Carp and Water Voles

I made 3 trips to my regular Essex fishery in 2012. Once in April, June and August. We later 2 trips, I fished with a friend and his nephew, we saw water voles which is always nice as they are not all that common these days.

On the first trip I had a few smallish carp and a few really nice bream. Mirror Carp - Cyprinus carpio Mirror Carp - Cyprinus carpio Bream - Abramis brama Bream - Abramis brama Bream - Abramis brama Bream - Abramis brama

The second trip in June, there was a little more variety. Roach - Rutilus rutilus Rudd - Scardinius erythrophthalmus Bream - Abramis brama Common Carp - Cyprinus carpio European Water Vole - Arvicola terrestris

The final trip in August was extremely wet and we fished it in thunderstorms. The fish were still feeding and we had a lot of really nice sized carp in the middle of the storm. Roach - Rutilus rutilus Mirror Carp - Cyprinus carpio Rudd - Scardinius erythrophthalmus F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius Bream - Abramis brama Common Carp - Cyprinus carpio Leather Carp - Cyprinus carpio

Silver Bream and Barbel

I had been searching for a venue where I could catch Ide or Golden Orfe and stillwater Barbel when I came across a venue with both. The only problem was that it would be about 2 hours on the train and not a very regular service. At least it was quite close to the station, so I didn't have to do too much of a hike.

So I set up with my usually two rod setup. A ledger with corn or halibut pellets and a wagler setup. First cast... landed the first of my target species albeit about a tenth of the expected size. It was a 2oz fully formed little Barbel [#140] Barbel - Barbus barbus #140

I then proceeded to catch a whole lot of F1's on both rods, then a nice little Crucian. F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius F1 Carp - Cyprinus carpio x Carassius Crucian Carp - Carassius carassius

Then several fish which I though were just Roach/Bream hybrids which really big eyes but in fact where a species I had never caught before, the Silver bream[#141]. The best way to identify these is the large eyes and the red coloured fins. To be sure, you will need to count scales and fins which are always hard to do without photos. Silver Bream - Blicca bjoerkna #141 Silver Bream - Blicca bjoerkna Silver Bream - Blicca bjoerkna

Into the day, I continued catch a few more species, perch, roach, bronze bream and a really nice sized gudgeon, but didnt get any Ide or Orfe. European Perch - Perca fluviatilis Roach - Rutilus rutilus Bream - Abramis brama Gudgeon - Gobio gobio

Perch and Trout

During a trip to the Peak District, I dropped into Arnfield Reservoir. I made two trips here. I first I fished along the show line and caught a nice rainbow on a blue flash damsel. Rainbow Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss Rainbow Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss
On the second trip, I decided to hire a boat, and fished the far bank. It was a lovely way to fly fish having never done so on a boat before. I ended up catching a load of perch fry on buzzers and bfd. I even caught a double head perch and trout. European Perch - Perca fluviatilis European Perch - Perca fluviatilis European Perch - Perca fluviatilis Rainbow Trout - Oncorhynchus mykiss