Asking the experts

mithrandir · #1 10-01-2006, 11:56 AM

Hi guys and girls, I need some of the forum skills here to help with some fish identification.

Twiddler ( Claudia ) has already posted a report on our Saturday trip to Kennet and Avon. It was an excellent day despite the weather, I had decided to have a day of pure maggot drowning, so a size 18 hook, a float, some shot, my new 16 foot rod, 5lb line and a pint of maggots.

Set up, plumbed the depth of the canal centre and set up the first maggot, plonked it into the middle of the canal, did not need to cast with such a long rod and looked for my catapult to start the feeding, noticed the float knocking and thought “ boy they are busy here”, struck gently and reeled in my first fish of the day.

You guessed it, the elusive ruffe!! ( my first)

The day continued on the same vein for the next three hours, loads of small to middle sized fish, but what got me was the first 5 out were all different species

Second fish I think is a small roach

Thirdly a bream

Then some sort of hybrid I think

Then number 5 was one I am not sure of

The day carried on like this and here are a few of the others I caught

A perch ( my first)

A bleak possibly???( another first)

A gudgeon?? ( another first )

And the next two are the same fish but I thought it may be another gudgeon but the colours were so different

And just to wind up the species hunters here is a montage of SOME of the other ruffe I caught LOL

So guys and gals some help on the unsures would be appreciated

The thunder and lightening was fun, but a "proper" fisherman does not let that bother them so we carried on, the lightening made me a bit twitchy casting! Caught loads, nothing mega but it was a species bonanza day, and good fun too.

Cheers

Mike

baitmaster · #2 10-01-2006, 12:11 PM

its a bream

at first i thought it might be a small dace but after looking again i,m sure its a roach/ bream hybred

here is a bleak

but maybe some one else will be able to give you a more positve indification

tightlines
kevin

Norfolkboy · #3 10-01-2006, 12:29 PM

These are Gudgeon Mike, nice one.

And well done on the ruffe, a fish I could do with catching

Twiddler · #4 10-01-2006, 01:06 PM

Sure, i will be running a 'Master class' in ruffe catching, a small fee of only 50 pingu pies per head.....failing that, a few pints from pingu's bar will do

Greenheart · #5 10-01-2006, 03:13 PM

Get that girl a drink Pingu....

Seriously well done you two. Have to book you as a Gillies!!!! Had a few good Roach / Bream Hybrids last time I was up there. Just where are you finding all those Ruffe

Did you try for the Pike?

mithrandir · #6 10-01-2006, 03:24 PM

Thanks for the idents, was not sure if they were skimmer bream or not, the small one looked to sleek to be a bream, I was also amazed at the difference in the two gudgeon, was sure they were different species.

Ian, were did look for pike, one other angler we met had a two pounder take a small fish as he was reeling in, and Claudia was sure one was chasing fry near the reeds where she was, it broke surface a few feet in front of her. Did not target pike yet, got no wire trace etc and to be honest I am too inexperienced with fish handling to confidently handle a pike if I did land one, I would prefer my first pike session to be with someone who "knows the ropes" of pike handling, I would hate to harm such an honourable fish.

so any "pikey's" near to us fancy a training day we will happily trade it for the "Ruffe Guide to Maggot Drowning"

cheers

Mike