First ever pike on a spinnerbait & she's a big-un.

Regular readers of D.Heaps fishing adventures will notice that there has been little activity on here lately.  That is if regular readers of D.Heaps fishing adventures actually exist.  I've still been doing things and going fishing but there has been little significant action to report on the angling front. 

Until now....

Look at the size of  it.  A dinosaur

Read on and I'll tell you about my new biggest pike.

Kennet barbel at last.

The picturesque weirpool swim at Lower Benyons on the Kennet

Hot on the heels of the last glum post I'm back from the Kennet on Reading DAA.  I have caught my first barbel from the Kennet.

Mid August fishing report.

I have not been going fishing as much as I would have liked due to holidays, work etc.  I've done very little proper fishing with baits either as it is the season for crayfish and bleak and I hate them both.   To be honest it has been a struggle.  I've been getting a few lure fishing trips in to the Thames with only a few small pike and perch to show for it.  Barbel fishing in the Kennet near Reading has produced 4 or 5 blanks.  The rivers, both Kennet and Thames seem to be in poor shape with hardly any flow in the Thames and both rivers having an ugly brown colour which must be an algae bloom of some kind.

I did get a chub around 5lb last night on a 5" pike plug (Salmo executor 12 in Real Roach).  It was the first cast with the large plug and the chub nailed it as soon as I began the retrieve.  It appears chub eat roach now as this is the 2nd chub I've caught on a pike-sized lure in photorealistic Roach pattern.  Given the lack of pike action and numerous perch follows I'm tempted to try ultra-lite lure fishing to try and bank more of the smaller perch and chub.  Goodbye money....

I'm off for another crack at the Kennet in a moment but am not seriously anticipating catching anything.  We've still had no significant rain since winter.

Au revoir.  Heaps

Tech review: the iPhone 4. A nice phone but I still hate Apple.

Shiny and clean look.

I've always maintained that Apple sell overpriced form-over-function style-over-content gizmos to an army of monied iMugs. Due to this stance I was secretly saddened by the launch of the original iPhone because I couldn't have one of the wonderful things without being a hypocrite.

Tackle review: Knot2kinky leader wire.

Small jack pike sulking after being returned to father Thames

A nice close look at the striped camouflage markings of a small jack pike. This one sulked after I had it out of the Thames on my small firetiger pikie plug.
Eventually its lack of movement worried me so I poked it with my net handle and it shot off, splashing me as it departed.

Another fish using my rather ace home made wire traces. A word on those. 
I make them 12-14" long out of 35lb 'knot 2 kinky' wire with light snaps and swivels.

http://www.agmdiscountfishing.co.uk/knot2kinky-nickeltitanium-wire-35lb-159kg-p-1853.html

This wire is amazing single strand nickel titanium that does stretch by 10% or more and is stiff, springy and cannot kink or twist. It is very thin and far less visible than the 30lb braid I use. The stretch is uncanny but means it naturally gets thinner as it does so and can pull out of crimps so must be doubled over through the crimp. This is tricky to do but the end result is the best lure trace I've used. When it stretches there is a strange crunching feeling and sound but a bit of stretch has got to be a good thing as the braid mainline has none.  You can even knot the wire but I prefer crimps as its expensive stuff and I don't want to waste an inch. Drennan slim crimps attaching dinky swivel at one end and 30lb crosslock snap at t'other give an almost invisible setup that must give an edge in clear water.

Gig review: And you will know us by the trail of dead & The Rock of Travolta

What better on a Friday night than some extreme guitar noize.  Having got myself on the Rock of Travolta's list I made the trip to the top of my road to the O2 academy (Formerly the Zodiac) to see tRoT supporting Texas art rock/post punk act And you will know us by the trail of dead.  Not familiar with the work of either of these acts I didn't really know what to expect.  What I got was ROCK.

Mahseer fishing Part 1. Karnataka, India. November 2010.

It is time I wrote of my best fishing adventure to date.  An unforgettable trip to South India to fish for the legendary Mahseer.  This was my second attempt at mahseer fishing in India. The first having been in February 2010 and probably subject of a post to come.  This time I actually got to see a mahseer.

Lure review: Savage gear soft 4-play ready-to-fish. First impressions.

A shoal of soft 4-plays

The arrival of the Savage gear soft 4-play was hotly anticipated by lure fans. Combining the sinuous swimming action of the popular hard 4-play with the fishbiting economy & versatility of softbaits, these new lures sold out all over the place.

Dead man's plugs & Hands across the canal.



Top to bottom:  Savage-Gear 13cm soft 4-play, Bagley Kill-R BII, Heddon Zara Spook,
Chub Creek Pikie (note Teeth marks by middle hook), Mepps Lusox.

 I nipped into Predator tackle shop in Kidlington for some maggots and Tony was selling off the lure collection of an angler who had passed away. Presumably on behalf of the widow.
Never one to pass up a lure bargain I picked out...
a Mepps Lusox (brilliant French spinner)
a Heddon Zara Spook topwater lure, small Creek chub pikie & a Bagleys Kill-R B.(all classic US lures)
All mint for £12! Ace.

The halfway house, Pitney, Somerset. Best pub in England?

Halfway house for dinner last night. Beer - superb. Food fantastic as ever. I've been all over the world and eaten a lot of chips. Nowhere do the chips come close to the chips here.

My best pike. 21lb. Late July 2010

Here's the story of the biggest pike I ever caught.   Probably my best angling achievement because it was proper skill and a fitting pay off for thinking angling.

Restaurant Review: On the Hill - Ruthin

My new favourite restaurant

I've been working away a lot in the last few weeks and no fishing has been happening.  As well as fishing I also enjoy eating a lot.  True in both interpretations of the sentence.  So, to further the diversity of D.Heaps Fishing Adventures blog, here is a restaurant review.

On the Hill
One experience which many people find uncomfortable is eating alone in a restaurant.  I would say that I used to but I have to do it so often when I am working away from home that it does not upset me anymore.  Indeed, it can be a very pleasant experience as just happened to me while working in Ruthin, Denbighshire.

http://www.onthehillrestaurant.co.uk/

Top Tips. #1 Bait...

Maggots. The number one bait.

When you are planning on going fishing on Sunday remember to check to see if the maggots you left in the fridge have turned on Saturday and buy more, if required, while the tackle shop is open.

ex-maggots

My planned trip to the canal on Sunday was ruined by a failure to do this.  I didn't go.  hence the lack of posts in this blog since the river season finished.

Season 2010-2011. A brief review of my sporting year.

A fond look back at the season of 2010-2011.  Regrets....  I have a few....

India trip 1.  This is all I got

.

Last day of the season (for me)

It was actually the second-last day of the season and it was to be another attempt at a 6lb chub from the Thames.  Notable not for chub but for a couple encounters with pike and local types.

Predator FAIL. Day 3

Rapala SSR-14

After the previous day's chub struggle I decided to take the new bushwhacker rod out for a spin.  It was very sunny and I didn't expect too much.   And that was correct.  No takers at Donington bridge so I headed up to the North Oxford Angling Society section of Thames above the a34.  More for a nice walk on a beautiful day than anything.

End of season fishtacular. Session 2: Döbelnacht.

A Döbelschwarm today.

Guten Abend und herzlich willkommen auf. Die Nacht der Döbel. Mit Keine fuckin döbel.  This was to be a follow up session to Friday's productive chub mission on the Thames.  Night of the chub.

End of season chub spectacular. Day one. Oxford.

Armed with valuable chub location intelligence from last week it was back to the Thames down Oxford. With the river season ending in 3 days chub are at their best and I was looking to get some chub under my belt and maybe get my first 6lb one.

Radiohead in South Park. Could it be true?

10 years on from the best gig I ever saw.  Will it happen again?  This was spotted last year and tweeted around a lot.
Definitely not to be missed if true.

In the place to be... Thames chubbing with fishing hero: 5th Feb 2011

A chance meeting with a top angler on a chub mission to the Thames in Oxford.  Educational.

Tackle review: Savage Gear Bushwhacker XLNT 8' 15-50g Spinning rod.

I was going to go and and further test this rod but the weather is shitty so I'll review my new rod here for your pleasure.

Lightweight long-casting sexy lure rod.

Gig review: Mogwai at the Regal Oxford Feb 2011

First post in my fishing blog will of course be a band review.

Mogwai at the Regal, Oxford.  23 Feb 2011

Welcome.

I've not blogged before.  I'm going to try and blog now. 
This will be all about fishing and fish.  I'll do some reports and reviews of tackle etc.

Here's a fish to get us started.