Bob Goes Fishing | Welcome

Please rotate your device

This page is best viewed in Landscape orientation
(or tap anywhere to view in Portrait orientation)

Diary of an average angler

Who favours traditional methods & baits

fisherman

This diary dates back to a holiday in 2003 when I think the urge to get back into fishing took off. From around 2007 the trips became more frequent with 2010/11 probably being the peak of activity.
Things again pick up in 2020 - a sort of rebirth!

QR code

YouTube channel

Venues
& topics
Species
Archive
Venues & topics
Species
Archive

Local drain - Chatteris (2)

Fillenham's Drain
Venue: Local drain

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 10.00
Weather: Bright but with some cloud & drizzle. Much colder than of late.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano match rod, Rapidex II 2400 centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line with 3.8lb Supplex leader and 14 eyed hook.
Baits: Sweetcorn & bread flake
Fish: Blank

Following heavy rain I knew that the rivers would be up so decided to make another trip to the local drain. I had wlaked it the previous day and it certainly appeared more appealing than a river heavy with rain. However, unlike on my previous visit there were no quick bites. In fact there were no bites full stop. I then I learned something even more disappointing.

Read full report

Species: Blank

River Great Ouse - Houghton (19)

Trout Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Houghton |Trout Stream

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 10.00
Weather: Bright day with a light breeze. Temperature rising to 17˚C by early afternoon.
Tackle: 11'6" John Wilson Avon with 1.5oz quiver, Shimano 5000 RE reel, 6lb line direct to 8 eyed hook.
Baits: Cheese paste & Spam
Fish: One small chub

My previous trip to the Trout Stream was a disaster. Weed growth and overgrown banks, along with very low water and negligible flow, presaged a challenging session. And so it turned out. I caught nothing.

The decision to try again was prompted by some long awaited rain in our region, my hope being that even if the weeds and bank side vegetation hadn't declined that much, at least there would be some flow and a bit more depth. And this is what I found, causing me to have at least a hope of a chub, or maybe a couple.

Read full report

Species: Chub

Local drain - Chatteris (1)

Fillenham's Drain
Venue: Local drain

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 13.30
Weather: Overcast with some light drizzle. Still mild for time of year.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano match rod, Rapidex II 2400 centrepin, porcupine quill, 6lb line direct to 16 wire hook.
Baits: Maggots.
Fish: Rudd, roach & perch

While waiting to get the auxiliary battery changed on my car I didn't want to use it any more than necessary. So I decided to check out a small drain that runs along the edge of town. I had spoken to a couple of young lads a while back whom I saw in town carrying fishing rods, asking them where they fished. They said 'The Stink', a local name for the drain. I've never witnessed a 'stink', but that's what they call it. During a previous walk I had seen a spot where there were signs that people had fished, so that's where I headed.

Read full report

Species: Rudd, Roach, Perch

River Great Ouse - Offord (49)

Top Stream & other swims
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord |Mill Stream

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 10.15
Weather: Mainly overcast after a bright start. Gusty wind throughout session.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano match rod, Rapidex II 2400 centrepin, 6lb line, 4lb pre-tied Drennan hook length to 16 wire hook.
Baits: Maggots & worms.
Fish: 4 perch

I decided on another crack at the perch having only discovered a working method at the end of my session a couple of weeks earlier. I opted to float fish using my match rod in view of the depth of water, which was around 10ft. I thought that a float would be the best option, indication wise, but in the event I didn't get a touch and moved swims after a while. Another move followed, neither move proving fruitful, so I went back to where started and, just like on my previous visit, finally hit on a method that tempted a few perch.

Read full report

Species: Perch

River Great Ouse - Offord (48)

Mill Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord |Mill Stream

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 10.00
Weather: Mix of cloud & sunny spells. Chilly breeze freshening during the day.
Tackle: 11'6" John Wilson Avon with 1.5oz quiver, Shimano 5000 RE reel, 6lb line direct to 8 hook.
Baits: Bread flake, cheese paste & worms.
Fish: Two small chub

After a reasonable amount of rain over the preceding weekend I decided to try the Mill Stream for chub. The club had reported the level up about an inch over the summer level. Not a great improvement but at least some water was moving through. The car park was empty when I arrived and there wasn't anybody on the stream. So I had the pick of swims. I made my way about half way along where trees that had made fishing virtually impossible earlier in the season had been cut back, making the swim much more accessible.

Read full report

Species: Chub

River Great Ouse - Offord (47)

Top Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord |Top Stream

You can view the video on this page or open YouTube by clicking the YouTube icon above.

Arrival time: 09.30
Weather: Light cloud cover for most of the day. Not too cold and hardly any wind.
Tackle: 9ft Shimano Aero X1 'Finesse Feeder' rod with 1oz quiver, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, 5lb line direct to 14 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots and worms.
Fish: All perch with just one gudgeon

With autumn beginning to make itself felt through cooler weather and drizzly days, it seemed a good time to target perch. My best perch session was a few years ago on the top stream and that's where I decided to go, hoping for a repeat performance. But I have had such hopes before and they weren't realised. So would it be different this time? Well, for a long time it certainly didn't seem like it.

Read full report

Species: Perch, Gudgeon

Page 1 / 66 Next Page >

© 2025 Robert Bassett

Report bugs to webmaster

Built in RapidWeaver
with Shaking The Habitual's
Source micro framework

Your privacy
Cookies are only used for the correct functioning of this site and to prevent you seeing this message every time you visit.

Read more about third party cookies ☞

Note that links to third party sites can result in cookies being loaded. For example, there are links to YouTube to display the embedded videos from my channel.