Mikes Coarse trip

Mike tried the far end of our local pond, where we never really fish, and had a productive day....

A hot spring day, official temp got to 23c but it was probably warmer than that. A gentle breeze was pushing a few ripples straight into this area. Approach was simple, Greys prodigy 1lb 8oz tip, with stonze set up for roach as a margin rod. Harrisons 1lb 6oz Avon with centre pin lift biting just on the shelf in front.
Prodigy in the margin, no feeder mix, a few small boillies as loose feed, within 5 minutes an 11.5 carp started the day well.

It was followed within 30 minutes with a second fish in around 9lb. Both fell to small strawberry boillies. It still seems the bait of the moment.

Next fish on same set up on same spot. A lovely 1lb 10oz roach pure and in great condition.


Exactly the same spot produced two other fish later in the day, a superb roach with a little mouth deformity probably from mishandling when young, weighing 2lb.


Final fish from that area a lovely young tench around 2.5lb, A good sign indeed, but no piccy.

Ground bait was crushed hemp and halibut mix 50/50 with red blood worm. Slightly pink light coloured.

------------------

Lift biting out in front with corn produced two 4oz roach and 5 skimmers to about 1lb.
That area was baited with a few small balls of mix pellet and corn.

Slurping carp in the margin under the tree tempted me to see what the centre pin could do.
I got smashed up under wood work in the margin. Could have been a big (and I mean big) tench. Only saw its tail. I could be wrong but if it was a tench it was in the 6 to 7lb range.
That swim went dead, so changed to the island. You have to get really close in and I soon got caught up and that was the end of one rig.
The Avon was very under gunned for where i was using it . The tree roots and snags cost me two fish.

The day ended with a fine mirror of around 8lb just as the light was fading. the centre pin in a scrap sounds absolutely fab. It was a lovely way to catch a fish. The rod lying on the bank, a piece of crust on a size 10 lowered in off the rod tip a few cm out from the bank. Followed by the scream of the ratchet and the Avon looped all the way over. Yates would be proud.

Notably at the end I put in the left over bread as slices . If I had stayed into darkness several fish could have been taken from open water. They were slurping away like crazy, but only at the full slices, not the small pieces.

Coarse trip

Another late evening attack on our local pond.
We used strawberry boillies glugged in strawberry dip.
Mike was there in the afternoon and had a 12oz roach and perfect condition 1.5lb roach both about 4pm in the margin. He also had two carp of 8lb and one of 9lb 2oz.
I set up about 6:30 and Christened my feeder rod with a carp of about 6lb and a bream of about 2.5 lb.
It was perfectly still and mild, and the carp started feeding off the top in the dark, so we floater fished bread for them, and Mike had another carp off the surface at 10lb 2oz.
It was very distracting, and we ended up fishing until 1am without even noticing the time.

New Rod

Had a nice surprise this week. The other week I used Mikes feeder rod, and was very impressed with how light in the hand It was. Well mike must have made a note of that, and went and bought me one on ebay as a early birthday present. Very cool indeed :-)
Abu Conolon Premier 11ft8inch or 13ft. / 3 - 8 lbs Lines. / 5 Tips.

I've taken the quiver tips, two 1oz, two 2oz and one 3oz, and painted the tips, firstly to code them, but also to see them more clearly.


Its quite something. Cant wait to go have a play :-)

Rig & Fishing Tools

I was asked about my tool clip ring, so thought I'd share it here.

I was fed up with either losing baiting needles, disgorgers, or my scissors, or not being able to find them in my box fast enough, so I came up with this.
Now I never lose small tools, I always know where my tool ring is, I can add or remove tools as I like, and they still stow away nicely.
Its basically a stainless keyring, with good sized sea fishing clip/snap swivels threaded on.
The swivels mean I can still use the bait drill with a twisting motion without having to rotate the whole thing, and stops any tangles.

Coarse fish

Local trip. Sunny but rather cool with a NW wind.
Mike fished the afternoon, and I joined him for the evening.
Mike stuck to small strawberry boillies to really test them fairly.

Mike had a cracking afternoon, banking...
x2Roach to 12oz
x1 Roach 1lb 12 oz


x1 Hybrid 1lb 8oz


x4 carp, x1 of 8lb 6oz, x2 at 11lb


and x1 of 11lb 4oz.


A trio of double figure carp from this tiny pond really is a red letter day!

I used small scopex boillies, and had a succession of small bream (foul stinking things - yes I hate them).
There was a noticeable lack of tench!

The temperature was lower than the last trip, and we are beginning to realise that when the temp is warm, they feed into dark, but if its colder, they switch right off at sundown.

Spring Tench and Roach

An evening trip to our local pond. Got there at 6:30 and baits in for 7pm.
Lovely warm sunny afternoon.
Fished in the shallows.
I had a 3lb tench, followed by this cracker at 4lb 10oz. Ive had this tench from this pond before at over 5lb.


Later on I had a couple small roach, and then this little beauty at 1lb 6oz


Fished almost exclusively small strawberry boillies.
Had an awful lot of dropped bites and runs, which we think was down to the hairs being too long.
Mike had 3 small Bream, which we haven't really seen before in this pond, and we've fished it for almost 10 years.

Packed up at 10pm as the temperature dropped.