Hows this for the ultimate chub swim?
Unsurprisingly though fishing is not allowed here! Still you can throw in the odd treat to watch them feed. I’m always dropping by to check them out… its hard not too. Often there are a few perch in there forraging around.
A quick update of how the drop shotting is getting on with the Perch. One answer – its doing the business in this mega fast flowing outlet of a large lake. The water gushes in at speed to this small outlet and a normally cast lure either gets swept away or you have to do a real quick retrieve… meaning the lure is probably only being fished for 2 or 3 seconds before its out of the hotspot.
After delving with dropshotting about a year ago i thought this would be perfect for this situation. It can effectively hold the lure static in the strike zone, something that no other technique could. And oh boy is it showing! The tally so far is up to 6 perch all over 27cms. No monsters as yet but i’ve seen them in there its just a matter of time now.
Most effective lures have been agm’s live baby shads…! They seem to love them!
Update – 3lb+ chub last night! Wehey!
Only a quick update this evening… just got back from a pretty successful trip. I managed 5 perch and a pike of around 12lb. The pike was my first to a spinnerbait and added to my tally of fish to normally un-used lures. Adding to my confidence of late.
After the first hour i had caught 3 perch and the pike, i’d decided to move to the outlet of the lake. This outlet is pretty fast flowing and has accounted for a number of small perch previously. Today i had decided i was going to try dropshotting to hold the lure in the strike zone a little longer than a short retrieve of a grub. The choice paid off pretty quickly and a perch was caught after ten minutes of arrival… 28cm and a nice scrap on the light rod. Back went the lure and after approx 5 mins i was in again this time the stripey was 27cm clearly a different fish to a small wound on the flank. Darkness was descending quickly so i made my escape whilst i could still see where i was going. This is certainly a method i will be trying again soon, it was perfect for holding the lure in the area against the flow without the need to retreive.
What else does this small outlet hold…. only time will tell but i will definately be back there soon. I’ve seen some huge chub and perch here previously so cannot wait for the next trip.
I’ll be sure to keep you informed.
Well after not getting out on the lake or rivers for 8 weeks i was chomping at the bit to get out for the last day. A new dog has been taking up all my time of late but i have reserved the last day for an outing on the River Mole.
The rain the night before helped put a little colour in the water and conditions looked perfect for a few fish on arrival. Unfortunately it was a very hard day, fishing was hard going apart from continuous takes from ravenous minnows nicking the maggots. Various techniques had been tried and by 11am things were going very slowly. Apart from the minnows i’d lost a fish that took a lob fished to the far bank… a nice whang on the quiver tip and a short fight and he had escaped. Still an hour later the tip showed some movement again, a few taps and then all went quiet. Then wham the fish had decided he wanted my bait… this time half a lob to a size 12 super specimen. Initially i’d thought it was a chub due to the speed it moved up stream. Then it rolled and i thought hello red fins, stripes – happy days! A few moments later a nice 2lb 14oz Perch graced my net. My biggest of the season, and what a way to end!
Unfortunately that was the only action of the day. With all the minnows present we were sure they’d be more perch and chub around but we threw everything at em and no more action was to be had. Every likely looking spot was cast too, every bait we had was tried. Oh well, 3 months and it will be worth another try thats for sure.
Until then its a tad more luring the lakes and the fly rod is out on Monday for the first day of the season! Can’t flippin wait! 
Tight lines to all.
Firstly a Happy New Year to all, i hope it brings some monsters to your net!
Secondly what is up with this weather… gees its depressing – first snow, then freezing temps for what seemed like ages and now its chucking it down every other day! Resulting in the river being so high and coloured its hardly worth fishing. Damn i’m moaning but its doing my head in! I just want to get out there chuck some lures and do what i love doing the most. If i can’t, well i’m just not happy!
Apologies rant over…!
On to my challenge for 2011. To catch a Pike and a Perch on a fly. I don’t know what it is but i really want to catch a stripy and hook into an angry pike on a fly rod. There is just something about the method that intrigues me. I’m becoming obsessed, i’m constantly scouring the web looking at flies that i think could be the answer. Hopefully i’ll be able to go after them when this weather gets a little better. And whatever happens succeed or fail i’ll post updates to let you know how i’m getting on. Until then i’ll keep reading and spending my wages on materials and lures to help me on my mission.
Good luck to all, i hope your 2011 is a good one!
Another good chub fishing trip was had this afternoon. It didn’t start out that way though i lost a possible five pound chub at the net and thought i’d blown it. I rebaited the productive area and moved up river, had a small chub about a pound but nothing else. Went back to the area i started off at and landed a cast around a foot from the far bank, chucked in a few cubes of meat and crouched down behind the reeds to pray that the lump was still in the area.
Ten minutes later and the tip quivered and then swung into a hungry chub, i struck and this time made sure the feisty fish was well away from the snags. A few minutes later and i lifted my net to bag myself another 4lb specimen. This time he was only just a four weighing in at 4lb 1oz, another meat loving chub was mine. It certainly makes me feel that i’m doing something right and hopefully the five barrier can be broken soon.
This one fell to straight through 4lb mainline to a size 8 Drennan Super Specialist, 2 ssg shot on a link leger, the bait was a cube of luncheon meat.
I did have a chat to another fisherman whilst moving swims and he had it on good authority that a 5-14 was caught in the same area last winter so atleast i know i’m firmly in chub land. Although i shant be using the same bait that the fish was caught on… a sprat with double treble meant for a pike. Oh and on the mention of Pike i must have seen atleast five of them holding up in the clear water and i reckon atleast 4 of them were doubles. Hmmm!
With the weather looking perfect this bank holiday weekend the plan is to go out roving. First thing tomorrow the plan is to go after my first carp on the fly rod, fingers crossed they will be up in the water in the morning sun. Well thats aslong as the weather man has got it right! Then its off to the River Medway with the fly rod with some muddlers and minkies to see if i can tempt a few fish. The Spro ultralight is coming with me incase the flies don’t produce… i’ll update tomorrow evening to let you know how i get on!
Damn i love the night before an outing! Sorting through the gear and making sure i’m ready to go first light! The alarm is set and i’m like a little kid at christmas!
Good luck to all for the bank holiday weekend!
Finally the off season lows are on their way out, its time to get excited and make some preparations for the new season! The river kit gets a dusting down and the tackle box gets prepared for roaming again. I simply love this time of year, its light until late, warm enough to travel lightly and cover some serious mileage on the river.
After catching some nice chub at the end of last season i really am looking forward to targetting them for a while this season. And of course i’ll out doing plenty of perch fishing, some pike fishing and not forgetting a few socials on the hunt for some nice carp. Oh and hopefully i may even be able to catch a few river carp along the way! I saw a nice 20+ cruising along in the sunshine two weeks ago and its given me the itch.
I’ll be back to post again on the evening of the 16th to let you know how i get on! Tight lines to all and may the 2010/11 season be a great one!
Atlast it seems that the cold long winter is behind us and the weather is finally on the up! The last month has been hard since the river season ended and my time was to be spent on nearby lakes whilst i wait for the return of the river. This is without a doubt my hardest time of year, especially when travelling by the river each day and it starts to look more full of life as each day passes. Only this saturday did i see a near 20lb carp cruise on past me during a quick stroll along the banks. So frustrating!
So what has happened since my last post fishing wise, to be honest not a great deal except for the fact that i managed 3 4lb + chub. The last being a PB from the river at 4lb 9oz on the last day of the season which was a great result considering there was work on the river that weekend and water levels were 3 feet down from the usual. What made it even better was that the fish took a liking to my new homemade cheese paste! I’ll definately be trying that again when the season re-opens. The other two were taken on pop-ups whilst trying to tempt the odd carp!
Perch wise i’ve been trying a new pit to see what the numbers are like within. I have managed to do a few hours over the last couple of evenings so far, and last night i finally managed to find one. Not a biggie but at a pound and a half and coloured the way he was i was delighted. The little spro ultralight rod really does come in to its own with the perch! The lure that tricked this little fella was a little Salmo and i’ll be trying it out again down there very soon. As ever last light was the key again…! Last night i was losing the light very quickly and in the end i decided to stick it out for ten minutes more in to darkness and it thankfully paid off. (Just be prepared a head torch is a must for unhooking at night)
I’ll try to update the site again should anything else come my way on this spring/summer evening trips!
Tight lines and best luck to all
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