Walthamstow - 08/01/09

Brrrr...

Gorgeous afternoon, with bright sunshine and a NE.

Had one pull, which took a static booby, and was a cracker of fish that ended up in a Thai green curry!

Farmoor - 28/12/08

Freezing! 1°C for most of the day and a cold easterly getting up to 15mph.

Rory missed a good day (on the lash the day before), but Lee showed up and managed to catch 6 fish on his first ever trout session.

Marco done alright as well, although failed to catch the biggest fish (honours went to me, wheres my knicker?).

Walthamstow Fur & Feather- 06/12/08

Got up late, first lie in ages and needed it.

Managed to get to the water for 10:30 and started fishing the point on the West Bank of #4. Managed to hook a few but only managed two on the bank to boobies on my new Di7 extreme distance. Fish seemed to be around 20m's from the bank and were hard on the bottom feeding on bloodworm.

Came about 10th on the day, with Andrew Green winning top spot, and some people had caught over 10 fish come the end of the competition at 14:00.

All went over to the Ferry boat for the weigh in, a few beers, raffle and presentation.

My ticket was pulled out first in the raffle (Lucky git), and I was the proud winner of a season ticket for the East Warwick C&R resevoir. Been reading up on it and cant wait to have a crack at it, all the info here: http://web.mac.com/andrewagreen/Site/East_Warwick_Background.html

Walthamstow - 23/09/08 - Stormer!!!

This must have been my best afternoon session ever here!! Had 18 fish, with the biggest weighing in at 4lb 8oz, easily my best this season.

Wind was northerly and I started fishing with a single #14 red bodied CDC with teased out picric seals fur thorax. Later I added a ginked up black doobry to the middle which also fished well. The big fish took on a long distance cast, fish were moving all over the place and it was possible to cast at a fish nearly every cast.

As soon I turned up, I made my way along the railway bank and stopped halfway when I saw 3 fish moving along the bank 15m's out. Hastily set up my rod, and with in minutes was playing a nice 2 pounder. Eventualliy I started fishing the inlet and there were scores of fish. I even fetched a fellow angler to have a crack at them and he bagged up.

He spooned his fish and found that they had empty stomachs, this was also the same as the large fish I took. #4 had not been stocked for some time, and therefore these were not stockies, and it was strange that with the abundance of food the fish had not been feeding, although they took surface flies.

Towards the evening I tryed a booby on a Di7 and that took a fish on the first cast. I was trying to make it to 20!! All fish apart from big one I took were returned un-harmed. I think the fish might have been getting in to spawning mode, as it was near that time of year and they may have been attracted to the flow of water entering from the Higher Maynard reservoir.

Weighed the biggie at the office and entered it for Troutmasters 2008.. Gonna try it smoked in Marco's new smoker.

Farmoor 2 - 21/09/08

Exactly a week and a year since the 'second day of the daddies', organised by Complete Fisher Forum, myself and Marco had a great day with all sorts of tactics working well. Followed by a great steak and spaghetti meal at the Capri in Shepheards Bush....

We set of from the pontoon and the mortor cut out, so we decided to do a short drift nearby, the wind all day varied in direction, but it started of with a flat calm and warm sunshine. On my second cast with a single CDC cast to a fish near the bank by the poonton was in to my first fish.

Marco struggled for about an hour and finally caught his first fish before he got to despondant, and then a further 2 quickly followed, he was using a red and white booby.

The fish were free rising thoughout the day and we caught well all over the place. We found bigger fish towards the middle drifting towards #4 buoy. We both had violent snatches that snapped us off before you could do anything. I eventually hooked one of the fish, just over 3.5 lbs (biggest of the day) on a picric blob fished with a booby on a Di7.

We fished from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm and had a great day. All the fish were stuffed full of little #16 black buzzers apart from the biggie which looked like it had been on grazing on seagull shit!

Walthamstow - 16/09/08

Lorhic performed great although all I had were a couple of switrls around drys and no pulls on that rod.

Saw a massive fish, around half the length of my arm hidding about 2 foot away from the bank feeding on something (maybe snails) hiding under a mat of algae. I could just see its dorsal fin cutting through the algae, or a little swirl when the algae was disturbed. I got carried away and spent at least hour and half I pursuit of it. The first fly I got right in front of it was a blob, and he dissapeared for 10 mins. I then managed a buzzer and ptn, but nothing tempted him. Each time I got something near it, I would not see him for a further 10 mins. Could not pull away from it, but in the end had - to give up. I know where he should be next time and will have another crack I'm sure (black & peacock spider with a touch of lead?). Would have been my best fish from Wally by a long shot!!

I continued to fish from #5 to #4, easterly wind was blowing and I was a little pessemistic. Got round to the swirl by the railway bank and tryed my floater with buzzers and dries, and managed one swirl when I was lifting off to cast to another fish. Was getting late, nearly 19:00.

Had a rod set up with the 2 boobies that had been at the start of the season on a Di7 shooting head. On my first cast within a couple of pulls I had my first fish on, that I lost by the bank. Next cast had another and managed to land it, nice 2.5 pounder, had taken the deepest fly. Had more takes and lost a fish. Realised that my point booby had straightened out. Also, had my first perch from Wally. Shame I found the fish and the method so late in the day.

Of to Farmoor 2 on sunday with marco for confidence booster!!

Walthamstow - August September

Been a bit hard, with CDC still working well for some people (not me!).

Had a blank one day and caught 6 another time on buzzers when marco was there (failed to catch). Also had one great day when the fish were lumps. I was fishing from the railway bank with the wind behind me (northerly) and not much was happening, although I could see fish maybe 70 meters away breaking the surface. I decieded to put on a sight bob with 2 buzzers and a small coral blob in between and pay the line out to get it to the fish. Fair to say this worked
brilliantly. I was getting real long line hook-ups and the fish were all near 2 pounds. On spooning they had been feeding on daphnia.

Next time I returned the wind was coming from the East and I failed to get a pull.