Lake F - 2 days and 3 nights

Finishing work and knowing that I had 3 nights and two full day of fishing, it must be the best feeling in the world! But how many people would be up there? The lake was nearly full the last time and I don’t much like combat fishing to get a swim!

Arriving I was relieved there were only 3 cars and one I knew was a day session bloke that is up there most times. Quickly walking around the lake it revealed my worst fear, 3 young gentlemen/children J were fishing on the bank that I wanted to go on and casting across most of the lake! Speaking to another angler he said that he had moved due to their noise and was woken up at 4am by their chatter! Even though I am up watching the water by then, it did make me chose the other side of the lake to what they were fishing.

Getting the marker out and having a feel around, 6-8 foot of water was about there in the middle and a very hard plain bottom. Deciding to bait up a large area of 15 foot square, so to have both rods right on top of the bait and have the fish cruising in and grazing the free offerings, well, this was the plan. Putting out 2kg of both 14mm and 18mm homemade boilies with a further 2kg of maple peas, the trap was set!

The night came and went and all I had to show for it was a few line bites and an annoying mouse that kept rustling my bad of rubbish. Waking up at 4am to watch the water, there were fish all over the swim feeding on the bait. I just couldn’t believe that I hadn’t had a run yet but a half hour later, the right hand rod roared off and was into a nice low double figure carp. A nice start and at least I was not going to blank!

            Getting the rod back out and putting a small amount of maples out there, I felt sure that it would not be long before another one graced the bank.

Sure enough, at just after 6am, the right rod again went into melt down and in came another carp of about 12lb. Not the best fight and had a horribly conditioned mouth, looking like it had been caught many times before, but still the fish were feeding.

Then the rain came in and the bites dried up. After yet another heavy down pour and even the odd rumble of thunder, I could see the fish had stared feeding again but no bite materialized. Mid afternoon – out went another kg of mixed boilies, knowing that there were feeding fish on the spot.

Once again, the night went by with only the odd line bite to break the otherwise silent night. The rain was still lingering but there seemed to be a different feel to the morning. Bubbles and fizzing were going on all over the baited area and had the feeling that one of the many bream shoal were feeding on my bait.

            The left hand bobbin pulled tight and could see the line kiting to the left of the baited area, fish on! Cranking down into a hard fishing mirror was a welcome sight after a long wait, at a little over 15lb, it was an absolute beauty.

Over the next 12 hrs, I had a further 10 carp all weighing in between 10lb and 14lb, with the bonus of a cracking little boilie munching mirror at 17lb 20oz and my first 20 of the season at 20lb 2oz.

I continued to feed the swim all through the day and into the evening, to encourage one of the monsters that lurk in the depths of this hungry lake. No more fish came but at 2am the alarm sounded and I hit into a large lump that unfortunately was the only fish that the hook pulled. No idea why but i had put this down to possibly having the drag tightened a little tight from my previous fish on that rod.

Overall, 12 fish landed, and all at least 10lb+. Caught far more than the other people on the lake and just shows that sometimes, fishing away from the obvious “fish holding” areas, does pay off.

Catch up

Right –I have been a little slack with what I have been up to since the last posting and the beginning of the season!

Here is a list of what I have been doing and more importantly, what I have been catching!!!!!! As I have already said – I am not allowed to publicise any of the lakes so I have decided to call them as follows:

1 – Lake M – this is about 4 acres with a depth of 1.5 – 4 feet and full of silt!

2 – Lake F – this is about 2 acres with a hard bottom and some lilies but has water to 8 feet.

3 – Lake B – this is the largest water of 10 acres and has about 12 feet in some places with a nice pad of lilies running all the way down the middle!

4 – Lake H – this is one of the smallest at an acre, but is full of lilies and is a real hard water to fish!

So – here goes with the catch-up! Lake F was the next one on the list to fish as I never really managed to get up there last season because of the distance (it’s the furthest) and because every time I went there, practically every swim was taken! I am not into combat fishing and fighting for the swim so I targeted the less fished waters! But knowing that there were some big fish in there, it seemed silly not to fish it this season!

 So..... Off I went for a few nights after taking a day off work. Would you believe it, after being there for about an hour, I landed my largest bream! Not at all my target fish but at a little over 7lb it was well worth the nonexistent fight. A few little commons and a huge number of bream hitting the bank made my first 6 hrs very memorable and a little after 3am, I hit into a solid lump that did not want to come in! A healthy scrap and me thinking it must be a low 20 – it came in at 14lb 12oz ghost carp. Another new record for me and still having over 24 hrs there, wondered what else I could break!

The business was being done on plastic tiger nut popped up over a lot of freebies. I couldn’t go wrong and continued to catch even though other people struggled to get runs! Another lumping hard fighting fish turned out to be an 18.2oz mirror carp that capped off a nice trip out! I may have to fish this lake again!

Lake M was the next one on the list as it’s the closed to work and I can have my rods out within 30 minutes of leaving work. Shifting down the bottom of the lake in the shallows I could see fishing moving and feeding – although not very big, it’s better to fish on something that’s feeding and moving around than nothing!

This was just going to be a quick over nighter so a little particles were put out  tight to the rigs and the think silt would help the carp to having to munch through the top layers to find the freebies.  Fish were on the bait within the hour and bream were lapping the bait up as much as anything! The shoals are big in most of the waters and I like to fish a lot of bait to try and feed them off! Sometimes it works and other times you just catch bream!

But at 1am – a real rocket of a fish picked up my right hand rod and did not want o come in! After taking out my other rod and a massive tangle occurring, a very ugly looking common weighing in at 13lb 12oz was all I had to show for my troubles. I couldn’t believe how big its tail was! So promptly naming it Rocket, I slid it back and left both rods out as i needed some sleep.

So there it is, I have fished another couple of nights but nothing very exciting happened and the fish went small too!

Next trip is booked in for 20^th Monday night! Can’t wait!

New Season

So here it is, the 31^st May and on leaving work at 4ish I remembered that I hadn’t pack my tent or even my unhooking net! Was this a good or bad sign??? There was only one way to find out. Let’s get fishing……

Picking on of my favourite lakes and is actually the largest the water has for my first night – my thinking was that I hadn’t seen really that many people up there all last season – but meeting someone at the gate, I had a feeling that everyone had the same thought!!! To my relief, there was only 3 other keen anglers looking at the lake. After a quick chat we all decided that there were not going to be that many people arriving, so we each picked the swims that we thought would have the most fish in.

I had a look round the other side of the lake and decided upon swim 7 that I had not fished much but my mate has had quite a bit of success. This was slap bang in the middle of the lake with good indentations of the lilies that run the whole length of the lake. Also, this part of the lake is quite hard to fish from the other side so I was sure that no one else would cast to the back of the lilies.

Loading my barrow up I realised that over the closed season I had accumulated more un-necessary stuff, and while passing the 2^nd swim, the wheel seemed to fall apart (note to self – new barrow needed). After a lot of grunting and moaning, I managed to get all the gear there.

A few rumbles of thunder and a quick superman impersonation, the waterproofs were on and the brolly system was up! After picking out the rigs and setting the rods up, I was 98% there. Now all I had to do was kill 5 hrs before the season actually started!

By 8.30, the water seemed alive with fish boshing and the air was full of spring midges!!!!!! I had had enough waiting and I know I was breaking all the rules, but I couldn’t wait any more. The bait boat was released on the new season and dropped the payload swiftly just off the lilies.

The trap was set and I was ready for a night full of commotion, excitement and non-stop hulling. By 11pm, I had received 3, yes 3 small line bites and I was not sure if this was due to fish movement or the many bats happily enjoying the midges and other flying meals that kept flying into the line.

The next thing I know its 1am and I my alarm gives off a few notes of life. Before I have even stood up, the bobbin hits the bottom of the rod and line starts to peel from the real. FISH ON!! J then, the line goes slack and the bobbin falls back down to earth with my hopes of my first fish. A second passes and whack, the same thing happens, line tight and slack again……….. I suddenly realise that I have hooked one of the many bream in this lake. Not that I am against bream, but they are just such a boring fish. After practically reeling this fish in, all 4lb of it, I am a little more optimistic as I know my rig is working and the fish are feeding!

After getting the rod back out to the danger area, I climb back into bed and give a little pray that that not my only fish of the evening. Would you know it, within 5 minutes, the alarm is singing again and I am into another fish. AND yes, you would have guessed it, the shoal of bream that the first one came from must still be in the area and I have caught another 4lber!

Within the next hour, I have a total of 4 bream, all about the same size and I am not thinking that this is a good thing as I have work in the morning. But as quickly as it all happened, my rods went quiet, I didn’t hear the other alarms at all during the night and I managed to get a good few hrs of sleep in before I needed to leave the lake for work.

In conclusion to the first night of the season I would have to summarise it up into a few points:

1.    I didn’t blank

2.    My rigs and new bait DO WORK

3.    I got some sleep in so not as grouchy as I could be at work

4.    Most importantly – the new season is here so more fishing means more fish!!