Bluemoon Angling Thread

A lovely evening/night session on a crystal clear and ultra low, barely flowing Ribble last night. I had the whole 2 mile stretch to myself which was heavenly. Baited with pellets and boilies in PVA Bags and kept a good amount of bait in the swim, fishing 2 rods. Had four bites, all landed, 3 barbel and a chub.
 

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Sadly, fishing chums, I have to report a hard day when the fishing gods were not kind.

As the sun set over a glorious Lake of Menteith, mine was not the name etched on the iconic trophy. Let me take you through the cut and thrust of the day.


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Boyed by a pretty good performance yesterday when I fell just one short of double figures, the plan was to concentrate on three areas of the lake where we had success. 60 Anglers congregated on the beach to hear the rules,

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3 fish to be killed then catch and release. International fly fishing rules which dictate the maximum size of the fly. No standing in the boat, catches to be strictly recorded and signed off by your boat partner. The match started at 9.30 and finished 5.30 by which time you risked disqualification if your boat wasn't beached. With the rules clear and the introductions to my boat partner for the day completed off we went to the first of the three areas.

Starting on a 6inch midge tip with a team of candy booby, cormorant and sunburst fab, we prospected Hotel bay, casting almost to the shore as the fish would be tight to the bank, my partner lost a fish almost first cast and I soon had interest as a trout swirled at the Fab and then took the cormorant. One in the bag in the first 20 minutes. Hotel bay always holds fish but they often put their tin hats on under sustained boat pressure and so it proved with no further action.

Motoring up the length of the lake it was striking that there were very few rising fish which given the conditions was surprising. by now what little wind there was had disappeared which brings with it some challenges - you aren't covering fresh water as your boat is stationary and good presentation is difficult as there is no wind to help your leader turnover which means the flies are not straight in a line and under control.

Anyhow. Things were v slow so we tried the third area, a very shallow area of the lake where fish congregate around the drop offs. my boat partner dropped another fish and I took one on the booby. Then I caught a bloody roach on a fast figure of eight diawl bach! My partner caught a dace for gods sake.

We then made a big mistake and started to visit areas we hadn't fished in practice on the off chance we would find fish. Foolish. Foolish. Now my boat partner had won the draw for the engine so I could blame him but I also could have said no. You really should stick to a plan. It was now lunch time and with only 2 to the boat you kind of know you ain't going to win this and so everything now is focused on making the best fist you can. I took another fish on the booby. It took it off the surface like a dry fly. My partner changed lines to a DI3 to fish deeper and he suddenly started to catch rattling 4 out in no more than 30minutes. By fish 3 I had changed to do the same but to no result.

So that how it finished. Despite fishing hard to the end, 4-3. The winner had 17. :-(

There is always next year.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Sadly, fishing chums, I have to report a hard day when the fishing gods were not kind.

As the sun set over a glorious Lake of Menteith, mine was not the name etched on the iconic trophy. Let me take you through the cut and thrust of the day.


View attachment 26527


Boyed by a pretty good performance yesterday when I fell just one short of double figures, the plan was to concentrate on three areas of the lake where we had success. 60 Anglers congregated on the beach to hear the rules,

View attachment 26529
3 fish to be killed then catch and release. International fly fishing rules which dictate the maximum size of the fly. No standing in the boat, catches to be strictly recorded and signed off by your boat partner. The match started at 9.30 and finished 5.30 by which time you risked disqualification if your boat wasn't beached. With the rules clear and the introductions to my boat partner for the day completed off we went to the first of the three areas.

Starting on a 6inch midge tip with a team of candy booby, cormorant and sunburst fab, we prospected Hotel bay, casting almost to the shore as the fish would be tight to the bank, my partner lost a fish almost first cast and I soon had interest as a trout swirled at the Fab and then took the cormorant. One in the bag in the first 20 minutes. Hotel bay always holds fish but they often put their tin hats on under sustained boat pressure and so it proved with no further action.

Motoring up the length of the lake it was striking that there were very few rising fish which given the conditions was surprising. by now what little wind there was had disappeared which brings with it some challenges - you aren't covering fresh water as your boat is stationary and good presentation is difficult as there is no wind to help your leader turnover which means the flies are not straight in a line and under control.

Anyhow. Things were v slow so we tried the third area, a very shallow area of the lake where fish congregate around the drop offs. my boat partner dropped another fish and I took one on the booby. Then I caught a bloody roach on a fast figure of eight diawl bach! My partner caught a dace for gods sake.

We then made a big mistake and started to visit areas we hadn't fished in practice on the off chance we would find fish. Foolish. Foolish. Now my boat partner had won the draw for the engine so I could blame him but I also could have said no. You really should stick to a plan. It was now lunch time and with only 2 to the boat you kind of know you ain't going to win this and so everything now is focused on making the best fist you can. I took another fish on the booby. It took it off the surface like a dry fly. My partner changed lines to a DI3 to fish deeper and he suddenly started to catch rattling 4 out in no more than 30minutes. By fish 3 I had changed to do the same but to no result.

So that how it finished. Despite fishing hard to the end, 4-3. The winner had 17. :-(

There is always next year.
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Very interesting report and bad luck on the result. So are you fishing as a pair with combined results or just as an individual who happens to be sharing a boat? And how is the catch measured? Just number of fish over a certain size?
 
Didsbury Dave said:
Very interesting report and bad luck on the result. So are you fishing as a pair with combined results or just as an individual who happens to be sharing a boat? And how is the catch measured? Just number of fish over a certain size?
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You fish as an individual. The first three fish are killed and weighed and then for every fish you catch and release after that you get an allowance of 2lb. Each individual has a card that he is responsible for updating every time he catches a fish and passes it to his partner to sign. You are allocated a boat partner through a draw.
Some competitions, a third person (boatman) sits in the boat and does the signing of cards and ensures rules are followed but not so much now because of COVID.
at the end of the match, you, with your boat partner take your card and catch to the weigh in. Your catch is Weighed, to that weight is added the LB allowance for the number of fish you have released to give you a total. The winning angler has the biggest weight. There is also prize for the heaviest fish usually.

I am a pleasure angler first and foremost. A lot of these guys are match fishermen. The guy that won it is a member of our club and is a fishing machine. He has already one this National before and has been in the top three a couple of times as well. You have to have the ability to find fish, through practice and your network of contacts you have to be able to put your boat in front of fish o a very regular basis. We failed to do that yesterday so never really gave ourselves a chance. I took nine fish on Friday and if I had managed that I would have got a top 15 finish which i would have been delighted with. With a Rod average of 5 yesterday, I was definately sub par.

never mind. The guy I shared a boat with was a top top guy so we had a good day swearing at the scaly little buggers. There is always next year!
 
Saddleworth2 said:
You fish as an individual. The first three fish are killed and weighed and then for every fish you catch and release after that you get an allowance of 2lb. Each individual has a card that he is responsible for updating every time he catches a fish and passes it to his partner to sign. You are allocated a boat partner through a draw.
Some competitions, a third person (boatman) sits in the boat and does the signing of cards and ensures rules are followed but not so much now because of COVID.
at the end of the match, you, with your boat partner take your card and catch to the weigh in. Your catch is Weighed, to that weight is added the LB allowance for the number of fish you have released to give you a total. The winning angler has the biggest weight. There is also prize for the heaviest fish usually.

I am a pleasure angler first and foremost. A lot of these guys are match fishermen. The guy that won it is a member of our club and is a fishing machine. He has already one this National before and has been in the top three a couple of times as well. You have to have the ability to find fish, through practice and your network of contacts you have to be able to put your boat in front of fish o a very regular basis. We failed to do that yesterday so never really gave ourselves a chance. I took nine fish on Friday and if I had managed that I would have got a top 15 finish which i would have been delighted with. With a Rod average of 5 yesterday, I was definately sub par.

never mind. The guy I shared a boat with was a top top guy so we had a good day swearing at the scaly little buggers. There is always next year!
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Interesting. Are there ever disputes between pairs?
 
Didsbury Dave said:
Interesting. Are there ever disputes between pairs?
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Yes. certainly at the top level and I have known really good anglers give up on the match scene because of 'arseholes'.
Because I have no great expectations and just enjoy the experience I have only had trouble once (and mainly because I was wupping the guy after he had gone 3-0 up). You get to meet some really good guys from all over the country. Boat etiquette is another subject - its getting very poor (other boats cutting across your drift, getting too close etc).

Do you fish course matches?
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Yes. certainly at the top level and I have known really good anglers give up on the match scene because of 'arseholes'.
Because I have no great expectations and just enjoy the experience I have only had trouble once (and mainly because I was wupping the guy after he had gone 3-0 up). You get to meet some really good guys from all over the country. Boat etiquette is another subject - its getting very poor (other boats cutting across your drift, getting too close etc).

Do you fish course matches?
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No, matches aren’t my thing. Did 3-4 junior matches in the early 80s. Like you, I’m a pleasure angler and I value peace and natural beauty more than anything. A bunch of blokes shoulder to shoulder is my idea of fishing hell although I respect them for the skills they have doing their thing.

Went out for a couple of hours with the lures again. One small fish in the river and then I found some in a canal marina, where I had four perch between half a pound and a pound.
 
Didsbury Dave said:
No, matches aren’t my thing. Did 3-4 junior matches in the early 80s. Like you, I’m a pleasure angler and I value peace and natural beauty more than anything. A bunch of blokes shoulder to shoulder is my idea of fishing hell although I respect them for the skills they have doing their thing.

Went out for a couple of hours with the lures again. One small fish in the river and then I found some in a canal marina, where I had four perch between half a pound and a pound.
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My highlight yesterday was catching a roach. My first ever. That tells you everything.
 
Didsbury Dave said:
No, matches aren’t my thing. Did 3-4 junior matches in the early 80s. Like you, I’m a pleasure angler and I value peace and natural beauty more than anything. A bunch of blokes shoulder to shoulder is my idea of fishing hell although I respect them for the skills they have doing their thing.

Went out for a couple of hours with the lures again. One small fish in the river and then I found some in a canal marina, where I had four perch between half a pound and a pound.
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I used to love fishing matches. I just really enjoy competing against other anglers and the randomness of the draw, which can give everybody an opportunity. It's usually a fun and friendly atmosphere too. On commercials it is a bit shoulder to shoulder but not too bad on natural venues. I really miss it and am looking forward to getting back into it when I return to the UK next year. That and City are the 2 things that make the prospect of returning bearable!

I also enjoy pleasure fishing and usually do that as practice for venues where I will have a match in the near future. Best of both worlds (for me at least).
 
Grabbed a short session after work tonight. Second cast at “the bridge” and I got a big pike hit then it all went slack. Bitten off. I’m now using a 5 foot long 6lb flouro trace after seeing how spooky the perch were on The Broads the other week. I’ve landed a couple of pike so it’s clearly not a major problem, and a tiny single hook jig will fall out in no time. I would not use this trace with treble hooks or big lures.

I didn’t labour the spot because it’s not been producing, so got in the car and drove to the marina where I had a few perch on Sunday. First cast and I had a fish of about 14oz. Second cast the wind blew the lure onto a jetty. That was lost and was my last green lure. I got into a bit of a mess then because I realised a had loads of small jig heads, loads of big jig heads but none right for the size of lure I’ve been catching on (about 5cm). Had a few casts with a crayfish and wasn’t happy: tried a couple of lures but the balance was not right so ended up rigging up a big white jig on a big hook basically because that’s all that was left.

You know what’s coming don’t you? First cast, between two barges, bang, a shaking head and I knew what was on. A plodding battle and he was in the net, and he was a beauty for The Calder. 2lb 1oz, all caught on camera. That, my friends, might just be a “wrap” on the film.View attachment 26773
 
doots said:
Great Perch that Dave.
Any advice on how to stop them taking the hook/bait so deep inside their gobs?
I'm always having to use a discorger, especially with the little Perch(which I mainly catch), ta.
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They are the worst fish of all for swallowing small baits so I’m afraid not. They don’t do it with lures but that doesn’t help if you’re pleasure fishing.
 
Didsbury Dave said:
They are the worst fish of all for swallowing small baits so I’m afraid not. They don’t do it with lures but that doesn’t help if you’re pleasure fishing.
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I think eels are worse for swallowing the hook deep.
Didsbury Dave said:
No. They are apparently tasty but if we ate the coarse fish we catch in the uk there’d be nothing left in no time.
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Eastern Europeans are doing all they can to empty our waters, thieving cunts.

I'm off to the Trent for a couple of nights later. Just getting my gear together.
 
BlueMoonRisin’ said:
I think eels are worse for swallowing the hook deep.

Eastern Europeans are doing all they can to empty our waters, thieving cunts.

I'm off to the Trent for a couple of nights later. Just getting my gear together.
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You're right about eels because they are bastards to unhook too. I got bitten by one once.

Where are you fishing on The Trent mate? Tidal or not?
 
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