Filar Pool Dorset 01/04/07 The great Ruffe hunt.

[Greenheart]

Filar Pool Dorset 01/04/07

Having heard rumours about some specimen Ruffe being caught recently at Filar Pool near Wyre Piddle in Dorset, & needing one for the species hunt, I decided to get up at first light & head down there to try & catch one. I’d been advised by fellow Forum member Claudia (Twiddler) to try a big bunch of maggots on a running ledger rig. However I knew this was a hard fished water & that the fish were wise to the usual tactics, so I decided to take the advice of another Forum member Kev (Baitmaster) & fish one of his new Railoflop mini pop-up boilies a on a Flair Loop rig, that I had read about in the latest issue of Ruffe hunting monthly.
(I won’t go into an in-depth description of this rig, as I know that Kev is planning to do a Forum post on this killer method that he developed on the Norfolk fens.)
Filar Pool is an ancient millpool that was first mentioned in the Domesday Book & also in Isaak Waltons book The Complete Angler published in 1653. It holds a well established head of large & wary fish.
I arrived at Filar Pool at sunrise, & spotted a couple of large Ruffe rolling under an over-hanging Cider Apple tree. It’s a little known fact that Ruffe are particularly fond of fruit. Especially Apples & Bananas. Until now, this was a secret known only by some of the country’s top Ruffe specimen hunters. Forum member Warmit (Steve) had given me some of his special Banana flavour bait dip & I had glugged Kev’s boilies in this potent mixture overnight. I set up two rigs on my matching pair of 5lb test curve Daiwa Ruffe specials, using a pair of big pit reels loaded with 10lb PVA line & cast to the spot under the tree where I had seen the fish moving.

(For those of you who’ve not tried it, the new PVA line is remarkable stuff. It becomes totally invisible to humans & fish once it has been immersed in water for more than a few minutes.)
I spodded a mixture of chopped Banana, Diced apple, Special processed Moroccan hemp (only available from a secret back street Café in Amsterdam) & brown crumb moistened with local Scrumpy across to the overhanging tree.
I then set the rods in their rests & adjusted the Fox bite alarms that Dan (Norfolkboy) had kindly given to me at the Forum Linear meet last weekend (Thanks Dan) & sat back in the early spring sunshine to wait for a bite.
I didn’t have long to wait until a series of small beeps from the bite alarms signalled to me that the fish had moved over my bait. It was very hard to tell though if I was getting proper bites, or if the alarms were just responding to the antics of the local & very drunk ducks, that had also found my groundbait.
I was left in no doubt though, when I momentarily walked behind a bush to relieve myself of some of the Scrumpy that I had drunk along with my breakfast that morning, when an urgent screech from one of my alarms, cut me short. I sprinted back to my rods & grabbed the left hand one, just as it was about to disappear into the lake with one very annoyed fish attached. The rod bent almost double & an incredible fight ensued. I’d heard stories about the fighting quality of these legendary fish, but this had to be seen to be believed. After what felt like hours, but was in fact only about 20 minutes, the fish was ready to be netted. It was then that I realised I’d forgotten to assemble my landing net. “Disaster” I drew the fish towards the bank, & could see that the hook was only just holding. I had the fish of a lifetime, & it looked as though I was about to loose it!!! What could I do?
But the fishing gods were smiling upon me & I had the most remarkable stroke of luck. Down at my feet I noticed a partially submerged Tesco shopping trolley, that the local yobs had thrown into the pool, no doubt in a moment of juvenile high spirits (Or too much Scrumpy)
I believe it may have been the same one that the artist Monet included in his famous painting sunrise at Filar Pool.

Sunrise at Filar Pool
Claude Monet 1840 - 1926

I grabbed the handle of the trolley, & holding the rod in the other hand, & drew the huge fish over the improvised net. Phew, I’d landed it.
I placed the specimen Ruffe in a carp sack while I got my breath back & stopped shaking, I then zeroed my scales & put the fish into my weigh sling to weigh. Was I going to break the magic 15lb barrier. The scales went round to 14lb 15oz. “So near yet so far”. The fish looked as though it had just spawned & it would have probably gone over 16lb if I’d caught it a week earlier. However, I’d achieved my target species & broken Claudia’s Forum record. (Sorry Claudia) What a great day, rounded off with a couple of pints of Scrumpy at the local pub, bought by an eager audience of locals, eager to hear about my great catch…

[Fishing Forum Admin]

LMAO mate that was a brill post

[baitmaster]

what a fantastic post ian laughed all the way


tightlines
kevin

[Barrie C]

Brilliant!

Monet, captured the beauty and tranquility of a local water to perfection!

Can you let me know where I can subscribe to "Ruffe Anglers Monthly"?

Barrie

[Norfolkboy]

Brilliant Ian, loved it!!

[mithrandir]

Well done Ian, I hope it is the first of many great catches.

[Banana Steve]

So Ian, Without my now famous Banana Gulg, you would only be holding a 5lber. See the power of the Banana is the power of the universe. Long live Banana Power

[Rob M]

Lmao Ian, what an entertaining read mate

Rob

[Twiddler]

What a amusing and entertaining report....haven't laughed so much in ages.....but 5lb tc? That was taking a risk, don't you think? That monster could have easily snapped the rods. First class angling Ian I shall bow to the 'ruffe' master

[fishypaul]

wonderful ian,well done mate