"Leaf" it for today, it's a school day

Date fished 10/11/2018
8am till when we admitted defeat.

Today was tough, really tough. That's it!
It was a fishing test, and as Ellis has just said. Today we paid our dues!
I add that we tried and we enjoyed.

We were back on the Tees at Piercebridge in the hope of Grayling. Meeting at the usual place, I was tackled up and ready when Ellis arrived. Ellis had sourced access to a different beat up stream, so it was on board the motor and a quick drive to a new stretch. On seeing it, it looked a great venue, but the river was high and fast. The over night rain had certainly topped the Tees up. As we looked on, several large trees, branches and debris floated by! Wading was not gonna be an option here!!

We tried a few swims, but really struggled. I just did not have confidence in my ability to trot the float in the same area as my feed. Especially as my feed was probably going miles down stream!!

We soon got back in the car, moving to our usual spot where we had both caught Grayling before.
Seeing the river here, gave us a little more confidence. Just!

I was soon in the water to wade across the stream to our spot. I went very carefully as the stream (actually a side of the river) was alot faster and deeper than normal. I assume Ellis stayed back to check for my safety, but more of that later!

We were soon on the island, a quick jungle walk later and we were fishing. We carried on feeding and casting, soon getting into a rhythm. Standing almost back to back we were trotting in a similar area and kept the feed going in.

Soon it was time to move on, if for no other reason other than to warm the parts of our body below the waist that were now freezing!
We usually took a different wading route out of this area, but today thinking it may be too deep, we thought about a different route. Ellis suggesting he might try the deeper route.
I replied, "ok, but let me get ready with my camera in case you get washed away, it will be a great photo for the blog"
Ellis promptly replying " that's funny cos when you were going into the stream, I turned my go pro on to film you if you got washed away!"
At least we were on the same page with water safety!!!

Both taking the safer route, we were moving down stream. As we fished, we were catching a leaf every cast! Some nearly required the net. It really was a struggle. We battled on. Coming across another angler who had a few Grayling already certainly gave us renewed enthusiasm and soon we were catching a leaf a cast again!!

Finally I noticed the river was dropping, perfect for tomorrow we noted! By 12 o clock the routine was back and I was confident with the feeding and casting and it was coming together. My skill was soon rewarded and another leaf was landed.

As I continued with the foliage, Ellis was chatting to the other angler. At 71 years old and been fishing stick floats since he was 13, he was soon parting his wisdom to Ellis. He soon had Ellis feeding right, casing right, using the right weights, not using a swivel, hooking maggots right, using the right hooks, using the right line and after some tackle swaps, Ellis was all right!

The knowledge was infectious and soon we were both listening to "how to" guides and venue tips and tactics that had Ellis wishing he could remember it all!! I think the peg number 35, 37 and 38 came up alot matey!!

As the angler left, we obviously jumped into his swim. Ellis with basically the same tackle, as he had swapped it all! We fished on. Laughing to ourselves, and smiling fondly.

We worked our way back towards the cars. No Grayling today, but we left happy and alot more knowledgeable. Sometimes it's good to take stock of how you do things, it's not wrong it's just different!

I never did ask the guy how he would deal with a friend being swept away in the river, but am sure the right answer would be "well hopefully capture it on film!!"

A to Z

Date fished 2/11/18
9am till 4pm

A is for Anthony, who was kindly taking me fishing today.
B is for blank saver, a 4oz perch was mine! I....
Caught it from the
Canal.
Drop shotting was the most prolific method today, as usual! I tried it again.
Electro fishing had been used 8 weeks before, had this removed all the....
Fish? We wondered, Anthony had some tricks to use though....
Garlic pens, shhhhh! It's secret
Haunts on two canals we tried. Anthony knew all the stretches like the back of his hand.
I had dead baits, small roach to try too.
Jigs were used, but to no avail
Knowledge is key, so will be updating my Finygo App
Lesson learned, slow retrieve, almost to a stop.
More practice is needed on my drop shotting technique.
November Day? It was sunny and bright
Obviously as Anthony had said there were only a few in the stretch, his first fish was a lovely looking
Pike.

Quietly we crept along the canal, trying likely looking spots, only a few feet from the bank
Repeating this at bridges, boats and under over hanging trees
Stonez from Pallatrax were used instead of leads. Have used them a little before, but gonna give them a whole season and see how I get on
Two quick bites, I missed, but we think these were by perch. Anthony ended on 5 perch, some nice sized ones, and lost a bigger one.

Urban fishing at it's best on these
Venues, Ashby de la Zouch Canal and Coventry Canal

Water was a good colour. Not like chocolate, that it sometimes resembles
Xpertly (ok, well we did not play any xylophones!) I worked the lure along the bottom,
You must be joking, I shouted as Anthony finally hooked a...
Zander. They were the main target today, and although I didn't catch one, I saw Anthony catch one and had a great day trying!

The 3 P's

Date fished 1/11/2018
8.10am till 4pm

After a plentiful breakfast,

day three of the epic fishing trip saw me and Ellis head to the canal at Pollington. Perch and Pike were the targets, but having not fished together since September, we were due a prattle too!

Deadbaits set up as the rain started, Ellis taking shelter from the precipitation by going under the bridge.
I cast the bait in and waited patiently. The second rod in my case was a spinner or small jig, Ellis had spinners, small jigs and of course his ever faithful drop shot rod!

First retrieve has nothing to report, the second however, pow! Fish on. My spinner, being preyed upon by our first P.
A Pike being my prize, for a well positioned spinner.
I don't think Ellis had got out from under the bridge yet!
A nice start to the day, let's hope it was the start of something more productive. Excuse my pinkies!

As we carried on fishing, Ellis went back under the bridge, but this time he was armed. A quick flick of the deadly drop shot and he was into our second P.
A perch being his reward. This fishing play was getting easy...

As we made our way up towards the lock, we carried on with the deadbaits and lures. Opting to fish up by the moving water by the lock. Ellis continued to catch perch on the drop shot, now expertly doing the drag shot technique!
Around a large boat, Ellis managed the pick of the day, this perch easily going over a pound.

We then went the other side of the lock, managing to avoid the poo as we fished along the path. Ellis having a follow from the deep, into the clear shallow water from a perch         " double the size of that big 'un".
This fish giving us some more motivation, proclaiming " I am not leaving till I catch a perch" quickly followed by Ellis " I'm not leaving till I catch a pike!"

We continued towards the bridge, chatting with other anglers that we met. We saw a few splashes, presumed pike. But none were in the mood to see us.
As we tried and tried, Ellis perfected his line clip use. Expertly casting to within an inch of the far bank over and over. Next, Ellis reviewed his dead bait collection, proclaiming it was all for the bin and a new lot purchased very soon.
Soon the last cast was upon us, Ellis continuing with his expert cast, however this time it was a foot into the field on the far back! A quick walk around to rescue his float soon followed, only made worse by my laughter of the expert cast!

I am sat in the pub writing this, hoping you are wondering what the third P is? Well, it's obvious.
It's not pals, perfect, painful or panic! It's plonkers!!

Let me tell you what happened, that I left out of my story.
My dead bait float was up near the lock, I was stood with the spinner, explaining to Ellis that spinning was not good at this height from the water. He listened and nodded as he drop shotted. Suddenly my float started to move towards us, a slow movement, but then going underwater and sailing away. I dropped my rod and actually ran to my rod. Ellis winding faster on the drop shot to get the net. Just as I picked up my rod, Ellis pronouncing "haha it's me!!!!" He had caught my line and was creating the bite!

I am proud to say, enjoying my fishing like a plonker, makes me happy, especially as gnome does not start with a P!!!

Perch "bite"

Date fished 31/10/2018

Canal fishing at Birkwood fisheries for pike and perch was today's plan.

After a hearty fried breakfast, as I must have still been hungry after last night's mixed grill, we packed up and set off.

Driving through the fishery, we came to the canal. About 5 or 6 swims through woods covering a stretch of about 150 metres was today's playground. It looked perfect, as we tackled up and cast into the flat calm water.

Deadbaits in the water, I soon had my coat off, and was sat in the sun, not a cloud in the sky. This was a glorious day for fishing. I decided to get the spinner out and try for perch. My first few retrieves found nothing, then suddenly a 5 inch perch, with a 2 inch high dorsal followed my spinner right up to the bank. Seeing me, it decided against, and was away. At least we had seen a fish!

No interest came from any of the swims, and by lunchtime we were in the end swim. We walked down to the river to stretch the legs and have a look, before we were going to try the swims again.

We came across a swim we had not started in, thinking it looked too cramped for two.
This time, I had a quick cast with the small paddle tail. Suddenly a small tug on the lure. A bite, from a perch. But it came off. Pulling the lure in, I noticed it had it's tail clean bitten off, that was no perch, but a pike!!

We continued but no luck. Finally the last swim, sitting together as the sun moved round and we were in the shade. Again a perch followed, this time we both saw it, as it tried to attack the lure. Sadly no hook up. The blank was inevitable but we both left happy.

A great couple of days fishing with my dad. The annual trip is now in its 5th year, previously we have been to the Wye twice, Scotland once and the Swale once. It's not always easy to arrange with busy lives, but I am already thinking where we can go next, not to blank but to see Davey beat me again!!

Caught short, caught a fluke!

Date fished 30/10/2018

The first day of the annual Chumbley trip and I can confirm the old man has not fallen over once!
This year we decided to do a bit of carp fishing for a change. We settled on Birkwood Fisheries near Wakefield as we could fish on the lakes one day, then the canal the next.

Setting off from North and South we both made our way to the venue. 2 miles from arriving, I was bursting for a wee, managing to just make it (well, not really) in a pub. So after that adventure, I made it to the lake. Davey was there, dry and waiting.

Picking the nearest two swims to the car park cos they looked good, they actually did! We were ready to do some fishing.

I was starting with the ledger rod and pellet as bait, with a small pva bag. Davey was starting with a pike float and sweetcorn, barely a metre from the bank. He had no hooks, so had to borrow one from me. Who comes fishing with no hooks??
A little knock on the rod, and I was soon slaying the beast of Birkwood, showing here....

After a lot of chatting, catching up and cakes, my rod lept forward and was soon heading for the lake. Very slowly as not to follow it into the water, I leant forward and picked up the rod. A good fight later, I  soon had a nice little carp in the net.

I re-cast and waited. Suddenly the rod bent over, and I was in again. This felt bigger, slow and deep it swam around. Then suddenly the hook pinged out and the fish was named "the one that got away"

Davey went back to his swim, I think cos I had the put the cakes away and started fishing. Soon he was proclaiming "I'm in" and triumphantly declared a "roachy type thing" as his prize.

It was not long before we were back in the same swim (mine), chatting about old times and enjoying ourselves. I told him he might as well bring his kit over and fish in my swim. So he did. A quick rummage through his bag, and I found packets of hooks!!

The anglers amongst you will know exactly what happened next!!

Dip, dip went his pike float. Strike went the old man, splash, splash, play, net. He had caught a lovely looking carp of about 10lbs in my swim, right under my nose and the rod tip!!
Quickly, I tackled with a float and sweet corn, and joined him.

A few more bites, but no more fish. Back in our digs for a few beers and food, before tomorrow's fishing.

I really enjoy these annual Chumbley trips, is great to set up Daveys tackle and watch him catch all the best fish! Love ya dad.

If you can't beat them, join them!

Date fished 28/09/18 10am till 29/09/18 3pm

Ellis and I planned another trip to Cundall farm fishing for Barbel. The Swale Barbel was still eluding me and with winter approaching, the time seemed right.

Chris Gaines, predominately game fishing member of big elbow was joining us for a few hours to whet his coarse fishing appetite.
The track at the farm was dry, so I braved driving down to the river, we can park right behind our swim, it is great to have a mobile tackle box a few steps away for leaving rods and bulky tackle in. It means you can bring more stuff but not necessarily have to carry it far, win, win!

To tempt these Barbel we were well armed, pellets, boilies, meat, worms, hemp and deadbaits formed our arsenal. "Deadbaits?!" I hear you cry, yes, Ellis decided at the 11th hour to add deadbaits to the list in case we decided to target Pike. I did tell him we were Barbel fishing!!

We settled in a swim where  all 3 of us could comfortably sit. We covered a large bend, with deep and shallow areas. Soon the bait was going in and our traps were set. I was on the far end, a little way from the other too, and I soon heard Chris laughing and fishing chatter. It was great to be on the bank again.

With little action coming from the water, Ellis took to the sky. His drone quickly spanning the river and fields. No Barbel spotted.
Soon it was time for Chris to leave, he will have to come another time as he left hungry on this occasion, his coarse fishing appetite not met!

Decisions had to be made. Did we stick or twist? We twisted. We upped sticks and moved swims, opting for a section of river heavily tree lined on the far side. Feeling that here we could bait to the trees, and draw fish out from this feature.
Soon we had new traps set and Ellis's trap was a dead bait. I did tell him we were Barbel fishing!

It was not long before Ellis's float twitched and sailed away. He was in to our first fish, not a Barbel, but a blank saving Pike! I know!! I did tell him we were Barbel fishing!

Unfortunately the hooks pulled at the net and we were still fish less.

A new sardine was elasticated on the hooks and he was casting the deadbait back on the spot. I did tell him we were Barbel fishing!

So far the Barbel had not put in an appearance, we had laid down another carpet of hemp and smaller mixed pellets and had meat and pellets or boilies on the hook. At one stage I even had a boilie and pellet cocktail, but nothing seemed to work. As Ellis started on the Bar B Q, I was watching his float, mesmerized by it's stillness. Suddenly it gave a twitch and a bob and was gone. Ellis was back on the rod, and this time I netted it. A nice pike to get Ellis off the mark, I did tell him we were Barbel fishing!

The time soon came, to sit back, open a beer and have a chat. Discussing new trips on the canal and possibly Trent to target Zander. This was Barbel fishing at it's best!

The rods were all re-baited and cast to the perfect, but not always snag free position and we sat down to eat. It seems Ellis is a dab hand in the kitchen, but only when it is bank side and can include a blow torch! The bar b q coals never stood a chance, but the resulting perfectly cooked chicken, sweet corn and salad really brought the day to a delish end.

As the light was about to fade, we cast again and sat waiting. The night lights and bite alarm taking over from float watching now. Soon we we were reaching for the Whiskey and one last cast to a position for the night.

Now, most of you will appreciate casting to a tree lined bank in the dark is not easy.  It's a simple job of casting, probably a little bit under your normal throw and hearing the splash to confirm it's in the water. Ellis stood ready, his bait perfectly mounted. The rod over his shoulder. I saw the throw, waited for the splash. But all I heard was bush!!! The loud rustle of lead hitting  leaf, quickly followed but a roar of laughter from me and an expletive from Ellis. This really was Barbel fishing at it's best!

Soon, all the rods were in, and we sat to watch the night lights. As bats started to fly over our heads, the moon rose from above the trees and gave us a little bit more light. The rods did not move, so we decided to reel in and have some kip, deciding to get up early and put the rods back out before light.

Forgoing the bivvy this time, we opted for car seats to be our bed. Ellis opting for the warm, heated seat of his car, me for the cold back seat of mine! After not a lot of sleep, and a chat at 3.30am, I had my rod back on the spot well before any light came up. Ellis opting for a few more hours warming his bum! 

As the light rose, there were fish topping everywhere, it was a beautiful start to another day Barbel fishing. When Ellis got up, I had 2 rods back on the perfect spot ready. Ellis joined me by baiting with meat, pellets and dead bait! Yes, I did tell him we were Barbel fishing!
It didn't take long before Ellis was rushing to his rod, striking and playing another fish. "Was it a Barbel?" You ask. No, no another Pike! I netted this one and after taking the pics, I got back to the Barbel fishing!

Ellis then had about 4 or 5 fish all in the space of an hour, unfortunately he didn't land them. The fish picking up the bait, then throwing the hooks. Yes, all Pike! That was it, I gave in and joined Ellis for a perfect days Pike fishing!

Swapping one rod for my pike gear, I soon had a sardine, float fished in the slack water and the Barbel rod perfect in the tree line. Suddenly we both saw it at once, movement, a fish was finally here. A twitch, strike and I was finally into a fish. Playing it whilst Ellis got the net. Joy on my face as I finally pulled the fish over the net. Bringing it on the bank, unhooking and some nice pics followed. I was off the mark on this Barbel fishing trip with, yes, you've guessed it. A Pike!!

It was time for Ellis to get back in the kitchen, this time emerging with sausages, bacon and beans.
I was going to shamelessly plug Ellis's spool bands again, but I don't need too. After seeing how easy he got line from a spool in strong winds  with no tangles or line blowing about, it seems they plug themselves!

The Barbel /Pike trip continued, as we tried hard to catch both. Unfortunately no more fish graced our net.
With the strong winds taking over from the snores of Ellis, and even staying till the Dave Jones 2pm, it was finally time to pack up and head home. A quick walk at Topcliffe bridge and a sneaky view of Billy's boards from the back (that's not easy to say) showed no fish in the aquarium swim. It was definitely time to admit defeat on this Barbel trip.

Another great Barbel trip, will always be remembered for the pike, Ellis's "bush" cast and the quote that sums it all up, "let's fish in this swim, it looks a lot more social".

Dare to Spin and Drop!

Date fished 15/09/18
11 hours

What a trip!! Sometimes you just have one of those sessions. Yes, I saw 3 pairs of magpies on the drive to the river, but this was worth more than triple joy!!

Ellis and I were on board The Big Elbow for a day on the Tees for perch and hopefully pike, but to be honest perch was our main foray.

Meeting at 8am, we were soon tackled up and ready to go. The drop shot king had kindly brought me a spare drop shot set up, so I could hopefully catch my first drop shot fish. I had watched Ellis use it to great effect. It definitely catches alot of fish!

We were soon heading to likely looking areas. This particular area had been on fb the night before, with a 4lb 2oz Perch, this looked likely indeed! Nothing was here today though so we moved on.

We commented how we were starting to really know these areas, but today they all looked different! Not sure if it was the  leaves being brown, or the water level or colour, but it looked more fishy in every swim we saw.
We were soon drifting along the tree lined edge and the drop shot king was soon into fish! A few perch taking the lure, quickly adding to the kings tally. As we drifted over branches, I saw perch attacking my lure and a quick jig later the perch was on board the boat. Neither of us had blanked. Phew.

We fished on, Ellis continuing to catch alot of perch, me just, well, not catching. Finally I got the spare drop shot rod and dropped! It's a great technique, and soon I was catching too. Next was to try a spinner, another method I had not caught on, Ellis also wanted some spinner caught perch!

Of course we both soon had spinner perch too, this was becoming a session to remember.
As we drifted along a new stretch, I saw it. A large black hood in mid river. We hadn't drifted downstream and out to sea, but here was Sammy the seal, watching us cast. Sammy was soon impressed as I hooked a nice perch in the margins, quickly landing it, unhooking it and releasing back into the river. We looked up, but Sammy was gone. Maybe the fishing was better somewhere else!!

We moved to where the river Leven joins the Tees, expert manouvering from Ellis and we were soon quite a way up the Leven. It was narrow and fishy! Every swim looking perfect.

A few quick casts and a few more perch were ours. These fish were very pale, and the markings not very dark. The water conditions in the Leven must be very different! To us, it was just another perfect place to fish.

By now we had caught at least 30 perch between us. The Leven mouth was our end point, so we turned round and headed back, keen to try some other swims.

We had noted as we drifted close to the edges, we had spooked fish that were just sat at the edge of the river. I had seen a good sized chub as we drifted over it, Ellis just seeing the boil of water as it was gone. It happened a lot, enough that now our eyes were scanning for movement. As early evening approached, the light slowly declined, something was about to happen.
Drifting, I noticed a fish being chased on the surface. A quick cast and I was suddenly playing the culprit. It was my smallest ever pike, a micro pike, pefection in miniature. A quick pic and it was back.

Next cast, another fish, Now my smallest ever pike, a micro micro pike!! It made Ellis and I laugh as we had been chatting about catching a micro pike last trip out at Sockburn.

Suddenly there was action and topping fish everywhere, we moved further down, I cast to the splash. Instantly the fish grabbed my lure, a much bigger fish. In an instant, the line was bitten through, definitely not a micro pike!
As I reached for the spinner, Ellis had cast towards another topping fish. He was in to a much bigger fish, "pike" I shouted as it came to the surface. In fact it was a perch, and what a perch! Weighed, so we could get a feel for how big, exactly 1lb 8oz. What must the 4lber looked Like??

Grinning from Ellis's capture, I cast towards more topping fish. The spinner came a few metres towards me, then bang. A much bigger fish was on. It was into snags, around branches, under the boat, but eventually in the net. My first proper Tees pike! Proper in size, but actually my 5th Tees Pike, I will stop counting them now as it's not a couple, or a few, I am a Tees Pike angler!
Again out of curiosity Ellis asked what weight, I said 5lb, Ellis instantly agreeing and confirming he thought the same. Then to prove we really were Pike anglers, into the sling it went. The needle banging between 4lb 12oz and 4lb 14oz. We really ARE pike anglers!!

As quickly as the madness started, it stopped. A few more perch were caught as we made our way back, just one more stop. Could we crown this off with a 4lber??

Sadly the answer to that is no. There was no more fish for us. We ended having caught at least 60 perch between us and the 3 pike. We had lost a fair amount of tackle too, we had dared to cast close to the snags, where the fish were living.
We dared and we won, and you know what? We liked it, and will be doing it again!