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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

The Clay Pit (27)

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: 08.30
Weather: Cloudy bright and chilly to start but warming up later with a freshening wind.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, pre-loaded waggler, single shot, 6lb main line to 12 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots, sweetcorn, bread flake, custard bread paste
Fish: Nine tench and 3 crucians.

I fancied a trip to the side pond at the Clay Pit while the weather was still warm in the hope of a tench or two. On arrival I was truly shocked to see how low the water was. It's not a deep pond anyway but when I plumbed the depth it was no more than a couple of feet. Knowing that tench were fairly tolerant of shallow muddy conditions I didn't lose hope but I was certainly a bit sceptical of catching any. But my fears proved to be completely unwarranted.

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Species: Tench, Crucian

The Clay Pit (26)

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: 08.30
Weather: A bright day with a cold easterly wind that freshened and became a nuisance.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler, single shot, 6lb main line to 12 eyed hook.
Changed to link leger for last few hours.
Baits: Maggots, sweetcorn & Spam
Fish: A large bream, a tench and a few small roach, rudd and perch. Two lost fish.

With sciatica still troubling me and gusty wind forecast I went to the Clay Pit side pond where I could park next to where I was fishing, while hoping that the more sheltered location would afford some protection against the wind. But in reality the wind became so gusty that it proved to be quite a problem. I had also done quite well on this little pond in the past so I was hoping for a bit of easy fishing. But as it turned out the fishing was as challenging as the wind!

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Species: Tench, Bream, Roach, Perch, rudd

The Clay Pit (25)

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: 09.00
Weather: A bit milder than of late and overcast most of the day, with a light but chilly wind.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler, single shot, 6lb main line to 14 eyed hook.
Baits: Red maggots
Fish: 3 tench and one came off, with a few roach & rudd and a solitary small perch.

My previous trip to the Clay Pit was when the rivers were very low because of lack of rain. This latest trip was because the rivers were over their banks as a result of almost incessant rain. The weather certainly seems to have gone haywire, or should I say the climate? It was a gamble to try the small stock pond because my only other winter visit there had resulted in a blank. But I thought a few days of slightly milder weather might have encouraged the tench to feed. There were a couple of carp anglers on the main lake but it was otherwise pretty deserted.

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Species: Tench, Rudd, Roach, Perch

The Clay Pit (24)

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: 09.30
Weather: Overcast most of the day and colder than recently with little wind.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler, single shot, 6lb main line to 14 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots & bread flake with crumbed bread ground bait.
Fish: 4 tench and one lost at net.

My second consecutive trip to a stillwater with the rivers still being in a poor state because of lack of rain. I last visited the side ponds in July when I mentioned the low water level and now in October it was far worse. An indictment of the parlous lack of rain this area has received over the summer. I estimate that the level was down between 3 and 4 feet. This was very concerning and I feared it would spell trouble for fishing but in fact as it turned out I did very well.

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Species: Tench

The Clay Pit (23)

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: 09.30
Weather: Mild with increasing light cloud cover and little wind. Perfect conditions.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler with lift-method single shot, 6lb main line to 14/12 eyed hook.
Baits: Bread flake with crumbed bread ground bait and sweetcorn.
Fish: 7 tench (one juvenile) and 2 crucians.

Following a break of just over two weeks, caused by sitting out a hot spell followed by few days away, and then avoiding a period of heavy rains, I decided on an easy day at the side pond on the Clay Pit. This little pond has nearly always been kind to me and with parking next to the swim, and few people around, it was just about perfect for a restful session. The only disappointment was that the water level was down around a couple of feet, not great given that the pond is only normally about four to five feet deep.

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Species: Tench

The Clay Pit (22)

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: 09.30
Weather: Fresh start but becoming quite warm. Sun all day with light clouds and just a hint of a breeze.
Tackle: Greys 12' Prodigy TX Float rod, Allcocks 4" centrepin, 4BB waggler with lift-method single shot, 6lb main line to 14 eyed hook.
Baits: Maggots.
Fish: 3 tench.

With the close season in force on the rivers I went over to the Clay Pit to try my luck for some spring tench. We had had a few warm days and when I arrived the water in the side pond was coloured, indicating some aquatic activity. On my previous trip in winter the water had been clear and I blanked. Chatting to a chap as I tackled up, he informed me that he believed that cormorants had raided the pond, which was a bit disheartening. But I took a positive view that even if this was true perhaps the tench had evaded their attention.

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Species: Tench

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