Dan O’Neill is back with a report of his coarse fishing adventures in the south east…
With things heating up a little in the past few days the carp are starting to get a bit more active. The roach and Rudd are waking up also. I love to sit under a tree with a slice of lemon drizzle cake and cup of coffee while watching the waggler float. For the first time this season Rudd have been nudging the float. Great times. Anthony was firmly set on the darker shadows that passed from time to time. As they passed he would throw in one or two free offerings nearby awaiting them to turn and follow it to the bottom.
Some time passed and Anthony came running for the fishing rod “one turned on the bait”. Heading back slowly to the area he began watching closely for shadows. Some were staying quiet still just out of reach. One fish, however, began moving nicely and slowly towards us. Anthony got ready and made a quite impressive cast towards the fish. Just like it was written, the fish turned, looked down and followed the bait. The line began to tighten, and Anthony was in.
The carp was of a good size and immediately ran to the opposite bank. It twisted and turned before coming towards us then making another burst for freedom. Eventually the fish came to the net and it certainly was a good one. Anthony, delighted with himself, kept asking, “is that my PB?”.

We got the landing mat and unhooking kit ready before taking the fish out of the net to have a closer look. It was in fact his PB, a very proud moment for him. It was great that we witnessed it together. After that fish it went fairly quiet and only the Rudd and roach would oblige which I was very happy about. I had lots of lovely rudd, they were great fun on the pellet waggler.
At about 6pm we decided to call it a day and get a bag of chips each to celebrate Anthonys new PB. The hunt is already on to break his new PB, discussions went deep into the evening. Great to see such determination and that Anthony has found the interest in angling.Its been a big year for him so far so lets hope there are plenty more PB species for him.
I got a few casts on the Barrow over the weekend also, I fished the canal mouth for anything that was willing to take. I had some roach, dace and a couple of skimmers. Great fishing, I also had a pike follow in a roach and swipe at it. Unfortunately my pike expert wasn’t present so I had to move spots. A nice couple of hours just fishing the float. I used small worm sections on a size 16. Lightly ground baited with my usual mix and a few worm sections thrown in every now and again.
Irish spring Angling Fair
Its finally here, the fair at Ardaire Springs will be underway this weekend. Some superb exhibitors will be there sharing there knowledge. I am looking forward to seeing you all there. The kids corner is back after its huge success last year. I will be there with Apgai and Cadence so be sure to stop by to say hello.