Bob Goes Fishing

Syndicate Lake (10)

03 May 2013 Venue: Syndicate Lake

Nothing worth photographing today

Arrival time: 12.30
Weather: Cloudy and warm becoming hot when the sun broke through (20 ℃).
Swim: Lily pads and NE bay.
Tackle: 12ft Drennan Barbel Specialist, 8lb line, 10 hook.
Bait: Luncheon meat.
Fish: A few roach.

After some unseasonal May weather the forecast was for a warm sunny day and it didn’t disappoint, although the fish did!

I started at the Lily pads swim and immediately saw carp cruising further out into the lake. I went for quite stiff tackle and started fishing the margin with luncheon meat. To my delight a few carp came into the margin, swimming literally in front of my feet, so they obviously weren’t alarmed.

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Species: Roach

River Welland (21)

05 March 2013 Venue: River Welland

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 10.15
Weather: Bright and although chilly when I arrived, it warmed up when the sun gained some strength.
Hardly any wind. A perfect day in fact.
Swim: Roving.
Tackle: 12ft Korum multi-feeder, Shimano bait caster, 8lb line, 6 hook tied direct. Three SG shots on a short link.
Bait: Luncheon meat.
Fish: Two chub, best fish 3¾lb

With only a couple of weeks of the season left and a favourable weather forecast, I decided to fit in a visit to the river.

It was still running fairly strongly although nowhere near as high or heavy as on my last visit. The level was perhaps down a good foot from then. It was still coloured although again nowhere near as heavily as previously. The gravel bottom could be seen along the shallower runs.

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Species: Chub

River Welland (20)

19 February 2013 Venue: River Welland

Only one photo today.
Larger light-box version in the full report

Arrival time: 10.45
Weather: Bright and frosty on arrival (3℃)
Later it was quite warm in the sun - no wind.
Swim: Roving.
Tackle: 12ft Korum multi-feeder, Shimano bait caster, 8lb line, 6 hook tied direct. Three SG shots on a short link.
Bait: Luncheon meat.
Fish: One chub 3¾lbs

With all the recent snow and high winds it’s been a few weeks now since I visited the river. It was still running high and a lot of water was coming down.

I started at a spot where I picked up a chub a couple of visits ago. On that occasion there were reeds that were creating a small slack near the bank but these were now below the water level. There was, however, still signs of slacker water. Second cast the rod top kicked and then pulled round and I was into a good fish. It went out into the flow and it took a bit of effort to get it back into the slacker water nearer the bank, where I could net it. On the bank it weighed 3¾lb. Not a bad start after only ten minutes!

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Species: Chub

River Welland (19)

08 January 2013 Venue: River Welland

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 10.45
Weather: Bright cloudy.
Moderate westerly wind.
Swim: Roving.
Tackle: 12ft Korum multi-feeder, Shimano bait caster, 8lb line, 6 hook tied direct. Three SG shots on a short link.
Bait: Luncheon meat.
Fish: Three chub, best fish 4lbs.

It’s been nearly two months since my last visit, although the lead up to Christmas accounted for the best part of December.

The river had obviously overflowed the meadow during the last deluge. There was a lot of flotsam laying around and the bank-side trees were decorated with various litter that had washed down with the flood water. Considering the banks are normally about six feet above water level, there must have been a lot of water!

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Species: Chub

River Welland (18)

13 November 2012 Venue: River Welland

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 10.45
Weather: Bright morning clouding over in the afternoon.
Light south-westerly wind.
Swim: Roving.
Tackle: 12ft Korum multi-feeder, Shimano bait caster, 8lb line, 6 hook tied direct. Four SG shots on a short link.
Bait: Luncheon meat.
Fish: Three chub, best fish 4½lbs

Only the second time on the Welland this season. The forecast was for a mild day and they were right. About 13º C, which is good for November. The river was running quite strongly, which was good to see, as I can’t remember the last time that I saw a decent flow on this stretch. Hopefully it will clear out some of the debris and dead vegetation.

I decided to walk the bank today and had my new ‘Chub’ bag, which is a very small shoulder bag for essentials. I had my canvas bucket for bait and food. Other than this I was only carrying the rod, landing net, rod-rest and a light stool.

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Species: Chub

Syndicate Lake (8)

09 October 2012 Venue: Syndicate Lake

Nothing worth photographing today

Arrival time: 11.30
Weather: Sunny / cloudy.
Hardly any wind. Very mild for the time of year.
Swim: Lily pads and SW corner
Tackle: 10 ft Fishtec compact float rod with Shimano ST5000 reel, 6lb line and 12 hook.
Baits: Used luncheon meat on the hook and sweetcorn as an attractor.
Fish: One small roach

On arrival I went straight to the lily pads swim. Since my last visit somebody had cleared a lot of the bank-side growth, exposing another platform about ten yards further along. I didn’t even know it was there. I’m always a bit suspicious when I encounter ‘clearance overkill,' my inclination being to retain as much cover as possible.

I was also a bit worried that whoever had been fishing there might have overdone the ground-baiting, a tendency that often goes hand-in-hand with over exuberant vegetation clearance. I’m stereotyping again, but I’ve witnessed this sort of ‘fishing’ in the past.

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Species: Roach

Bob Goes Fishing

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Syndicate Lake (10)

River Welland (21)

River Welland (20)

River Welland (19)

River Welland (18)

Syndicate Lake (8)