Tinca Tinca Time Part 1

  

As of the time writing this blog, I am hunting the Tench on RDAA waters, but it has yet to go to plan. It is not anything I am doing this time as we all have seen the weather has been horrendous. Much of the time all the waters I wanted to fish have been flooded and inaccessible, so fishing the Wey for perch has yet to happen plus the waters at reading are only just getting to the point of being able to fish. 

So here I am the date is the middle of April and I’m going fishing, the lake I'm fishing is an old deep pit called moat-lands now this hasn’t got a massive head of fish as I’m led to believe but they do get quite big so it makes the 140-mile round trip seem worth it, I know I’ve tried this before on my last club ticket but this feels different and people are more than willing to help as one fellow angler has given me a depth map. well the first trip didn't go as planned but it never does, the lake looked lovely and I was all on my own until someone called Dave turned up at about 11am, I had a good walk around with my waders on as the water was still well over the bank up to my crouch at one point so was a bit unnerving. I had nothing really to go on only what I had seen on YouTube, so I sat had a coffee, and watched the water and from where the sun rises from now is 5.45am so I have all day and I'm in no rush to set up, my only concern was the bitter northerly wind blowing across the lake, but then bosh the tail slaps went and got me standing up and wading out into the margins bosh slap of the tail I can see them far down to my left so I'll go and have another look this time making my way around the left-hand side of the lake, disaster there's a tent right in the swim where the Tench were playing B*****KS, so made way my back to the carpark and continued to take in the atmosphere and watched some more hoping they are moving around and guest what they moved even closer to me slapping their tails about 3-rod lengths down to my left ok I said to myself calm down and breath this is your moment lol, so one rod just short of the fish and one about 1/2 a rod length to the right of the fish I didn't want to stick it right on top it of their heads so now it's a waiting game.

 

Waiting is not one of my strong points so I pulled the rods back in refreshed and put them back out this is about 30 minutes after the first cast so I gave it another 30 minutes and continued this for the next couple of hours hoping to get something going, URMMMM NO nothing happening i was getting itchy feet and the activity had stopped, at about 10 or 11 am another angler turned up and was very nice in giving me some pointers, he said don't be afraid to stick the rods straight out in front of you as he has had fished from that part of the lake before so again rods refreshed and swung back in the direction i was told and given the same treatment as before but still no joy, One thing I did notice the maggots were coming back untouched so small fish wasn't a problem, whether that's a bad thing or the lack of small fish is a good thing i'm not sure scratching my head as what to do next, this was my first time on this lake I was up for trying as many different styles as possible so the float rod was set up next with Polaris float attached down to a 6g Olivetti with 4 to 5-inch hook link with a size 12 super specialist hook lying on the bottom with a couple of dendrobaena as hook bait, I tried and i tried trust me when i said i tried because i did, different parts of my swim was bombarded with these worms and the peg next door but not a sniff. Being a deep natural lake, I know it will take much longer to warm up and get going. Still, I wanted to try so all is not lost because the conversations I had with the two anglers about this lake made me realize that I am on the deepest side of the lake, and with the sun rising behind my back and warming the other side of the lake all day long I was in the wrong place. Still, seeing the Tench slap that paint brush tail on the surface I thought I'll fish where the fish dictated.  

This isn't over I have a plan of attack now I know where I need to be and what bait I will be using (casters/blood worm) plus my tactics have to change, so the feeders will be left in the tackle box, and out comes the inline leads small PVA bags or mesh filled with casters, for hook bait, I will be using fake floating casters this way they will not have to be changed if I get any nuisance fish(if there is any) or I catch, then dipped in the bloodworm glug that's it with the raking I'll be doing stirring up the bottom my little parcels of goodness should get them down on the bait.

Enterprise Floating Casters

                                        So this is part one of my Tinca tales, hopefully, I will get a fish to show you, but it's not the end of the world if I don't as I do like the excitement of trying these harder lakes,( and the 140 plus round trip) don't get me wrong I like catching fish but I would rather it be a bit more of a challenge than a method feeder chucked to the island.

The next session is in a couple of weeks let us hope it warms up for me, and I have a fish to show you. part two of this blog will be after my next session until then tight lines and enjoy your angling.

The Gudgeon🎣❤️ 

 

New start and how life has change.

Wow has it been that long since I wrote an article for this blog, pls accept my apologies so much has happened since my last post, I have grandchildren 4 to be exact. life has been hard at times but generally not too bad I have the support of my beautiful wife Michelle who has kept me fed and watered plus encouraged me to get out and fish.

So in the last post, I was talking about joining a fishing club and trying my hardest to catch fish out of some very large and hard lakes, well that didn't go to plan as I couldn't catch a cold plus it wasn't the type of place you can turn up and sit there with a float rod and a tub of maggots, which I found out, no matter how hard I tried no matter how much time I put in just couldn't catch anything of a specimen size and it was getting me down thinking it was the way I was fishing, but one year I got myself together I had a plan and knew this was it my year then COVID hit and knocked me for six completely lost my way with fishing, see I had a plan and when I couldn't put that plan into action I just hit a brick wall, I was lost and didn't know what to do and nearly sold my gear, I was told by a lot of people don't sell your gear it will be a big mistake but I couldn't see the wood through the trees and I felt so down and lost I didn't know what to do. Hardest time of my life when your down your down and all the bad memories of life just seemed to pile on top of you all at once, I won't lie it was a dark time I felt completely useless and alone I needed help but how, just when I thought all was lost an arm reach around me and whispered in my ear I'm here for you and I love you and believe in you so much don't give up you must carry on no matter what as you have people relying on you it was my wife Michelle and from that point I wasn't on my own and I can do this so with a new desire I'm going to give it one more go so I thought but the fish had other ideas, first session I actually hooked a fish and I knew it was a good one by the way it was slowly plodding and not charging around so my heart was in my mouth then the dreaded hook pull, well it wasn't a hook pull when setting up I notice the hook link wasn't quite right but I thought it be ok AAAAAHHHHHHH MY FAULT and I kicked myself for that and it still haunts me now, that hit me hard but I had to carry on. My next session went even worse foul hooked a very large Tench and I even see the fish on the surface but then ping the hook popped out of its underbelly but I wouldn't be able to claim it as I knew it was foul hooked I thought to myself what the F**K do I have to do to actually land a BLO**Y fish from this water next trip I'll try another swim this time my line got snagged on underwater obstruction and it was at that point I knew my time was up I had to get away from my old club get a fresh start go back to basics enjoy my fishing again and stop so that is what I have done.

To start again from the beginning was not as easy as you think but I did with the help of my wife who kept at me to get out and try again I joined a new club Godalming Angling and boy has it kicked off in style with Tench carp and crucian carp all coming to my dry net lol boy I'm buzzing going every Friday after work and spending 24hrs fishing not just one lake but two absolutely having a smashing time. Now we are in September the kids are going back to school and the hot weather is slowly going away we are heading into probably the best time of the year so I'm going to get out a lot more now down the river Wey and more perch fishing.

 So, as you can see, I am getting old and hairy plus I have a nice little crucian carp, not my biggest but my self take photos that are horrendous and quite embarrassing but that will change in the second part of my angling adventure this year as I got a good little setup, I'm just waiting to catch a fish worth photoing lol  

The beautiful Marsh Farm, on my club ticket and probably one of the best crucian carp fisheries in the south, had to bring my rods in on this occasion as they wouldn't shut up lol was an amazing session and hopefully be a lot more.

This is Wood Lake and is stuffed with tench and bream plus sizeable perch and millions of little Rudd, so I will be having a go for the perch later on in the year, and this is where I'm currently carp fishing as you can see from the pictures below.
     

As you can see from the above photo not the greatest but my first carp on my first attempt at a new lake, so I was happy with it, it just shows you 6 years at one club and not doing very well but then 3 sessions in and I’ve caught a net load of fish already so happy I changed venues. now my main plan of attack will be PVA bag fishing for the carp on my club lake, I'm not one for pilling in the bait because it's quite expensive and you can't take back what you've put in so my thinking is small little spots of crumbed boilie and 2.3mm blood worm pellets with a match the hatch wafter, got all the components that I need to tie the bags up now it's just putting it in to practice. So that's the carp side of fishing sorted now In in-between sessions for carp I will be trying to catch perch from the river Wey, not sure the size they grow to in this small river but you never know, I know of a 3lb specimen that came out of the Eden so there is always a chance a monster could be swimming around in the Wey, now I always take maggots and worms plus I'll be trying out live baits as well, not a fan of lure fishing so I'm just going to roam around with my selective baits trying my luck.

Right enough talking about fishing, the wife and I will be going to Brussels in October for her 50th birthday and I'm really looking forward to having an exploration over there yes before you ask, I will pop into a fishing tackle shop just to see how they do things in a different country, didn't take long to mention fishing did it lool.

 Lots of things have been happening during the time I did a blog I've been married to my beautiful wife Michelle for 12 years now we have two grown-up sons with 4 grandchildren who keep us very busy, but we love spending time with them we have been getting out quite a bit, Oxford, Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Hungerford and a lot of exploring in Wales, Tenby being my favourite but Wales as a country is just so beautiful and can't wait to go back and explore more. 

    Ok short and sweet don't want to drag on too much save some for the next blog, tight lines, and good luck in your fishy travels.

The gudgeon.  

P.S. Don't forget to visit the best tackle shop in Surrey and they sell the "G" rake large and small, plus I have some very special trips coming up so keep an eye out for the next post buzzing for the end of the year TBC.

Old blog new start

I've decided to start my blog up again which I haven't touched in7 years, so I'm going to upload the last post I done which I didn't publish but from now on I will keep updated with my travels with the wife and my fishing disasters I mean trips lool hope you enjoy...…

Well I'm back blogging about my favourite pass time and there is no better time in the calendar of a mad keen angler than June 16th start of the river season and to say I am excited is like asking my Mrs does she fancy Tom Hardy.😚

Now my season is going to start on the mother of all rivers the mighty Thames in surrey, I've never done a campaign on a piece of water as large as this river so a lot of walking and observing is needed to even get near a fish. I don't get the same buzz from still water than I do from a running water, don't get me wrong I love fishing for all species like tench and bream roach and Rudd plus eels and best of all perch. There is something about running water that inspires me more the further away from civilisation the better, I would love to find a lake that hasn't been fished for 100 years and nobody knows what's in there, NOW THAT WOULD BE GREAT!!!!!

Now I know I have been through this once before but there is no getting away from this river!!!

7lb 1oz PB Thame's  Bream

The end of last season 16/17 wasn't a bad one for me as I had some really nice fish from my club waters and lost a cracking perch that I wasn't expecting at all so I will be going back to the top lake and having a few sessions on there. I was back on mother on the Thames on the very last day of the season and had a good few hours on the river, I caught a PB bream all of 7lb 1oz and another of 7lb plus a few smaller ones so altogether a very good day. Mother Thames always amazes me because you are never quite ready or sure what you will catch next!! If you set your stall out and stick to your plan then you will reap the rewards just like I did on that last session of the year, I made my bait up got my mark, clipped up the rod and hit the spot every time as it was not a difficult cast (normally I would be in the tree’s). Nothing happened for the first two hours and I was getting a bit worried I was going to blank but stuck with the plan and just as a boat went past and I dipped the rod under the water so not to lose all my end tackle and then sat it back in the rest pointing skywards the tip just pulled round and I thought B******S the boat had me snagged me up but no it was a big river bream. Now Thames bream fight different to their lake cousin they actually pull back and when they turn sideways in the flow it’s a good old struggle on light tackle, but not too light as there are plenty of underwater obstacle’s out there that will cut you off in the blink of an eye, but boy!! it makes me giggle every time. This year I have brought a lock and weir permit from the E.A at accost of £30 which is great value for money in my mind, most locks and weirs will be stuffed with fish you just got to know where and when and how to catch them so I've chosen one lock and weir to get some sort of campaign going but I will investigate the 16 others on the Thames you can fish  

                                10 Session's on the mole for 1oz of chub

Right one of the waters that my club has is a stretch of the river mole in Betchworth in Surrey and what a lovely piece of water this is but boy it has been so cruel to me over the last two season's I have tried so hard to catch a fish from there with no luck what so ever, maggots, casters, boilies, stinky, paste, halibut pellets, hand grenade's next!! I put a big net at one end and splashing my way down the river I might then get something lool. I'm ten(10) yes that's right 10 trips in and nothing but on my last trip at the end of this season I was on the slower deeper part above the weir I had moved about three times being very quiet and keeping of the sky line well away from the water’s edge I decided to plonk myself down on a lovely bend with some lily pads, I used the tree to my right as cover now surely there's something in this swim I said to myself quietly little did I know that my float was going to not just slide under but disappear with a very fast and positive splosh and my strike was going to meet with thin air NOOOOOOO I can’t believe after all that time the one bite I got and I F****D it up big time that was my one and only chance, I feel like a 5lb perch had just fallen off at the net what a disaster so I sat there feeling so so sorry for myself what to do next do I carry on or throw all my tackle in the bin and take up golf!!  No I'll have one more cast so fresh maggots on the hook and a gentle flick out and I sat there thinking I'm mad I've blown it but then the bobbled and slowly sunk under the surface tension, STRIKE I said to myself loudly and strike I did, the fight was epic and lasted all of 2 seconds but it felt like an hour and this fish wasn't going to get away so I used the landing net to engulf my 1oz chub yes you heard me right 1oz but it was the only fish I've had so precaution had to be taken so there was no hook pull or falling off at the net, fish landed so there was no giving away of fishing tackle or throwing it in the water. 

                                          My bait and water for 17/18 season                                                          

My bait of choice this season is CC Moore pacific tuna, I've read and heard a lot about bait and bait companies and it will get confusing what I say is choose one and stick with it and they will all catch you fish, and don't go mad with it yes you can hump the bait in and this can work as we have seen on the free DVDs and fishing programmes on sky, bait cost a lot of money now and I don't want to be humping the granny out of it I think small patches of bait or bags with just enough to get a fish to turn its head and think what's that and go down and have a look. Swim choice isn't that hard on a water like the Thames if you look hard enough you will see where people have fished which is not a bad back up plan, I on the other hand want to fish swims where there are no footsteps where the bushes are still over grown and then I make my own swim somewhere no one else has thought of trying to catch a fish then move on so not to cause a scene so I can use the swim again no good doing all the hard work and somebody else grabs all the glory.

It's not going to be easy far from it and I am going to have to put time and effort into this water and yes I will listen to other anglers and their stories but I want to try and forge a story of my own and not get too carried away with other people’s ideas and information, I know that might sound a bit off but let’s put it this way do I fish in the same spots as everyone else or do I find my own and tell a story that no one else has done I think it be the latter, my first trip on my new lock and weir permit saw me go to penton hook lock and weir not the best days fishing I have had but the river had no flow and everybody struggled. Nature is an amazing thing when you sit and watch it kingfishers going about their business and watching the chub feast on the eggs of the barbel spawning in one of the weirs that's right they were having jiggy and not interested in my feast of food, so I watched and left them to it.

We are now heading into the 23/24 season so my next post will have a bit more updated info about what I've been up to and where, tight lines everyone and good luck.

 

                                                                                     Gudgie              




 

River carping

It's been some time since I last blogged and I do apologise for my absence, I have been fishing which I will tell you about later on in this post but I've been rather busy with making fishing rakes which I never thought would sell as many as I have.

Such a simple design but it takes me quite a few man hours to get right and that's what has been taking up all my time,  I did have a job as an engineer but work ran out so last in first out, now I am working for an office in Croydon as a service person which is really good and I love working in a team. I can still get my rakes made at my last job so all is not lost.

The design has changed just a bit only so I can make them easier the sizes have changed as well the larger rake ("G") is 250mm instead of 300mm same size box section but thicker wall making it slightly heavier  but still a good weight and the spikes are slightly smaller at 50mm, plus there's a new type rake called Mini"G" which is 125mm long same size box section as the big one with 30mm spikes but only weighs 15oz so it will be perfect for clearing small spots close in and making a minimal disturbance check out the link to my Facebook page to see prices and more info. 

                              

                                                                   The"G"Rake & Mini"G"

                                             https://www.facebook.com/TheGudgeonsGadgets 

                                                                  My first swim

Right that's that out the way lets get down to fishing at the moment and for the foreseeable future I will be fishing the river wey and wey navi canal in Surrey which is full of surprises, it's also quite deep and scary so care has to be taken when fishing, there are plenty of underwater snags so I don't want to be losing end tackle for fear of harming the wildlife. Along one side of this river are trees and the other side there are houses, now as my capacity as a top specimen hunter (LOOOOL) i have concluded that tree roots are a problem but this is where the fish like to hang out so its down to me and my expert fishing skills to extract said fish from hiding hole, but I have a plan which I'll tell you about later.

I did spend a lot of time last season on the river and have had some success in the shape of  two 15lb common carp, one of these fish was a right old warrior and the other was a bit of a state due to spawning I think, but they were different fish despite them being the same weight. The downfall of these two was white pop ups but it was a sight thing rather than smell as the river is about 7ft deep with a bit of colour in the water.

I have three swims going at the moment one is the bridge swim another one has a lovely shallow gravel run in the middle of the river which deepens either side so I have been putting bait down the edge a sprinkling of boilies and pellets on top of the feature. The last swim has a deep glide along the inside with overhanging branches and bushes which just screams fish. The soil along this stretch is very soft and hollow I've had to learn to keep the noise down to a minimum but other people could do with doing the same and keeping a low profile when approaching me for a chat. I'm getting to point in my fishing where I want to be left alone but I'm not rude and will entertain most people if approached in the right way and manner. I know that might sound a bit selfish but my fishing time is for me to get away from it all, It's my hard work that i put in every weekend to bait up and do a bit of gardening in the swims. Would you get upset for someone to come crashing along the bank and talk loudly while standing with their shadow over the water after all the hard work you have put in to get this fish feeding on your spots!!  It's lovely when it is just me and the wildlife I'm one with nature and the rich housewife sunbathing in her back garden, If I want a social I will go with my brother and friends now that's a different story altogether!!!!

RIGS.............

This is a subject that can drive you crazy with all the new end tackle flooding the market from the likes of Korda, Nash, Avid, ESP, some of the stuff I believe is just gimmicky but a lot of the products are great bits of kit.That's how I've got to my rigs today after watching all the DVD's and reading the magazines I have taken a bit from all these great sources of information and come up with what I think are the rigs that will catch me the fish I want in all situations.

Number one the supple rig just as the name says uncoated braided hook link material 8" in length size 8 or 6 nash fang twister hook tied knotless knot style with the hair held in place with a small piece of silicon rubber and a couple of small pieces of tungsten putty to pin it all down.

My second rig is the chod rig I don't need to say anything about this rig that you don't already know.

My 3rd rig of choice is the multi-rig made popular by Julian Cundiff I shouldn't have to tell you anything about this rig either as it's been all over the fishing media lately and has caught loads of very big fish, that's my rigs I'll be using from now on, whether it be on a lake or river.

                                   

                                                      The second swim is so cool but snaggy

                                       

                                                                        swim three

                                                             My first river carp 15lb 4oz

                                                                    Been in the wars

Now those of you who like their gadgets then this DEEPER FISH FINDER is a bit of gadgetry you need to get your hands on and what a piece of kit it is, they have brought out two more version which needs to be checked out, the two newer version are for longer distances (wifi) and use for deeper water, the basic one I've got is connected via Bluetooth and has a range of about 50 yards perfect for the fishing I'm doing, it also tells you what the temperature is and when there's a fish and shows you weed and obstructions all beamed back to your iPhone or android phone, it also records your work so you can go back over it to see what is happening down in the deep. I have use mine quite a bit and to say it's helped is an understatement, only beeping at me when the water shallows up or there is fish about. I have run the deeper fish finder over my spots and on a couple of occasions it's bleeped at me to let me know there are fish over my baited area, that's got me buzzing and excited to know they are eating my grub, can't wait until the 16th June!!!!!!!!!!!!

                                    

                                                                   What a piece of kit!!!

                                                                    All the info you need

Bait

I'm using crave boilies by Terry Hearn (Dynamite Baits) these are ready made as I don't have a lot of room for another freezer so I needed something I could just store in my fishing cupboard and not have to worry about too much, these baits are so soft and the smell is great plus I will use them for my barbell fishing and chub come to think about it. I am mixing 18mm/15mm crave boilies and about five different sizes of pellets 30/70 with the bulk being pellet and will change that as the season goes on so there be more boilies going in.

The thing is with bait there so much out there and so many different flavours types and all claim to be the best bait remember its what you feel confident in they will all catch you fish you just have to stick with it and keep it going in.    

                                 

                                                     My biggest pike so far about 6lb

                                      It's not just carp I've been fishing for.......

I have been trying so hard to catch a 4lb perch or a bigger one than my personal best from a natural untapped venue and I have caught a couple of  good size perch but not the monster I'm after, also jack pike are a problem there are loads and just scare everything the only good coming from it is one being a PB.

For the predator fisherman in me, there is shed loads of baitfish, bleak, gudgeon,small roach which are easy to catch and store in my live bait well. I have caught perch on a dead bait which I have never done before, anytime I put a live bait on the pike smash it perch don't get a look in which can be really frustrating. I still enjoy my fishing so much, no matter how or what I'm fishing for, tiddler bashing which I am great at or trying to catch a specimen fish,  be it carp from a pond or river or a monster perch, pike or anything that's bigger than a pound in weight that a specimen to me. Blanking is a form of learning and by blanking means i'm learning then I am happy, I know I will catch I always do in the end. So until next time I wish you tight lines.

Thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings...

Lee ( TheGudgeon )

Tweeter @ TheGudgeon

Instagram @ thegudgeon

River bream and AGM.

This was to be my last trip before the season closed so I thought get yourself down to mother Thames and have a go for the slabs, I'm fortunate to follow and be followed by some very good anglers on twitter and one of them is Tony curd and it was he who posted a picture of himself with a net full of Thames bream up to 9lb from a stretch just below kingston bridge. I know this as he was good enough to tell me where when and how he caught them So with it being the last weekend of the season it was going to get busy so I needed a plan and that was to get there at silly a clock and that's the one thing I'm good at getting there to early and not being able to see a thing.

Now I didn't fish in the same spot as Tony because I wasn't sure where to park so after a bit of homework on Google Earth and talking to my mate Andy (@awgheating1) I worked out that lower ham road in kingston just down from where Tony was fishing and it's free parking and there was a famous peg that I didn't know about but I was just about to fish it. Bait wise was simple a good ground bait which was bait tech omen, hemp sweet corn and dead and live maggots tackle was my ever faithful Matt Hayes all rounder set up to the power feeder at 13ft my fox stratos fs7000 reel loaded with strong 8lb drennen feeder line 30g swimfeeder and a guru N gage hook link in 9lb breaking strain line with a smq1 size 12 hook great setup and very strong so no messing around on such a big river where there's lots of under water snags and a shelf just in front of me with all manner of rubbish and rocks.

My plan was hatched and I was up and out at just gone 4am, there's no traffic that time in the morning and I got to the section I was going to fish in pretty good time in fact it was still dark and I had no Idea where to fish what I mean by this is which swim as there are quite a few to chose from and i couldn't see a dam thing until another car pulled up and shone his lights in my direction which lit up everything. This guy jumps out of his car and headed towards me and said you fishing there without looking i said yes if you were here five minutes earlier and before i could finished my sentence he said if you would of got here five mins later i would of been in that peg because that the steps swim you'll catch lots in there if you know what you are doing, bingo i got the flyer!! Then his attitude change did you over take me on the way here? mate i drive a citroen c3 you drive a scooby, thats when he said to me that the peg i was in wasnt very good and the next one down was the better as he fish a match in the steps swim and didn't do very well hoping i would change my mind and move, i said to him ill take my chances in here and turned my back on him before i told him to get knotted, talk about a spoilt little boy throwing his toys out the pram because he couldn't fish the swim i was in now i just hope i catch or i'm going to look like a right plonker.

so after getting my chair and tackle sorted out and got myself comfortable i thought i'd done a pretty good job as it was only starting to get light. Once i was sitting in my chair getting ready for the first cast i need to be halfway across to be in with a good chance to catch which isn't a great distance so I was comfortable with that and as long as I got the swim feeder in and around the same spot I would catch.

If you want a big net of bream you are going to have to put the bait and time and effort in but you will be rewarded,for this session I'm just going to swing the feeder out and refill every 3 min and get a bit off bait in there nab a couple Which is what happened straight away cast the rod out sunk the line put the rod in the rest and bosh the tip just swung round and the first bream of the day Was dragged kicking and screaming into the landing net and that's how it went on until 2pm almost on the dot  the fella that said the next swim down was better weren't happy as every time I caught a fish I let him know about it.

A net full of Thames bream

Now these Thames bream are a different bred to their still water cousin  they actually fight back and use the flow to their advantage which makes for really exciting bream fishing. Now I know these fish go upto and over 9lb and that's a big slab so it would be nice to set my stall out to see if I can get a double figure snotty. It's not impossible I will just have to do my homework and have a plan before I start So that was my last session right at the end of the season.
.

The best magazine out there

I've been a Perchfisher for just over a year now and I've not done anything with the group no fish ins couldn't go to the last AGM so this year I'm going to make the effort and that's exactly what I did I'm going to make what I thought was the long drive up to Haversham which is just north of Milton Keynes but only an hour and forty five minutes later and I'm sitting outside the gate waiting to be let in it is 7am and the gate didn't open until 8 lol, well it's better to be early than late. Paul Howkins who is the chairman of the group let me in just before 8 and we had a good chat to find out the best places to fish.

My home for the weekend

To cut a long story short I blanked but I did help another fellow member land a two 2lb perch from my swim lol, so all was not lost it was just great being around other people and talking fishing and i really enjoyed myself let's hope I can catch one next time year thank you for all your help Paul see you soon!!!!

I drew a blank

So that's it another post  but just before I go I did have another trip to framfield park caught a couple of pound and a half perch but the surprise was at the end when I struck into something very different and after a spirited fight I landed a 4lb 1oz eel the biggest one I've ever seen but the bad news is after taking a photo or two I stumbled and drop my phone in the water I did get it back but it's not working so a trip to the apple shop is in store hoping they can retrieve my photos so hopefully I can put some pictures up in the next post. It's not easy being me so until next time tight lines....

TheGudgeon

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Cheese paste fishing.

This is my first post of 2015 i'm hoping that everybody had a great festive season and the new year has started how you wanted it to i'm just glad to see the back of 2014.

I am still plugging away at the same venues as last year basingstoke canal and the river eden, it's been hard very hard with not a lot to talk about but there has been some success. I just want to talk about cheese as a bait for a moment, bear with please.

Many years ago I use to fish the river wandle a hell of a lot I mean this river is small and urban as you're going to get, it all started when my eldest son (luke) and I were fishing a part that runs through an industrial estate with what we thought was the two best baits for chub, bread and luncheon meat, we couldn't get a sniff it wasn't until a fella turned up with his Woolworth rod and tesco's mild cheddar and showed us how to empty the river, we just stood there in amazement these fish were big 4lb plus. So next time we went with cheese as our bait my son and I had 10 chub up to 3lb 10oz we were gobsmacked how can this normal everyday food item catch so many fish when probably the best two baits didn't get a sniff.   

Now roll forward 15 or so years my eldest son is at uni studying criminology, and I am fishing a
small urban river no bigger than the wandle with my youngest son (louis) @FryChaser, I've had a 4lb 2oz fish out of this river on cheese (just normal cheddar) but I wanted a larger one, and they go bigger in here over six pound.

4lb 2oz of old warrior my only fish from the river eden 

Since that last big chub I haven't had another one nor has the boy, this piece of intimate water does get a lot of pressure from anglers so the fish are very weary of bankside noise. The local bellends don't help either throwing rubbish in the water and parking cars up at the rivers edge playing loud music, and just generally being a nuisance to the wildlife and the people trying to enjoy this place. This could be one of the reasons for blanking or they are just very hard to temp, it's not just me but a few other anglers I know fish this stretch and they've blanked as well, and a couple of them use maggots they can't hook anything. I'm not giving up though and it's this type of attitude that's going to serve me well in the next few weeks, trust me it's hard to keep going fishing at a venue where you keep blanking and there has been many a time I've turned over and switch the alarm off and gone back to sleep.

My wife and julian

I'm in need some inspiration so me and my family have a day at the carp society show at sandown racecourse in november 2014, great show with lots of bargains and yes i spent all my pennies near dinner time we sat down and listen to what julian cundiff had to say. Now i don't have to tell you who this man is as most of you should know if not get researching as he is one of the very top carp anglers out there today, and you might be thinking what has this got to do with fishing a small river with cheese paste and your be right it has nothing to do with it until you've sit down and listen to how dedicated his is to his fishing 100% focused on catching carp when his goes or it's not worth going his words.

So after taking these words in and using his enthusiasm to boost my own fishing mojo i want to get back out there and keep trying. The reason julian is so good at what he does is the commitment and focus he puts in i could learn from him and so could you.

This is where it's get interesting because I wanted a bait which is going to give me that edge, we've spoken of just plain cheese which i used last time and caught but now i need to change something, i need not just a cheese that's going to hum really bad like your dads socks!! But something i can use and change easily like a paste. I turned to twitter and that's where a fella called @anthonywood58 who I have spoken to on many occasions and is a bit of a guru on bait not just bollies or naturals but all baits, he is a member of Bait-Tech street squad and has published four books so he knows a thing or two about home made bait.
So the question was asked have you got a recipe for cheese paste, five minutes later i had what i needed.
                           
340g frozen ready rolled shortcrust pastry
160g extra mature cheddar
160g stilton or blue cheese.

My saviour garlic flavor

New version stop the wife cooking it lol      

Right grate the cheddar and the blue cheese mix together roll out the pastry and place cheese on top fold over edges and knead until you've got a good smooth paste, and that's it. Wow simple or what i'm not going to tell you anymore but check out the fella's blog!
 anthonysanglingcorner.wordpress.com

This is where it get interesting because i made up the first batch and as i'm fishing i thought to myself not only have i got a recipe for cheese paste but a base to add any ingredients as i like. Now my brain is in overdrive, i never caught on the first batch (but the misses made plenty of cheese straws up and they went down a treat lol..) so i decided to leave the blue cheese out and add garlic puree.
This is great as i'm making my own paste now with my twist and i've only got Anthony to thank for putting me on the right path.

The only problem is trying to keep the misses from cooking the dam paste as a snack they did taste very nice but i didn't make it for her i made it for my other love Mrs Chub xxx. Two trips later and i'm still blanking and getting very frustrated, but as jules says you must keep at it so that is what i doing and i am rewarded with 2lb chub, yes there are fish still in here.

scene of previous capture, no fish here!

at last theres life in the river

P/B chub

5lb 2oz of monster chub
the smile says it all

The thing was i had to keep chopping and changing, i.e:- hook size plus the hook link length and i eventually found what combination worked as i had a fish in the bottom of my landing net.
No more fish came out of the swim all the casting and bankside noise seemed to kill it dead so another move is on the cards. Walking up the river there's a couple more people fishing i had a quick chat and apart from a few small perch nothing else had been caught. I carried on walking up the river past the men throwing large rocks into the water for their dogs to jump in and retrieve. While standing there thinking to myself was it time to go home i noticed a rather large bend further up the river, i never notice that before it wasn't until i got up close to the swim i realised how far i had walked There was no one around it felt like i was transported to the spot was i meant to be there.
Then thats where the magic comes in i'm here so i'll have just one more cast thinking i will give it 30 mins then i'm going home. Well to say i was surprised to see the top of my rod smash round in a matter of seconds caught me completely off guard, i didn't have to strike just catch the butt of my rod as it jumped up into my hand let the battle commence. This fish whatever it was dived straight into the weed bed got it out then again in another this went on for what seemed a lifetime eventually a beast of a chub rolled on the surface but i couldn't grab my landing net as it was just out of reach so i had to try and get the fish to swim up stream which it did diving into the weed bed i just got it out of i grabbed the net and made a mad lunge and boy was i lucky.
Lying in the bottom of the landing net was the biggest chub i have ever seen in the flesh, i zeroed the scales twice and i weighed it twice just to make sure it was what it said and at 5lb 2oz it is a new P/B for me. But the story doesn't end there i couldn't take a photo as the camera wouldn't stand up so i can take a selfie, there was no one around so it looks like i'm not going to get a picture of my chub, but then in the distance i see a figure of a man jogging with a dog so i frantically wave at him for help he obviously thinks i'm in trouble and sprints over and asked if everything is ok i reply yes but ask him to take a photo for me. When i show him my catch his words were F*** me thats a monster you never caught that from here, i did mate and he gladly took my photo and patted me on the back to congratulate me on an awesome fish after releasing my prize i sat in the chair and laughed out loud and said to myself i never gave up i never gave up. So thank you to the jogger and Julian, until the next post Tight Lines..
p.s my new ingredients are not going to taste so nice to us so i'm hoping it will steer the misses away ;)

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