25th saw an end to a fairly busy sporting week, with a match on the shingle storm beaches of Deal and Walmer. Started well and had 17 fish in the first 3 hours - including a codling and 3 dogfish. Then caught nothing further!
It was snaggy where I was which really restricted my fishing to shorter distance. As it was lost 2 sets of tackle and 6 hook snoods!
The top weight of the year so far - 20lb - won, which was almost double my fairly respectable weight.
It was very windy throughout, but as it was mostly offshore it remained easily fishable. With only 3 matches left this year the championship is now practically out of sight, but there is still plenty to go for.
Sunday, 26 October 2008
TIDE FLIGHT
24th. Even though is was an early 9.30 high tide - seldom the best for tide flighting in my experience - it was still worth a try. It also gave me the opportunity of doing the morning flight as well.
There was little moving at the morning flight, and it was soon time to set decoys and build the hide as the tide flooded strongly. The wind was a stiff south-westerly, which roughed up my decoy set-up a bit. However it was evident that rough water did not bother duck unduly, as I watched a teal riding the waves in nonchalent fashion. Eventually it swam right over to my salting and disappeared under the bank some 100 yards or so away.
It seemed an easy stalk, and by going round in an arc it was possible to line up to where I thought the teal was. Leaving the dogs sitting I made a cautious approach, only to be startled by a small flock of lapwings as they jumped from under the bank. There was no sign of the teal, until it flushed from the mud bank where it had been sitting.
It was a scrappy second shot that brought it down, and it took a couple of cripple stoppers and a long swim for the dogs in the creek before they brought the little hen bird to hand. That was a good start to the tide flight, however it proved to be both the start and the finish of sport!
It was one of those days when no matter which way you were facing birds came from the opposite direction. A pair of mallard almost took my hat off, and a pair of snipe came from behind when I was facing the direction from which the mallard had come. The wind changed direction and brought a rain squall through, and once I had turned my back on the rain another pair of duck came through!
The only other shot that I had through the long vigil was in disposing of a carrion crow which came across the creek, perhaps more intent on watching my decoys that it was in keeping an eye open for danger.
The tide seemed to take for ever to ebb away. By then the wind had dropped and the tide was flat calm. It was nice day to be out, but not exactly a red-letter day in terms of sport.
There was little moving at the morning flight, and it was soon time to set decoys and build the hide as the tide flooded strongly. The wind was a stiff south-westerly, which roughed up my decoy set-up a bit. However it was evident that rough water did not bother duck unduly, as I watched a teal riding the waves in nonchalent fashion. Eventually it swam right over to my salting and disappeared under the bank some 100 yards or so away.
It seemed an easy stalk, and by going round in an arc it was possible to line up to where I thought the teal was. Leaving the dogs sitting I made a cautious approach, only to be startled by a small flock of lapwings as they jumped from under the bank. There was no sign of the teal, until it flushed from the mud bank where it had been sitting.
It was a scrappy second shot that brought it down, and it took a couple of cripple stoppers and a long swim for the dogs in the creek before they brought the little hen bird to hand. That was a good start to the tide flight, however it proved to be both the start and the finish of sport!
It was one of those days when no matter which way you were facing birds came from the opposite direction. A pair of mallard almost took my hat off, and a pair of snipe came from behind when I was facing the direction from which the mallard had come. The wind changed direction and brought a rain squall through, and once I had turned my back on the rain another pair of duck came through!
The only other shot that I had through the long vigil was in disposing of a carrion crow which came across the creek, perhaps more intent on watching my decoys that it was in keeping an eye open for danger.
The tide seemed to take for ever to ebb away. By then the wind had dropped and the tide was flat calm. It was nice day to be out, but not exactly a red-letter day in terms of sport.
TEAL AND MALLARD
22nd found me on a great marsh on the shore of the River Thames. It is a lovely wild place to be, and sometimes the duck come to the small pools and ditches in good numbers.
So far this season I seem to have been bedevilled with clear skies, and this was no exception. A clear sky at evening flight makes it so much harder to see incoming birds, and when you are dealing with teal it is harder still.
Walking back to my chosen pond after a walk around the marsh gave me a chance at a rather incautious mallard. It need not have worried, for it was one of those chances that you cannot quite believe you have missed!
As soon as the light started to fade a drake mallard went overhead, and with some soft nasal calling managed to bring him back and dump him into the shallow water. Soon after another mallard came on the same line and flew right round me as all 3 shots missed; however, one of my specialities is a quick reload, and the rather luckless bird fell to the 4th shot fired at very long range. Quite a shot, which made a nonsense of the trio of misses.
Then the teal started. They came hurtling out of the darkened eastern sky, and could not be seen until they were right in close. It was difficult shooting, but eventually got 4 to add to the mallard.
Strangely, the flight stopped abruptly when there was still a far bit of light left. A lost bird was found after a brief search, and then I settled down to see whether anything came in late, and by facing the far-off lights from London there was just a chance that birds might be seen. After about an hour a single teal came hurtling in, and collapsed as it made off.
That was it, and I gave up at 8.15. There was an autumnal feel in the air for the first time this season, with my toes tingling in a reassuring way, that shows that winter is well on its way. A bag of 7 duck was a very good result, and it was in high spirits that I drove home.
So far this season I seem to have been bedevilled with clear skies, and this was no exception. A clear sky at evening flight makes it so much harder to see incoming birds, and when you are dealing with teal it is harder still.
Walking back to my chosen pond after a walk around the marsh gave me a chance at a rather incautious mallard. It need not have worried, for it was one of those chances that you cannot quite believe you have missed!
As soon as the light started to fade a drake mallard went overhead, and with some soft nasal calling managed to bring him back and dump him into the shallow water. Soon after another mallard came on the same line and flew right round me as all 3 shots missed; however, one of my specialities is a quick reload, and the rather luckless bird fell to the 4th shot fired at very long range. Quite a shot, which made a nonsense of the trio of misses.
Then the teal started. They came hurtling out of the darkened eastern sky, and could not be seen until they were right in close. It was difficult shooting, but eventually got 4 to add to the mallard.
Strangely, the flight stopped abruptly when there was still a far bit of light left. A lost bird was found after a brief search, and then I settled down to see whether anything came in late, and by facing the far-off lights from London there was just a chance that birds might be seen. After about an hour a single teal came hurtling in, and collapsed as it made off.
That was it, and I gave up at 8.15. There was an autumnal feel in the air for the first time this season, with my toes tingling in a reassuring way, that shows that winter is well on its way. A bag of 7 duck was a very good result, and it was in high spirits that I drove home.
WIGEON AND MUD
Sunday 19th was an ideal opportunity for a late afternoon tide flight, in the hope that there might be some wigeon using the saltmarsh. Went for a long 45-minutes hike right out across the saltings and set up on the edge of a big creek. It was lovely spot for decoying, and with the wind at my back was ideal.
But despite the conditions being perfect hardly anything moved, although a few wigeon did go to a wildfowler set up on another island and he eventually got two from a bunch of 10 that pitched straight into him. There was plenty to see, with a lot of curlew moving throughout the first of the ebb tide.
Eventually 6 wigeon responded to the whistle, and a single cock bird came right into the middle of the decoy pattern and paid the price. As it was my first wigeon of the season it was very welcome.
As the route off was a bit torturous I left while there was still some light left, and duly got back to the familiar route before it was completely dark. There was still a lot of water in the creek which is my preferred crossing point, so took another route and got thoroughly bogged in a tiny patch of mud that seemed to be virtually bottomless. It was a hairy moment, but by taking off my rucksack and tossing it up onto the saltings I was able to get out. Had mud everywhere!
But despite the conditions being perfect hardly anything moved, although a few wigeon did go to a wildfowler set up on another island and he eventually got two from a bunch of 10 that pitched straight into him. There was plenty to see, with a lot of curlew moving throughout the first of the ebb tide.
Eventually 6 wigeon responded to the whistle, and a single cock bird came right into the middle of the decoy pattern and paid the price. As it was my first wigeon of the season it was very welcome.
As the route off was a bit torturous I left while there was still some light left, and duly got back to the familiar route before it was completely dark. There was still a lot of water in the creek which is my preferred crossing point, so took another route and got thoroughly bogged in a tiny patch of mud that seemed to be virtually bottomless. It was a hairy moment, but by taking off my rucksack and tossing it up onto the saltings I was able to get out. Had mud everywhere!
CANADA GOOSE
12th October was an interesting day, mainly due to the changing weather conditions. It was also pretty tiring, having had only 3 1/2 hours sleep due to the late night fishing session.
It was thick fog down on the marsh, and the ditch exploded with duck - many of them mallard by the calling - as I made my way into the reeds. As invariably happens, none came back! In fact only 4 single teal came in up until 9.00 and with good fortune I managed to get them all.
By 10.00 the fog had begun to clear and four aproaching Canadas caused some frantic scrambling to change from light steel to heavy bismuth. In the end the geese were virtually on me before I had finished fumbling, and as a result the first shot was hurried and missed. Thankfully a big bird fell out at the second shot, and Christmas dinner was secured!
After that it became hotter and hotter, and hardly anything moved. At dusk it was still and clear and nothing came near or by - a disappointing end to the day. Still, 4 teal and a Christmas goose was a good return for not many chances.
It was thick fog down on the marsh, and the ditch exploded with duck - many of them mallard by the calling - as I made my way into the reeds. As invariably happens, none came back! In fact only 4 single teal came in up until 9.00 and with good fortune I managed to get them all.
By 10.00 the fog had begun to clear and four aproaching Canadas caused some frantic scrambling to change from light steel to heavy bismuth. In the end the geese were virtually on me before I had finished fumbling, and as a result the first shot was hurried and missed. Thankfully a big bird fell out at the second shot, and Christmas dinner was secured!
After that it became hotter and hotter, and hardly anything moved. At dusk it was still and clear and nothing came near or by - a disappointing end to the day. Still, 4 teal and a Christmas goose was a good return for not many chances.
WHITING GALORE
11th October saw me at the back of the Dungeness power station trying to claw back some of the lost ground in our fishing league.
Staggering back to the weigh-in with 49 sizeable fish, for over 19lbs in weight was a great performance, but surprisingly not enough to win - being beaten by 6ozs! However it did help me make up lost ground, and was a fantastic night's fishing with something like 80 fish in 5 hours.
Staggering back to the weigh-in with 49 sizeable fish, for over 19lbs in weight was a great performance, but surprisingly not enough to win - being beaten by 6ozs! However it did help me make up lost ground, and was a fantastic night's fishing with something like 80 fish in 5 hours.
Tuesday, 7 October 2008
PANDORA CLUB
Attending a meeting of the Gillingham (Kent) Pandora Club, which is a pensioners club, and gave them a talk on estuaries and birds. Encouragingly over 50 people were present, and the talk was well received
The talk was in two half-hour slots, with a break for teas and biscuits, and covered a variety of subjects. Started with an overview of the intertidal part of the estuary, and some of the historic aspects of it - not least the extensive digging for clay which largely shaped the Medway Estuary into what it is today.
Then moved on to consider the inland side of the seawall, and then the birds of the estuary. Finally, and crucially as far as I am concerned, took a look at estuary users and their impact: boat owners, fishermen and of course wildfowlers. Stressed the conservation message, and rounded off by promoting the Wild Spaces Fund.
By showing a nice picture of lesser white-fronts and talking about the late Peter Scott's Balkan hunting expeditions managed to give a but more validity to the concept of the wildfowler/naturalist.
An enjoyable morning, and another good opportunity to promote the message to non-wildfowlers.
The talk was in two half-hour slots, with a break for teas and biscuits, and covered a variety of subjects. Started with an overview of the intertidal part of the estuary, and some of the historic aspects of it - not least the extensive digging for clay which largely shaped the Medway Estuary into what it is today.
Then moved on to consider the inland side of the seawall, and then the birds of the estuary. Finally, and crucially as far as I am concerned, took a look at estuary users and their impact: boat owners, fishermen and of course wildfowlers. Stressed the conservation message, and rounded off by promoting the Wild Spaces Fund.
By showing a nice picture of lesser white-fronts and talking about the late Peter Scott's Balkan hunting expeditions managed to give a but more validity to the concept of the wildfowler/naturalist.
An enjoyable morning, and another good opportunity to promote the message to non-wildfowlers.
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