Is this fishing?

I don't know but there is something very sad about commercial fisheries I went to one today for a small match with some friends but to honest it made me feel depressed. We all caught fish I had a few carp and some chub but sitting there in this man made artificial fishing place just felt all wrong to me. There were tins and rubbish laying about and  it was all so manufactured it just felt like the angler in me was being killed off. Don't get me wrong sure the commercials have there place. However having gone to a beautiful unspoiled river only a few day before (see below)  this place was devoid of magic, spirit, freedom, space and integrity it just felt false to me. For me fishing is not just about catching fish its about getting away from the pressures of modern living the noise the stress the endless demands of life. I go fishing to find my sense of wonder and soak up the atmosphere of a new dawn or the setting sun. It is this certain magic that fishing give me that pulls me back to the rivers again and again. I am not the only angler who feels this way of course many who join the club join it for the freedom that wandering a river can offer you. So if your tired of the commercials why not join us this year and get back to the true spirit of angling in places like this. Ah that's more like it!

History comes to life for Bungay Cherry Tree Angling Club!

Today I visited a section of water on the Waveney that the Cherry Tree Angling Club will hopefully soon be fishing again in June, yes thats right in June 2008! The section is known as the "Fullers Stretch" and was fished back in the early days of the club when up to 200 anglers would line the banks here and fish for the Suffolk championship cup. This is a wonderful stretch of water very peaceful and picturesque and we have the lease for it once again which is very good news indeed. So watch this website for more info and in the mean time take a look at these pictures and imagine 200 anglers fishing it back in the early 50s.Indeed if you were one of those anglers I would love to hear from you so email me and tell me your story.

Click the thumbnails for a bigger picture please.

Oh dear! Don't start bragging yet..

Well how's that for a come down, fished the fish fund match on the common pond today and got one fish, yes just one fish and three bites that I missed. I was pegged on the far side and stupidly did not take my bread punch with me across the lake I could see the chap in the peg I fished last time and he was on his way to winning the match. Well that's fishing for you I guess and the luck of the draw or in my case the bad luck! Never mind, I was please to see Graham having a good day as he sat beside me last time as I did well, so its only fair really. Sigh. Nice day though took this shot before I came home.

Red Letter day at Common pond

What a great days fishing I have just enjoyed. I went to the common pond today with my mates for a roach catching session to use up some casters and hemp I had left over and ended up having 21lb 9oz of Roach and Perch but the perch were the highlight of the day just take a look at these beauties! all over 2lb one going nearly 3lb and taken on casters fished on the bottom. Some lovely roach on caster as well what a great days fishing on a pint of casters and a pint of hempseed. I used a light pole rig and fished about 11 meters out loose feeding hempseed and casters all day. Bait was a single caster and I also had success with plastic casters when they were really going for it. Take a look at the rig page above for the set up. Perch are such pretty fish and to catch four over 2lb in a day was fantastic not to mention the roach which were in mint condition. My be I should have taken those worms with me but catching the perch on casters was a real treat. Brilliant fishing.

Click here to visit the common pond.

Norwich Riverside match and club pit

Fished the match at Norwich riverside D&E section and it was very hard going indeed. My plan was to fish it with the stick float and feed hemp an casters however as the match progressed I stopped feeding hemp and caster and just loose fed red maggots. This gained me a few more fish and although it wasn't easy I really enjoyed fishing the stick on this section. Several did not weigh in so I felt ok about my catch and enjoyed the day out. Later on during the week I went down to the club pit for a look around and met several club members who were having a pleasant day pike fishing. They showed me some pictures of there catches and told me that they enjoyed the website and the fishing blog nice to know what others think about it.

The Otters are a constant problem at the club pit but we are making our plans to stop them this year and there is a lot going on to improve the water. Many of the lads who carp fish down there have asked for things to be improved and we will be starting the work down there this week so if any of you want to lend us a hand please let me know we could use your help. Its very sad that the carp in this lake have been at the mercy of the otters and it is distressing to see them killed and half eaten by otters I feel so very frustrated that we can not protect this fish from them unless we have thousands of pounds to put up otter fencing, it is not right that they are allowed to kill these fish and we have no way of stopping them it is time that the EA and the Government gave the fisheries and clubs like our own the power to do something to put a stop to this. And I for one do not see otters as cute cuddly little creatures I see them as a major predator that wipes out valuable fish stocks with free reign to destroy at will all the fish in our lakes and this is because they have been released back into the wild with out any consideration for the damage they cause while small clubs such as ours have to suffer the consequences. This clearly is not right and needs to be addressed by those with the power to stop it. Thank god for people like Chris Burt and the specialist angling alliance who have campaigned for change. Click here to find out more.

Any way like I said if you want to help at the club pit this week end let me know please. Tight lines Mark.

Beccles Interclub Match

A very enjoyable fishing match at Beccles Quay, if some what windy. I got pegged on the lower end of the North Bank along with several others from our club and was not looking forward to fishing this side as it got poor result a few weeks ago. However much to my surprise the fishing was very good on this side for a change and I managed to come third with a mixed bag of skimmers and roach. Using hemp seed and caster for loose feed and a light pole rig, fishing on the bottom the skimmers made a welcome appearance. Despite the difficulty holding the pole in the strong wind blowing up the cut the fish were willing to have a go. Later on when my back started to ach I decided to go on the Waggler and picked up a few more skimmers in the middle run. However when I went to eat my chicken sandwiches I noticed that the bread I had made them with was going a bit mouldy so I had to manage all day on a couple of buns for my dinner. Still who cares about eating when your catching fish. I had a great day and it was nice having a chat with all my fellow anglers, its not always about winning its the taking part that counts really. Well I have got myself a replacement phone and hope to be back on my old number in a few days. This time I got myself one of those blue tooth ear things. Trouble is its hidden under my hat so when my wife calls me and I start talking to her it looks like I am a bit mad and talking to myself lol. Well its got to be better then dropping my phone in the water!

The fish have my phone!

That's right the fish have my mobile phone now as it bounced off my knee onto my bait box and then into the water! So if your wondering why the secretary isn't answering your calls on his mobile that's the reason why. Call me on my home phone number in your club books until I get my mobile phone back from the fish ok. Sigh...

Frustration.

Why is it that when you go to the tackle shop and get yourself the best ground bait, maggots and gear for the job in hand the fish just seem to see you coming and swim in the other direction? Why is it that when you are prepared and everything is in order that the fish blatantly ignore every attempt to catch them and don't show up! And why is it that when you reach for that cup of tea from your flask the fish seem to sense this immediately and whip your float under so fast you pour burning hot tea over your self trying to reach for the rod in blind panic. Does that sort of thing happen to you if so I would love to hear from you.

Saved by a Bream

It was the last 5 minutes of the match and I had lost interest catching tiny roach and was more interested in my chocolate hob nobs to be honest. Ah well might as well get rid of my old pellets I thought and cupped out a load of pellets for later on. Got in a horrid tangle and couldn't be bothered to set it all up again so picked up my Waggler rod and sat there eating my biscuits. The float dipped under, I lifted the rod and ohhh hang on this feels like a nice fish... was it a Tench?...no, it was a great big bream. Ah lovely job, says I and carefully slide it over my net to gain a quick 5lb on my poor weight to beat Simon next to me he he that's fishing. The cut has not fished that well this year nor the river at Beccles don't know where those big roach have gone but maybe next month will bring a change it was nice to see some big bream and Tench coming out today and David Gladwell did very well on the end peg 19 with a nice fat Tench and a good mixed bag of Skimmers and roach.

The Carp that wasn't

What a great day, went to falcon meadows again with my friend Eric Gary and Alex and Eric got a clonking Tench that put up a good fight. We all thought it was a carp to start off with until it broke the surface of the water. Eric was using 2lb line and skilfully landed the fish. Rest of the day was spent catching some nice roach in the margins on maggot but the Tench was the highlight of the day. Well done Eric nice fish.

Roach at Falcon on bread punch and lollys

Today had to be the worst day so far weather wise it was gruesome, I don't mind rain but strong winds as well make it very hard going. I decided to head for Falcon meadows and take a look, the water was up and a good flow was in progress so it seemed worth a try. I started off on the stick float and had a few but it was going through a little to fast to hold back so I swapped over to the pole and tried a Carlusso float 3gram with a bulk shot 3feet above the hook and 2 number 4 droppers below. I felt sure this would work well and so set it up and gave it a try. Putting the rig in half way across and very slowly edging it along resulted in a very positive take and the float tip sliding under, ahh sussed you out I thought. Baited up a again and tried one more time this time holding it dead still. Nothing happened until I started to very slowly move it along and inch at a time then once more the float buried and another nice roach was on. These Lolly pop floats work very well when the conditions are right for them but most time a normal stick float would do the job, however today the fish wanted the bait slowed right down. I was soaked to the skin broke my landing net handle and covered in mud but just being able to have the satisfaction of solving the problem and catching those roach made it all worth it. Of all the fish in the river its always larger roach that make you really think about what your doing and over the years they have given me endless pleasure in catching them and trying to figure out just what they are doing in response to my tactics. If you haven't tried a lolly pop float give them a try some time. Here's a link to a good article on the subject for you. Click here

A perfect day.

I got up the weather was fowl, wind and rain thick grey skies most sane people would have stayed at home but not me. I packed my gear in the car grabbed some hempseed from the fridge a flask of tea and some marmalade sandwiches and headed for Beccles. When I got there it was still raining but I got myself set up on the river with my brolly to keep the rain off. I was hoping to see some of the big roach that were there last year. Conditions looked good for a session on the stick float so I set up a my 15ft Drennen Float master rod and threaded the line through the rings and the stick float was on and ready to go. With a bulk of 5bb and 2 dropper shots nice and simple and a 18 B511 hook with double red maggot I cast out to mid river. It takes a bit of time to get the roach feeding but second trot through the float buried and out came a nice fat roach things were looking good apart from the weather that is. I kept the hemp seed going in and it wasn't long before the roach were feeding well and I was having a good day doing what I love most.

Ingredients for the perfect day, lot of fish lots of bites nice sunset Danish pastry angling times and beer. Lovely jubbly

Later on during the day after lunch I decided to swop over to the swim feeder and things got even better. Mixed up some Gold Pro ground bait with some super cup mix and packed a 2oz open end feeder with this light fluffy mix not too wet so it came out forming a nice cloud for the skimmers to feed in. Sure enough it did the trick and before long my quiver tip rod was in action bending into some nice fat skimmers. I clipped my line on my reel so I could hit the same spot every time vital for success and every cast in produced a nice skimmer things were looking very good indeed. Finished the day with 20lb of Roach and Skimmers all taken on double red maggot and packed up at 4pm a very happy fisherman. However the end to a perfect day requires one more thing, a trip to the local shop for one of those yummy Danish pastries and a bottle of beer to have when I got home with my copy of angling time to read at bedtime. Now that's how to have a perfect day!

Wind in my face, float impossible to see, left your bait at home, sound familiar?

Went to Weybread Fisheries today for a local match with some friends and despite having drawn a peg with the wind blowing right into my face and the sun shining into my eyes, it was a great day. I forgot my pellets and had very little bait left but in some ways that was a good thing as it forced me to think harder about how to approach it. I knew I would be targeting skimmers in the 1lb-2lb bracket so I cupped in 3 balls of ground bait laced with pinkie's and fished double pinkie on a size 20 Barbless hook. However it soon became much harder to see my float and I missed lots of bites trying to see the float in the bright winter sun reflecting of the water and the wind was not helping matters. As I started to get to grips with swim and began to catch a few fish the cold didn't matter anymore. My pole float was just visible but it slowly dipped down and just stayed there a while before disappearing beneath the water, a typical bite from a skimmer. I love catching skimmers and these were nice fish in good condition a credit to the fishery. Winner of the match was young Chris Kelly with 30lb who is a dab hand at winning matches these days and I managed a meagre 7lb 8oz.I don't mind in the least I had a lovely days fishing and that's what counts. One thing I always do when I get home is write it all down in my fishing diary tactics bait what swim I was in the weather conditions. Keeping notes like this in a diary is a great way to build up a wonderful reference to your tactics and happy memories. My diary's go back nearly 30 years and its amazing how much my fishing has changed over the years. So keep a diary if you want to remember all those golden moments of your life on the river bank.

Weybread fisheries great place peaceful and full of fish give it a go.

http://www.weybreadfishery.co.uk/

Wagglers at Beccles Quay

Fished our match at Beccles Quay on the North Bank this time and thank goodness the weather was nice for change as this side always gets the wind blowing in your face. I love Beccles and have fished it for many years now, before poles became so popular with everyone the good old Waggler was the method to use at the quay and so it proved today. Most of the roach shoals where out in the middle section and were caught on caster or red maggot light hook lengths and small hooks. Using a 3AA Peter Drennen Wagglers with a bulk of 2AA and one BB shot and a lighter bulk of number 8s followed by 3 number 11s for the dropper. By just dragging 6inches along the bottom or coming up by 3inchs you can get the roach taking your bait but they are very finicky and depth is the key factor pulling up the float by 3-4 inches can make all the difference at times. Loose fed hemp and maggot but caster would have been better I guess. Not monster roach like the ones from the main river but great fun on a light rod and certainly keeps you warm casting in and out with the Waggler. Only problem is seeing your float when the sun comes round in your face, using the Drennen crystal wagglers with interchangeable tips is very helpful black yellow and orange being the best colours on the insert wagglers. I ended up with 3lb 8oz for 5th place with 7lb being the top weight caught by Mike who has just recently joined the club and proving to be a very good angler. I'm not that mad keen a match angler though if I'm honest and was thinking more about my day fishing the bread punch and what fun that was and debating when I should stop and eat my chocolate bar with a cup of tea tut tut I will never win with that attitude but sometimes a chocolate bar is too hard to resist.

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Peter Drennen Clear Crystal wagglers with changeable tips ideal for when its hard to see your float.

Roach on bread punch from the Common Pond

Having renewed my interest in using the old bread punch I went down the common pond for a practise session this evening and had a great session with 11lb of nice plump roach all taken on the bread punch. I used a Peter Drennen roach pole float 0.75gram with a 0.6gram olivette and 4 number 10 Preston innovations stotz weights below the bulk to a size 18 B5L11 wide gape hook and a number 5 bread punch. I like the Fox bread punch set very well made and a joy to use. Bait was Sensas punch crumb mixed carefully so it sank down to the bottom and a little liquidized bread on top of that every 20 minutes to keep the roach coming back. I plumbed the depth carefully and was about 2 inches of the deck to begin with but soon found better fish by laying on a couple of inches. Bites were very positive and the Drennen roach floats are perfect for this method, slim and sensitive. Our junior member Alex had started off on maggots but I gave him a punch and some bread and he was soon having a great day catching quality roach as well. If you have not tried the common pond for roach when its cold then give it a try its stuffed full of them and there are some nice fish to be had for the price of a loaf of bread. Click here for directions to the common pond.

11lb of lovely roach           Alex was well pleased      Punch crumb       Drennen roach float            b511 hooks              Preston stotz