[willackers]

Just got back from France, managed to catch my first 40! 

44lb 8oz Castle Lake mirror carp. by willatkinson85, on Flickr

43lb Castle Lake mirror carp. by willatkinson85, on Flickr

[lagerstarfish]

from this morning

a wad point to anyone who can name the location to within 100m
(except DT90 coz I just told him)

massive head, tail and fins; skinny body. She'll be awesome after a good summer of feeding


little beauty

[DAVETHOMAS90]

Which bit do you tickle to catch one like that Rob? 

Lovely pics, and a good tale 

[lagerstarfish]

it wasn't a tale, Dave

it was a factual account of how I achieved angling greatness

[willackers]

Nice, that's a loooong trout.

I've joined Wentworth Fishery this year in my quest for a UK 30. I've already got a new PB and had some lovely low twenties.

23lb Common by Will Atkinson, on Flickr


20lb Common by Will Atkinson, on Flickr


23lb Common by Will Atkinson, on Flickr


24lb 8oz Mirror by Will Atkinson, on Flickr


25lb 3oz Common (New PB) by Will Atkinson, on Flickr

[lagerstarfish]

Nice, that's a loooong trout.

I'm hoping it's skinny due to temporary lack of food rather than it being an old dear on the way out

it did seem in very good condition apart from its girth

I noticed that Barlow Fisheries have given over one of their trout lakes to become a "specimen carp" lake. didn't see any action when I walked past

Barlow seem to have upped their stocking game on the trout lakes. I took the foolish/exciting step of using the place to find out how I could cope with bigger fish on a tenkara rod. 2.5 lb was just about doable (4lb line), but I felt that I was having to overplay them, leaving very tired fish by the end of the fight - took ages for them to recover.
hooked a very lively fish - probably similar size to others I landed; and was unsurprised when it broke me off on a hard run.
on heavier line I'd be concerned about the rod breaking before the line...
I went back to using a reel for the rest of the session
it was interesting to see how tenkara worked on small stillwater - if there were no fish bigger than 2lb, I'd definitely do it some more

[gme]

That looks a great nights fishing. We blanked for the first time but i think its a hard venue we were on (Ellerton Park, Catterick), it wasnt chosen for the fishing.

My youngest has set himself the task of catching a 20 this year so fingers crossed. not many places to go in Northumberland although there are 20s in our local pond.

He also wants to catch a catfish so i have promised to take him to this place in June if he does well in his exams.

http://www.lakemorefisheries.co.uk/

Anyone been there.

I know very little about carp fishing but learning and absolutely nothing about catfish.

[willackers]

Nice, that's a loooong trout.

I'm hoping it's skinny due to temporary lack of food rather than it being an old dear on the way out

it did seem in very good condition apart from its girth

I noticed that Barlow Fisheries have given over one of their trout lakes to become a "specimen carp" lake. didn't see any action when I walked past

Barlow seem to have upped their stocking game on the trout lakes. I took the foolish/exciting step of using the place to find out how I could cope with bigger fish on a tenkara rod. 2.5 lb was just about doable (4lb line), but I felt that I was having to overplay them, leaving very tired fish by the end of the fight - took ages for them to recover.
hooked a very lively fish - probably similar size to others I landed; and was unsurprised when it broke me off on a hard run.
on heavier line I'd be concerned about the rod breaking before the line...
I went back to using a reel for the rest of the session
it was interesting to see how tenkara worked on small stillwater - if there were no fish bigger than 2lb, I'd definitely do it some more

That's brave tackling rainbow stockies in that style!, I bet it was great fun

You can fish for the little brownies in the various streams and brooks that feed Ladybower, I bet it would be a nice day out and a good change from nobbling the rainbows on big lures, hey Fatneck?

http://www.ladybowerfisheries.co.uk/tenkara.html

[willackers]

Nice, that's a loooong trout.

I noticed that Barlow Fisheries have given over one of their trout lakes to become a "specimen carp" lake. didn't see any action when I walked past

Which trout lake? The bottom one? I spent a lot of time at Barlow when I was a kid, I even did my two week work experience there. I remember the bottom trout lake had some very big carp in, including some monster grass carp. Be interesting to know how big they actually were/are.

[Pebblespanker]

I know very little about carp fishing but learning and absolutely nothing about catfish.

Cats are beastly strong things! They are usually very hard fighting and seem to enjoy protracted fights... I've had them up to low 30's in France on a spare rod when mainly after carp and they are most entertaining. Primary thing to be aware of is the abrasive pads just inside the mouth, they feel like velcro and but can play hell with with hooklengths. I protected my knots with shrink tube when after cats - usually simple line-aligned knotless knot hair rig, strong forged Size 2 or larger Hooks, I used Kryston's Ton Up braid if I remember in around 50lb BS, 14-18in hooklength. If you are targeting cat's specifically you'll need powerful rods (I used 3.5TC NGs at the time, 15lb Pro Gold main line) and even then control was limited, reel with a good clutch, also a 42inch or bigger net especially if the lake has anything in the 50-70lb bracket as they are 4-5ft long! Ditto a large unhooking mat or a couple of medium sized ones. Ideal scenario is a mate netting so you don't have to fart about maneuvering the beast into the net, especially at night - be very careful on slippery or steep banks over deep water if on your own as you won't believe how hard they can pull even after 20 mins - only Sturgeon in my limited experience fight harder. If not already then being familiar with using a marker rod would also be handy to locate underwater features like bars, plateaux and deeper holes - TONS on the internet about how to do this - practice before you go if needs be.

Talk to the lake owner about best bait and loose feed. In France I used very stinky homemade fishmeal boilies (Nutrabaits Big Fish with Monster Crab, plus a few other bits and 30-40ml Salmon Oil/lb) in 25mm doubled up on a long hair. Soaking the boilies prior to use in oil from a tin of tuna is also good. Big (22mm (bored out) trout pellets are also good but need replacing every few hours especially if the water is warm, which can be a pain in the arse at 3am to a tricky spot, they also attract nuisance species and they may have been done to death.

Good luck and prepare to be amazed at the size of their gob's!

[lagerstarfish]

Nice, that's a loooong trout.

I noticed that Barlow Fisheries have given over one of their trout lakes to become a "specimen carp" lake. didn't see any action when I walked past

Which trout lake? The bottom one? I spent a lot of time at Barlow when I was a kid, I even did my two week work experience there. I remember the bottom trout lake had some very big carp in, including some monster grass carp. Be interesting to know how big they actually were/are.

yes, the bottom one

there are still grass and mirrors in the other 3

[lagerstarfish]

good session at Barlow after work

fished until 9.45

the resident pro (Steve) was most helpful in pointing me at the fish and gave me a few tiny buzzers for when my own scraggy hare's ear barely floating parachute killer stopped working

mayfly and sedges put in an appearance later to make things even easier for me

I landed 18 rainbows - another chap had way more in the same time

that place is on fire - Steve's recent PB is 73 fish in one day (allegedly)

they are clearly fucking up their stocking plan?

Steve is doing casting lessons, fly tying and general bailiff duties - if anyone wants an excellent introduction to fly fishing, head to Barlow

I'm not going to be able to get to get to sleep after all that excitement

[fatneck]

@Gav - I know a couple of guys who've done well for cats at Lakemore. Off the top of my head they were using half tins of luncheon meat and mahoosive halibut pellets. Will tap them up for more info.

@Will - some cracking carp there lid! And I'll have you know all my recent trout have been caught on buzzers or dry flys! Had a good short session at Westlow Mere last week landing two fish on hawthorn imitations fished dry and managed a brief foray to Raygill last weekend and managed two good rainbows on  buzzers in an hour. I'm getting the hang of this fly fishing lark!

@Rob - Nice trout, where did it come from? Kind of assuming some urban Sheffield location? Only visited Barlow once and was coarse fishing but will definitely consider it if I'm in the area.

If we can drag Will away from his carp syndicate I'd be well up for meeting up for some fly fishing...

[willackers]

Great stuff. I actually had an evening at Ladybower with my dad on Saturday. I managed to winkle a couple out of Raspberry Bay on the dry fly, my dad had a couple as well. Only £10 catch and release after 1:30pm.

I'm up for another session soon, or another UKB course match

[fatneck]

Good stuff Will! I'd be up for either or both!? Will look at some dates and get back to you...

[lagerstarfish]

@Rob - Nice trout, where did it come from? Kind of assuming some urban Sheffield location?

Porter Brook

interesting little stream

[lagerstarfish]

some beauty from yesterday after work

my tenkara species count is now - rainbow trout, brown trout, grayling, perch

[fatneck]

Nice Rob!! Need to catch a grayling....

[lagerstarfish]

difficult not to catch them sometimes on The Don

I'd do you a discount on my guiding rates...

[fatneck]

Cool... Wife is away towards the end of July and I may take a couple of days off and head over your way!

[lagerstarfish]

I'll be away for the last week of July, but can send you some beta

[fatneck]

Had an evening at Dingle reservoir last night and after several sessions of abject dry fly failure, it all came good and I hooked five fine rainbows, managing to land four!!



So much fun on a #6 rod and seeing the fish take the fly adds so much to the fly fishing experience!! Made up 

[lagerstarfish]

nice one Fatneck

I added roach to my tenkara species count last night

[fatneck]

Effort beast...

[willackers]

I've had 2 evening sessions on the River Ribble over the last two weeks, I'm on a quest for a double this season. I've managed to land 5 fish and lost 2 decent ones as well. Unfortunately no double, yet. Still pretty pleased with these though.

8lb 8oz River Ribble Barbel 30/6/15 by Will Atkinson, on Flickr

8lb River Ribble Barbel 30/6/15 by Will Atkinson, on Flickr

8lb River Ribble Barbel by Will Atkinson, on Flickr

8lb 1oz Ribble Barbel by Will Atkinson, on Flickr

7lb 9oz Ribble Barbel by Will Atkinson, on Flickr