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 catches.

I've been away for a couple of weeks so I was keen to catch something again. My first trip was to a stretch of river that I rarely fish. Typically I found it had changed fairly dramatically since my last visit (a couple of years ago). The spot where I caught big chub in the past was overgrown with vegetation and unfishable and most of the banksides were eight feet tall in grass, nettles and thistles - not easy fishing.

Having arrived at the spot I decided to give it a go and started by casting a Rapala into the 'chub pool' - nothing! The water was pretty deep so I switched to a size 4 Mepps and first cast I had a bite and hooked a modest perch, better than nothing. The only other fishable spot was upstream of a stone bridge. I stepped over an electric fence and fought my way as near to the water's edge as I could manage. I flicked the Mepps up and across and began to wind. Almost as it hit the water the lure was taken and a decent fish surged off, taking a fair amount of line. My hopes of a giant chub were soon dashed when I saw the green flash of a pike. The fish was about six or seven pounds and put up an excellent fight, running and thrashing heavily as I tried to bring it close. Eventually, by sliding down the bank and standing in the shallow water I was able to take a picture of the fish before I released it. Good fun.

The following day I went to two more stretches of the same river. The Mepps was still attached so I started off by using it. On my third cast upstream into a shallow glide the lure was taken and the fish, which didn't fight very hard, turned out to be a chub of about two and a half pounds. That was that. A further thirty minutes of spinning produced nothing else. I decided on a change and hopped back into the car to drive to another section further downstream.

This time I was hoping for perch which are generally present in the pool I was fishing. A few casts with the spinner produced nothing. So I opted for a change of tactics. I nipped back to the car to pick up a little float rod and a box of maggots, then I set about catching minnows for livebait. I soon had a dozen or so and I switched the spinning rod to a light paternoster with a fine wire trace and size 6 circle hook. On went a minnow hooked through the top lip and within minutes I was landing my first perch of about a pound. This turned out to be my biggest but I lost count of the number of smaller ones that I landed. All in all a satisfactory session. Just as well I didn't stick to the spinning.

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

Perch.

Whoaaaa!.

Got it!

Chub.

Perch again.