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

Today I had another session on the Littleton Road section of the River Irwell In Salford. The sun was bright and baring down on me so I wasn't too hopeful of a good catch but as Mike Duddy says " You have got to be in it to win it " !!!!!!!!!! Rod and reel for the session was a 14 foot Acolyte and an Okuma Centerpin My end tackle was a hand made 10 No6 stick float, 16s hook and 4 lb main line. I was feeding straight from the moment I arrived and on my first trot down hooked into a nice dace of around 3 ounces. I had nothing then for around 10 minutes so used the time to alter my shot pattern and depth, fine tuning my set up for when they arrived. ( Here's hoping ) The continuous feeding of maggot and hemp was slowly starting to work and bites started to materialise. 😁 Small, sharp bobs at first but as I increased the feed more positive bites started to show, then a fish. A nicely conditioned roach.  😁 I was getting into my rhythm

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 fish.  Incr

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 

A long overdue social session had been orgsnised by " The Casterman " on the Irwell. . . . . Unfotunately "Bald Eagle" was working and "Salfold Pete"  was on taxie duties to the hospital all day  so it was just myself and Derek Kenyon for this session. We arrived around tea time and settled down fishing next to each other for the first forty minutes. Fist things first. I present Casterman with the but section of his Tricast XRS float rod. I had replaced the butt eye for him and he seemed impressed with my efforts. I am no Andrew Boyne but it seemed pretty good to me.  I had the better peg of the two but the session did not start off to well for either of us with a bumped fish, then I lost another. I was glad the Casterman was out of site, hidden behind an overhanging beech tree. He would have chastised me relentlessly if he would have seen me lose two fish !!!!!!!!! At the thrid bite of the cherry I got a hook up.

With a LOT of encouragement from Casterman aka Derek Kenyon I sorted out my kit for a chubbing session on the Irwell. I have lost my mojo a bit lately what with losing My Acolyte...........then having it returned by Andy Hart.....  ( Incredible I know ) eventually sorting out a session on the Ribble with Andrew Boyne, watching him pull out a double figure barbel while I toiled for four hours on the stick for one  dace !!!!!!! I had a slightly different Irwell stick to try out. It is wider, therefore, more visible than the previous ones and taking little more shot. ( 12 no 4's) I spent a fruitless two hours on a couple of secret runs Casterman always does very well on. I nearly went home there and then as I wasn't feeling it today and was just going through the motions really. " Come on Cootesie, make an effort " I mumbled to myself. I still had a few hours left so I swiftly..... BUT CAREFULLY packed my kit away..... ALL OFF IT .....before

I have up  graded my . . . . " Sneaky Lifters " People say its the little things that make all the difference and I believe it is true with regards to my Sneaky Lifter Floats. I have replaced some of my black silk to a finer grade and also replaced some of it with metallic gold. The foats that have a yellow segment also glow in the dark. 😊  I think it is quite striking but I will let you decide for your selves. " Sneaky Lifters "  are designed for shy biters where a little finesse is required and used in conjuction with a variation of the lift method. I have watched big roach hover over my hook bait, suck up the maggot and drain it dry without so much as a dip registering on the float. " Sneaky Lifters combat this by  fishing at dead depth with a no 8 about an inch and a half away from the hook.  This will indicate a bite by either going under or lifting sightly as the fish sucks up the bait from the lake bed.