Purplepeanut007 PP007 FLOAT MAKING & FISHING ADVENTURES - THE RIVER IRWELL AND BEYOND.

A long over due trip on the  Lower River Irwell  to test out my new stepped stick floats was tonight's mission. Many in our club would like to know where all the silvers and small barbel have gone ? So tonight was a scouting session to try and find them !!!!!!!!!! I opted for my Abu 704 closed faced reel tonight as the wind was a little gusty coupled with my 14 foot Acolyte Plus. Bait was two pints of white maggots, a pint of hemp. Two stepped stick float rigs were knocked up at home and stored on line winders. All was ready for my little experimental session. 😁 It took around 30 minutes or my first bite and fish, a lovely chunky dace of around 5 ounces.  I shallowed my rig a little and placed a No 4s back shot on about 15 centimetres from the float to aid my presentation and got and instant response, small but very welcome. 😁 Felling a little more confident I steadily upped my feed of hemp and maggots hoping to attracted the larger fis...

After two of my mates cried off this weekend ( Shame on you.....lol )  🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I didn't have a plan of where to go !!!!! I have been struggling to get motivated to fish for quite some time now but I had to go and test out my new stick float so I chose to go local hope for the chub or the newly stocked silvers to show. The wind was up but I chose to use my Trudex pin coupled with an Acolyte Plus. I fancied fishing over depth slowing the bait right down using a large domed stick and the pin is great for this method. The first choice of swim I chose was a bad one. The swim had changed quite a lot since the last time I fished it. It had a lot of depth but with changing currents steams and an eddy on the far side.....very difficult to get in a rhythm and keep your bait in one run. I did manage one trout........but this was the only bite I had in 45 minutes so I packed up and off to the next peg. This run was also very slow...... two bites..... two trout...

" The Irwell Stick " I have caught more fish on this float than any other !!!!!!  This is a simple looking float but probably the most versatile float I use. Its main us is for shallow, pacey runs on a river. Great for all species when using all but the biggest of hook baits. Great for fishing down the side on commercials or poking your rod through the trees when stalking carp. This float is definitely the first pattern in my tackle box. Its "Castermans " favourite to.  😊 This set is bound for a life winding down the river Douglas. I also have a set of large Irwell sticks on the go. I will post when complete. 😊 Here are some " Irwell Stick " caught fish. 😊 Not all my fish btw......lol Until the next time . . . . . TTFN Peanut If you would like to look at my handcrafted floats just hit the link. 😊 http://purplepeanut007.blogspot.co.uk/2017/01/handcrafted...

I had forgottento do this write up. . . . . . I decided to have another quick hour on the same peg I caught that nice brown trout from  but, unfortunately, it didn't go according to plan. Two chublets and the rivers full population of minnows graced my net. After of arm aching minnow bashing session I packed up and moved to pastures new......... I have been getting out a little more lately so I decided for a change. There is a little known run on the middle Irwell that I have never fished that was going to be crossed of the bucket list today . 😉 I had been warned about the rivers current here  because you have to wade accros it and the river also narrows up next to a sheer cliff face.  I carefully inched over the bedrock to the other side of the river to gain access to the run only known by a few. The journey to the run was not to bad, as I have said, I crossed the river in around two foot of water. It was not as bad as I was expecting it to be to be hone...

Well . .  . Its here again. . . Boys and girls . . . . .  The opening day of the river season has arrived. I had decided on visiting my local club stretch “ Little Britain Anglers “ on the River Irwell in Radcliffe to see if I could winkle out a barbel or a chub. I quickly loaded myself up with my trotting kit and ambled over to peg one on my club stretch. There was an umbrella already stationed there and with a quick shout of  “ Hello “ A well know voice answered back “ Alright Cootesie. How you doing “ This is a sight as rare as a River Irwell barbel . . . . It was the Little Britain Anglers Chairman . . . Eric Owen . . . To see Eric here is not unusual at all . . . . . But . . . . To see him fishing was a rare sight indeed. . . . Lol. He was also after an Irwell Unicorn. . .  . Without any luck so far. A few tentative plucks but no proper bites. We had a quick chat and decided I should try “ Barbel Bend “ the place of my only river...