Bluemoon Angling Thread

I was fishing semi final of Scottish National this week, practice on Wednesday and match on Thursday. Another semi was held on Tuesday and the Lake of Menteith was fishing rock hard because of the heat. The sudden warm spell had heated the waster by around 4 degrees in a day and put the fish off feeding.

So Wednesday as expected was extremely tough and I managed a single fish whilst my boat partner blanked. The day was successful in learning what didn't work............

Thursday morning, the lake was as pretty as a picture

1625210658053.jpeg


after the usual briefing on rules we set out. My boat partner had the engine so he could dictate where we went. In reality, most times its a concensus and we agreed we would fish a bay where the water was deep, reaching depths of 50 feet plus and it was likely the fish would seek out the colder depths. Around 10.30 my boat partner landed a fish fishing a di 5 and booby combination. I changed to a similar set up and very quickly hit a fish that fought really well. I was not a little disappointed to discover it was a bloody pike of around 3lb doing a very good impersonation of a rainbow trout in the way it fought. Hey ho.
Around 11.30 I hit another fish which turned out to be a bit of a lump which gave me a few heart stopping moments as I tried to net it too quickly. Still, safely landed and we were both up and running in the competition. In these semis, normally the top 20 or so anglers qualify from a field of 50. On the Tuesday, one descent sized fish was enough to go through to the final so we thought maybe a couple would be enough.
It got increasingly and uncomfortably hot with no cloud cover at all. We had seen other boats pick up fish but it looked like it was getting harder and harder. By 3.30 and nothing more, decision made to change tactics to deep fished buzzers. I had tried this with a 12 foot midge tip in the morning with no effect but with a 20 foot leader and 12 feet of sinking line, I might have been fishing just too deep. My point fly could have been as deep as 20 feet plus. So on went a floating line and 20 foot leader to target depths between 15-20 feet. A heavy size 8 buzzer on the point to take a team of three down quickly.
Almost immediately, this worked. The trick is to retrieve line at exactly the pace of the drifting boat so as to present the flies completely static. As I got to the end of the first cast, with the tip of the line no more than 10 feet from the boat I nearly had my shoulder dislocated by the thump of a rainbow hitting the buzzer at speed.
20 minutes later my boat partner had one as using the same method. Then with just half an hour to go I picked up a third, like the second it took a buzzer at about 18feet down.

That was that.
After a socially distanced and masked weigh in, the results are announced in the car park. I was delighted to have qualified in a field of 45 for the final in September. Really good day with great company both days.

I will have fun over the next week or so replaying this triumph to my far more talented, international fishing buddies who failed to qualify. ;-)
 
Saddleworth2 said:
I was fishing semi final of Scottish National this week, practice on Wednesday and match on Thursday. Another semi was held on Tuesday and the Lake of Menteith was fishing rock hard because of the heat. The sudden warm spell had heated the waster by around 4 degrees in a day and put the fish off feeding.

So Wednesday as expected was extremely tough and I managed a single fish whilst my boat partner blanked. The day was successful in learning what didn't work............

Thursday morning, the lake was as pretty as a picture

View attachment 20488


after the usual briefing on rules we set out. My boat partner had the engine so he could dictate where we went. In reality, most times its a concensus and we agreed we would fish a bay where the water was deep, reaching depths of 50 feet plus and it was likely the fish would seek out the colder depths. Around 10.30 my boat partner landed a fish fishing a di 5 and booby combination. I changed to a similar set up and very quickly hit a fish that fought really well. I was not a little disappointed to discover it was a bloody pike of around 3lb doing a very good impersonation of a rainbow trout in the way it fought. Hey ho.
Around 11.30 I hit another fish which turned out to be a bit of a lump which gave me a few heart stopping moments as I tried to net it too quickly. Still, safely landed and we were both up and running in the competition. In these semis, normally the top 20 or so anglers qualify from a field of 50. On the Tuesday, one descent sized fish was enough to go through to the final so we thought maybe a couple would be enough.
It got increasingly and uncomfortably hot with no cloud cover at all. We had seen other boats pick up fish but it looked like it was getting harder and harder. By 3.30 and nothing more, decision made to change tactics to deep fished buzzers. I had tried this with a 12 foot midge tip in the morning with no effect but with a 20 foot leader and 12 feet of sinking line, I might have been fishing just too deep. My point fly could have been as deep as 20 feet plus. So on went a floating line and 20 foot leader to target depths between 15-20 feet. A heavy size 8 buzzer on the point to take a team of three down quickly.
Almost immediately, this worked. The trick is to retrieve line at exactly the pace of the drifting boat so as to present the flies completely static. As I got to the end of the first cast, with the tip of the line no more than 10 feet from the boat I nearly had my shoulder dislocated by the thump of a rainbow hitting the buzzer at speed.
20 minutes later my boat partner had one as using the same method. Then with just half an hour to go I picked up a third, like the second it took a buzzer at about 18feet down.

That was that.
After a socially distanced and masked weigh in, the results are announced in the car park. I was delighted to have qualified in a field of 45 for the final in September. Really good day with great company both days.

I will have fun over the next week or so replaying this triumph to my far more talented, international fishing buddies who failed to qualify. ;-)
Click to expand...
Proper angler, I just lob a lure in and retrieve it haha, well done, can you get us all box office seats for the final please :)
 
Sir peace frog said:
Proper angler, I just lob a lure in and retrieve it haha, well done, can you get us all box office seats for the final please :)
Click to expand...
give over with proper angler. Like you and everyone else that posts on here, I love fishing, love the outdoors and nature and every session is a learning session. For every good session their is a blank just to remind us why it’s called fishing and not catching.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
give over with proper angler. Like you and everyone else that posts on here, I love fishing, love the outdoors and nature and every session is a learning session. For every good session their is a blank just to remind us why it’s called fishing and not catching.
Click to expand...
So very true mate. Either learning new things or learning how to avoid having a nightmare session when everything goes wrong. And i agree, the outdoors and nature is more important than catching fish to me, but that may be that the older i have become the more i appreciate birds trees and ambiance of being at the side of a nice river fishing. I don't quite get the same enjoyment fishing a still water.

I'm hoping to get 2 nights in the bank next week and test out my bedchair and bivvy. I cant decide whether to fish the Trent at A1 pits, or go on the Severn or the Wye. It's time i smashed my PB barbel, a modest Dane 10lb 4oz fish. All 3 rivers contain much bigger barbel, it's just that the trent holds some real biggies, and for some strange reason I want to catch a 17lb fish. Probably dreamt that but in order to make that dream come true i need to maximise my free time fishing from next week till the first frosts.

I think there's plenty of rain about the country next few days, i need to check the weather forecast because being successful is often after a river is fining off from rain. Get the timing right and it's rod bending stuff.
 
BlueMoonRisin’ said:
So very true mate. Either learning new things or learning how to avoid having a nightmare session when everything goes wrong. And i agree, the outdoors and nature is more important than catching fish to me, but that may be that the older i have become the more i appreciate birds trees and ambiance of being at the side of a nice river fishing. I don't quite get the same enjoyment fishing a still water.

I'm hoping to get 2 nights in the bank next week and test out my bedchair and bivvy. I cant decide whether to fish the Trent at A1 pits, or go on the Severn or the Wye. It's time i smashed my PB barbel, a modest Dane 10lb 4oz fish. All 3 rivers contain much bigger barbel, it's just that the trent holds some real biggies, and for some strange reason I want to catch a 17lb fish. Probably dreamt that but in order to make that dream come true i need to maximise my free time fishing from next week till the first frosts.

I think there's plenty of rain about the country next few days, i need to check the weather forecast because being successful is often after a river is fining off from rain. Get the timing right and it's rod bending stuff.
Click to expand...
Agreed about the nature, watching the wildlife is my favourite part, straight from the concrete jungle of the airport into the peace and calm of a river or canal, blanked last night after work, but seeing that kingfisher or should I say that flash made my trip
 
Sir peace frog said:
Agreed about the nature, watching the wildlife is my favourite part, straight from the concrete jungle of the airport into the peace and calm of a river or canal, blanked last night after work, but seeing that kingfisher or should I say that flash made my trip
Click to expand...
These last few years I've become really appreciative of birds. I have often sat there wondering what certain birds were, i kind of had a good idea from watching nature programs but I wanted to be sure. Recently bought a Gosky 12x55 monoscope and a pocket UK bird species book. There was a time when I used to fish in robot mode, like a horse wearing blinkers, especially when match fishing. I used to be really sharp and responsive when i got a bite, always fine tuning my rig and keen as mustard sat bolt upright on my seat box, rod in hand ready to strike at any moment. Nowadays I'll quite happily take in the scenery whilst chilling in my reclining chair, not too fussed the fish aren't crawling up the rod, nice to catch a few specimen fish though: )
 
BlueMoonRisin’ said:
So very true mate. Either learning new things or learning how to avoid having a nightmare session when everything goes wrong. And i agree, the outdoors and nature is more important than catching fish to me, but that may be that the older i have become the more i appreciate birds trees and ambiance of being at the side of a nice river fishing. I don't quite get the same enjoyment fishing a still water.

I'm hoping to get 2 nights in the bank next week and test out my bedchair and bivvy. I cant decide whether to fish the Trent at A1 pits, or go on the Severn or the Wye. It's time i smashed my PB barbel, a modest Dane 10lb 4oz fish. All 3 rivers contain much bigger barbel, it's just that the trent holds some real biggies, and for some strange reason I want to catch a 17lb fish. Probably dreamt that but in order to make that dream come true i need to maximise my free time fishing from next week till the first frosts.

I think there's plenty of rain about the country next few days, i need to check the weather forecast because being successful is often after a river is fining off from rain. Get the timing right and it's rod bending stuff.
Click to expand...
Good luck and let us know hoe you get on.
 
Saddleworth2 said:
I was fishing semi final of Scottish National this week, practice on Wednesday and match on Thursday. Another semi was held on Tuesday and the Lake of Menteith was fishing rock hard because of the heat. The sudden warm spell had heated the waster by around 4 degrees in a day and put the fish off feeding.

So Wednesday as expected was extremely tough and I managed a single fish whilst my boat partner blanked. The day was successful in learning what didn't work............

Thursday morning, the lake was as pretty as a picture

View attachment 20488


after the usual briefing on rules we set out. My boat partner had the engine so he could dictate where we went. In reality, most times its a concensus and we agreed we would fish a bay where the water was deep, reaching depths of 50 feet plus and it was likely the fish would seek out the colder depths. Around 10.30 my boat partner landed a fish fishing a di 5 and booby combination. I changed to a similar set up and very quickly hit a fish that fought really well. I was not a little disappointed to discover it was a bloody pike of around 3lb doing a very good impersonation of a rainbow trout in the way it fought. Hey ho.
Around 11.30 I hit another fish which turned out to be a bit of a lump which gave me a few heart stopping moments as I tried to net it too quickly. Still, safely landed and we were both up and running in the competition. In these semis, normally the top 20 or so anglers qualify from a field of 50. On the Tuesday, one descent sized fish was enough to go through to the final so we thought maybe a couple would be enough.
It got increasingly and uncomfortably hot with no cloud cover at all. We had seen other boats pick up fish but it looked like it was getting harder and harder. By 3.30 and nothing more, decision made to change tactics to deep fished buzzers. I had tried this with a 12 foot midge tip in the morning with no effect but with a 20 foot leader and 12 feet of sinking line, I might have been fishing just too deep. My point fly could have been as deep as 20 feet plus. So on went a floating line and 20 foot leader to target depths between 15-20 feet. A heavy size 8 buzzer on the point to take a team of three down quickly.
Almost immediately, this worked. The trick is to retrieve line at exactly the pace of the drifting boat so as to present the flies completely static. As I got to the end of the first cast, with the tip of the line no more than 10 feet from the boat I nearly had my shoulder dislocated by the thump of a rainbow hitting the buzzer at speed.
20 minutes later my boat partner had one as using the same method. Then with just half an hour to go I picked up a third, like the second it took a buzzer at about 18feet down.

That was that.
After a socially distanced and masked weigh in, the results are announced in the car park. I was delighted to have qualified in a field of 45 for the final in September. Really good day with great company both days.

I will have fun over the next week or so replaying this triumph to my far more talented, international fishing buddies who failed to qualify. ;-)
Click to expand...

Love this report even though I know next to nothing about it. I've just bought some neoprene waders as my taste of Rutland has whetted my appetite. Next month I'll be able to afford the boots too !!
 
Newman Noggs said:
Love this report even though I know next to nothing about it. I've just bought some neoprene waders as my taste of Rutland has whetted my appetite. Next month I'll be able to afford the boots too !!
Click to expand...
Glad you enjoyed Rutland. Its a fantastic water, my favourite amongst some cracking waters. Are you planning a return visit to do some bank fishing (hence the waders)? There are some good vids on Yutube that highlight some of the better places to start. Yellowstone point on the Hambleton peninsula would be a good first choice as long as the wind is favourable.

I will be on Pitsford in early October for our annual match vs an English Bank. By that time the big brownies will be hitting fry making for some awesome sport (I hope).
 
Saddleworth2 said:
Glad you enjoyed Rutland. Its a fantastic water, my favourite amongst some cracking waters. Are you planning a return visit to do some bank fishing (hence the waders)? There are some good vids on Yutube that highlight some of the better places to start. Yellowstone point on the Hambleton peninsula would be a good first choice as long as the wind is favourable.

I will be on Pitsford in early October for our annual match vs an English Bank. By that time the big brownies will be hitting fry making for some awesome sport (I hope).
Click to expand...

Definitely go back to Rutland but not until September or October. As I've mentioned before, my mate is a member of Clitheroe and Whitewell (?) so will probably do a good bit on the Hodder and possibly the Ribble.
 
Scouse Blue said:
Second attempt on the Nene only delivered 3 reasonable bream and a large bream for my mate and 3 reasonable bream for myself, so poor again unfortunately. Someone needs to explain to DD that the bloke who is asking 'has he got a rod he can use' sounds extremely dodgy!! Off to cook some fried spam, hash browns and beans for lunch. Yes people do still eat spam, but only very occasionally :-)
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I think I asked you before but have you tried Thrapston Gravel pits? It's just down the road from you and used to be really good fishing. Another local spot I'd recommend in your area would be the Nene at Wadenhoe (in between Oundle and Thrapston) . One of my favourite old haunts, The King's Head was one of my first watering holes, me and a mate would bike down there and the Landlord would sell us a couple of beers as long as we took them down to the river and away from the pub ( we started at age 13)
 
Newman Noggs said:
Have you tried again ?
Click to expand...
Ironically. This morning. At the river at 03.30. Similar result. Both had one very good bream 6/7lb and three average bream. Really not sure what the issue is. Going to be very difficult to try again before winter as the weed is now on the rampage (clear where the hook baits are 7/8ths of the way across), but glogged right the way across. Really have to get your rod high when you hook one.
 
idahoblues said:
I think I asked you before but have you tried Thrapston Gravel pits? It's just down the road from you and used to be really good fishing. Another local spot I'd recommend in your area would be the Nene at Wadenhoe (in between Oundle and Thrapston) . One of my favourite old haunts, The King's Head was one of my first watering holes, me and a mate would bike down there and the Landlord would sell us a couple of beers as long as we took them down to the river and away from the pub ( we started at age 13)
Click to expand...
You are repeating yourself in your old age lol. We have had this conversation before. Yeah, going to have to try some different stretches of the Nene as our usual haunt is not producing. Wadenhoe and surrounding area is really lovely as are many of the local villages and pubs. When did you move across the pond?
 
Saddleworth2 said:
I was fishing semi final of Scottish National this week, practice on Wednesday and match on Thursday. Another semi was held on Tuesday and the Lake of Menteith was fishing rock hard because of the heat. The sudden warm spell had heated the waster by around 4 degrees in a day and put the fish off feeding.

So Wednesday as expected was extremely tough and I managed a single fish whilst my boat partner blanked. The day was successful in learning what didn't work............

Thursday morning, the lake was as pretty as a picture

View attachment 20488


after the usual briefing on rules we set out. My boat partner had the engine so he could dictate where we went. In reality, most times its a concensus and we agreed we would fish a bay where the water was deep, reaching depths of 50 feet plus and it was likely the fish would seek out the colder depths. Around 10.30 my boat partner landed a fish fishing a di 5 and booby combination. I changed to a similar set up and very quickly hit a fish that fought really well. I was not a little disappointed to discover it was a bloody pike of around 3lb doing a very good impersonation of a rainbow trout in the way it fought. Hey ho.
Around 11.30 I hit another fish which turned out to be a bit of a lump which gave me a few heart stopping moments as I tried to net it too quickly. Still, safely landed and we were both up and running in the competition. In these semis, normally the top 20 or so anglers qualify from a field of 50. On the Tuesday, one descent sized fish was enough to go through to the final so we thought maybe a couple would be enough.
It got increasingly and uncomfortably hot with no cloud cover at all. We had seen other boats pick up fish but it looked like it was getting harder and harder. By 3.30 and nothing more, decision made to change tactics to deep fished buzzers. I had tried this with a 12 foot midge tip in the morning with no effect but with a 20 foot leader and 12 feet of sinking line, I might have been fishing just too deep. My point fly could have been as deep as 20 feet plus. So on went a floating line and 20 foot leader to target depths between 15-20 feet. A heavy size 8 buzzer on the point to take a team of three down quickly.
Almost immediately, this worked. The trick is to retrieve line at exactly the pace of the drifting boat so as to present the flies completely static. As I got to the end of the first cast, with the tip of the line no more than 10 feet from the boat I nearly had my shoulder dislocated by the thump of a rainbow hitting the buzzer at speed.
20 minutes later my boat partner had one as using the same method. Then with just half an hour to go I picked up a third, like the second it took a buzzer at about 18feet down.

That was that.
After a socially distanced and masked weigh in, the results are announced in the car park. I was delighted to have qualified in a field of 45 for the final in September. Really good day with great company both days.

I will have fun over the next week or so replaying this triumph to my far more talented, international fishing buddies who failed to qualify. ;-)
Click to expand...
Great stuff mate. We are all behind you in the final.

It's coming, fishing's coming home.
 
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