size 14 hook. Again the bites were immediate but with roach putting in an appearance. I had nothing big, the best roach being about 8oz I suppose but, I was catching what I aimed for and more important, I was able to do it.

I can see this baby-steps approach continuing for a bit but, I will ramp it up sometime next month when I get back into carp mode before a booked trip to France in late October.

Not the biggest but they were all in mint condition

 

The Summer That Never Was

When I last posted, I had finally caught a fish worth a picture. Was this the start of something big? Was it hell.

I struggled and conceded defeat, only to find that the lake had switched on soon after. But no matter, I had my river head on and the search began for some of the plump chub the Boy had caught from the Lugg last year. 

The visits to the river entailed long walks, some very dodgy bridges over ditches and an assortment of characters of the non-fishing variety. One such ensemble consisted of a lad, a young Polish girl wearing jogging shorts that had been sprayed on and a flimsy top (my, how observant I am), and two other young ladies so attached to each other that I feared there had been a Superglue accident. 

I exchanged greetings with the giggly group who were joined by another lad. "Enjoy your picnic," I said, and one of the siamese lovers replied, "We're having KFC". I called back, "From here it smells like you are smoking the secret recipe of herbs and spices". That amused them and I was offered some of the hinted-at weed. I declined, knowing that I would find plenty of 'weed' where I was heading.

Just one of the many swims I blanked in

That was another blank shortly followed by more. Neil, my lad, was fishing harder and more often than me and fairing no better. Time for a new project.

I attempted to up my pb crucian carp last season but bearly passed the pound mark. A couple of trips in the heart of the Midlands saw that pb creep up and stop at 1lb 13oz. I was pleased with the fish and the backup fish on the day and look forward to the next nudge to a 2lb plus fish next summer.

PB crucian and crooked hat

August arrived and a holiday in Pembrokeshire where a morning bothering the goby population was interrupted by a large triggerfish attacking Neil's catch on the way in. That and several decent bass that cruised around, harrying the large shoal of smelt made us realise we had aimed too low. The next outing coincided with a mighty rising tide that we were unprepared for. Maybe next time. As an addendum to this anecdote, I let fellow blogger Ordinary Angler know about the triggers as it was his posts that inspired the holiday fishing in the first place. He went himself and showed just how it should be done. I congratulate his success albeit through gritted teeth.

Goby and Cuckoo Wrasse, good fun on light tackle

Returning from the break both Nicky and I had each brought home a souvenir. Nicky had Shingles,  a painful and debilitating condition and I had badly torn the ligaments in my left shoulder. I could tell you the full tale but, I'd be embarrassed. Suffice to say that I was playing football against the grandbrats and attempted something that I haven't done for fifty years. Apparently, I was younger and fitter back then, I must try to remember this in the future.

As Nicky slowly recovered some energy and I was going mad with the frustration of not being able to fish, so I went down with Covid, followed a few days later by Nicky. And that brings me up to a few days ago. It hit us hard and we are still below par. I was beginning to think that I'd never get a decent fish before my second operation on the errant thumb next month. 

On the spur of the moment yesterday morning, I grabbed a few sticks of tackle, bait and hope and headed for the carp lake. I received a lot of 'those' looks from dearly beloved and she was probably right but when the need is this strong...

The lake looked quiet with the only surface activity being caused by goosanders that soon left as I approached. The Bay, an area I can fish with minimal casting involved, looked pretty dead, it usually produces when you can see cruising fish so, my optimism wasn't exactly peaking. Hey ho, I tied a rig on the car bonnet and got everything sorted. My rod was an unnamed three-piece cane job bought for a pittance at the Redditch Vintage Tackle show, the reel a tarted up Abu Cardinal 155, proper fishing.

I got myself ensconced at the bottom of a steep bank and waded into some chod soup, stiff with dead weed, leaves, silt and sticks. My second cast was perfect and a wafter bait slowly landed on the soft bottom. I tried to catapult some freebies out but the shoulder/thumb combination made it difficult and painful. I found that by holding the 'pult upsidedown and sort of flicking it out, just about found the right spot but suffice to say that baiting was 'light'.

I put my chair up and sat back to eat my lunch, where had the morning gone? Too much faffing about on my behalf. Food eaten I was about to open the flask when I had a couple of bleeps and a buzz from the Abu ratchet, everything had gone tight and I lifted into a heavy weight hell bent on reaching a lily bed. I leaned against it and a swirl showed I had halted its progress. I now had to get into the water to play and land the fish.

Lowering yourself into the water off a tiny ledge whilst maintaining contact with a running fish is not easy. Just last year I ended up doing a face plant into the fetid water so, I took great care and thankfully succeeded. The carp was heading across me and it all got a tad feisty as my cane rod groaned but soaked it all up with aplomb. I had waded a little deeper but the net needed to be at arm's length which I did with gritted teeth. The carp saw the net and headed back across the bay, deep and heavy.

Eventually, I got it over the net and heaved it to me, it felt like a good one. Pulling the net apart, I could see the broad shoulders and the length that told me it was a thirty.

It went 30.11 but felt heavier, mind you, with one thing and another, my arms have lost some strength, I need to build that up and soon. 

During the landing and resting the fish in clear water, I lost my glasses and, by the time I had sorted all my gear out, I was knackered. Time for home, with a detour to the opticians, all after less than half an hour with a bait in the water. 

At last

I'm feeling it today but, at least I've had something decent in this most trying of seasons. I may get a trip or two in before my op, but I am mentally prepared for the layoff and look forward to the future.