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).

Not big grayling.

After a couple of successful sessions float fishing maggots for grayling I decided to try a different tactic in the hope of catching something bigger. It worked, but not quite as I'd hoped.

I rigged up my grayling rod with a simple fixed paternoster set up using a 7g bomb as weight and a 2kg mono link, about 30cm in length, to my size 12 hook. I walked through the muddy field to thr river and wandered on downstream until I came to a suitable grayling swim. It was one where Nigel and I have recently caught some decent grayling on trotted maggots so I was optimistic. I cast out and rolled the weight round in the current. After half-an-hour of casting and rolling - nothing! The river looked good, perhaps the water was a bit murky but I didn't expect it to put fish off - quite the reverse since I was using worm as bait.

"Try another place Mike!" I thought; so I reeled in and walked a little way to another nice grayling glide. Again half-an-hour without a nibble. This was getting ridiculous. By now it was beginning to get rather gloomy so I opted for one last move to try and tempt a fish before I had to pack in. I scrabbled in the box and picked out my biggest worm. On it went and I swung the gear out into a beautiful glide, just the spot for a big grayling I thought. As the line swung round in the current I felt a tap, tap, tap. Strike! And I was in. The little rod bowed over and the fish held its station in the flow. My spirits rose as I had visions of a monster grayling but my hopes were dashed as the clutch began to scream and line poured off the spool. Clearly this was no grayling.

Five minutes of give and take passed before I had a glimpse of what was on the line. As the fish rolled it showed a big, red-brown flank - salmon! What a pain. Of course I don't mind catching salmon in season but this wasn't what I was after. As I played the fish I slipped the camera cord onto my wrist and snapped a few pictures as and when the chance arose. It took me a further five minutes before I could pursuade the 5kg salmon to slide into my net. I grabbed the pliers and removed the little hook from the lip of the fish before allowing it to swim out of the meshes and back to its lie in the river. All part and parcel of fishing but I shall have to wait until next time for my big grayling.

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

It's a salmon - not exactly what I wanted.

In the net and ready to be released..