A New Year – An Old Challenge

1st January 2017 by Mike Duddy

Happy New Year !

My 2017 species hunt has begun

In 2010 I managed to catch 24 species of freshwater fish in a calendar year, in 2012 I managed 31.

2 young children have put a serious dent in my fishing time for the last few years, but I have been blessed with a 4 year old who is rapidly developing a love for being outdoors with a “fissin lod” in his hand…..So I am now raring to go and just can’t wait for the weather to warm up and my fishing to begin in earnest.

After lots of trial and error on my previous species hunt expeditions – and with google as my friend I have a great list of locations for the more “difficult” species of fish.

So in 2017 I hope to bag the lot,, all 42 of them plus a couple of estuary fish such as Flounder and Mullet.

The sharp eyed reader will notice that there are a few fish on the list such as Vendace, Schelly and Shad which are on the protected species list – I have no intention of catching these species but will go and visit the locations where I know they exist and take a picture or two of the fantastic scenery and share them with you.

I wonder if anyone has completed this challenge before ?

Whilst the weather is still cold I hope to tick Silver Bream off the list first. They don’t exist in the North West of England so a trip over the Pennines will be necessary to a lake near Barnsley which reputedly has a good head of these lovely little fish. I think a Grayling from the River Mersey near Stockport (oh how times change!) is also on the cards.

I have only caught 2 Silver Bream before – during my 2012 species hunt….. I was guided onto these fish by Jeff Hatt on the Coventry Canal. A remarkable stroke of luck saw me catch 2 Silver Bream on my first two casts followed by nothing for the rest of the day. I would bet against a repeat of that remarkable stroke of luck.

So here is the list of fish which I will be trying to catch this year

Roach
Rudd
Perch
Tench
Bream
Silver Bream
Pike
Salmon
Sea Trout
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Char
Grayling
Vendace
Schelly
Dace
Chub
Gudgeon
Ruffe
Minnow
3 Spined Stickleback
9 Spined Stickleback
Bullhead
Stoneloach
Spined Loach
Barbel
Bitterling
Catfish
Smelt
Bleak
Shad (Twaite or Allis)
Eel
Lamprey (brook, river or sea)
Carp
Crucian Carp
Brown Goldfish
Zander
Motherless Minnow/ Sunbleak
Grass Carp
Ide/Orfe
Pumpkinseed
Sturgeon
Goby
Flounder
Mullet

I wonder if anyone has completed this challenge before ?

A Bit Rusty

10th November 2016 by Mike Duddy

Its been a while since I opened my fly tying kit box – but pictures of friends fleas on facebook have inspired me to get the string, fur and feathers out again.

Being an avid upstream nympher I absolutely adore shaggy heavy point flies so naturally this is where my evening fumblings were focused.

Partridge hackle, hares ear body, gold tinsel and a size 14 curved hook, 3mm gold bead….. nothing too technical – but I like a bit of flash.

A Bit Rubbish

1st November 2016 by Mike Duddy

A bit rubbish – probably the most accurate description of my recent fishing trips

Family (baby and toddler) circumstances dictate that most of my spare time is spent on paternal entertainment duties. Recent fishing trips have been restricted to a couple of 30 – 45 minutes slots on the Rochdale Canal and Queensmere Dam in Swinton.

I’ve managed 3 quick trips out in October, each time trying to christen the drop shotting rod I received as a gift last Christmas. So far unsuccessfully.

Its a bit frustrating as I’ve been getting plenty of follows, but as yet no takes. I have a feeling that I might need to use smaller lures…

Lets see what this week brings as 10 months is an embarrassingly long period of time to have an un-.christened rod in my tackle shed

Holiday Fishing Tenerife

5th July 2016 by Mike Duddy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.