t Other Stuff

	AnotherAngle

Other Stuff

This page has all the other bits and pieces than don't really go anywhere else and anything else that takes my fancy really. Did I mention it's my website?

Dead Bait Chub
Roach on a spinner
Tench on a spinner
Flyspoon
Stalking thing
Duck
The boilie thing

Another 2lb Roach
Breaking Up
Stuff that bugs me...
Reinforced Tea and Coffee
Stuff that makes me smile
On the End of the Line

Chub on a dead bait on the River Thames, Longridge, 1978 maybe...

Again at Longridge on a sunny day when many many bleak had made for a good days sport, I resolved to try something new, being pretty much "bleaked" and "gudgeoned" out. I had it in my mind to catch a pike (well we caught many at the Dyke). Using my seven foot thing, I tackled up a simple wire trace and a single treble, and side mounted a dead bleak on the treble.

I put on a large balsa stick, set the depth for about three feet, and cast in under the bridge, to just short of the opposite bank. It drifted with the current and as it cleared the shade of the bridge, vanished.

I hit it fairly hard (7 foot rod, 30 yards out, not very old), and hit something. It wasn't huge and played (well towed then) to the near bank and netted, was a chub about 2-3 lbs. Tried again, no result. For well over an hour. Still, an odd result.

2009: Odd to find that in the "Peter Stone Letters", Richard Walker discusses using dead bait bleak for chub.

Roach on a Spinner @ Fishers Pond, Colden Common, 1975 maybe...

In about 1975 during a stay with Gramp I was dropped at Fishers Pond, in the days before it was as stocked and well looked after as it is now.

In those days the fish stocks were small and mostly roach, and the swim with the "swimming pool" was your best bet. this was a large semi circle of corrugated iron on a frame about 30 yards in diameter, enclosing an area of water. I do recall it was a gray and dull day and after the best part of the day not even getting a bite, with time getting on to being picked up, I tried, out of sheer boredom a 4g silver Droppen.

Second cast I hooked something, and moments later, I had a roach of about 0.5lb on the bank. Fairly hooked in the mouth as well. Now that doesn't happen every day (I didn't catch anything else).

Stalking, 1994 @ Hambridge Lake

On a deadbait session on Hambridge lake in September 1994 while trying for a run on the feeder stream swim on the West bank, I noticed a scattering of fry in the small lagoon in the NW corner. Aha. If looked just as if as if something was lunging out from under weed cover and scattering fry.

I'd already had one fish about 5lb, and knew a bit about stalking pike, from the Dyke days - so rigging up a small popped up deadbait on a single hook VB trace, I cut inland and sneaked around to the inlet, and doing my best impression of a commando (no, that's not the same as "going commando"), I made my way to the edge of the water and watched from behind one of the handy trees surrounding the water at this point.

Another lunge and scattering confirmed the fish was still there. I assumed the fish was broadly speaking facing out of the weed and toward myself and the prey, gave it five minutes to get back in and worked myself around behind the head end of the fish and cast past it with my bait and letting it sink I retrieved to somewhere in front of the assumed fish. I waited...

...and waited. 15 minutes ticked by. I reeled in my popped up bait with a few turns of the handle and stopped. And waited again...

5 minutes later, another bow wave and scattering of small stuff. Surely my bait was more interesting? Salmon oil and all? After another 10 minutes I recast as slowly and carefully as I knew. Pretty much the same result, and more lunges confirmed the fish was still present. After another 10 minute, I decided my bait was wrong, or the fish was preoccupied, and worked my way into a position to be able to see my intended quarry.

After moving quietly to the entrance of the small inlet (where naturally you'd never be able to get a rod), I saw a blur of movement and a scattering of fry, and a common carp around 8-10lb glide to a halt, and after a bit amble back to it's ambush station under the weed cover.

Ah. So back to the pike then. With hindsight, I could have gone for the smallest sprat I had on a regular trace, but knowing the "rule of cussedness of nature", I'd have hooked a pike and got "bitten off"...

Tench on a spinner Jubilee Lake Thatcham 1992ish

In 1992, when I was trying very hard for pike I decided one briskly windy day to spin around Jubilee Lake, on the basis that I would keep moving, and might locate some swims with pike potential away from the usual spots. I should say right now that I am poor lure fisher - I have had very little success, and even varying depths, lures, and covering a lot of water, however I try, I don't get much.

Anyhow - right around the back of the lake there was a small concrete platform jutting into the water, a left over from gravel extraction days. Spinning off that in shallow water, I got a hit on a 8g bronze Droppen, and after a lively but short tussle, netted a 3lb tench. Yes really. Hooked in the mush too. I've not heard of anyone else doing this, so if you have let me know. Weird.

Didn't get a pike all day though. As I said I'm not and expert at spinning...

Flyspoons...

I'm a big fan of fly spoons, after buying a couple pretty much on a whim in Newbury one day (well they were terrifically shiny and gold). I don't use them very often, but when I have, the results have generally been good. Twice in the Lakes, and an occasion on the Kennet and Avon Canal in 1990 or thereabouts stand out.

I have decided to spin my way from my house to the lock. I had pretty well no luck (spinning as intimated elsewhere, being not my forte), and having got to the lock around lunchtime, decided to cross to the far side and sit of a patch of grass to lunch. The bank was a couple of feet off the water, with a metal buttressed support, as part of the lock cut. To wile away the time fishing, I decided on a whim to put on a gold fly spoon built on a 12 hook, a worm and a couple of AAA shot and drop it in the outlet stream for the lock, which was some 10 yards to my left.

The idea was it would dangle attractively in the current, while I got on with eating and a serious coffee in the sunshine. Not more than 60 seconds later the tip curled over, and after a typical scrap, I landed a perch of about a pound and a half, bristling with indignance ( a good collective noun for Perch maybe. An "indignance of Perch"?).

Anyway, mindful of the "returning perch scaring the rest of the shoal" thing, I got well back from the edge, made my way to the lock gate and popped it back and moving quietly and well back from the bank, tried again. Same results, 2lb this time I'd say, but no scales to prove it. And again and again...I ended up with 6 perch ranging from about a pound to 2 pounds, in as many casts. Then it went quiet.

Then towards the end of the coffee, one final bump, and out came a roach of about 1.5lb. I persisted for another half an hour, with more and less shot to vary the depth, and then spun my way back down the canal. Predictably with no further improvement. Can't complain though...

I did try it again, but it never happened again. Oh well. I do have a collection of fly spoons though, even now.

Another 2lb Roach, 1989ish @ The Dyke

I had, as written elsewhere, developed a jack pike method for the Dyke which was overrun with small pike at that time. Simply I used a 6lb Alasticum wire trace with a single no 8 long-shank fly hook, on which I had re-ground the point and barb to ease hooking, plus 8lb Perlon and a couple of AAA at the most.

Bait was worms, several. The idea was if the water was clear you spotted you pike, cast past, reeled the bait past the nose of the esox, but several feet from it, then struck when you saw the bait taken. If the water was cloudy you touch ledgered, and cast into likely spots.

On this occasion I snuck into a swim with bushes on either side, and in a gap in the weed spotted a jack around 1.5lb facing me only 6 feet off the bank in maybe 3 feet of clear water. I pendulum cast my bait out past it, and wound it back past the pike and let it settle. Nothing happened for a bit, then as the small fins' movement started to signal an impending pounce, a large (and hitherto unseen) roach swam out of the weed, picked up the bait ands headed back, just like that.

After a short but unequal battle a roach was landed that was comfortably over 2lbs, but well short of 3...oh well.

I caught three 2lb roach while jack piking, like this, but this is the one that sticks in my mind as I saw every detail. Great moment (I apologise to serious roach fishers everywhere).

Breaking Up is hard...

I've had the good luck not to be broken up much, which I put down to only slightly obsessive care with knots and line condition (plus not catching many big fish). I'm up to 9 times (twice in 2006, arrgh!). I got broken by a pike in 1989, and 3 times in one evening by wild carp in 1988, which turned out to be a cracked ring guide. Careless. I got snapped up in the River Trent on holiday as well around 1979 - using only 3lb line in, laying on a heavy flow, and having had several roach and bream to a pound or so, struck into a carp or barbel, which caught me with the rod tip pointing towards the line, which broke almost immediately by the hook knot. I was broken up on an evening session on the Norfolk Broads, in 1991 or thereabouts, by a big eel (I suspect). I lost a decent carp in double figures at Pallington (2002), when the top (carp) section of my pole hit a tree branch overhead while in battle curve mode, and it snapped clean, leaving me in an "ongoing losing battle situation". I lost. I've not used a pole where there are carp about since.

Four of those nine were absolutely my fault. I've caught at least that many fish with other peoples' hooks in them. Some of them surprisingly small fish too, but with widespread use of barbless hooks, I havn't seen this for some time. I've seen several floats being towed around as well (2 recently as it happens). We all have accidents but it still makes me uncomfortable when I see that.

2009: It's all gone horribly wrong this year. I've been done over 5 times now. 3 suspect hook knots and 2 Leviathans (OK, I would say that). Once on 14lb line, twice on 12lb, once on 10lb and once on 8lb. Not enjoying the experience I must say. But breaking it down, the 12/14lb are a result of using thick mono on large hook which has a larger wire diameter than the line. This changes the knot properties and a 5 turn uni, good when the line is the same diameter as the hook wire or larger, gets weaker it seems when the hook wire diameter exceeds the line diameter. A double turn knot seems to fix this with flouro, but I've yet to check out the nylon mono knots that work on size 1 and 2 hooks. The 10lb line fish was a big one and the braid broke at the knot after several protracted high strain drags through submerged branches and I suspect it just frayed off. The 8lb was a tench fishing session 2 feet from lilies. I hit a bite and a "sandbag shot from a cannon" careened into the lily-patch and broke me in an instant. I'd say that last two were 'one of those things' and the first three were my fault for not checking the knot thing out.

I would say that my avoidance of tackle under 5lb b/s is a the probably the main reason for this 'good fortune', although some would say I don't catch enough in the way of large fish - although I'm not sure what constitutes 'enough'. I have had a 17lb carp on 3lb line with a pole rig, in the dead of winter though, with the fish sluggish. I wonder if it knew it was hooked to be honest. Odd day that. I have always tended towards heavier tackle than some, probably due to early (lucky) experiences with the pole, and also as a result of the "no line under 6lb b/s" rule at The Dyke, which didn't appear to affect catch rate, as long as the fish was unaware of you.

I also avoid knots - one on the hook is quite enough, and I avoid split shot on mono as well (since about 1985, but I break that rule pole fishing sometimes). I touched on obsessive knot thing - I do actually test knots I use - when starting out with braid traces, I tested half bloods against the tucked variety, and discovered the plain knot did better. I have done some testing on Uni and Palomar knots, and as a result use Uni Knots with 2 turns through the hook eye for all braid now. I stick with the half blood on mono though, but some of the new monos are very slippy, and you need to tighten the knot well down before cutting the tag end, and I always leave 1cm of tag end (which is never on the hook knot anyway) to cover the slip. I will do some more testing though...

Another factor is that the majority of my fishing is carried out with through action rods, not unlike the Avon/Mk IV. While I see the need for tip action rods for soem types of fishing, I don't really enjoy fishing miles away, and if the fish are under the far bank I would rather sneak round (as opposed to casting 75 yards with 2 ounce leads). If you consider it, with a rod of test curve of 2lbs, you have a real job to put a 10lb strain on the line. With the rod absorbing sudden changes in strain, and the mono's stretch (I also avoid pre-stretched mono), you've got to get snagged to get really bust up.

Ask yourself this question: "do I have a better than fair chance of controling the biggest thing I am expecting to catch, before it gets anywhere near a snag?". If the answers is "no", maybe time to re-evaluate the tackle. If you know you have to stop a fish, be prepared. If you cannot be prepared, don't do it.

For me, being broken up is a failure. I hate it and there is no feeling like losing a decent fish, whatever the reason.

Lastly, I believe I'm quite good at playing fish (I would say that though), but there's always a fish and a situation out there that'll beat you. I would sum up my approach as "don't wait until the fish is in the snag to try and stop it". Over to you. Failing that, to paraphrase Isaak, 'you cannot lose what you never had'.

It is worth developing the fishing version of the driving twitch "check gear lever, handbrake". Check line is not aorund the reel handle, looped around the bale arm, got tangled into loop and wound back on the spool, wound around the rod tip etc. Do check the line for rough bits, especially the first 5 yards, it doesn't take more than a minute to run it through your fingers. Test knots quite hard. With braid check knots more often - dump them if any fibres have broken. Check your rod rings are not cracked or worn before putting the line in, by running a fingernail around them (or a bit of soft plastic). Not doing this cost me 3 fish (above), and I recently found a cracked ring before it did the same again.

Catching decent fish is hard enough, might as well remove the risks on the easy stuff!

I have seen three dramatic break offs. Once in Anglesey at Whitehouse Lake, once on the Thames and once when beach fishing with my brother and "Mr. Bert".

August 2009: ...and none of them compare with the recent one on DSW#4. Bummer.

Number 1. My mate with the "bale alarm" and I were fishing on the far shore of Whitehouse, and as usual worm fishing (maggots were for posh kids). It was slower that usual, and depth was experimented with. On a warm still evening in the shadow of the rock on the far side we tried, for something to do, "fishing on the bottom." Novel, I mean that was for proper anglers. My friend had a 9 foot fibre glass rod with a softer action than my 7 foot pool cue (link). In reality, the average broom handle had more flex than that though. The first I knew that anything was on, was the "latchet" clicking, and a very bent rod, and some exhortations. Nothing appeared to happen for a bit, but without any run, the water started to swirl and boil under the tight line, with it's float flat against the knife-edge straight line. Seconds went by, and the water seethed, the float not moving toward or away from the surface. There was a crack. And it was over. We watched speechless for a while, as calm returned to the water. Spines tingled. And then of course we speculated wildly. With hindsight, this was a large eel, who knows how big, but even a 4-5lb one would have proved too much for our tackle. But as we never saw it...well who knows?

Number 2. During a trip to Longridge on the Thames, a slow day had once again prompted some unusual tactics, that some would call "fishing properly". On the down stream side of the road bridge, there is a slight narrowing of the river, and just short of this and just out from under, was a hollow in the bed, with a bar just the other side of it, which was just visible in clear water, and appeared gravelly (is that a real word?). The hollow was 5-6 feet deep and the bar a foot higher maybe. My pool cue was appropriated and with 8lb line through to a basic ledger rig set up with luncheon meat (if I remember correctly). Brother got a bite and hit it, and I got a shout and got to see a short but very violent fight with a large fish. The little blue rod got bent past it's test curve point repeatedly - and that's 2.5lb. There were few long runs, but a lot of dogged pulling with huge power. Eventually and sadly, the line went. I don't expect I felt as bad as my brother but it was close. Whatever it was (best bet a large barbell), it was big.

And Number 3. "Mr. Bert" took me and my brother shore fishing, over near Fawley. "Mr. Bert" was a friend of Gramp, and he had very decently agreed to take us fishing as Gramp was working. I could not find the spot on the map but the oil refinery was not a 100 miles away to our right. The shore was edged with timber to give a good fishing platform, and on this occasion we used our own short rods and beach casting rests, the sort that allow your rod tip to be well up in the air. It worked after a fashion, as long casting was essential. We had all had a few rattles, from small bass probably, and the brother got what was less a bite and more of a steady tightening of the line, which necessitated a quick grab of the rod to keep it out of the water. Something very large swam leisurely up and down for a good bit. There was no control really at the shore end of the line, not for lack of trying. The short 6 foot rod was very very curved, and while breaking it was never likely (solid fibre glass), eventually the line gave up. It just went slack. We were both gutted. Again a big fish. slow speed and great weight are a giveaway.

Stuff that bugs me...

Why does tea put in my thermos flask taste vaguely of coffee and why does coffee in my thermos flask taste vaguely of tea?
Why does all food taste better when eaten outdoors?
I once saw a sign which said: "Psychic Fair, Next Tuesday"...
What do part time signals do for the rest of the time?
Why on earth would you put croutons in salads? You don't put sprouts in breakfast cereal do you?
It's just wrong.
Why do we have post-it notes? We just don't need them. Save a tree, never use a post-it again.
In "Jailbreak", Phil Lynott sings; "Tonight there's gonna be a jail-break, somewhere in this town". Maybe, just maybe AT THE JAIL? Just a guess.
Why are the best swims at a lake so often the ones nearest the car park?
...and another thing. In "Mexican Girl" Lynott sings "She was a Mexican girl, she had Mexican blood. I seen it the night that she died." As if you could tell.
"Bejesus, did ya see the colour o'that blood? She's got to be Mexican I'm tellin' yer."
Oh yeah. And wtf is BOC's "Astronomy" about. Anyone?
Why does my float go under whenever I pour a cup of tea (or coffee)?
Why do toasters all cook one slice on it's own, more that two put in together?
Why is the worst scratch on a CD always on the track where it causes the most annoyance?
aka the 'Louise McKenzie rule of "Rumours", i.e. the scratch is always in the middle of "Songbird"'
Why are there dragons?
Clowns. Not funny, ~~slightly~~ sinister. Why do we have them?
"I see the girls walk by dressed in their summer clothes,
I have to turn my head until my darkness goes."
It might just be me, but these are lyrics which give me serious cause for concern.
I read that Aztec warriors used to drink chocolate before battle and that Espresso coffee was used as an aid to meditation by Italian monks. Now, maybe it's me, but doesn't that seem like the wrong way around?
When you are dreaming and other folk in the dreams are talking, why don't you know what they are going to say next?

Reinforced coffee and tea.

When it's jolly cold a hot flask is well worth the trouble and weight in the bag and I've taken to reinforcing it, nothing drastic, but the hint of the malt alone is warming.

I've found that coffee tastes best when reinforced with something that's been in sherry and/or bourbon barrels for ten years or so, 'Quinta Ruban' and 'The Lasanta' are good (and a bargain in most duty free shops) and Aberlour also good and a silly price for a litre at the moment. Black Earl Grey, seems to work best with something peaty, Islays, Laphroig, Bowmoore or Talisker.

I'm sure there are those purist that think this is sacrilegious use of a good single malt, but I subscribe to the view, that as I own the bottle, I can paint the walls with it if I so wish.

...and I'd point out that I only ever put 40cl in a 1 litre flask (I have a jigger. Stop it). This is somewhere between a single and a double. My reasoning is that a unit of alcohol is one hour into your system and 2 hours out. 40cl even if scoffed all at once is 1.5 hours into and 3 hours out, 4.5 hours which is my normal shortest trip out. And that's not allowing for the evaporation loss of the alcohol itself which must be considerable when dunked in a hot flask and the gradual intake over the day. Legal and safe.

And feeling better as well.

Big boys hot chocolate.

Take two squares of 90% cocoa chocolate and break/cut into about 16 pieces each. Place in a well warmed flask and add about a pint of boiling water.

Put the top on and shake until chocolate is dissolved. Add one coffee pot of freshly brewed coffee.

Top up with more boiling water. Replace cap. Shake well.

Before pouring a cup shake again...it'll keep you warm even in an East wind.

Watch for magpies on your path. Throw salt over your left shoulder. Walk around ladders.

if you will Fish for a Carp, you must put on a very large measure of patience

I am content to wait. I am well used to it.

Stuff that makes me smile...

"Stay with me" by the New Faces. Especially the best rock and roll intro ever.
Any time Remy says "Aw, come on Cher" in 'The Big Easy".
The Blues Brothers... "Shit!" "What?" "Rollers" "No!" "Yep!" Shit". Pretty much the whole film in fact. "I hate Illinois Nazis...", "Car's got a lot of pick up"...
JJ Cales's "Mama Don't.." especially the last verse.
Granny Weatherwax. Just be pleased she's not here right now. As far as you know. No, don't look.
Bruce Willis & Danny Aiello, robbing a museum to "Swinging on a Star".
The original Mancini "The Pink Panther" theme.
Bobby McFerrin - Don't Worry Be Happy, you'd have to be unconscious not to smile at that...
Shaun the Sheep
Old Harry's Game
'Charlotte the Harlot'
'The Banana Split song' by The Dickies. One banana, two banana...
That CPR advert with Vinnie Jones to "Stayin' Alive".

On the End of the Line

It's this simple.

I think any rig designed or intended to be self-hooking is simply not in the spirit of the angling. For that reason, although I tried 'anti-eject rigs' for a short time, I'll not use them again, it's too much like trapping and reeling and barely distinguishable from long-lining. That's fine for food, but it doesn't sit well with me and so I'll have nothing to do with it.

Etiamsi omnes, ego non^*

The boilie thing

I believe angling in general is now driven by solely commercial interests and boilies represent to me the one of the worst aspects of this. For that reason I'll not use them.

The same goes for pellets, any sort.^†

* "Even if all the others I will not". It just sounds better in Latin, so just post me my "Elitism badge". It'll look nice next to the "First Aider" one.

† ...although I also have a problem with the indiscriminate use of fish meal and fish-oils, for which our inshore sea beds are razed barren.

"In order to form an immaculate member of a flock of sheep one must, above all, be a sheep."
Albert Einstein

All information, text and pictures, for this web site is copyright © by the author, (who chooses to identify himself here as "Anotherangler"), unless otherwise specified. It's just possible this site contains information unsuitable for overly sensitive folk with low self-esteem, no sense of humour and/or an irrational belief system. If you like it let me know. If you don't, I'll try not to lie awake at night worrying about it ;-)

Wednesday, 08-Feb-2012 21:38:57 GMT