Daves' Blog

It's that time again

2011-12-19T13:15:00.002Z

Merry Christmas to all who look in and may Santa bring you all you wish for, also tight lines for 2012 and all the big fish that come with em.

Good morning...even if it was early

2011-10-22T00:58:00.004+01:00

Travelled down to the motel this morning for my 6.30am yes that's right 6.30am meet with Jeff, we were fishing for 7.30 ish and by wrapping up time at 12 noon we had managed 12 fish (7 to Jeff) up to approx 18lbs and I had lost 4, which serves me right for saying in the van on the way that I hadn't lost a fish all week.
All our fish were taken on the polaris float, a great way to catch the carp and a break from simply listening to the alarms. Thanks Jeff for the session, throughly enjoyed as always.

Brian my neighbour has just been round for a beer and a chat, arrangements made for golf on Tuesday at Upper Canada, can't wait.

Bad weather approaches

2011-10-19T04:10:00.003+01:00

evidently so today I returned to yesterdays swim, result was 4 fish to 19-6, every fish was pristine and they fought hard all the way to the net. It is easy to forget that we are in October and within a couple of months the whole system will be completely frozen over. Tomorrow is work in the house and garden before my next session on Friday with Jeff.

What a bummer....................then

2011-10-18T02:37:00.003+01:00

Took my time getting ready this morning, spoke to my son Joe on skype and had a long chat with an old friend known to most who follow this blog.....Cahal Daly who now lives in Australia before setting off for Long Sault. Called in at the motel to see Colin as he was returning home today then set off to the swim I fished last night. Would you believe it, one other bloody carper on the whole of the parkway and he is in the swim I was going to fish. All plans out of the window I jumped from one place to another but couldn't get settled. Finally I decided to fish the first bridge and as the wind was howling into the 'back door' I would at least be sheltered. Just got all the gear in place when it started to rain and rain and rain, the wind changed direction and whistled through the bridge and I had all on the keep the brolly in place. After about an hour the rod hooped over and I was into a fish, it fought hard in the current and when finally in the net looked like a good fish. It took the scales to 22-4.....result. Nearly a hour later I was in again, this time a 21-8 was on board, by this time the wind was so bad I had no option but to pack up but wasn't that bothered as the session had turned out good in the end. I might be on the bank tomorrow depending on the weather..............I am on holiday after all LOL.

Nice short session

2011-10-18T02:21:00.003+01:00

On sunday I decided to take a trip down to Long Sault for a short afternon session into dark. The wind was a strong south westerly and there was a swim which I had been wanting to fish for quite a while and the wind was just right blowing from left to right. I started fishing at approximately 3.15pm and within 10 minutes had a 11-2 in the net, this was followed by two more of 16lbs and one at 14, nothing big but satisfying for a cool October day . I packed up at 6.30pm after putting in the remaining corn ready for the next morning

Heatwave over

2011-10-15T20:04:00.004+01:00

The weather has broken here now and the weather is wet, windy but mild, hopefully just what the fish will want. Been for a game of golf to Upper Canada which is always a pleasant experience and on thursday night fished from 5pm to 10pm and managed 2 fish, one going 18-12 the other one about 12lbs.
Word has it that the carp are starting to feed so Monday may see the first proper session down at the Dam, I'm already looking forward to it.

Holiday weekend

2011-10-08T21:37:00.002+01:00

It's thanksgiving weekend over here with Monday being a holiday day, took the temperature on the decking at 1.30pm today and it read 90 yes 90 degrees. Don't think I'll bother with the fishing till next week when it is supposed to get back to normal temps.

Phew

2011-10-08T21:34:00.002+01:00

Went for my first session yesterday, fished Hoople on the float which usually guarantees fish....11.30 to 5.30pm nothing, zilch apart from one run which was probably a liner. Only saw 3 fish break surface in the time I was there. The weather is more like August than October at the moment and the anglers are struggling everywhere.

Tim............berrrrrrrrr

2011-10-06T14:52:00.002+01:00

Today the tree guys are here to take out another 4 trees, this morning is a beautiful cool, crisp day without a cloud in the sky. Had a ride down to the motel last evening, fishing is very slow at the minute and has been through September so fingers crossed for an improvement there then.

If carlsberg did airports...................................

2011-10-05T01:14:00.002+01:00

They certainly wouldn't have done Montreal. So you have sat on a plane for 7.1/2 hrs, been on the go for a total of 17 and you then end up in a queue with nearly a thousand people waiting to go through immigration..............deep bloody joy. Anyway after about 1.1/2hrs I finally got to pick up my luggage and meet up with my neighbour Brian who had kindly come through to pick me up.
Surely it's not rocket science to stagger incoming aircraft so that this ridiculous situation doesn't occur or perhaps they just don't give a toss. Either way something needs to be done, maybe next time it might be a flight to Ottawa.

House Renovations

2011-09-30T09:21:00.011+01:00

From left to right

November 2007, May 2010, September 2011

September saw what is probably the final modification to the outside of the Canada house with installation of new sidings to try and make the property more modern looking.......we think we have achieved that and are pleased with the results. I am back over on the 3rd October for 3 weeks to close down the house for the winter, do a bit of decorating and hopefully catch a few carp and if I'm really lucky some other species.

New York, New York

2011-09-19T16:40:00.011+01:00

Finished off our holiday with a trip to New York City, after a steady 9 hour drive most of which was through endless woodland, we arrived for our short two night stay on Staten Island we took the ferry across to New York city, this must be the best free…..yes free ride in the world, taking 20mins and passing by the Statue of Liberty before docking at Manhattan. We took the two tours up-town and downtown where we saw most of the sights, saw the park and finished off with a visit to Ground Zero where they are busy re-building the site, but nothing can prepare you for the true sadness you feel as you go round and massive waste of life caused by the terrorist attack. New York has made a lasting impression on me and i certainly aim to return again soon.

Apologies

2011-07-08T17:44:00.002+01:00

for not keeping the blog update but here goes. Since the last post we had a session on the back door of the first bridge and managed 12 fish with the best one of 24.4 to Joe, we have had a couple of sessions on the Power Dam which have produced quite a few 20's to 24lb but nothing bigger. Julie has arrived and thankfully the weather is on the warm side so no complaints on that front. On Wednesday we got caught in a massive thunderstorm at at the dam and had to pack up at 9am as we were both wet through despite having a brolly..........it was a shame really as I had already caught a 24.4, a 21 and another scraper 20 and we had lost 2, the indications were that it could have been a good day but never mind. Another storm hit in the afternoon so the decision to come home wasn't a bad one.
Yesterday Thursday was a golf day with 3 friends at Cornwall Golf and Country Club, shot 78 which wasn't bad, then we were down to the Blue Anchor Restaurant on the waterfront for a lovely meal and a few beers.

Meet Catman Joe

2011-06-22T21:24:00.003+01:00

Tuesday was an early start down to the Power Dam, temps were forecast to be in the high 80's again and they were not wrong. Fish came very, very steady throughout the session and by the time we packed up, we had totalled 11 fish between us including 3 - 20's and this 8lb catfish to Joe...........remember these Wazzy. Best fish of the session was a 23.14 to Joe

Bit of a disappointment

2011-06-20T19:00:00.004+01:00

Went out to the new swim on Sunday, warm temps and north west winds didn't help matters and I only managed 1 fish around the 14lb mark, fish were moving along the shelf in front of me and were topping all over the place but obviously were not in a feeding mood and by 1pm I was heading home, I do think though that this swim has promise when the conditions change. It's back to the Power Dam on Tuesday..............we'll see how that goes

They're at it again

2011-06-18T02:29:00.002+01:00

Went out today (Friday) to pre-bait a swim ready for fishing on sunday, the carp are spawning again so there is floating weed everywhere, on entering the bay where I am pre-baiting you could actually smell the fish, water depth is 23ft so hopefully due to the very warm weather we are having at the moment they will have taken refuge in the deeper water. We will see.

A good day at the office

2011-06-17T14:41:00.004+01:00

On Wednesday we were up at the crack of dawn and leaving the house at 4.30am, on arrival at the Power Dam we set up the gear to the sound of crashing fish and cast out, my lead hit the bottom and immediately went off in my hand.....no waiting there then. Fish came thick and fast in the morning but action slowed down by around 11am as the sun came up and the air temp reached a very muggy 34 degrees, with no fish in the last 3 hours we decided to pack up at 6pm. Total catch for the day was 16 fish..................9 for Joe and 7 for me but the weights were impressive being 21.12, 22.6, 24.8, 25, 25.2, 26.8, 29.4 plus 9 mid doubles. No fishing now until saturday or sunday but we are going out in the boat to feed a new swim for a couple of days, the water is deep and hopefully will hold some big fishies.

On a non-fishing note, the Boston Bruins have just beaten the Vancouver Canucks to win the Stanley Cup in ice hockey after a seventh game decider in Vancouver, this didn't go down well with the thousands watching on big screens in the streets as riots followed with cars overturned and set on fire, 3 people stabbed, shops looted, and major damaged committed. All in the name of sport.

The young-un shows the way

2011-06-12T02:26:00.006+01:00

Thursday saw a return the island view swim, spawning activity was starting to decrease even if the temperatures weren't. Action again was very slow to start with but picked up by lunchtime and then got hectic for a couple of hours, in that time Joe managed 8 fish with a pb on the float of 26lbs-8ozs.....................I trailed behind with only 6 fish and a best of 24lbs-6ozs. By the time we reached home the air temp was approaching the 90's again, it's more like Florida than Canada at the moment.

Friday saw us once again back in our now familiar swim but this time activity was at a premium. We had intended to fish all day but with very little surface activity and only 3 small fish by early afternoon, we decided to call it a day. It seems that this swim is now finished for the season, once the fish have moved in to spawn they then move to deeper water out as the water temps increase in the shallows.....I am already looking forward to next May. We called in at the Motel on our way back, evidently all the guests were catching fish, big ones as well in the well known swims, for us Saturday and Sunday are days around the house, then on Monday its back down to the Power Dam, let's see if we can get Joe his 30.

Update

2011-06-08T23:48:00.003+01:00

Sunday saw me heading for Montreal Airport to pick up Joe, he wasn't meant to be coming out till the end of June but has arrived early. He loves and misses his dad really but won't admit it.
Anyway on Monday we decided to fish from the bank close to the Marina, a swim that I had fished a few weeks earlier with Stuart, the weather was very hot and by lunchtime we had only 2 fish to show for our efforts......Joe had one around 11 and I had one which I would have put money on being a 30 but weighed in at 26-12. We decided we were flogging a dead horse by staying longer and packed up by 1pm. On the way home the temp was being shown at 94 degrees F.

The boat had developed engine problems over the weekend and was being repaired in the Marina, I got a call Monday evening that all was now fixed and we could take it out Tuesday.

We arrived at the Marina at 6.45am and decided to have breakfast first in the restaurant, copious amounts of coffee along with bacon, eggs, sausage and toast were devoured before we set off for my newly named ''island view'' swim ( romantic dont you think). Boy were we in for a shock, masses of floating weed covered the bay where hundreds of carp were busy thrashing about in spawning mode. Some just lay there and we were nearly able to touch them. Eventually after removing weed from the prop on more than one occasion, we reached the swim. I think we both knew we were wasting our time and with only 1 fish before lunch, we headed home making a few detours on the way, checking out possible fish holding areas. I told Joe not to be despondant, in a few days time things will change and the place will catch fire, just wait and see.

Wednesday was lie in day......well 8am, followed by office work all morning, we had a drive down to the power dam in the afternoon for a spin for walleye but the water is very high and still on the cold side, another week or two will be needed until this fishes me thinks

We aim to go out early Thursday morning, we'll see what that brings.

A slow start..........................then

2011-06-04T03:17:00.005+01:00

Went back out today, conditions were not perfect as there was a north west wind blowing. I started fishing at 8 am and by 12 noon had nothing to show. Finally I was rewarded with my first fish and at 26-12 was a new pb on the float. This was then followed by a 21-4 before the icing on the cake being a new pb of 35lbs on the nose. I would like to say that it fought lke stink but alas it didn't......until it was in the net that is. I finished the session with eight fish all taken on the float and went home a happy man. God I love this place.

Wow its windy

2011-06-02T18:01:00.008+01:00

But it wasn't when I took the boat out on Thursday.......nor was it forecast to be as strong. Went back to where I had cut out my new swim and found, probably 20 yds below, an area where I could actually sit on hard ground out of the water. 30 minutes with the secateurs and hey-ho swim No.2 was done. I catapulted a couple of pouches of corn out and literally within 10 minutes had caught a 20lbs 8ozs fish. Fish came thick and fast but the wind intensified so much that I had to stop fishing after 4 hours and get the boat to somewhere sheltered. I had caught 16 fish including 3 - 20s best going 24lbs in only 5 hours........not a bad mornings fishing. then spent 3 hours sat in the reeds waiting for the wind to subside so I could safely get back to the marina. Colin a guest with the Canadian Carp Club was having a red letter days fishing to remember, he only came out from the UK on Thursday and by the time he packed up he had caught 81 fish including 3 - 30s and a 25lb mirror, all on the polaris ( a new record for the CCC) I sat with him for the last hour, there must have been thousands of fish in front of him as the rod was never still.

Back out on the water

2011-05-31T20:55:00.004+01:00

Yesterday was the first time out since Thursday due to my illness, the weather has now turned very warm and has reached 94 degrees as I sit here. Fished my swim at the top of the bay again and managed 10 but nothing of any size as the best was 17.5lbs, I cannot begin to explain how many fish were in the swim but we are talking hundreds if not thousands and it is highly likely that this weather will induce their spawning. The good thing is that due to the sheer volume of fish, they do not all spawn at the same time and it is quite possible that whilst fish are spawning in one bay, they are happily feeding in another. When I left in the boat I could hear them bumping on the bottom of the hull due the sheer numbers of fish.
Tomorrow I will be back out as wind is forecast so we could have a better day.......fingers crossed.

Now where did I leave that lawnmower.

Mirror, Mirror.......................

2011-05-27T22:15:00.006+01:00

Took the boat out for the first time yesterday (Thursday), having scooted around for a while with the fish-finder on I settled on a previously unfished spot right on the end of a large bay, stood up in 4ft of water I rowed the boat out, put a marker in and dumped some corn, within 10 minutes I was getting movement on the line signifying there were plenty of fish around, though I knew that from the number of carp crashing out around me. It wasn't long before I netted the first fish and with regular spodding between 12 noon and 5.30pm I had landed 12 fish and lost 7, best 20lbs-8ozs and took fish both far out on the lead and close in on the polaris float. I also had my first Mirror which are far scarcer than the commons and followed it up later with another, needless to say I went home a happy camper (its not easy taking photos in the water with the self timer)
There were some very big fish showing themselves and I was looking forward to returning back today but the rain is banging down, it's windy and I am not well at the moment so hopefully will be out tomorrow.

The girls are back in town

2011-05-26T03:12:00.003+01:00

Today (wednesday) was a day round the house working in the garden and getting the boat ready to take out on thursday. The engine had not been run since it was winterised in October but started second time, good engines those Mariners. A call to Jeff brought the news that the big girls have arrived in town. He had caught two thirties and there had been another caught. Yesterday another angler had caught three 30's in one session including a 39.12, not a bad session I'm sure you'll agree. Jeff finished with I think 15 fish including three 30's, best 37 and he packed up at 12.............oh and they were all taken ON THE FLOAT.

It's behind you......................

2011-05-26T02:54:00.008+01:00

Yesterday (Tuesday) I paid my first visit to the Power Dam, I took the water temp which showed only 52 degrees so I didn't really expect anything. However I finished the session with three and lost one.....best being around the 23 mark. Have you ever been fishing and thought you were being watched, it happened here and on looking behind saw this lovely creature, apologies for the poor picture quality but you get the idea, she stayed for a couple of minutes before bounding off. Also had a walk down the bank and came across this eel...........didn't weigh it but it was 3.5 ft long, Jeff informs me that it is only a small one as he has seen them much bigger, I will have to have a go for them one night, bet they give a great fight.

It's not all about catching........but it helps

2011-05-24T00:42:00.004+01:00

Well today the lads have returned home after what can only been described as one of the worst May weeks for bloody ages. Cold east winds with rain, rain and more rain together with cold water temperatures have all managed to hamper catching, but they did get a few 20's in the harsh conditions along with some smaller ones. I will post more on the catch when Wazzy gives me the info.
Despite the fishing we managed to have a good time, Wazzy revealed his latest purchase which I must say did actually work, Grumpies sold more Chicken Wings in the week than in the whole of last season and on wednesday Marion and Jeff gave us a superb barbeque, thanks lads for letting me stay over for those two nights.
Last night we had a few beers and games of pool at my house before Wazzy slipped out in the early hours of this morning to bag 14 carp to 26lbs to finish off the holiday.
The company was great, shame about the fishing, I will miss you boys and we will have to do it again some time............next year maybe.

Its miserable out here

2011-05-16T14:51:00.002+01:00

Well it hasn't stopped raining since Saturday morning, air temps haven't exceeded 10 degress centigrade and needless to say I haven't been fishing. I did however set to work on the boat trailer and changed both wheel bearings, one tyre was flat and on closer inspection found to be toally knackered so I replaced that also. Wazzy and crew arrive today and the rain is set to finally ease by tomorrow with the air temp back up in the 20's by Wednesday let's just hope the fish co-operate.

Update

2011-05-14T04:27:00.006+01:00

It’s been a long time since my last post so what’s been happening. On the fishing front I decided to go back to the commercials fishing the pole and waggler, not the carp ‘puddles’ as they are referred to by some, but to fisheries containing roach and good quality Ide which have provided great sport and I must say I have enjoyed it immensely.

On the 4^th May I was back at the consultant to discuss the results of my MRI scan.

Then on the Thursday the 5^th it was over to Manchester airport to pick up our neighbours from Canada who are over on holiday for a couple of weeks. They were staying with us for a few days so Saturday saw us in York for the day, it’s a long time since I had visited the city and I had forgot how interesting a place it was. It is unfortunate however that they feel the need to charge such ridiculous entry fees into the various places of interest. The following day we were off to the east coast, first Pickering, then on to Whitby followed by Scarborough and Filey before returning home. Sunday saw us at Chatsworth house….not my scene really but I must say I did enjoy every minute of it and the house is well worth the entrance fee. On Monday I took them down to Milton Keynes where they were meeting up with their friends to continue their holiday and maybe have a rest.

Wednesday 11^th May and I was off to Heathrow for my flight out to Montreal. Having made good time from Kings Cross to the airport I then found out the flight was delayed by 3 hours…….. better than the day before though as that flight didn’t go at all due to damage caused to the aircraft by airport personnel evidently, so a larger plane had to be provided to take the extra passengers. Anyway I am here now and it’s good to be back.

Today Friday……first day fishing, I decided to fish a new swim. It turned out to be very slow with only 1 run resulting in a carp of 15.1/2 lbs, fishing is hard at the moment due to the cold water temperature, however the air temp today reached 79 degrees and the water temp in the margins was 61, so fishing should improve even though the forecast is poor for the next couple of days with rain on its way

A not so merry christmas

2011-02-02T00:41:00.001Z

Well I hope everyone had a good xmas and may I wish you all a very happy new year. For me this Christmas will be one that I won’t forget in a hurry. I have been diagnosed with trigeminal neuralgia, I won’t bore you with all the details suffice to say that if there is a more painful illness out there I certainly don’t want it. On the plus side I have lost 1.1/2 stone but I just wish it was under better circumstances.
Still it’s not life threatening and there are people out there much worse off than me, so onwards and upwards as they say………..tight lines all.

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T00:53:00.002Z

To one and all, may all your hopes and dreams be fullfilled and if not just get pissed and eat too much

It's not impossible

2010-12-16T10:25:00.003Z

Now it's not that often that a programme comes on the tele that blows me away, but it did last week when I watched my first episode of Martin Bowlers Catching the Impossible. What an absolute credit to himself and the world of angling this is, no swearing, no blatent plugging of DVD's, brilliant narration from Bernard Cribbins and photography to make the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end. I can't wait to see the remainder of the series if its half a good as what I have watched already.

Come on England

2010-12-01T19:36:00.003Z

With the 2nd Test due to start in Adelaide tomorrow night our time, it is refreshing that we go into it neither 1 nil down nor as the underdogs. For me the aussies are mediocre at best, their attack bowlers are lacking in the threat department and were it not for a bad umpiring decision in their first innings, they would have been lucky to reach 250. Gone are the days where Ponting could throw the ball to Warne, McGrath or Lee and say ' win me the match' and invariably they did.......oh no not now and we are maybe starting to see Ponting in a different light and under pressure. Botham was enjoying every minute of the 5th day in Brisbane, constantly commenting on the lack of support from the aussie fans and when he was joined in the box by Shane Warne came up with line which went something like ''I have seen people come to matches in fancy dress, but never dressed as plastic chairs''...........priceless. Get stuck in England, there's nowt better than seeing the aussies close to tears.

Fore

2010-11-03T00:14:00.002Z

The weather today was lovely, after a frosty start the sun came out...............time for a game of golf I thought. Nipped down to the local club and after a practice on the range I went out for 18 holes, unwisely I played off the back markers which, due to the wet conditions was a real test of my long game but was thoroughly enjoyable if a tad tiring. I was round in 3 hours and back home by 4.15pm.........time for tea.

Final Fling

2010-11-02T23:37:00.003Z

Decided to have a last bash on Sunday evening, prospects didn't look good to be fair as the air temp was deteriorating day by day but, as they say, you never know. Anyway I got to the dam at around 3pm, Peter a local carper was there and had caught 2 fish during the day. I fished from 4pm till 8.30pm and had 1 run which resulted in a carp of 19.3/4lbs, the air temp at packing up time was 3.8 degrees, I must admit that I felt a slight amount of satisfaction in that I had caught in difficult conditions.

A lesson from the master

2010-10-29T21:30:00.003+01:00

Fished last evening from 4.30 to 8.30 with Jeff who owns the Canadian Carp Club in Long Sault, me, well I had the first run but lost the fish to a broken hook length (first time ever) after that it was the Jeff show as he banked three fish of 12, 28 and very plump 33.5, an excellent performance in such a short session. The temperatures are set to drop from now on so the rods may get put away till next season but we'll see.

What a strange session

2010-10-28T14:33:00.011+01:00

click on photos to enlarge

Tuesday afternoon saw me heading down to the Power Dam, the weather forecasters had got it spot on, after a cloudy start the sun had started to break through and it was getting much warmer. I arrived at my drop off point as due to the walk being fairly long we drop the gear halfway before parking up the car. The fox sorry walmart barrow comes in useful here. On arrival at the swim I took the water temp 12.4 degrees with the air temp coming in at a sultry 23, not bad for October. I set up the mountains of gear and prepared myself for what I hoped would be a good nights fishing. I didn't expect action straight away, but the occasional carp showing on the surface did get the blood pressure rising, After approx 2hrs I picked up the rod to recast and felt something pulling back, thinking I had foul-hooked a carp I brought the fish to the bank only to find a 8lb musky had attacked the yellow boilie on the retrieve...............well at least a blank had been avoided. The rest of the afternoon was uneventful other than a couple of locals fishing for walleye, then at 5pm I had my first run but lost it to a hook pull (bugger) then lost another one shortly afterwards and a third well into dark went the same way. It was my intention to have a rod out through the night but around midnight the rain started so I made the decision to reel in and fish at first light.

7am and after a night of heavy rain and strong winds, the bivvy had passed with flying colours and there was now a lovely sunrise to behold. Within 15 minutes I had a run, picked the rod up and it was soon evident that this was a good fish, taking line at will and it was a good fifteen minutes before it was ready for the net.............oh yes it was a good fish but unfortunately hooked in the tail, I weighed it at an ounce under 30lbs, took the customary photo and sent her on her way. I fished on until 11am but with no further action decided to pack away and go home as I had been invited for dinner by friends across the street later that evening, on the way back I made a slight detour to see Jeff who runs the Canadian Carp Club, he had just returned from a trip to the Frazier River sturgeon fishing. We made arrangements to meet up Thurs evening for a session on the dam into dark.....here's hoping

Prepping for the winter

2010-10-24T23:27:00.003+01:00

Today I went down to Long Sault to pick the boat up to bring it back to the house for the winter. The events earlier in the year have really knocked my confidence with regard the pulling the trailer, however I reached home without mishap and after winterising the outboard, the boat was sheeted up until May. Temperatures here are on the rise and believe it or not are set to hit a balmy 19 degrees on Tuesday.................a night session looms Tuesday night, watch this space.

Back across the pond

2010-10-24T23:04:00.004+01:00

After an uneventful flight (apart from the customery 1 hour delay), I arrived in Cornwall on Thursday evening. Didn't do much on Friday and spent Saturday watching the soccer as we get a couple of prem league matched every week, then I had a drive down to the Power Dam where they have finally opened the visitor centre. I must say though that is very interesting and informative, going into great detail explaining how the dam operates, the history of the area and the mohawk indians and the way they were disrespected during the contruction, so much so that a letter of apology was issued to them eventually. We haven't been able to fish down there for the last 18 months, but now all the work is done we can finally get access to what is probably the best area of all.

Europe.....Europe.......Europe

2010-10-04T18:45:00.002+01:00

Well done to the European team for lifting the Ryder Cup and bring it back to where it belongs. The USA tried hard and made a fist of it, but to be honest was the result ever in doubt ??. How those boys produce the level of golf under that pressure is amazing. Well done Monty and the boys you were fantastic.

Rain and rain and rain and...........................

2010-10-04T18:27:00.006+01:00

Friday morning 9am and I'm heading to Wazzys' house en-route to the BFW fish-in organised by Chris Pearson and being held at Fiskerton on the River Trent. We had a great time despite the crappy weather. Chris did a sterling job in organising the event which raised £600 for Sue Ryder Care, the cheque being collected by the Barnsley AC president.
On the fishing front, I caught 2 eels, Wazzy caught 3 (edited) Barbel (clever git) and we sampled the beer at the local pub which was so nice on Friday that we were forced to go back for more on Saturday. Hobby made an appearance and offered loads of advice and gave us a lift to the pub, Steve (Richardson) joined us for a beer on Saturday, it was great to meet up with him again and he fished into dark with me. However the river was rising rapidly and with tons of weed coming down fishing was becoming near impossible, so to all those who suceeded I salute you.....well done.
Packing up on Sunday morning was horrendous in the rain and my thanks go to wazzy for his help.
That could be it for me now on the fishing front until I go back to Canada on the 21st, I am looking to doing a couple of night sessions this time, so it will be interesting to see how it goes.

A nice end to the holiday

2010-09-20T19:10:00.004+01:00

We had decided to have the last 2 days at Niagara Falls, I had been before with Joe but Julie hadn't seen them. It is all very commercialised now but thankfully not around the main event. For anyone who gets the chance to visit do so, they are really worth seeing. Julie took this photo from the sky tower which is around 200ft high, Joe went with her as I get dizzy 10ft off the floor. After spending Wenesday and Thursday taking in the sights, it was time to return to Toronto and our journey home. Not long till 21st October though and my return to Cornwall for 2 weeks

Is it really.....................

2010-09-20T18:51:00.003+01:00

over a month since I last posted, apologies to those few who look in. I didn't do much fishing for the rest of the holiday, I went back to the island for a session and whilst I hooked plenty of fish, the weed was a real problem and so after losing more than I caught and worrying about the ever increasing wind (due to being in the boat) I packed up by 11am. Once again no fish got anywhere near a 20 which is very surprising, still that's fishing.

Holiday Monday

2010-08-04T04:01:00.002+01:00

Monday was a holiday here in Ontario so after a lie in (9am), we spent the day tootling around the house before taking the car to the car wash. Elliot, Marion and Jeffs nephew was coming out today from the UK so we headed down to Grumpies in the evening to welcome him back.

A day in the water

2010-08-04T03:47:00.003+01:00

Sunday saw us up early as we headed down to Long Sault to pick up the boat for a session off one of the islands. When we reached the spot there were fish all over the finder so we deposited some cracked corn over the mark hoping they would get their heads down. We were sat in the water casting 60 yds into 20ft plus and by the end of the session we had done ok managing 12 fish but losing the same amount in the bank of weed in front of us. Nothing big with the best scraping 16lbs. It was a great day to be out though, 34 degrees plus and a slight breeze.......catching was a bonus. God I love this place.

It's not all fishing and golf you know

2010-08-01T01:15:00.003+01:00

Saturday saw 'kitchen duties' taking down the old units ready for new ones to go in their place, we went down to Long Sault in the afternoon and took the boat out to feed our swim and then we threw a few spinners about to no avail, still the weather was marvellous and there aren't many better places to spend a few hours than on the lovely St.Lawrence Seaway.

It's on..............it's off

2010-08-01T01:10:00.002+01:00

Fished 'the bridge' on Friday morning 5.30 till 11 am, one fish caught and 11 yes 11 lost, sharp hooks but maybe too long hairs. We had loads of sharp quick runs which stopped abruptly before you could get to the rod and one one occasion all the bait had been stripped of the hair. I have some ideas which I intend to try out next time.

A disaster but if could have been much worse

2010-07-29T04:34:00.003+01:00

4.30 am on Wednesday morning. We were up and ready for the off with plenty of bait ready, this was going to be a serious session. We drove down to the Motel and picked up the boat. The forecast was for the winds to increase during the morning so I decided to launch the boat at Dickinsons as it was sheltered and closer to the area we intended to fish......what a mistake this turned out to be. We left the Motel and turned into the parkway.....as I drove along I kept glancing through the mirror to check all was ok when suddenly to my horror the boat had somehow come off the ball and was rearing up behind the car. Now in hindsight I realise that I should have coasted to a stop but in the heat of the moment rationale doesn't kick in and I braked. Yes I stopped but the boat didn't and smashed into the tailgate of the car, we jumped out to be met by carnage, half the tailgate was pushed in and there was a puncture through the skin of the lid made by the initial impact, unfortunately the connector for the electrics had not come apart and that had helped to keep the boat in tow behind the car. Gutted to say the least, we re coupled to boat and went back home via the Motel. 4hrs later and after a couple of estimates, it was apparent that a new tailgate was required at a cost of $1500......... deep joy.
Hours later when you think about the events that unfolded, it starts to sink in that actually things could have been a lot worse......no-one was hurt but what if the boat had come off and hit an on-coming car or a pedestrian, what if we had been on the main road, the list is endless. What I really wish is that the wind had have been calm and then we would have launched from the marina, but it wasn't and we didn't so I must take the consequences. Lessons have been learned though and measures will be in place to ensure this doesn't happen again.
Anway I'm off to bed now as it's golf tomorrow.............bugger the fishing for tomorrow anyway.

Messing about in the boat

2010-07-29T04:27:00.003+01:00

No fishing on Tuesday as we are continuing to bait a swim ready for the weekend, the weather is great to be on the water so we spent the afternoon running around with the fishfinder. Joe took his ring with him with the intention of being pulled behind the boat, didn't work out that way though as he was uncerimoniously dumped in the drink within a matter of minutes.......I promise I did not laugh at all. When we got back to the marina, Jeff was there and asked us if we wanted to go out in his proper boat......how could we refuse and what a trip it was, there are fish everywhere but when will they get their heads down if at all, it is all very frustrating.

Sharing the river with carp killers

2010-07-29T04:16:00.002+01:00

Couldn't get on the bridge on Monday afternoon so we went into the parkway, the going was tough but I did manage 1 of about 12lbs. At around 4pm we decided to go back to the bridge to see if the swim was vacant, it wasn't as a family of chinese were still there. We decided to fish across from them and in the next three hours they proceeded to catch 3 carp which, having been landed, were taken under the bridge presumably to be despatched for the journey home....now bearing in mind that they had been there all day I dread to think how many they actually killed. It is unfortunate that at he present time they are doing nothing wrong.....hopefully this will change in time. Oh we had one of 17.1/2 lbs. Not a good day really.

A nice short session

2010-07-26T03:15:00.004+01:00

Fished running water at the first bridge on saturday evening 4.45 till 8.30, we managed 7 fish to 17 lbs and lost 3 (Joe had 4) which was a decent session despite the horrendous weed coming down, one reason for this could be that the carp have spawned again and the size of the fish are generally much smller than usual. The big girls must be out there though and we intend to give it another go on Monday evening....fingers crossed.

It started with a.................................blank

2010-07-22T18:54:00.003+01:00

Fished this morning 7am to 12 noon, only 1 run to me and lost it (on the right hand rod Dave), the temperature was just hitting 29 degrees when we packed up with the water not much colder. Fish were showing but not feeding and evidently it was the same all over, never mind tomorrow's another day so they say.

We've arrived.....well nearly

2010-07-20T23:39:00.003+01:00

As I type we have just left Toronto Railway Station (wonders of wifi) on the last leg of our journey, only the small matter of a 4hr train ride and we will have arrived in Cornwall. Got to the station and called in at the baggage dept to enquire whether I could take my bivvy box on the train due to its size and there being no baggage car, no problem, a porter was called and not only did he take both bags on board early for us but reserved our seats as well......$10 tip well earned i'd say.

Counting down

2010-07-13T16:53:00.002+01:00

Next Tuesday 20th sees me and Joe back over the pond for 5 weeks, can't wait to get back into the carp fishing and pottering about in the boat. Temps are going to be high but certain swims have the deep water and will produce. We are going to do a couple of overnighters this time which could be fun and it will be interesting to see how the area fishes in the dark....watch this space.

A proud day

2010-06-20T23:01:00.004+01:00

Yesterday my youngest son Joe who is 15, told me that his mum was going to drop him off on the River Calder on Sunday so he could have a couple of hours fishing. I have been unable to do anything for a week as I have been laid out (literally) with a bad back, so I was quite pleased with his enthusiasm. I did think however that he may be wasting his time but never mind I thought at least he is showing willing. So off he went this morning and I awaited a call. About 10am he rang me and I asked how things were going...........I'm getting knocks on the pellet he says and I've been in the next swim down watching the chub taking pellets. Great I thought well at least it's not totally hopeless, 11am............Hey dad I've caught, great I replied what was it??, a 3.l/2lb chub followed next cast by a common carp of about 7lbs. Bloody hell I thought, keep the bait going in I said and well done. He wasn't finished there though, he ended up with another 2 (Brown Trout), lost one to a broken hooklink tied by yours truly and then just to really finish of the session caught a BARBEL which he estimated at around 5lbs. He packed up at 12 which meant that in 3 hours he had 1 Chub, 2 Brown Trout and a Barbel and had his licence checked by the Police. So the lad did good despite his dads doubts............but then again what does he know.

The fishing licence

2010-06-04T23:34:00.004+01:00

I have read on various websites, the mumblings and grumblings of individuals with regard to how our current licencing procedure operates. Having come back from Canada recently, their system seems quite effective and is one I feel we could adopt. Firstly you go into your local tackle shop and complete a paper licence which is given to you. A copy is then sent away to the fishing board and you are sent a credit card type licence which you carry with you, It contains details of your date of birth, height, eye colour and obviously your name and address. Then at the start of each year you simply go into a fishing tackle shop and purchase a 'tag' which is stuck onto the back of your licence.............job done and this can be repeated for 6 years, no need for i.d as it's on your card, it seems such a simple method. Maybe though it is just too simple for our lot.

2010-06-02T16:41:00.001+01:00

Friday

2010-06-01T11:24:00.002+01:00

Today we both leave for home, I had a busy morning cleaning the house prior to my departure, Dave however managed a couple of hours fishing and caught 7 including a 20 and 5 doubles. His total catch for the week was a creditable 71 carp in 8 sessions including 11 x 20+ and 46 doubles, considering the hot weather and spawning fish he did very well indeed. Fortunately I looked at the itinary for the flight home and noticed that we actually left at 5pm and not 7.30 as we had somehow thought............bit of a rush but we made it in plenty of time. So another May passes by (they seem to come round quicker every year) but for me its a short spell back in the UK until I return in July with my son Joe for some summer action.

Thursday, a day to remember

2010-05-31T23:13:00.004+01:00

So this is it, the last full session for my May trip, Dave and I had discussed where to fish the night before and decided on the Pontoon swim, mainly because a) it had been seriously baited for a couple of weeks b) it is a known swim for producing big fish and c) it is next to the restaurant where they serve big breakfasts and loads of coffee. I arrived at approx 5.30am and Dave was already there and after spodding out plenty of particles we sat back and waited. After about an hour there were fish crashing out all over but the going was slow, so slow that by 4pm we had only caught 4 fish between us but as we had been working hard all day putting the bait out, we decided to fish on for a couple more hours…………..what a great decision that was, despite the fact that all fish activity on the surface had now stopped, the fish went on the feed and during the next 3 hours we added another 13 fish. It was during this period that the moment I had waited for over the last four years finally arrived, the take was slower than normal and the fish held station just taking line as and when it pleased. It took probably ten minutes before I saw the fish and as it came to the net I saw the biggest fish I had ever caught in my life. Safely in the net I lifted it out of the water and Dave confirmed it was a big fish, I could hardly bear to look at the scales as they registered 32lbs on the dot (photo above), needless to say I was ecstatic and looking at the fish it was so beautiful with absolutely no sign of spawning. A quick call to Jeff to let him know, a shake of Daves’ hand and a couple of photos and she was safely released. I cast out again and within 5 minutes was into a 23.5, not bad for 2 runs. We finished the session with 17 fish………a 32, 2 x 20’s and all the rest big doubles on a great day shared with a great mate in a great place, what could be better.

Wednesday

2010-05-29T20:14:00.002+01:00

And just to prove how frustrating this carp fishing can be, Dave fished Tuesdays swim again and struggled compared to the day before, although he did manage a 20 and 5 doubles in his 7 fish catch. Me, I had a nightmare, the first area I went to was unfishable due to floating weed ripped up be the spawning carp, I then moved and had the same problem but worse, until finally I joined Dave but only ended the day with 2 fish although one was a 23.

Tuesday

2010-05-29T20:09:00.003+01:00

I didn't fish today as I had some work to do at the house, Dave fished a swim which can be very productive with flowing water ideal during this hot spell. In total he had 29 fish including 4 x 20's and 2 x 19's making this the best session of the holiday. Strangely at around 7pm when the sun had finally gone down and the conditions seemed perfect...................the fish stopped feeding.

Monday

2010-05-29T20:07:00.002+01:00

Fished one of the more productive swims today but it did not produce, only 1 fish for me, Dave managed 7 mostly doubles. The weather is now hot, hot, hot and the fishing is hard. It just goes to show that even with so many fish in the system, nature rules.

Sunday

2010-05-25T16:31:00.003+01:00

We returned to the swim I had fished on Thursday. It is fast becoming evident that early morning and evening are the best times as the heat during the day is putting the fish down. The weather now is more like summer than spring. Sure enough the fish are now spawning and the sights in the bays are something you have to see to believe with thousands of carp crashing about in the shallow water. We managed 11 fish between us with Dave getting the majority plus the biggest fish of 26lbs. It looks like it may well be tough going for the rest of the holiday but hey......that's fishing.

Saturday

2010-05-25T16:27:00.003+01:00

Today we fished a swim at one of the bridges, Dave was getting liners from the start and managed a total of seven fish with the best going 24lbs-6ozs. I had a bad one with only 2 fish. The east wind continues to make things difficult and the hot weather could encourage the fish to start spawning. The next few days will tell.

Friday

2010-05-25T16:22:00.002+01:00

Dave has arrived and we made an early start. When I got to the swim Dave was already there and all looked good but it didn't work out that way though as the wind had swung round to the east and along with the really hot day we only managed four fish between us to 21lbs.

Thursday

2010-05-25T16:19:00.002+01:00

Best day up to now, caught the first fish at 7.45am and by 12 noon had 11 including 3 x 20's and 2 x 19's. Left at lunchtime to do some work at the house, fished the same swim on the evening and had another 4 fish in a couple of hours................weather is really starting to warm up.

Slow Going

2010-05-20T03:22:00.003+01:00

Fished tuesday but only managed 6 fish, although the number of fish starting to show are increasing day by day. The water temps are now just above 60 degrees and the place should catch fire anytime soon although with the air temps pushing 80 we will need some wind please. It is noticeable that the bites are more savage now as the fish wake up and not all fiah are small, just look at this one Colin caught with his first cast ......all 31-4 of it. My mate Wazzy arrives today so we will be up and at em from Friday. Me, well I'll be out first light in my persuit of the elusive 30 pounder.

Not all a bed of roses

2010-05-18T03:14:00.002+01:00

Went down to Long Sault early this morning (Monday), on arrival the wind was pushing straight into the bank and I saw a couple of fish show on my walk down to the swim. One fish caught and one lost in the first ten mintes made me think it was going to be a good day. After about an hour Colin arrived with Lee, the guest of CCC, he had been fishing another swim when a couple of EE's appeared, yes they're here too. Despite there not being enough room for them they pushed their way into his swim and on catching a carp........promply bumped it on the head and deposited it in a bin liner. Utterly and not surprisingly disgusted by the whole episode Lee packed up and Colin came for him, after giving them a piece of his mind, he brought Lee to my swim.
Being the gentleman that I am, I made room for Lee and for the next 4 hours I took on the role of ghillie as he totally outfished me. No problem there, it was his last day before flying home later this afternoon......hope you had a pleasant trip mate.

Short, but nice and sweet

2010-05-17T03:12:00.004+01:00

Sunday I spent most of the day pottering about the house and the garden, the weather is getting better every day and today the temp reached 20 degrees and sunny. I Went for a few hours fishing late afternoon and in 3 hours banked a 12, 17 and a 23 which looked and fought like a 30, not bad for a short session. I put half a bucket of corn in before I left ready for the morning. With the temperatures set to increase on a daily basis here's hoping the wind blows as well.

A laugh and a joke and fish to boot

2010-05-17T03:03:00.003+01:00

On Saturday I spent the day fishing with Lee who is the guest staying with Jeff and Marion. We fished a swim that is barely 4ft deep yet it can be full of carp without them giving themselves away. During the course of the day we had plenty of liners as you would expect but we only managed 7 fish between us with the best going just over 20 lbs. Lee is a great lad and a good angler despite coming from Nottingham ( we have to live somewhere) and we both had a great day with plenty of laughs, at the end of the day aint this what fishing should be all about.

Frustrating day in paradise

2010-05-17T02:57:00.003+01:00

Fished friday, it was a frustrating day as you would pick up a few fish, then it would go dead, then a few fish and so it continued. Packed up at 5pm, best fish 21 lbs. Jeff brought a father and son down so I let him fish the swim I was in, the lad had never caught a carp before..........................he has now

Out with friends

2010-05-14T03:46:00.002+01:00

Marion and Jeff invited me to a barbeque tonight (thursday) at their motel along with Colin, Jason and their angling guest Lee, what can I say, great food including a lovely steak cooked by Jeff and smashing company.....what more could you ask for, thanks again guys. Off to bed now as its an early start tomorrow

Fishing the Polaris Float

2010-05-13T03:22:00.002+01:00

Over the last week, with the water and air temps being well below the average for the time of year fishing has been hard............fishing the lead was a waste of time due to the fact that bites were so finicky. The carp here are crazy fish and fight all the way to the net, this week however whilst fishing the Polaris the bites had to be seen to be believed. I watched today as my float dipped but didn't go under, went under but no fish there, I could have been back in Ireland catching those dog roach, but no, this was carp fishing, but different to anything I had witnessed before. If I had been fishing the lead, there is no way I could have seen those bites, talking to Jeff he said that the Polaris regularly out performs any other method and I can understand why, plus that fact that personally I find it a far more pleasurable way of fishing. No doubt when the temps increase the fish will feed harder, but until then give me the float any time.

It just gets better for the Canadiens

2010-05-13T03:07:00.006+01:00

Having scraped into the Stanley Cup playoffs by the skin of their teeth, then dumping out the favourites Washington 4-3 in the best of seven series, they did it again tonght by seeing of the defending champions Pittsburg Penguins 5-2 to take the series 4-3 in Pittsburg, all that stands between them and the Stanley Cup final is a confernce final against either Boston or Philedelphia. To put it into perspective it's like Burnley beating Chelsea and Man Utd in best of seven games each.

Warming Up

2010-05-13T02:29:00.003+01:00

The weather is finally getting warmer, fished the same swim as Tuesday and caught 10 fish, best going 19lbs but all the fish were doubles. Packed up at 3pm and headed home. Temps are set to go into the 20's by the weekend, you can already sense that the fish are moving around more and every day there is more activity on the surface.

PB on the Polaris

2010-05-13T02:25:00.003+01:00

Fished on Tuesday and managed a new pb on the polaris float of 26.1/4 lbs, cold NE winds ensured that the going was tough so needless to say I was well pleased

Just the one

2010-05-11T02:52:00.003+01:00

Went out for a few hours this afternoon (Monday), over the weekend the weather has been crap with snow flurries on Sunday, consequently the water temp had dropped by an incredible 10 degrees in three days so to say I was not very optomistic is an understatement. Nevertheless I managed a nice well conditioned 23 and went home happy. Evidently the weather is set to get warmer from now on so the fishing should improve. The fish here are no different to those back home, there may be more of them but if the conditions are hard then so is the fishing.

Up the Creek - no paddle required

2010-05-08T16:39:00.003+01:00

Whilst talking to Jeff, owner of the Canadian Carp Club on thursday evening, he mentioned that he was going to fish his favourite swim on friday morning to see how it performed, he asked me if I would lke to take over from him at 11.30 as he had some business to take care of, we left it that he would ring me friday morning to let me know how he was doing. Jeff rang at 9.45am friday to say he had caught six and lost a couple so I packed my gear into the car and arrived at the swim by 11am. By this time he had caught 12 and netted another as he was packing up mainly mid doubles but two 26's, I took over and by 6pm had caught a further 12 and lost 4, best fish was 17.5 half of them doubles. Best thing was that all the fish were caught on the polaris float and although the fish were on the small size, the sport was great.
So in total 25 fish came out, over half were doubles, two best were 26 and in reality this was a slow day, you gotta love this canadian carping.
Today the weather is bad, NE winds and rain so its around the house for me and tomrrow doesn't look much better but next week should improve.

Off the mark

2010-05-07T04:25:00.003+01:00

Went out for a couple of hours on Wednesday with the waggler, although there were a few fish showing I didn't manage to connect with one. On Thursday however I did manage to land a well conditioned 24 and a 14 in between the thunder showers and gale force winds. Not far away a guy was taken to hospital having been working on a house which was struck by lightning, the owners had only moved into their brand new home 3 weeks ago, makes you think it does. In the ice hockey Montreal Canadiens came back from 2-1 down to win 3-2 tonight against the Penguins and level the best of seven series 2-2.......the Stanley Cup dream lives on and goes to Pittsburg on Saturday.

Oh Dear

2010-05-04T03:13:00.005+01:00

Woke up at 7am Monday, its raining. Finally got away at 10am and was in the swim by 12 noon. put out 20 spods of bait and cast in at 1pm. By the time I packed away at 6pm I had 1 liner and saw one fish show well out. I tried different baits, fished the lead and the float all to no avail, the fish simply were not there, never mind as they say tomorrow's another day (or maybe Wednesday).
Talking to Jeff and Colin consensus seems to be that very shortly the place will catch fire, another few degrees in the water temp and we will be off.

Feeding Time again

2010-05-01T22:10:00.004+01:00

Went back out in the boat this afternoon, checked around the marker, all the corn from the day before had gone , put out another bucket in the same area and just got back before a thunderstorm hit, it is still going on as I write.

Preparation day 1

2010-05-01T13:31:00.002+01:00

Friday, the first day....got the boat ready, put the motor on and gave it a test. Thankfully it started first time so I then went down to the corn supplier and purchased two 40kgs sacks of maize, started to soak the first sack ready for the prebait and I already had some in the freezer which had been thawed out ready.
The swim I had in mind was one we had been over before when we had the big boat, on arrival the fishfinder showed 9ft at around 50 yds gradually shelving up towards the bank, I put the marker in and deposited a large bucket of maize around the area and as the water is clear you could see the yellow corn on the bottom, question is will it be there tomorrow when I return ??. Called in to see Marion Jeff and Colin at the Canadian Carp Club then we went to Grumpies (the local and only bar) for some tea and beverage before going home.

I'm off

2010-05-01T13:11:00.004+01:00

Thursday 5.15am and the doorbell rings, oh no I've slept in and my train leaves at 6.06. Anyway after a quick panic we are off and arrive in plenty of time at Dewsbury railway station.........thanks Julie. My flight was from Manchester to Paris and then on to Montreal, the trip turned out to be eventful to say the least, first tip......ensure you have euros with you in Charles de Gaulle airport, I didn't and was relieved of £6 sterling for a pint of Heineken. Second tip, when eating your meal on the plane, if you have a spill, don't use a red serviette to wipe off stain on a light coloured polo shirt and ensure there isn't chocolate on the back of your hand whilst wiping said stain off. Other than that and losing my reading glasses mid flight all went well really.
My mate Rocket was waiting at the airport and within an hour we were at the house in Cornwall on a lovely, warm April day

One last cast

2010-03-16T11:57:00.002Z

Out on the Derbyshire Derwent on the last day of the season with my son Joe and good mates Steve, Ian and Tony. A bacon sandwich in the local café preceded the short trip to a beautiful stretch of the river, having not fished in the UK much this season I was looking forward to a day of trotting for the grayling.
Boy was I rusty as it soon became apparent that any fish to grace my net would either be very young, stupid or down right greedy, the former emerged as I managed a couple of very juvenile grayling which were safely returned to the river. Joe however managed a nice trout and his first grayling plus a bonus tree which he somehow managed to hook numerous times and caused Steve and myself ½ hr of grief trying to safely release it.
The other boys fared much better having caught plenty and at the death I managed a nice rainbow on Steves’ rod before having to leave them mid afternoon to visit my mother in Barnsley.
All in all a lovely day spent with mates in beautiful surroundings made me realise that I must make an effort this coming season to fish more whilst I am over here

Meeting up with friends old and new

2010-03-11T13:53:00.002Z

Last weekend saw me on the banks of the River Severn at Hampton Loade along with members of BFW (Barbel Fishing World). I like these get-togethers as it is a chance to meet up with old friends and make new acquaintances, this year was no different. Which is just as well as the fishing was, lets say, a tad on the slow side.

We had booked a cottage nearby which was made all the more welcoming in that Saturday nights temp reached –7 (so I am told)…….not a night to be under the stars in a bivvy like some were. We had a cracking night in the pub where our southern buddies tried in vain to master the local beers, unfortunately and very funnily they failed miserably. For a more in depth review of the weekend click on Conrads blog (how's the arms matey)

Back in the U.K.

2010-03-11T13:51:00.001Z

Back from Canada and the wall to wall Olympics which you would expect as they were after all the host country, congrats must go to the Canadian Hockey teams (men and women) for carrying off the gold medals in great style, if there is a faster more physical game anywhere I will be amazed.

The flight back was a nightmare, delayed for a supposed 40 mins which became an hour and fourty minutes we eventually landed at Heathrow two hours late, fortunately Julie had pre-empted us missing our train and drove down to pick us up bless her.

Prospects look good for the fishing this year as the ice is well on the melt with some areas already accessible and by April, the carp should have their heads down for a good feed after the big freeze.

First visit of 2010

2010-02-11T00:51:00.004Z

Later today I fly off to Montreal and then make the short journey by car down to Cornwall for a 2 week break. Hopefully I will get chance to do a spot of ice fishing with Joe and indulge in some other winter activities.

Improving Times

2010-01-21T21:49:00.003Z

So the snow has gone at last, even got on the golf course this week and you'd never have known how bad the weather had been.....the course is in great shape. Signed up to attend a fish-in with the new BFW lads which means meeting up with my old (some older than others) fishing mates from the good old days and I'm really looking forward to that provided I can get all my gear dusted down and sorted out in time.
The days are getting longer and will soon be getting warmer hopefully, happy days ahead.

Passing the time away

2010-01-13T20:42:00.005Z

When oh when is this snow going to clear off, our golf course is still covered with a thick blanket of snow, access to my nearby river is hopeless and soon the snow melt and everything horrible will be going through. Anyway I've been looking through my photos and found this one, taken in Spain in April 2006, we were asked by a group of German lads if we would help weigh a fish for them as they weren't tall enough to hold the weigh bar, imagine our surprise when this emerged.......all 197lbs of it (evidently a river record at the time) , first time I had set eyes on a catfish and what a specimen it was.

2010-01-05T20:10:00.005Z

A 20lb carp caught on a 1.5 t/c barbel rod and waggler last May,

2010-01-05T16:28:00.001Z

This is our home and the base for my fishing exploits, Cornwall, Ontario and its only a 20 minute drive from the best Carp fishing in the world. I will update on the fishing when I go out there in May, in the meantime its day to day stuff and the golf I'm afraid.................that is when the snow decides to go