trip report- coarse fishing
Hi Guys,
Thought some of you might be able to relate/appreciate this report. Since coarse fishing (as opposed to game fishing which is trout and salmon) is a lot more available over here, I've started to get into it a bit. Over here coarse fish are typically carp, bream, tench, roach, rudd, pike, perch, barbel, and a few other species. There are lakes/ponds/canals/streams all over the country that are either free or offer inexpensive day tickets to fish. There are also clubs all over that have one or more waters rented.
Methods and baits vary. For the most part the theory is the same as back in the states. Find a place where the fish are feeding, pick a style (float/waggler fishing, ledgering, floating baits) and pick your favorite bait. I've got the watercraft and most of the styles fine. I'm trying to get used to the different baits. Over here a typical outing involves baiting your swim (chumming) and then feeding throughout your stay. Baits can be anything from corn, maggots, and bread to pellets, paste and boilies. It is a lot to take in, so what I've started to do is just go pick a place, pick a style, and see what happens.
That's what Rachel and I did on Sunday. We picked a fishing complex that had 8 lakes and since rachel was there I fished a little float with maggots. We caught a bunch of small bream, perch, roach, and rudd, but nothing over 10" or so. It was an okay start and good to be on the water.
Tonight I went to the local lake that is only 5 minutes from the house. They have 4 lakes of different character. I took a suggestion from the nice lady running the place tonight and fished the match lake. It was windy and all of the wind was blowing to one end where no one was fishing. I figured that was as good as any so went to a nice quiet corner. I wanted to fish a whip (think cane pole and bobber only 19' long and made from fiberglass) so I rigged up with two maggots on a #16 and a small float. I put out some groundbait made from breadcrumb, crushed peanuts, and some flavor additives. I caught a few roach and rudd this way, and one roach was over a foot long. About then the carp started eating all of the bread that was blowing down the lake surface. I switched to a spinning rod and tried to fish bread on the surface. Unfortunately all of the bread I had was hamburger buns that were really crumbly. Nothing would stay on the hook and still float. So I sunk some bread under a float and caught some bream. I switched to sweet corn and caught a few more plus a bonus rudd. I never did get a carp to eat. There were plenty around of all shape and color (orange, white, speckled, and normal). They were eating every piece of bread that was on the surface. I'll know next time to take loaves of bread and not buns. It was a good night regardless and I learned a few things.
Sorry, no pictures. Next time.
Thanks,
Rick