Bluemoon Angling Thread

I don't fish but I spoke to the guy who looks after fishing at Pickmere lake (nr Northwich, 5mins from M6 Knutsford junction) and he said it's good fishing and underused.



Also, if you're really old and remember the little fairground that used to be there, you might like this...

 
Saddleworth2 said:
Nice! Wimps needing a boat though. Whats wrong with a spey cast?
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Nowt wrong with spey casting, just very pleasant to sit in a boat and meander down a river, stopping at certain holes or just bank fishing. If you get over on the South Fork the current would wash you away in places. You can fit a lot of beer in a boat too
 
idahoblues said:
Nowt wrong with spey casting, just very pleasant to sit in a boat and meander down a river, stopping at certain holes or just bank fishing. If you get over on the South Fork the current would wash you away in places. You can fit a lot of beer in a boat too
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Yeah, sounds brilliant. You can cover so much more water as well. For sure on my bucket list.
 
First trip out of the year for me tomorrow,fish 6 till 2 at local pond in Denton,then back home for a snooze whilst soccer Saturday is on,perfect!
 
I pike fish on the local canal during winter. Used to be an avid carp angler when I was younger but don't have the time to commit these days. Such a shame that fishing seems to have dropped off the radar for the kids of today.
 
CityWest said:
I pike fish on the local canal during winter. Used to be an avid carp angler when I was younger but don't have the time to commit these days. Such a shame that fishing seems to have dropped off the radar for the kids of today.
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Might be area specific. I see quite a few young people doing it round my way and participation as a whole is going up.

A lot of clubs run really good junior divisions which has probably helped, and there seems to have been a bit effort in the last 10 years or so to attract and cater for young kids.
 
Damocles said:
Might be area specific. I see quite a few young people doing it round my way and participation as a whole is going up.

A lot of clubs run really good junior divisions which has probably helped, and there seems to have been a bit effort in the last 10 years or so to attract and cater for young kids.
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You might be right mate. The canal used to be packed of a weekend. There used to be weekly matches aswell stretching miles. Just seems to have died a death in my area. I used to love getting on the bank with a pint of maggots. Chasing the perch and roach. Great times.
 
Damocles said:
Might be area specific. I see quite a few young people doing it round my way and participation as a whole is going up.

A lot of clubs run really good junior divisions which has probably helped, and there seems to have been a bit effort in the last 10 years or so to attract and cater for young kids.
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Not sure that’s the case for fly fishing. Most clubs are struggling for youngsters.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Not sure that’s the case for fly fishing. Most clubs are struggling for youngsters.
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It's a struggle round here too regarding coarse fishing on natural waters. Very few younger anglers on the banks and those that are seem more attracted to commercials where they can get a carp a chuck.
 
Carp fishing is the "heroin " of angling. 3 rods,3 bite alarms 3 reels, bivy, camp-bed, bait-boat 5 gallons of spod, wheelbarrow to cart it round, membership of syndicates, club fees, stainless rod pods, unhooking mat, tackle-box/chair, not to mention the ever-growing variety of rigs. Very addictive, and the first 20plus makes settling for silver fish very hard. It's ironic that in the sixties the north-west was so short of decent waters but had a huge number of anglers, now you can even catch in the Mersey and Salford quays; the Bridgewater and Maccy canal are practically deserted, same goes for Sale water park. Angling is quite tribal, game-fishers dont mix with coarse who dont mix with sea anglers and , match anglers have little in common with pleasure anglers. 3 clubs, Lymm, Prince Albert and Bay Malton control most of the choice waters, further west Warrington and Northwich are huge, though do have some day-ticket waters. Another sign of the times is the scarcity of tackle shops, they were in most districts at one time.
 
bellbuzzer said:
Carp fishing is the "heroin " of angling. 3 rods,3 bite alarms 3 reels, bivy, camp-bed, bait-boat 5 gallons of spod, wheelbarrow to cart it round, membership of syndicates, club fees, stainless rod pods, unhooking mat, tackle-box/chair, not to mention the ever-growing variety of rigs. Very addictive, and the first 20plus makes settling for silver fish very hard. It's ironic that in the sixties the north-west was so short of decent waters but had a huge number of anglers, now you can even catch in the Mersey and Salford quays; the Bridgewater and Maccy canal are practically deserted, same goes for Sale water park. Angling is quite tribal, game-fishers dont mix with coarse who dont mix with sea anglers and , match anglers have little in common with pleasure anglers. 3 clubs, Lymm, Prince Albert and Bay Malton control most of the choice waters, further west Warrington and Northwich are huge, though do have some day-ticket waters. Another sign of the times is the scarcity of tackle shops, they were in most districts at one time.
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I have had large carp in excess of 20lb but still prefer my silvers to be honest. I find carp fishing a bit dull but that's probably because of my love of match fishing. Mac h type of fishing does seem to attract different characters.

There has been a sharp decline in coarse and match fishing over the years but I suspect the scarcity of tackle shops is largely to do with internet shopping.
 
I've match fished with a couple of local clubs over the last 20-25 years, and also fished a few open matches (usually all within an 1-1.5hr drive of Manchester).
Walked away from it a couple of years ago to take a break from it, as it had started to become a bit stale and lose it's appeal.

The reasons were varied from fisheries trying to milk you for every penny & having stupid rules, to the changes to how the clubs were run with increased politics & cliques forming etc. and increasing costs.

Years ago when i started match fishing it was mainly so i could just experience different venues, and the club i was with would have 8-10 matches a year spread over about 8 venues (which would include a minimum of 2 canals, 2 rivers & 2 commercials). If you actually won a match the prize money would probably cover your peg fee, petrol & bait and maybe a few pints in the pub later.

Nowadays that same club is doing 16+ matches a season, spread over maybe 5 or 6 venues (and you're lucky if even one match isn't on a commercial). Money wise there really isn't that much difference (unless you're lucky and win whilst on the 'bonus' pegs in which case it can be £250+) even though peg fees have more than doubled.

I know i'll never likely stop fishing and will probably go back match fishing in a year or two when i get the 'bug' again, but till then i'll stick with the odd trip to a few local waters.
 
Ghandi's Flip Flops said:
I've match fished with a couple of local clubs over the last 20-25 years, and also fished a few open matches (usually all within an 1-1.5hr drive of Manchester).
Walked away from it a couple of years ago to take a break from it, as it had started to become a bit stale and lose it's appeal.

The reasons were varied from fisheries trying to milk you for every penny & having stupid rules, to the changes to how the clubs were run with increased politics & cliques forming etc. and increasing costs.

Years ago when i started match fishing it was mainly so i could just experience different venues, and the club i was with would have 8-10 matches a year spread over about 8 venues (which would include a minimum of 2 canals, 2 rivers & 2 commercials). If you actually won a match the prize money would probably cover your peg fee, petrol & bait and maybe a few pints in the pub later.

Nowadays that same club is doing 16+ matches a season, spread over maybe 5 or 6 venues (and you're lucky if even one match isn't on a commercial). Money wise there really isn't that much difference (unless you're lucky and win whilst on the 'bonus' pegs in which case it can be £250+) even though peg fees have more than doubled.

I know i'll never likely stop fishing and will probably go back match fishing in a year or two when i get the 'bug' again, but till then i'll stick with the odd trip to a few local waters.
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pretty much mirrors my experience. I left one club due to the conflict between match and the pleasure dominating proceedings, lots of finger-pointing and threats, walk-outs and resignations. If i wanted to start again i'm not sure where to buy maggots, mail-order wont work. Anyway not got the urge to fish at the mo so not a problem.
 
bellbuzzer said:
pretty much mirrors my experience. I left one club due to the conflict between match and the pleasure dominating proceedings, lots of finger-pointing and threats, walk-outs and resignations. If i wanted to start again i'm not sure where to buy maggots, mail-order wont work. Anyway not got the urge to fish at the mo so not a problem.
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Nearest maggots for me are an hour or so away due to the closure of so many tackle shops. Nowadays I either do my own or buy online, depending on the quantity required.
 
KnaresboroughBlue said:
Nearest maggots for me are an hour or so away due to the closure of so many tackle shops. Nowadays I either do my own or buy online, depending on the quantity required.
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Around the Norfolk Broads you can buy maggots out of a machine! They site them close to fisheries put in a few pound and you get a tube of Maggots all nicely chilled
 
Ghandi's Flip Flops said:
I've match fished with a couple of local clubs over the last 20-25 years, and also fished a few open matches (usually all within an 1-1.5hr drive of Manchester).
Walked away from it a couple of years ago to take a break from it, as it had started to become a bit stale and lose it's appeal.

The reasons were varied from fisheries trying to milk you for every penny & having stupid rules, to the changes to how the clubs were run with increased politics & cliques forming etc. and increasing costs.

Years ago when i started match fishing it was mainly so i could just experience different venues, and the club i was with would have 8-10 matches a year spread over about 8 venues (which would include a minimum of 2 canals, 2 rivers & 2 commercials). If you actually won a match the prize money would probably cover your peg fee, petrol & bait and maybe a few pints in the pub later.

Nowadays that same club is doing 16+ matches a season, spread over maybe 5 or 6 venues (and you're lucky if even one match isn't on a commercial). Money wise there really isn't that much difference (unless you're lucky and win whilst on the 'bonus' pegs in which case it can be £250+) even though peg fees have more than doubled.

I know i'll never likely stop fishing and will probably go back match fishing in a year or two when i get the 'bug' again, but till then i'll stick with the odd trip to a few local waters.
Click to expand...

Most clubs round here have also gone to mostly matches on commercials but fortunately there are still a few offering matches on natural venues, so there are matches most weekends to choose from. Very different from the huge open matches of the old days on the Witham and Welland though.
 
Sale Water Park is deserted by design.

I don't know the whole story behind it so maybe someone can fill in the blanks but I heard there were a lot of social problems there and they banned fishing for a while.

Then as a bit of a last chance saloon, a syndicate took over which limits its members to 100.

There's some 40lb+ catfish in there now as well as decent carp. But you're right that it has killed the youth participation on the water. Shame as it was a great water some years back to learn on.
 
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