sea monsters in the Irwell

No this is not a new episode from Jeremy Wade.....

On the latest trip to the Irwell predator fishing all angles (deadbait, lure and worm) my Dad and i started off near Granada studios - just short of the Granada fishing club signs (i wasnt sure if they are still an active club so decided to abide and fish short of the sign.

12ft pike rod with a mackeral deadbait, a lure rod and a cage feeder rod filled with breadcrumb with worm on the hook.

Dad was marshalling this rod - same set up as many times before - this time a bit of luck for once - 10mins in and dads tip swung round - he was in on the worm.

The fish lepted from the water some four times and each time dad kept saying to me - i hope you tied this hook on right - a reference to the many grinner knots i tend to tie wrong-.......

10mins later and it graced the net - a lovel 3,5lb fish - bit what was it..... i am no expert on game fish but it wasnt a browny,nor a rainbow - i dont know - it was either a salmon or a sea trout!!!!

what do you think - please comment your help identifying this is appreciated

what else lives in the irwell???? hopefully the SalfordFriendlyAnglers fish in will tell....

another go at it

bad weather reduced a 4 to 5 2hr sessions to just 2, the first i have blogged, the last well what a disaster - picked my regular spot at the end of the canal as it goes into Huron.

First cast i needed to adjust my stop knot but i managed to bring my line into the side and snagged - it was locked solid - lost the rig and bait - gutted to leave it in there

lost 30mins of a 2 hr session

dad had nothing on the worm - it was quite clear the perch were shoaled up in the middle and thats were the pike could be,

i know the best peg was only 100 yards away but i had been putting bait in here - its clear there was no reason for pike to hang around, no shelter, no bait fish and only the odd half a fish left in by me a couple of times a week,

You can guess a blank

Walked round it everyday last week and never seen anyone fishing it - ok weather rubbish especially with the bad winds etc - but i am glad - it gives me more chance with the inhabitants

Salford Quays blank

I have decided to give the Quays a go pike fishing until i go back to work in Jan

Dad and i tackled up with a 12ft pike rod deadbaiting, a 6ft spinning rod and a 9ft float rod with worm

predator fishing all angles covered - except the one that will catch - live bait

now i am not one to go against club rules but since Ordsall anglers gave up the fishing rights - i can now fish live bait - if indeed i can catch one

millions of perch in there but non to be found so i drowned dead sardines for 2 hours and no takes, but i did get something pecking away at my bait - i would have said it was crayfish except i know there is no crayfish in the quays, or is there?

Pike - 30lbers caught this year - a shut off venue - so if i seatch every inch at least they cant escape or can they?

the irwell blanks continue

Looks like i am not the only one blanking on the irwell after manchesterfishingfiend post on the tv blog.
But again 2 short sessions 1 behind the casino and the other behind the bbc saw me with no rewards - though there was fish showing behind the bbc.

Excellent morning and a nice pic was all i took from the 2hr session

As i can not show you any fish of late i thought a nice pic of one of my other passions "my grandkids" they do keep me away from the bank somewhat but one day in a few years maybe they will be getting up at 4am to accompany me on this great adventure

I tackle BBC again sunday for 3 hours - just hope my luck changes

irwell - frustrating or fantastic

The million dollar question

I have not had much time to fish this month so i have tried 3 1-2hour sessions from Ordsall to Mcr Centre - i have targeted a 200yrd stretch and tried several swims

So far no sign of fish, maggot, bread, worms etc - float, feeder - still no joy.....

Me and dad have tried unrewarded - even today with lovely Nov weather - no topping fish nothing,

while i do know the fish are still elsewhere in the stretch around the Quays i still though the odd chub or trout would have obliged,

I will keep trying - this will be my Winter water - hell or high water i will try and catch

pics from the Wye

The two of our best of the day - dads went to over 6.5lb





Minnow on pellett and trout on trotted maggot





Heres dad returning a barbel

Back on the Wye - this time for chub

OK sometimes we let our heart rule our head - my dad has a passion for chub - a species he is least successful at catching, this was barbel but he has nailed a few now and really wants a 4lb plus chub.

So when a opportuntiy came about to go back to the Wye for a weekend he was pleading with me to take him.

Its a long way from Manchester and i really wanted the weekend but i was on dog minding duties and having family helping me out for a day is as much as you could expect.
Setting off at 3,30am for a first light start was the mission - we couldnt put the rod in the water until i got tickets at 8am but at least we could get the pegs we wanted - the Hereford DAA stretch is a good one and if i was local i would definately be a member - but it has been hammered last few years - everyone knows the marks and the fish stick to these areas - meaning a short feeding spell and 20 fish of yester year is more like 2 in a session

But with nearly 11 hours fishing i was as nervous as child on Xmas day while my heart was telling me of a 20 fish haul and new pbs my head was saying "short feeding spell, a few fish.

It was going to be a hot day" - great for the anglers tan not good for catching, - typical me, i find a good venue 2 years after its best period.
Well the session started well - glorious sunshine and within 1 hour some action for Dad, there was slight movement on his rod tip and when he hit it - fish on - a good fight led to a 2-3lber in the net - these barbel dont half fight hard.Banded pellet was always the best bait here - last time we had a big shoal of chublets to 8oz so when the action died in the sunshine we switched to maggotts to occupy ourselves,
This didnt work - i even trotted a chub float with bread, maggot and worm - 1 small trout first cast - no chublets, just millions of minnows - they were ravenous - dad had 1 on halibut pellet and when we netted fish you always caught a couple in your net.

So off i went trying different swims in a mile radious - but things felt different - it didnt feel fishy - other anglers didnt seem to have anything - while the peg we fished was a known barbel hotspot it did throw up a few good chub - i have had a 4lber there.

So on we perservered - mid to late afternoon and nothing but minnows - i know the barbs were there - i just hoped for Dads sake so were the chub,

I managed a small chublet on banded pellet - maybe this was a sign?
Then Dads rod bent over - "banded halibuit again" i said - we had to be patient but they have a taste for this bait - a good fight saw a 6,5lber in the net,
Then we both lost 1 in the snags - damn.....
Are they switching on? - i said we would wait all day until the last few hours when the sunlight faded
Then at 6pm, a slight knock- a far cry from the arm wrenching takes we expect from Barbel - the bites today were very cautious - i hit it and yesssss, i was in - it scrapped for 10mins and i finally had a 4lber, after a good rest and return i got the rod out and within 5 mins i was in again - not a big fish but a good 5 mins scrap and a 3lber was in the net - we waited and hoped for one more before dark but it didnt come,
Best tactics here in summer - night fish - so if i return i will have to do so as a member because thats the only way on the Hereford DAA ticket
The fish were there, the river majestic and the angler optimistic but alas no chub - Dad will have to try again, maybe i can talk him into the ribble before the end of the season

pics to follow