Hampton Lucy Brook - 25.06.12

I had plan to fish Luddington last night but I’m taking the Wife and kids to Stratford-Upon-Avon Sunday to visit the river festival and also to watch the Olympic torch relay, so I’ve conjured up a plan to visit Luddington too and to have a nosey at some of the swims before trying it next week.

Again I decided to fish Hampton Lucy Brook and this time not another angler in sight so I settled into a swim I caught the recent Barbel from, not a good start to the evening session as I left my rod rest at home but I quickly fashioned up a couple from some branches lying about, worked better than I thought. Anyway I alternated between lobworm and pellets on both rods and had some small chublets and some Perch, the biggest Perch was over a pound and came when a smaller Perch grabbed a worm on my other rod. I had a 2lb Chub before baiting both rods with lobworm and settling down for the last half hour on the 2.5 hour session. Lots of indications before the rod top rattled big time and it was a nice 3lb 9oz
Chub, with the swim disturbed I left pretty satisfied, next time I visit, I might roll some meat down one of the longer and slower stretches, it just looks right for a Barbel.

Hampton Lucy Brook - 20.06.12

With the peg occupied that I caught the Barbel from a few days earlier I walked up to the weir and after 45 minutes without a bite I settled into a swim just downstream.
The river levels had dropped significantly from the previous session and there wasn’t as much flow to the river.

One rod with Lobworm and the other with a halibut pellet, as before the lobworm rod was getting some attention and the rod top was rattling right from the off. I only intend to fish 2.5 hours and was targeting the Barbel. The first fish that took a liking to the lobworm was a tiny Perch, he managed to swallow the huge lobworm and the size 8 hook without any problem at all. Another Lobworm produced a nice Roach of 1lb and then another 10 or so soon after of similar size. With a small hook and maggot for bait it would be bagging up time, certainly lots of fish in the swim. A nice change to see the Avon with lots of small fish, I thought their numbers were dwindling.

If I ever was asked to choose one bait to fish with the rest of my days, it would be the humble lobworm, never fails to produce fish even though lots of the time, not the intended species. The last hour into dusk to try and avoid the smaller fish I changed the worm over for a huge 30mm pellet. Apart from some sharp chub knocks no 4 foot twitches, great little place this stretch but I’ll probably try and explore some of the Luddington swims next week, I’ll be back soon though.

Hampton Lucy Brook - 17.06.12

I’ve bought a Stratford-Upon-Avon book this year, apart from a lovely looking stretch of the Stour between Preston On Stour and Wimpstone that looks good for winter Chubbing they also have some nice and quiet Avon stretches that I fancied giving a go. Vary it up a bit, so to speak.

So the first new stretch I decided to try was Hampton Lucy Brook, after enjoying a hog roast and a beer at Snitterfields village fete for Father’s day I had a bit of a reccy with the Wife and kids afterwards, the official car park you cannot access from what I can see, there are two locks on the gate, a normal key padlock and a combination lock, the combination lock didn’t even work with the code stated in the book. Not a major problem as there is sufficient parking outside the gate but the Wife had baby Sam strapped to her back and the last thing she wanted was to clamber over a wet gate :)

I doubt it gets fished much, there is a bit of a trek to the pegs and so many anglers these days like convenience. Lots of feature though, a weir pool, some long slower and deeper stretches and also some face paced narrow sections with lots of overhanging trees. I got there at 7.45pm and first fished the base of the weir, 1 rod with lobworm the other with a huge pellet, not a knock for an hour so I moved downstream to one of the narrower swims.

I was getting indications on the lobworm rod right from the off and missed a couple of bites which were violent hit and run Chub bites. The pellet rod was also receiving some attention albeit probably small fish.

The heavens opened around 9.30pm and I was considering packing up when I got a proper 4ft twitch, one of those unmissable bites that I knew was a Barbel. It felt a bit chubbish when playing it though, trying to get into every snag possible. A bit of bullying and it was in the net, a lovely small Barbel in mint condition, it was hammering it down with rain at this point so I didn’t bother to weigh it, was probably a tad over 5lb I’d say. After taking one of the worst photos I’ve ever taken I allowed it to recover and returned it to the water. The Wife thinks I’m mad, but I’m no fair-weather fisherman and today it paid off, an enjoyable Fathers day.

Snitterfield Reservoir - 14.06.12

After a disaster a couple of days ago where I couldn't even muster up a single bite I decided to have a couple of hours evenings fishing at the reservoir again. Armed with a float rod I decided to target the crucians just off the rod tip. I was using some left over sonubaits white chocolate band'un pellets and some small green swim stim pellets as feed.

The amount of fishing topping was a good sign, and as soon as my float entered the water I was getting indications there were fish in the swim. I've never caught a decent Tench at this venue but a Tench rolled in the swim that looked very big indeed, a great sign for the future. I was using one of my favourite floats, a Drennan glow tip antenna, very sensitive and great to look at when the light starts to fade, it's one of those floats that just look right in the water.

The first classic crucian bite turned out to be a Roach of around 10oz, not the species I was targeting but nice all the same. In the next 2 hours I had 15/20 decent Roach, the smallest around 8 oz's, the biggest well over a 1lb. I couldn't connect to any crucians despite them jumping and rolling in the swim but I went away happy, a nice way to spend the evening.

The Edge

Big fat lobworms do seem to single out the bigger fish and maybe these bright green ones will give me the edge :)

Snitterfield Reservoir - 10.06.12

What a glorious morning, sadly couldn't buy a bite and neither could the other anglers who were there today. I float fished corn and pellet and had a sleeper rod with a hair rigged halibut pellet. Tried in the margins, further out and up in the water but only managed a few delicate bites. Even tried 3 other swims without success.

The carp were moving on the surface so tried for them too but no takers.

Yeahhhh the river season next week, more my bag.

College Pool - 05.06.12

As a member of Leamington Anglers Association if you have never fished College Pool, you must. In the warmer months there is no better place to enjoy the English countryside, the variety of birds and wildlife you see in such a small pool and it's surroundings is fantastic.

I fished the usual float rod with red maggot and a sleeper rod with corn topped halibut pellet. On the float rod i caught countless pesky small perch and some small roach, I wonder where all the smaller Crucian and Rudd have gone ? as I've certainly noticed a decline in their numbers. I usually fish the far end of the pool though, maybe a try in the shallow end will bring better results. I did manage a small carp and last knockings a 8lb Mirror on the sleeper rod.

Shanghai AC match (Gearys Somers) - 01.06.12

Had a 4.5 hour match at Somers today, Gearys pool the venue. I'll keep it short and sweet, within 5 minutes I lost a decent carp that bumped the hook, an hour later trying various spots with a straight lead set-up I decided to fish the float. I caught silvers straight away so stuck with it hoping to connect into the bigger stuff as the day went on. Sadly didn't go to plan, the biggest bream was just under the pound. Had a bonus crucian towards the end. Ended up weighing in just over 8lb which must have been 70+ fish, albiet small un's.

I didn't stay for the finish of the weigh-in but I think Dave Roberts weight of 53lb will probably win it.