Weight – 250lb 7oz
Catch – 34 Carp, 1 Bream.
Weather – Sunny & warm.
Water Temp– 20.5c > 21.0c
It’s been a mixed and interesting week. Still no news regarding the 3rd party that wants to buy us, yet its been 1 of the most boring and quietest weeks I have experience at work. Regardless of what happens I’ll either receive a decent redundancy package or still have a job, even if that job isn’t what I want to do (trying to keep positive!).
On a more positive note Suzanne may actually be working soon. Admittedly it may be self employed which has its risks, but the opportunity does mean working from home. For the 1st time in a while, Sue has her sparkle back and there has been a sense of optimism in the Rayner household. Fingers crossed, because if Sue does gets the job, its mean I can get back to proper fishing.
As for today, I was back at my club water, thinking of breaking the 300lb barrier. I settled on corner peg 16, with the intention of fishing pole & paste. Decided on 3 swims. The 1st was 8m to my left along the margin, because that has been a reliable area in the past. The 2nd swim was 10m in front, because I’ve noticed the bigger fish tend to be caught in the open water. The 3rd swim was to be in the shallow corner to my right, but there was loads of small rudd on the surface, so 8 or 11mm pellet would be the bait.
As I started there was a few carp cruising the surface, in fact I swear 1 of the carp was chasing the rudd. 1st put in on the left hand swim I had a 6lb carp 1st cast, then nothing for another 45mins. This wasn’t in the script and I knew straight away 300lb wasn’t going to be possible. Perhaps I would have been better choosing an open water swim and fishing shallow?
Moving into the 2nd hour I started to get more indications, concentrating on the 10m line and a 17lb 1oz common was very welcome. You know when you have a proper munter when you have to shake the fish into the net!
As the session progressed, I didn’t bother with the right had swim, simply because I felt I would be spending more time pulling fish out of the reeds than actually fishing. The 10m line was definitely the best, whilst the left hand swim was a struggle, which was a surprise.
On the whole I felt the carp weren’t feeding properly, I had a few fish hooked around the mouth and I lost a few fish where the hook pulled for no particular reason. The issue today was high pressure had taken over from low pressure yesterday, where there was some heavy rain. Also I had brought 6mm pellet, instead of the usual 8mm. Normally I would throw a handful of pellet, but today I found it best to mould a fistful of pellet in to ball, so it sank quicker.
As expected the session improved as it moved into what was a beautiful evening. As well as the 17lber, I also had 4 more doubles, including a mirror of 14lb 2oz.
Just reading Tim Ford’s blog, I am glad to say I avoided killing the reed warbler, which was in attendance for most of the day.
I wont fishing next week, instead I will be preparing for a car boot sale on Sunday to get some much needed cash. Unless I fancy a mid week session, my next fishing trip will on Rushcombe Lake at Bullocks Farm practising for a club match.
Yesterday (Sunday) Suzanne & I went for a drive to take advantage of the good weather and we ended up at Lacock. As I looked over the road bridge there were 5 chub sitting in the flow, 1 of which can’t have been far away from 5lb. Have to say I started to feel nostalgic for the days when I used to regularly fish the river, but I never managed a river barbel (except for 1 of 3oz which doesn’t count) and I keep meaning to get back to the river and give it go.
Monday, June 29, 2009
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Riding Horses in the Water
Saturday we had 300 or so High School Girls, Counselors, and Helpers out to the lake for some swimming activities and horseback riding. My aunts and uncles have lots of horses and love teaching people how to ride. They even teach youngsters how to do gymnastics on moving horses! Anyhow before camp they decided to take a new trail for the campers- through the water - and they needed some volunteers to help get the horses familiar with the new trail.
After some minor resistance I was nominated as a volunteer and jumped on a horse. I am much to big to be riding a horse in the first place, but they assured me that the horse was capable of carrying a 400 lb rider! When I hopped on that beast I quickly realized it was not quite as easy as it looks on TV, especially without a saddle. Both of my hands were glued to that horse at all times, and my feet were locked around it, and I still came waaaay too close to falling several times. Despite what appears to be a smile on my face in the video, I was actually pretty petrified the entire time and I am still a bit sore from the ride, but actually I might be getting back on a horse again in the future. Definitely will be with a saddle next time though.
After some minor resistance I was nominated as a volunteer and jumped on a horse. I am much to big to be riding a horse in the first place, but they assured me that the horse was capable of carrying a 400 lb rider! When I hopped on that beast I quickly realized it was not quite as easy as it looks on TV, especially without a saddle. Both of my hands were glued to that horse at all times, and my feet were locked around it, and I still came waaaay too close to falling several times. Despite what appears to be a smile on my face in the video, I was actually pretty petrified the entire time and I am still a bit sore from the ride, but actually I might be getting back on a horse again in the future. Definitely will be with a saddle next time though.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Ellastone 'the grey duster is a killer'
The weather conditions were great today and i knew Ellastone would be a good option, arriving at half eight i walked up from the bridge to see a huge hatch going off and rises all over the river, I soon tackled up and got in amongst them, I have started to fish the slower part of Ellastone because i find it harder fishing and it gives me great satisfaction to catch there, The rises were sips with head fin and tail rises, I could see lots of black sedges hovering over the water and emerging, from my lesson i have been told that these are taking emergers, i opted for a ballon caddis, fishcake emerger!, and a small f fly, i had little slashes and managed to catch a few but lots of fish were just ignoring them, this really gets on my nerves and i am obsessed with matching the munch, I got that pissed off i put on a small hairs ear nymph and fished it two inches under the surface which got me into a very good fish, i played the fish for a good five minuites and it was giving me a right run around, i give my fish really hard hammer now as i have had trouble reviving the fish this year and try to get them in as soon as possible, this seems to have done the job. I could not get this fish near the surface and it was plodding proving i was into a good fish, I got the fish near to me and it just bolted when it saw me and dived into the weed, i waded across to try and free it but the fish had freed the hook!!, gutted! another big fish goes missing on me again, this reminds me of my barbel fishing days, hook a clunker which takes you days of stalking and baiting up only to hook it and lose it!
Well i do not fish the nymph normaly but i had to do something to get a take, but this method did not producer anything after losing taht fish, i opted to go and get my new kelly kettle going and sit and enjoy the surrounding to chill me out, i got the idea of a Kelly Kettle from Mick Martin who uses one regular, i can see why as they are a great way to have a nice fresh cup of tea and relax, i sat with squire and wood the other night and we just sat around and talked general fishing and stuff while drinking fresh coffee, Squire texted me the next day to say 'it proves there is more to fishing than catching fish' this could not be more true and nights like that are not forgotten..
I soon got back in the river and started to fish the sedge inmatations again with fish totally ignoring them, i saw a couple of olive coming off and thought of trying something different than sedge, i went for a grey duster which absolutly killed the fish!! i was taking a fish from every rises i saw, I had very good sport until the bats came out which was time to call it a night, catching on the duster has just confused me so much more as i was thinking they were on the sedge all night??
Well a great night on a great stretch of river but a confusing one?
If anyone knows why why the duster did so well please let me know as i am confused!!
Thanks
Glen
Friday, June 26, 2009
High School Boys Camp Video and Pics
June 18-21 we had high school boys camp at the my uncles place in Farmington and my lake in Norris.
Will post more pics soon, check out the video for now.
Will post more pics soon, check out the video for now.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Electrofishing – Creating the Perfect Management Plan
Electrofishing – Creating the Perfect Management Plan
By Nate Herman www.hbpondmanagement.com
I have not been able to get out my fishing rods nearly as often as I envisioned when I first started stocking fish and managing lakes back in 2003, but during the last couple years I have definitely caught more and bigger fish than I ever dreamed possible! Although I don’t get to use my rod and reel much, I am still able to get my fishing fix by utilizing a variety of sampling and angling methods. By far my favorite fishing technique would have to be correctly utilizing 1200 to 1800 watts of DC electrical current.
After practicing and experimenting for a few years, I have learned how to fine-tune the pulse rate, duty cycle, voltage and amps along with the unique conductivity of the water in a lake to safely draw certain species of fish right up to the anodes of my electrofishing boat!
Not only has electrofishing become one of the most fun parts of my job, but if often is the most important. This method of fish population analysis is a crucial step to creating the perfect fish management plan for a body of water. It is important to take a complete inventory of what you have before making any decisions of what fish to stock or harvest. Some other commonly used forms of fish population analysis are traditional angling, angler surveys, seining and trapnetting. I always try to utilize as many of these methods as possible to obtain the most accurate and complete fish population analysis, but I would say that the electrofishing results are the most unbiased and accurate.
Just about every day I get asked several questions about the electrofishing process. The answer to the most often asked question is NO! When I turn on the electrical current, all of the fish in the lake DO NOT float up to the surface. Only the fish within our approximately 20 foot wide by 40 foot long electrical field are stunned for a very short time. The two guys in the front of the boat need to have good eyes and quick reflexes to capture them before they swim away. For those wondering about the process of electrofishing I am going to describe the equipment, process, capabilities and limitations of electro pond shocking. But before I get into the meat and potatoes of electrofishing, I would like to briefly mention the process of creating the perfect fish management plan.
When I create a fish management plan for a client, it is geared 100 percent completely for that individual client. There are no absolutes in regards to managing fish! Ponds and lakes are definitely unique from each other, but what I have found is the most important and often most overlooked aspect to successful pond management is the fact that every owner is unique from the next! If I give out fish management recommendations before having a client answer some important questions, I am essentially managing that body of water to suit my goals, not his. For that reason, I will not give out any fisheries recommendations without first having a client answer the following questions: What do you want to use your lake for? Who will be primary fisherman? What kind of fish would you like to catch? How often do you plan on fishing? How many and what kind of fish would you like to harvest? Do you plan on supplementally feeding? What is your budget and timeframe? Clearly defining your goals by answering these questions is the most important step to managing your fish!
Once the goals have been defined, we talk about the history of the lake. When was it built? When were the fish stocked? What types of fish were stocked? How is the current status of the fishery? And etc. Once we have gathered as much information as possible, we then get out on the water to assess the current conditions. We analyze the water clarity, quality, chemistry, depths, watershed, vegetation and the fish currently present! All of this information needs to be defined, calculated, and considered when formulating your perfect fish plan. The bass/bluegill/catfish pond is quickly being replaced by specialized fisheries geared towards certain species or goals!
Now that I got all of that out of the way, I will attempt to explain the equipment and process of electrofishing. The boat we use is a custom welded all aluminum, extra wide, 14-foot plate boat with a 25 HP Mercury. We have mounted a special DC generator that powers the DC control box, anodes, and foot-pad. The anodes are mounted to 12-foot long poles and extended out in front of the boat. The electrical current is converted in the control box and sent into the water through the anodes. Our control box regulates how much and how fast the electricity is put into the water. One of the guys on the front of the deck has to be standing on the foot-pad in order for electricity to be put into the water. If he steps (or falls) off the boat, the electricity immediately shuts off. Also in the boat we have a couple 10-foot long dip nets for scooping up the fish, and a 150 gallon fish tank for holding the captured fish.
That’s the basic equipment and although it sounds complicated, it is fairly basic to run. The tricky part is figuring out how conductive the water is and where the fish are? Every body of water carries electricity different from the next. It usually takes a few minutes to get all the settings adjusted to create the best electrical field possible. Once I got the field just right, we have to actually find the fish! This is where the major limitations of electrofishing come into play. Any avid fisherman will learn what general vicinity his target species will be at during the different seasons and even throughout the course of the day. Just like traditional fishing methods, some days of electrofishing are better than others. If the fish are deep, they are not very easy to electrofish!
Several factors that need to be considered when electrofishing would be the time of year, current weather, barometer, air temperature, water temperature, water clarity, depths, and fish structure. In the spring and fall, I prefer to electrofish in the late afternoons when the water temps rise a few degrees throughout the day, and in the summer I prefer to electrofish at night when the fish move up to the shallows to feed. Also I don’t even bother electrofishing after a massive cold front or storm. Even though we can bring up just about any fish we find, we still have to find the fish! Have you ever heard the phrase 90 % of the fish live in 10% of the water? I would probably argue that it is closer to 95% and 5%.
I typically will just start out electrofishing around the shoreline and keep my eye out for any fishy looking area, activity, or developing pattern. We simply have the generator and control box turned on and drive around until we start finding and dialing up the fish. The two netters in the front will scoop up every fish they possibly can and we will spend as much time electrofishing as necessary to gather up a tank full of fish for analyzing.
Typically a 10-acre lake or less, we can collect hundreds of fish in less than 30 minutes of electrofishing. Once the fish are collected, they are weighed, measured, tagged, filmed, and then gently released back to their homes.
Hopefully this information helps clarify the process of electrofishing a bit, as well as help you realize that you don’t have to manage your lake or pond how farmer Joe or some book tells you to. The absolute best thing you can do is define what you want to manage your body of water for, and determine what inventory you already have to create and implement your perfect management plan! Just keep in mind there are no absolutes, but there are certain limitations throughout the entire process. Raising fish is not about the destination, but the journey!
By Nate Herman www.hbpondmanagement.com
I have not been able to get out my fishing rods nearly as often as I envisioned when I first started stocking fish and managing lakes back in 2003, but during the last couple years I have definitely caught more and bigger fish than I ever dreamed possible! Although I don’t get to use my rod and reel much, I am still able to get my fishing fix by utilizing a variety of sampling and angling methods. By far my favorite fishing technique would have to be correctly utilizing 1200 to 1800 watts of DC electrical current.
After practicing and experimenting for a few years, I have learned how to fine-tune the pulse rate, duty cycle, voltage and amps along with the unique conductivity of the water in a lake to safely draw certain species of fish right up to the anodes of my electrofishing boat!
Not only has electrofishing become one of the most fun parts of my job, but if often is the most important. This method of fish population analysis is a crucial step to creating the perfect fish management plan for a body of water. It is important to take a complete inventory of what you have before making any decisions of what fish to stock or harvest. Some other commonly used forms of fish population analysis are traditional angling, angler surveys, seining and trapnetting. I always try to utilize as many of these methods as possible to obtain the most accurate and complete fish population analysis, but I would say that the electrofishing results are the most unbiased and accurate.
Just about every day I get asked several questions about the electrofishing process. The answer to the most often asked question is NO! When I turn on the electrical current, all of the fish in the lake DO NOT float up to the surface. Only the fish within our approximately 20 foot wide by 40 foot long electrical field are stunned for a very short time. The two guys in the front of the boat need to have good eyes and quick reflexes to capture them before they swim away. For those wondering about the process of electrofishing I am going to describe the equipment, process, capabilities and limitations of electro pond shocking. But before I get into the meat and potatoes of electrofishing, I would like to briefly mention the process of creating the perfect fish management plan.
When I create a fish management plan for a client, it is geared 100 percent completely for that individual client. There are no absolutes in regards to managing fish! Ponds and lakes are definitely unique from each other, but what I have found is the most important and often most overlooked aspect to successful pond management is the fact that every owner is unique from the next! If I give out fish management recommendations before having a client answer some important questions, I am essentially managing that body of water to suit my goals, not his. For that reason, I will not give out any fisheries recommendations without first having a client answer the following questions: What do you want to use your lake for? Who will be primary fisherman? What kind of fish would you like to catch? How often do you plan on fishing? How many and what kind of fish would you like to harvest? Do you plan on supplementally feeding? What is your budget and timeframe? Clearly defining your goals by answering these questions is the most important step to managing your fish!
Once the goals have been defined, we talk about the history of the lake. When was it built? When were the fish stocked? What types of fish were stocked? How is the current status of the fishery? And etc. Once we have gathered as much information as possible, we then get out on the water to assess the current conditions. We analyze the water clarity, quality, chemistry, depths, watershed, vegetation and the fish currently present! All of this information needs to be defined, calculated, and considered when formulating your perfect fish plan. The bass/bluegill/catfish pond is quickly being replaced by specialized fisheries geared towards certain species or goals!
Now that I got all of that out of the way, I will attempt to explain the equipment and process of electrofishing. The boat we use is a custom welded all aluminum, extra wide, 14-foot plate boat with a 25 HP Mercury. We have mounted a special DC generator that powers the DC control box, anodes, and foot-pad. The anodes are mounted to 12-foot long poles and extended out in front of the boat. The electrical current is converted in the control box and sent into the water through the anodes. Our control box regulates how much and how fast the electricity is put into the water. One of the guys on the front of the deck has to be standing on the foot-pad in order for electricity to be put into the water. If he steps (or falls) off the boat, the electricity immediately shuts off. Also in the boat we have a couple 10-foot long dip nets for scooping up the fish, and a 150 gallon fish tank for holding the captured fish.
That’s the basic equipment and although it sounds complicated, it is fairly basic to run. The tricky part is figuring out how conductive the water is and where the fish are? Every body of water carries electricity different from the next. It usually takes a few minutes to get all the settings adjusted to create the best electrical field possible. Once I got the field just right, we have to actually find the fish! This is where the major limitations of electrofishing come into play. Any avid fisherman will learn what general vicinity his target species will be at during the different seasons and even throughout the course of the day. Just like traditional fishing methods, some days of electrofishing are better than others. If the fish are deep, they are not very easy to electrofish!
Several factors that need to be considered when electrofishing would be the time of year, current weather, barometer, air temperature, water temperature, water clarity, depths, and fish structure. In the spring and fall, I prefer to electrofish in the late afternoons when the water temps rise a few degrees throughout the day, and in the summer I prefer to electrofish at night when the fish move up to the shallows to feed. Also I don’t even bother electrofishing after a massive cold front or storm. Even though we can bring up just about any fish we find, we still have to find the fish! Have you ever heard the phrase 90 % of the fish live in 10% of the water? I would probably argue that it is closer to 95% and 5%.
I typically will just start out electrofishing around the shoreline and keep my eye out for any fishy looking area, activity, or developing pattern. We simply have the generator and control box turned on and drive around until we start finding and dialing up the fish. The two netters in the front will scoop up every fish they possibly can and we will spend as much time electrofishing as necessary to gather up a tank full of fish for analyzing.
Typically a 10-acre lake or less, we can collect hundreds of fish in less than 30 minutes of electrofishing. Once the fish are collected, they are weighed, measured, tagged, filmed, and then gently released back to their homes.
Hopefully this information helps clarify the process of electrofishing a bit, as well as help you realize that you don’t have to manage your lake or pond how farmer Joe or some book tells you to. The absolute best thing you can do is define what you want to manage your body of water for, and determine what inventory you already have to create and implement your perfect management plan! Just keep in mind there are no absolutes, but there are certain limitations throughout the entire process. Raising fish is not about the destination, but the journey!
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Hottest Bite of the Year Fishing Pics!
It was 95 degrees, calm and sunny Tuesday afternoon but the Schroeders wanted to brave the elements and catch some fish.
Duane brought his sons Jordan and Jesse along with his son-in-laws Luke and Jason out for an evening trip on the pontoon boat. Luke and Jason were hitting the bluegill pretty hard, Jesse caught a mixed bag of Perch, Walleye, Bluegill, and a nice 3.5 lb rainbow trout from 25 feet down!
Duane caught this nice catfish at the same time Jesse was reeling in his trout. 6 Big Guys on a pontoon boat with tons of gear and two big fish fighting on ultralight gear makes for a pretty hectic, yet fun time! Shoulda had the video camera for all that dancing around!
Duane got the catfish, a handful of bass, lost a big striper, broke off another big striper, and got his spider wire bitten off clean by a muskie!
Jordan picked up his rod on this nice striper as it was sliding in the water, good catch!
I ran out of batteries on my camera or I would have some more pics of their trip! I also had to dive off the pontoon boat to grab a rod that a 14 oz bluegill had pulled in! Again we got the rod and the fish!
Duane brought his sons Jordan and Jesse along with his son-in-laws Luke and Jason out for an evening trip on the pontoon boat. Luke and Jason were hitting the bluegill pretty hard, Jesse caught a mixed bag of Perch, Walleye, Bluegill, and a nice 3.5 lb rainbow trout from 25 feet down!
Duane caught this nice catfish at the same time Jesse was reeling in his trout. 6 Big Guys on a pontoon boat with tons of gear and two big fish fighting on ultralight gear makes for a pretty hectic, yet fun time! Shoulda had the video camera for all that dancing around!
Duane got the catfish, a handful of bass, lost a big striper, broke off another big striper, and got his spider wire bitten off clean by a muskie!
Jordan picked up his rod on this nice striper as it was sliding in the water, good catch!
I ran out of batteries on my camera or I would have some more pics of their trip! I also had to dive off the pontoon boat to grab a rod that a 14 oz bluegill had pulled in! Again we got the rod and the fish!
Smallmouth Bass Spawning Video
We took quite a bit of video footage of Smallmouth Bass Spawning and Hatching from June 4 to June 11 at our lake. We had TONS of footage of this Smallmouth Bass guarding the nest and eggs, the eggs hatching, and the male guarding the fry. Due to a couple camera malfunctions and random acts of dumbness on our parts we lost 90% of the footage, but were still able to put together this video of what we salvaged. Its pretty cool!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Fun Fishing and Fish Structure Pics
Been putting together lots of porcupine fish attractors the last couple of weeks and placing them in strategic locations in anticipation of filming a couple fishing shows next week with Larry Harper, the inventor of the porcupine fish attractor.
My nephew and niece Tyden and Shaeya Kellenberger helped me put together 12 Porcupine Fish Attractors Friday evening.
We cut the 1/2 inch pvc pipe in 4 foot lengths and they glued the ends while I put them together.
Once we got all of them put together we loaded them up on the pontoon boat and headed out to place them in a couple good spots. Of course we brought our fishing poles along for a little trolling on the way to the structure drop zones and Ty hooked into a walleye and several bluegill en route!
Then as we were leaving the drop zone I casted out a number 3 mepps black fury and started trolling backwards when a huge Hybrid Striped Bass grabbed the bait and headed out in the opposite direction. She was rapidly stripping line off of my spool and had me down to nothing before I could get the motor flipped in reverse. I only needed about 10 more yards of line and I think I would have been able to land that fish, but unfortunately it just didnt work out and the trophy fish SPOOLED ME! 100 yards of line gone on the initial run!!! She never slowed down.
Here are some more pics from other fish structure projects.
Under the dock structure:
My son and daughter at Norris Lake:
My nephew and niece Tyden and Shaeya Kellenberger helped me put together 12 Porcupine Fish Attractors Friday evening.
We cut the 1/2 inch pvc pipe in 4 foot lengths and they glued the ends while I put them together.
Once we got all of them put together we loaded them up on the pontoon boat and headed out to place them in a couple good spots. Of course we brought our fishing poles along for a little trolling on the way to the structure drop zones and Ty hooked into a walleye and several bluegill en route!
Then as we were leaving the drop zone I casted out a number 3 mepps black fury and started trolling backwards when a huge Hybrid Striped Bass grabbed the bait and headed out in the opposite direction. She was rapidly stripping line off of my spool and had me down to nothing before I could get the motor flipped in reverse. I only needed about 10 more yards of line and I think I would have been able to land that fish, but unfortunately it just didnt work out and the trophy fish SPOOLED ME! 100 yards of line gone on the initial run!!! She never slowed down.
Here are some more pics from other fish structure projects.
Under the dock structure:
My son and daughter at Norris Lake:
High School Boys Camp
I spent Friday at our Church's High School Boys Camp at the Old School Center in Farmington.
We played Football, Basketball, Soccer, Bombardment, Ultimate Frisbee, Long Jump and had a 2x4 chucking competition. Let me just say that it is late monday night and I can still barely walk! Bruised some ribs, tweaked an ankle, bumped a shoulder, and pulled a muscle in my lower back that has me doubled over and moving in ultra slow motion while in constant fear of that sharp needle like feeling piercing through my spine with every move I make.
Anyhow, we followed up fridays grueling schedule with a trip up to our lake for some water activities: Water slide, Rope Swing, High Dive, Volleyball, Golf Driving Range, Jet Skiing, Canoeing, Pontoon Boating, King of the Mountain Tires, and just plain swimming. 100 MPH nonstop with over 200 high school boys and counselors will take me over a week to recover from!
There were several photographers at the events, and I will post pictures here as they come in: Video and Pictures from Camp
We played Football, Basketball, Soccer, Bombardment, Ultimate Frisbee, Long Jump and had a 2x4 chucking competition. Let me just say that it is late monday night and I can still barely walk! Bruised some ribs, tweaked an ankle, bumped a shoulder, and pulled a muscle in my lower back that has me doubled over and moving in ultra slow motion while in constant fear of that sharp needle like feeling piercing through my spine with every move I make.
Anyhow, we followed up fridays grueling schedule with a trip up to our lake for some water activities: Water slide, Rope Swing, High Dive, Volleyball, Golf Driving Range, Jet Skiing, Canoeing, Pontoon Boating, King of the Mountain Tires, and just plain swimming. 100 MPH nonstop with over 200 high school boys and counselors will take me over a week to recover from!
There were several photographers at the events, and I will post pictures here as they come in: Video and Pictures from Camp
Monday, June 22, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
20/06/09 - Fishponds
Weight – 284lb 3oz
Catch – 39 Carp, 2 Bream.
Weather – Cloudy, sunny period. Breezy.
Water Temp– 19.5c > 19.5c
When I arrived I was hopeful the fish had stopped spawning and would be hungry. Generally, I don’t enjoy pleasure fishing, as much as I do match fishing, so when I do go, I set myself targets and todays target was to compare the pellet waggler, against the pole & paste.
I settled on peg 13 and started on the pellet waggler, fishing & feeding 8mm pellet. The intention was to spend the 1st 3 hours on the waggler and then fish the pole for the last 3 hours.
1st hour – 35lb. As soon as I started feeding, there were fish swirling and after 5 minutes I hooked what was obviously a big fish. 10 minutes later a cracking common of 12lb 4oz was safely landed. I had set up to 2 waggler rigs, 1 with a 12" hooklength and the other with a 6" hooklength. 4 more carp followed during the next hour on the shorter hooklength.
2nd hour – 14lb. I struggled to hook any fish, despite them swirling. I began to fiddle with my feeding and swapping rigs, but I couldn’t catch.
3rd hour – 72lb. Decided to switch to the pole early. I had fed 2 swims. The 1st was to my left on top of the shelf, next to the reeds and the 2nd was 10m to my right at the bottom of the shelf. I swapped between the 2 swims, hooking a fish almost every put in. A handful of 6mms after every fish kept the fish interested.
4th hour – 58lb. Another productive hour on the pole, with most fish coming from the deeper right hand swim.
5th hour – 53lb. With 2 hours to go I was on target to beat my PB weight of 258lb and wanted another go on the waggler. I had been feeding the swim whilst fishing the pole, but initially things were a little slow, however with more regular feed the fish showed in greater numbers.
6th hour – 52lb. Was 300lb possible? Well I wasn’t sure, but my PB certainly was. Unfortunately, I managed to break 2 rigs whilst trying to land fish, there was only so much abuse they could take. Both those lost fish and the time needed to set up new rigs, probably cost me 300lb, but I’m absolutely delighted to a get a PB weight.
As for the comparison between the waggler and pole, the pole was certainly better, particularly during the 3rd hour, but 100lb on the waggler in 3 hours is not to be sniffed at.
Catch – 39 Carp, 2 Bream.
Weather – Cloudy, sunny period. Breezy.
Water Temp– 19.5c > 19.5c
When I arrived I was hopeful the fish had stopped spawning and would be hungry. Generally, I don’t enjoy pleasure fishing, as much as I do match fishing, so when I do go, I set myself targets and todays target was to compare the pellet waggler, against the pole & paste.
I settled on peg 13 and started on the pellet waggler, fishing & feeding 8mm pellet. The intention was to spend the 1st 3 hours on the waggler and then fish the pole for the last 3 hours.
1st hour – 35lb. As soon as I started feeding, there were fish swirling and after 5 minutes I hooked what was obviously a big fish. 10 minutes later a cracking common of 12lb 4oz was safely landed. I had set up to 2 waggler rigs, 1 with a 12" hooklength and the other with a 6" hooklength. 4 more carp followed during the next hour on the shorter hooklength.
2nd hour – 14lb. I struggled to hook any fish, despite them swirling. I began to fiddle with my feeding and swapping rigs, but I couldn’t catch.
3rd hour – 72lb. Decided to switch to the pole early. I had fed 2 swims. The 1st was to my left on top of the shelf, next to the reeds and the 2nd was 10m to my right at the bottom of the shelf. I swapped between the 2 swims, hooking a fish almost every put in. A handful of 6mms after every fish kept the fish interested.
4th hour – 58lb. Another productive hour on the pole, with most fish coming from the deeper right hand swim.
5th hour – 53lb. With 2 hours to go I was on target to beat my PB weight of 258lb and wanted another go on the waggler. I had been feeding the swim whilst fishing the pole, but initially things were a little slow, however with more regular feed the fish showed in greater numbers.
6th hour – 52lb. Was 300lb possible? Well I wasn’t sure, but my PB certainly was. Unfortunately, I managed to break 2 rigs whilst trying to land fish, there was only so much abuse they could take. Both those lost fish and the time needed to set up new rigs, probably cost me 300lb, but I’m absolutely delighted to a get a PB weight.
As for the comparison between the waggler and pole, the pole was certainly better, particularly during the 3rd hour, but 100lb on the waggler in 3 hours is not to be sniffed at.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Ellastone 'a lesson in matching the munch'
Went to Ellastone tonight again, started to fish at the bridge section, the wind was very blustery and with a nice hatch going on the fly life was struggling to get off the river and therefore a nice easy prey for the trout, rises were almost everywhwere and it reminded me of a mayfly hatch when trout are hitting them, I started to fish off the bank side to stop spooking any fish but could not get any takes on quite a few of my favorite flys, i have been recently studying fly life with reading up and photos ect supplyied by Matt ( north country angler), I decided to wade in at the bridge end to see what was coming off, i started to see small olives saling down with wings upright drifting all over the place like windsurfers, the problem was i could not take any of them to inspect because the trout were nailing them before they could even get to me!! eventualy a got one and they were the smallest olives i have seen, they were around size 20/22 with very slim light brown ribbed body and upright wings, nothing in my fly box could match the size so i did the usual and went through the fly box, the fish were taking them and other flys were totally ignored, this was a good lesson for me, i had been standing in the river for over a hour trying to get a take and the fish were rising right around me, one very good sized brown was rising 3ft away from me and i stood quitely and watched the fish for over a half a hour, this was amazing and i saw how a trout works while feeding, it would drift down to its holding postition and watch a drifting olive and always swim back when the fly had gone over its head and calmly sip the fly away, this made me realise how important it is to cast say 10ft over where i had seen the rise, i had stopped fishing now as i new i would have nothing in my box to succeed, this was giving me far more a lesson than reading any books at home, i also noticed that the smaller fish would be more aggressive and hit flys harder making more of a surface splash, the large trout would take a olive somtimes with hardly any disturbance.
On studying the fly i made my mind up that the olives were bwo, but not too sure because of how small they were?
I did catch nine fish in the end when the light dropped and the black sedge took over the olives, including a rainbow that took me on merry dance, all caught in the space of a hour..
Thanks
Glen
On studying the fly i made my mind up that the olives were bwo, but not too sure because of how small they were?
I did catch nine fish in the end when the light dropped and the black sedge took over the olives, including a rainbow that took me on merry dance, all caught in the space of a hour..
Thanks
Glen
Friday, June 19, 2009
18/06/09 - Winterbourne Duck Pond
Weight – 33lb 9oz
Catch – 54 Bream, 2 Hybrid, 1 Roach.
Weather – Cool, cloudy & windy.
Water Temp– 18.5c > 18.5c
Absolutely fed up with work. Nearly 2 weeks ago, it was announced my department would be sold to a 3rd party, which means more uncertainty. Normally, change doesn’t bother me, since I have been through this process on a number of occasions, however this time around, if the rumours are true, about how is buying us, it could mean the end of time at my employer. Ideally, a healthy redundancy package would be welcome.
Since I found myself getting more & more wound up, I decided to take a day off and settled on a visit to the duck pond, simply because it was local and cheap.
When I arrived there were a few carp slurping in the scum that had blown into the road wall, so I was hopeful of catching a few. I started on the pole at 10m along the wall, feeding micros & 4mm pellet. I also started feeding 4mm towards the island ready for the waggler, as well feeding pellet into the corner – right in the middle of scum.
I had my 1st fish on the 10m line after 15 minutes, but it was slow. A switch to the waggler was also slow, but eventually a few skimmers turned up on double red maggot and later 6mm expander. After nearly 2 hours I had 25 skimmers, with nothing bigger than 1lb, but the waggler swim was fading.
The 10m didn’t produce much and I eventually gave up on it. However the corner swim was a surprise. The hoped carp didn’t turn up, but I started catching some bigger skimmers, plus a 1lb plus roach, all on pellet.
As the session progressed I simply rotated between the waggler and the corner swim, catching mostly on the pellet. This despite the attention of some of over enthusiastic on lookers. Although I had to smile to myself, when 1 bloke turned with his son in his push chair, proudly saying he fished my swim yesterday, fishing the same way I was (I was in the corner when he arrived) and he had 12 skimmers in 4 hours. He then asked how I was doing, "35 skimmers in 3 hours" was my reply. He then hung around for 1 hour asking all sorts of questions about fishing. Just as well I wasn’t expecting any peace & quite.
Catch – 54 Bream, 2 Hybrid, 1 Roach.
Weather – Cool, cloudy & windy.
Water Temp– 18.5c > 18.5c
Absolutely fed up with work. Nearly 2 weeks ago, it was announced my department would be sold to a 3rd party, which means more uncertainty. Normally, change doesn’t bother me, since I have been through this process on a number of occasions, however this time around, if the rumours are true, about how is buying us, it could mean the end of time at my employer. Ideally, a healthy redundancy package would be welcome.
Since I found myself getting more & more wound up, I decided to take a day off and settled on a visit to the duck pond, simply because it was local and cheap.
When I arrived there were a few carp slurping in the scum that had blown into the road wall, so I was hopeful of catching a few. I started on the pole at 10m along the wall, feeding micros & 4mm pellet. I also started feeding 4mm towards the island ready for the waggler, as well feeding pellet into the corner – right in the middle of scum.
I had my 1st fish on the 10m line after 15 minutes, but it was slow. A switch to the waggler was also slow, but eventually a few skimmers turned up on double red maggot and later 6mm expander. After nearly 2 hours I had 25 skimmers, with nothing bigger than 1lb, but the waggler swim was fading.
The 10m didn’t produce much and I eventually gave up on it. However the corner swim was a surprise. The hoped carp didn’t turn up, but I started catching some bigger skimmers, plus a 1lb plus roach, all on pellet.
As the session progressed I simply rotated between the waggler and the corner swim, catching mostly on the pellet. This despite the attention of some of over enthusiastic on lookers. Although I had to smile to myself, when 1 bloke turned with his son in his push chair, proudly saying he fished my swim yesterday, fishing the same way I was (I was in the corner when he arrived) and he had 12 skimmers in 4 hours. He then asked how I was doing, "35 skimmers in 3 hours" was my reply. He then hung around for 1 hour asking all sorts of questions about fishing. Just as well I wasn’t expecting any peace & quite.
Ellastone 'on the sedge'
Fished Ellastone tonight with Dave (wood) off the forum, new member of DRAC,
Met Dave on the bridge at elly, had a quick look and conditions looked just right slight bit of colour and running around normal, Dave has never fished this run and is quite new to the game so we decided to wade together and walk through the stretch taking turns in casting to rising fish, i showed him some of the spots where i have taken fish in the past, it started quite slow with not many fish rising and we took around 4 fish working our way up, as we got to the water flow pipe things started to pick up and we picked up some nice wild fish around half a pound, as the light faded the river came alive to emerging black sedge, soon we started to take quite a few fish, i think Dave was a bit nervous with the wading but he will get used it, i know it well and he will soon..
As the bats started to come out we knew it was time to call it a day, we had a great night and Dave is a joy to fish with, his enthusiasm is matching mine and we had a good laugh wading through together, nights like this are what fishing is all about...
Thanks
Glen
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Fiji Fishing report for second week of June
When we got up this morning it was cloudy and drizzling, but there was no wind. So after much arse dragging we decided to go and have a fish. By now it is after 10:00 AM.
By 11:00 we are on the water cruising to a spot just a few miles away.
Things start out a bit slow. The tide has already turned and we have while until it is low. Still we fish on.
We were fishing inside the reef. Hitting all the little nooks and crannies. When all of a sudden Paul hooks up to a good size Barracuda. With plenty of jumps and a couple good runs it is brought to the boat for it's obligatory photo session.
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
On a strange note, it seems lately that our first fish is always a Barracuda, don't know why but it has happened now about 10-12 times.
That lovely toothy critter was followed up by a Sea Bass
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
Next on the menu is a bluefin.
Then we get a triple hook-up of Bass and all three end up in the boat. Not bad if I say so myself.
By this time the tide is full out and we spot a couple of schools of bait being busted up right next to the reef. This means all three poppers head in that direction.
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
Then suddenly a finned torpedo launches out of the water and lands mouth first on my lure. As the line goes tight I figure it to be a Wahoo or Spanish Mackerel. After a respectable fight on 30lb Rosie puts the gaff in a nice Spanish Mack.
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
Not long after that Paul lands a nice Bluefin Trevally.
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
Soon after the bite stops and it is time to head home. Not a bad day for a last minute fishing trip.
Tight lines
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Trapnetting Video and Pictures From The Hooked on Fishing Park
This video and pictures were taken at the Hooked On Fishing Park last week.
We are getting set to open up and were just making sure the fish were doing fine! They Are!!! Nice channel catfish, flathead catfish, carp, bass, crappie, and bluegill are ready to be caught!
We are getting set to open up and were just making sure the fish were doing fine! They Are!!! Nice channel catfish, flathead catfish, carp, bass, crappie, and bluegill are ready to be caught!
Junior High Girls Camp Video from Our Lake
This video was taken at our Lake last weekend during the Junior High Girls Camp and edited by my aunt Judy Sceggel. It kind of focusses on the horses seeing as my aunts and uncles are just as much into horses as I am into fish, but you can get a glimpse of some of the fun activities we have set up for the campers!
14/06/09 - Fishponds
Weight – 77lb 9oz
Catch – 11 Carp, 1 Eel.
Weather – Warm & sunny. Slight breeze.
Water Temp– 19.5c > 20.0c
Match – Club Match – 2nd overall
The weather forecast was looking favourable, the issue would be, had the carp finished spawning. Alas no, the reeds were thrashing all around the lake. So coupled with 19 anglers fishing a difficult day was in prospect.
I fancied an open water draw so I could fish the waggler or long pole shallow, but peg 27 was in a corner and the waggler rods stayed in the bag. Stuart was on peg 1 opposite and I wasn’t really sure how it would fish.
Typically these pegs are great for a pleasure session, but in a match they can struggle.
There was certainly plenty of fish moving around, but not necessarily feeding. I decided to focus on 3 swims, left hand margin, 12m along the right hand bank & 8m in front, feeding 6 & 8mm pellet, fishing paste.
I spent the 1st 30 minutes on the 8m line, toss potting pellet, but never had a touch. The following 30 minutes I had a carp from each of my margins and was quite relieved, because I could see a number of carp being caught elsewhere, particular Chris on peg 22
The 2nd hour was brilliant, with 6 more carp, all from the right side and I began to think I was in for a really good day. However, the remainder of the match turned into a real struggle, with only another 3 carp landed, again from the right side. I couldn’t get bite from the 8m line or the left hand margin, which was frustrating.
From what I could see most anglers where struggling during the middle part of the match, which I half expected due the bright conditions. I had considered playing around and targeting the rudd, but decided against it since 1 carp would wipe out 1hrs worth of rudd bashing.
As the match drew to a close, my gut feeling was I had framed and I knew it would be close between myself and Chris on 22, however I couldn’t see everyone and the grapevine suggested Graham & Andy, both had a "few".
As I weighed everyone in, I soon realised I would frame. By the time we got to Chris, 54-13 was the best weight, but Chris topped that with 88-3, which I knew I couldn’t beat. Overall I was pleased to finish 2nd, particularly since I only lost 2 fish all match, despite a couple who unsuccessfully tried to make a bid for freedom by diving into the reeds.
After 2 rounds, I am leading the club championship.
1st Ken Rayner 61pts
2nd Ian Pople 59
3rd Graham Beevor 56
4th Andy Lord 55
Catch – 11 Carp, 1 Eel.
Weather – Warm & sunny. Slight breeze.
Water Temp– 19.5c > 20.0c
Match – Club Match – 2nd overall
The weather forecast was looking favourable, the issue would be, had the carp finished spawning. Alas no, the reeds were thrashing all around the lake. So coupled with 19 anglers fishing a difficult day was in prospect.
I fancied an open water draw so I could fish the waggler or long pole shallow, but peg 27 was in a corner and the waggler rods stayed in the bag. Stuart was on peg 1 opposite and I wasn’t really sure how it would fish.
Typically these pegs are great for a pleasure session, but in a match they can struggle.
There was certainly plenty of fish moving around, but not necessarily feeding. I decided to focus on 3 swims, left hand margin, 12m along the right hand bank & 8m in front, feeding 6 & 8mm pellet, fishing paste.
I spent the 1st 30 minutes on the 8m line, toss potting pellet, but never had a touch. The following 30 minutes I had a carp from each of my margins and was quite relieved, because I could see a number of carp being caught elsewhere, particular Chris on peg 22
The 2nd hour was brilliant, with 6 more carp, all from the right side and I began to think I was in for a really good day. However, the remainder of the match turned into a real struggle, with only another 3 carp landed, again from the right side. I couldn’t get bite from the 8m line or the left hand margin, which was frustrating.
From what I could see most anglers where struggling during the middle part of the match, which I half expected due the bright conditions. I had considered playing around and targeting the rudd, but decided against it since 1 carp would wipe out 1hrs worth of rudd bashing.
As the match drew to a close, my gut feeling was I had framed and I knew it would be close between myself and Chris on 22, however I couldn’t see everyone and the grapevine suggested Graham & Andy, both had a "few".
As I weighed everyone in, I soon realised I would frame. By the time we got to Chris, 54-13 was the best weight, but Chris topped that with 88-3, which I knew I couldn’t beat. Overall I was pleased to finish 2nd, particularly since I only lost 2 fish all match, despite a couple who unsuccessfully tried to make a bid for freedom by diving into the reeds.
After 2 rounds, I am leading the club championship.
1st Ken Rayner 61pts
2nd Ian Pople 59
3rd Graham Beevor 56
4th Andy Lord 55
Monday, June 15, 2009
Recap of This Week: Rain, Fishing, Girls Camp
Its been raining about every 2 days since February, and that has pretty much everything all messed up this spring. Anyhow this week was no exception as the cool temps and rain just kept on coming. We still are plugging away, just getting wet in the process!
I had a consultation in Brimfield on Wednesday evening, and took Noah along seeing as I was babysitting that night. He sat on every tractor on Ted's property, but his favorite was this one:
We had the first of many camps out to the lake this weekend! 150 Junior High girls came out Friday afternoon for some swimming, horseback riding, water sliding, high dive jumping, jet skiing and tubing. We spent every evening just getting the place tuned up and ready.
Girls all had fun and we are now gearing up for 250 high school boys next weekend and 300 high school girls the following weekend.
Then on Sunday we headed out to the lake after church for dinner with my grandparents, parents, brothers and sisters. Had a good time just relaxing on the water, eatin', and catching some fish:
Gpa, Dad, Chad, Julie went out and caught some muskie and trout, but didnt bring a camera!
Amy and Jareds Family minus the youngest:
Brook and I went out trolling for a few minutes and caught some nice fish too!
Finishing up a long week at the lake is just what the doctor ordered! Next week at this time, I wont be able to move! Boys camp is much more intense and physically challenging for an out of shape big guy like me who still thinks he can hang with the young 'uns.
Dovedale 'last light of magic'
Went to Dovedale for the last couple of hours last night, arrived to see lots of anglers fishing the fast section, wish i had gone to Ellastone, too many anglers for me still hoping of a mayfly rod bend, decided to not really fish much and go fish spoting, All the anglers were having a very hard time with only a few fish here and there being caught, I watched a nice fish in the fast section chasing emerging Mayfly, there were no rises and its obvious these fish are on the Mayfly nymph, Met up with Roger who had taken a few, had a nice chat with him and we wandered back down towards the car park, Roger needed to get off early due to work so i stayed until all the other anglers had gone, i find it hard to see why so many fisherman go as soon as the light turns, my 29 years of fishing has shown me that this time produces nights to remember, in my barbel days i have taken over 5 10lb plus fish in this last hour and i think the same goes for all fishing.
There was a huge hatch of sedge which put the fish into a slashing frenzy, I put on a caddis fly but did not get any takes! a valuable lesson was learnt when i went to a bigger caddis which matched the size coming off and i took 7 fish in half a hour, 'size matters'
I took a nice stock fish with blue spot which was dispatched and eaten when i got home, when gutting the fish it was full of mayfly nymph and a small trout!!
A great night and the last hour was all it needed.
Glen
There was a huge hatch of sedge which put the fish into a slashing frenzy, I put on a caddis fly but did not get any takes! a valuable lesson was learnt when i went to a bigger caddis which matched the size coming off and i took 7 fish in half a hour, 'size matters'
I took a nice stock fish with blue spot which was dispatched and eaten when i got home, when gutting the fish it was full of mayfly nymph and a small trout!!
A great night and the last hour was all it needed.
Glen
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Dovedale 'Alex finds the hatch'
Went to Dovedale tonight, arrived aroung five, met up with Alex Swann for the first time and we decided to fish together for the night, two Stoke lads in Dovedale would usually be poachers!! Even though Alex lives in the posher part he is still a Stokie!
I dropped in in the first pool above the bridge and saw some Fat kid just wading through the river right past me, i can handle this because these fish are so used to it, it proved that when i hooked a nice wild fish 1 minuite after he had waded through! Alex joined me then and we briskly cast to spots on the way up, fish were not rising, as we stood together fishing a pool a Asian lad walked straight inbetween us and walked into the river, Alex was furious and i had a few words, to be honest i dont think they realised what they were doing because they appolagised.
Half way up from the Bridge we had two pro photgraphers taking pictures of us which created a stir, and the crowds were watching us like we were film stars! Alex looked the part in his Paul Smith Hat and i looked a right twat in my Aussie style hat!!
We caught a few upto the Stones and then walked right into the middle streches where Alex showed me the quality runs, Alex is so layed back he is nearly horizontal, we hardly fished and spent the night chatting which was nice from my usual hard fishing approach, it made me appreciate the quality surroundings. Fishing was poor really and rises were far and few all night, i think the May fly is over.
We met up with Adam off the forum who had taken lots of fish earlier and was proper enjoying himself, he had taken his first 2lber and was buzzing.
Alex and walked upstream and only cast to bits of rises but was very hard going, even though fishing was hard Alex is a joy to spend time with and his cool chilled out attitude is refreshing. We made our way back down to the stones and met up with Adam who also had found it harder fishing, We all sat by the stones for ten and then fished casualy down to the car park, I have hooked a very large fish in a certain spot and she only comes out to play at last light, I saw it rising again and we could not get it to take anything, Alex come into play as i sat back and took the piss saying he had got to prove his skill here!! Alex started to look what it was taking and matched the hatch, he tied his fly on and after a few casts the huge fish came and took the fly but Alex did not connect, gutted! The boil the fish left was huge, again this fish has decevied me, Nice to see Alex show what a good angler he is by matching what this fish was taking, you only get one chance at a big fish like this and it then was put down.
Adam hooked into a fish further down but the hook pulled and i took a small brown in the fast run..
A really realaxed evening a great to meet Alex, a happy go lucky chap and a quality angler..
Glen
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Bentley Brook or Bentley spook!!
Fished Bentley brook tonight, the river was extremely low and clear for the rain that we have had, met Alex, new member of Laddfa, we had a quick chat over whats been happening around the rivers, We saw a fish rise and Alex offered me to have a go in his pool so i willingly tied on a bwo spinner and took the fish on the third cast, a beautiful small wild trout with bright red spots.
I have been in touch with Matt (North Country Angler) who fishes the Eden, he has been great to me and is always willing to help me where ever possible, i love to read his posts and it shows what a knowledgeable fly fisherman he is, his love for the sport is equal to mine.
I needed to start learning more about which flys are hatching on the water as feel this holds me back sometimes in catching more fish, instead of using attractor patterns as many do..
i put this to Matt and he has posted me a cd with all his pictures of the fly life on his rivers with a description of how to see which type they are, I will return the favour to him soon, I will be going to fish the Eden with him soon and he is going to guide me through this great river, i hopefully will return the favour of a session on the Dove at Dovedale..
Well i have studied some of the flys and as i walked down to the river tonight i saw a cloud of spinners above me, i started to jump around to catch one with the amusement of a couple in a car!! every time i try to catch a fly, walkers always seem to see me jumping and chasing flys and i feel a right twat!!
Well i caught one and looked at my pictures to see that it was a BWO spinner, this was a nice feeling as i would not have had a clue normally, I then tied on a bwo spinner and caught the small brownie mentioned earlier, This felt great and what fly fishing is all about for me,
I am learning so much because i always listen to good anglers and take on board what they have told me, and practise allot!!
I only fished for a hour as the temp went right down, i saw a few rises here and there but if you fart the fish get spooked, the water is also down and gin clear which makes it worse..
A nice night to be out and looking forward to the weekend
Glen
I have been in touch with Matt (North Country Angler) who fishes the Eden, he has been great to me and is always willing to help me where ever possible, i love to read his posts and it shows what a knowledgeable fly fisherman he is, his love for the sport is equal to mine.
I needed to start learning more about which flys are hatching on the water as feel this holds me back sometimes in catching more fish, instead of using attractor patterns as many do..
i put this to Matt and he has posted me a cd with all his pictures of the fly life on his rivers with a description of how to see which type they are, I will return the favour to him soon, I will be going to fish the Eden with him soon and he is going to guide me through this great river, i hopefully will return the favour of a session on the Dove at Dovedale..
Well i have studied some of the flys and as i walked down to the river tonight i saw a cloud of spinners above me, i started to jump around to catch one with the amusement of a couple in a car!! every time i try to catch a fly, walkers always seem to see me jumping and chasing flys and i feel a right twat!!
Well i caught one and looked at my pictures to see that it was a BWO spinner, this was a nice feeling as i would not have had a clue normally, I then tied on a bwo spinner and caught the small brownie mentioned earlier, This felt great and what fly fishing is all about for me,
I am learning so much because i always listen to good anglers and take on board what they have told me, and practise allot!!
I only fished for a hour as the temp went right down, i saw a few rises here and there but if you fart the fish get spooked, the water is also down and gin clear which makes it worse..
A nice night to be out and looking forward to the weekend
Glen
East Cape diving as good as it gets
This week at Cabo Pulmo conditions for diving have been outstanding, the blue water has finally arrived and bottom temperatures have been increasing with each new day! Today we recorded 75' Fahrenheit at depths beneath 40 feet while in the shallows we basked in 81' F; a 3mm full wetsuit easily sufficient for all! Swirling tornados of Big Eye Jacks blocked out the light as they passed by overhead; we lay on our backs looking up and blew rings of air with our bubbles through their midst. Large Sea Bass cruised by to check us out, huge schools of Yellow Snapper, Burrito Grunts and Panamic Porkfish shimmered in the distance, visibility was 100+ feet, our journey towards them constantly interrupted by the constant distractions encountered on the way. Two of our guests broke from the group to make their safety stop, back on the panga they described a "field of rays, we stopped counting at fifty, I've never seen anything like it!". My safety stop was pretty special too, I looked beneath me to see two Diamond Stingrays leading four Cownosed Rays and a Smoothtail Mobula Manta. I was so fixated on them I failed to see another Mobula Ray until it was maybe three feet away from me, it seemed that it was just as intrigued by my presence as I was to see it, in fact it startled me, so close did it pass by!
We made our first night dive of the year at Cerro Verde on Tuesday, why we don't get more requests for these I just don't know as we had a great time. Waiting until darkness fell, we descended into the blackness, our flashlights like light sabers penetrated the inky darkness, revealing hidden life with every swish. Arriving at the sand patch at fifty feet a huge dome shaped rock, which wasn't there last time I checked, aroused my curiosity. Stealthily we edged closer and I realised my mistake, the largest Leatherback turtle I think I have ever seen was enjoying a nap and with a dismissive flick of it's fins, rose off the sand and effortlessly moved away to find another resting place. Bizarre looking sea cucumbers draped themselves over boulders, an Octopus munched on a Sea Urchin and thousands of sea lice balled together in the glow of our lights so we switched them off to really experience what it feels like to be at the mercy of the night. Bio-luminescence lit up all around us as we moved our hands, the phosphorescent light creating a myriad of tiny stars all around us. We proceeded to launch into a frenzied underwater dance, like teenagers at a rave, we created our own little solar system; who needs hallucinogens when you can do this, what a laugh! Finally it was time to rise to the surface where we lay back in our BCD's and took in the splendour of the full moon.
Mark Rayor
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Fishing report for first week of June
Our last two trips out have been quite good. We have added a few new species to the capture list and the weather has been holding steady.
Now, with a Wahoo on board it was time to try for something else. Out come the skirts and here comes the Mahimahi.
For those of you who have never caught a Mahimahi before let me tell you. They give a good fight, especially on light tackle but the kicker is when you bring them in the boat, they go mad. They are actually very dangerous, especially with hooks in their mouths. The best thing to do is put a wet towel over their eyes and they will calm down enough for you to hog tie them. If you miss with the towel look out, they are going to go ballistic. The upside to all of this is they taste great.
That is followed closely by a Red Sea Bass. Normally considered a by-catch when fishing for GT's, but they do put up a good fight on lighter gear.
As always when fishing around reefs you can expect sharks. Usually Black tip and White tip sharks are the first to turn up. Here is a nice Black tip caught on a popper.
Going home without a GT under our belt just wont due. So here is a nice one I caught on 30lb.
Here is a video of some of the fight with the GT.
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
We did a bit of trolling on the first day. After all it is Wahoo season and they do taste good.
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
The next trip out saw us poppering the reef with 30lb and 50lb spinning gear. This time my good friend Captain Charles Wakeham took the wheel so I could also fish.
First up is a nice little Queen fish.
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
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| From XstreemFishingCom |
Tight lines and Screaming drags
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