Wagg 3, grinder 0

The incredibly powerful Duronic BL1200 blender

During the summer I have been using my Two Dog groundbait to great success. One of the main ingredients is ground Wagg dog biscuits. When dry, to say these things are hard is an understatement, they are bullet-proof. I like to add them as a fine powder to the mix initially as this way it all gets thoroughly mixed with the other dry ingredients without forming clumps.

I first tried processing them in my little food processor, but to no avail. all that did was to knock a few edges off and bounce them around violently. They are also extremely abrasive and scratch the inside of the mixing bowl. Defeated by this I then tried the good old pestle and mortar. Although I have a reasonably substantial one, the pestle and mortar made little progress and it was a job to stop the bits getting thrown out of the mortar if any force was applied.

Finally I came up with the idea of using a coffee grinder. The first one did actually last long enough to process just over a kilo of wag before it started it sound a bit rough, finally giving up the ghost in a puff of smoke and giving off an acrid smell... Hmmm... I think I pushed that a little too far, although I was being careful, I was obviously over loading it. Okay, I will put that down to experience. I bought a new one. This time I will be ultra careful and only put a few bits in the grinding chamber. Turned it on and it went round a couple of times and made a loud click at which point the motor was spinning free while the blade was stationary. These small modern appliances are impossible to get into without breaking something so It went back to the shop and was upgraded for a slightly more powerful model. That lasted not much longer and this time it was the blade that gave out and snapped!

Third one - time to give up with coffee grinders

At this point, I gave up with the idea of grinding Wagg in a cheap coffee grinder - it just is not up to the job. I was now considering the percussive approach, but hitting each one with a 26oz Estwing framing hammer might result in more on the floor than in the groundbait as well as taking half a lifetime to 'process' a kilo box full of the stuff. I was just about to give up on the idea of grinding the stuff to a fine powder when an on-line mate of mine put me on to the Duronic BL1200. The what? I hear you say. That was my first thought, what on earth is that? Well, it's a 'blender' or what I always called a 'liquidiser'. This thing has an unbelievable specification including a really heavy glass jug and a 1200W motor. All this for a shade under £56.00, delivered.

One extra advantage is the ease of cleaning - brilliant!

Now you know what they say about something being too good to be true, well this thing is the exception to the rule. Its robust build and powerful motor turned the Wagg into a fine dust with very little effort. It will also 'liquidise' bread and biscuit with very little effort. Problem solved!

Ralph.  
        

No-dog groundbait for winter...

My exploits with groundbait over the past few months have worked very well. In fact, much better than I had imagined, but now winter is around the corner I am told I need to cut back on the feed content, but maintain the attractant. This means I need to modify my method mix, and particularly my Two Dog groundbait mix that I have been using so successfully over the summer, for use over the winter. My initial plan is to remove the 'dogs' from the recipe. That will leave bread, biscuit and turmeric. By adding a small amount of very finely ground black pepper, I am told that this will significantly increase the attractive powers of the turmeric. It all gets a bit technical for me as I did not study chemistry at school or in further education.  For those who, like me, are interested in such matters, here is the bones of it, Thanks to Chris Barker at LaGuna, who was very helpful by explaining to me what is actually happening.

Turmeric on its own works mainly as a visual attraction and will create a good yellow cloud. It is not so good as a stimulating ingredient on the fish's sense of smell. Adding a small amount of black pepper to the turmeric creates a chemical iron/curcumin (present in the turmeric) complex causing a chemical reaction that binds the iron. This enables the fish to detect it easier in the water. The quantities of fine ground black pepper are very small, less than 5% of the turmeric. in my recipe, that is only 2½g - might have to get the jewellery scales out for this one!

Manual labour...

..not a bad result

If I am not careful I could get stuck in a rut with this. My Two Dog mix works well for what it is intended for,  now I am thinking that I need to start from scratch with this one. I need to decide exactly want I want, or in this case what I don't. After discussing this with some of the guys, on the angling forums I frequent, I now know that if I want to continue to use a method feeder, which I do, I need to cut down on the feed content and use the method feeder as a form of 'signal' to tell the fish there is something worth investigating. If the feed is fine enough it should disperse in the water and although the fish will be able to taste/sense it, it should not fill them up. I am thinking I will adjust the mix on the bank by adding a few free offerings if necessary.

Now I think about it, I also need to look at the hook bait. Maybe I will scale down the size of the punched Bacon Grill I have been using. All summer I have been catching lots of fish on 9mm thick, 9mm punched 'pellets' of Bacon Grill. Maybe I need to be using smaller pieces or even go away from meat altogether and go for sweetcorn or even actual pellets.

Less thinking more doing...  

Right, what I need is some fine powdered something or other. I could probably use more or less anything, I can dry and render into a fine powder, for the base. Having used bread/biscuit based mixes for all the recipes I have published so far I thought I would try something different. but what?

At 80p per kilo it has to
be worth a try

I know, you are all sitting there reading this thinking why change? Well, because I can, and experimenting is the only way to learn what works and what does not. I am building a knowledge base here that I will be able to draw on in the future. I have some ideas on summer high-food mixes for next year that involve using loose animal feed. Here in London we don't have that many 'feed' stores to frequent so it my be, for now, a case of seeing what I can get hold of. I know if I want huge bags of feed I can always get it delivered but I don't really want that quantity of dry goods sitting around to feed the mice and rats. They say wherever you are in London that you are never more than six feet away from a rat! That aside, 'er-in-doors would go nuts if I started buying bulk feed and storing it in my fishing 'office' as she described it today. It is really the utility room but, until I get around to decorating it, I have moved in. I really don't want to upset my little fruit bat as she is very tolerant of my fishing and even joins in with the bait-making from time to time. I digress (again).

The best place I can find locally, without having to drive miles, to buy loose feed is our local Pets at Home store. According to their website, I can buy a 15kg bag of Vitalin for £11.99 that equates to 80p/kg which is about the same as biscuit crumb and about 1½ times the price of dried bread but without the hassle of drying it off.

At this point er-in-doors asked if I could give here a lift to the station, as it was raining. She was off to Kensington Palace for a meeting (sounds posh, so I had to put that in). After I dropped her off I thought I would make the effort and call into our local Pets at Home store to buy a bag of Vitalin. Well, as usual nothing is that simple. The normally ten minute journey turned into forty minutes, thanks to some operatives drinking tea next to a hole in the road. When I finally got there, the place was stuffed to the gunnels with bags of dry feed for every animal you can think of. They also sell lots of other dubious things like clothes for dogs! But, you've guessed it, despite having it on their website, they had no Vitalin in store. The very nice young lady on the till said they did not stock it in that store and perhaps I could try another store she recommended, but it might be an idea to call first... Groan. I drove out of the retail park, and joined the queue of traffic that had built up heading down to the junction with the South Circular. Another half an hour of my life I am never going to get back.

No Vitalin at home...

When I eventually arrived home again, I revisited the Pets at Home website to look for the telephone number of the other store. While I was trying to navigate through a minefield of "type your postcode here" and why we need your mobile telephone number, I stumbled upon a tab that said "Collect in store"...   I ordered my bag of Vitalin, designated the store to which I wanted it to be delivered to and paid my £11.99. The page disappeared and that was it. No confirmation, nothing.  Gordon Bennett! How did I get on this treadmill... Several hours later an e-mail confirmation arrived and the blood pressure returned to closer what is regarded as normal.

Just one - for me, not the fish

Along with this confirmation was a tracking number - Click! The result was a single line that read something like: "We have no record of that transaction". Repeatedly head-butting the keyboard did nothing to improve the situation, only prompting a second and third screen showing the same message. Losing the will to live, I gave up and decamped to the kitchen for a cuppa and a caramel wafer.

To cut a very long story short, in the end it appears that my bag of Vitalin will be in store tomorrow for me to collect. All I have to do is try and avoid the traffic. Maybe I'll walk, and take Sue with me. I will need someone to carry it back home... What? No, it will be fine, she is used to carrying the shopping home. I wonder what we are having for supper...

The other thing I needed to resolve before I could go much further was to replace/repair my third coffee grinder. The Wagg dog biscuit I have been using is really hard and has defeated three coffee grinders so far. The latest one was powerful enough but the blade was not up to the job. A friend of mine recommended a blender that he swears by. It is a monster 1200W motor and enormous 1.8litre thick glass jug. I have ordered one and it will be here tomorrow. I will also order a new blade for my coffee grinder as it is really useful for converting small things like peppercorns into a fine powder probably more effectively than the pestle and mortar. More in a day or so...

Ralph.

Well, it was a day fishing...

I have got this off to a fine art. Alarm set for 05:00 Packed and ready to go the night before. Rods all tackled up, bait prepared and in the fridge, rolls made (Thanks Sue!) and a full tank of diesel...Hmmm... hold on a minute... Alarm set for 04:45.

I got there in the end - get back in there!

Crisp and dry first thing and it is really dark. Summer is well and truly over but I was not complaining, at least it was dry. The weather forecast was for a dry but overcast day, not overly warm but that was fine by me, I just took a couple more layers of clothing. I arrived at the fishery in good time and the gate opened at it's allotted time - just one of the few things that went to plan today...

My two chosen lines - I think the fish see the keep nets go in and go off and hide...

I parked the van and headed for the chalet where, on the veranda, the draw is usually posted. This time there was no draw just a map of the lake with pegs marked. I shuffled off to find out what was happening. Apparently there had been some talk of pre-baiting swims, I think these allegations had been made in jest but to avoid any others being levelled at competitors the draw was arranged differently.  This time a list of names had been drawn and the top of the list had the first pick and so on down the list. Far be it for me to judge, but this seemed fair enough to me. It is now about 07:10 and the match is not meant to start until 09:00 so the best part of a couple of hours away. The only problem was that the name on the top of the list had not arrived.  Some of the guys were getting niggled as they wanted to get set up.

There was an 'exchange' between the match organiser and a few of the guys that resulted in three of them deciding not to fish. Whatever the rights or wrongs of this, it meant we were down to only nine competitors and there was an unpleasant atmosphere. It is exactly this sort of thing that spoils it for me and why I was so against getting involved with fishing matches. The really silly thing here is that it is supposed to be  a bit of fun. It is not as if there are any big money prizes at stake.

A few minutes after the trio of disgruntled competitors walked out, the guy who was top of the draw list arrived and the pick of the pegs began. He pumped for my first choice. I did consider nobbeling him but there had been enough aggravation for one morning so I decided to let him off this time, The fact that he is much bigger than me had no bearing on the situation... I managed to get my second choice of peg in my other favoured place opposite the red lifebelt I have used as a target in the past. I am getting to know this lake now and I had a plan. 

A quick riddle of the maggots woke them up a bit after their week's sabbatical in the kitchen fridge.  They were all nice and lively by the time I had prepared the Two Dog groundbait mix. I was planning fishing two lines on the feeder and then once the fish were up in the water I would switch to the feeder float and pick them off the top like sitting ducks.  Well that was the plan.  I had been on the lake last week and was pulling fish out one after the other. For this reason I had thought, if I get a run on I could over-fill the carp net. My local fishing tackle shop had sold out of keep nets - not just the type I wanted, but any keep nets! With some reluctance I abandoned that plan. However, while waiting for the draw, I was chatting to the match organiser in the fishery shop about my net-less tackle shop and he promptly produced just what I wanted. Eager to try my new net, I thought a bit of intimidation tactics might work in my favour, so I set about casting three keep nets, two carp and a silvers. That will get them worried, I thought to myself.

By the time the all-in was called I was ready and keen to go. Working to my plan I cast a couple feeders full of the Two Dog and hooked a fish. I think I was the first to land a fish. Great! that's the way to do it. Ten minutes in and I had two in the net. It all started off to plan. Then it started to dry up and nothing was biting, not a sniff. Looking at my end tackle I realised I had probably made the hair a bit too long so I topped the punched bacon grill with a single kernel of sweetcorn. That did the trick and I caught a few more. Then I started to lose them off the hook, several times I would get a bite only for the fish to throw the hook. I changed hooklengths to a different hook and shorter hair (Kamasan 911x, from a  Guru QM1. Both size 12) I was still losing fish.

The last remaining Cygnet was looking a bit lonely...

By now the rain was falling, you know the rain that was not supposed to be here. I was not worried, I had my waterproofs what difference would it make? What I had not thought about was the Two Dog and loading the feeder.  It gets everywhere and before too long the cloth and towel were wet and sticky, the rod and reel were caked in the stuff. It was 'orrible! On top of this I was not catching many fish. I was not having a good time. I looked around and others were catching on the surface, so I decided to give that a go using a feeder float set up. after half an hour or so, with no bites and getting covered in groundbait, I gave up and went back to the feeder.

The rain had turned into that misting fine rain that never stops but completely soaks everything. and the temperature had dropped like a stone. At one point I would have been warmer in my fridge than it was there! Just as quickly as the temperature dropped it rose again to a much more comfortable level.

The end result

The fish were not playing and I was still losing fish - one in the very last couple of minutes. Not the best day's fishing I have ever had, but after all the upsets I still managed to come 5th with 24½ lb of mixed carp and bream, out of nine fishing, placing me smack in the middle of the table. Overall I had a good day out and met some more like minded anglers. I discovered a few things and came away with another experience to chalk up. That was the last match of the year at Beaver Fishery. Time to look at some other forms of fishing...

Ralph.           

Red Dog or Two Dog?

Over the summer, I have been playing around with groundbait on the feeder. My Two Dog groundbait seems to be the best of the bunch. The others work well, but the one I was not sure about was Red Dog. It has had its moments but overall it just does not seem to have the same effect as the Two Dog. Yesterday I decided to compare the two.

Hidden, well almost...

 The normal early start got me to Beaver just as the gate opened. After finding a good spot to hide the van, I got set up in no time on a peg on the other side of the lake from where I was fishing last week. By the time I was heading home, on my last visit, I was just getting the swim going. Today I wanted to try what I had learnt last week in a different part of the Jeff's lake. My intention was twofold. First I wanted to spend more time getting my cast better. Second I wanted to test the validity of my Two Dog Groundbait. It was just getting light, the mist was still hanging around and the place was deserted, much to my surprise as the forecast was for good weather I thought there would be more people about. What I had not realised was there were, they were all on Major's lake - yesterday was the first day of the pike season and Major's Lake is where the action could be had. As I am still trying to master this feeder lark the pike will have to wait... Hmmm... how about some home made lures? At that time of the morning it was still a bit chilly but with the promise of a nice sunny day in prospect. As I was setting up I could feel the sun on my back as it burnt away the remaining mist. I had the lake to myself for the first few hours, just me and my shadow.

Me and my shadow...

First thing, before I got into the method mix test, I thought I would try the swim feeder. This, I was thinking, might give me another string to the bow, in my quest to overcome the definite disadvantage to not having a pole, and supply a few silvers to bolster the catch of carp. I filled an open-ended swim feeder with a groundbait/maggot sandwich, baited up with a red maggot and cast. It didn't take long and it was fish on! This is good, I am thinking to myself, at this rate I will have a bag full of fish in no time. One minuscule rudd and three gudgeon later I went back to the feeder. I must admit that I really like gudgeon they are perfect little fish with oversized fins, they just don't add much weight to a match catch.

It may be cute but it ain't heavy

I Started to fish one line out to my left using the Two Dog mix, almost immediately I was getting bites and landing fish. I fished and fished for an hour or so and this line was still supplying fish on almost every cast. I then moved to a line to the right of me and tried the Red Dog mix. Six or seven casts produced nothing. Eventually I caught a few fish and then it dried up. I then loaded the feeder with Two Dog. First cast and bang! I had a fish on. I tried it again and caught another. time and again it was catching fish. By this time I had a flurry of fish waiting for it. As I cast out, there would be a whirl of activity on the surface and the fish would follow the feeder down.

Red Dog up against the odds on favourite, Two Dog 

Once I had them going I changed back to the Red Dog. Cast out, a small amount of activity on the first cast and then nothing. I cast again, nothing. Thinking I had fished out this swim I went back to the line on my right. Same result - nothing after maybe six or seven casts. I loaded the feeder with Two dog  and cast, expecting to have to wait and rebuild the swim I was not expecting what happened next. As soon as the feeder hit the water, the rod tip bent over double and the line was running against the clutch. I tightened the clutch slightly and it stopped. When I got it landed the fish was a decent size, no great shakes, but it must have been so happy see the Two Dog mix again it was off celebrating!

Gotcha!

Over and over again it was cast, lots of surface action then a few seconds later a bite. I think the fish were following the hook bait down but could not catch it, as it was on a short, four inch hooklength. Next time I might try a twelve inch length once the fish are up in the water. By this time my arm was aching from fighting the dozens of F1s scoffing the Two Dog. I thought this would be a good time to try the Red Dog again. Guess what? Nothing. It was as if they were just discussed with the offering. Just like the mood changes when an unwelcome visitor enters a room. Six or seven more casts and not even a hint on interest.

I am now totally convinced that there is something in the Two Dog mix that the fish crave and once they get a taste they can't leave it alone. On this visit my main intention was to get the casting sorted out (It's getting better!) so I was not counting fish, but now I wish I had. I honestly have no idea how many fish I landed but it was dozens of them. I usually work my 2-4-40 system, which entails using Two Dog groundbait, four inch hooklength and letting it sit for forty seconds. If nothing happens after that time, the feeder is retrieved, reloaded and cast again. Yesterday I don't think I managed to get to a forty-count except when I was using the Red Dog mix.

Hook bait (or should that be hair-bait?) is punched bacon grill, both fried off in oil and as it comes, They really seem to like the fried off stuff and it stays on the hair better than meat fresh from the tin. Just for a change I use a bit of sweetcorn now and again but I think the bacon grill is better. 

riddle,riddle, riddle...

As for the Two Dog itself it has to be prepared and looked after during the session. It gets riddled straight from the bag, it is then wet and mixed, riddled again. For use on the feeder it needs to be wet enough to stay on but dry enough to 'explode' from the feeder. If the fish are on the surface the bait is placed in the bottom of the feeder mould and over-filled with groundbait. The flat bottom feeder is pressed into the mould and the whole thing is released. If I am just getting going I will cast out two or three feeders with the bait method mix double skinned, that is to say that after the first application as described above the mould is filled again and the feeder with the existing mix and hook bait are reapplied to the mould to add more mix. This helps take the hook-bait further down in the water column before it is released and depositing a good amount of groundbait to hold the fish in the swim while retrieving and recasting.   

The other thing I have done differently was to improve the accuracy of my casting. This makes a real difference. Getting the feeder to land in the same place over and over again  builds up a good bed of feed that keeps the fish in the swim. A combination of my improved technique and the Two Dog groundbait will give me a much better chance of not being bottom of the leader board next Wednesday, when I will be fishing the last match of the season at Beaver Fishery, I wonder if the new toilet and shower block will be finished?

Posh bogs at Beaver - nearly finished!

By the time I got home I was knackered... (can I say that here? Too late!) but very satisfied with my day. Even though my arms ache, I reckon I could get to like this fishing lark...

Ralph.     

Fishing on Thursday...

Well, how about that then? Fishing again! At this rate people might think I am taking this seriously. To be honest, it is more about taking advantage of the last few days of good weather we are likely to have this year. I can't see me sitting by the water freezing my bits off, I am not that keen!

Beaver Fishery - Jeff's lake earlier this year

I am going to be very boring this week,  and pay yet another visit to Beaver to get as much practise as I can before the last match of the season, next week. I have got the feeder fishing up to an acceptable level, still room for improvement but a lot better than it has been. It is the float fishing I need to brush up on to see if I can catch something other than carp! Not that I am complaining, the carp soon add up to give a good weight.

Looking at the weather forecast for next week, it looks like it will be raining for the match so I will have to make sure I have my wet gear with me. If I can get set up in the dry that will be good. It is not so bad if it starts raining during the session. Knowing my luck it will rain until the shout for all-in and then it will stop! What ever happens it will be fun and, as usual my only goal is to stay off the bottom slot in the results table... We will see.

As the weather gets cooler and the days get shorter I intend to continue my fishing adventures in town roaming about fishing light. Initially I intend to do a spot of dropshotting in a place I have been planning to visit for the past six months, The Regent's Canal in West London. The canal runs around North London from Paddington Basin in the west to Limehouse basin in the East. There is about 8½ miles of it and I can fish all of it. It is possible to fish Limehouse basin itself but I have yet to investigate that. I understand it is only particular areas where fishing is allowed. The canal can be fished under the Canal and River Trust, Waterway Wanderers scheme The permit costs £20/year or £10 to members of the Angling Trust. 

In recent years the public transport system in London has been improved enormously with easy connections and a much easier payment system that includes suburban rail systems as well as the tube, buses, trams and the Overground (a sort of cross between the suburban trains and the tube). A ten to fifteen minute walk from my front door will get me to any one of three railway stations on three different lines. There are plenty of buses running along the main road and a quick hop on the bus will get me to the dockland light railway. With all this transportation to hand, it makes prefect sense to use it. Driving and parking in central London is just not a practical option these days with congestion and parking charges to pay let alone the hassle of driving in almost grid-locked traffic.

Dropshotting gear is the perfect kit for carting about on public transport. What's more the bait is not smelly or wriggly - it's plastic! Short, light rod, a small 1500 size reel and the smallest landing net is about it, apart from a few bits of tackle and a bag to carry it all in!

The other place I fancy fishing is the Great Stour that runs through Canterbury town centre where fishing is free. I need to go and have a look around on foot, I hear great things about it but I think you have to pick your spot. Parking will be a problem in the centre of Canterbury and even if there is a space, long-term that is, more than a couple of hours is expensive. I will probably investigate the park and ride service. I plan to keep the gear down to a minimum, all light tackle keep moving. if I do take anything to sit on it will be a fold up stool on a sling, or maybe one of those rucksack tackle bags with a stool attached. I don't plan to take a seat box, not even my plastic one! The bag in the photograph looks ideal for what I need. At under £20.00 it has to be worth a look. It appears to have plenty of room for the small amount of tackle and bait required. I might even get my sandwiches in there too! My small landing net and pole will easily tuck under the flap leaving me with just the rod to carry in my hand, either made up while on the 'bank' or folded while travelling.

The idea of fishing light really appeals to me, especially in the urban environment. Maybe that is because I am a townie born and bred, having lived in London for almost sixty years living no more than 3.7 miles away (according to Google maps) from where I live now. This is about to change, with a planned move to the North Kent coast early next year, hence the interest in Canterbury.

I am  sure I will have a totally different approach to fishing, living down by the sea. Not only is there the sea to explore, but there are far more places to fish in and around that area we intend to move to than we have here in the streets South East London. They even filled in the canals that I knew as a kid but never fished.

All that musing is for another day, for now I must concentrate on the task in hand. Time to go and tie some hooklengths, sort out the bait and get everything ready for a spot more practise...

Ralph.

Worm and dog...

Groan... What is so special about five o'clock in the morning? I don't mind so much in the summer but now the nights are getting longer it is dark and damp this time of year. Deep breath jump out of bed and tell myself I will enjoy it when I get there...

This early morning workout has now become a sort of ritual of flask-filling and van loading. An hour to get myself and gear together and three-quarters of an hour to drive to the venue. Back to Beaver for a day pleasure fishing.

If a pond could be 'cuddly' then this is it. Eden Pond's peaceful atmosphere is a unique experience

Today, I had a plan. The intention was to get some time in trying out my new-found free bait from the compost bin, worms. There are ten lakes and ponds at Beaver, and I made for one I have not fished before. Eden Pond is quiet and peaceful pond at the far westerly boundary of the fishery surrounded by trees. Stocked with green and golden tench, carp, roach and perch  It boasts two islands, reed beds and lily pads providing lots of places for the fish to hide and for me to lose some more end tackle. Thankfully, I managed to avoid the latter.

A nice little roach, My fist fish caught on a worm.

I set up a float rod with a small loaded waggler, plumbed to depth and set about baiting the hook with my first worm. At this point I discovered just how slippery and difficult to hook the wriggling little invertebrates are. After chasing them around the bait tub I eventually managed to pick one up. Now, picking them up is only part of it, there must be a knack to this but I have not got it yet. Getting it on the hook was another matter. Talk about fiddly. After chopping the poor little fellow in two it seemed to wriggle even more, understandable I suppose!

I did get it done eventually and cast to my selected spot on in the swim. This is all close in and I am getting much better at getting this on target. A few maggots were fed over the bait and within a few minutes I had a bite. That produced a nice little roach, my first ever fish caught on worm. I continued to experiment with the worms and caught a few more fish but no perch. After three hours 'playing' with the worms, I packed up, noting my short-falls, and moved over to Jeff's Lake.

Looking left from my peg, you can see how Jeff's lake is completely the opposite to the enclosed charm of Eden Pond

This was all part of the plan as my main reason for this visit was to try and improve my feeder casting technique. Having had a couple of 'lessons' on the bank from previous match winners, I had some new knowledge to develop into technique. Over-cooking it on the clip seemed to be the main problem causing the feeder to bounce back and discharging its load in a shower all over the place. Getting that balance right makes such a difference. Not only does the feeder hit the target but it enters the water with a pleasing 'plop' instead of a huge splash, discharging its load at the surface. After a while I was getting it spot on 75% of the time. Okay, not perfect but a huge improvement.

I was fishing three lines at similar distance. One straight in front of me, one at 11 o'clock, and a third at 1 o'clock. I started on the 11 o'clock and started to build some groundbait in the lake bed using my 'two for forty' routine. Using a small 30g Preston flat-back method feeder loaded with a double skin of my Two Dog groundbait, cast and left for 40 seconds. If no action the feeder is retrieved, loaded and recast to the same spot. For hook bait, I have found that  9mm diameter Plumrose Bacon Grill, punched from 9mm thick slice makes the perfect bait for the carp in Jeff's Lake.

Like all tinned meats, Bacon Grill improves with exposure to the sun. It cooks it lightly making the pieces sweat and causes tougher crust to form, making it more robust and less likely to pull off the hair. As the winter is just around the corner the chances of the sun 'cooking' it is less likely to happen on the day. With this in mind I intend to have a go at pre-cooking the bacon grill for the next outing.

Looking out over the lake. My three target areas are the centre of the red circles using the trees for direction markers while having the line clipped up to the distance

I started catching carp between 1½ - 2½lb for a while. When it dried up I switched to the 1 o'clock line. Again, I built up a pile of feed and soon I was catching again. One after the other I was pulling fish out on every other cast. As this line dried up I moved to the 12 o'clock line a did the same.

Okay, my plan was working but I wanted to try something different. I set up a second rod with an open ended feeder. Filled the feeder with maggot, plugged with groundbait at each end. Here I was using my Ginger Tom groundbait and a couple of maggot on the hook. After last weekend's experience in the match at Tricklebrook where I was fishing for carp and ignored the silvers, I thought I would try something different. Moving away from the bacon grill hookbait and looking to attract the silvers.

The feeder had only been out for about ten seconds when I got a bite... Rod bent over and I was fighting a fish. Hmmm... this does not feel much like a silver. No, It was another carp, just like the ones I had been catching on the method and bacon grill. Further casts resulted in a similar result. Disillusioned with my efforts to catch anything but carp, I went back to the method and bacon grill and revisited my original 11 o'clock line at the original distance. My plan was to try and perfect my casting, and after a few casts I was pretty much there hitting the target almost every time. I was still getting the odd 'misfire' but I reckon I am now getting it right 90% of the time. Still not perfect, but a vast improvement on previous sessions.

Just one of the many carp caught during the day. This one at a couple of pound was just one of many

The accuracy was beginning to pay off. I had a swirling, bubbling froth going on, right over my bed of groundbait. Every time I dropped a new loaded feeder on the spot I was rewarded with a bite within a few seconds. Working this spot earlier and then leaving it to rest had paid off. I was not keeping a tally of my catch as my main aim of the day was to improve my casting technique. It is still has a way to go and I have a  but it is a lot better than it was.  I must have caught 40 fish, probably a lot more. Again I was out-fishing most of the others on the lake and complete strangers were noticing and commenting on my catch rate.

The burning question is, have I got better at this fishing lark, or is it the Two Dog groundbait? The last match of the season at Beaver is a week, next Wednesday. I can't wait to see if all this hard work will pay off and work in the match situation.

Ralph.

A change of direction

I have spent most of the summer method feeder fishing for carp. Now the weather is cooling down I intend to start scaling down my feed and tackle and start to target the silvers in the commercial lakes I regularly fish. So it is back to a bit of waggler fishing and I will have a go at using other feeders to lay down some maggot, bread etc. A year on I have a much better idea of what I am doing now. Don't misunderstand me, I still have an awful lot to learn but unlike this time last year, I have had some experience and I am thinking about what fish I am targeting.

My experiments throughout the year with bait has opened my eyes to a whole new subject. This time last year the only bait I was using was maggots. I had no idea what groundbait was and my whole technique was based around what I had seen in a Matt Hayes video. Since then, I have realised that there is a bit more to this fishing lark than just sitting there waiting for a fish to come along and take the bait.

Worms - Home made worms!

Sue has been composting our garden rubbish for years. Every time the lid of the compost bin is removed, there are hundreds of worms piled up hanging on to the underside. Apparently, these are Dendrobaena worms and are good for using as fishing bait. Well, that's okay then, free home-grown bait, assuming Sue does not start charging me for them. From what I read, the worms control their own population numbers. I take this to mean I should be able to harvest them and they will then produce more to restore the numbers providing I am not taking too many at a time. My plan is to take a good supply with me and return the rest to the heap on my return.  

I have never fished with worm before and everyone I spoken to informs me it is the must-have bait. It is time to give it a go. I will take some with me tomorrow for a day 'pleasure' fishing (for me that is, I am not sure the worms will see it that way) and I will let you know how I get on. I am not sure about cutting them up - am I the only angler that is a bit reluctant to become a mutilating murderer? ...Do worms scream?

Look out Mr Perch I am coming to get you!

Ralph. 

Another match, that makes four!

Setting up in the mist of a Sunday morning

On Sunday last, a group of MaggotDrowning.com forum members got together and met up for the annual MD's Southern Championship 2015. This year I was lucky enough to be invited to take part. Having never fished the venue before, I was a little nervous. This would also be only my forth match with all the previous matches being held at my regular haunt, Beaver fishery. The guys assured me that it was a fun day out and I would enjoy it. Reassured,  I put my name down and, at the crack of dawn on Sunday, headed off in the direction of Tricklebrook fishery.

With the best laid plans in place I still didn't manage to get to bed until well after midnight on Saturday. In fact It must have been after one as the alarm on my not-so-smart phone was telling me it would be going off in less than four hours... Groan.

My latest accessory

Bright as a button and full of the joys of spring (even though it is almost Autumn) I leapt out of bed and attempted to silence the incessant warbling of the alarm, only to accidentally set the thing to 'snooze'. After creeping around for ten minutes keeping a quiet as I could, in fear of waking the other half, the alarm started its unwelcome chorus and did the job for me...

To be fair, I am very lucky, Sue supports me in my fishing exploits, even if she is not that interested in sitting on the bank and having a go, she will sit and watch the odd video and I have even found her reading fishing magazines! She just rolled over and said "Have a nice day, don't forget your rolls and flask." Packing the van was done in the dark and my latest 'accessory' was loaded ready for use at the other end. All packed and on the road by 06:00AM.

The journey was interesting, to say the least. Having never been to Tricklebrook before It was down to Jane to navigate, I tell you, the woman can be really irritating whether her mater of fact directions. Thick fog patches made visibility in places almost zero. It cleared somewhat once we got down into the depths of Kent.  Jane? Sorry, she is the voice of the Sat Nav...

The fishery is clearly Signed and there is a small but adequate car park. The rules state that no cars are to be driven to the swims so it was a case of transporting all the gear to the peg.

I got there before seven o'clock to realise I was the first one of the team to arrive. The car park is at a lower level than the lakes with the match lake held by a shallow dam and a higher dam holding the specimen lake a few meters higher. None of this elevation is evident from the aerial photograph. I took the opportunity to walk around the lake, not that I could see much as by now the mist had got thicker. I made it around the match lake, had a peek at the specimen lake and reccied the location of the little boys room!

Back at the van I started to tackle up and load up the sack barrow ready to drag it up the slope to my peg. By this time a lot of the competitors had arrived and Mick (the guy who organised it) was about to start the draw. Peg 11. Hmmm... I had no idea if that is good or bad. All I wanted to do was not to be bottom of the list when it came to the weigh-in. Mick was keen to let us know that his granddaughter, Rosie was a bit of a wizard on the pole chasing those silvers.

The view from my drawn peg

Peg 11 turned out to be opposite the gap between the islands, in line with the end of the furthest. That'll do me. Mind you, I would of said that no matter what number I drew as I had no idea what was in the lake, let alone where they dined out. The fog was lifting slowly - very slowly.

At 10 o'clock Mick called the all-in and we were off. There were three pools, carp, silvers and total weight. I entered all three, just to just to add to the pool as I was not going to fish for silvers. In retrospect that was a mistake, but it is all about the learning for me. I had decided that I would stick to the method and it was good to try out my Two Dog groundbait at a different venue. Hook bait was bacon grill and corn. The sun on the grill toughens it up by lightly cooking it. The smell is making the mouth water but I resisted eating my own bait, you never know if I start that I could end up hooking myself!

Mmmm... Bacon!

Five minutes in and it is fish on. Bang, and the rod is bent over the drag is screaming and I realised it needed tightening. These fish are fighting harder than I was used to. I was using my new 9ft picker and thinking I might have made a mistake. Once I got over the shock I managed to land the fish and I was on my way. Over the next hour or so, I missed a couple and landed another. Then it went quiet.

As the day went on, the sun burnt off the mist and it was shirt-sleeve weather

It is here where, if I had gone over to the silvers, I might have made a greater weight. Instead I chose to stick with the feeder targeting the feisty carp. Looking around there were a lot of poles being used and Mike in the peg next to me was pulling out fish after fish on his. Bucking the trend was Richard on the opposite bank. using rod and line, he was pulling them out at an alarming rate.

After a a long quiet period the rod  was bent double again and this time I thought I had caught something huge. The line went taunt and the rod bent alarmingly. I had not experienced anything like this before. I gave the fish some line and then played the fish until I could get it ready to land. By this time I could see the fish and it was not that big, just another carp about the same size as the others in my net. This was a mirror as opposed to the commons I had caught during the morning. I had no idea how much more feisty these fish can be. I continued to fish for the rest of the day until the all out was called at 3:30PM.

At the weigh in I was second to be weighed. I had a bag of carp that weighed 15lb 6oz and gave me fifth overall and third in the carp pool. Full results can be found HERE. Although I was happy with that, far better than I had expected, I now know I should have alternated between targeting the carp and having a go at the silvers when it went quiet.

My bag of carp

Towards the end of the match, Mick in the peg next to me offered some helpful advice regarding my casting. I was applying far too much force to the cast causing the feeder to bounce back as the line hit the clip. I eased off a bit and the results were much improved. It is all about listening to others and trying to follow the advice. After the match, Mick was kind enough to spend a bit of time explaining where I was getting it wrong and how I could improve my technique. I am most grateful and will keep trying as practise makes perfect. I just wonder if I have enough years left to become perfect!

A well deserved victory

A great day was had by all and my willing helper scooped the trophy and celebrated in the time honoured way! It was really good to meet so many of the forum members and now I can't weight for the next one!

I am off to Beaver later in the week so I will put my new-found knowledge to the test in a nice day-long pleasure session in readiness for the last match of the season there in a couple of weeks time.

Ralph.

Shifting it

I seem to have a lot of stuff that needs transporting from the van to the bank. This is fine if I can get the van close to the swim. At most of the places I fish this is possible, but it can restrict my choice of peg. At the fishery, where I am competing in match this weekend, there is a rule that states that no vehicles can be driven to the swims. This will mean I will have to tote all my gear from the van to the peg. Time to get some wheels!

Our lightly used sack barrow

I had often thought about using our sack barrow but was put off the idea as I had not seen others using them (in my limited experience) to tote fishing gear. I have now worked out why - eventually. The sack barrow is much too big to fit inside a car as well as the amount of tackle that would necessitate its use. This is not a problem for me as now I take the van fishing, space is the last of my concerns. I did think about building some kind or frame onto the barrow but in the end, after discussing it at great length with myself, that was deemed unnecessary...

The cardboard tubes are glued
to a piece of MDF

A trip to the pound shop rendered some 'bungi' straps and a couple of those soft covered wires that the pier and urban fishing guys use as rod rests buy attaching them to the safety rail often found at the water's edge in those sorts of environments. All I need now is a few bits of cardboard tube. These are glued to a small piece of MDF profiled to fit around the central tube of the frame. The whole thing sits nicely on the axle and is secured with the bungi straps that hold the rest of the gear on the front. This will do for this weekend but I will give the tubes a coat of varnish to render some protection against the wet. My, this is sounding more like Blue Peter with every post!

Our sack truck has been around for a long time but has only had light service with us. I have just done an internet search for a similar barrow and found pages of them for sale for around £30-35 including VAT. That makes it a lot cheaper than the purpose made fishing trolley, and if you want a lighter one you can halve that price... I will use this for now but I am sure there will come a day when something more suited to carrying a match seat box, roost, umbrella, bivvy, bed-chair cooking equipment and poles will be required... Did I say that?

Bait box at the bottom

The idea is that my dark green, heavy duty army surplus, plastic box will sit on the bottom. In this I will put all my bait that is required for the session. Next will be my cheap and useless tackle bag that came with my starter set. I say useless, and it was, until I found another plastic storage box that fits inside and keeps it somewhere near firm. Unhooking mats, towels and cloths are slid between the box and the bag to firm things up and now it is usable, Inside the plastic storage box I keep my main cantilever tackle box containing floats, tools feeders and so on. Rig bag and box will also live in there along with any ancillary clothing and my can't-do-without magnifying sun glasses.

The red storage box squares up the useless bag

Next up the pile comes the stink bag containing keep and landing nets. This is topped off with the groundbait bowls and riddle - you must have a riddle so you can riddle, riddle and riddle. I joke, but since I was given that useful tip my catch rate has improved greatly and the groundbait stays on the method feeder all the way to the target, well most of the time!

All trussed up and ready to go

The rods stand in the short tube

seems to work okay - it is easier to pull than it looks!

Net poles and bank sticks are housed in the cardboard tubes 'bungied' to the frame. The rods are accommodated by standing them in a short section of tube that also hold any short bank sticks and held in place, further up the barrows frame handle, with the soft-foam covered wire things.

Banksticks and handles sit in the long tube...

... while the short tube supports the bottom of the rods and other short items

Finally my chair and the bait waiter are tucked down behind the bucket, bowls and nets, secured in place with another bungi strap. That looks like it will work just fine... now what have I forgotten?

Ralph. 

 

Away match...

My forth match is on Sunday and it is not at my usual venue. This means a trip out into Kent to a place I am not familiar with to fish with a whole new group of people...

In the great scheme of things this may not seem such a big deal, but to me it is a significant milestone. Having participated in three matches at Beaver Fishery, I have now been invited to join in with some the guys from MaggotDrowning.com in a friendly match at Tricklebrook Fishery in Kent. Having never fished this venue it will be a whole new experience for me.  It is not far away, about the same distance from me as Beaver, and it should be an easy run out on a Sunday morning. The rules state that vehicles can not be driven to the swims so it looks like I will have to devise some kind of trolley to save me walking back and forth from the van to set up and pack up.

As much as I fancy a purpose made tote of some kind, that is going to have to wait. For this weekend it is going to be a case of making do with whatever I can find laying around here in the workshop. Top of the possible list is a tubular steel sack barrow. I will have to dig it out and see what needs to be done to make it function. I am sure I can cobble something together over the next couple of days - watch this space!

The match lake is to the left of the picture below, and that is where we will be fishing on Sunday. I like the look of the larger specimen lake as it appearers to be nice and open with fewer places for me to sacrifice my end tackle!

Tricklebrook Fishery as seen from the air by Google

It will be interesting to see if the same tactics I have been using at Beaver will work here. I don't have a pole so I am stuck with rod and line although I do have my latest innovation, my telescopic cupping pole. I may or may not use this at the venue as I have no idea if it will be allowed but it worked well in the margins when used to deliver a mix of feed and the baited method feeder, at Beaver

I am off to decide exactly what I need to take on Sunday and investigate providing myself with some kind of fishing tackle barrow...

Ralph.