Tiddlers for the hunt

[mithrandir]

I decided to go to the free stretch of the Stour near Wimborne as I was not fully fit and it is a short level walk and I am almost certain to get some of the elusive tiddlers for the species hunt.

I arrived at 8 am to a pleasant but slightly windy day. I set up a feeder rod used a small maggot feeder into the middle of the swim, I had done no pre baiting and was just getting the little float rod out of my bag when I noticed the tip twitching on the feeder rod.

After a protracted fight I landed this monster



First minnow of the year.

I set up the float rod and started feeding the swim, I was plagued by minnows for the next hour, on both rods.

Eventually I got a very positive take on the float and reeled in this little blighter



A bleak.

After a few more minnows the swim seemed to die, I guess the deep hole to my left that had previously had a pike take my feeder last summer, had again produced a pike, I had nothing except the odd small minnow right in at the edges. So I packed up and moved to another swim.

Here I was straight into the minnows and Bleak again, but only on the float, here the feeder did nothing for the rest of the day.

Not long after I arrived I picked up this specimen chublet



It was even smaller than the minnows!!!

The swim had a forced rest due to some river invaders





With them gone and midday approaching I was soon back into the Bleak, I must have had 3 dozen on the trot



Then the water began to boil with tiny minnows who were mobbing the float as soon as it settled in the water. So job done I packed up and went home.

I was a pleasant few hours out of the house, some easy fishing, only tiddlers, but it still is good to use the float and get the strike right, I managed all but one fish out of the hundred or so I caught to be lip hooked,only one deep hooked that needed the disgorger. All good practice and good way to while away a few hours in peace.

[Twiddler]

Nice one Mike a few point for your team....and I didn't even hear you sneaking off this morning

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Welll done mate nice way to spend the day

[Norfolkboy]

Nice one Mike

[fishypaul]

well done mike, good to see you back on the specimin hunting

[cuckoo]

Nice report mike , well done on the mini species ,,, you will run out of species soon lol

lee.

[mithrandir]

Originally Posted by cuckoo

Nice report mike , well done on the mini species ,,, you will run out of species soon lol

lee.

When I run out of coarse fish I will wheel out the secret weapon, "John and the nutshell"

By my reckoning, 7 more coarse species are probable, 5 possible and 10 unlikely, after that I will have to get the beachcasters out and go for some "chuck it and chance it" on the species LOL

[Catfish Virgin (Still!)]

I was down there today, but not fishing. Took my mum-in-law, who lives in Wimborne, out for lunch. Had I known you were there, I would have come down and chucked a few rocks in your swim!

River looked perfect as we drove over the bridge at Wimborne, don't know where you went wrong???

[mithrandir]

Neil, I went to target the small fry, was fishing in the bit by the island, one other guy was fishing the main river and he was not getting anything.

I will one day try the main river, but today was small baits and very small hooks fished over depth. The areas I fished showed no big fish signs, but then I have never seen anything large in that section except the one pike.

[perch_king]

well done bud looks fun catching them bleak