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.

Still not fishing.

Still looking after the Good Lady

Just can't find the time to escape.

Got the bug!

I have the flu / cold bug that's going around

so no fishing again this week.

Should be out next week.

No fishing again this week. 26-11-14

Once again no fishing for the same reasons.

DOH!

Not fishing at the moment?

Looking after the wife again

so hence no fishing.

Out again next week

if alls good.

Short session down Rockingham 05-11-14

A free evening saw me take Squid

Rag and Lug

to fish and watch some fire works.

With high water at 6 pm

my first cast was at 4 pm.

First cast produced a very dark Codling

which took the Rag and was just under the legal limit.

As the tide was still some distance from the

bank, I put it in a pool so it would stay alive.

I then noticed the other rod had signs of interest'

Sure enough a normal coloured Codling

had taken the Lug baited rig.

This photo shows the different

colours of the two Codling

Well for the next 2 hours there was a steady

flow of Codling coming in.

In the end I packed up at 6.30

having used up 1/4ld of Rag and 1/4ld

of Lug, as well as 3 whole Squid

and had nothing else to use.

I was using 4/0 Pennel Pulley rigs.

High water 13.5mtrs a 6pm

and came well over the top.

Because the wind was light

north westerly and high pressure I 

felt it was safe to fish there.

If however the wind was strong west 

to south west,

I would fished else where.

Ladye Bay 31-10-14

Down to the ledges to test my ankle out

on hard rough ground ,

as well as deeper water.

High water was at  12.02 

and 10.8 mtrs .

Bait taken was rag and Squid

with two 4/0 hooked pennel pulley rigged rods.

Getting there just before 7.30

I did not have to climb down 

as the tide was already over the reef.

So two casts produced two birdies.

NO WAY!

 Well a few minutes of fiddling and 

one was back out and sitting nicely without any bouncing in the tide.

Second one needed complete respooling.

This done a couple of practice casts settled the line down

and a whole Squid was out calling anything out there

to breakfast.

The rag rod produced a Pouting, 

which I kept and used later as bait.

The Squid produced a Codling of about

8 inches which was returned.

As the tide got higher the bites and rattles 

were less frequent.

By now there were around 12 other anglers

all having the same result as me.

The person on my left who had a 

lighter setup to mine, manged 4 small

Codling and Doggies (Cat sharks).

Well I eventually had a small Dogie

on Squid and Pouting fillet.

By now the tide was on the turn

and as there was no other interest,

I packed up and headed home.

One good thing was that I had no problem

with my ankle,

and managed my first run

for 16 weeks

again with out any trouble.

So back to normal.

Might be on the Avon tomorrow

if all's good on the home front.

More Codling, 25-10-14

With left over Squid and Rag worm

I was down on the grass bank

by 06.30.

High water was at 08.48 and same height as yesterday 12.9 mtrs.

It started drizzling as I drove down but stopped when I got there.

Setting up with two rods with  pulley rigs

and the standard specimen rod for in close work.

First cast with Rag worm produced an

undersized Codling in less than five minutes.

Next rod out loaded with whole Squid

also produced an undersized Codling quickly.

The rag rod then pulled out to give another small Codling.

Well three Codling 20 minutes not bad. BUT all had to be returned.

Well, over the next hour I had another

three Codling, two were keepers.

What was different to yesterday, was 

how the wind pushed the tide up over the bank.

 These two photos show how the tide pushed 

over the top of the bank.

Well with only one more Codling at the top of the tide

the bites stopped.

The close in rod only managed a couple of

small bites but no fish.

There as little more wind but very light showers.

The rain came down again after I got home.

Another very enjoyable fishing trip.

Back to Rockingham 24-10-14

For my first sea trip of the Cod season,

I decided to pop down to my favorite

spot.

Rockingham.

High water was at 08.12 and 12.9mtrs.

I arrived at 06.00.

Setting up my usual 4/0 - 3/0 pennel pulley rig

loaded with whole Squid,

and 1/0 wishbone rig

loaded with Rag worm.

Immediately I started getting bites,

good rattles and then had 

a good pull down and drop back on the 

pennel rig.

Unfortunately what ever it was

did not catch on the hooks.

So a fresh whole squid was cast back out.

The first Codling to be banked

came in 10 minutes later.

It took the Squid rig and weighed in

2lb 4oz.

There then followed a number rattles which

resulted in two more Codling on the

wishbone rig which were under sized.

I then set up my specimen rod 

for a bit of in close work.

This used a flowing trace rig with Rag worm.

This immediately produced a small Whiting, 

and then a Flounder.

 As can be seen from these two photos

the weather great, the forecasted rain

did not arrive until after I had packed up.

Around the top of the tide the bites stopped

only starting again about an hour

later.

Well nine fish were caught a Flounder, a Whiting

and seven Codling was the final count.

I packed up at 09.30.

That was the blank that was. Lipley Stoke 19-10-14

With an afternoon to spare I decided to pop

down to Limpley Stoke,

arriving at 12.00.

As my ankle is still not write

I decided to sit it out in one spot.

I beefed up the weights on both rigs

 I beefed up the weights on both rigs

and used a paste wrapped around the weight

for extra attraction.

The river was up, with a good flow and plenty of colour.

 Well as the sun went down 

the fish showed no interest at all.

Leaves and other debris were a

problem, 

causing many possible indications of bites.

Well by 18.30 I was packing up

and was a little bit down in the dumps.

Wild life including

King fishers, Dippers and

Buzzards

were a constant distraction.

Soggy Limply Stoke. 07-10-14

In between some light showers

I was able to set up in some trees.

I had a fallen tree up stream,

an over hanging bush down stream

and a crease running from the end of

the upstream tree.

There was more flow than the last trips

 and a little

colour.

I was using the usual baits

and freebies.

There were no signs of any fish

but at least I was baiting that swim for future

sessions. 

One more thing that was obvious is

there were a few snags here.

Lets hope some flood water moves the snags away.

Any way with an other shower having passed

I decided to move to another spot.

When my down stream rod

pulled down then dropped back.

After a short but not very inspiring fight,

this 3lb 3oz Chub was in the net. 

 Little did I know that that would be all

the action for that day.

Apart from a few more showers.

Two more swims were tried,

 but nothing was playing the game.

So after 5 hours and three swims

and another big shower on its way,

I legged it to the car at 12 noon..

Just in time as it turned out

because a heavy hail storm started just as I

got in to the car.

Bank clearing!

Went out yesterday to do a bit of bank clearing.

A spot which has not been touched this year.

So I'll get some bigger weights out  

for next week, after the rain due 

saturday and monday.

Could be fun!

A few more Chub 01-10-14

Back across to Limpley Stoke.

Using the usual rods and bait but adding

some homemade paste of various flavours.

I set up at may favorite swim.

I had regular rattles on both rods,

but it was not until 4.10 pm

when I caught my first Chub.

It weighed 4lb 4 1/4oz

and fought like it was in charge.

It had definitely been scoffing

the loose fed pellets I had put in

when I first arrived. 

 Twenty minutes later

a 3lb 7oz fella was on the bank.

Again showing the extra weight

they seem to be putting on.

This one had quite a few marks on it

where t had won battles with

other predators.

 Half an hour later

this 3lb 4oz chap was in the net

and smiling for the camera.

 Fish number 4 was a 3lb 6oz

and again well fed.

With my ankle starting to sort its self out

I hope to start checking out more swims.

I am getting bored of only fishing

one or two swims.

All the Chub were

caught when the sun was

hiding behind the clouds.

So I will try fishing in the trees when my ankle is sorted.

Whinge of the day!!!!

Some bloke on a canal boat on the K & A canal

across the river was having 

a shouting match with some one on his mobile.

Pity the other boat owners up there.

Early session on the Frome. 18-09-14

An early dark walk up to the chosen swim,

and setting up as quietly as possible,

did not help.

I used pole at 10 - 13mtrs

using maggot, caster and hemp

loose fed over ground bait.

I used a 0.5grm and 1.00grm

floats,

with 3lb main line and 1 1/2lb hook length

and size 18 up to 14 hooks.

Loose feeding around 6 maggots and caster

on a regular interval, 

as well as half a pouch of hemp.

This American Signal Crayfish

and one other were trundling 

around the shallow area in front of my swim.

 I fished the hook from 12 inches over depth

to 12 inches off the bottom

without getting much action.

As can be seen one small roach and a Dace

with plenty of Minnows was the end result.

I took the keep net out early

to let it dry out a bit before packing up.

In the end I packed up early after 3 1/2 hours,

mainly because of the dogs and there owners.

Next time I will try trotting

instead. 

Late rush at Limpley Stoke. 16-09-14

13.30.

 I have just got to the first of my chosen swims

and exactly where I want to put my baits,

these two swans are feeding happily.

 So I tried out some other areas.

This will help when the water levels

rise.

Eventually the one under the near side

overhang  moved off.

So under went my bait.

 Well by 15.30 there was no sign off life.

So onto my main swim of the day.

This time I had signs of life straight away.

This time I was loose feeding some Casters.

and at 16.20 the first proper bite.

After a really good fight, this

3lb 1oz Chub was in the net.

 No 2 Chub was in net

20 minutes later, again putting up a really good show.

This was 2lb 9 1/2oz.

Now it was time for the swans to catch up with me

and spent an hour paddling round the swim.

 By now had managed to put out 

a fair few freebies, I could now settle down

to wait on some action.

It was not until 18.00 that I again had some signs of life.

Around 18.20 I lost a Chub to to some reeds on the 

far bank.

Then just before 19.00

I had my next Chub this time 2lb 1oz.

 By 19.45 this 3lb 13oz Chub was on the bank

and was the biggest of the day.

I had to pack up then as it was to dark to continue

safely.

In between I managed two other Chub

2lb 9oz and 3lb 3oz.

The calfs in the field are very curious

and spent a long time watching me,

they then escorted me out of the field.

So what next?

I hope to be down on the Bristol Avon

tomorrow afternoon / evening

after taking 

"She who must be obeyed"

to hospital in the morning.

Then wednesday morning

on the pole on

the

Bristol Frome.

The worm, the maggot and the sweetcorn.

Took the pole down to the

Bristol Frome

this morning for a short explore

of a swim I've not fished for a

good few years.

Fortunately there were no snags in it,

so  no tackle was lost.

Starting just after 6.30 am,

I fed a small pouch of hemp

and 4 - 5 maggots every few minutes

over a small bed of ground bait.

I caught a minnow on

double red maggot on a size 14 hook

first put in.

Then a small 6" Trout

took a white and red maggot.

A few more Minnows decided

they were hungry before 

I caught a nice Dace.

The Minnows even took a whole
worm with a grain of sweetcorn
and a Maggot cocktail on a size 16 hook.

This is how it continued

till 10.00.

So I guess I ended up with

a couple of pound,

which is not quite what I expected.

One good thing is that a swim

which didn't have any fish in it last year

now has a small head of Chub,

so I will take my Centre Pin 

down for a bit gentle trotting.

But that will have to wait for next week

as no free time till then.

Landing net handle!

Managed to use an old piece 

of a damaged pole to line

the inside of the damaged handle.

Glued in with Arildite.

Then glued the connecting ferrule

in. Let it dry and bingo 

it works.

Proof is in the using.

Fingers crossed.

Hopefully saving £50 plus.

Cows, fish and broken landing net handle.

Having decided on a plan to look at the swims 

at Limply Stoke and get to know the features.

I took the usual kit plus the float rod

and maggots over ground bait.

On arriving at the field at 12.00, I was

surprised to find a small herd of calfs.

I mixed the ground bait and and put in 

three orange size balls straight away

plus some maggots and pellets.

I first of all set up the usual ledger rods,

and cast out to both banks down stream.

Then I settled down to loose feed

6 - 10 maggots every few minutes

down the float line.

I now heard some snuffling behind me

and turned round to find the calfs

taking an interest in what I was doing.

Well they got bored quite quickly

and went back to eating grass.

I started getting some interest

on the far bank rod and

so extended the landing net handle

and placed it on the edge of the bank.

The far bank rod then pulled round

and a Chub then ran towards the

rushes. I manged to turn it and the fish then

tried to get into some reeds 

 in the middle of the river.

Well again it failed to get to them.

I bent down to pick up the landing net

when "CRACK" the landing net handle 

broke.

So with only half a handle

I had to jump down the six foot

to the bottom of the bank.

Well I landed the Chub and then had to

climb back up. Not to easy with my bad ankle.

Anyway this 2lb 12oz Chub

was my prize.

 The youngsters were back but soon

turned away bored.

 Anyway a few trots down the float line

proved that only small fish were

showing interest in the maggots.

I decided to drop a ledgered pellet

on the ground bait and sat back to

await the out come.

Half an hour later,

 after an other visit from the locals,

The pellet gobbled down the pellet

and this 2lb 15oz fella was in the net.

 With another Chub to the far bank

rod coming in at 2lb 8oz,

I then went back to the float.

I had a very pleasant hour and a half

catching:-

Trout 

 Roach

 Dace, small Chub and minnows.

The float line was in line with the

rod rest down a drop off.

Well as it was getting dark

I packed up and said good bye 

to my little friends.

I am now trying to repair

the landing net handle

and look for a new one.

Down Limpley Stoke way. 03-09-14

At long last I managed

an escape trip.

So popped down to Limpley Stoke

to try out a new venue.

This seemed the best spot

for a short walk with an iffy ankle.

I started fishing at 14.00 and pre baited 

4 swims.

So settled into swim 1.

This was between to  over hanging trees

Not much room to manoeuver here

but it looked really fishie.

If there were fish in the swim

they were at home watching

the T.V.

On rod was over the far bank

 with boillie and the other down the near side

with pellet.

Not a touch.

So after 2 hours i 

moved on to swim two.

 This swim again looked like

it could also throw up

a Chub or two.

Well with the same set up as before I settled

down to see what was around.

I started getting some signs of life,

 with the far bank rod nodding and

jingling.

In the end the rod tip kept nodding

gently so I decided to lift the rod.

This 3lb 4 1/4oz Chub was on but not very

exited, putting up a very poor showing.

I weighed and photographed it

then left it in the keep net

so it would not upset the rest.

 That idea did not work as there was no 

further sign of life.

On to the next swim,

this one had a lot of cabbage leaves

With some streamer weed in places.

Looking for gaps in the vegetation

I used the same tactics,

this time the results were the same.

No signs of life.

I left at 20.00.

I met another fisherman

who only managed 2 Chub.

Well I need to spend more time there.

It was great to get back onto the bank

and the ankle held up.

Back to fishing soon?

Well the ankle is mending slowly

so I hope to get out next week some time.

I have not been out running so I

will not being running the

Bristol 1/2 marathon

next month.

Lets hope I can get out running soon so I

can run the

Stroud 1/2

in October.

Ouch!

Went out for a short

tester run.

Not good no change

the ankle is still

painful.

Plantar Fasciitis?

Well that's whats wrong with my ankle / heel.

Rest, exercises and Ibuprofen gel

is the treatment. 

Well I'll be out next tuesday if all's well.

INJURED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No fishing for now as I've injured my right ankle.

No fishing or running for me for a while.

Its bad news as I've got a 1/2 marathon

run in September and need to train for it.

Last time at Lacock? We'll see. 17-07-14

Yep back up Lacock

for 5.30am.

Then the long trudge to my chosen swims.

At the first I found two Badgers

snuffling around the field.

This one did not see me as walked past.

Only when I got the camera out did it get 

camera shy and leg it. 

 So a gentle flip of the free lined Boillie

down the near bank, and I sat down to wait 

for the fish to take an interest.

Well after 40 minutes or so a

pull on the rod and I had a Chub on.

2lb 10oz.

Great start but no more interest,

and time for swim two.

Now this one usually produces 

a couple of Chub.

But only a 1lb 9oz Chub showed 

it licked my bait.

So swim three,

this was another new swim for me.

Dropping a light ledgered bait

on the far bank under a hangover bush

and a free lined one on the near bank.

This produced the best Chub of the day

2lb 13oz on the free lined bait.

 Shortly after the other rod was hit by a

2lb 11oz fella. 

Then these to young swans

decided it was time for me to move on.

Now it started to brighten up

after a dull start.

So swim four and I could see

7 or 8 Chub up to around 3 1/2lb

could be seen. Again the

the free lined bait was dropped in,

I watched them race around the bait with plenty of

line bites.

They were trying to knock the bait off the

hook, which they managed to do.

So using to small baits, I

Gently dropped them near to some 

weed mid flow.

A few loose feeds were introduced

and that had the desired effect.

A cracking tussle and a 2lb 7oz

chap was on the bank.

The fish had now disappeared.

So next swim and a 2lb 9oz chub

came out to play.

The next swim produced a blank

so a 12 noon I headed home.

Another cracking days fishing.

I have now fished all the swims at the venue

so I'm looking for some where new.

Watch this space.

A pleasant afternoon evening with my son. 10-07-14

Andrew said he would meet me 

up at Lacock at 3pm, 

so I started in the first field under a tree

until he arrived.

I set up a boillie ledgered under a

raft of rubbish.

Then used maggot trotting down

the near side.

This produced around 30

roach,dace, chub, minnow

and perch.

One of the Minnows was taken by 

something which didn't play very hard

but stayed deep.

Eventually it spat the now

rather squashed Minnow out.

I would love to have seen it.

Andrew arrived and off we went to feed a few swims

and the fish them on the back.

In the first few swims there were plenty of rattles

and knocks but nothing on the bank.

A change of rig to give a better

flowing trace style and straight away

the result was different.

The first knock produced a

good pull on the rod and something heavy

was on the end, it pulled like mad

and eventually headed under a fallen log.

This fish was lost as it snagged the rig with the hook length snapping.

In the last swim I finally landed a

better Chub. This one was 1lb 8oz. 

 Then just at last knocking

this 2lb 5oz Chub took the bait.

Well that ended a great evening with good fishing, good surroundings

and very good company.

Roll on the next trip out.

Back to the pole. 03-07-14

Back down to the Bristol Frome

with the pole.

I fished about 10 yards up from

my last trip as there was an other

angler close to it.

Well using the same ground bait

with casters, hemp and sweetcorn

mixed in.

Over that I fed loose maggot, caster

hemp and sweetcorn.

This time I struggled to get a bite, except for

Minnows. I even caught them on size 14 hooks????

Well after an hour or so,

the float just moved very slowly

in circles, an other Minnow,

thinks I.

So I only made a gentle strike,

when the elastic, No5, 

pulled out and kept pulling.

Well this Trout did not realize 

it had been hooked.

It did eventually wake up

and raced around, as Trout do.

It weighed 2lb 9 3/4oz

but I reckon it could 3lb when its got

its condition back. It was really skinny.

The strange thing was it took

sweetcorn at 13 meters.

Well it was back to the Minnows

until around 6pm.

Then I had a Rudd, small Chub

and my first Roach of the season

at 16 meters.

By 6.45 I decided I'd had enough

of Minnows,

shipping 16 meters of pole

in and out is hard work for a Minnow.

The river needs a bit of rain to put some colour flow

the cheer it up.

What a difference a weekend makes. 30-06-14

Decided to try a few more swims

up Lacock way.

So with the usual baits 

plus a new one for me,

I plonked down in the first of

6 swims I would fish at 11.00.

Well that was the start of one of the most 

frustrating days fishing I've had in a long time.

Having fed most of the swims on the way down

to this one.

It was a sweeping bend,

with me on the inside.

There were plenty of Dace, Roach and and small Chub.

I plonked a larger bait on the 

Cabbages over the far side,

with a small bait down the near side.

Straight away, both rods were

dancing around like there was a gale blowing.

Great me thinks something

should be taking my bait soon.

No chance!

Just the tips doing the Cha Cha Cha.

How ever the hour I sat there

I watched the small fish having 

a great time eating the small pellet

I was trickling in.

Tacking a float rod next time.

Well its time to move on and

into the next swim.

Again the same result as the last swim.

This time I did manage 

a chub of 1lb 9 3/4oz.

Again the dancing rod tips

were highly frustrating.

On to swim 3.

SNAP!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The same again,

again, dancing tips,

and lots of little fish

up to 1/2lb.

Now on to Peg 4.

This on had a big raft 

that covered the whole

width of the river.

Again one rod to the far bank 

and one under the near bank.

This time the tips didn't move.

By now one thing was very obvious

the there was plenty of signs

that there had been a lot

of fishermen on the banks

since my last visit.

Then on to swim 5,

This is the one I caught a Barbel on last year.

This time I blanked again but with the usual dancing tips.

 Final swim.

Back to the swim I had the big Chub

last time.

Again dancing tips

which did eventually produced a 9oz Chub.

I think I will mainly

trot the river next time

with my light quiver tip

on stand by.