Piking on the Coventry Canal with a sixteen
pounder the best of the lot...
Dace Fishing at the Saxon Mill with Keith Jobling
Cold Winds at Wasperton. Barbour ensemble of
trapper hat, tartan scarf and fingerless mitts
fend it off. The waxed jacket is cheap shite though!
What a fishing fashionista I am...
... or tart if you'd prefer!
Molly Investigates. It's her job in life...
Coombe Abbey after a big Zander. Zip.
Danny Everitt & myself after roach at Lucy's Mill
with my best fish at one-pound six-ounces
Oxford Canal roach blanks...
With Lee Fletcher at Lucy's Mill. Easily my best
ever bag of roach from any river with a one-pound-six
fish amongst them and most around the pound mark.
A nice stamp that can only improve with time ...
My first double figure barbel from Lucy's Mill
Old Bury Hill with Martin Roberts - lots of pike
caught around the lake but later, my first ever
double-figure zed. It was the only zander caught
that day so not such an easy lake as you might think.
Do nice sarnies though!
Fishing the Pit Pool after perch and failing
miserably but in compensation I did meet this
solitary pet heifer with its mate, a great dane,
who were both a right pain in the arse...
My perch woes continue at Weston Lawns whilst
Keith's run of success is only just beginning...
The first hint of Summer...
A specimen 'bream' from Lucy's Mill...
(April 1st)
The second great dane of the year, and new PB!
Just one member of the Weston Lawns menagerie
Bullocks to the Ashy Canal...
First silver bream of the Spring and a 15 lb
mixed bag of fish from the Coventry Canal
After crucians at Marsh Farm with Keith and
Phil Smith, but I'm only catching tench...
Mike Duddy gets his first ever silver bream and
next day I catch my PB for the species at 1lb 5oz
One of my hardest earned fish
Another session at Marsh Farm where I break
two PB's in one morning for both crucians and
tench, my crucian record falling three times in
succession and topping out at two-pounds-five
After a big bream at a Kingsbury pit
Moulting swans on Wyken Slough
A tench session with Martin.
Never have I seen such inviting lips...
... on a fish!
Lee and myself after silver bream on the Cov,
but failing to find them though Lee gets a nice
roach and I get two tench instead
British record silver bream, Keith's magnificent
canal two pounder and my PB for comparison.
What will this Spring bring? Can't wait to find out...
A big eel spotted at Kingsbury...
Discovering the joys and frustrations of fishing for
roach with bread punch on the Coventry Canal
Two PB bream for still water and river but neither
quite as big as those I'd hoped for...
Steve Philips & myself after a record perch at
Hanningfield but instead having much fun
with the crazy trout...
I want to go back this Spring to try again!
One of the Cov Canal's lovely roach
Steve and myself after a record zander on the Severn
Martin and I fishing floaters for carp at Monks Pool
Judy with a one pound roach, and a freak bream
from the Cov Canal
Bloggers meet at Harvington. The company was
great but the fishing was slow in the low, low river.
Dave Fowler and Lee up to their knees on the weir,
Joe Chatterton makes an appearance too.
My snazzy blue titfer for summer gets its debut airing in public.
The 'Man from Del Monte' is what Andy Lewis quipped!
The local one-legged dog...
After bass at St Osyth. Managed just an hour's fishing
before the BBQ called me away. Nice day out, even though
the fishing was really a side show. The bass get a lot bigger
than this one here, which is still larger than those on
supermarket slabs and a good size to eat, but it was
returned. I really miss my bass fishing...
Keith with his rod bent double at Weston Lawns
Not a perch unfortunately...
Roach fishing at Lucy's Mill, and the rewards...
A day out in a boat with Lee at Blenhiem Palace
ultimately results in these fine specimens...
My first ever sturgeon and an extraordinarily fat
little perch doing an impression of a five pounder
A nice one pound plus roach from the Cov
Another member of The Lawns menagerie who
thieved most of my prawns...
An osprey and Steve fishing at Seeswood Pool
Another extraordinary day's fishing on the Itchen
though I failed in my mission to find a big roach
My hairstyle is most becoming. Becoming of a tramp on meths, that is!
More fishing trips to Stratford
An unsuccessful mission to catch a canal carp
Lee bends into his first ever double-figure zander
at a Midlands pit...
I love Stratford roach fishing, even when it's rubbish
Still failing to catch a canal carp but a stinky dead
eel of an encouraging size...
The blankest of all royal blanks on the Severn
Nice trousers though...
Birthday bash. A blogger's roving zander
match on the canals around Hawkesbury.
Pressies courtesy of Danny and his missus
Felt fedora, headlamp, barbour scarf, bank-found
Korum fleece under 'cheap shite' wax jacket, bank-
found vest accessorised with dangling forceps and a
zip-top clear plastic clutch bag containing a bottle of
moonshine pernod...
Oo la la!
Grappling for who knows what on the Cov?
This winter there's a distinct lack of fish...
Molly, before she freaked out at the Saxon Mill
when the 'ghost' of the woods paid us a visit...
So...
8 overall PB's, 16 in total across the canal, stillwater and river categories, and a second place only to Keith in the bloggers challenge, which is a good year by my middling standards though fish were hard to find from autumn onwards, but heh!
That's fishing...
A happy New year to you all, and may you catch the fishes of your dreams!
Excellent photo thread, my friend. I am a huge fan of your blog and will probably end up viewing this post many times. Well done indeed. Best to you and yours in 2012.
ReplyDeleteA lovely variety of pictures and memories from 2011 Jeff, thanks for sharing them.
ReplyDeleteAll the best in 2012 to you and your family.
Kind Regards
Mark
A splendid selection Jeff. My favourite has to be the young lady in the shorts though hahaha!!!
ReplyDeleteI hope the challenge continues old chap.
Baz
Well done indeed.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, we're all fishing tarts!
Only we're the ones who pay to often have a good time but occasionally are simply f@cked...
;)
Glad you liked them. Whittled down from thousands they were. It was good to get most of my fishing pals in there somewhere and it was those trips with friends that stick in the memory the most. It was a great year for that!
ReplyDeleteHappy new year Jeff.
ReplyDeleteVery pleased to see "the legs of Lucy's Mill" made it into this retrospective!
Looking forward to the book.
Best wishes,
Roy.
Good thread though I did wonder about that third shot reference the dace - with the bend in the rod has a pike taken it or did you have a dace on as bait? :)
ReplyDeleteStrangely enough, Phil, no pike has ever made itself known there despite all the hundreds of dace brought to bank. Downstream is a different matter with pike slashing at the flapping fish regularly.
ReplyDeleteThe bend does look extreme but it's just an effect of the wide angle and the rod bent against the feeder, I think? Unless it was that monster dace that slipped the hook!
Typically excellent, don't go wasting all your best shots in the blog!!
ReplyDeleteNow, I realise what you've being doing all year & why the landing lighting still isn't fixed...you're living on borrowed time my sweet, this book had better be a success...I want a holiday :-)
ReplyDelete...as for the girl in the shorts!! Make you're own way home next time, matey! You old perv...
J x
F-A-B-U-L-O-U-S!
ReplyDeleteYou're the best blogger in my angling blog list (and getting better: seriously, you're good at this stuff so stick with the book...the L'Oreal strapline applies here).
Extra kudos for Molly being super cute.