Inside Lancashire Sport

I’ve had another long session at Tewitfields where it was hard going on this ten acre limestone lake near Carnforth and Morecambe.

For my latest effort to try and crack my big tench target on this water I ordered 4 pints of fresh casters from Gerry’s of Morecambe. Having collected my casters and the odd item of tackle, I was back in the car for the short journey to the tench lake.

Tewitfields is without doubt one of the toughest tench fishing waters I have fished, not helped by the unseasonable weather. I’ve had fish rooting around in my swim just inches from my bait, still they refuse it. If I use worms they are immediately seized by small perch, using gentles it's tiny roach rudd and perch. Bread is soon shredded to bits. Yes, I can catch a few tench but not the big ones that I seek. Fish in the eight and nine pound class, I reckon I have seen a couple of fish that might push the scales to ten pounds. On this trip I would bait heavily with method mix containing hemp, tiny pellets, casters and corn. Using a bait dropper to get most of my casters in one swim, hoping the small fish wouldn’t take them.

Having spent some time walking around the lake, I fed a few handfuls of method mix in three spots; I then went off for a late breakfast and mug of tea. An hour later still no signs of fish in the baited areas. I chose to fish the road side bank towards which the south west wind had been blowing for a couple of days. Choosing this area knowing fish often follow the wind. I picked two swims; one situated fifty feet from the bank where fish had been rolling, this is often a prelude to feeding. Plumbing this area I found ten feet of water between two weed beds which I baited with twelve cricket size balls of bait containing mini pellets, casters, hemp and corn, I then added a pint of casters using a bait dropper. I reckon throwing balls of bait in by hand at this distance, is better than spodding.

My other swim was under the rod tip with eight feet of water, in among the hundreds of small rudd perch and roach I would occasionally see the odd tench move through. They averaged 4lbs not the fish I was interested in, but at least fish did visit the area. Hopefully, one of the big ones would pay a visit later; with a bait dropper I put in half a pint of casters, a can of sweet corn and three pints of mini pellets and a pint of hemp. I wanted a bed of bait down there to keep a big fish occupied. Both swims were left along for sometime, I didn’t want to take the chance of spooking any fish before they become confident in feeding on the bait.

I fished two 12 foot Grauvell rods, Shimano 3500 reels and ten pound Gamma line; some readers might reckon this is over the top on tackle strength. I don't. Tench can be tough fighters and I would have to pull the fish through a weed bed. I might also hook one of the big common carp. My end rig was the Pallatrax In-Line Stonze with a four inch fluorocarbon hook link with a size 10 hook and a short hair; I wanted the two bits of hair rigged imitation corn tight to the hook shank.  As we know chub often pick up the bait in their lips, I have seen tench do the same. With too long a hair this usually means a missed bite. I made sure the balanced corn would be popped up about an inch above the light covering of silkweed by pinching a small bit of tungsten putty on the hook link.

My second rod had a Pallatrax In-Line Stonze system again with a four inch fluorocarbon hook link with a slightly longer hair on the size eight hook. Bait would be a popped up boily.  My other outfit was a 13 foot rod, centre pin reel with six pound Gamma line; I rate this line excellent for all types of coarse fishing it has excellent abrasion quality and knot strength. I chose a three swan shot waggler, two swan shot locking the float, with two AA pinched on the line halfway between float and hook with a BB shot some six inches from a size 12 Pallatrax hook which are extremely strong. To the bend of the hook I tied on a half inch of half pound breaking strain line. When the time comes to fish I would super glue two or three imitation casters on the hair. By using these imitation casters I would know I have bait on the hook at all times. Having plumbed the depth I set the float so about eight inches of line was on the bottom. Having baited my swims I left them alone for a couple of hours, I didn't want to be early and spook the fish before they got their heads down.

Having made up all my tackle, I sorted out rod rests, bite alarms, bobbins, landing net weigh scales and weigh bag. When I am on a two three day session I have a large plastic box with cooking and brew gear, spare gas bottle, water, tea bags, and tins of soup, tuna pasta, fish and chicken. In my big Chillers cold box I have sandwiches, milk, diabetic fruit cake and biscuits and breakfast cereals. I don’t use a bivvy; making do with my waterproof gear should it rain, though if the rain is persistent I will erect my umbrella. With everything sorted I sat back with a mug of tea some fruit cake and my Daily Telegraph. Occasionally I spotted a rolling fish over the ‘Fifty Foot’ swim, occasionally a tench rooted around in my swim close to the bank. I left them alone to settle on the feed. Suddenly a streak of forked lighting appeared to my right. I immediately grabbed my paper, mug of tea and disappeared towards Les Bratby’s cabin. If you're caught out in the open during a storm the best place to be is in your car. Don’t do what I have seen some idiots do - carry on fishing. No fish is worth a life.

The storm lasted an hour, and then it was blue sky with some small white fluffy clouds. Back in my swim I could see several tench feeding, though none were the size I wanted to catch, I topped up the swim with a can of corn. I put six droppers of casters in my ‘Fifty Foot’ Swim I then had a walk around the lake checking out some of the close in swims where I had put in some bait. About halfway along the opposite bank I spotted two big tench rooting around in the bottom tight up to the bank under the grass. Normally this would be a firm bank but with all the rain this summer it was under water giving the fish an extra feeding area.  I immediately went and got my float tackle, then adjusted the float so the bait would just be on the bottom, I lowered the two hair rigged imitation caster quietly in the water.

Still the two big tench which I reckoned would weigh seven pounds plus continued to feed. For an hour or so the fish moved in and out of the area, often only inches from the bait. For a few seconds I took my eyes off the float to look up the bank where I heard a big swirl. Disaster, something picked up the bait then moved off fast towards the centre of the lake.  As I heard the reel screech, I grabbed the rod in a panic the line jammed where it was taken off the reel too fast. Suddenly the rod hooped over, and then it was gone. I had that sickening feeling as the limp line fluttered from the rod tip. I was gutted. Those few seconds where I had taken my eyes off the float had caused me to lose a big fish.

After dropping a ball of method mix containing casters and corn in the swim, I walked back along the bank towards my base for a mug of tea. As I did so it looked as if it was raining, the lake surface was dimpled where hundreds of small rudd, roach and perch were probably feeding on Chironomids. Having made a mug of tea I cut a slice of cake then settled down in my chair. Looking across the water to my ‘Fifty Foot’ swim a good tench rolled, my hopes were getting sky high. Perhaps tonight I would get one of the big ones.

After a break I went back to the lost fish swim. A good tench and two common carp was feeding, picking up my rod and bag I moved well back from the waters edge then tied on a new hook and hair to which I glued on two imitation casters. Creeping back to the waters edge I could see the tench, but the carp had gone. I lowered the baited hook down tight to the bank twelve inches in front of the fish; I watched the fish as it inched closer to my baited hook soon it was perhaps an inch from my hook. Occasionally the float dipped slightly, probably caused by the fish touching the line. I was ready to spring into action. Half an hour later the fish was on an even keel and slowly swimming off towards the centre of the lake. I spent another hour or more waiting to see if it would return, it didn’t. Collecting my gear I went back to base.

Six o’clock I decided it was time for dinner of potatoes, venison, peas and gravy followed by a slice of cake and mug of tea. I was then ready for the evening session. Time to position my leger rods, one with a popped up boily, the other with imitation corn. With some method mix moulded around the Stonze weights, after casting out I placed both rods in the rests then clipped on the bite indicators switching on the buzzers. I then float fished the close in swim with various baits, corn, small pellets, caster, bread flake and worms, no tench but a succession of small roach rudd and perch. I fished until dark with nothing better than small fish.

Throwing in some crusts for the ducklings I was amazed to hear fish swirling at the bread. I quickly took all the shot and float from my line then baited with a piece of crust which I dropped on the water, soon there was a swirl. The line pulled through my fingers. The strike connected with a nice fish; soon a rudd was in the landing net. Realising it was a good one I got the scales out, the fish weighed one and a half pounds. Between darkness and midnight I had twenty, perhaps thirty good rudd with two at 2-2-0 and 2-3-0 these rudd looked as if they had just been minted. Fin and scale perfect.

At midnight the fish stopped taking crust off the top then disappeared, it was time for a bowl of soup to keep me going through the night and I still expected to get a decent tench on one of my leger rods. Up till now I hadn’t had a single bleep; I sat watching motionless bite indicators until about two in the morning. With no sign of action I decided to get my head down for a couple of hours. I was woken up by heavy rain around 4 o’clock. Before putting on the kettle I recast both rods, clipped on the bite indicators then made a brew. I was thankful for my waterproofs, within fifteen minutes the right hand indicator moved slowly to the butt ring. Soon a tench about five pounds was netted. Rebaiting I cast to the same spot, and then fed in three cricket size balls of ground bait. In the half light of dawn a big fish rolled over the baited area.  The buzzer bleeped twice, the bite indicator shivered, five minutes later the indicator hit the butt ring. Fish number two was powering away, several minutes later a good fish was netted. On the scales it went 6-4-0. Still it rained, it was monsoon conditions, I put up my umbrella, and by seven o’clock I had caught nine tench the average about five pounds. At nine o’clock the rain ceased and soon I had blue sky bright sunshine with a strong south westerly wind. Time for breakfast. During the day I roved around the lake looking for big tench without success, I went back to my baited swims and sat it out until about seven in the evening then called it a day.

Friday I was on the River Ribble for a few hours taking some nice chub on float fished bread flake I suppose the best was about 4lbs, I should have fished an all night session for sea trout but the river started to rise and colour up, so I didn’t bother to fish.  Next time I will be fishing in Berkshire, during the day I will fish a gravel pit for tench and perch, then during the evening into the darkness I will be on the River Kennet fishing for barbel.

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Week 4

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This week has been a mixture of salmon and sea trout fishing on the Ribble where I was extremely lucky to take my third salmon of the summer with a nice fresh sea liced fish estimated around 6-7lbs caught using a size 8 double Ally’s shrimp. I also had three small sea trout. All fish were returned. I was shocked to hear a person had killed a 22lb salmon from the river Ribble near Sawley. No way should this hen fish have been killed, more so as it was a summer fish with a quality gene pool and lots of eggs. If you need to kill a fish then harvest one about six pounds and only cock fish.

For several years I have been making a 500 mile round trip to fish a lake in Berkshire to fish for big tench, when fifty miles from home was a limestone lake which held big tench.

Jewel in the Lancashire Crown...

I also paid two visits to this exciting water Tewitfields I reckon it's another Jewel in the Crown of Lancashire.

The other Jewel in the Crown of Lancashire is the River Ribble - a river that can offer you good coarse and game fishing. In the middle and upper reaches of this delightful water you can enjoy some excellent fly fishing for salmon, grayling, sea and brown trout.  Downstream of Calder Foot you can expect to catch barbel, chub, roach, and dace then further down stream you will find some good pike fishing, with the chance of a thirty pounder.

Tewitfields is a twenty year old mature ten acre limestone lake that contains specimen roach, rudd, perch, tench, carp and pike. The water contains some good fish but it’s not an easy one to get success from.  You will have to spend time learning all its moods, and remember fish are not spread around like currents in a pudding, fish will following the wind, this is certainly true of carp, tench often do likewise. Not all swims contain big fish, its all down to learning from experience of fishing during all weather and water conditions. Day permits cost £5 a day, but you can get a syndicate permits at £300. Booking details telephone Les Bratby on 01524-730331. Come off at junction 35 on the M6 then take A6070 road to Tewitfield.

My first visit to Tewitfields was with Leyland solicitor Martin Salisbury to record a programme for my At the Waters Edge programme on BBC Radio Lancashire. I also needed to get as much information as possible on the water as possible. Later in the week I would be returning to the water with Bolton photographer Ian Chapman for a feature in the Anglers Mail. It was late in the afternoon on Sunday 8 July when Martin and I arrived to find the sun shining brightly, this certainly surprised us as the rest of the county was having heavy rain, in some areas hailstones were giving the impression of was winter. The fishery looked great in this rare glimpse of summer.  Walking around this new Jewel in the Lancashire Crown, we met Bailiff Frank Squirrel catching quality rudd. Many fish over a pound and a half graced Frank’s net; he had some forty, perhaps fifty fish during his latest session when he float fished Ringer pellets. Walking along the far bank we spotted several good tench rooting in the bottom, certainly the chance of some tench I thought! After recording my programme and talking with some other anglers, it was time to fish. Martin chose a swim on the west bank while I picked a spot along the bank that separated the two lakes, the smaller coloured water has produced some big carp and perch.

After giving my swim a good raking, I made up some method mix adding sweet corn, hemp and Cotswold Baits liquid bloodworm, I then fed the swim with three cricket size balls of bait. I chose a thirteen foot rod, matched with a centre pin reel and 4lb Gamma line with a 6 BB shot waggler and size 14 Pallatrax hook. I was ready to go. After plumbing the area I chose to fish my bait on a ledge in eight foot of water. In the gin clear water I would often see several tench moving through the swim. One of these must have weighed eight pound plus. For three hours fish rooted around in my swim, masses of tiny pin head bubbles appeared on the surface. Still no bites. I wondered what they were eating.  Eventually it was time to leave the fishery, when Martin arrived.

He said: "I had fish feeding and bubbling in my swim but couldn’t get a bite."

The same for me I said. We both returned home wandering why we couldn’t catch.

Arriving at Tewitfields on Tuesday on my second visit of the week, I was met by Les Bratby who had just returned from hospital and Frank Squirrel the fishery bailiff.  Hospitality was high on the order as beef sandwiches on home made brown bread and tea was offered. Finishing off my food I had a walk around the fishery where in the gin clear water I spotted several tench on the 5lb class chasing one another. They didn’t have food on their minds; they chased one another in and out of the weed often a female was accompanied by three or four males.  I needed to find a group of fish that wanted to eat.

I chose a swim a few yards along the west bank from Frank Squirrel who already had a nice tench on float fished corn. Having raked and baited with brown crumb hemp and sweet corn. I made up two legering outfits using my Grauvell Specialist 1.2 rods, Mitchell 300 reels with 6lb line and Stonze weights. On the right hand rod I chose to fish a hair rigged Jungle boily on a size 8 Pallatrax stumpy rig. The other rod was baited with three grains of popped up corn to a fifteen inch braided hook line. Despite feeding little and often not one fished stopped to feed in the baited area.  Having fished for some twelve hours where I had plenty of fish passing through my swim I didn’t get a bite.  I made the decision to wind in my rods and have some food. I had only eaten a piece of cake and sandwich with a few mugs of tea. After my break I recast the rods, still choosing to fish with popped up corn and Jungle paste.

At 2-15 in the morning the boily baited rod was away soon a tench was in the net, the only bite of the night.  I thought I might catch at dawn. No such joy. Then the wind changed, it was time to take a walk along the windward side where I spotted the odd feeding tench.  It was time to move, soon I was sitting in a new swim with the wind in my face hoping above hope the fish would feed.  About ten in the morning Ian Chapman turned up all smiles as usual and asked how many...I had only managed one.

Soon Ian was sitting next to me float fishing hair rigged corn, while I tucked into a freshly fried egg on home made brown bread cooked by Les' partner Kathleen. Apart from an odd fish nothing wanted our baits, though further along the bank Frank Squirrel had four tench. As I have always recommended, seek local advice on where and how to fish a strange water. I done that but it didn't help me on this occasion. As previously said, the tench had something else on their minds. I suppose I wouldn't want to eat on those occasions. By noon Ian was on his way home. After packing all my gear away I had a few hours sleep - I wasn’t in any fit state to drive. Nine o’clock I the evening I was a back home having a shower. In the words of the later General Douglas MacArthur - I shall return. Then hopefully after a few visits I will have sorted out a way to defeat those big tench which could weight ten pounds and they won't have what comes natural on their minds!

Thursday I was back on the River Ribble for a few hours where I had a nice brace of brown trout fishing a Klinkhammer Special on a size 14 hook to a twelve foot leader. Norman Higgins home on leave from the Middle East fishing as my guest had a nice salmon estimated at 6lbs on a small size Stoats Tail tube. Other anglers have been catching trout, barbel and chub. A good bream of 11-6-0 was caught near Ribchester.

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Week 3

A Mixed Bag from Pallington Lakes

With the EEC bringing in a ban on the use of lead in all fishing products I thought it was time to interview Simon Pomaroy of Pallatrax Ltd the man who gave us the Stonze weight.

I chose to travel south last Sunday 1st July being a quiet time on the roads; I left home just after 6am. I suppose it was around noon when I arrived in Dorchester, Dorset. With a no smoking ban now in place I decided to take lunch in a local Inn. After lunch I should have gone off to fly fish the river Frome - but that idea was out. The river was bank high and the colour of oxtail soup.

Instead, I went off and visited Thomas Hardy’s cottage, his home until the age of 34 where. It’s where Hardy had written Under the Greenwood Tree and Far from the Maddening Crowd. Having looked around the cottage, I then spent some time just sitting in the traditional cottage style garden, admiring the flowers and talking with other visitors. I also got a good photograph of the Comma butterfly.

Monday morning I visited the town of Dorchester spending a pleasant three hours roaming around the place, most of the time was spent in the second hand book shops. Lunch was a Cornish pasty; it was excellent I have never had better.

After lunch I went off to Pallington lakes to interview Simon and hopefully fish the lakes complex. Simon and his wife Tinni with their two boys Jack and Ben. I soon got roped in to take Jack off fishing! How could I say no to a young lad with pleading eyes who said:"Are you going to take me fishing Martin?" So off we went with a box of gentles and a float fishing outfit.

In between the showers, Jack caught 5 rudd averaging about 6 – 8 ounces and 4 roach about the same size. It was a happy Jack that went off home with his Mum after a mug of tea and a chat with the Boss of the outfit. Simon Tarrant the fishery manager showed me a swim where he said some good rudd was caught last week.
Now rudd are one of my favourite fish especially when they grow to 3lbs plus.

Collecting my gear from the car I made up a 13 foot float rod, centre pin reel, with 4lb Gamma line and a size 14 barbless hook. I attached by double rubber a red tipped quill float to take 3 bb shot. Plumbing the depth I found I had seven feet of water under my rod tip.

A few feet to my left was a willow tree many of its branches in the water? No doubt the home of the big rudd. I had been told about, perhaps a perch or two. I pinched one BB shot about four inches from the hook, the other two shot were evenly spaced between the tell tale shot and the float. Bait was a single grain of corn.

Having got everything ready, and on the advice of Simon I made up some method mix, feeding a pigeon egg size lump into my swim every few minutes with three for four grains of corn. Within minutes of starting I had my first fish a rudd about a pound, this was followed by a tench about five pounds.

Then I hooked something big and powerful, it was a carp which quickly got itself in the willow branches that trailed in the water. I could feel the line grating as it passed to and fro over the branches. All I could do was cramp on all the pressure I dare and waited. After a minute or so the fish was clear and out in the open water. It was a long slogging match under the rod tip, the pressure of well balanced tackle and my years of experience told. Soon I had a super common carp in the net.

One angler said: "That was a good display of how to play a fish." It weighed 15-8-0 there wasn’t a buzzer or bivvy in sight. I had another common carp of 14lbs and lost one that broke me after I tried to stop it getting in some reeds. My best tench weighed in at 6lbs. Though I didn’t catch any big rudd, I was seeking; I did catch a few Rudd and roach to about a pound. Bream and eels also had a liking for corn. It was what I would call a mixed bag.

Gamma Line and Sugar Puffs

As many of you know I have been using Gamma line for the past four perhaps five years with great success both in fresh and saltwater. It’s the best I have used. The knot strength and abrasion quality of this line are excellent I cannot fault it. In the years I have been using Gamma my listeners and readers have asked where it could be purchased. All I could say was in the United States. I didn’t know of any UK tackle shops that stocked the product.

For some years Pallatrax have given us the amazing Stones weights and various baits in paste, boily and stick form which have accounted for a lot of big fish including the record barbel. Now Pallatrax Ltd has the distribution of Gamma line in the UK and Europe. It should be in a tackle shop near your in August.

You never know it all in this great sport or pastime, perhaps it’s a passion. I reckon its all three. I certainly learnt something new from Simon Pomaroy; it’s what he calls, the Sugar puff mix. A new idea of baiting with the method mix. So simple, yet so effective. Simon adds one or two handfuls of sugar puffs to his method mix, which causes the mix to float, where it slowly breaks up sending a continuous trail of fine crumb down through the water. Having watched it in action I could see lot of possibilities. Remember you got it first with BBC Lancashire; I will keep you posted on further developments.

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Week 2

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Since my last report I have been back on the River Ribble, where I had an early morning session. 5.15am I started fishing the bottom end of the Edisford Hall fishing just upstream of Mitton Bridge where I was fortunate enough to catch two nice sea trout estimated at about 2lbs, fishing a Dunkeld on a short leader seven feet to a medium sink line matched to a ten foot Thomas and Thomas 7 weight rod.

I fished until 8pm then it was back to the fishing cabin for breakfast. Brian Shaw whose wife Joyce was the lucky winner of a competition on Stephen Lowe’s Saturday lunchtime programme was due at 10am for a day’s trout fishing. Brian ended the day with a nice brace of brown trout. After checking my mink traps, I went off home to finish off a magazine feature for Countryman’s Weekly.

In the afternoon I was back on the river with Mick Holgate. After getting Mick sorted out I left him to it saying “I will meet you in the cabin about 6 o’clock for tea”. I roamed the beat catching six trout the best probably about 2lbs, the average being around the pound and a quarter mark all taken fishing a black gnat in the surface film on a fifteen foot leader with a 2lb tippet. Mick meanwhile had a nice fish on a Klinkhammer.

On Friday, the River Ribble had four feet of extra water, no good for fly fishing. Instead I went off to fish the Keighley Angling Club water on the river Aire. The tackle I used was a Grauvelle Specialist 1.2 lb test curve rod, centre pin reel and six pound line with two LG shot lightly pinched on the line about fifteen inches from a size 4 barbless hook. Bait was sausage meat paste.

I just roamed the bank high river dropping the bait in all the quiet spots, ending the session with five good chub best at 5-3-0.  Saturday the River Ribble had dropped over night, it looked in good condition I reckon there was a good chance of a salmon or sea trout until the river started to rise again later in the day.  Downstream of Mitton Bridge at Hodder Foot regular Radio Lancashire listener Colin Jordon had a nice salmon of 12lbs on a Rapala lure and 15lb line. Having checked my mink traps I had a late breakfast then spent a couple of hours helping Christine Watkins with her casting.  The rest of the day was spent collecting rubbish left by the high water and repairing some damaged fencing.

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Week 1

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What a great week! The rain has certainly helped our rivers. Today on the Edisford Hall fishing on the River Ribble I had a nice fresh run salmon on a tube fly, 1 sea trout on a Dunkeld and 3 good brown trout on a Richard Walker Mayflt nymph. Best estimated at two and a half pounds.

The previous few days I fished the Kennet and nearby gravel. Lots of good perch my personal best at 3-13-0, I had 14 between one and a half pounds in one session the average was probably 2-4-0. 26 carp to 15-8-0 all caught stalking with bread and worms free lined eyeball to eyeball stuff. Tench to 6-4-0.

On the Kennet I had 14 barbel best barbel to 10-4-0 on Pallatrax Jungle paste. It's nice to know at 70 I can still catch a few!

• Find out Martin's dream fishing spot is - he tells BBC Radio Lancashire's Ted Robbins...