Catch fish with Mike Ladle.

Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

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Freshwater Fishing

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 several 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. As you see I also add the odd piece from my friends and correspondents if I've not been doing much. 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).

More on thinlips.

Followers of the blog will be be aware that I've been trying to catch thinlipped mullet from a local river using a homemade wooden Devon minnow baited with ragworm. I started off by rigging a small hook just (perhaps 1") behind the treble and I missed countless possibilities when fish nuzzled the lure without taking the baited hook. Eventually I removed the single hook and simply baited the small treble. This produced a 4.5 pound fish but again the number of missed attacks (I can't call them 'bites') was legion.

My next move, earlier this week, was to try replacing the single hook with a little Pennel rig setting the tail single 5" behind the lure. It seemed a silly thing to do in view of the fact that the mullet were often nudging the spinning Devon but in the past I've caught quite a few mullet in saltwater with hooks well behind the spinner.

When I arrived at the river the conditions had changed (don't they always) and it was a bit cooler and much cloudier than before. The mullet were still there but in much smaller numbers than on my previous visits (both in bright sunshine). Typical! I thought. Anyway, I was all set to go so I baited each of the single hooks with about 1cm of worm and set about my task. On about the third cast I had a follow and eventually the lure was running out of water. The minnow was in six inches of water and the following fish had its back sticking out of the water. Nevertheless it took the tail single and was firmly hooked. I was chuffed. I couldn't see any more mullet in that spot (there were dozens the other day) so I moved on and after a while I found a few fish in another shallow, fast flowing spot. This time the fish took in mid-river and I discovered that this one was hooked on the front single. As it turned out I didn't find any more mullet and I switched to a tiny plug with a single tail hook in hopes of a sea trout. However, all I caught were a couple of tiny brownies.

With regard to the mullet spinning the treble hook is clearly redundant so the next step will be to replace it with a split ring and tie the Pennel to the ring. Let's hope that the fine weather and the mullet return soon (but not too soon - I'm away all next week).

If you have any comments or questions about fish, methods, tactics or 'what have you!' get in touch with me by sending an E-MAIL to - docladle@hotmail.com

Original set up.

Lots of bites and no fish.

Phase 2.

This produced a good fish but I still missed a 'shedload'.

Phase 3.

With the hooks well back from the lure I had two mullet even though they were thin on the ground.

Mullet.

No monster but well hooked on the tail single.

---and another.

This time well hooked on the front single.

Phase 4.

This is what I shall be trying next, given half a chance.

Pretty trout.

The little plug has a good action but only tempted tiddlers.