With the lakes firmly frozen my first fishing trip of 2017 was to be the River Wey at Eashing targetting the Grayling, the Beauty of the river. I was hoping for a clear frosty day but arrived on an gloomy overcast day. My method was to be light and mobile with just a float rod, centerpin and a pint of maggots I started trotting down every swim. The water was very cloudy due to the rain we had the previous two days and finding bites was going to be harder than I had encountered during the summer.

The first four swims provided me without a single bite and the fifth was doing no better. In this particular swim was a nice slack area where I had put my underwater camera in during the summer. I decided to change my tactics and put a light ledger into the slack with a fair amount of maggots. Fifteen minutes later and not even a touch from a gudgeon. I decided to check my phone for any updates regarding my beloved Nottingham Forest's failed takeover. With my concentration on my phone I suddenly felt my arm pull round. Thankfully I still had a firm grip on my rod as I felt a decent fish take me downstream. 

After a frantic couple of minutes I glided the fish into my landing net, my first fish of 2017, a 3lb 8oz Chub! I was delighted with that especially as it had been a few years since I last caught a Chub worthy of a mention. As I unhooked the fish it was evident that it had been devouring my loose fed maggots. 

Being a narrow stretch of river I guess that any other fish would have been spooked so decided to move dowstream to an area I hadn't fished before. Standing on the bend of the river and using my centrepin I was able to trot my float for a considerable length however not once did it register a bite. What I lacked in fish I gained in knowledge of the river as I had found a few slack areas where I was sure pike would be hanging out. I decided to call it a day to beat the M25 traffic and come back in a few days time armed with my deadbaits. 

So a few days later I was up at 5am on a frosty morning, the dashboard read -6'c and off I went back to the River Wey in Eashing. Perhaps in hindsight I would have been better off having another go for the Grayling as they like to feed in sub zero conditions but as I was intentionally fishing light and mobile I only had the one rod with me. At 07:30 there was just about enough light for me to start fishing. Despite not raining for the last few days the water was still brown but with the added scent gel I put on my deadbait I was sure that any nearby pike would find it. 

I started off at the swim where I recently caught my chub, a four feet deep slack that held my pike bung in virtually the same spot. After about an hour nothing had taken my roach deadbait, so I decided to move further downstream to where the river was less fished and the banks were more overgrown. The deeper water seemed like a good idea given the temperature. 

A new dawn on the River Wey

My chosen tactic was to fish a deadbait about a foot off the bottom in slow moving water. The Eashing stretch was still flowing strongly but that made me more convinced that the bigger pike would be sheltered up in the slower water. A couple of hours and a dozen or so swims later I came to the back end of a U bend in the river, there was a nice channel of water pushing through but to the side was an eddy of water that was circulating in front of me. Without checking the depth of the swim I dropped my bait down, the pike bung moving around and back in a circluar motion. 

The float gave a couple of knocks that were not reminescent of the current, I held my rod tighter, waiting for the float to go but it just kept moving around in the eddy of water. Suddenly a mass of bubbles came up from beside my float, I could only think that a large fish was spooked at my bait and shot off. I checked my deadbait which had been untouched and recast in the hope that the fish might come back but an hour later I decided to move on. 

A few more failed attempts in other swims finally took me as far as I was prepared to go when I found a swim on another bend, this time there was a large bay area of slack water on the far bank. I cast out and waited........and waited...... and waited. Despite changing the depths of my deadbait I decided it was time to change my tactic and ledger the deadbait on the bottom and hoped that a pike would eventually come to me rather than me walk for miles trying to find them. I went back to the swim where I had my only kind of response. I plumbed the depth and found that it was over eight feet deep! That alone filled me with some hope. I dropped my bait down into the depths sat on my rod butt and tucked into a well deserved pot noodle. 

Although my rod tip was not moving I could feel a light vibration along the line. Another thirty minutes later and with no bite I reeled in my deadbait which had part of it's side eaten out. I knew of the trouble with the crayfish in the summer but didn't expect them to be a hinderance in the harsh winter. I moved to another deep spot but again the crayfish were quickest on my bait. The obvious answer was to have the deadbait off the bottom, knowing that hadn't worked  I decided to call it a day. Although I had blanked I did walk a lot more of the river that I had not walked before and no doubt the knowledge of finding some deep stretches will bode well later in the year when I pursue my first barbel. 

Hi Everyone and sorry for the long silence. I seriously damaged my knee in the Summer and have only recently come off crutches and am braving my first fishing trip of 2017!

As for 2016, well first of all a huge thank-you to those of visited, a total of 19,782 of you and those that commented on my website and and even bigger thank-you to those who joined the Rod Race League in 2016. 

I was fortunate enough to break a four PBs last year, Pike, Crucian Carp, Roach and Bream and it is the Pike capture that will stand as my top catch of 2016. My previous best was 17lb 6oz so I was delighted when the scales went well past 20lb. In fact the first time the Avon Scales went to 29lb however when I took the sling off the scales they didn't zero back correctly, I reset them and reweighed, this time showing 26lb. Again the scales didn't zero back correctly. Knowing that my father was only 15 minutes drive away I put the Pike in the landing net while she recovered, in the lake of course and phoned my dad to come over ASAP with his fishing scales. Not long after he arrived with a set of luggage scales, I was so disappointed! All he could tell me was that the fish was somewhere between 20-25lb. We reluctantly agreed on 23lb but I knew is could well have been more. 

My PB Pike of 20-25lb

On a plus, the fish did win me the Intertype Pike Trophy which also entitles me to a free permit the following year, so there was a silver lining to it. No doubt I will be back again this year hoping to catch the pike again, this time with my new set of scales!

The Intertype Pike Trophy

One thing that I have missed over the years is river fishing, yes Intertype Angling Society does have stretches of the Thames, but thay have heavy boat traffic and yes they have a small stretch of the River Colne but it is fairly unaccesable so when my work colleague who is a member of Godalming Angling Society told me they had eight miles of the River Wey I was very intrigued, especially as it contained Barbel, Grayling and Brown Trout, three species I was yet to catch. Knowing that I was getting a free permit for Intertype next season I paid up for permit for Godalming. 

It is the Godalming water, Broadwater Lake where my second top catch came from, and it wasn't a Common or Mirror Carp that reside there in abundance. It has been a long time sine I caught a decent Crucian Carp and it is a species that takes me back to my childhood, before the Carp fishing world took over. I was actually targetting Roach as I was getting a few 1lb Roach taking my boillies, so on one occasion I float fished some sweetcorn a rod length out under the shade of an overhanging tree. Amongst the numerous roach and rudd I caught I also caught my PB Crucian Carp, which by all accounts is a rariety in this lake. The scales went 3lb 8oz, my new scales if you are wondering! I later heard that the British record Crucian Carp once came from this lake so I will be targetting them again in 2017. 

My 3lb 8oz Crucian Carp PB

My third top catch, and some people will argue why it's not my top is a 27lb 4oz Common Carp. Not the biggest carp as far as the Carp world goes, but it was caught from a notoriously difficult water, one that I had blanked for the previous two seasons, I'm talking about Wapsy's Lake. A lake rarely fished so the word was that they only take naturals. On a hot summer's day in May I fished without any success, then as I was walking around the lake back towards my car I noticed a few large carp cruising around the weed in the near corner. I stopped for a breather and threw out a few floaters, which one of the carp curiously nosed before gliding back down. 

For about an hour the carp were circling with the odd carp detouring of track to prod one of my floaters and when one finally took one I decided to cast out hoping that the carp would come back for more. Come back it did, but with my freelined bait it poked and prodded without any conviction. Suddenly the heavens opened and it poured with rain for half an hour. Once the rain stopped I cast out again as I saw the carp rise back to the surface, again they were curious but not taking it. I decided to add something else to my bait that would cover more of my hook. I turned over a few fallen logs and found a small slug which I added to the Baker Mixer. The weight of the slug meant that it was partially underwater in full view of the carp and within seconds a carp took the bait like it hasn't eaten for months!! Once hooked the carp turned and dived into the thick week, fortunately for me this meant that the carp didn't know where it was going and I literally dragged in a sack of potatoes.

My 27lb 4oz Common Carp from Wapsy's Lake

Once in the net I removed what must have been about 10kg of weed to reveal a huge dark common carp which looked like it had never been caught. Although a shade under my PB, the fact that I caught it from Wapsy's was a huge achievement amongst my carp fishing friends. I felt that they finally took my tactis seriously once I caught that beauty! 

In fourth place is another Crucian Carp of 3lb 2oz from Johnsons Lake, again from the Godalming Angling Society, home of the UK Crucian Carp Record. This was definatley a case of third time lucky as my first two sessions on the lake resulted in blanks. As a new member on a new lake it is always nice to catch your first fish and a Crucian Carp over 3lb is a quality fish in anyone's books and like Wapsy's Lake it can be "very moody" as the regulars put it.

A 3lb 2oz Johnsons Crucian

Finally my fifth choice is a toss up between my Bream PB of 6lb 4oz or my Perch PB of 1lb 10oz. Given that I specifically was targetting the large Perch I am puttting the Perch above the Bream. Up until now I have never seriously fished for Perch and after a couple of sessions with float fished prawns and catching a few around the 1lb mark again on Broadwater Lake I decided to fish a relatively unfished part of the lake. Despite the carp moving onto the bait I did manage to catch one Perch and when it's a PB one is all you need. Following my success with Perch I hope to try some drop shotting for the first time. Stay tuned to see how that goes!

Until my next blog, Tight Lines eveybody for 2017!

2015 is now a memory and we are firmly into 2016. Over the past few weeks I have been out a number of times, mainly pike fishing with the odd trip to the river searching for chub. In all cases I had blanked, the reason I put it down to was a heavy frost the day before. The venues I visited are quite shallow so when the temperature drops sufficently it can effect the fish greatly.

Keeping an eye on the weather I was pleased to see that this week was milder than the previous few weeks, so it was off to Stoke Place lake to where I had success in the milder conditions during November last year. Armed also with my underwater camera I cast out two deadbaits as well as the camera. Around the camera I sprinkled a few casters in the hope I could get the bait fish feeding and in turn attract the attention of the pike. 

Casters sprinkled over the lake bed

For a few hours not a single fish was seen on the monitor, nor had I had any action on the deadbaits, one roach, the other mackerel.  At two o clock I saw the underside of a pike cruise past the camera, most probrably because the camera is coloured like that of a Perch to help it blend in. The camera was about two feet from the surface, pointing 45 degrees down to the bottom of the lake. With both deadbaits about six inches off the bottom I decided to recast them out having reduced the depth they were at.  Half an hour later another or the same pike was curious and nudged the camera for a closer look. I brought in my two rods and cast them either side of the camera, 15 minutes later and again a pike could be seen on the monitor, surely it was only a matter of time before it went for one of my deadbaits. 

My deadbait Roach suspended a few inches from the bottom

A few minutes later and one of the floats bobbed, then bobbed again, At first I thought it was a big perch that took the bait as the pike bung barely moved. I picked up the rod and started to wind in the slack line. Once the line was tight, the float was still bobbing without going under. I decided to give a little pull and felt something solid on the end of the line. With the water as clear as it was I could see the pike on the bottom within the margins and half the roach hanging outside of it's mouth. I lifted my rod and the pike swirled, the roach falling from it's mouth but the hook was secure in the corner of the pike's jaw. 

A Pike takes an interest in the camera

A good fight ensued, the best fight I have ever had from a Pike to be honest and I was delighted once it finally glided over and into my landing net. Fortunately I was able to unhook the fish while it was still in the landing net before lifting it onto the unhooking mat. Wow what a weight it felt lifting that out of the water, remeniscent of the 28lb Common Carp that I caught last year. Although not much longer than the 17lb Pike I caught in November it was by far deeper in body, straight away I knew it was a PB as well as a 20lb+ fish.  

I zero'd the scales with the weighing sling before lifting the pike into the sling. The needle went round a few times on my Avon scales and read 29lb 10oz. I was stunned, however when I took the sling off the scales the needle didn't return to the 0 as it shaould have done. I weighed again, this time at 24lb 5oz, my scales were clearly not working properly. I phone my dad and told him what I had caught and to bring a set of fishing scales. I place the pike back into the landing net and the fish lay as good as gold as she recovered from the ordeal. As my landing net was snow out of action I retrieved the other rod. A few minutes later another pike became curious of the camera. 

About 30 minutes later my father turned up with a set of luggage scales that measured in 5lbs. I wasn't over the moon I can tell you and even less when the needle danced between 20 and 25lb. I settled for 22lb but it could have been more. First thing on my shopping list will be to get another set of scales! It is surprising how much not knowing the true weight of a PB can dampen the day.  Of all the pike I have caught recently all have been on Roach deadbaits, the sea deadbaits have not had a single touch. All the Pike have been caught between 11am and 4pm. All Pik have been caught in mild conditions. With every visit I seem to be gathering more knowledge Pike at Stoke Lake and can't wait for the next mild spell.

Until then, Tight Lines!! 

So here I sit looking back on what has been a fantastic season of fishing for me with no less that seven PBs. If I was to choose a particular highlight it would be my trip to Tanyard Fisheries, something I had planned to do for a couple of years and when circumstances allowed me to go Tanyard didn't disappoint. I'll be definately going back again in late Spring/early Summer. Another pleasing addition for 2015 was another angler who submitted his photos. It was also great that he belongs to the same syndicate as me and I'm sure he feels the same as me in that we have both benefitted from each other's knowledge. 

If I were to choose my top five catches of the season it would certainly start of with my 28lb Common Carp. Having caught a number of 19lbers the 20lb mark seemed close but oh so far away so to break it so convincingly felt like a huge achievement. It also felt like two fingers up to the carp anglers who sneered at my stalking tactics and even said I wasn't a carp angler because I didn't have a bivvy! For the record I am not a Carp angler, but consider myself as a good all rounder, although admittingly my fly fishing needs a lot of work! 

Close behind that would be my 17lb 9oz Pike. For the last 30+ years my Pike PB stood at a misely 4lb 14oz so to break it 5 times in one year was something I felt all those hours on those cold days finally deserved. Better still was to catch the biggest fish in the presence of my father, I'm sure he even felt a lot of pride when that slid over the net. 

In third place I'm not going for size, but beauty and rarity. When I first set up the Rod Race League it was with the intention of catching fish one would not normally come across or indeed fish for. Although not of Specimen size, when I first set eyes on my Pumpkinseed Fish it was love at first sight. Although not a native species I am surprised that there are not more waters that stock them, especially given the amount of waters that now stock "ornamentals" such as Koi, Ghosts, Orfes and Golden Tench. 

In Fourth was another species I had not caught until my visit to Furnace Fisheries last year. Last year I hooked into a huge eel on the River Colne in Stanwell but lost it at the net, I'm guessing it was as long as my leg. Despite specifically fishing for eels for a few sessions after I never hooked into any since. That was until I was pleasure fishing at Furnace, where I hooked into an eel on luncheon meat. Although not as big it certainly took away the regret of losing the one that got away.

Although coming in fifth, but by no means less pleasurable was a capture of a Mirror Carp. Like most anglers, especially carp anglers I take plenty of photos and when I landed this particular Mirror I recognised a strange red "birthmark" on the side of the fish. When home I realised it was the very same fish I caught the year before. In fact I have caught two Mirror Carp in 2015 that I also caught in 2014. In all cases it was floating bread crust while stalking in the margins between the hours of 18:30 to 20:00. She has multiple clusters of three scales so I have named her "Clover" 

"Clover" caught in 2015 at 18lb 4oz

"Clover" caught in 2014 at 17lb 6oz

So, what does 2016 hold? Well I have brought two underwater video cameras so I hope to share some great footage of what goes on beneath the surface. One species that has still avoided my capture is the Barbel so I'm hoping to put in some time catching my first Barbel. Although I've broken the 20lb barrier my biggest Mirror is still 19lb so a 20lb+ Mirror is also a target. 

Tight Lines to everyone in 2016! 

Hiya!

It has been a while since my last blog and with the Pike season upon us I felt it was high time to tell you about another PB that was broken, in fact it was broken twice in 2 hours! Having been to Stoke Place last week for a spot of spinning for Perch I ended up catch a Pike of 8lb 13oz and losing another four pike, I decided it was time to go back with heavier tackle to try ro make up for those I lost last week.

I noticed that the bronze coloured lures brought more attention from the pike, most probably down to the fact that the lake has a large rudd population so I used roach deadbaits that contained an orange dye in them. Instead of spinning I decided to have one deadbait fished on the bottom using the ledger method and another suspended midwater under a pike bung. 

Every 20 minutes I recast the pike bung around the edges of the lily pads from where they ambushed my lures the week before, but it was when I cast a bit further out that the bung first disappeared from view. With line running from the spool I pulled into and felt my first pike. A few swirls and a leap in front of me showed me that it was well over a double. Soon after a frantic few minutes the Pike was resting in my landing net, all 15lb 10oz! 

Last year my Pike PB was 4lb 14oz. Having beaten that in January with a 7lb fish from Colnbrook, and then again with the fish I caught last week I had beat my PB a third time in one year, that was soon to change to a fourth time as, while joined by my parents to see how I was getting on witnessed my ledger rod tip pull round. I struck and before I knew it the Pike had shot 2 swims down the lake through a set of Lily pads. Fortunately she came back through the pads without any trouble and again after an explosive start the Pike gave up and happily drifted into my landing net. 

My 17lb 9oz PB

Later in the day I had a small Jack Pike of around 3lb, but who cares after beating a PB in such a way. I called it a day and looked forward to my new venture. I have brought myself an underwater video camera and can't wait to use it and see what goes on beneath the surface. Soon I hope to show you some amazing footage, until then........

Tight Lines everybody!

When I first started the Rod Race League last year it was with the idea that I (and like minded people) would fish for hard to find species other than those found in their local waters, and few fish are harder to find than the Pumpkinseed Fish. After not finding many venues on the internet I guessed where better to fish than the home of the British record, Tanyard Fisheries in East Sussex, just outside Danehill. That led me to watching a Carl & Alex video which in turn led me to watching many more of their videos and now like many other people I'm sure I have become a big fan of theirs. 

Watching these two lads fish to me is a breath of fresh air to angling, they don't go on about whose baits or equipment to use, in fact I have never heard them mention anyone, unlike some of the other fishing videos that seem to spend as much time advertising products than talking about the venue or fishing itself. What is evident is how much they enjoy the sport and the challenges within.

So 18 months later I finally arrived at Tanyards Fisheries on a misty Friday morning after dropping my wife off at Gatwick. I had a couple of days all to myself....bliss! I had spoken to the Fishery manager, Chris via e-mail who told me that the best pool to fish for Pumpkinseed Fish was Course Pool 1. Tanyards Fisheries has 7 Lakes from a third of an acre pool to large lakes holding big Carp and even bigger Catfish. A few of the lakes also hold Grass Carp, Koi Carp, Ghost Carp and Goldfish so my plan was to fish the small pond for the Pumpkinseed Fish and then move onto one of the other lakes until early evening before moving to one of the larger lakes to stalk a Carp or two before nightfall. 

My chosen swim for the Pumpkinseed Fish

Having googled the Pumpkinseed Fish I knew that they like to hang around in the margins especially with weedy cover. The first swim I came to was just that although when I plumbed the depth it was only 18 inches deep. That had never stopped me from catching big fish in shallow waters in the past so I threw a few maggots into my chosen swim as I made up my rods. My first cast and few minutes later my float bobbed a bit before running towards the reeds. I struck into what was a weird fight reminescent of an eel I caught and unbelievably I caught my target fish on the first cast! Although small it was certainly a beautiful fish. 

My first ever Pumpkinseed Fish!

Despite the small pool being described as a novice pond it does hold some quality fish, especially Crucian Carp, Roach and Rudd with a few good Tench as well, not to mention a few pretty Mirror Carp and stocky Commons. Although the maggots were catching with every cast, it was the sweetcorn that was catching the better quality fish. I can't remember the last time I caught Roach and Rudd of over half a pound on a regular basis. 

All the fish were of a fantastic quality.

Having been up since 4am I was keen to get some breakfast in me from the onsite cafe which opened at 9am. With half an hour to go I moved back onto the maggots in search of another, bigger Pumpkinseed. After catching a few small Roach, Rudd and Perch I finally caught another Pumpkinseed Fish, this time slightly bigger and with more vibrant colours than the first, perhaps a different sex from the first one?

A fish like no other!

After my welcome breakfast I wondered if the day could get any better. I pondered my next target, both Lakes 2 and 3 were fairly busy being close to the weekend so I took a look at the non carp pool which is said to hold Tench and Bream to 8lb, Roach and Rudd to an impressive 2lb and Koi Carp and Goldfish to 6lb. Perch were also stocked in the lake up to 4lb. At the time I hadn't had much luck this season regarding Tench or Bream and with only one other angler on the lake, who had already caught a few Tench I decided to find a quiet corner and fish a waggler close to some reeds and a leger towards an island. 

The Lake Manager, Chris came round taking tickets on the bank. His attitude towards the pleasure angler was most welcoming. Too many times I have come across bailiffs who talk down to those who are not classed as Carp Anglers, as if they were a species far superior, but at Tanyards I felt that everyone was treated with the same respect and that welcoming attitude was mirrored by the other anglers around the lake. As my first time there I walked around all the lakes and each and every person was polite and cheerful. Basically everyone was there to enjoy themselves and they were! 

It was also evident of the care that had been taken and the work involved to keep the complex looking as beautiful as it was. Set in the East Sussex Countyside I felt miles away from everyday life and in my own little world with mother nature to keep me company. My date with mother nature was soon disturbed with the disappearance of my float and a decent sized Bream was soon in the net of around 3lb. In fact my float rod got rather busy catching around 40 Bream all 3 to 4lb not to mention some decent Roach and Rudd and the occasional Crucian all on sweetcorn. 

The Bream were getting bigger as the day went on.

My ledger was not to be outdone as I had a few runs on my hair rigged crab pellet resulting in the odd Bream but mainly Tench, again up to 4lb in weight and all a good quality considering how heavily the lake must get fished. A Credit again to the management at Tanyards and those that fish there. 

One of many Tench

Something that I also took joy from as did a couple of other anglers that moved in down the same bank as me was the two kingfishers that were diving into the water in search of fish from an overhanging tree on the central island in front of me. On occasion one would even sit on the end of my fishing rod, although not long enough for me to get a photo of it. For once I had a better day's fishing than the birds!!

If I can find one fault with the complex it has to be that the gates lock up at 19:15 which as many anglers will know is sometimes the best time to fish as the night draws in. My plan was to sleep in the car so after everyone from Course Lake 3 left on moved on with my stalking rod to see if I could take a carp or two off the surface. I actually had 6 carp by 9pm, the biggest of which was a Common Carp of 9-10lb

With aching limbs from sleeping in the car I ventured out a 04:30 and had a wander around. The Carp were not on the surface as they were the previous moring so I decided to fish a quiet corner on Course Lake 2 in the hope of a Grass, Koi or Ghost Carp, or maybe a Catfish. The corner I chose was only 18inches deep but as before the fish were there to be caught. Although the lake stocked a bigger stamp of fish I was only catching Bream of around 2lb and the odd 8oz Carp. My legered Polish Sausage was giving the odd bleep and everytime I brought the rod in it seemed to be snagged. The answer soon became clear as I eventually brought it what I first thought was a small branch but turned out to be a large Crayfish, and I'm not joking when I say large either, it was a big as my hand! 

Unlike my time on the River Kennet the Crayfish were not a nuisance and I could only think that the Catfish must certainly eat well. 

Knowing that the gate was closing and that I had a long drive home I decided to make a move at 18:30. This mean't that I had a couple of hours left so decided to finish where I started, back on the small pond in search of a bigger Pumpkinseed. Unlike the previous time they never showed but I did catch some very nice Crucians and Rudd.

The mature Gunneras and other plants made this one of the most beautiful fisheries I had ever been to.

One of many Crucians

Tanyard also stocks some of the best Rudd I have ever seen.

Having had the best days fishing that I can remember I took the long drive home content in the knowledge that I will be back again one day. Once home I was soon telling my father about Tanyard and two days later we were both back at Tanyards, unfotunately so was the rain, although not heavy it was enough to put the Tench and Rudd of their feed. The Bream however were still feeding and my father had Bream up to 5lb on Luncheon Meat. He too fell in love with Tanyards and our next visit will be a night fishing venture in the not too distant future. 

Thank-you Chris and Tanyards for a wonderful few days fishing!

Every Year I try to plan a visit to somewhere special, whether it be Anglers Paradise, Tanyard Fisheries or in this case thr River Colne in Denham, Buckinghamshire. To me it is special as it it where I caught my first every chub, at 5lb 2oz no less, as well as my PB chub and as far as I'm aware a record for the Colne at 6lb 12oz, maybe for the Boyer stretch as least!

As I mentioned before I was a bailiff for Boyer's 20 odd years ago and came to know what was then known as the Dog and Duck stretch of the Colne  as it was situated behind the Dog and Duck pub. The Pub, like so many is now a restaurant, changing hands and cuisine every couple of years. Back then it was not unusual to catch 20 - 30 3lb chub in one day as well as all the other species. There were numerous reports of large Chub, Barbel, Bream and Pike as well as the odd Tench and even trout. 

After all these years I had never found a stretch of river like it and had been looking forward to fishing it again ever since my permit had arrived. I had heard rumours that the Cormorants had decimanted the stretch and the fish stocks had been seriouly depleted. Living nearby I had noticed how few cars were parked in the Boyer Car Park, none the less I wanted to give it a go hoping I could prove people wrong. 

Sadly my first walk along the river hinted that my colleagues were right. All I had seen were two Bream, although of a decent size and a solitary chub of a couple of pound. I had thrown in some small pieces of bread but nothing touched my floating loose feed, where were all the shoals of Dace that once would have turned the water into a feeding frenzy? Also of the dozen or so swims only a couple were actually fishable. The once popular willow swim, once home to large Barbel was amass with thick weed with a small channel clear on the far bank, any fish hooked would have to be guided through 50 feet of thick weed. My heart sank at how a river could change so much.  

The Willow Swim, Beautiful but for now avoided. 

A few weeks ago I decided to try the river on the chance that a second look might show something more positive. I did see four decent chub in the swim where my first Chub came from but sadly the swim was now unfishable due to the thick weed and maturing trees and plants linning the river. On that day I only caught two Perch, accepting defeat I was going to wait until later in the year when the weed and undergrowth may have died down. That was until I received a phone call from Boyers saying that the top half of the river was being re-opened. 

Where once was the swim of my first ever Chub

I needed no more incentive, that afternoon I was on the meadow looking at the top half of the River Colne, a stretch that I had never fished even back when I was a bailiff for Boyers. There was a lot less weed and some of the glides looked deep and inviting, the Colne still had it's charm, question is were there any fish? I walked the river a few times and all I saw was a solitary chub, however I did meet some fellow anglers who told me that they had never caught a Chub from the meadow stretch, not what I wanted to hear, however they did have a lot of joy with Barbel. That certainly softened the blow! I also spoke with another man who had just recently caught a 2lb+ Perch on the spinner as well as a 13lb Barbel from the bottom stretch, he again mentioned that he had success with Barbel but only at night. He also said that he had never caught any Chub but the river was full of Perch and Pike.

With a new found optimism I fished the Colne, my plan was to trott maggots using my centerpin from upstream and work my way down stream making note of different glides, holes, overhangs etc and in places drop a few pieces of smoked polish sausage as pre-bait for later. The first swim was weedy and narrow. I through some maggots into the water watching them in the clear water but nothing took interest. I moved down to what had already become my favourite looking swim, this time the maggots we seen zig zagging under water as fish were chomping on the offerings. My first cast and I guess to be expected, my first Perch! 

Small, but still pretty!

In fact the Perch were coming with every cast. I even swapped the float for a small bomb in the hope I could catch something else. As I was trotting with a quivertip rod it is easy for me to be mobile and still change tactics. It wasn't long before the quiver signalled a bite and another Perch. I was hitting as many bites on the quivertip so went back to trotting and as hoped I was back in...to more Perch. I was begining to think that Perch were the only species until something smaller took my next cast. A plump Minnow took my double maggot which just so happened to be a PB at 6g as  my digital kitchen scales show. 

Despite the shoal of Perch in front of me another shoal had moved in, for a time I went back to my childhood catching Minnows, some of which were stunning.

I moved downstream in the hope of something bigger but all I caught was Perch, albeit a little bigger. The heavens opened up and the battery in my kitchen scales died. I decided to call it a day, pleased that I had had a succesful day and learn't a few things about what was a new venue for me. Knowing that I was soon to go to Tanyard Fisheries it was time to watch a few Carl & Alex videos to get some tips! I look forward to telling you all about it soon! 

My productive swim.

Traditionally this venue has been my first venture of the season but a change of tactics and other outside factors meant that I wasn't to fish this small pond until later in the year. To be honest the only reason why I pay this pond a visit is because it is stocked with Wild Carp as well as small Roach and Perch. Before I go any further I must congratulate Intertype AS work party for the work they had carried out making the swims more accesable and level to fish from. 

I specifically chose a swim that was big enough to hold my rod pod as I was still curious if there were other species in the lake and placed a ledgered crab pellet into the middle of the pond with a small PVA bag with pellets and broken fishmeal boillies. I saw some small Wildies mulling around some nearby weeds and decided to place a float nearby with a sweetcorn 10 inches below the surface, almost instantly I was into my first fish of the day, a small roach.  

I continued to fish the same spot having a bite a cast and later plumbed the depth.....just under 12 inches! I've caught many fish in shallow water before but never so consistently over a length of time. As well as the Roach I also has a small Crucian and a Bream. The Crucian came as a pleasant surprise to be as I had never caught one from this pond before and up until now had never heard of anyone else catching one either. It also meant that I could chalk another fish of the list for the Rod Race Challenge! 

A chunky little Crucian

Over the course of time I was doing my normal tatctic of feeding pieces of bread along the margins and it wasn't long before the larger Carp took interest in what the smaller Carp had been feeding on. I brought in the ledger which had remained dormant all day and flicked out my freelined bread, within minutes a small Wildie took the bait and after a spirited fight was in my net. The Carp was only about 2lb but shaped like a torpedo, it was easy to see how they power across the water with such vigour! 

Long Lean Fighting Machine! 

I caught about a dozen more Wildies of around the same size before another piece of bread was taken, this time the fight felt different and a Common Carp of 5lb 12oz graced my net. My first non Wildie from this pond. Join me next week where I fish the nearby Hitchum Doughnut Pond in search of Tench.

How have you all been since I last spoke? Sorry it's been so long but I have not long finished my year in college, results due in August! Now that I have got some free time I have finally been back lakeside and thinking about what I can do new for this season. For the last couple of years I have spent most of my time on Colnbrook Front Lake, however of the 20 to 30 swims I have only fished from 5 or 6. So there was my new challenge, the Colnbrook Challenge, my mission to catch a double figure carp from each of the swims available. I say available as after the storms last year a couple of the swims are now occupied by fallen trees that have yet to be cleared. Who knows maybe I could uncover a new fish holding spot not yet known to me?  Incidently the picture you see on the top of the webpage is of Colnbrook Front Lake last season. 

Aerial view of Colnbrook Lake (courtesy of googlemaps)

So last week and eager to get started I made off to Colnbrook. My intial plan was to start near a corner so I could feed an area that was accesable from a number of swims, cheating or common sense you decide! The ledger didn't make a sound and all I had to show for my waggler was a roach and perch, it was like my childhood all over again! I packed up my gear and started walking the lake with my stalking rod and landing net (and unhooking mat of course) and went back to the same corner where I had been placing pieces of bread along the weeded margins. I noticed a few had gone so placed a few more pieces in and it wasn't long before I heard the tell tale slurping of a couple of carp. On my first cast I had banked a common of around 7lb. Not a double but my first carp of the season. 

My first Carp at around 7lb

As the carp were a bit slow in feeding, maybe due to cold wind that blew that day I moved swim rather than pursue a bigger carp from the same swim. As I normally do when the lake is all mine I feed three swims and wait in the middle one for the fish to reveal themselves. I had heard a few swirls coming from under an overhanging tree and loose fed a couple of pieces of bread, soon after they were disappearing. I delicately placed by bait over a twig that would hold my bait in position as I didn't want the bait drfiting too deep under the branches. A few ripples told me that a carp had surfaced under the branches, a pair of lips came up and took my last freebie before seeking out more food. It's search led it out of the safety of the branches and towards my bait. Without hesitation it swallowed my bait and with a tight line I was able to guide it out into open water before the carp could turn it's head and return to the safety of the snags. After a few minutes I had banked a larger Common, this time only around 9lb........Maybe I should have taken my friend's advice and tried to catch a carp from each swim rather than a double! Still, what's a challenge if it's too easy?

On the other side of the Overhanging trees was a tight swim but one I had lots of success from, especially the larger carp. Although I had fed a few pieces of bread into the trees it was the other reed lined side of the swim that showed signs of movement. I stepped away from the bank a dropped a couple of pieces just a couple of inches from where I had been standing, margin fishing taken to extremes!!! A couple of slurps later and I dropped my bait in by hand. I couldn't see my bait as I was kneeling away from the bank put paid close attention to my line drooping off the bank. a slurp followed by the straightening of my line let me know I was in, this time I knew it was a bigger carp, all I had to do was land it.  A noticably harder fight was rewarded by a 13lb Common Carp, my first double figure, chalk off swim 21 from the challenge!

My Common Carp from swim 21.

As well as the Colnbrook Challenge my rod race had also started off slow with only three species on my first outing, still my solitary Perch was a Venue Best

although it still has some way to go before it reaches the size of Perch I do know reside in this lake. Until next time........ Tight Lines everyone!

So Rod Race League 2014 has finished and made way for Rod Race League 2015. Looking back at my first year I have to be pleased with myself in putting together this website, especially as I consider myself to be a non computer person. Of course I would have liked a few more people to have joined in a shared with me (us) their catches, however in a way it has been some kind of blessing as the first year is all about trial and error so not being snowed down hasn't been too much of a disappointment. 

One thing that did amaze me is the amount of people who visited my website, 3980 different people who visited over 11,500 times throughout 2014 and to prove that fishing is a global sport in January 2015 this website was visited by people in 41 different countries. Apparently the Rod Race League is gaining popularity in Eastern Europe. 

With this in mind I feel that I need to set myself more targets and visit new places to keep the interest going and of course a handdful of other fishermen (or women) sharing their catches would be most welcome.

My first target was one that I have had my eye on now for 30 years, ever since my PB Pike caught at Hilgay Fen of only 4lb 14oz. I have caught many pike since then but amazing none have bettered my then PB. The last couple of years I experimented with different deadbaits, this time I decided to try lures and spinners. With the cold weather setting in it only takes a few casts to keep warmed up!

My first visit was Stoke Place Lake, a pretty lily covered lake in Summer but it was the numerous pike I had heard about that I was after. The biggest was only in it's mid teens but when your PB is just shy of 5lb even a double figure Pike is a big enough draw. So there I was, lake all to myself with the water gin clear. Of all the pike I have caught, I have never caught a pike while using a wire trace. Maybe the clarity of the water gave it away as I could easily see it 30 feet from me as I reeled the spinner in. Alas, not even a knock. 

Stoke Place, plenty or holding spots but no takers.

A couple of weeks later and after a spell of rain I went to Colnbrook Front Lake. I also spoke with a couple of work colleagues about their favourite lures, one of which mentioned the Mepps no. 5. Back in my childhood days Mepps was probably the best known lure company and as a traditionalist I went straight onto e-bay and ordered a couple, one silver the other bronze. 

Unlike the gloomy day at Stoke Place, Colnbrook was bathed in sunshine although a cold breeze was making it feel bitter. What I did notice was that the previous rain had coloured the water, raising my confidence regarding the visability of the trace.

Colnbrook Front Lake

The plan of action was to circle the lake with one lure, change the lure on the second lap and so on. I cast out at various angles, some along the bank, other times out into the lake at various depths. Although not having any joy with the first half of the lake I was not disappointed. Over the summer months where I had been roach fishing it was the far bank where I had trouble with the odd awaiting pike. I arrived to the swim where last year I had seen a 3lb+ perch, unfortunately someone was carp fishing there without any joy. 

My next swim was one that held four of my PBs, Common Carp, Tench, Mirror Carp and Koi Carp. I also lost the odd roach to pike in the summer so I was very hopeful that if anywhere was going to produce this would be it. I cast out along a large lily pad and let the lure drop mid water and started to retrieve the lure. When the lure was about 15 feet from the back I started seeing flashes of the lure as it came towards me, suddenly the falshing stopped and I felt the pull on the rod before it registered with me that I had a take! 

Delighted that I had hooked a Pike I almost forgot that I still had to bring it in, fortunately it wasn't too far out and a spirited fight from the Pike soon ended in my landing net. Looking down at the Pike I knew that my longest standing PB had finally been beaten. From 4lb 14oz to 7lb 1oz still is not a big pike by most people's standards but nonetheless sometimes fishing is about the journey we go on in order to catch our quarry and there's no doubt I certainly took the scenic route to get there!

My new 7lb 1oz PB Pike.