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Diary of an average angler

Who favours traditional methods & baits

fisherman

This diary dates back to a holiday in 2003 when I think the urge to get back into fishing took off. From around 2007 the trips became more frequent with 2010/11 probably being the peak of activity.
Things again pick up in 2020 - a sort of rebirth!

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Venues
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Species
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Venues & topics
Species
Archive

Fields End (72)

Venue: Fields End
Roach 1lb 5oz

Only one photo today.
Larger light-box version in the full report

Arrival time: 08.00 (started to fish at 09.00)
Weather: Clear and cold (2-3 〫C).
No wind at first but cold NW breeze after lunch.
Swim: Swim to the left of the Tree Corner.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, centre pin with 4lb line, 16 hook on 2½lb line. Insert waggler.
Baits: Sweetcorn
Fish: Roach to 1lb 5oz.

Arrived to find a frozen lake. I tried to break up the ice in the Tree Corner by casting a leger weight but it was too thick. The swim to the left had some open water so I moved there. Plumbing the depth showed there to be quite deep water 2-3 rod lengths out. I used sweetcorn again, baiting the swim little and often.

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Species: Roach

Fields End (71)

Venue: Fields End
Common 8lb

Only one photo today.
Larger light-box version in the full report

Arrival time: 08.00 (started to fish at 08.30)
Weather: Light NW wind, mainly dry and about 7-9 〫C.
Swim: Tree corner
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, centre pin with 4lb line, 16 hook on 2½lb line. Insert waggler.
Baits: Sweetcorn and worm.
Fish: Roach to about 8oz, two tench, best 3lbs, and a carp of 8lbs (on 2½lb line!).

The weather looked threatening when I arrived but other than a couple of very short light showers it remained dry. The tree corner was sheltered from the NW wind so I had almost calm conditions within my casting distance throughout the day.

I decided to stick to sweetcorn and bait lightly but regularly. I did try worm for a few casts but other than missed bites and a couple of small perch, they didn’t produce anything memorable.

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Species: Roach, Tench, Carp

Fields End (70)

Venue: Fields End
Tench 3lb 8oz

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 08.30 (started to fish at 09.00)
Weather: No wind, lots of rain but not too cold.
Swim: Tree corner
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, 4lb line, 16 hook on 2.5lb line. Insert waggler.
Baits: Sweetcorn
Fish: Two tench, best 3½lbs, a few roach to 10oz and what I think was a dace.

First trip since 19th November! The lake was very coloured. Hard to believe that this was entirely due to fish movement. Perhaps the high winds over the past few days had stirred things up.

Forecast was for 7-9 degrees and calm. It didn’t mention rain, which started at about 10.00 and carried on until around 13.30. January rain is chilling and quite unpleasant. It also made it difficult to spot pre-bite float movements, causing me to miss some of the few bites that I actually had.

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Species: Tench, Roach, Dace

Fields End (69)

Venue: Fields End
No photo message

Nothing worth photographing today

Arrival time: 07.15 (started to fish at 07.45)
Weather: Foggy, no wind and very cold.
Swim: Tree corner
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, 4lb line, 16 hook on 2.5lb line. Insert waggler.
Baits: Breadflake, maggots and pellets.
Fish: Some small roach and perch, and a tench of 2lbs 14oz.

The fog had been forecast but there was a chance it would clear to a bright day; but it didn’t!

I had bought maggots and some soft 4mm and 6mm pellets to give myself some options. On Monday I got lots of bites on bread flake that I couldn’t hit. Today I had very few bites and bread didn’t produce hardly any at all. Neither did the pellets.

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Species: Tench, Roach, Perch

Fields End (68)

Venue: Fields End
Roach 1lb 2oz

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 07.00 (started to fish at 07.45)
Weather: Bright, no wind and very cold.
Swim: Tree corner
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, 4lb line, 14 hook. Insert waggler.
Baits: Bread flake and sweetcorn.
Fish: Roach to 1lb 2oz, and a 3¼lbs tench.

The gales of last week had passed and a brief spell of high pressure provided classic cold clear conditions with no wind. I was on my own on the lake until around midday, with just an incredibly brave little chaffinch hopping around my feet looking for some tit-bits. I think he was after maggots but I didn’t have any. It may have been cold but the conditions were otherwise idyllic.

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Species: Tench, Roach

Fields End (67)

Venue: Fields End
Crucian 2lb 1oz

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 07.00
Weather: Cloudy with sunny spells, hardly any wind and chilly.
Swim: Tree corner
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, 4lb line, 14 hook. Insert waggler.
Baits: Bread flake and sweetcorn, with hempseed and pellets as attractors.
Fish: Seven carp to 8lbs 14oz and a 2lbs 1oz crucian.

After the frustration last week of not being able to hit many of the bites, today I scaled down my tackle. I bought a match rod a few years ago for use on canals and drains but it hasn’t had many outings. It’s light and fast, and, as I found out today, not lacking where bigger fish are concerned.

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Species: Carp, Crucian

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