Simply Pole Fishing

 Paesplas, Gennep - 9 May 

When I was first stationed at RAF Laarbruch in 1984, Gennep was our local Dutch angling club, so all the anglers at Laarbruch were members there.

Paesplas near Gennep. Hopeful of a few fish.

We fished the Maas, a dead arm of the Maas and the harbours. Paesplas is an off-shoot of the Rijksfluchthaven.

Wind off the back and a really nice bank. A good start, but will it last?

We fished many of the clubs matches, and I will never forget the Dutch drinking beer in the pub at 7 in the morning whilst doing the draw. I also went to Strasbourg and watched Lud Wever win the World Champs in 1986 - he was a member of the club at that time.

It's a very pretty venue. At one with nature - best way to spend the day.

Today. I will be fishing the pole and I'm hopeful of catching a few Roach and Perch. Of course, I'm bound to catch a few Gobies (Grundel) as well - especially when I put some chopped worm in.

Groundbait ready - 5 small balls for the 11.5m line.

Groundbait  for today just 2kg of a medium to dark sticky mix and some added Coriander for additional attraction. This mix will have the Roach going crazy. I have wetted the groundbaits on the bank today, so I will have a more active mix for the Roach. There is no flow here, so rising particles will not take away any fish from the feeding area - although I may start to catch up in the water with regular loose feeding as well.

These Kamasan B711 hooks are working very well for me at the moment. I used a size 17 today.

Bait  - I have white maggots and pinkies, casters, hemp and worms with me today. I hope I can catch the Roach on casters, but we'll just have to wait and see. As always, I have added turmeric to my maggots to degrease them (they sink faster) and to add a bit of colour.

The Deeper Pro shows me the depths and bottom contours in the swim, and I have a wide flat bottom and 3m depth at 11.5m. Now I know exactly which length top kits to set up - Top 3.

I have set up three rigs for today - all for 11.5m.

Rig 1  - Dave Harrell 1.0g DH21, 0.14mm Accu Power main line, 0.10mm Accu power hook-link and a size 18 Kamasan B611 silver hook.

Rig 2  - Preston Innovation 1.25g Inter Carbon, 0.14mm Accu Power main line, 0.11mm Accu Power hook-link, and a size 15 Kamasan B711 bronze hook.

Gobies - I hate the little sods.

Rig 3  - Preston Innovations Chianti 4x16, 0.11mm Reflo Power main line, 0.09mm hook-link and a size 16 Kamasan B511 hook.

The water is really clear and I'm now worried that the pole might not be the best option - unfortunately, I didn't bring my feeder rods today.

I separated enough groundbait for 5 balls and added 50g of hemp, 50ml of casters and a few chopped worms to the mix and the initial feed is 5 small balls at 11m  - all cupped-in for accuracy.

Elastics were the Original Slip No. 5 (Rig 3), 6 (Rig 1) and 8 (Rig 2).

Tap water! The chances of catching Roach on the pole are very low. Not enough depth close in on this swim. I think I need at least 4m to have a chance.

I started at 08:30 and the Sun was still fairly low and was not out over the water yet. The water looked very clear. After 5 minutes I had the first bite - Goby! The second fish - Goby! And so it went, one Goby after the next.

The float was easy to see - all floats had black tips today - and I had a long line between pole and float to keep the pole's shadow away from the fish.

There was no way that the Roach were going to come into the clear water. I was feeding hemp with the throwing stick regularly, but the Roach would be too easily spooked in the clear water. The water needs some colour before the fish will come and feed close in.

New Preston Innovations Euro Competition 3000 on the super-stable Octbox pole roller.

I tried my best to get some fish other than the Gobies, but it was not to be.

Remember, not all fishing sessions go as planned. Sometimes the conditions mean you can't catch fish on certain methods - which is why I should've had a fallback method.

As I packed in, Matthias came and set up to fish the feeder. The Roach were there, just out at 30m.

Today, the feeder was the right choice in the clear water. So, the lesson for today - never leave home without all your gear!

Next visit to Gennep will be with the feeder rods!