Repeats .....same again please !

I had planned to go Perch fishing today but work got in the way again . Shame because it was a lovely day . Roll on the weekend ! You never know the rivers might be up for a visit .

I am still going through old pictures and found these two :

Believe it or not this is the same fish . She weighed 17lbs ( I'm honest as well as she weighed the same both times !) and was caught twice in about 2 hours within 20 yards . Obviously hungry !
This is not the first time I have had a repeat capture . My record is the same small Pike of about 6lbs caught 5 times in th space of 30 minutes . I felt sorry for him and fed him a couple of smelt and moved on !

Bernie and Dave

I had the day off today so what a great chance to catch up with good  friend Dave for a trip to try and catch a Perch . All the local tackle shops rave over " Bernies" lake , so off we went .

Following advice we fished the long , Match lake . I only managed a small Tench to worm on the pole with chopped worm and red maggot feed  . However the lake looks nice and has some pedigree so I will be back.

Dave poised !



It was good to see Dave before he jets off to his next fishing adventure , as he goes Mahseer fishing in India in march . Dave is the only person I know who has fished in all the continents and has a list of 100lb plus fish as long as your arm .Amazing stories too , watch out for low flying Tarpon !

The new camera ....software , downloads and errors plus some favourites

Well the new camera has arrived . Its a Fujifilm , Finepix S4000. A bridge type compact camera . All was well until I tried to connect it to the computer to download the pictures . No luck . So advice was sought and a card reader purchased , which again didn't work ! Anyway software issues seem to have been solved so hopefully it will serve me well . I just need to get out and catch some fish to take some pictures !

In the process I had a quick look through some old pictures and although they are not of fish I like them ! The Rhino were in South Africa .

 

These guys really do catch fish but I wouldn't fancy sitting up there for long . Pole fishing anyone ?

The next picture is not the best picture in the world I know but its of a Blue whale . A creature I had always wanted to see , and an ambition realised in Sri Lanka last year . Fabulous !

 

One animal that has fascinated me for ages is the African Wild Dog. I spent a lot of time in Zambia and Kenya looking for one but alas they eluded me , but in Tanzania I struck gold . Fantastic !

 

And of course you cant forget these , especially at close quarters !

More Books ,more shelves , more tackle.... i need a bigger shed !

There is a theme here : so keep  with me on this . This book by Clive Gammon follows the multi discipline , sea fishing , game and coarse fishing approach , which has influenced me in the way I fish . Its also meant that the fishing tackle industry has received most of my spare cash ever since I was about 9 years old ! Oh and the shed trade has benefitted too as my tackle collection has expanded and needed more space to accommodate it , and of course the shelving to house all those books . Which is why I am now slimming down the old collection . This one stays . Happy memories of reading this in the school library when I should have been reading Shakespeare or some other tome .The picture sequence of the " Jaws" moment when the pike float is pulled across the surface by a fish is brilliant . Also the Tope from the shore section of the book is still on my list of must do experiences . Also in the school library ( and now mine !) was this one :

Again this follows the sea , game and coarse fishing approach  but has a cracking chapter on Shark fishing . Another milestone was finally catching a shark last year , what a fantastic experience , thanks Jeff !

 

Now an all time favourite fishing book . This one by John Piper , has remained a must read for me over the last 30 years. Its content consists of John's articles from the Anglers mail in the late 60's and 70's. Again they span the whole gambit of fishing . There are some great articles: one on  eel fishing with  the great terry Coulson in the days when close season eeling was allowed on the canals with large hooks , how times have changed ,  and a chapter on freelined worm fishing for trout which inspired me to use the tactic for chub on the River Ouse ages ago . I must do that again !

The second book ....is more of the same !

 

The last couple are again books that spent more time at my house than the local library . I think I had them on permanent loan ! But having expanded my Pike fishing library, to encompass a complete shelf it has to be said that  these two contain all you need in tackle advice and tactics . Modern materials have improved but the basics are the same . If only I could go pike fishing on the rivers and put this theory  into practise . Roll on some dry weather !

 

A few Favourite things ...Fishing in the footsteps of greatness ?

Well the fishing book collection has to be trimmed down . A lack of space being the issue . So I thought that I would have a review of some of the books that will definitely have to stay .

These two were my first fishing books . The ladybird book was the first ever and its still pretty relevant today . The " Fishing with the Experts" was the one that had the most influence though , as it opened my mind to Sea , Fly Fishing and Coarse Fishing . The Mr Crabtree cartoons are still the business ! I cannot pass a piece of water without my minds eye conjuring up a cartoon image with the potential locations of fish species , sad but true !

These were great ! I bought mine from Woolworths when they sold fishing tackle . I now have the complete set !

The Dick Walker book must be the one that changed my outlook most . I joined the ranks of the  specimen hunter ! Or at least that is what I thought I was doing !
I then moved on to the Osprey books . ( Guess what I have now  collected all of them !)  Jim Gibbinson's writing in these and in the magazines really captured my imagination and anything by him became a must read .
This issue if Angling from 1976 is one that I have kept , as to me it is the perfect collection of angling topics. Why do the current crop of magazines not cater for the all types of angling in one mag approach ?
The Fishing step by step were great and that style of image and short description was a winner to me in explaining tackle and tactics .

Now we come to the all time classic . What a book ! Still as relevant now as when it was first written. The old boy was onto every tactic that we now think of as " new" , a real inspiration . In fact when jeff and I made a pilgrimage to Loch Lomand we took a copy of this and scouted out the spot where Fred lost the record pike . Sad but true ! Fishing in the footsteps of greatness .....

Fishing photos

Well the old fishing camera is in need of replacement . So a quick trip ( via the internet ) to various dealers resulted in a second hand camera being purchased and hopefully ideal for the rigours of fishing .
So I thought it might be good to review some of the old pictures .
Fishing at Chew ....

 

 

Then there was Loch Lomand ...

 

But maybe a picture needs a fish in it ?

 

 



Interesting things ?

I always enjoy the fishing but sitting in the countryside always has its pleasures . The last few days on the club lake have been great with Greater Spotted Woodpeckers , Green Woodpeckers and Buzzards all around the place.
I love the outside world and watching wildlife . I also enjoy a bit of foraging for wild food in the appropriate season . What could be better free food and its strange but most of the recipes have alcohol at their centre ? Or end in jam !

Anyway while sitting and fishing I happened to look at the plants around me . The one that took my eye was this one .

 

 

Bit of a non entity isn't it ?

Absolutely NOT ! This is the most deadly plant around : Hemlock Water Dropwort . It has bulbous pale swollen roots which if eaten will kill you . The foliage is not good either ! So if you fancy some foraging : DONT EAT THIS ! I don't think there is much that you will want to forage that looks like this.

 

 



 

Rod ,Pole or Perch ?

Well this pole fishing is really addictive ! More success with the chopped worms has resulted in some interesting fishing . Plus some interlopers which took a shine to the worms and really pulled the elastic ! Next thing is a cupping kit , you can never have too much tackle !

Perch

Well the rivers are still no where to be seen , the fields are covered in them !
So what to do for that fishing fix ?
Well the new club has a lake which is reputed to hold a few stripies . So out with the pole and chopped worms and red maggots resulted in the following ......

All three over 2lbs the best 2lbs 8oz.Interestingly they all came from a shallow swim next to some old lilies , and the perch would only bite when the clouds cover was full . Bright conditions resulted in bream and roach .
This pole fishing is great !

Here's to 2013 .......

Well its always the same ... work gets in the way of fishing ! 2013 was a bit of a wash out ( no pun intended ) regarding fishing but it did have its highlights , my first Blue Shark being one of them !
The season started on the local rivers and despite not catching a Barbel the Chub were obliging . ( What a turn round the rivers were very low in June a below  , now they are unfishable )

The next event was September when an invite from Jeff to join him on a Blue Shark trip to Falmouth was too good an offer to turn down !
The rubby dubby production was a messy process ! But it worked really well ....14 sharks to the boat over three days plus a few  that got away . Best to Jeff at an estimated 100lb plus. We had great weather as well , plus some great views of Dolphins, Sunfish and Minke Whales .

Next stop ...Pike.
Jeff had joined a new club which gave access to some new stretches of non tidal river , so I joined up as well . First trip out ...

23lb 6oz on a scabby old mackerel from last year !
I then managed a few trips on the tidal stretch for a few fish to 16lbs .

 

Then it rained !