...the diary of a specialist angler in around the Warwickshire Avon and its tributaries.
Wednesday, 20 August 2014
Long time no see...
Yeap, we meet again, the 5th time I've caught this Chub. You couldn't make it up. I think I need a holiday.
Monday, 18 August 2014
We're rolling
I only managed a short session at the Warwickshire Avon the weekend so I didn’t manage to get to fish all the swims I intended to fish but with the river to myself I still had lots of water to explore. It had dropped significantly since last time I fish it and was back to clear again but luckily still has some pace to it which should help with the method I was using. If I fish a moving bait I tend to use a float with a large shot to get the bait down so it just drags bottom, it’s proved successful in the past, especially for the Chub.
This rig was slightly different though,the classic rolling rig, the version I use is a shot it pinched on the line and some plasticine is moulded around it with a long shank hook is tied directly to the main line. Bait was garlic spam cut in to cubes and then the edges trimmed to make it more mobile when it ‘rolls’ over the river bed. The hook is buried so if the bait is static and short lift of the rod gets the bait moving again. The plasticine can be adjusted to suit the flow, you want the bait to sink, hug bottom and movable by the flow.
Ok I’ve only fish this method a few times but it’s a great roving method and you can explore lots of water. Despite me being a novice I’ve never blanked using the method. I had some pellets as loose feed as it’s surprising sometimes a swim might look devoid of fish but a handful of pellets draws the hiding fish away from their lairs.
I managed to fish all the available swims and managed a Chub in all but one of them, nothing huge, the biggest around 3lb. 7 or 8 Chub though so an enjoyable session. No Barbel graced my hook but I did spot a couple with my Polaroid’s that were swimming amongst the thick streamer weed, what a sight. Talking of sights anyone else noticed the amount of Kingfishers that seem to around. The way the hug the water’s surface at the pace they do is such a spectacle l and it’s a privilege to witness it.
This rig was slightly different though,the classic rolling rig, the version I use is a shot it pinched on the line and some plasticine is moulded around it with a long shank hook is tied directly to the main line. Bait was garlic spam cut in to cubes and then the edges trimmed to make it more mobile when it ‘rolls’ over the river bed. The hook is buried so if the bait is static and short lift of the rod gets the bait moving again. The plasticine can be adjusted to suit the flow, you want the bait to sink, hug bottom and movable by the flow.
Ok I’ve only fish this method a few times but it’s a great roving method and you can explore lots of water. Despite me being a novice I’ve never blanked using the method. I had some pellets as loose feed as it’s surprising sometimes a swim might look devoid of fish but a handful of pellets draws the hiding fish away from their lairs.
I managed to fish all the available swims and managed a Chub in all but one of them, nothing huge, the biggest around 3lb. 7 or 8 Chub though so an enjoyable session. No Barbel graced my hook but I did spot a couple with my Polaroid’s that were swimming amongst the thick streamer weed, what a sight. Talking of sights anyone else noticed the amount of Kingfishers that seem to around. The way the hug the water’s surface at the pace they do is such a spectacle l and it’s a privilege to witness it.
Wednesday, 13 August 2014
‘Once bitten, twice shy' boll*cks
I'm not having a good time at the minute; I need to take the blinkers off because as a new stretch of the Avon I have been fishing hasn’t been too good to me. I’m a bit fed up of catching Chub, and I’m surprised I’ve said that. Yesterday evening seemed perfect conditions, after the recent rain the river was in fine fettle; a couple of foot up since I last fished it, a decent pace to it and coloured.
As I had the stretch to myself I decided to alternate between a couple of swims, the first was a nice slack area just off the main flow with tree cover and the other the ‘tunnel’ swim. I used a bait dropper to dispense a bed of pellet and hemp and then once the swim has settled, I fish over the top with a glugged sausage sizzle squab or 10mm boilie with a paste wrap. For the last hour hookbait is my favourite and most successful bait for Barbel, a big chunk of Garlic spam. The classic bait and wait approach.
I’ve lengthened the hair on my running rig to try and increase the amount of time the bait is in the water before a greedy Chub gets to it, it’s sort of working to an extent but after catching the same Chub with the distinctive tail for the fourth time within the space of two week and 4 different baits I’m considering a re-think. ‘once bitten, twice shy’, what’s a load of boll*cks that is, this particular Chub, needs to be educated :). I stayed till dusk and beyond, sadly the isotope stayed static well apart from the odd time where a feeding bat caught the line.
As the depth does vary quite a bit so dragging a piece of meat on the bottom under a Chubber would be difficult but at least it’s a change of presentation. The method that may work however and that has been successful for me in the past is rolling meat, plasticine or some preston jumbo locking shot moulded over the line with a hook buried within a lump of spam, to get the bait moving or ‘rolling’ over the bottom.
One of the swims upstream is full of streamer weed so as the hook is buried when the meat gets stuck a simple tug will get it moving again. That’s the next Barbel session sorted, in-fact as it’s a roving method I might try and fish different parts of the Avon, a couple of miles apart.
I still enjoyed the evening as I caught fish, quite a few of them in-fact but none of my target species. I even had a nice fat dace on a 16mm squab; there are certainly plenty of fish here and fishing maggot you could ‘bag up’ if that’s your thing. The moon was full and bright when I left, just that scene made the trip at least worthwhile.
As I had the stretch to myself I decided to alternate between a couple of swims, the first was a nice slack area just off the main flow with tree cover and the other the ‘tunnel’ swim. I used a bait dropper to dispense a bed of pellet and hemp and then once the swim has settled, I fish over the top with a glugged sausage sizzle squab or 10mm boilie with a paste wrap. For the last hour hookbait is my favourite and most successful bait for Barbel, a big chunk of Garlic spam. The classic bait and wait approach.
I’ve lengthened the hair on my running rig to try and increase the amount of time the bait is in the water before a greedy Chub gets to it, it’s sort of working to an extent but after catching the same Chub with the distinctive tail for the fourth time within the space of two week and 4 different baits I’m considering a re-think. ‘once bitten, twice shy’, what’s a load of boll*cks that is, this particular Chub, needs to be educated :). I stayed till dusk and beyond, sadly the isotope stayed static well apart from the odd time where a feeding bat caught the line.
As the depth does vary quite a bit so dragging a piece of meat on the bottom under a Chubber would be difficult but at least it’s a change of presentation. The method that may work however and that has been successful for me in the past is rolling meat, plasticine or some preston jumbo locking shot moulded over the line with a hook buried within a lump of spam, to get the bait moving or ‘rolling’ over the bottom.
One of the swims upstream is full of streamer weed so as the hook is buried when the meat gets stuck a simple tug will get it moving again. That’s the next Barbel session sorted, in-fact as it’s a roving method I might try and fish different parts of the Avon, a couple of miles apart.
I still enjoyed the evening as I caught fish, quite a few of them in-fact but none of my target species. I even had a nice fat dace on a 16mm squab; there are certainly plenty of fish here and fishing maggot you could ‘bag up’ if that’s your thing. The moon was full and bright when I left, just that scene made the trip at least worthwhile.
Tuesday, 12 August 2014
Troy Story
These Salter scales I found at the local car boot should come in handy, an ickle fish measuring 10 Troy oz's (t oz) .They will need a conversion to (oz) but because they are usually used to weigh gold, silver and the like.
They are certainly built well despite their age and unlike me, they seem to work as well as when they were conceived. A Gonk that weighed 5 Troy oz's for example would be a record breaker, as 5t oz = 5oz 7 drams.
oz = t oz * 1.0971
They are certainly built well despite their age and unlike me, they seem to work as well as when they were conceived. A Gonk that weighed 5 Troy oz's for example would be a record breaker, as 5t oz = 5oz 7 drams.
Wednesday, 6 August 2014
The quest for a specimen Gonk...Part 2
Well they are getting bigger, this one was a nadger under 30grams, a proper chunk.
Some good info at the Grand Union Gobio Gobio Society (GUGGS)
