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

I cannot believe it has take me this long to get out with my mate " The Casterman" AKA  Derek Kenyon. On this outing we had decided to meet at the venue as I had to be home early so two cars were necessary. Derek arrived first and I rocked up about ten minutes later. " How do " We said to each other. " Its been too long since the last time we wet a line together. We got our kit out quickly and started off towards the river. As we arrived we started looking for some likely holding areas. One run hit me straight away but it was three quarters of the way across the river. Castetman only had thigh waders on, mine were chest waders so, luckily I had the option for that run and I took it gratefully. 😊 Casterman opted for the slower water in the shade of a row of Horse chestnut trees in the hope this would be the home of a shoal of wary chub or even his favourite species . . . . the roach. We both opted for stick floats. I chose a 8 number 4&#

As we set off to out on our grayling hunt Adam said . . . .  quite matter of fact. . . . .  " Do you fancy grabbing your rainbow trout and River Irk pb in one hit before we go searching for the ladies ? I can guarantee you a two pounder at the very least. !!!!!!!!! " Lets do it " I said.  " Its took us long enough to get a fishing session together " Lol. Ten minutes later we were stealthily, crawling though the undergrowth looking for some local trout action. As Adam had declared it did not take long. He spotted a good fish straight away and with a couple of well aimed casts put the bunch of maggots right past its nose . . . . . .  and the bait was readily ignored on every occasion  !!!!!!!! " Cootesie, pass us a worm mate " came a whisper deep inside the undergrowth " I quickly did his bidding and after few more trots down and we were still without a bite. On the last couple of  casts I noticed Adam jig the worm o

Well. . . . . . . . . For the last month or two I have seemed to have lost my fishing mojo for one reason or another. A few phone calls from my old chum " The Casterman " had fallen on deaf ears . . . .  I was just not feeling it at the moment !!!!!!!!!! I had put a comment on Facebook about grayling on some site or another . . . . I forget the exact one when my phone pinged and a message from Adam Mack anounced itself in my inbox !!!!! " Fancy taking your pin for a spin " ?  . . . . . . . . " I know where the Ladies are ". The message was a little cryptic but I new ķexactly what he meant and a little smile appeared on my face as I read it. 😁 I had only recently caught my first grayling or  " Lady Of The Stream " so another session for these wonderful looking fish got my attention. A few phone calls later Adam and myself had sorted a time date out to reclaim my fishing mojo. We met up, got some gear from the loca

After my first attempt at antique looking porcupine quills  . . . . . http://purplepeanut007.blogspot.com/2018/01/retro-quills-for-summer-tenching.html?m=1 I quite fancied making  some more but with a more modern look. I decided to make just two floats to begin with. One float in  " Glow In The Dark Yellow " and the second in  " Day Glow Red / Pink ". Taking approximately 3BB the glow in the dark quill has multiple white and yellow segments near the tip of the float to aid in bite detection, metallic gold whippings, a violet band in the centre and black tippets on both ends. The painted section is a favourite colour of mine !!!! Metallic Pearlescent Blue. Looks great when the suns rays hit it. 😁 The red / pink tipped quill is made in a similar style but I have emitted the gold whippings and used a rich, vibrant red in its place. The central violet band is also absent on this float as I decided to leave it bare to show of t

I have made this style of  30g reversible pike slider a couple of times before but never with a red/pink and black tip combination. The pair below have been also been modified slightly and this modification will be the norm on my future slider floats. The small modification is a slightly elongated tip 50 % of which I have left bare of paint. I did this so the float can readily except Korda Shok Beads . . . . . With and without picture Why ????????? I here you say. This is for added protection . . . . . When the float slides down to the weights / beads at the bottom of the rig. A small modification as I have said but one which will increase the longevity of the float I think. 😁 These work well for both for  dead  and live baits.........  I may be using them in the sea with a certain someone if I can get my timing right. You know who you are. 😊 TTFN Peanut. If you would like to look at my handcrafted floats just

I kicked of my river season yesterday on the Ribble trying out a new waggler plus a few sticks floats. Traffic was good for a change as I made way up the M61. I couldn't wait to see the river again. . . that wait seamed like years.... !!!!!! When I arrived the river was one her bones !!!!! I had never seen the Ribble this low before !!!!!! Most of the pegs were unfishable for me with the floats I wanted to use.  There was either no flow or too much pace. I opted for a gravel run at the end of a deep,  virtually still pool.  There was more pace on my peg as it shallowed up to about three feet . . . at least it would move the sticks along. As I was running a new stick float through the swim there was a massive CRASH !!!!!!!  I nearly jumped out of my waders !!! 🤯🤯🤯🤯 A fish had leaped clean out of the water and crashed back into the deeper part of the pool to my left. I got a clean visual of it as crashed down the second time. It was a salmon of aro