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Post by gary on Oct 19, 2012 19:46:23 GMT
Friday 19th October: More rain overnight, making the Nene even higher at Kislingbury: Guage at the Mill The Mill Another And my friendly swans, struggling to find any food Trying a new area tomorrow to see if I can find any fishable water. Forecast is better, so fingers crossed! Tight lines Gary
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Post by gary on Oct 21, 2012 1:12:10 GMT
Saturday 20th October, 10am onwards: River bursting it's banks (in some areas) along the A45, and the A14 from south of Northampton to around Thrapston (a 50 minute drive). The Nene follows the A45 on following map - I drove from Bugbrooke (bottom left) to Thrapston (top Right) looking for a possible place to fish. As the Nene Valley was completely unfishable after all the recent rain, Peter and I decided to explore some of the tiny Tribs in the hope that we could find spot... We tackled up and armed ourselves with Peter's Tungsten Headed Taddy flies in readiness for some Chub (hopefully!) And the box they came from Note, although these flies have very heavy beads on them, they are still completely usable in tight streams for slingshot casting. There is no room for overhead or side casting where we were planning to fish... If any of you fancy catching some good sized winter coarse fish then these are the flies to use... First stop on a Trib proved to be fruitless and unfishable with water too high to fish and far too coloured. We got the map out and agreed to drive further upstream - now around 15 miles from the River Nene. We parked up and had a look... AMAZING! Water much lower and only slightly coloured. We eagerly head down to the very narrow stream and start fishing. 2 mins later and Pete is into a fish! It's a wbt! Yes, they do exist in Northants! ;D ;D ;D (notice, the large Taddy fly in its mouth, and, how small the stream is behind Peter!) The trout season ends on 8th October in the Midlands, so this beautiful (and up to now, mythical) wbt is quickly returned after a quick photo. Environment Angency Byelaw: 2. For Byelaw numbered 3(c)(ii) (which applies in Midlands Region and was confirmed on 14 th March 1997) substitute:- (ii) The close season for fishing for trout (excluding migratory trout and rainbow trout) with rod and line shall be the period from and including the 8th day of October to and including the 17th day of March following in all waters except fully enclosed stillwaters of the Midlands Region.www.environment-agency.gov.uk/static/documents/Leisure/Brown_Trout_Close_Season_Byelaw_2010_as_confirmed.pdfSo we gather ourselves, take a deep breath, and continue upstream, where this narrow stream looks promising: It is maximum 3' across, but pretty deep along it's length. Peter suggested that it may be too straight and not have enough cover to hold any fish, but as my heart was still pounding after Peter's lovely wbt I couldn't resit pinging out the Taddy... BANG! FISH ON! Explosive take... surely not, could it be another wbt??? And then two minutes later out of the same stretch another wbt, slightly larger this time! That's 3 wbt out of a tiny little stream, in spate, in about 10 minutes! Amazing! But, where are the silver fish??? they must be there somewhere? We keep on walking and catapult casting upstream with the Taddies, most of it very difficult access with heavily overgrown trees/shrubs/brambles and the like. Clearly not a place where people have been fishing (silly them! ) I lose another 3 fish, and Peter another couple too. We get nothing over the next 100 metres, or so, and stop to ponder at a small pool where a field drain enters. Really overgrown, but I squeezed in between the trees and pinged out the taddy... A swirl in the water and a very large yellow belly showing itself to the world as my fly is taken again! This wbt is at least double the size of the previous fish we landed and safely returned... Guessing around the 2 to 2.5lb mark! A shake of its head and it's gone... We gather our thoughts, and head back downstream to below where we initially started, spotting a very likely looking pool. I watched Peter from the Bridge as he covered a slightly slower moving area of the pool, when... BANG, he's in again! What a powerful take... A beautiful fish, and the best of the day so far... Back in the water in under a minute But where are the Chub, the Roach, the Perch, the Dace??? I move down to Join Peter, with him transferring to the other side, and, guess what... His rod bends in two!!! ANOTHER wbt, even larger this time... Complete with (Chub catching?) Taddy sticking out of its mouth! What a stunning fish! must be getting near to the 2lb mark... We carry down stream, slingshot casting as we go, with Peter totaling around 20 fish for the session, including 4 dace, and we only walked about half a mile!. All from one tiny little Trib of the River Nene. We will definatly be back to this brook when the Trout season kicks off again next year ;D I might try my local Kislingbury stretch in the morning...if the water has gone down enough to fish Tight lines Gary
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2012 8:21:35 GMT
An excellent read, I live in March, Cambs and have a few streams like this up my way.... getting permission to be on the land is the problem though, not the fishing.....
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Post by gary on Oct 21, 2012 8:50:36 GMT
An excellent read, I live in March, Cambs and have a few streams like this up my way.... getting permission to be on the land is the problem though, not the fishing..... Welcome to the forum dabhand58! Glad you enjoyed the report What I tend to do is go on Bling Maps, and locate the brooks that have a public footpath running alongside. No issue with getting permission to be on the land that way I then use google earth to follow the stream, looking for tree covered windy sections which are likely to hold fish. Jump in the car, park beside the public footpath and you're off fishing ;D Splendid Let me know if you fancy a cast some time and we can sort a location out kinda half way between us. Tight lines Gary
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Post by gary on Oct 21, 2012 9:28:49 GMT
Actually, streetmaps.co.uk is better, and clearly shows the public footpaths. Tight lines Gary
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Post by gary on Oct 21, 2012 18:06:13 GMT
Some of the photos Pete took of my ugly mug yesterday ;D Tight lines Gary
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Post by gary on Oct 21, 2012 20:51:47 GMT
Sunday 21st October, afternoon: Ah, the simplicity of Tenkara... I love it! Was out and about around lunchtime very close to J16 on the M1, so I stopped of at the Red Lion Pub and Truck Stop on the A4500, right beside the J16, parked up, popped on my wellies and jacket, grabbed my T rod and a couple of flies and wandered down through the field, to the Nene. A retired gentleman had given me the nod that this stretch may be worth a cast If anyone is passing J16 on the M1, and has their T rod with them, you may wish to do the same . Google earth showing Red Lion top, River Nene bottom right, and J16 left: The M1 crossing the River Nene, looking up stream: Likely looking pool beside tree at bottom of field (5 mins walk down the field from Lorry Park): And with the very first cast: What a scrap this was! By a long way the best fight yet: This fish was really chunky, and solid. Didn't have scales with me (after all I was travelling light and just popped down for a look...) but would definitely put it in the 5lb plus bracket. The battle lasted over 10 minutes as this fine fish kept diving back under the bank overhang amongst the weeds/reeds... I thought I was going to lose it several times. Peter's Taddy strikes again! I don't have much time, so get back to the task in hand of exploring this M1 stretch of the Nene to target future possibilities. I wander under the motorway, stop to take a photo, and think...yeah, why not have a cast... After being out with Dee and Peter, watching them carefully and noting exactly where they ping the fly, I spotted a little 'pocket' between the vegetation and dropped in the Taddy. Jigged about a little, and BANG!.......... Rod immediately bends in two, and my 6lb tippet is whistling in the wind it's so taught! What on earth could this be??? Can't see anything... The rod is bouncing about like it's starring on 'Strictly Come Dancing' ;D I very gently raise the rod, and try and pull this mystery fish away from the nearside bank. It's definitely not a Chub or a Trout... completely different scrap, and I still can't see it... I'm really concerned the tippet will snap and I'll never get to know what attacked the Taddy! Actually, I'm now getting worried that my ST360 7:3 will not cope and snap! (have ordered spare tip now from Eso for my 410 6:4 which will be here in a couple of days - don't want both rods out of action!). With yet another VERY gentle raise of the rod the fish finally shows itself... A Pike! I can see the Taddy securely lodged in it's top jaw, and he can see me! Down he goes again! the tippet is straining to it's maximum, the rod tip frantically bouncing up and down as he shakes his head in another attempt to free himself... I'm thinking to myself, will the barbless hook slip with all of that movement... then he's up again, this time making a serious commotion slapping his tail on the surface, spinning round and shaking his head like he'd just been evicted from Xfactor hehe... Is this fish ever going to tire? I soooooooo want to land it! Up it comes again, this time it rolls over on its side a little... I grab my net in readiness, and raise the rod a little more so I can reach the leader... I catch it firmly, and ever so gently but firmly pull the fish towards me... lowering the net into the water, slipping under the Pike... He seems to stare me in the face, just before an almighty throw of his head and he's gone................ Fair play to the big man I say! What an experience on the T rod! On inspection, the tippet snapped just below where it was joined to the leader. What else has this little stretch on the Nene got to offer??? I replace the tippet, pop on my last Taddy, and head up stream some more: The large concrete building in the background is Heygates, the largest flour producers in the UK, located at Bugbrooke Mill, which is mentioned in the Doomsday Book! It's mad what you discover when out fishing ;D. If anyone is interested, here is the history www.heygates.co.uk/history.htmlThe river splits at Heygates, wraps around the building on both sides, before joining up again upstream. Here is the downstream Y branch. I take the right hand stream as I have no waders on to cross: A fine pool at the rear of Heygates: And a likely looking spot half way down the pool: And the fine Chub which came out of it: Evidence of the very recent flood water (note how high the water was!) Was running out of time now, so headed back downstream full of excitement about planning my next Tenkara fishing trip! One more photo of the M1, from the bottom of the Red Lion pub field... I have to say, this has been a fantastic weekend of fishing! Roll on the next one Tight lines Gary
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2012 21:46:16 GMT
Looks like you are getting more and more out of that wee river with each visit Gary, nice to see a bend in your rod and quite a bend it is too. I really enjoy using the ST360 but the last time I was out with it I did kind of wish I'd taken my ESO Tenkara 360 instead, I think it would have handled the grayling in a more satisfying way. Hope you get your new tip soon (sure you will) and keep the reports coming.
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Post by gary on Oct 21, 2012 23:48:38 GMT
I really enjoy using the ST360 but the last time I was out with it I did kind of wish I'd taken my ESO Tenkara 360 instead, I think it would have handled the grayling in a more satisfying way. Thanks thetroutfly I know exactly what you mean about the ST360 7:3, in that it can be quite brutal (for a T rod) and allow you to pull in smaller fish very quickly indeed. That being said, with the size of Chub (and that Pike that got away) that I had today, the extra strength of the ST360 actually helped me keep the 5lb fish under control, without taking any of the sensation away. Also, at no time was I concerned (apart from with the Pike - but that was a completely different situation to the norm) that the rod would break. I have successfully landed 4 fine Chub around the 5lb mark with ease using the ST360. Tight lines Gary
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 8:08:36 GMT
Brilliant reports Gary.
Its the look of joy on your face holding those brownies. I couldnt help but smile with you!
Regards Stevie.
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Post by gary on Oct 22, 2012 9:47:18 GMT
Its the look of joy on your face holding those brownies. I couldnt help but smile with you! Thanks Stevie You know what they say... good things come to those who wait I started this thread, and the search for the 'mythical' River Nene wbt on 25th August, and eventually found and landed them on 21st October! now, that's devotion for ya! ;D The only shame is I'll have to wait until next season to go get some more... but at least I know where to go looking now Tight lines Gary
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Post by gary on Oct 22, 2012 11:48:33 GMT
Monday 22nd October: Driving past the gauge (Kislingbury) on way to work this morning, showing river levels creeping up again after a night of drizzle. Water slightly coloured, but fishable: Tight lines Gary
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2012 13:45:01 GMT
Hi Gary, sounds like a good idea, I`ll stay in touch...
Mark
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Post by gary on Oct 22, 2012 18:40:59 GMT
Hi Gary, sounds like a good idea, I`ll stay in touch... Mark Look forward to it Mark. Tight lines Gary
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Post by leckie on Oct 22, 2012 21:54:18 GMT
Gary, Great couple of reports....nice that you and Peter eventually nailed some wbt in that little tributary...fantastic. I haven't caught any course fish on the T rod yet but I think I'll give that taddy a go for perch mainly in the canal here in Edinburgh...your reports are so enthusiastically written that they make compulsive reading...really enjoyable...can't wait for the next installment....you never know it might be a 10 lb barbel you hook next tight lines Alex
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