As I write this on the first day of the river close season and of Bowood (yes it still holds a close season!) I think it is time to reflect on the season just passed at Bowood, but more of that later! March starts and I make my way to Bowood along the slippery muddy path until I get to the short section between the fields where I find the path is blocked by a fallen tree.

Having negotiated the tackle over the tree and through the stream that was now in place with all the extra rain water proving too much for the small culvert I finally got to peg 10. Setting up I was not too confident as the water was flowing and not very appealing with a clay colour in evidence. Setting up as per norm I was surprised when the float lifted after half and hour and a small roach graced my net – that was the blank saved! A further roach and rudd followed at 10 minute intervals before the pike float skated across the surface and disappeared, a solid strike resulted in a feisty pike of exactly 9lb, however on unhooking the pike which had managed to hook itself on both single hooks at opposite sides of it’s mouth my grip slipped- the pike flared and despite me wearing a filleting glove I managed to get two gashes in my thumb that began bleeding profusely. Getting the pike back in the water I looked in the bottom of my box for my styptic pencil only to find it was not there! I realised that I must have left it in my seat bag from my visit to Peatmoor! As you are aware the anti-coagulant nature of the pikes teeth meant I was not going to stop the bleeding easily, so wrapping the thumb as tight as I could in a rag I proceeded to return my 2oz of silvers and beat a retreat over the stream and tree back home!

It was over a week before I was able to venture back to Bowood and was greeted by the sound of a chainsaw as I got out of the car. Realising the tree was being sorted I made my way along the left bank to peg 21. Setting up I remembered why I tended to fish the right bank, firstly the depth was a good 4 feet shallower at 11.5m than the opposite bank at 10m and secondly it was far more exposed to any wind coming down the main part of the lake, and today was very windy and cold. I opted for one of my BGT Rounds taking 0.8g with a 0.10mm hooklength to an 18. Two balls of hard groundbait were deposited along with a few grains of corn and a big pinch of wheat and hemp. The pike rod was cast out to 20m with the usual sardine bait. It was slow but eventually the float disappeared and a 3oz roach was in the net. Five minutes later the float went again and this time a gust of wind caught the pole as I was bringing the roach in and bumped it off! That was the end of any action on the pole. After an hour or so one of the regulars came along and while we were chatting the sardine was taken, a strike was met with the resistance of what felt like a decent pike. As I managed to get it closer and intro the shallower water the fight changed and I could see that the wire trace was caught around its fins and I was in effect trying to bring it in broadside on. Fortunately after a few failed attempts at netting it, the pike managed to untangle itself and had a couple of “flarings” before succumbing to the net. It felt heavier than I thought when lifting the net out of the water and had a two-tone colouration , getting it onto the soft squelchy grass I unhooked it without any fuss – the bottom single hook was in the scissors. The scales showed it was 15-08. (Apologies for the poor photo!)

The only other action came from three “ghost” runs where the strike met with no resistance and the sardine came back untouched, despite one of the runs ending up 10m away from where it started! We are suspecting carp or tench as pike would have left some indication on the bait. On packing up the other angler was still biteless!

With the end of the season rapidly approaching I ventured to The Pondtail, peg 1 on the last Friday to fish the whip as the rain and wind we had been having had left me unsure the main lake would be worth fishing. Anyway it was very windy and cold rain being driven into my face- I was glad I had decided to give the main lake a miss as I would never have been able to hold the pole. Anyway, I fished 9:15 to 11:15 by which time I had had enough! I fished the 5m whip (Chinese of course) and by being patient had 8 roach for 1-13, so they were a better stamp than usual. I also dropped one and lost a good fish that I think was a big perch to a hook pull resulting from the maggot masking the point of the hook!

I decided to take a chance and went on the last Sunday of the season and was shocked that there was only one other car parked up. The Pondtail field was now home to about 200 sheep and as the ground had been soft and slippery before now the path was rutted with imprints of sheep hooves and was very dodgy! I managed to get to peg 10 and was thinking it was a mistake as the wind was very strong but I had a go and deposited two balls of groundbait at 10m with a liberal helping of corn, wheat and hemp. I opted for a 0.5g homemade diamond bodied float with 0.10mm hooklength to an 18. The pike rod was dispatched as usual with a sardine bait. It took 15 minutes before the float lifted and a small roach was in the net, this was followed at intervals by two more roach and two blades. The wind was a real problem and giving me a real buffeting but after two hours the float lifted and a strike found myself attached to a better fish that turned out to be a bream of 2-08, this was followed by another roach and blade before another bream of 3-09 came along. There was a lull followed by a roach and then another bream style bite that I missed. That was it for the next hour before a strike produced a jack- one of the smallest I’ve had at Bowood of 1-08 and that was my lot! A total of 7-14.

I had been planning on going on the last day, the Monday, but on waking I was so sore and achy after the buffeting from holding the pole in the wind I decided to listen to my body and give it a miss.

So that was another season over at Bowood and time to reflect on the past season. Sadly, I keep a spreadsheet to record all my visits so here are this year’s stats:

75 visits costing £2.67 a visit, producing 700lb exactly at an average of 9-5-8. Eighteen pegs were fished, with 3 visits to the Stock Pond and 16 to the Pondtail;

25 pike were caught weighing 230-14 at an average of 9-3-8, including 3 on the pole, 11 doubles with best two being 24-10 and 15-08;

42 tench weighing 157-12 at an average 0f 3-12 with best being 6-15 and 7 over 5lb;

45 bream/large skimmers weighing 91-10 at an average of 2-0-8 with 13 over 3lb and best at 5-01.

I fish Bowood as it is so convenient, literally 3 minutes from setting off to getting out of the car, but this comes at the cost of fishing other venues. My time up to June 16th will be spent on other venues and match fishing but I have already resolved to fish more venues next season but still aim to visit Bowood plenty!

It wasn’t until Wednesday 16th that I ventured to Bowood again. This time after the weather we had been having I decided to give the main lake and the Pondtail a miss and head up to the Stockpond with minimal tackle – float rod and feeder plus haversack seat. On parking up I could see that the Pondtail was very coloured and walking up to the Stockpond the main lake looked in poor condition. I set up on peg 2 (the big fish peg) but was amazed at the water – it was like tap water! I decided to just set up the waggler a home made job teamed with my ancient Abu 506 and Filstar Extreme match rod. Two hours later and no bites nor sign of fish I decided to move down to the narrow shallow arm at the back of the island (peg 16) to give it a go. This also was gin clear and after half hour I capitulated and made my way home!

It was the following Tuesday before I ventured out again, this time to the Pondtail to fish the 5m whip. I found it in better state than the previous week but still very coloured, setting up on peg 1 I used what I refer to as the Orange 2 – a Chinese float that takes 1.1g and is all orange apart from the bristle!

I was hoping I could break the blank spell and was relieved when after five minutes a small roach came to hand! I fished from 9:45 to 12:00 and ended up with 38 roach, a perch and a gudgeon for exactly 4-0-0.

I returned to Peg 1 on Friday 25th for what was to be my final session of the month, fishing from 9:15 to 12:40 I set up as before setting myself a target of 50 fish and managed to achieve that despite the frost on the ground when I arrived. Interestingly whereas I had most bites on double maggot (white and bronze) the previous visit this time white and red was the best bait although I did give corn a try after having fed a few grains along with the customary hemp and wheat. The corn produced an immediate bite from a netable roach but no further bites! The fish, all roach, weighed 5-06.

The day was interesting with a pair of kingfishers, one perching on a fallen branch by the bridge and fishing, the other coming to collect the catch and flying off to the other end of the lake where they must have had a burrow under a tree that overhung the water. Added to the buzzards soaring above, the kites calling and a pair of herons flying over as I packed up, it made me realise how much I take for granted!

I did manage to get out on the last day of January to peg 10 at Bowood. On arrival I was not particularly hopeful as I had brought my usual pole gear and pike rod but there was a very strong cross wind. Anyway I set up as usual with a 0.10mm hooklength and a 18 and introduced a couple of tangerines of groundbait then set about fighting the wind. After half hour the float on the pike rod disappeared and a strike produced a jack of 4-10. Back to the pole and after an hour I admitted defeat and packed the pole away as the wind had increased in strength and there was no way I could hold the pole. My focus was now on the pike rod and after another 2 cups of coffee (about an hour and a quarter) I put the sardine about 6m out from the bank. Ten minutes later the float bobbed and skated away, a strike showed this was no jack and after a dogged fight I put the net under a pike of 14-6. At this point I decided to call it a day and managed to reach the car before the rain started!

It was the Friday before I returned, again to peg 10 fishing 9:45 to 12:15. I was disappointed that I did not get a single indication on the pole despite running through the range of baits and smaller hooks/line. However it was not to be a blank as at 11:10 the pike float slid away from it’s position 10m out and to the right of my pole line. The strike was met with a solid resistance and the rod arced around indicating a good fish that persisted in staying deep and requiring me to backwind on a couple of occasions. Eventually I managed to get it close to the net and could see the bottom single barbless hook in it’s scissor,before guiding it over the waiting net. I weighed the fish 3 times to be certain, 24-10 a new PB by 2oz!

I allowed my self another cup of coffee and fished until 12:15 before packing up.

Monday, back at peg 10 but a totally different situation met me. The water was up by several inches, muddy, cold and flowing! You could barely see an inch into the water. I gave it a go hoping that the bream may show but was biteless – a blank!

Wednesday I decided to give the main lake a break and set up on the Pondtail peg 2 with the intention of fishing a feeder for the first 40-50minutes and then fishing the waggler across the far side of the lake for a change. On my arrival there were two cars parked up and two more arrived after I started, they all were on the main lake so I had the Pondtail to myself. Starting on an open end feeder I used one of the trees across the opposite field as my aiming point and cast the feeder at a 45 degree angle to where I was fishing (there are only two pegs and I was on the last one) 50 turns of the reel handle. Normally I would have had 5-6 quick casts to get some bait down but on this occasion I began fishing immediately but compromised by leaving the feeder in place for only 3-4 minutes before recasting. After 3 casts I had a slight tremor on the tip, a strike produced a roach of about an ounce. After 45 minutes I had put 3 roach in the net and missed 2 bites plus pulled out of what felt as if might have been a skimmer. At this point the feeder went up the bank and I reached for the waggler. I had set up a homemade sarkandas reed float with a 3mm pole tip as an insert, the beauty of which was that the yellow tip was highly visible at the 20+m I was fishing.

I only loose fed, beginning with two pouches of hemp and one of wheat, thereafter alternating between 6-10 maggots and similar quantities of wheat every cast. Five minutes in and my first bite produced a small roach, thereafter the bites came at fairly regular intervals, not frantic but often enough to keep my interest. I stopped after a couple of hours and my sparse net of 13 roach and a solitary perch weighed 1-10. As I was packing the car two of the other anglers returned from the main lake and it seemed it was very slow with only one fish of 11lb between the four fishing.

I was planning on going on the Friday (today as I write) but the cold night with morning temperatures only just above freezing and bright sunshine persuaded me to keep my powder dry until next week.

Next out on Wednesday 19th back on peg 7 which was a mistake as the water was very cold and flowing! Anyway I decided to try it and fished 9:15 to 1pm during which time I managed the grand total of 4 roach, 2 rudd and two skimmers(blades) for the princely total of 4oz. It took me two hours to get my first fish and despite rotating through the baits could not get anything other than on single bronze maggot which is unusual for Bowood anyway. The day was capped off when at five to one the pike float buried and a strike resulted in me hooking a good double that eventually threw the hook after doing a “crocodile roll” complete with head shake. I packed up then!

Friday sees me back at Bowood complete with ice-breaker as the car was showing a temperature of -3C on arrival following a couple of days and nights of low temperatures. Bowood was indeed iced over!

I made my way up to peg 10 and 20 minutes later I had cleared a 5m x 2m hole in the 1cm thick ice.

I took it steady and drip fed 2-3 maggots with a peanut of groundbait via a toss pot every 10 minutes straight out , the pike rod was dispatched to the right edge of the ice.

I gave it 2.5 hours without a bite/run before heading home!

Monday 24th I decided on a change and went to Blacklands which is just as close to home but I had not fished it for a couple of years after they messed about with Heron Lake and spoiled the fishing. I wanted to see if things had settled down and returned to a point where it was worth holding a match there. Alas it was not, although the weather was cold previously I would have expected 50-100 fish for the 4 hours I was there. I scratched my hardest to get 10 roach for 14oz with a further 4 small roach dropping off. I will not be back!

I was out of sardines and I knew the local Tesco would not have any until the Friday so on the Wednesday I tried the Pondtail peg 1, fishing whips- an hour at 3m for no bites and an hour at 6m for (you guessed it) no bites! I gave it up as a bad job then as previous experience had showed that you would not catch if bites were not forthcoming after an hour!

With Friday being Sardine Day and my aversion to the week-end, Monday would be my last opportunity for January- Chinese New Years Eve! I will add the last day next month but in view of the forthcoming lunar new year I thought I would share a review of my new Chinese whips!

I am now in possession of a set of 6 ply cross-rolled carbon whips from Aliexpress.

I initially bought the 7m version before adding the others in stages and have been very impressed with them. Now it must be said that I am “a whip is a whip” person and as soon as anybody says elastic it is no longer a whip in my opinion. Mostly people say they use elastic as insurance against better fish but I have landed carp to over 4lb with no issues on a 5m whip and these whips will lift a dead weight of 2lb+ so I have no worries about their strength or their ability to bend! Anyway some facts about the whips;

Whip Tip mm Butt Weight g Length m Closed Length m Cost £

3.6 0.8 13.7 89 3.85 0.77 9.36

4.5 0.8 15.6 113 4.60 0.77 10.21

5.4 0.8 17.5 142 5.31 0.77 11.42

6.3 0.8 19.7 206 6.48 0.77 12.44

7.2 0.8 21.1 246 7.20 0.77 12.51

The cost is what I paid in total including delivery from China, so for £55.94 I have a set of whips that will cover me in most situations. The whips are fitted with a Chinese whip fitting that allows 360 degree rotation and all is needed is to tie a small knot in the braided piece to allow the rig to be attached.

These are definitely not the cheap and nasty versions of whips you sometimes see and are made for the Chinese market where they would be considered to be in a medium price bracket. Their action is different from European whips in that they are designed to bend but once you have got used to the action they are a joy to use.

The title refers not the fishing but my opportunities to get out! Due to a variety of factors it was not until the tenth day of January that I managed to get to Bowood. I was expecting coloured water with flow due to the weather we had been having but I fancied some of the middle pegs when I set out- pegs 6, 7 or 8, not sure why but had a feeling they may be worth a try. Anyway arrived with one angler already in situ – on peg 10- but I set up on peg 7. The water was indeed flowing and coloured, also very cold! I began tentatively with two golf ball sized balls of groundbait and some hemp and wheat, the pike rod was put out with a sardine at about 14m and I sifted through my month old maggots that were in a right state for two reasonable specimens to go on the hook. I had put a 0.5g homemade chianti style float on to cover the 4.5 feet of water and had scaled down to a 20 on the hook. A couple of quick micro roach then a nettable skimmer saw me up the hook to a 16 when out of the blue the sardine was taken and the float drifted off to the right on a run, a strike brought a scrappy fight from a 7-01 pike, a good start after 30 minutes. A return to the pole saw me having to work for bites but a run of small roach and skimmers (blades) kept me interested. A lull in bites was broken by the pole float slowly going under and a lift resulted in the solid resistance that I recognised as being a pike. Playing it carefully I managed to get it into netting range before it realised what was happening and it made off on a run that the elastic managed to curtail but unfortunately a couple of minutes later as it was plodding back to nettable range the hook pulled!

This signaled the return of bites from small roach on the pole and about 20minutes later the pike float went again, this time a strike was met with a solid resistance a a more measured and deeper fight, eventually resulting in a battle worn fish of 12-14.

I gave it three hours in total but then I began losing the feeling in my finger tips so called it a day with 18 roach, 6 skimmers and a very rare for the main lake but welcome gudgeon. These along with the pike made a 21-05 total.

Now it was not until the Sunday- 6 days later- that I ventured back to Bowood for no other reason that the weather had turned very cold with the water in the bird bath being frozen for 3 days plus very bright sunshine. Now I know some people will welcome the sun but I have found that a bright day with the low winter sun allied to freezing temperatures does not give you the best chances fishing. Perhaps I should have gone anyway but I didn’t! So it was to the Pondtail peg 2 that I ventured on the Sunday morning for a session between 10 and 12. I had spent the time at home revamping my Chinese whip rigs and set up with a 5m rig with a “size 3 thick tip” float as I refer to them (the middle float taking 1.9g olivettes and two number 9 stotz plus a number11 stotz) .

The weather had got milder but I was greeted by the usual mizzle and rain for about 10 minutes before it cleared. I primed the swim with two firmish balls of groundbait and a little bit of hemp and wheat. I had thrown in the remainder of my maggots on the last trip and had bought some fresh mixed maggots. Baiting my hook (a Chinese 1# that equates to a size 16) with a white and a bronze I had my first fish within minutes only for me to not catch it as I swung it in, it hit my hand and bounced back! The two hours past quickly with the fish, all roach, coming in bursts of 2-3, any protracted lull was the signal to introduce another golf ball of groundbait, so by the end I had 30 roach for 2-13.

You may be able to pick out the float towards the bottom right corner but the quality is not brilliant I’m afraid.

I have been persuaded to fish the local summer league this year for Darren Edgell’s Team Bankers! Starts in May with two commercial style lakes at South Cerney for the first match, then off to the Kennet and Avon canal at Hungerford, followed by the Bristol Avon at Chippenham, the Thames at Clanfield and finally the Thames at Radcot at the end of July. That should be a good series!

When you buy a Chinese whip off Aliexpress it usually comes with a spare top and a bunch of freebies.

Starting at above the float is a rig making kit and a winder with a complete rig minus hooklength for the length of whip bought (more of this in a bit). Below the float is a green “doughnut that I believe is to go on the whip close to the butt to prevent it being pulled of the rests that they use! The blue roll is a self adhesive sponge handle grip similar to those used on squash or badminton racquets.

The rig provided is set up so that it is easily adjusted by moving the rubber stops –

As you can see the rig consists of a small float adapter held in place with two float stops then a black plastic tube with metal wrapped around it, held in place by two float stops at either end leading to a swivel that they attach the hook length to. The rigs in China that are provided when you buy a whip are slightly different in that they have a two hook hooklength and have a pole winder type attachment that straps to the whip for transport purposes.

The basic kit needed to make a rig in China would be the above, float stops cost £2.29 for 300, the weight tubes cost £2.18 for 100 and the lead strip was £2.54. All the prices include VAT and delivery. You will notice that the lead strip if marked out in 0.1g segments for ease of cutting and has a special non-leach coating.

I have adapted the basic set up as unfortunately using the lead strip would be illegal in the UK so I have replaced it in two ways, firstly using either the foil covering from wine bottles (good excuse to have a glass!) or wrapping plasticine/tungsten putty around the weight tubes or secondly, and the easier option, use in-line olivettes!

I have dispensed with the swivel and simply use a loop to loop approach for attaching the hooklength. The Chinese rigs seem to have a heavy line of perhaps 8-10lb whereas I do not go above 0.14mm for the main line. The rigs are stored on spools in their own case. One case for the shorter whips one for the longer ones.

Monday 20th I managed to sneak in a session from 9:15 to 12:05, this time back at peg 10. Strangely, yet again, no bites on the pole but action on the pike rod. The first run came at just gone 10am which I felt momentarily before the sardine came flying back at me, recasting it was a little over 10 minutes before the float slid away again and this time I hit into the fish, a feisty 7-03.

An hour later the float slid under again and a strike was met with a solid resistance, the fish keeping low and slow only waking up as it neared netting distance when it went off on a couple of powerful runs. Drawing it towards the net I could see the single hook clearly just nicked into the scissor of the pike’s mouth and was relieved when I finally got it into the net 13-03. You can see my “pike” float in the picture.

I am convinced that the slim pellet waggler I use for piking helps as it gives minimal resistance to a taking fish.

Christmas and family then intervene and it was not until the 29th that I ventured out again. In the interim period I had received two Chinese whips I had ordered from Aliexpress- one 3.6m the other 4.5m, both carbon and the same make as my 6m and 7m whips. The combined total for the two including VAT and delivery was £22.08 vastly cheaper than ones in this country. On the subject of whips, I get really frustrated when people talk about elasticating their whips as in my eyes a whip has a flick tip and once elastic is brought into the equation it becomes a pole (albeit a short one). The excuse given is that it is an insurance against hooking bigger fish but providing there are no snags you should be able to land a 5-6lb fish on a whip if you know what you are doing and if they are fishing a venue with lots of carp present then the whip is not the tool for the job! (Rant over) Back to the fishing- I decided to give the 3m a try out and after making up a rig at home (must do a guide to how I make Chinese whip rigs!) I ventured to the Pondtail peg 1. Now the weather had not been the best and indeed was wavering between heavy drizzle and proper rain for the 2 hours of my visit (9:45- 11:45) and this was reflected in the water – hot chocolate would be the usual description given the clay rich soil that was in the area but it reminded me more of the cups of tea my grandmother used to make with CO-Op 99 tea leaves, tannic orange! Not only was the water heavily coloured but was flowing like a medium paced river! Added to this I had to negotiate a full blooded 4 wheel slide when pulling up to park, managing to stop crashing into the fence with 4 inches to spare!

I wanted to give it a go so plumbing up I had about 5-6 feet of water so introduced 4 walnuts of groundbait in a diamond pattern and began on double maggot, a white and red. Loose feeding a pinch of hemp and half a dozen grains of wheat every other cast it was 10 minutes before I had my first bite, a roach that dropped of as I swung it in, indeed I dropped the first 4 fish hooked, so the size 20 was taken off and I quickly whipped on a size 16 Preston N10 which has been my go-to hook for the whip as it has a long shank to make unhooking easier. After this I never lost another fish and managed to sneak out 14 roach in the remaining time for a 1-09 total with double faded bronze maggot proving best (faded because they were 3weeks old!).

That was it for 2021, an eventful year in so many ways, here’s looking forward to 2022 (I may sneak out for a couple of hours to start the New Year in the right way!). Happy New Year and tight lines.

December arrives and a trip to the Pondtail peg 1 is called for. I decided on the 6m Chinese whip and the short bulbous float dotted down.

Two golf balls of groundbait are thrown in followed by a sprinkling of hemp, a white and a red maggot goes on the 16 hook and nothing. A slow start but the first bite came after a quarter of an hour, a roach of 2oz, thereafter the fish came at regular intervals, all roach except a perch of 2oz and a better perch of 1-04 which was dealt with easily by the flexibility of the whip. The session ended after 2.5hrs with 32 roach and the two perch for a 4-08 total.

Friday the third sees me back at peg 10, the weather had produced a cold night but now a brilliant sunny morning with no cloud and clear water, however after an hour it turned very cold and despite my best efforts the 3 hour session saw me produce my second blank of the campaign. So my first blank was on the 50th visit to Bowood since the start of the season on 16th June and my second was on the 53rd!

Time moves on to Wednesday 8th, days are now getting greyer/darker with little sun on offer so I decide to fish the banker to catch some fish – Pondtail peg 2. This time I started on the 7m Chinese whip but after 11 roach I felt that it may be better closer in so changed to a 3m Chinese whip with a more traditional pole float (home made of course) and added a further 21 roach to the net, giving me a 3-06 total for the session. It should be said that the depth close in is almost as deep as further out – about 5-6ft. Why I thought it would be better close in I don’t know, I just had a hunch and went with it!

Friday 10th sees me back at peg 10 with bright sun and a cold wind! I had a session from 9:30 to 12:30 without a bite on the pole but at 10am the pike rod went and a strike resulted in a slow, sullen response that became more energetic as the fish realised it was hooked. As the bells finished chiming 10am I slipped the net under a 13-00 pike.

Fifty minutes later the float went off again and this time a scrappy fight from a pike 11-04 signaled the end of any action.

Sunday sees a change it is the annual Pike Cup at Peatmoor. It is fished as a rover but I decided to set my stall out on peg 10 which is at the point of a bay with a bush in the water on both sides of the peg. To cut a long day short – nobody caught a pike/lost a pike/missed a pike or saw a pike! The highlight for me was when a kingfisher went fishing from the bush on my right, less than 10 feet away, caught a roach that looked like half the size of the kingfisher and proceeded to whack it on the branches of the bush until it could devour it!

Tuesday 14th sees me back on peg 10, fishing 10:00 to 1:00, this time no runs on the pike rod but 2 net skimmers, a net roach and a gudgeon gives me 1-13.

This episode finishes with me fishing the Pondtail peg 1 on the Friday (17th) with the 5m Chinese whip My bait tray now included the fresh wheat that I had soaked for 4 days but after 2 hours and not a sniff of a bite on maggot or wheat I packed up having recorded my third blank of the campaign on my 57th visit! My only excuse is that the night had been colder by a couple of degrees and I had scared a cormorant off the water on my arrival – perhaps they were too cold/wary to feed or it may just be me!

Now as you are probably aware peg 10 at Bowood is my winter go-to peg as it is deeper and I work on the principle that so few people a) fish Bowood, b) fish for silvers that if I keep to one peg then there is bait going in and keeping the fish in the area. The downside of this it can become a habit that is difficult to shake off and you get caught in a rut. I decided that to get out of the rut I would fish either peg 8 or 9 on my next visit. As it happened when I arrived on the Friday one of the locals was on peg 10 anyway fishing for pike so I dropped in to peg 8.

Peg 8 is a lot shallower at only about 5 feet rather than the 8-9 on peg 10 so I set up slightly differently with a homemade shortish Chianti style float taking 4 no 8 shot and 3 no 10s. I set the bulk at18 inches from the hook with 2 no 10 droppers, line was 0.12 Shogun to a 0.10 Shogun hooklength and an 18 fine wire hook. I began by potting in three balls of groundbait (cocoa Belgique, Vanilla, Lake and Roach competition in equal measures) with a few grains of corn and about 40 pieces of hemp. The pike rod was suitably adjusted for the depth and a sardine was sent out to about 12m.

The roach were the first to appear on double maggot and after about 4 fish I switched to corn and while the bites were not as fast in coming the stamp of fish was better. After about an hour I had a run on the pike rod that I briefly thought I had hooked but then the bait came flying back at me, undetered I cast back to roughly the same area – 10m as I had twitched the initial cast after 40mins- and fifteen minutes later the float bobbed then slid away, this time the fish was hooked and a jack of 5-01 came to the net. I ended up the session with 23 rudd, 16 roach and 2 skimmers to give me a 10-10 total with a further missed run and a lot of the mysterious bobbing! The angler on 10 missed two runs also but did get a pike of 13lb.

The week-end was left alone and I returned on the Monday but the weather had taken a turn for the worst and there was frost on the ground with an air temperature of 1C with bright sunshine – not ideal by any means. I tend to keep the sweetcorn in a one pint bait box and wrapped up in a freezer bag with the air taken out and stored in my bait fridge in the garage. On arrival I add water to the bait box and wash the corn a couple of times then cover with fresh water, doing this a can can last me 2-3 weeks or more. Putting the water in the sweetcorn I was shocked by how icy the water felt. Starting cautiously I potted in a small ball of groundbait with just a smattering of corn and hemp (I need to do some more wheat!) but in the three hours from 10 until 1 I did not get a single bite on the pole and to make matters worse I missed a run on the pike rod so ended up blanking like the angler on the other bank on peg 20 who arrived just after me and packed up at the same time!

Two days later I was back at peg 10, the water was still icy and I started the same way, very cautiously, this time after and hour and twenty minutes the float dipped and I avoided a blank with a net-able skimmer that weighed 10oz, this turned out to be my only bite on the pole! At 11:45 the pike float disappeared and the strike produced a solid response a very welcome pike of 12-10 and that was it with me packing up at 12:45.

I have three unhooking mats but I deliberately do not use them at Bowood, experience has shown that the pike are far more active/unhappy on a wet unhooking mat than on the spongy soft grass at Bowood. It is very rare for the pike to flap around when on the grass whereas they can be a real handful on the unhooking mat – hence the lack of a mat in the photos at Bowood.

I decided that I needed to spread my wings a bit as I had not fished a river this season so on the Friday I headed to the downstream stretch of Sutton Benger with the rucksack seat and my Chinese rod bag carrying rods set up for a stick float, a waggler and a feeder. Baitwise I had maggots, cheese, micro pellets and worms. I slotted in the weir swim and starting on the maggot feeder I had a bit of interest after ten minutes – from a robin that settled on the rod near the first ring and looked at me as if to say “why are you not feeding me?” The robin was dutifully supplied with maggots and I managed to winkle out a roach, a dace and a bleak before I give in to my urge and got the stick float out. I had been priming a swim about a rod length out where there was a slightly deeper channel where I could trot my 5 x no4 through. The next hour was spent trotting through with one small chub and 6 bleak coming to the net. The fish were not big, indeed the total weight was only 9oz for the 10 fish but it was nice to get back on the river.

That visit turned out to be the last opportunity this month as a combination of booster jabs, visitors and -2C temperatures in the day made me think discretion was the better part of valour and I stayed in the warm! As I write this the temperature has gone from the -2C of yesterday to 9C but it is then getting colder again so the fish will not know whether they are coming or going!

The end of October had been a wash out in terms of fishing and it was cabin fever that set me off to Peg 10 on the first of the month (against my better judgement). Getting out of the car, the Pondtail was flowing and a horrible colour but I still took the long walk to peg 10 on the main lake. The main lake was a horrible chocolate colour, high and flowing, in fact if Cyril (my friendly swan) had put in an appearance he would not have been able to swim beneath the platform as he had previously. Having walked there I gave it a go and made up a bit of groundbait and put a homemade rig taking 1g on. To cut a long story short, I fished 9:15 to 11:45, had my first bite at 11:17 of a half ounce roach and a second bite from a similar sized blade ten minutes later. Having avoided the blank I did the sensible option and went home!

It was not until the Friday – Bonfire Night- that I ventured to Bowood again, this time the water was back to normal but we had been on the receiving end of two frosts and stepping out of the car, the temperature was only 2C with the ground white. I had deliberately only brought the whips to fish the Pondtail so I set up on peg 2 with a 6m Chinese whip and short Chinese float that somehow took more weight than the long ones. Anyway two walnut sized balls of groundbait were introduced and double maggot was presented while loose feeding hemp and wheat. I was relieved when the float lifted on the second cast and a two ounce fish was swung in. Two hours later 80 roach were in the net for 7-03 and I decided to head back. Unusually no gudgeon or perch appeared!

I decided to do something different and go to Bowood on the Sunday but this time to take the seat bag and rods and head up to the Stock pond. I had bought a three rod bag from Aliexpress and had put a feeder rod, a method feeder rod and a waggler all set up in it along with bank stick and landing net handle.

I arrived at peg 2 (the small carp peg) and set up the waggler that had my original 1970’s Abu 506 on it and the feeder rod. I began by throwing a ball of groundbait laced with micros out to about 20m and followed it up with some hemp and wheat. I intended to let it settle while I fished the feeder for a start. Ten minutes in and I hooked a roach, soon followed by a succession of missed bites and then another roach. After an hour I had 4 roach and too many missed bites – the feeder went up the bank and I reached for the waggler to see if the fish were on the loose hemp and wheat I had been catapulting out every ten minutes. The first two casts saw small roach on double maggot come to the net, but a switch to corn on the hook saw me wait longer but the stamp of roach was better with a couple needing the net! Anyway the action was not fast and the three hours saw me total 25 roach for 4-06, an average just under 3oz.

Next day I’m back at Peg 10, fishing 9:15 to 12:50. I now reverted to a BGT Round that took 0.8g (although it was marked up as 0.5g) with a yellow top having the top inch coloured with a black maker so it stood out in the white water.Fishing the usual way at 10m on the pole with the sardine on the pike rod out at 20m. Action on the pole was slow with roach at first before rudd muscled in. After an hour I had a run on the sardine, striking I latched on to a feisty pike of 7-05. By 12:35 I had 12 roach, 12 rudd and a small skimmer for 2-10 when I decided to pack the pole away ready to leave at about 1pm. I had moved the sardine a lot closer in- only 6-8m out, I had just finished putting the pole in the rod bag when the float bobbed and disappeared, a strike was met with a slower, heavier fish that only woke up when in netting range, as I maneuvered it into the net the hooks dropped out but a swift lift and he was mine! I left him in the net to weigh and recover a small double of 10-04.

Due to car issues it was not until the Friday that I was able to go again- back at 10 (the rut has set in!) Fishing in a similar manner it was a lot slower at first but ended up with a jack of 4-10, 21 roach and 20 rudd for 4-06, making a round 9lb total. I left the week-end alone and returned on the Monday for one of the most bizarre days for a long time. Arriving at the parking area in bright sun-light I walked down to peg 10 with my coat on the trolley. Unpacking the trolley, I placed, as I usually do, my bait bag, keepnet bag, rod holdall and coat on the platform thinking I may be regretting leaving my sunglasses in the car, I turned and went to retrieve my box. Picking it up I turned around only for the sun to disappear, a heavy mist descend and by the time I walked the handful of paces to place my box on the platform the far bank was out of sight! It was like something out of a Hammer movie or a Steven King novel!The fog stayed until I went at 1pm albeit it had lifted greatly by then but I could not make out the outline of the island until 11am and did not see the outline of Bowood House until noon. I would not have been surprised to see a headless horseman- it was that type of atmosphere!

Anyway back to the fishing, usual set up produced 14 rudd and 7 roach for 2-10 plus a jack of 5-05. I had run out of sardines and put on a joey mackerel and this brought another of the phantom bites – two bobs, just as if a pike was taking hold but then nothing. On retrieving it there was a two inch cut along its underbelly as if it had been done with a filleting knife, no teeth marks or other marks at all. I am at a loss as to what it could be. We’ll see what the rest of the month brings!