Favourites

Date fished 14/12/2024

8am until 12pm

Favourites are difficult. Favourite child, football team or food. Rupe as a boy, Martha as a girl, Liverpool, curry, pizza, I mean burgers! See, its difficult. 

Fishing, well that must be the ultimate difficult favourite decision. I think the answer is "whatever the fishing I am doing at the time". 

The annual grayling fishing at Piercebridge trip was a solo affair today. I have to admit, it's usually one of my favourite trips.

I got my soup ready and set off just before 7am. Arriving as the sun rose, I took minimal gear down to the river. It looked in fair nick. Clear and actually lower than I thought. Perfect for the ladies. 

The rod was already set up, so within minutes I was wading in the shallows and trotting. Third trot down and I was in. Top left above. Four of the next five fish in about 40 minutes were approximately a pound. It was a great stamp of fish. 

Conditions seemed perfect so I fished on. Soon, I had caught eight grayling and two dickhead trout that splashed around like idiots! Barbless hooks meant everyone was released none the worse for wear and I lost a few fish also, which was fine. 

I heard someone behind me. A chap had come to investigate the island swim and had not seen me in it. He apologised, I said nonsense and offered him a trot. He just wanted to see it, as he had seen it on one of Ellis's ' very informative ' YouTube videos and it looked so good!! 

I didn't do the usual and move swims, which also acts as warming up the cold feet. Instead I trudged out the cold river, drank hot chicken soup and started writing the blog. Am actually sat on the bank typing this now. I can feel the soup warming my cold little toes. 

The downstream wind picked up and with the sun so low, the trotting was difficult and cold. Hat, gloves and snood were all applied, the dork hat in my bag just in case!

After a short session, I headed home happy, a successful day if only in a short burst. Off to put my dancing shoes on, strictly final tonight, don't think I am dancing in that! Cold toes to now twinkle toes!!

Just if you wanted to see,  the original fish pics that made the collage. 

Close to home

Date fished 1/12/2024

8am until 1:30pm

Man flu and Man City (visiting Anfield) today meant I was limited with my fishing options. I decided to stay close to home, closer than the lake at Ryton, I was going to fish the Tyne. 

I put some feelers out and was given a particular location, this worked well as given I walk along that river a lot, it was the swim I was going to fish anyway. I bought myself a day ticket from the council website, a random £10.19. I was going to target the chub so took meat, cheese paste and bread and the 7ft ledger rod. Scared I might need a minnow as the blank saver, I took the float rod, closed face and frozen maggots as back up. 

I left the house at 7.45am and walked the mile to the river. It was just getting light and looked so perfect when I arrived. So perfect in fact, that I didn't waste time to take a pic, but cast straight in. This was later and you can see it still looked lovely. 

First cast and nothing happened, I tried again. Second cast and the rod pulled round, I struck and played the fish. On the little rod, its sometimes difficult. I cursed this small rod as the fish got off. It's perfect in tight swims behind a bush, maybe not so on the wide river Tyne!

I cast again. Over the next hour I missed 7 bites. they ranged from savage pulls that I missed to smaller plucks that I hit and played the fish. None resulted in a capture. 

Frustrated, I changed the hook from a hair rigged cork ball to a plain hook. I moulded the cheese paste to the hook and cast it back into the zone. As sure as eggs are eggs, the rod pulled round and I was in. This time, I connected and played the rubber lips to the waiting net. Success!

2lb 11oz, so not massive but immaculate. My first ever Tyne fish, I was buzzing. I cast back in and waited, this is where the blog could end, but I will keep writing even if you don't keep reading. 

I trotted with maggots but the float remained above the water. I did move downstream to ledger in some likely looking spots behind bushes and the like, but nothing else happened. I had caught a Tyne chub, success!!, is that not enough!??!

Four legged and two legged visitors came down the steps to see what "fishing" was. They mostly left disappointed and bored without full tummies of my bait. A slice of pizza keeping me going just long enough till home time. 

I walked home happy with a stinky net, lets hope Liverpool will do the business later and make the net bulge!