A Sweet Reunification!

After having a car boot slammed on my favourite feeder rod, it certainly delayed doing some of my favourite roving sessions for the chub... After a fair bit of 'googling' and searching on eBay, to my delight, I was lucky enough to acquire another!

I have been in contact with Duncan Charman pretty regularly of late and after pencilling a day, he kindly offered to take me out for a morning after some rather large and elusive chub. With the lack of rain in the South in the last few weeks, I certainly expected the fish to be pretty lethargic. As expected, the river was low and in desperate need of a flush through. Therefore, Duncan and I thought that we should visit the 'banker' areas first, before moving around to cover the stretch. Duncan opted to fish a small cage feeder, whilst I opted to fish the link leger, both using generous helpings of breadflake as our hookbait. On the first swim where I had my highest hopes for a bite, not a single touch was to be had. We then agreed to try an area which is renowned for doing some large residents a little way below. After flicking my bait into a nice little run, it was promising to get a few shimmers on the rod tip pretty instantly. Could it be silver fish or perhaps a wily chub inspecting the bait? I kept my hand close to the rod and within minutes, a jaggedy pull on the tip triggered a strike. I hooked into a good fish which instantly dug deep. In typical chub style it really plodded about and made some quite hairy surges for the snags, but with Duncan kindly on hand with the net, the first fish of the day was landed!

5lb 3oz

It was a great way to christen the new rod and hopefully the first of a few chunky specimens yet! The fish weighed in at a lovely 5lb 3oz, which certainly was a lovely result for my first time out for a while. Duncan quickly took some lovely shots, before I released the chub back to its watery home. Although Duncan had the odd indication on the tip, this was the only fish to be had of the morning. It was great to get back out on flowing water, and I have to thank Duncan now for getting me out again!

Having gotten my motivation back, I headed to another waterway that I knew was also capable of some rather large and elusive culprits. Again, the river in front of me was low and in desperate need of some water. Having rotated a few swims on the link leger, with little to show for my efforts apart from a couple of modest chub, I made my way to a new area. As the mist thickened and the light started to fade, I parked myself in one particular spot which looked perfect for a chub or two. Out of the blue, I suddenly saw some disturbance on the surface with two carp coming into view, cruising near the surface before dropping down towards where my bait was... My quiver tip slowly tweaked in a steady motion, before I hastily decided to strike. The surface erupted and I saw the head of a good common, before getting the feeder rod low and started to play it as my tiny little reel started to sing as line whizzed of the spool. It is fair to say that the fight was pretty sluggish, but with various snags and the common using its body mass to its advantage it was going to take a while to tire. After what felt like many excrutiating minutes, I managed to finally guide the carp into the net, before punching the air with sheer delight!

12lb River Common

The colours on the fish were absolutely stunning and it was such a fantastic way to end what was a very frustrating day on the chub front. At 12lbs on the nose, it was a wonderful result as it is my best river carp so far and what a way to have caught it on the feeder rod! It is undoubtedly one of the nicest looking commons I have ever caught, if not the nicest!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas and wish you all a happy new year!

Tight Lines,

Tom

November Update: Roach and Grayling

Stunning Little Redfin

One particular trip which was thoroughly enjoyable from these past couple of months was an afternoon spent with fellow river enthusiast, Harry Redsull, on the banks of an intimate Southern Chalkstream. Having briefly chatted the day before, I decided to take a feeder rod as my attack for some of the elusive roach we had talked about, whilst Harry opted for some trotting gear. Within minutes, we had located a few shoals and armed with some fluffy white bread, I crumpled up some crusts and watched their reaction... They were up for a feed! It was great to spend an afternoon with someone who had the same level of enthusiasm for this quarry and it was a bonus to land some lovely fish between us to just over the pound mark. I look forward to catching up for another trip soon!

A pretty roach which enjoyed a 'pinch' of bread in the clear water!

It took me weeks after this to get out again, but after receiving a kind invite from Duncan Charman to fish another scenic Southern Chalkstream, I decided to have a rest from my essays. The target this time was the lady of the stream. Although this day was tough, we managed quite a few fish between us, with Duncan's 2lb grayling and 8lb 2oz trout being the best fish of the day. It was nice to be able to dust off the centrepin and the float rod for the first time in a while and land a few hard fighting grayling to top off the idyllic surroundings.

Tight Lines,

Tom

8lb 2oz Trout and 2lb 3oz Grayling!

Small River Pike Fishing

After talking about sorting a river pike fishing session with my friend Oscar Bates for some time, I suggested that a roving trip on a particular tributary would be the best call for a catchup and the chance of a nice fish or two. On arrival at the small waterway, we could see the river bed in many areas suggesting that the water was very low and gin clear. We certainly knew that our work would be cut out to get a few takes. After acquiring a few baits to lip-hook, we started slowly roving our way through. On the second swim Oscar had a take and had hooked into a good perch, which was soon landed. My bait was left in the water and I then saw my float sail off. We must have found a pack of decent perch! Oscar's plumper fish weighed a little under 2lbs at 1lb 11oz and mine went 1lb 8oz.

A pair of beautiful River Perch!

Later on in, the session took a different turn when there was an accident involving my favourite feeder rod when we headed back to the car for lunch. Henceforth, we decided to leave all the excess feeder gear in the car and headed back out with a lot more roving flexibility. In the process of Oscar catching a few more small baits on his lure rod, we suddenly saw a pike come and flash at a particular perch Oscar hooked. Hoping we hadn't spooked it, I casted my float out and waited. Sure enough as the bait steadily settled into a steadier area within the swim, it slowly sailed under. I waited as I was only using a single hook on the trace before winding down. I had connected with the first pike of the day. It was only a 'Jack' pike but it certainly gave a great account of itself and displayed some fine colours.

A lovely streamlined River Pike!

Oscar and I were both overjoyed that we had managed to break the deadlock and roved on with a spring in our step. After covering a fair bit of water, we had now roved the entire stretch. Just as we were thinking of retracing our steps, Oscar sighted a decent pike sitting in a slack really tucked away. With the swim being an awkward one to get to, Oscar scrambled down with his rod and managed to beautifully cast the bait towards the fish. Just as the pike was looking at it, Oscar's bait mysteriously disappeared. We were both quite confused until I got a better view of what was going on and saw another pike was moving the bait in its jaws. Oscar struck and hooked into the pike, but as he was doing so the larger fish came into view and was either eying up the smaller pike or investigating the commotion. I couldn't resist to have a cast, considering the fish had moved into a perfect position to cast to. As soon as my bait settled into the water I saw the pike absolutely devour the bait with its whole jaw structure committed to engulfing the whole thing. Without any further hesitation I struck and we were in this bizarre scenario of having two feisty pike on at the same time! Oscar quickly landed his which was a nice Jack of a similar stamp to the one we had just caught, before kindly giving me a hand with the turbo-charged culprit I had hooked into, confidently chinning it after what had been a series of serious sprints!

A cracking small stream pike!

We quickly took this quick shot and released the stunner back to swim back to sulk at her snaggy home. All in all, it was an enjoyable session on the river with thanks going to Oscar for being great company throughout the day.

Tight Lines,

Tom

First time Piking in a while!

A tiny carp from a recent session on the river

With the rivers having been low and clear of late, the past few trips on flowing water have been far from straight forward. I was in actually sorting this blog out the other day and had a good look at what I had published since starting this little site. It is evident from the last couple of years or so that I have certainly neglected my perch and pike fishing in general, so I knew now was as good as time as any to go and do some pike fishing with the season having started. As I had only a few baits in the freezer, the session was always going to be a short recce which I didn't mind with limited time anyway.

After getting some work done, I decided to head straight for the lake. The morning had been rather chilly and I knew with the bright sunlight making an appearance that the pike could well be in a sluggish mood. On arrival at the lake, the largest lake looked the most attractive for the first cast. This was due to the fact that it was too quiet and I knew that breaking this silence with a deadbait offering could go down a treat. Having seen a strange swirl in a nice bay, as well as the wind blowing into it looked far too good to wander off elsewhere. Excitedly, I casted out a sardine offering to a more shaded part of the bay and started to tighten up my line to set the float. After the float had cocked and was set, I was pretty confused when my float suddenly seemed to have fallen flat. I tightened again, but noticed my float was moving unnaturally. I picked up the rod and realised that something had picked the bait up. After a second or two, I decided to wind down and strike. I connected to a good fish which made a prompt dive for the lillies on realisation that this was not one free sardine meal! Some vigorous charges towards the cover followed and luckily I managed to get the pike under control and the fish thrashed furiously on the surface. As I started guided this prehistoric creature to the net, I knew that this fish was at least approaching double figures with the girth of its back and decent length about it. Once she was landed, I readied my photography kit and sling, whilst a well earned revival was carried out.

A nice low double to start the pike season!

As a result of striking early, a nice and quick unhooking procedure was to follow. The fish weighed in at 11lbs 13oz, which was a nice start to the official pike season and hopefully one of a few fish that will make an appearance in the coming months. This was to be the only fish of the session, but it was certainly nice to have got my first proper pike from this particular lake and to have had one when the sun was getting up. I look forward to getting back out for these fantastic creatures as soon as possible.

Tight Lines,

Tom

Roving for Barbel

Duncan with a spirited barbel, caught from his last swim of the day!

Last week, Duncan Charman and I headed to the river with our minds set on a barbel. We opted to rotate a few swims between us on the particular beat, with opportunistic roving tactics. Having limited hours to put this into practise, it all paid dividends when Duncan managed a hard-fighting and spirited young barbel in the final swim of the day. It clearly demonstrated that keeping on the move increased our chances, as Duncan had also lost a barbel and had various other enquiries on his rod tip throughout the course of the trip. For me, I had one 'bang' on the tip which could well have been a chub's inspection, but the main problem was that the crayfish were more of a domineering influence in the swims. This made 'dropping in' on the barbel somewhat difficult for me on this given day.

The time could not have come better for my next session, with quite a bit of rainfall and overcast conditions. The first swim I had chosen had all the characteristics of a good barbel swim with a nice and steady flow, forming a crease with slacker water and some nice cover. The bait I used was the same as that of my successful trip on the Wye, the West Country Slick Sense hardened hookers. On this occasion, I decided to wrap a bit of matching paste round the bait to increase the scent in coloured water. In the first swim, I lowered my hookbait towards the cover in the slightly pacier side of the flow. All that was to come of this cast was a greedy and rather large Signal Crayfish, although this did not put me off a recast. This time I decided to lower the bait into the crease within the swim. I had a good feeling about it, as I knew if a barbel was home, that a take would be on the cards pretty quick! Around 15 minutes in, right on queue, the line started to tighten before the rod rod steadily whacked round. I lifted into what felt like a rather sluggish fish at first. As I started to guide it upstream, it was then when it woke up. I kept the drag reasonably tight with the tight swim and held the fish as best as I could. When line started to be taken from the spool, I knew I had hooked a barbel. After some fantastic final lunges for freedom, I managed to safely net my first barbel from the river. Following some well earned minutes revival, I put the beautiful fish on the scales.

A lovely 6lb 9oz whisker!

The fish was slightly larger than I initially thought at 6lb 9oz, and was a well built fighting machine! Although this was to be the only fish of the session, it was a real joy to have landed one opportunistically and during the day. It is fair to say that I am certainly looking forward to getting back on the river and putting some time in in the witching hours! Thanks goes to Duncan for his introduction to approaching barbel during the day on this roving tactic.

Tight Lines,

Tom

Back on the Chub!

A lovely little channel for bringing natural food to the chub!

Having recently started a job, my fishing time has been a lot more limited over the tail end of this Summer. As a result of this, there have been only occasional opportunities to get out of town and do some fishing elsewhere. Last week, I met up with Mark Erdwin, who kindly guested me on a very scenic stretch of river. Although the conditions were not straight forward, it was really nice to get out, managing a couple of young chub and plenty of vividly coloured perch. Mark also had a great day, catching a lovely 1lb 3oz perch and a good chub as the light faded. Since then, with a bit of rain and the rivers getting a bit of a flush through, it was time to give a river I had not yet fished this season a try for some of its large residents. On arrival at the river, it was carrying a tinge of colour, but was still rather low. I decided though to give the section a good rove in the time frame I was given.

I started the day off using a decent helping of breadflake, casting it to a few good zones I had come to learn from previous trips on this stretch. There was no luck to be had, apart from one good hit in one of the steadier swims, which was certainly a sign that there were some good chub present that were willing to investigate. After trying a few more swims I arrived at a nice steady run which led to some nice tree cover. I gingerly crept into the swim and pinched on a nice fluffy piece of bread, guiding it gently into position tight under the branches. It was not long until I got a pluck before the tip aggressively pulled round. Hastily, I got the rod tip low and cupped the spool of my reel, knowing it was a proper hit and hold scenario. The fish made a dash towards another part of the overhangs and then wallowed beautifully on the surface, before I gently guided the fine flanked chub to the net. The fish was a scraper 3 pounder which was a nice start to the day, putting a real bend in the rod!

A stunning young chub (3lb)

I was certainly happy to have broken the deadlock, and as many of you readers will know, once you get that first fish you can start thinking of getting that second one with the wind being in your sails. I roved onwards, trying a few of the swims I had tried on this stretch previously, coupled with a few new swims I liked the look of. In one of the spots, I had missed some finicky bites in the past and was determined to connect with one of the wary culprits. Out of the blue, the rod tip whacked over and I struck. A fish splashed on the surface before throwing the hook. I was pretty sure that I had connected with one of the trout, as it was no distinctive surge like that of a chub. After dropping in on a couple of other areas heading back to the car, a lovely snaggy swim caught my eye. The access was not brilliant, but in the event of hooking a fish, I did visualise a plan of landing one. I pinched on another piece of bread and flicked it tightly towards the snags. It was no surprise when I got my first tap, before the rod pulled right round. I struck and hurriedly got the rod nice and low. I felt the chub surge off and held it, depending on the forgiving action of my rod to absorb the power. I managed to get the fish under control, and get to a nice point in the swim to land it, this was a slightly better stamp of chub and it was nice to increase the day's tally.

Such fine colouration on that flank (3-14)

This chub was a lovely brassy one and at just under 4lbs (3lbs 14oz) I was pretty made up to have managed some nice sport on a short session. I did continue to fish until 4pm, but apart from the odd knock, no more fish were to be had for the day, but one thing's for sure, I am looking forward to heading back up for another session!

Tight Lines,

Tom

Chub Fishing on Lures

Gob of a predator!

Having spoken to my friend Mark Lindsay on various occasions about lure fishing for chub, we planned to venture out on one of our favourite little Southern rivers to have a crack at our grey-lipped opponents. I have caught chub on spinners, dry and wet flies, coupled with small softbaits, but was still yet to tempt one on a little hardbait. Mark, this season has had some great success on little plugs or crankbaits as they are known. Having picked up some little lures myself off the internet after previous discussions with Mark and reading a few pieces about chub on plugs, I was really looking forward to putting this method into practise.

The traffic was pretty horrendous on the way and having battled through it, I was eventually making my way to meet Mark on a nice section of the river which looked a perfect haunt to present the little lures. Mark was his usual confident self and it was not long until he had had a couple of attacks on his little crank bait. The given day was very bright and as expected, the chub were not in any mood to give themselves away for too long. Having wandered down many familiar hunting grounds Mark and I had gotten to know pretty well, one last area gave us a lot of hope to break the deadlock. Mark had managed at least one enquiry on every visit to this certain section. After having a few snatches from smaller chub on a steady run, one particular depression in the stream we knew had to be attacked. After a few casts and another enquiry from a smaller chub, I flicked the lure upstream and it appetisingly 'plopped' into the surface column of the water. With the effects of the ripples forming arcs on the surface, a dark shape emerged with a white vacuum coming into view, engulfing my lure. I tightened into the grey-lipped culprit and it soon made a dash for the snags within the swim. The fight was immense on the light lure tackle, consisting of some great final dashes before slowly guiding the  chub towards Mark who was kindly on hand to net it.

A fine summer chub which was up for hitting the lure!

With the bright sunlight persisting, we did sight a few more larger chub tight into the streamer weed, but it did prove challenging to tempt any interest with the lure. Having only arranged a short session, time was too getting on. As we roved our way back to the car, we had a few chublets, a trout and even a dace to add to our tally. It was certainly clear that these little lures that Mark had introduced me certainly had the tendency to trigger an aggressive response from a fair few species. It was good to have caught up with Mark for the first time in a while, and to have a really enjoyable introduction to fishing lures for chub.

As my mum had a few things to do in the area on the following day, she kindly offered to take me to the river again. Admittedly, I did try my luck, asking to go to another one of my favourite little rivers. After setting the route on the navigator, I was soon walking the banks of the second river. On arrival, it had to be the lowest and weediest I had seen it, but I knew I was still going to be in for a good chance of some perch and chub. I started using a little jig for the perch and was soon catching some exquisite little sergeants (perch) which were like peas in a pod. After seeing some very inviting deeper holes, I could not resist going into the lure box and digging out the same lure I'd had the chub on the day prior. On the first cast I aimed for some overhanging foliage, and it was not long until a good chub came into view and investigated my lure before deciding against it. My excitement levels hit the roof. On my next cast, the lure yet again landed on the surface with a very appetising 'plop' and a smaller chub shot out and hit the lure. It was a stunning fish of a pound or so and certainly a worthy sign that the chub's aggressive instincts were in tact on the given day. Following this, I fished a few spots catching some smaller chub and missing a couple of good fish (some over 4lbs) in a particular pool swim. In the end, the roving approach, keeping casting to minimum, in each spot payed dividends when I managed to connect with a slightly better fish of round the 2lb mark.

A lovely looking little chub on the lure!

I decided on the remainder of the trip to go back to the jigs again and a few more stripy culprits were on hand to add to the session. Overall, it had been a lovely couple of days fishing before having to return to work in the week. Thanks goes to Mark for the introduction to chub on lures!

Tight lines,

Tom

More Perch on the Lures

The tell-tale sergeant stripes!

From my recent blog, I'm sure many of you have gathered that I have slightly got the lure bug! Having picked up a few new lures and jigheads on the internet, I was dying to give them a try in some of the nice swims I had found. I decided on the first trip to go and try a couple of spots that in the past I have sighted some absolute monster perch. On the first stretch, I had a good follow from a good-sized perch, but unfortunately this was the only action that was to be had on the particular section. Having brought worms with me too, I decided on one of the more familiar stretches to try and twitch one in the path of a perch. I imagined with the conditions in front of me this was certainly going to be pretty deadly. Having arrived at a particular swim, I spotted three perch. I attached a split shot on the hooklink, and casted just above them and twitched the worm into their sight. The biggest one which looked a good pound or so started to move for it, but in a millisecond I saw one of the smaller perch push ahead and grab it themselves. It was nice to have managed another pretty perch in these difficult conditions and decided it was time to go home as I had a job induction the following day.

This one took a liking to a juicy worm!

The following session was a morning session, the day after my induction, and I felt confident having had a few natural-coloured lures arrive, that it was definitely worth another shot on the lures. The beginning of the session proved challenging, but eventually a single perch gave itself away, was there any of those better fish lurking which I had been sighting on sessions prior? On one particular cast I went a bit tighter to the streamer weed and let the lure sink down a bit more. I slowly retrieved the it, covering the past kill zones and out of nowhere a good perch appeared and absolutely devoured my natural-coloured lure. After an initial crazy burst of energy and plenty of sprints, a good perch graced the surface. I nervously reached for my net and managed to safely net it. Although it didn't look much longer than the 1lb 7oz perch I had prior, it's build was on a slightly better level and I knew it was at least creeping towards 2lbs. After quickly putting it on the scales, my face lit up when I saw the dial hovering between 2lbs and 2lb 1oz. It was great to have had a perch of this stamp as it has been years since I've had anything from this waterway of that similar stamp.

A stunning 2 pounder!

I continued the day, managing another smaller perch and disappointingly losing a good pike, which absolutely tore line off my little reel and had my light lure rod buckled over. The day was an overall success though, as I had achieved my little target of a fish around the 2lb stamp. It was certainly encouraging though, as this fish was certainly not the biggest I had seen on my trips so far, so will be nice to get out and target a few more fish of this stamp sometime soon!

Tight Lines,

Tom Aldous

Return to the River Wye...

Rods out!

At a week or so's notice, my dad ran an idea past me. His partner suggested a day's canoeing on the River Wye, and at the same time there was potential for me hitching a ride for a day's fishing. Hastily, I started to check out potential fishing locations around the area and with the help of a reasonably local and all-round fishing guide, Kenny Parsons, I organised myself a permit. As the day of the trip neared, Kenny was kind enough to impart his knowledge of the stretch specifically and gave me a key area to target. I have to admit, I did start the day with a very pessimistic outlook leaving late and having to pick up lunch en route as opposed to doing so the night before, so the time of arrival was around lunchtime. I was rather disorientated when I arrived, but after having a quick chat with Kenny on the phone, who reassured me I was heading in the right direction, I was soon in the right area.

On arrival at the swim, I mixed up my 'hemp and hali crush' groundbait and assembled all the necessaries. Once I was happy with the consistency of the groundbait and had tied myself an ideal rig with a nice and long fluorocarbon hooklength, I was ready to make my first cast of the day. Admittedly, it was not quite on the money, but as I placed my rod on the tripod (which I borrowed courtesy of Simon Daley) I felt a lot calmer and ready to focus. My choice of hookbait was the slick sense baits from West Country, which have a very pungent smell and renowned for catching big barbel consistently, which certainly gave me confidence. I had literally got to the point where I was tying a hooklink up on the other rod and I had a good bang on the tip. My adrenaline levels hit the roof. As I was going to start the whipping of the knotless knot for the hooklink, the rod suddenly smacked over with a 3ft twitch and the tightly done freespool started to zip off. I lifted into a definite barbel. The fish went straight upstream and hung nice and low. The muscular lunges were unmistakable as I started to bring the fish under control. With the Wye consisting of many boulders, I knew I had to keep the fish's head up as best as I could with the perils of getting cut off. It was fair to say my adrenaline was going through the roof as the fish approached what I call the deadly region, under the rod tip. After some amazing wallows and nasty dashes for the depths, I had my first barbel of the day safely reviving in the net. It was a definite Wye PB and a stunningly proportioned and coloured fish, a pure powerhouse! I gave the fish a good few minutes to revive whilst setting up all necessaries for getting a quick picture and wetting and zeroing the sling. After quickly getting a few snaps and putting her on the scales, I waded out and held her close until she was ready to kick off.

A fine proportioned barbus (6-7)

What was to follow after this was heaps of canoeists! Including my dad and co. After having my rigs taken out by people on canoes twice and losing a chub, I re-tied a couple of hooklinks. After getting the downstream rod out and a fresh bait going in, I sorted out some fresh baits. Both rods were soon back in action. As I was tidying a few things in my tackle box, I heard my freespool absolutely scream off with the rod buckled over. Another barbel was on! After another incredibly powerful series of lunges a stunning barbel topped. After several sprints and wallows on the surface another powerhouse was in the net.

Another stunningly proportioned little powerhouse!

I continued casting on a fifteen minute basis to keep building the swim with the feeder and within the second cast in this cycle, the rod knocked aggressively. I picked the rod up and knew I had a chub on. The fight was certainly spirited for the heavy tackle and it was great to have landed this one. After taking a quick shot, I continued the cyclical routine of building the swim with the feeder. At this moment in time, the canoeists were coming in short bursts and were starting to die down by the time I had an hour to start packing up.

Nice to see rubber lips make an appearance!

Just as I was starting to think about packing up, I decided to have one more recast. This cast was on the money and I knew I was in for a good chance of another bite. With the confidence boost of putting a fresh bait on, I sat and waited whilst the feeder was working the magic with the cloud of attraction. Shortly after getting my other rod out just upstream, the downstream rod absolutely buckled over and line started to tear out. I lifted into another barbel. Like the first one, this fish hung low in the middle channel and really lunged about with all its might. Another amazing fight under the rod tip was to follow and after some fantastic wallows on the surface, the third barbel of the trip was in the net. At 6lb 1oz, it was a nice barbel to have landed at what was the first proposed time I had to pack up.

Another absolute muscle machine (6-1)

With what already had felt like a great trip, considering I had been there for the afternoon, I did not pass by the opportunity given to me by my dad to carry on for another hour, despite the fact I was already effectively packed up. After tying a new rig up and taking care to put on a nice fresh bait, I casted another feeder which went straight on the money in a bomb of feed. Just as the feeder settled and the rod was placed on the tripod, I watched the tip. With the canoeists now gone, it was a great opportunity for maybe another fish to make an appearance, I thought. Right on queue the line tightened with the rod absolutely slamming over 3 foot twitch style! As I lifted into it, I felt a good weight. But as I started to apply pressure, it felt as if I was wedged in a boulder. I wound a little and pulled the weight upstream, it started to move! It was then that I knew I may have hooked something perhaps, a bit more substantial. The fish made a dash upstream, using all its body mass. I applied as much pressure as I could, as there were many potential nightmares with the plentiful boulders in the river. The fish would not show itself and remained effectively clung to the bottom. After some heart-stopping lunges towards deeper water as she neared, the vortex of a good fish emerged. The line continued to weave vigorously as she neared, and my feeder started to swing into view. The typical shark fin soared on the surface and a large mouth emerged, before wallowing and tearing line out of the drag. After some very nerve wracking final lunges and dives, a good head popped up to the surface before being safely netted. I could tell with the way this barbel filled the bottom of my net that I had landed a new Wye personal best and certainly a fish that could even tip my own. I managed to find a perfect place to revive her whilst I sorted out my scales and photography equipment. As I gently carried the barbel to the sling it felt a fair bit heavier than the others. When I put her on the scales, I looked in disbelief as I saw the scales swing straight over 10lbs and settling on 10lb 4oz. 'Wow', I gasped as I gently carried the fish back into the water and rested her again. Once the camera gear was all sorted I managed to get a few decent shots of this fine creature!

What a way to end the session, a new PB Barbel at 10lb 4oz!

After sorting out the final shots, I waded out and waited for the fish to confidently kick a few times. She did so rather quick, and what a sight it was to see such a stunning fish disappear back into the depths of this stunning river. The time had now come to start packing up and shortly after, setting off for home. It was an enjoyable session all-round and thanks goes to my dad for the transport and his partner for organising the canoeing which gave me the opportunity to fish! Thanks also goes to Kenny Parsons for giving me a great insight of tactics needed and imparting his knowledge of many years of pioneering on this magic river, which really helped with the little time I had on the day itself.

For those that don't know Kenny has a guiding service where he is bookable for a day's fishing for many of people's desired species! His website is definitely worth checking out here:
http://www.kpanglingguide.com

Tight Lines,

Tom Aldous

Perch Fishing on Lures

Perfect haunt for Predators

After my new lure rod arrived, I was itching to head back out on the river to have another go for some of the stunning perch. After a day or so of bright and humid weather, a more overcast day motivated me to get out, as it was likely the perch would be on the prowl. The areas I had in mind consisted of a couple of darker and deeper patches of water, where I had sighted a fair few perch on a couple of occasions this summer, whilst walking the rivers. I started off in a few familiar swims and tried to get a feel for the new lure rod. I felt that extra precision and finesse in my retrieve and was hopeful that if I spotted a perch, I could agitate it into taking my jig. I opted to try the same micro pattern as my previous session, as they have an immense action through the water. After trying a few likely looking areas, I found myself in the zone which was a lot quieter and shadier, a perfect haunt for predators. After retrieving a few times in the deep hole with one less than decisive grab, I decided to try the near margin. With the aid of a simple flick cast and a nice short rod, I managed to get the lure nice and deep into the cover. As the lure hit the bottom, I slowly started to retrieve, and as I started to put a bit of a twitch from the rod tip into the retrieve, the lure got absolutely devoured. I tightened into the fish and saw that I had a lovely looking perch on. In typical river perch style it gave a great account of itself on the light lure rod.

A vividly coloured chalkstream perch!

It was great to see the perch go back strongly into the crystal clear water, and I knew that it would definitely be worth trying the deeper hole upstream. After working the pool, a nice perch came into view. I flicked my jig into its path and slowly tweaked it into its view. Without hesitation the perch snatched the lure and I was into a slightly better stamped fish. Following a great scrap, another vividly looking perch was in the net. This fish weighed it at 1lb 7oz which was actually bigger than I thought. After watching yet another fine-looking perch swim resiliently back into its watery home, it was time to go home for a spot of lunch.

A vividly coloured River Perch!

I decided a few days later to head out for another attempt at these quite elusive perch. The conditions were, again, nice and overcast and looking good for a perch or two. Several hours were spent this session struggling to tempt them on the lure of choice and finding the right opportunity to present the lure in their path. After a fair bit of pioneering and thinking, I decided to cut my lure down to a smaller size to accommodate for their finicky mood. It did take a while though to get the perfect scenario to present the lure, but once it came, it was quite a bizarre sight to witness. A pack of five perch were lined up and attacking a little eel that was burying its way into the silt. After casting the lure into their path and jigging it to agitate them, with the paddle tail convulsing in an appetising fashion, one eventually decided they had had enough and struck! After another very spirited battle another stunning river perch graced the net.

Stunning colours!

As I decided to work my way back, I decided to squeeze my way into a very dark and shaded swim. I casted the lure down stream and started to work it steadily with the odd twitch. Just as I saw the lure coming into view, I saw another pretty perch following. I slowed the retrieve and had yet another hit! Another spirited scrap followed and a very boldly coloured and proud perch I quickly admired in the water before unhooking her in the water. This one was in great condition and the colours again failed to disappoint.

It was really enjoyable to have gotten into some lure fishing with thanks going to some good mates for their helpful advice on this discipline within the sport.

Tight Lines,

Tom Aldous

July 2016 Update: Carp, Tench and Lure Fishing

A fine summer's evening

Last week, I decided to renew one of my Club Tickets to make the most of all the waters within walking distance from my home, and target stillwater species in conditions which are tougher from a river perspective. The species that have been on my mind of late are carp, tench and eels. I have also been contemplating getting into light lure fishing, which was also on the agenda for my local river. For the first outing, I decided to venture down for a short afternoon's session on my local club lakes after some carp and tench. As the light started to fade, and the workers on the peninsula of the lake had stopped strimming, I started to get some takes. The result of this was a few bream and tench, but sadly no carp were around to make an appearance in this duration. I think they key to catching these fish is to introduce some bait, so that the carp can potentially dominate the swim in their, at times, greedy fashion.

A powerful little tench!

On the next session, I set my stalls on another club lake to try and stalk a carp or two out. My choice of bait was a single piece of fluffy bread flake which I was hoping to trigger a couple of fish into slurping in. I arrived at the lake, brimming with enthusiasm as I saw plentiful carp, some of which were bathing and others were slowly cruising. There was also some slurping that was taking place with carp sucking naturals off the Canadian Pond weed. The first swim I chose, I saw a group of fish and a common which looked as if it was up for a helping of flake. After casting just over the fish and teasing the piece of ever-expanding bread towards the fish's path, a few agonising minutes were to follow. The fish carried on taking naturals off the weed and slowly made its way to my bait and paused. The mouth extended and sucked the piece of flake in. I let the fish take the bait and was baffled at the fact that I had managed to strike into thin air! This fish was well into double figures, which was a great shame as it would have been a lovely fish to start with. After missing another fish, cheaply getting away, I found myself right at the corner of the lake which was also thick with weed and a nice group of lilly pads. After drifting my bait to the edge of these pads, a small pair of lips came up and slurped in a medium-sized piece of flake. I struck more positively this time and connected. Despite this being the smallest fish that took my bait, the reward was a lovely dark little mirror.

An enjoyable tussle in the weed!

For the final session, I decided to head out and do some light lure fishing. Having chatted with a mate, Mark Lindsay, about fishing light jigs before, I decided to get myself a light lure rod and some braid for a 1000 sized reel. With the rod having not arrived yet, I decided to dig out a telescopic rod I had found in the garage from a previous holiday. After loading my reel with some light braid for some perch fishing and finding some abrasion-resistant fluorocarbon, I headed to a stretch close to home with some depth. This stretch is very weedy and boggy, but I knew that I was in for a chance of seeing some nice perch and pike in the gaps in the weed to cast to. After fishing a few swims and failing to tempt the perch, despite appetisingly pausing the lure in their field of vision, I headed to a stretch downstream of here. Within a very short amount of time, I had managed a few tiny perch which tend to congregate in this little pool which was certainly a start! Following the fact that I had seen a few little pike in the gaps in the weed and chasing minnows in the silty and stagnant areas, I decided to have a go for a few with my little jig. After getting a few chases, but failing to get a take, I casted the jig in a gap in the weeds which looked a likely area for a pike to be hiding. As the lure started to work, in light-speed a pike came out of nowhere and snatched the lure. The take was amazing through the braid, as you felt the fish crunch into the lure. With a quick strike, I managed to hook the pike comfortably in the scissors and it gave a wonderful little tail-walking scrap.

Maybe one day this will go from a minnow mincer to a duckling worrier!

It's wonderful with these small jigheads how easy it is to quickly unhook the fish and release them back into their watery home. I took a stroll onto a silty and stagnant section nearby and saw this tiny baby pike with a stunning green hue sitting boldly in the silt. With a little flick just over its head and the lure fluttering in its view the lure was absolutely devoured! With an energetic and lashing fight, it was lovely to see another one of these stunning juvenile pike in my hands. The immature markings on juvenile pike are wonderful to feast your eyes on, especially from my local chalkstream. By the time I had managed my third little pike, my lure had been bitten in half, so I felt with my family wanting to have some supper that it was a good idea to go home.

See what I mean about the immature markings?

Thanks for reading and tight lines,

Tom

Search for some Wily Chub!

James giving one of a few likely looking swims a crack!

On a last minute and very kind invite from my friend James Denison, the plan was to head to the Dorset Stour to go and check out a few stretches to see if we could manage some of the fine chub the river is renowned for. After taking a glimpse at some very 'tasty' looking stretches, we settled on a stretch which was brimming with features and some classic chubby-looking lies. I opted to take an ambush approach, hoping to be able to creep up on some chub, and James opted to fish lighter on a much more active, roving method. On walking the first stretch, I realised with my more static method, in terms of targeting these chub that are very wily in the daytime, that I should have implemented my small stream roving into this certain situation.

I did, however, have some interesting enquiries on some of the swims on the first stretch, but unfortunately these enquiries were pretty much 'unhittable'. It was clear that James certainly had the right idea for fishing this tough waterway in the daytime, as he had soon managed two chub to 4lb 4oz and had managed to cover far more water. After James's second fish, I decided to try and be more proactive and through this, realised that this was the most effective way of locating the pockets of fish before planning an initial ambush - pretty basic I know, but having fished other parts of the Stour where the chub have been, at times easier to locate, I had on this occasion not kept my options open. On the next stretch, the wind really picked up, making trundling a bait rather challenging and was therefore forced into static fishing again having located the odd pocket of fish. James managed another couple of fish in quick succession in a nice glide once the wind had started to die down, up to 4lb 11oz.

One of a few '4s' James had during the day!

I decided after being unable to induce a bite from a small pocket of chub that I'd wait until the light dropped after some bait had gone into a certain slack swim from James and myself, I decided to give this swim a go as it got dark. As the light started to fade, I got a sudden bang on the tip before the rod started jolting violently. I struck and was finally into my first chub. After several dashes for the reeds in close, I finally managed to guide the chevin into the net. For the Stour's standards it was no massive chub, but I was more than happy to have landed this beautiful fish on such a hard and testing day.

Aren't summer chub stunning? (3-10)

As the light levels dropped further, I had various other enquiries, but there was no 'hittable' bites to be had for me for the rest of the trip. James, having settled just below me within minutes had his centrepin absolutely tearing line and connecting with an unknown source as it absolutely mowed into the snag and parted his hooklink cleanly. As one can imagine, James was very disappointed, but he kept his head high and casted straight back into the same position. Just before we were due to pack up, James had another bite and landed an absolute corking chub of 5lb 11oz.

A great way to end the trip, much deserved for James's efforts (5-11)

It was a very enjoyable session and I felt I certainly had learnt a lot. Thanks goes to James for the invite, and being great company throughout the day.

Tight Lines,

Tom Aldous

Unfinished Business with the Prince of the River

Both rods out in the witching hour!

Over the last two seasons, I have been lucky enough to get a taste for catching barbel, and it has been amazing to have caught them from four different rivers. On a kind invite from my friend Simon Daley, there was potentially a chance to catch my first from a fifth river, the Hampshire Avon. On the last session I did on the Avon with Simon, he managed two stunning barbel to just short of double figures, which certainly showed in the flesh what the fishery was capable of. After an early start, Simon and I journeyed up to Christchurch in order to get our tickets for the Royalty Fishery. We hastily acquired them, before whizzing our way to the river bank. Following this, we propped our gear down and had a look around, admiring the plentiful cracking swims the fishery has. Simon pointed out a stunning swim to me with plenty of ranunculus cover for the barbel to dart in and out of and some lovely gravels which looked a perfect zone for barbel to 'ghost' about.

After introducing some bait, I casted the first rod out, whilst Simon set up and baited a nice swim upstream which also had some thick ranunculus and gravels where he had caught a fair few barbel before. I set up a rig which would be nicely pinned down to the river bed, in these clear conditions, with a supple hooklink and a couple of pellets on the hair. I had one rod flicked upstream, and the other flicked downstream between the weed, which gave me confidence I was covering both bases. Just as I had settled down on my seat and had just helped myself to my first biscuit of the day, the upstream rod's tip jolted as if the rig had been dislodged and absolutely tore line off on the freespool. I picked up the rod, and felt the pure muscular lunges of a barbel on the end, as I watched my line jolt in a zig zag motion going downstream. This fish absolutely clung to the bottom as I tried to apply pressure to keep it away from the thick weed. I retained this steady pressure, and managed to deter it from making a further rush. It remained deep and charged upstream with pure muscle, putting me through the mill with its sheer strength! I patiently continued to exert pressure, and the tell-tale shark-like fin soon graced the surface, as the fish turned and lashed back towards the weed - I always find this part of a barbel fight the scariest! After cupping the spool, as the fish had its final lunges, the stunning barbel graced the net. I couldn't believe the beautiful colours as I revived her in the net, an absolute stunning golden flank.

After some well earned minutes of revival and quickly unhooking the fish in the water, Simon had made his way down to my swim: "you didn't muck about did you mate?", he exclaimed, smiling. To say I was chuffed was an understatement, as this was my first barbel of the season and first off the Hampshire Avon. After quickly weighing the fish, which was an ounce under 6lbs (5-15), Simon kindly took some lovely photos. After doing so, I rested the fish once more before it had retained its strength and was ready to swim back strongly into its hideout of the ranunculus. It was really exciting watching the barbel swim back into the crystal clear water, as I have rarely been able to see this in the daytime before, and Simon remarked the sheer camouflage of the barbel against the gravel, as we both watched the stunning fish disappear into the weed.

Lovely golden-flanked barbel (5-15)

After freshening the baits on both rods, I flicked both rigs back out. Just as I was tidying a few things in my rucksack, my downstream rod absolutely whacked over. I scrambled to the rod before it had the chance to pull it off the rest! This fish charged straight upstream and attempted to make several dashes to the thickest beds of weed in the swim. Luckily with my reasonably substantial tackle in these weedy conditions, I was able to put a brake on these runs. After several more sprints, a lovely little barbel popped up to the surface. After a few final lashes on the surface, I safely managed to find an opening in the weed to land the barbel. Simon kindly did the honours with the camera again, and the young barbel was soon ready to dash back into the cover, after a few minutes of revival.

Little powerhouse in lovely condition!

It was a thoroughly enjoyable start to the morning, having managed my first two barbel of the season and off a new waterway! The rest of the morning, henceforth, seemed to be a lot quieter, with the sun starting to come out. After a few hours, Simon and I decided to go and look for some chub. I had been seeing the odd one about throughout the course of the morning, and it felt as if it was now time to see if we could tempt one. We arrived at a run with some nice depth and a slack at the far side, where we started to introduce some bait. It was not long until they were taking a few competitively, which meant it was perfect time for Simon to introduce his free-lined bait. As expected, action was pretty instant, with Simon receiving a snatching take. He struck sharply and connected with a decent looking chub. After a couple of surging runs, the chub was resting safely in the net. I was amazed by the sheer size of it out of the water: "looks a good five" I said, excitedly. At 5lb 9oz, it was a cracking chub for anytime of year, and what a way to have caught it!

A cracking summer chub (5-9)

The rest of the day certainly proved to be difficult, with the sun still high and it also seemed nigh-on impossible to avoid the plentiful dace which were picking up our pellets. Between us we must have had more than a dozen dace, chublets and we even had a roach each when switching to 10mm boilie barrels. As the sun started to descend, it was lovely to see a pair of terns diving in the twilight, with the odd salmon or sea trout crashing clean out of the water! It was nice to get back out, after several days stuck indoors.

Big thanks goes to Simon for inviting me for another shot at a Hampshire Avon barbel and imparting his knowledge of the stretch, as well as his knowledge of the barbel present.

Tight Lines,

Tom

Back in the Game after a Hiatus

After a few months of what I'd call a 'mental anomaly', and finishing my final exam on the 17th June, I received a kind invite from good friend and fellow blogger, Mark Erdwin, for a trip shortly after. As many people know, I took a step back from social media, due to mostly the flaws getting me down and the fact that I felt that in the last few months before exams I'd 'go for it'. This decision, I feel, has been one of my best decisions as a lot of strain I personally felt with social media has now vanished and I no longer feel resentful towards this. After brushing all the cobwebs off my gear and making sure it was all in order for some roving-style work, I journeyed up towards Mark and it was not long until we were going through the foliage towards a swim that Mark and I liked the look of. After seeing a few fish top, with Mark covering a more aggressive rise with a generous helping of breadflake, he was soon connected into his first fish of the day. This fish certainly seemed like it pulled back a bit, and the culprit was a stunning brassy chub, which was a fine start to the trip (3-1).

A nice fish to kick-start the trip

After putting this beauty back, I made my way slightly upstream and tried a little area above where Mark had his fish. I had an interesting pick up which needed to be struck, but unfortunately all I was to connect with was thin air. We ventured on downstream, battling through all the persistent foliage and I found myself in a very nice looking swim with a nice slack. I opted to try a nice chunk of flake and it was not long until my quiver tip sprung in to life, jolting as the bread got smashed. I struck and connected with a strong fish which, like Mark's, really went for the near-bank snags. After getting a good angle on the fish, Mark was kindly on hand to net the fish. This fish was also a nice looking chub and a really nice one to start the season on. At 4lb 1oz, it was a fantastic fish to start the season on.

A nice first chub of the season (4-1)

With this fish displaying clear spawning marks and Mark's fish being visibly hollow, it was explanatory on why the fishing wasn't straight forward. My fish also had tubercles on its gill plate, which explained why the chub were proving challenging to tempt. We continued on, managing some chublets, gudgeon and perch which was a nice way to top off the trip. It was nice to get out again, and I'm hoping to get out again a bit more this summer after some more chub, and potentially some barbel maybe later on in. Big thanks goes to Mark for the quality photos and being enjoyable company for the trip after my hiatus.

Tight Lines,

Tom Aldous

Withdrawals after River Season and Feature for the Mail

With Duncan shooting the 'On the Bank' feature series for the Angler's Mail, he ran the idea past me of doing a feature on one of my local little lakes for the quality roach. When turning up at the lake we were not sure as to what to expect, but our doubts were soon set aside when there was an instant response. It was a nice morning with some manic roach feeding spells, as well as many fantails and a couple of carp for good measure. With the river having just closed, it was a nice surprise to see the feature released in the Easter issue, coupled with the some late season monsters for some good friends. Big thanks goes to Duncan for organising the feature and taking some lovely shots for the spread.

A successful session!

After a quiet Easter weekend, having not been out in a while, my brother and I headed to a local lake to get a bend in the rod on a fishery where a few takes on the surface are on the cards. It was not long until the carp were soon swirling on the surface for some mixers. Rotating between hookable pellets and bread, my brother and I were soon having some nice sport. It was a nice way to spend an afternoon after withdrawals from the rivers and having been head down in study...

Nice to get a bend in the rod!

Tight Lines,

Tom