Banter and bits!

Evening friends.

One of 7 cracking fish for Mat!

I hate to say it again but....bloody weather! What the heck is going on with our climate? Wet, wet and wet for weeks on end. Then we have a nasty cold spell, then it's mild and almost Spring'ish and now we're back to torrential rain and high winds??? To say the wildlife and plants are confused is an understatement! There's daffs springing up, flowers blooming and trees in blossom??? In January? Nuts!

The fishing has been all over the shop too with some great catches coming from waters that would normally have shut up shop in November. One of my field testers Mathew, had 7 carp including 2 over twenty pounds from a tough Bedfordshire pit in just a short weekend session! One of the other testers 'Shaggy' had a 29lb Grassy and a nice 20lb + mirror as well. Some great angling chaps, well done!

My week has so far been rather quiet....not much bait going out at present as many have decided to call it a day until the weather stabilizes a bit i think. Despite the conditions, myself, Mathew O'neill, Bob Willcockson, Lewis Seaborne and Dougie Hull ventured up to the Sharpness Canal near Gloucester on Sunday. Just for the day, in search of the elusive Zander.

A belting 29lb Grassy for Shaggy! Awesome!

The fishing I have to say was rather tough going and despite us throwing every lure we owned at the fish, we struggled to get so much as a few nibbles and Mathew got bitten off on the Drop shot by a jack.

The only way we could seem to get any interest was by using real baits for the fish, with roach seeming to be the going option! The other problem we had was the amount of boat traffic....our worst nightmare, rowers!!!

Just can't seem to get away from them! And these were almost as bad as the one's on the Wye at Monmouth! 'I know, I'll come as close to you as I can' .....retards! Bob got wiped out more times than any of us I think but one of them almost snapped both of my rods when they came through quickly. There's just no thought involved.

Anyway, I was first off the mark for the day and my roach bait was taken mid channel around 10am. I had a few bleeps on the alarm and went to investigate. The rod tip twitched a few times and I picked it up and waited. The line started to slowly pull from the spool of my reel and I struck into a solid resistance immediately.

A nice little jack for me

The fight was quite fun on my 2lb test curve rods and I have to say much more enjoyable than on my heavy 3.25lb tc rods of usual pike use. After a few minutes Bob netted a nice little colourful Jack for me of about 6 or 7 pounds. A good start to the day. After that it was just bloody hard work and despite 3 or 4 swim moves it wasn't much before 4pm that the next bite came.

Mathew was next in and finally we had target species Zander on the bank! Albeit the fish was about the size of his bait! He didn't care though as it was his first of the species and I have to say it was great to see him with a smile on his chops. Well done bro.

Bob's rod was next to go just a few minutes later and his fish was a little better. Also being a Zander virgin, it was great to see that he was also finally connected to a new fish species for him. He's had a few go's at trying to catch one and racked up a fair few miles in the process too. At about 3 and a half pounds it was a bit better. Well done matey! Great to see a couple of the target fish come out. That was unfortunately it for the day though and despite staying well into darkness, nothing else occurred.

Well done to the brumder! First ever Zed!

Lewis, Mat and I headed back to the van and by the time we got there we were all worn out...too much tackle taken as usual! We loaded up and stood next to Mathews van to chat for a moment or two. Mathew pulled out a new 2ltr bottle of spring water and went to put it up to his mouth. Being the good friend that I am, I felt he looked rather warm and needed cooling down a little...this caused a sudden urge in my arms to run forward and squeeze the bottle with some vigorous intent!

This caused about two thirds of the bottle of water to race out at breakneck pace covering his face! Mat in turn panicked and turned to face Lewis and in turn sprayed water all over Lewis from the waist down!

I made a run for it as I knew what was coming next, Mathew came over for round two, which of course ended up all over my chops! The three of us were soaked through to the skin but laughing so hard that we were almost crying! We must have looked totally nuts to any onlookers but who cares, we had great fun and all enjoyed themselves hugely! That's what it's all about though in my opinion....I know that the banter side isn't everyone's cup of tea but the day was kept alive with jokes, laughter and smiles. I hope my friends and I have many more days like this to treasure.

Well done Bob! First ever Zed for him too!

I've been a tad naughty this week and ordered myself a new seat box! I've needed one for some time now and in fact avoided going pole fishing due to the fact that my 2 current one's are at a point where they are a little tired and in all honesty I feel ashamed to take them with me as they're getting on a bit. I felt I needed a new fancy one, so I ordered a new Maver S4 Z-frame one in mango colour! Very techno! Can't wait for it to arrive now so I can get out and use it!

This coming year should be fantastic as I have lots of new waters to try and a ton of new challenges too. I'm going to try and not only beat my Crucian PB, but see if I can't get somewhere near to the British Record if possible. I have a water in mind and a few different ideas on how to approach it. I also want to get myself a new PB barbel from the Kennet and I'm going to do a bit more carping this year too. It involves the inevitable driving a bit further but with the lack of quality fishing in South Wales, that's nothing new!

Right, that's it for this week....off to fill out my tax return! My favourite bloody job! NOT!

See you all soon.
Tight lines
K x

GRAYLING!!!!!!!!!!!!

The beautiful River Test

Hi all....

What a sudden change in our weather pattern again! All of a sudden we've gone from hearing all about the poor souls who've lost everything in the last few weeks to floods all over the country, to now hearing that temperatures have been down to -10C and heavy snow in areas!

What a change! The weather here in the valleys of South Wales has been reasonable in comparison and for a change we've been far less affected by the weather than usual. Albeit we've had a couple of very hard frosts this week so far.

Fishing this year so far has been between little and no trips out and last Sunday was in fact only my second day out of the New Year so far! With the cold snap in tow it looked like we may struggle on our trip down south but all went according to plan, as I will discuss in a moment. Before I start with my fishing antics though, I'd like to take just a few lines up about the current issue with my local club which is now becoming a bit of a long standing joke between myself and my friends.

A wonderful start to proceedings!

It appears that the clubs committee pay attention to what's written on this blog with a fine toothed comb. This in itself is a miracle as the majority of them are anti-internet types. So i'm amazed they evening knew about these pages I write. It also appears that they find it very difficult to allow someone to have an opinion that doesn't match that of their little group. Since writing my last post, in which I published my feelings on the clubs demolition of a picturesque water.

I have received a letter from the club committee asking me to hand back my club key and permit and that I was now banned from the club for a life term!!!! The letter was worded very critically of my writings and went so much as to call me ignorant and that I had a personal vendetta against them. They also expressed that the club welcomes criticism despite the letter saying otherwise.

I would suggest to those involved that you should really have a think about what you've written in said letter as it not only very contradictory but also doesn't really give any reasons for giving me a life ban? Other than that I have criticized the running of the club and it's committee! Doesn't really feel that the crime fits the punishment....I have furthermore never received any warnings from the club asking me to not write about my feelings on club matters.

Unlike the behavior of 2 club committee members that feel it's okay to threaten paid up members with violence...Needless to say that this has been swept under the carpet and no further action taken!   I have also been informed by another club member of a recent incident in a local tackle shop, where by the Membership Secretary was spouting endless obscenities in front of customers, including ladies, about the clubs members! I cannot honestly believe that this is all allowed to go on....It really does show these particular persons up in a new light! Absolutely disgusting and they should be the one's with a life time ban!I have emailed the Club Secretary but as yet received any form of reply. I will also not be surrendering my licence until I receive a written reply with good reasons for the ban and also a full written apology from the two committee members that threatened me with acts of violence. I wait with baited breath!

Anyway, on to much more interesting and important stuff like fishing!!!!!! I have been lucky enough to be invited into a small group of like minded chaps who run a tidy group called SHUK. The Specimen Hunters UK. They're a very tight nit group of like minded fellas that just love fishing, great banter and generally having a good time on the bank side. The group is some 30 strong maximum and I already knew a few of the members from previous meet ups. The facebook group is just a riot at the best of times so I knew exactly what to expect at a social,

Last Sunday was set in the diary for a day out social on the wonderful River Test, Timsbury Fishery in Hampshire. I set the alarm clock for 4.20am and the wife and kids made the journey with me down to Salisbury first to drop them off at the mother in laws for the day while i fished. I eventually got to the river at 7.50am. The chaps all started to roll n about the same time and we had a brief quarter of an hour chin wag in the car park. The weather was cloudy, slightly chilly but at least not raining! Yet!

Nice perch too.

We all walked off towards the river and got tackled up for the day ahead. There were a few faces I recognized and some I didn't but all were extremely welcoming and I was really made to feel like one of the team! There was a good mixture of age groups from 30 upwards to about 70 and most were around my age 40-45.

This meant we were all of similar likes in most aspects and there was plenty to talk about whether fishing related or not. Some of the guys made a swim up for the day and others like myself went off roving. I took a couple of rods with me armed with center pins and a small fixed spool set up to a ledger rod.

I started the day just up from Baz Fisher who was having a dabble for a pike and his dad joined him in search of a grayling. I found a nice spot at the back of a corner. The current just changed slightly as it swept around the left hand bend. I started to introduce a few maggots by hand and after about 10 minutes I started to run a 10 x 4 wire stem stick float through the swim at around 3 ft depth. It wasn't too long before the action started. I started to get bite but mainly when I introduced less loose feed. My first grayling was about an inch long! The second about 3 inches. I was hoping for something a little bit bigger when the float pulled under and sped off down stream! The fight in the strong current on a 13ft float rod was amazing! Especially as I had fined right down to a size 20 hook and 2lb 12oz hook length!

The fish eventually found the net and I was the proud captor of my first 'proper' Test grayling of a pound. They then started to come like buses and after about an hour I had taken 9 grayling and 3 large brown trout to just under 4lbs! The trout were great fun but signaled an end to the grayling sport in my swim. Time for a move down stream. I tried numerous little hot spots on my way down. Eventually ending up near the tail end of the fishery where I found a stunning run under an overhanging tree.

A wonderful end to the day! Great fishing at Timsbury on the Test

First run through resulted in a cracking grayling around 1lb 8oz. Then I had another around 1lb. The fish seemed to be held up under the tree and for the next 40 minutes I made the most of the action and bagged about 10 more fish. I felt I needed a change of fish so I then headed for a sarny, coffee and a walk over to one of the carrier streams behind the main river.

I dropped a small 1/8oz lead into a spot behind a bridge with a size 10 hook and a small lobworm impaled on it. It didn't take long before the tip wrenched around and I was hooked into a nice pound perch! 5 more followed but all in a much smaller guise! I swapped over to the float and ran that through a few more likely spots on the carrier for 2 small roach and a minnow.

Lure boxes all ready to fly into action on Sunday!

Eventually I went back over to the main river and after doing battle with a bonkers brown trout in the carrier weir pool, I got back to the grayling fishing. I bagged another 12 before the light took away our fishing for the day. I ended up on 31 grayling for the day and to say I was well happy with the results was an understatement! Great fishing, great venue, great company! Thanks for arranging it Mike Lyddon! Top bloke....I look forward to next years event!

I've spent this week dusting off my spinning and drop shotting gear, as we have a lads day out planned for Sunday on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. We've got Pike, Perch and Zander in our eyes and hopefully between the group of us, someone may catch something????The banter will be worth going for if nothing else!

Tight lines all and stay well
x

Welcome 2016!

Happy New Year everyone!

Happy New Year everyone!!!!

I hope your all recovering from a great week or so of festivities? It was a very quiet affair in my house hold....Just the way we like it. Turkey roast late afternoon, with wine and all the family sat around the table laughing and merry. The kids are what it's all about in our house and they had a wonderful day.

I on the other hand lasted just a few hours before passing out as I usually do!
The wife worked the majority of the build up to crimbo, so we were all a bit tired out from strange hours etc. I cannot thank her enough for all her hard work and what she does for our family...the woman is a trooper. A one of a kind lady that we are so lucky to be blessed with.

What it's all about....time with my awesome family! Love you guys so much xxxx

It appears that my 'friends' in the fishing club have been busy again trying to upset the applecart. They got some spotty little crater faced mong to write a horrible message to my wife just before Christmas.....Well, I won't go into details but needless to say it was a message full of inaccuracies and totally made up lies. Almost laughable to be honest....we know who you are and those involved. The names of those have been forwarded to the police and all I would say to you is get a grip you childish saddos.

A lovely end to 2015!

Anyway, enough of that crap...life's too short to be worried about 'Dicks' and their friends. My last chance of wetting a line this year was a little delayed due to the inclement very wet weather.

I had hoped to get out on either the Severn or Wye but the huge influx of rainfall scuppered that idea and I was forced onto one of my local bolt hole club waters.

I arrived early hours of New Years eve and got set up in a windy rain storm. I put a Fireball pop up out over a small bed of hemp and corn and the other rod had a small coverage of Euphasia boilies put over it.

This was first to go and a cracking common of 15lb 5oz found the net. In great condition too! The fish put up a really good scrap too. It was absolutely hauling it down outside and I sat under the flap of the bivvy door whilst playing the fish in my jumper! I tried to stay dry but it was apparent that I was going to have to get wet at some point in the fight! And so I did!

Lewis and Craig joined me about an hour later and as the day progressed so did the weather! The conditions slowly got worse and the wind became gale force at times. The lads managed a couple of bream, tench and a small mirror carp before succumbing to the horrid conditions.

I sat it out for the night then and had the lake to myself for New Years celebrations....It's the first time I've seen the New Year in on the bankside and it was rather interesting to say the least!

The fireworks were absolutely deafening as the bangs echoed through the forest and bounced back to make a sound that would have made a great soundtrack to the end of the world!

I managed to bag 3 carp and a bream before midnight and then around 2am I had my first fish of 2016 in the form of a nice low double common.

All the fish were in fantastic condition and despite the horrific weather I really enjoyed another nice little session. I hope your all well and that 2016 is a great year for you all.


Lots of love
Keith
x

2015 Review

Hi all....

My biggest highlight of 2015! Well done Natasha x

Just a short and sweet one for this week as it's neigh on Crimbo. I thought i'd piece together a few words and some nice pics featuring my favourite highlights of the year 2015 and what I honestly feel has been the best river season of my whole angling career. In fact i'd go as far as to say my best year ever in angling!

This year has seen many new developments for myself within angling. Parting company with Ian last year and saying goodbye to C.B.S was a little bit of a kick in the bollocks, but in all honesty it's been by far the best move I've made. Now I am free to run my business as I see fit and it's gone from strength to strength without the huge investment I feared it would need.

She did it again! 10lb 12oz PB

I started the guiding service up and that has taken off really well this year with almost every angler catching a new PB, most over double figures! A great example of what's available to those booking up a days guided with myself.

Dave Brooks with a stunner

I've met some wonderful guys and girls and some lifelong friends along the way this year and I've also found out who some of the rogues and back stabbers are too. Unfortunate but there's always one or two amongst the groups of people involved in our hobbies. Each has an agenda of some kind and I always seem to find them out at some point along the way.

Among the highlights of this year the most memorable had to be when Natasha grabbed runner up spot in the Dave Mason Trophy for the best barbel capture of the year at the 20th Barbel Society Conference.

The kid was a total star for the day and it's something that will stay with both her and myself till the day I die. Watching my little girl up on that stage was one of the greatest moments in my life and I think she'd agree that she was very excited too.

Mat with his first ever double

The obvious outcome of the show was that she then wanted to go out and beat the PB barbel of 10lb 4oz and a few weeks later she did just that with another corking fish of 10lb 12oz! The girl's an unstoppable fish magnet!

I guided a couple of right old characters this year and I enjoyed the company of every single one. Dave Brooks caught his first ever barbel whilst out with me and caught no less than 2 over 10lbs in one short evening! Incredible.....His lovely partner Emma Dyer fished on a very tough evening and had her first ever barbel which went exactly 10lbs.

Dan Jones caught his first ever barbel after numerous blank guided trips out with others. He managed 3 on his first session out with me. Andy and Lewis both had doubles and so did Chris Tupper! He'd had 6 fish all season and managed to catch 7 in an evening with me including a new PB and first ever double! Gary Brooks had a double and a couple more to boot.

Another proud daddy moment for me...Thomas with his first ever double at 10lb 5oz

The Brumder Mathew Oneill has had an excellent season fishing with me and he's caught 30 plus barbel in just 10 trips out. Hes had numerous cracking fish including his first ever double on June 16th of all days too!

Lewis had his first ever barbel and a double as well!

Ian Oxley has been out with me a few times and is slowly wading his way through the coarse fish species list...He caught numerous barbel on his first ever session fishing for them and took a cracking one of over 11lbs!

To top the guided trips off my lad Thomas managed to bag his first ever double too at 10lb 5oz. And finally my beloved wife Marianne even had her first ever barbel at over 8lbs as well....What a year it has been for friends, relatives and clients on the barbel front!

My personal year has been just incredible....It's the first time I have pretty much set my stall out all season for just barbel and I have fished 7 different rivers this year for barbel and caught from 4 of them.

The wife with her first ever Barbel!

I have amassed no less than exactly 120 barbel captures and featured 16 doubles in that haul. I've had a double from The Wye, The Severn and The Kennet this year and realized a life long ambition in catching my first Kennet barbel and of course at over 11lb too!

I have so so enjoyed my club stretch of the Wye this year as the fish have been relatively easy to locate and as easy to catch. They've fed well all year up until the floods arrived. The Severn at Pixham has also been extremely kind to me and also incredible enjoyable too.

Despite the bastard of a walk with all my kit across the field to my favourite swim, it has supplied my need for rod bending action on every single trip up there to date.

Dan Jones first ever Barbel

The Kennet is a totally different river to all the above and with it's beautiful overhanging trees, meandering path, shallows, deep holes, tight bends and stunning scenery. It has me hooked in a way I didn't think was possible. I just can't wait to get back there to wet my lines in search of something really special....roll on 2016!

The carping this year has been poor on many fronts and that's probably down to my complete and almost non-existent interest in it at present. The club waters have provided very little interest to me with anything of any size already seeing my net....

This included the capture of the Treoes Grass carp which I had at 22lb 4oz one week and Natasha had it the next! Another amazing moment for the pair of us.....Apart from that fish I haven't seen much else on the carp front all year. If i'm truthful, I've not really missed it either.

Natasha with the big grassy!

I had planned to do a bit more Perching and Piking this winter but as yet it still feels far too mild out for me to want to get out chasing predators. I know the season for them is here and there's nothing wrong in going for them at any point after 1st October but I just can't get excited about them this year.

I'm still so very focused on the Barbel. This year I have had yet more written work published in magazines including the wonderful Barbel Fisher. It's been a true pleasure to write for the magazine and it's always put together beautifully.

Bob, a true friend and great angler.

I must at this point thank all those that have put their faith in me this year and booked days out. I must also say a huge thanks to those of you that have gone out of your way to help myself out too. You know who you are.....There's three particular blokes who stand out from the crown though. First up I must mention my awesome mate Bob.

Bob and I have spent many sessions fishing together this year and I must admit despite the abuse he gives me I've grown rather fond of the old git! He's spent many hours guiding me along the banks of his rivers and lakes and I've done the same on my waters. Our friendship has blossomed and I look forward to spending many more sessions with him next year.

Next up I must mention my best pal on the planet. Stuey....Stu and I have been mates for 30 years nearly now and we have both celebrated our 40th this year. Neither of us were greatly enamored with turning middle aged but we go on with it and went fishing. As ever we enjoyed the trip thoroughly and I always hate saying goodbye to him when I have to leave. I hope one day we'll be able to retire nearer to each other and see out our final years on the bankside.

My best friend Stuart...x

Finally I must mention a new friend of mine that has become a rather big asset. Lewis and I have only known each other for about 12 months or so but he's been a great friend, supporter and he's just finished building the new Nuts website for me. And what a wonderful job the fella has done too! Outstanding work that I could never have done myself. To top it off he's also a rather likeable bloke too! I find myself drawn to his company and I look forward to many more good angling and banter sessions with him the coming year! Thanks for your hard work buddy! x

I plan to try a lot of new waters in 2016...this will be split into 3 river formats. The Wye will continue to be high on the agenda but I will be getting 2 new tickets to provide my angling with some variety. Then the Severn which I will remain fishing at Pixham. My other venue with probably the highest priority will be that of The Kennet. I have penciled in as much time as I can muster up to fish this stunning river and I am adamant that I can beat my PB from the little venue.

Far from the biggest this season but almost certainly the most treasured. 11lb 4oz from the Kennet!

Well, that really is it for me for now so have a wonderful Crimbo and New Year...Remember to stay safe if your going out as the bank sides are very wet and slippery at present.

Love to you all

Keith x

canals and waste lands

Bikes along the tow path of the canal.

Hi guys.

Well, it's nearly that time of year again where everyone stops working for a few days, gets unceremoniously drunk and eats far too much turkey and mince pies! I for one am just looking forward to a new year and more fishing adventures! Don't get me wrong Christmas is great for the kids and nothing gives me more pleasure than seeing their eyes light up when they open their presents up on the big day. The wife and I have never personally bothered with Christmas ourselves and we usually just buy ourselves that something we need or want near the time. This year has been no different and I grabbed the chance of a couple of quick bargains on eBay last week. I purchased a pair of beautiful Fox Bob James BJ5 Centerpins. They were reduced down to £80 each from over £360! Supplied in a box with certificate signed etc etc. I know, I know....I've already get 4 pins so why did I need 2 more? God only knows but they're rather nice! Can't wait to get out there and use them now....that's if the bloody excessive flood water ever abates!

Talking of which, it's been a terrible time up in Cumbria hasn't it? Crikey, those poor people have had it really tough this last few weeks. I'm not only sure what the answer is in protecting these places prone to flooding really? I mean, yes you can stick a 20 foot high wall around the areas most likely affected but that's not only unsightly but also a huge expense. Even then the water has to go somewhere and it will still end up down stream in some other poor buggers house. I think the only sensible thing to do is to not build in the many flood plains that could have future housing developments put on them and possible canal/drainage systems dug to relieve the flow when it becomes problematic. I know these concrete ditches are unsightly, costly and lets face it always going to cause an issue for someone...but what's better? The drain-away ditches or high walls or worse still continually flooded homes and businesses. In the meantime lets hope the waters abate a bit and life can once again start to get back to some level of normality for those affected.

The weather in the Welsh Valleys has been foul for some time now with wet and windy conditions ruling the roost. It has however stayed exceptionally mild for December and a few nights back when I went out side at midnight to let the dog have his evening pee it was a very pleasurable 13C! I don't think I've ever known it so mild on a December night in 40 years???

One of the two nice chub i had before i had to call it a day due to flu.

Needless to say that I thought I would grab a last chance and head off back over the bridge and try a new venue for a river carp. I ventured off to Newbury and to one of the venues that is fast becoming a favourite of mine. The River Kennet. I purchased a late season ticket for a small club section of the River/Canal section near to Thatcham and met my good mate Bob down there for a guided walk along the bank. The venue looked top notch. The water was rather clear and still very low for the time of year....total comparison to that of other areas of the country! I chose a lovely spot with a couple of over hanging bushes opposite me and proceeded to bait 2 spots up with a bit of hemp, flavoured corn, mixed pellets and a few broken boilies.

Stunning and untouched

Bob left me to it and headed off to work and I sat back to await results with a hot dinner and a nice coffee. My little girl Natasha has been off with the Flu this last few days and I was hoping I wouldn't catch it as the wife and boy had also got it! Come 5pm that evening I was starting to feel the cold and wrapped myself up in my cosy bedchair. The rods were very quiet until around 11pm that night and the right hand rod broke the silence with a slow take. The fish was well hooked and spiritedly scrapped under the rod tip for a few minutes before succumbing to tiredness. A nice chub of 5lb 4oz. I took a picture and sent her back. I recast and the same rod was away again at 2am. This time it wasn't so much fun as it was absolutely chucking it down.

I played the fish out and netted another fine chub. I weighed her under the front of the brolly and at 6lb 1oz it was one of the best I've had this season. I made the decision to put her straight back and about a minute later I felt rather gutted I hadn't bothered to take a picture as it was a lovely fish. Nevermind....I thought to be honest that there would be more to follow but that was it for the session and as the next day unfolded, so did a nasty dose of the flu! I haven't felt so unwell in ages. As i write this 3 days after, i'm still feeling very rough. I hope it's in  the final stages now as I really need to get on with stuff.

Laid to waste......

Anyway, while I was away I watched with intent a thread on my local clubs Facebook page. It was originally posted by a chap who had been removed by the clubs head bailiff from a club lake almost an hour earlier than he needed to be off the water. The poor chap was forced to leave the venue and pack up during about the best part of the day despite the rules stating he was welcome to stay until an hour after sunset. The thread developed into nothing less than a war zone and i'm normally first to not get involved in someone else's argument especially on a computer...but i felt this guy had really been hard done by. What made it worse was the head bailiff was very rude to the guy. I had my ten pence worth in return and all hell broke loose on there.

One thing led to another and I then receive a threat from said bailiff via a text message! I posted this on the club page and it turned out he felt that it was ok to threaten club members with violence. I've since pulled myself away from the club site and I also won't be rejoining next year as they clearly have issues. To top things off I received pictures of their fishery management skills that week and to say they had obliterated one of the clubs prettiest fisheries was an understatement.... A stunning venue set in the rolling hills with amazing countryside had had nothing less than a nuclear bomb dropped on it....Not just a quick back and sides on the bank but a total flattening of every last plant and tree on the site. It now looks like every other commercial crap hole that they have laid waste to over the last few years....such a dam shame to see such a pretty untouched venue laid to waste yet again. I'm honestly lost for words as to why the club feels it needs to do this to all its venues?

Right, that's enough from me. I'm off for some more hot honey and lemon and back to bed to sweat this god awful flu off!

Tight lines all and please have a wonderful Christmas and New Year!

All the best
Keith
xxxx

1 for the week

Top bloke Lewis, great friend, web designer and even catches a few fish too!

Evening everyone....

I've been a bit quiet for the past few weeks due to time constraints of work and family and not only that the levels of rain coming down has pretty much stuffed up my chances of getting out on the river.

The levels of both my favourite venues have been sky high for the best part of 2 to 3 weeks now and still rising! Such a pain as I really did want to get back up the Severn and see if I could grab another 1 or 2 barbel before the end of the year.

Not looking likely at present but if things do improve just slightly this weekend then I may actually risk the drive up and give it a bash. On the angling front I did venture out for a very windswept and wet few hours with Lewis and Natasha to a local club lake.

Tash managed to rescue the day with a couple of nice carp to almost double figures.

We decided to go after the carp in the margins and to be honest it was some of the hardest fishing I've known down there for some time. Lewis managed a nice fish around 8 to 9 lbs and Natasha had a couple up to 10lbs. The best fish of the day was lost to a hook pull at last knockings....bit annoying but I think it was probably foul hooked anyway.

The Severn is well up and almost over the fields....

My next and only other trip out was a fortnight ago to another club water. It's a nice little weedy pool that I tend to just concentrate on in the Spring time as it has a habit of becoming a stagnant, dead end pool through the colder months.


This time round was rather harder than I expected and despite one repeat capture fish early on, I had hardly another twitch in 48 hours. I managed a couple of the old slimy bream but that was it. The carp I did catch was a rather pretty low double mirror that I had caught on one occasion before.



The fish fell for a pair of tigernuts soaked in Cola and Molasses for over 2 years. I had put in around 30 or so of them in the localized area and decided to fish mid way across the pool to the side of a fallen trees roots and some pads.

Small but extremely pretty.......at last a fish for me!

The depth drops away to over 10 feet but I decided to fish it in about 4 feet as I felt that the mid water section would more than likely chuck up a fish rather than in the much deeper water. The session passed by with nothing really happening after the carp and I think the weather had a lot to do with it. There is a mining area behind the site and in my opinion there is a lot of minerals present in the localized land.


When it rains the water in the pool turns a very heavy grey colour and life just seems to disappear in the pool. I think that it's very likely that there is a high level of lime in the ground which would also explain the lack of life in the venue and why the fish seem to struggle to maintain any decent weight.

Anyway, not a lot else to talk about on the fishing front at present or certainly until the rivers drop a tadd. I may if I can get up the Severn next week if it drops at all but I'll have to play that one by ear and see how it goes.

This week I have the exciting job of seeing the new Nuts about Carp website going live too. The work on the site is all down to the hard graft of my good mate Lewis who has put in a lot of hours to insure it's as good as it could possibly be! Can't wait to see it live and working!


Tight lines guys and I hope the end of 2015 is good to you all

Keith
x

Still at it!

More fun on the Taff!

Good day to all of you!

What wonderful weather it's been yet again this last few days! I cannot honestly remember a November so mild as it's been? Lets hope it continues a bit longer....I took a chap and his son out for a days guiding up in Hereford on the Wye just over a week ago and the conditions were spot on for what looked like a pretty darn good day.

Well, it was great for teaching and the lads seemed to enjoy picking up a few useful tips but i'm sorry to say that was the extent of the day apart from one small chub right at last knockings. A very disappointing day on the fish front, but hey, that's fishing....

I did a few hours grayling fishing again on the Taff with Mathew last Sunday and after catching around 20 each we decided to head off to our local club lake to try for a perch or two. Things were tough there and I managed just one fish of about a pound and followed the perch up with two carp of 11lbs and just under 18lb! All on the float and centerpin as well!

My next chance to get out was on the Wednesday and after driving down to Dorset, I met up with Stuart for a day on the Lower Stour at Throop Fisheries. We decided to spend the day doing a mixture of different techniques trying to catch as many species as possible. We tried float, lead, worm, drop shot, feeder etc etc.

Bit of carp action....

We had a great selection of fish ranging from Stu having a lovely 2lb perch, myself a chub of nearly 5lbs and most memorably a 6lb 15oz pike on a 6ft 6inch drop shot rod! What a scrap that was! We managed about 6 different species in the end. A great day out with my best friend.....

On the Friday I grabbed a couple of hours on the waggler float sat in the harbour in Warham. The water was up due to overnight rain and also due to a super high tide. The current was a little strong and very coloured up. Needless to say I struggled to get a bite but it was a very nice place to spend some time. I may well make a B-line for the place at some point next season in the warmer months, as I know there are some very big roach present.

The weekend was a bit of a blur as it was my 40th birthday and everything that could have gone wrong, did. I won't bore you with the specifics but needless to say it's one I don't wish to remember in a hurry.

Well done Connor!

Monday saw me venture back up to the Lower River Severn at Pixham and another 2 nights of expected excitement. I chose the same swim I had fished a few weeks back on the 'Flats' and set up my brolly and got comfy. I decided to hit the swim with around 25 x 4oz droppers full of hemp, mixed pellets and coloured maggots. I slung them around an area of about 15 yards round and set about getting the rods tooled up.

Rigs were the usual running lead set up with a 5oz grippa lead and 8" Fox Cortex hooklink to size 8 hook. I teamed this up with a small stringer of River Monster boilies and one of the same on the hook. My first take came around 3.30pm and despite giving the fish a bit of stick, it made a nearside snag and did me good and proper!

Very frustrating but it didn't feel like a big fish thankfully. All the kit came back and just the hook point had flipped over. My next chance came in the form of a slimy old bream of about 4lbs and another of 6lb 8oz.

Species hunt with Stuey!

The first barbel came around 7.30pm and after a good old fashioned scrap I banked a nice little 7 pounder. Great start to proceedings and relieved a bit of the pressure I was feeling. After an hour it kicked off again and a lovely 9lb 7oz fish found the net. I had a chat with a couple of mates on the mobile and tried to settle down for the night. That was never going to happen though and around 3am I was 5 bream the better and another 2 9 pound plus barbel too.

I managed a quiet spell up until 8am until I was awoken rudely by a belting take on the right hand rod. I flew out of bed and noticed a chap sat just up stream of my doing some painting. I played the fish out and weighed her at 7lb 3oz. The guy looked very pleased to see one banked in front of him. I however needed a bit more sleep....I managed a few hours sleep before Bob turned up to fish the afternoon/evening for the Pike and Zander.

Picture perfect from Pixham! 9 fish found the net in just 45 hours fishing......Wonderful!

We chatted lots and it was great to see my good pal in fine fettle. Lots of banter flowed but the fishing was no less than crap! Despite his hardest of efforts and skills....nothing took any of his dead baits. I managed to get into a very nice Barbel of 10lb 6oz while Bob was still with me, which was great as he was able to do some nice pictures for me....I then let him into a couple of bream on my rods to stop it from being a blank day for him. Bob left around 10pm and by 11.30pm I had another on the bank of just over 8lbs.

A chub was next up at around 1am and then all went quiet until the early hours where I banked a couple more fish including yet another fine double of 10lb 2oz. This thing was as fat as a pregnant donkey! You could honestly have put a saddle on it and rode the thing! Proper old chunk of fish....I got some great close ups and put her back. Things then died off and I eventually managed to get a bit of sleep.

You could have put a saddle on her!

I awoke around 8.30am and noticed the chap was back to finish off his painting works. As I was starting to pack away my kit he came over for a chat. What a lovely fella he was too. Very friendly and thoroughly enjoyable to talk to. Turns out he does a lot of drawings and paintings of the Rivers. He'd been after a shot of the Severn at Pixham with an angler in shot for ages and not found anyone present on arrival. Well, to say seeing me there was pleasing was obviously true as he'd included my set up in his gorgeous charcoal and second pencil drawing that was sitting on his stand. Beautiful works of art.

Well that's it from me i'm afraid....not overly sure when i will next venture out as the car has its dreaded MOT tomorrow then the wife is away for almost a week working. That's going to limit my bankside time worse luck.

Tight lines all
Keith x