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

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 Great Ouse - Offord (41)

Mill Stream & Car Park Pool
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord

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

Arrival time: 10.30.
Weather: Much milder than of late with warmth in the sun and a gentle breeze.
Tackle: Drennan 1¾lb TC 12ft 'Specialist Barbel', Shimano 5000 RE baitrunner, 2SSG link, 8lb line to #8 eyed hook. (Tackled up for small stream chub!).
Baits: bread flake & cheese paste.
Fish: One bream.

Having been away from the water for almost three weeks I was keen to get out, even though recent heavy rain was affecting the rivers - again! I missed a perfect day the previous week when the rivers had fined down but I wasn't feeling up to going. It turned out to be a last minute decision on choice of venue as I compared the water level data on the government web site. In the end I opted for Offord as it was the only one of three possible choices that was not showing rising levels. It also offered some choices if the mill stream proved not to be fishable.

Read full report

Species: Bream

River Great Ouse - Offord (38)

Top Stream & Car Park Pool
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord

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

Arrival time: 10.00
Weather: Cold & damp with a chilly north-westerly wind. Mainly overcast with occasional sunny intervals.
Tackle: 9ft Shimano Aero X1 feeder rod with 1oz quiver, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, 5lb line direct to 10 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots and worms.
Fish: One decent bream, a very small roach and a minuscule dace.

The EA website and the OBAS club Facebook page suggested that the river level at Offord had returned to normal so I decided to take a gamble and give it a try. I headed for the Top Stream as I thought it would probably be the least affected by the extra water, but I was to be proved wrong. It had a strongish flow and was very coloured. What's more the bank was slippery and quite dangerous. I had hoped for perch, thus the choice of maggots and worms as bait but I soon doubted my chances.

Read full report

Species: Bream, Roach, Dace

Earith (10)

No head-cam today!
Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 09.00
Weather: Overcast with hardly any wind and rain forecast.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 10 eyed hook.
Baits: White bread flake & spam.
Fish: 8 bream, a crucian & a crucian hybrid + a lost carp.

I've been alternating between Earith and Fields End since getting fishing again this spring, my other normal choice of venue, the Clay Pit, being closed for spawning. Today I was back at Earith and once again hoping for some tench. Things didn't start well when I discovered that I hadn't replaced the SD memory card in my head-cam, thus requiring me to improvise filming using my iPhone and a camcorder. When I eventually got set up my first hooked fish was almost certainly a largish carp that tore off into a large bed of lilies, leaving me attached to a lily stem. I got everything back but it wasn't a great start. I had switched from bread flake to spam which had it seems tempted the carp.

Read full report

Species: Tench, Bream

Earith (9)

A short session
Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 09.00
Weather: Sunny with light clouds. Becoming very warm.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 10 eyed hook.
Baits: Seedy bread flake with crumbed bread & 'insect feast' bird food as groundbait.
Fish: 6 bream (one hybrid) and 2 tench. + a lost carp.

The day didn't start well when my car wouldn't start. In fact it was dead, no warning lights, nothing. It later transpired that the battery had failed completely. Fortunately my wife's car was available but with my car problem in the back of my mind I had been in two minds whether to go. The weather forecast was perfect and in the end I set off, but I only stayed for just over three hours as I wanted to get back to sort out the car. Fortunately I had some decent sport in those three hours.

Read full report

Species: Tench, Bream

Earith (8)

Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 09.45
Weather: Sunny with light clouds. Quite mild but with a troublesome wind.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 10 eyed hook (changed to 8 later).
Baits: Seedy bread with 'insect feast' bird food as groundbait.
Fish: A crucian hybrid, 2 bream, a tench and a carp.

My first trip since November last year, and after my left hip replacement in February. High water level at the lake prevented me from fishing my usual spot at the back, the only available swims being nearer the entrance. This wasn't an issue although whereas the back of the lake is very sheltered, in today's location I was exposed to a troublesome wind.

Read full report

Species: Tench, Bream, Carp, Carp 10lb+, Crucian

Earith (7)

On the waggler!
Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 09.00
Weather: Chilly start with drizzle. Remained overcast with light wind.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler (with 1.2g olivette), 6lb line direct to 12 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots and bread with hemp loose feed.
Fish: 5 tench, 5 bream + small roach/rudd/dace and tiny perch.

After the frustration of missing so many knocks on the bobbin the previous week, I returned to the same swim at Earith to try fishing it with a waggler. I took maggots for hook bait and hemp seed loose feed. I also had four slices of seedy brown bread as a fallback, which turned out to be a wise decision.

Read full report

Species: Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Dace

Page 1 / 4 Next Page >

© 2025 Robert Bassett

Report bugs to webmaster

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

This site doesn't use cookies but 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.