SPANISH LESSONS

Hello to all

These drawn out summer evenings are brilliant! the last few weeks have seen me on the banks almost every day.Mainly local, quick after work sessions on the lures but aside from that, I have also ventured down some steep rocky cliff paths in search of salt water action, a pursuit I rarely ( for some reason ) indulge in.

But firstly, let us not forget my Spanish lessons on the Segre.

As readers of this blog will know,I'm no stranger when it comes to Catfish and Carp; but the fact of it is I had never caught a really large sample of either species.The mighty Spanish river systems of the Segre and Ebro hold enormous creatrure's with the carp touching 70lbs and the Cats in at a bone crunching 240 plus!

If there was ever a place to catch a lump, this was it!

However such waters are not much like the rivers I have tackled here in the UK, oh no! The Segre is a daunting sprawl of river with widths of up to 600 yards and a flow that often requires 3lb of lead to hold bottom.Not the sort of place you would turn up to and fish blind so we opted to book a trip with the help of the good folk at Cat master tours.These guys are like the A-team of Wels hunter's and main man Colin Bunn has caught more giant fish than I've had hot dinner's so it was an easy choice when it came to choosing a guide.

A week long trip in the company of fishing buddy's Danny boy , Al the hurricane and pickle was exactly what the doctor ordered.I don't think I have ever had a week without life's needs and musts getting in the way of a such an angling binge.

The weather was hot,  and the lager's cool, as was our bitch for the week ( Ryan ).who gracefully put up with us lot, and didn't even mention the dead bird we scooped out the water,  then covered in that  carp goo crap and left on his bivvy table as an air freshener.But on a serious note all the guys at Cat masters are top lad's that do their up-most to keep you well fed, comfortable, and most importantly guide you to a fish of a lifetime.

over the course of the week we all had ton up catfish, as did our Swedish friends Henrick and Bo.It was a very social trip with us all pitched together sharing the runs lottery style.This is not essential as you are welcome to fish your own two rods, but by the end of the week it had only been 3 out of the 8 rods that did all the catching so if we were to have fished our own rods there would have been some rather sour looking faces on the journey home.

All the Cats fought like Demons with some of them beating us up a bit. After landing a 141lb fish I had bruises around my groin from digging the butt of the rod to gain more leverage against the heavy flow and a lump on the hook. Awesome stuff!

Aside from our target species we did a spot of feeder fishing and caught some cracking Roach. Zander also featured in our catch which were great fun on ultra light lure fishing tackle.

the majority of Carping was done from a boat which proved very use-full for exploring the many inaccessible ( from land ) area's the river had to offer, however the largest carp we had was caught from the bank. Al the hurricane destroyed his p.b with a strapping 38lb 2oz common so well done that man.

We all had a proper hoot and got some pb's smashed, if your thinking about a trip to Spain I can't recommend Cat master tours enough!Thank you Colin Ryan and Ash and big up Henrick and Bo Bo,We'll be over shoon to catch your pikes and zanders.

Til next time

Good luck

IN A SPIN

Hello to all

As I sit and write, I can feel that warm tingle on my face from all the sun I have exposed myself too.I gotta stop forgetting the sun cream, Anyway my angling exploits have taken me some miles this month and I'm starting to really feel the lack of sleep catching up with me.

There is a lot of catching up to do as I have very busy on the banks but have found little time to put it to pen, to start of with let me just confess my new found love of lure fishing. I sneaked a couple of sessions on the river before the close season hit us tacking a few good doubles on the trusty shad hammer,whilst slowly bouncing  perch replicants  through slack water.

over the last few weeks I have made thousands of casts, firstly I fished a BLAC (British lure angling championships) qualifier on the Exeter canal, Lets just say that was some what of an eye opener. Just like my pal Julian predicted it was the perch anglers that really stole the show. I'm not afraid to admit that I'm complete novice in the art of lure fishing but the guy I was paired with (Dan Sissons) most defiantly was not.The first thing I noticed was how small the lures (20mm shad with a 1g jig-head) he had rigged up on his rods were. after a chat he explained to me he intended on using tiny cute little lures to bag up on small perch, after all a big fish can also take a small lure can't it?

I took us to an area I knew held some perch as they had been following a large spinner bait I had been using there a few days before.We arrived in the swim and I put on a nice shiny replicant twist in a roach pattern fresh out the packet, there on the far margin stood a nice overhanging bush which most often houses a pike or two, lets get the lure right under it I thought.....Wrong, like a complete bell-end I lobbed it straight into the bush and had to crack the lot off.

I don't think Dan noticed or perhaps he was to polite to laugh,either way I had quite literally got off to a cracking start.But enough about my noddy exploits,this dude from Portsmouth was slaying it. He was working  micro lure's close to the near bank, consistently catching small perch along with the odd micro jack. his impressive catch earned him a qualifying position in the final which will be held at the mighty Chew valley reservoir.

I finished the match with a perch of 15 cm which saved me from an embarrassing blank on my own turf, still I learned a lot from my time watching Dan and yes I now have my own ultra light set up (a 6ft 3-12g casting rate rod coupled with an ultron 1500 loaded with 10lb braid) and I'm pleased to say In the short time I have owned it I have caught lots of  Perch, some jack pike which really go like stink when they realise there hooked and a few Zander to the 5lb mark.

This method of fishing I have found to be very absorbing and addictive, and best of all lots of fun.

The next lure fishing adventure had no place for the ultra light tackle or baby lures, a qualifier on Chew saw lots of familiar faces from the pike fishing scene and beyond all gathered outside the lodge like excited children waiting for the sweet shop to open.The prospect of a bit of unseasonal lure angling on what is considered the best Pike water in Europe had us all going stir crazy.

I was hoping for it to be a bit of a turkey shoot but on the day we found the pike to be very inquisitive in that we had lots of follows from big and small pike, but they just weren't feeling angry let alone hungry.however some pike were willing to have a go and during the 6 hours we had afloat I managed 2 pike and a rainbow trout of the surface, which went totally ballistic giving me a proper scrap. However trout did not count towards the total so I finished with a un- qualifying length of 115 cm, else where on the water John Horsey's boat partner landed a 20lb plus Pike which I believe was the only big Pike of the heat. But fish of the day had to go to local lad Danny Parkins who had a 9 inch swim bait engulfed by a 3lb 8oz Perch, what a jammy git! 

Aside from the lures I have also been doing some serious bait and wait fishing, a trip to the awesome river Segre in Spain saw me and the boys embark on a epic adventure in search of silly sized Cat fish and Carp.And yeah I did take my ultra light lure set-up as I believe there to be some good Zander fishing also.

But that's a whole different story.

Until next time

Good luck

FISH N PICS

Hello to all

Well let me first apologise for the lack of blogging

 Its not that I haven't been fishing.....oh no, I have been  fishing but I have also been a lazy bastard when it comes to writing about such activity's.Well I have realised the error of my ways and after 3 years of work it would be a shame to let Fish tales become one of those flash in the pan blogs, so here go's.

As you may know I'm a big fan of predator fishing, you just cant beat the sight of a big Pike tail walking or the beuty and pluck of the Perch.Over the last couple of months my fishing time has been spread between the two species.I have been targeting a few commercials for the Perch but the Pike have had me trailing all over the place,Chew Valley reservoir and the Mighty river Wye to name a couple, but for me to write about such sessions in detail would be a bit of a long post and more like a small book.Taking such a long break from the writing has left to much for my brain to process so lets ease back into my exploits through a series of photographs.

Til next time

Good luck

LATE RAMBLINGS

Hello to all

Readers of this blog may have started to think I have given up fishing?...... Oh no! I have still been on the chase, and catching a few but in my personal life I ain't been top of the pops so finding the motivation to write rather than capping fools on GTA has been a bit of a non starter. I cant imagine life devoid of angling, It has become far more than a hobby to me and more like a way of life. There are so many great things about angling but one that stands out for me is the fact that anyone can have a go. People from all different walks of life and classes participate in the sport, making the angler a very diverse creature indeed.

Unlike the fish we are all trying to catch humans are a very complicated species, some seem friendly and very approachable and others......well lets just say,don't. I have fished many waters which has led to me encountering all sorts of folk.One such that sits in my mind was a summers evening spin fishing on my local canal, I was roving the banks generally minding my own business,and catching bugger all when I walked past a father son duo that were float fishing ( badly ) and enjoying the weather,I said hello and asked if they minded me making a few casts to a over hang that wasn't really even in there swim, shiiit I was just being polite, the lad said no problems and father made a grunt so I proceeded to chuck the lure about when the lad asked if I could help them a bit? why not I thought.I gave them some advice and set up his float correctly and went on up the toe path feeling that my good deed may yield a fish or two....Wrong!

Ten or so minutes passed before a car came screeching up behind me,the lads father proceeded to flop out the vehicle clucthing a flippin crow bar. He was slumping his way towards me literally foaming at the mouth, the bemused look on my face sparked a pleasant response."gimme my lads fackin phone back or I'll open your head up". I tried to reason with the guy as obviously I hadn't taken the phone but he was having non of it.Yeah I'm a Mersey-sider but this took the piss! I could see this dude was fuming and the possibility of coppin an unfortunate one led me to make a quick decision to ditch the landing net,dodge fatty and proceed to do my best impression of Husein Bolt  in a bid to get to the main road. Did I make it? of course I did lol, he even drove past me shouting out the window that I'm dead the next time he See's me.

Any way the point I'm trying to make is that through angling I have met some pretty colourful characters,the like minded-ness and love for the sport has also formed some good friendships.I,ll stop spouting now and talk some fishing, as you may have seen in my last blog post I have been doing a spot of Barbel fishing.I finished my short stint as a Barbel angler with an absolute corker of a fish.

At 11lb 13oz I had struck gold,here in Devon these creatures are as rare as rocking horse droppings.Needless to say I was very chuffed.On other exploits we have been targeting predators from a number of waters.

Its Pike time now so watch this space.

Til next time

Wrap up warm and good luck

ALL THINGS GREAT AND SMALL

Hello to all

Sorry for the lack of posts folks, life outside of fishing has been very complicated as of late. So as you may have noticed? the blogging has been on hold. On a positive note my time spent water-side has been a complete contrast and the fish have been very kind to me.

I know a fella that had the idea of getting a small 14ft rib dinghy to use as a vessel to go Shark fishing....... yes I did just say Shark fishing! the man in question is none other than my ol mate and big fish magnet Julian Chidgey,when Jules has an idea; it will happen and be done with precision and in an organised manner that I'm yet to get my head around......Mans a fishing machine!
I can't thank Jules enough for inviting me to join him on the small but mighty Lamna nasus for a weekends shark fishing off the Cornish coast.

I can tell you now that this was some straight up extreme shit.10 miles off-shore in a tiny rubber boat with sharks swimming round it may sound like a scary prospect and quite stupid really? Nah....this was angling at its finest in my eye's.

My first take was nothing short of breath-taking, a group of sea gulls had clocked us chumming and throwing in fish scraps to draw the sharks to the boat.They settled next to us watching our every move in anticipation of snatching a quick snack, the birds then seemed agitated and quickly made a hasty exit  from the water, sparking up a right row. Then a big blue fin broke the surface, quickly followed by the tail as the shark dipped back under.I turned to Jules and was just about to say something when the bait-runner on the close in rod went into melt down. The adrenaline was flowing as I made a quick strike; she replied with the most aggressive run I have ever felt literally flat rodding me on a clutch one click from being on lock!.The fight these creatures posses is nothing short of arm aching,especially when your using a 3lb tc 10 ft spinning rod ( Fox Terminator ) with a 10,000 size bait runner ( Stratos ) Over the course of our trip we landed a number of blues to over the ton up mark.We also captured the action on video, so rather than going into any more detail you can expect to see a short film in the near future.

Back on dry land I have been back on the running water and have concentrated my efforts towards catching a few Barbel. Ahhh it felt good to be back on the river's, after-all most of my summer has been spent pursuing Carp and Cats on still water's. I didn't realise just how much I had missed the charm and uncertainty of wild river angling until I was actually on the bank, back in the game.
My approach has been to keep mobile, using only one rod and carrying nothing but the bare essentials.This makes for very pleasant fishing and allows the angler to cover ground with minimum fuss, it always amazes me how varied the sport can be when roving a river, there's nout like a mixed bag on a light feeder outfit,
Pleasure fishing at its finest I would say.

I also nabbed a beautiful Common Carp of 25lb 14oz during a quick over nighter on the Main at Anglers paradise....... Which was nice.

Til next time

Good luck

ANOTHER DAY IN PARADISE

Hello to all

You may have already guessed it by the title of this piece?..... yep back at Zyggy's , since joining the 5c's I can hardly tear myself away from the place. I have been some what side tracked from my usual tradition of spending the bulk summer chasing river fish; and to be honest I'm having so much fun at Zygs I'm not really missing the sound of running water at all.

Fun and enjoyment is what its all about; learning and making improvements is also a big part of angling. During my short time at Anglers paradise I feel I have learnt more about catching Carp than I have in years.Spending time on the main lake has given me the oppertunity to experiment with lots of different presentations and methods and most importantly really understand the reasons for using them, thus enabling the angler (in this case me) to tackle each situation with the most effective way of catching the fish.

My latest session on the Main proved to be very fruitful, After a bit of exploration with the trusty marker float I located a good sized hard patch situated a few rod lengths of an island. This seemed like a good spot to lay on a nice spread of boiley and pellet, and at around 30 yards baiting up with the catty and a few cheeky spombs was an easy task. I decided to spice things up a bit and use solid bags on one rod and small sticks on tutha,both rods where fished on the baited patch and before I could even get the kettle on the right hand rod with the stick on it was away with a proper one toner! the fish had instantly responded to my offering and whilst playing what felt like a reasonable Carp I could still see bubbling over the baited patch. After a dogged fight in the margins I slipped the net under a pristine Mirror of 20lb 2oz, a good start indeed.

The morning continued to produce on both presentations,but by around lunch time the action dipped as the fish took a break to sun themselves in the upper layers. I don't blame them really and to be honest I felt a bit lazy myself, a floater set up may have yielded a few but I was quite content to remain planted on my arse soaking up the atmosphere and enjoying the fact I was'nt at work toshin plaster around.The lake was devoid of anglers other than myself and pal Dan Price, who's initiation into the 5c's will be coming up soon, I look forward to being a spectator this time ( lol ).Dan also enjoyed some sport and caught a few Carp and a plump Golden Tench.

After cooking us up a typically shoddy anglers dinner I set about topping my spot up with fresh batch of bait in the hopes of having multiple visitor's during the night.The evening was very warm and muggy,it felt like a heavy downpour was on its way.I hoped this wasn't going to be the case as I wasn't really kitted up for a wet one,any way getting wet aside these are often good conditions for a decent hit.The Wels catfish (more often than not) will go bang on the munch during such conditions and didn't I just know it. At around 3am the solid bag rod had snared me a fish that couldn't possibly be a Carp! Crunch crunch crunch went the heavily set clutch as the fish powered off into the darkness and frankly where ever the hell it wanted, I felt pretty powerless during the opening round.After ten or so minutes I started to get the upper hand and shouted for Dan to grab my head torch and shoes.We lit up the lake revealing the fish was close. Get the net mate I nervously said as I piled full pressure on to try and get its head up and sneek a glimpse of its size.The fish was having none of it and in a rage suddenly ripped off leaving me no choice but to slaken  the clutch and let her get it out of her system.This process repeated a few times and my wrist was aching but with a last gasp walking backwards locked up heave and some bloody good netting from Danny boy the donkey was in the sack.

Pheeew, with a deep breath I could finally relax.There lay a huge Cat that would surely smash my pb of 47lb 8oz and after just about getting her into the sling the scales proved exactly that, she turned the needle round to an impressive 62lbs. I was standing under the moon feeling well over it. I love Catfish,there bloody brilliant!

Til next time

Good luck

HEAT WAVE HAULING

Hello to all

I hope you have all been enjoying the sunshine and catching plenty of fishes, I for one certainly have. Sorry for the lack of posts but my flippin computer went loopy,Whilst unable to write a blog I have fished quite a few sessions targeting Carp. Mostly quick over-nighter's on the main lake at Anglers paradise and a small pressured water closer to home. I'm pleased to report that I have been catching steadily whilst experimenting with all sorts of methods and presentations. Aside from Carp I ventured way out to sea with my pal Julian Chidgey in search of my first Shark; but that's a whole different story so we will leave it for now.

Fishing just off the pads ( locked up ) with little solid bags has proved very effective at Anglers paradise, not a method for the faint hearted tho; takes are like giant Barbel Hits and the first few seconds of the fight are crucial in that you must not give the carp an inch (until it is clear from danger) when snag fishing.The mainline I am currently using is 20lb breaking strain which is perfect for this method of angling, after all we don't fish to lose em or potentially leave the poor old Mr carp trailing a rig do we?

on my last session I found myself in a rather tight little swim with the perfect opportunity to use the washing line technique. To my left ran a very thick weed bed which consumed 10 or so metres of the margin.On the end of the weed there was a over hanging tree, which had blocked the suns rays leaving a lovely little hole in the snot as a result of this. After dropping the rig in by hand I fed 5 good hand fulls of pellet and chops and felt very confident that I would not have to wait long for a diner to arrive at my stealthy little Carp restaurant.The trap looked perfect as was the weather,I slept under the stars that night which is always nice I find. At around 3am the washing line shot out the clip as the trap was sprung, the fish shot straight out of the margin into the open water.Immediately I could tell it was only a small fish and after a lot of plopping around I had a lovely little black common of around 2lbs at a push.Oh well at least the trap had worked.On another session I caught my first Grass Carp and a lovely Golden Tench of 5lbs 2oz.

I have also netted some stunning fish for mates, Dan Price joined me for a session at Anglers Paradise where he landed 3 pristine Mirrors. Myself and Ty enjoyed a 6 fish catch on a quick 12 hour night session, for a proper write up on that session please visit www. adriotangler.blogspot 

The shark fishing trip was awesome! We set out of a small harbour near Falmouth at around 6am and spent the whole day drifting at around 10 miles off shore, I loved the whole process of Shark fishing and cant wait to get back out. Any way I hooked and landed a Decent 80lb plus Blue Shark on a heavy 10ft 3lbtc spinning rod and a Stratos 10000 bait runner loaded with 30lb Horizon braid,The fight ( which was filmed on deck and under water) was electric and really tested myself and the tackle in a very painfully pleasing manner.

There is more Sharking in the pipe line, myself and Jules hope to capture enough footage to put together a short film so wish us luck.

Here is a little teaser 

Til next time

Good luck and don't forget the sun cream !