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Planning for the glorious 16th

S

Steve Double

Senior Member
Right, just over a month to go, so hands up if you've:

1. Booked the day off work.
2. Settled on your chosen swim.
3. Decided to cast in at midnight even though it makes more sense, and is probably more productive, to wait until dawn.
4. Visualised your first cast, which is, of course, incredibly accurate (contrary to all previous experience).
5. Settled on your sixth different type of landing net for the new season, hoping this will be "the one".
6. Obviously imagined landing a large barbel in your new net within a few minutes of casting in, even though on your low-stock river this probably won't happen until July at the earliest.
7. Decided on the food and drink to sustain you through the day and night.

I have done all of the above with the exception of (7). Can't decide on the convenience of sausage rolls or my favourite cheese and tomato sandwiches. But everything else is sorted...until I discover when it's too late that my head torch batteries are flat and all three of my baiting needles have gone missing...
 
I'm sure that's the case Graham, but I'd be worried about the beetroot juice staining my fingers and possibly contaminating my hook bait.

Or is that the secret to your success?
 
For the last two seasons I have made a start at midnight. Its been very exciting and each time I have arrived at the river for 9.30/10pm to set up whilst its still light. This doesn't actually take very long because my rod has been ready, fully assembled and rigged up, for about a month. This means that I have just been sat waiting for midnight. You do notice just how late it gets dark and how early it starts to get light. I actually had time to notice all manner of things because on each occasion, I had not the slightest interest from a fish. Of course I was naturally very, very, happy indeed to see BFW fish capture announcements being made on the forum throughout the night. Really wonderful to hear of everyone else being so successful while I stared at a motionless rod. So very happy for them. Although last year didn't we have that fun and games with someone posting up a capture at like 4 minutes past midnight or something and folk pointing out that this would suggest a pre-midnight start. That row kept me awake for a bit. So I have decided against a midnight start this year and I might even try and hold off fishing for barbel until July, given how much I have struggled early season.

Until I had prepared some cheese and beetroot sandwiches for GE, I had imagined the combination to be a bit rubbish. It does work though but you need a very good quality beetroot.
 
Midnight start for me too on a large club stretch. Been trickling a bait I've had a chance to test. It's a bit different to pellets and boilies so I'm expecting good things. It's proved well for tench so far.
 
Won't be a midnight start for us but it will be an early one im so excited already..Oh and i don't care whats in the sandwitches as long as its cheese and pan yan....
 
Pan Yan John? You'l be lucky....long gone mate. I wouldn't fancy any of your sandwiches if they still have some of that in them :D:D

Cheers, Dave.
 
:eek: Whatever sweet pickle the other half is buying now,shows how much attention i pay:)
 
Hi men,

Last night in perpetration for the 16th I gave my lovely little popups a coating of Goo ;) !

As me and Sue have not found anywhere we want to fish , it's going to be carp for us !.

Hatter
 
Booked a month off work and will be on the bank at midnight, two to three day session to start. I really am finding stillwaters a bit tedious at the moment but that's probably because I've forgotten how to catch tench.
 
It's all resting on my training schedule with this new job - being the highly organised global superpower that they are, I shouldn't expect any dates given to me without much more than a few days notice.
Ideally I'll be able to take the week off, however if not then I'll be leaving work at half 2 on the 19th and enjoy being there until Saturday evening. I'm not expecting to catch one of the big girls at all, it's just going to be nice fishing the river again.
I have everything all good to go, still a little undecided as to what bait to go for this year, I'll likely carry on with my JB stuff although I keep meaning to wean myself back on to meat again - purely for cost than anything else.
It'll likely be Ginsters finest for dinner though, I'd never be so lucky to have wifey make me a cheese and beetroot sammich.
 
No need to book the week off work this year as I retired at the end of April. Two swims chosen but will decide which one nearer the day. Will arrive at the river at 9.30pm ready for the midnight start.Mark Tunley is currently building two new rods that will be ready for the start. Another vote for cheese and beetroot sandwiches but with plenty of salt on them. Can't wait!
 
Wash your mouth out Mark..:rolleyes:
 
HI men ,

Regarding the Goo , iv no idea why women worry about nail varnish , some Goo has stained my nails , and I cnt get it off !!!.


Hatter , carp angler.
 
Hi Derek, did it ever make a comeback then? I grew up with the stuff, dont know what the mrs buys now but it still tastes yummy on my cheese sarnies:)
 
When i was a youngster in Scotland, a friend of mine's Granny had recipe's for lots of stuff like that. They were cooked in muslin like "clootie dumpling", fruit preserves and pickle that you put in jars or some other air-tight containers and one of them was Pan Yan. The reason i remember it, was that a Chinese restaurant had recently opened close buy and the name reminded me of something Chinese or Far Eastern. The link on this thread is very close but there is something missing from the recipe that i seen i think.

Stephen
 
no venue decided yet, will be fishing just before daybreak, essential items are a small flask of brandy, a drop for me and a drop poured in the river in respect,
real basic compact bag of gear, minimum bait, a float rod and a short 13/4 tc lead rod, l/net, light brolly if it looks overcast, my trusty chair and a kelly kettle
along with 2 or 3 pies, thats it, if the fish aint aving it then they,ll ave a drop mor brandy lol:)
 
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