Zerkalo Angling

I say close range, there's little point fishing the first meadow on the BAA stretch of Severn near Bridgnorth I went to today. That means a good walk to the second meadow. When I arrived about 3pm I saw two cars parked up. Walking past the first meadow I saw no anglers, and my suspicions were confirmed when I got to the pegs I wanted to fish and people were on them. A walk a bit further and someone on the third choice of peg. I think these pegs are getting hammered for whatever reason, that makes them a less attractive proposition, but you have to make do. So on to my fourth or fifth or even sixth choice of pegs due to a few being well overgrown. Once you've walked all the way to the second meadow, you might as well fish there. I chose a peg that weren't too comfortable but would do. This was the view upstream. There's a big fallen log in the water just above it, and you can't fish that peg as a result, but a fish would have had to go upstream to snag me up on it ...

 As planned I went to the local lido early yesterday morning. Nobody was there. I had free choice of pegs and chose one next to a bush in the water. I was fishing for about 5 minutes and had 5 bites! 2 of them I missed. 1 on maggot produced an 8oz Perch. 1 on 4mm expander produced a 4oz Skimmer. My final bite was as the bailiff appeared behind me. It was certainly a Carp. To mine and the bailiffs dismay it went under the bush and snapped my hooklength. He then told me there was a match on today and although they might not peg this far up the lake, to go if they told me to.  He didn't charge me, but I didn't want to be fishing when a match turned up so I packed away after those short 5 minutes. Maybe I will give it another go, but first impressions are that it has a lot of small Carp in there, so I'll choose a more open water spot.

 I went to check out a park lake at a fairly local lido today. Obviously you don't fish in the lido itself, but there is a small mature fishing pool right next to it. It's only a small, fairly narrow and long pool but looks well established with plenty of nice sturdy platforms on the pegs.  I'm going to go and fish it tomorrow hoping for a mixed bag with some Crucians.  The Rules Board is promising on the Crucians front.  But I spoke to one of the few anglers that were there braving the rain today, and he told me he'd had 10 small Carp, so who knows. I'll soon find out I guess!

 My mate who told me about the BAA stretch I've recently started to fish and blog about joined me there at 7am this morning. I went on the same peg as first time I fished it a couple of days ago and my mate on the peg upstream.   I started on caster and had a Bleak so went on tares and had the odd bite early on. It was quite slow going. I had 4 Roach and another that dropped off the hook, a Chublet about 12oz, and about 5 Bleak.  Meanwhile my mate had not had a bite for the first few hew hours until I stopped getting bites at all and he had half a dozen Roach when I had packed away, but a Pike had taken another couple of Roach from him. All in all a pleasant day in good company even if the fishing was slow. It was nice to go with an experienced angler who knows the stretch, as if I had gone on my own I would have been questioning if I was just fishing it wrong. Apparently it gets better on this stretch as the year goes on, but with a lot of hemp and tares leftover from to...

 As I blogged yesterday, I went to check out a new to me BAA stretch of the Severn below Stourport with the intention of fishing it today, and I did just that! I arrived at dawn for an early start. It made me laugh, I was told it was 6' deep. I swung out a stick float with a plummet on a rig I'd made up the night before, and it was bang on depth without having to move the float. Talk about getting good info. It was well comfortable fishing. I wanted enough room to maneuver my new 15' Acolyte which makes a nice change for Severn fishing for me. The only thing that made the session slightly uncomfortable was the direction of the mild 10mph wind, which was downstream and towards me. I didn't have to fish far out though as had depth close enough in. I started on caster and had a few Bleak so went on to Tares and had a few Roach almost straight away. My mate who told me about the stretch was texting me and asking how I was getting on. When I told him I had started to miss a ...

 I got laughed at in the tackle shop when I said the bait I was buying was for Stourport. I told them I've been given mixed info, as most people say the Roach only shoal up there in winter, others say they should be there all year round. According to my tackle shop, it's pointless going there until after the first frosts. With a load of bait and looking for somewhere else to go, I decided to go and have a look at another BAA stretch a few miles downstream of there...which might seem counter intuitive given people say the Roach move to faster water in summer... ... but what a beautiful stretch! Even though it's probably a few inches on from low summer level, there still wasn't much flow, with it being quite a wide stretch, easily as wide as Stourport. I don't expect much from tomorrow as a result, as it looks like it will be solid with Bleak for a strart. It looks like it would fish well with another foot of water on at least to me. I'm still excited to fish it t...

 As I've mentioned in my Drop Shot reports, I've been having the best relative success on Savage Gear Roach Minnow lures compared to some of the others I've got. I ordered some of the Perch pattern to try and they arrived today. I say relative success, I'm only catching small Perch, and only the odd one, and don't as yet know a lure from my elbow if I saw one, but it's all part of learning.

I went for another waggler and caster evening down the park arriving at 5pm.  My dad had got me a pint of fresh casters from the tackle shop in the day, and dropped me off to pick up my car from the garage,, and off I went from there. The Roach are still feeding but not with the abandon they were on the last session. Between them and small Perch, it adds to the excitement of not knowing what the next knock on your float will bring. I'm very much enjoying catching Tench, which come at about a rate of one per hour, steadier in the evening compared to mornings, which seem more productive and is before the park gets busy for the day. I had the first Tench at 18.07pm about 3lb. The second Tench at 18.53pm about 5lb. I had an audience for the powerful fight of this fish which I mistakenly took for a Carp to start with.   Then a final third Tench at 19.57pm about 3lb again.   All taken on triple caster on a 14 Kaizen hook, a favourite combo of mine, over very little loosefeed, s...

 I often read along the lines that matches on the Severn produce such big weights, often of Barbel, compared to pleasure anglers, that the match anglers must have some magic ability. Although you could say, I haven't been fishing the Severn for all that long, and don't as yet match fish it, I feel like sharing my thoughts on the matter. Firstly, I have heard it said you can catch Barbel on any peg on the Severn. I don't believe this to be true, and the fish will be where they want to be on the river given certain conditions. There will be flyer pegs on matches. This leads me to my next point, it's also said that there's more pressure on the river in matches, and as a result, the feat of match men is even greater. This is not always true. Often when there's no match on, the river will be just as busy, if not busier on some stretches. Going back to my first point, this fish will hole up in certain spots based on the conditions of the river, and it's not unusua...

 I spent 10 hours at the farm today. I can easily spend all day when I'm enjoying myself. I like to fish through the different conditions, starting at dawn, but never quite making dusk. I chose a peg I hadn't fished before as the bush on one of my favourite pegs needs cutting back a bit. Not being your typical farm pond, despite what I call it, it's a centuries old industrial pit, and I had a good 5' of depth down my right margin, so that's where I concentrated with one of those 1g Nick Gilbert Sensitive Wagglers I've recently bought. It's ironic that it turned into a Roach dominated session, when I previously mentioned, I'd bought some bait, 6mm Expanders and Groundbait, with the hope of avoiding so many Roach and catching a few Crucians and Goldfish.  Starting on pellet though, it was Roach that I caught. The usual good stamp averaging 6oz but the odd fish to a pound, with this being the best of the bunch, at around a pound and a quarter. I had a coupl...

Everyone has their own variation when it comes to preparing meat for fishing but this how I often like to do it.   Crucians are my target tomorrow, and preferring relatively small cuts for this, I have diced my meat into 6mm and 8mm cubes. You can go as small as you want, even passing the meat through a cutter twice to produce random size off cuts, but with other species about tomorrow I want to avoid in the pursuit of my target, I prefer my meat to be around 8mm. The next step is to put your diced meat in a riddle or sieve and either pour a kettle over it, or as I do, run under a boiling water tap. The purpose of this is to wash out the meat and remove excess fat enabling the meat to sink more consistently and it also makes it a much less messy bait to fish with. I then like to add a slight glug of Krill Liquid, you don't need much and can use whatever flavour you want. Give the bag a good shake to spread evenly across the meat.  Finally, take some groundbait, again of your c...

On the of face things, few would understand the appeal of Italo Disco.    Nonetheless, it has some popularity among electronic music fans, particularly House music listeners largely due to it's popularity in 80s Chicago as a form of proto house music, and to Techno listeners due to the appropriation of the sounds in the Techno genre. It's really niche stuff, and unadulterately cheesy to an average ear. Part of the attraction is the somewhat obscure synths and drum machines used alongside more recognisable ones, often with juvenile but nuanced catchy melodies. Here's  one of the catchiest offerings. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GubZD0IfWvI

 There's been some rain so some might ask, why not go on the Severn? Well I've been looking at the levels and think next weekend will be a better choice for that, and I really feel like fishing a local farm pool. Last time I fished it, due to the sheer amount of Roach, nice size ones too, they were flashing like mad on a feeding frenzy whenever I loose fed.  What I really like to catch when I fish there are the good head of what's a mixture of Crucians and Goldfish, when not targeting the Carp that is, or at least catch the Roach in a more controlled manner. So I remembered as I was in the tackle shop today, that I was going to try a groundbait approach next time I went. As a result I picked up some Red Krill Swim Stim and 6mm Krill Pro Expanders. I don't expect it to be fool proof, and will be taking meat, corn, pellets, and casters too, but I'm certainly looking forward to trying it out.

 I had planned to fish a basin on the Severn. It's a place that holds Junior Club memories for me, all lined up along the car park, but I don't really now why we used to fish it, as there were so many minnows we never really caught. That is, expect for one lad who had a 3lb 14oz Perch. It's still the biggest Perch I've seen in the flesh, and I remember we all went back with Lobworms the next time, but even they got ragged by minnows. Little did I know or remember though, the basin is about a foot deep and choked with weed and some kind of algae during summer as you can see from the picture below! Maybe it will be ready to fish again sometime in Autumn, but until then, I'll have to stick to canals for the most part.  I did drop in on a local BAA canal on the way home. To my delight, first cast under that bridge resulted in a little Perch, about the same size as I have been catching. Once again, it had wolfed down a Savage Gear Roach Minnow 5.5cm lure. They must reall...

 I'm not a Carp Angler though it's something I'm keen to try it on a shallow club water that holds some nice looking Carp. On researching rigs, it seems to me, as a complete and self confessed layman, that the Ronnie Rig is one of the most popular rigs for presenting a pop up bait. It's not a particularly complicated rig, though like any rig, requires the right components. Luckily for me, Bank Tackle, known for their quality components, do a bundle with some of the end bits you need for tying this rig. https://www.banktackle.co.uk/ronnie-rig-components-2898-p.asp I'll write more when they arrive, and talk you through my first steps in tying this rig. It should be straightforward enough!

 My dad has just got home with this rod I've collected for my mate. First impressions are that he's got a bargain and a great rod.  It feels a slightly different action to my 13' Light Float. It's stiffer in the middle which will help deal with bigger floats and bigger fish. It's not as light as my 15' Acolyte, but probably the better rod, and I would have snapped it up at first sight if I hadn't already got the Drennan rod.

 In an age where hook technology seems to improve by the day, it's easy to forget about more classic tried and tested patterns. One of the few Kamasan hooks I still use is the B560. With a relatively fine wire and wide gape, micro barbed, swept point, it's a versatile hook with deceptive strength but delicate enough to make a great silverfish hook. It's equally at home with maggots or tares, but what I like most about it is the reliable hook holds I get with these hooks.

 In order to explore some new waters I am looking to join the following clubs in the near future. First up is Leamington Anglers Association.  https://www.leamingtonangling.co.uk/ The first of their waters I will be heading to is Snitterfield Reservoir but they have a good range of places to choose from! I hope to target mixed bags with plenty of Crucians! Secondly is Trimpley Angling Association https://trimpleyanglingassociation.co.uk/ This will enable me to fish Trimpley Reservoir, but also hopefully provide better access to the beautiful Trimpley stretch of the River Severn. The reservoir will provide good Bream fishing while the adjacent river is one of the most picturesque stretches of the Severn I've laid eyes on.

 Those who know what a singularity is will know what I mean. The growth of social media has already put print media almost to sleep. Now we have no shortage of everyone trying to show everyone how it's done. Gone are the days of asking the tackle shop guru.   So the question remains, how long before fishing implodes on itself?   Those with a scientific background will tell you, an implosion's not always a bad thing and can cause sudden growth!

 How many readers know what an Amen Break is?  Jungle Drum and Bass is one of the worst genres going when you look at it overall, but there was a point in the 90s when it seemed cutting edge.  An Amen Break is is a Drum Sample from a The Winston's tune called Amen Brother. Even if you're familiar with its history, how many tunes can you name with amen breaks? There's literally 1000s. I think the WhoSampled.com website server would crash if you checked there. Either way, this is an example that popped into my head. It's a sound system banger, one for your Vauxhall Nova. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mYpALLZVNgU Maybe it's because the first vinyl record I bought in the late 90s was a Good Looking Records Points In Time Compilation, but it has a special place in my heart.  

 Much has been written about the Crucian but it's almost by accident they became my favourite species.  The first true specimen Crucian I caught was this fish at 3lb 14oz.  I think it's a beautiful fish, and with out going into the full story about weighing accuracy, the fish has been caught once since at well over 4lb. I hope it's still out there swimming somewhere, and potentially a future record, given the weight fluctuations and growth I have observed in Crucians... but that's another story in itself.

It's always nice to catch the biggest fish in the lake. Some say they're the greediest and so the easiest to catch. Others say they're the oldest and wariest. Either way, his year between me and my dad we have been lucky enough to bank two of the biggest Carp locally.   First up is a fish known as Cut Tail, a 24lb+ Mirror from a local park. It does come out occasionally, including twice to myself, however, more ardent Carp anglers on the water have been trying to catch said fish for many years with varying success.   Second up is a fish my dad was lucky enough to catch from KDAAs only club pool, a 26lb+ Common. Both fish were landed on relatively light and unspecialised tackle, so you could say it took great skill, or were just in luck!

 ... and it ain't even my rod! I'm collecting for a friend tomorrow for a great brand new second hand price. As mentioned previously, I have the 13' Light Float. All impressions lead me to believe this is one of the top rods on the market, surpassing the Drennan Acolyte. I'm so enamoured by my Light rod, I'm looking to get a Medium to go with it. Stay tuned for more impressions of the 15' tomorrow. NB. The thing about Acolytes, and I currently own just a 15', is although they're feather light in weight, they're softer in the mid section resulting in a floppier action and slower recovery. We are hoping to go to a section of the Severn near Worcester on Saturday to use said rods side by side.

 This might seem obvious to many... some of the pastes available such as this one below...   Even out of a fresh pot can seem on the dry side. Don't be fooled. Simply take a piece and roll it about in your hand until it becomes a more pliable texture. Then you'll find it's the perfect consistency straight out of the tub to wrap around a pellet or boilie.  

 Just a thought reading Sarah Vine's latest column on the ensuiing Huw Edwards scandal. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/article-12293047/SARAH-VINE-Huw-Edwards-courageous-wife-icons-reputation-tatters-nation-shock.html If this is the Worst Kept Secret... what's the Best Kept Secret?

 Quite often, when it comes to fishing baits, I will say to my mom, have a smell of this, guess the flavour?    I did this with some Cheesy Garlic flavour Sonubaits Halibut Pellets... "that smells horrible!" was the reply. Well, contrary to that, I love the smell, and not just because it reminds me of Barbel.  The jury might be out for many people whether flavours work or are necessary all of the time, but for me, they have proven themselves to be a great bait for Summer Barbel fishing.  Only thing is, they're pricey at now around £4.99 a bag! It's much cheaper to buy Halibut Pellets in bulk from somewhere like Hinders, but if you still want the Cheesy Garlic flavour, you can always glug them with one of the many oils available. 

Pro Gold is a discontinued but much lauded line. I'm fortunate enough to have a well kept bulk spool of it in 8lb Breaking Strain.  I put some on a 4000 Shimano Bait Runner Reel yesterday for use on the Severn today. This balances with an 0.21mm Preston Reflo Power hooklength. Although this is robust enough for most open water Barbel fishing situations, snags can appear from anywhere and I prefer to err on the side of caution. Without getting bogged down in diameters and breaking strains, I can put roughly the same diameter if not thinner of  Tournament ST line and have what I feel is a much stronger, equally supple and more abrasion resistant line, and as a result fish with a stronger hooklength. To conclude, although it was nice to use what's now a 'classic' line again, I will soon be rrespooling with some 10lb ST. All this of course is my personal opinion, without saying it's very subjective observations from me, Pro Gold has its devoted fan base and rightly so, ...

 An early start was in order to fish a BAA stretch of the Severn near Bridgnorth this morning.  With the rain only putting a couple of inches on the river at most, it's still low and clear, and some of the most productive times of day can be dawn and dusk.   I was delighted when first cast on a light bomb with 8mm pellet resulted in a bite first cast. I had fed some 8mm Cheesy Garlic Pellets and Hemp and thought it could be a Chub. Turns out it was this lovely Roach.   At just under a pound and a half, despite being a lovely Severn fish, there are known to be plenty of much bigger Roach about. It was a great start to the day. After having a Chub of around 3lb, a more solid bite resulted in a short lived fight with a Barbel. I had fished this peg before over the last couple of years, and although it hasn't happened to me before, I have been warned by other anglers, the Barbel kite into the downstream tree on the inside bank and there's little you can do about it when ...

 After my last canal Drop Shot session, I said I was going to go back out later that evening, but it never happened. I did however, with a job getting cancelled, go back out to the same spot today on the BAA Canal near me. After working my way along I ended up on the last BAA peg bay again. It didn't take too long for a small Perch to take my Savage Gear Roach Minnow lure, but alas, despite feeling about 6oz, it dropped off. I had to have another go, and again it wasn't long before a smaller wasp Perch about the same size as last session took the same lure. As you can see from the pic, it properly wolfed down the lure, but was unhooked safely. Carrying on in the same spot, in the hope it's big brother would be about, resulted in another one the same size. This one also wolfed down the whole lure and angrily stuck its fins up for me. I worked my way back down the canal, trying the other big turning bay, but so far only that spot has produced any fish yet. At least I had a co...