Hexagraph Issues !

My hexagraph No 3 (1lb and 1/2 T/C)  rod was one of my favourites !
Was being the appropriate word as calamity struck when I lifted into a snag whilst out on the river . A loud crack and the two piece became three !
Why it shouold have broken just under the handle is a mystery to me , but the facts a fact !
I will try and get the rod back into action albeit a tad shorter , by re -ringing and getting a new handle put on .
Dave N was always pleased when he broke a rod as he viewed it as a chance to indulge in some retail therapy !

A Bream Bonanza !

A few more trips to the pre baited swim on the river have produced some lovely Bream . They are really big fish as well , with the two best going 7lb11oz and 7lb 10oz. I have not weighed or photographed the ones that look to be less than 5lbs !
Its a shame that the methods I am using are not really making the most of these lovely fish . Carp rods , 15lb line and method feeders in the hope of Carp or Barbel does not mean good sport from these fish I am afraid . I am getting lots of bites as well , but I am only hitting the three foot twich or complete rod pullovers ( a Jumper as I call it ! ) But to be fair these Bream do " hang on " a bit , and in the flow ( most of the fish have come on the flood tide ) they have tested the tackle a bit .

 You can aways tell if the Bream session has been good by all the " snot " everywhere ! Lovely !

 A lucky cow ? She kept me company for hours . I dont think she could understand the boat .

I moved to the opposite bank after some real issues with debris . Lovely and clear over here !

The Glorious 16th ......Or when will I see Noah ?

The baiting plan had been going well , so would the fish have found the lovely grub we had laid on for them ?

 I decided to go with a method feeder , using Vitalin and pellets and or corn as bait . My reasoning that we had been baiting with vitalin so it would be a good place to start .

The storm clouds were gathering however !

 Then the rains started ! I thought Noah would appear at any moment with his Ark !

 Raindrops !

 The Bream fed well . The best was a PB for me from the river . 7lb 11oz. They fought well too !

 More storms !

 Calamity struck !

I need to catch something !

After my recent few blank trips , I needed to catch something !

So off to the club lake and hopefully some Carp .

I found some Orchids on my short walk to my swim . Lovely !

 Plus the waterlilies were out . A good sign ?

 After my recent success fishing very close in , I decided to try the same again . I baited about a foot from the bank and waited for the Carp to arrive . At the same time I fished a boily and PVA bag , on a running leger about a rod length out . All set with the centrepin ready to screech should I be lucky !

It didnt take long !

The bankside swim had the Carp fighting each other to get at the corn and pellets ! I lost count of how many I caught which is always nice ! The close in fishing is really good and I must admit I am surprised that even after a hooked fish has been played and landed the Carp were returning to the spot to continue feeding .

At last a few fish to build the confidence ready for the grueller on the river after a Carp or Barbel !

Eeling Time !

I really like Eels . perhaps I need to qualify that comment ? I like big eels .

It is always great fun to target a few and the new Carp lake has a reputation for some big eels . So it would be rude not to have a go !

I decided on a late afternoon into the evening session . My favoured attack would be worms , fished popped up , over a bed of maggots and chopped worms , on a leger . Then on the other rod a float legered worm over the same free offerings . Why the change ? Well I just wanted to check out the float leger style of fishing .

 Lovely !

 Hopefully the snags would attract the eels .

I have recently acquired one of these old Shakespeare Ambidex reels . Perfect for this type of fishing . My centrepin approach having to take a back step here due to the need for keeping the resistance down . Hence the experiment with the float leger .

Well despite the best laid plans ! I caught every Rudd and Perch in the lake and ran out of worms before it got dark !

Next time it will be the deadbaits only .

In Search of the elusive Mullet

Now Jeff goes by another name : he is the Mullet Master ! As the ex Secretary of the NMC , he can sniff out a Mullet if they are around and then proceed to catch them !

So off we went , this time turning left out of the moorings instead of the more normal right .

With loaves of the cheapest white bread , and both feeder and float gear we trundled downstream to meet the sea .

We soon had them feeding ....except it was the " white peril" that found the bread first ! But behind them , and under them came the Mullet .

Jeff soon had one ..

The first Mullet of the season ! Always a good mark to be reached ! Hopefully a few more will grace the net ?

Feeding the fish ?

I have experimented with pre -baiting on the river on a few occassions . But each time the results have not been very good . I have always questioned if the amount of bait was enough or if I need to bait consistantly for longer .

Well this year Jeff and I have decided that the good ship " Finatic" would open up new opportunities , and a " proper " pre baiting campaign needed to be put in action .

I raided the local pet stores and sacks of Vitalin , Squeeker Mix and Hemp were purchased . Along with a sackful of pellets we had left over from last year .

Well if that lot wont draw in the fish , I dont know what will !

We shared out the baiting days and put aload in every few days . I think the river levels went up !

What will the 16th bring ?

What did you catch then ?

I have just returned from a session after Tench. I blanked . Despite the early start and the correct baits and methods I couldnt even get a bite .

So when the inevitable question comes , I am fully truthful ....I didnt catch a fish .

But , I sat in the countryside and watched a group of Swifts catching insects over the water . Their screeches echoing around as they delighted in their prowess on the wing .

I watched a Grebe in full breeding colours catching fish .

I fed maggots to a female Blackbird , who seemed to communicate the free food on offer to her mate , and soon they were both cramming the grubs into their mouths ready to feed the brood.

So did I catch anything ? No . But did I see anything ? Yes . Did i catch anything ? Yes some memories .

est piscandi ad capiendos pisces , quam ( There is more to fishing than catching fish ) 

Away with the Kelly Kettle and in with the Jet Boil !

Well in the recent tackle sale the old KK went out the door !

Shame but the KK was too big to take out on most of my trips and the fact that it didnt get used much if at all was a good enough reason to get it out the door . I will miss it !

However I had always looked with envious eyes on the " jetBoil" . Packs away small yet boils really quickly . So I invested in one . Oh the joy of tea by the river bank or lakeside in  double quick time !

I cannot recommend it enough ! Try to get the one without a self ignition , less to go wrong .

Tinca Time

The change in the " Traditional " fishing season has opened up some fantastic fishing opportunities , especially for early season Tench . The size of the Tench reported over the last few years has been mind blowing . A fish of 3 lbs was a " good fish " when I was a teenager . In fact my biggest tench remained a solid 31/2 Lbs for some 15 years until a 6lb 12oz specimen eclipsed my Tench fishing world . But that fish is small in comparison to those reported now . In fact a 6lb Tench is the norm on many waters these days . You have to get to double figures to get a rating . Shame I say ! A Tench of 5lbs is in my view a real specimen on my local waters and I for one would be happy catching a few of those !

One complex of gravel pits that we fish is famous for its tench . Last year Jeff and I failed to land one . How would this year go ?

The weather in early May has been ideal . Warm and overcast . A day off work had to be booked to capitilise on the conditions . So it came to pass that Jeff and I would pit our wits against the early season Tench .

The best method is without doubt a semi fixed feeder with maggots as bait and feed . The feeder on an in line set up with a short hooklength . The hook adorned with maggots ( red) and an artificial one to slightly pop it up . So what did I do ? Fish a float of course ! With a centerpin for good measure !

 The weather forecast was spot on .Warm.  With overcast conditions and rain . My perfect Tench weather !

 Pleasing in appearance but even more pleasing in disappearance !

 5 lbs of green glistening gorgeousness !

 " look at his little red eye peter ! "

Jeff fished the feeder and caught 6 lovely Tench to 6lbs . I had three on the float. Superb !

Getting Riggy with it !

I have joined a Carp Syndicate on a local lake . The lake is lovely and its denizens are some sizeable Carp plus some enormous Eels which I will be targetting too !

The lake maintains a closed season but fishing commences on the 1st May . So I took a trip along to see how I could get on . It looks " carpy " !

 My approach was to floatfish prawns close in and feed pellets . Then to also fish a boily with a PVA bag a little further out . I started early and the fish were moving about and swirling in the shallow water I was fishing . So I dropped in some floaters . But they didnt like them !

With the fish still moving about I lost a small Carp on the prawns . But how to catch the others ?

What about a Zig ?

Pretty soon a small bit of yellow foam was fishing sub surface . Then off it went ! The Seldex singing a lovely tune to its departure !

13lbs of Common Carp and rather angry at that !

Carping On !

One of my club lakes has a lovely stock of Common Carp , and they are very partial to a few grains of the JJG ( Jolly Green Giant ) .

So armed with the yellow peril I ventured forth ....

 A lovely day ! X marks the spot !

They like the yellow stuff ! I fished with a Pole float and one small shot just off the rod top .

 In fact when I say off the rod to what I actualllly meant was a foot from the bank ! I stalked two and watched them take the JJG at my feet .

 One or two came on the more conventional boily approach .

I finished with a total of 11 . The grains worked well !

Some in , some out !

 I decided that my tackle collection had out grown the shed ! So it was off to the Romsey Tackle Fair to try and sell a few bits ! Well...I did sell some things but I had to buy these beauties ! A pair of Big Pikers ! Ready to be combined with the Dennis Pyes

Not everything got sold so the next step is E Bay !

What a lovely Gift

Melanie has been working on a " project " . I was told not to look in certain places round the house and to not open the computer and look at photos . What was she making ?

Well all was revealed !

Wow !

 All of my favourite things ( apart from Melanie of course but she made it ! ) in one place .

 The rod is made from Chapmans Cane sourced from the factory in Ware . Plus the colours of whippings are as per my new refurbished Dennis Pye rod which was completed by Steve Boncey .

Bacon rolls Tea  and bakewells ...she knows me too well !

The Diorama is all to scale and to give you an idea the rod is 12 inches long .

A Sharpe Test

I recently acquired a lovely Sharpes fly rod . I dont know why I bought it , but it looked lovely and sure enough when it arrived it is a thing of beauty . Its impregnated blank a lovely shade and the feel of the rod in the hand is superb . So now to get out and chuck some " fluff" !

My fly fishing days ended a while ago , and my stuff was soon excavated from the shed . A quick check revealed a new line was required for the rod and this led to a whole string of essential items being purchased !

So now where to go ? The rod looked ideal for a spot of river dry fly fishing so I began to scan my local waters for an opportunity .
Then it happened !

We were booked for a few days away in Hampshire . At Leckford . On the Test ! Could I get to fish the hallowed waters ? Some chance ! But ...

A few enquiries revealed that my host could get me a day on the Leckford estate . I was to fish the hallowed waters ! Still my beating heart !

Well the day dawned and I was off like a long dog down to the river for my 0930 start ! Office hours fishing I could get used to this !
What a place . Now I know why people pay the prices they do to fish it !



My beat ( I had the place to myself ) was a carrier stream and a section of the main river . I walked the beat ( I am used to that ! ) and checked out the watery inhabitants . Grayling , Pike , some huge Trout and Eels soon materialised . I watched and watched . I walked and watched . I had made a pact with myself that I would not cast unless I saw a fish rise . ( I did have a practise to make sure this upstream dry fly fishing lark was as difficult as everyone says ....and it is a real drag ! I mean the flow gets in the way ! )

By the time I had walked about 5 miles ( really ! ) the first fish began to show about lunch time .

My banker fly as sold to me by one of the local dealers did not get a second look form the Trout . My second choice was a hawthorn fly as the blighters were everywhere on the bankside vegetation . Again no interest from the Trout . So what to do ? Well my last trip to a river with a dry fly set up years ago resulted in a load of Trout to a Grey Wulf . No Mayflies today but a big fly might get some interest .

First cast and the Trout I was after came up and looked at the fly then turned away . I am on it ! I then fluffed the cast and scared the Trout away .
However I soon found another and first cast up he came and engulfed my fly . Game on !



A lovely Brownie .

If only I can get back ! Still dreams can come true !