Baileys Meadow.

#1

Another river match but after TK told me you can drive right up to the pegs virtually, I'm looking forward to this.
Need to do well so no pressure for me then UNLIKE someone else I could mention

Just gonna do the same as I did last time and hope for the best

Hope there is no boats or ducks this time too lol :(

#2

Never seen a boat on that section before......but theres always a first time

If the fishings poor and you are in the middle of the section you can watch the football match on the opposite bank

#3

Cooooomeeeeeeeeeeee onnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn you blues

Conna · #4

Hi T K,

So what sort of weight can we expect to catch on a good day there? Is this streth predominantly Roach like Bass Island, I know there are some nice Chub and Barbel but do you see many of them being caught? Do we park on the main road or is there a track that goes alongside the river? So many questions and so little time lol.

Cheers.

#5

hi Conna - wished I clocked this earlier - just sent SS a pm on the place. I'm sure he'll divulge

I'd be looking for double figures, but if it's hard - up & coloured or first frost(!!!) etc 6- 10lb
Work on basis of same as Bass island (Broadholme) - silver fish, but if you find the roach you can have a red letter day. When I've been there the decent chub have showed down in the spinney just before the weir. (I only ever draw mid meadow!!) Big fish - barbies etc lie in the run down from the weir. We tend to avoid including these if poss as the two sections are like chalk and cheese, so if numbers permit we all fish the meadow/spinney only. Park behind pegs in meadow - go thru drive in the wall on the opposite side on the bridge - section is rhs length. Hope this helps
TK

#6

ps - just a footnote. Although I would describe this as primarily a silverfish venue its amazing how places can change in a season. when we we fished Sharretts (mile or so upstream of Bass Island) last month as we've done so every season for a few years now, a couple of guys caught small barbel - 1lb a piece. never seen them before. Similarly I got plagued by a couple of pike for the last couple of hours which 'killed my peg' Another member at the other end of the length actually got one out - only about 4lb - but said there was a much bigger one also in his peg. In 20 years or so I've personally never seen a pike on this area of the trent. Not fished baileys for 2 seasons now so probably full of monster chub and barbel

Conna · #7

Thanks for that TK,

Even the infor was more than enough mate. Not knowing a venue at all usually results in the first half hour of the match being wasted by doing the wrong thing until you sus it out, so I will start as I always do on the Waggler down the middle and feed the stick line, if it were predominantly Chub I would have probably done it the other way round.

Cheers

#8

Thanks for that TK,

Even the infor was more than enough mate. Not knowing a venue at all usually results in the first half hour of the match being wasted by doing the wrong thing until you sus it out, so I will start as I always do on the Waggler down the middle [highlight][/highlight]and feed the stick line, if it were predominantly Chub I would have probably done it the other way round.

Cheers

Hi Conna - I'm interested in your approach and the reasoning behind it, cuss in reality I tend to do the opposite. I'm (jack of all trades master of none) always interested to learn from others experiences. Do you find you catch on the off on the wag? I prefer (I think!) to shoal em up a bit on the wag line first before moving onto it. I'll obviously carry on feeding the stick when I do go onto it and if wag bites start to tail off after a bit I'll rest, move back to inside and let em regroup/gain their confidence again in mid river.

#9

Just found out John, thers gonna be about 10 guests fishing it too

More money for me I suppose

Conna · #10

God I hope your right Si, you need the points lol.

Hi TK,

The reasoning behind me starting on the wag as opposed to the stick is purely based on my experience in that part of the Trent, I have fished Bass island many times now and for some reason struggled to catch on the stick. The waggler I find is always a good starter and keeps the fish coming normally all day more or less from the off. Let me tell you how I start off. I always choose a bigger wag than I need, usually a Drennan Crystal Waggler 3 1/2 AAA, my mainline is 2.6lb and my hooklength to start is Shinobi 1.0lb, I don't think it matters about the brand to be honest. I use size 20 Kamasan B511 hook which is a fine wire red hook with a whisker barb. Set at depth, feed maggot by spraying from half way across to 3/4 and cast slightly down stream 3/4 the way over, I normally put 2 catty fulls in at the start and feed about a dozen every other cast. When you get a bite and miss it you should still be able to trot down the middle of the river then and still expect bites due to the spraying of the maggots. This saves a lot of time over 5 hours from reeling in and re casting. I'm constantly feeding the stick line sparingly and I will rest the wag line for 5 mins here and there while I keep trying the stick line. My bait for the day is normally 3 pints of Bronze with a handful of reds mixed in with them and a Red mag on the hook always. I'm convinced fish can tell the dirrerent shades of maggots and for some reason they prefer the more scarce shade which is why I only put a handfull in my feed, I try and aim it so I get about 3 reds to every dozen or so I feed. The wag for me has always been the more productive method wherever I've been, the only exception really has been on the middle Severn.
Having said that I won the last match I fished there on the British Legion waters using the Wag and caught 40lbs of Chub lol.

Tight lines.

#11

Cheers for the response Conna. Interesting that - I tend to plunder my inside lines before moving onto a steady fed wag line which always tends to throw fish up straight away - I'd put it down to the confidence I'd given 'em with free nosh for an hour or so

. Perhaps it's just a subconcious replication of how we used to generally approach the cuts? Our wag set ups are not a million miles away from each other, but I tend on the Trent to use a thickish peacock, but ones that still got a thickish insert. How do you shot up up and do you ever drag thru over depth?
Dont see any B511s around these days - still got some in 24s from years ago. This year on the trent I've been using drennan fine match in a 20 which has served me ok. I also ask for a 'handful' of reds in my bronze, but alternate between types on the hook. No mention of seed - don't you feed any?
I'm on the island next week - I'll try to break the habits of a lifetime, resist the inside from the off and start on the wag and see what reaction I get.

#12

I though B511's were silver hooks that you can get anywhere.

#13

Thanks for overseeing us and putting us straight (SS will be offering you a mods job next

B511s are the silver (seed) hooks - just checked my drawer because I bought a few packs last week. It's the B512s which are the red version which I havent seen on the shelves for ages.
Talking of hooks, popped in Allans (leamore) last week to have a gander at those PR31s you mentioned......don't stock em, their Preston display board only goes up to PR29s - probably all carpy barbless stuff :(
I also used to use another red hook for bw & j, (all those years ago before I struck up an affinity for Vivaldi :D, ) can't remember the name cuss I dont see em any more, was a red fine wire hook, similar to a B590, but it had a matt red finish unlike the shiny finish on the B512s. Think they used to come in a white sleeved packet?

Conna · #14

Oops , sry my mistake, I meant B512's. I rarely fish over depth on the upper trent but I do on the Warwickshire avon and if I ever travel down to the lower reaches of the trent. I remember on one occasion at wick on the Avon when I used to fish for Coleshill when I had to drag 3ft of line overdepth to slow the bait enough to get bites and a nice quality bag of roach I had too to win the match. on the trent I normally put most of the bulk under the float and a No 4 just below half depth then a No 8 just below half way from that shot to the hook then a No 10 about 8in away from the hook. On the odd occasion I will string the shot out shirt button styleif it's a steady flow where they might be having it on the drop.

#15

T K...PR31's are similar to image IM-1's only a bit thicker in the wire....they are the best joker/squatt hooks i have ever used.

#16

Picked a couple of packets up today from Shanes after I went for a stroll down your cut at dinnertime. Yep, they look a nice hook, stronger than the B590s but still a relatively fine wire.

They'll have a thorough testing in the TK Grueller Series matches on the Kidney pond at Rugeley PS over this winter.
ps - do they hold up against them couple of pound rub a dub dubs?

#17

No....Them rub a dubs will straighten pretty quick....but saying that i've had a few tench on the size 24's this summer.

I was down by your place today with a BW women to sort out a price for taking over the Tame valley opposite your work.

Conna · #18

I have been using the B590 in size 24 for my squatt fishing the last couple of seasons now and can't fault them, I will however give those PR31's a go to see if there is something I might be missing out on. I used the Drennan fine pole hooks prior to the b590 and found they bent far too easily but I still use the Drennan fine pole hooks in size 18 for my caster work and as yet can't fault those either, I hit almost every bite and I have had tench to 3lb out with them on several occasions.

#19

I've been using the Drennan fine match on the Trent this year - no probs with the general stamp of fish. Prior to that I used to use the B530s all the while on the Trent.

#20

Sorry to interupt your little hook chat.

Im guessing 18lb will win this match. Roach and chub.
I dont know the place, thats just a pure guess for the fun of it, anyone else care to have a guess ?