Bristol Frome 26-01-15

I took my centre pin, a bunch of float,

shots weights size 18 / 20 micro barbed hooks

and the maggots left over from my last trip.

There was a good pace and enough

clarity to use this tactic.

I

 From the first cast I caught Minnows,

lots of Minnows.

However a few other fish managed to

get a look in.

I managed 7 small roach

 Three small Brown Trout

 One Dace.

 And this 2lb 8 1/4oz Chub.

 These all came from 5 different swims,

Ranging from 8 feet to 2 1/2 feet deep.

Some trees have fallen

this winter and a couple look like they

could fish.

The photo above shows the weir at Snuff Mill.

Limpley Stoke 22-01-15

First trip of 2015.

Well, full of hope and expectation 

I scraped the frost of Fru Fru Fiesta,

at 06.00 and trundled to Limpley.

With day light just showing

through the broken cloud,

it was a chilly walk to my chosen swim.

Feeding the free baits of

maggot and caster down the

near bank

and 

Boillie and pellet down the crease a third 

of the way out.

The river looked good

a bit of colour and a good pace.

I thought I was in for some luck.

How wrong could I be.

Claverton Down

looking good.

This photo shows a Mink

in the undergrowth. It managed to catch

some small fish as did a Kingfisher.

Some of the goodies

ready for loose feeding

Well by Midday I

had a bad stomach ache.

Without a bite or sign of life

I had to pack up and head home.

This was the first time I

had fished on our wedding anniversary.

I was our 32.

Shame.

I think I will try the river Frome

next week.

Bit of trotting bread, maggot and casters.

No new year trip!

Once again the she who must be obeyed is poorly

so no fishing for me.

Hope to be out next week.

An other Limpley blank. 28-12-14

Well the title says it all.

I got to the bank at 10am,

I fed three swims

and set up on one.

The Avon was coffee coloured and 

had good pace.

There was still a good frost on the ground,

which did not lift in the shade all day.

I must admit I thought it would 

fish well.

Well how wrong could I be.

Not a touch in any of the swims.

I used the same baits and rigs,

as my last trips.

Well with no action

there was nothing to report.

A Dab Chick,

Lesser Grebe,

kept diving on the apposite side

helped keep the spirit up.

One thing that did not bode 

well for the future

was the number Cormorants

flying past.

Merry Christmas

A very Merry Christmas

and Happy New Year

to all my Blog followers.

TIGHT LINES 

AND WET NETS 

TO TO YOU ALL.

Christmas trip to the Bristol Avon 23-12-14

07.00 this morning I got out of my car

at Limpley Stoke.

Having driven through rain all the way from Bristol,

I was surprised to find it dry.

Well I set up a usual ledger rig BUT

I put a groundbait feeder on instead.

Loading it with a groundbait mix

and pellets.

The hook length was four foot long

with a size 6 with a hair rig.

On the hook I put a Halibut bollie

and Maggots.

The second rod was

a float rod with a home made

goose quill float.

The feeder rig was cast out to

a crease just short of half way.

I cast this one out every 10 minutes or so.

The float was baited with Maggots (these 

I had flavoured with  Turmeric).

Well around 8.30 I had shy bite, then the rod tip

pulled round. 

I lifted into the bite and bingo fish on.

The usual Chub tussle and the fish was in

the weeds at the bank. But no problem

a short pull and this 3lb 6 1/4 oz Chub was in the net.

 The float rod only had one blip

as a possible bite, so I put it aside and got out my

other feeder rod.

This one had a Maggot feeder, which I cast under an overhanging

bush to my left.

This rig also failed to attract any attention.

All the time my first rod was slowly

piling in the ground bait.

The occasional  rod tip movement

showed there was some interest still.

An hour later another pull round on the rod tip,

and Chub No 2 was on its way to the net.

This one did not fight so hard, I found out why

when I had it in the net.

As can be seen this 3lb 5oz fella

had an injury that was healing over.

I'm not sure what caused this, the other side of the Chub

had no injury at all.

 So its heading towards 10.00am

and I have to decide whether to move or not.

In the end I decided to stay put and keep trying.

Well there was still signs of interest, so I  

settled down to see what happened.

Well as I intended to head home to do what was waiting to be done

at 1pm. I started to pack up around 12.50.

With my back to my rods, my son who popped down for a chat

shouted that the groundbait rod was doing a merry dance.

Well the third and final Chub, 3lb 9 1/4oz,

came in to the net.

What a magic session.

One of the best parts of the day

was the rain kept away till I had packed up.

MAGIC

Out at last. OR. Unlucky 13th.

At last, escape chit in the bits box,

frost scraped off the wind screen

I headed up to Limply Stoke.

The Avon was up, brown and flowing.

I had fed a few swims as usual 

and set up by 07.15.

There was a shallow mist across the fields

and mist rising off the river.

Over the next couple of hours

all my equipment turned white with frost,

and the eyes on the rod froze.

 From the first boillie baited cast

leaves were a real problem.

Some times lifting the bait like a kite.

Bait presentation was just about impossible.

So after two hours I moved to 

my second swim.

This one also proved to be

problematic, with snags everywhere.

Time for my next swim.

This one had a back eddy 

under my feet and a good crease

with a strong flow down the middle.

 I put one rod under an over hanging bush

to my left and one out to the crease.

Using various baits

from paste to Boillie and pellets to meat,

I failed to get even a tickle of a bite.

It was great to see a couple of male

Goldcrests in the trees,

as well a Little Egret flying past.

So a beautiful day out, I enjoyed

the wildlife and fishing, even if I didn't catch.