We were going to go float tubing on a hill loch for pike yesterday, but with the forecast not looking to great we had a change of plan. Col was speaking to a very knowledgeable coarse angler who had had a great session on a local venue for Tench during the week, so we thought we would give it a try instead.
Getting to the swim we wanted to fish was no easy task, but after fighting through the thick undergrowth we finally arrived at the hot spot. We set up our rods to float fish the lift method, then started to introduce balls of ground bait to the swim with red maggots for hook bait. Encouragingly there were quite a few Tench rolling on the surface and soon we saw the great sight of fizzing bubbles enter the swim. My float lifted and I was excited to get my first glimpse of a good tench which tore of in the shallow water, great fight and 3lb 8oz, a good start!
a period of inactivity followed before the last fish of the morning, I could see the slightest movement on my float and sensed I was about to get a take, this time the float shot under rather than lifting, another good fish over 3lb's.
The sport dried up completely into the early afternoon with no sign of any tench in the swim, so we decided to go home and come back in the evening in the hope that they would be on the move again. In the evening there was one or two rolling on the surface but nothing like in the morning, Cols float eventually did register a bite but unfortunately not a tench!
This weekend i fancied a change from trout fishing , Brian suggested we try St Abbs harbour just to see what we could pick up . First stop though was mikes tackle shop to see if we could get a few bits of tackle, being new to this LRF game we are steadily building up a bit tackle , and soft baits, and hopefully with that, and time we will attain a better understanding of the methods and techniques used by the seasoned lrf'er.
The sea was fairly flat when we got there before low tide, first i tried a 2g jig head with a peice of tan isome and i managed a wee sea scorpion.
Brian was fishing a dropshot rig and was quickly into fish also a few more sea scorpions and then the first flounder on gulp sandworms, i decided at that point to also change to a dropshot set up as it seemed more productive, well for Brian anyway.
After sport slowed a little then Brian found a hot spot where he started getting more flounder , the best of the day unfortunately got off , whilst handlining it up to the quayside, we had a longhandled landing net but it was a little short .
Brian was doing a bit better than i getting more bites , i was getting a bit worried i was doing something wrong when i hooked up using half a xl red isome.
As the day wore on and the bites dried up we decided to head back home , it had been a great trip . Content with our day, and that we marginally had a better understanding of LRF than when we arrived, cant wait to do it again and with a bit luck ,we will extend our species range using these methods over the coming months.
Ive been a bit lacking enthusiasm of late, so this evening i decided to do something a bit differant or atleast it felt like it, i decided on my old stomping ground , been a good while since i wet a line on this part of the river, and the memories lived up to expectation .
The river was low and the stones ,covered in slimy slippy green algae as we have not had any rain for several weeks now, the air thick with spinners and midge. But in the early part of the evening the nymph ruled supreme , the deeper pocket water and runs producing the best sport, the first fish i hooked got off as it embedded my tippet in a clump of algae , pretty much a lesson from the off, "play them hard"! But after that i got into the groove.
As the evening wore on and more risers became more evident i decided to try a rusty spinner , and i did the trick taking a few more trout before calling it a night at 9:30 pm.
it was greatfishing this stretch again , must do it again befor ethe seasons out , till then i fancy a change of scene , perhaps pike or pehaps a trip to a beach?
Went back up to the highland stream hoping it mightbe a bit more on. Still very slow but i think the main reason for lack of sport had far more to do with the lack of flow, really needs rain as the hatch looked quite promising today.some lovely plants on show including globe flower , a indicator species the sign of fertility in the area.
To the fishing , hard work , tried lots of methods in differant pools to try and get a response , had a good spell late on in then day, taking several trout including this bizarre looking "spotless trout"
You can see by his head some fodder he coughed up a couple of parr and some gadgers (stonefly nymph)
After that in the next pool i saw a rise form at the head of the pool, i decided to cover it with a big klinkhammer , he ignored it for the first few casts , but eventually took it, a good trout , perhaps 3lb , all was going well then the hook came out! och well , cant win them all!