3 Men 2 Rivers 1 Boat

Me, dad and my brother embarked on a return journey to the broads some 30years since our last visit together back when we were kids.

Our target Rivers were the Yare and Waveney aboard a 20 odd foot boat our target bream and roach and of course the pike.

Now my research told me that the large shoals of bream did come into Oulton Broad around July so our plan was to moor up and bait up large quantities of vitalin,corn and pellet, fishing would be evenings and morning and very much whenever the fish obliged,

Tactics, feeder fishing with maggot and caster, corn , bread meat and pellet - all angles covered.

Now if you have never been in charge of a boat afloat then i recommend some lessons or practice on a smaller vessel - as we found out that mooring and waiting for bridges were the most challenging.

Look paid the most part - good or bad.

Once we moored at Oulton Dyke (lucky no one at the 100m mooring which still was a disaster to do), it was bait and bream time, expectations high usually means slow sport.

Well it wasnt slow - bites were regular enough, say every 15mins at good periods and every 30mins at other times.

Bream of 4lb were common, we also had perch to 14oz, roach to 12oz oh and many eels - i think the reports of low eel populations of 5 years ago are not as a hot topic for a fisherman now as it was - every other catch was an eel, even on double corn.

best catch in 3 hours was about 40lbs - we seemed to get a flurry of bream bites and then back to roach perch and eels.

30 balls of groundbait each night gave us a 11pm to 1am flurry of bites then it slowed and in the morning the same thing - it was as if we caught the few in the swim and then nothing - all bream within 6oz of each other - but one shoal all had damage, otters, propellers? who knows.

then on the final day we decided while action was good it was repetitive so we decide on a moor in Oulton Broad, nice quite area - yes it was quiet cos the weights went into 6ft of silt.........ahhh

then it was off to find a mooring, a failed attempt meant we had to go back to our starting point, but the mooring was full - so back up stream to where we picked up the boat - problem was the water was more tidal and salty - crap fishing...
We managed to avoid a problem at the bridge where we drifted far too close to the bridge waiting for it to open, then when we moored i was on securing the rope and our approach was a little to fast we overshot - well the rope went straight thru my hands - and you guessed it - severe rope burns, 5 hours in water with a change every 20mins cos the cold water was turning warm......

anyway fishing non existent - so we ended up with only a friday eve to sun morn fishing - but good banter on the sunday evening - even though the tv on the boat did not work and we missed the Euros final.

Verdict
I would defo get some boat handling training - maybe i should buy a smaller boat
Piking time was about 24 hours in the water, live and deads  - not a touch half a mile from Oulton Broad
Bream good but could have better - large shoals not there - but if i lived local i would defo be on the Broad from the bank (for pike also)
roach and perch - potential some good sizes
eels -good to see them back but would rather catch there land locked cousins

pics - to follow

Local Little Gems

After a so-so session 2weeks back on Drinkies in the heat, where Dad managed some bits on mags, i had to get the spinning rod out to see some action and i lost both a jack and an eel??

But i was definately looking forward to some good action over the weeks leading to the start of the river season  - alas the rain.......
I have been working in UK this week and had hoped for a few hours on a local water but this rain had dwindled away all my optimism but i had to get out for a few hours before going back to Germany - initially i was looking at Sainsburys pond but then i came across Duchy ponds on Manchesterfishinfiends blog.

This water is less than 1 miles from Dads house and because i am not able to fish the match this Sunday on there for SFA i decided i would venture down with Dad and wet a line for a few hours,

Well we fished the smaller pond on the left - it seemed to hold less weed, Dad on maggott had a bite a chuck from perch and rudd, while i missed two quick bites on corn it was difficult as no decent fish were showing.

After a far few fish dad was going onto caster to try and temp a better stamp but his did not happen - then i had 3 fish using 3 different baits of a type i just was not expecting - baby tench!!!!!

Now in all my time fishing for tench the tiddlers are rarely ever caught - i think its because they often do not leave their sanctuary like there older brothers or sisters do....they seem to stay in and around silt or other similar feeding ground where natural feed can be picked off.

So 3 baby tench less than 6ozs was a real shock - i think maybe the peg i was fishing is their patch of the lake - non in 25years of tench fishing natural venues and then like buses 3 in a row......

we did not get into any lumps - best fish of the session was a 12oz skimmer to me but dad caught the most

i predict that even in this poor weather someone will have to get over 10lb to win tomorrows match....

i will definately be taking my grandson to this place that is for sure..

6 Month blank is finally over

Well its been a while since i put a fish on the bank - nearly six months to be exect.

Ok i often fish hard waters and only for 2-3 hours a time and yes i target bigger fish with bigger baits but how long was this bad run going to last i thought!!!

2-3 piking session on the Quays in Nov - nothng for me but dad has some perch

3 sessions on Irwell saw me blanking and dad hit into a great Sea trout
3or 4 blanks on Drinkies in early march - but i did miss a couple of good bites, weather always terrible and dad had  nothing on mags also, but not all in vein seeing the youngsters learning how to spin....


2 sessions in poor weather on Rochdale canal saw me with nothing and dad with a few bits on mags
1 session on Irwell old course - worst fishing on there for a while saw dad with a few and ´me well, a blank

then finally....

a quick 2 hour session on Drinkies and dad was into perch from the off, he also lost a very good bream.... but me , well just as we were packing up.... my first bite, yesssssssss i am in on worm and corn cocktail, after a good little fight a 3lb tench was in the net - guess what for the first time i left my camera at home, so only got a pic from my phone which at the moment i cant send via mms or download,.,,,

but at least i caught..

My first Fishing Match in over 25 years

I am attending the Salford Friendly Anglers match on Sunday on the Rochdale canal and i am really looking forward to it

Not because i think i have any chance whatsoever of winning but because i am very competitive and while all my fishing with my dad is pleasure fishing - come wanna be Speci hunter -  we did do a few local matches when dad was a bus driver and his work had a fishing club.
I was 15 then and i recall even winning one on Leeds,Liverpool canal with a few bits and an eel / another bloke would have won but his big eel got through a hole in his net!!!

Anyway i was at the first SFA match on the canal 4weeks ago but couldnt do the match so pleasure fished for a few hours before all arrived and stayed to say hello - i could tell by my lack of action it would be a difficult match won with tiddlers on very small weights

so not owning a pole since a carp took it for a swim on a Reading lake and not liking it anyway . very efficient but just not my style - i know i will not win tiddler bashing on 22 hooks on squatts - so i have to look at bigger baits, more groundbait going in to give a carpet and the hope the tench and bream are on the feed,

Regardless of the outcome it will be a good laugh and will raise money for fish to stock the waters - and for me it will give me 5 hours of focus - something i never give when pleasure fishing / so being totally focused on not missing at bite. changing my feeding patterns, bait presentation etc etc is something a lazy pleasure angler sometimes do not do....

oh and a well done to the lads who got on the fish at Drinkies - i have fished it 3 times for 2 hrs a time and always had a few bites on bigger baits but again pleasure fishing i have missed them while doing something else.... but good tench a carp and pike - well testement to their hard work - i cant wait to get on it in mid week

until then..... i have to fish this match...                              

Fishing around Manchester

Well in the last 2 months i have only managed to get out for 2-3 hours every 2-3 weeks,

I have had a couple of session on the Irwell behind Granada, weather was bad, rain cold and no bites,

I have tried Drinkies for the first time and guess what - it rained and i went lite, no brolly, soaked to the skin and i missed the only bit on worm.... Dad on mags and not a bite - 2 days before in the sun he was watching hundreds of roach and minnows attach bread he threw in.... go figure

With the SalfordFriendlyAnglers Match on the Rochdale canal this week we gave it a go for 3 hours last weeked - great to see a fish........ took about 1 hour to get them going but dad had a few silvers on maggott. I was on bread or worm.....

when i went for my customary new water walk around guess what...... dad was into a decent perch on my rod, damn.... he lost it near the net.

Well at least we saw fish

The wife is away this weekend for her 50th so Dad and i will be giving the canal a go for 3 hrs then Drinkies or the quays from 4 till dark.

Then Sun we will be at the match early just to pleasure fish as i have to be back for my wife at 11am.

Looking forward to seeing some fish banked!!!!

And in local Manc waters.....

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