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

I have managed ( eventually ) to put on the blog the video of the only River Irwell barbel I have caught from march 2015. I was playing the fish fine until realised what I had hooked then I fell to pieces with nerves.....lol The fish was caught from a private stretch of the Irwell run by  Little Britain Anglers Just thought we would warn viewers there is some colourfull language as we was a tad excited........😆 Below us a link to Little Britain Anglers Wbsite http://littlebritainanglers.co.uk/ Below is the link to the day I caught an Irwell Ghost !!!!!! http://purplepeanut007.blogspot.co.uk/2015/03/river-irwell-barbel-another-dream.html?m=1 If you would like to look at all of the hand crafted floats I make please click on the link below and it will take you to my float page. http://purplepeanut007.blogspot.co.uk/2015/02/hand-crafted-floats-float-making-by.html?m=1 TTFN Peanut

BLACK OPS MISSON - CHUB ON THE STICK. I had a three hour window on Sunday morning to extract an Irwell chub. Got to a " Deep Cover " out of the way peg that I have only seen in the winter. Casterman & myself trimmed the branches on the opposite side so you could trot under them. When I got there it was like the Amazon.........Hogweed, nettles and brambles were the enemy ....I had to fight my way through  100 meters of this shite being extremely careful not to get stung off the Hogweed. For those of you who do not know about Giant Hogweed it is an invasive species that grows all along the river Irwell making some sections of the river almost impossible to fish in the summer time. When stung by this plant it can produce huge blisters that can re-occur for seven years, is light sensitive so it comes back when the sun shines upon the infected area …….as I said…..NASTY STUFF INDEED………I could go on but I will leave it for know as this is a topic on its own. I

RIVER IRWELL. ACOLYTE THE CHRISTENING. Well, two weeks ago I had a quick session on the Irwell in Salford trying out my new Barbel Stick Float. All DID NOT go as planed. The float performed great,  just as describe in his independent review by Andrew Boyne.  On my Fifth trot down the Barbel Stick banged under and I was into my first fish on a new section of river. After a spirited battle a brownie of about 10 oz graced my net…….A good start I thought………………. I put my rod down behind me an un-hooked the little beasty. My gear was behind me so I turned round to grab my disgorger when I felt something out of place under my feet…………………. IT WAS MY ROD !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You know when you get that sinking feeling ………….. like just after you have banged your car …………. and its YOUR FAULT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Well, that’s how I felt inside. This rod was my pride and joy and I would not swap it in a million years. I picked it

River Irwell Bream...... Sunday was the Salford  Friendly Anglers gathering on the River Irwell in Lower Broughton and I was really looking forward to it as it was my first session on the river this season due to work and family commitments. We were meeting at 4.30 next to the river . I gave Casterman a buzz to see if he had set off about  4.00 ish “ I am already here lad “ came the reply in a deep Lancastrian accent……..My car was already loaded and with a quick good by to  “ Salford Pete “  I was on my way to a bit of river I have been meaning to fish for years. As I pulled up there were already 3 or 4 cars parked up………but where was Casterman ??????????? A quick phone call was made to assertain his location ……….. typical………….he was out rekeying the pegs to let other people know which pegs where worth fishing.  I meet a few people I have talked to on face book but never met in person, Craig was there to , so we had a quick wonder upstream to giv

There will be a river Irwell match this Sunday at the bottom of Great Clowes street this Sunday. All in 17.30. Casterman aka " Derek Kenyon will be organising it. If you are doing nothing come down  see what we can winkle out of, what used to be the most polluted river in Europe !!!!!! Please contact me via face book if interested as we need an idea of numbers to pick out the best pegs. A full right up will be on next week. Its free to join. With just a couple of clicks of your mouse u can help us clean up the River Irwell. It will not cost you a penny. http://salfordfriendlyanglers.co.uk/join/

12.03.15 River Irwell Barbel On The Centerpin & My Own Floats. Today was the last day of my river fishing season. I was planning on going to the river Tame but I got up late and the Traffic was really bad so I headed  off  to the Irwell to christen my Okuma Aventa VT 1002 Centerpin Reel.  instead. My first peg looked good but unfortunately no bites were forth coming and after two hours I called it a day. It was interesting though because Mick Doddy - an LBA member - came down for a while to get some idea of how to use a centerpin. Why he chose to watched me on the pin I will never know as I am shite.......pmsl. I gave Mick a stick float as he’s is going to supply me with some elder pith for float making. He also gave me some new lures to try.....Cheers Mick. My first swim drew a blank. I was off to a new peg when Mick left further upstream. My new peg was a shallow fast run, ideal for the Irwell sticks. On my fourth trot down" Boooooosh "