Boat! Sunshine! Zed?

So far this season I’ve caught 26 species of freshwater fish (including subspecies and hybrids), but there is one obvious one missing - so me and James hit The Thames for an afternoon/evening chasing zander.


It was a lovely afternoon, far too bright for pike - let alone zander. No feeding predators but I can think of worse ways to spend an afternoon than floating about on the river - counting down to sunset!


As the light faded hopes were high, but to cut a long story short - just three dropped runs between us. No zander to add to this year’s list - can’t win them all! And for the records, here’s the list:

Barbel Bleak Bream Bullhead Carp (Common) Carp (Ghost) Carp (Koi) Carp (Mirror) Crucian

Choach (H) Chub Dace Eel Goldfish Goldfish/Carp (H) Grayling Gudgeon Minnow

Perch Pike Roach Rudd Stickleback Tench Trout (Brown) Trout (Rainbow)

Audience With An Idiot

On the local urban river I'm always on the move and I squirrel myself away. But sometimes you find a shoal of gudgeon next to a busy path. And nothing attracts a nutter like a fisherman - I'd been fishing about 30 minutes before I heard a shout from across the river...

CAUGHT ANYTHING MATE?
Yeah, a few small ones
NO YOU HAVEN'T, THERE'S NO FISH IN THERE
Umm, OK
IS THAT A FLY REEL?
It's a center pin
NO IT'S NOT, IT'S A FLY REEL
...
FOR FLY FISHING

(Watches me catch a small roach)

I CAUGHT A MASSIVE TROUT IN THERE YESTERDAY
I thought you said there were no fish in here
NO, IT'S F**KING FULL OF FISH
...
WHAT YOU USING FOR BAIT?
Maggots
MAGGOTS! YOU WON'T CATCH ANYTHING ON MAGGOTS
I just did
YOU NEED WORMS MATE - THEN YOU'LL CATCH
I haven't got any worms
WELL DIG SOME UP. DIG A HOLE
I'll just stick to maggots
DIG A HOLE. DIG UP A WORM. DIG A HOLE. MATE. DIG UP A WORM. DIG A HOLE. DIG UP A WORM. DIG A HOLE...

(I try to ignore him but it seems he's got all afternoon)

DIG UP A WORM...
Mate, I'm not digging a hole; one - I haven't got a spade and two - I've got a pint of maggots
YOU CAN'T F**KING HELP SOME PEOPLE!

(Stomps off)

Ebb

Well, we’re starting to run out of season, only 3 weeks left. Very quick mission to the ponds saw me loose a jack and land the one above. Really need a weekend on The Wye before they spawn...

Tough Going

With a few mild days in a row I thought I’d hit the river for a couple of hours to try and add to this season’s barbel tally. And 2 hours soon turned into four - I really struggled to find this little blank saver.

I think the barbel fishing this season has been harder than the previous few years. Have they wised up, moved or turned nocturnal? And it’s not just me, some really good anglers are struggling.

Still half the fun is tracking them down - don’t want it too easy?!? And with just under a month left I’m hoping for another trip or two to hit my revised target of 80 barbel this season - 77 so far...

Drawing Robots

Work has been busy recently - I use the term ‘work’ lightly as I’m drawing and animating robots - but it’s nearly 3 weeks since I last wet a line. Time to head to the river and get a bend in the rod!

I was going to go pike fishing but I only had the afternoon and didn’t want to burn daylight traveling - instead I grabbed the stick ‘n’ pin and a pint of maggots with the aim of bagging a local roach.


I found roach but their delicate little bites proved impossible to hit, I kept the feed going in and the bites got more confident, almost to the point of suicidal - I bagged up - just what the doctor ordered!

Probably 50+ roach, at least five of them over a pound; 1lb 0oz, 1lb 1oz, 1lb 3oz, 1lb 4oz and 1lb 9oz - plus quite a few between 14oz and 1lb that I didn’t weigh - I’d rather catch them than weigh them.


There were a few chub, gudgeon and monster minnows thrown in, plus a barbel. It was one of those few occasions when I wish I had a keepnet with me - would have been nice to know the total weight.

All too soon I ran out of daylight, I struggled on for a bit feeling for bites when I couldn’t see the float - but my afternoon was done - a proper red letter one at that. Right, back to the robots...