Numb

A sharp overnight frost wasn’t going to make fishing easy today. I decided to have a few hours on the Ship Canal in the hope that the fish might be more active in the deeper water.
I was wrong.
I fished chopped worm and caster using an open end feeder in about 20 feet of water. Due to the foggy conditions there was a glassy calm on the water which was perfect for detecting the even the most slight of movements on a very light quiver tip.
By the time i reached my time limit of three hours without a bite my mind was as numb as my feet.

My view for 3 hours.

This year, i have learnt how effective gold ribbed hares ear flies are on my local river, so now that i am learning to make my own flies, its only natural that i am going attempt to make this pattern.
I bought most of the materials necessary to make this fly when i bought my first batch of equipment, but didn’t have the gold headed beads which seem to be an essential component of this design. So during my lunch break i decided to take a trip to Hobby Craft in Bolton where Tony assured me i can purchase them. I am pleased to tell Phil-K that this gave me an excuse to drive past Wilsons Pie Shop in Kearsley where i bought my tastiest lunch of the week – jealous Phil?
So when i came home this evening, Lucia had a look in my paper bag to see what i had bought.
“Beads, beads, silver and gold little beads! Are you going to make me a necklace or some nice earrings from your beads and feathers? I cant believe my 6ft4 boyfriend is buying pretty beads!” Abuse similar to this was the flavour of the evening. Bolton Fly Tying Club has now been renamed “Mikes Knitting Circle” and my domestic credibility and status of “man of the house” severely undermined. Oh the shame.

However I’m not ashamed of these four flies i tied while Lucia was watching the intellectually stimulating “I’m a celebrity”. I tied two with gold wire and two with red copper wire. Again two with coarse dubbing and two with a softer dubbing.

Now that the nights have drawn in, and the weather not conducive to pleasurable fishing, i think thats its a natural progression for me to learn to tie my own flies. This past season Tony has been incredibly kind with the donation of his time, effort and materials, donating many tiny works of art to me, but i have slowly but surely become embarassed by his generousity especially as i lose the majority of them in the trees.
Three weeks ago, Phil-K invited me to accompany him to Bolton Fly Tying Club who were having a guest tyer giving a tying demonstration. It was a great evening, and it convinced me that its now or never. I had already taken a look at a beginners website www.learnflytying.co.uk and decided that i would start off with a few of the beginner patterns from the beginners video demonstrations.
Tony donated an old vice, and i bought some fluff and stuff from www.flytek.co.uk
Despite only fishing buzzers very occaisionally they seem to be the easiest fly to start off with. These four took me an hour, they might be scruffy but i will see if they work later this week.

I sometimes wish i owned a set of scales – this one measured 27inches and came from a small river in inner city Manchester.

Full report to follow

One of my local rivers has been so polluted for so long that even by Mancunian standards its considered a lifeless sewer. However a few weeks ago whilst on one of my lunchtime walks i spotted a shoal of small roach from a bridge, and decided that i would give it a try some time during the next few weeks.
So this today i had a relatively light workload, so decided to take a long lunch.
The first run which i tried for about 15 minutes claimed two hooklengths so i decided to move downstream about 100yds to a deeper steady glide above a weir.
In this new swim my float buried on the first run through, and what i thought was a good chub smashed me after about 5 seconds. I stepped up my terminal tackle from a 0.10 hooklength and a fine wire maggot hook to 0.13 and a forged size 16 chub hook.
A fed another half dozen maggots then let the float follow them down the river, in exactly the same spot as my previous bite, the float buried and i hooked into what i at the time thought was a good chub. However, at the end of the fishes first run of about 20yds it leaped out of the water and i realised that i had a big trout on. The fish made at least 4 more strong runs, the last of which saw me running after it as my Abu506 seized up. After more than a few last minute surges away from the net i had this cracker on the bank.

By far and away the best Brownie i have ever caught, and to catch it from a river that has been so recently devoid of life is astonishing. This fish must have survived many pollution incidents on the river, the most recent being only 3 years ago when a local soap manufacturer let thousands of gallons of detergent into the river which resulted in in a 6 foot layer of suds covering most of the river. Amazing really.
I have looked up scales which show that a 27inch trout should weigh 7lbs, but i think it weighed rather less. I have never owned a set of scales to weigh the fish i catch and think that i am a good guesser. My guess when i saw it was 5lb so if we split the difference and call it 6 then i will be more than happy.
My first fish from that river – how can i ever go back? You know i will, and am looking forwards to sharing my secret river with you.

The past week has been pretty quiet on the fishing front. I have made two short visits to Pendle View, where i havent really had much success. On my first visit, i caught two fish on my first two casts, on the second visit i caught only one fish with my last cast.
I sometimes find fishing for Rainbow Trout very frustrating, as i often have difficulty in catching fish when those around me are catching into double figures. On Saturday, i had to use my fly of last resort in order to catch a fish – a cylindrical piece of cork with a hook through it – oh the shame!!!
I also took the opportunity to walk the banks of the smaller local rivers which is a throwback to Manchesters industrial past, once heavily polluted by the bleach and dye works which used its water in their manufacturing process, now slowly coming back to life, but still frequently affected by storm discharges from water treatment works. However the EA have a Mersey Basin action plan to revive rivers such as this, part of which involves the removal of ammonia and phosphates from the water discharged into the river, and to remove the large pieces of debris from the water course.
A friend of mine has reported seeing kingfishers on the river for the first time this year and i have seen a shoal of small roach from one of the bridges near to my house.
I intend to spend a few hours this winter with a stick float, bread flake and maggots to see if i can winkle out any fish.
As winter draws in, the time i have available to fish is much reduced as i find it very difficult to juggle my commitments to make enough time for anything other than short sessions. I love to fish when i’m not fishing and achieve this via my blog, internet fishing forums and reading fishing books.
I am now able to add to my fishing when not fishing activities as Tony has recently given me his old fly tying vice. I have ordered some fur, feathers and thread and hope to keep you all in fits of laughter throughout the winter with my attempts at tying my own flies.

The Irk

I spent Saturday on the Ribble fishing for Grayling using stick float, pin and maggots. Despite battling a strong gusty upstream wind which made fishing difficult at times i managed to catch a good few grayling. None of which were a remarkable size, but all of which were remarkably beautifull in colour.
My intial intention was to fish a nice shingle drop off, which i managed without incident, picking up about half a dozen fish, and then to move down stream fishing various swims for about 45 minutes each before moving on. However the wind was so strong that i chickened out and sought refuge in a sheltered area of the river in some woods hoping to catch one of the big chub which reside there. I only caught a few small 2oz grayling and trout for the rest of the morning and called it a day early in the afternoon. I timed it right as the heavens opened just as i got back to the car.

I have spent many hours on the banks of the Ribble this season, all of them very enjoyable. The water is much cleaner than in my local rivers, resulting in a much higher level of aquatic bug life, which in turn leads to better fishing. My local river contains trout (which i am scared to eat) and much lower numbers of fish such as dace and barbel which need really clean water in which to thrive, and there are no migratory fish or grayling. However now that the water authorities are making significant improvements to drainage and sewage disposal systems in my local water catchment area, i can only see the fishing improving.

Today was a typical autumnal day in Manchester – freezing cold, blustery winds and the odd heavy shower thrown in for good measure. Not a day for fishing. However, by mid afternoon cabin fever had set in, so i pick up some tackle and headed off down to the Manchester Ship Canal to see if i could locate some roach. I only lasted 30 biteless minutes as the wind was just too strong to fish in. Seeking some shelter i moved a few hundred yards to Salford Quays and fished one of the small quays with the wind at my back. Despite the cold, the perch in the quays are very obliging and i caught about 10 brightly coloured stripies in about 45 minutes. A smattering of raindrops quickly turned into a deluge of biblical proportions which saw me giving up and heading back to the car. By the time i’d packed away my gear, the rain had stopped but by now i was soaked and decided to call it a day.

After 40+ hours i finally caught my first Salmon of 7lbs from the Ribble – many thanks to Tony and Phil for all your support, especially Phil for the slightly rusty red flying c which did the business.
As the salmon season closes on the 31st Oct, back in July i had cleared the 30th and 31st of October in my diary as an insurance policy in case i hadnt caught a fish by then. I really didnt think back then that i would still not have caught my quarry.
So this morning the 30th it had been dry for a good few days i decided that my best chance of a fish would be to return to a pool where i knew that fish held in until water levels were higher.
I started fishing at 9am in a pool higher up the beat, and despite having caught some lovely trout from this spot i have yet to see any sign of a salmon. I fished for about 45 minutes until the river bed claimed a size 4 sliver mepps. Rather than put on another lure, i walked down to my favourite pool at the bottom of the beat.
I spoke to a couple of other anglers on my way down river, one guy told me that he’d had 6 fish in the last 3 weeks (four visits) using a small silver mepps with a red latex fringe type tail, the closest thing i had to this was the small, rusty, red flying c which Phil-K had given me as a tongue in cheek present a couple of weeks ago.
Thankfully there wasnt anyone in my favoured spot, where the water levels were a good 3 feet lower than my last visit.
Seeing as though i had tried every trick in the book so far, i tied on Phil spinner, and after about 15 minutes had the shock of my life when i felt my rod buckle over and a thump thump thump from the end of my line. Heart in mouth, i played the fish with a mental mantra of please dont get off, please dont let the knots slip, please dont get off.
During the hours and hours i have spent in pursuit of a Salmon, i had always envisaged the fight of a life time, with clutch screaming runs, arial acrobatics, with heart stopping last minute disasters at the landing net. None of these dreams came about as although the fish gave a thumping good account of itself it didnt make any determined runs, or ever took any line off the reel and was in my net within 5 minutes of being hooked. As i climbed back up the bank to unhook the most fantastically beautiful looking fish i have ever caught, i sadly discovered the reason why the fight was plodding, and slow. The fish had taken the flying c deep and the treble hooks were embedded in it inner gills. As there was no way i could remove the hooks without seriously damaging the fish, i thought it best to use the priest to prevent any unnecessary suffering. I guess the location of the hooks had prevented the fish from giving a really good account of itself in the water and it was bleeding heavily in the net. A real shame.
Other anglers were now fishing the head of the pool on the opposite bank, slowly working their way downstream, rather than fish on, i sat and ate my luch whilst watching them work their flies across the stream. I’ve always found it impossible to fish on after catching a good fish so after eating lunch i packed up and drove home.

Whilst elated at catching my first salmon, it was rather sad to have to kill it, as the longer i fished for one, the more convinced i was that i would return it to the water.
Next year i will try to catch one using flies rather than spinners and lets see if i can get Matthew to catch his first one.
Was it worth the wait? Absolutely.

River Irwell gets the treatment
12:40pm Sunday 12th October 2008 – Bury Times

WHAT was once one of the most polluted rivers in the North West is about to get a massive boost, thanks to a major project at water treatment works in Stoneclough.
Thousands of people and the environment will benefit, along with the much-neglected River Irwell.
The work at the United Utilities site, in Ringley Fold, is ahead of schedule and should be virtually completed by the end of the year.
It is the biggest scheme that United Utilities has undertaken in the region in terms of scale and cost and is funded by a slice of the £2.9 billion that the company has invested in water quality and environmental improvements between 2005 and 2010.
Project manager Dave Jones said: “Ten years ago there were no fish in the River Irwell and people would not fish in it.
“The new improvements at the wastewater works should increase the number of fish in the river. But it will also massively improve the environment locally, so walkers, canoeists and anglers will all reap the benefits.”
Mr Jones added: “We’re really excited about this project. These works are very important because they serve over hundreds of thousands of customers across the area, taking their wastewater, treating it and then returning it safely to the River Irwell.”
Reducing the amount of phosphate in the water is the main driver behind the scheme. New legislation states that the amount of phosphate in waste water should be one milligram per litre because it causes water to clog with algae and reduces the amount of oxygen in the water, which results in less aquatic life and fish.
The plant, built in the 1930s and last updated in the 1970s, treats water from a population of half a million — from Bolton, Prestwich, Whitefield and Clifton. The waste water comes from every single toilet flush and rain water.
The old system was designed to take 64 million litres of water a day. Now it can treat 204 million litres a day. The modernisation will increase that to 242 million litres (equivalent to treating the water in an Olympic-sized swimming pool every 15 minutes) as well as reducing pollution.
The first step in the process is to remove the inorganics, such as paper, litter and plastics from the water. Secondly, all the rocks, pebbles and grit will be removed.
Storm tanks are used to store excess water when there are prolonged downpours until the plant can catch up with treating the excess and two new circular storm tanks are being built to counteract the increasing rainfall in the area. Heavy sludge is then removed from the water in six tanks and two new ones are being built. The sludge is reused to create energy.
Mr Jones hopes that the plant will be entirely self-sufficient in electricity by treating more water and so producing more power from gas in the sludge.
Ammonia is then naturally reduced to under 5mg per litre by reusing the sludge removed from the water and exposing it to air. The quality will meet new legislation by using new dosing tanks to remove iron from the water. Eight tanks remove small particles before the water is pumped back into the river. Four 46 metre tanks are being built to improve the quality of this final process. The end result will be cleaner water in our rivers and canals.
Mr Jones said: “We make sure when we build new tanks that we have left enough room for future upgrades. It has been our priority to ensure that the project has not affected the amount of water that we treat daily.”