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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!

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Venues
& topics
Species
Archive
Venues & topics
Species
Archive

Houghton (26)

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

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Arrival time: 09.00.
Weather: Foggy start with no wind and fog lingering until afternoon.
Tackle: 11'6" John Wilson Avon with 1.5oz quiver, Shimano ST2500FB baitrunner, link leger and 6lb line direct to 8 hook.
Baits: Bread flake
Fish: Two chub.

I had checked out the Trout Stream the previous day and was pleased to see the level up and more importantly some colour in the water. This convinced me to return and try for chub. I followed my usual roving style starting about midway along the stretch in a favourite swim.

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Species: Chub

River Great Ouse - Offord (58)

Car Park Pool/Top Stream/Mill Stream
Venue: River Great Ouse |Offord |Top Stream |Mill Stream |Car Park Pool

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

Arrival time: 10:30. (Chatted in the car park for a while)
Weather: Cloudy start but becoming quite warm later.
Tackle: 14ft Shimano match rod, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, stick float, 4.4lb line, 3.8lb Supplex hook length to a 12 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots, sweetcorn, hemp, worms
Fish: Two very small chub and a small perch

Back to Offord after a disappointing session the previous week. This time I decided to try for silvers and started in a swim in the Car Park Pool just below a small weir. I had caught roach there before so thought it might be a good bet. But I struggled to get bites. A couple of quick dips on the float were missed and I only finally caught a very small chub when the float deviated slightly sidewards. After a while I decided to move up to the Top Stream to try for perch. It was only a short move and I settled into a spot where I had had success with perch in the past. It wasn't to be my only move!

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Species: Roach

River Great Ouse - Offord (57)

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

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

Arrival time: 10:30.
Weather: Overcast and occasional drizzle. Breezy but not too cold for October.
Tackle: 11'6" John Wilson Avon with 1.5oz quiver, Shimano ST2500FB baitrunner, link leger and 6lb line direct to 10 hook. .
Baits: Bread flake and worms
Fish: One small roach

I had for some time wanted to return to a swim at the point of what's referred to as the Triangle, a wedge of land between the main river and the lock cutting. It's the confluence of the river and the outflow of the mill stream, creating a crease between the two flows. I had lost a fish there in the past, which was probably a chub, and had landed a chub on another occasion. But on both occasions it was later in the year when there was more flow and less weed. Unfortunately this time the weed proved to be a real problem and I moved a couple of times.

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Species: Roach

Earith (21)

Venue: Earith

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

Arrival time: 09.00
Weather: Bright with light cloud and becoming very warm for early October. Light breeze.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Speedia centrepin, waggler, 8lb line direct to 10 eyed hook.
Baits: Worm, bread flake, flavoured bread paste and Spam.
Fish: A perch and 2 carp.

After a few challenging sessions on the river, the last one involving a lot of walking, I decided to sit and watch a waggler at the small lake I like near Earith. That plan changed when I started to get negative vibes in the first swim. A move offered more hope when there were clear signs of fish feeding near the edge of a lily pad bed, but actually getting a decent bite proved difficult. A perch broke the impending blank after quite a long wait but then two carp made it a day to remember.

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Species: Perch, Carp, Carp 10lb+

Houghton (25)

Back Channel & 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: 09.45
Weather: Light cloud cover and feshening wind. Still very warm for time of year.
Tackle: 11'6" John Wilson Avon with 1.5oz quiver, Shimano ST2500FB baitrunner, link leger and 6lb line direct to 8 hook. Changed to 12 hook during session.
Baits: Bread flake & worms.
Fish: One small roach and a smaller perch.

My third visit to a swim on the back channel having walked the stretch the previous week and seen how it had improved, weed clearance having been carried out. Previous visits had produced only small fish so this time I decided to try for something better, taking bread flake and worms rather than maggots, as was the case previously. Unfortunately the better fish didn't show up. In fact catching anything was a challenge. I later moved on to the Trout Stream.

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Species: Roach, Perch

River Great Ouse - Offord (56)

Mill 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: Overcast and no wind but becoming hot later as the sun broke through.
Tackle: 11'6" John Wilson Avon with 1.5oz quiver, Shimano ST2500FB baitrunner, link leger and 6lb line direct to 8 hook. .
Baits: Bread flake and cheese paste.
Fish: One decent chub

With the rivers still low and sluggish after the summer drought I decided to try the mill stream as it usually has some flow and the club had recently cleared rushes to improve the flow and clear a build up of surface weed. And in fact there was a good flow that seemed to increase a bit during the session, which didn't help bait presentation. It was also gin clear.

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Species: Chub

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