There’s Something Fishy at Queens Park

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Now that's the way to fish a pond...

On Thursday I was doing my usual lunchtime walk round Queens Park, Bolton when I came across this, a strange, but probably easier, way to catch the fish i thought…

What is actually happening is that the park has been granted some money from the lottery fund and part of the re-development is tidying up the ponds (inside and on the banks) and making them more accessible for everyone, anglers included. So first they have to move the fish out of a pond that’s got all sorts of junk in it, not an easy task and I’d arrived just after they’d electro-fished the pond and moved most of the fish to another.

What this involves is using a small voltage in the water to stun the fish, gather them up and transfer them somewhere else, where in a few minutes they’ll swim off non the wiser.

As you can see once they’d moved the majority of the fish they ‘netted’ the pond. With all the junk that has accumulated in the pond; trees, cans, bikes, shopping trolleys, you name it, was a fairly arduous task so, as I was in my work clothes – I left them to it…

It’s great to see some work being done in the park, it’s a beautiful place and only 5 minutes from the shopping center of Bolton – well worth a visit if you’re ever in the area.

Dusting off the Camera at the River Douglas

All sorts of ducks on the River Douglas

After some fairly dismal weather these past couple of months I finally managed to get out for a walk along our local river, the Douglas, and as I’m a bit (understatement of the century) rusty I took out my camera just to check it (and me) is working as it should.

There wasn’t really much to see exfcept a lot of ducks including some Widgeon (which make the amazing whistling noise), Teal, Shelducks and the usual suspects of Mallard and Oyster catchers. I tried to get some pictures of them in flight but a small Duck is very very fast so I gave up.

Spring was certainly in the air today though as i saw a few lambs on my way down to the river, thankfully the boys below didn’t have any as it’s best to stay out of the way of sheep at lambing time so as not to distress the ewes and their newly birthed lambs.

"The Managment" of the banks bleats "non shall pass"

They do look a bit like the mafia though and it felt like I was trespassing on their field…

Hopefully, now the weather seems to be changing for the better I’ll get out fishing, it was almost this time last year that we fished this very river and caught a few Flounder – there were a few people fishing today but nobody had caught anything. It seems the seasons are a bit late this year, but i seem to recall someone saying that a cold winter heralds a hot summer – so here’s hoping…

Autumn’s Final Fling

Autumns Final Fling at Queens Park, Bolton

Just a quick post to say I’m still here but with the weather being so terrible during the weekends we’ve not had chance to go fishing or had the inclination to go walking.

I managed to get out at lunchtime for a quick walk through Queens Park, in Bolton, only to find that most of the footpaths near the River Croal are closed as they’re repairing the bridge, and they will be till at least April… oh well, at least they’re only closed while the weather is rubbish and the bridge has been closed for years now so obviosuly needed seeing too.

The leaves had almost gone but I just managed to sneak a photograph of the last of them hanging on over the pond before this weekends winds turn up, I expect the trees will be naked next week.

So no fishing this weekend and unless the weather stops being so damn wet it’s looking like our Autumn / Winter fishing is on hold for a while.

Here be Dragons

The weather here in Lancashire has been a little unpredictable to say the least over this past week. We’ve had torrential rain, blazing sun, light breezes and almost gale force winds so it’s been one of those weeks where getting out to enjoy the abundance of wildlife the area has to offer has been a bit touch and go.

Most of the migrants such as Swallows are starting to head south but still the insect life continues to flourish. One such lunchtime visit to Queens Park in Bolton resulted in some fine views of some Brown Hawker (Aeshna grandis) dragonflies hunting down butterflies over the pond, hell to take photos of in flight but a bit simpler once they settle to lay eggs.

Hiding along the pathway through the wood that grows alongside the River Croal in the park were a few Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) butterflies trying to avoid being eaten by the speedy Hawkers. I’ve never spent the time to look at these properly before, just seeing them for small brown butterflies, they’re a lovely looking insect with great markings and clearly defined spots. I tried to get a photo of the Small White’s to compare the Green Veined ones we saw on Anglesey but they wouldn’t stay still.

We’ve canceled our sea fishing trip for Sunday as the weather is going to be grim so we’re going to Southport Flower Show on Saturday instead to get some ideas for the back garden. The plan is get there early to avoid the crowds but no doubt we’ll stay far to long and get caught in the traffic on the way home, I’m looking forward to it though, I haven’t been to the flower show since I was a lad with my parents.

Goodbye Visit to Penmon

"Dipping Your Toes"

Penmon Lighthouse

And then it was time to come home.

After packing the car and leaving Ty Cristion behind until late our next visit late September we spent a few hours at Penmon where we had our lunch and our fairwell slice of cake from the café, The Pilothouse.

This was one of the best holidays I think we’ve been on, not due to any spectacular sea fishing achievements, but because we got to do all the things we say we’re going to do instead of fishing 24/7 for nearly 2 weeks. Walking, bird watching, just plain old relaxing and watching the world go by – and fishing obviously – it was fantastic!

I’ve only been back at work 2 weeks and we’re already looking forward to going back to the island at the end of September, hopefully to bag a few Small Eyes Rays, but if we don’t get them we know that Anglesey will once again be the venue of a great break.

Scoping Out South Stack

"Hiding in the Daisies"

As the wind continued to be a bit blustery we decided to go and visit South Stack lighthouse with the cameras and spotting scope to see what bird life we could find. This time we climbed down the cliff path (all 400 steps of it) and went across to the lighthouse where the Lesser Black Backed Gulls still had chicks.

The views back towards the cliffs of the sea birds coming and going were astonishing and we saw all sorts of birds including Guillemot, Razorbill, Herring Gull, Lesser Black Backed and Greater Black Backed Gulls, Kittiwake, Chough and finally managed to get views (although a long way off and not suitable for photography) of Puffins.

The above juvenile Kittiwake was just sitting by the path, not a care in the world, and with the abundance of small fish in the sea below who can blame him.

It was a struggle to get an in-focus shot of the gulls as they flew past, I never realised just how fast they are until I tried catching on on camera. After spending a few hours just watching the busy cliffs and sea below we trudged back up the cliff, stopping at every bench we could find to catch our breath and continually looking at the cliffs as we ascended a path (yep – all 400 steps going up as well) that seemed a lot steeper on the way up than it was coming down.

Lonely Razorbill with Guillemots

It was well worth a visit but undoubtedly the star attraction of the South Stack area are the cliffs down which the path runs, the lighthouse island is good for sea watching and during the spring and summer has an RSPB presence on it, but if you want to see the birds keep stopping on the way down and just take a few minutes to wonder at the huge number of birds nesting on every conceivable ledge.

Walking Cemlyn Bay to Carmel Head

Racing the tide infront of The Skerries

As the wind continued to be a little severe we sacked sea fishing off for and went for a walk along the cliffs between Cemlyn Bay and Carmel Head. The scenery was stunning, with great views of ‘The Skerries’ over the sea to the north west.

There was an amazing variety of wildlife on show not least being a huge number of Green Veined White butterflies, feeding on the cliffs out of the wind. At least I think that’s what they were – I don’t think ‘Small Whites’ show the veins in their wings as much (I saw some today in Bolton in the park) and ‘Large Whites’ are, well, larger.

We past a couple of huge concrete / stone pillars called “The White Ladies” which are used as a navigational aid as when they are lined up with the marker on the small isle offshore, “West Mouse”, help get a bearing into Holyhead.

As well as the usual sea birds we saw a juvenile Buzzard but as per usual it stayed just out of camera range – damn thing.

The walk was about 6.5 miles and was fairly easy going and easy enough to navigate, although the paths are a bit vague towards the end of Carmel Head. We started at a car park just east of the National Trust owned farm of Mynachdy, headed north east(ish) to Hen Borth then went anti-clockwise along the coast to Porth y Dyfn, came back over Penbrynyreglwys, and headed along the track, through the farm and back to the car park.

A Windy Visit to Red Wharf Bay

Looking west along Red Wharf Bay

Again the wind played havoc with our sea fishing plans and to make matters worse it was one of the few days of ‘proper’ rain we had during our stay on Anglesey so we went for a drive around the eastern side of the island, mainly the Llandonna / Red Wharf Bay area to see what we could see.

"Alone and grounded" - Afon Nodwydd Estuary, Red Wharf Bay

After a while we moved ‘up’ the coast a bit to the section of the bay nearest to Pentraeth where I got out and had a look around while Wendy watched me (and read) from within the car as I battled the elements.

Little Egret, Red Wharf Bay, Pentraeth

It took me a while to notice them but I spotted a few Little Egrets searching for food in the small river near the car park so I quickly grabbed the camera and after much swearing and watching the little buggers fly away from me, managed to get a reasonable photo.

It was only after getting back into the car, a little windswept to say the least, that I noticed the Egrets were all down the river as it meandered it’s way toward the sea through the beach.

Typical.

Anglesey – it never ceases to amaze you with it’s wildlife.

An Evening Walk at Cemlyn Bay

Cemlyn Bay Lagoon

As the wind got up to ‘dangerous’ speeds and made a lot of our favourite marks unfishable we decided to have an evening walk around the headland at Cemlyn bay. This is turning into one of our favorite spots as it seems to be virtually deserted and area is blessed with wildlife of all types.

The last bit of daylight lights up the cliffs at Hen Borth

We picked up a book on circular coastal walks around Anglesey, “Coastal Walks Around Anglesey” which is very good and the short walk we did started at the western (left) end of the reserve, wound it’s way along the coast in an anti-clockwise direction to Hen Borth then headed inland and back along seldom used country lanes.

Dramatic sunset at Hen Borth

We timed it perfectly, for a change, and managed to get to see the sun set over the Irish Sea just as we headed inland. Even this small section of lanes was wonderful in the evening light and all sorts of insects made an appearance as the light began to fail.

This small spider is a female Candystripe (or Polymorphic) Spider (Enoplognatha Ovata) I think although I’m willing to be corrected, and was guarding her eggs which were in the base of the roled up leaf.

A lovely stroll of only about 3 miles or so but still well worth a visit if you’re in the area.

A Lazy Day Photographing Around Point Lynas

Labyrinth Spider at home in the Gorse.

After Tuesdays late night fly fishing excitement Wednesday was another day for walking around the coastal cliffs in our never rending quest for the perfect picnic spot. Point Lynas comes very, very close, no people, fantastic views and blazing sunshine – yep, almost perfect.

Another good excuse to take out the ‘big’ camera where I spotted a few Labyrinth Spiders (Agelena labyrinthica) which people (myself included until recently) mistakenly identify as Funnel Web Spiders. Labyrinth Spiders aren’t harmful – they just look a bit mean sitting in the entrance of their web in the Gorse.

A few photos of the stunning wild flowers around Point Lynas, all taken using the standard ‘mini zoom’ that came as part of the ‘kit’ with the Canon EOS 450D, the Canon 18-55mm IS.

Sea Thrift on the rocky cliffs at Point Lynas, Anglesey

A few half decent shots – now I’m getting the hang of using an SLR again, all be it digital, I’m finding the quality of even the cheaper Canon lens optics far out perform any compact style camera for close up work although I’m still a bit reluctant to take it when I go fishing.