A good time had by all

After missing the last trip of the Thurnby Church Anglers due to a work commitment it was good to be back with the gang for our first attempt at a weekday evening outing. John, the owner at Spring Grange Fishery in Beeby, had kindly reserved several swims for us, and-in dribs and drabs- the club members arrived, fresh from either work or school.

A number of angling approaches were used, some choosing to fish on the pole for silvers, while others set up on the method or with bolt rigs with carp as the intended quarry. My son and Roger were soon cooking, and the smell of bacon, eggs and sausages wafted across the evening air.

Pete was the first to catch, a chunky mirror falling prey to his method and banded pellet attack. Ben, one of the club's youngsters was catching perch on a whip, and Greg was catching a succession of, pretty,golden rudd, also pole fishing.

I had lost a fish earlier in the session, but when my bite alarm sounded for the second time I made no mistake, and after a determined fight my son skilfully slipped the net under a nice common, thus enabling me to relax and enjoy the rest of the evening without dwelling on "the one that got away"!

 

 

Across the group it was never more than a few minutes before someone was catching, and there was always the opportunity to wander the bank and while away a few minutes chatting to other club members. Roach were in evidence, with Pete taking a fine brace of top quality fish on his favoured method tactics.

 

 

 

Also among the roach, although favouring a pole and maggot approach, were my son and Pete's wife, Brooklyn, who thought she'd only come to watch and enjoy the evening sun, but ended up joining in with the fun.

 

 

 



 The most praiseworthy angling feat of the evening went to Louie, who landed a hard fighting carp on light pole tackle and a single maggot and small hook. The look on his face as the elastic shot out of the pole and across the lake, and watching him quickly adding extra sections to the pole while holding on for dear life and the spectacle of the fight itself were the evening's highlights, with this long, lean common being the reward for his efforts:

 

 

Pete added another carp, and rudd, perch and roach continued to fall to the pole anglers, but the statistics of fish caught fails to do justice to what was, above all, an evening where the quality of the company, the attractiveness of the surroundings and the balmy summer evening were all as much a part of the experience as the catching of fish. Thus far 2015 has been one of my best fishing years for some long while .... catching pike with Pete from January to March (including several doubles between us), watching my son catch his first ever pike, and club trips with the church fishing club have made it a year to remember. If a man's wealth is calculated by the quality of the people he goes fishing with, I can certainly lay claim to being rich.

Easier to catch by accident ....

A few weeks back Pete, Dave and I stumbled upon some quality roach while targeting carp, and I made myself a promise that I'd return to the lake to fish intentionally for them. After all, if three anglers can catch four roach in excess of a pound while fishing for carp, surely armed with casters, maggots, hemp and sweetcorn I'd have a bag of roach to remember. The best laid plans ....

 

 

I met Jez, a friend and fellow member of our Church's Angling Club, at the lake and we dropped into neighbouring swims. Wagglers were cast, lines were sunk and loose feed introduced. I started with sweetcorn as hookbait, but couldn't buy a bite, and so switched to maggot. Castors, hemp and sweetcorn were regularly introduced, little and often, and the fish were soon voraciously taking the bait on the drop ..... only they were mostly rudd, with the very occasional roach, and a sprinkling of perch. Initially, when on sweetcorn, I fished overdepth and over-shotted using the lift method, but was forced to change and fish "up in the water" to get bites.

 

 

We fished until lunchtime on what may have been the hottest day of the year, and although no large roach made an appearance we enjoyed catching golden sided rudd, some- like the fish above- exquisitely beautiful despite their modest size. I was using a handsome handmade float made by Ian Lewis, one of the country's few full time floatmakers, and its pleasant appearance added to the occasion.

We came, we saw, we fished, we failed to conquer, but we had fun. However, I'm forced to conclude that at this particular lake it's easier to catch large roach by accident than it is by design!

 

 

 



 





 

Roach that think they're carp

Neither cameras or statistics are apt to lie, according to perceived wisdom, but neither the simple statistics (three anglers fishing a pre-work morning session and catching four roach over a pound) or the photo's of said roach tell the story of a morning of struggle, and a catch which, though welcomed, owed more to luck than judgement. You see, the thing is we weren't roach fishing- we were carping, and at a  venue at which in three or four hours we'd normally expect to catch three or four carp each. As it was, Pete (who runs our church's fishing group) lost a small koi carp at the net, and David (who is a fellow Forum leader at www.christiananglers.co.uk ) did manage one carp, seen in the picture below, but the carp were notable for their a-typical lack of enthusiasm to make acquaintance with us on the bank.

 

 

David and I arrived at the fishery as its early morning gates opened, and I opted to fish with one rod on the method and a mini boilie as hookbait, with the other rod on a standard bolt rig with a larger boilie. David opted for a legered  meat bait, and chose to fish on the surface with a controller and dog biscuits on the other rod, as even at our early hour of arrival, carp were cruising languidly just below the surface. We were shortly joined by Pete, who set up two rods on the Method, one with a boilie, the other a banded pellet as bait.

The first surprise was David's first fish of the day, a roach of over a pound that slurped down a floating dog biscuit, something I'd never previously seen happen, but there- fairly embedded in its delicate mouth- was David's hook.

Shortly afterwards, David caught the carp, also on the surface, but from that point onward the morning was strangely quiet ...... until the roach turned up.

 

 

Now, I'd be the first to admit that it feels rather unsporting catching quality roach on carp gear, but it had never been our intention to do so. Carp were our target species, and carp were what we expected to catch, but, in an unusual inversion of the Commercial Fishery norm, it was the roach muscling in on the carp's bait. The morning was never prolific, the odd smaller roach was hooked, and much of the time the bobbins were motionless and the buzzers silent, but we did enjoy one memorable "double hook-up", with Pete and I both netting pound plus roach within seconds of each other.

 

 

Pete and I both had to leave and return to the real world of work, while David, who had the whole day off,was able to stay, although his extra two hours of fishing brought no further fish, but rumour has it that his wife, Jan, turned up and brought with her a rather splendid picnic. It had been a hard morning's fishing, the carp were either (a) sulking (b) sunbathing or (c) preparing to spawn depending on who you talked to, but we left with a lingering thought in all of our minds: if we can, by accident, catch four roach in excess of a pound apiece, then what might the roach potential of the lake be if we fished intentionally for them? With the majority of the lake's anglers targeting carp, we might be undertaking a project that no-one else is engaged on. Are there any two pounders? It's a question that seems to demand an answer, or at least a solid attempt to discover one.

I think you can guess what I'll be doing next time I visit the lake ..... it'll be farewell to boilies, bolt rigs and PVA bags and "hello" to maggots, castors, groundbait, floats, size 18 hooks, and small feeders; I'm excited just thinking about it.

A thing of beauty - golden crucians and a prized possesion

"A thing of beauty", so someone once said, "is a joy forever." I'm not quite sure if I go along with the "forever" bit (after all, "forever" isn't just a long time, it transcends time and takes us into eternity), but I'd endorse the sentiment .... things of beauty should be enjoyed, and the enjoyment should extend beyond the present moment. All of which brings me to some recently caught fish, and a newly acquired prize rod.

 

 

As an angler who normally sets out his stall for a particular target fish, and who, although not size obsessed, prefers the fish to be capable of putting a reasonable bend into the rod, it's been a great pleasure recently to return to my roots and to fish for "whatever comes along" and to enjoy a mixed catch of, mostly small, fish. A big part of the enjoyment has been the company in which the fish were caught: our church's fishing club, and my son, but in the case of some recent crucians it was also the sheer beauty of the fish themselves. I'm fully aware that not every fish that looks like a crucian is a crucian, and fish hybridised with carp, plain feral goldfish, goldfish crucian hybrids and F1's can all obscure the picture, but these fish- crucian or otherwise, were certainly attractive, with vivid red fins, golden scales and the ubiquitous plump profile. Great fun, for me and my son.

 

 

The other object of beauty is a new fishing rod. Last year a number of e-mails were exchanged between me and my friend Don Morse of Rattlesnake Rods, a top fishing rod builder based in Florida. I was after a new, custom built light lure rod for my canal pike and perch fishing. We discussed rod lengths and design, money exchanged hands, and Don set about building the rod, a 6 foot 3 inch spinning rod. This week I took delivery of it (just 3 days from Florida to Leicester by FedEx!), and am delighted with my new "toy".

 

 

I'm reluctant to publish pictures, because they really don't do justice to the rod. In real life, close up, it's an absolute beauty. It features an abbreviated, shaped  cork handle, the blank between the corks is decorated with God's Country Camouflage, my name, and a copy of the Icthus and cross tattoo that I have on the inside of my forearm. The guides are of the prize winning Microwave type, increasingly being used in the US, but only just beginning to appear on the UK scene. With whippings in British racing green, and a lovely lightweight feel, I can't wait to give it its first outing on the canal.

 

 

 

 

Whether or not it's a joy forever, what's undoubtedly true is that it qualifies as a "thing of beauty." This much is sure - if I hook a snag, I'm pointing the rod straight at it, setting the clutch as tight as it will go, and pulling for a break ........ this is one rod that I certainly don't want to snap! Thanks Don.

 



The debut outing and an abundance of fish

 

Sunny at times, windy at times and mostly dry, the first ever trip of the Thurnby Church Anglers was everything that could have been hoped for. No-one blanked, but more importantly everyone had fun, and the bankside banter and conversation was as much a part of the day as the fish landed.

 

 

Although all members of St Luke's Church, we were an eclectic bunch, a mixture of experienced and obsessed anglers and newcomers to the hobby (in the case of Graham's nephew, one teenage angler fishing for the very first time) and the tackle in use varied from state of the art to "out of the ark". Although the fishing was never hectic, fish came steadily throughout the day, with perch, crucians, roach, bream, tench and chub all putting in an appearance.

The crucians were chubby and for those of us who were pole fishing pulled the elastic gamely before dazzling on the bank with their plump profile and golden sheen.

 

 

 

Most were small, like the ones pictured above, but the odd better sized specimen turned up, like the one held by Louie in the picture below:

 

 

As someone who, in common with many anglers, generally fishes with one particular target species in mind (usually pike or perch in autumn, winter and spring, and carp in summer), it was a real pleasure to be fishing for whatever chose to take the bait, and to never know what was going to bite next. This chub was my most prized fish of the day, not for its size, but because it was the first of its species that I had caught for many a year, and it gave a good account of itself on my light pole tackle.

 

 

We mostly fished using either pole or waggler tactics, both proving effective, but Pete's experiments using the Method towards the end of the session showed its potential for this lake, with a succession of carp attacking the feeder within minutes of it landing on the lake bed.

 

 

Some of the mirror carp were among the prettiest I have ever seen, with lovely scale patterns. I often think that carp are similar to pike, in that while the giant leviathans provide a sterling test and look impressive, it's their smaller brethren that are the most aesthetically pleasing to look at.

 

 

All too soon it was time to pack up, but it was unanimously agreed that the inaugural trip had been a stunning success, that every church should have a fishing club as well as Bible study groups, Alpha Courses, Sunday schools and youthgroups, and that we should meet again next month for another outing. I, for one, can hardly wait .....

 

 



Pubs, clubs and a giant gonk ...

 An intriguing title, but a pretty fair summation of my fishing activity thus far in the month of April. If the "pubs and clubs" bit has prepared you for some salacious confessions of the lounge lizard type, then I must disappoint you, it merely refers to the first meeting of our church fishing club, which took place in our village's licensed hostelry. With 18 church members keen to be involved we filled in forms, planned, and will be going on our first outing in May, when we've booked a lake to ourselves - expect a full report next month.

And so to the "giant gonk" ....

 

 

Last Saturday my son (pictured above) and I snuck out at first light for a couple of hours float-fishing on a local pond. It was a casual affair, bait was just a pint of maggots, and it was mostly about the company and the chance to be somewhere pleasant after a busy few weeks which hadn't allowed any time for fishing. (Easter's church related busyness being immediately followed by a family holiday to the breathtaking volcano island of Iceland) 

 

We were soon catching pretty, but very small rudd and perch, when the float dipped again and I swung in what I thought would be another rudd. However the "rudd" was long (surprisingly fat) and brown with hints of silver and violet- a gudgeon, and "what a gudgeon". I'd estimate its size as between 3 and 4 ounces (the photo has caused considerable interest and not a little admiration on one angling Facebook site), which when you consider that the British record, set in 1990, is a fish of 5 ounces "on the nose" helps realise what an absolute monster this fish was. Ironically, what is probably likely to turn out to be one of the smallest fish I catch this year will almost certainly also (in proportionate terms) be my "largest." Here's a picture of the fish in question:

 

 

All of which led me to doing some research on gudgeon tales, and- appropriately- I came across a great story about an 18th Century Vicar, the Revd George Harvest, Vicar of Thames Ditton, who was engaged to be married to the daughter of the Bishop of London. On the morning of the "big day", the Vicar decided to while away the hours before the nuptial ceremony with a spot of gudgeon fishing (gudgeon were his favourite quarry), and so engrossed was he in his angling activity that he missed the wedding. His intended (clearly no angler) took umbrage and broke off the union before it had another chance to be formalised or blessed. Speaking as an angler more than as a representative of the established church, it sounds to me as if he had a lucky escape; the Bishop's daughter would surely never have understood the "one last cast" mentality that permanently leads to anglers arriving home later than promised.

Christian Anglers UK .... the first month.

Lent is, so Christians more traditionally minded than myself remind me, a season of penitence, and so it is with a heavy heart that I confess that it's now a fortnight since my last fishing session. January until mid February saw me make a respectable5 trips to river or canal in pursuit of pike, but since then the "day job" has taken over and fishing, temporarily, has had to take a back seat.

However, that doesn't mean that the period has been totally unproductive in piscatorial terms. UK Christian Anglers ( www.christiananglers.co.uk ) has reached the end of its first month, been featured in both the angling and church press and started to pick up a loyal following of forum members from across the country. With an average of just under 2000 hits per week, a growing resource library of instructional articles and some lively conversation on the forum the first four weeks have been exciting and encouraging. 

 

A committed team that includes Angler's Mail contributor Bill Rushmer and British angling's foremost blogger Stewart Bloor ( www.theanglingrev.com ) among those steering the project means the future looks bright, with plans to develop the group and to set up a network of church-based fishing clubs.

 

   Bill Rushmer

 

Plans are afoot for a fish-in (diary dates are proving challenging to co-ordinate, partly due to the number of Saturday's I'm losing to weddings that need conducting this summer .... one couple's "happy day" is my lost fishing session!), but despite the calendar log-jam, there are one or two possibilities that we're exploring. The idea will be for a friendly get-together of forum members to fish a sponsored event with the money being donated to charity - watch this space.

 

I've also met with the team at Christian Vision for Men (CVM) in Chesterfield. They were massively excited about the project, and we're looking to do some work with them in the future. A really good bunch of lads who run some quality events and produce the excellent "The manual" daily Bible reading notes. (notes aimed at men, which take a realistic 5 minutes to do amid a busy day). Check CVM out at www.cvm.org.uk

 

                                                             Stewart Bloor

 

Stewart and I have plans to do some filming for the group's Youtube channel, and the intention is to grow the capacity of the group so that occasional weekend angling retreats can take place. The social media presence is completed with a Facebook page which is kept regularly updated.
 Remember, Jesus never told his followers to mow the lawn, decorate the living room or do extra over-time, but He did (in effect) say "Go fish" (Luke 5:4) .......... we intend to!