In reply to Post #314
I loved to fish at ellesmere so much water it was a wonderful place to fish in those days, i was on the committee of the ellesmere club one water i really like was white mere, we fished the road side on the mere a friend of mine broke the bream, record on this water and never claimed it in fact the record went twice from that water why was it not claimed some may ask, well if we had published the two Bream we would have never fished there again i mean you would not have got your pitch again as there were a lot of anglers in those days fishing for the Bream, but i also loved ledgering for the roach i would use 10ft Avon type rods Mitchell reels and 5 Bs line the same set up i used for the Bream there was some cracking roach caught from that water some well over two pound in weight i would love to know if they are still in the mere as it was middle seventies when i fished there.
There are one or two waters around ellesmere that hold some good carp the one lake is a most beautiful place and we have caught some reasonable carp from there they don't grow huge but i have seen them caught to 29 pounds lovely commons when a friend and i first fished the water you would hardly see anyone else on the lake i have forgot how many twenties we have caught from there i even caught a big tench, the bailiff said there was none in the lake but we proved him wrong . The manager from the complex has a photo of that fish hanging in his office there are also some big catfish in the lake last time i fished there they were fast approaching sixty pounds, Graham had the good fortune to hook one he played it for some time but it snagged him and it was lost but that's fishing looking at my mate after he looked quite exhausted.
There are some good waters in Shropshire but most were private and you were lucky if you got permission i have said before most estates were used for shooting so fishing was out so i did the next best thing i would poached them. Not many of the estate lakes in my younger days held carp, so i fished for the tench eels roach and Rudd the one water near my home was full of big tench and it was heavily keeperd when i say not far from my home i would cycle about six miles to the water, i would be about fourteen years old at the time i actually tried to night fish it but it was a bit scary the usual old wives tales had been spread about maybe from the keepers to put people from trespassing the place, it was supposed to be haunted by some old Nun i must admit i saw nowt only the occasional keeper when he came down to feed his pheasants, and ducks, there were birds, every where you looked but i never poached one why i don't know maybe i did not fancy cycling back home, loaded with birds, i would ledger bread flake tipped with maggot it took me some time before i caught from that lake. This one night the indicator flew up hitting the butt with a clang I picked up the rod and struck the rod bent over in a hoop it took abou 10 minutes to get that fish to the side i had no landing net so i jumped in it was only a foot deep i picked the fish up and stared in wonder i was actualy shaking with exitment it was a common carp not huge by todays standerds but about twelve pounds i never had any scales in those days and no mate with me to verfy the fish , none of my mates would take the chance and fish these lakes they were to frightened of the keepers but i loved it. well a bit more latter
tench from this old lake late sixties
I loved to fish at ellesmere so much water it was a wonderful place to fish in those days, i was on the committee of the ellesmere club one water i really like was white mere, we fished the road side on the mere a friend of mine broke the bream, record on this water and never claimed it in fact the record went twice from that water why was it not claimed some may ask, well if we had published the two Bream we would have never fished there again i mean you would not have got your pitch again as there were a lot of anglers in those days fishing for the Bream, but i also loved ledgering for the roach i would use 10ft Avon type rods Mitchell reels and 5 Bs line the same set up i used for the Bream there was some cracking roach caught from that water some well over two pound in weight i would love to know if they are still in the mere as it was middle seventies when i fished there.
There are one or two waters around ellesmere that hold some good carp the one lake is a most beautiful place and we have caught some reasonable carp from there they don't grow huge but i have seen them caught to 29 pounds lovely commons when a friend and i first fished the water you would hardly see anyone else on the lake i have forgot how many twenties we have caught from there i even caught a big tench, the bailiff said there was none in the lake but we proved him wrong . The manager from the complex has a photo of that fish hanging in his office there are also some big catfish in the lake last time i fished there they were fast approaching sixty pounds, Graham had the good fortune to hook one he played it for some time but it snagged him and it was lost but that's fishing looking at my mate after he looked quite exhausted.
There are some good waters in Shropshire but most were private and you were lucky if you got permission i have said before most estates were used for shooting so fishing was out so i did the next best thing i would poached them. Not many of the estate lakes in my younger days held carp, so i fished for the tench eels roach and Rudd the one water near my home was full of big tench and it was heavily keeperd when i say not far from my home i would cycle about six miles to the water, i would be about fourteen years old at the time i actually tried to night fish it but it was a bit scary the usual old wives tales had been spread about maybe from the keepers to put people from trespassing the place, it was supposed to be haunted by some old Nun i must admit i saw nowt only the occasional keeper when he came down to feed his pheasants, and ducks, there were birds, every where you looked but i never poached one why i don't know maybe i did not fancy cycling back home, loaded with birds, i would ledger bread flake tipped with maggot it took me some time before i caught from that lake. This one night the indicator flew up hitting the butt with a clang I picked up the rod and struck the rod bent over in a hoop it took abou 10 minutes to get that fish to the side i had no landing net so i jumped in it was only a foot deep i picked the fish up and stared in wonder i was actualy shaking with exitment it was a common carp not huge by todays standerds but about twelve pounds i never had any scales in those days and no mate with me to verfy the fish , none of my mates would take the chance and fish these lakes they were to frightened of the keepers but i loved it. well a bit more latter
tench from this old lake late sixties
In reply to Post #315
I was a jack the lad when i was a youngster well i still get called that now we never had much money when i was a young boy so we had to make do, we always had a Christmas, and made do with a wild duck or a brace of pheasants for our Xmas dinner even rabbit i learned to poach at an early age i used a catapult and became quite a good shot in the early fifties the country side abounded with rabbits, and pheasants, there was literally thousand of them so it was no trouble getting your self a meal or two you would see game in most fields and woods. After the war years the country side was over run with vermin and when the game keeper came back to the estate from his days in the army, he had a huge job in front of him mainly to clean the vermin up before they could put any pheasants down but when they did put the birds down the country side was over run with them they were an easy target for poachers and some keepers were kept quite busy trying to catch these hard characters they would usually poach in gangs and could make good money in the cities for there game, but by the time i had reached the age twelve years old you only used to get the local poachers the gangs had finished.
The pheasent the woods were full
i loved to be out and it was nothing for me to come home with three of four pheasant they were easy to shoot you would see them in the hedge rows they were that tame i could get very close to them, you would hear the thud when you hit your target they were killed instantly , i got chased many times but i was never caught i have climbed a few trees and watched the police and keepers down below you could hear them talking it was a way of life when i met old SAM he took me under his wing i learned such a lot about the wild life and country side he was a very knowledgeable gentleman.
But as i have said before most lakes were private not many held carp the one lake i fished was actually in the garden of the big hall i had heard tales of big carp being in the lake from the gardener but he said no one was allowed to fish there he said the lady from the hall used to feed the carp with bread it was only about two acres the lawns ran around the one side of the lake it was a most beautiful place the hall was black and white i think it was tudor i managed a few evening on that lake fishing from the far side between the big scotch firs i must admit i float fished with bread flake i caught mostly commons but i never had one over five pounds but it was good fishing i watched as the keeper came down to feed his pheasants he had a big pen further down the wood from where i was fishing most of these big land owners had shoots on there land i had seen this keeper before helping frank bell of condover i thing his name was john Brooke's and i had heard he had a bit of a reputation for fighting bare knuckle but its only what the Gardener had told us i had a trip down the wood to have a look the pen was quite big it was full of half grown poults i expect there was at least three thousand birds in the pen it would be easy to poach the place, i knew the fields quite well and the adjoining woods it was only five miles from my home i had a fair idea how i would poach the place but for now that would wait. I still fished the lake i tried worm and caught loads of eels mostly around two pounds just right for eating it was a eel a cast a stream ran through the middle of the lake so that's how they got in the water the Gardner told me that they used to have an eel trap but that was years before. I would take them home to eat also giving our neighbour some they were always very grateful. a bit more latter
The eel
I was a jack the lad when i was a youngster well i still get called that now we never had much money when i was a young boy so we had to make do, we always had a Christmas, and made do with a wild duck or a brace of pheasants for our Xmas dinner even rabbit i learned to poach at an early age i used a catapult and became quite a good shot in the early fifties the country side abounded with rabbits, and pheasants, there was literally thousand of them so it was no trouble getting your self a meal or two you would see game in most fields and woods. After the war years the country side was over run with vermin and when the game keeper came back to the estate from his days in the army, he had a huge job in front of him mainly to clean the vermin up before they could put any pheasants down but when they did put the birds down the country side was over run with them they were an easy target for poachers and some keepers were kept quite busy trying to catch these hard characters they would usually poach in gangs and could make good money in the cities for there game, but by the time i had reached the age twelve years old you only used to get the local poachers the gangs had finished.
The pheasent the woods were full
i loved to be out and it was nothing for me to come home with three of four pheasant they were easy to shoot you would see them in the hedge rows they were that tame i could get very close to them, you would hear the thud when you hit your target they were killed instantly , i got chased many times but i was never caught i have climbed a few trees and watched the police and keepers down below you could hear them talking it was a way of life when i met old SAM he took me under his wing i learned such a lot about the wild life and country side he was a very knowledgeable gentleman.
But as i have said before most lakes were private not many held carp the one lake i fished was actually in the garden of the big hall i had heard tales of big carp being in the lake from the gardener but he said no one was allowed to fish there he said the lady from the hall used to feed the carp with bread it was only about two acres the lawns ran around the one side of the lake it was a most beautiful place the hall was black and white i think it was tudor i managed a few evening on that lake fishing from the far side between the big scotch firs i must admit i float fished with bread flake i caught mostly commons but i never had one over five pounds but it was good fishing i watched as the keeper came down to feed his pheasants he had a big pen further down the wood from where i was fishing most of these big land owners had shoots on there land i had seen this keeper before helping frank bell of condover i thing his name was john Brooke's and i had heard he had a bit of a reputation for fighting bare knuckle but its only what the Gardener had told us i had a trip down the wood to have a look the pen was quite big it was full of half grown poults i expect there was at least three thousand birds in the pen it would be easy to poach the place, i knew the fields quite well and the adjoining woods it was only five miles from my home i had a fair idea how i would poach the place but for now that would wait. I still fished the lake i tried worm and caught loads of eels mostly around two pounds just right for eating it was a eel a cast a stream ran through the middle of the lake so that's how they got in the water the Gardner told me that they used to have an eel trap but that was years before. I would take them home to eat also giving our neighbour some they were always very grateful. a bit more latter
The eel
In reply to Post #316
A friend rang me and said he was getting poached what could be done well the lake was quite away from civilization i knew it well as it was in hill country what have you tried Walter not much i am at a loss my syndicate are not that pleased i would not either as the money they parted with for the privilege to fish the lake was quite substantial , so i had a walk around the lake looking for signs of poaching it had a wide path around the side of the water then further up it was mostly oak trees the lake was in a bit of a hollow and it could be approached quite easy and with the woods it gave the poachers good cover i had brought with me an old gaff and dragged that around the side of the water bingo i had fifteen night lines they were all attached to pegs driven into the ground then covered up with soil god they had been poached. Luckily there were only two fish attached to the lines both at round two pounds after showing Walter i arranged to meet him on the friday night at 11 pm he said he would bring along one or two of his syndicate not to many i said.
We met on the road above the lake looking down toward the water you could see the poachers were down there as you could see thier lights reflecting on the trees the method i was going to use i had tried before and it was quite successful they obviously had not looked for their night lines as yet unless they were a different poachers i think they may be worming the lake Walter so i told the syndicate to stay where they were and wait for the police. I made for the gate and over i climbed into the wood above the lake, now for it i removed my beretta automatic from its bag put in five cartridge then bang i let five go bang, bang, bang, i could hear the pellets hitting the trees on the far side of the lake i could hear the poachers shouting in there haste to get away i was on my knees laughing i don't think i have laughed so much ever i just could not keep a straight face i could hear Walter calling Christ Pete how many were down there one or two i don't think they will be coming back god those shots really echoed over the wood and fields said Walter, we made our way towards the water we arrived beside the lake to find they had left one rod behind with the line still in the water. In there haste to get away they had ripped their trousers and left a good strip of cloth hanging on the barbed wire fence and a tub of worms in the field they wont be back Walter did you ring the police yes but they have not come as yet it does not really matter if they come or not the poachers will be miles away by now. Every time i see or think about that lake i start to laugh well Walter had no more trouble with his lake and ran that syndicate for many years. i believe its still a trout fishery who runs it now i do not know this is a story from long ago. more to follow
A friend rang me and said he was getting poached what could be done well the lake was quite away from civilization i knew it well as it was in hill country what have you tried Walter not much i am at a loss my syndicate are not that pleased i would not either as the money they parted with for the privilege to fish the lake was quite substantial , so i had a walk around the lake looking for signs of poaching it had a wide path around the side of the water then further up it was mostly oak trees the lake was in a bit of a hollow and it could be approached quite easy and with the woods it gave the poachers good cover i had brought with me an old gaff and dragged that around the side of the water bingo i had fifteen night lines they were all attached to pegs driven into the ground then covered up with soil god they had been poached. Luckily there were only two fish attached to the lines both at round two pounds after showing Walter i arranged to meet him on the friday night at 11 pm he said he would bring along one or two of his syndicate not to many i said.
We met on the road above the lake looking down toward the water you could see the poachers were down there as you could see thier lights reflecting on the trees the method i was going to use i had tried before and it was quite successful they obviously had not looked for their night lines as yet unless they were a different poachers i think they may be worming the lake Walter so i told the syndicate to stay where they were and wait for the police. I made for the gate and over i climbed into the wood above the lake, now for it i removed my beretta automatic from its bag put in five cartridge then bang i let five go bang, bang, bang, i could hear the pellets hitting the trees on the far side of the lake i could hear the poachers shouting in there haste to get away i was on my knees laughing i don't think i have laughed so much ever i just could not keep a straight face i could hear Walter calling Christ Pete how many were down there one or two i don't think they will be coming back god those shots really echoed over the wood and fields said Walter, we made our way towards the water we arrived beside the lake to find they had left one rod behind with the line still in the water. In there haste to get away they had ripped their trousers and left a good strip of cloth hanging on the barbed wire fence and a tub of worms in the field they wont be back Walter did you ring the police yes but they have not come as yet it does not really matter if they come or not the poachers will be miles away by now. Every time i see or think about that lake i start to laugh well Walter had no more trouble with his lake and ran that syndicate for many years. i believe its still a trout fishery who runs it now i do not know this is a story from long ago. more to follow
In reply to Post #317
Just been reading a thread about being disabled, well i have been disabled from the age of 39 years old i worked many years with the crippling disease arthritis but i have managed to fish and shoot i put this down to having good friends that helped me to put up my bivvy and such. The other day i felt very humbled as i watched a chap with one leg get out of his car then to proceed to put his bivvy up it took him some time but in the end he got there he then proceeded to put his pod up and rods then bait and cast it out, i wondered to my self how will he react when he get a bite i soon found out the alarm sounded out he came on his bottom then in a sitting position he picked up the rod then played and netted the fish then with the aid of a walking stick forced himself up to stand on one leg to put the fish back he also had a camera set up on a bank stick i really salute this gentleman for his sheer determination to go fishing it really makes you think how well off we all are even thought some of us are disabled he was a roll model for us all.
I bumped into an old friend the other day he was some one i had not seen for years he could not believe i was still alive he thought i was long gone no i am still here i said do you still fish and shoot Pete yes i do god Pete you got up to some things years ago all that poaching yes i answered where's all this going i thought but he was only reminiscing he was my age and remembered some of the antics i got up to he certainly brought a few memories back his name was john Sutton and i went to school with him i can remember you catching those pheasants in the school gardens with some line and a fish hook attached, you caught five the headmaster caught you and confiscated the birds you had the stick for that in front of the whole school in morning assembly, i did and the old bugger kept the pheasants for him self i had a few more from those gardens over the next few months, they used to wonder all over the fields they were from old bells shoot at times you would see him and his under keepers with the dogs driving them back to the woods but he never came onto the school property so there was always a few birds in the gardens. Do you remember Peter cLee stirring the bees up in the hive with that long stick i certainly do i got stung a few times and not only me there was a big swarm of the things clee was laughing his head off but he ended in tears when he got stung a few times i can remember the nurse putting this blue stuff on his hands and neck to get the swellings down god that's a long time ago i said its nearly fifty six years ago how time flies, i can remember clee putting a garden fork straight through your foot Pete, i can he pinned me to the floor he was truly sorry i had to pull the fork out myself god did it swell it went right through the bone i was rushed to hospital and could not walk for a few days after it was nice seeing john after so many years and he brought back a few memories some good and some not its nice to reminisce. well a bit more latter.
Just been reading a thread about being disabled, well i have been disabled from the age of 39 years old i worked many years with the crippling disease arthritis but i have managed to fish and shoot i put this down to having good friends that helped me to put up my bivvy and such. The other day i felt very humbled as i watched a chap with one leg get out of his car then to proceed to put his bivvy up it took him some time but in the end he got there he then proceeded to put his pod up and rods then bait and cast it out, i wondered to my self how will he react when he get a bite i soon found out the alarm sounded out he came on his bottom then in a sitting position he picked up the rod then played and netted the fish then with the aid of a walking stick forced himself up to stand on one leg to put the fish back he also had a camera set up on a bank stick i really salute this gentleman for his sheer determination to go fishing it really makes you think how well off we all are even thought some of us are disabled he was a roll model for us all.
I bumped into an old friend the other day he was some one i had not seen for years he could not believe i was still alive he thought i was long gone no i am still here i said do you still fish and shoot Pete yes i do god Pete you got up to some things years ago all that poaching yes i answered where's all this going i thought but he was only reminiscing he was my age and remembered some of the antics i got up to he certainly brought a few memories back his name was john Sutton and i went to school with him i can remember you catching those pheasants in the school gardens with some line and a fish hook attached, you caught five the headmaster caught you and confiscated the birds you had the stick for that in front of the whole school in morning assembly, i did and the old bugger kept the pheasants for him self i had a few more from those gardens over the next few months, they used to wonder all over the fields they were from old bells shoot at times you would see him and his under keepers with the dogs driving them back to the woods but he never came onto the school property so there was always a few birds in the gardens. Do you remember Peter cLee stirring the bees up in the hive with that long stick i certainly do i got stung a few times and not only me there was a big swarm of the things clee was laughing his head off but he ended in tears when he got stung a few times i can remember the nurse putting this blue stuff on his hands and neck to get the swellings down god that's a long time ago i said its nearly fifty six years ago how time flies, i can remember clee putting a garden fork straight through your foot Pete, i can he pinned me to the floor he was truly sorry i had to pull the fork out myself god did it swell it went right through the bone i was rushed to hospital and could not walk for a few days after it was nice seeing john after so many years and he brought back a few memories some good and some not its nice to reminisce. well a bit more latter.
In reply to Post #318
God things have changed on the fishing scene over the years. All we had was the garden bed chair they were not the best of things and i had a few break and fold up you would strip the ratchet, god they were terrible things no bite alarms only doe bobbins with a small torch shining on your Bobbins i would use a red reflector if i could get one they worked quite well you could not sleep as you may miss a bite then there was the weather i did manage to acquire an umbrella it was made out of canvas and was a bit on the heavy side we would cover our selves with a piece of canvas maybe a blanket under the canvas you managed to keep reasonably dry this was the way we fished for many years it was not the best of ways but we managed and caught a few fish, we tried winter fishing and nearly got frozen to death we only did that twice never again it took us hours to thaw out but we loved to be out and about it certainly never stopped us catching. Clothes were not much better i managed to get an old army Parker the one with the fur collar it kept me reasonably warm i would put on a warm wool pullover then the Parker if you did two night you needed to sleep in the day some time i had no sleep and went straight to work god by monday night i would be buggered but it never stopped us fishing i suppose you could say we were well and truly hooked. When graham and i started fishing for the big Bream, we caught Bream, fever i think there was a book called just that i cant quite remember who wrote it. We could not leave it alone we lived and breathed Bream how our wives stuck it ill never know we would go home stinking of bream the slime would be every where she would say get out of those clothes and get into the bath god we did stink our landing nets and keep nets were kept out side in the shed we could not bring them any where near the house.
not a very good picture but oz short of the record
But it was all fun we spent many days looking at new waters finding out the depth where the BREAM patrolled which way the prevailing wind blew cutting out our swims that was the easy bit as we always had a double for graham and myself looking for the weed beds it was a learning curve but it served us well i suppose you could call it water craft they were exiting days as some of the lakes we fished had never seen a line before, we did managed to get a lease on one water it was colmere, it was a wonderful water and in those days held some very big bream and roach there were also a few big eels caught as the British anguilla club fished on the other side of the lake and i know eels to six pounds have come out some of our own members from the three counties specimen group caught them to over five pounds when fishing for the Bream with worm i suppose you could call us the pioneers we caught the big Bream breaking the record three times it was only claimed once because the fish died in the net none of us would claim a record because in those days they had to have the body of the fish to prove beyond doubt you had caught it i am glad things have changed in that respect well thats it for now. more latter
4oz short of the record
God things have changed on the fishing scene over the years. All we had was the garden bed chair they were not the best of things and i had a few break and fold up you would strip the ratchet, god they were terrible things no bite alarms only doe bobbins with a small torch shining on your Bobbins i would use a red reflector if i could get one they worked quite well you could not sleep as you may miss a bite then there was the weather i did manage to acquire an umbrella it was made out of canvas and was a bit on the heavy side we would cover our selves with a piece of canvas maybe a blanket under the canvas you managed to keep reasonably dry this was the way we fished for many years it was not the best of ways but we managed and caught a few fish, we tried winter fishing and nearly got frozen to death we only did that twice never again it took us hours to thaw out but we loved to be out and about it certainly never stopped us catching. Clothes were not much better i managed to get an old army Parker the one with the fur collar it kept me reasonably warm i would put on a warm wool pullover then the Parker if you did two night you needed to sleep in the day some time i had no sleep and went straight to work god by monday night i would be buggered but it never stopped us fishing i suppose you could say we were well and truly hooked. When graham and i started fishing for the big Bream, we caught Bream, fever i think there was a book called just that i cant quite remember who wrote it. We could not leave it alone we lived and breathed Bream how our wives stuck it ill never know we would go home stinking of bream the slime would be every where she would say get out of those clothes and get into the bath god we did stink our landing nets and keep nets were kept out side in the shed we could not bring them any where near the house.
not a very good picture but oz short of the record
But it was all fun we spent many days looking at new waters finding out the depth where the BREAM patrolled which way the prevailing wind blew cutting out our swims that was the easy bit as we always had a double for graham and myself looking for the weed beds it was a learning curve but it served us well i suppose you could call it water craft they were exiting days as some of the lakes we fished had never seen a line before, we did managed to get a lease on one water it was colmere, it was a wonderful water and in those days held some very big bream and roach there were also a few big eels caught as the British anguilla club fished on the other side of the lake and i know eels to six pounds have come out some of our own members from the three counties specimen group caught them to over five pounds when fishing for the Bream with worm i suppose you could call us the pioneers we caught the big Bream breaking the record three times it was only claimed once because the fish died in the net none of us would claim a record because in those days they had to have the body of the fish to prove beyond doubt you had caught it i am glad things have changed in that respect well thats it for now. more latter
4oz short of the record
In reply to Post #319
As i sit here it has hailed and rained its just like the middle of winter the wind is not that warm, when i was a few years younger this would not have worried me i would of been away probably down the fields or in the woods looking for old foxy there will be cubs around now and some will be outside the earth playing as you all know i have spent many hours watching the vixen and her cubs one thing that really shook me was to see two vixens in one earth and both had cubs twelve in all god were they kept busy bringing food it varied from rabbit, hedge hog, even a big old goose, that must of come from one of the many farms, that surrounded the earth the one even carried a dead lamb, to the cubs but having a look through my binos i could see it had been dead some time it is surprising how long the carcase lasted it was devoured quite quickly the cubs would play tug of war with the body towards the end both vixens, started look quite pulled around and completely out of shape, i cant imagine how many times they had been back and forwards to feed this big litter, but they stopped coming it took a couple of days for the cubs to get the message but the one day i went and they had moved on. Big corn and barley fields surrounded the earth so they had plenty of cover and plenty rabbits, to sustain there hunger how many survived the first twelve months i would hazard a guess and say not many what with shooting and road kills and the hunt that should not hunt what a laugh .
The fishing at this time of year was none existent the rivers were closed until June the 16Th and most of the lakes as they were SSI so we were a bit stuck for fishing i did do a bit of traveling and one lake in north Shropshire was still open but it absolutely got hammered at the week ends so we did our fishing in the week i had just been medically discharged from my job owing to my arthritis so i had plenty of time on my hands we had some quite good days on this lake and because i was disabled i got the fishing a bit cheaper, well it all helps i loved to catch them from the surface i had tied some flies up out of deer hair and when trimmed up they looked just like a big trout pellet well that's what they were used for so out went the dog biscuits closely followed by my pellet i fished the same as i did with biscuit god did they go for it it would float around some times just under the surface bang it would be away people would ask what i was using pellet, i would say i don't think they believed me but it does work give it a try maybe you will be pleasantly surprised i caught fish over twenty pounds using them well that's it for now. more latter
caught on pellet
Another on pellet
As i sit here it has hailed and rained its just like the middle of winter the wind is not that warm, when i was a few years younger this would not have worried me i would of been away probably down the fields or in the woods looking for old foxy there will be cubs around now and some will be outside the earth playing as you all know i have spent many hours watching the vixen and her cubs one thing that really shook me was to see two vixens in one earth and both had cubs twelve in all god were they kept busy bringing food it varied from rabbit, hedge hog, even a big old goose, that must of come from one of the many farms, that surrounded the earth the one even carried a dead lamb, to the cubs but having a look through my binos i could see it had been dead some time it is surprising how long the carcase lasted it was devoured quite quickly the cubs would play tug of war with the body towards the end both vixens, started look quite pulled around and completely out of shape, i cant imagine how many times they had been back and forwards to feed this big litter, but they stopped coming it took a couple of days for the cubs to get the message but the one day i went and they had moved on. Big corn and barley fields surrounded the earth so they had plenty of cover and plenty rabbits, to sustain there hunger how many survived the first twelve months i would hazard a guess and say not many what with shooting and road kills and the hunt that should not hunt what a laugh .
The fishing at this time of year was none existent the rivers were closed until June the 16Th and most of the lakes as they were SSI so we were a bit stuck for fishing i did do a bit of traveling and one lake in north Shropshire was still open but it absolutely got hammered at the week ends so we did our fishing in the week i had just been medically discharged from my job owing to my arthritis so i had plenty of time on my hands we had some quite good days on this lake and because i was disabled i got the fishing a bit cheaper, well it all helps i loved to catch them from the surface i had tied some flies up out of deer hair and when trimmed up they looked just like a big trout pellet well that's what they were used for so out went the dog biscuits closely followed by my pellet i fished the same as i did with biscuit god did they go for it it would float around some times just under the surface bang it would be away people would ask what i was using pellet, i would say i don't think they believed me but it does work give it a try maybe you will be pleasantly surprised i caught fish over twenty pounds using them well that's it for now. more latter
caught on pellet
Another on pellet
In reply to Post #320
Rain wind and more rain its like winter again its nearly the end of April the weather should be changing by now but they have given out severe weather in may. I can remember watching the peewits in may i would lie down and watched where she landed i would find her nest in a shallow scrape in the plowed field, i would only take two eggs, in one big field if lucky i would find two or three nests, my mother would pickle them in a big jar they were lovely eating another egg that was quite nice was moorhens i have had many boiled for my breakfast but that was years ago in the late forties early fifties wild duck eggs were very nice if you could find them.
WE lived off the land i poached the trout streams of Shropshire i suppose this was how i learned to fish although i did fish the river Rea with my grandad he died in 1947 so i had no one to turn to so i taught myself i think i gained most of my knowledge fishing the trout streams i learned how to trot down a float ledger a worm or spin with a minnow, but there was nothing to beat a free line red worm i found the best conditions for the worm was when the water had a bit of colour in it i would trundle the worm under the far bank and feel for a bite it would be a pluck then away it would go i have caught loads fishing with this method. I found when i poached at night i did quite well with the worm, when i fished the onny in south Shropshire i would float fish, if i could to get a few maggots, from the local abattoir, as i have said before it was a bit of a smelly job to collect them but i caught some beautiful grayling, using maggot. When i was young they called the grayling the lady of the river they were a most beautiful fish to catch.
It was the brown trout i was after most streams and river were stocked with them they were put in by the estate owners for them selves and friends to fish i would watch as they fly fished i loved may you would get the big hatches of may flies that's when the fly fishermen would do very well i have watched as they cast to a fish it would disappear in a splash of silver spray as the fish took the imitation fly it would be landed and knocked on the head i knew that i could do better in the dark hours or early morning fishing the worm they never reached much over a pound in weight but they were lovely eating it was nothing to catch twenty trout i would only keep the big ones and release the smaller fish i never had any trouble getting rid of the fish all our neighbors would eat them so they were shared out between my parents and neighbors times were very hard we lived at an place called newington terrace they were houses owned by the railway as my step father was a signal man, i think i fed most of the people living in the terrace they even knocked our door asking if i could catch a couple of trout for some friends of there's. So i would be away down the river and back within the hour with three nice trout our neighbors would be very grateful and bring around a flitch of bacon or maybe some potatoes we all helped one another in those days. Craven arms is where i learned to poach i even caught rabbits and shot pheasants with my air gun they were stupid birds, to tame so easy to shoot but they helped out in times of real hard ship. well a bit more latter
Rain wind and more rain its like winter again its nearly the end of April the weather should be changing by now but they have given out severe weather in may. I can remember watching the peewits in may i would lie down and watched where she landed i would find her nest in a shallow scrape in the plowed field, i would only take two eggs, in one big field if lucky i would find two or three nests, my mother would pickle them in a big jar they were lovely eating another egg that was quite nice was moorhens i have had many boiled for my breakfast but that was years ago in the late forties early fifties wild duck eggs were very nice if you could find them.
WE lived off the land i poached the trout streams of Shropshire i suppose this was how i learned to fish although i did fish the river Rea with my grandad he died in 1947 so i had no one to turn to so i taught myself i think i gained most of my knowledge fishing the trout streams i learned how to trot down a float ledger a worm or spin with a minnow, but there was nothing to beat a free line red worm i found the best conditions for the worm was when the water had a bit of colour in it i would trundle the worm under the far bank and feel for a bite it would be a pluck then away it would go i have caught loads fishing with this method. I found when i poached at night i did quite well with the worm, when i fished the onny in south Shropshire i would float fish, if i could to get a few maggots, from the local abattoir, as i have said before it was a bit of a smelly job to collect them but i caught some beautiful grayling, using maggot. When i was young they called the grayling the lady of the river they were a most beautiful fish to catch.
It was the brown trout i was after most streams and river were stocked with them they were put in by the estate owners for them selves and friends to fish i would watch as they fly fished i loved may you would get the big hatches of may flies that's when the fly fishermen would do very well i have watched as they cast to a fish it would disappear in a splash of silver spray as the fish took the imitation fly it would be landed and knocked on the head i knew that i could do better in the dark hours or early morning fishing the worm they never reached much over a pound in weight but they were lovely eating it was nothing to catch twenty trout i would only keep the big ones and release the smaller fish i never had any trouble getting rid of the fish all our neighbors would eat them so they were shared out between my parents and neighbors times were very hard we lived at an place called newington terrace they were houses owned by the railway as my step father was a signal man, i think i fed most of the people living in the terrace they even knocked our door asking if i could catch a couple of trout for some friends of there's. So i would be away down the river and back within the hour with three nice trout our neighbors would be very grateful and bring around a flitch of bacon or maybe some potatoes we all helped one another in those days. Craven arms is where i learned to poach i even caught rabbits and shot pheasants with my air gun they were stupid birds, to tame so easy to shoot but they helped out in times of real hard ship. well a bit more latter
In reply to Post #321
This is nothing to do with fishing its a tale from long ago thinking back it must be about twenty years ago as you all know i like my Foxes but there are times when this old fellow has to be kept in check and the method i have always favoured was shooting there was no cruelty involved. I had a phone call from a friend could i come up to the village of clun we will meet you at the garage in the village yes Raymond i answered but what for the lads and farmers want you to come up and take part in a big fox, shoot it involves walking many acres of woods which are huge going from the edge of Shropshire into wales i was a bit apprehensive as i said to Raymond i don't know the area that well who's running it you are , i hesitated saying no way i like to know the ground and the farmers who's ground i am on, we arranged to meet at 9-30 on Saturday morning arriving at the garage we were met by what i can only describe as a big gang of gypsies, but they were not most were farmers, and game keepers, they had a pack of dogs well a pack of all sorts poodle sheep dogs labs you name them they were there i thought god what have we got our selves into. I was introduced to this chap who was in charge he looked just like Joe ninety, out of the television series he had a word with us i had brought with me one or two friends they were guns i could trust i must admit i did not know any of the other chaps except Raymond he said they were OK so away went.
The first drive took a good two hours but we ended up with a couple of big dog foxes they always seem bigger in hill country the guns were put out again and i can remember standing over looking this beautiful valley i must of been standing at least a good three hours before i heard the dogs yapping i started to hear the odd bang, i could just about see my mate graham about two hundred yards to my right i saw him lift his gun bang bang then five seconds latter the same in all he had six shots the blew the whistle for the end of drive i walked over to graham he had shot five foxes one vixen the other four were dogs he held the one by the scruff it was the biggest fox i had ever seen one of the keepers weighed him he was twenty seven pounds now that is big. but it was not the biggest i saw from hill country they shot another a few weeks latter which was twenty eight pounds. The next drive was in wales in the big forestry plantation over looking knighton Joe ninety came over and said shoot any pheasants that come over you i thought that's a bit strange we were on a fox shoot not a pheasant shoot i had a word with my friends they were a bit apprehensive as well they left us standing on this land below this big wood it was mainly conifers with a few mountain ash we heard shooting in the distance when a blue land rover pulls up a big chap steps out with another gentleman in broad welsh accent he says what are you doing here shooting says i not on my property your nicked, where are the otheres in woods i answered the police are on the way he said you stay here until they come like hell we would come on lads we are away into the cars we got you could hear the police sirens in the distance not knowing the area we landed up well into wales we even passed two police cars we eventually arrived at a place called bishops castle in Shropshire we knew a our way home from there on getting home i rang Raymond to find out what had happened apparently they arrested joe ninety and one or two others Ray had got away apparently the farmers had been falling out with this keeper for some time he would not allow them on his ground to shoot the foxes so they took it in there own hands i don't think it got to court but it was some time before i went with them again you could easily loose your gun licence for poaching . well that it for now more latter.
This is nothing to do with fishing its a tale from long ago thinking back it must be about twenty years ago as you all know i like my Foxes but there are times when this old fellow has to be kept in check and the method i have always favoured was shooting there was no cruelty involved. I had a phone call from a friend could i come up to the village of clun we will meet you at the garage in the village yes Raymond i answered but what for the lads and farmers want you to come up and take part in a big fox, shoot it involves walking many acres of woods which are huge going from the edge of Shropshire into wales i was a bit apprehensive as i said to Raymond i don't know the area that well who's running it you are , i hesitated saying no way i like to know the ground and the farmers who's ground i am on, we arranged to meet at 9-30 on Saturday morning arriving at the garage we were met by what i can only describe as a big gang of gypsies, but they were not most were farmers, and game keepers, they had a pack of dogs well a pack of all sorts poodle sheep dogs labs you name them they were there i thought god what have we got our selves into. I was introduced to this chap who was in charge he looked just like Joe ninety, out of the television series he had a word with us i had brought with me one or two friends they were guns i could trust i must admit i did not know any of the other chaps except Raymond he said they were OK so away went.
The first drive took a good two hours but we ended up with a couple of big dog foxes they always seem bigger in hill country the guns were put out again and i can remember standing over looking this beautiful valley i must of been standing at least a good three hours before i heard the dogs yapping i started to hear the odd bang, i could just about see my mate graham about two hundred yards to my right i saw him lift his gun bang bang then five seconds latter the same in all he had six shots the blew the whistle for the end of drive i walked over to graham he had shot five foxes one vixen the other four were dogs he held the one by the scruff it was the biggest fox i had ever seen one of the keepers weighed him he was twenty seven pounds now that is big. but it was not the biggest i saw from hill country they shot another a few weeks latter which was twenty eight pounds. The next drive was in wales in the big forestry plantation over looking knighton Joe ninety came over and said shoot any pheasants that come over you i thought that's a bit strange we were on a fox shoot not a pheasant shoot i had a word with my friends they were a bit apprehensive as well they left us standing on this land below this big wood it was mainly conifers with a few mountain ash we heard shooting in the distance when a blue land rover pulls up a big chap steps out with another gentleman in broad welsh accent he says what are you doing here shooting says i not on my property your nicked, where are the otheres in woods i answered the police are on the way he said you stay here until they come like hell we would come on lads we are away into the cars we got you could hear the police sirens in the distance not knowing the area we landed up well into wales we even passed two police cars we eventually arrived at a place called bishops castle in Shropshire we knew a our way home from there on getting home i rang Raymond to find out what had happened apparently they arrested joe ninety and one or two others Ray had got away apparently the farmers had been falling out with this keeper for some time he would not allow them on his ground to shoot the foxes so they took it in there own hands i don't think it got to court but it was some time before i went with them again you could easily loose your gun licence for poaching . well that it for now more latter.
In reply to Post #322
I loved to fish the small pool behind the keepers cottage i would fish this place right under the keepers nose i loved to float fish on this water i used bread flake and maybe maggot, if i could get some it held some quite nice Bream and some beautiful Rudd it was strictly private the biggest release pen on the shoot bordered the pool in season it held thousands of birds the pool i fished would be shot for the mallard duck from September they literally shot hundreds i have been fishing the pool when the keeper came down to feed his ducks i would just hide in the big reed beds that surrounded the pool i would catch bream up to four pounds plus not big but to a young lad like me they were huge the Rudd would go up to two pound plus it was very good fishing although it was strictly private the keepers name was Gerry he had a motor cycle an old BSA and would go to the pub most nights he usually left his house around seven thirty and would return at ten thirty you could set your watch by him although a public foot path ran through the wood he had signs on a few of the trees along the walk way do not stray off the path trespassers will be shot you would never get away with that today.
And believe me he would shoot he shot at me on a few occasions the pellets went over my head but very frightening but looking back it was my own fault i was poaching his birds his wife was a lovely old women and let me stroke the dogs as i walked past the house i became quite friendly with his dogs over the years Jerry knew me quite well i think he thought he was safe leaving the shoot to go to the pub as the big pen was right behind the house at times he would leave Mr Jenkins's in charge he was one of the under keepers he had quite a bad reputation as far as keepers go every one seemed scared of him it never bothered me i went where i wanted i would also spin for the pike on both pools i never caught anything really big the biggest was about ten pounds but it was being out and about but come October i would poach the pheasants things were pretty tight wages were not that good we needed the extra meat from the birds i would share them out between the family and neighbors they were always grateful i sold any left to old Mr Toms the poultry dealer which helped i never made a fortune only a few bob for the back pocket but it helped buy tackle and such the other pool i poached was the honey meadow it was water that had flooded from bomere and was connected by a stream it was always there and never went down it was full of eels and Gerry used to feed the big raft of ducks on the water i was only sixteen and had acquired a webley for ten shot gun my self and a lad called john ledington would shoot them on the water, it was not that deep and we would wade out to fetch them bloody hell it was so cold we made a few bob doing this and also fed our families but in the end we got to greedy and gerry nearly caught us we had hid the guns but he found the birds so we left the pool for some time before we tried again. well a bit more latter.
I loved to fish the small pool behind the keepers cottage i would fish this place right under the keepers nose i loved to float fish on this water i used bread flake and maybe maggot, if i could get some it held some quite nice Bream and some beautiful Rudd it was strictly private the biggest release pen on the shoot bordered the pool in season it held thousands of birds the pool i fished would be shot for the mallard duck from September they literally shot hundreds i have been fishing the pool when the keeper came down to feed his ducks i would just hide in the big reed beds that surrounded the pool i would catch bream up to four pounds plus not big but to a young lad like me they were huge the Rudd would go up to two pound plus it was very good fishing although it was strictly private the keepers name was Gerry he had a motor cycle an old BSA and would go to the pub most nights he usually left his house around seven thirty and would return at ten thirty you could set your watch by him although a public foot path ran through the wood he had signs on a few of the trees along the walk way do not stray off the path trespassers will be shot you would never get away with that today.
And believe me he would shoot he shot at me on a few occasions the pellets went over my head but very frightening but looking back it was my own fault i was poaching his birds his wife was a lovely old women and let me stroke the dogs as i walked past the house i became quite friendly with his dogs over the years Jerry knew me quite well i think he thought he was safe leaving the shoot to go to the pub as the big pen was right behind the house at times he would leave Mr Jenkins's in charge he was one of the under keepers he had quite a bad reputation as far as keepers go every one seemed scared of him it never bothered me i went where i wanted i would also spin for the pike on both pools i never caught anything really big the biggest was about ten pounds but it was being out and about but come October i would poach the pheasants things were pretty tight wages were not that good we needed the extra meat from the birds i would share them out between the family and neighbors they were always grateful i sold any left to old Mr Toms the poultry dealer which helped i never made a fortune only a few bob for the back pocket but it helped buy tackle and such the other pool i poached was the honey meadow it was water that had flooded from bomere and was connected by a stream it was always there and never went down it was full of eels and Gerry used to feed the big raft of ducks on the water i was only sixteen and had acquired a webley for ten shot gun my self and a lad called john ledington would shoot them on the water, it was not that deep and we would wade out to fetch them bloody hell it was so cold we made a few bob doing this and also fed our families but in the end we got to greedy and gerry nearly caught us we had hid the guns but he found the birds so we left the pool for some time before we tried again. well a bit more latter.
In reply to Post #323
Every where you look is green its managed to stop raining for how long i don't know the river Severn has been flooding once again why they cant save the water is any ones guess. i would like to have a look around to see how many fox earths i could find but every where is so wet i have been following the filming of the fox cubs on channel four its only on for about five minutes every night but some excellent footage the vixen is rearing six cubs i was a bit amazed as she did not look in bad nick and she has not been pulled around that much i do wander if she is going to move them as she picked one up and vanished behind the shed the others started to follow we will have to wait for the next episode to see what happens they certainly killed all the rats that has also bred under the same shed.
I do hope this weather clears up so myself and graham can get out fishing again you may say get out in this weather but graham and i want nourishment ,not punishment i must admit now we are older we like to be comfortable so we now leave it for you younger chaps but i have known the time we would brave most conditions hail rain or snow we both have sat down beside the river Rea and trotted a float down with a bunch of maggots on the hook or a big piece of bread flake in fact on a few occasions our line has frozen to the rod but we carried on fishing and caught some beautiful roach none very big only about 8 0z but we would catch a net full we also caught chub to four pounds eight oz it is only a small river but it holds some lovely fish.
In those days i would fish with another pall called terry this was before i met my fishing partner graham he said to me Pete did you know there's some good eels in this river i was a bit took back as i had fished it for years and i had never seen one come out so on the coming Friday night we were away we only fished till about midnight i decided to fish a big eddy under the far bank we were using big lob worms i cast out and put the rod in the rest disengaging the bail arm on the Mitchell reel i only waited minutes and away it went when landed it was only about two pounds we carried on like this all evening catching eel after eel the biggest we had was only three pounds i caught fifteen in all i know terry had around the same amount as me it was certainly good fishing alas three weeks latter they were all dead every fish in the river a terrible sight i walked it for a good mile up stream the water was brown and really stank some farmer higher up had let his slurry escape into the river it killed every thing in the water i must admit i nearly cried i had fished this river for years although i learned a lot fishing the onny, at craven arms it was the Rea i fished first with my grandad this is where i started to fish as a young school boy.
The river is now back to what it was many years ago i think its better now as it is full of brown trout and the lady of the river the grayling although i can not walk the distance down to the river i have a few pals that do fish, it quite regular they have caught grayling to one pound eight oz, nice fish, and trout, to over a pound do you put them back Andy of course i do Pete as he gave me a cheeky wink, it still hold some good roach, and chub, but one thing we have got that we did not see years ago is the otter i do hope they don't wipe this water out up to now they have not so we will wait and see i know its been stocked with salmon Parr so it will be interesting to see how many will make it back they will be able to make it up the river now as the big water falls further down have vanished where to i don't know i think they were removed by the local farmer a few years ago. I did manage a couple of salmon out of the water years ago by accident how they traversed the falls i don't know without looking in my diary upstairs i am not sure what they weighed i think the biggest was around nine pounds so they must have been coming up the river in those days. well that's it a little more latter.
Every where you look is green its managed to stop raining for how long i don't know the river Severn has been flooding once again why they cant save the water is any ones guess. i would like to have a look around to see how many fox earths i could find but every where is so wet i have been following the filming of the fox cubs on channel four its only on for about five minutes every night but some excellent footage the vixen is rearing six cubs i was a bit amazed as she did not look in bad nick and she has not been pulled around that much i do wander if she is going to move them as she picked one up and vanished behind the shed the others started to follow we will have to wait for the next episode to see what happens they certainly killed all the rats that has also bred under the same shed.
I do hope this weather clears up so myself and graham can get out fishing again you may say get out in this weather but graham and i want nourishment ,not punishment i must admit now we are older we like to be comfortable so we now leave it for you younger chaps but i have known the time we would brave most conditions hail rain or snow we both have sat down beside the river Rea and trotted a float down with a bunch of maggots on the hook or a big piece of bread flake in fact on a few occasions our line has frozen to the rod but we carried on fishing and caught some beautiful roach none very big only about 8 0z but we would catch a net full we also caught chub to four pounds eight oz it is only a small river but it holds some lovely fish.
In those days i would fish with another pall called terry this was before i met my fishing partner graham he said to me Pete did you know there's some good eels in this river i was a bit took back as i had fished it for years and i had never seen one come out so on the coming Friday night we were away we only fished till about midnight i decided to fish a big eddy under the far bank we were using big lob worms i cast out and put the rod in the rest disengaging the bail arm on the Mitchell reel i only waited minutes and away it went when landed it was only about two pounds we carried on like this all evening catching eel after eel the biggest we had was only three pounds i caught fifteen in all i know terry had around the same amount as me it was certainly good fishing alas three weeks latter they were all dead every fish in the river a terrible sight i walked it for a good mile up stream the water was brown and really stank some farmer higher up had let his slurry escape into the river it killed every thing in the water i must admit i nearly cried i had fished this river for years although i learned a lot fishing the onny, at craven arms it was the Rea i fished first with my grandad this is where i started to fish as a young school boy.
The river is now back to what it was many years ago i think its better now as it is full of brown trout and the lady of the river the grayling although i can not walk the distance down to the river i have a few pals that do fish, it quite regular they have caught grayling to one pound eight oz, nice fish, and trout, to over a pound do you put them back Andy of course i do Pete as he gave me a cheeky wink, it still hold some good roach, and chub, but one thing we have got that we did not see years ago is the otter i do hope they don't wipe this water out up to now they have not so we will wait and see i know its been stocked with salmon Parr so it will be interesting to see how many will make it back they will be able to make it up the river now as the big water falls further down have vanished where to i don't know i think they were removed by the local farmer a few years ago. I did manage a couple of salmon out of the water years ago by accident how they traversed the falls i don't know without looking in my diary upstairs i am not sure what they weighed i think the biggest was around nine pounds so they must have been coming up the river in those days. well that's it a little more latter.
In reply to Post #324
I watched the tele programme about foxes, in the cities last night i was really sorry to see so much mange its a terrible disease and i have seen them nearly bald and covered in scratch marks it will spread like wild fire even to domestic animals, luckily in the country side we see very little of this disease and those we do see are shot and buried.
i suppose the foxes living in that environment can find plenty of food that has been thrown out . The amount roaming around in the cities and living in close proximity to one another will soon contact mange its a shame really as they are a most beautiful creature and don't really deserve to die with that aliment. We have suffered with foxes, that have been caught up then let go in the country side, this is very cruel as they cannot survive most will be dead whiten a couple of months. I have been lucky enough to see albino foxes, pure white with pink eyes and i have seen a pure black fox, which also is very rare i have been very privileged and have been allowed to watch and film foxes over the years when i say privileged i knew most of the farmers and they would let me onto their land i have watched them for hours mostly in the day time and i have took a few friends with me that had never seen a fox in the wild in fact i got asked quite regularly if i could take a group to watch i would say two or three not a group, i also took a few with me to watch Badgers, its been part of my life and a part that i have loved. Then we have the other side where foxes, have been doing damage and i mean damage taking the farmers chickens killing every one and maybe taking two or three and hiding one or two for latter. The worse kill i have seen was sixty chickens all dead and the heads bitten off not satisfied with that he came back and killed the farmers geese all twenty dead then two weeks latter he had the peacocks you can understand why the farmers want the foxes dead. It was then left to me and some friends to find where they were and get rid of them but i always felt a touch of sadness as i have said they are a most beautiful creature .
Just a bit of a laugh we had shot a couple of foxes on this pheasant shoot and a chap came over and asked if we would sell him these foxes what ever for i said are you a taxidermist, no i sell them to the Indians, to make curry i kid you not he paid us a fiver each for them and asked if we could get him some more it put me off curry for life over the years we got a lot of our fishing by helping out farmers it was not a job i liked doing but it was a necessity i have told many stories to some about the foxes taking young lambs some have ridiculed me saying foxes do not do such things they only take worms mice and rabbits i wish that were true but i am afraid it is not some of the hill farmers i got to know had suffered quite badly from foxes taking lambs and these hill foxes always seemed a lot bigger than there lowland cousins, and they were all in very good nick, i suppose they did eat the very best it would be quite a day when we shot the hills you could be standing for at least three hours before you heard the beaters and dogs, i really did not mind and would make myself comfortable have a drink from my flask and watch the wild life i know this has got nothing to do with fishing but it has been a major part of my life well that's it for now. more latter
I watched the tele programme about foxes, in the cities last night i was really sorry to see so much mange its a terrible disease and i have seen them nearly bald and covered in scratch marks it will spread like wild fire even to domestic animals, luckily in the country side we see very little of this disease and those we do see are shot and buried.
i suppose the foxes living in that environment can find plenty of food that has been thrown out . The amount roaming around in the cities and living in close proximity to one another will soon contact mange its a shame really as they are a most beautiful creature and don't really deserve to die with that aliment. We have suffered with foxes, that have been caught up then let go in the country side, this is very cruel as they cannot survive most will be dead whiten a couple of months. I have been lucky enough to see albino foxes, pure white with pink eyes and i have seen a pure black fox, which also is very rare i have been very privileged and have been allowed to watch and film foxes over the years when i say privileged i knew most of the farmers and they would let me onto their land i have watched them for hours mostly in the day time and i have took a few friends with me that had never seen a fox in the wild in fact i got asked quite regularly if i could take a group to watch i would say two or three not a group, i also took a few with me to watch Badgers, its been part of my life and a part that i have loved. Then we have the other side where foxes, have been doing damage and i mean damage taking the farmers chickens killing every one and maybe taking two or three and hiding one or two for latter. The worse kill i have seen was sixty chickens all dead and the heads bitten off not satisfied with that he came back and killed the farmers geese all twenty dead then two weeks latter he had the peacocks you can understand why the farmers want the foxes dead. It was then left to me and some friends to find where they were and get rid of them but i always felt a touch of sadness as i have said they are a most beautiful creature .
Just a bit of a laugh we had shot a couple of foxes on this pheasant shoot and a chap came over and asked if we would sell him these foxes what ever for i said are you a taxidermist, no i sell them to the Indians, to make curry i kid you not he paid us a fiver each for them and asked if we could get him some more it put me off curry for life over the years we got a lot of our fishing by helping out farmers it was not a job i liked doing but it was a necessity i have told many stories to some about the foxes taking young lambs some have ridiculed me saying foxes do not do such things they only take worms mice and rabbits i wish that were true but i am afraid it is not some of the hill farmers i got to know had suffered quite badly from foxes taking lambs and these hill foxes always seemed a lot bigger than there lowland cousins, and they were all in very good nick, i suppose they did eat the very best it would be quite a day when we shot the hills you could be standing for at least three hours before you heard the beaters and dogs, i really did not mind and would make myself comfortable have a drink from my flask and watch the wild life i know this has got nothing to do with fishing but it has been a major part of my life well that's it for now. more latter
In reply to Post #325
i don't think there is a lake i have not fished locally most were poached in my youth as they were strictly private the one lake not far from my house was covered in water lilies i would hide in the wood that surrounded the lake and float fish for the bream they were beautiful golden colour the biggest i caught was only about five pounds but to myself they were big fish it was well keeperd and was part of the bomere and condover shoot none of my mates would venture any where near the place they were to frightened they may get caught by one of the keepers. At the one end of the lake stood a big wind mill. It is no longer there only bits of of concrete left to show where it once stood, what it was used for i really don't know maybe for grinding corn or pumping water around the farm. The lake was covered in ducks they would be shot in season the surrounding woods and fields were covered in pheasants it was part of a shoot that stretched for miles it really took some looking after when i first started fishing the water i was only fourteen years old we had just moved back to the village of my birth Bayston hill.
From our house to the lake was only about five miles if you were on your bike, but if walked across the fields it was only a couple of miles, at the one end of the lake was a wood not big it was full of pheasants in season i would take my air rifle and shoot them out of the trees, when they were at roost, i could even walk to bomere, as it was right behind the little wood maybe half a mile i had plenty to have a go at and on the way back home i would drop by and shoot a couple of brace at Bomere, it was a great life and i got a lot of pleasure being out at night, on the way back we came to the quarry which bordered my village the big hedge surrounding the place was always a good place to shoot a few pheasants you always had a few going up to roost i would always stop for rest and then shoot a few birds it was quite a distance from the main coverts the keepers, would not come this far up the fields. It was nothing to shoot five brace from that hedge row it was mainly hawthorn with a few oak trees here and there i felt quite safe shooting that hedge as it was not far to my home but at times you would get to greedy and shoot to many birds to carry home, so i would hide a few then fetch them latter
the most i ever shot was twenty far to many to carry but i would manage to get them home even if it took two trips i had no trouble getting rid of the birds they would be shared out between family and neighbours, those i had left i would sell to Mr Toms the poultry dealer putting a few quid in my back pocket. well a bit more latter
i don't think there is a lake i have not fished locally most were poached in my youth as they were strictly private the one lake not far from my house was covered in water lilies i would hide in the wood that surrounded the lake and float fish for the bream they were beautiful golden colour the biggest i caught was only about five pounds but to myself they were big fish it was well keeperd and was part of the bomere and condover shoot none of my mates would venture any where near the place they were to frightened they may get caught by one of the keepers. At the one end of the lake stood a big wind mill. It is no longer there only bits of of concrete left to show where it once stood, what it was used for i really don't know maybe for grinding corn or pumping water around the farm. The lake was covered in ducks they would be shot in season the surrounding woods and fields were covered in pheasants it was part of a shoot that stretched for miles it really took some looking after when i first started fishing the water i was only fourteen years old we had just moved back to the village of my birth Bayston hill.
From our house to the lake was only about five miles if you were on your bike, but if walked across the fields it was only a couple of miles, at the one end of the lake was a wood not big it was full of pheasants in season i would take my air rifle and shoot them out of the trees, when they were at roost, i could even walk to bomere, as it was right behind the little wood maybe half a mile i had plenty to have a go at and on the way back home i would drop by and shoot a couple of brace at Bomere, it was a great life and i got a lot of pleasure being out at night, on the way back we came to the quarry which bordered my village the big hedge surrounding the place was always a good place to shoot a few pheasants you always had a few going up to roost i would always stop for rest and then shoot a few birds it was quite a distance from the main coverts the keepers, would not come this far up the fields. It was nothing to shoot five brace from that hedge row it was mainly hawthorn with a few oak trees here and there i felt quite safe shooting that hedge as it was not far to my home but at times you would get to greedy and shoot to many birds to carry home, so i would hide a few then fetch them latter
the most i ever shot was twenty far to many to carry but i would manage to get them home even if it took two trips i had no trouble getting rid of the birds they would be shared out between family and neighbours, those i had left i would sell to Mr Toms the poultry dealer putting a few quid in my back pocket. well a bit more latter
In reply to Post #326
A couple of years ago we got permission to fish a farm pool its about eight miles from my home we were told it held some really large carp i asked the farmer how large he then fetched a photo from the house i could not believe my eyes this fish must have been around forty pounds he said he had found it dead but there was a few more in the water its not that big only about i acre the deepest section around ten feet and a big island, in the middle i asked him how many fished, the place not many look at the book in the shed it was left for anglers to sign and leave there money in the box, i thought a very trusting gentleman i asked him about night fishing no way i don't let anyone on the property after dark so it was day fishing.
We started to bait up with hemp and maize a little bit every time we went i can always remember the first time i fished that lake it was boiling hot i was sitting at the far end of the pool to my right was an old farm trailer half covered in water i saw one or two signs of fish showing around this old trailer i crept down and i was absolutely amazed there was about five bream feeding around the trailer there was not one under ten pounds they may have been even bigger to say i was excited was an understatement, we never caught one fish but we were quite happy in what we had seen the next day saw us on the pool once again. The farmer said that he fed the ducks and geese in a morning and evening with bread and and barley do you shoot i asked the answer was no i just like feeding the wild life but i also feed the carp they take the bread of the top, so a few days latter and no fish to our credit we started shooting dog biscuits out i have never seen anything like it the whole lake erupted with feeding carp they certainly looked big some well over thirty to be fair you could not hook them they left the one you had mounted on your hook well alone, i really wandered if these fish had seen dog biscuits before but the farmer said no most anglers that come here only float fish for the bream we were a bit down where do we go from here we continued to fish the water without results then the one day a friend had a run low and behold it was a carp a common of twenty two pounds we also caught a couple of bream the biggest going just over seven pounds on sweet corn that was it for that year i went to have a look at the pool in winter it was completely frozen over except at one end where the farmer had installed a pump to keep the water clear on talking to him he said he was stopping all fishing he had let the lake to the RSPB what a shame i asked one of there members if we could still fish the pool the answer was no i have heard since that all fish had been removed a really big waste but that's how things go.
I have been reading the fox thread as you all know i have spent a good many years watching them, one of the members on the forum, Fred archer sent me some photos of holes around his garden and his a wooden patio some were made by rats but others were far to big foxes sprang to my mind well low and behold Fred has now another family to feed and look after some beautiful fox cubs they are in wonderful nick i am sure he would not mind putting a photo up for you all to see. i feel sorry when i hear they have taken some ones pet rabbit hamster and such but that's the way they are hunters and predators, at this time of year they can be quite bad as old mrs fox has many more mouths to feed. well a bit more latter.
A couple of years ago we got permission to fish a farm pool its about eight miles from my home we were told it held some really large carp i asked the farmer how large he then fetched a photo from the house i could not believe my eyes this fish must have been around forty pounds he said he had found it dead but there was a few more in the water its not that big only about i acre the deepest section around ten feet and a big island, in the middle i asked him how many fished, the place not many look at the book in the shed it was left for anglers to sign and leave there money in the box, i thought a very trusting gentleman i asked him about night fishing no way i don't let anyone on the property after dark so it was day fishing.
We started to bait up with hemp and maize a little bit every time we went i can always remember the first time i fished that lake it was boiling hot i was sitting at the far end of the pool to my right was an old farm trailer half covered in water i saw one or two signs of fish showing around this old trailer i crept down and i was absolutely amazed there was about five bream feeding around the trailer there was not one under ten pounds they may have been even bigger to say i was excited was an understatement, we never caught one fish but we were quite happy in what we had seen the next day saw us on the pool once again. The farmer said that he fed the ducks and geese in a morning and evening with bread and and barley do you shoot i asked the answer was no i just like feeding the wild life but i also feed the carp they take the bread of the top, so a few days latter and no fish to our credit we started shooting dog biscuits out i have never seen anything like it the whole lake erupted with feeding carp they certainly looked big some well over thirty to be fair you could not hook them they left the one you had mounted on your hook well alone, i really wandered if these fish had seen dog biscuits before but the farmer said no most anglers that come here only float fish for the bream we were a bit down where do we go from here we continued to fish the water without results then the one day a friend had a run low and behold it was a carp a common of twenty two pounds we also caught a couple of bream the biggest going just over seven pounds on sweet corn that was it for that year i went to have a look at the pool in winter it was completely frozen over except at one end where the farmer had installed a pump to keep the water clear on talking to him he said he was stopping all fishing he had let the lake to the RSPB what a shame i asked one of there members if we could still fish the pool the answer was no i have heard since that all fish had been removed a really big waste but that's how things go.
I have been reading the fox thread as you all know i have spent a good many years watching them, one of the members on the forum, Fred archer sent me some photos of holes around his garden and his a wooden patio some were made by rats but others were far to big foxes sprang to my mind well low and behold Fred has now another family to feed and look after some beautiful fox cubs they are in wonderful nick i am sure he would not mind putting a photo up for you all to see. i feel sorry when i hear they have taken some ones pet rabbit hamster and such but that's the way they are hunters and predators, at this time of year they can be quite bad as old mrs fox has many more mouths to feed. well a bit more latter.
In reply to Post #327
Freds little cubs there in real good nick
Freds little cubs there in real good nick
In reply to Post #328
Two more lovable little cubs at freds home
Two more lovable little cubs at freds home