 |
| Probably the smallest eel I've ever landed? |
Who am I?
- Dylan Wrathall
- An individual, of no great importance, who is unable to see the natural world as a place for competition. I catch fish, watch birds, derive immense pleasure from simply looking at butterflies, moths, bumble-bees, etc - without the need for rules! I am Dylan and this is my blog - if my opinions offend? Don't bother logging on again - simple!
Sunday, 4 October 2015
Success or failure?
It is a fact that I've done something which I'd not done previously - I caught an eel by design! Last night, out on The Ash Levels, I had a bite on a worm - which resulted in the landing of the smallest eel I can recall catching. Success or failure?
I think that I also got "done over" by a bite on a sprat section - I got a single bleep - no bait on the hair when I reeled in as I packed up. I have absolutely no idea as to what I should expect and have received a couple of really helpful comments on the previous post. Thanks to John L (and others) I will be changing my hook link material from braid to a wire (bite proof) type material. Bite indication is still an ongoing challenge - monkeys on needles being my preferred option, coupled with open bale arms. I have four days in which to gather my thoughts and put together a plan B. Thursday will be the next time I'll be able to get out. These are really exciting times, just like the early days of Catfishing, at Claydon. So much of what I desire is a completely unexplored experience - I enjoyed that journey, let's hope that this challenge provides the same type of reward! I'd like a decent photo - that would be a result in itself!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
First eel by design, success in my eyes mate.
ReplyDeleteBraid or wire. A constant debate on the NAC forum! I prefer a supple wire around 15/20lb B.S.
Good luck for Thursday.
If I was 100% committed to this project - I'd be looking for a wire-type material of 6-8lbs b.s. I'll be sourcing some squid in the next couple of days. I don't really know if I'm enjoying this project or simply going through the motions? It will only take one bite to define success (or failure) - this species remains very much an enigma, within my experience. Having been privileged to meet and talk with John Sidley, I feel that I owe it to him to give eels one good shot - Oct 2015 is going to be it, unless I catch something extraordinary? I might get out during the week to introduce a bit of groundbait - pre baiting was something that John swore by - let's see? Dyl
DeleteGawd, whatever happened to simple methods.
ReplyDeleteAll the years that I and my friends had our weekly eel fishing competitions in the ditches in the 1970's it was simple lightweight rods with catgut trace with a couple of lead shots as weights and a garden worm on a hook. As a bite indicator we had a cheap floresquent float and all that worked quite successfully and we caught lots of eels of varying weights each week with none of all that poncy equipment.