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Diary of an average angler

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!

fisherman
Venues
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Venues & topics
Species
Archive

River Great Ouse - Offord (36)

Top Stream & Car Park Pool

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Arrival time: 10.00
Weather: Bright sun & clear blue sky, becoming very warm.
Tackle: Korum 10ft 'All Rounder' 1.1lb TC, Shimano ST2500FB baitrunner, small bomb leger, 6lb line to 14 eyed hook.
Baits: Worm.
Fish: Blank

After a week of very hot weather I had been deliberating whether to go fishing, but as the forecast was for a slightly cooler day I finally set off. I planned to fish the Top Stream at Offord with maggots and worms, after the good perch that I know can be caught there. Unusually for me I took no other bait, so when I got to the tackle shop to buy my maggots it wasn't good news to find out that they had none! A supplier problem also affecting other shops in the area.

River Great Ouse - Houghton (10)

Trout Stream

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Arrival time: 09.30
Weather: Cloudy, becoming warm with a freshening wind and sunny intervals.
Tackle: Ryan Burns 'Arrow' 10' split cane rod, Mitchell 300 reel, 1xSSG link leger, 7lb line to 6 eyed hook.
Baits: Cheese paste, cheese & worm.
Fish: Blank.

After a couple of outings to still waters I decided to give a stream another try, following some quite difficult sessions earlier in the season. As there had been quite a lot of recent rain I expected the water level to be up, but in fact it was very low. And I had also hoped that some of the weed growth had died down, as well as the dense bank side vegetation. I was disappointed on both counts, at one point doubting whether I would find a fishable swim.

The Chubb Stream (12)

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Arrival time: 07:30
Weather: Very warm following days of high temperatures. Little wind.
Tackle: Korum 'All Rounder' 10ft quiver with 1oz tip, Shimano ST2500FB baitrunner, 2xSSG link leger, 6lb line to 8 eyed hook
Baits: Bread flake & cheese paste.
Fish: Blank

I had a successful day at the Chubb Stream on the first day of the season last year so returned again this year, hoping for a similar experience. But conditions were completely different. The stream was low and clear, and very weedy, but that's not unusual in summer. But there seemed to be more streamer weed than I would have expected and, more importantly, the banks were overgrown with dense vegetation including tall nettles. Already a bit dispirited, I was concerned to see evidence of somebody having fished swims that I favoured.

River Nene - Backwaters (6)

Wellington

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Arrival time: 11.00
Weather: Sunny and very mild for October with a fresh breeze.
Tackle: 11ft 6" John Wilson Avon with 1.5oz quiver tip, Shimano 5000RE reel, 6lb line direct to 8 eyed hook with 2xSSG link leger. Changed to 4xSSG and then to a small bomb.
Baits: Cheese paste, spam & bread flake.
Fish: Blank.

With quite a bit of rain recently I decided to go to one of the Nene backwaters that on previous visits had been low and clear. Unfortunately it turned out to be one extreme to the other since the stream was high and coloured with little opportunity to find slacker water.

Fields End (113)

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Arrival time: 09.30
Weather: Sunny and unseasonably mild but with a light SE wind
Tackle: 12ft Greys Rova Float, Advanta Discovery centre pin with 6lb line, 4lb bottom & 16 hook. Insert waggler.
Baits: Sweet corn, bread flake, luncheon meat, worms.
Fish: Blank

After fighting the wind the previous week I was pleased to find conditions much improved and was feeling confident of a good day. But fishing isn't like that, is it?

River Great Ouse - Offord (19)

Top Stream

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Arrival time: circa 11.30 at swim
Weather: Bright sun with a chilly SE wind.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, Rapidex 2400 centre pin with 5lb line, waggler float, 16 to 2½lb hook length.
9ft Shimano Aero X1 Finesse Feeder (1.0oz quiver), maggot feeder/link leger, 5lb line, 16 to 2½lb hook length.
Baits: Maggot with hempseed attractor.
Fish: Blank

The idea was for a fun few hours catching perch or whatever else turned up, based on my catch a few weeks earlier. But things turned out very different today.

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