Stewart Bloor

Field Tester

1

For the whole of August I targeted tench and really got into the swing of things. Not all habits are bad though, some are good and the regular routine in recent weeks of heading for the same estate lake in the English county of Shropshire has been something that I have really enjoyed.

I made a very interesting catch during the month and it wasn't a fish but a mussel! They are very common in this particular venue and this one fancied a lead which it actually engulfed fair and square.

Sometimes I caught numbers of fish other times I knew that I was in for a quiet session – you get a certain feel for these things don’t you. I managed rudd and roach though so at least I caught when the tench weren't playing ball. As I often say, it’s a very fine line between ‘success’ and ‘failure’ when you’re out angling. I’ve lost count of the number of times just one single target fish has rescued the outing, and often it’s been an impressive one at that.

As we now depart August and head into September, the signs that autumn is fast approaching are everywhere. Lake-side bramble bushes were bearing fruit – that’s blackberries to most people. Some tree leaves are already in the very early stages of turning colour. On the bird-front I saw peregrine falcons, hobby, wood sandpiper and red kite.

Although I had a target swim every time, sometimes I fished a different peg if it was taken. It’s one of those venues where, although you have a particular swim in mind when you set off from home, if it’s gone then it’s never an issue. It isn’t the sort of place where all the fish are in just one or two spots. I’m happy to fish anywhere and on such a big venue that’s good news if it’s busy.

Fishing a quivertip set-up, the line was 6lb Maxima and the free-running lead was 1/3 ounce. A size 10 hook was sufficient for the single grain of corn. This is where one of my favourite SBS Baits comes into its own - the corn-shaped boilie. Plagued by small fish sucking the bait? Switch and you'll never have a problem again!

Corn and hemp went in with the groundbait mix to attract the fish into the swim and to keep them feeding. The groundbait was SBS Flumino and I added Whiskey Link to the mix to give it some 'zing'. Although for most people when they think of SBS it is carp that comes to mind, as an all-rounder this blog entry shows that the bait products are from narrow in their appeal. See you next month!