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Diary of an average angler

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!

fisherman
Venues
& topics
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Archive
Venues & topics
Species
Archive

Houghton Meadows

A stroll along the Trout Stream
Venue: Exploring |Houghton |Trout Stream

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

Having regained enough strength in my replacement left hip, I can now 'officially' drive, although it's a bit of a technicality as I have an automatic!
With improving weather, I took a trip to Houghton Meadows and walked along the Trout Stream, returning by way of a back channel of the Ouse. Both looked very inviting!
So I'm not fishing yet, but sometimes just looking is enough.

River Great Ouse - Houghton (10)

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: 09.30
Weather: Cloudy, becoming warm with a freshening wind and sunny intervals.
Tackle: Ryan Burns 'Arrow' 10' split cane rod, Mitchell 300 reel, 1xSSG link leger, 7lb line to 6 eyed hook.
Baits: Cheese paste, cheese & worm.
Fish: Blank.

After a couple of outings to still waters I decided to give a stream another try, following some quite difficult sessions earlier in the season. As there had been quite a lot of recent rain I expected the water level to be up, but in fact it was very low. And I had also hoped that some of the weed growth had died down, as well as the dense bank side vegetation. I was disappointed on both counts, at one point doubting whether I would find a fishable swim.

Read full report

Species: Blank

River Great Ouse - Houghton (9)

Trout Stream - on the fly rod
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: Overcast start but very warm, becoming sunny and extremely hot and humid.
Tackle: 9' 6" #6/7 Sonik sk3 fly rod, Rim Fly DISC 75 fly reel, Airflo 40+ Floating WF7 line, Greys 9' copolymer knotless tapered leader 4lb/0.16mm
Baits: Fly
Fish: One small chub.

I had decided to go for a Saturday walk along the Houghton Trout Stream just to check out how weed congested it was, when I thought, "why not take my fly rod". I fished the stream in June last year and it was almost unfishable in a conventional manner, but I had seen fish rising. I assumed these were probably dace that could perhaps be taken on fly, assuming I could get enough clear access to cast.

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Species: Chub

River Great Ouse - Houghton (8)

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: 08.15
Weather: Bright, sunny and a light breeze, with increasing cloud cover.
Tackle: 9ft Shimano Aero X1 feeder rod with 1oz quiver, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, 5lb line with simple link leger and a 14 eyed hook tied direct.
Baits: Maggot
Fish: Small dace & perch.

I had about half a pint of maggots left over from my trip to the Offord mill stream and decided to go to Houghton for a few hours to use them up. I went to a spot I had fished once before where one of the main channels feeds the head of the trout stream.

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Species: Dace, Perch

River Great Ouse - Houghton (7)

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: circa 10.30 at first swim.
Weather: Bright & warm.
Tackle: 12' Korum Multi-feeder, simple SSG link, 6lb line, 8 hook.
Baits: Bread flake, cheese paste & worm.
Fish: one chub

I seem that I forgot to make a diary entry for this trip at the time, so this is based on memory and the video that I posted on YouTube.

Having had a reasonable successful session at the Chubb Stream the previous week I had hoped to repeat this at the Trout Stream. I had assumed that it wouldn't have been as overgrown as the Chubb Stream but I was wrong. It was in fact more challenging because of the beds of 'cabbages' covering the bottom in many places.

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Species: Chub

Exploring Houghton

A walk along The Trout Stream & Ouse back stream
Venue: Exploring |Houghton |Trout Stream |River Great Ouse

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

A close season stroll along a back stream of the Ouse and the Trout Stream, checking out parts that I hadn't visited before and others that I had. Swims I had fished in the winter were already looking quite different as the vegetation starts to take hold and it's likely that in places access will be quite difficult in the summer. An hour or so well spent.

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