UK Species list up to 103

[Vagabond]

Just to let you know how things are going

It keeps getting more difficult as the available targets diminish in number, but here is the latest effort.

Grass Carp. I won't go into the rights or wrongs of their being in the UK. Suffice to say they were introduced by some River Authorities back in the 1960s, and as they are in the canal system as well as many commercials, are obviously here to stay.

I know of one canal stretch in Lancashire where there are grass carp and little else - but it is a long way from home, so I elected to fish a local commercial that has a few grassies in. The owner said he had stocked a couple of dozen about ten years ago, and sometimes you could spot them in the somewhat turbid waters of the pond.

Well, so you could, but rarely. Even then, casting a bait to them was tricky - cast too close and you spooked the fish. Cast a few feet away, and a carp always got to the bait first.

Problem - how do you fish for anorexic grassies in a pool where they are outnumbered about 600 to one by ravenous pasties ?

First line of attack was to use tomatoes, grapes, bits of watermelon and similar. Unfortunately, these grassies seemed to have forgotten their traditional vegetarian diet and have learnt to eat what the carp eat. Those grassies that are caught are taken on bread or boilie - someone even had one on meat. The carp lads catch the occasional grassie, but by chance - so it looked like fishing for what came along and accepting the odds of 600-1 against.

Bread is the best grassie bait, but little pasties immediately attack the biggest of crusts, so I have been experimenting to see if there is a farinaceous product that will resist a "pastie" attack - there isn't one ! Tried various special breads, naan, pitta, fancy Italian breads, even crumpets. Some last longer than others, but the piranha-like mass of small carp reduced any bread to crumbs in less than a minute.

One point in favour - the grassies are noticeably shyer than the carp and keep to the middle of the pool, close to either of the two islands. A barrage of dog biscuits catapulted out to the islands brings the carp up to eat them and the grassies up to see what is going on So today I was encouraged to see lots of activity around the islands, and a huge lump of flake (white crumb, pinched tight around the hook eye and the rest left to float) cast close (inches!) to the island got half a result,

Grassies tend to take the "fluffy bit" of the bread flake and leave the pinched bit on the hook - just like little kids will eat the middles out of their sandwiches and leave the crusts. Twice that happened - then a hook-up!

I had been told grassies don't fight until they see the net, then they go berserk. This one didn't - I wound it straight in, and it gave no more struggle in the net than any other fish.

To catch a fish, one may need naturalist-type knowledge, angling skill, and even a bit of luck. After several sessions of catching unwanted carp by the shed-load before hooking up with my target fish, I say "don't underrate sheer bone-headed persistence"

[NICK R]

Nice one mate

If i had known that these were still on your to catch list you could of come and fished in one of my ponds ,they are full of them .

[blackwater]

Well done, you really deserve a medal!

[pingu]

well done vagabond

persistance is paying off for youy

dave

[BaggieRich]

Well done Vagabond. Keep on keeping on mate!

[BoldBear]

I always enjoy reading about your species quests, well done.

103 UK species; thats probably at least 75 species more than I could ever hope to catch, well done, thats what I call angling.

[Maddison_Twatter]

great achievement ,well done