Last minute social resulting in a red eyed monster!

It had been on the agenda for a long time for me and my best mate brad to have a social but having busy family schedules and working all the time it's hard to fit it all in! But we finally pencilled in a date and we stuck to it! The chosen venue was a private syndicate I'm a member of and brad would be fishing as guest. Brad wanted to have a go for the carp and I was undecided, carp or tench? Being later in the year I knew the tench would be empty but still on the feed! I decided to have a go for the tench. The night before the session I prepared a small bucket of fresh hemp. And got out a kilo of 12mm sticky baits krill boilies from the freezer to defrost, my tactics were to rake a couple of areas and fish open end feeders on the spot with krill Wafters as hook baits, usually I'd use maggot or caster but the eels in this venue are a nightmare so any maggot or caster would result in a very slimy session! I arrived at the venue at first light and secured two swims close to each other. My swim had a large set of pads in the left margin and that was were one of my rods would be positioned the other two further out in the lake. I began to rake the margin spot close to the pads but having done this previously on a work party it didn't take me long and the spot was nice and Clear ready to present a rig onto the area. 

I mixed some hemp in with some sticky baits krill active mix and added some whole and chopped krill boilie, i mixed this up and balled out 10 tennis ball sized ground bait balls onto the spot,my set up for my tench fishing on this paticular venue is three ESP 2 1/2 test curve carp rods. There old rods and I believe the test curve is probably around the 2lb mark now! Perfect for dealing with big tench and possible carp! The venue is berg weedy and snaggy so I don't want to be putting the fish at risk by being under gunned! I use three bait runner reels loaded with 10lb ESP synchro XT mono, again a line which can handle the heat if the push comes to the shuv. Tackle wise on all three rods I used a 2ft length of ESP lead corse and  I fished a open end Drennan 2.5oz feeders helicopter style  with a short 6" 10lb supple hook links with a size 10 super specialist barbel hooks, realible tackle which will help me land tench and maybe carp if I were to hook one. I opted to use krill Wafters on all three rods as the carp Angler's have been catching all there tench on boilie. I postioned the first rod in the margin beside the pads on the spot I raked. For the other two I fished a small gravel patch big enough for two rods, this spot was about 30 yards range so I spombed the bait out over this area. It was a very slow day with only a few fish moving about but I wasn't to fussed as I knew the bite times were around first light usually. Having boilies on I didn't opt to res cast regularly, something I would usually do when using maggot feeders. I simply re cast the rods before dark, replenishing hook baits and re filling the feeders. 

It was a beautiful evening and me and brad and my other mate had a good social! I fell a sleep thinking and hoping of  dawn and what suprises it could bring? I had a few liners through the night but nothing happened. It wasn't long and I was peeling my sleeping bag off of my face and I looked out over the water.. Usually I'd wake up for first light but with having a young daughter and working long hours I got lazy this time around and dozed back off which felt like a etinity before being awoken by an absolute churner! I was out and on the rod instantly! It was the margin rod! The rod I knew which would go off!! The fish kited rapidly out towards the main area of the lake! Peeling line and flat rodding me !! I thought it was a small carp at first! But the classic head shake gave the game away! But this was no small tench! The fight was intense and I didn't want to loose this tench! It fort so hard under the rod tip! Eventually I swooped the net under the fish like a mad man! And it was in the net! Brad heard all the comotion and came over to help with the weighing and photos! I was over the moon with the tench! And the epic photos Brad took for me! A true green monster! 

Catching this beautiful tench made me realise I'd neglected targeting the species this year, but my they'd be getting my full attention come spring and early summer that's for sure! Thanks for taking the time to read my blog I hope you've enjoyed it. Be lucky out there 

In search of summer gold

Summer is one of my favourite times of year to fish, as long as it's not to hot I'm in my element sat out In a pair of shorts and t shirt loving life, there's a few species I like to target in the summer months and crucians are one of them. My first summer crucian session was due to take place at the end of June just before my ticket run out on club lake I was going to target. Marked in the calander in bold writing so I could count down the days to my session! It wasn't long before I was finishing up at work and I was sorting my kit for the session. Having previously fished the water a few times before hand a had plan in my head on which tactics to use, swim choice would be dependant on the wind and availability. I was up early to arrive at the venue at first light. I wondered the banks and found an area on the end of the wind and it didn't take me long to see some crucians rolling amongst tench and Rudd to. I set up base camp and started to prepare my spomb mix. 

My spomb mix is a pretty simple one. It consists of a F1 groundbait mixed with sticky baits krill active mix, hemp, caster and maggot. I like to put small feed items in the mix to keep the fish rooting around the baited area which in turn also holds the fish in the swim for longer. I'm not bothered about the smaller fish which will be attracted by the maggot, caster and hemp I want the swim to be active attracting all sorts of species as I found this method works really well for me on this particular venue! Once the mix was mixed I began to have a lead about as this time of year the venue can be very weedy. I was suprised by the amount of weed this year, it took me quite a long time to find a spot I was confident on fishing on. But I'd rather take my time to find a fish able spot with good line lay then waste a session fishing a bad spot. With the spot noted down, I clipped up my spomb to mark and introduced several spombs to get the spot rocking whilst I fiddled around with the rods. My standard set up for this style of crucian angling consists of two 12ft 1.25TV Drennan series 7 specialist Avon rods, coupled with two small reels loaded with 6lb Drennan method and feeder mono. You want something to take the strain of the cast and something strong to withstand the strain from big fish also. The Buisness end consists of two Drennan 35g inline flat method feeders, short 3" 6lb Drennan micro braid hooklinks with size 16 Drennan super specialist wide gape hooks. For the hook bait I want something which withstand the nusance fish and will always be fishing after aborted takes maximising your chances for take. So I opt to use a single buoyant caster. With the rods all set up I clipped them up to the same mark and mixed up my ground bait mix to be moulded around the feeder. This is the same mix as the spomb mix just with no free offerings so they home in on your hook bait. 

Both rods went out smoothly and it didn't take me long to receive the first bite resulting in a tench! 

The tench were relentless at the start! I was getting double takes at times but I knew it wouldn't be long for the crucians to turn up so I persisted with the constant tench! It really is relentless angling but it has to be done, constantly recasting the feeders and topping the swim up with spombs to hold the fish in your swim. It's a full on approach but it works. After wading through the tench the bites stopped so I left the feeders out knowing that the crucians could be feeding next, the bobbin pulled up slower and I was into my first crucian of the session. After a short spirited fight under the rod tip the lovely crucian was in the net. And I didn't have time to unhook it as the other rod was away also! Another crucian, with both fish safely in the net my friend fishing next door did the honours and took the photos for me. Photo quality is paramount to me so I'm always careful on who I chose to take my photos for me on my camera as I always want the best out of my shots and my mate Alex is very handy behind the lens and did all the photos of that session more than justice so thanks Alex mate! After a few snaps the bars of gold were slipped back to there home. 

Knowing the crucians were in the area I topped the swim back up with a few more spombs to hold the fish in the area. Like I said its active fishing! Tight baiting and accuracy is my key to my specimen angling and it certainly works. The bites kept coming, by this time it was just after 1pm and I'd landed five crucians all over the 3lb mark! 

I was buzzing how the session was going! The fish just kept feeding with tench and Rudd being behind Many of the bites but the crucians moved in when the other fish had there fill! I had another savage take which I was dead certain it had to be a tench! But it was a crucian, this fish was holding deep and was fighting a lot harder than the previous crucians caught from this session! I was playing this one with my heart in my mouth knowing the potential the lake holds! I eased the crucian in the net and she looked big! The scales swung round to a couple of ounces short of the magical 4lb Mark! Overwhelmed with this magnifecent specimen! 

I didn't even have time to do the shots before the other rod was away and I was into another hard fighting crucian! This session was turning out to be a blinder!

Again my friend took some lovely photos for me and the pair of specimens were returned to there home! I carried on topping the swim up regularly with the odd spomb and continued to re cast my feeders every so often, again very accurate to the spot! Probably a rod length apart from each other. The tench moved in once again causing mayhem! Double takes the lot! One particular tench gave a really good account for itself weeding me up a few times and really putting a bend in the 1.25test curve rods! The fight seemed like it lasted forever and eventually the tench was in the net! And what a beauty she was to! 

 

It was my biggest tench from the venue so I was happy with that! I went on to catch more crucians and more tench that day before getting my head down to get up at first light and start fishing again! It was time for some well deserved rest! 

I awoke just before first light, I made some fresh spomb mix up to re introduce to the swim and rested the area before fishing again. 

It was a beautiful morning! After some breakfast and a few cups of tea to get some caffeine into my system it was time to get the rods back out onto the spot. Again it didn't take me long to getting bites! This time for soap bar sized tench, these were relentless for the first hour but it didn't take long for the crucians to turn up! I landed a further three crucians all weighing over 3lb! 

It brought my tally to twelve crucians landed ten being over 3lb to 3.14lb and two being over 2lb, and over forty tench landed. I decided to call it a day and I left the venue with a smile on my face! I'm still undecided whether to renew my ticket to the club lake, I expect I will as its to much fun angling there, and these magnifecent bars of gold won't be around forever. The venue always pulls some negative comments but to me personally true crucians are hard on the ground to find these days and I didn't want to miss out on the opptunity of sharing there time In this life with us! I'm grateful I've been lucky enough to hold some of these special specimens! I hope you've enjoyed reading my latest blog entry, thanks again for taking the time to read it. Be lucky out there... 

Spring tenching continued..

Whilst waiting for my syndicate ticket to start and with other venues shut due to the close season I was lost on what to fish for and where to fish. There's a lovely estate lake on my club ticket which held some tench. The tench stock is pretty un known as is there size. With 90% of anglers who fish there being carp anglers it's always hard to gauge the size of tench as you always get.. How big was the tench you had mate "easssyyy 10lb the thing was massive! I didn't weigh it but it was massive" classic carpy's always the way! Still I had no real plans or venues I wanted to fish so I decided to drop onto the venue for a couple of nights. I arrived at the lake and was amazed by its beauty! Only a few acres in size but so beautiful! Every swim closed in by pads so no one can cast over you! Just what I like! It didn't take me long to see some tench rolling in a corner bay away from all the pressure from the carp anglers. I dropped in the swim and set up base. 

I had a quick lead about to find the bottom pretty uniform. Mainly soft silt with a couple of harder areas. I chose my spots which were tight against the pads and introduced a few balls of my ground bait mix which consisted of sticky baits krill active mix, maggot, hemp and sticky baits pure krill liquid. As the bottom was silty and there were a lot of nusance fish I decided to fish two Drennan 2oz open end feeders. I fished these helicopter style with two 8" 15lb supple hook links with size 10 specimen barbel hooks. For the hook baits I used two sticky baits krill Wafters perfect for tench! With the rods deployed I could sit back and take it all in. Sadly nothing happened through the night but at first light the dawn chorus was interrupted by one of my alarms and I was into my first fish from the venue. It felt like a good sized tench and I wasn't half wrong. After steering the red eyed tinca clear from the pads she was soon in the back of my net! What a beautiful specimen to! 

I was soaking in the moment when the second rod disrupted the silence once again! I was on a roll here! Again the fish felt good and it felt like a tench, this time this tench put up a very good account of itself nearly snagging me up a few times! But luckily it wasn't long before I was sweeping the net under her! Another beautiful tench lay in the net awaiting pics! The other tench was still in the net resting up! It all happened so quick! After a few special shots both tench were released and I sat back with a tea with a cheeky grin on my face! 

I was buzzing! It's always good when a plan comes together especially a last minute one! My times very limited so it's always a extra bonus when I catch. The morning was slow with no signs of tench showing in my swim. I'm not one for sitting on my hands and waiting for a bite so I was looking to move, with it being a weekend and the lake being busy I didn't have to many options. I know that tench are classic first light feeders so I thought to myself I could just sit it out.. Before I had the chance to pack up and move another bite fell to the right rod and again I was playing a tench! And it felt a lot better to! At one point I thought it was a carp! After a hairy fight the tench was in the net! I unhooked the tench and got the rod straight back out onto the spot. 

I prepared the scales and the sling and had a quick tea before doing the shots. This tench was a lot bigger than the first two! 

I was over the moon! A lovely plump long female! Elated with the session so far! 

After a few shots I returned the lovely tench back to her home and got some more bait out onto the spots. With bait out and the rods re positioned I sat it out and waited. Sadly no more bites fell that session but I was over the moon with the three beauty's I caught! I hope you enjoyed reading my blog. Thank you 

Spring 2016 crucian fishing

As much as I enjoy my autumn and winter angling the spring and summer are equally as exciting with the transition of colours with every thing coming back to life as the days are longer and warmer and of course With it the lilly pads which means to a lot of us.. Sitting back eagerly watching a float hoping for it to disappear with a hopefully a bar of gold on the end! Yup spring and summer mean crucians to me! I try and mix up my angling and challenge myself by targeting different species keeping my angling exciting and keeping me on my toes! My first crucian session fell on the end of April, with the warm days firmly set in and the pads slowly on the rise it was time to target the crucians. I arrived at my chosen venue to find the water tap clear.. Which didn't bode well for the fishing as the crucians in this venue are finicky as it is! So fishing the float will cause the crucians to spoke off of the vertical lines. I had a small walk around the venue and decided to drop in a swim where i saw some crucians rolling out in the middle of the channel. I decided to set up two feeder rods. A method which has helped me to land lots and lots of crucians to 4.1lb

My set up consists of two Drennan 1.25 test curve Avon rods, two Drennan 25gram flat inline feeders, two 3" 7lb Drennan supper Specailist micro braid hook links with two size 16 super Specailist wide gape hooks. On the hair I like to fish white buoyant imatation casters as the rig is critically balanced improving bites and putting more fish in the bank. I mixed up my ever faithful mix which consisted of a sticky baits krill ground bait mixed with sticky baits krill micro pellets. With the fish being finicky feeders the only bait which i introduced to the swim was the feeders so I was just fishing a bite at a time. Also a method that proves very effective and which usually helps me avoid the numerous tench in the lake. I fished one rod in the centre of the channel where I saw the crucians rolling and I cast the other tight to the island which also has produced crucians in the past. With both rods out it was time to sit back and wait! 

It didn't take long for the bobbin on the left rod to crack the blank of the rod and I was into my first fish of the session! After a spirited fight a golden crucian rolled on the surface and it wasn't long before it was in the back of my net! No matter the size of crucians I just love angling for the species! There such a beautiful species! I didn't even have time to get the crucian out of the water to unhook it and the second rod was away, again to another crucian! It wasn't long and I was looking at two lovely crucians in the net! 

After a few shots the two beautiful crucians were slipped back to there gin clear home. 

I recast the rods to the same positions which the previous two bites came from. It took a while for the next bite to surface but eventually the left rod was away again. And another crucian was in the net! Another lovely specimen to! I re cast the rod back to the spot which was obviously a spot the crucians favoured and it wasn't long before the bobbin again was cracking the blank of the rod! 

This fish felt had some weight behind it and fort a lot harder than the previous three crucians landed so I didn't want to loose this fish so I played it very gingerly.. The crucian rolled on the surface and looked bigger than the previous crucians! Eventually the crucian was in the net! And what a big framed crucian it was to!

After carefully weighing the specimen a few shots were taken and I released the crucian back. I was very happy with how the session was going! 

Sadly no more bites materialised that session! But I was still happy with the four crucians landed! It was mid May before I had returned to the venue but the pads were well and truly established so I was hoping to catch a few on the float this session. With nothing to go by from my walk I droped in a swim I've had luck from in the past. I set up my Drennan 14ft match pro float rod coupled with my Bob James centre pin loaded with 4.1 Drennan float fish line. I fished a .8 gram delicate pole float with a size 18 Drennan super specialist wide gape hook. I like to fish dead bottom but if the crucians prove to be finicky I use the lift method. I plummeted a spot close to some pads. 

When fishing the float method I like to bait with small amounts of bait which consists of my usual ground bait mix. I like to introduce small golf ball sized balls of ground bait. I start off with one and go from there. As you can over feed the swim and attract the tench. I always fish a sleeper rod which is my ever faithful feeder method. I fished this rod out in open water. Fishing this rod as a sleeper allows me to concentrate on the float. Also if one of the method produces more than the other I'll switch both rods to the same tactics. 

It was very very slow going on the float but it didn't take long for the feeder rod to rip off and a crucian being the culprit. 

Bites were non existent on the float so i put out a second feeder rod. Frustrating as it is as there's nothing I love more than to catch the crucians on the float if there not having it close there's no point blanking. I cast this feeder tight to the island where I saw some crucians roll. Again it didn't take long and my left rod was away and a lovely crucian laid in my net. 

The crucians are really loving the middle of the lake at the moment with the clarity being gin clear I guess where the middle is the deepest it's where they feel safer. I positioned both rods out into the middle of the channel and kept just the bait on the feeders are they were feeding finicky I just wanted to fish for a bite at a time. Fishing the feeder method isn't at all traditional but it makes a finicky feeding fish easy to catch. And using the feeder method certainly puts more fish on the bank! My session was drawing to a close but one more 2lb+ crucian made an appearnce making it a enjoyable mornings fishing with a few crucians landed. 

I'm unsure as of when I'll return to fish for the crucians as I've got tench firmly in my mind so I'll try and target them for a few more weeks for sure! I hope you've enjoyed my latest blog entry. Thank you for reading, be lucky out there. 

Spring tench'ing

As the temperatures on the rise and the water temperatures with it, it's time to start targeting them tench! To me there's nothing more special than to be sat behind a float or a watching a tip or even waiting for that Bobin to crack the blank! There's something special about tench, a species which I've loved fishing for since I was a youngster with my grandfather. Nothing's really changed over the years with my angling for the tench apart from now I seek the larger species when targeting my quarry so I do more digging and information finding before fishing a lake. What I look for is 100% proof that big specimens live in the lake I'm going to target as you can waste valuable angling time fishing for ghosts. So I trawl the Internet for photos and read the mags to. Word of mouth is also good as there's a bit more mystery by it. This spring I started on a water which I've had previous luck on catching tench to 6lb+but seen much bigger landed! Here's a lovely specimen from last summer. 

This year they'd brought in a close season and the lake was due to close mid April. I booked a few days off of work and planned my 48 hour session. I knew it was still early but there were the odd days which were warm but the temperature was still dropping through the night. Not phased by this I still looked forward to my first session. The time had come and I'd finally arrived at the lake. On this trip I'd also be targeting the big crucians so both my rods were set up the same as both the tench and crucians loved my chosen set up. My chosen set up consisted of two 12ft Drennan Avon 1 1/2 test curve rods coupled with two little daiwa ss1600 reels loaded with 6lb mono. Rig wise I use a Drennan inline 25g flat method feeder and four inches of 7lb Drennan micro braid with a size 16 Drennan super Specailist hook. For the hook bait I use a single white buoyant caster which sits proud over the feed and will shoot into the fishes mouth with ease increasing your bites! I've used this set up time and time again and caught lots of tench and lots of big crucians to 4.2lb it's always good to have confidence in what you use as personally I feel confidence plays a big factor in your angling. On this particular lake I like to attack the swim with plenty of bite via spombing regularly. I use the smallest spomb as I don't like to over do it. For my spomb mix I use a mixture of hemp, sticky baits krill active mix and sticky baits micro krill pellets and some casters added for good measure! I want the fish to stay feeding on my spot for as long as possible so these food items will hold the fish in your swim. For bait around the feeder I simply just use a krill ground bait as when the fish find your feeder the only food item they encounter is your critically balanced hook bait again increasing the chances of a bite.

I always spend time leading my swim trying to find firmer spots within the silt or gravel spots if there is so. I found a lovely spot at around 30 yards I clipped both rods up and both went out lovely and introduced 10 spombs to start the session off. I ended up fishing a swim with not a lot of depth as I thought with increasing temperature the fish might move around the area I was fishing. Sadly I didn't have a bite that day so as the sun moved behind the tree line i to moved swims into an area with a bit of depth. I got into the swim at around 9pm and calmly went about sorting the rods and finding a spot! It didn't take long and the rods were both out fishing. And it didn't take long for the tench to insterupt the silence of the night sending my little micron m bite alarms into melt down! The culprit was a 4lb male tench! Promising and goes to show how moving swims can be valuable after blanking all day! I went on to land thirteen more tench through the night to 8.1lb! It was a very restless night indeed but a enjoyable one!

First light I topped the swim up with ten or so spombs and the action began right from the off! I ended up landing two crucians to 2.8lb and a total of twenty seven tench to 8.1lb! What a 48 hour session that was!

Sadly the fishing had come to an end on that water due to the close and I doubt I'll be returning until late August early September to have a proper go for crucians! A bit lost as where to fish for the tench I began doing some more research when a savour came to call my call! A good mate of mine txt me inviting me to have a go for the tench on his syndicate! After a few texts I was buzzing as it seemed the low numbered syndicate held some cracking tench and are never targeting by the carp anglers only caught by mistake whilst targeting the carp! And some lumps have been caught to! The session was a few weeks away and time seemed like it stopped! But gave me plenty of time to ask as many questions about the water as possible so I could make a mental map of the place and have a plan! I always have to have a plan in my head or I go to bits on the bank and make mistake after mistake so I like to think my angling as methodical ha ha! A bit Ocd if you like? But every one has there ways and methods! Gathering that the lake was very very weedy gravel pit I decided to pack inline maggot feeders and block other feeders so on the day I could lead about and take course of action from there. Slowly but surely the day arrived and I was buzzing! Better than any Christmas! What a lucky git I am I thought! We arrived at the lake and I was taken back! What a epic epic lake! Heaven! Was i in it? After a quick walk and some observations we decided to drop at one of the lake which had some depth as the temp had dropped a bit and the wind had picked up. But I'd seen a few tinca so I was happy! I went about leading trying to find a clear spot. After a while I found a lovely hard spot behind a weed bed! I clipped up and introduced ten big spombs of hemp mixed with sticky baits krill active mix, sticky baits krill pellets and some red maggot! 

Next I set up the rods! As I knew the lake was weedy and snaggy I didn't want to take any risks and loose fish or worse case scenario get cut off by snags I used light 2lb test curve carp rods, rods which had enough back bone to keep control of the fish and hopefully land them! Reels I used my trusty ss1600 this time coupled with a 10lb mono! Again to withstand the casting of the 2oz maggot feeders I was going to use and of course to withstand the tench possibly carp and the weed! Rig wise I used the 2oz inline maggot feeder with a four inch 10lb Drennan supplex hook link with a size 8 super Specailist barbel hook, hook bait again I used three plastic casters. Again for confidence knowing I could leave the rig out there until I get a bite and to stay in the rig to evade the other smaller species of fish. 

With both the rods set up and a genurous bed of bait out there it was time to cast out! Both rods went out sweet! I was fishing! Finally! It was time to sit back take it all in and have some teas with my mate! And it wasn't long before my left rod went into melt down and I was into a fish! After a hairy fight I landed a very weeded up 4.8lb male tench! A great start! 

I was more than happy that I caught my intended target! I re did both the rods. I like to cast every hour when tench fishing just to keep the swim topped up! You don't want them feeding and moving off! Sadly the wind picked up and the temperature dropped with it! And so did the signs of activity! I knew the odds were against me now! Time went on and I finally got my head down to be awoken by liner after liner at 3.30am! I woke up and just sat drinking tea awaiting for one of the rods to rip off but it didn't happen! I waited for first light to re clip up the rods and refil the feeders with Maggots as I was sure there were fish out there! Tench to! So I re did both rods and got them both out with no drama! I sat down with a tea feeling much more confident! The Bobin on the left rod cracked the blank and the line pinged out of the clip! Here we go! Again the fish weeded me up and luckily I got the fish out and half way in it must or shrugged the weed off its head and started really going for it! I knew this was a decent tench so I hung on for dear life and prayed I landed it! The tench rolled over the net and she was a big girl! I composed myself and got out my Mat and other weighing bits and bobs! Awoke my mate and weighed the beautiful tench! 

The needle rolled over to 9.8lb a new personal best for me! I was overwhelmed by the big framed beauty! Such a epic epic tinca! My mate took a few shots for me and I released her back to her home with a big grin on my face! 

 

Sadly We had to pack up, and every one hates packing up! But I didn't that morning! Buzzed by what I caught I was in love with the place! I knew I probably wouldn't get a ticket for the special syndicate so I didn't even think about! But whilst at work I received a call from my mate offering me a ticket!?! You can all guess what my answer was! My fishing won't start on there until June 16th which is when the new members can fish but I'm allowed to squeez in another guest session before hand! So I'm eager to get back! Thanks again for taking the time to read my blog I hope you enjoyed it and didn't get to bored.

Be lucky out there 

A lovely encounter with a special lady before the close..

Me and Si Hartop have been arranging a roach session on the itchen for a while now and with the close drawing in we finally pencilled in a day in the diary! After counting down the days and exchanging texts about tactics and swim choices the day was finally upon us! With the rivers due to close for the season it was make or break for that magical 2lb river roach! The forecast couldn't of been any worse bright conditions and not a cloud in the sky.. Not ideal for the roach! But we set out at first light anyway! We started off my favourite roach spot. I put si on a likely spot and I started above a snag. I baited gingerly as I knew the roach have been fished for and have been very finicky so I kept the bait going in at a minimum. After half hour or so of baiting with a pinch fulls of maggot I decided to have my first trot through. Again I was using my 13ft acolyte plus coupled with my JW YOUNGS pin loaded with 3lb Drennan float fish, I used a 3bb wire steam Drennan float and a size 18 super specialist hook with a single red maggot as the hook bait. After a few few fruitless trots I decided to move up stream and rest the swim. Neither si or I had any bites.. With the sun rising and the mist burning away rapidly I moved back to the snags.. First trot down I was into what felt like a roach and it wasn't long and I had my first Redfin in the net! Quickly followed by another about the same size! Confident I'd found the shoal I concentrated on that area. Si asked if I ever get plagued with trout.. I wish I didn't answer as I well and truly jinxed myself as a super charged browny turned up and ruined the party.. Quickly followed by one of his mates.. That was it! The icing on the cake! No more bites fell to me in that swim so we decided to move down stream. We started off at the bottom of the stretch. I carried on trotting and Si carried on with his bread flake feeder tactic. I had several grayling to the pound mark but sadly no roach.. We both started working back on our selves but the majority of the swims proved to be fruitless. With the sun high in the sky by this point we knew the odds were against us! I decided to try and target the grayling in one of my favrioute swims. This swim was deep wide and the river flowed very fast through it an area you wouldn't expect the grayling to hold but.. There's a lovely slack that ran off of the bend and I loved using the maggot feeder in this slack! My tip rod set up for the river is a Drennan match pro feeder and a 2oz tip, tip depending on the flow, 4lb mono on a small daiwa ss1600 reel, a small maggot feeder and a 2lb hook link with a size 18 hook with a single red to tip it off.. I never bait when using the maggot feeder I just count on the maggot to do there job in the feeder and not over feed the feeding fish for there were any. I lowered the feeder into the slack and the finicky bites began.. Usually with the set up I use the grayling hang them selves on the rig but today the bites were extra finicky.. It wasn't long before the tip hooped around and I was into a hard fighting grayling! 

Securely in the net I put the feeder back out and again it wasn't long before another grayling was in the net falling to the deadly maggot feeder method! 

The bites soon dried up so I decided to try trotting through the faster water as I thought the grayling could of dropped back due to spooking from the disturbance from the previous landed grayling landed. First trot through and the float dipped.. Striking instantly I was into a fish.. At first I thought it was a trout by the fight! But I saw a glimpse of a big sail from a big grayling! I knew this was a big fish! I clamped down on my pin and gained what line I could guiding the grayling out of the flow back into the slack.. It wasn't long and the special fish was in the net!! After weighing the grayling and getting a quick snap I rested the fish in the net and waited for si to do photos.

With a new personal best in the net I couldn't wait to do the photos! Si was just as happy as I was and he took some epic shots for me!!! 

After a few snaps I released the grayling back to the chalk stream watching with a big smile on my face! What a way to end the river season.. Until June 16th.. 

Thanks for reading! Be lucky out there