Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

Information Page

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).

Mixed bag.

A little while back I'd mentioned that I could do with a slightly deeper diving Rapala for fishing the River. My pal Dave Little obviously remembered because the other day he dropped me in a couple of plugs which were clearly copies of the Rapala J9s but had lips more like the J13. Dave had also kindly changed the small split rings which attached the hooks for something a bit stronger - just in case. Anyway, I was keen to give the new plugs a try in the river so after switching the trebles for something a bit meatier (again 'just in case') I went for a couple of hour's spinning.

It was obvious from the first retrieve that the lure was exactly what I'd been after and it wriggled along nicely up to a metre from the surface. It was a while before I managed to find a fish but eventually I hooked up with a lively, high jumping seatrout. After taking its picture I returned the fish to the river and continued on upstream. After a while I came to a stretch where the far bank was an old concrete wall. I flicked the plug up and across almost perfectly but just too far as it clattered against the concrete before dropping into the water. I began to wind and within seconds I was in. The trout had been tucked right in against the vertical wall. This seatrout was a good deal larger and a lot redder than the first one and took me a little while to subdue as it jumped time and time again. Once more I landed it, unhooked it and after taking a couple of pictures returned it to the river. An excellent way to Christen the new plug.

My next trip was in search of perch. This time I'd clipped a size 4 Mepps onto the little wire trace with the thought that a bigger lure might tempt larger fish. First cast I was into a perch. It's fairly obvious what's on the end of the line from the bump, bump, bump of the resistance as you reel in. It wasn't a bad perch but not a monster. I pressed on and in the course of an hour and a half I had quite a lot of perch, mostly round about the pound mark and three pike the biggest of which was perhaps seven pounds. Apart from the different lures I used exactly the same gear for both trips. It seems to make little difference to the fish whether there's a wire trace in front of the lure and the trout don't appear to be any more fussy about tackle than the perch, pike or chub.

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

Small seatrout.

Better!

Selfie.

Perch.

Jack.

Another.

Nice one.