Allan's biggest ever haul!

Little did I know what was around the corner when Allan confessed to me that he didn't use 'The Method' apparently he found it too fiddly and had pretty much given up on this killer tactic. "Don't worry mate, I'll set you up and show you the in's and out's" I said.

Needless to say Allan absolutely trounced both myself and Panto, he had the session of a lifetime, I'd say that he must have landed 70 - 80 lb's of slab's in around 3 hours. I'd wager then that 'The method' is probably Allan's new favourite way of fishing.

The Pike activity during the day was pretty good. 3 for me, 2 for Panto and 1 for Allan, no monsters but great fun was had catching them. The Pike in this water fight hard, so even the Jacks are worth catching.

I'm crying on the inside

One of many for Allan

Chucking lures and a stolen fish

Panto was in the middle of a 48 hour session. I decided to head down and mither him for a while. I didn't go empty handed I packed my Jerk Bait rod and a selection of lures. Despite thrashing the water to a foam, I didn't get so much as a take.

A moment of kindness came over Panto and he offered me one of his rods to fish with, I quickly went about setting it up for Pike and it wasn't too long before the water erupted and I was battling with a Jack of around 4 lb's.

An hour or so later and a noisy commotion in the water gave away the presence of another Pike in the area, this was soon confirmed when my float was under and away. A great fight was just moments away.

This fish was bigger and It fought hard, I have to confess that my right forearm was aching after playing this Pike. She weighed 10lb 2oz ensuring my first double of the season.

So it was worth going to see JP after all, and of course I was told on more than one occasion that the Pike should have been his and that I'd poached it from his swim, and lets not forget that it was all his tackle that he'd so kindly lent to me :D

The Pike season is nearly here and do you know what? I can't wait!

10lb 2oz

The day that Panto packed up too early

The usual rabble myself, Allan and Panto headed off to a local(ish) water today and we set about catching Pike and Bream.

We arrived at dinner and I'd proposed the idea that we should sit it out until the early hours of the morning to see if the Bream would come on the feed as the night drew in.

The Pike action was fast and furious and between the three of us we landed 10 in total, OK granted they were all Jacks to around 6lb but still fun nontheless the results were as follows...Panto 5, myself 4 and 1 for Allan, don't be feeling to sorry for Allan though as he (Although Panto may argue this) landed the biggest Pike of them all.


And so to the Bream, I'd fished the tip all day and the results were pretty good. I fished on worm and landed a decent amount of fish for my troubles.

8pm and Panto decided to call it quits, he was getting bored of catching Skimmers, and the lure of watching a thin lizzy tribute band seemed to tempting for him to resist. Myself and Al decided to stick to the plan and fish into dark. I switched over to the method and fished double maize and as the sun was setting the Bream switched on and it was fish after fish after fish, I can honestly say I lost count of the amount of slabs that I landed, the biggest of the bunch was 5lb and I'd say the average was around 4 lb's.

The tactic of using double maize is a good one, it's a hardy bait so lasts for a good few catches. I'll certainly be using it again next time I'm out and fishing the tip.

Sadly the fishing had to come to an end, and at midnight Allan spoiled the day by telling me it was time to go home :( Still nevermind I'll just go back there next week :D

Allan's 6lb Pike

Nice to get back on the Pike,

a sign of things to come

An early Bream, and the first of many5lb and the biggest of the session

Not to be outdone

4lb' and Al's biggest

What? Another big Eel!

An afternoon fishing on the tip at a local water produced me another personal best capture.

When I landed my last sizable Eel a couple of weeks earlier, I thought that it would be a good couple of years before I'd see another one.

So when after a couple of hours fishing and my rod signalled a good take I presumed that I'd hooked a Carp or large Tench, watching the line zig zagging from side to side gave me suspicion that I'd hooked another good sized Eel, and as Panto knelt down to assist with the netting I heard him say "Bloody Hell Matt it's a big Eel" my thoughts were confirmed.

According to my Reuben heaton's it weighed 3lb 1 oz. I'd beaten my 3 week old Eel record by just 2 ounces.

The fish was caught on Worm and on a maggot feeder.

The fishing thoughout the rest of the afternoon was by the best part pretty slow. I ended up with around 8 fish in total including a Tench of 3lb's or so.

3lb 1 oz Eel

6 Hours! One Bite! One fish! But what a fish!

Back on the drain today and I met with Allan and JP for an afternoons fishing. The water wasn't towing as fast as my last visit, and looked to be recovering just nicely. Should fish well today I thought to myself.

Allan and JP had arrived an hour or so before me and I'd expected them to be well into the fish, but this wasn't the case. In fact it was just the opposite, they were struggling for bites. Not to worry I'll show them how it's done and I went about my business setting up.

5 hours later and I hadn't had a touch. Unbelievable! The conditions were spot on, and here I was facing a blank.

Allan was sat under my brolly, complaining that I'd talked him into fishing the Sluice (Again) and that we perhaps should have chosen another venue. I was just in the middle of arguing back - saying that it fished OK the other day, and I couldn't understand what was wrong, when my tip moved a little, then a little more and then WHAM! I was in!

I lifted into the take and I felt a good force tugging back. "Allan I'm into a lump here mate and it isn't a Tench" "It's either a big Perch or a big Eel" It was the latter, and what a lump it was. It stayed deep in the water and wouldn't show it's head, it kept me in suspense for a little longer than I would have liked.

Finally It's head came to the surface and it was met with a chorus of gasps from all three of us. To some of you reading this blog you may not consider an Eel of 2lb 15oz to be of giant proportions, but I can tell you that for this venue the very sight of an Eel these days is a rare one indeed. let me put it into a little prospective, in all my visits to the drain, which I can assure you is a lot, I have never even seen an Eel being caught never mind catch one. I was made up with this catch and to date I'd consider it to be one of my best fish that I have landed from the Sluice.

It's a funny old game this fishing malarkey isn't it. I have one bite in the 6 hours that I fished and the result was a PB Eel. I guess that's fishing for you and that's why I love it.

As for the rest of the fishing. Allan landed a cracking Tench of 4lb's. This was some achievement, as he'd caught it fishing the pole and his rig was only 1.5lb bottom. Top angling that mate, well done!

Panto had around 5lb of fish, but Al gave him a good run for his money. The weight difference between the two of them when they weighed in was just 1 ounce.

The 2lb 15oz Eel

It wouldn't keep still

Around 3ft in length

Allan's 4lb Tench

Two Full English Breakfasts Please

I headed to the drain and met up with JP. We fished the tip and decided to make things a little interesting by having a small wager. The loser with the lowest match weight, would the following day treat the winner to a Full English Breakfast. This was a surefire way to keep us both on our toes throughout the session.

The conditions on the water did not look too good, the levels were high, the water coloured and there was a fair amount of weed and flotsam passing by. Not even a thunder storm could deter us from our fishing, not the best idea to be out in the open and holding a 9ft 6" rod made of carbon when there is ligtning about.

I have to say though that the fishing was pretty good we landed a fair few fish between us. I finished with a mixed bag of fish and weighed in 6lb 5oz. The pick of the bunch was a Perch of 1lb. Panto weighed in at 7lb 5oz he'd done me by a pound, a Bronze Bream that he'd bagged of over 3lb had won him the match. Damn it! Breakfast will be on me tomorrow then. :/

Caught in a storm

The re-match!

As the title suggests it was time for a re match, not before we met at a cafe to have our Cooked Breakfast, which I have to add was delicious and worth losing the match for, there is only one way a breakfast like that can taste any better and that is if it's FREE! So Panto must have loved his...

I decided that we should perhaps lower the stakes on today's match, if I lost my pocket couldn't sustain having to pay for another brekkie, and as I had a two pound coin in my pocket it seemed convenient that it should be the nominated wager.

The fishing was about the same as the day before. I landed a good sized Tench of 4lb's, this would stand me in good stead for the match. We packed up early which was good as I would get chance to go for a 5 mile run and burn off those lunch time sausages.

I weighed in 8lb 9oz and Panto 7lb 9oz. So I'd done him! I was left ruing the fact that I'd hadn't up the stakes second time around, still one can't be having a cooked breakfast all of the time. I enjoyed taking the £2 off Panto and for anyone that knows him they will confirm the fact that he's not too forthcoming in parting with the cash.

The Sausage lover

The match winner

A visit from Winter on a Summers day

Back to a venue that I haven't fished for a couple of months, the weather was interchangeable but the sun was shining so I decided to make the most of it.

JP was hot on my heels and arrived an hour or so after I had set up. Expectations were high, they needn't have been as the fishing was woeful. We couldn't even muster a bite between us.

The weather finally turned and it was like a scene from winter and not the middle of summer out there, it was blowing a gale and it absolutely chucked it down. Half an hour to go and I thankfully managed to winckle two fish off. Both came from the same swim, and within 5 minutes of each other. I landed a Tench of around 5lb and a Bream of a similar weight.

So for me then the session was saved and a sure fire blank was thankfully avoided. JP wasn't to be so lucky and as he sheltered under his brolly from the howling winds and the torrential downpour you could have hear him muttering and cursing me. "This is the last time I listen to one of your good ideas" :D

The Blank Saver

I'm laughing at Panto's glum face