so then iv not done much fishing recently and spent 2 years plus chasing barbel, well i was thinking about all the species i havn't seen or caught for ages soooooo im going to set my self the task of catching just about every species of fish in yorkshire (well most of them) i say most as some require far too much time and hard work, silver bream, zander and catfish ect. i might have the odd go but the main ones i want are below along with a target weight. i am only going to fish venues in yorkshire and tiddlers dont rearly count but that dont mean i want to break any records either. il keep you all updated with my progress and it would be nice if a few of you can help me out and join me for a day or two after some of the more hard to catch species, o and there's no time limit either rearly.

so here we go

barbel - pb (9lb 1oz)
bleak - any done
bream - 8lb
carp - pb (15lb)
crucian carp - 1lb
catfish - any
chub - 5lb
dace - any done
eel - 3lb
gudgeon - any
ide - 2lb
orfe - any
perch - 2lb
pike - pb (19lb 2oz)
roach - 1.5lb
rudd - 1.5lb
tench - 6lb

well iv been out on the bank not once but twice this week,
first up was a visit to a forgotten farm pond, well two side by side acctualy, i had been informed it had some good rudd and tench in there and is only lightly fished. i arrived at 6.30am and had a look around. its quite weedy but a few spots have been cleared out for fishing. i sat mself down along side a thick weed bed and fed in a few handfulls of hemp and small pellets and loose fed maggots and casters hoping for some nice rudd and odd tench, well after a couple of hours the wind was playing havock and was clearly putting the fish off a bit, every time i fed some bait rudd were swirling for it, i was catching small rudd between 4 and 8oz everytime i cast in and the wind dropped, when it blew i didnt get a touch but every one looked like a freshly minted pound coin, all perfect. golden with blood red fins and not a mark on any. after 4 hours i had around 20 but none near my target weight. there is some bigger ones swirling for the bait but the wind was causing me problems. i also had 3 small tench to go with them. there were signs of bigger fish around bubbleing and muddying the water in other places, i also saw some truly old wild carp milling around in a weed bed.
i will be back, its sure got potential and if it wasnt for that wind.............................

my second outing this week was yesterday at stubbs hall lakes, between wakefield and doncaster on the A638 and wow what a place this is. i fished it around 8 years ago when it was first built and not been since. now its mattured very well and is stuffed with fish, like i said its new but dosnt look like your average commertial hole in the ground, it looks almost natural. i'd been informed by my mate who runs hemsworth angling centre they are bagging 20lb of roach upto around a pound but there are bigger ones too. numbers of big bream coming out and then there is the carp that run into mid 20's, plus most other fish. so first job was to sort a method to catch anything that swims but also have a chance of landing carp and huge slabs. i had been told the bigger fish are out in the middle around the islands and also patrol along the inside shelf, this is also where the roach are coming from so i decided to target both these areas.
i set up a float on my light avon rod to fish down the edge just over and on that near shelf around a tree hanging over the water. 4lb main line, 3.5lb low diamiter hook link and a size 16 hook saw me get plenty of bites and also be able to land some decent fish should they show up as there is no real snags ect to speak of. for the bigger fish i set up a method feeder and my heavy avon rod and fished on a bite alarm to leave me free to hold the float rod, on here i had 10lb main line, 6lb hooklink and a size 10 hook.
on the near side i fed a few handfulls of hemp, casters and small pellets and fished over it with maggot, meat and corn while loose feeding maggots and casters. right away i was into quality roach from 6 to 12oz on maggot and caster, after a couple of hours i was getting a bit bored of this so started to use meat and corn, i was still getting the odd better roach but now i was getting skimmers upto 2lb, small carp and tench plus the odd perch on corn!!! then i thought i had my first target fish. i hooked into it and it felt very different, infact strange the way it was swimming. when it came up it was a lovely crucian carp that looked a pound, however i didnt weigh it but i would say it was only 14oz or so. for most of the day i keept catching nice roach and skimmers.
on the method rod, the alarm keept beeping away at me now and again, odd skimmers and even roach took a liking to my pellets and large chunks of meat, but so did the bream. i had 3 slabs around 4lb but none of the 8 pounders i know to live in there i also had a very nice looking 3lb tench but the carp avoided me all day. there were up in the water i think as two lads down the bank had 3 high teens out on zig rigs.

iv been out today on the banks of the river dearne, not after the normal barbel no, a bit of a change. something iv not done for years and i loved it, also ticked two species off of my list too i took a pint of maggots and some hemp and rigged up a stick float. plenty of bites from small roach and chub, the odd perch and.......... a few nice dace upto 6oz and a few bleak,
so thats my first two fish off of the list.

il be out again next week, possibly after blue and golden orfe, ide and golden tench. im also looking at having a go on the trent. now i know i said these fish would come from yorkshire but a ten pound barbel could prove very hard. if i happen to bag one from the trent then i will count it.

as you may guess the first few posts are in date order on another site i use, i started about 3-4 weeks ago. im off down on the trent tomorrow :P for 24hrs to try get my self a barbel, il let you know how i get on

dave

:huh: get your self down duram on trent ...there's loads of bait in from the weekend :lol: :lol: :lol:

:lol: im off down to A1 pits i think mate

well, the rods and rigs are ready and strapped to my quiver, the food and kit bag is packed, just off to tie a bag full of pva bags ready for 24hrs on the trent tomorrow :D

Nice quest binner should be an interesting one to persue. Bet the Roach will be a hard one to beat and now the weathers beginning to cool the tench might be a challenge.
Bowser i hear the lads down at Dunham have found another feature in the river where you were throwing your bait :P

yes it could be quite fun, i know of the odd place to get 11/2 lb roach, its just getting through the small ones, same with rudd. as for the tench, well they can wait till spring now.

right im off to the trent, seeya :wave:

There may have been another feature up on peg 2, where all mine went in, just before I wimped out.

The other annoying thing (apart from the Bream, and starting with the cold) was that the timing and state of the tide was about perfect.
We should have emptied the place, well you should have. I should have been at home, soaking in a hot bath, with plenty of Aspirin.

Cough, snuffle, gasp, wheeze, splutter, etc etc etc :rolleyes:

BOF ;)

hi guys, just returned home from 24hrs on the trent at A1 pits.
i arrived at around lunch time and set about trying to put the bivvy up in a gale, great fun lol. once that was sorted along with the kettle ect i set about getting the rods out. i had been adviced to fish heavy so i left the lighter rods at home and set up a 1.75lb tc barbel rod with 12lb line for fishing short and a 2.75lb tc carp rod for fishing over and chucking 5oz feeders with 15lb braid on the reel. odd knocks came throughout the afternoon untill around 4pm when the far rod screamed off, i hit into it and gradualy started to pull what was a very good fish accross river, sadly halfway in it just fell off.
an hour later and the same rod screamed off again, i hit into it and the power was just unreal! it flattened the carp rod and just tore 15lb braid from the reel like a shark. after about 20 to 30 yards it went solid and the brute had transfered my hook into a snag, f*$#%r.
2-0 to the fish, however my luck changed and just as the sun was dropping the near rod sprang to life, after a good fight a barbel of 51/2lb lay in my net, shortly after just as it was getting dark it went again, this time a baby of around 3lb.
2-2
as it got dark it was obvious it was not going to be an easy night, the river weed is starting to break up and with leaves falling from the trees it ment i was having to re-cast every 10-15 mins. at around half past nine the far rod took of again and this time i managed to keep it away from the far bank snags and get it into open water, a good 15 min fight even on a carp rod and i thought i had a new pb layed in my net, but it fell just 4 oz short at 8lb 15oz but i was still happy, things looked good for the night.
around 11pm and the near rod this time was away and after a short scrap one of 71/2 lb was been held to recover in the waters edge.
unfortunatly the leaves and weed were causing me havoc, having to re-cast all the time and at 1am it started to rain heavy, so i reeled in the rods and called it a night.
up at 6 this morning to be greated by the river a foot higher and holding a bit more colour, great i thought but. i had lost quite a few feeders and leads during the afternoon/evening and only had a couple left that would hold in the flow. first chuck out and it was clear there was more weed and leaves so after 3 hours or so, i had snagged up a couple of times and had no big feeders left so i called it a day.
i will be back soon to land the daddy i lost lol and bag a new pb,
i did learne a lot though, you need strong gear, loads of feeders and leads and the fish pull hard!

Nice fish mate, shame about the brute, a barbel you reckon? or a carp?
Good luck next time.
Might be worth tying the feeder on with a weaker link? I'm no expert on this maybe John or Duds can put you right.

huuuum could be something to look into,
im not sure about the carp, i think the one that just took off could have been

Nice bit of angling binner pity you lost the biggie. Them Barbel fight like stink but as Martyn said it could have been a Carp . I`m personally not a big lover of braid mainlines due to being cracked of when a carp gave a sudden jerk like pull. I prefer mono with a bit of give in it especially if i`m going to get some flat-rodding action. Glad you enjoyed your fishing mate cos the complex has something for everyone and when Steve the baliff took over he put loads of time in sorting the place out as it was a tip.

Bof i reckon i have caught your cold mate :( Proper feeling sorry for myself with Man-flu (as the missus keeps telling me) :angry:

Sorry John, there was no sign of it before I left home, or I wouldnt have smickled anyone with the thing.
Get some Vicks Sinex for your nasal passages (they are going to clog up quite badly), take two aspirin every four hours, and drink plenty of fluids*.
The sore throat goes quite quickly, and the rest should be well under control in a few days.

BOF ;)

* You could combine the two by taking your Aspirin in a large Whiskey and fresh lemon juice, topped up with a little sugar and hot water. :D