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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 (18)

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: 08.50
Weather: After a very hot spell, chilly with occasional sun and windy.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 10/12 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots, bread flake, spam.
Fish: Two tench and one small rudd.

After a scorching hot beginning to the week I decided to go over to the Clay Pit as I didn't fancy too much walking, thinking it would still be quite warm. In fact it was really chilly with a fresh wind. It was my first visit to the Clay Pit this year as the lake was closed for spawning until just before the opening of the river season. I've had fairly consistent success on the small side pond in the past but on this occasion it was really challenging. I hadn't had a positive bite in the first three hours.

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Species: Tench, Rudd

Earith (10)

No head-cam today!
Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 09.00
Weather: Overcast with hardly any wind and rain forecast.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 10 eyed hook.
Baits: White bread flake & spam.
Fish: 8 bream, a crucian & a crucian hybrid + a lost carp.

I've been alternating between Earith and Fields End since getting fishing again this spring, my other normal choice of venue, the Clay Pit, being closed for spawning. Today I was back at Earith and once again hoping for some tench. Things didn't start well when I discovered that I hadn't replaced the SD memory card in my head-cam, thus requiring me to improvise filming using my iPhone and a camcorder. When I eventually got set up my first hooked fish was almost certainly a largish carp that tore off into a large bed of lilies, leaving me attached to a lily stem. I got everything back but it wasn't a great start. I had switched from bread flake to spam which had it seems tempted the carp.

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Species: Tench, Bream

Earith (9)

A short session
Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 09.00
Weather: Sunny with light clouds. Becoming very warm.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 10 eyed hook.
Baits: Seedy bread flake with crumbed bread & 'insect feast' bird food as groundbait.
Fish: 6 bream (one hybrid) and 2 tench. + a lost carp.

The day didn't start well when my car wouldn't start. In fact it was dead, no warning lights, nothing. It later transpired that the battery had failed completely. Fortunately my wife's car was available but with my car problem in the back of my mind I had been in two minds whether to go. The weather forecast was perfect and in the end I set off, but I only stayed for just over three hours as I wanted to get back to sort out the car. Fortunately I had some decent sport in those three hours.

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Species: Tench, Bream

Earith (8)

Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 09.45
Weather: Sunny with light clouds. Quite mild but with a troublesome wind.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 10 eyed hook (changed to 8 later).
Baits: Seedy bread with 'insect feast' bird food as groundbait.
Fish: A crucian hybrid, 2 bream, a tench and a carp.

My first trip since November last year, and after my left hip replacement in February. High water level at the lake prevented me from fishing my usual spot at the back, the only available swims being nearer the entrance. This wasn't an issue although whereas the back of the lake is very sheltered, in today's location I was exposed to a troublesome wind.

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Species: Tench, Bream, Carp, Carp 10lb+, Crucian

The Clay Pit (17)

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: 09.45
Weather: Chilly with a weak sun and windy. Clouding over later.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 12 eyed hook.
Baits: Dead maggots, sweetcorn, bread flake, cheese paste.
Fish: Three tench, one small roach and a tiny perch.

After around four weeks of coughing and nose blowing with a cold, or perhaps some other virus, this was my first trip out in just under a month. I decided to give the rivers a miss in view of the recent heavy rain and rising levels. Instead I went to the side pond at the Clay Pit where I have had fairly consistent sport, although I wasn't too confident this late in the year.

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Species: Tench, Roach, Perch

The Clay Pit (16)

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: 10.15
Weather: Very hot during a late summer heatwave, reaching 27⁰C by the time I left.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 12 eyed hook.
Baits: Sweetcorn & cheese paste.
Fish: 5 Tench (one very small) and a small crucian.

For various reasons I hadn't been out for over two weeks and when the opportunity arose we were in the middle of a late summer heatwave. I really didn't fancy too much walking as would be the case on a stream or river, so I decided to go to a local pit where in the past I had been almost guaranteed some fish.

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Species: Tench, Crucian

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