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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

River Great Ouse - Offord (20)

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: 08.30
Weather: Overcast & breezy - brightening later
Tackle: 11ft 6" John Wilson Avon quiver, Shimano 5000RE baitrunner, 2/3xSSG link leger, 6lb line direct to 8 eyed hook (14 hook for a while)
Baits: Bread flake, cheese paste, worm.
Fish: Two chub including a PB for the stream + small dace & perch.

After visiting a couple of heavily weeded streams this season, today I went to the Mill Stream at Offord. Weedy, certainly, but nowhere near as bad as those other streams. It was a slow start, a usually reliable swim not offering up anything.

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Species: Chub, Dace, Perch

River Great Ouse - Offord (3)

Mill Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord
chub

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

Arrival time: 09.00
Weather: Bright and warm with no wind.
Tackle: 12ft Korum multifeeder rod, link leger, 6lb line/4lb cast, 12 hook.
Baits: Spam and bread flake.
Fish: Two sizeable chub, smaller chub, dace and two eels.

Once again to the Mill Stream. I took my Korum multifeeder rod that has a delicate tip for improved indication.

I again fished just below the weir pool outflow. The river level was noticeable lower, perhaps by a foot to 18 inches. No water was flowing over the main weir apron, only over a secondary section.

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Species: Chub, Dace, Eel

River Great Ouse - Offord (1)

Mill Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 08.45
Weather: Bright at first but clouding over and much cooler than of late. Little wind.
Tackle: 10ft Fishtec Compact Float, link leger, 6lb line 12 hook.
Baits: Luncheon meat.
Fish: Chub and dace, and an eel!

Continuing my quest for river fishing in the area I've now joined the Offord & Buckden Angling Society. Its waters on the Ouse are about 35 minutes away and include the main river and back streams. Today I fished the Mill Stream.

I had scouted the waters the previous day and decided on the Mill Stream as it looked 'chubby' and I much prefer smaller streams.

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Species: Chub, Dace, Eel

River Welland (14)

Venue: River Welland
Chub 3lb 13oz

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

Arrival time: 11.15
Weather: Overcast and windy, with a little rain.
Stiff downstream breeze made life awkward.
Swim: The large pool.
Tackle: 12ft Korum multi-feeder, Shimano bait caster, 8lb line, 8 hook tied direct. Three SG shots on a short link.
Baits: Cheese and maggots
Fish: Three chub, best fish 3lb 13oz

I had a few jobs to do last week so it’s been two weeks since I was last on the river bank. The large pool has been so reliable that I’m afraid I went back there again.

My last visit was relatively disappointing but this time I had only been there about 15 minutes when my rod top was pulled around further than I think it has ever been before.

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Species: Chub, Dace

Fields End (70)

Venue: Fields End
Tench 3lb 8oz

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 08.30 (started to fish at 09.00)
Weather: No wind, lots of rain but not too cold.
Swim: Tree corner
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, 4lb line, 16 hook on 2.5lb line. Insert waggler.
Baits: Sweetcorn
Fish: Two tench, best 3½lbs, a few roach to 10oz and what I think was a dace.

First trip since 19th November! The lake was very coloured. Hard to believe that this was entirely due to fish movement. Perhaps the high winds over the past few days had stirred things up.

Forecast was for 7-9 degrees and calm. It didn’t mention rain, which started at about 10.00 and carried on until around 13.30. January rain is chilling and quite unpleasant. It also made it difficult to spot pre-bite float movements, causing me to miss some of the few bites that I actually had.

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Species: Tench, Roach, Dace

River Wye (1)

Venue: River Wye
Chub 3lb 8oz

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 09.30
Weather: Sunny with no wind at first, although it blew up a bit during the day and then subsided late afternoon.
Swim: Third pitch downstream from hut.
Tackle: 12ft Hardy Avon, 8lb line, quill float and 12hook. Then a small feeder with 10 hook.
Baits: Maggots, luncheon meat, bread flake and pellets.
Fish: Five chub, best 3½lbs.

My first trip to the Wye. As mentioned in the previous posting, an advance recce had shown only a few fishable spots. I fished the third pitch downstream from where you park. It was a good looking spot with trees overhanging and entering the water about 10 yards downstream.

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Species: Chub, Dace

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