Added to the ever growing collection

A great anthology for all barbel fishers.

 

 

 

 

 

First released in 1987 

 

 

 

 

Published in 1962 for the price of five shilling. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To catch your Perch you must study him first. A bold and simple fish he seems and indeed is,but no fish is so simple as to give himself up. You must learn his nature,his way of life, if you are to catch him. 

 

 

 

 

 

Adventure indeed it is,because to the dazzled eyes of a beginer no other fish can have quite the same bewitchment.

 

A Birthday treat and a wet Wednesday

This past week saw me another year older and unbeknown to me the lovely Lady J had organised a nights hotel stay in Warwickshire with days out planned pottering about in nearby towns and villages.
Our digs were situated in the sleepy little village of Market Bosworth so after our arrival we headed half hour up the road to Burton on Trent(yes, near to water) and spent the rest of the day ambling the shops which included various little antique shops that were dotted about the town.

After our nights stay at Bosworth Hall a forty minute drive was then made to the delightful Warwick Castle with a dungeon visit included in the package. What a place, I was finding it hard to put into perspective how things really were back then in the day.The only complaint I could make would be  the amount of steps and spirals the place had, we must have done somewhere in the region of a thousand of the bloody things and boy did our legs know it, Jackie's probably more so than mine as hers are shorter but we were both aching by the time we got back home later that evening.
 It was pleasing to see just how well the gaff had been kept restored for us to see to this day, the dungeons were an experience to say the least with certain things that had us leaping from our skins on more than one occasion although Jackie would not admit to be even slightly scared I knew she was. A trip to the Mill house was also made and once again I could not resist a quick peek at the river Avon as it rushed by the Castle grounds and was looking lovely.

Thanks for a good couple of days Lady J. I loved it.

                                    
Back on the angling front and my Wednesday trip once again saw me head back off to the grand union canal, conditions had been very similar to my previous trip with heavy rain being interrupted by a night of hard frost two days leading up to my Wednesday excursion and on my arrival to the waters edge I did not know what I would find? As I left from home it was tipping it down and the wind was blowing better than a hooker that's on red bull!! I was in two minds whether to go or not but I did.

A thick chocolate soup was running hard from left to right with rafts of debris speeding past at a good running pace! From the off I knew that the pin and float wouldn't be coming out of the bag due to the conditions so the roach would just have to wait a while before they could meet me.
Prawns and lobworms would have to be the order of the day and perch would be my target species once again.
The stretch was busy on the barge front, not moving I hasten to add but parked up for best part of the section and it was between two that I decided on parking me bum. Two rods were grabbed from the quiver, one was to be the perch bobber that would be fished laying on close by to the nose of the boat to my right and the other was my usual tip rod,link ledger and big hook approach with big fat lobworms as the offering.

After two hours or so still no bites were had and then all of a sudden the float down the inside edge disappeared and I was soon unhooking a Barry bream of three pound or so and returning him to his watery home. Just after plopping him back to the water and on sitting back down and the tip rod took on a sharp jaggy bite and I was soon sliding the net under fish number two, a chunky perch of 1lb 14oz "that'll do" I muttered to myself in my sodden state.

I angled on for another couple of hours and managed two more bream , one on each rod, two bites were missed and my brolly got turned inside out but by half two I was back home and soaking in the bath after calling it quits.

This is angling

Now this is angling and what it should be about.

Brian (my dad), Jason (son) and Louis Lee on a recent trip to a local lake fishing for anything.

All day long was spent catching small roach and perch on mixed methods while being harassed by Mr pike!! Eventually late on in the day they nailed him and the picture below says it all.

These smiles are ANGLING.

 

 

Stripes

Since my last postings I have visited the river a couple of times more, only to find it very different on both occasions. On the first it was a raging torrent with all kinds of debris and flotsam coming through and although I did manage a few small perch to around the half pound mark and a couple of chub of roughly two pounds or so, it was difficult angling and only slacks could be fished semi comfortably.

My next two trips coincided with the school holidays so a couple of days early in the week were booked off and I then planned for myself and Jason to have one day on the river and the other on the Grand Union. The river was totally different to the previous week as it was low and clear and it was bloody cold!!! We kept on the move and did manage to stumble upon a few small stripeys and again a small chub that all fell for a couple of juicy lobworms.

1lb 12oz for young Bob Nudd

On the cut the following day the fishing was a tad calmer and more of a relaxed affair but Jay was taking it very seriously. He was on the float fished maggot and after anything that would take his grubby offerings, I on the other hand refused to even touch a wriggler let alone impale one and used the pin,berry and pole float approach. Now, he was whipping probably ten fish out to my one but as I kept telling him "I'm after quality young un" . Small perch, roach and gudgeon were falling to his method and he was happy and content thank god as there's nothing worse than a impatient 13 year old!!

I was bringing the odd roach to hand with an average size of about 6oz I guess but in all honesty it was a slow job. The ribbing then got worse from my left as the 'young un' netted two perch of 1lb 4oz and 1lb 12oz. "keep up dad and get on the maggot old man". I laughed and let him have his moment then I swiped him round the back of the ear!

                                                                

Bang on 2lb

In my quiver was my specie tip rod that had been used the day before for the chub on the river, I had a plan!

It was already set up with a light link ledger complete with a size 10 hook so all I had to do was load it with two of the biggest lobworms I could find in the pot before flicking it out to the far bank in likely looking spot which turned out to be a small bay between some rushes and a trailing tree branch.

I then reluctantly pinched a couple of pouch fulls of 'his nibs' maggots before spraying them above the hook bait. After a good half hour or so I was sitting there snatching the odd roach when from the corner of my eye I just managed to see the thin white tip pull round in a savage manner that could only spell perch.  It soon become apparent that this was not a tiny fish with eyes bigger than its belly either and as I played it to the net I could clearly see that it was worth having. I kept my mouth shut for a change as I knew that it looked slightly better than the two that young Bob Nudd had landed to my left. 



Sure enough when put on the scales the digitals read exactly 2lb, I was happy not just by the fact that I'd had one but more by the fact that I might not have bothered to try. It was more of a chance and try than a do nothing job and it had payed off all be it a little lucky. Now a 2lb perch is nothing to shout about in this day an age but I'm sure the potential for a three or maybe even a four is there, only time will tell. We angled on, Jason kept catching on the maggots and nearly landed a pike that had snaffled a small perch when winding in but on the third attempt of netting it decided to let go! I managed to land a couple of snotty bream around the three and a half pound mark and also a few more silvers on the berries. All in all we had an enjoyable couple of days and it was a pleasure to see the smile on  my lads face when every fish came to hand.


This weeks Wednesday trip turned out to be totally different to the previous, we'd encountered heavy rain down here in Bedfordshire from Friday through to Sunday and then come Monday morning we were woken to the sight of a heavy frost so by the time Wednesday came round I was a little unsure as what to angle for?
Steve, one of my angling buddy's was joining me and after a brief telephone conversation earlier in the week and the talk of the perch potential it was decided that we should head back to the canal as he hadn't fished the cut for a long time or the stretch that runs through my home town.
We crossed the bridge to be greeted by smoke rising from the waters surface, it looked good but at the same time looked cold!
I told him a little about the section and how I had grown up on and that it was the first stretch of water that I ever cast a line upon. As it was his first time there I decided to dump his fat arse into the peg that I had tempted old stripey from the previous week while I dropped in just down to his right. We had both chosen to fish one tip rod and one bobber, worms and prawns were the baits of the day complimented with red maggots and a few castors just to spray.
Surprisingly, after three hours or so of trying we were still fish less and had both only received the odd nibble between us. We battled on and chatted constantly while wetting our lips and emptying our flasks of tea, telling story's and planning possible trips to possible places. Just as we were half way through a tale Steve's tip rod pulled round and he was soon bringing a worthy perch to the folds of his net. A curiosity weigh was made and at 1lb 12oz old fat arse was happy and smiling, we left her in the net for time being rather than returning and risking spooking anything else that might be in the vicinity. Forty minutes or so passed and I was still on a total of zilch when once again Steve's rod sprung into action, this time a fish of 2lb 3oz had taken a liking for his worm hookbait. A quick couple of shots were taken and once again the fish was left to chill in the net.
Bugger lugs had to be away by 1ish so whilst I was still on a big fat blank I took the opportunity to move some fifty yards or so up the bank as I had planned to fish until 2.30 or so before heading off to see my grandson for his second birthday. Anyway, I tried and tried but all I could muster for my efforts were two small stripes of about half a pound or so! One thing I noticed was just how cold the fish felt compared to the week before, drastic changes in the weather had slowed the fishing that's for sure.
Never mind, there's always next week and the unknown is quite exciting.

 

 

2lb 3oz