A Float on the Arun - Finatic's maiden voyage

Jeff has a theory about boats , " each one is a compromise " . Which coming from a man with a whole fleet to choose from is probably good advice . So following a discussion about the coming season and prospects of fishing on the tidal Arun we decided to explore the possibilities of getting afloat again . The boat will be used for trotting for Mullet and hopefully some Roach ,Chub and Bream , plus of course my favourite fish the Pike .

 A trip to Dartford sorted out the purchase of "Finatic" a 16 foot Orkney Strikeliner . Yesterday was her maiden voyage from Littlehampton up to her moorings at Houghton .

 

 I skippered her up the river while Jeff did the van journey .

The journey was lovely . Arundel hopefully the scene of some Mullet captures in the next few months and Houghton , the new base .

Roll on the new season !

Trout - A new horizon or a step too far ?

On reading some of my old angling books I have been fascinated by the fishing methods and accounts of the fish that were caught from the Thames weirpools . I have been lucky enough to have fished some of the weir pools mentioned in the books with Mark Colvin , a really great experience and we had some great catches of Pike . But I always harboured a thought towards those Trout . So after a few e mails and phone calls I am off with Steve Roberts for an opening day trip to the Thames ! I will do my home work and keep reading the books .

 

 

 

 A proper float !

A Bit of a catch up

I have had my eye on a local lake for ages , but never managed to find out who owned the fishing rights . An off chance  conversation in the local pub however got me the phone numbers I needed and I joined the club .

 The locals were friendly too !
I thought I would start with a spot of float fishing with my new favourite bait ....prawns . The Carp seem to like them !

A couple of other trips to other club lakes have been great fun , and the locals took great interest in me ..

The rain although expected was tremendous

This gave me a chance to have a tidy up in the tackle box while sheltering under the brolly

Maybe I need to trim down the contents ?

On the subject of subtractions and additions , my growing collection of cane rods has now included a Rodrills sample . What a great rod ! Its a three piece " Avon" although to be fair I think its more of a light Carp rod . Its fast becoming my favourite .

In addition my new found favourite reel has become the DAM 330. These are superb !