The Rescue Mission

This weekend the three of us went back for another try at Dovehouse pool. A nice little pool known to hold some good fish, and as we know from experience loads of Gudgeon.

We all started off with one rod fishing for carp or tench, Toby and I had both had other rods fishing waggle for the silvers. Chucking a few maggots out with every cast I didn't have to wait long for my first gudgeon of the day, here we go again I thought. My next fish a moment or so later took me a little by surprise as it was not a gudgeon but a Rudd. I recast, threw a few grubs out and waited for my float to dip under. Which it dutifully did a few minutes later this time a gudgeon again, quite a big gudgeon to fair. Next fish was a roach, then another gudgeon, then a Rudd. A pattern started to emerge well kind of, but you get the point. So im pleased to say that its not all gudgeon there are other silver fish too.

 The silver bashing was all very well and good but to be honest was not the reason we had come back to Dovehouse. With the weather starting to warm up, it almost feels like summer. This in mind we were hoping to get a bit of Tench action or a bonus carp. But our efforts so far had yielded very little result, using tactics that have been catching us fish elsewhere.

Not great at sitting behind a rod that is doing very little, Toby had gone off for a wander. While he was away Liam had a proper screaming run. He briefly connected to what must have been a good sized fish, (from the size of the swirl) before it snapped him off and left him cursing. After coming back to see what all the commotion was about, Toby asked Liam and I to follow him to take a look at something. So I brought in my lines and went off to see what Toby had spotted. We mooched round and Toby stopped and pointed at a small clump of reeds a couple of feet out into the open water, "watch this" said Toby chucking a few pellets just to the right of the clump of reeds. The reeds started to move towards the area that had just been baited. Toby explained that he had been watching this odd patch of reeds for a while, and had come to the conclusion that it must be somehow attached to a fish. We decided the best cause of action would be to try and snag the reeds, try and land the fish to set it free. This not only being very humane but also great fun on an other wise tough trip. Set up on lightish tackle nothing but a hair rigged bait band on the line, from free lining the margins. Toby managed to snag up the reeds and was into a good double figure fish, on 6lb line to reeds to what ever the fish was hooked up with. After a ten minute delicate fight we nearly had the fish at the net. But with what must have been the last of it's strength it flapped off again, freeing it's self and leaving  Toby with one hell of a birds nest.

Cutting our losses after what was turning into a hard session, we headed to Border fisheries on the way home for the last few hours before dark.  We had a go on Three Island pool for a change and it turned out to be a good move. Toby who is loving stalking the margins at the moment was on the look out for any movement in the reed bed or lillys like a hawk. Liam was having a go at getting to grips with fishing small pellets on the hook or a bait band. And alternated between cage feeder with the deadly half dark method mix half mixed pellets combo, with trusty old lob worm on the hook.  
The stalker Toby was the first to catch, good karma for his heroics earlier in the day. A really hard fighting Barbel from the margins that he thought was a carp. This was soon followed by a second and third all from the spot in the margins on the far side of the pool.

Liam fishing the waggler on peg 12, and was still struggling to catch despite his best efforts it just wasn't to be his day. We all have lean spells and this seems to be his, but the glorious 16th will soon be upon us, and the River Dane is Liam's stomping ground. It could be an omen when our friend finally did get a fish it was a Chub.

The river theme continued that evening. Not having much joy with the cage feeder to worm approach. I dropped a small loaded float into the margins over an area I had been baiting for a while with micro pellets, with a couple of pieces of corn on a quick stopped hair. My float sailed off and I was into what felt like a good fish.
 I had know idea what was on the the end of my line. Instead of trying making runs like the feisty little carp we have been catching at border, this was just moving around the bottom just in front of my feet. Not wanting to come up from the bottom of the pool, the fish I had hooked stubbornly moved round in a sort of figure of eight. My arm started to ache trying to persuade the fish up using my little 7ft light quivertip rod. After what seemed like an eternity I eventually landed a nice Barbel of about a couple of pounds. This has finally hit home that my little rod has no place with me on the Dane. It is a DAM mega match twin tip rod that is about 16 years old, that I love very dearly. It has served me very well up to now but as my friends assure me, it will get destroyed on the river Dane.

      
I finished the day off with a nice brace of carp from up against the island, on the feeder line with corn on the hair.  The first of which took me straight in to some snags, and I had a real struggle to free her. After much wrestling my line came free and I expected to have lost the fish in the snag. But no she was still attached and going strong, after another couple of mins the fish was landed. It was then I realised how lucky I had been, because my feeder had come off in what ever I was snagged up in.

For more information on rigs, set ups, bait and tackle please have a look at our brother blog

  On The Bank Technical specs 

 

Final Fling

This week would see us heading to the Dane, for the last session before the river season, for us course fishermen comes to an end. We travelled light along the BMAC Manor Farm stretch, dropping in on various pegs, chucking out a few pellets, then casting ledgered meat on top. Toby had a bit of a knock on the first peg we tried, so we gave it half an hour or so to see if anything developed, but alas the tip of Toby's rod stayed motionless. Undeterred we carried on along the river, varying hook baits slightly, changing hook lengths and casting into different types of swims. And we still couldn't get so much as even a twitch.  I have now lost countless bombs, a couple of feeders, a float, god knows how many hooks in trees and branches, about 4 pints of maggots, 3 tins of meat, 2 tubs of pellets and 20 man hours fishing and am yet to see a fish from The River Dane. Yet I know they are there, and I will catch one, but my first river Barbel really will have to wait until the summer now.

Deflated by another unsuccessful morning on the river, we headed down to Border (our local club complex) to fish closer to home for a couple of hours. Toby had been on the Friday and fished the canal again, and had a great session catching some of the fairly newly stocked F1 carp, which he told me "really hang on!"
That sounded like great fun to me and after a quick change of tackle, we were fishing again by half past two.
Unable to get on the peg that Toby had fished on before, we started off on pegs in the lower numbers.
My side has a great knack of being able to put his bait onto fish with his first cast, and yet again he was into a fish with the first chuck on the Meridian. The small hybrid flapped around wildly on the surface as Toby fumbled for his net, then just at that critical second bumped itself off the hook. That little fish must have swam back and told its friend not to bother because we really struggled to get another bite.
I moved round the canal a bit, to a section that was a bit more sheltered, thinking that the ripples on the surface might have been making it difficult to see the shy bites of the F1's, and switched from pellets which I was finding difficult to keep on the hook (no bait bands), to a bit of chopped worm in the hope of nabbing at least a couple of silvers, while the little carp evaded me.

This roach was my only fish of the day and fell to the old faithful chopped worm under a little waggler, on what was a pretty frustrating weekend of fishing. I even went back solo for a few hours on Sunday morning, still couldn't buy a bite. It really wasn't going to be my weekend
I did get treated to quite a performance by the new F1 carp, who paroled up and down in front of me, in big shoals just under the surface. But never once did they get there heads down to feed on my offerings. When they have settled down a bit it's going to be some fantastic angling, if I can ever hook one,  and I'm sure the big resident Perch are already enjoying their new guests, and might even start to pack on a pound or two.
    

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On The Bank Technical specs

Winter Barbel on The Dane

Having had a brief and unsuccessful trip to the Dane last week, We were back hoping to bag a winter Barbel, much more prepared for a river fishing session this time out, we had even brought re-enforcements. Our friend Liam was to be our guide, as he has fished the Dane for years.  
We set off along the Bay malton Manor farm stretch travelling light, settling into a suitable looking peg on a nice bend, I tried ledgering a couple of pellets to the far bank, Toby and Liam using similar tactics with variations on bait. We sat on what was a quite chilly morning bite-less for about an hour before moving on, yet again I was experiencing problems with the eyes on my rod freezing.

Finding another nice looking set of pegs down stream, that the three of us could all get on, we tried again, this time I opted to try a couple of maggots and a small maggot feeder. Liam sticking with meat, while Toby was trotting a couple of maggots down stream. Starting to get a little frustrated by the lack of fish, some light hearted ribbing of Liam ensued, claiming the pictures I have seen of him with some lovely look river Barbel, were obliviously the work of Photoshop!
We carried on down stream trying various pegs and slightly different methods and baits with very little success.
Fishing the Dane is a very different beast than my local River the Weaver, where the weaver is deep and plodding, the much shallower Dane pushes through a fair rate, I was finding it difficult to hold bottom with a 14g flat ledger, the biggest I had in my box.

Finishing the day off on a sandy bend which the fallen tree above dominated, I tried ledgered meat again and still couldn't buy a take. My first river Barbel will have to wait until the summer now, when I hope the Mink we saw dashing up the fallen tree, has saved some fish for us!

For more information on rigs, set ups, bait and tackle please have a look at our brother blog

On The Bank Technical specs

Snow Joke!

We set off on Saturday with the intention Pike fishing Lymm Dam, the weather reports for the day did not look to promising but undeterred we were out before dawn. After about 40 minuets drive we arrived at the Dam or the rink as I could call it! Ducks were huddled round a six foot square of water by the Dam wall the only area that wasn't frozen solid. Now as I had no saw in my tackle box, ice fishing wasn't an option.

The River Dane just so happens to be on the way back from Lymm, so having never seen it before, let alone fished it, I quite fancied taking a wander down and wetting a line, despite the worsening weather. As we had intended to have a go for some of the double figure Bream whilst at Lymm, we had some tackle suitable for a spot of river fishing.  So arriving at Bay Malton Angling club's stretch of The Dane at Holmes Chapel, we decanted our limited supply of river tackle and bait, then set of with a roving approach hoping to winkle out a cheeky Chub or even my first river Barbel.
We chose a really nice looking corner swim to start at, with a fallen tree over hanging the far bank slightly, normally I would have probably opted to trot bread or casters under a small float, but unfortunately I had to make do with a small cage feeder and a nice fat lob worm on a running rig to 10lb main line on a 7" quiver rod. Toby set himself up a similar rig with some luncheon meat. We sat and admired the scenery on what was a really cold and frosty morning, pretty much bite less for an hour or so before we moved on down steam. 
As we past the car on the walk to find a suitable swim further down stream I thought we must be quite mad, we were now treated to some vary nasty sleet and hail.
The move didn't pay dividends we faired no better in any of the other swims we tried, even with slight variations on terminal tackle and bait. To give you an idea of how cold it was, as we moved swim, the worm that I was using as hook bait would become solid if kept out of the water to long!

Heading back to the car it became very apparent that the hill that we had no problems earlier descending was going to be quite the challenge to ascend and get home. The sleet and freezing conditions had covered the slope with a quite thick layer of ice, which Toby's family saloon was having great difficulty getting any traction on. If it wasn't for a tow by some friendly chaps with there 4x4 that had been dirt bike riding near by, we may very well have still been there now.

For more information on rigs, set ups, bait and tackle please have a look at our brother blog

On The Bank Technical specs