Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle
Information Page
For anyone unfamiliar with the site always check the FRESHWATER, SALTWATER and TACK-TICS pages. The Saltwater page now extends back as a record of over four years of (mostly) sea fishing and may be a useful guide as to when to fish. The Freshwater stuff is also up to date now. I keep adding to both. These pages are effectively my diary and the latest will usually be about fishing in the previous day or two. The Tactics pages which are chiefly 'how I do it' plus a bit of science are also updated regularly and (I think) worth a read (the earlier ones are mostly tackle and 'how to do it' stuff so if you are new to fly fishing or spinning these are the ones for you).
25 August 2007.
What it is to have friends.
My pal Richard Gardiner gave me a ring the other day and asked if I fancied an early morning fishing session on the local river. Richard offered to show me a stretch that I had never fished before so I jumped at the chance. It's always good to try a different place and the opportunity to do it with someone who knows it like the back of their hand does not come along too often.
We met at 05.30hr and after tramping through shoulder high nettles we began to fish while standing knee deep in the tail of a large pool with a powerful rushing inflow at the upstream end. I was using a J11 Rapala and Richard had tied on a medium sized Rooster tail spinner. The perch loved Richard's lure and it was not long before he was landing one after another. Most of the fish were small but after a while he had a decent one worthy of a picture. I was just about to press the button on the camera when the perch wriggled out of his grasp and back into the water - never mind eh!
My first bite on the Rapala, out in the fast water, turned out to be a reasonable chub. It was nice to catch something after watching Richard land several perch. Then we both had some more small perch and my friend landed a jack pike excellent stuff!
After a while we shifted on downstream trying a few of the likely spots. It was not long before Richard, casting a small plug to the far bank trees, had a wonderful chub of about six pounds - fantastic stuff.
We fished on down for another half hour or so catching more perch on both the spinner (he switched back) and my Rapala but the big chub made our morning. No doubt we'll be doing it again soon. It's good to have pals.
Richard after a chub.
A beautiful perch.
It's on!
Cracker!
My chub.
