Bowker Vale. (Best days fishing so far.)

Last Tuesday i went to Bowker Vale again, and it was a beautiful day right from the start. I really couldn't have wished for a better day.

Today i tried out my new chair, a Feeder Chair! The front legs are like those legs you get on boxes that you can add feeder arms and bait trays to. Plus i am also trying to get used to using a pod for my carp rod/rods.

After walking around the water for a couple of times i opted to fish the "outward" corner peg, as i suspected carp might just pass this point as they patrol around the bend of the corner, plus there are lily pads on the corner!

It was quite an eventful day, so I'll try and keep this short as possible. (what i can remember anyway!)

First of all some photos just to set the scene of what a nice day it was.

Beautiful Start to the day.

Later around Midday 

When i started fishing again, i just wanted to take off where i left off, that was enjoying "Fishing for bites." I get board if nothing is happening, i can't sit there and wait for something to happen like a lot of Carp Anglers do. The one thing i love is watching a float and the feedback you get from it. Nothing kills my spirit then a float that does not move. 

So my sessions have involved one Avon rod 1 and 1/4 test on optonic, 6lb line and size 6 or 4 hook, as that's all you need when fishing so close in. Bait is Broad beans. 

My other rod have been my favorite Match Rod, a Diawa Carbon Match Deluxe that i got in the 80s, and fished with 4lb line and 14 hook. Bait is Maggots or corn.

On the carp set up i hooked 3 fish. The first fish felt like a proper good one, it just motored of to my left at an angle and made me back wind, then the hook came out. 

The Second one again was another good one that took me around the corner to the other side of the lily pads, and the line was well inside the tree the on the corner, and then it snapped due to rubbing on branches.

The third one again was a good one and before i could pick my rod up, it was in the lily pads, and the hook came out.

Then ironically all the other fish i caught were on the match rod! Mostly on corn but two were caught on double Maggot. All the fish were very exciting fights, but one in particular stands out as a good one. This fish shot off to my left and peeled line of my real, then it was beyond the lily pads and almost in the next swim. So i decided to just give it line and let it do what it wanted, because there was no way i was going to pull it through the pads! Then the fish must have felt at ease due the freedom it had and turned around and slowly swam back outwards into the open water, then i tightened up and brought it past the pads and into my swim and netted it shortly afterwards. 

Another fish will remain in my memory because once i had landed it, i found the hook had gone right through its lip and was resting on the side of its head, and the line was wrapped around its bottom lip. I recon this happens because they are hooked in the lip and the point is showing on the outside of the lip, then once in the net it gets hooked in the net and pulls right through. So anyway, i take hold of the hook and try and figure out where the line has gone through, then the fish thrashes and the hook pulls right into my hand, ouch! I pull it out and then the fish thrashes again and the hook pulls right into my index finger, i could feel it stuck into the bone. Double OUCH! Thank god i used barbless. when i pulled it out the blood came out with it, so i just reached for the scissors, cut the line and pulled it through.

Next time i am contemplating a change of tactics, Stick with the carp set up, but ditch my beloved match rod, and go with my other Avon with a classic old fashioned lift float, 6lb line, size 12 or 10 hook and used Chick Peas or Corn as bait.

Here are some of the fish i caught that day. 

With The Wife!

May the 24th.

Well the wife finally came fishing with me. And it was a rubbish day, (she'll probably never come again lol) the weather was bad! It rained a few times, and the wind was shocking! I've never experienced wind that blows in two directions at the same time before!!! 

It was a rubbish day with nothing but a few Roach and some Skimmers.

My Float Box.

 One of the problems of not having fished for over 25 years, is my tackle has not been used in all those years. One item that didn't age well was my tray box. All the foam that holds the floats in place had fell to bits. And getting foam today for floats is impossible. 

So I got some foam strips for door insulation and then used a very sharp knife to cut the foam once I had put it in the box. And here is the end result, my float tray almost back to how it used to be.

Almost as good as new.

My second Fishing Trip

 Well today (13th April 2022) I decided to fish on Bowker Vale in Blackley, another of Broughton Anglers waters. I remembers many years ago there were two waters owned by Bowker Vale Anglers and the waters were well known for their Chub, which is a bit more unusual for a stillwater. 

There were once two waters, a lower lake and a upper lake. The lower lake is no longer, and is all but filled in apart from a small part. But the upper lake is still there and is a lovely little water. 

Bowker Vale.

I had no idea what to expect fish wise, so I went armed with two rods. One being my match rod, fished with 4lb line and size 14 hook, the other rod I fished Carp style, 11 ft Avon rod with optonic bite alarm and swinger bite indicator.

For bait I planned to use Maggot on the Match Rod and changing to Sweetcorn when needed. As I fished I soon found out there seemed to be a never ending supply of small Roach. So I would change to sweetcorn to slow bites down and hopefully catch a better specimen or two.

On the Carp rod I was trying something partly new, for hook bait i was using Broad Beans, which i have used before many times. But I decided to add boiled hemp and crushed broad beans as a ground bait. I first tried to use a blender to break the beans up, but it turned to a mush, so I chopped the remaining beans. Next time I will chop them instead, because a mush just does not work.

For ground bait I have been using a worm/hemp mix, with added crushed hemp and my own boiled hemp, and as an added attracter I save the water I boil the hemp in and add it to the ground bait. 

So firstly I set the carp rod up, I used a simple running lead and a 6 inch hook link with a number 6 hook, the bait went on the hook. Line was 6lb.

Carp Rod

Lift Float set

Then I set the match rod up. Simple Lift waggler and started of with maggots. Bites soon arrived and I was catching roach after roach. There seemed to be loads in my swim, so I changed to sweetcorn in the hope of picking up a nice specimen. A few bigger ones came along plus the odd Rudd or two, but nothing major. I kept changing from Corn to Maggot throughout the day.

One of the few Rudd i caught.

In the afternoon the bailiff was stood chatting me as my Carp rod suddenly sprung into life with a screaming run. After a short battle in came my first Carp of the day, at a guess it looked around the 8lb mark.

First Carp around the 8lb mark.

Then around an hour later I had a bite to corn on the match rod, and I struck into a lump that soon shown me who was in charge! It just would not come to the surface. My match rod was at full curve, and using 4lb line I had to go easy, but sometimes this fish pulled everything to the limit. The fight must have been 5 to 7 minutes long, and I was getting desperate to get it into the net. But after 5 minutes the fish had still not shown itself proper and I was thinking its a carp or a very big Tench! But when it clearly came to the surface it was another carp. I was so relived to finally get it into the net, because I really didn't think the hook would last much longer.

Anyway it was a bigger carp, which I weighed and it was just over 10lb. The rest of the day was back to Roach and Rudd.

10lb Carp caught on a Match rod and Sweetcorn

----------------------------

To finish this blog are a couple of views of Bowker vale. 

And so it begins again, 2022 at 57 years old.

 Well using the title track of a favorite song of mine by Marillion, "So Here I an Once More".  

After a break from fishing for more than 25 years i have finally taken the bug back up again. All my tackle has been safely stored away for years and I'm glad to say its all still in perfect condition.

Three Michell 410A reels

One Diawa Jaguar Carbon Match Delux Rod 12ft.

Two cheapo Shakespear O Series Carp Rods (Which I'll probably never use again)

Two Avon 1-1/4lb Test curve rods.

One Whisker Kevlar 2lb Test Curve Carp Rod.

One Daiwa Jaguar Carbon Match Feeder Rod 10ft

And various other bits of tackle to complete my setup.

So i have decided to join a members only local fishing club called Broughton Angling Club (BAC). They own 4 waters, 1 in Walkden, 1 in Simister and 2 in Blackley.  

Broughton Angling Club

Facebook Page.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I don't proclaim to be a fishing expert or have years of experience, all i can go by is what i learnt over 25 years ago (And how it has changed since then is mind boggling) One of my angling hero's is Chris Yates whose opinons i like to echo, which is "Old is Better" or something to that way of thinking. 

So for my first day fishing in over 25 years i opted for a back to basics approach. Basically start of where i left of, and "Fish for bites" using my Match rod, 4lb line, size 14 hook forged spade end hook (Barbless) for bait just Mixed maggots and Corn, For ground bait i used Home boiled Hemp, a bag of crushed Hemp and a worm mix type ground bait. 

I started on Broughtons most well known water Ashenhurt in Higher Blackley, its well known for its Carp, but it also has Roach, Rudd, Tench, and other course fish. First thing i realised how surprisingly deep it is, 12ft at a rods length out and a fairly high bank behind me, which creates some difficulties with casting and playing any big fish on 12 foot of line between hook and float.

Ashenhurst.

So i baited up, set up, plumbed and opted for a lift type method with a waggler float with a thin insert at the top to use as the lift indicator should any fish pick the bate up. I fished hard on the bottom with a small shot to hold it there and again to help the float lift if the bait is picked up. 

After 10 minutes i had my first roach on double maggot. "Yes" I'm of the mark.

After catch a few roach i thought i would try the sweetcorn in the hope that there maybe some bigger ones in the swim, but i started to catch a few skimmers. During the day i kept changing from corn to maggot and visa versa. 

Things slowed down a little around midday, but then around 2pm bites started to pick up again and out came a few more Roach. Then came my surprise while using corn, A little lift bite came along and down the float went, i picked the rod up and right away i felt the thump of something decent. so i tighted up and the rod gave a very healthy 90 degree bend and the fish powered of away from me, then it turned and so began the fight, it was a very powerful fish that kept down in the water for a good 3 minutes, my first thought was Tench, but it was not giving up, so i decided to give it a bit of bullying to bring it to the surface and get an idea of what it was, and when it surfaced i was surprised to see a big Common Carp. So then i decided to let it have its a way a little and let it tired itself out a bit before bringing it to the net. It must have continued for another 2 minutes before it came to the surface again, and looked like it was ready, but i fluffed it when i tried to net it due to the float being right up to the rods first eye and 12 foot of line. I had to hold the rod up really high to get the net under the fish. So off it swam again for around another minute, by now my arm was really begging to ache and i was so relived to finally slip the fish into my landing net.

It was no monster of a fish and at a guess was around 4 n half lb to 5 lbs, but a very enjoyable and satisfying catch for my first session in 25 years.

I had a few small Roach again afterwards, but that was it for my first day back. It's gave me lots of food for thought for my next approach, which i think might be along the Carp fishing approach, i.e. two rods and bite alarms. 

To Be Continued........