Encore ! Encore !

Oh all right then. It wasn't over, not by a long way.

With the weather so mild I sacked off work and spent the last two days walking and fishing, determined to milk every last drop out of the season.

Seven more mullet landed and a couple lost, what a fantastic way to finish.

One fish bolted off like lightening and after a brief but exciting fight I beached it on the mud and ran ( well, waddled really ) down to grab it

I positioned myself the river side of the fish to prevent it flipping back in the water. The mullet had other ideas and jumped between my ankles into the water and sped off.

The dropper fly caught in my lace and the fish disappeared with a loud crack as the line parted. Yet another farce on the mud, there's been plenty this year, I bloody love it.

Heavy rain and then much colder weather forecast so the mullet and bass gear has been broken down, hosed and might even get a clean.

I thought it was over... it is now ( sorry, had to do it )

It's Over

"Nobody on the road, nobody on the beach

I can feel it in the air, the summer's out of reach"

OK, OK, so it's from a Don Henley song and he was in the Eagles, the very epitome of middle of the road, American soft rock and the biggest pile of turd you'll have the misfortune to hear this side of Christmas. 

The summer fishing most certainly is over, although quite few mullet and bass remain, but they're dwindling and it's time for something different. I've eeked it out long enough, starting in April and going all the way through to the present  ( with a gap mid summer when I was distracted by other species).

Spring and especially autumn were the best time for both species.

The local tidal river grabbed me like nothing else has for a very long time. Last year I didn't fish it once.

I think what happened is that when I tried the fly for the mullet this year on the "new" ( for me ) method, I caught first cast,  so I was pretty sure I was on to something. 

The fact that it's a two minute drive or five minute bike ride from the house, meant I was down there at every available opportunity.  And that was alot.

When I didn't fish, my morning walk takes me along the river, so it was easy to keep an eye on what was happening.

I never suspected there were so many bass so far upriver. In early summer, fry were being hit in inches of water as the tide flooded. The first time I tried with the lures, three decent bass were landed in an hour or so.

I've no idea how many bass were caught in total, but it will have been hundreds. All sizes, from tiny to about 4lb. Nothing massive.

Most were on surface poppers, what fantastic sport that is. Plenty on tiny shallow diving plugs too.

Having two species to go at is a massive bonus, especially when one of those species are thin lipped mullet. The mullet don't always show and if they do they don't always feed.

I take a fly and a lure rod, sometimes a net and all the rest of the stuff is crammed into jacket pockets, so I travel ultra light.

Sessions are anything from thirty minutes to a couple of hours.

The "rule" is, if mullet are present and feeding then fish for them. If not, lure fish for bass.

The static fly has proved extremely effective, compared to he standard retrieved or drifted method. It really does test your faith though.

A poxy little bit of fur and feather laying motionless on the bottom ? I suppose that's why it gets me though, each time I get a take I can't believe it.

There are three things I try and get right.

1. Find feeding fish. 

Around here, they'll be in a few inches of water no more than a foot or two from the bank. Fins and tails out of the water, heads down.

If they're dashing about mid water, or near the surface, you may catch them with another method, but I've found them much, much more difficult in these circumstances. 

2. Get in position without spooking them.

Difficult when they're close in and the water is clear.

Quite often, I'll cast from ten yards or so from the water. 

3. Get the fly in exactly the right place. 

I mean exactly. They normally patrol parallel to the shore, at a very specific distance. If your fly is more than a few inches away from where they pass, you'll probably have along wait.

You also need to keep your eyes open and keep moving until you find numbers of feeding fish.

You'll get very, very muddy.

As will your gear. I hose mine down after most trips. Alright, after some trips.

In all, I had twenty one or twenty two on the fly and a few more on the baited spinner. That's a good return for me.

Two were over 5lb, which is very big for a thin lip and several more were four plus. I suppose the average is around 3lb. 

Chuck in a sea trout, lots of sand smelt, two decent flounders and a twenty five pound carp, all from a practically unfished bit of river and it's been a great season, helped massively by the weather, especially in the autumn. 

Now, if we get several days constant rain and a good flood, it'll be time for chubbing and trotting.

An Arse Kicking and A Surprise

Helmet headed Cocksy Boy joined me at the hot bass spot on my very kind invitation. 

Upon his entrance, he declared he had no bait and would be using mine. He then proceeded to comprehensively outfish me, whilst giving a non stop commentary of events.

Serves me right by taking the pee when he asked "What's the killer rig ?"

I said just chuck it out and twitch it in. He used a light running leger and I stuck with a paternoster that I thought presented the bait just off bottom. Whatever, he beat me about 10-4 and obviously kept going on about it.

Which is what I'll do when the boot is on the other foot.

Anyway, it was another great session, plenty of laughs and fish, despite fishing in what you can see is about a foot of water.

Today, I had a quick go at dusk and had a bass on the fly and a decent flounder on a plug. A first for me.

Decent one too.

Still lots of mullet about too.

I packed up at dusk with the temperature reading fourteen degrees. Blimey.

Every Last Drop

A very enjoyable weekend, pleasant autumn weather and plenty of fish about.

The November mullet quest was over in five minutes.  I found a few fish, got in position, cast accurately and within five minutes I'd a fish in the net.

Had a bit of fun with the bass too, lots of bites, all different sizes.

Bully had the best one today, a really lovely conditioned fish in typical autumn colours.

They don't half go on light spinning gear.

We had probably fifteen or sixteen between us today, certainly beats catching whiting and dogfish.

Ah, I almost forgot. Bully tried fishing with THREE rods, the hungry little fecker.

He had a bite and struck the wrong rod. The tripod then collapsed, leaving the rods laying in a heap in the mud, he then struck the correct rod, but the tip section came off and shot down the line in to the river leaving Bully playing the fish, a nice bass, on the butt section only. What a farce.

I regret I failed to video the incident, but I swear I did hear the Charlie Corroli circus clown music playing in the distance.

Apropos to nothing, I got a great shot of this lovely old road sign.

I've got a bit of bait left over and it would be a shame to waste it so.....

Hanging On To Summer

We may be well in to autumn but the bass and mullet are still in the river in reasonable numbers. And feeding too.

Bully visited the other day and had a nice brace of bass of just short of three and four pounds. He was a happy man.

I took Speci Boy to try and catch his first bass yesterday. I'd a few ragworm left, the tide looked good and the weather decent.

A seven foot drop shot rod with a fifteen quid Aldi reel was set up with a three swan link leger. 

"Cast it out to the middle and let the tide bounce it round" said I.

Literally ten seconds after casting out he was into his first bass ever, a very feisty fish of just over the pound in immaculate condition.

 I spotted a few mullet in feeding mode so crept along the bank, watched for a few minutes, cast to the fly to them and five minutes later the indicator slid away, the rod hooped over and you know the rest. A cracking fish of maybe three pounds.

Speci Boy had four more bass before we packed up.

As an aside, I was, as The Chubmeister says,       "sheeped out". Tracked down, followed, etc.

Bloke I know turns up out of nowhere at the "secret spot" and says he spotted my van and knew I'd be somewhere about. He disappeared for half hour and came back with his rods.

Lots of farting about in the fishing shed this week. The "lure art" looks quite magnificent and I'm expecting to be offered a exhibition in a trendy part of London along side Damian Hirst and Tracy Emin.

My mission is to try and catch a mullet on the fly in November. I'll be trying later today.

The Fishing Shed

Well, it's the garage actually. New, ultra bright lights put in so my old man's eyes can see when I'm rig tying

More heavy duty hooks so as much stuff as possible is off the ground, I hate clutter.

Note the luxury chair that Dicky Boy gave me. Far to heavy for me to take fishing but great for loafing in the cave with the music on.

Talking of music, we had a night out in da big town last week to see The Bug Club last week. Photo courtesy of Lobby who was there with Janet. Great musicians and an enjoyable evening. 

The old book case been moved into the garage too. Maps, old magazines and books to peruse at leisure. I might not be so keen in the middle of January though.

Very quick go down the river last night after the rain ( almost) stopped. Bit slow, two bass and a great sunset.

Time for some different fishing very soon I think.

Filling Me Boots

Poking about in the cave this week produced some old fishing magazines dating back to 1978.

Coarse Angler, Coarse Fisherman,  Rod Hutchinson catalogues from the early 80s and plenty of classic fishing books too.

John Bailey's Travels With A Two Piece, Reflections From The Water's Edge and several others before he started doing generic old crap just for da money.

This week on the tidal river has been perhaps the most productive of the year. The mullet and bass are about in big numbers and are feeding well too.

I've fished in between jobs much of the time, just an hour or two at a time. On the flip side, although the sessions have been short I've fished almost every day and caught well each time.

Yesterday was interesting.  I went to a mark further down river and thought I'd try the last two hours of the ebb. Despite trying several different lures I failed to get a take in the ten minutes or so that I tried.

On went a ragworm on the light spinning rod and almost immediately the rod whacked over and bass number one was on its way to the shore.

It was a big tide and went down a very long way leaving just a few inches of water in the channel, but the bass kept coming. 

On one occasion I was holding the rod when the fish hit the bait with such ferocity that the clutch was screaming before I'd struck.

On the "last cast" over proper slack water I had a weird, slow bite, before pulling in to the fish but ended up hooked on the bottom.  Then          ( cliche alert ) the bottom started moving. A flash of mottled brown as the fish came to life and shot off down river. What the hell was it ?

It revealed itself....a thornback ray of 5lb or so. First one I've caught this far up the river and in ridiculously shallow water, certainly no more than eighteen inches maximum. 

I packed up after that, seven decent bass and the ray in less than two hours on light gear is a decent result in anyone's book I reckon.

The Hunger -October 2025

It's 11 October.

There are enormous numbers of mullet in the river at the moment. It's staggering.

The bass have disappeared. Ive a feeling it's down to these monstrous tides, but we'll see if that theory holds water when the tides reduce in a few days. This morning there were mullet in the margins as far as the eye could see. Thousands of them.

The weather is pretty much perfect. No wind, mild and cloudy ( sunshine is fine too ).

The fish were feeding hard, I was in the right place, but only hooked one fish, which came off almost immediately. That's partial success.

Just as I was about to pack up I saw a group of three or four absolutely massive fish. By this time the water had coloured up, so I couldn't see clearly, but I could see well enough to see they were.....I'd guess no less than 6lb and more likely well over 7lb. Maybe even bigger.

My hunger is off the scale at the moment and seeing those giants merely added fuel to the fire.

I'd love to get a monster.

I'm having another go tomorrow. 

What Do We Know ?

"Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns- the ones we don't know we don't know"

Donald Rumsfeld

I doubt The Don was an angler, but this is how I'd describe what's going on down the local river at the moment. 

The more I fish, the more I realise I understand very little about what's going on.

At the weekend I fished a reliable mark at a good state of the tide with surface and subsurface lures without a touch. 

I'd got some ragworm in the car and thought I'd try them on a float. Fifteen minutes later I'd landed five sizeable bass in the same spot as I'd been thrashing away with the lures. I was surprised to say the least.

Last week I saw the biggest shoals of feeding mullet I've seen in a very long while. I would have bet a hefty sum that I'd have one or two.

Not a touch, despite having feeding fish all over the flies. 

Yesterday I tried a tiny piece of maddie on a size 14 hook for the mullet, that were feeding a foot out in six to eight inches of water.

After a five minutes I  hooked in to a fish that bolted out in to deeper water. It surfaced and I saw it was a decent bass. The tiny hook was wedged nicely in the jaw, but really, I didn't expect bass to be feeding in ultra shallow water in the middle of a sunny day.

As I say, I now know I know nothing, whereas a few years ago I didn't know I knew nothing.

Thanks Don.

Two Days

Two visitors this week, Bully and The Chubmeister General. 

Bully was determined to get a mullet before they departed for the winter and by chance picked a perfect day, calm, mild and hazy.

I was working in the morning but when I finally got down to see him I saw a rod bent double and an old bloke with a smile on his face. He'd wangled one out on a brandling on the fly rod.

We moved down river to another mark and waited for the tide to flood. I'd got the fly rod, confident of a take at least. The mullet arrived on cue, hundreds of them packed in to a tight area. I totally failed to get a response on the fly but Bully's brandling worked its magic again as he hooked in to what was obviously a very good fish.

It gave him a fantastic fight on the fly rod, until I eventually scooped it up in the net. A real beauty of 4lb 4oz.

He was chuffed, a reward for persistence and the hour plus drive he has to make each time he tries. 

Next day TCG joined me, with all his shiny new camera gear, to make a film. We walked a fair way upriver for a recce, lots of birdlife and I took him to where I'd caught the big carp. Sure enough, sitting in the reeds, in a few inches of water were five carp. There were mullet mixed in with them too.

It was dull and breezy, the weathermen had yet again failed to cover themselves in glory.

I had a couple small bass on the surface lure in the first ten minutes, then a much better fish, which unfortunately threw the hooks after a few seconds.

The mullet appeared. I couldn't get a take.

By this time it was a bit grim, duller by the minute. 

A move downstream. Mullet soup. Loads of them. 

I failed.

That is all.

Chaos on the Mud

Lots of short smash and grab sessions this week.

Several good quality bass, some off the top and a few sub surface. These fish are in tip top condition right now.

Yesterday, I had a beautiful fish on the popper in the morning and also had several hits that missed the lure.

With that in mind I went back this morning to try and catch a few more. As usual, I took a lure rod and fly rod.

If I see feeding mullet I always go for them, as they're a bit less predictable and more difficult than the bass, so you need to have a go whenever the opportunity arises.

Today, several fish were milling about in an ultra shallow bay, but not enough for a concerted effort. I had a break and looked a hundred yards downstream to the mud pit of doom.

This is an area of extremely soft, algae covered  mud that the mullet absolutely love. It is extremely difficult to stand, let alone walk in, but needs must.

There were some very big fish patrolling a foot or so out, fins and backs out. The cast was good and I didn't have to wait long before the indicator slid away and a fish was on.

I went to move towards the waters edge and managed to leave one of my wellies in the mud. My sock and one trouser leg were immediately covered in sloppy estuary mud, all the way up to the knee.

The fish thrashed madly, right on the edge of the mud, beaching itself ( this happens alot ). I went to grab it, it saw me coming ( yes, really ) and managed to get back in the water, speeding out towards the far bank. It looked massive, I was thinking upper five, maybe six pounds.

Despite the chaos, I eventually netted it, to great relief. Covered in mud, wet, but very happy.

It went 4lb 12oz, but looked much bigger to me, a real corker.

I went home after that, even I'm not daft enough to fish with one boot on.

A mad hour, lots of fun and a quality fish. 

I'm definitely having another go tomorrow,  some of those mullet were huge.