Nearly

Sunday seems now to be our fishing day and a trip out with Phil and Mike is always good fun even when the fishing’s hard. Mike was busy at the boulder pool, the water looked clear and I thought the fishing may be hard . Just as I reached Mike he lifted into his first fish, he is now more than comfortable taking Brownies on the fly . A typical fish for the river not big but good fun on a lite rod . It turned into a bright day and I picked up a few stones, I tried to match the nymphs I found, a wee bit smaller and darker would have been spot on. I set up with 0.10 line thinking I may get more takes but alas this did not happen. It became a bit of a off day for me, the fish I hooked mainly got off and the rest of the time seemed to be spent in every bank side obstacle or worse untangling line. The little nymph was getting the odd fish and I finally landed one. The odd fly came off in fact most of the day you could see them but not in any great numbers, the fish seemed to match this the odd spasmodic rise was about it. I managed to get a half decent shot of a spent fly, it’s part of my day now snapping the odd shot, I almost fish to blog at times, its made my days fishing better, I for sure observe more and take in all the things happening around me. I would like to think its improved my angling, this may not be fact but my logging of days gone by as been looked back on over cold winters nights with great fondness . Think Mike is finding the same feelings as me with his angling these days, it’s nice to catch, after all that’s what we go for but being by and knowing all we can about the river adds to the pleasure . Phil is also getting to grips more and more with all things fly! It seems a long time since I constantly told him about how he would enjoy fly fishing , I love rivers and I think he has the same passion, he has certainly caught some good fish since our first outing and he came up trumps again Sunday . I felt a little guilty on the way home that evening the scales pushed round to 1lb 15oz, depending on how accurate they are the fish may well of broke the 2lb mark which is one of his aims for the year. One plus it will keep him going if you hit the target too early you may miss an even better prize . Still a most beautiful fish and one to be proud of. The picture above is Phil perking his lips he was that happy !! if I knew the kiss was for the fish I would of hung around and took a picture of the moment !! So not my best day but still very enjoyable, I do think I’m learning more and more even though my last outings have been a little lite on fish caught my approach has changed it sort of took my eye off the ball a little, missed fish, tangles lost flies and I find myself stood in one spot day dreaming of why I’m not catching and what I’m doing wrong that’s because I’m trying to read the situation more, last year I found a fly it worked and I stuck with it and fished . This year I want a little more think what the fish are doing the thing is I’m not fishing but when I do and it clicks I think the satisfaction will be worth the wait.

Posted on March 31, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing | Leave a Comment

Carp Fishing – Winter Carping Pt5

After 4 nice doubles on the 22nd December I was keen to get back to the lake on Christmas eve, I set the alarm for 8am and when it went off I woke up with a splitting headache and I felt sick. There wasn’t going to be any Christmas eve fishing session for me this year so I rolled over and went back to sleep in the hope that a few more hours might see me right. The next chance to get out fishing again was 2 days later, I was fully recovered by then but unfortunately the weather had taken another turn for the worse, gone was the mild weather and lovely westerly wind that had brought me 7 carp in the last 2 trips. Instead, bright sunny conditions and a bitingly cold easterly wind were the conditions that greeted me when I rolled into the car park on boxing day morning. The conditions may have been poor for catching carp but they were very good for spotting them and I found the fish within minutes of getting out of the car, they were occupying the centre of the lake just off the back of the cold easterly wind. Occasionally a carp would poke its head out of the water and I even saw the odd back breaking surface as the fish tried to take advantage of any warmth the sun had to offer. The carp were well within casting range of my open water swim so I set up there and slowly put my rods together. I put my first rig on my prebaited hotspot at 40 yards along with a few freebies, this spot was proving to be very consistent as usual and my intention was to keep a rod here whilst I would drop the other rig in areas I could see the fish in order to pick them off. With conditions being so bad I wasn’t very confident in the roving approach, it always seems to work best when there is a big wind on the water to disguise any lead splash. On my last session I had set up on a huge shoal of carp that had eventually vacated the area I was fishing, I had caught two of them before they left but leave they did. These carp were not liking lead weights on their heads at the moment and sure enough, just 10 minutes after casting a 2oz lead in amongst the showing carp, they had disappeared. It was an hour later when I spotted the carp again, they had moved off towards the out of bounds area and they seemed to be holding in an area that was around 90-100 yards out and slightly to the left of where my first cast went. I decided to try again so I wound the rig in, clipped on another small pva mesh bag and cast out again. I planted my feet when casting and stepped into the cast to generate the extra power I needed to reach the fish as they were right on the edge of my casting range. My 2oz lead weight landed around 90 yards out and this was the near side of where the carp could be seen. With my cast made I sat down to see if the fish would move again. I was disappointed when they did, the next time I spotted a carp they had moved out of range and I was left scratching my head wondering how to get a bait anywhere near them. Today, they just didn’t seem to want to know. A change of tactics was called for so I simply left each rod where it had been cast. It was going to be a waiting game today and I simply had to keep quiet and wait it out. Having abandoned the roving style I just sat and watched the water, I had a bite to eat and a drink from my flask and around 1pm I fell asleep!. I slept for around an hour and when I woke up and had another look for the fish I found nothing had changed. I was sitting and thinking about blanking when at 2.30pm the hotspot rod suddenly let out a single bleep, before I had chance to focus on the rod my monkey climber pulled up to the top of the needle as a full blooded run developed. That good old hotspot, its such a consistent area, it had saved me from blanking on numerous occasions over the last few winters and the area had come up trumps again!. I hit the rod and sure enough it arched over and took on its battle curve. The fish took very little in the way of line, just the occasional shake of the head before it began kiting to the right. Steady side strain kept things on track and in the margins I had a great fight with a common that just didn’t want to give up. Eventually the carp had no choice and as the fish tired, I slipped the landing net under a nice mid double that at least meant I hadn’t blanked. I secured the net and got the camera and weighing gear ready, once set up I lifted the fish out onto the unhooking mat for a closer look, the carp was nailed in the bottom lip as usual, a clear example of just how effective my basic carp rig actually is. With the carp unhooked I weighed it in at 16lb 2oz, a nice common that was slightly bigger than average for the water and a nice result on what was a very very poor day for carp fishing!. 16lb 2oz Boxing day common that saved a blank! After a few quick pictures in the sunshine I returned the carp to the lake and got on with trying to catch another one. I still had a few hours left so it was well worth trying the hotspot again. I recast my rod and again topped up the swim with a small handful of pellets that I just scattered around the area to try and pull in any passing fish. Unfortunately nothing else occurred, the carp that had moved out of range of my roving rod decided to stay there and as they didn’t drift back over as the day went on it became obvious that I wasn’t going to have any luck on that rod. The hotspot also stayed quiet and I had no more action from that area either. At 4.30pm I got the spod rod out and deposited another kilo of bait onto the hotspot. By now the temperatures where already below zero and I reckoned my kilo of feed would probably be the last food these carp would see for a while as a frozen lake would be the most likely outcome of the heavy frost that was now falling around me. I packed up and headed for home not knowing how long it would be before I returned again, this cold weather front looks to be in for a few days so this boxing day session may well turn out to be my last carp session of 2008. Tight Lines.

Posted on March 29, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Fishing Report | Leave a Comment

Carp Zone came to Spain

Last week my old mate Andy F, came to visit me for a short break. Fishing was not on the agenda but we managed to winkle an afternoon and a few hours on the banks of a special little water in the south of Madrid. It was a sunny day, and the water was as clear as it could ever be. The fishing did not look like it was going to be so productive. It’s a deep gravel pit with lot’s of little features, reeds, trees and margins to fish. This video gives you more of a taster of what the lake is like and what you can expect from it. Check it out, and if you get time leave comments on the Youtube Carp Zone website. Tight lines. Andy Macgregor

Posted on March 26, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing | Leave a Comment

Portable Fish Smoker

I finally worked out a way to get the best out of my catch! I brought a Fish Smoker – and put in some herring, left it to smoke with the wood kindling for a wee wile and hey presto – dinner! It’s perfect for picnics, at home, riverbank and also for other things like smoked cheese and meats. Light the two meths burners, sprinkle some sawdust on the base of the smoker, add your food and put the lid on. That’s it. There’s room for two 3-lb trout, which would take about 15 minutes to cook through. Steak and other meats taste great cooked this way too. This model is stainless steel, so resists corrosion much better than cheaper imitations. For transport, all the components stow inside the main compartment. compartment. Really simple to use, works great with trout and easy to clean. Buy your Fish Smoker from Ronnie Sunshines Below: Fish Smoker For £28.99 Related Posts: How to smoke fish in a smoker Fish smoker the ideal Christmas present Christmas gift ideas for fishermen Monk Fish Angling gifts for Christmas

Posted on March 23, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Fishing Trips, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Bob Nudd’s Fish ‘n’ Tips

To mark the launch of Discovery’s new TV channel, Discovery Shed, four times world angling champion Bob Nudd is going to be fishing at Victoria Park pond on Friday (20th March) from 8am. If you’d like to come and join Bob for some morning fishing and to get some tips to help improve your own technique, just turn up at the pond, which is near the park’s Pavillion Café (enter at Crown Gate West) at 8am on Friday. Discovery Shed will be the place for men who like good old practical activities to escape to. Watch Matt Hayes’ Greatest Catches on the channel from Friday 20th March at 9pm and 9.30pm, Bob Nudd’s Right Angles follows at 10pm and 10.30pm. Related Posts: Porthcurno rock fishing marks Competition Welsh sea fishing, more Cornish marks, a fishing competition and more to come in March Kayak test RTM Mambo and loko Rock fishing mark, Pendeen Watch

Posted on March 20, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Lake Fishing, Sea Fishing, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment

Flying Start

You may be thinking why the picture of my daughter? well the story starts with a small explanation of why after the Trout season started Sunday it’s Wednesday before I managed to post. Scarlett looks like butter would not melt, but she is ”Oh so much a little lady” Strong willed, intelligent, loving, funny and well the list goes on and on. Give her a ”Pandora’s box” though and she can not help herself, on this occasion it was my camera. For hours I searched but it was only when I asked Logan did the mystery unravel, ”well dad it’s strange but they asked at school today was this anyone’s camera ?” so I popped into the school office before I dropped the kids off , and there it was ,but how?… ………Scarlett….. she looked at me like a cat caught in the headlights ” it floated off dad” it got in Mummy’s car Dad” a string of excuses before a little tear. It’s funny now but at the time!! her Mums not helped my hair line over the years she will finish it off without doubt. All that said I love her more and more each day if thats possible. Any how back to the fishing we met up at the river, it was Pete’s first outing with the fly rod. I had been telling him about the good Trout, so when we arrived and looked over the wall to see Mike landing a fish at nearly 3lb it was great. We left Mike and Phil at the first pool and made our way to an area that would require a short cast and also give Pete a good chance of a fish. I made a cast to see how the water was and to show how too fish the line, as I did the line twitched and my first Trout was on and lost in a few seconds . Pete now tied the old favourite for this water the ”peeping caddis” A few casts later and the line tightened and Pete was playing his firs fly caught Brown Trout ……well done!!! I was well happy the feeling of sharing moments like these is fantastic, I know Pete was happy with the smile on his face . I had spotted a few fish rising and could not resist trying for my first dry fly fish of the year in fact my first fish, they seemed spooked very easily but a fish lower down was still rising quite a few casts later and I managed to fool it . Plenty of LDO’s came off Phil had one or two in a bottle no doubt he will be tying one or two up A fish on the dry can not be bettered in my opinion not too bad for the first day. I took another fish on the wet before we moved on. Phil was fishing fast water but it was hard going I had little else for the rest of the day a odd little bang but that was it . As always I worry a little when conditions are seem good but the fishing is a little slow. Still it was the first day and we had seven fish between us a couple lost so not too bad, if anything the water may have been a little low and clear . Pete was now tuning in to nature above the fast riffles . Petes first trout above was typical of the fish we caught last year in great condition and quite silver . I also have a new pattern of the caddis to try I may give it a longer go soon if it does the business I will post a picture, I like the looks of it hope the fish think the same .

Posted on March 18, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Fishing Trips | Leave a Comment

2nd annual FLF Tournament

click bellow to sign up ! http://www.foxlakefishing.com/fox-lake-fishing-derby-registration/ WE will be having our 2nd annual Fishing tournament at BaJa Bennys on Fox Lake sunday May 17th Sign in starts at 5:00 a.m. and the tournament kicks off at 6:00 a.m , weigh in is at 1:00 p.m sharp ! entry fee is $40.00 there will be 4 categories 1) Bass ___________________by length * weight used for tie breaker 2) Walleye _________________by length * weight used for tie breaker 3) Catfish __________________by length * weight used for tie breaker 4) Pan fish _________________by weight of your top 10 Pan fish* *Panfish we consider Bluegil Sunfish warmouth Rockbass crappies perch whit bass/yellow bass The tournament is for the entire chain of lakes ,not just fox lake. The $ 40 entry fee is for Individual, and covers all four categories. You can have as many anglers you want on a boat.  And you are allowed to use live bait. You must have an Illinois fishing license and A fox waterway sticker (they do sell a one day stickers for $10 ) and all fish will be released after weigh in. * Individual can take their own catch.The Tournament is a 80% pay back .with thousands of dollars of raffles from our sponsors any one older than 16 can enter the tournament as long as they have a valid fishing license. now as for boating,  the state law states that if your under 18 you must  complete a boating safety course and possess a Boating Safety Education Certificate accepted by the Department of Natural Resources or you are accompanied by and under the direct control of a parent, a guardian, or a person at least 18 years old designated by the parent or guardian. children 16 and under can fish the tournament for free  but are not eligible for the  category prizes unless they pay entry fee , how ever they are eligible for the raffle prizes . Creel limit                       length Largemouth/ bass_____________6__________14” smallmouth/ ________________3__________14″ Walleye* ___________________ 3 _________  14-18” Walleye*___________________1__________24” + Catfish _______________________________no creel limit Pan fish _______________________ __________no creel limit *18″ to 24″ protected slot limit (no possession) **Includes the Fox River to Rt. 176 (Burton’s Bridge) Please pre register online so we can get an idea how many anglers we will have.This will help us place non boaters, and help with what we need for parking etc…You don’t need to pay your entry fee online entry fee will be collected at sign in, the day of the tournament. Baja Benny’s does have a free launch for the tournament Might have limited trailer parking depending on outcome . The band mystify will be performing after weigh in  and BaJa’s will have their grills fired up SIGN UP HERE http://www.foxlakefishing.com/fox-lake-fishing-derby-registration/

Posted on March 18, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Lake Fishing | Leave a Comment

Going To Work! Giant Goliath Grouper Jewfish Chew On This

Watch Captain Ben Chancey of the “Chew On This” Saltwater Fishing Show battle the largest fish of his life while nearly getting pulled overboard. His rod snaps in two and he has to land the fish by hand. The Goliath he lands is nearly 8 foot long and an estimated 600 pounds.

Posted on March 17, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, SaltWater Fishing | Leave a Comment

Fishing Report: 19th February 09 – Clacton on sea, Essex

I had originally wanted a session after some Suffolk Flounders but with various commitments getting in the way I just didn’t have the time available for a long session across the border, which usually involves digging Ragworm on the way to fishing. Instead I decided to make the most of the time I had available and fish closer to home, settling for a shortish session at the Gunfleet Sailing Club at Clacton. I opted to fish the ebb on the very small tide, a definite handicap when the target is Codling, slinging out my first baits of Frozen Black and Cuttle at about 7pm on what was, for a change, a very pleasant mild night. The fishing was slow to say the least, not a great surprise given there was very little run in the tide, however within an hour I had a Codling in the bag; nothing big but approaching the 2lb mark and a nice size for the pot. If I’m honest luck must have been smiling on me with this fish as I didn’t even get a bite and it must have just taken the bait as I picked up my solitary rod to reel in and re-bait. I had hoped to add at least one more fish to tally but it was just not to be. Despite the water being a nice colour there was just no run in the tide whatsoever and the fishing was just not up to much. The only other excitement of the night was one of those steamroller bites that lifted the rod butt off the ground on the last cast at about 11.30pm as the water began to really disappear on me. You would have thought that any fish doing that to your rod would be well and truly hooked but as is often the case, I picked up the rod to find it had gone and reeled in a bait that looked untouched so despite the ferocity of the bite it seems that the fish didn’t take the bait properly. Normally I would have tried that “one more cast” after a good bite but to be honest I was really just too tired and as I started to pack up the rain started to come down so it seems that packing up was probably a good decision (I hate the rain). Despite being a slow session, after all the cold weather we have had this winter, the mild night made for a nice change and I’m not one to complain at having a Codling in the bag for tea, especially not after some of the very lean Cod seasons I have experienced over the years.

Posted on March 15, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Sea Fishing | Leave a Comment

Carp Fishing – Winter Carping Pt4

I had a few days annual leave booked over Christmas and with Saturdays 22lb common fresh in my mind I decided a return trip to the lake was in order so I packed my gear early on Monday morning and headed back across Cheshire to my winter runs water. Things had certainly changed since Saturday, the wind had eased right off and the carp had decided to show themselves. As soon as I pulled into the car park I was greeted by a carp crashing about 50 yards out and right in the entrance to the small bay off the main lake. I got out of the car and looked over at the area and inside 60 seconds and 5 more carp broke surface, in fact the more I looked the more I saw and the area was absolutely crawling with carp, it was an awesome sight with fish topping all over the area. There was no time to waste, I had to get to work so I unloaded the car and headed for the bay swim that had been the scene of my boxing day and new years day twenties over last Christmas. I couldn’t get myself set up quickly enough, I had the rod pod down first and my two rods were put together in no time. My rods still had the pellets on from Saturday so I didn’t bother putting fresh baits on, I had to get the rods in amongst those carp as soon as possible so I just attached a pva mesh bag to each rod and cast them out. The first rig went off to right where a lot of carp seemed to be gathered and the second rig went straight out in front just on the edge of where another group of fish were showing. I was settled in very quickly and I was expecting action straight away. Winter carp fishing can be a bit unpredictable, I thought I’d got my baits in quietly and that the carp hadn’t spooked but half an hour later I was having serious doubts about my swim, the fish had just stopped showing completely!. I made a decision to move the close in rod a bit further out into the middle of where the carp had showed instead of on the edge of the area, I had hoped to pick fish off without disturbing them and I’d obviously failed at that so I just went for the jugular so to speak. I was actually contemplating a move to the centre of the lake when at midday all hell broke loose, the right hand delkim melted as a carp picked up my pellet and bolted for the horizon. I was on the rod quickly and after just a few seconds of playing the fish the left hand rod did the same!. With 2 fish on at the same time I was in trouble, I had to end the fight with the first carp as quickly as possible so I applied more pressure to try and bring the fish to the net. The carp actually felt quite decent, not as heavy as a 20 but certainly better than average for the water, this prolonged the fight and all the time I had the fish circling the other rod was running!. Eventually I netted a nice mirror, I secured the net and grabbed the second rod, by now this fish was quite a way out but it was still on. I had a job to cut down the distance between me and the fish in case it kited either side as I had bushes trailing in the water that might cause problems. Luckily the fish came straight into the net with very little fight and 5 minutes later I was stood there looking down at two carp in my landing net!. I had a feeling of déjà vu, I’d caught a common and mirror brace from this swim on the 29th December 2007 , just a week short of one year ago. Here I was again in the same situation, as I did then, I got my sling sack out and retained one of the fish whilst I weighed and potographed the first fish, the mirror weighed in at 16lb 12oz and after a few pictures I released this fish and brought the common to the unhooking mat , the common proved to be slightly smaller at 14lb 4oz but together they made up a nice brace of winter carp. Luckily everything had gone smoothly and I was happy to have both fish returned to the water safely. First of my winter carp brace, a 16lb 12oz winter mirror Second of my winter carp brace, a 14lb 4oz winter common I rebaited my rods after my two fish and covered the same areas of the lake again. I sat back expecting some more action but after an hour nothing had showed and the area that looked like a carp stock pond two hours earlier was now empty of fish. I had a bite to eat and a drink from my flask and contemplated a move to the centre of the lake. After giving it until 2pm I finally made that move to the middle of the lake and to my prebaited hotspot. With the carp moving into the main area of the lake, this area would surely give me another chance before I went home at 4.30pm. I put a pva mesh bag onto my hotspot at around 40 yards, the second rig went slightly off to the left about 50 yards out, this was an area I figured the carp may pass through on their way to the main area of the lake and the out of bounds area. Over the next hour I saw quite a few carp crash and they had moved out of range and into the out of bounds area. The fish obviously knew where to go to get away from angling pressure!. There was an odd fish showing closer in so I was hopeful of another carp before I went home. I had to wait until 15.40pm before the run came, out of the blue the hotspot rod took off and my right hand delkim burst into life. This fish kited to my right and gave me a bit of a scare as it came close to an over hanging tree but some steady side strain had the fish close in and after a short fight in the margins I netted my third carp of the day. On the mat I carefully unhooked the fish and started my weighing process, on the scales I had 15lb 4oz, a few pictures followed and I returned my carp to the water, a nice mid double winter common to go with my brace of carp from earlier on. Third winter carp of the day, a 15lb 4oz common I had my rig back on the hotspot again for the last half hour of my session, by now a few carp had rolled in the area and I was convinced the hotspot rod was going to produce another fish. By 16.25 I had all my gear packed away with just the rods and the net to go. I looked at my watch waiting for 16.30 exactly before I wound in and started baiting up again. I was going to leave the hotspot rod till last as I was sure something was going to happen. When 16.30 arrived I walked over to the rods and just before I picked up the left hand rod it bleeped once, I paused for a second and sure enough the left hand rod in open water suddenly pulled round as a run developed!. I wasn’t expecting that, I was convinced it would be the hotspot rod but I wasn’t complaining, I hit the rod and began bringing my fourth carp of the day to the net. Everything went well and eventually I netted another nice common. I had to go digging in my rucksack for my scales and camera but eventually I got everything set up and my last carp of the day turned the scales to 16lb 8oz, another better than average fish for the water. Last minute 16lb 8oz carp made it a good winter session. The light was fading fast and I still had work to do before I went home, I packed the rods away and thankfully the hotspot rod didn’t go before I wound it in although I was still half expecting it too!. Once my gear was packed away I got on with spodding in some more bait as I was planning a return two days later on Christmas Eve. It took me a while and not for the first time I ended up spodding in the dark. With this task duly completed I headed for home more than happy with my four late December carp. Tight Lines Mark.

Posted on March 15, 2009 Filed Under Fish, Fishing, Fishing Diary, Fishing Report | Leave a Comment

keep looking »

Pages