Rockingham 11-12-12

A few spare hours and the right tide for 

a sea fishing trip, 

only one thing to do!

Pop down to Rockingham

Got down there in misty icy conditions.

I could not see 

Avonmouth or Severn Beach.

I set upa

Wishbone rig and a 

Pennell Pulley Rig.

Baited with Rag and Lug.

Started fishing at 15.15,

I had my first bite at

14.30.

This little Flounder

managed to pull the weight

out of the mud.

Taking lug on the wishbone rig.

A 17.10, 10 minutes before high

a gentle pull on the rod tip

then a series of rattles

produced this flounder.

Again on the wishbone rig

but took rag worm.

The fog / mist was 

settling  on the rod and line.

Then freezing and made for very cold hands at times.

But a very good trip again.

Two hours on the Frome 07-12-12

Spent a couple of hours down

Snuffers way yesterday afternoon.

Same roving kit and bait used.

 Usual swims fished.

 The result was a 

BIG FAT BLANK.

I think the over night rain

had upset the fish.

The colour was not nice.

There was also a lot of

rubbish passing at times

which made presentation

hard.

Oh well there always next time.

River Frome after the Flood. 04-12-12

Well what can I say.

The river had lost most of its pace

and the colour was dropping out.

I fished the same swims

as last time.

Using 2 different style and

size of Crow Quill Avon floats. 

Maggot and caster were the baits

I used again.

Well the result was 

very different.

1 small Roach

4 Minnows.

Were the fish still

getting over the torrent,

or

had the cooler weather

affected the fishing.

Roll on thursday.

Frome out of sorts. 25-11-12

The River Frome was not happy

today after all that rain.

 The river was up

by about 5 feet.

 I could have caught some

Minnows over the path,

that is hidden by the flood water.

 Short video of the wear below Vassle / Oldbury

Court. 

Weather for the week!

Getting dryer and colder

with a northerly wind,

and frost at night.

Might catch some fish

later in the week.

Good morning on the Frome. 16-11-12

Popped down the Bristol Frome

this morning from 09.00 till 12.00.

Took the trusty Maver rod and

Okuma Sheffield centre pin reel.

My usual lower swims failed

to produced.

So headed up stream.

and one swim fished its head off.

The following fish were caught 

during two sessions there.

First non Minnow was this

Roach at around 1/2 lb.

 Followed soon after by this

cracking

1lb 6oz Roach.

 After a stroll and

stopping off at a few

more swims 

up stream.

With only a few Minnows

showing.

I returned to bend swim.

Straight away

I had another

Roach

followed by this 

1/2lb Chub.

 Then this 1lb chub

on the next cast.

 Once again on the next cast

this

1lb 1oz

Roach was a short but deep fish.

 A couple of casts later

this beautiful

2lb 2oz Chub

came to net. 

With a couple of dozen Minnows,

a small trout and a few more smaller Roach,

loads of sunken leaves,

and a 3 foot broken dog lead

That proved to be in the top

10 fishing trips on the Frome. 

River Frome Stapleton 30-10-12

A couple of hours free, 

saw me fishing down

near the Snuff Mill.

Well, looks like my 

luck at catching big fish

was missing again.

Only managed

around 20

Minnows.

Maggot and Casters were the bait 

used, and Crow Quill

Avon to size 18 to 14 hooks.

One of the other 

anglers down had the same result.

To cap it all.

One of the residents

on the opposite bank told 

there was no fishing allowed.
This is because
they have made the area a
nature reserve.

The bank in question is the
right hand bank
upstream of
 Broom Hill
road bridge.

Hhhmmm!

21 years fishing that stretch, 

on and off,

and out of the blue

was told no go.

No signs up

and no one else

knows about it

either!!!!!!!!

Worst start to the Codling season 27-10-12

Fished Rockingham last Thursday evening.

Fished from 16.30 till 18.45,

high was at 17.42 and 12 meters.

Using 1/0 wishbone rigs and 3/0 pulley rigs

I managed 3 tiny whiting and a tiny Rockling.

With not a sniff of a codling it has been my worst

start to the codling season

since moving to the Bristol area

in 1991.

Not good.

P.B. British sea fish.

Popped down to a muddy spot

near Portishead this morning.

Started fishing around 06.30

using two pulley rigs,

one with whole squid,

the other with rag worm.

First bite produced this 

6 inch Whiting on the

Rag rig.

 As can be seen there was

plenty of mud for all.

A few very muddy 

dogs down Portishead today

 An hour after high water

this

13lb 4oz Thornback Ray

took a fancy to my

whole squid bait.

A personal best for me.

The only other fish caught

was a 4 inch whiting.

Dull with a chilly wind.

Rockingham 13-10-12

Well the 13th was unlucky for me.

Only managed to get Rag worm from the shop,

and taking some Squid I trundled down to the grass bank.

Fished from 16.00 till 19.30

with high at 18.30 and 12.5mtrs.

Well short story even shorter,

one tiny 3 inch Whiting on the last wind in.

Two rods used

both on pulley rigs

and a cocktail of

Squid and Rag on one 

and Rag on the other one.

Wind was light south westerly

and the afternoon

thunder storms and hail had cleared.

I guess that the heavy fresh rain

run off and warm sea must 

be the problem.

Roll on the frosts!!!!!!

Bagwood Lake 10-10-12

Took the pole for an outing today,

fishing the same swim as last time,

I used Maggot and Caster 

over Hemp, Sweetcorn and Pellets.

Also put the Barbel rod out with Sweetcorn 

over Hemp, Pellets Corn.

The Barbel rod only managed

3 small Skimmers

and this

9lb 9oz

Common Carp.

 The pole at 11.5mtrs 

with a 1.25g Durafloat

to 5lb line and 2 1/2lb hooklenght

with a size 14 hook.

Fished just off the bottom

the Roach started feeding

straight away.

By 10am the the fish

switched off.

Except these two perch

the best was 2lb.51/2oz.

The Roach which was caught in the afternoon

was 1lb 2 1/2oz.

In total I had 17lb 11oz on the pole.

Weather was warm

overcast with a light breeze.

Next trip

Saturday evening sea fishing

with Rusty,

venue to be confirmed.

Road Closures in Bristol 30-09-12

Many roads around the docks will be closed

on sunday 30-09-12.

So if your thinking of fishing 

the docks.

You will have to get down there by

05.30 

for Baltic Wharf .

04.30

for Welsh Back and 

Bathurst Basin.

The roads start opening at

14.00.

I'll be running the 1/2 marathon

again this year,

so if your there and you 

number 22181

give me a cheer.

Me at Wapping Road

swing bridge last year.

Bagwood Lake 14-09-12

What the heck's going on!

I went CARP fishing.

Well in the first hour I managed

2 fish.

This 16lb 6oz Plated Mirror

 and this

5lb

Common.

Both caught on Sweet corn

 Shortly after I had a couple of Bream 

on Mash Monster Squid Boilies.

I have to thank my son Rusty

for putting me on the fish.

He managed to catch a 

couple as well best was 17lb 7oz.

At 1pm I got bored 

and set up my waggler rod and 

Centre Pin Reel.

Maggot on size 14 hook to 3lb line.

Wow that did the trick,

Rudd, Roach, Perch

and Skimmers

were hungry for the wrigglers.

5lb ish in an hour

was superb fun,

this Bream looking like it might have

been a Rudd cross. 

All in all a nice day and very good company.

Rockingham again 06-09-12

As I managed to get some

lugworm at the last minute,

and had a free morning.

I popped down to  the grass bank again.

Fishing from 09.30 till 12.15 I took

my carp rod down as well as my

usual rods.

The usual rigs were used on the beach casters

and flowing trace on the carp rod.

First cast on the wishbone rig caught

a small flounder. After that 

a number of rattles and knocks

teased me. Having changed the hook sizes,

I could not hit any of the bites.

The carp rod caught a couple of small

of small silver eels, Snotties.

The targeted flounder did show.

For an hour to the top of the tide

this fishing boat,

the SEA SPORT,

fished over the spot, 

I walk out over the mud to

fish on a rising mid range tide.

Didn't see any fish caught on it.

Rockingham 30-08-12

Wow! 

Escape chit in hand

1/2lb of Rag, frozen Squid and Crab

in the bucket,

I 

headed to Rockingham.

High was at 19.30

fished from 17.30 till

20.00.

13.1mtrs

I stomped out on to the mud for 

an earlier than usual

cast.

This produced this little Sole.

 It was caught on a 

wishbone rig

with rag on 1/0

hooks.

That was the high light

of the trip.

One other drop back bite

failed to produce.

As can be seen

the weather was great

with the usual

choppy splash

on to the bank.

The two other fishermen

also failed to catch.

River Frome 16-08-12

With everything settling down at home

I popped down to

the Frome.

Started fishing around 9am

in a swim I've not

fished before.

The water had a good pace

but quite coloured after yesterdays rain.

After 20 or so runs down the swim

with a Crow Quill Avon float,

size 18 micro barbed hook on 2lb line

to 5lb main line.

I caught this Gudgeon on 

double red maggot.

Not seen one in a while.

 Also managed a 

small Dace.

I fed a dozen or so maggots at least every

run through the swim.

This was my second swim 

but it failed to produced.

It was getting dark now 

as can be seen

with this photo

of a small dace from swim 3.

This was a harder swim to fish

with plenty of over hanging

trees.

 The fourth swim had a longer

run plus the over hanging

branches on the far bank.

Once again I could not 

tempt the fish out of this swim.

 Really expected to catch some thing

from here

as I've seen some good

fish in the past.

I moved on to what proved to be my last swim.

Same tactics were the same.

However the the smaller Roach, Dace

Gudgeon and Minnows

were out to play here.

BUT!!!!!!!

After catching 10 fish

in quick succession

the heavens opened

and it ended up more

like autumn!

As a usual when it rains that hard

the river started pushing hard and there 

was loads of leaves, branches

as well as other rubbish.

I could not get the float to run through properly

so packed up

and paddled back to car.

What no fishing

Still problems at home

but I hope

to start 

getting 

back out again

next

Week.

Trip two ;- New Passage 21-07-12

Needed to use up the Lug and Rag

from the morning trip.

I invited my son Rusty

along.

The weather was again

perfect.

The high was at

21.46

and

12.8mtrs.

To keep a great story

short,

had a great chat and time with Russell,

watched the Mullet frolicking at the

waters edge as tide rose,

saw a few rattles on the rod tips

and BLANKED!!!!!!  

Once again

a great fishing trip.

Trip one :- Rockingham 21-07-12

Needing to escape the hassle of home,

I signed my own escape chit.

With Lug, Rag and Squid

I trundled down to the grass bank.

Fishing was very slow

with four rods out,

fishing from 20mtrs to 100mtrs.

Well,

eleven bites

in total produced

this Snottie

at about 50mtrs

 To this

whole Squid wrapped with 

Lug and Rag.

This was on a 4/0 pulley rig

on the final cast.

 Also on the final cast of the wishbone rig

at distance

this 12 inch

flounder

fancied the Lug.

Weather was great,

tide was 12.5mtrs

at 09.33.

What a lovely morning.

River Frome again 14-07-12

Fished six swims from the Mill upstream to below 

Vasalls Park / Oldbury Court, on the mill side 

this time.

At five of the swims I only managed a few

little nibbles.

At the mill I had 3 roach

and a little chub.

Same rod, reel and bait.

The biggest problem was 

dogs.

Loads of them,

with bad owners.

Not quite so enjoyable

this time.

Short trip down Snuffs.

Had an hour and a half free

this afternoon

so popped down to the

Frome again.

Half a dozen slices of Braces

medium sliced bread

in my pocket.

I set up my

waggler rod and centre pin reel.

Feeding some loose bits of bread 

at the various swims

I walked the bank.

The colour had dropped out

and the flow slowed up. 

 Bites were few and far between

but I did manage to catch

3 x Roach, a Dace and a Chub.

 All around the 1/2lb size.

This photo shows the 

crease between the faster water (patches of bubbles),

and the slack water, closest to the bank.

All the fish were caught where the two meet.

A very relaxing hour 

on the bank.

River Frome Bristol. 07-07-12

Took an hour out from caring

for the Good Lady,

and walked up the Frome valley.

 As can be seen

it was coloured and running.

 However the usual areas are still fish-able

using smelly baits 

 Mate sure you check 

for snags.

Not fishing at the moment

Due to major health problems 

at the moment

I have not been out fishing.

Hopefully I'll be out again

on short trips next week.

Nice 6 hours down Portishead way. 24-06-12

Decided to use up the 

left over bait from my last trip.

Looking at the weather and 

thinking about the 

problems of the last trip,

I decided to fish the 

shingle bank at the Yacht club.

Fishing from 07.00 till 13.30

high was at 10.59 

and

12.00mtrs.

Weather was dull then light showers

as the cloud broke up

and warm.

Stiff gusty breeze

was from the south west.

Baits were

rag, lug and squid.

Rigs used were 

wishbone pennel pulley and 3 hook flapper.

I had 3 known bites

two were codling around

3lb.

One was caught about 8.30

the other 45 minutes before 

high water.

The third was a possible 

Conger.

The bite was a good pull down

and line was pulled off the reel.

On striking I could feel the fish

but the rig was snagged.

It pulled well and

I guessed I was also dragging

in a rock.

However the rig snagged

and the line broke.

I found the rig as tide

dropped 

and it was well tangled

and indeed had a rock

attached.

Wet, windy and loads of washing

Fished down Rockingham

this morning, 22-06-12.

Wet and windy conditions greeted me

on the grass bank.

Set up my usual wishbone rig

and pennel pulley rig.

First rod out baited with 

rag and lug,

fell around 20mtrs short of my usual distance.

The tide was pushing in about 20 / 30

minutes earlier than usual.

Brad from Bristol Angling Centre

also came down and decided to

only use one rod.

Straight away the line was covered

with grass and weed,

which caused us both trouble

while winding in.

After another couple of casts,

we gave up and went home.

Manor Farm Lake, Linear Fishery.

My middle son Jason

has seen the light!

He no longer chases 

the women as much,

he chases CARP.

Not my style

but some fine fish.

 Caught on Tiger nuts 

over

a bed of

seed.

 His best was 31lb 6oz

He also managed a nice Tench and other

Carp.

Welcome back to the real 

world Jay.

Baltic Wharf 20-06-12

Had a pole session down the 

Wharf

this morning.

Fished from 08.00 till 12.00.

Maggot and Caster were the hook bait

fished over my usual 

ground bait with added liquidized 

bread, with loose fed maggot, hemp, halibut pellet

and caster.

Perch, Roach and Dace

up to 6oz

were feeding really well.

With 3lb of mixed grill in the net by 10.00. 

they legged it and then I

Struggled to get a bite.

However this nice

Rudd was a real surprise.

What a beauty.

 Rusty popped down with

the Gandkids

as did Andrew,

who used my spare

top 4 with Kyle.

They managed to catch

the biggest fish of the day

a plump Roach of about

8oz.

Another great day's fishing.

First river trip of the new season. 17-06-12

Popped down to some of my old haunts

on the Bristol Frome today.

Trotting a

Drennan No 2 Avon float

on 6lb main line

to size 14 hook on 3lb hook length.

Started on my usual Chub swin,

Failed to catch a Chub but managed

4 small Roach and 3 Dace plus the usual Minnows. 

 That swim died off as expected

so moved down stream 50 or so mtrs

that failed to produce anything.

Another move to below a weir 

produced 7 chub to 1/2lb plus more Roach again to 1/2lb.

 Another move and no bites until 

I changed to bread flake.

Then the Chub really switched on.

Using my new Maver 12ft Abyss X match rod

with Okuma Sheffield S 1002

Centre Pin reel,

I trotted along the flow crease.

The chub were taking the flake on the drop

giving a good scrap.

The best was 1lb 9oz, 

really plump.

Maggot was the other bait used.

Watch out! Loads of people and dogs

use the paths. So fish it early or late

and on rainy days for best results. 

Harescombe Fishery, Stroud 04-06-12

Went up to Stroud to try out

my son, Andrew's, local fishery.

A 4 lake fishery,

1 x Match lake

and

3 x mixed fish lakes.

We fished the north bank

of the largest lake.

Fished from

08.00 till 16.00.

Andrew has this lake wrapped round his fingers,

and from the off caught steadily.

Carp all the way, up to 12lb.

I struggled but still managed

a hand full of Carp and a Bream.

My first fish, about 7lb 4oz

was caught on a waggler rod 

and Centre Pin Reel.

My first carp caught with a

centre pin reel.

The fishery is tucked 

away in a very secluded area.

Nice and quiet compared to most

venues around Bristol.

Happy chappy Andrew.

with a near double Mirror Carp

caught on Tuttie Fruttie sweet corn.

My

2lb 6oz Bream

caught on the pole

to chocolate pellet.

Still Andrew caught, mostly

on the feeder under a Willow tree 

on the far bank.

We were told by the owner

the fishery was fishing quite poorly

because of the recent

bad weather.

What's it like on a good day!!!!!!!!!!!!