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Diary of an average angler

Who favours traditional methods & baits

fisherman

This diary dates back to a holiday in 2003 when I think the urge to get back into fishing took off. From around 2007 the trips became more frequent with 2010/11 probably being the peak of activity.
Things again pick up in 2020 - a sort of rebirth!

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Venues & topics
Species
Archive

The Clay Pit (26)

Side pond
Venue: The Clay Pit

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 08.30
Weather: A bright day with a cold easterly wind that freshened and became a nuisance.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler, single shot, 6lb main line to 12 eyed hook.
Changed to link leger for last few hours.
Baits: Maggots, sweetcorn & Spam
Fish: A large bream, a tench and a few small roach, rudd and perch. Two lost fish.

With sciatica still troubling me and gusty wind forecast I went to the Clay Pit side pond where I could park next to where I was fishing, while hoping that the more sheltered location would afford some protection against the wind. But in reality the wind became so gusty that it proved to be quite a problem. I had also done quite well on this little pond in the past so I was hoping for a bit of easy fishing. But as it turned out the fishing was as challenging as the wind!

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Species: Tench, Bream, Roach, Perch, rudd

Earith (18)

Venue: Earith

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 08.45
Weather: Bright start clouding over later with increasing southerly wind.
Tackle:
Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Speedia centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 12 eyed hook.
Home built fibreglass 2lb TC rod, Shimano Exage 4000RC reel, small bomb leger, 12lb line to #6 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots, sweetcorn, Spam & bread flake.
Fish: Roach & dace, bream and 2 tench. Four fish lost.

After two blanks my hope for this session was simply to catch a fish. I took maggots to be on the safe side and sure enough I quite quickly caught a fairly decent roach. Smaller fish started taking the maggots on the drop resulting in a few smaller roach, a couple of dace and a couple of tiny bream. Changing to sweetcorn improved the quality of the fish but I unfortunately lost a few decent ones. I ended up staying far longer than usual in the hope of making up for the lost fish.

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Species: Bream, Tench, Roach, Dace

Fields End (124)

Venue: Fields End

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 09.00
Weather: Overcast with virtually no wind. Quite chilly and becoming colder.
Tackle:
Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Speedia centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 12 eyed hook.
Drennan 1¾ TC 12ft 'Specialist Barbel', Shimano 5000 RE baitrunner, 2SSG link, 8lb line to #8 eyed hook.
Baits: Sweetcorn, luncheon meat & bread flake.
Fish: Blank

I hadn't been out fishing for a month because of a family bereavement, involving some time spent in Durham, and other days were lost because my wife and I both had a number of hospital appointments. On the few days I could have gone out the weather wasn't particularly inviting, cold strong winds not being particularly conducive to sitting by a lake. So, having finally made it, I was hopeful for a bit of sport, anticipating at least a few rudd and perhaps a hungry carp or two. I was to be disappointed.

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Species: Blank

River Great Ouse - Offord (51)

Mill Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord |Mill Stream

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 10.30.
Weather: A beautiful spring day but with a fresh downstream wind.
Tackle: Korum 12ft 'Multi-feeder', Shimano ST2500FB baitrunner, block leger on link, 6lb line to 8 eyed hook..
Baits: Bread Flake & cheese paste.
Fish: Blank

For what was probably going to be my last trip of the season I decided on the Mill Stream, reports suggesting that the river was around four inches over normal level. On arrival I found the stream to be moving through quite quickly and hoped that exploring a few slacks near the far bank might find me a chub. The stream being a fairly straight channel it doesn't offer too many places of refuge for the fish in high water conditions.

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Species: Blank

River Great Ouse - Houghton (21)

Trout Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Houghton |Trout Stream

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 10.00
Weather: Bright and windy. Not too cold but with increasing wind chill.
Tackle: 10' home-built fibreglass rod with Mitchell 300 reel, block leger on link, 6lb line to 8 eyed hook.
Baits: Bread flake and cheese paste.
Fish: One chub not weighed.

The Trout Stream had been going up and down with the recurring periods of heavy rain but the river level information suggested that it was at last below the normal winter high level mark and steady. So, I thought I'd take a chance. On arrival, however, the stream was well up and at a level well above that when I had fished it in the past. It was likely that my usual favourite chub spots might not deliver on this occasion.

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Species: Chub

The Clay Pit (25)

Side pond
Venue: The Clay Pit

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 09.00
Weather: A bit milder than of late and overcast most of the day, with a light but chilly wind.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler, single shot, 6lb main line to 14 eyed hook.
Baits: Red maggots
Fish: 3 tench and one came off, with a few roach & rudd and a solitary small perch.

My previous trip to the Clay Pit was when the rivers were very low because of lack of rain. This latest trip was because the rivers were over their banks as a result of almost incessant rain. The weather certainly seems to have gone haywire, or should I say the climate? It was a gamble to try the small stock pond because my only other winter visit there had resulted in a blank. But I thought a few days of slightly milder weather might have encouraged the tench to feed. There were a couple of carp anglers on the main lake but it was otherwise pretty deserted.

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Species: Tench, Rudd, Roach, Perch

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