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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

Houghton (24)

Back Channel
Venue: River Great Ouse |Houghton

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Arrival time: 10.00
Weather: Bright start with increasing cloud cover. Still quite warm.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano match rod, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, 4.4lb line, 3.8lb Supplex hook length to a 12 eyed hook. .
Baits: Maggots, sweetcorn & bread.
Fish: Roach, perch, bream, dace & bleak.

I had fished this spot back in July having moved there from the weir pool further upstream. On that occasion I was using a light quivertip rod and caught a few fish, including some perch. I had thought at the time that the swim would fish well by trotting a float so that's what I tried. There was more flow after some decent rain and there was more water in the channel. The flow actually increased while I was there as did the depth, but unfortunately this seemed to have a negative effect.

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Species: Roach, Perch, Dace, Bream, Bleak

River Great Ouse - Offord (55)

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

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Arrival time: 09:00.
Weather: Bright start clouding over later with rain. Troublesome upstream breeze.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano match rod, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, 5lb line, 3.8lb Supplex hook length to a 12 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots, worms, and sweetcorn.
Fish: Dace, roach, rudd, small chub, bleak and perch.

Following significant rain I decided to go back to the Top Stream at Offord hoping that the duckweed would have been washed through. Unfortunately while there was water running out of the Top Stream over the small weir, a bank of rushes had blocked the flow of duckweed. This had resulted in a blanket of the stuff backing up, which was covering the swim I fished last time. I settled in the next swim along, which I had fished in the past. Expecting some early bites from small fish, I was disappointed. In fact I had to work hard to catch a few little ones.

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Species: Dace, Roach, Rudd, Chub, Perch

River Great Ouse - St Ives (2)

Dolphin Meadow
Venue: River Great Ouse |St Ives

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Arrival time: 10:00.
Weather: Sunny with gathering white clouds and a gusty easterly breeze.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano match rod, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, 5lb line, 2.5lb pre-tied Drennan hook length to 16 fine wire hook.
Baits: Maggots, worms, sweetcorn & hemp as attractor.
Fish: Dace, rudd, roach, a small chub & bleak.

I had fished the Dolphin Meadow stretch of the Great Ouse soon after I joined the St Ives club back in 2020 but had blanked. My approach back then was to leger, hoping for chub, but I've since learned that winter is the best time to seek that quarry. I had also learned that the match men fished the float out in the stream. So this time it was the match rod with maggots and worms, the quarry being anything that turned up. And a few species did, although the expected perch were absent.

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Species: Dace, Rudd, Roach, Chub, Bleak

Barnwell (2)

North Lake
Venue: Barnwell

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Arrival time: 08.30 (fishing 09:15)
Weather: Cloudy bright with a gusty wind
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler, 6lb line with 6lb Acolyte hook length to a 10 eyed hook.
Baits: Sweetcorn and custard bread paste.
Fish: A lot of smallish rudd.

My second trip to Barnwell with the hope of catching tench. I didn't think I would get the spot I had last time as I was sure that a local might beat me to it. But when I arrived I was surprised to find that there were no other anglers on the lake. So my initial feelings were of great hope. The wind was blowing into my face, which was a bit of a downer, but I approached things with a very positive attitude. I put in some groundbait before I started tackling up etc., a mixture of Dynamite Frenzied Hemp, breadcrumbs, hemp and sweetcorn. Then the first cast with sweetcorn resulted in a small rudd taking the bait before it reached bottom!

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Species: Rudd

Fields End (126)

Venue: Fields End

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Arrival time: 15:45
Weather: Bright and warm with a light easterly breeze.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Speedia centrepin, waggler, 8lb line direct to a 10 eyed hook.
Baits: Sweetcorn, spam & bread/custard paste.
Fish: 4 carp, a number of roach and a couple of perch.

With another hot weather warning forecast for the remainder of the week, I decided to try a late afternoon and evening session at Fields End Water. I hadn't done that well there of late but was hoping that the carp would come into the margins in the evening. I got a favourite spot on the east bank where it's possible to sit on ground rather than a platform. So all was set to try out my theory.

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Species: Carp, Carps 10lb+, Roach, Perch

River Great Ouse - Offord (54)

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

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

Arrival time: 08:00.
Weather: Cloudy start - brightening late morning and becoming hot.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler, 6lb line with a 3.8lb Supplex hook length to a 16 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots, sweetcorn & hemp as attractor.
Fish: Roach, perch, small chub & bleak.

I had cut short my previous session on the Houghton back channel because of the heat and had maggots left over. At the same time another very hot spell was forecast so I decided to go to the Offord Top Stream to try for some perch before it once again became too hot to get out. On arrival the amount of surface weed on the car park pool was unbelievable and the top stream was also affected. But fortunately a gentle flow had kept the middle clear and I managed to find a spot where it was possible to fish over the marginal weed.

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Species: Perch, Roach, Rudd, Chub, Bleak

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