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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

River Great Ouse - Offord (58)

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

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

Arrival time: 10:30. (Chatted in the car park for a while)
Weather: Cloudy start but becoming quite warm later.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano match rod, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, stick float, 4.4lb line, 3.8lb Supplex hook length to a 12 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots, sweetcorn, hemp, worms
Fish: Two very small chub and a small perch

Back to Offord after a disappointing session the previous week. This time I decided to try for silvers and started in a swim in the Car Park Pool just below a small weir. I had caught roach there before so thought it might be a good bet. But I struggled to get bites. A couple of quick dips on the float were missed and I only finally caught a very small chub when the float deviated slightly sidewards. After a while I decided to move up to the Top Stream to try for perch. It was only a short move and I settled into a spot where I had had success with perch in the past. It wasn't to be my only move!

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Species: Roach

River Great Ouse - Offord (57)

River/Top Stream/Mill Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord |Top Stream |Mill Stream

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

Arrival time: 10:30.
Weather: Overcast and occasional drizzle. Breezy but not too cold for October.
Tackle: 11'6" John Wilson Avon with 1.5oz quiver, Shimano ST2500FB baitrunner, link leger and 6lb line direct to 10 hook. .
Baits: Bread flake and worms
Fish: One small roach

I had for some time wanted to return to a swim at the point of what's referred to as the Triangle, a wedge of land between the main river and the lock cutting. It's the confluence of the river and the outflow of the mill stream, creating a crease between the two flows. I had lost a fish there in the past, which was probably a chub, and had landed a chub on another occasion. But on both occasions it was later in the year when there was more flow and less weed. Unfortunately this time the weed proved to be a real problem and I moved a couple of times.

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Species: Roach

River Great Ouse - Offord (56)

Mill Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord |Top Stream

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

Arrival time: 09:30.
Weather: Overcast and no wind but becoming hot later as the sun broke through.
Tackle: 11'6" John Wilson Avon with 1.5oz quiver, Shimano ST2500FB baitrunner, link leger and 6lb line direct to 8 hook. .
Baits: Bread flake and cheese paste.
Fish: One decent chub

With the rivers still low and sluggish after the summer drought I decided to try the mill stream as it usually has some flow and the club had recently cleared rushes to improve the flow and clear a build up of surface weed. And in fact there was a good flow that seemed to increase a bit during the session, which didn't help bait presentation. It was also gin clear.

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Species: Chub

River Great Ouse - Offord (55)

Top Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord |Top Stream

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

Arrival time: 09:00.
Weather: Bright start clouding over later with rain. Troublesome upstream breeze.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano match rod, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, 5lb line, 3.8lb Supplex hook length to a 12 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots, worms, and sweetcorn.
Fish: Dace, roach, rudd, small chub, bleak and perch.

Following significant rain I decided to go back to the Top Stream at Offord hoping that the duckweed would have been washed through. Unfortunately while there was water running out of the Top Stream over the small weir, a bank of rushes had blocked the flow of duckweed. This had resulted in a blanket of the stuff backing up, which was covering the swim I fished last time. I settled in the next swim along, which I had fished in the past. Expecting some early bites from small fish, I was disappointed. In fact I had to work hard to catch a few little ones.

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Species: Dace, Roach, Rudd, Chub, Perch

River Great Ouse - Offord (54)

Top Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord |Top Stream

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

Arrival time: 08:00.
Weather: Cloudy start - brightening late morning and becoming hot.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler, 6lb line with a 3.8lb Supplex hook length to a 16 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots, sweetcorn & hemp as attractor.
Fish: Roach, perch, small chub & bleak.

I had cut short my previous session on the Houghton back channel because of the heat and had maggots left over. At the same time another very hot spell was forecast so I decided to go to the Offord Top Stream to try for some perch before it once again became too hot to get out. On arrival the amount of surface weed on the car park pool was unbelievable and the top stream was also affected. But fortunately a gentle flow had kept the middle clear and I managed to find a spot where it was possible to fish over the marginal weed.

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Species: Perch, Roach, Rudd, Chub, Bleak

River Great Ouse - Offord (47)

Top Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord |Top Stream

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

Arrival time: 09.30
Weather: Light cloud cover for most of the day. Not too cold and hardly any wind.
Tackle: 9ft Shimano Aero X1 'Finesse Feeder' rod with 1oz quiver, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, 5lb line direct to 14 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots and worms.
Fish: All perch with just one gudgeon

With autumn beginning to make itself felt through cooler weather and drizzly days, it seemed a good time to target perch. My best perch session was a few years ago on the top stream and that's where I decided to go, hoping for a repeat performance. But I have had such hopes before and they weren't realised. So would it be different this time? Well, for a long time it certainly didn't seem like it.

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Species: Perch, Gudgeon

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