IT Came from..... Peg 55

Well after posting notice of my intending 2013 targets from Salford Waters i decided to hit the Irwell in seach of my first fish.

First cast with a sardine as bait on two single hooks i was into a fish that could have pushed the target weight close when the trace seperated from the swivel.... damn, i had tied it the night before and maybe i had not added the glue to compliment the twist and burn i use to secure the wire.

With optimism high taking the "run" on the first cast from a Irwell swim that had done a 20lber to a lucky fellow in previous years i was hoping to re-hook the pike and de-hook it and break my record,

Well, 3 * 2-3 hours sessions later, 1 short chub session a mile or so down stream into Broughton and 2 short sessions on Old River accounted for no action, except.....

this bloody umbrella, when i thought i was in.......

must have been there a while because it was totally covered in silt/crap, and blood worm(or joker wouldnt know the difference) but it had a new style connector, the plastic screw type not the metal ones of yester-year.

I managed to recover 2 spinners and traces from the umbrella and they were totally black with the silt,

Disapointed not to get a repeat take on the Irwell even after putting in some free offerings before i left each time, Old river, well its fished hard on the 2 matches, but i was hoping for dad to get a livebait,

I find it outfishes deads 5-1 on the Old river. Absolutely no sign of the perch on my second worm/prawn rod,

Next time i am at the waters edge will be early March so unless i read a change in Old river fortunes then i may be time to give Drinkies an early season "whirl"

2012 Highs & Lows

2012 can best be described as a local water learning curve.....



it came from the Irwell

River Irwell

High - definately Dads Sea Trout, truly unexpected and magnificent catch, only bite of the session, on worm,

Low - too many blanks and not enough watercraft.

2013 Target - 10lb+ pike and 3lb+ chub.


Old River Irlam


2lb perch on prawn

.

Taken on live bait 14lb

Highs - 14lb pike, 2lb perch on prawn, and my grandson catching his first pike

Lows - after deciding to take piking more seriously and kitting myself out with all the right safety tackle including the Bob Roberts discorger, my last pike of the year swallowed the bait including both hooks (back a treble and front a single) and it was so deep in the stomach i couldnt remove them, the bite was struck into in less than 10 second, so be warned, i now use singles and never hook baitfish in the mouth



 

 

2013 Target - 2lb+ perch and eel.



Other Highs

Broads Bream in June,4lbers and some good roach.








Duchy Ponds, little gems,
How many baby tench have you caught, i had 3 in 3 casts, never had any before!!!







Lows,
Salford Quays - many blanks for me and only a few perch for dad.
Drinkies - made a mess of my first ever sessions, and missed some bites on worm that could have been decent tench or bream, only 1 tench for lots of effort over numerous sessions.