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