Its Been A Busy Week Though I Did Catch A Brace of 3lb Plus Perch

It’s been a very busy week; I’ve had to record some interviews with PC Mark Hyde and Sgt Tam Miller of the British Army who are involved in getting kids into fishing which has proved a great success, I then had a short session on the River Ribble catching a brace of brown trout on a Pheasant Tail Nymph. I then spent a few hours clearing away rubbish that had been left behind by the high water; I despair at the large number of plastic super market shopping bags that get thrown into our water courses. Let’s have 50p tax on plastic bags, in Ireland they slapped a tax on bags and the consumption dropped dramatically.

Though I’ve been busy I still managed to answer listener’s emails and letters, I do get a lot of pleasure in helping you with your fishing. The most popular questions have been what are the best baits for carp and barbel? Other questions asked are, best place to spend a fishing holiday in fresh or saltwater. What tackle is best for beach fishing and what is the best rod for barbel. My next task was to write features for the Angling Star, Countryman’s Weekly and an American magazine. Once I got all this done I turned my attention to sorting out tackle bait and food for a few days in Berkshire.

On Monday John Houghton a fire officer from Parbold and me left home at 4-30 in the morning for a short session on the River Kennet and Aquatek’s Midgham gravel pits near Woolhampton. Usually I travel down the M6 M5 A417 A419 then the M4; with major flooding in the Worcester and Tewksbury areas we chose the M6 then the toll road followed by the M42 M40 and the A34 arriving in Thatcham around 9 o’clock. After breakfast it was off to fish Aquatek’s two lakes fishery near the Old Bath road at Midgham near Woolhampton. The lake level had reached new heights flooding over the surrounding banks, as John and I walked around the big lake we found carp feeding in a foot of water where normally we would sit. John chose to fish for the carp with floating crust, a wise choice. Directly he chucked a bit of crust on the water the carp were eating it.

Baiting with crust he cast out, within minutes his bait was taken. The answering strike connected with a good fish, it was on for about twenty seconds then threw the hook. The escaping carp created a big bow wave as it shot through the shallows into the lake, taking all the other carp with it. We waited for a while to see if the fish would return, they didn’t deciding to stay in the main lake. We had a slow walk around both lakes looking for carp in the shallows, nothing was seen. Arriving back at our chosen swim, I put the kettle on for a fresh brew. While waiting for the kettle to boil we started to sort out our gear, I suggested to John that he uses a sliding float rig with a waggler float, 4lb Gamma line with a Pallarax size 12 barbless hook. We lobworms, red gentles and sweet corn for bait. The target fish were perch, carp and tench. I also made up similar tackle using a bigger waggler than John, having plumbed our swims for depth and weed we were both ready to fish.

Within minutes of casting out the lobworm and corn baited hook I had a nice perch weighing 2-3-0 this was quickly followed by another of 2-6-0. Meanwhile John was catching some slightly smaller perch. After a fifteen minute session with no action I then had two common carp about 5lbs each, on the light tackle they put up a good fight. Time for another brew and a sandwich. As we sat chatting in the warm sunshine between the showers we both said how nice it was to be fishing such lovely water. I caught several more 2lb plus fish with an average of 2-6-0 I was fishing about thirty feet out in front of a dense bed of Canadian pond weed, where sadly I lost a very good perch which we though would be 4lb plus. We could see the fish but not pull it through the weed. Feeding with chopped worms and red gentles certainly attracted the perch into the area. My best two perch weighed in at 3-2-0 and 3-6-0. John lost the biggest roach I have ever seen on the end of a line In a foot of water at about seven feet away from me I had a super view of this big roach that would have weighed at least 3lbs. It was magnificent. Then the hook pulled and it was gone. On two occasions we watched some very big tench roll on the surface dolphin fashion but neither of us could get the tench to take bait.

On the River Kennet John had his first barbel within three minutes of casting out a chicken egg size lump of sausage meat, catching three barbel on his first trip after the species. John would be the first to admit he should have had at least a dozen. I can put you the listener or reader in the right spot, give you the tackle and bait, but then you have to do the rest yourself. The next day John got Will Carter to call in at Tadley Angling to pick up a Grauvelle Specialist one and a half pound test curve rod which was quickly christened by John with a brace of barbel at 5 and 6lbs on luncheon meat. It was around midnight when we arrived back home.

I spent Thursday and Friday on the River Ribble doing some habitat work, repairing mink traps and some fencing damaged in the recent high water. I then spent a couple of hours helping John and Sue Atkins with their casting how to read a river and the places where they might find sea trout. The wet summer has certainly improved the runs of salmon and sea trout on our northern rivers. It was around 4am on Saturday morning when I unlocked the studio door, after a quick brew it was into the studio to get next weeks At The Waters Edge programme edited. 9 o’clock Janet Stansfield turned up at the studio to join me for a few hours fishing on the River Aire. We fished hard tried a dozen likely looking spots, but all we had to show for our effort was a pike about 8lbs and a wild brown trout about a pound and a half. Both fish on legered crust. The river had a good flow with a slight colour, we should have caught chub but we didn’t get a touch.