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

River Great Ouse - Offord (31)

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

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

Arrival time: 10.30
Weather: Bright with increasing cloud and freshening wind.
Tackle: 9ft Shimano Aero X1 feeder rod with 1oz quiver, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel, maggot feeder, 5lb line direct to 14 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggot & worm.
Fish: One perch and one ruffe.

With my left hip limiting my walking range I decided to go to the Top Stream at Offord which is only about a five minute walk from the car park. This choice was also influenced by the fact that the water level had been high following heavy rain and the Top Stream offered perhaps the least affected stretch, although in fact the main river had returned to normal levels. I stopped off at the tackle shop for maggots and worms, thus delaying my arrival.

Read full report

Species: Perch, Ruffe

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

Fields End (117)

On the waggler
Venue: Fields End

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

Arrival time: 09.20
Weather: Fresh start, warming up later with sun and light cloud. NW breeze.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line. Started with 12 hook, later changing to 14 and then to 10.
Baits: Sweetcorn, bread flake and luncheon meat with hemp loose feed.
Fish: Mostly rudd with a couple of roach and one perch.

After the Clay Pit last week I fancied another session on a stillwater. I had struggled on the streams this season, finding them more heavily weeded than normal, and had also been avoiding venues requiring too much walking because of problems with my hip. So I set off to Fields End Waters which is very local. I was, however, a bit worried as to how busy it would be given the Indian summer we're enjoying, and sure enough it was literally full when I left at around 3.00pm.

Read full report

Species: Rudd, Roach, Perch

The Clay Pit (16)

Side pond
Venue: The Clay Pit

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

Arrival time: 10.15
Weather: Very hot during a late summer heatwave, reaching 27⁰C by the time I left.
Tackle: Hardy 11' 6" Marksman Specimen Avon, Allcocks 4" centrepin, preloaded waggler, 6lb line direct to 12 eyed hook.
Baits: Sweetcorn & cheese paste.
Fish: 5 Tench (one very small) and a small crucian.

For various reasons I hadn't been out for over two weeks and when the opportunity arose we were in the middle of a late summer heatwave. I really didn't fancy too much walking as would be the case on a stream or river, so I decided to go to a local pit where in the past I had been almost guaranteed some fish.

Read full report

Species: Tench, Crucian

River Nene - Backwaters (8)

Castor
Venue: River Nene |Nene backwaters

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

Arrival time: 10.00
Weather: Sunny and becoming very warm by midday.
Tackle: 12' Korum Multi-feeder, 1xSSG sliding link, 6lb line to 6 eyed hook.
Baits: Cheese paste & cheese.
Fish: One chub.

My second trip to a Nene backwater this season, this time to Castor. I was surprised to be the only car in the lane and when I got on the stretch there were only two anglers. The last time I was there it was much busier. I was also fortunate that the two guys appeared to be 'static', which meant that in all likelihood nobody had dipped into any of the other swims.

Read full report

Species: Chub

The Chubb Stream (13)

Venue: Chubb Stream

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

Arrival time: 09.45
Weather: Mainly overcast but warm with a light breeze.
Tackle: Ryan Burns 'Arrow' 10' split cane rod, Mitchell 300 reel, 2xSSG link leger, 7lb line to size 6 eyed hook.
Baits: Bread flake & cheese paste.
Fish: 2 chub and one lost fish

After a blank on the Chubb Stream on the first day of the season, which I still believe might have been because somebody fished my chosen spots before I arrived, I decided to make a return visit in the hope of a better outcome. The meadow had been mown, the grass having been almost waist high on my last visit. But the vegetation on the banks was still dense and access to the stream was very difficult. Unfortunately the session ended with me breaking my new cane rod but up until that point I quite enjoyed the challenge.

Read full report

Species: Chub

< Previous Page Page 15 / 69 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.