Big Dipper's Angling Diaries

Quick post tonight guys to give my mate Martin a plug for his blog...........

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Woodshaw Reservoir

Woodshaw Reservoir

Sunday 19th April 2015

With me missing my next match due to me getting involved in some stag do frolics, I was anxious to get a pleasure session in sometime - otherwise it would be a long wait until the next match I can attend on the 9th May. So it was very nice of Mrs Fishernutstu to give me a free pass today to visit Woodshaw Reservoir.  Woodshaw is another water on the Warrington card and this was set to be only my second visit to the venue ever.

On arrival at the water, there were already a few anglers on, which meant that the pegs I was thinking of trying were already occupied. A quick chat with the bailiff for some advice saw me make my way to peg 15. Under advice, I set up my stall to fish the short pole for the day. I set up 3 rigs - 1 to fish to my right and left on 5 sections, in the same depth of water about a metre from the bank, the other 2 were straight in front of me at 6 sections, one on the deck and one up in the water. Woodshaw is only a shallow venue so none of my rigs were much more than about 3 1/2 feet deep.

Bait choices for the day were to be quite simple. I had a pint of maggot and half a pint of caster for fishing straight in front me and softened 4mm pellets for the left and right swims. I pumped a mixture of 4 and 6 mm expanders for the hook as well as having a small selection of soft hookers.

To start my session off I put in a cad pots worth of pellets on the left and right swims and then went out on the middle swim with a maggot hook bait and the bottom rig. Catapulting maggot over the top I was instantly catching small palm sized Roach, each taking the maggot hook bait before the float had settled.  After 15 mins or so of this routine it was clear these Roach were there in numbers and were never going to let my bait get to the deck so I changed tactics slightly and potted in a large pot of maggots and pellets and switched from a bulk and 2 dropper set up to fishing the bulk just above my 6inch hooklength. Whilst this worked in the sense of being able to get my bait to the bottom, it was still only small Roach and the odd skimmer that were taking whatever hook bait I put in front of them. Feeling this is not the kind of day I wanted, I put in another large pot of maggot and pellets and picked up the rig for my left hand swim.  Filling my cad pot with pellets and going with a 6mm expander, I placed my rig in and waited - my thoughts were on the reported Crucians and Tench that inhabited this water and I was wondering if they had started to wake up. Well it wasn't long before I got my answer as a nice Crucian of around 1lb was happily swimming round in circles on the surface in front of me as my float sat motionless - was it going to be one of those days? Thankfully the answer was no, as out of the blue my float dipped beneath the surface and I was soon playing a nice fish to the net - I can't decide for myself if this is a Crucian, a Brown Goldfish or a hybrid of the two (could it even be a dreaded F1)?

This seemed to be a trigger as I was getting bites frequently on this line for a while from this point. The small Roach and Skimmers were still there in numbers but at least on this line they were complimented by some bonus fish in the shape of some decent, odd looking hybrids, Tench, larger skimmers to 2lb and Definite Crucians.

This line generally produced for the rest of the session. During odd quiet spells I tried the right hand swim but this produced nothing and I also picked up my shallow rig every now and again and had fun picking off shallow Roach on caster, some were coming in at a nice size too. Eventually the sun came out and it was right in my eyes so I called time on the session at around 2:30pm, quite satisfied and looking forward to coming back to Woodshaw when the fish had properly woken up.

It'll be a couple of weeks now until I get out again so I'll be doing some housekeeping with the tackle in that time, mainly changing reel lines and pole elastics - incidentally I have opted to give Nick Gilbert's pole elastics a try this time based on many recommendations from friends.

Until the next time - tight lines

Old Hough Fisheries - Big Max

Old Hough Fisheries - Big Max

Saturday 11th April 2015

As I approached the latest match in Pem Centrals calendar, there was a high expectation of a good day on the cards. We had started to see some improved weather over the Easter weekend that had continued into the week, catch reports at the fishery, and at many others, were showing signs that the fish were finally on the move and I was going into the match with a win under my belt from the previous match. All ingredients for a good day on the bank.  So......it was probably quite predictable that as the weekend approached the warm settled weather we had was due to make way for overnight rains, lower temperatures and increased winds. Very typical.

Not to be down hearted, I went into the match with optimism. After stopping by the butty van in Middlewich for a tasty barm and a good chat, the lads made our way to the fishery. By the time we were doing the draw, the rain had all but stopped and we were left with just the strong winds which seemed to be coming across us regardless of where we were pegged. My draw put me on fishery peg 4. On this peg I had the corner of the island to in front of me as well as an empty corner to my left with an aerator.

Peg 4 - Home for the day

In a bid to keep things simple, I decided that I would fish this match with a 2 line approach. I set up a banjo feeder to fish to the island, and also give me the option to cast to my left near the aerator; I had softened micros for the feeder with various pellets and bandums for the hook. The other line was a long pole line at 14.5 metres were I would feed softened 4mm pellets and corn with pellet and corn options for the hook.

To give me a back up, I also plumbed a margin line but based on pre-match advice, this was only there as a back-up and I had no real intention of devoting much time to it.

At the all-in, I fed a pot of corn and pellets on the 14.5m pole line and then picked up the feeder rod and cast to the island. With the wind coming across from my right, I found casting accurately quite difficult but was just about managing to cast to the island. I stuck on this for approx half an hour but with no bites, not even any liners giving away the presence of fish, I decided it was worth trying the pole. I shipped out to the 14.5 metres but after only a short period of time I realised that this was going to be too difficult a fight against the wind so I was soon picking the feeder rod up again. The pole would have to wait and see if the wind dropped.

This time however, rather than casting to the island I turned to my left and cast towards the aerator in the empty corner of the lake.  Landing just off the right hand corner of the aerator, casting was notably easier in this direction with the wind now coming from behind me.  After a short wait the tip shot round and I was soon playing my first fish of the day which was a nice carp of around 2-3lb.  The switch to the aerator line appeared to be a good move as I steadily caught a number of fish from this line over the next 90 mins and I was feeling confident that I was beating most people I could see at this point, only the guys on the far bank from me were unknown at this point. At around the midway point in the match this line started to slow so to give it a rest, I decided to plumb an extra pole line short at around 5 metres. I fed this the same as the long pole line and went back onto the tip. Despite having a couple of smaller fish from this line it was still noticeably slower than before so I took a look on the short pole line. Presentation was much easier on this line but after 10 or 15 mins with no signs, I felt it was not going to be a day for the pole and decided if I had to sit out for bites, I would do so on the feeder.  What happened next however changed the whole outlook of the match for me as this time, I decided that I would try a cast to the island again as Paul to my right and Frank to his right had picked up a couple of fish on this line. Despite using the same clip that I had set up with, my first cast back on this line saw me land on the island and subsequently snagged.  Despite my best efforts, I couldn't free myself from the snag and had to pull for a break. At this point my head went and despite setting the tip rod back up again and getting back out to the aerator line, I couldn't settle myself back down and felt this affected me for the remainder of the match. I did manage a couple of extra F1s to the net but at the all-out I couldn't help but feel I had wasted an opportunity for a second match win.

As the scales went round, it was obvious that the day had been tough for all. The bank to my left, which was pegs 33 to 28 had produced only 2 weights over 20lb, with Mark Anglesea leading the way on 25lb 4oz. Turning the corner into the far bank from me Denis Darby set a new top weight with exactly 50lb from peg 22. This proved to be the top weight of the day. Ste Green and Dave Benson to the 2nd and 3rd place spots with 29lb 4oz and 28lb from pegs 19 and 12.  I was last to weigh in on the day and my total fell just short of 20lb at 19lb 12oz.  I was a bit disappointed with this result as I felt the peg was worth double that with aerator feature and the wind blowing into it. It was enough to see me finish 7th out of 15 on he day. I did pick up a section win though so not all lost.

Top 3:

1st: Dennis Darby 50lb

2nd: Ste Green 29lb 4oz

3rd: Dave Benson 28lb

Sections (by default):

Section 1: Mark Anglesea 25lb 4oz

Section 2: Stuart Rourke 19lb 12oz

Honourable mention to George Derbyshire who weighed in 12lb 8oz of small silvers, none of which looked to be over 4oz. Well done George.

A further stag do sees me missing Pems next match, which is at Partridge Lakes, so my next scheduled session will be the 9th May when we head down to Heronbrook. Will have to wait and see if I can manage a sneaky session before that date.

Drennan Acolyte Ultra - First outing

Worthington Lakes - Arley Reservoir

Monday 6th April 2015

Now, I love waggler fishing, in particular, I love waggler fishing for silvers but with so little of my time spent doing it due to fishing matches dominated by pole and feeder techniques I have never been able to justify a really good rod for the method. So, with a bonus coming my way I decided it was time to treat myself. After much deliberation (and I mean more than I have done for any other rod purchase before) I settled on the Drennan Acolyte Ultra at 13ft. As you can imagine, once the rod was in my possession, I was keen to get it in use so I settled on a visit to Worthington lakes where I have had good days previously fishing the waggler up in the water - what better way to give it try.

At the venue I decided to fish Arley Reservoir which is the middle of the 3 lakes on offer at Worthington. The red arrow on the image shows where I pegged myself and I had a light but cold wind blowing in my face.

The venue was very foggy as I arrived which made it very cold. I expected the fog to lift as the sun got up but the reality was that I had to wait until midday before it had cleared and started to warm up a bit. 

The view I had for most of my session

Tactics for the day were going to be quite simple. I set up a 4g loaded waggler at around 5ft deep and cast it just as far as I could comfortably catapult my loose feed, which was a good tub of mixed maggot. It doesn't get much simpler than that. On previous sessions, I have been fishing this method here and had  large numbers of Roach, Perch and Hybrids so I was hopeful for a good day - I even took my keepnet in the hope that I could get a nice bag picture for the blog. The fish however had other ideas. After a slow start I managed to christen the rod with a nice Roach.

The Acolyte popped it's cherry with this Roach.

Sport was slow though with long gaps between bites. Eventually, after taking my eyes off the float for a second to pour a coffee, my float was under again and this time there was a bit more resistance at the other end and a short but spirited fight saw me land this 1lb+ skimmer.

Skimmers up in the water

By midday, I had added another 2 Roach and a nice Hybrid to bring my tally to 5. Not exactly the busy session I was hoping for but enough to demonstrate the performance of the wonderfully light and responsive Acolyte, that was truly a joy to use. 

A great piece of kit - Drennan Acolyte Ultra

This was followed by a long baron spell and as I searched the depths between 3 and 7/8ft, the only reward being a brief moment where I hooked one of Arleys resident Carp. I think I foul hooked it to honest as I was sinking my line but after an initial run towards me, the carp just about put a lovely bend in the rod before shooting off like a rocket and straightening the hook. The battle lasted all of about 12 seconds. As I was getting ready for leaving, I decided to empty the keepnet and allow it to dry for an hour whilst I had a few 'last casts'. Disaster struck though as clumsy old me managed to stand on my Daiwa Tournament landing net handle and truly flattened it - well done me. Luckily it was the butt section and I still had a usable landing net as one of the last casts resulted in a final Roach to bring the closing tally to 6.

All in all, an enjoyable day even if it wasn't as productive as I would have initially hoped. The session did however serve its purpose and I am pleased to say that I am the owner of a wonderful piece of kit in the Drennan Acolyte Ultra and I am looking forward to giving it more use in future sessions.

Next session for me will see me back on the match scene as Pemberton Central make their way to Old Hough fisheries to tackle 'Big Max' and I have a winning streak (of 1) to maintain so the pressure is on.

Rosemary Wood - Moss Lake

Rosemary Wood Fishery - Moss Lake

Saturday 28th March 2015

After missing Pem Centrals first match of the year through being on a mates stag do, I was looking forward to this session as being my first match of the year. 

On arriving at venue the though, it is clear that this was to be a match with 3 big challenges. The obvious one being the match itself but also the weather was against us with strong winds and heavy rains battering us right from the off. The final challenge would be the bad head that I was nursing from my pals wedding the night before (don't worry folks, I didn't drive today - good man Alex kindly picked me up).

At the draw we had only 12 turn up for the match but this allowed us to spread out a bit. With the wind blowing straight into the 'board' pegs, I was praying for a peg along the far bank where the wind would be coming from the right so I'm sure you can imagine my delight when I pulled out peg 40 on the boards. This was going to be a long day.

My first thoughts on arriving at the peg was that the boards seemed to have improved somewhat since my last visit here but that was quickly overruled by the thought of feeling sea sick and a little bit wobbly - could have been something to do with the previous nights activities.

With wind in my face and constant rain, I decided to keep the day as simple as I could and just try to get a respectable weight. So I set up just the one rod which was my feeder rod and fished this with a banjo feeder. For the feeder I had dampened some 4mm pellets to squeeze in the feeder and I had a selection of normal pellets and bandums for hook baits. This was probably the fastest I had ever set up for a match in my history of match fishing.

My peg - taken during a respite from the rain.

Some other notable draws in the match was Alex Yates and Mark Anglesea who yet again find them selves next to each other on this venue and in the same area from which they came top 2 the previous year and with the wind in their favour (as much as it could be today) I fancied those 2 to be leading the chase again. Dennis Darby, John Ruddy and Mark Thomas were also pegged on that side so a middle of the pack placing was going to be my target.

At the all in, I went straight out with feeder and braced myself for a tough day ahead so I was very surprised when my tip shot round within a couple of minutes of being in the water. A small carp of around 1.5/2lb was the prize and whilst not a huge fish, it filled me with hope that it could be a good day ahead despite the conditions.  Thankfully the rain blew over and just left us with the wind in our faces which made the day a bit more comfortable and was good drying weather for my saturated gear, sadly though the early positive signs appeared to be false hope as it took a while to get any more fish into the net and when they did they were small skimmers. Fortunately though, I did manage to land a nicer carp of around 6/7lb along the way so felt I was doing well as I wasn't seeing many others catching. Mark Jordan to my right had a few skimmers and George Derbyshire to my left was steadily landing small roach on the pole so at the very least I felt I was competing for my section. I hadn't seen many others catching on the other bank but much of the time my head was tucked into my jacket so didn't want to read too much into that. I continued to plug away with the banjo and was eventually rewarded with a nice carp that was into double figures. This fish, I felt put me firmly in the chase for a top 3 place but I had started to see Mark Anglesea's landing net get some use so I knew I had to keep going. I continued to catch steadily for the rest of the match with only odd quiet spells but the fish I was catching were skimmers and whilst enjoyable to fish for, I knew that if the other guys had been catching carp, I would struggle to compete despite the fact that a few of my skimmers were over 1lb.  In typical fashion the rain returned for the last half hour just in time to get us all wet through again before we had to pack up.

At the all out, I had only managed to land another 1 carp and this was only about 2lb. Once packed up, which was also my fastest on record, I walked up the bank and there was talk of nets of carp but nothing's bags. I was confidently estimating a net of around 30lb, as I felt my 4 carp between them were at least 20lb and reckoning on around 10lb of skimmers.

At the weigh in, we started on the other bank so all my main competition for the day would weigh in before me. Some good weights were recorded quite quickly with Dennis Darby putting 34lb 4oz on, Lee Roper 32lb 8oz and alex Yates 32lb.  With 3 weights over 30lb in quick succession, I was already thinking that a section win was going to be my best hope. There were no other weights recorded that I thought would be better than mine, which was quite surprising with the amount of action I had seen from Mark Anglesea but he says he lost a lot of fish at the net, much to his frustration. It was soon my turn and lifting my keep net out of he water, I knew it was going to be close but I didn't expect the scales to record the 39lb 2oz they did. So either the carp that I caught were bigger than i estimated, or the skimmers were worth more than the 10lb, either way I was very happy. Late runs from George Derbyshire and Ste Green didn't do enough as they each recorded 18lb. So I was very happy, on my first match of 2015 I have recorded a win.

Top 3:

1st: Stuart Rourke 39lb 2oz

2nd: Dennis Darby 34lb 4oz

3rd: Lee Roper 32lb 8oz

Sections (by default):

Section 1 (pegs 24 to 30): Alex Yates 32lb

Section 2 (pegs 31 to 43): Ste Green/George Derbyshire 18lb

Couple of points to note, I have fished here quite a few times now and I have always found that a stand out hookbait seems to work better on the feeder than one that blends in with the feed, this was further reinforced by the fact that my top hookbait was a white bandum on which all but 2 of my fish were caught on.

The final point to note is that despite nursing a hangover I managed to win this match. I have thought about this over the last 24 hours or so, was it coincidence, luck, do I fish better when slightly under the influence of alcohol? However the conclusion that I have come to is simple. As I wasn't feeling great, I made the decision to just 'chuck out the tip rod and see how it goes' but in reality what I did was kept it simple and stuck to the plan and allowed it to work on the day, I didn't confuse matters by trying this and trying that to make it work which I have often been guilty of. Normally on this water I would set up 2 tip rods, a pellet waggler rod and sometimes a pole as well so I am thinking now, how many times in the past have I ended up not giving a method chance to work in the search for that instant reward. Food for thought and I will definitely be taking these thoughts into future matches.

Tight Lines

Day Bream Believer.........

Worthington Lakes - Arley Reservoir

Sunday 8th March 2015

This was a session that had been on the calendar for a while as me and my old mate Martin managed to find a mutually agreeable day to get on the bank together.  As the day approached, fellow Pem Central member Paul managed to get a day pass off her indoors and so the three of us found ourselves on Arley Reservoir, which is the largest of the 3 waters available at Worthington lakes. We pegged ourselves in a new area for me, on the bank between Arley and Worthington, taking up the section to the right of the towers up to the overflow. Martin was closest to the towers, I was in the middle and Paul was on the right next to the overflow.

View from my peg. It was an overcast day for the most part with showers dominating the day.

We all fished the feeder for the day. My set up was slightly different than I normally do on here, opting for a running feeder rig over my normal paternoster set up. I started on a 2ft hooklength to a size 14 Drennan Carbon Feeder hook. I had to make a further variation on my normal tactics as the tackle shop was out of my favourite Omen groundbait so I went for the Sensas Magic sweet fishmeal groundbait this time. Sensas Magic is a groundbait I have a lot of confidence in having used it extensively but this was the first time I have tried the sweet fishmeal version. To complete my bait tray, I had some red/white mixed maggot and half a pint of caster.

Once set up I started off with a large feeder and no hooklength to put a carpet of feed down. As I wasn't sure how the venue had been fishing I was slightly cautious and restricted my initial bombardment to just 5 feeder fulls before switching to a smaller feeder and adding the hooklength.

The obligatory £1 side bet was placed on the first fish between me and Paul. Martin was non-committal which back-fired on him when he caught the first fish of the day and missed out on the valuable golden nugget. Incidentally, the first fish for Martin was a nice Roach.

The heat was on between me and Paul, so I could feel the tension in the air as my tip shot round and I tentatively played my first fish to the net. The result was a nice Roach, but more importantly I had claimed bragging rights and that all important golden nugget (for now).

First fish of the day for me

As it happened Paul only just missed out on the golden nugget as he reeled in his first fish shortly after me.  Losing the quid had obviously hit Paul hard as he was soon to suggest a double or nothing second bet on the first to catch a Bream - feeling greedy from my earlier victory I immediately accepted the challenge without considering the fact that despite not blanking at the venue, I had yet to catch a proper Bream and Paul had bagged them in every session we had on there last year. My luck soon ran out as Paul was soon landing the first proper Bream of the day, quietly giggling to himself as he did so. So the bets had cancelled themselves out and from this point on, it was only pride at stake.

First Bream of the day for Paul

My second fish of the day turned out to be a small skimmer, which I am certain would not have counted as a Bream anyway. Martin had also added a second fish to his tally so we were having a 3 way tie on the fish count. As the day went on from this point, Martin was getting steadily frustrated with missing what was obviously Perch bites, but at least he was intermittently getting some of the Perch to the bank. I also had started to catch Perch, many of which didn't even register a bite on the tip and I only noticed when I was winding in to refill the feeder. Paul however was much slower on catching but when he did, he made up for it by sliding more slabs over the net. The longer the day went on, my dreams of catching the elusive Bream were fading fast as even the Perch had stopped biting at this stage. Not surprisingly the banter was also escalating as my bragging rights were taken away by Paul. I was clutching at any straw available to explain away my lack of success but none would be accepted. Eventually I managed to get into a few more fish, sadly they were the ever willing Perch that I was hoping to avoid. (Quite ironic really that I had spent the winter lure fishing on the canals, hoping for a Perch and getting nothing, now when I don't want them, they were more than happy to oblige). I managed to sneak a second nice roach before Paul slammed the final nail in the coffin with what was probably his biggest of the day.

Not a bad end to the day.

3 o'clock was soon upon us and that was when we called time on the day. Another good days fishing on Worthington with good company, good banter and no dry nets. Sadly the Bream evaded me and Martin today. Martin managed a good number of Perch and probably had the most fish on the day, Paul was master Bream slayer and yet again I was left missing the slab I am longing to find on this venue.

Couple of points I'll consider going forward from here:

1. Generally, I end up casting further than Paul when we go to Worthington and feeder fish. He also always out fishes me on this method too. So I think in future sessions I need to make a conscious effort to cast slightly shorter than usual.

2. Confidence makes a difference and whilst it probably had nothing to do with the groundbait mix I was using, I will definitely be making sure I get some Omen for my next session on here.

3.  The pegs on this bank were quite snaggy, especially for Martin who was closest to the corner. 

4.  The deeper water seemed to work better today. On my swim, I had a 13 count on the cast whilst Paul claimed to have a 20 count. Could this have been a contributing factor to Paul's success today?

Not sure when my next outing will be now as I have a few personal commitments over the next few weeks, through which I am going to miss the first match on Pems calendar this year but at worst I should be out for Pems second match on Rosemary Wood on the last weekend of the month.

Mersey Charter Boat Fishing - Tuskar

Well, the sea fishing session scheduled for 27th Feb didn't half turn out to be a faff. Due to forecast strong westerly winds, our planned session on Blue Mink didn't go ahead.  We had already had one session cancelled in January, and now at the end of February we were really on last chance saloon for some Winter Cod fishing so we were determined to get out somewhere. Danny had managed to do some ringing around and got us availability on a boat out of the Mersey. Only 4 of us this time as 2 had dropped out from the original party but we arranged a day, slightly shorter at 5 hours but still enough time.

We had booked aboard Tuskar, skippered by Stan Dickinson. We arranged a 9:00 AM pick up and after a bit of running round to pick Dez up in Preston, via a McDonalds breakfast, we arrived at Priory Wharf for collection around 8:30. We were all anxious to get on board and as we were setting up waiting for Stan to arrive, we were getting ourselves psyched up for a good day. Stan arrived bang on time to get us, first impressions were great, nice sized boat with plenty space to move around and get comfy. Once loaded we were off into the Mersey to our first mark.

View of Priory Wharf as we made our way into the river.

Our first stop saw us on the outside of the main river channel, close to the Bonded Warehouse, the tide was on its way out so was pulling a bit so we went in with 16oz weights on a running leger with a trace of about 4/5ft long to a single 2/0 Aberdeen hook. Danny was first into fish on the day and first strike was a small codling, but still a keeper.

First fish of the day for Danny

Danny added a couple more to his tally before anybody else got in there but eventually Craig and Dez got off the mark with a Dab each

A Dab for Dez

I was left trailing behind with no fish, and I wasn't shy about letting folk know, but after a change of tactic that saw me switch to a shorter trace and pennel rig I eventually got off the mark with what turned out to be probably the biggest fish of the day

Codling for Me

As the tide slowed a bit we moved into the main channel of the river for a bit, hoping the fish will have moved in there where there was a bit more pull. First drop in here for me resulted in another codling although this one was too small to keep so went back safe and sound.  Strangler though that seemed to be the only fish to show on this line.

Once at low water, Stan moved us across to the other side of the river, roughly outside Wallasey Town Hall steps where we would fish until home time as the tide turned and started to come back in. This proved to be a slow line and I think a solitary undersize Codling by me was all this line produced on the day. Stan explained to us that by this time of year we had missed the best of the Mersey Cod fishing and that Nov/Dec was probably the best time for it. We knew that really but wanted to give it a go anyway. As Stan called time I think we all had a good day, some nice views on the day too, especially of the Liverpool skyline.

So, final tally of the day. 

Danny - 3 Codling (2 in size), 2 Dab

Craig - 1 Dab

Dez - 1 Dab (plus about a million crabs and the worlds smallest starfish)

Me - 3 Codling (1 in size)

Final thought of the day - poor Dez doesn't have much luck with the target species. Of the last 3 times we have been out, once for Tope and twice for Cod, whilst not blanking, Dez has failed to catch the target species. Next time he comes out, I think we'll target Pouting and at least give him chance of catching something he wants!!

I would recommend Stan for a days charter fishing in the Mersey, knowledgeable and nice guy - check out the details at http://www.charterboats-uk.co.uk/tuskar