memorys?

[Sam]

weirdest/funniest memory you have ever had from fishing.

[Billcrazyfish]

Had loads of them over the years but one of the most recent ones was when me and my mate gareth were on a shropshire mere at one in the morning last year. I had a screaming take from about 120 yards out and managed to play this hard work fish back in. All over the place in the mist the thing was.... Anyway I eventually netted the little swine and turned round to gareth and said grab the rod and net and I will grab me weighing gear old mate. Nice one he said and took the said implements from my grasp and I dissapeared into the darkness of me shelter for about 5 minutes slinging things everywhere.
I eventually emerged with the scales etc, and zeroed accordingly with mat and everything sorted. 'Gareth, Pass me the net' I eagerly asked. He then hoisted the net aloft with nothing in cus I missed the bl00dy thing in the first place. 'Christ, I thought something was tugging a bit' he shouted.
Of course I eventually landed the thing in the end properly but it was one of the funnier highlights of last spring for sure

[Nige]

Had so many laughs on the bank, in just a few years with the Northern-Monkeys, generally thanks one or a number of the NM bunch. Trouble is they tend to be part of a long story, I'm sure some others will enlighten you....

[Chesh]

when your in the 5C's at Anglers Paradise you cant fail to have an immense amount of memories, the fish, the crowd, the holiday makers hating the way you haul and they expect to catch lol, the wine (yes it is a potent as the reports and articles state) the netting, the walking of the tight rope over zygs swim (you have no choice you have to get wet) all memories i will never ever forget!

then we have the forays down south with the suven boys ! the ale, the lack of fish, the wind ups (hair rigging half a lemon on a rod when one of the guys went to the toilet and casting it out ) sprinkling sweets and pellets inside a chaps bivvy to be heard shuting obscenities at the hoards of mice attacking him lol !

having a BBQ in the pouring rain freezing cold last december on Blackwood hahaha the Ponche !! superb

[Julian Grattidge]

Could not narrow it down to one, have had waaaaaaay too many to list and will hopefully have many more to come . However, a few highlights that spring to mind would be;

Captain Flash (in full Flash mode after too much Lambrini in the sun) telling the owner of a Leicestershire carp fishery what he’d like to do (in no uncertain terms) to the sheep grazing in his fields. I’ll never forget that session; had me and Miffer rolling for weeks, that one.

A wizard stealing Britney’s ring (oh the jokes) at the Admiral Duncan (barmaid at the local pub) when we were at Birch Grove one year.

LOL - Arsonist Priest’s running amok in Baschurch village graveyard with whisky bottles and shotgun cartridges at three in the morning. Again via the Admiral Duncan whilst at Birch

The cancelling of the Admiral Duncan ‘Barmaid Slave Auction’ the minute we turned up for our week on Birch, should have seen the looks on the faces of a few of the locals (boyfriends) when Miffer convinced them he was loaded, had money to burn, and would bid whatever it took to get Britney and the rest of them up to the pool to act as bivvy warmers for the week – two days later it was all off. Never laughed so much in all my life!

Drinking the Admiral Duncan Dry – no joke – Think it was the year of the fish kill (?) anyway, we were catching zero so decided to go for a session at the local. Turned out the pumps were broke so we ended up on bottles. Over the course of a day and night we pretty much drank them dry, right through lagers, beers, and alchopops! The fishing remained crap all week but at least they got the pumps fixed the next day.

Thinking about it, I could go on all day listing funny events at Birch, a great holiday that I look forward to each year as we get on so well with all the locals, catch a few fish and generally enjoy ourselves – just the way it should be.

Way to many sessions and events to list at Blackwood having fished with Chris, Miff, Shaun, Daz, Mart and all for over ten years. The Hay bale race and horse snatching spring to mind, but best told by Miffer on a social – tears in my eyes just thinking about it.

Weirdest happenings would have to be on the Top Pool, have had loads of really ‘Strange’ occurrences on there, some quite spooky in fact, but after all, it is supposed to be haunted!

Jules

hey jules whats this rumour ive heard of you catching dead tench ???

[Chesh]

pmsl neatly in the bottom lip

[Julian Grattidge]

Originally Posted by Phil highlander

hey jules whats this rumour ive heard of you catching dead tench ???

Exactly! This is what I mean about the TP, you’ve got all this to come Phil!

I was fishing top shallows, a quick overnighter some years ago. Put out two worm rods; each over two pouches of particle, and each just a few rod lengths from the bank in about two feet of water. Both spots I knew intimately, better than I know the back of my hand, and had taken countless fish from each spot. I was fishing very light swingers with no back leads, and fishing a standard safety clip braid rig with leads of *less than* half an ounce.

The left rod (just off the bush) went off at about two in the morning resulting in a nice low twenty scattered scaled mirror. After dealing with the fish, I put a fresh worm back out on exactly the same spot and went back to bed. Next morning my alarm wakes me up at about 6.30am to get me packed up and home for work. I break down the gear whilst having a brew leaving rods till last, as you do. I leave the bush rod till last and when everything is done I reel in to feel a thud when I connect with the lead. I lift the rod up a bit thinking I’m snagged or that a pike has just had a go, but nothing moves. I look to where the rig is and can see ‘something’ over the spot (only 2ft deep remember) but whatever it is, it’s not moving, so obviously not a fish…

Bemused, I keep winding in until a mint young tench of about 4lb comes into view. The only problem is - its stone cold! I net the fish and investigate further. The fish is, and has been, dead for some time! It’s well hooked in the bottom lip and its mouth is completely closed around the hookbait. On opening its mouth, to my surprise, the worm is still on the hook - alive and kicking!!

Now, as I say, the lead was *less than* half an ounce – tiny roach regularly pick it up and register bites when they have a go at the worm, so had the tench have wanted to move from the spot, it could have done so without any problems, and on doing so, would have registered a bite immediately as my delks are always on sensitive.

The hooklink was fine, as was the safety clip, attachments and mainline. For the life of me I could not figure out what had happened - how did it not register, and more importantly, how come it just up-ended and gave up the ghost?

I was determined to get to the bottom of it; even though it would mean being late home for work (Elton’s good like that). Having first checked that there was nobody else on the lake that I would disturb, I went down to the bottom end and rowed back up the lake in the punt to investigate the area where my bait had been, fully expecting to find a snag which the fish had got caught in, but which somehow had come immediately free when I reeled in.

Nothing. Absolutely nothing. You could still see the remains of my particle mix, and I could even follow the route in the silt that the hooked carp had taken towards the bush after getting hooked. In addition I could follow the route the dead tench had taken back towards the swim when I wound it in, but no snag or clues as to how it had met its maker.

It played on my mind for weeks. Firstly, how could a four pound plus tench not move a half ounce lead in two feet of water with no snags and no line resistance? Secondly, if it had moved, how could it not have signalled a take and how come when I reeled it in, the fish and lead were exactly where I had placed the bait – surly if it had moved and got snagged without registering a bite, it would be in a different place? Thirdly, why did it die in the first place? The rod had only been in the water for about three and a half hours – hardly long enough for a hooked fish to die of exhaustion or trauma even if it had been tethered, but as I say, I rowed out and checked the *whole* area around the spot and nothing.

In the end it went down as another unsolved Top Pool mystery, and there have been many more like it over the years. My mates often bring that one up on a social in a ‘whodunit’ stylie – a proper head-scratcher. The most common verdict is that the worm was highly trained in self-defence.

All I do know is that there was *nothing* wrong with my rigs, the spot itself, or the way in which it was fished.

Other than that it’s anybody’s guess – answers on a postcard!

[Nige]

VERY, VERY strange

what type of worm was it ? ive heard that dendrobenas are slightly toxic to some species of animal, i wonder if its the same for fish ??? saying that, ive had hundreds of fish on em ....................hmmmmmm top pool eh



have you ever had the feeling that you are being watched on there.............?? i dont know if its me being paranoid or whether i am being watched ???? either way it gets me paranoid

[Julian Grattidge]

It was a dendrobena, but it would have to be an extremely toxic one to kill it stone dead before it even had chance to move the lead!

Yup, there is definitely a weird feeling on that place sometimes. I heard quite a few tales when I first started on there and over the years I know people who have had experiences so spooky that they will no longer fish the place at night, and never in daytime if there is nobody else on!

I quite like its quirky nature however, and I take every new adventure as it comes – it’s all part of its magical charm and I love having the place all to my self, day or night.

[Chesh]

phil matey you wait till you get in them there woods in full bloom

you cant see a thing through the trees hahahaha black hole wasnt called that for nothing you know hahahahahahahha

total silence then CRACK a twig breaks and you wonder who the flying f##k it is lol or to maters worse what it actually is !

all part of the Top Pool atmosphere

still chuckling about the dead tench hahahha super ninja worm it was, killed the tench with a Judo Chop

[Bet]

people who have had experiences so spooky that they will no longer fish the place at night, and never in daytime if there is nobody else on!

Eh lads, are you trying to put me off joining SOTAS next year, it sounds like i'm going to need a fishing buddy before I consider fishing Top Pool

[bigted]

i beilive there's somthing there!!, i'v not whitnessed anything yet on the night's i'v dun on my own but then again i'd have had a bottle of jock Mc jock juice to keep me company,,, have you checked out capesthorne ghosts on the web?

[Julian Grattidge]

Originally Posted by bigted

jock Mc jock juice

PMSL