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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
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Species
Archive
Venues & topics
Species
Archive

Earith (4)

Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 10.00
Weather: Sunny with increasing cloud and breeze.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy VX Rova Specimen, Shimano 5000 RE baitrunner, small bomb leger, 8lb main line, 6lb fluorocarbon hooklength to 10 eyed hook.
Baits: Bread flake & corn.
Fish: One carp, 6 bream, a tench and a hybrid carp .

A fished this pretty little pit in May last year and loved the tranquility. Being a bit earlier in the year the reeds hadn't grown as high on this occasion and the lily pads were still to show themselves. So I was unsure how it would fish.

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Species: Carp, Bream, Tench

Earith (3)

Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 09.30
Weather: Very still and humid then hot once the sun broke through.
Tackle: 12ft Greys Rova Specimen, Shimano 5000RE with 8lb line direct to a 12 eyed hook.
Simple bomb leger.
Baits: Bread flake & maggots.
Fish: Two tench, four bream and two carp.

Today I tried a different swim, the one that I dropped into on my last visit and where I lost a carp. It offered more open water than the first swim I fished on this lake but unfortunately it was exposed to full sun and became uncomfortable in the afternoon.

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Species: Tench, Bream, Carp

Earith (2)

Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 09.15
Weather: Overcast, brightening later. Windy but swim sheltered.
Tackle: 12ft Greys Rova Specimen, Shimano 5000RE with 8lb line direct to an 8 and later 14 eyed hook. Simple bomb leger
Baits: Bread flake & maggots.
Fish: Two tench, two bream and a carp with fish lost.

On my second trip to this lake I tried a differnet approach. The previous week I had noticed activity by a central reed bed so today I legered to this spot with some success.

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Species: Tench, Bream, Carp

River Great Ouse - Offord (17)

Top Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord

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

Arrival time: circa 11.30 at swim
Weather: Mainly sunny with a strong westerly wind. But not too cold.
Tackle: Shimano 9ft Aero X1 with 1.0oz quiver, simple SSG link and later a small cube leger weight, 5lb line, 2½lb hook link, 16 hook.
Baits: Maggot with hemp as attractor
Fish: A number of small perch, 1 roach and 1 bream

After struggling for chub recently I decided today to try for roach in the Top Stream at Offord. I hadn't fished this stream before but had been advised that it held some good roach. I think they're best fished for with the pole but as I don't have one it was to be match rod and centrepin. However, on arrival not only did my planned swim look uninviting because of the strong wind but the idea of float fishing in such conditions wasn't appealing.

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Species: Perch, Roach, Bream

Stake Hill (8)

Venue: Stake Hill
Blank

Nothing worth photographing today.

Arrival time: 17.00
Weather: Cloudy with rain threatening, and actually arriving, thus cutting short my stay
Swim: Far corner
Tackle: 12ft Greys’ Rova Float rod, Speedia centre pin reel with 3lb line, waggler, 14 hook.
Baits: Sweetcorn & bread flake.
Fish: A number of small bream and one small tench.

The weather forecast wasn’t great, but I took a chance and arrived at 17.00 to find an empty lake. Obviously nobody else was brave enough to chance it.

The wind was strong but, as it happened, the direction was such that the corner where I normally fish was in fact the only sheltered spot. After a short while a small bream was hooked. It leapt out of the water and proceeded to ‘skim’ across the surface. I guess this is where the term skimmers comes from.

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Species: Bream, Tench

Stake Hill (7)

Venue: Stake Hill
image

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

Arrival time: 18.00
Weather: Bright evening clouding over towards dusk, when the temperature dropped rapidly.
Swim: Far corner
Tackle: 12ft Greys’ Rova Float rod, Speedia centre pin reel with 3lb line, waggler, 14 hook.
Baits: Sweetcorn & bread flake.
Fish: Mixed bag of small bream, tench and roach, with a carp of about 2lbs.

A week’s holiday near Ilkley provided the opportunity to re-visit Stake Hill Fishery. I first went there in 2007, which I think was the year it opened. The fish have always been quite small but on light tackle provide a good evening’s sport.

Although there were more people this time than on previous occasions, I don’t think the fish receive anywhere near the ‘feed’ that would be put into the water on a more popular commercial lake. This probably accounts for the fairly slow growth rate, plus average temperature in this ‘high’ lake is probably lower than in lowland areas.

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Species: Carp, Tench, Roach, Bream

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