Summer 2019

Rewind

I know, I know, it has been far too long. For continuities sake we are going to have to rewind to the end of last season. Don't worry, I'll keep it brief. I might tell the odd story along the way, we'll see how it goes....

Male Escort

James Hunt didn't pay me and as far as I can remember didn't have sex with me. To all intents and purposes though he needed my unofficial chaperone services. After years of boring himself to tears fishing for Carps he'd finally seen the light and started being a proper angler (calm down camo campers, you know I love you really. Take a picture of your third-world cooking devices or something). Anyway, James wanted to up his Perch PB. In an effort to make me look like a complete failure Andy Wilson (the bastard) had taken him out the week before and guided James had a new PB of 3lb 4oz. Luckily for James, warming up with a lower league angler the week before paid dividends and I skilfully netted a fine Perch of 3lb 10ounces for him. 

Stick that in your pipe Wilson

Had a couple myself. 3lb 5oz

3lb 13oz, A recapture of Leo's fish to those with eagle eyes.

Close Season

After a couple of Trout fishing trips to the lovely Withern Mill Trout Fishery I fancied a change. The Lake at Authorpe provided some lovely old Carp. Super cautious but early on they are just about catchable off the surface. My first fish came within half an hour of arriving. 19lb 12oz Common......

The week after I had another couple of dog biscuit eaters. A few days later I unintentionally caught the bottom fish again and that signalled an end to my interest.

If you don't reach this blog via my Facebook link you probably don't know who Mrs P is. My partner of eleven years, not married despite her constant proposals hence known as Mrs Phil, Mrs P for short. For her fortieth birthday I paid for us to go on a two day canoe trip down the lovely River Wye. It was nothing short of amazing. The amount of bird life was incredible and bank side nests abounded, many where anglers would have otherwise trodden. I thoroughly recommend it. Having done it three times now I can say with some confidence it is more pleasurable without anglers lining the banks. Food for thought, if a lifetime angler thinks that what must normal folk think. I'm always banging on about being ambassadors for your pastime, be nice to the people you encounter, please. I'm sure many of you would say the fishing is more enjoyable without canoeists. So if any canoeists are reading this, you too, don't be cocks. Ta.

A brilliant two days......

East 17

We have Lincs FM on at work. They have a limited playlist and as such songs get repeated. Stay Another Day by East 17 is one. I detest that song, it's aural torture. Must be cheap.

Luckily East 17 has a lot more going for it than a badly ageing boy band. Walthamstow Reservoirs are pulchritudinous. I somehow managed to wangle an invite to an Angling Trust event involving some lovely people who it was pleasure to meet, obviously for them more than me. Dom Garnett wrote about it here.......

https://linesonthewater.anglingtrust.net/2019/06/25/fishing-in-london-a-red-letter-session-at-walthamstow-reservoirs/

Although I was after Bream, the recently stocked carp, although very lovely, were absolutely ravenous.

Nate Green helping me hold up one of many double takes.

Phil, that Bream is nearly 10lb and you've made it look like 3.

Finally got a double

Team effort

You might have thought a canoe trip was a strange choice of birthday trip. Mrs P loves her own kayak though and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Some pictures of a clean up we did as a family on the river Bain......

As ever, if you see some rubbish pick a bit up. The reason it arrived there although possibly very irritating is completely irrelevant. Assuming the amount of people littering stays constant, it only goes away if a greater number of people pick it up. We shouldn't have to, I know but it is a solution.

Dream session

The Boating Lake in Chapel St Leonards isn't far from my house. As such I know it quite well. Very occasionally it does product a decent Roach. I've tried targeting them many times with no real success. My more usual foes are the resident Perch, some good ones too........

The afternoon I chose to go was a bad one weather-wise. Almost torrential rain. It was reasonably warm though so I set up on the shallower end of the lake, my brolly the first item to position. A couple of wagglers were fished about ten yards out, just on gently sloping shelf while I sprayed maggots over the top. From my sheltered position I could see about a third of the lake and it was alive. Like I've never seen it before. Big orange tails broke the surface with consistent regularity. Sure enough my first two fish were Roach, not massive ones but big enough to take a full lobworm. I was missing a few bites though so I cut off the size tens and tied on some twelves and fished half lobs. Sure enough the next one I hooked, a Perch I though as it burrowed away stubbornly under the surface. It wasn't a Perch, I couldn't quite believe what it actually was.....

2lb 7oz Roach

After that I fished on in a bit of a daze. Local angler Paul came and sat with me for a while as I jabbered away like an excited child. It wasn't just the Roach that were going mad as I had a couple of Eels while he was there too. Again a first for me despite fishing it many, many times with worms. Paul himself got a bit excited when I had a double hook up of Roach and passed him a rod. Sadly it wasn't another big one. He was a bit of a jinx though because just after he left I had another Roachasaurus......

2lb 8oz

Two PBs in as many hours. I should have stopped longer but the second one saw me packing up. I did that with my biggest Chub and river Pike too. Sometimes it is just mission accomplished and the desire to fish on deserts you. 

A few days later I did go back and sadly got plagued by pesky Carp. One in particular had been out before at over 20lbs in the recent past, probably a new PB but I didn't have my big scales. Hardly a looker though (the fish, clever shit).....

Perch Crazy

The months of June and July saw me competing in the Shimano Perch League. A couple of really tough months to target Perch but I managed to come second in both months, losing by 2 and 1 cm respectively, bugger. 

Biggest from a catch of 18 Pitsford fish. 3lb 8oz

Another Pitsford 3

The first Perch I caught at Pitsford that day was the 3lb 8oz fish. My boat partner James Truscott gasped when it came to the surface, he'd never seen a Perch that big. Typically of late, my relatively inexperienced but very able charge actually beat me later in the day with a fish an ounce heavier. Outrageous. 

3lb 9oz PB for the lovely James

Lincs river lump

Different river, same result

43cm Surprise

Average stamp at Pitsford

Worlds worst photo of a 3lb 8oz I've ever taken. New venue PB though.

Another river, another summer stripey

 A minor bugbear of mine is that some people think I catch Perch from the same place. Get that out of your heads straight away. I fished five different rivers, from both boat and kayak to get my competition points. Summer Perch are hard to find, annoyingly so. 

Failure

The majority of my winter Perch haunts have been dreadful. In addition to this every year I get guested on to some exclusive syndicate waters. I usually turn up, fluke a couple out and return victorious. Not so this year. I've been close to some really big fish this summer and failed to catch them. Bream, Tench, Barbel, Smoothounds etc etc. The thing is I'm far more proficient now but crucially luck hasn't been on my side. Had everything gone to plan this next series of photos would be a big Tench, 12lb+ Bream and Barbel, 15lb+ Smoothound and a big Bass......

8lb max

Not 5lb

About 12lb short of my target

That's about it. We're pretty much up to date. I'll still be trying for a big Barbel, Perch obviously and I have a funny feeling I'll get another big Roach this Autumn. I did get an invite to fish an exclusive venue a few days ago. I hope I get another as although we caught some nice fish, it will be so much easier in winter when the weed dies back. As ever, be cautious when people make outrageous claims with perch weights. They are notoriously easy to make look bigger than they are. I save all my weights for you. Until now, people could attribute any weight they like to this one I caught that day......

2lb 14oz

Tackle Talk

I have a strange relationship with Okuma. I had a couple of Trio reels and the bail arm spring went on one, rendering it useless. I can't find anywhere to send it or a supplier of parts. Very annoying and I'd recommended them to loads of people too. Before that incident though I tamed a big Pitsford Pike on a Dead Ringer Okuma rod so I didn't do my usual and hate the brand forever.

While having a perfectly innocent wander around Big Catch Tackle, I spotted some shiny new Okuma Epixor Rods. I was instantly taken. Slim blanks with a wonderfully tactile carbon cloth. I bought one straight away. I have quite specific needs from a lure rod. It has to be sensitive enough to fish small TRD's and lures but with enough back bone to have some control of big Perch. I sold my Poison Adrena because two pounders were maxing it out. The first Epixor I bought was too soft for the taming bigger fish so I now use it for dropshotting, it is that sensitive. The 10-32g sounds like a beast, it isn't. So I bought that for my lure work. The weight ratings are miles out. The rods themselves are sublime. Check them out, pay around £50. They don't have a trendy handle or reel seat but honestly, the actions are really great. I'm reserving judgement on the matching reel until I've given it a few months of abuse.

There's been so much coming and going of tackle recently I can't go through it all. Stand out items are Grey Prodigy Luggage, that has really impressed me and I will be reporting back after a thorough roughing up. A Silstar Dia Flex spliced tip match rod for ten pounds off a car boat saw me floating on air for a few days. It sits proudly in my 90's rod collection. A Free Spirit net handle was bought for the same price so I've had some great bargains. I've also sold a lot of items to fund new purchases, mainly on eBay. Top tip for you is to wait for the £1 final selling fee offers. I had a bill of £67 one month, had I waited for the offer it would have been £9. Don't be me, be smart. You're welcome.

Photography

Till next time