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

The reason I felt guilty regarding the purchase of the Abu 506 was because of this beauty below. 😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲😲 This is the Abu704. For less than £20.00 including postage on ebay I just could not resist this with 3 spools supplied to.  😲  !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Just goes to show if you look hard enough there are still some bargains out there on ebay. 😉 I have one of these already. 😈 It cost me £30.00 second hand with one spare spool so this is a bargain. I had dropped my older reel on the floor at home. The floor is solid oak so it was like dropping in on a slab of concrete.  !!!!!!!!!!! The reel was fine apart from a small dent in the cowl but just a small dent altered the cylindrical shape of the spool slightly. It also made it very difficult to remove and replace which is a must with these reels. It also hindered the line release from the spool. I have no doubt one of the friendly engineers at work could re- shape it fo

A planed trip with John Derbyshire to the Rivers Douglas & Yarrow did not happen due to “ John The Pussy Derbyshire “ Having been bitten by a fly while working on his landscaping business. John was quoting for a job in Middleton first thing in the morning and as soon as he fished he asked if I fancied a few hours on the River Irwell. “ Anything is better than nothing “ I thought...... Within 30 minutes we where at a local stretch of mine. I put John on a peg I new fished well last week and I headed further upstream hoping for some big chub. The river was very low and clear, so low I could wade out to the run I wanted to fish. Maggots and hemp were the baits plus a small amount of ground bait to tempt any small silver fish, if present. A 4 no8's “ Irk Stick “ was my float of choice.  These are great for trotting under the rod tip fishing with a pin on the drop. I had a few exploritoritory trots down without bait on my hook to get a feel for the run. I was

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 Irwell barbel capt

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