Duncan’s
Monthly round-up – December 2015
I’m
not sure exactly where this month has gone or if I have logged every session as
it’s been so manic that I even forgot to keep my fishing record up to date
which is just unheard off. Strange as it may seem but I actually don’t get out
that much over Christmas, unlike many who seem to grab the holiday period with
both hands, and it shows as just 11 sessions have seen me on the bank, either
for myself or guiding. As you can see this isn’t the whole story as most of my
time has been spent getting articles to publications on or, as it’s been this
month, before deadlines. I wish I could say that an article can be completed in
a day, yet travelling down to let’s say, the Dorset Stour, taking the photos
before travelling back all takes time, in fact just this is a day’s work. Then
the article needs to be written up along with images manipulated and then
everything sent, another days work, so you can see where my time goes, so
although I love my job, it’s far from casting a line all day, every day!
Fortunately with lots sorted well before Christmas it does allow me to spend
time with the girlfriend and family, before getting right back into it come the
start of January.
I
would like to reassure every river angler that’s been struggling to catch that
it’s not all down to your angling. Ask yourself this simple question – what day
in December was the best day to target barbel? You would be struggling to
pinpoint one specific day as almost every day has been screaming barbel and
knowing that they can feed pretty much 24/7 being on the bank at the right time
is almost impossible to predict. It’s not just barbel that are proving
difficult as other species like roach, perch, pike, grayling and chub need a
consistent cold spell to get them into their normal winter routine. I know a
few anglers that had a feeling that the crucians would still be on the feed
early December but this species is one that is predictable and I put it down
not to the air or water temperature but the length of daylight hours as after
the first week of November they become so difficult to catch that I’ve learnt
to leave them alone to the following spring. In these mild conditions why are
the cats not feeding? Yes the odd one, just like the odd crucian does get
caught but once again I put this down to the amount of daylight hours and not
the water or air temperature, so some species are still predictable. I find it
funny when I watch so many anglers struggling at Broadwater in these
conditions; however this isn’t because of the weather which is so often blamed.
If they were to arrive at first light, weren’t stereotyped into what swims they
wanted to fish, moved to showing fish and put a little thought into their rigs
and baiting then believe me they wouldn’t be struggling! There are a few
exceptions to the rule such as the roach fishing on the river Blackwater that
has been brilliant this winter. Unfortunately I keep meaning to get myself down
there and sample this but time just faded away in December, maybe January?
I
was looking at buying a ticket to target some big grayling, yet although I know
the odd big one is showing, to me fishing for this species has to be when it’s
so cold that almost every other species is a non-starter, so unless this
weather changes it’s looking as if this won’t be happening.
So
was 2015 a good year? Well it has to be as three personal bests graced my net,
two of which were from species I never thought I would beat! More details to
follow in my yearly round-up coming soon.
What
plans do I have for 2016? To be honest I’m wishing for this horrid mild wet
spell of weather to pass as if it continues I fear that the spring will be
another long cold one. Barbel, tench, catfish and carp will all feature up
until the autumn, after this who knows but one thing is for sure barbel won’t
be on the list.
All in all 2016 looks like
it’s going to be a busy one and if I beat my tench and carp personal bests then
I will be a happy angler.
Wishing you all a very Happy
New Year.
1/12/15 –
Well what a day, well actually not! I was hoping to head to the river last
night but the Amber forecast had me rethinking. Shame as the rain and wind
failed to arrive and it would have be a great evening to fish. This rethink
also made me change plans and a quick trip to the vets revealed that a simple
shave of the rabbits bum was all that was needed so the first light assault was
also missed. After dropping the rabbit off and a hearty breakfast I headed to
the river, yet just as I arrived the phone went to say the bunny wasn’t as ill
as first thought and was ready to collect, great that he was ok, great for the
vets that cleaned me out of another £60 but not so great for the few hours on
the bank.
2/12/15 –
After dropping the girlfriend of I headed to my parents for a proper English
breakfast before picking up one of my regulars for an exploration trip to his
local lake in search of big perch. Conditions were spot on, however the farmer
was pumping thousands of gallons of water into the lake and with a look like
weak tea I knew things wouldn’t be easy. Prawn on the long rod was the tactic
and with three swims baited we sat back to see what was install. Swim one
produced one small dip of the float, swim two a carp of just over 10lb which
livened up the session plus a tiny perch which came to a worm that a more than
helpful match angler had given us and swim three, another smaller carp. All in
all it was an enjoyable few hours in far from uncomfortable temperature,
thirteen degrees to be precise and the friendly match angler gave us an honest
account of the perch population which was there are a few big ones around but
they are rarely caught and when they are they are more by accident than design.
Job done!
Back at home it was all hands
on deck as I had arranged to meet my brother at first light for a spot of perch
fishing myself so an hour or so was spent sorting out the kit as well as
replying to the weekend’s load of emails etc.
3/12/15 –
Fished Broadwater today for perch. Both myself and brother Kevin had just two
bites each fishing prawn in the four hour stint. I missed a definite perch bite
and converted the other with a 15lb common. Kevin converted both his with a
10lb common and a 1lb 8oz perch. In the afternoon prepared the barbel kit for
an overnight session Friday before popping over to see my mum who had a little
trip earlier in the week.
4/12/15 –
With one thing and another the mornings been somewhat wasted however on the
road come 3.30pm and fishing by 5pm. Forecast is for a mild, dry night so
should be a comfortable one. Oh, didn’t check the wind speed as it slowly got
up as darkness fell to 22mph with gusts up to 42mph! To be honest nearly packed
up at 2am as things were somewhat uncomfortable what with thinking the brolley
would take off at any moment and that one of the old trees above that were
swaying somewhat unnervingly would break off. Chris joined me and also had a
similar uncomfortable night but was it worth it, well you will have to wait and
see.
7/12/15 –
Spent the day in the office checking out a number of carp rods for an Anglers
Mail feature.
8/12/15 –
Spent most of the day in the office checking out big-pit reels for an Anglers
Mail feature, then at 3pm headed to the river in search of a massive barbel.
Only fished four hours but managed to put two fish in the net, but what were
they?
11/12/15 –
Managed to head to the river, more to bait up than fish but took the rods and
cast them out for a couple of hours. I say rods, as for the first time in my
barbel fishing days I have now had to resort to two rods in the hope of
increasing my chances. Haven’t done a great deal of fishy related things this
week as having some time out with the girlfriend and getting things sorted for
Christmas. Also had the news that my friend Alan had just landed a massive fish
from the Test at Timsbury. What a shame that he never had the time to drink in
the atmosphere surrounding the catch, look closely at the images and decide
what to do with these as before he had even left the fishery a photo had gone
viral on Facebook. Obviously the fisheries objective was to get as much
publicity as they could by stating what they thought the fish was, well they
have achieved there aim and you can bet your life that the already overcrowded
banks will be even more busier in the next couple of months. I know Alan well
and felt for him as many of the cyber claws seem to direct their comments at
him and not the fishery, shame on you! My thoughts are that when an angler
spends £25 to fish a day ticket venue, catches a memorable fish then it’s his
rights to do what he wants with it, not the fisheries and in this case it was
very disrespectful. If this had happened to me I would have been fuming! I
would like to put his brilliant capture into perspective as I have fished
Timsbury on many occasions and to catch anything other than a grayling or game
fish is an achievement. In fact in maybe twenty visits I have caught hundreds
of fish but only two can be classified outside of the game/grayling category,
so well done Alan that was some fish!
14/12/15 –
Spent the day writing up a few Anglers Mail Tactical Briefing before heading to
the river to fish 2hrs either side of dusk.
15/12/15 –
Made the most of a relatively dry bright day and managed to get the basic rod
shots done for the Anglers Mail feature.
16/12/15 –
Having spent most of the season fishing for barbel on a clear river who would
have expected to arrive at the river Loddon to find it up-and-coloured water.
This wouldn’t have been too bad if barbel were on the agenda but they weren’t
as my customer, Christian wanted to learn the art of fishing for chub using
bread! To be honest we decided to give it our best shot, fish all the good
swims and if nothing happened by midday, throw in the towel and return when the
river was in a slightly better condition. Luckily the weather was dry and mild
and although little happened in the first three banker swims, the forth, one
that is a bit hit-and-miss produced the goods, a chub approaching 4lb that gave
Christian a right beating up. The odd half-chance then followed however it was
obvious, even after trying cheese paste, that the chub weren’t that interested
and although fishing till dusk I felt it was only fair to offer Christian
another bash at ‘old rubber lips’ when the cold arrives!
17/12/15 –
On the way back from dropping the girlfriend off at work I met up with my
brother for a few hours pike fishing. It was more for a ‘catch-up’ than a
serious fish and with temperatures well above average and the skies clear of
rain clouds we sat and chatted along with getting three runs resulting in three
pike to around 12lb. I was hoping to get an image of the double to complete a
feature however to keep things short we named it ‘Houdini’.
Back at home and in the
office by midday I made the most of the weather and spent a few hours taking
images of some big pit reels for an Anglers Mail ‘Best-Off’ feature.
18/12/15 –
The weathers back to its wet and windy theme so time to review all the big pit
reels and get them over to Anglers Mail slightly earlier than they expected
before heading to the river to bait up.
19/12/15 –
Today was all about getting on top of some outstanding fishy paperwork before
Christmas.
20/12/15 –
Another early start this time to pick up young Tom in Winchester and head to a
couple of venues in Berkshire to get a couple of short videos done.
21/12/15 –
Up early and heading south to the Dorset Stour at Throop to meet up with Pete
Wilson on beat 2 to create an Anglers Mail Venue Expert. The weather was what
can only be described as changeable and the red sky at dawn as I drove down was
a sign of things to come. Fortunately arriving early with no more than a two
hour window before the wind and rain moved in was enough to get everything
sorted including Pete catching which wasn’t a foregone conclusion when he
arrived to find the river up, fast and coloured. Keep an eye out for this
feature in Anglers Mail as it’s a good one with plenty of great tips to learn.
There was no let up for me even getting home early as it was straight in the
office, once everything was placed on the radiators to dry out, to get on top
of more things such as writing up a ‘where to fish’, once again for Anglers
Mail.
22/12/15 –
As if I needed another early start, especially knowing the weather was going to
do its best to soak me once again, but yes, this morning I was once again on
the road by 6am, this time heading to Wylands Fishery in East Sussex to meet up
with carp angler Jed Kent to produce another Anglers Mail Venue Expert.
Arriving a little after 8am I found Jed to have a sizeable carp ready for the
camera, along with returning a couple of doubles, so things looked good for a
few more fish, however the feeding spell stopped on my arrival. Keep an eye out
for this feature coming soon to A.M as if you fish this venue then you will
learn very quickly just how to approach and get the most from it.
Some say I have the best job
in the world, yet believe me as much as I love it, it is somewhat frustrating
at times. The last couple of days should have been pure enjoyment, however as
much as I did enjoy them the driving I hate ( the best part of 400 miles on the
clock over two days) especially when its dark and raining. Early starts have
never been my best point, yet once up I love them, and trying to be efficient
with taking notes when everything’s getting wet and worrying that the camera
equipment is going to pack in due to the damp is never far from my mind.
Fortunately tomorrow looks a better day, however frustrating again as its a
planned day in the office!
23/12/15 –
With Christmas looming today was all about completing the Venue Expert feature
on the Dorset Stour at Throop for Anglers Mail.
27/12/15 –
It was good to spend a few hours on the bank with my brother, this time perch
fishing at GAS Broadwater. The weather, although forecasted to be dry, did its
best to dampen our spirits, yet a few bites in during morning session kept our
minds away from the constant drizzle. I managed just two bites and missed both
whilst Kevin had four on his perch rod resulting in a couple of scrapper
two-pound perch and a few on his heli-rig which saw the odd better roach
netted.
29/12/15 – I
was hoping to get a few hours in pike fishing this morning yet this didn’t
happen so headed to the river for a few hours instead and obviously the fish
have been missing the pre-bait over the holiday period as within thirty seconds
the tip tapped then pulled round, however that was the only action from the
five hour session.
30/12/15 –
You must have been on one of those sessions when it soon becomes apparent that
whatever you do is just not going to make things happen. Well I had one of
those today. I was on the Loddon roving around with a loaf of bread in the hope
of a big chub. Conditions weren’t ideal, yet not impossible, or so I thought.
Storm Frank was forecasted to arrive early afternoon so the early start saw me
covering all the known hot-spots, however come early afternoon, the chub were
like anglers on the bank, nowhere to be seen. In fact I tried fifteen swims for
just two taps! Undeterred I headed to an easy stretch of the Blackwater yet
after covering a further six swims for just one small chub and a couple of
missed tiny taps called it a day when the rain finally arrived around 3pm.
Tight Lines!
Fortunately our nerves were settled within
seconds as first cast Chris found himself playing a good grayling, one that
fell agonisingly short of two-pounds. He had what’s known as a red-letter
session in such difficult conditions and continued to catch grayling throughout
the day, most just a couple of ounces short of our initial target of 2lb. I
fished a number of swims and caught the odd big grayling along with losing
something big so the early signs are great and another couple of planned
sessions, very soon, should reveal its true potential, however one thing for
sure, a two-pounder is certainly on the cards and who knows this piece of
virgin river could produce something very special.
