28/12/08 - Fishponds

Weight – 7lb 12oz
Catch – 3 Bream, 2 Roach.
Weather – Cold, bright, easterly wind.
Water Temp– 5.0c > 5.0c

After the festive period I needed to go fishing, just to get out of the house. I had some maggot in the fridge so decided to go to my club water. The only problem was the cold weather, the temperature hadn’t got above 4c in the last couple of days and the wind made it feel even colder. I almost reconsidered going and tried to convince myself that it didn’t matter if I caught, but of course it did.

I doubted whether the carp would feed, but hoped the roach & bream would.

Whilst setting up my pole rigs, I chucked out the lead with double sweetcorn and a small tea bag filled with 6mm pellet, towards the aerator. Initially I set up 2 pole rigs, a 1g Jean Francios at 13m, with .08 bottom & 22 silverfish hook and a 4x16 chianti with .13 bottom & 18 B911 which I intended to use 12m 2o’clock to my right along the bottom of the marginal shelf.

2 balls of groundbait were cupped in on the 13m line and a little micro pellet & 3 bits of corn to my right. With no bites on the lead, I switched to the 13m line, but after 30 minutes with no bites I was beginning to wonder whether I had made the right decision to come fishing, however despite the cold it was a lovely day.

I needed to catch a fish, so decided to start feeding maggot tight to the marginal reeds, hoping for a rudd, but I only had 1 small roach for my efforts. I had tried topping up my long lines, but still nothing by 2 o’clock, so I decided to pack up. After pulling out my keepnets, I thought I would have 1 last put in on the 13m line and bugger me the float dipped. Expecting a small roach, it became immediately obvious I was attached to something a little more substantial. A few minutes later a near 3lb bream was safely netted. A few minutes later I had a 2lber on the lead & double sweetcorn. Now I was interested again.

I couldn’t get another bite, so I topped up the 13m with a small of groundbait, plus some maggot and tried my right hand swim, but again no bites, so another top up with a little micro pellet & corn. Back on the 13m line a lift bite and I hooked a carp, unfortunately I only managed to hang on for a few minutes before the hooklength gave way.

With the sun close to setting, I switched back to the right hand swim and missed a sitter of a bite, fortunately I connected with the next one, which resulted in a 2½lb Bream. A small roach on the 13m line was my last fish before I had to pack up or freeze.

Although it was freezing I enjoyed the day and at least I managed to catch something. Speaking to Steve at Viaduct he confimed the recent weather has really knackered the fishing with many struggling for a bite. With the final round of the Veal’s Winter League next Sunday, a good draw will be required.

21/12/08 - Lands End - Sydneys Lake

Weight – 13lb 14oz
Catch – 53 Roach, 12 Bream, 8 Carp, 2 Rudd.
Weather – Mild, cloudy, breezy start
Water Temp – 8.0c > 9.0c
Match – Lands End Winter League - rd 3– 16th overall - 2nd in section

The 3rd round of the Lands End Winter League meant I would be fishing Sydney’s Lake, which is the 4th and newest lake on the complex. There are loads of small carp (1-2lb bracket), plus large number of small roach & skimmers, so hopefully loads of bites and I expected 50lb or so to win.

Pete Sivell did his usual £1 side bets with as many people as he could, but with myself he’s getting frustrated by the fact I keep beating him, particularly off the next peg, which I have done for the last 5 times. In his determination to beat the "jinx" he suggested a £2 side bet, which I accepted.

We drew next to each other again, Pete drew 75 and I had peg 78. Ideally, I would have preferred a peg at either end of the lake, however peg 78 was as central I could get, so I felt I was up against it. I really needed good points today to make up for the poor result in the 2nd round.

Initially I decided to feed 3 areas, 6m and 13m in front of the gap between the islands with micro pellet & maggot, and micro pellet & corn tight to the island.

I started at 6m on single maggot and was soon catching small roach. After 30 minutes I had 17 and except for peg 72 (end peg) there wasn’t much else been caught. After a quick look on my other lines & re-fed and decided to keep going on my 6m line. However I needed to make a decision, because I felt the rigs I had set up were too light in what was a gusty breeze. Plus my 6m rig was set up for carp, not roach (roach 4x12, .13 bottom, 20 red maggot hook, doubled 6 elastic).

So more rigs were set up. The 6m line now had a jolly 4x14, 10 bottom, 22 silverfish hook & 5 elastic, which provided much better presentation.

90 minutes gone and my 6m line was drying up. I had started to pick up some small skimmers, probably thanks to the micro pellet, but I was having to wait too long for bites. I needed to change tact, because a few carp were now being caught, particularly Adrian on peg 72, which meant I was now fishing for 2nd in section.

I had been feeding maggot & micro pellet down the margin and 1st drop in on expander produced a carp, soon followed by another. Now I was back in contention.

The remainder of the match saw me rotating swims to keep the fish coming, including a brief look on the waggler fished into the island gap, but this didn’t produce anything other than small roach. In the end I caught most of my silvers on the 6m line and most of my carp in the margins.

At the all out, I hoped for 2nd in section and the weigh in confirmed I had, in what turned out to be a very tight section, with 2x 12lb, 11lb 4oz and 5lb 2oz coming last. Adrian won the section with 24lb 7oz, which makes 3 section wins out of 3 and is now leading the league. I’ve jumped from 18th to 12th.

More importantly that’s another 2 quid from Mr Sivell. Fair shout to him though he did send me a text saying well done, but I probably need to watch my back in case he pushes me in!

1st Adrian Clarke 18pts
2nd Andy France 17pts
3rd Nicky Collier 16pts
4th Mike Duckett 15pts
5th Pete Nurse 13.5pts
6th Clint Wojtyla 13pts
12th Ken Rayner 12pts (27lb 14oz)

14/12/08 - Ivy House - Small Lake

Weight – 7lb 7oz
Catch – 8 Roach, 4 Rudd, 2 Bream, 1 Mirror Carp, 1 Perch.
Weather – Cold, cloudy and calm.
Water temp – 6.0c > 6.0c
Match – Glenfall Xmas Match – 3rd overall

As well as being our Christmas match, this was also the final of the knockout competition, where Andy Lord, Kev Millard and myself had qualified.

Upon arriving, the ice had obviously melted away from 2 days ago, however following yesterday’s heavy rain meant the platforms were underwater and the lake was very coloured, thanks to the nearby brook bursting its banks.

Speaking to Andy, who regularly fishes here whilst having breakfast suggested we needed to draw in the deeper open water, instead of the island pegs. So I drew peg 21, which was an island peg, but it is also a peg I won from in our Christmas match 2 years ago with 40lb.

I also spoke to Vince Shipp last Sunday, who suggested fishing over micro pellet was catching the carp, however the extra water and colour was a concern. A hard match was anticipated, so 3 small balls of groundbait went in at 6m with some pinkie & caster, plus micro pellet at 14m, before I started on the lead & double corn towards the island, which was about 20m away.

After 15 minutes, no bites on the lead, the 6m line, again no bites and the 14m line no bites. Nearly an hour in and I was still fishless, but so were most others, except Graham on peg 3 who had a few roach.

Eventually I caught a rudd on the waggler next to the island, but now I wasn’t sure what to do. My 6m silverfish line had failed and to be honest I didn’t expect it to suddenly come to life. I topped up my 14m line with little more micro, but I had to make a decision about my waggler line. Initially I had set up the waggler with .13 bottom and 18 B911 for carp, but it was becoming obvious that none were feeding, yet I felt the island would offer me the best chance of catching a few. I preserved a little longer, but eventually decided to change down my hooklength to .10 bottom and 22 B911, simply because I had a couple of bites on the drop.

A switch to the 14m yielded a 1lb skimmer and I was continually feeding 3-5 casters on the waggler line hoping to pull in some roach and maybe the odd carp.

The skimmer was the only fish to come off my 14m line, but I decided to move my 14m swim to my right so it didn’t interfere with my waggler line, which was slowly coming to life.

My new 14m swim produced a 2lb skimmer and a near 3lb carp in successive put ins, but then nothing. This was the story the remainder of the match, I would have a run of fish, then I would have to switch tactics. I even tried the margins, however without success.

The last 45 minutes proved a real struggle for everyone, including myself. At least I couldn’t be accused of not trying, I kept trying to keep the fish coming. In the end I expected my waggler line to get stronger, but trying to get my tactics right in the 1st 2 hours ultimately proved costly.

As for the knockout, I beat Andy who only weighed 3lb 10oz, but Kev had 9lb of roach to claim the free annual club membership. Graham Beever on peg 3 won the match with 11lb of quality roach.

12/12/08 - Ivy House - Small Lake

Weight – 8lb 9oz
Catch – 19 Roach, 17 Perch, 1 Mirror Carp
Weather – Lake iced over, cloudy, becoming milder.
Water temp – 4.5c > 4.5c

My clubs Christmas match is due this Sunday at Ivy House Small Lake, plus it is the final of our knockout competition, so I decided a little practice was required.

Ivy House is 1 of those venues that if it was properly managed it could be a great fishery and would attract more & bigger matches. However the owners aren’t prepared to put any real effort in, which is a real shame.

When I woke up I was expecting a frost, but instead there was light drizzle, so I was hopeful the lake wouldn’t be iced over. When I pulled up at the lake, it looked flat & ice free, however closer inspection revealed a thin layer of water on top of 2" thick ice, which proved difficult to break.


I eventually managed to create a channel at 7m, where I had 5ft of water and only set up the 1 rig - Jolly 4x12, .08 bottom and a 22 silverfish hook. Feed was also simple, red maggot and some red atomic cloud, which I fed via a tosspot.

After 15 minutes I was wondering if I had done the right thing by fishing, then I had a bite, which I missed. A couple of roach soon followed, before I hooked something more substantial. After 10 minutes I eventually landed a 4lb 2oz carp, which was a bit of a handful on the light kit, the ice and clear water.

I continued to catch roach up to 10oz, but more & more micro perch were showing. Because I only had the 1 swim to target, I wanted to be cautious about what I fed, but felt tosspoting 3-4 maggot wasn’t positive enough, hence fewer roach were showing. So I decided to mix a little Match Blend groundbait. Although I had to wait a little longer for bites I started to catch roach again, which is useful tactic to know for Sundays match.

I was pleased with how the session went, however I wished I had some pinkie, because I missed bites and lost fish due to the smaller fish hanging onto the end of the maggot.

The weather forecast is for milder weather so with any luck I will be able to leave the icebreaker at home!

07/12/08 - Viaduct - Spring Lake

Weight – 5lb 1oz
Catch – 79 Roach, 10 Rudd, 9 Bream, 1 Motherless Minnow
Weather – -5c overnight. Lakes iced over. Sunny & cold.
Water temp – 4.5c > 4.5c
Match – Veals Winter League – rd 7 – 31st overall, 10th in section

After last weekend’s disappointment, I was hoping for a good draw. Spring, Middle, Cary & Campbell were in, but everyone was hoping for a decent silverfish peg because of the ice.

I drew peg 4 on Spring, which Paul Garrett suggested I sit on the tip for carp, assuming I could reach the island! Unfortunately I couldn’t, otherwise I really fancied my chances. Instead I had to target the silvers, but the catch was I had Des Shipp on one side and Nicky Collins on the other. An England international and a silverfish venue expert, I felt a battering coming up and just hoped the ice would melt so I could get to the island.

I set up 2 lines, 6m feeding pinkie and 13m feeding black lake/mussel & squid with caster.
I was never going to match Des or Nicky by copying them, so I had to work hard to find a way of catching better quality fish. I did catch plenty of fish, but had too many small roach. If I had been able to practice I would have changed my approach slightly, by feeding small balls of groundbait more frequently, I also wouldn’t have fed liquidised hemp which seemed to attract too many tiny roach, instead of the skimmers.

In the end Des weighed 13lb and Nicky 8lb, but the main weights came from the corner pegs 6 & 7 (Andy Lloyd won the match with 94lb) plus there was 4 big silverfish weights (28lb-33lb) from pegs 17-20 in the deeper water.

Overall the day difficult for most, with a total of 10 blanks, mainly from the ice free Middle Lake. Cary was only won with 15lb and Campbell with 23lb.

1st Mike Nicholls – Charlies Angels - 87pts
2nd Chris Davis – Westerleigh – 85
3rd Ryan Shipp – Westerleigh – 77 (222-5)
4th Vince Brown – Sedges Mosella – 77 (182-3)
5th Adam Palmer – Sedges Mosella – 76
6th Jon Gray – Somerset Angling – 75.5
7th Eric Fouracre – Sedges Mosella – 75
8th Tim Pallant – Maver Veals Blue – 71.5 (158-2)
9th Mark Broomsgrove – Sensas Thyers – 71.5 (119-7)
10th Tony Rixon – Avon Angling – 71
21st Ken Rayner – Maver Veals Red - 56

28/11-30/11 - Stafford Moor

For the first time ever, the last thing I wanted to do was spend a long weekend away fishing at Stafford Moor. The stress of work etc, meant I felt like absolute crap, however I had to fish rounds 5 & 6 of the Veals Winter League, which normally I would relish.

On Friday I practised on Woodpecker peg 32, fishing the lead & trying for the first time the "tea bag". I didn’t have to think too hard about the fishing and finished with 6 carp for 41½lb, 5 on the lead and 1 on the full depth waggler.

Saturday saw me on Tanners peg 34. I finished with 12lb 11oz of silvers, however in what was a very tight section, I was only 3lb away from coming 4th overall in the silvers. Had I struck with catching the silvers for the whole match I would have probably come 5th in section instead of 2nd to last. I spent too long searching for a carp that weren’t feeding in very cold conditions.

Sunday I was on Woodpecker peg 8, which wasn’t a great draw and it was even colder overnight, than the previous night. My silver fish line only yielded small roach, so I spent more time than I should have trying for a carp, simply because it didn’t require too much thought. Again, had I been up for it and concentrated I would have probably come about half way in section.

I am really disappointed with this weekend, not just because I was ill, but I have now slipped to 21st in the individual league and I have absolutely no doubt had I fished to my full potential I would have done much better, particularly on Saturday.

23/11/08 - Lands End - Johns Lake

Weight – 1lb 9oz
Catch – 7 Roach, 5 Rudd, 5 Perch, 1 Bream.
Weather – Cold overnight, strong northwesterly wind, showers
Water temp – 8.5c > 8.5c
Match – Lands End Winter League – rd 2 – 27th overall, 5th in section

Today simply topped off a really crap week. Suzanne is still struggling to find another job, I’m struggling to hit target (and I really need the £3k kicker), as well as having my balls chewed over an incident at work.

I don’t think I have been under so much pressure for a very long time, so all I wanted was a nice day fishing.
Peg 41 is a good draw and usually worth a few fish. However, as I was setting up the wind suddenly increased and it was difficult to hold 8m of pole, let alone the required 14m. The wind was blowing straight into my corner and with a clear lake the prospects were for a difficult day.

I caught most of my fish, fishing into the near corner on caster, but I couldn’t get any quality fish. I even tried the tip, but only caught a small skimmer. Not much was being caught, in fact my section was the worse on the day, being the most exposed to the wind. On all 3 lakes the sections were won from the sheltered ends.

Although I finished 5th in section, I nearly fished 3rd. Russ Peck on peg 42 and Andy Bryant on peg 51, both had late carp on maggot to add to Russ's 1lb 8oz of bits and Andy's single 1oz perch!

To add insult to injury, I managed to jam pole sections 6 & 7 thanks to a bit of super glue, and then I managed to break it! More expense.

Oh for a bit of good fortune and not just with the fishing.

16/11/08 - Lands End - Johns Lake

Weight – 10lb 4oz
Catch – 2 F1, 1 Common Carp, 1 Roach.
Weather – Cloudy, mild, occasional drizzle, breezy.
Water temp – 10.0c > 10.5c
Match – Open 22th overall, 11th in section.

I should have known I was in for a bad day, when the wheel snapped off my space shuttle trolley at the lake. So that meant 2 trips to get my kit back to the car. Not happy.

Johns & Sydney’s lake were in for this match. I drew peg 54, which is an average draw and I wanted to try a few slightly different things in preparation for next weeks Lands End Winter League. I would normally approach this match fishing caster, maggot & corn, fishing for bites, but today I wanted to feed more pellet (4mm expander & micro pellet), mainly because fishing maggot on Johns lake results in tiny roach.

I started fishing tight to the island hoping for an early carp. In the meantime I feed some micro pellet, 4mm expanders and caster at 14.5m just off the end of the island. After 15mins, I hadn’t caught so switched to the 14.5m line. I soon caught a F1 on corn, but that was my only fish for a couple of hours.

Other than peg 55 not much was being caught, probably due to the tricky wind. It seemed my swim was devoid of fish, until I noticed a fish roll in an area of my peg I hadn’t feed. 1st drop in the new area I caught a F1 on corn, I fed 4 bits of pellet, 10 mins later I caught a carp, At last! Sussed it. Eh no. A couple of missed bites & a bumped fish and then nothing. I was really frustrated, I even tried firing caster at the point of the island, but 1 lost foul hooked carp was all I had to show for it.

It seemed as though the fish were backing off the feed, yet peg 55 had caught & won the match with 35lb (and not fishing particularly well!) feeding, as did peg 59 opposite.

I am here next week and the weather forecast is for a cold snap by the weekend. So I think a patience, tight feeding regime will be required.

09/11/08 - Lands End - Match Lake

Weight – 12lb 7oz
Catch – 18 Roach, 6 Perch, 2 Carp, 1 Tench, 1 Bream.
Weather – Heavy overnight rain. Cloudy, rain & strong winds.
Water temp – 9c > 9c
Match – Lands End Winter League – rd 1 – 16th overall, 2nd in section.

The Lands End winter league is to be run over 8 matches and originally there were to be 48 anglers over 4 lakes. In the end only 3 lakes are to be used with 36 anglers, although a couple couldn’t turn up for the 1st round. The eventually winner will walk away with £550, with 7th place receiving £50.

Speci, Match and Johns Lake were in for today and with heavy rain and wind forecast, I wanted to draw the more sheltered Speci or Match Lake, which I duly did with peg 24.

The wind was from behind, so at least that would make fishing the pole more comfortable, but the real concern was the clarity of the water and the fact peg 1 opposite hadn’t been drawn, which would mean the fish would back off too easily.

At the start I fed a small ball of groundbait with pinkie & caster at 14.5m in open water and immediately started fishing 13m at the bottom of the shelf, hoping for a mug fish. A roach 1st put in on maggot was soon followed by a small carp, before I decided to feed a few bits of caster.

A switch to my groundbait swim produced small roach, before a 2lb tench put in appearance. Not much else was being caught so I kept plugging away, concentrating on the open water and 13m margin swim, occasionally trying under peg 23 pallet.

With 90 minutes left, I was still catching odd fish mostly on pinkie, but felt I needed some better quality fish. I decided to leave my open water swim and spend more time fishing along the margin to the tree, up & down the shelf. I caught another carp up the shelf, plus a decent perch, as well as a 1lb plus roach at the bottom of the shelf. There were fish beyond the tree, but I couldn’t reach them due to the tree and with no one on peg 1 I couldn’t get them to come back.

To finish 2nd in section was a good start, but Pete Sivell isn’t happy with me, because this is now the 5th time on trot that I have beaten him off the next peg!

The next round will be in 2 weeks and I will on Johns Lake.

Suva Fish Market

I have always wanted to go to the Suva fish market on Saturdays. We finally got up early enough to go and we were rewarded with a plethora of seafood. I have used a slide show because there was too many pictures. All of the seafood is fresh and we tried two different seaweeds, lots of shell fish and some really nice veggies.
Cheers

02/11/08 - Lands End - Johns Lake

Weight – 16lb 0oz
Catch – 13 Roach, 3 Carp, 2 Perch, 1 Bream, 1 Tench.
Weather – Cold & cloudy. Northerly breeze.
Match – Veals Winter League – rd 4 – 25th overall, 6th in section.

Peg 55 on Johns Lake. At least it wasn’t one of the middle pegs, but it hadn’t shown much form recently. In the last winter league Kev Perry managed 18lb for 4pts, so if I could walk away with 10pts, I would be happy.

A quick chat with Rod Wootton told me to fish 16m to the point of the spit, fishing up & down the shelf. I feed caster, 4mm expanders and later micro pellet. I also set up a line at 11.5m in open water, feeding chopped maggot, hoping for some silvers.

Despite a tricky wind, I had most of my fish, feeding at 14.5m and fishing at 15-16m, on maggot, plus a 3lb bream on pellet. The silver fish line only produced a few small roach and even those weren’t coming regularly, so I had no choice but to concentrate on the longer line. I did try the margins, however without success.

Tony Rixon was on peg 54 and beat me by virtue of a few more silvers, weighing 17lb 3oz. His swim was more sheltered from the wind, which made for better presentation. He did lost a few carp, which were foul hooked, I tried not to look pleased!

In the end I achieved my target of 10pts, which keeps me in contention in the individual league, although the team is still struggling and it doesn’t look like we will be retaining the league title this year.

Overall the weather meant weights were generally lower than expected, but I still feel there are areas I can improve on, particularly with the Lands End winter league starting next week. I biggest problem is my feeding, I struggle to keep my hand out of the bait box!

1-Chris Davis - Westerleigh 53pts
2-Eric Fouracre - Sedges Mosella 49
3-Rod Wootton - Sartan Club AC 48
4-Ryan Shipp - Westerleigh 47 (184-12)
5-Ken Rayner - Maver Veals Red 47 (88-3)
6-Tim Pallant - Maver Veals Blue 45.5
7-Mike Nicholls - Charlies Angels 45
8-Anton Page - Sarfix South West 42 (200-4)
9-Adam Palmer - Sedges Mosella 42 (79-7)
10-Tony Rixon - Avon Angling 42 (70-8)

01/11/08 - Lands End - Match Lake

Weight – 6lb 8oz
Catch – 9 Perch.
Weather – Frosts all week. Cold cloudy & breezy. Rain later.
Match – Open – 5th overall, 1st in silvers.

Following last week’s match, I wanted to try a few different things in preparation for tomorrows Veals Winter League, such as feeding groundbait for the silvers.

I drew peg 1, which is normally a good draw, but with a cold wind blowing into the peg, combined with the clear water, I wasn’t confident.

I feed groundbait at the bottom of the far shelf, a small amount of caster & corn at the bottom of the point of the island and I initially fed nothing along the margin.

The guy on peg 24 opposite wrecked his swim, by feeding far too much at the start and I hoped he would push the carp over towards me. Usually if there are any carp in the swim, I would expect to have a few liners, but nothing.

My groundbait swim didn’t produce a single bite all match. I caught some early perch from the point of the island and later 16m down the margin. I tried an open water swim, feeding ½ cup of feed at 14m, plus chopped maggot at 11m, but no bites.

The margin swim turned out to be the best. Initially I was fishing a carp maggot rig & a corn rig, but had most of my fish on a light .10 bottom and 22 hook and just hoped I didn’t hook any carp.
I knew I beaten pegs 4, 22 & 24, but I was really surprised to win the silvers with such a low weight.

1st 40lb – Anton Page – peg 13
2nd 18lb – Mike Duckett – peg 18
3rd 17lb – Rod Wootton – peg 11

River Dove Salmon!!! My first 9lb 14oz

Well here is my story of catching my first ever salmon.

I am not a Salmon fisherman and have never tried it but enquired around Scotland this year but never got chance to go but as things turned out i did not need to bother.
I was Grayling fishing last saturday and whilst wading through a deep run i saw a salmon come clean out the water, this fish was around three ft away from me and scared the **** out of me, i was shocked to see how big this fish was, it was around three foot long and had a red glow down the bottom of its body. It seemed unreal to see a fish so big in a small river like the dove but it made me realise that these fish are coming back to the dove around a very good size.
The next day on sunday i went back to have another go at the grayling and hoping to see these salmon again, I took a friend with me who wanted to watch me fish,
As the light started to go i flicked my nymph unpstream where i had seen the fish and when i started to retrieve the bug i saw a huge salmon come out the water again, i thought wow what a nice fish when my friend shouted from the bank 'its took your fly',
I lifted into the fish and felt my rod tighten into the fish, i was using a 8ft 4 weight greys streamflex rod with 5 lb line and i knew i was in for some fun!!
The fish went absolutly nuts when it felt the hook set home and just run downstream, it went through a stong rapid a i could not stop it doing anything, its took me straight onto the backing so it was at least 40 yards down stream and still running,
I knew the only way i would get this fish was to tire it out so i went running down the river to my friends amusement!! I cover at least 60 yards running down the river with the fish still going when my line got caught around the reel, everything went tight and i thought it was going snap but it turned from the pressure and came leaping out of the river making my heart jump, the sheer size of this fish had me shaking like a leaf, my friend was shouting 'dont lose this fish you ****'
I was into a fish of a lifetime and eventually got it to start turning under full pressure, my rod was just doubled over all of the time,
When the fish saw me it made four more big runs but it was starting to tire,
After half a hour i had the fish in full view and she was lumping around like big fish do, so
I had a small trout net on my back and there was no way it would fit in there so i when i got it close to me i threw me rod down and grabbed it with both hands!
I took it onto the bank and me and my friend micky were jumping up and down like we had won the lottery! well to me it felt better than that!!
The fish was a female Hen and was quite dark. the fish measured 34 iches long with a massive tail, i got the scales from my van and it weighed 9lb 14 oz
In fact it was the lenght of my foot to my waist.
When i got home i told the mrs i had had the best night of my life and she said 'better than your first night of sex with me' and i said 'no not that good babe' but i am a great liar and if you are a fisherman you know what i mean!!

Video of me catching a GT

A great day fishing out of Pacific Harbour, Fiji

The forecast for Saturday was beautiful. Plans made and gear readied, time to fish. We leave after eight and decide to make a straight run instead of trolling to the fishing grounds that we want to try today. This of course burns a lot of fuel but saves about two hours.
We get to the bottom end of a reef system called Frigates.
It is a very popular surfing spot for locals and tourists alike.

We set out three lines looking for GT’s or mackerels. Trolling right along the reef edge. This method has a great payoff potential but a very high risk of snags.
Not to worry as we did not get a bite.
As we round the top end of Frigates we decide to try a bit of popper fishing. Rosie’s cousin Paul has not done a lot of poppering and is keen on trying it.
After a fair bit of casting practice, that is what I call it when you get no bites, we decide to move.
The sea is flat and the sun is out, there is no wind and no birds in sight. Sounds like a nice day for a picnic on the water but not for fishing.
Bottom fishing with bait is the consensus. First find the bait then find the spot to fish.
Luckily Paul knows a spot that usually holds bait. Within 10 minutes we have bait and are looking for a spot to drop anchor and fish.
Soon we are baiting hooks and dropping to the bottom.
Now this is where everything changes. Rosie can’t stand it, bait fish are breaking the surface right on the edge of the reef. About as far away as a person can cast. She ties a large popper on and fires a long distance cast using a 30lb set up. One pop, two pop, three pops and the surface explodes. The unmistakable scream of braid being taken at will from a reel along with shouts of excitement was all it took to end the bait fishing. The fight is tough but fair and soon a nice Bluefin Trevally is in the net.
Now the rest of us are trying to get our rigs changed from bottom fishing to popper fishing and Rosie is out there with another cast and another huge explosion. This second Trevally is a Bigeye and manages to break the tip of her fishing rod which is actually my rod because hers was blown apart by a very large GT a few months back. Rosie still manages to boat it and by the look on her face has reached nirvana.
This spot is totally turned on. We can see the Bluefin school swimming along the reef and they are all in the 4-7kg range.
Before any one else is out there popping Rosie has landed another three big Bluefin. By this time the rest of us have gotten sorted out and Paul is now casting a popper at the reef as well as myself. Before long there is a massive explosion and my popper disappears in a churning mass of foam. As my line pulls tight and my drag comes to life I feel the unmistakable rush of adrenalin and a giant smile on my face. This fight is different to the rest, it is deep with very hard repeated runs. Big head shakes and a fair bit longer. When we finally see color the beast lets us know it is a Giant Trevally. Pound for pound one of the hardest fighting fishes in the sea.
This fight is followed immediately by an explosion on the end of Paul’s line and the unmistakable shout of, “I’m on!” This is Paul’s first big fish while popping and it lives up to the reputation. He is over the top with the largest Bluefin of the day. Next up to catch a big on was Natasha, Paul’s wife. Being a first timer this was going to be a challenge. Once she is hooked up and with a bit of coaching and a few breath holding moments a nice Bluefin is netted and has its picture taken. There is still one person left to catch a fish, Rosie’s brother Paul, we call him Baba. After a bit of casting he is hooked up and the fight is on. during the entire fishing frenzy we had been seeing a few sharks but we were not being harassed to much. This time would be different. As soon as we see color on his fish we notice another color right on it tail. It looks as though this shark means business. I am at the back of the boat with the net and start telling Paul to reel as fast as he can. As the shark starts to gain on the Trevally I start to slap the water with the net. This buys us enough time to boat another nice fish and Paul is over the top.A bit more fishing and it is time to head back. With non stop chatter about a great day fishing and when to go again, we arrive at the jetty just before dark safe and sound.
Not a bad day for our first real attempt here in Pacific Harbour.

Tight lines and screaming drags

26/10/08 - Lands End - Johns Lake

Weight – 4lb 8oz
Catch – 7 Roach, 2 Carp, 2 Bream, 1 Perch.
Weather – Rainy start, becoming clearer & breezy.
Match – Open – last!

There are some days, when it just doesn’t happen for whatever reason or you have to hold up your hands and say I got it wrong. Fortunately I very rarely do so badly.

28 anglers turned up for this match on Johns & Sydney’s lake. I drew peg 46, which isn’t ideal, but I fully expected to catch a few, so much so I only set 3 rigs, 2 carp rigs & silvers rig. I soon found myself setting up new rigs to try & catch.

So why such a bad day? I may have overfed the swim and I probably wasn’t patient enough, but either way I should have caught more than I did.

I would rather get it wrong today than in next week’s winter league.

1st 130lb – Bela Bakos - peg 68 - maggot/shallow
2nd 79lb – Rod Wootton - peg 58 – pellet
3rd 61lb – Vince Shipp – peg 70

19/10/08 - Lands End - Johns Lake

Weight – 33lb 9oz
Catch – 15 Roach, 6 Carp, 2 Crucians, 2 Bream, 1 F1, 1 Rudd.
Weather – Bright, sunny & flat calm start. Later became cloudy & cooler.
Match – Veals Winter League – rd 3 (23rd overall, 4th in section)

Everyone wanted to draw Johns or Sydneys Lake and I found myself on peg 68 on Johns Lake. Pressure on! Peg 68 is 1 of the better pegs on the lake and prompted Mike Duckett to say this could be my year to win the league the way I was drawing!

The problem with drawing a good peg is to making sure you take advantage. Initially I set up 3 swims. 6m to my right feeding caster & hemp for silvers, 9m to my left next the reed bed and 14m at the bottom of the shelf by the point of the island.

On the whistle I fed 4mm expanders & corn at 14m and started fishing next to the reed bed with double corn without feed. After 10 mins I caught a 4lb carp. A switch to the long pole line resulted in another carp and a F1, but the action didn’t last long.

A switch to the silvers line only resulted in small roach and I found myself going no where whilst Vince Brown on peg 70, Andy Lloyd and Vince Shipp opposite were catching all be it crucians with the odd carp.
90mins to go and I’m still behind those I can see expect Clayton to my right. I kept rotating baits and managed to snare another couple of carp, but I needed a change.

I had left the island alone so far, but decided to cup a small amount of feed tight to the point of the island and slightly to the right next to a small bush. There was a good depth tight to the island so I was confident of catching, but like on my other lines the bait (pellet or corn) was being nipped by small roach, which made fishing caster pointless.

10 minutes to go, I really needed a carp. A switch back to the point of the island and the float eventually buried, carp on & landed. 5 minutes to go, try the weed bed or back to the point of the island? I decided on the point of the island and the float buried again and I landed a near 9lb carp, which was my biggest of the match.

14lb in last 10mins was a big bonus and proof if needed that you should never give up. The weigh in started with Andy on peg 41, who weighed 30lb, next was Vince Shipp who won the lake with 53lb. As the scales moved round I realised I had done well and wondered whether I would have enough to beat 30lb. When the scales arrived my silvers net weighed 3lb 5oz, which meant I needed my 6 carp to weigh more than 27lb, which they duly did. Vince Brown was last to weigh and missed out on beating Andy by 8oz.

As a team, we continue to struggle, but individually I am now lying 2nd overall, and perhaps Mike was right?

1-Chris Davis-Westerleigh 40
2-Ken Rayner-Maver Veals Red 37
3-Ryan Shipp-Westerleigh 36 (159-5)
4-Mike Nicholls-Charlies Angels 36 (65-9)
5-Rod Wootton-Sartan Club AC 34 (128-7)
6-Eric Fouracre-Sedges Mosella 34 (80-12)
7-Julian Heaven-Norfolking Good 33
8-Vince Brown-Sedges Mosella 31 (108-6)
9-Dave Downton-Team Veals 31 (69-3)
10-Tim Pallant-Maver Veals Blue 30.5

18/10/08 - Lands End - Match Lake

Weight – 6lb 9oz
Catch – 6 Perch, 2 Roach, 1 Tench, 1 Bream, 1 Chub.
Weather – Cool, a little breezy, cloudy periods.
Match – Open (13th overall)

Well I couldn’t believe it when I drew peg 11 again, I nearly ran to the peg. Incredibly Mike drew peg 13 as well.

Like the last couple of times, I decided to largely ignored the silvers and concentrate on the carp. Unfortunately this time the carp didn’t show.

On a separate note, Suzanne has lost her job, which means hards times ahead and a reduction in my fishing activity. As well as forfilling my obligation to the Veals Winter League, I have decided to concentrate on Lands End for the rest of the winter, including fishing the Lands End Winter League, which starts in 2 weeks. Fortunately my bait bill will low, but more importantly I do pick up over 50% of the time when fishing here, so hopefully my trips will pay for themselves.

12/10/08 - Lands End - Specimen Lake

Weight – 18lb 1oz
Catch – 3 Carp, 2 Chub, 2 Perch, 2 Rudd, 1 Bream, 1 Roach.
Weather – Bright, sunny & flat clam.
Match – Open (19th overall, 8th section)

The Specimen and Match Lake were in for this open, which would serve to be a practice for next weeks Winter League.

I drew peg 32 on the Specimen Lake and my main catching area would be 16m down the margin next to an overhanging tree. For this match I decided to ignore setting up a silvers rig and concentrate on the carp.

After 90 mins, things had been going well, with a couple of carp and silvers on double caster, tight to the margin. However as soon as the sun moved around, my swim was no longer in the shade and I began to struggle quite badly.

I tried in the open water and at the bottom of the shelf, trying different baits, but had very little. With an hour to go, my swim started to show signs of life again, with a few foul hooked carp, which I managed loss.

Steve Mayo on peg 31, started to catch tight to the island and eventually won our lake with 60lb.

I was disappointed not to have caught more and losing 6 carp was frustrating, but flat bright conditions meant the carp weren’t feeding properly. My side of the lake fished worse than the other side, so most will want to draw peg 33 to 40 next week.

I don’t think I did too much wrong today, in fact I was really happy with how I set up my rigs.

Diving, Towing and Fishing, all in a days work

I finally got to go out to sea. On Friday one of my in laws, Charlie, asked me if I could help out on his charter boat, the Beqa Princess. He had a group of 11 divers from Russia going out and needed someone to handle tanks and watch the boat while they all were down. Of course I said yes, any chance to be on the sea and I am there. We left Saturday morning at 8am. After much ado of getting all the equipment and people sorted, language barriers exasperated the problems, we make it to the dive site by 9:30am. By 10am all of the divers are down and my cousin Paul and I are left on the boat.
The weather is outstanding, the seas are flat and we decide to have a bit of a fish. Paul lands a small barracuda and a little snapper while I reel in my lure many times over with a whole lotta nothing. That’s all right by me at least I am out on the sea.
Second dive goes smooth and we are back on the jetty by 2:30pm.
Sunday is set to be a repeat of Saturday just a new spot.
By 8am the weather has turned to crap. It is blowing 25knots and threatening to rain. This of course makes our job 10 times harder as the boat is pitching all over the place and some of the divers are getting sea sick.
After we get them all down for the first dive Paul and I decide to fish again. This time it is my turn to catch a few. After a couple of small barracudas I boat a Trumpet fish, a first for me. This is one strange fish. About 3ft long with a long face and a mouth on the end. Not a good eater but not bad for bait. Soon after the divers come up and we are off to the next site. Unfortunately no fishing there. After the second dive it is back to the jetty.

Tuesday morning around 10am I get a call from Charlie again, this time he has to go to an island and tow a sail boat back to the jetty. He says for me to bring my fishing gear and we will troll on the way there. Don’t have to tell me twice.
Before we leave the jetty a guy named Victor and his son Ronny from Australia enquire about a fishing trip before they board their cruise ship at 6pm. Charlie agrees to take them after we tow the sail boat. This being Fiji, they jump on board for the ride.
The trip over is a little choppy but not bad at all. We do not catch anything but once again I am out at sea.
We tow the sail boat to the jetty without much drama and get them secured and squared away. It is time to take Victor out fishing. His son is going to go fishing with Charlie’s son in a small dinghy on the river.
Once we get to the reef where we are going to fish it is down to business. Luckily Victor knows what he is doing and is fishing within minutes of the boat stopping. Time is short for us and Victor lands a nice Job fish followed by a nice jack. Then time runs out and it is a mad dash to get them back to their cruise ship before it leaves. All ends well and we all had a good time. Maybe next time I will get to catch some big fish. Until then tight lines and screaming drags.

11/10/08 - Lands End - Match Lake

Weight – 49lb 10oz (13lb 4oz - silvers)
Catch – 10 Perch, 8 Carp, 2 Tench, 2 Chub, 1 F1, 1 Bream, 1 Roach
Weather – Bright, sunny & flat clam.
Match – Open (3rd overall, 2nd in silvers)

The current financial crisis could be biting very hard, following the announcement of a restructure at Suzanne work, which may mean cutting back on the amount of fishing. Time will tell – soon.

I haven’t fished Lands End for about 7 months, but I usually fish here regularly during the autumn & winter. On some days it can be a bit of a tough nut to crack, but what I like about the place is if you cant catch carp, there are usually a few silvers to target, like roach, rudd, chub, ide, bream and perch.

Today’s match was on Match Lake and I drew peg 11, which won last weeks match with 60lb+.
October is suppose to be the month of change, but here I was sat at my peg in a T-shirt on a bright windless day, which resembled a hot summers day.

Because the peg had some carp form, I decided to concentrate on the carp. I had plenty of water to attack and to be honest had too many options. After plumbing around decided to feed caster/corn and brown atomic cloud to the margin on peg 12, caster/corn at the bottom on the shelf in front of me, micro pellet/corn at the bottom of the shelf in front of peg 10 and finally 4mm expander & corn under the pallet of peg 10.

peg 12 margin

The margin in peg 12 was the best area to start, fishing double caster or corn, feeding via a tosspot. I picked up a couple of small carp, plus some decent silver, but I had to wait for bites and alternated up and down the shelf, but with the bright conditions I was just pleased to be catching.

Mike Duckett was on peg 13 and was getting plenty of liners fishing at the bottom of the shelf by the island. Both of my bottom of the shelf swims, only produced a few liners, but I was sure the swim would pick up later in the session. I kept feeding all my swims with a little bait, but I also started feeding hemp & caster by catapult tight to the island hoping either for carp or chub.

When I tried tight to the island I quickly caught a chub, then a perch, but the swim soon slowed, although I did manage another carp and a chub later on.

With 2 hours left, my bottom of the shelf swim, started to show signs of life and I started to catch a few carp on corn, including a 9lber. Unfortunately, I was also losing a few, most of which were foul hooked, because the fish hadn’t properly settled, probably due to the unseasonably warm day.

After such a long period from when I was last here, I was pleased to come 3rd overall. Rod Wootton won from peg 22 with 63lb, Martin Leneghan was 2nd from peg 6 with 60lb, which included 14lb of silvers. Like me, Martin was targeting the carp and his silvers were tench, crucians, skimmers and 4lb+ bream.

Mike West got the muppet award for chucking back 12lb of silvers, which would have won him the silvers prize by default. However Martin had been winding him up all match and suggested I had 30lb of silvers and Mike knew Martin had more then him.

05/10/08 - Bullock Farm - Carp Lake

Weight – 26lb 0oz
Catch – 7 Roach, 4 Carp.
Weather – Heavy rain to start, later cloudy
Water temp – 12.5c > 12.5c
Match – Veals Winter League – rd 2 (15th overall, 4th in section)

It’s the 2nd round of the Winter League and its absolutely hosing it down. The forecast was for the rain to stay all match.

I wanted to draw Rushcombe or Match Lake, but definitely not Carp Lake, so it was no real surprise when I drew peg 19 on Carp Lake. 3 out of the last 4 years I have been on carp lake and frankly getting a bit fed up with it.

When I arrived at my peg, Clayton Hudson who was fishing peg 6 on Match Lake had already set up his pole rollers in my peg. This is the only problem with the venue, it is a little tight.

I fancied my peg for a few carp. I had the end of an island to target, some open water and the pallet in front of peg 20. The recent heavy rain had an obvious effect on the water, being 2c less than last week, so a cautious approach was required.

At the start I cupped a pinch of 4mm expanders and micro pellet on the end of the island and then fished different areas of my swim hoping for a mug carp, which unfortunately never materialised.

Tim Clark (peg 21) and Steve Fouracre (peg 6) had both landed carp quite quickly either side of the reed bed, but other than that not much was being caught.

I also fed a small ball of groundbait at 4m, plus regularly loose fed caster, hoping for some silvers, if the carp didn’t show. When I switched to this line I started to catch the odd roach on caster, before it went quite and I hooked a carp of about 3lb. After 10 minutes I managed to land it, which was a real bonus. Although I periodically tried to reignite this line it didn’t take off again, probably because there wasn’t enough open water for the roach to settle.

By this time the rain was coming down hard and the wind had increased. Fortunately the forecast rain stopped all together after 2hrs and the wind and dropped away. I had been sparingly cupping caster, micro pellet & 4mm expanders, into my island swim and my open water swim, whilst catapulting 4mm expanders into the left hand pallet swim.

My float was set to a mere dimple and by feeding via toss pot, rotated my open water and island swim, I managed a couple of carp on 6mm expander, as well as losing 2 when the hook pulled.

The last hour was the most frustrating, I thought I needed 1 or 2 more carp to guarantee good points, but it never came. I even tried up the right side of the island, where there were fish moving around up there and I had a few liners, but they simply weren’t taking the bait, despite trying paste, worm, corn, caster & pellet.

Tim Clark on peg 21, managed to hook 18 carp, but landed 2! He should have walked the match, but the fish kept diving into the reed bed. To be honest he was pulling too hard.

In the end I thought I had about 18-20lb and as we were weighing in, there were a few people who had 5/6 carp for 20lb or so and I thought I would finish ½ way in the section. As it happened my 4 carp were closer to the average stamp and went 23lb 9oz, plus my 7 roach (2lb 7oz), meant I finished 4th in the section, as well as winning my 5 peg mini section and collecting £40.

Maver Veals Red finished a disappointed 10th on the day and lay 8th overall. In the individual league I am currently 3rd overall.

25/09/08 - Bullock Farm - Match Lake

Weight – 10lb 14oz
Catch – 9 Roach, 4 Carp, 2 Fantail, 2 Bream, 1 F1
Weather – Foggy start cold start, later warm, sunny and flat calm.
Water temp – 14.5c > 15.0c
Match – Open – (15th out of 24)

I ran a practice open on Bullocks Match Lake in preparation for the 2nd round of the Veals Winter League. All 24 of us were on the 1 lake, which wasn’t ideal, but unfortunately I couldn’t split it over 2 lakes.

I drew peg 6, which again wasn’t ideal. I would have much preferred any of the car park or chicken shed pegs.

I finished the day with a disappointing weight. I couldn’t get the silvers to feed properly, probably because in hindsight and speaking to a few others I could have fed more caster and switched the micro pellet for groundbait. Having said that I wasn’t in the best area for silvers.

Normally you can get a few carp and they are usually bigger than average, but not today. I was glad when the match finished.

24/09/08 - Bullock Farm - North Pool

Weight – 47lb 6oz
Catch – 14 Roach, 12 Carp, 3 Rudd, 1 F1, 1 Crucian, 1 Fantail.
Weather – Foggy start cold start, later warm, sunny and flat calm.
Water temp – 14.5c > 14.5c

Autumn has definitely arrived. A cold foggy started, officially ended what little summer we have had.

Originally wanted to fish the match lake, but this was closed so I settled on North Pool, simply because I fished Rushcombe not that long ago, I don’t like the Carp Lake and I had not fished North Pool for a while.

Being quite busy, I ended up on peg 23, at the back of the complex. I had a spare peg either side of me, so I had a little room to try a few things. My peg is only 10m wide, so I concentrated fishing left and right.

The fishing was generally difficult, with the odd fish being caught from each swim, mostly on pinkie. I couldn’t get a run together, but not many fish being caught anywhere.

I had been feeding both margins. The left margin I feed quite heavily with caster & 4mm expanders, whilst the right margin was feed more cautiously with the same bait.

I had periodically tried my margins without success, but they finally arrived in the last 90 mins, when I had 9 carp, mostly from the right hand margin.

18/09/08 - Trinity Waters - Wildmarsh

Weight – 13lb 12oz
Catch – 12 Roach, 11 Bream
Weather – Warm, sunny & flat calm.
Water temp – 16.0c > 16.5c
Match – Veals Winter League – rd 1 (20th overall, 3rd in section)

15 teams of 4 and most people wanted to draw Woodlands Lake, which is the carp lake.

Personally I fancied an open water draw on Wildmarsh Lake, which had 3 sections of the 4 sections. At the draw my wish was granted and I found myself on peg 30, which was on the end of spit and I had loads of water to attack. I really fancied myself to get good points.

As the match organiser I had to put the time of the match back ½ hour, due to some confusion regarding the pegging, unfortunately a couple of people didn’t understand the pegging.

At the start of the match, the real concern was the weather. It was bright & very calm, so I decided on a cautious approach and only cupped in 1 ball of groundbait, plus a little bit of chopped worm & caster at 13m. I also feed some 6mm expanders and small balls of groundbait at 25m, anticipating that I would catch most of my fish on the waggler, particularly after Wednesdays practice session.

Initially I tried to catch short for some early roach & rudd, but one had 1 bite after 15mins, so I quickly switched to the long pole. I had set up 2 rigs to fish this line. 1 light rig with .10 bottom and size 20 silverfish hook to fish caster & maggot, plus a heavy rig with .11 bottom and a size 18 B911 to fish worm & double maggot.

As the match progressed I caught most of my fish on the light rig with single caster, a few on the heavy rig & worm. I periodically tried the waggler, but only caught 1 skimmer, which was a real surprise.

With 90 mins left, I knew I was doing well, the only anglers I could see catching were Des Shipp on the far bank and Dave Downton to my right. However my swim seemed to have dried up. I tried going to 14m without any real success. I didn’t want to kill my 13m swim completely, so I decided dump a full cup of maggot, caster & chopped worm at 13m at 2 o’clock, hoping to catch a few eels.

20 mins later, 1st drop in with double maggot, the float just kept going under and I caught a biggest fish of the day, a 2½lb skimmer. In fact the last hour I managed another 4 skimmers from both my pole swims and was really confident of good points.

In the end I was 3rd in my section, beaten my anglers who both had single carp to go with their silvers weight. I did try for carp down the margins, but never had a bite and I didn’t waste too much time looking, since there was very few carp being caught on Wildmarsh. All the carp weights came from Woodlands, with the best weight being 61lb.

As well as coming 3rd in my section I was also 3rd in the silvers.

Fishing the web, you never know what you will catch

Here are a couple of items that got my attention in the news. The first is a "Man caught fishing for womens panties". This one really got me laughing. I guess you would call that panty poaching.

The second one is from Blogfish, a fish, ocean, conservation blog that I follow. Fishing protest not for the squeamish is about a shark fishing protest.

For the original story:

Artist hangs herself from hooks in protest at shark treatment
An artist pierced her skin with shark hooks and hung herself from a shop ceiling in protest at the treatment of the animal.

"Alice Newstead took the drastic action in protest at the practice of finning – where sharks are impaled on hooks, before their fins are sliced off to harvest meat for shark fin soup. The sharks are then thrown back into the ocean still alive. "

I feel that she got her point across. Mainly because the news wire picked it up as well as the blog world. She has drawn attention to an issue and got the public involved.

What do you think? Did it work or just a side show?

Panty on and hanging from a hook.

Cheers

17/09/08 - Trinity Waters - Wildmarsh

Weight – 24lb 6oz
Catch – 12 Roach, 9 Rudd, 8 Bream, 3 Perch, 2 Eel, 1 Carp, 1 Barbel
Weather – Rain at start, then mostly cloudy. Mostly flat calm.
Water temp – 16.0c > 16.5c

With the forthcoming 1st round of the Veal’s Winter League looming, I needed some practice at the venue. Sundays practice open had been won with about 40lb and the general consensus was there was bites for everyone.

Trinity Waters evokes very polarised views about whether it should be included in the Winter League, because the fishing can be challenging. As expected many of those that struggle to catch are not prepared to work for their fish. Personally I like to venue, set in a lovely location, John & Sue have worked hard to continually improve the fishery.

Wildmarsh is a 70 peg lake, which will have 3 sections of 15, which meant there was a 75% chance I would drew there on Sunday. The other lake, Woodlands would be dominated by carp and would effectively look after itself, so it made sense to practice on Wildmarsh.

I few days earlier I received a call from my best mate, Jim, when we realised we hadn’t got together for nearly 9 months, he decided to come along with me for the practice session. Since most pegs had a tree between them, we settled on pegs 44 & 45 because the vegetation was less dense, so at least we could have chat, whilst we fished.

The winter league would be float only, so I really wanted to get the waggler sorted, because if I drew Wildmarsh in the match I felt the waggler would give me an edge since most anglers would only fish the pole.

I set up a loaded 8g-enser-dream waggler, with 5 x no.6 bulk 2 foot from the hook 4 no 10 droppers, fishing in 7 foot water. I feed 6mm swim stim expanders, plus small balls of groundbait laced with chopped worm, caster & 3mm pellet. Whilst the fishing was never hectic, I caught skimmers up to 2lb 12oz mostly on half a worm at 25/30m.

I also had a few fish on the pole at 12m, but felt I probably overfed the swim from the start, cupping 4 balls of groundbait with caster & chopped worm. In hindsight, I should have started a little more cautiously.

As part of my practice session I also tried the margins, but only managed 1 carp about 6½lb and a barbel.

This was a really enjoyable session. The weather conditions were hardly ideal for catching skimmers, but I finished confident with the waggler and hoping for an open water draw on Sunday.

14/09/08 - Stafford Moor - Tanners

Weight – 19lb 12oz
Catch – 39 Bream, 28 Roach, 1 Hybrid, 1 Rudd.
Weather – Warm & sunny. Very light easterly breeze.
Water temp – 16.0c > 16.5c
Match – Stafford Moor Pairs – Day 2 – (64th overall, 10th in section)

Following yesterday’s match, Mike and I were effectively out of contention for the pair’s competition, so I wanted to at least have a few bites.

I drew peg 32 on Tanners but the wind had switched around and was blowing into pegs 18 & 20. It was also very bright and flat, so prospects weren’t looking good.

I started looking for carp on the full depth waggler and lead, but other than a couple of liners I had no carp. I had set up a silverfish line at 8m, feeding groundbait and micro pellet, but most of the fish were small. I also tried setting a line at 14.5m just feeding pellet. I caught a few decent skimmers, but wished I had some 6mm pellet instead of the 8mm.

Overall I was going no where, I had a banging headache and to be honest lost focus on what I should be doing, because it became obvious most of the fish were being caught at the other end of the lake, with 120lb winning the lake & my section from peg 18.

How to drive dolphins to extinction

The destructive power of human being is amazing. It is not bad enough that we over fish until a species is almost extinct, now these guys are trying to kill off a species we don't even eat.

Then these "fishermen" go on to say, "The Federation of Commercial Fishermen and a number of fishing companies challenged the restrictions, saying they would cost jobs in areas where the dolphins were never seen. The federation did not want to harm the dolphins but sought seasonal relief where jobs were under immediate threat."

What are we talking about here, 10-20 jobs. Let get real, these jobs are on their way out anyways. With the predatory fishing practices and greed these guys have already fished themselves out of a job. Time to find something else to do.








So you ask what is it that this fight is over. The first is the Hector Dolphin. "The Hector's dolphin is only found off the coast of New Zealand, which means it is endemic to New Zealand.
The Hector's dolphin is the rarest dolphin in the world - not a title to envy! "

The second is the Maui Dolphin. "Numbering around 110, the Maui's dolphin (Cephalorhynchus hectori maui) is the world's smallest and rarest marine dolphin. Maui's dolphins are generally found along the North West coast of the North Island of New Zealand, between New Plymouth and Dargaville.

So there is only a few of these little dolphins in existence and what do people want to do to protect them, nothing. Lets just string up a big ol' net and catch them all and be done with it. You gotta love commercial fisherman and politicians. This scenario seems pretty straight forward, protect the Hector and Maui dolphins or they will be extinct. End of story. So by the response of the New Zealand High Court I guess we will just kill them all off. Nice work in the land of the long white cloud and extinct dolphins.

Let's hope some common sense and rational thinking infests their pea brains and they do the right thing.

If you are interested in helping save these dolphins take action here.

Save the Dolphins
Cheers

13/09/08 - Stafford Moor - Woodpecker

Weight – 35lb 0oz
Catch – 5 Carp, 2 Bream, 1 Crucian
Weather – Rain to start, later warm & sunny. Light breeze.
Water temp – 16.0c > 17.5c
Match – Stafford Moor Pairs – Day 1 – (26th overall, 6th in section)

There were 42 pairs at the draw and you had to choice whether to draw from 1 of 2 bags. Tanners & Pines was in 1, whilst Woodpecker & Joseph’s was in the other. I drew Woodpecker 4 and Mike Etheridge drew Tanners 36. Mike definitely had the better draw, whilst my peg had been fishing well recently, so I felt we had half a chance of doing well.

Following advice from Andy, I decided on a 3 pronged attack. The straight lead towards the point of the island, pellet waggler in open water and finally the pole towards the point of the spit. I decided against a silver fish line, because it was reported there was a number of carp in the area and I didn’t want to be distracted from catching carp.

The flat, bright weather had its effect, I caught most of my fish on the lead, 1 fish on the pole, but no carp on the pellet waggler, despite feeding 8pts of pellet. I was convinced the fish would arrive, but they never did.

At the weigh in it became obvious I had draw at the wrong end of the section, the major weights came from peg 6, 10 & 12. Even the pegs opposite me in the bay (32-36) didn’t fish. James Cooper on peg 36 struggled for 39lb.

Mike did Ok on Tanners, unfortunately peg 36 fishes better when the wind is blowing and he finished 4th in section. This meant we were effectively out of the running for day 2.

Could I have done better? Probably not, I worked hard to catch what I had and the weights around me reflected the fact the fish weren’t feeding. The only thing I should have done was try a pva bag.

06/09/08 - Rolfs Lake

Weight – 3lb 10oz
Catch – 33 Perch, 2 Roach
Weather – Mostly cloudy, rain later
Water temp – 17.5c > 17.5c
Match – Total Fishing Individual Qualifier

Due to a minor operation, I couldn’t fish last weekend so was really looking forward to today. I had spent most evenings during the week tying hooklengths and rigs and felt confident of doing well.

When I arrived, the surface of the lake was black with fish, which was a surprise considering the heavy overnight rain. General consensus was the lake would probably be fish hard.

The lake had been split into 4 sections, based on form. I drew peg 29, which was in the 4th and worst section. Pegs 10, 13, 25 & 34 were in my section and I could at least keep an eye on everyone except peg 34.

Based on my previous visit, I decided to try the waggler at full depth, fishing the worm, hoping to pick up the off carp and silvers, whilst feeding my short line and margins.

In the end the lake fished really hard. I caught perch on worm, particularly in the margins, but they were mostly about 1oz and I was going no where fast. Although I had periodically tried meat & corn, without success, with only 90 minutes left, all I needed was a couple of carp, but it just wasn’t happening. I briefly hooked 1 on paste, before the hook pulled, but 10 mins to go I hooked another. This 1 I think was hooked properly, but it broke me on its 1st run – not happy. A missed bites next cast suggested the fish might have arrived all a little too late.

I only needed 3rd in my 5 peg section to qualify for the final, so I was really disappointed to finish 4th.

I had decided on an aggressive feeding approach and on reflection that wasn’t suitable, I should have adopted a more cautious approach, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. The problem was for whatever reason the lake fished very hard and only 78lb was needed to win. Had the lake fished normally, then perhaps my tactics would have worked.

Fishing the 10% method and Some Unusual Styles

Fishing, a sport that anyone can participate in. Young, old, male female, big, small it makes no difference to the fish. As far as I am concerned fishing is about putting in the hours. Doing the hard time per se. For first timers there is always an element of luck. Especially when they go out and land a huge fish of a lifetime and it was there first time to ever hold a rod. Such is lady luck.
The reality is a lot less glamorous. Fishing for hours on end without a bite. Fishing for hours on end in the rain without a bite. Then there is the fishing for hours on end without a bite while your fishing buddy is landing fish after fish. That’s the hard time.
I think the saying goes 10 percent of the anglers catch 90 percent of the fish. Reason being, the hard time.
People who catch fish regularly work hard for it. They learn to read the water and fish the tides. They are up at the crack of dawn and sometimes before. They never give up. If their favorite lure is not working then they change it and continue to fish the new one with confidence. If the new one is not working then they change again. It’s a never give up attitude that makes up the 10 percent.
There are many different techniques employed to catch fish and of course some of them are not very conventional but I am not judging.

Now this is what I call pushing the never give up attitude to the limit. Unfortunately I don’t think even lady luck will help this one.

This is what I call the scenting your lure technique. You put the lure in you mouth while carefully avoiding the hooks and get you saliva and scent all over the lure. According to some the fish then think they are kissing you instead of biting a hook. Of course it helps if you had sardines for lunch.

There is a not well known method of getting your lure out farther than you can cast. It involves a sea bird and the knowledge of bird whistling. Once mastered you can get your lure out to the fish without having to cast very far. The trick lies with the release from the bird. I am still unsure of this one but I have seen it employed several times.

Then of course there are those that just prefer to be friends with the fish rather than hook them.

This last method of fishing while standing in quick sand is beyond me. Be glad there are no crocodiles

I would like to say thanks to Katie Longo and Billy Longo for letting me use their images. In addition, I would like to give credit to Katie for putting in the hard time; it is starting to pay off for her.

Tight lines and screaming drags

Sky Watch Friday

Welcome to Sky watch Friday. I was not going to use this site this week but I was half asleep when I posted the link and I posted the wrong one. So here I am scrambling to get a post up. I shot this one at a ferry dock here in Fiji. A local fishing boat with its reflection and of course the reflection of the sky. Have a great weekend and don't forget to visit Sky Watch Friday for more sky photos from around the world.

Garbage and all that washes up on the beach

I have yet to go fishing since I have moved. Suburbia does not allow me to keep my boat in the water in front of my house. Just one of many draw backs. That being said I have spent a fair bit of time on the beach with my dog, she still needs the exercise and I get a break.
One thing I have noticed is the huge increase of garbage on the shore line. Maybe it is because at my old place I picked up every bit of rubbish every day so it did not seem so much. This new beach that I run my dog on is absolutely littered with garbage. I am talking plastic bottles, cans, bags, VHS tapes, tires, you name it, and it is there.

I have always had an idea that the garbage on the beach is the oceans way of puking up what we humans discard into it. Unfortunately it all does not come back up. Some stays out there and collects into a giant raft. A floating waste land if you will. Some ends up killing birds and turtles. Still more ends up killing fish.

Why? Why do we as humans feel the need to completely destroy or environment? Do we not think about our actions? Or is it we just don’t give a damn? Have we as humans lost touch completely with our environment? Oh so many questions and still no answers. There are attempts at reducing and even eliminating plastic from our lives but the reality is we will just find something else to through away. I think the answer lies in education. I do not think we will ever get rid of our use and need of plastic and disposables, but we can learn to deal with it without making the environment pay for our excessive use of these byproducts.

Recycling is probably one of our best hopes at doing some good. A massive effort is needed to make a dent. Not just in the developed world but everywhere. All peoples in all countries need to conscientiously make the effort and really do something on a large, make that massive scale.
I live in Fiji and have found it very hard to recycle. The facilities just aren’t here. I am not sure why but am looking into it. Here on these beautiful tropical islands I can spend all day every day picking up trash from the beach and never make a dent. I find this very sad. People, no matter their ethnicity through their garbage in the ocean, it is almost as if they see it as their right.

If you have read this far then I ask a favor of you. If you see garbage on the ground pick it up and if you see someone throwing garbage on the ground say something. If you can recycle then do it and if the facilities are not available then find out why and try to get them available
If we all take these few steps it might actually put a dent in the excessive amount of garbage that is polluting our lives and the environment.