Fishing

Christ - were the shanks barbed too? Picked up loads of huge bass plugs and spinners from shaldon beach at low tide all with two massive trebles which are an accident waiting to happen but the bait is even worse i guess. Not sure what the answer is though?

Nope, shanks weren't barbed, or they would've jabbed his palate and added to the fun (he's fine). There is no real answer other than taking better care, the rig had brand new hooks and was below the tide line, so could only have been there a few hours. In the case of the bass plugs, stronger leaders and not casting into snags.... All my bass plugs have been converted to single hooks to lessen the problem and allow the return of fish with minimal damage.

On the brighter side, I just caught a 5lb grilse about 20 minutes ago!

Picture and rig / method info please !

No picture, was released instantly. Unfortunately, not enough water to spin and fly ain't happening anywhere on this river. Worm it was, 2'6" link to the 1oz lead, 18" link to the size 8 hook (keeps the two dendrobaena worms wiggling off the bottom in the current) bounced ever so gently into a known salmon lie. It's crystal clear, so 12lb fluorocarbon mainline and 8lb hooklink and one of my old faithful barbel rods that dealt with the 29 pound carp a couple of months back.

To illustrate; this was taken in my exact position 5 minutes before I caught the grilse, you try fishing a fly in this!

The pools, such as they are, average about 10 yards long and have all had 'wild' and somewhat chilly swimmers in them in the last 2 days (one with an inflatable unicorn).

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You on the (East) Lyn by any chance?

Every chance! Been coming here fairly regularly for many, many years. Hence I know probably as many of the salmon lies as most of the locals, very few of which are in the pools (the salmon lies, not the locals).

Very jealous! Never got over there to fish when I was in Exeter or since I’m in Bristol now, but I go to lynton quite often as I buy honey in bulk from a gentleman there.

Going to go very soon so might try tie it in with a days trout fishing, think it’s a fiver or so for a day ticket isn’t it?

That's about right for trout only, they're lovely little fellas that go about four to the pound which I'm happy to leave alone. I have had a monstrous 2 pounder many years ago on a mepps. Upstream dry and nymph with a 3 weight in the glides and tails is the way to go. Meadow pool is the place to go, particularly as it has become seriously overgrown in the last 5 years, save it for your last 45 minutes in the evening.

Would a carp reel work for spinning? Wychwood big pit 65s for example? One for sale cheap near me. I have a really light spinning setup but nothing for chucking bigger lures into a large river

Nice work! I would have no clue how to fish that

Cheers :) waders needed or is rock hopping in walking boots an option?

Rock hopping is just fine, it's what I do, there's a fair bit of walking to be done so waders are less than ideal. You can always use summer waders, otherwise known as walking sandals.

@Bobbo, big pit reels are designed for chucking 4oz plus of lead at the horizon, they also retrieve line at a fearsome rate, they're also bulky bastards that wouldn't balance with a spinning rod. In short, useless for spinning.

There's hundreds of inexpensive spinning reels around, something around the 5000 or 6000 size range would be much better suited for heavy spinning.

@Bobbo, as an afterthought, I would avoid Wychwood coarse reels in general, this isn't tackle snobbery I have tried them and binned them within a season, their fly reels are fine (I have 2).

My go-to reels for everything from chub to carp and heavyish spinning are Shimano ST6000RB, these have the useful baitrunner (freespool) facility. I have 6 of these and none have failed in about 7 years. They're £55 new on ebay. I have got a posh 6000 Shimano for bass, pollack and overseas trips, but that is £200 which is what you pay for saltwater resistance, superb clutch and bombproof build quality.

Nice, cheers. Fish most of the time in a set of surf shoes which works fine but I know I’m going to get a bit of glass in my foot one day.

In other news, got permission from the farmer at the back of my dads to have a flick and tempted a couple of tiny Dorset trout before all the rain came in today.

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wrong bobb...
thanks so much that is really useful. I owe you beers sometime! Will read up on non fly reel sizings. I have a complete spinning set up i got for like £35 new online, both shimano rod and reel. This is a super light setup though 5-15g.

baitrunner (freespool) facility - is this just adjustable drag on the top of the spool? just watched a video on it

Ah, fuck. Nope, it's a lever behind the reel foot which allows the reel spool to revolve freely, it engages to normal geared use as soon as you turn the reel handle or flip the lever back.

5 to 15 will just about stop a raging gudgeon, ok, maybe a 2lb trout in a small stream. I use a 30 to 80 for heavy duty stuff, I've had 15lb pollack and 20lb rooster fish on it (look them up, they're awesome!), it will also handle bass, pike and salmon. You're unlikely to be chucking 3+oz lures in a river, so something with an upper limit of about 40g or thereabouts should do you.

And @jupiz, that stream looks lovely, free fishing is the best fishing! On the glass in foot front: I once stood on a 4" nail in a plank up at the Darent, I'm not sure which was worse, seeing the nail emerge through my plimsoll or standing on the plank to yank it back the opposite way. Couldn't walk for 3 days.

OK, so last week's fishing was somewhat compromised by wife/dogs/family holiday/low water. It amounted to about 4 hours in a week. Naturally, a bloody great spate happened today, it should be fining down nicely by tomorrow morning.

Guess where I am going at 4.30am tomorrow for 3 unhindered days (I will blank).

Yeeesh. Bristol Frome is full of urban excitement, including shopping trolleys but plenty of beer bottles and fair bit of building waste from our friendly neighbourhood flytippers so waiting for the day I get aquatinted with a nice rusty 5” screw.

Got out on a boat on one of the Bristol waters today for the first time, good day but really sporadic despite trying a range of different tactics. Got my first pike on the fly which was cool and partner happy the freezer is now full!

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Well done for catching a pike on fly.

Well, you saw the top of Fox Pool on the Lyn in normal conditions, this is what it looked like when I returned (you need to open the attachment). I blanked, other than lovely little trout, didn't even see a salmon.

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This fishing lark is getting silly. I haven't fished a match since I was about 14 (for Lee Green Working Mens Club) and got asked to fish a team match today by a mate whose team was one short. Target: not letting the team down or embarrassing myself. Actuality: 2nd overall by 8 bloody ounces to the bloke who won the league individual title. Have retired from match angling again.

Match fishing holds absolutely no appeal for me, but I’ll confess I never tried it when I was fishing regularly.

For me, the whole thing flies in the face of what fishing is all about.

Congratulations on the silver medal!

Back to what I enjoy.... A 23lb carp and an 8lb bream from the syndicate lake last week and a 4lb chub on stick float, centrepin and 65 year old cane today.

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OK, let's try again with the other 2.

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For anyone who cares, this is my ultra secret rig for the syndicate lake. A simple pellet on a hair to a size 14 tied on supple 12lb braid, with a small bag of pellets hooked on to act as a swimfeeder and prevent tangles. I have had seven 20s on this rig in the last couple of months without a single loss, so much for small hooks pulling out! I have been using this rig for nearly 40 years and the only alteration I make is an 8 or 10 hook for bailie fishing, if it ain't broken don't fix it!

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