A mixed bag from Tanyard

[Vagabond]

Species Hunt 2007 Nos 3 to 10 inclusive

After the commando trouting of Wednesday, and the long hike in search of a stickleback yesterday, I thought it would be nice just to sit on the bank and fish today.

So down to Tanyard, home of the mighty pumpkinseed, to see how many species we could get.
I felt like having a centrepin day, so out came the Avon Royal reel.

A bucket of my “catchall” groundbait (crumb, molasses, and powdered hemp), a tub of worms, and two pints of maggots comprised the bait.

I chose to fish a swim a couple of feet deep, overhung by a big clump of rushes, on the “carp-free” lake. A trick that works at Tanyard, and plenty of other places, is to fish close in, ever so, ever so close in. Think about it – on a commercial fishery, the safest place for a fish is right under the anglers’feet – nobody usually casts there !

Here is a pic of where I fished.


There are a few requirements re fishing close in – keep very still, sit well back from the edge, and use a long-handled landing net – you need to net the fish well out to avoid a commotion in the margins.

I started by loosefeeding a few maggots to get some small fish caught and photographed before the tench muscled in.

The tiddlers duly obliged – first a gudgeon


Then a small roach


Then the speciality of the venue, a pumpkinseed.


With the tiddlers safely recorded on camera, I was now starting to lace the groundbait in, coupled with continued loose feeding of maggots, and tench bubbles started to appear. Soon the first lift bite (shot set just two inches from the hook) of the day – the porcupine quill float lifted in classic Fred J Taylor fashion and a nice little green tench came to the net.


Many others followed, some green, some bronze.


Plus a few brown goldfish.


(Am using up the picture allocation, so will break here and do a second post)

[Twiddler]

Well done Vagabond, great report/pics......looks like you had a great session (I must try your groundbait mix out )


Lovely cane rod

[fishypaul]

nice fish there Vagabond, love the pumpkinseed , never seen one before

[perch_king]

well done mate good report and pics