Pipes near Severn Beach 20-02-11

Popped down to the Pipes this morning
Fished 06.50 till 10.00.
High was 14.4mtrs at 08.00.
Used 3/0 pennel pulley rigs
and 1/0 Wishbone rigs.

Baits used were Lug and Rag worm.

It was a dull, flat calm morning with

a light south easterly now and again.

First bite was around 07.20 on the Wishbone.
with a few more bites till o8.30
when this little 8 inch Codling took
a lug baited pennel pulley rig.

Had 10 bites in all but only little knocks.
With 5 other anglers near by and not seeing anything else
caught looks as if the codling stayed in bed.

The worst problem was the grass a weed causing a
lot of washing on the line and getting stuck in the eyes.

Thats why I go fresh water fishing at this time of the year.

Dutchess 08-02-11

Back to lake this morning.
The fog was so thick when I got there at 08.00
that I could not see the bank opposite me.
This was taken at around 10.00.

The photo below was taken around 11.30!
WOW.

This is the swim I fished
the same one as last time.
I used a ledge / feeder rod about 15mtrs beyond
my kit, around a meter from the edge of the reeds.
Later I cast it out around 30mtrs straight out.
I also used 2BB AND 4BB waggler floats
straight out in front as well as to the left and right.

Baits used were homemade bread crumb (very cheep)
ground bait with hemp, maggots, caster, sweetcorn
and mixed pellets.
Well it was alright whilst it was foggy,
catching on the float regularly.
As the sun burnt the fog away
so the bite dwindled.
Result Ledger / Feeder NIL again.
Float 31 roach and 1 Gudgen (New new species for the season)
Weight 1ld 15 and a 1/4oz.
Best Roach 13 1/4oz.
Hmmm hard days fishing but the weather superb.

The carp angler who fished the other bank had not
caught anything by the time I left.

Hay Ho! thats fishing.

Snuff Mill 03-02-11

Went back down to the Frome again
This time I started at a swim below Vassalls Park
It used to produce some nice Roach
at this time of the year as well as Chub.
One hour later and not a bite.
Bread Mash used to be a great ground bait
with Maggot as lose feed and hook bait.
WHERE HAVE ALL THE FISH GONE.

This photo shows the view down stream

I then moved down to the Chub swim
3 Roach came to the bread mash /maggot approach
Again the number of fish is well down on
how it used to be.
This roach was just short of a 1ld.

I do love Roach, what a lovely fish

Change of plan pays off

I had planed to fish Dutchess again,
but when I got there it was still frozen!!
So went 1/4 mile down the road to
the River Frome at Snuff Mill.

Would have gone to the Stapleton stretch but they are
building a new cycle track along there.
Its very noisy.

This photo shows the second swim I tried, the
first was just beyond the green bush to the right.
Not a bite!!!

So I moved up to the Chub swim.

It payed off on the first cast with a Minnow,

followed next cast by another.

Then I missed a couple of bites by better fish
but dropped them.

This Roach around 1/4ld was the last fish I caught.

This Trout I reckon was the culprit
of the earlier dropped bites.
Around 1/2ld.

This was my second Chub weighing in at
1ld 15 1/2oz.

My first Chub was this 4ld and 1/2oz chap.
Nice little fight on 3ld line.

Bait was good old maggots over bread mash.
Fished from 08.30 till 11.00.
To many dogs around causing trouble trying to get the bait?!!!
AAAARRRGGGGG!

Bit better at Dutchess

They are getting bigger.

I got down to the lake at 08.00 and set up my ledger rod
with sweetcorn as the bait over sweetcorn and trout pellet ground bait.
Size 12 hair stopped hook,
on 5ld line

The float rod set up was size 18 hook on 2ld 5oz hook length,
with 2BB onion float.
Bait was Maggot, over Maggot, sweetcorn, bread mash
and trout pellet groundbait.

Second fish was this 7oz roach taking single
red maggot.

This time I fished the north eastern corner.
To my left was an area cut down sedges and the outlet.

To my right was a large bed of reeds,
My ledger rod was cast around 10 yards
along these reeds and about 2 feet out from them.

I fished the float rod about 30 feet straight out in front
of me where the depth drops about18 inches.
I kept changing between the top, bottom and the drop off
to stay with the fish.
I had around 40 Roach, the best was this
15oz fella. Not sure why it had all those scales
missing?

I also had around 25 Skimmers the best around 5oz.

The weather was cloudy at first then nice sunny sky
and then back to cloud. A light northerly was blowing all day
and quite chilly.
There was ice to my left along the margins all day!!

All the fish were caught on the float rod.

Dutchess Lake 18-01-11

Back to Dutchess again on a frosty and
sunny day.

Started fishing with the same up as before.

This time I was on the opposite bank

casting the float out to the island.
with the ledger cast tight as I could
to the reeds to my left.

This time I only had maggots and Halibut pellets.

What a plonker I was, having left the sweetcorn and bread
which were to have been the main baits used.

The bigger fish were tucked up in bed I guess,
with the small Roach and Skimmers playing very hard to get.
About 30 fish may have made 1 and 1/2ld if I was Lucky.

All fish were caught on red maggot.

River Frome, up and running

The River Frome well and truely in a rush!

The weir at Snuff Mills nearly under.

Some of the swims that I use are unfishable?!