The Bad Angle on Boat Fishing

I think that the Blenheim trip was the first time I had ever been out on a boat and taken long rods with me and it has to be said that they were a real pain especially when it came to landing fish. The first problem that became apparent was one of space - the long rods (11 & 13 feet) when in transit had to be put out over the boat at the stern and bow and because of all the various bits of gear and boat parts they had to cross over the butts of the rods had to be well inside the boat so that they did not fall over the side. When rowing the oarsman needs clear space around the gunnels, space for his legs and a firm grip with the feet unimpeded by gear in the way. Long rods compromised all three.

Big Perch Quest - The Blenheim Experience - On the Horns (pt2)

You'll forgive me for writing such a depressing account of the first half of day but really there is no other way to describe the slow motion capsizing of our once buoyant optimism. We were now fishing deep water, perhaps nine feet or more just off the bank and deeper still out in the middle and it seemed utterly fishless. My instinct was that we should go back to fish the shallow water up by the bridge, water that was no more than six foot deep in the central channel where the old river bed would be and more like three or four either side of it. Thankfully Lee was thinking exactly the same thing

Big Perch Quest - The Blenheim Experience - Feeling the Pinch (pt1)

Despite over shooting our M40 turn off by two whole junctions through excessive fishing talk then making a hasty turn about and a HTC app assisted re-route through the outskirts of Oxford, Lee and I got to the palace dead on time. It was dawn and the whole Capabilty Brown landscaped valley that the palace sits in was shrouded in thick mist.

River Roach - Ol' Rubberneck goes Redfinning...

Like all good stories this one begins and ends with a curry...

Before setting off for a day out at Stratford with me getting in some serious roach fishing in the Lucy's Mill weirpools and Judy and Molly setting off for a six mile walk downstream through the Seven Meadows and beyond, Judy had prepared a highly aromatic chicken jalfrezi and put it on the side to improve for later. As you would...

Silver Bream - No Sign of Either Or

Martin and I mounted a foray after a couple of target species up the Grand Union Canal Saturday last - he after zander and me after zander and silver bream at one and the same time. I was windy and wild but as with all canals in even hurricane force winds you can always find an area that is dead calm in which to fish, so our first port of call was to the windiest area of canal I have ever fished in my life because it looked so flipping zandery...

Big Perch Quest - Bollox to Perch

Keith likes perch... perch likes Keith....

I like perch but perch don't like me. It has to be said that I am, through no reason that I can fathom, its butt. Try as I may I cannot break through into the kind of perch that Keith does. You may remember we enjoyed many sessions fishing after the spiky little fuckers back in Spring? If you do then you will also remember that Keith caught, oh, lots of big fat spawn laden 'twos' and 'threes' and I caught lots of, well,  sub-decent specimens and lost every single one over the tragic pound and a half.

Phil Smith's New Book - Targets Set and Achieved

I've just ordered Phil Smith's new tome so I can go get it signed by the man himself at the launch on 17th of September