Bob Goes Fishing | Welcome

Please rotate your device

This page is best viewed in Landscape orientation
(or tap anywhere to view in Portrait orientation)

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!

QR code

YouTube channel

Venues
& topics
Species
Archive
Venues & topics
Species
Archive

River Welland (10)

Chub 4lb 8oz

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 12.15
Weather: Overcast but bright, although clouds were threatening.
An easterly that freshened and became quite chilly.
Swim: The large pool and a bit of roving.
Tackle: 12ft Korum multi-feeder, Shimano bait caster, 8lb line, 8 hook tied direct. Two/three SG shots on a short link.
Bait: Cheese, worm and bread flake.
Fish: A couple of small pike followed by two chub. Best fish chub 4½lbs

Back again to the Welland. There were actually a couple of anglers on the stretch today. One was pole-fishing the far bank not far from the town while the other seemed to be roving. I made my way to the large pool, which was free.

I started with cheese but had brought some lobworms to see if I could tempt a large perch. There were a few sharp taps on the cheese but nothing that characterised a chub. I persevered but the lull was only broken when a jack pike of 1½lbs took the cheese as I was retrieving. Fortunately it was lip-hooked and soon returned.

Fields End (77)

No photo message

Nothing worth photographing today

Arrival time: 07.00 (started to fish at 07.30)
Weather: Cold frosty start with clear blue sky.
Light SW breeze that freshened considerably after lunch.
Swim: Tree Corner.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, new Shimano Exage reel with 5lb line, 16 hook tied direct. Insert waggler.
Baits: Maggots
Fish: Tench of 3lbs and some small perch and roach.

Again I was hopeful of a good day. The night was cold but the forecast was for a day of sunshine. Driving to the lake the Fenland scenery was spectacular. White frosty fields with a large orange sun shining through the mist. The magic was completed by a barn owl flying across the road in front of me and settling on a gate post.

Fields End (73)

No photo message

Nothing worth photographing today

Arrival time: 08.00 (started to fish at 09.00)
Weather: Clear and cold (4-6 C).
No wind at first but a light S-SW breeze blew up.
Swim: Tree Corner.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, Avanti fixed spool with 5lb line, 16 hook on 2½lb line. Insert waggler.
Baits: Sweetcorn and maggots
Fish: Roach to 14oz and a tench of 1¾lbs.

Not quite as cold as last Monday but still a bit chilly. The previous few days had been quite a lot warmer with high winds so I had hoped that a brief interlude of calmer, if colder weather would prove rewarding. I took some maggots this time to see if they may provide more hittable bites but unfortunately the small perch were a nuisance. I also fished sweet corn. There was only one other person on the lake.

Fields End (69)

No photo message

Nothing worth photographing today

Arrival time: 07.15 (started to fish at 07.45)
Weather: Foggy, no wind and very cold.
Swim: Tree corner
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, 4lb line, 16 hook on 2.5lb line. Insert waggler.
Baits: Breadflake, maggots and pellets.
Fish: Some small roach and perch, and a tench of 2lbs 14oz.

The fog had been forecast but there was a chance it would clear to a bright day; but it didn’t!

I had bought maggots and some soft 4mm and 6mm pellets to give myself some options. On Monday I got lots of bites on bread flake that I couldn’t hit. Today I had very few bites and bread didn’t produce hardly any at all. Neither did the pellets.

Fields End (21)

No photo message

After the unsuccessful trip on the 9 October I decided to revert to the reed swim and try some float fishing in the margins with the hope of some perch or roach, and perhaps a stray carp. I took some maggots, a very rare thing for me these days.

Well, the day was a disaster. The float fishing yielded minuscule perch on maggot, and the only success was when I tried float-fished sweet corn and picked up a small carp.

< Previous Page Page 7 / 7

© 2025 Robert Bassett

Report bugs to webmaster

Built in RapidWeaver
with Shaking The Habitual's
Source micro framework

Your privacy
Cookies are only used for the correct functioning of this site and to prevent you seeing this message every time you visit.

Read more about third party cookies ☞

Note that links to third party sites can result in cookies being loaded. For example, there are links to YouTube to display the embedded videos from my channel.