My cunning plan for Thursday was to spend an hour or so in each swim and work my way round the gravel pit. Providing no other anglers got in the way there was enough daylight to fish every swim. I started in he first swim with the usual sort of setup. A small smelt was dropped near the tree roots and a lamprey tossed out next to the dying weed bed in the middle. After moving the baits a couple of times I moved on to the next swim. A cup of tea and lunch had been consumed as I got ready to move to the far side of the pit.
With everything ready to move a few fish scattered over to my right. It looked like the only swim I could reach the spot from was the first one I was in. As I stood there more fish scattered. A quick move back to the first swim and out with the bait. Because of the height of the water, it had gone down a couple of inches since last week, you are a lot closer to the tree branches above. This can make casting to certain spots a tad awkward, but kneeling down I managed to get the bait within a couple of yards of the spot. The smelt which was now a bit raggedly was replaced with a small roach and swung out to the tree roots. A robin had a wander along one of the rods, no doubt hoping to be fed. Three quarters of an hour later some fish scattered just to my right in a small bay. I quickly moved the roach there and a few minutes later the float slid away. After a rather hectic fight a decent pike was in the net. 93cm and 12lb 4oz it looked somewhat familiar. A scan through the phone showed it to last week's fish which had gained 9oz.
Just after I released the pike there was quite a splash to my left but all I could see was a twig in the middle of the ripples. I then what I at first thought was a rat swimming to the bank as It shot up a tree I realised it was a rather soggy squirrel that clearly picked the wrong branch to wander about on. There was then another scattering of fish to the right of the float out in the middle, so I decided to stop put. I put a pop up ball on the lamprey, which was still oozing blood, and recast it. Another small roach was dropped back in the bay. After this there was no more fish scattering or anything. As usual I waited into dark before packing up.
In my attempt to catch my first pike of the year I headed down to the local gravel pit with the intention of fishing the opposite side to the one i have been fishing. Another chap beat me by a minute to the swim I intended to fish so I dropped in the one next to him. Despite the weather forecast claiming it would merely be a dreary overcast sort of day it started drizzling as we setup and we would have the odd bit through out the day.
A small roach was dropped next to the tree roots to my left and a smelt was placed at the bottom of the drop off to my right. Another angler joined us on the far bank but didn't stay long. Just after I'd finished a cuppa I had a run on the roach which was dropped as I wasn't taking enough notice as i was waffling at the other chap. Nowt else happened until I'd got my pot noodle ready when the right hand float moved away slowly. This time I connected with a small pike of 75cm. A very tidy and well marked little beast.
Mid-afternoon I had another run on the roach but again I failed to contact with anything. The other chap, who'd caught nowt moved to the other side of the pit. I fished on until dark. Just before the floats became invisible I had another run on the smelt but only contacted with an alder branch.
I'm thankful I was beaten to the swim I intended to fish as I now broken my run of blanks. Next week the weather is supposed to turn cold. I don't know whether this will help the pike fishing or not, but at least it looks like the end of the rain for a while so hopefully we may be able to actually get to the rivers.
I was in undecided where to fish for the first session of the year. Return to the estate lake to seek revenge for yesterday's blank, a trip to the gravel pit. As the gravel pit was on the way to the estate lake I stopped there first for a look-see. The recent rains had finally filled the pit up. It was some eighteen inches up on it's summer level. The only problem I could see was that the wind and rain had knocked a lot of twigs off the alder trees so there was a quite bit of debris over the surface. This rendered some swims nearly unfishable. Alder twigs with the cones still on them are quite incredible. They only have to touch fishing line and you end up with a right tangle. One swim, a corner one, was clear though.
There are plenty of feature in this corner. A little bay, tree roots, drop off, a large sunken branch, etc. I started with a slightly manky 7-8" trout that had hidden itself at the bottom of the fridge and was possibly three years old. This went out next to the sunken branch. As I turned round to get the second rod ready the float moved off. I lifted into nothing. I didn't even get my bait back. A headless sardine was tossed out to the same spot. A match the hatch 4" roach was suspended about 6" above the bottom and allowed to drift about the bay. Slowly the debris from the centre of the lake made it's way into the corner, but wasn't much of a problem.
As I thought about moving to the far side another anger turned up and opted for the best swim on that side. Just after lunch a large log drifted into the swim but slowly continued on into the shallows. A couple of lure anglers then turned up. I moved the baits about to the different feature. Changed the sardine for a smelt as it was starting to fall apart. Added oils to the baits but nothing seemed to be hungry.
In the end none of has anything. We suspect that the pike had overdone it over Christmas and New Year and weren't really interested. The new year starting like the old one finished was not what I was hoping for. Oh well. This year is one day longer than usual so maybe that extra day will benefit the angling.
With the local rivers up at silly heights it was stillwaters that looked the only option on Friday. I trundled across the county to a gravel pit I'd fished only once before. That session had resulted in one rather tatty pale little beastie so I hoped to do better. I was the only one there when I arrived. When I looked at the water I wondered why I'd trailed all this way as the water was very coloured. After a wander round I started in a swim with my back to the wind. I could fish to one of the island, not that this had done me much good last time. There was also two over hanging trees either side of me that looked pikey.
A small roach was dropped under the tree to my left and a headless herring tossed over to the corner of the island. One cup of tea later and the float under the tree trundle away. A rather lethargic pike of 89cm 8lb 1oz was quickly netted. Long and pale it really should have weighed more but was rather hollow. Still it was quite a bit bigger than the previous little jack. I dropped another small roach under the tree to the right.
Another angler turned up at lunch time for a spot of silvers fishing. he managed three tiddlers by darkness. After lunch I moved to a corner swim. A small roach dropped by a dying lily bed and a lamprey tossed out to the corner of another island. Despite moving the baits about nothing more showed.
Friday I went to a brand new venue. I'd passed the place several times over the years but never taken an awful lot of notice of it. Earlier in the week I was in the area and stopped at what I thought was the entrance, but wasn't. All I could see was a frozen pond. Getting there on Friday after Thursday's downpours could have turned problematic as the road was flooded. A change to wellies and a quick paddle showed it wasn't too deep and therefore passable which would save a long detour. I was surprised to find another angler had arrived just before me and was setting up. He was after bream, or whatever. He'd manage to forget his landing net handle so I lent him a storm pole. He also reckoned it was the highest he'd seen the water level. In fact a couple of swims were flooded.
I had a wander round and picked a swim at the end which allowed me access to an island in front. A bay top my right and a nice looking margin to my left. A small roach was dropped in front of some tree roots to my right and a sardine to the right of the island on a corner in five foot of water. I moved the baits about every hour or so. Injecting the sardine with some oil after it had defrosted. It was nearly midday when I got the first run. The small roach had been taken by a very apathetic little jack. A rather pale and tatty little thing of 63cm.
The other chap left around two having only had a single bite. Not long after I had another run on the roach which was now back in front of the tree roots. I wasn't quick enough with the strike and the fish had got into the roots and transferred the hook to a root. A good heave bent the hook out. I fished on until dark for nowt else. The island in front looked ideal for pike. Overhanging trees on the left and vegetation on the right looking like great ambush points. I'll be back though.
Wednesday I had a trip down to the gravel pit. It had now turned to winter weather wise. A cold day but with a bit of sunshine. With the ground frozen I felt it was safe to drive into the field up to the swim. I did keep checking the ground to ensure it hadn't defrosted and turned to slippy slidy mud making it hard work to get the car back out.
I started with a small roach under the trees to my left and a joey mackerel out to the area where the weed beds had died back. The sun, while providing a bit of warmth, made it awkward to see the far float at times. Mid morning I moved the small roach to the right after seeing some bait fish scatter. The float failed to settle properly so I wound down but it was only a leaf that had snagged the hook. As I lifted it from the water a small jack swirled just below the surface. Removing the leaf I dropped the bait back in. Less than minute later the float headed towards me. I failed to contact with anything. The roach had a couple of teeth marks near the tail. Out it went again. The little jack grabbed it just after it hit the water. Winding down I could see it had hold of the tail again. It quickly turned ripping the bait from the hook and disappeared. Out went a fresh bait to the same spot along with some liquidised bread. Some more went under the tree and some on the bank for the robin.
After Lunch I moved the roach back under the tree as there had been no more action to the right. The mackerel was injected with a bit of oil and launched back to the dead weed bed in the middle. Three o'clock, cup of tea in hand, the float over the weed bed fell over and stayed there. Winding down I found there was nowt there. I retrieved a chewed mackerel which I launched back from where it came.
Five minutes later the float moved away to the right and this time i contacted with something fierce. After the initial run, which felt like a good fish, it just kitted left and right and felt a lot lighter as I wound it in. A rather plump little beast of 70cm.
I chucked out another joey to the same spot for the last hour or so But nothing more was forthcoming by the time it got dark.
There seems to be a lot of activity from the little jacks in the last couple of months I'm hoping the cold weather may slow them down a bit and that the big 'uns will start to fatten themselves up.
Ciarán had been on gone by Friday. Apart from the persistent rain on Thursday, filling the rivers, we didn't really get much of it. I decided on a return to the gravel pit. I was surprised nobody else was there given the state of the rivers. Attempting to turn left as I entered the parking area had the car understeering dramatically. I should have known after all that rain the ground would be very soft and slippy. I carefully reversed back out on the road and parked on a harder surface further down. Being lazy and arriving late I opted for the first swim I came to. All of them produce pike so it really doesn't matter that much.
A small smelt was dropped into the small bay to my left and a small headless mackerel cast to the bottom of the shelf. After twenty minutes the float in the bay shot left to right at great speed for a couple of yards. No sign of damage to the bait. I suspect these sort of very fast runs are the result of carp snagging the line the panicking when they feel the resistance of the float and/or shot. Around eleven thirty, with out the aid of a cuppa or pot noodle, the same float bobbed about then moved away very slowly. Tightening down induced a bit of panic in the fish as it then shot away causing the check on the 'pin to clatter a bit. A brief but hectic battle then ensued before the fish was chinned. Somehow I managed to cut my left thumb with one of the hook points as I unhooked it. At first i thought it was the same fish I caught last time I was here, but I was slightly longer and heavier at 10lb 6oz and 93cm.
The sun then popped out from behind the trees and clouds making it a rather hard to see the floats. I had to move them to different spots in order to see them. I would have tried these spots anyway as all of them have a bit of a feature. A cast out to the shelf saw the mackerel escape so I replaced it with a large smelt. Several more anglers started to arrive after lunch. All but one parking on the soft ground. I didn't see any catch while I was there. Despite moving the baits around I didn't have another run.
As there is no dusk now. I decided to back up slightly earlier than intended. Also I wanted to be away before the others packed up as I suspect one or more was going to need help to get back out on the road. i really dislike extricating vehicles from slippy mud. Despite only catching the one fish it was my first double of the season so I was quite pleased.
Barbel or pike. Thursday or Friday. These were the choices on Wednesday. The weather forecast for both days was much of a muchness. I had other things to do involving other people as well. Friday was agreed on for the other things, so Thursday was fishing day. Thursday morning the weather forecast had changed a bit, with a rain rather than drizzle. It didn't look too bad when I got up though. I decided against flood water barbel fishing as I really didn't fancy the steep slippy banks above a fast flowing river. A trip to the gravel pit where I could hide under a brolly looked more inviting. The rain had stopped when I got there but it continued under the trees where I would be sat.
I moved one swim away from my last visit. A small trout was tossed out under the trees to my left and a large smelt out to the weed bed in front. The rain then turned up as expected. Looking at the weather forecast and rain radar on the phone it was going to be like this for the rest of the day. Bands of rain sweeping through with clear intervals. Not that it mattered under the trees as it would carry on raining under them. Apart from fog, Friday was now looking a lot better day. After an hour the rain eased and I tried the old cup of tea trick. This seemed to fail until I took my last mouthful. The float near the weed bed slowly trundle away, left to right. Winding down and sticking I came into contact with nothing. I retrieved the rig to find the tail section of the smelt attached to the hooks. The head section neatly chopped off. I put another large smelt on and cast back to the weed bed. I was about to chop the tail up for a bit of groundbait when the float under the tree moved away. Again I failed to contact with anything. As the trout had gone I put the tail on and cast back under the tree. Unfortunately I got just a little bit too close to the overhanging branch and in pulling free the tail fell off, so I did end up using it as groundbait. A small smelt was attached and cast under the tree with out any mishaps.
More rain came down and the floats remained nearly motionless except when the rain hit them. Lunch passed peacefully. As I started to make my afternoon cuppa a few bait fish scattered the other side of the weed bed. As I finished the cuppa more bait fish scattered near the float little while later the float moved right to left very slowly. A strike yielded nothing but a chewed smelt which I cast back to the weeds. It wasn't in the water long before the float stated to bob about. I wasn't sure if I'd contacted anything when I struck but it became apparent that the fish was heading towards me. Once I connected with it again it came in like a wet rag. I carefully chinned it but as I got to the mat it woke up for a moment and drew blood. It did, however, throw the hooks which saved a bit of messing about. 74cm of apathy.
I'd run out of large smelt But found a large 9" roach. Out this went to the weed bed. More heavy rain turned up. During a short lull the float by the weed bed shot away at speed before coming to a halt. Winding down I could feel nothing. I gave it a bit of a twitch and left it. Off it went again. I quickly struck but contacted with nothing again. Back came a chewed roach which went back out to the weed bed. The float under the tree then moved about a little bit. I wound down and thought I'd snagged a branch, but as it came to the surface a little killer cucumber had hold of the head of the smelt nowhere near the hook. As I grabbed the leader it let go. The chewed smelt went back under the tree. As the rain eased off I had a look at the rain radar and there was a reasonable gap in the rain which looked like a good time to pack all the soggy gear away as it looked like the next band of rain would last into dark. I'd got everything in the car except the mat unhooking tools and the rod out by the weed bed. As I went to retrieve it I tripped/slipped on a combination of tree root, wet leaves and mud. As I landed on my arse I simultaneously kicked the rod off the rest. I sat there for a moment watching the float disappear into the weed bed and the rod heading into the lake. Thankfully the reel snagged the rod rest and I was able to grab the rod. There appeared to be a fish on the end but it was well into the weed bed. All I could do was heave and hope. eventually the fish cleared the weeds and kited round to my right taking line against the drag. I began to wonder if I'd finally caught a twenty from the gravel pit. When I finally caught a glimpse it was clearly somewhat smaller than that. Eventually a very tidy pike of 90cm and just under 10lb was on the mat.
I pondered staying but the rain had started again and I really couldn't be bothered any more. The last fish had put up a damn good account of it's self so I ended on a high. I
suspect there were a lot of small fish feeding. They tend to pick baits
up and wander about with them for quite a while. I like to strike quite
quickly so they wouldn't have time to turn the bait and swallow it.
Gone are the days of reciting the Lord's Prayer before striking.
A rather frustrating and soggy day that came good in the end.
With the imminent arrival of storm Babet I'd been watching the weather forecasts. Thursday had been looking the best day for fishing. Not too wet not too windy. The amount of wet varied day to day but the various forecasts I look at all seemed to be in agreement right up to early Thursday morning when there seemed to be some disagreement about how long it would rain for. Anything between an hour and four hours. As it turned out it was about three hours of drizzle starting around ten and a twenty minute heavy shower in the afternoon. Nor did it get very windy at all.
I thought of fishing a river but I suspected that the rivers would be already rising and end up at an awkward height where you couldn't be at the bottom of the steep banks so would end up quite high up. Also if things did turn nasty I didn't want to be far from the car. I therefore ended up at the gravel pit. I opted for one of the corner swims with plenty of features. Lilies and tree roots to the right. A couple of beds of Arrow Head in front. I tossed out a couple of balls of liquidised bread near the lily pad and the tree roots to attract some bait fish, hopefully.
A small roach was dropped by the lily pad and a medium smelt went out towards the first patch of Arrow head. Just after the drizzle started and as I was pouring hot water into my cup the far float shot into the weed bed and stopped. Having careful placed the kettle and cup were they wouldn't come to any harm, or harm me, I wound down and struck. It felt like I'd either pulled the bait out of the pike's mouth or it had been dropped and I'd just ripped some weed out. Muttering under my breath I started to wind in what felt like a big lump of weed. Some five yards out a weed free pike surfaced and all hell broke loose for a minute or so before it gave up again and came in peacefully. A fish of 84cm. Not a bad start.
During a lull in the drizzle several bait fish scattered near the tree roots. A good sign until a coot popped up. I don't know if they're capable of catching fish but I'm sure it would look like a predator to the baitfish. Even so I moved the small roach to near the roots. As I started to prepare my pot noodle thing the far float moved away from the weed patch rather slowly. Again the kettle and food was stowed carefully before I struck. A smaller fish of 75cm that put up more of a fight on the bank.
That was it for the day despite moving the baits around what should be pike holding feature. I was surprised the lilies didn't produce as there's normally a small jack hiding in there. Judging by the lack of bait fish scattering I don't think the pike were on the prowl. I've never done particularly well in heavy rain for pike but drizzle has never been a problem.
Time to batten down the hatches and await Friday's tempest. I have my barbel gear readied for a bit of floodwater fun but I suspect with the amount of rain predicted they may well rise every quickly.
I'm always a tad concerned when I arrive at a popular fishery and there's nobody else there. Do they know something I don't? It does give me the choice of swim though. The gravel pit was nice a clear unlike the other day at the estate lake. started in a corner swim with a waggler setup and a feeder rig. The waggler fished close in with maggots or casters over hemp. The maggot feeder was cast out to the middle. The first fish out on float was a small roach with a rather bright orange patch just behind the mouth.
Small roach and bream, with the occasional perch followed in fits and starts. I'd catch two or three fish then it would go quiet for ten minutes or so. It didn't seem to matter whether I feed a few maggots and hemp or a handful. I tried casters as well but that just lead to a longer wait between bites. I was recasting the feeder every ten minutes or so but hadn't even had a chewed maggot on it. After an hour I'd had seventeen fish. Just after the hour mark the tip pulled round and I had a small bream. The pattern with the float fished maggots and casters continued as before. At the two hour mark I'd added another 18 small fish. At this point a really strong gust of wind shook a lot of leaves from the trees all over the pit. making it nearly impossible to cast the float in with out catching a leaf.
I had a wander along the bank and found the other corner swim clear of leaves so moved down there. I continued with the same tactics as before. The first fish out this time was a slightly larger roach with a injury on its side.
The bites were a bit more consistent in this swim but mainly from small perch. The feeder rig produced another small bream. On the float rig I tried hemp and elder berries to see if I could avoid the small perch but couldn't get a bite on them. After an hour I'd caught thirty three fish twenty five of which were small perch. Another hour passed with the leaves slowly creeping into this swim. The bites slowed down and I managed twenty four fish before this swim became unfishable as well. The feeder rod had given a couple of rattles but only produced chewed maggots.
With the pit unfishable due to the leaves I decided the frustration of trying to get the float in was not worth it and retired gracefully. Ninety four fish in just over four hours had kept me amused so not a bad day. The leaves falling from the trees are going to be a problem where ever you fish at this time of year.
