Zander, Chub and Dace fishing.

Zander are probably my favourite species of fish. Growing up in the 90's I saw pictures of massive Fenland Zeds in the weekly mags and was inspired to try and catch one. On my first trip (20 plus years ago) I was lucky enough to catch two including a double weighing 12lb! Well, in all those years I still have not caught one bigger. That will be my target next Autumn. Fingers crossed.

A pb eluded me again this season, but I did catch some lovely Fenland Zeds on the few trips I had. I have really got the lure fishing bug and had a few trips to one of my local Rivers to see if I could tempt anything. Even a small one on a lure would be a great result. I found bites were not hard to come by as there has been a boom in Zander numbers in recent years. They are mostly small fish but there are good fish among them. The section of River I was fishing is very snaggy. I had to try weedless presentations to try and reduce the amount of lost lures. 

After a couple of fruitless daytime trips I decided to have a night session. I was using a UV shad and flavouring the lure with Ultrabite to give myself any extra edge I possibly could. I got to the River an hour before dark and worked my way along the River until I got to my favoured area. There were a couple of moored boats that I had bites at previously and this is where I would concentrate my efforts. It was now dark and I had a hit on my lure. I was not using a stinger due to the snaggs so I was expecting to miss a few. The next cast I had a hit and when I struck my rod took on a healthy bend. I drew the fish closer to me praying the single hook would stay in place all the way to the net. After a minute the Zander was in netting range and I engulfed it first time. Although not a big fish, this was my first night time lure caught Zander so the size was unimportant to me. 

I had a couple of trips bait fishing for Zander. One of these trips did not start so well with my chosen venue not "feeling right". I decided to switch to a different Fenland river and it turned out to be a good decision. There was a storm raging and I was questioning my sanity to be out. It was absolutely brutal! I was just about able to fish a quiver tip and make out the odd bite. I used an open ended feeder with the Marine halibut pellet method groundbait and soon had a few fresh baits. A fresh dead Roach was mounted on two size 10 VMC needle point x2 strong hooks. This was fished with a feeder full of chopped fish and glugged with a generous amount of Dynamite baits xl liquid predator for massive amounts of attraction.

My first bit of action came an hour after dark with a small Zander of 2lb. It was a good omen that the Zander were on the feed in the rough conditions. I stuck it out and a couple of hours later had had a take and pulled into something much heavier. After a minute I saw a pair of shining eyes in the torchlight as the fish went crazy as it hit the surface! It was shaking its head violently to rid itself of the hooks. Luckily the hook hold was good and engulfed a large zed in my net. I knew it was a good one a let out a wahoo! The reward was an immaculate beast of a Fenland Zander weighing 11lb! After a false start and difficult fishing conditions this certainly made it worth the effort.

Dace are a species I have not targeted for many years. I use to fish one of my local Rivers in my younger days catching Dace by the dozen. In fact one of these Rivers use to hold the record for the species. So a plan was made to meet my mate Giles for some socially distanced maggot bashing in search of some silver darts. I had dusted off my center pin reel as it would be perfect for the fast running shallow water. I stood in the water in my wellies and soon had a 4 gram chubber float gliding down River. A bite first cast and a fat Dace was soon handed out of the water. It was almost a fish a cast with a mix of Dace, Chub, Roach and even a beautifully spotted Brown Trout. Some of the Dace were sizable specimens with some being long and some being short and fat. I would love to catch them at the end of the season as who knows how big they will be a couple of months later?

My first Chub session of the season was on one of my local Rivers. I was taking my neighbour as he had never caught one before and I wanted to help him out. Mince and steak are used a lot on this River so I wanted to try something a bit different. I would use a standard tactic of liquidised bread in the feeder and flake hookbait. But what I did do was add some Dynamite baites XL liquid predator to give the bread lots of attraction. 

It was heading towards Dusk when we set up opposite a couple of boats. I was casting as tight as I could without hitting the boat and upsetting the occupants. I would leave the bait out for 15 minutes before casting again. Just as the light had almost gone completely my tip hooped over which was the signal for me to strike! I hit into a solid fish and did not give it an inch as I needed to stop it going under the boat. I soon had it away from the boat and heading towards the waiting net. Thankfully there were no marginal snags in this swim so I had the fish netted in no time at all. A big chunk of Bronze was placed on the mat, unhooked and weighed. At 4lb 15oz I was very happy and slipped it back after the obligatory pictures were taken. Unfortunately that was the only action of the evening, but at least my neighbour saw a big Chub, even if he did not catch one himself.

A bit further afield is the River Lea. I caught my pb of 7lb 2oz here last season and it is home to much larger specimens than this! I wanted to try something different as I was bored of sitting and waiting for a fish to come along. A friend of mine, Simon, had been catching some lovely fish trotting maggots. This was something I had not done before so was excited at the challenge. Fishing 4lb line straight through to a small size 18 hook and single maggot was about as different as it got compared to 10lb line, 2oz lead, size 6 hook and a boilie! I would be feeding maggots glugged in Dynamite baits XL liquid worm as I thought this would add so much attraction to the maggots that the Chub would not be able to resist them.

On my first trip to the River float fishing, the conditions were great. It was a cool day so the small fish were less active than normal. I hoped it would give the bigger fish a chance to get to the bait first. I tried a few swims without success, but this did give me a chance to practice trotting the float down the River until a fish slipped up. The fourth swim I tried a Chub did do just that. I pulled into my now sunken float and my rod took on it's full test curve! I had the clutch done up tight as I was trotting the float past some snags and did not want the fish finding sanctuary in them. I just held the rod bent double until I managed to pull it clear. From then on the fish just plodded in front of me for a few minutes making the odd surge. With no marginal snags to worry about I was happy to let the fish do this. It went in the net first time and a chunky fish was beaten. At 5lb 8oz I was very happy my first attempt had been successful. It could have been more successful, but not long after I started fishing again my rod snapped! That was the end of that then.

I got on the phone right away and ordered a new top section for my rod. It was on a 48 hour delivery so I was definitely going to be back soon! Well, the day after the new top section arrived I was back on the River for an afternoon session. I employed the same tactics feeding the glugged maggots and carried on where I left off. Soon after casting in I had a bite giving me an action replay of the last trip. A 5lb plus chub was landed and it did not stop there. I had another two 5lb plus Chub in the next few hours up until the light faded too much to see the float. I left very happy as I had got to grips with a new method and best of all, I did not break any rods this time!

My next Chub trip came about due to accidentally hooking, and losing a good Chub while lure fishing for Perch. It was a deep pool on my local River and not a swim I had Chub fished previously. I knew there was at least one good fish there so it was worth a try for a few hours after work. I cast a feeder filled with minced steak glugged with the XL liquid predator, and a cube of the Frenzied Krill luncheon meat on a size 4 hook.

Dusk was starting to fall, and from previous trips I knew this was prime time and confident of some action. This confidence was proved right as after a few casts around the swim my quiver tip hooped over signaling a take! I had already been snagged on a previous cast and of course this fish knew where that snag was! It headed straight for it so I just put the brakes on to steer it clear of danger. Once this was successfully done I managed to net the fish with no issues. It was a chunky looking Chub and certainly a better than average sized fish. It weighed in at 5lb 2oz and definitely a sign I should give this swim more attention in the future.

Gravel pit hauling and summer river fishing.

Like most anglers I had been waiting for the no travel rule to be lifted (early Spring) and I knew exactly what I would be fishing for. The 5 day forecast was predicting temperatures in the mid teens and Crucian were hopefully be waking up from their Winter slumber. 

I got to the lake just before first light and I was surprised how cold it was. There was a strong wind which made it feel cooler than it was. I knew it was going to warm up so chose a swim on the end of the wind hoping the Crucian would arrive when it warmed up.

I was fishing the method feeder loaded with Dynamite Baits green lipped muscle method mix with a trimmed down pineapple and banana pop up as hookbait. I cast the feeders every 15 minutes to build attraction in the swim. 

By lunchtime I had seen no fish activity at all let alone had a bite. I was starting to think my chance had gone when all of a sudden one of my rods absolutely ripped off! I thought it would be a Tench but the fight told me it was a good Crucian. I gingerly played it to the net and sure enough a big Crucian was soon netted! At 3lb 8oz I was over the moon. It was also a personal best which was the icing on the cake.

I had a few spare hours one Spring evening, so headed to a gravel pit that holds big Rudd. I knew bite time was just after dark so arrived a short time before this. I cast out the method feeder several times to get some attraction on the spots. 

Just on dark the first bite came and it was a chunky Rudd on a method feeder loaded with green lipped muscle method mix with a trimmed down pineapple and banana pop up as hookbait.. I placed it in a keepnet as the feeding spells can be hectic. I cast the rod out straight away and it was off again maybe one minute later! It was a short but productive feeding spell and six 2lb plus Rudd were the result. The best two weighing 2lb 8oz! 

The Rudd were great action for short evening sessions. But I fancied a longer day session or two and try for the Bream and Tench. I knew the Bream would be catchable during the day, especially when a good amount of bait had been put out for them.

I spodded out a mix of frenzied mixed particle, margin mix groundbait, source pellets and 12mm source boilies. I fished one rod on a cage feeder loaded with the spod mix. The other rod was a method feeder loaded with the green lipped muscle method groundbait and a yellow washter hookbait. 

It took some time for the first bite to occur as hookbait colour was very specific. I tried white and red but yellow was what they wanted. When the bites started they were steady all day with around 10 Bream, Tench and an interesting hybrid too. The Bream were a great average size ranging from 6lb to 8lb plus. The biggest and best looking was a striking two tone specimen.

I've been baiting for the carp on my local river with frenzied particle mix and complex T boilies. I had done a night the previous week and had a small common. The rudd are never too far away from the baited area so I trot flake dipped in the XL liquid strawberry over the top of it when the activity increases. 

Well I did just that and one evening I hooked into a heavy fish at close range. It instantly tried to snag me in the cabbages in the near margin and I tried to keep it out without putting too much pressure on the hook and line. I lost a big fish that did the same thing the week before! After some very strong surges I finally bundled it into the net! 

Weighing in at 2lb 13oz it was my biggest rudd of the season so far. 

The river carp fishing had been really slow. Just the one small common came along over a few weeks. The Tench were definitely there as they were boshing in the swim most evenings and mornings. I decided to fish for what was there and put a method feeder out to try and catch them. I was using the silver x carp method mix with the F1 groundbait added to it. Hookbait was a white wowser. 

That evening I had a take and a strong fish managed to bury itself in the prolific weed. After steady pressure was applied for a few minutes a ball of weed popped up and soon scooped into the net. As I peeled the weed away a gnarly old looking Tench was looking at me with its red eyes. I did not weigh it but took a few pictures as it was an interesting old character!

After dark the Bream took over and several chunky fish were netted. They averaged a good 5lb with the biggest around 7lb. I reeled in and got some sleep before casting out again at first light. It did not take long and I was playing another feisty fish that was almost certainly another Tench. It was indeed and after I netted it I could see it was a bigger and lovely looking fish around the 5lb mark. Again it was an interesting character with a strange white fin. Something I have never seen before on a Tench.

I enjoyed this session so much and plan to target the river Tench properly next season. And who knows, the Carp might turn up too?!  

Winter to Summer. Chub, Pike, Rudd and Crucian fishing.

It's been sometime since my last blog so I will go all the way back to November last year and through to midsummer this year. Again, variety was the name of the game for my fishing and Chub were on the target list. After catching an incredible 3lb 3oz Roach in October I was mega keen to get my Chub fishing underway. I was going to fish the Fishers green section of the River Lea. My target from this River was a fish over my current pb of 6lb 7oz. 

The River had been in flood just days before my first visit so I guessed conditions would be good as the level would have dropped back nicely. I saw the Relief channel first and it was coloured up like Tea so I was worried the main River would be the same? Luckily my fears were unfounded, and the River looked perfect! I dropped into a swim on the inside of a bend as there was cover from a tree and it screamed Chub live here. I swung out my hair-rigged Dynamite baits Source wafter covered in matching paste, so it was just on the edge of the tree. I had a rattle on the tip after half an hour but that was the only action. A short time later I decided to move as action had completely stopped.

The River was not fishing well and nothing of note had been caught recently according to the bailiff. As to prove this point, I did not get any more action in the next few swims I tried. Time was getting on with the light fading so I thought I would go back to the swim where I had the only knock of the day so far. It was prime time for a bite and I hoped there would be a Lea monster willing to feed. Luck was on my side when the tip hooped over I found myself playing a heavy fish. It made several strong lunges to try and reach any snag it could find. Eventually the fish came to the surface and a pair of big white lips shone in the moonlight. It was a huge Chub and I prayed the hook would hold?! It took a couple of attempts, but it did go in the net and I let out a cheer as I knew this would be my biggest ever Chub. And at 7lb 2oz it smashed my previous best and literally was a fish of dreams!

I had limited time for some Pike fishing over the Winter so I did not want to sit on a low stocked venue  waiting for a biggun that would not likely turn up. I chose a Fenland river I knew had a good head of fish to mid doubles with a chance of a 20lber. My first trip was to an area that had bait fish present in numbers so my thinking was the predators would not be far away. I was using feeders filled with chopped fish to get some natural attraction in the water. I would also fill the feeder with Dynamite baits predator liquid to boost the attraction as the chopped wish would lose it's scent after a little while in the River. Acton started early for me with Jacks falling to ledgered Mackerel and Smelt baits. My mate however was struggling for bites using more standard Pike tactics. He was interested in my feeder and flavouring approach as he could see there was a clear difference in our results. He switched two of his rods over to the feeder approach and started catching well too. Coincidence? The day ended with me landing 11 fish and the highlight was catching an old looking 17lb plus Pike which obviously liked to move around the River. A friend of mine caught the same fish two miles away a week later!

I had another two trips towards the end of the River season and both trip saw me catch numbers of fish with Pike to mid doubles. The last trip in particular was memorable for a couple of reasons. The first was the number of Pike I had from a single swim. In the very first and only swim I fished the whole day I had 14 Pike to mid doubles! Usually I would move swims if the action died off after half an hour but the action just did not stop in this swim. I could hardly keep one rod in the water let alone three at once! When I caught a beautiful mid double figure Pike I just put it back without weighing it as rods were going off around me all the time. The funny thing was I told my mate to come join me as the fishing was crazy and he caught the same fish two hours later! It weighed 14lb 8oz. 

Below is the biggest Pike I had from three trips. 18lb+ of mint Fenland predator. 

On the same trip I could not resist putting a feeder out for the Rudd too. With all the action from the Pike pretty much over I cast my usual feeder rig out consisting of liquidised bread and flake as hookbait dipped in Dynamite baits xl liquid strawberry. The bites came thick and fast with a Rudd being hooked pretty much every cast! It was a case of wading through the smaller fish to get to the better ones. When a better one came along it was a chunky fish of just over 2lb. The next cast resulted in a bigger fish weighing 2lb 4oz. I handed the rod over to my friend who had never experienced this kind of fishing and he soon had a chunky Rudd in the net. It didn't make the 2lb mark but it was a fish he was very happy with indeed. 

So the Covid thing mucked up most peoples fishing over the Spring and it was the same for me. All my Crucian fishing plans were based around this time and it was nearly over by the time things were relaxed. I did make it out for two trips to my Shropshire syndicate where I found the fishing pretty slow as the Crucians did not seem very active. I kept the tactics simple and fished a method feeder on one rod and a pva stick on the other. The groundbait was the Dynamite baits green lipped muscle method mix with corn steep liquor. I caught a few Roach but one take was something all together different! I hooked into a heavy fish after a blistering take and it gave me a real run around on the light gear for half an hour! When the fish gave me the opportunity i scooped it up and I could see a stunning long Common Carp in the torchlight. A Redmire strain fish weighing in at 26lb.

My next trip the weather was far from ideal with bright high pressure conditions. I worked my butt off moving swims and using float and feeder tactics to try and earn a bite. It was the last few hours of the two day trip when I received the first bite on the float but I knew it would not be a Crucian. I had seen some quality Roach feeding in the surface layers so used waggler float tactics to target them. For bait I was using Sweetcorn flavoured with the Dynamite baits xl liquid strawberry and simply cast towards showing fish. After many attempts I finally got a bite which resulted in a mint Roach of 1lb 14oz.

It was almost time to leave and everything was packed on the barrow with the exception of my net and rods which were laying on the ground. My right hand rod with a method feeder whipped round signalling a take and I was soon feeling the tell tale up down fighting style of a Crucian. I gingerly played the fish to the waiting net and lifted it around a Crucian that was to be my farewell present from the lake. For the record the successful bait was two Dynamite baits F1 hooker pellets as hookbait and Green lipped muscle method mix on the feeder.

It seemed to take forever as always but the new River season was here and the Fenland Rudd were waiting for me. I fished the opening weekend for Carp but with no luck there I had my first evening session to target the Rudd. The River had been hammered as lots of people on Furlough seemed to be making the most of the time off work. I tried a different River to my normal one and had some beautiful fish to 1lb 8oz but they were not the biggies I was after. I had half an hour of light left so decided to change venue for my local River. When I got there I walked downstream trickling in bread crust as I went. I walked a few hundred yards when I saw a good fish start taking the crust from the surface. It was now almost dark so I taped a starlight to my float to see it in the fading light. There were now a few big fish in the swim so i cast a chunk of crust flavoured with Dynamite baits xl liquid strawberry a few feet away from them. It was now dark and hard to see the fish but I heard a big slurp and saw my float pull under as a fish took the crust! I struck and it splashed on the surface then quickly snagged itself in the thick weed growth. With steady pressure I managed to free it and soon scooped it up in the net. It was a stunning specimen and weighed in at 2lb 10oz. The chance of another bite had gone but I was more than happy to leave having caught such a beautiful fish.

Roach fishing. A catch of a lifetime!

For some time, I had known of a lake not too far away from me that had a history of big Roach. In the past I believe it had produced a fish of 4lb or maybe just over that weight? I knew a few people who were fishing there and kept in touch with news from the venue. One of my friends had a great season on there and had some amazing catches. I did not have a fishing plan for the coming Autumn/Winter so I decided to take the plunge and get a Winter ticket for the Lake and see if I could catch myself a Roach of over 2lb. A modest target for this Lake but it would be a new personal best if I managed to achieve this.

My first trip to the Lake was around mid-September. The conditions were not great with high pressure, bright sunshine and very warm temperatures. I arrived early in the morning and the surface was alive with Roach topping. Most of the activity was in one corner of the Lake so I set up in this area. The Lake is a Carp syndicate and the Roach were probably feeding on some of the boilie bait that was going in for the Carp? It made sense to use small boilies in the feed and as hook baits. I know this tactic was used by other anglers targeting the Roach, so it was a proven tactic to use until the water temperature dropped significantly. I was using Dynamite baits frenzied hemp and green lipped muscle method mix groundbait in my open-ended feeder. Hookbaits were a washter 7mm barrel on the feeder rod and a cut down source bottom bait over a scattering of the same bait on a running ledger rig. Casting regularly through the day brought me the odd small fish but feeding was not high on the agenda for them due to the conditions.

I was very keen to get back to the Lake, so I was back a few days later for an afternoon session. The conditions were much more favourable with low pressure and some patchy heavy rain showers.  There was not as much activity from the fish as the previous trip, so I opted for a swim on the end of the wind in a corner of the Lake. There was also a pump in this corner so would possibly be a good holding area as it provided cover for the fish. My feeder rod was cast to this corner and my mini boilie rod was cast more into open water with half a dozen boilies fired over the top every 15 minutes. The feeder was cast every 15 minutes too and was the first rod to signal a bite. A lovely Roach of about a pound in weight was soon netted. The boilie rod was away about 15 minutes later with a similar sized fish. The better sized fished certainly seemed to bee feeding on this occasion as the next bite that came to the feeder felt like a much better fish. It kited to my left and I was worried it would deposit the hook in the shallower margin! I picked up the net and went towards the fish to scoop it up before it could do that. I drew it towards me and as it came to the surface, I could see it would easily the biggest Roach I would have caught to date. I scooped the fish up in the net first time of asking much to my relief. It weighed 2lb 6oz and was indeed a new personal best Roach.

It was a few weeks later before I could get back to the Lake. Conditions were not great on this occasion, but I have to fish when I have time whatever the conditions. The Lake felt very different now. It was well into Autumn and the mornings were on the chilly side. Fish activity on the surface was at a minimum and I just knew it would be a struggle. I had a few small Roach on the groundbait feeder but not a sniff on the boilie rod. That was until about an hour after dark and I had a drop back on the boilie rod. I hit into the fish and was met with a very hefty feeling weight. I thought it was either a record Roach or a Bream. And yes of course it was a Bream! It was a crazy fish and wiped out the other rod! I took that as a sign so packed up thinking a change was needed for my next visit.

It was now feeling much more like predator fishing season so when Giles asked if I fancied a trip out trolling for Pike I jumped at the chance! Conditions were great with a mild breeze and overcast skies, so we were hopeful of some action. As always I got to the venue nice and early. We were fishing a small Fenland River that has good form for Pike and Perch. I had my dropshot rod with me and while I was waiting for Giles to turn up, I cast a Lobworm out in a pool to see if I could get a quick bite. Sure enough I soon had the tip of my rod knocking away. I struck into a solid feeling fish and a nice Perch came doggedly to the net. At around 2lb in weight it was a lovely bonus fish. Not long after this Giles pulled up and we set about getting the boat ready for the day.

We set off downriver trolling hard jerkbaits behind us. Just one rod each and holding them so we could be in contact with any fish straight away. The first half an hour was very uneventful with no action coming to either of our rods. Eventually we came to an area we had caught some good Perch from in the past so as we slowly drifted, I dropped a worm over the side on the dropshot rod with an almost instant result! After a short tussle I netted a gnarly old looking Perch and was another lovely bonus fish on what looked like a hard days Pike fishing ahead of us. Thankfully it did not take long for the Pike to start smashing our lures after we got trolling again. We were getting regular action all along the River from that point and double hook ups happening on more than one occasion. The Pike were not big but provided lots of fun and by the end of the day we had boated 23 Pike!

By the time my next Roach session came along it was mid-November and a change of tactics was employed after the lack of action the previous trip. I was using maggot feeders fished helicopter style on both rods. Short fluorocarbon rigs. One had a small size 14 hook with single or double maggot and the other was a large size 10 wide gape with a fake maggot on the shank and two lives on the bend. The idea being I would get lots of bites on the small hook and less bites on the big hook, but hopefully from the bigger fish. Every cast I made I would first pour in a generous helping of my favourite Dynamite baits xl liquid strawberry for high attraction to hopefully draw the fish to my hookbait, which was also dipped in the same liquid.

Action was coming on a regular basis with Roach to just over a pound in weight. Perch also kept the alarms bleeping as fish to about a pound joined in on the action. The day was drawing to an end and Dusk had now fallen. There was little activity now so I decided I would slowly pack up and head home in half an hour’s time. As I was packing my bait away, I received a drop back on my left-hand rod. I wound into a fish that certainly felt bigger than anything I had hooked previously. It came towards me easily, but it did kite over my right-hand rod which I had to drop down in the water to avoid a tangle. As it was getting closer to the net the heavier it seemed to feel. I netted it first time but did not get a good look due to my head torch being on a low setting. As soon as I turned up the light level and saw exactly what was laying in my net, I said to myself “that’s a 3lber!” Or something to that effect! On the mat the fish looked massive. Really wide! I wetted the sling and zeroed it on the scales before putting the fish in it. As I lifted the fish clear of the mat the needle did indeed go past the 3lb mark and settled in-between 3lb 3oz and 3lb 4oz. I settled for the former as I didn’t want to be greedy! Lol

I was absolutely shaking, and I didn’t think self-take pictures would be a good idea. Luckily, earlier in the day another member, Richard, offered help with pictures if I needed it. So, I took him up on the kind offer. Richard and another member James came over and took some great pictures for me. Interestingly the big fish came to the rod with the big hook as did all the better fish previously. It certainly seemed to confirm my reasoning behind using it, and I’m glad I did.

Crucian, Carp, Zander, Rudd and Grayling fishing.

In this latest update I will cover some memorable catches made over the last months since my last blog. I have been fishing for the usual species I love such as Rudd and Crucians, but also stepping out of my comfort zone and fishing for a new species I had never caught before.

In midsummer I set off for the long drive down south to Crucian mecca Johnsons lake in Surrey. This was my first trip of the year and I had high hopes of getting into the Crucians and Tench. I pulled into the car park before setting out for a walk around the Lake. It was surprisingly busy for a Thursday evening with very few swims free. After talking to a few of the old boys fishing for the Crucians it soon became apparent the Crucians were not really on the feed. This always seems to be the case when I get down but as I live so far away I just have to go with the flow and try and make something happen.

I settled for a swim on the railway bank. Not one I had fished before and not one of the known hot swims as choice was limited. Time was getting on so I found a nice area about 30 yards out to spod some bait. I spodded a mix of Dynamite baits sweet and milky pulses and spod and bad mix in the hope of getting some fish to feed with confidence at night. I could see bubbling close in so I opted to put out a method feeder filled with F1 pellets with a couple of the matching durable hooker pellets on the hook. Not long after dropping the feeder in on some close in bubblers my alarms signaled a take! Lifting into the fish it felt like a Crucian as the fish pulled up and down on the way in. It soon popped up and I scooped it up in the waiting net. It was a quick bite and weighing in at 3lb 4oz it was my joint biggest Crucian ever!

As the night drew in I replaced the durable hooker pellets on the margin rod with a longer lasting bait. A trimmed down pineapple and banana pop up was attached and the feeder cast back into the margin. Through the night I had a number of Tench on the baited spot with a few more Crucians to well over 2lb. But it was the margin feeder that produced the best fish of the night which turned out to be a beautiful  3lb 5oz pb Crucian! The action didn't stop there and as I was packing up the baited spot gave me another 3lb Crucian to put an even bigger smile on my face for the drive home. Check the link below for a video of the trip.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IbYaoxPBCR8&t=411s

I only found time for a couple of trips to my local club Lake fishing for Carp. One such trip I took my three and a half year old son with me in the hope of catching a big fish for him to see. On getting to the Lake I found an area of the Lake where there were a few Carp popping their heads out at range. I didn't want to spod bait out and risk pushing them away, so I got my throwing stick out and scattered half a kilo of Dynamite baits monster tigernut red amo over the general area. Two Ronnie rigs with matching pop ups  were soon cast in the area where the Carp had been showing. The fish were in the feeding mood and over the next few hours several Carp fell to my rigs including a lovely 22lb Mirror that my boy was very excited to see on the bank.

On another trip to the same lake I took my mate Lee for a guest session as he was desperate to fish the lake. The club has a very limited number of members so it's not the easiest place to get a ticket for. The Lake had not been fishing too well so I hoped Lee would not leave empty handed. The lake was not busy but the swims I wanted were still taken. As we looked around the rest of the lake we spotted a fish or two show. This was the sign we needed so we took a swim each that controlled the area we had seen the fish show. My tactics were the same as my last trip with the exception of this time I glugged my boilies with the red amo liquid attractant to try and get a feeding response from the Carp. The fishing was slow as expected but I did manage to get three takes through the day. Unfortunately two of the fish fell off due to hook points bending over on new hooks I was trying! But the one that stayed on was a stunning upper double Mirror. I'm glad to say Lee got some action through the day too. He had a couple of mint upper double Commons that took a liking to his monster tigernut boilies.

As we headed into Autumn Zander were to be my next target. I had a few good trips on a local venue early in the previous close season. It made sense to see if I could carry on where I left off so over the space of a few weeks I made four or five visits. Most were short evening sessions but the first action came on a days social with my mate Giles. Runs were thin on the ground but I had a Zander about 4lb on ledgered half a Roach. It was glugged in the Dynamite baits XL liquid worm for extra attraction. Also a few balls of  marine halibut groundbait were thrown in to attract prey fish to the area. A guy Carp fishing not far from me had a Zander take his fishmeal bottom bait boilie too! This highlights Zander are scavengers as much as predators. I had a few more Zander in the evening sessions with the best weighing 8lb. Not a big fish but certainly appreciated. Any Zander caught in Fenland is special in my opinion as they are not so common these days.

It's mid winter as I write this and even now Rudd are a species I like to fish for. Recently I headed out to my local River in the hope of catching a specimen Winter Rudd. I didn't have the opportunity to prebait so I went to an area I had caught from before without prebaiting. I arrived 30 minutes before first light as I have found this to be the prime time for a bite at this particular spot. I was using feeder tactics and my size 10 wide gape hook was baited with a large piece of bread flake dipped in the Dynamite baits XL liquid strawberry for added attraction. 

I started getting bites straight away but nothing was feeding confidently. It was starting to get light when I had my first positive bite. I struck into a solid fish and due to the head shaking I knew it was a Rudd. I played the fish safely to the net and sure enough it was a stunning Rudd certainly over 2lb. I slipped the fish into the keepnet as bite time can be very short this time of year. I wanted a bait in the water as much as possible so to not miss out on any feeding fish. If I was to set up the camera and take pictures I would most likely miss out on prime feeding time.

A couple of Roach followed on the next two casts but on the third I had a massive drop back on the tip! I struck and was met with an aggressive fish shaking violently as I drew it towards me. It hit the surface in the middle of the river and as I was pulling it in it was splashing all the way trying to rid the hook. As I netted it the fish erupted and for a split second I thought it had jumped out of the net! Luckily it remained in the net and I quickly placed it in the keepnet with it's companion. I decided to pack up and weigh/photograph the fish. The first fish weighed 2lb 5oz and the second was 2lb 12oz. I was very happy with that so decided to leave and go home for breakfast. 

My last fishing trip was something of a challenge for me. It was to fish for a species I had never caught before and on a fast paced River I had never fished. The species was Grayling and I was really looking forward to be taken out of my comfort zone and have my skills tested. I was invited by my angling buddy Andrew Sharp to a stunning chalk stream in the south of England. I made the long journey south with Giles the evening before so we could get an early start the following morning. 

So as planned we were up early and on the way to the River. I had my 12ft float rod set up with 4lb line, 4g loafer float and size 14 hook already to cast into the most stunning little River. The lads gave me lots of advice and Andy even let me share his first swim of the day. I was grateful he did as he caught a stunning 2lb 4oz beauty we both thought would be much bigger. It was time to head off on my own and I soon found myself trotting my float and two red maggots down a glide just down from a fallen tree. It was challenging trotting a float down a fast paced River and more so here as the River was fining down and had extra water in it. But just a few trots later I struck into a strong fish that I had to follow downstream! I managed to get the fish to the surface where I saw a Grayling hooked in the tail! It soon came off but I was not put off at all. I went to the next area I fancied and hooked a good Grayling first trot. This fish soon fell off too which was annoying, but I was told hook pulls were a common occurrence. Next trot produced a bite and in the clear shallow water I could see it was a small Grayling. It fought very hard for it's size but was soon netted to be the very first Grayling I had ever caught. I took a quick net shot to mark the occasion.

I went on to catch another two small Grayling in the swim but it was soon approaching lunchtime. Andy suggested I tried my luck in a carrier stream on the way back so I did just that. I fed the first run I came to for a few minutes with maggots. As always I gave the bait a boost by adding a few handfuls of Dynamite baits Marine halibut goundbait. I always do this as not only does it help attract fish it also stops the maggots sweating. First trot down the stream and I had a positive bite. I struck into another hard fighting fish that needed plenty of pressure on it so it did not snag me up. Steady pressure soon saw it in the net and it was my biggest Grayling so far pushing the 1lb barrier. 

We all met up for lunch and a catch up before fishing the last couple of hours or so of light. I managed to up my pb again with of a fish of just over a pound in weight. Not a big fish but who cares when they are so stunning?! I didn't get a picture as it took a long time to recover in the net and I didn't want to stress it any further. It went back strongly and was a very satisfying end to a challenging days fishing. I really hope to get back again when conditions are better. But until then the Fens will still keep me very busy.