New Blog.....Finally! 

It's been a long time coming, in fact a mere 6 years!!!! Where did that time go? To be honest there's many factors that stopped me from writing, ranging from a lack of time, not having a suitable keyboard/laptop platform from which to work on and of course a shear lack of enthusiasm! Well, all those things are back with a vengeance apart from the time part but we'll work round that bit!

So what's the new blog going to feature? Well, it'll basically be stories from recent trips, tactics, images, illustrations of rigs etc, bait recipes, swim talks, tackle tests etc etc etc...pretty much as before....all good stuff hopefully! As it stands this year, I haven't as yet wet a line in 2023 but hoping to change that in the next few days all being well!

Anyway, for those of you that don't know me very well, my name is Keith Supple. I was born in 1975 and started fishing at the tender age of just 6. My first encounter with rod and line was at a small French pond that sat nestled in the countryside next to a holiday home my parents had rented for a week. It was there that my late father and I encountered our first coarse fish on rod and line. My first fish being a very small and humble red finned roach. I was instantly hooked and have been ever since!

My fishing then become more or an addiction than a hobby, taking over all my spare time and any money i had was spent on upgrading my equipment. Living in a town called NewMilton, just outside the New Forest, I was incredible lucky to be sat amongst some of the finest fishing venues that the UK had and still has to offer today! I cut my teeth on the Ringwood pits, Hants Avon and Dorset Stour. These rivers still being my favourite venues some 40 years later. I was very lucky to also meet some wonderful people along the way who introduced me to many new species, methods and venues which improved my CV no end.

As life progressed, so did my angling and on my own and with friends too, I ventured far and wide to get the most out of my beloved sport. I started a bait business or two and become a part time angling guide. I worked for a fly fishing company and a couple of tackle shops and lakes. I still take an odd guest out these days but for the most part it's my time now as it's fairly restricted due to family and work commitments. I have other interests other than fishing but none that take hold of me like angling does. These include Cars, Cricket, Walking, Animals, Photography and of course writing.

What do I fish for then? Well, anything that swims! Literally.... My mainstays being Carp, Chub, Barbel and Roach and then I also sea fish too. I live in Wales which leaves me a little restricted on some fronts but then a heavy abundance of other types of fishing too. The sea fishing here is utterly incredible, sitting on the Bristol Channel gives me some incredible sport almost 365 days a year. The Carping is a little thin on the ground but growing with pace as new venues open around the area.

I'm just an hours drive from the incredible River Wye which I have spent thousands of hours plundering for it's amazing stocks of Barbel, Chub, Pike and Silver Fish. The Severn is only a short drive up the motorway as is many other great venues too. You just have to be prepared to travel that little bit to get to somewhere.

So this year will be a busy one hopefully, with a few trips to France, Holland and general trips around the UK chasing new PBs if I'm lucky! I'll be starting this off with some Roach fishing this week all being well on the Hants Avon. I have a trip to my friends lake near to Le Mans in late March for a work party/fishing/social. This will almost certainly end up messy as the lads going are all a great laugh!

Right, well there we go. That's it for now but I'll check back in next weekend with hopefully a few tales about this weeks fishing if it goes ok.

cheers guys.

Keith

The bug is back!

 

The bug is back!

Hi everyone!

Well, it's been some considerable time since i last put pen to paper in any format.....This being the first blog input since November last year! Wow, where's that time gone? Needless to say there have been many things happening all around my life that have kept me away from writing on here and for the few applications i often write for. So where to start? Well, the beginning of 2017 started pretty much as 2016 ended! 

Not much time for angling and to be honest the feeling of not really being that interested in it anyway. I'd packed the carp rods away in October after my trip to Royales and the new PB I took and the barbel gear had pretty much stayed in its bag all season! A first in 4 to 5 years that i'd stayed away from the rivers. Not really so much because i wanted to but more due to the lack of spare time after work. Juggling free time is one of the hardest jobs for a working man. Especially one who's self employed!

Anyway, a major event happened to our family just a fortnight before Christmas that has really changed our lives. The wife and my daughter had gone out for the afternoon in the family car whilst i was working. I received a phone call about 2.30pm from a guy who told me my family had been involved in a major car accident. I couldn't believe what i was hearing and just writing about it now brings back some horrid memories. 

It turned out that a young, new driver had taken it upon himself to jump 2 red lights at over the speed limit and had slammed into the side of our car. Needless to say the car was totaled and both my girls suffered sever whiplash, bruising and of course severe trauma mentally. 

We're still taking Natasha to physiotherapy and Marianne has had to change her job and is having endless treatment for numerous injuries incurred. 

We had to fork out an arm and a leg for a replacement vehicle and the little knob head got away scott free as he's in the military! 

Anyway, after the accident which to be honest wrecked our Christmas and New Year festivities, fishing was the last thing on my mind. It too me up until March before I had the urge to get back out again. It was after a trip to India with one of my best mates that I suddenly realized that life is very short and that we have to just get on with it and live it as it's a one hit show! 

The trip to India really opened my eyes to many things I had never considered in my life. I've really fallen in love with the Indian or should I say Sikh way of life. 

The people are just wonderfully kind and loving and to say I have made friends for life is an understatement!  I cannot wait to one day go back and see my Indian brothers and once again see the beautiful country!

After returning home I cracked out the match gear and took Thomas up to Cefn Mabley for the day. The weather was nothing short of shite and the wind and rain battered us all day. 

Nevertheless we sat it out and in the end we caught a good 150lbs of carp between the two of us. After that session the gears not left the house! 

In early May our Shuk group met up in Cornwall for a well deserved weekend break in search of Wrasse off the stunning coastline. I won't go into detail as our illustrious leader Phil has done a magnificent write up on his blog......

Needless to say it was a great weekend and really got my juices flowing for the sea fishing again. The next weekend saw me grabbing myself a bit of new kit in the form of some new LRF rods and reels and off I traipsed to West Whales with Marianne and Natasha in tow for some camping and fishing. 

Both went really well and we caught numerous blennies and rockling from rock pools and some nice wrasse and bass from the coast. I did about 4 more trips over to Cardigan with Mathew and we had numerous cracking Wrasse, Pout and a few Pollack and Bass as well. All great sport on light kit.

Recent weeks has seen my angling centered around the local rock ledges closer to home and the search for an elusive double figure smoothhound. First session out saw me bag 5 to 7lb 10oz. A new PB! I was instantly hooked and on my second trip I took Thomas. 

We caught about 7 or 8 fish between us to just over 9lbs. Neither of us could believe the incredible strength of these gummy sharks! Amazing fights from even the smallest specimens!

After about 5 trips and seeing friends catch low doubles, I really wanted one more than anything! It wasn't until the weekend just passed that I finally got my chance when I went out with an old friend. Chris and I ventured down to the rocks for just before low tide and we got into the fish from the first cast! We both managed a few small ones to about 9lbs before the tide went slack and it died. 

We were just about to call it a day as the tide changed and off the rods went once more! This time I had a much better specimen on and it took copius quantities of line from my reel. The fight was a lot stronger and longer than usual and I finally netted an absolute beast of exactly 15lbs! I was like a pig in shit! So happy.....

Within minutes I was yet again into another fine specimen of 11lb 12oz and Chris had a 10lb 1oz fish too! Couldn't believe how all of a sudden our luck had changed.

Well, that's about it in brief for now. I have a carp trip planned for just over 2 weeks time and another hound session booked in for this Sunday all being well! I hope you're all in the finest of health.

Keith x

Autumn arrives!

 

Autumn arrives!

Good day all!

I hope you're all in the finest of health. Well, what a sudden change in the weather eh? It seems like only just a few weeks back that I was sat in my shorts and t-shirt grabbing the finest of French sun rays and now the daytime temperatures are hardly reaching double figures!

As I right it's raining outside and the temps are down to a mere low single figures. Not that i'm overly bothered though as it means just one thing to me.....

It's nearly COD TIME! Yep I have finally found the bug for some aspect of UK angling again.....not before time I hear you say. Well, it's been a long wait for me to finally find my angling Mojo again, but I think it's back in earnest at last.

Despite going through many life changes this year and at points considering quitting the sport all together, I feel I now need it back in my life again. Possibly not at the level I was at before and I doubt I will ever want to do it as a full time job again but a few odd sessions a month is now what I feel I need to keep my interests alive.

As I stated a few weeks back, I was considering having a bash at the old beach fishing again after seeing my buddy Stuey smashing out some great fish on his evenings after work. Well, I stuck to my word and paid a visit to the local shop and got myself a little bit of new beach kit as mine was very much dated or dilapidated to a point of uselessness!

Armed with a bit of fresh bait and the will of an Ox,  I headed down to the Barrage at Cardiff for an evening after work with Mathew and Dave....Little was caught bar a few small Whiting and a dog.

This didn't stop the want to go again though and a few days later Natasha and I headed down to Newton Beach near Porthcawl. We set up with about an hour and a half of the flood to go and started to catch Whiting and Doggies from the off.

We had a great evening and some lovely daddy/daughter time that I've missed of recent from over working. Mathew was obviously well hooked to as he was begging me for another outing! That Sunday we headed for the awesome Rhosilli Beach on the Gower. What a beach!!!!

Massive sprawling waves of 15 feet high, huge spray, massive tide and a view to die for! The fishing was slow to start with but as darkness fell and everybody left the beach, we started to catch fish.

Dogs, Whiting and lots of small Bass fell to our small hooks and Ragworm approach with the bigger baits taking just Dogs.

With the sea air firmly in our blood system....we decided a trip down South to the incredible Chesil Beach was in order at the weekend. We headed down after work last Saturday and arrived to find that there was a Cod Competition in full flow at Abbotsbury. With a good 150 plus competitors sat side by side on the shingle, it made for finding a spot rather tough.

Well, we headed back to the van to get our kit and half a dozen lads packed away and gave us a bit of left over bait to add to our fresh worm.

We dropped in behind them and hit the shingle. Rods were baited and we punched out into the darkness for the first time. It wasn't long before we were both catching small Whiting, Scad, Pouting and Doggies.

We spent the whole night down there and saw in two high tides. The wind picked up fiercely on the Sunday morning and really did kill the action.

I've tried to find a spare evening this week to get back out but I've started a new contract at work and it's been finishing a bit later and putting the fishing back somewhat.

I'm hoping that I may get out for a few hours over the weekend and maybe after work one night next week if all goes to plan.

See you all soon.
K x

Monday, 17 October 2016

Euro carping round 2!

Have it!!!!! Go Dave

Hi all!

Another few weeks has past since my last blog entry and to be honest it's all been about work, work and more work really.

Not that I'm not enjoying things but I have to confess feeling a little over tired of late and in need of rest and recoup more than I thought that I would.

Nothing is going to stop my 3 to 4 monthly jaunts though and my most recent trip over to France with 7 other lads, saw me have probably the most incredible week's fishing that I've had to date!

My good buddy Dave Brooks had invited me over to Etang Des Royales with him some time back and the day finally arrived just over a fortnight ago. The weather started out fairly warm at the start of the week but as time progressed the nights grew much colder and the wind had a real bite to it....this killed the fishing rather but Dave and I still found a group of fish obliging to take a few well placed and well timed baits.

Nigel, Kyle, Neil, Dean, Charlie, Steve, Pete Dave, yours truly and Mr John Hoffgartner at the front

Dave picked out our swim for us as he'd been before and the other lads all chose theirs. You have to fish in pairs at Royales due to the well implemented rules to protect the fish. After arriving and getting set up, Dave and I chucked a coin to see who'd get which side of the swim. I got the hot side and started abut baiting up with around 5 kilos of bait in a 15 to 20 yard area in a wind free bay to my left.

Chunks galore

c
A fair few hours passed by and just as dusk was coming I finally got a pair of rods in to the water. It didn't take long at all before I was into my first of the trip at just over 43lbs! The majority of the fish in there are mirrors and they're big! As the next few days progressed, so did my swim. With regular and sensible baiting and fishing/no fishing sessions....the fish kept on coming!

By Tuesday I had caught 6 forty pound plus mirrors and a few back up 30's too. I managed a new PB mirror of 49lb 12oz and after some discussion with Dave, we decided that we'd put a rod on each others pod, so to give us both an equal chance of a fish.

This strategy worked well and finally got Dave off to a start. He managed a couple of nice low thirties from the off. Finally something happened on my rod and after a very long battle with a fish that hung exceptionally low in the water.

New PB of 51lb oz....the Champagne would later flow! 

Dave sunk the net under a rather chunky looking mirror! Well, it was certainly chunky and when Dave called Charlie out to come and help with the weighing and pics etc, I knew it was going to be a bit of a special fish.

A fine forty plus for Dave

The scales tipped round to an incredible 51lb 8oz! I couldn't believe it! After years of trying I had finally caught my first carp over 50lbs! Wonderful! By the final day I had caught 14 fish in total, including 8 x 40's, 3 x 30's, 1 x 50 and 2 x 20's.

Dave wasn't too far behind with 7 x 30's, 1 x 40 and 2 20'. The other lads did less quantity of fish as they found it harder in the main section of the lake. But Neil managed a 50 plus and Dean had the biggest caught all year at 64lb 8oz! What a fish that was!

I Managed a few hours on the cat lake and took a handful of cats to 45lbs on float tactics and even took one on a center pin reel, which was incredible! What a way to cat a catfish!

49lb 12oz for myself

Anyway, lots on with work this week and I have little spare time to fish at present. This has made me consider a few short evening sessions down on the beach after work.

More for the fresh air than anything, but I thought that it may help me to grow back a bit of fondness for fishing in the UK again....who knows? We shall see.....

Tight lines guys

Keith x

Friday, 9 September 2016

Enjoying the fruits of my labour!

A bit of me time at last!

Good day every one! Yes, I know it's been yet another 3 or 4 months since i last posted anything readable on here and I can only apologize for my recent spells of inaudibility.

The work aspect has been a major aspect of this and some days i have been doing upwards of 15 or 16 hours a day! Don't get me wrong though, I really love my job! You get to meet a huge variety of different people and I have made some great friendships along the way too.

The only reason I'm sat writing this now is that I have taken a few days off enforced only by the fact that my van needs a few repairs and as such needs to be grounded until then. Not a real issue though as I really need a small break if i'm honest.

Fishing has I'm afraid still remained at the back of my mind and I have ventured out only twice since my trip to the Itchen back in March of this year. I gave open day a miss on the river and as such only had a day on the Wye once since then at Luggsmouth in late June. It fished very poorly and despite my finest efforts all I caught were a few chub to just under 5lbs. The barbel seemed to just not be there.

Proper chunky old common!

Come the end of July and I was really feeling exhausted from work and a severe back issue was leaving me with zero energy and the pain was making everyday stuff a real graft. I decided to take a weeks holiday and headed over to Dream Lakes in France to hopefully get a little R&R and also try and re-install the fishing bug a little!

37lb plus mirror

Whilst the trip over was a little bit of a chore due to the long drive to Dover, horrendous holiday traffic etc and of course, the fact that I was nursing a stupidly painful bad back as well. The actual holiday itself was nothing short of brilliant!

I booked myself onto Lake 4 and with just 2 other chaps fishing it, we had a ball. I let them choose their swims first as I wasn't really bothered, I just wanted some rest really. If i caught some fish it would be a bonus.....Well, to say I caught some was an understatement. I had about 19 fish in total and probably lost nearly as many!

The fish were a mixture of commons and mirrors all over 20 and 30lbs bar just one of 18lbs. The biggest was a mirror of 37lb 14oz and I also had a huge PB grass carp of 38lb 2oz. What a fish it was too! Got some great pictures taken by my new mate Ron, top bloke! All the fellas on the trip turned out to be great fun and a total pleasure to enjoy the break with.

New PB grassy of 38lb 2oz

When I went out there about 8 years ago, I was pretty gutted with how the place had turned out. It was rather a miss with many dead fish, lack of interest from the staff and the clientele were no less than appalling.  But this time around I was very pleased to see how things have dramatically improved. Lots of great food, brilliant staff who actually went out of their way to help you out and some great fishing. I'm already planning my next trips over in 2017.

Two gorgeous girls, Natasha riding her 'Thelma'

It's not everyone's cup of tea as it's not really what you'd call proper carping. It's a bit holiday camp'ish at times but if you just want a break, a few laughs, looked after and fed well, then this is the place to go. Oh and there's a few pretty big old chunks in there too! I had a couple of small cats up to 28lb+ as well.


Back at home, things have been very exciting with our purchase of a fantastic piece of land behind our house. It's meant a massive amount to my family and the girls have been finally able to have the horses that they have spent their entire lives pining for! We now have 2 gorgeous animals...'Thelma', a four year old Welsh Cob with an amazing temperament and the lovely little gelding, yearling 'Storm'. He has come from a rather sad background of 5 different homes in his very short life and has finally landed on his feet with my ladies. He's been spoilt rotten and despite his chronic nervous tendencies, is finally starting to settle down.

I have spent many evenings strimming grass and brambles back, installing fencing posts etc and even a lovely 2 seater swinging chair with a view to die for! I finally feel i'm getting there with stuff. I may even think about getting myself a new car in the next couple of months. I've decided to stay with my trusted and loved Audi's and the A4 Avant has served us well for almost 9 years now! What a great car she has been. I really want something a bit more special now though and I've looked at numerous options. The car that I've settled on and even the wife seems to like is the awesome RS4 Avant.


The 450bhp V8 monster is such fun that it just has to be that car! I'm keeping my eyes open for a black one with cream leather interior. May take a while but i'm sure the right car is out there for us. Thomas has finally started a new career at college.

Enjoying the fruits of my labour at last!

He's taking a foundation course in building, plumbing and electrics etc. Very proud of him. Natasha had a glowing school report from last year and continues to excel at all she applies herself too.

So there we go....life is very hectic and spare time thin on the ground! But I don't think at this present time in life, i'd have it any other way. I hope your all in cracking health and I look forward to writing back on here soon with the results from my next foreign adventure in a few weeks time!

TTFN
Keith x

Saturday, 21 May 2016

Little time to spare

Hello all.

Lady of the stream!

It's been over 3 months since i put words to the screen of my laptop or pen to paper. It's also been 3 months since I last fished too! Possibly the longest period of time in many many years! There are numerous reasons for my not setting foot on the bank but chiefly the starting of a new line of work has drastically eaten into any free time I once had.

The job is very long hours and I'm away from home 6 days of the week and even 7 at times! In fact I worked out that I had done nearly 90 days work with just 6 days off. None of those spent fishing either! If i'm totally truthful with you though, I've lost heart in it a bit. Not something I ever thought I would say but it's true. I have finally had a skinful of many aspects of angling.

The weekly magazines have been publishing utter crap about fish captures, the internet is smothered with people treating a few anglers like total celebrities just because they've caught a couple of fish....outside of angling these people are nobodies. The constant jumping ship from one company to the next and then telling the consumer they shouldn't use any other product etc. Really all has got on my nerves of recent.

Itchen beauty!

To top it off Facebook, Twitter etc is littered with hatred and jealousy, people who always know better or who've caught bigger and better. Time for a massive deletion of said persons from these sites and surround myself with just the one's I regularly converse with. I've already deleted many dickheads and will continue to do so as they appear on my news feeds.

Angling has become fashionable and so many of these people think that they can make a good living from sitting on the bank fishing day in day out. More fool them..... My only angling from now on is going to be for me and me only i'm afraid. I don't have the time for the guiding any more and the bait business is just full of idiots wanting the best bait money can buy for £5 a kilo. It really is a waste of time dealing with it all.

Great way to see out the 2015 season

My last fishing trip was with the lovely SHUK lads i'm involved with. A very interesting and varied group of 30 lads and lasses who are very good at what they do. Not only that but they actually treat each other with respect and look after one another. Not something I have seen in recent 'club' years. We had a trip down to fish the amazing River Itchen in early March and to say it was a great day was an understatement. Mathew and I joined the usual suspects and roved the river with pin and float tactics. The grayling fishing was second to none and I ended the day with so many fish that I honestly lost count! Lots of ones and a few two pounders too! I even lost the mother of all huge chib right at the net! We had a great day out and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the company of the guys as ever!

Prior to that trip I had a few hours one evening on the River Wye. Just to try and get one last barbel out before seasons end. I sat for a few hours with motionless tips but finally after a couple of small chub I got a cracking 8lb plus fish to end the year with!

I've been struggling to get motivated to go back out since....whether this is down to my new work and lack of me time or the fact that I have lost interest??? I'm not 100% sure at present....I have been nursing a very painful trapped nerve in my shoulder blades that has required regular treatment and it also appears I have a problematic bicep tendon which may require surgery. It's certainly very very painful and has put pay to my new found love for down hill mountain biking!

Enjoying new hobbies!

I'm sure things will improve and I will get some sort of bug for fishing back but until then I'm going to just do a little bit of canal fishing for silvers etc and maybe the odd evening on the River when the season comes around. Until then it's all work and no play.

I hope your all in good health and I look forward to catching up with some of you soon!

Keith

Thursday, 3 March 2016

Return of the noddy!

Made at home and ready to rock!

Evening friends and followers! It's been almost a month since I last wrote anything on here and to be honest it's only due to being very busy and the fact that it's also been 6 weeks since I first contracted the deathflumanebola virus that I am finally starting to come out the other side of!

What a horrid bug it's been too....cannot honestly remember the last time I felt so unwell for such a long time?

I've tried to keep myself up and going but at times it's really knocked me for six. Anyway, with the weather being less than amicable at times, it's really put the stoppers on my intended fishing sessions going into the last few weeks of the official coarse season for the rivers. I had intended on getting up to the Wye or Severn but they've either been bank high or just fishing generally crap!

All the gear and no idea!

Drenched but happy!

With this in mind I've hoiked out the old match kit and upgraded many bits of it in the last few weeks. I got myself a new margin pole, a few match reels and some other bits and bobs that were either worn out, broken or just looking a tad tired.

Of course, all this new stuff came with a price....the considerable need to GO FISHING!

My first mini session was a trip out to Viaduct Fishery near Somerton with Mathew. First impressions were that it looked a really nice venue. Platforms were well laid out and there were pretty good facilities too.

The fishing was bloody diabolical though and despite a handful of roach and skimmers each, Mat and I both had little to talk about. I was rather disappointed with the tackle shop on site....

They had a fairly good selection of kit and I chose a nice new pole roller and some other kit totaling about £75. I then stood in a cue of around 15 match anglers waiting at the till. I stood with my debit card in hand and waited around 10 minutes with 2 members of staff just serving teas up.

The one bloke could see I was waiting and couldn't be bothered to serve me. I finally got past the scavs to be told that they didn't take cards and that i'd have to travel into town to get cash out! Why on earth he waited 10 minutes to tell me that when he saw the card in my hand i'll never know. Needless to say I walked out and didn't buy a thing.

Mathew had a few from Springs

The match that was going on behind me was bloody awful too. I had a scummy woman sat right behind my peg who's mouth needed a wash out with soap! There were children walking around and all that could be heard was her swearing every few minutes. Disgusting behavior. I don't think we'll be going back there in a hurry!

Next outing was a day with my old mate Lewis to Cefn Mably lakes near Cardiff. Much better shop, much better fishing and to be honest, a lot closer to home! The fishing started a little slow but progressed nicely and I finished the day with about 35lbs of carp, f1s and a few skimmers. Lewis had about 25lb of the same.

Mathew and I then decided a tip over to fish the Bridge Pool at Mably the following Sunday and to say it was horrific weather was an understatement! Horizontal rain and winds made the fishing a little uncomfortable! But we made the most of it and between us we had over 350lb of carp!!! Bloody great fishing it was too. All the fish came from the margins on meat and pole and it was one after another!

The following week saw us venture over to White Springs and a day on the Canals. The fishing was no less than diabolical and despite every effort we made, we had very little worth talking about. Mathew sat for 5 hours without a bite and Lewis packed up on a blank. I managed a small handful of roach , skimmers and a carp and Mathew managed a few more just before we packed up.

Andy did well on a tough day!

Again we felt it was a poor day out as there was a kid racing around the venue on a motorbike for the best part of 3 hours! Very annoying!

Andy and I ventured out to Mably last Wednesday only to find a mid week match on the Bridge. We were a little gutted as we then had to fish a very cold and wind match lake. The fishing was sporadic to say the least and despite our best efforts we struggled to put anything decent on the bank. Andy finished with about 19lb 4oz and I had 18lb 2oz. Very tough!

Sunday past, Mathew and I went over to an old haunt of mine, Emerald Pool in Somerset. A great little venue to be honest and apart from another annoying match lot that decided to do their draw behind our pegs, we actually had a great day with me finally giving Mathew a good old arse whooping! Plenty of carp, roach, skimmers and F1's found the bank.

Part of a 140lb plus bag!

Finally, today I went back up for another crack at the Bridge Pool. The morning was incredibly slow to start and despite a few skimmers, by 2pm I was all bar fishless. I kept baiting the inside line and eventually around 2.15pm I got what I had waited for. A proper bite from the margin. This followed up with another few fine chunks and when my buddy Dave arrived at 3pm I had had around 50lb of fish in a short spell!

Dave sat with me watching as I started to rack up a few pounds in the nets at last! The fishing was almost frantic at times and I had one after another queuing up for my luncheon meat hook bait! I finally weighed in around 4.30pm with no less than 140lbs of carp and a few extra silvers I didn't weigh! A great day out yet again!

Well that's about it from me for the present....Just to add that it's now been almost 2 months since I wrote my email to my club and still I haven't received a reply.....pretty disgusting. Just goes to show the type of people they are if they haven't even got the decency to reply to an email.

Anyway, I hope your all in fine health and I look forward to seeing some of you really soon.

Tight lines
Keith x

Thursday, 4 February 2016

Credits where they're due!

Hi all.

Thanks Bob!!!!!

I write this with a heavy head full of nasty cold yet again! This is the second horrid bug I've had this year already, or is it the same one just come back? Who knows??? What I do know is that i'm incredibly under the weather and suffering from not only a very tight chesty cough but sore throat and aching from head to toe.

To top things off I've developed a hell of a nasty dose of conjunctivitis as well. This has made the last few days very tiring with a large work load that I have had come in.

Rolling bait is tiring work at the best of times but with a very bruised and battered body and a high temperature it's neigh on impossible! Still managed to crack out 60 kilos in just over 2 days though which albeit well below my normal capabilities, still not bad for an old fart like me with a full on dose of the man-lurgy!

Talking of work, my good old mate Bob gave me some beautiful home made perch bob floats he'd made at home to use. Very pretty little works of art that I certainly will enjoy at some point. He really went to town on making them to perfection! Thanks bro x

Maver S4 Z Frame!!! Very nice spec.

My new seat box turned up last week....wow! What a piece of kit that is! The colour is a little OTT maybe but who cares, I like it! The whole system is very neatly designed and I have to take my hat off to Maver and say that they have truly built a very practical and ingenious piece of reliable kit. The best part of it though was that after looking at the box hinges I spotted that the makers of these were Miki of Italy.

Brilliant fittings!

The same company that had built the box draws etc for my old Colmic box. Surely they couldn't be the same and interchangeable? YEP! They bloody were! What a result! I now have a seat box with 4 front draws, 3 winder trays, a shallow top section and a deep box section and of course underneath the whole thing is a 3 section winder/tackle box!

Fully loaded

Serious space for lots of kit, albeit the weight then becomes a bit of an issue. I guess i'll just have to make sure that I use a trolley or get the wheel and trolley kit that is available for the box for about £60.

I've also found out that the majority of my existing Preston Seat box fittings, ie: rod rests, trays etc with the adapter inserts removed, fit the 30mm Maver arms perfectly too! Another huge result. The only other option I required for the box was a descent feeder arm.

I purchased a double arm system from Prestons which will extend up to about 7 or 8 feet. I deal for those sessions when I fish the rivers for the chub and barbel on the feeder and I want the tip up high off the water. Having the double arm system means the whole thing is extremely stable too!

Preston feeder arm

Well pleased with these

I bought a couple of other bits too this week. A few new Shimano Exage Reels in 2500 and 3000 size front drag. What a cracking reel for the price too! I even got a little bit off at my local tackle dealers who I have to say has been very good to me and deserves credit for his great service. I've been going to him for a fair few years now and I have to say he's always done his best to supply me with the best kit at the best price he can.

With his limited space it's always going to be difficult to stock a town center shop with everything for every aspect of the sport but he does a pretty dam good job of looking after most aspects of the sport. I've had a few items that have failed due to manufacturing issues in the past and he's been straight down the line with me and insured i'm not left needing or out of pocket.

Great service all round. So if your in the local Bridgend area and are after a bit of bait, new rod or just a wander round....pop in and see Keith, Calvin and the rest of the gang at Reel Fishing. You might even get a free cup of tea!!!! I've included a link below to their great website too!

www.reelfishing.co.uk

Ewenny Angling, great shop!

I grabbed a new rod this last week as well....A very sexy looking Drennan 11ft Puddle Chucker Carp Waggler. Stunning cosmetics and cork handle. Very nicely whipped and high quality guides. They even give you a superb graphic enhanced, padded holdall with velvet velcro rod straps too! Very classy. Again, something I look forward to using when I get to go next!

Talking of going fishing next....I'm hoping that providing i'm well enough, this Sunday I am venturing out with the 'Brumder' over to Somerset and the very pretty Viaduct Fishery for the day. Bit of a drive but the pair of us fancy trying our luck out for a few nice carp on some mixed methods like pole, feeder and bomb etc. Mat reckons he's going to whoop my arse but I've got a few little tricks up my sleeve to grab his £1 off him at the end of the day! What's even better is that he's picking me up again and driving! How delightful! I spend so many god awful hours driving during the summer months that it really is lovely to have someone else take over for a bit.

Barbel Fisher Magazine and a bit more of my ink! Happy days

Another mention this week is to the new Editor of the wonderful publication that is Barbel Fisher. Dan Whitelock. It's his first edition of the publication as the new Ed in charge and I have to say what a cracking job he's done at the helm. Very impressive....There were lots of great contributors as usual and I had another piece published on my trials and tribulations of fishing the awe inspiring River Wye. So there we go....another week gone and unfortunately no fish for me to talk about but the build up to going on Sunday is killing me! If that doesn't then this god awful bloody bug may do!

Hope to see you all on the flip side of my ebola flu crisis soon.

Keith

Tuesday, 26 January 2016

Banter and bits!

Evening friends.

One of 7 cracking fish for Mat!

I hate to say it again but....bloody weather! What the heck is going on with our climate? Wet, wet and wet for weeks on end. Then we have a nasty cold spell, then it's mild and almost Spring'ish and now we're back to torrential rain and high winds??? To say the wildlife and plants are confused is an understatement! There's daffs springing up, flowers blooming and trees in blossom??? In January? Nuts!

The fishing has been all over the shop too with some great catches coming from waters that would normally have shut up shop in November. One of my field testers Mathew, had 7 carp including 2 over twenty pounds from a tough Bedfordshire pit in just a short weekend session! One of the other testers 'Shaggy' had a 29lb Grassy and a nice 20lb + mirror as well. Some great angling chaps, well done!

My week has so far been rather quiet....not much bait going out at present as many have decided to call it a day until the weather stabilizes a bit i think. Despite the conditions, myself, Mathew O'neill, Bob Willcockson, Lewis Seaborne and Dougie Hull ventured up to the Sharpness Canal near Gloucester on Sunday. Just for the day, in search of the elusive Zander.

A belting 29lb Grassy for Shaggy! Awesome!

The fishing I have to say was rather tough going and despite us throwing every lure we owned at the fish, we struggled to get so much as a few nibbles and Mathew got bitten off on the Drop shot by a jack.

The only way we could seem to get any interest was by using real baits for the fish, with roach seeming to be the going option! The other problem we had was the amount of boat traffic....our worst nightmare, rowers!!!

Just can't seem to get away from them! And these were almost as bad as the one's on the Wye at Monmouth! 'I know, I'll come as close to you as I can' .....retards! Bob got wiped out more times than any of us I think but one of them almost snapped both of my rods when they came through quickly. There's just no thought involved.

Anyway, I was first off the mark for the day and my roach bait was taken mid channel around 10am. I had a few bleeps on the alarm and went to investigate. The rod tip twitched a few times and I picked it up and waited. The line started to slowly pull from the spool of my reel and I struck into a solid resistance immediately.

A nice little jack for me

The fight was quite fun on my 2lb test curve rods and I have to say much more enjoyable than on my heavy 3.25lb tc rods of usual pike use. After a few minutes Bob netted a nice little colourful Jack for me of about 6 or 7 pounds. A good start to the day. After that it was just bloody hard work and despite 3 or 4 swim moves it wasn't much before 4pm that the next bite came.

Mathew was next in and finally we had target species Zander on the bank! Albeit the fish was about the size of his bait! He didn't care though as it was his first of the species and I have to say it was great to see him with a smile on his chops. Well done bro.

Bob's rod was next to go just a few minutes later and his fish was a little better. Also being a Zander virgin, it was great to see that he was also finally connected to a new fish species for him. He's had a few go's at trying to catch one and racked up a fair few miles in the process too. At about 3 and a half pounds it was a bit better. Well done matey! Great to see a couple of the target fish come out. That was unfortunately it for the day though and despite staying well into darkness, nothing else occurred.

Well done to the brumder! First ever Zed!

Lewis, Mat and I headed back to the van and by the time we got there we were all worn out...too much tackle taken as usual! We loaded up and stood next to Mathews van to chat for a moment or two. Mathew pulled out a new 2ltr bottle of spring water and went to put it up to his mouth. Being the good friend that I am, I felt he looked rather warm and needed cooling down a little...this caused a sudden urge in my arms to run forward and squeeze the bottle with some vigorous intent!

This caused about two thirds of the bottle of water to race out at breakneck pace covering his face! Mat in turn panicked and turned to face Lewis and in turn sprayed water all over Lewis from the waist down!

I made a run for it as I knew what was coming next, Mathew came over for round two, which of course ended up all over my chops! The three of us were soaked through to the skin but laughing so hard that we were almost crying! We must have looked totally nuts to any onlookers but who cares, we had great fun and all enjoyed themselves hugely! That's what it's all about though in my opinion....I know that the banter side isn't everyone's cup of tea but the day was kept alive with jokes, laughter and smiles. I hope my friends and I have many more days like this to treasure.

Well done Bob! First ever Zed for him too!

I've been a tad naughty this week and ordered myself a new seat box! I've needed one for some time now and in fact avoided going pole fishing due to the fact that my 2 current one's are at a point where they are a little tired and in all honesty I feel ashamed to take them with me as they're getting on a bit. I felt I needed a new fancy one, so I ordered a new Maver S4 Z-frame one in mango colour! Very techno! Can't wait for it to arrive now so I can get out and use it!

This coming year should be fantastic as I have lots of new waters to try and a ton of new challenges too. I'm going to try and not only beat my Crucian PB, but see if I can't get somewhere near to the British Record if possible. I have a water in mind and a few different ideas on how to approach it. I also want to get myself a new PB barbel from the Kennet and I'm going to do a bit more carping this year too. It involves the inevitable driving a bit further but with the lack of quality fishing in South Wales, that's nothing new!

Right, that's it for this week....off to fill out my tax return! My favourite bloody job! NOT!

See you all soon.
Tight lines
K x

Wednesday, 20 January 2016

GRAYLING!!!!!!!!!!!!

The beautiful River Test

Hi all....

What a sudden change in our weather pattern again! All of a sudden we've gone from hearing all about the poor souls who've lost everything in the last few weeks to floods all over the country, to now hearing that temperatures have been down to -10C and heavy snow in areas!

What a change! The weather here in the valleys of South Wales has been reasonable in comparison and for a change we've been far less affected by the weather than usual. Albeit we've had a couple of very hard frosts this week so far.

Fishing this year so far has been between little and no trips out and last Sunday was in fact only my second day out of the New Year so far! With the cold snap in tow it looked like we may struggle on our trip down south but all went according to plan, as I will discuss in a moment. Before I start with my fishing antics though, I'd like to take just a few lines up about the current issue with my local club which is now becoming a bit of a long standing joke between myself and my friends.

A wonderful start to proceedings!

It appears that the clubs committee pay attention to what's written on this blog with a fine toothed comb. This in itself is a miracle as the majority of them are anti-internet types. So i'm amazed they evening knew about these pages I write. It also appears that they find it very difficult to allow someone to have an opinion that doesn't match that of their little group. Since writing my last post, in which I published my feelings on the clubs demolition of a picturesque water.

I have received a letter from the club committee asking me to hand back my club key and permit and that I was now banned from the club for a life term!!!! The letter was worded very critically of my writings and went so much as to call me ignorant and that I had a personal vendetta against them. They also expressed that the club welcomes criticism despite the letter saying otherwise.

I would suggest to those involved that you should really have a think about what you've written in said letter as it not only very contradictory but also doesn't really give any reasons for giving me a life ban? Other than that I have criticized the running of the club and it's committee! Doesn't really feel that the crime fits the punishment....I have furthermore never received any warnings from the club asking me to not write about my feelings on club matters.

Unlike the behavior of 2 club committee members that feel it's okay to threaten paid up members with violence...Needless to say that this has been swept under the carpet and no further action taken!   I have also been informed by another club member of a recent incident in a local tackle shop, where by the Membership Secretary was spouting endless obscenities in front of customers, including ladies, about the clubs members! I cannot honestly believe that this is all allowed to go on....It really does show these particular persons up in a new light! Absolutely disgusting and they should be the one's with a life time ban!I have emailed the Club Secretary but as yet received any form of reply. I will also not be surrendering my licence until I receive a written reply with good reasons for the ban and also a full written apology from the two committee members that threatened me with acts of violence. I wait with baited breath!

Anyway, on to much more interesting and important stuff like fishing!!!!!! I have been lucky enough to be invited into a small group of like minded chaps who run a tidy group called SHUK. The Specimen Hunters UK. They're a very tight nit group of like minded fellas that just love fishing, great banter and generally having a good time on the bank side. The group is some 30 strong maximum and I already knew a few of the members from previous meet ups. The facebook group is just a riot at the best of times so I knew exactly what to expect at a social,

Last Sunday was set in the diary for a day out social on the wonderful River Test, Timsbury Fishery in Hampshire. I set the alarm clock for 4.20am and the wife and kids made the journey with me down to Salisbury first to drop them off at the mother in laws for the day while i fished. I eventually got to the river at 7.50am. The chaps all started to roll n about the same time and we had a brief quarter of an hour chin wag in the car park. The weather was cloudy, slightly chilly but at least not raining! Yet!

Nice perch too.

We all walked off towards the river and got tackled up for the day ahead. There were a few faces I recognized and some I didn't but all were extremely welcoming and I was really made to feel like one of the team! There was a good mixture of age groups from 30 upwards to about 70 and most were around my age 40-45.

This meant we were all of similar likes in most aspects and there was plenty to talk about whether fishing related or not. Some of the guys made a swim up for the day and others like myself went off roving. I took a couple of rods with me armed with center pins and a small fixed spool set up to a ledger rod.

I started the day just up from Baz Fisher who was having a dabble for a pike and his dad joined him in search of a grayling. I found a nice spot at the back of a corner. The current just changed slightly as it swept around the left hand bend. I started to introduce a few maggots by hand and after about 10 minutes I started to run a 10 x 4 wire stem stick float through the swim at around 3 ft depth. It wasn't too long before the action started. I started to get bite but mainly when I introduced less loose feed. My first grayling was about an inch long! The second about 3 inches. I was hoping for something a little bit bigger when the float pulled under and sped off down stream! The fight in the strong current on a 13ft float rod was amazing! Especially as I had fined right down to a size 20 hook and 2lb 12oz hook length!

The fish eventually found the net and I was the proud captor of my first 'proper' Test grayling of a pound. They then started to come like buses and after about an hour I had taken 9 grayling and 3 large brown trout to just under 4lbs! The trout were great fun but signaled an end to the grayling sport in my swim. Time for a move down stream. I tried numerous little hot spots on my way down. Eventually ending up near the tail end of the fishery where I found a stunning run under an overhanging tree.

A wonderful end to the day! Great fishing at Timsbury on the Test

First run through resulted in a cracking grayling around 1lb 8oz. Then I had another around 1lb. The fish seemed to be held up under the tree and for the next 40 minutes I made the most of the action and bagged about 10 more fish. I felt I needed a change of fish so I then headed for a sarny, coffee and a walk over to one of the carrier streams behind the main river.

I dropped a small 1/8oz lead into a spot behind a bridge with a size 10 hook and a small lobworm impaled on it. It didn't take long before the tip wrenched around and I was hooked into a nice pound perch! 5 more followed but all in a much smaller guise! I swapped over to the float and ran that through a few more likely spots on the carrier for 2 small roach and a minnow.

Lure boxes all ready to fly into action on Sunday!

Eventually I went back over to the main river and after doing battle with a bonkers brown trout in the carrier weir pool, I got back to the grayling fishing. I bagged another 12 before the light took away our fishing for the day. I ended up on 31 grayling for the day and to say I was well happy with the results was an understatement! Great fishing, great venue, great company! Thanks for arranging it Mike Lyddon! Top bloke....I look forward to next years event!

I've spent this week dusting off my spinning and drop shotting gear, as we have a lads day out planned for Sunday on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. We've got Pike, Perch and Zander in our eyes and hopefully between the group of us, someone may catch something????The banter will be worth going for if nothing else!

Tight lines all and stay well
x