Spot the difference

Date fished 7/4/2023

7.30 am until 2pm

More of the same at Tilcon today. Looking at the match results from Sunday, 19lb won it. Been a while since I caught more than 19lb in a session. 

I have been thinking of bringing the kitchen scales so I can weigh some of the smaller fish for some time, but always forgotten. I don't know how much they weigh, the fish not the scales!! Today was the day I found out....

I had dead maggots, worms and sweetcorn along with the float rod. I caught on all three, but the better stamp (accurate, because I know) came to sweetcorn. 

Not wanting my blogs to be the same, I wont give a blow by blow account of todays trip, I will just highlight the differences, and provide you with some (small) weights!

3.7 oz

4.3 oz

5.0 oz

7.5 oz

4.6 oz

3.6 oz

So, what did I learn? 

Pretty much that my general estimates are "accurate", but as with bigger fish its quite hard to be spot on. 

I would like to do this again and catch some of the micro perch, as I am sure they weigh next to nothing! 

Secondly, I learnt that I won't be entering any matches soon! I watched a host of much better than I (match) anglers today fishing the pole. They smashed it, really good fishing. But I enjoyed myself, and incidentally there were no differences worth highlighting! 

Fool

Date fished 1/4/2023

8.15 until 14.45

A day after my birthday and I decided to brave the rain. Fuelled by child made Choc mint cream cake for breakfast, I was up early and ready to hit the bank. I wanted to float fish, there will be plenty of ledgering time on this lake soon, so I thought I would start with float watching. 

Arriving at the lake, I went and chatted with the angler already fishing. He was actually just leaving, having just popped down for a short session before work. That's the way, I thought! 

We had a good chat. Introductions were short as Phillip said " I know who you are!" 

Fortunately this was followed by "I read all your blogs!" 

Phew! I thought, my reputation preceeds me, but only with McDonald's eating apparently! 

I jumped in the vacant swim, already pre baited and set up. 

The drizzle was annoying. That fine stuff, that looks OK but gets you absolutely drenched. Anyway, under the brolly I was mostly dry, so I fished on. It wasn't long before bites came. A few small perch and some very welcome gudgeon. 

The wind was calm and the lake was like glass. 

There is something about watching the float, and soon I was happy. Thoughts were gone and I was hypnotised by the orange blob. 

A change from dead maggot to sweetcorn brought an immediate bite. This was a different culprit. Am gonna say Ide. But if I am wrong, that's OK. 

The carp were crashing around in the reeds  opposite, they will soon be thinking about spawning. The bites kept coming and sweetcorn brought a better stamp of fish. 

Four good fish soon followed and I was probably on double figures. It didn't matter, no one was counting. 

Not sure if I have fished on April fools day before. I don't claim to be a fool or a prankster. But my experience of April fools day is as follows: 

For years my sister got me with the same prank. She would tell me there was a parcel for me. Having had a birthday the day before, this was quite likely. So, off I would go to see my parcel, only to be greeted with sweet fanny Adams! 

It's because of this, I didn't try to claim I caught this mud pig....

Last chance saloon

Date fished 4/3/2023

8am until 3pm

The river season is slowly drifting away, and with little fishing time available this year I think today was going to be my last of this river season. I needed to visit the tackle shop to renew club membership, so one stone, two birds.....

I had enjoyed the last trip on the Tees, so decided more of the same for today. Maggot feeders added to last sessions kit for good measure!

Today I fished in peg 127. I had the car park and much of the river to myself. It was cold but wrapped up in the thermals and I was feeling confident. I set up and got fishing. 

I started with maggots on the hook and groundbait in the feeder. The rod was motionless and I thought about the phrase " a bite a chuck". I wondered how I could change my current biteless chucks into the well known phrase. Bites =chucks. The only way I could square this equation was to have have fewer chucks!! Then Bites (zero) would equal chucks!! Hahah. I fished on. 

After trying worm and every maggot colour and breathing status (I had alive and dead) on the hook, I eventually changed the feeder to a maggot feeder. It felt very old school fishing like this, but it did the trick. Two chucks equalled two bites and one roach. I still fished on and when Bites dried up, I had another theory. I put dry groundbait in the feeder with the maggots. This did another good trick and bites came thick and fast. It really was a bite a chuck for an hour. 

The wind got colder and the rain came with it. The hood went up and the trick stopped working.  Again, I didn't rest on my laurels, I made some changes and the groundbait feeder seemed to work again. It seemed today's trick was to just keep changing. Groundbait today had added brown crumb, another new trick!

A good few fish came to the net and then this. I am not sure if it is a bleak or a dace. If its a bleak, it is my first so that equals a pb!! Am really not sure. Maybe with all the tricks going on, I invented a new species!? 

With still only swans and ducks for company, it was soon cold enough to head home. The drip on the end of my nose was falling off and I wanted to be home before it froze. I will leave you with that thought.... 

See you in the "closed season", and rivers, I will see you mid June. 

125

Date fished 19/2/2023

8.30 am until 2.30 pm

Today I fished peg 125 at Bowesfield on the Tees. Parking up, the carpark was full of cars. There was a match on, but plenty of spare pegs, so I found one and fished. Let's  see if I can write this blog with the numbers:

One.....

Rod, a ledger, with my usual set up and a feeder.

Fish caught, a small skimmer. 

Keepnet, glad I didn't bother to use it! 

Happy angler to be back on the bank.

Two....

Pound perch caught in the swim to my left. I saw the angler catch it as I was walking past, this was what made me fish in the swim nextdoor. 

Feeders lost in snags. 

Items of bait, dead maggots and groundbait. 

Wayward casts but all the others, clipped up and on the spot. 

Specialist items of clothing (snood not counted) needed although the coat was off most of the session. 

Red maggots on the hook. So often they were sucked dry and the rod didn't even move! I didn't drop down to using one as it would of buggered up the blog! 

Five......

Pound bream caught in the swim to my right. 

Degrees on the car thermometer  between arriving and leaving (4-9) although out of the sun it felt quite chilly. 

Hours fished (was 6 but poetic licence!). 

Million bites but I just could not connect. There were periods of no bites but long periods of constant taps. 

New friends made, there were anglers all around, so I chatted to a few on and off. 

Canoes going up and down, up and down. But they didn't spoil the view.

Junior anglers

Date fished 28/01/2023

8am until 1pm

Rupert, Martha and I went fishing, together! What's not to like?  

Rupe wants to catch a few species on the "mission targets" of a magazine. I told him, I could certainly help. Chub was his first pick, I told him we could try but I could get him a grayling. Grayling are not on the list, but he was happy. We took Martha as she is "bait" and headed to the Swale. 

Fortunately they are currently free in this club, it does depend on age. I think more clubs should be free for youngsters ( up to 16 with members), lets just say "they are the future!"

I took them to the swim I fished earlier in the week, I was sure we could catch some grayling from there, if the trout stayed out the way. 

We shared a float rod and a ledger rod. Float for the grayling and ledger for chub, but not in this swim. Rupe was up first. He cast as I fired in maggots. He has not trotted before and was soon into the rhythm and getting bites. It wasn't long before he connected and his first grayling is pictured above! 

Martha was soon wanting a go, they swapped over and she had the helm. The float buried and she was in. This was no grayling though and the fish was off, definitely a trout. The next swap and Rupe hooked and landed a trout. Martha told me " you just unhook it in water and not take pictures" she must read this blog or be the trout police!!?? 

Her next go was met with resistance, a bigger fish but I didn't think trout. Her grayling making Rupe's look like a baby! (Her words!) 

Not to be outdone, Rupe kept fishing. I was now just watching as he did everything on his own. His next fish being a much better grayling. Martha's photography skills need more work! 

Thanks Martha, we have heads! 

I took this one

After some hot juice and a snack, we (they) decided that float fishing was completed. Now to try christen Rupe's new ledger rod with a chub. We walked upstream to where I hoped we would find some. 

Rupe setting up

Martha wanting a go

Swap the rod for a doughnut!? 

Happy angler 

No chub here so we moved on to another swim. It was slightly drizzling and although the hand warmers were working well, some cold feet were being described. 

I taught Rupe the lesson here that, a fish will always take the bait when you are distracted! I cast in the ledgered cheesepaste and he sat watching whilst I told him this lesson. He then hooked a fish but lost it, we didn't see it but hoped chub. Next, whilst Rupe was eating a sandwich, another bite ( proof of said lesson). Taking line, this fish came off too. I took the rod and waited. Within minutes, the rod went again. Rupe took over and played the much larger fish to the net. It christened his ledger rod, but was not the chub he wanted. A huge trout, 3lb plus. 

After another quick go downstream, we decided it was time to head home. I have fished this club water for 10 years and rarely seen many younger anglers. As we packed up another angler walked past with two young kids accompanying him too. I was amazed, but glad I had seen some more future anglers!