No need to carp on about it!
21/06/07
I've just finished
reading 'how to fish' by Chris Yates. A thoroughly
enjoyable read, in quite a large way it was re-runs
of a passion for angling, the BBC2 series featuring
him that inspired me to write and photograph my
piscatorial adventures. If you by some miracle ever
read this blog/diary/call-it-what-you-will Chris,
thanks for all the fish. This one's for you.
Anyway, he puts coarse angling into a whole new, stalky, wild, mobile manner and he describes the river and it's environs in such a way that no outdoorsy person could fail to be motivated and transported from armchair to river bank within 2 chapters. I agree wholeheartedly with his derision for stillwater trout fishing, I just personally don't enjoy it and I was honoured to read that "...proper trout fishing with a fly rod on a small wild river is a worthwhile occupation...". There, I'm doing something worthwhile! My mum must be so proud ;)
So, I'm all fired up to go and try this coarse fishing lark so I load the car, I trundle down towards the new forest and I get my gear out at a small little nicely tree lined pond.
I have a cheapo float rod but feeling rather silly I decided to use my 9' fly rod instead as the carp were quite happily sunning themselves, mooching round the pond without a care in the world. The occasional SLUUURRP as they sucked in some tasty morsel sounded hugely loud in such a quiet tranquil setting, mingling with birdsong, trees rustling their deep green coats and the occasional clip-clop as horse and human cargo passed by on the nearby track.
I'd heard horror stories about how tricksy carp are to catch so I was all prepared to be frustrated and as a trout angler, you know, a worthwhile one on a wild river ;) I'd have been happy to connect to a single fish. Welllll, it didn't quite work out that way. I put a small bit of breadcrust on the hook and just lobbed it out about 10' under the branches shown above. SLUUURRP was followed very rapidly by an explosion of water and leaves and a reel that was screaming like it was about to fall apart. With the rod bent, quite litterally double, I brought my new fishy friend out from under the bush where he/she then began to swim in deep slow circles getting smaller and slower and finally, with a lavish last run, into the net. I must just mention the ludicrously large net, after years of a trout net slung on my back this felt like wielding a trampoline cover or hot air balloon on sticks. So anyway, carp returned safely I repeated the process and after a couple of calm minutes, SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM, off again. Now there are quite a few shots so I'll keep them small-ish.
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
Now I didn't take photo's of every fish as I like to get them back into the water as quickly as possible, but I stopped counting at about 15 or so. Think I had around 25 fish between 6pm and 8:30, all from the same area of the pond, all on breadcrust on the surface. I know these aren't exactly 40lb'ers or nice old wild fish but honestly, I thought it was supposed to be hard? maybe I was lucky this day? I do know one thing though, I have a bruise on my ribs tonight where I had to hold the rod against me for leverage, they really do scrap on a lighter rod. For scale reference, the net is a 28" one.
Was I fly fishing for coarse fish? Nah, I think I was coarse fishing, I just happened to have a fly rod in my hand, I wasn't using any natural imitation, I wasn't even casting, just plopping bread out under a tree. Was it fun? It was sort of, after about 10 fish I began to wonder where the challenge was, I kept going to see just how big these great slabs actually got. Would I do it again? Hmmm, I think I need to find some small wild ponds and have a shot there, fishing where the fish are so concentrated (see below) seemed to smack too much of trout fishing a dayticket stillwater to me.
There's only one other thing about my first experience of coarse fishing that I want to share, and I'm racking my rather frazzled brains to find a way that I can say it without sounding class-ist and tarring all coarse anglers with the same brush. In my two-and-a-half hours at the lake I recovered around 6m of nylon line, including 2m from a branch in the car park (how they could tangle in a car park and not retrieve it is beyond me). I collected about 10 empty beer cans, 2 glass bottles and to my mind worse of all, I removed several hooks from foul hooked fish.
I know it can't be helped sometimes to be broken off on a fish but bearing in mind I was only there a short time and saw this sort of thing several times something says things aren't quite right in the tackle or methods people are using. I didn't lose a single hook in the time I was fishing, how come so many other people not only managed to lose hooks, but managed to lose them in the flanks of fish?
Anyway, he puts coarse angling into a whole new, stalky, wild, mobile manner and he describes the river and it's environs in such a way that no outdoorsy person could fail to be motivated and transported from armchair to river bank within 2 chapters. I agree wholeheartedly with his derision for stillwater trout fishing, I just personally don't enjoy it and I was honoured to read that "...proper trout fishing with a fly rod on a small wild river is a worthwhile occupation...". There, I'm doing something worthwhile! My mum must be so proud ;)
So, I'm all fired up to go and try this coarse fishing lark so I load the car, I trundle down towards the new forest and I get my gear out at a small little nicely tree lined pond.
I have a cheapo float rod but feeling rather silly I decided to use my 9' fly rod instead as the carp were quite happily sunning themselves, mooching round the pond without a care in the world. The occasional SLUUURRP as they sucked in some tasty morsel sounded hugely loud in such a quiet tranquil setting, mingling with birdsong, trees rustling their deep green coats and the occasional clip-clop as horse and human cargo passed by on the nearby track.
I'd heard horror stories about how tricksy carp are to catch so I was all prepared to be frustrated and as a trout angler, you know, a worthwhile one on a wild river ;) I'd have been happy to connect to a single fish. Welllll, it didn't quite work out that way. I put a small bit of breadcrust on the hook and just lobbed it out about 10' under the branches shown above. SLUUURRP was followed very rapidly by an explosion of water and leaves and a reel that was screaming like it was about to fall apart. With the rod bent, quite litterally double, I brought my new fishy friend out from under the bush where he/she then began to swim in deep slow circles getting smaller and slower and finally, with a lavish last run, into the net. I must just mention the ludicrously large net, after years of a trout net slung on my back this felt like wielding a trampoline cover or hot air balloon on sticks. So anyway, carp returned safely I repeated the process and after a couple of calm minutes, SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM, off again. Now there are quite a few shots so I'll keep them small-ish.
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
SLUUURRP, CRASH, SCREEEAM
Now I didn't take photo's of every fish as I like to get them back into the water as quickly as possible, but I stopped counting at about 15 or so. Think I had around 25 fish between 6pm and 8:30, all from the same area of the pond, all on breadcrust on the surface. I know these aren't exactly 40lb'ers or nice old wild fish but honestly, I thought it was supposed to be hard? maybe I was lucky this day? I do know one thing though, I have a bruise on my ribs tonight where I had to hold the rod against me for leverage, they really do scrap on a lighter rod. For scale reference, the net is a 28" one.
Was I fly fishing for coarse fish? Nah, I think I was coarse fishing, I just happened to have a fly rod in my hand, I wasn't using any natural imitation, I wasn't even casting, just plopping bread out under a tree. Was it fun? It was sort of, after about 10 fish I began to wonder where the challenge was, I kept going to see just how big these great slabs actually got. Would I do it again? Hmmm, I think I need to find some small wild ponds and have a shot there, fishing where the fish are so concentrated (see below) seemed to smack too much of trout fishing a dayticket stillwater to me.
There's only one other thing about my first experience of coarse fishing that I want to share, and I'm racking my rather frazzled brains to find a way that I can say it without sounding class-ist and tarring all coarse anglers with the same brush. In my two-and-a-half hours at the lake I recovered around 6m of nylon line, including 2m from a branch in the car park (how they could tangle in a car park and not retrieve it is beyond me). I collected about 10 empty beer cans, 2 glass bottles and to my mind worse of all, I removed several hooks from foul hooked fish.
I know it can't be helped sometimes to be broken off on a fish but bearing in mind I was only there a short time and saw this sort of thing several times something says things aren't quite right in the tackle or methods people are using. I didn't lose a single hook in the time I was fishing, how come so many other people not only managed to lose hooks, but managed to lose them in the flanks of fish?
Sunny June
13/06/07
Had a couple days off
work to take a visitor from sunnier climes fishing on
the local waters. Had a great time, always nice to
meet new people that you share an interest with.
A morning start in the Woodford valley drifted lazily into an afternoon on the Nadder, nothing terribly exciting to report apart from a good mayfly hatch on the Nadder this evening, just before the rain arrived.
Some of you are stuck in offices in small boxes watching nothing more than a computer screen and a telephone so I thought I'd just rub salt into them there wounds and post some piccies of just how purrrdy the rivers are looking at the moment. Sorry!
hehe ok, no I'm not. I'll be sat on the M25 in traffic tomorrow so I feel justified in gloating on the last couple of days fresh air.
A morning start in the Woodford valley drifted lazily into an afternoon on the Nadder, nothing terribly exciting to report apart from a good mayfly hatch on the Nadder this evening, just before the rain arrived.
Some of you are stuck in offices in small boxes watching nothing more than a computer screen and a telephone so I thought I'd just rub salt into them there wounds and post some piccies of just how purrrdy the rivers are looking at the moment. Sorry!
hehe ok, no I'm not. I'll be sat on the M25 in traffic tomorrow so I feel justified in gloating on the last couple of days fresh air.
I love my bank!
08/06/07
They caved in and
refunded 6 years of bank charges! :)
As a result I bought a few new lenses for the camera, for those who know, I got a canon 50mm f1.4 prime, 85mm f1.8 prime AND a 17-40mm f4, phewww. All I can say is WOW, what a difference good lenses make.
Nothing more than an excuse to gush about my new lens really...
As a result I bought a few new lenses for the camera, for those who know, I got a canon 50mm f1.4 prime, 85mm f1.8 prime AND a 17-40mm f4, phewww. All I can say is WOW, what a difference good lenses make.
Nothing more than an excuse to gush about my new lens really...