Mike Duddy

Holiday Fishing Tenerife

5th July 2016 by Mike Duddy Leave a Comment

I recently turned 50 – ouch

So instead of allowing my family to inflict a birthday party on me – I organised a pre-emptive strike and booked a couple of weeks away in the sun…Tenerife this time.

I usually take lots of fishing tackle away with me – but with a baby just beginning to toddle, and a 3 year old who is very time demanding I just didnt have the heart to dump the kids on my wife and sod off fishing all the time….. and anyway – why would anyone in their right mind have kids and then sod off fishing all the time when the early years are the best and just fly by..? There will be plenty of fishing time in the years to come.

However —- being a fishing nut – I spent the actual day of my birthday out fishing with my two great fishing pals – my dad and my eldest son.

We had no real plans beforehand – so just picked a boat that was advertising in the lobby of our hotel… and we stumbled by accident across a really nice fella, who runs a great boat. www.gavinglenfishing.com very keen angler, very knowledgable about local conditions.

A lovely boat – and very comfortable for the 5 people (including us 3) who had booked on. We spent the first half hour catching mackerel on feathers – then the next 4 hours trolling for Marlin/Wahoo/Barracuda – or whatever came along.

Sadly nothing came along, not a nibble, a bite, a screamer – nothing. But we weren’t bothered in the least – our expectation of catching something notable weren’t that high even before we booked – and the skipper was more than honest with us saying that June was a funny month – in between the excellent winter/spring Tuna season – and the thin Marlin season which usually started in the 2nd week of July. A marlin had been landed the week previously but they weren’t around in any sort of numbers

And to be honest – we never really had the Canaries down as a Marlin fishing destination – it was just a family holiday fishing trip with the remote chance of a fish, and a very nice day out on the sea.

We did see numerous pods of pilot whales, and dozens of dolphins – so how could we say that we had a bad day.

Once the trolling had finished – the skipper offered us the last chance of a fish with an hour or so bottom fishing – using the mackerel we had caught earlier in the day..

A couple of rods were used with whole mackerel as bait in 80metres of water, hoping to catch some rays – and while we were waiting for bites on these rods – we baited up some lighter kit with strips of mackerel and bits of prawn and cast out to see what we could catch.

Immediately we started catching small silver Boga, more mackerel, puffer fish and a small red fish whose name I can’t remember.

Nothing on the ray rods – but one did have a few clicks on the drag which i just ignored as i thought it was the bait dragging behind the boat

What an idiot I was – and missed the only bite of the day from a more substantial fish – this is what i reeled in 20 mins later – A BITE – A BIG BITE – and I missed it – duhhh

And with that – time was up – and back to the hotel for a clean up and a nice meal with my parents, wife and 3 children…

Fish or no fish – it was a great way to spend my 50th Birthday

The Irwell Imp

22nd May 2016 by Mike Duddy 1 Comment

The Irwell Imp – a variation of the GRHE tied with red wire that’s a killer pattern on North Manchester Rivers – or a three year old who insists on going fishing with his Dad because its the best way to celebrate his Mum and Dads wedding anniversary.

My little imp loves his fishing – minnow traps, fishing nets, 3 metre whips and horrendous tangles are his speciality – a 5 minute attention span his fishing Achilles heel.

Nevertheless – in the 5 minutes of fishing we managed before his attention wandered we unluckily bumped two good fish on a size 16 Irwell Imp.

The Irwell Imp - a GRHE variant tied with red wire - always sorts out the better fish — The Irwell Imp – a GRHE variant tied with red wire – always sorts out the better fish

Then it was back to throwing sticks, stones and riding balance bikes….

On the trip home – my wife and I were discussing our work agendas for Monday – when little Tommy chimed in with “I don’t want to go to nursery tomorrow – I want to go fishing with Daddy” …….

I could’t think of a better way of spending a day.

Daddy Daddy Lets Play Fishin Lod

21st April 2016 by Mike Duddy Leave a Comment

Sitting in the office, looking out of my window at the sunshine….2.30pm and the day is beginning to drag,,,, my mind wandering towards dreaming about fishing things

Phone rings,, screen tells me its the wife………I’d better answer it I know whats good for me..

Delight its my 3 year old calling to tell me that he has come home from play group

He then proceeds to deliver that killer blow to my working day

DADDY DADDY LETS PLAY FISHIN LOD

Well what sane fisherman could refuse such a request?

Its only 5 minutes back home, 10 minutes if you include a stop at the shop to buy a loaf of medium sliced fishing magic

By 3pm – we had our 4m whip fully extended, a mini ball of ground bait thrown out and a 0.2g pole rig out. A tiny bit of bread punch on a size 20 hook and we were ready to go.

First time out, the float lasted 10 seconds before the first of dozens of micro minnows took the bait.

Not much of a thrill for me, but great fun for a 3 year old.

They don't have to be big to be great — They don’t have to be big to be great

I was hoping to catch a few of the small carp which our club has recently stocked in the lake, after about 20 minutes I would have been happy to catch anything that wasn’t a minnow. But alas – our swim was minnow city.

We lasted nearly an hour before it was fed up time. A fish (minnow) a chuck, and a pleasant time in the sun.

Hopefully I will manage to get out on my own soon, but if thats not to be,, then I couldn’t ask for better company than my little pal.

From tiny acorns....... — tiny hands can make minnows look big

Agecroft Pond - Minnow City — Agecroft Pond – Minnow City

Scratching The Itch

29th March 2016 by Mike Duddy Leave a Comment

Two itches got a scratching today

Poorly Tommy with a bout of chicken pox, and my own mental itch which developed after catching a score or more of small roach in less than an hour last time out on Sainsburys Pond.

Fishing with a toddler is always going to be a short and sweet trip, and so it proved with Tommys boredom threshold being about half an hour.

However, in that half hours fishing we had 4 fish,, the smallest around 3oz and the biggest 10oz – which is a great improvement in quality from the one ouncers I was catching on punch bread 4 days ago.

So Tommy got some much needed fresh air, and I satisfied a bit of curiosity.

Next visit to this venue will see me taking a bit more kit, than the minimal 4m whip, float rig, plummet, disgorger and bait which i put in my coat pocket today.

I’m convinced that there’s a really good net of quality roach possible from this venue, i just need to keep refining the tactics.

A Great Day

25th March 2016 by Mike Duddy Leave a Comment

Catching lots of fish, or a big fish can certainly make your day – but as we all know its possible to have a great days fishing without catching very much at all.

As you might have already guessed – I didn’t catch much today – but had a great time out doors with a rod in my hand.

I started off trying for an early season tench on the Old River in Irlam where our club has recently stocked 300 new fish about the lb mark.

Old River Irwell in Iram — Old River Irwell in Irlam

Using one of my favourite methods of tench fishing bread flake over hemp seed, I couldn’t buy a bite so after a few hours decided to cut my losses and head for a small pond closer to home that’s obscenely overstocked.

The last 2 hours of the day saw me on the small pond behind Sainsburys in Blackley getting a bite a chuck on bread punch from some ravenous roach and rudd. I was getting more false bites from the stotz on my line than on my hookbait – which just shows how much the fish in this venue love hemp seed. Most fish weighed in round about the 1 ounce mark with the odd 6 ouncer to keep me entertained.

Lots of these small uns - but bigger fish lurk — Lots of these small uns – but bigger fish lurk

I might go back soon with some home cooked hemp to use on the hook, because i cant get the tinned stuff to stay on as its so mushy.

I’m sure that I can get a better stamp of fish than these bread fish by using the seed.

A great day out and the weather was kind……

Holiday Fishing Fuerteventura

11th March 2016 by Mike Duddy 1 Comment

I spent more time in the rock pools with Tommy than I did with a rod on the rocks,, but it was way more fun… we caught loads

I’ve never had that much success when shore fishing whilst on holiday abroad – and a recent trip to Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands didn’t buck the trend.

Despite visiting this island on a number of occasions over the years, this was the first time I’ve ever taken a fishing rod (and two kids). Somehow in the weeks leading up to our holiday I developed the notion that I might get in some fishing, as Fuerte is famous for a couple of deep water rock marks where its possible to catch amberjack, bonito, barracuda and leer fish from the shore on spinning gear.

I did a bit of research and found that the locals had been doing well using Yozuri Hardcore Minnows – so I went online and splurged a shed load of cash on some of the flashiest lure I’ve ever owned.

An expensive chuck if you get snagged on the rocks at £15 a pop – I won’t be using these on the local canal !

So in addition for finding out which lure work, I also researched the best location – namely the rocks just north of Las Salinas Del Carmen. ( google it ! ).

The only thing I couldn’t plan in advance was the weather (cold and windy), and the tides…….. neither of which were on my side…

Soooo as you can well imagine,,,,the hours and hours of free fishing time that I had dreamed about pre-holiday never materialised. I was “allowed” a couple of hours one day whilst the rest of my family visited a Zoo – and I caught bugger all.

I found the hot-spot location – but at high tide when the mark was being washed with waves and the onshore wind was driving spray over the 3 available fishing spots.

Shorts and tee shirt weren’t really the ideal clothing, and it only took about 15 minutes or so before i was soaked to the skin, and freezing cold from the wind.

The imaginative use of a supermarket bag bought me a bit more fishing time in the spray – but it didnt make that much difference and I was soon seeking a sheltered spot from the wind where I could warm back up in the sun…

And if any one else fancies using the plastic bag trick to keep warm on a wet windy day, please dont do what I did, and put the printed side of the bag against your skin – I had three days of a green dinosaur transferred onto my skin…..duh

So I was in the right spot,,, but didn’t catch……… where did I go wrong

well thats easy

If I ever get the chance to fish this spot again then I will either go at first light or dusk. I will use the heavier sinking minnow at 35g rather than the lighter floating minnow.

The sea drops off to 20m immediately beneath your feet, and from what I was told in Arams Tackle Shop in Caletta De Fuste,,,, you need to give the minnow time to sink, instead of making an immediate retrieve.

I was also told that I was in exactly the right spot, just the wrong state of tide, wrong time of day, and that I was working my lures 15meters above the depth where the locals hook fish….

All great info to know for the next time you or I go fishing there.

Here is a google map showing the exact location of where I fished. If you want to get in touch with the local tackle shop, then heres A LINK (Aram speaks excellent English)

Mersey Salmon Video

31st January 2016 by Mike Duddy 6 Comments

Its been a long held ambition of mine to catch a Salmon from my local River Irwell. A flight of fancy maybe and until the late 1990s an impossibility. But since Salmon started to make a reappearance in the Mersey system in the early 2000s, and with Irwell water quality improving beyond recognition its no longer the impossible dream of my youth.

I’m pretty sure that we are getting small sea trout making it up through the 3 lock gate system on the Manchester Ship Canal at Irlam, Barton and Mode Wheel, however I’ve still never seen any evidence of big silver tourists.

So late on in 2015 a couple of students from Salford University asked me if I would be the subject of a short film,, and seeing as though they approached me in November I thought it would be a great opportunity to highlight the case for Salmon in the Mersey / Irwell system.

All we need are 3 fish passes – and hundreds of miles of new habitat will become available..

anyway enough waffle – have a watch of this

And for those who want a great still shot of a Mersey Salmon attempting to reach the best spawning grounds here is a lovely pic which I found of a Salmon jumping the weir at Roman Lakes near Marple on the River Goyt.

Fishing On Christmas Day

25th December 2015 by Mike Duddy 4 Comments

Hi Everyone – Happy Christmas

Have you ever wondered about getting out fishing on Christmas Day?
Some people get out there every year without fail, some never

I have lucky friends who can get out on the bank every 25th December.
From cod fishing on the beach at Rossall Point, Fleetwood; to fishing a match and getting home mid afternoon to a Christmas dinner – some people seem to be able to fit it in every year.

I’ve only ever managed to do it once – during a fantastic winter break in Kenya the local charter skipper was fully booked apart from xmas day, and the hotel was preparing christmas dinner at 8pm sharp – a day that was destined to provide some amazing sport didn’t disappoint. It ended up as a great family day out on the Indian Ocean – a trip that I’ve never bettered. Take a look at these pics – or go back in time and have a read of the blog post that I wrote about it back in Jan 2010.

With a couple of small additions to my family over the last couple of years, my current chances of getting out fishing on Christmas are hovering around the zero to not a chance range…

And despite telling people when they ask me what I want for Christmas that I would be more than happy with any bit of fishing tackle that a fishing shop will sell them……. I can’t remember the last time I got someone to buy me some fishing kit for Christmas……… thinking back on it,, it was probably when my mum bought me a float rod when i was 11.

UNTIL………with me now aged 49 and my mum nearly 80 she has caved in (to doing her xmas shopping online) to buying me some fishing kit for xmas – an amazon cop out but I certainly don’t mind.

Not wanting to break her bank – this morning i unwrapped a Shakespeare Agility 7ft drop shot rod, and an Okuma Red Core reel.

Now I knew this stuff was coming, because I had to do the online ordering for her. So in anticipation of the Post Mans knock I took a trip to our new local tackle shop (****** yes!! new local tackle shops!! 2 new stores have opened in Manchester in 2015) and stocked up on some weird looking drop shot kit from Savage Gear.

And this evening I’ve been watching this – to see what its all about

So – I’ve got a few hours free tomorrow as I neatly side stepped going to the local panto with the rest of my family……… watch out fishies – here I come………

Going Fishing With My Dad

10th December 2015 by Mike Duddy 3 Comments

Duddy Fishing Ballintra 1970 — Three year old Fishing Fiend, Ballintra, Donegal 1970 With father and elder brother

The urge to fish is returning (it never really went away), and I’m looking forwards to blowing off the cobwebs, and getting back out on the bank with my youngest son Tommy who has kept me away from my rods for the last couple of years.

My eldest son Matthew now aged 20 still enjoys the occasional day out on the river with his dad and grandpa, but like most 20 year olds – his head is full of fashion, music, beer etc

However we can still persuade him to join us every now and then – and its always a great day for us to be all out together as a family.

It made me reflect on my own fishing beginnings.

There is a strong tradition of angling within our family especially on my fathers side.

Great great grandfathers and uncles from Ulster – all fishing mad according to family memories

A grandfather who moved to North Wales on retirement – so that he could pursue his passion for Sea Trout fishing.

My own father who has fished for as long as he can remember, and still fishes every week – whilst rapidly closing in on his 80th birthday.

And my own first fishing memories stem from family holidays to the West Coast of Ireland. Aged 3, nearly 4 being allowed to hold and play with my dads fishing kit, trips out on loughs and lakes in a rubber dinghy.

I can’t ever remember catching much (nothing changes) however I can still recall being distraught at bedtimes when my mother put me to bed, as my father was leaving the cottage to go out fishing for the evening. Then waking in the morning to help gut and clean the trout he had caught, and cook them for breakfast. Its amazing how some memories never fade. I can still touch, feel and smell those fish from that holiday cottage kitchen in my mind to this very day.

So – then for years after all I ever wanted to do – was go fishing with my dad.

Reading all copies of Anglers Mail, and my grandfathers trout magazines there was a strong burning desire inside me (which still exists today) to get out doors with some kit, and go fishing.

My dad must have realised how keen I was to join him on these fishing trips, but i think he valued his “alone time” from a young family, and the only time he ever took me fishing with him was on family holidays.I think my mum made him, in search of her own alone time !

Back at home in Manchester, my demands to be taken fishing were always rebuffed with the words “your not old enough to go fishing, you have to be 7”. His reasoning being that a 7 year old can sort out his own tangles (well some of them) and wouldnt distract him from his own fishing.

About this time in the early 70s, my parents used to do their weekly shop, in a northern suburb of Manchester called Middleton. In true 1970s style there was a big carbuncle of concrete in the centre of town, which was called the “shopping centre”. In Middleton, this grim bit of architecture was called “The Arndale”. (you can read a little of its history here – including how it was the Arndale that was resonsible for the covering and culverting of the River Irk – cost £360K)

Woolco – an offshoot of the Coop was the flagship store in the shopping centre – and for a fishing mad kid it was an amazing place. Not only was it the source of our weekly sustenance – school uniform, dodgy 1970s knitwear etc – they also had an isle which sold fishing tackle.

So rather than drag round the store after my parents, I used to stand in the fishing isle for half an hour while the folks did the shop. I touched, fingered, unwrapped and generally messed about with every bit of tackle they had for sale. And with the words of my dad in mind (your not old enough yet – I will buy you a fishing rod when your 7) I longed and longed for that day.

In the run up to my 7th birthday I carefully chose a rod, reel, fishing ruck sack and bits of kit – and made the store manager put them away in his office so that no one else would buy them.

A seven foot, brown glass fibre spinning rod, and a Mitchel 300 reel. A green canvas ruck sack with leather straps. And an assortment of peacock and crow quill floats. – 7 year old heaven.

My first fishing trip – as a true 7 year old fisherman who had is own tackle,was with my dad to Drinkwater Park Lake and we (he) used my tackle to catch 4 small gudgeon which we put in a bucket. We then drove off into the hills above Oldham to a North West Water Authority reservoir called Kitcliff – which is the central of these three large reservoirs in the Piethorn Valley

My dad baited up with the live gudgeon we had caught earlier- lip hooked it on a size 8 hook and cast it out under a small plastic (high tec kit in the 1970s) pencil float and then handed me my fishing rod.

And we sat and waited. My dad smoking ciggies to keep away the midges.

If I went back to visit that lake today, I can still show you the exact stones we sat on, while we fished.

After an hour, the float suddenly sprang to life and careered across the lakes surface,,,,,,, wait,,,,,,,,,,,,, wait,,,,,,,,,, wait,,,,,,,,,, STRIKE !!!

And a fish was on.

In true 7 year old style – i reeled in as though my life depended on it – and dragged a 12 inch (which seemed like a monster to me) brownie into my new extending, collapsible, knotted mesh landing net.

The fish was immediately dispatched against the toe of my dads welly and then wrapped in grass and paced in my fishing ruck sack. Job done, mission accomplished – a fishing fiend was born.

I’m turning 50 next year, and can remember every moment of the evening of my 7th birthday as though it was yesterday.

Over the years, I’ve taken every young member of my extended family fishing – and other than my 20 year old son Matthew, the bug has only bitten my nephew Ed, who is keen enough to have endured a couple of blank trips but still hold a level of interest.

So back to the 21st Century – as many of you know I’ve become a Dad again. Not once – but twice. Being blessed with a son Thomas (Tommy) and Daughter Katherine (Katy)

Now – Tommy who turned 3 years old in September is as keen as mustard. So I’m beginning to get the itch to take him with me.

Winter isnt the best time to take a toddler fishing so I really can’t wait for Summer 2016 when “my little pal” Fishing Fiend Jnr will be accompanying his father on some short local trips to wet a line or two

As you can imagine, all our family walks revolve round a visit to a lake, river, canal or stream – and little Diddy Duddy now calls every angler he comes across as “one of Daddys friends” – which of course many of you are.

So – look forwards to forthcoming blog posts based on visits to my local ponds, 6m whips and tiddler bashing sessions – though I have no doubt that there will be some 12oz+ monsters thrown in the mix…

Happy days

And hopefully when young Tommy grows up, will be able to recall the happy times, and great days he spent out with his dad on the river bank.