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).

Grayling

I'd been intending to take a couple of pals fishing for pike and/or grayling before the end of the coarse fishing season but the weather and the lack of fish made me put it off time and again. Eventually time ran out and we decided to leave it until the new season starts. However, before the 15th of March Nigel and I decided to have one last go for a grayling. We stocked up with maggots, rigged up some heavy float gear and arrived at the river round about mid-day on a sunny but cold and windy day. The first spots we tried were fishless so I moved on downstream. After feeding in free offerings for five minutes or so I trotted the float down the crease, it ducked under and I was in. The fish, as usual, fought in a spirited fashion and after I'd landed it, taken its picture and slipped it back I walked up to tell my pal that I'd found some fish. He walked back down with me and we began to fish again.

Nigel's much better equipped for trotting the stream than I am and he uses a decent long rod with a nice centrepin reel so it was no surprise to me when he called out that he was into a fish. Things were fairly slow but in the next hour or so Nige had two more and I'd dropped one good fish. None of the fish were monsters with the best perhaps one-and-a-half pounds. At this point I packed in and went home as I had to collect my wife from a meeting. Nigel stayed on. I rang later that evening to find out how he'd fared. Altogether he landed eight grayling including a couple of two pounders, a pretty good last session.

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

First fish! My grayling which pointed the way.

Nigel plays his first fish.

It's in the net. Note the proper grayling tackle.

That's the way to do it.