Balls

My fishing time has been severely restricted these last few weeks, due to work, bad weather and making arrangements for my rapidly approaching wedding. Most of this weekend was again up with domestic duties but I did manage to sneak down to the river for the last two hours of daylight - when I took my plugging/spinning gear for Pike.

As has become the norm recently I didnt get a touch. I did get to watch these balls bobbing in the backwave of the weir though - very colourful.

Spinning For Salmon

I had intended to spend every morning of the last week of the Salmon season spinning for Salmon on the Ribble. However, upheavals at work meant that I only managed to get out on the Friday morning for a few hours accompanied by Phil-K.

I arrived at first light and was encouraged by seeing fish splashing in the first main pool I encountered on my walk downstream. I quickly set up with a red "flying C" and worked my way down the pool. Despite seeing fish moving, i couldn't generate any interest in the lures i used.

After an hour or so, I moved down to the pool where i took my first Salmon last year.

Again I saw fish moving but couldn't entice a bite.

Phil-K arrived about 9ish and was thrilled to see a salmon clear the water in part of the pool he was about to fish. But again he had no success despite using a variety of lures.

We slowly made our way back to the car, working through the pools we saw fish showing all over the river. Very frustrating but how could we complain, its just fantastic to see such magnificent fish, being lucky enough to catch one is just a bonus.

Here is selection of some of the lures which I use.

Fishing In Manchester City Centre

I spent the last few hours of daylight fishing the River Irwell behind Granada Studios on the old match length.

There used to be a weekly open match held on this length of river for quite a few years, until the owners of the Hotel opposite became fed up with anglers peeing in the bushes in full view of the guests eating in their riverside restaurant. The hotel then bought out the angling rights from Salford Council and prevented anglers from using the river.

The signs showing private ownership still exist, even though Granada Angling Club havent paid any rent for the fishing rights for over 5 years now.

This should encourage you to go down and fish there, as it used to be a fantastic piece of water, with match weights of silver fish to over 40lbs.

Since those halcyon days, cormorants have devastated fish stocks in the lower river, and all I could manage in 4 hours on Sunday afternoon was about half a dozen small dace. I started by using a maggot feeder, but the bites were nothing more than tremors on the tip. It was only by swapping to a stickfloat fished about 6 inches overdepth that i could pick up a couple of fish.
Again, I was kept company by herons and kingfishers - amazing that wildlife like this can survive in Manchester City Centre. What a pity that cormorants have ruined the fish stocks.

Famine Then Feast

After suffering so many blanks over the last month or two I'd really been looking forwards to Big Daves annual trip to his mates farm pond. Tucked deep away in rural Shropshire its a hell of a venue. A lovely setting, good company and a lake stuffed with big, hard fighting Rainbow Trout.

After an early start, we were fishing by about 9am, I started using a black leech pattern which is the so called "killer pattern" on this water. However despite getting alot of plucks on the fly I only landed 1 fish on this fly.

As soon as I swapped to a fry pattern the fish really went wild, and I ended up having to take it off as i was catching so many fish.

By lunch time, I must have had a good 20 fish to about 4.5lbs. What a session. I didnt expect this amazing sport to continue into the afternoon, as last year the fish seemed to turn off after lunch.

After scoffing Phil Ks ginger cake (cheers Phil), I changed tactics by using a bloodworm pattern under a suspender buzzer. This worked a treat, and by the end of an arm aching, rod bending day I smashed my record for the number of trout caught in a day by taking well over 50 fish.

Phil K also had a red letter day taking more than 30 fish on an Invicta pattern.

Last year, i thought that this was a special venue after taking 7 fish to 5lbs in weight, this year was beyond expectations.

Thanks for the invite Dave!!

Blowing A Hooley On The Ribble

Last Sunday afternoon saw me spending a few hours trotting an big avon float down the Ribble. It was a bit of a futile exercise really, as I've found that a delicate approach has given far better results this season. A really strong and gusting upstream wind put paid to the delicate approach, and as i only had my light trotting rod with me, my only choice was to use a heavy avon float.
No bites until i made my way upstream to a big deep pool at a bend in the river.
I was thrilled to see a pod of Salmon crashing about in the water, making big bow waves in the water as they jockeyed for position in the flow.
I thought i would chance my arm, so dug up a couple of worms in the corn field next to the river, and was amazed to see my float disappear on its first run down the swim. I struck, felt a brief resistance and then reeled in to find only a large silver scale adorning my hook.
I stuck things out for a further hour, before admitting defeat and trudging my way back to the car.
Things havent gone too well recently fishing wise having had lots of blank sessions. Observing riverside wildlife has been ample reward for the hours I've put in though - Kingfishers, mink, butterflies,foxes, herons, buzzards plus many more have made my time on the riverbank most enjoyable. Its not always about catching fish (though just one fish, even a small one would be nice).

Barbel Quest Pt8

I spent a few hours this afternoon fishing the slow deep run behind the Cliff in Lower Broughton.
One rod with meat, the other with hair rig pellet. I didnt get a touch on either rod. I feel as though I'm flogging a dead horse with this one, so next weekend will be having a change of scenery, tactics and target species.

Barbel Quest Pt7

So this afternoon saw me continuing in my attempts to catch one of those ever so elusive Irwell barbel.
As I only had a few hours free this afternoon I decided to fish new swim a bit nearer to home. There is a deep pot of a swim behind the old Chloride Battery works which I've been meaning to fish for years now, and this was where tackled up just after three.
The wildlife was amazing - Kingfishers, wagtails, a buzzard and a fox. I didnt see a human being all afternoon.
The fishing was terrible - not even a twitch on the tip.
Lets see what happens next Sunday.

Salmon In The Irwell !!!!!

Salmon fishing in Manchester could become a reality by 2015 provided the Secretary Of State for the Environment approves the document below.

Whilst skimming through the latest EA River Basin Management Plans for the North West Region I came across these important lines.

"Mersey Life is an ambitious project that aims to realise the ecological and socio-economic potential of our rivers by bringing together stakeholders and partners, building partnerships and encouraging investment into the restoration of the rivers. One of the aims of Mersey Life is to reduce barriers to fish migration in the River Mersey and its tributaries. For this river basin
management planning cycle the project plans to deliver scoping, design and construction of 10 Fish passes in 6 priority catchments. (Environment Agency, Voluntary sector)
• Mersey Estuary, Irwell, Upper Mersey """

This sounds like the EA are planning to build some fish passes on the Ship Canal & Irwell.

Am busy polishing my mepps already!

Main document can be read here http://wfdconsultation.environment-agency.gov.uk/wfdcms/en/northwest/Intro.aspx
Open the main document and the above info can be found on page 20.

Salmon have been running the Mersey since 1999 in ever increasing numbers. However they cant pass through the lock gates on the Ship Canal north of the confluence of the River Mersey - therfore all migratory fish have to run the Mersey up through Stockport rather than continuing up the Ship Canal, through Manchester and into the Irwell system.
As i've previously shown in earlier posts, there are some huge weirs on the Irwell which migratory fish would find difficult to negotiate. Hopefully these fish passes will open up the Irwell system to migratory fish.

Barbel Quest Pt6 Going Hi Tech!

Whilst I've been sitting waiting for bites which havent materialised during my recent quest my mind has been working overtime as to how i can improve my chances.

Other than tipping a couple of thousand fish in the river, my options are limited to improving my rig so as to optomise my chances of hooking any fish which show an interest and of course location, location location.

To try to satisfy the first requirement i have this afternoon tied up my first ever hair rigs- with the help of Trigga (thanks).

Location wise, I decided to have one last try in my currently favoured swim before moving a couple of hundred yards downstream to some deeper water.

So i sat from 4pm til 8.30pm with nothing other than a couple of sharp raps. The quest continues!

Fishing - A Panacea For All Ills

I woke this morning with a headache and a really big dose of the blues. I considered going to work for a minute or two, then rolled over, determined not to surface till 11am.
After getting up and downing a variety of different pain relievers (which had no effect) I was still grumpy. The sun was shining for a change but did little to alleviate the dark clouds hanging over my head.

After lunch i began to feel as though i was wasting a day of my life, so i decided to have a trip out alone on the river where no one would get on my nerves and i could mutter and swear to my hearts content.

I have concentrated on coarse angling this summer, neglecting the trout which inhabit the upper reaches of my local river as i had a few disappointing sessions at the start of the season. It seemed as though someone had fished the river through during the close season/winter taking the fish for the pot.
Last year it wasnt uncommon to catch up to 20 fish in a session ranging from 6oz to 2lbs. Earlier this year we counted ourselves lucky if we caught 2 or 3 fish in a session, with the biggest pushing 12oz.

As the trout season is closing at the end of September I decided to see if the situation had improved over the summer. Trout are really mobile constantly searching out the best spots to intercept the most food with the minimum of effort.

So 2pm saw me making my first casts into some fast streamy water just above the car park swims. Second cast a nice 6 inch brownie took my red copper hares ear fly.




This was quickly released and i then proceeded to catch a further 3 fish from the pool up to a pound in weight. Not a bad start and my personal gloom began to lift.



After fishing the pool through i made my way down to the bottom of the beat and crossed the river in the shallows, moving up alongside the old mill, i could only raise a single small fish from what last year was one of the best runs on the river.

Making my way up to the viaduct swim i took a couple of fish from up and downstream of the big boulder and lost a few fish which spun off my barbless hook in the fast current.

From the viaduct i waded upstream to the waterfall, taking lots of small trout in the boiling pocket water. I was getting lots of takes from small fish and bumping the majority off in the fast current.

After getting a nice 12oz fish in the waterfall pool I walked upstream to the mill race pool. Again this swim used to be a banker for half a dozen fish last season, but today i couldnt get any takes, nor could i see any fish rising.

Crossing the river again, I moved upstream and fished the green pipe swim - surprisingly drawing a blank again. I did manage to hook into another fish in the small fast run above the pipe swim, but again it spun off in the strong current.

It was great to be out in such lovely surroundings, and with the sun shining and my rod bending regularly it lifted my bad mood and nourished the soul.

I'm really pleased to have had such a good afternoon, i think i had about a dozen fish, bumping off a similar number.

All the regular runs from last season appear to be virtually devoid of fish, with nearly all of my catch coming from fast, boiling pocket water which i guess most people walk past without fishing. Maybe there are still people taking fish for the pot from the more popular runs - which is a real shame, and is probably the reason for my not taking a fish over a pound. I wish people wouldn't as they taste like sh*te from the Irwell and are probably only just able to swim they are so saturated with heavy metals etc.

Anyway - hopefully the fish i caught today will survive the winter, and the fishmongers and all be nice 2 pounders by the end of next year.