Catch fish with Mike Ladle.

Catch Fish with
Mike Ladle

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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).

23 June 2006.

A new plug.

I have to admit that I've been feeling a bit guilty. Several months back my email pal Alan Bulmer, in New Zealand, sent me some flies and lures to try out. Now it was our winter coming on and the lures were on the small side for pike so I popped them in my bag and waited for the better weather. When the bass fishing picked up again I was a bit reluctant to tie on one of Alan's plugs because I had visions of major surgery in extracting it from the throat of a decent bass. Anyway, this week, for the first time this year, I decided to go to the river for a spot of spinning. Alan's plug seemed just about right for perch etc. so I tied it to a short length of twenty pound 49-strand, wire and off I went.

First of all I tried under the sill of a weir which has produced lots of perch for me in the past. I found it difficult to wangle the little plug in under the white water but as soon as I managed it (about fourth cast) I felt a bump bump and I was into a perch - it turned out to be the smallest of the session and weighted about four ounces. The next one was half-a-pound and after a couple more knocks I decided to move on downstream.

My tactics involved walking downstream and casting the plug into likely spots. Sometimes this was a matter of whacking it out across the river and at other times I waded into the shallows and cast back under the bankside trees. I fished upstream and downstream according to the situation and the plug behaved perfectly. I rarely snagged any weed and for once my casts all fell short of the immovable objects lining the far bank. It was not quite 'a fish a chuck' but every five or ten minutes I hooked something else. At one spot in a shallow glide with lots of overhanging trees four casts produced two perch a nice trout and a modest chub - excellent sport! A deep hole generated a perch of about a pound and two casts later there was a savage yank that made me think "pike!" but after a couple of strong runs it turned out to be a decent chub.

Anyway I had a fantastic couple of hour's fishing so t"Thank's Alan' I'll be using your plug again next time I go out.

Small perch.

My first and the smallest of the session but I thought it made an interesting picture.

Better perch.

This one shows the plug better - I suppose it's a fair representation of a minnow.

Trout.

As you see I was using my bass spinning kit - it copes with everything.  The fish jumped and got spattered with mud before I returned it.

Chub.

One of several chub that I landed - well hooked on the tail treble.