Well, I went to the speccy lake a few weeks ago (11 Apr) and set up in.......yep, the LH point swim! Vic was set up in the middle swim and things looked ideal.
The weather had been cold the previous few weeks but it was supposed to be changing to warmer times. Just what we needed. I marked out a spot and spodded out a few spods of particles and boilies. While I was spodding out, I noticed that my marker float had disappeared from view. Thinking that a clump of weed or twig had caught the float I continued to cast out a couple more spods of bait over the area. As I went to reel in the marker float I saw that the line was moving! How strange. As I continued to reel in it became apparent that something alive and extremely angry was on the end of my line!! I managed to get my gear into the margin and discovered that a pike of around 8-10lb was attached to the line. It must have been chasing a fish for dinner when it came into contact with my marker line. I managed give the rod a few shakes, undo a couple of twists until finally the pike fell off the line and back into the lake. Whew, maybe thats a good sign!!
Anyway, I put both rods over the mix and waited.
All through the day I had a few knocks and liners and an aborted take (or a run I missed!!!). I tried changing baits, casting shorter, even changing rigs but to no avail.
Vic packed up around 7 pm and I settled down in my bivvy. I had an undisturbed night, with nothing to show for my efforts. On reeling in my baits in the morning, however, I discovered that my LH rod was missing its pop up and the RH rod had been nibbled down to hardly anything - and that was a chod rig with a piece of foam that had very little foam left and hardly any pop up! Bloody crayfish again. Think I'll stick to solid plastic baits from now on, at least I'll know there will still be a bait on in the morning.
I packed up at around 13.00 and went home fishless
John
Monday, 29 April 2013
Sunday, 20 January 2013
January session Thorney Weir
January 9th and a much awaited trip to Thorney Weir. Arrived at the lake late on Thursday morning with the water seemingly well up on normal levels. Indeed, some swims were unfishable so I decided on a swim on the road bank with plenty of water to fish. All set up and ready to go, I'd fished this swim before so I cast to areas I had caught fish from in the summer. I was fishing maggot on one rod, a snowman on my second rod and a pop up on the third, so all options covered.
Well sort of !!.
I had brought one of my converted baitboats to test and the first two rods were boated out with the help of the internally fitted fishfinder onto clearish areas, there was still large areas of weed about.
All rods out and everything set up so time to relax. There were very few people about so all was quiet. I had not seen any action out in front but I was looking all the time. One or two more people arrived and I had a chat to those that stopped to ask the usual stuff. I didnt have a lot to offer them just told them about a few of the swiims that were still available. Unbeknown to me there had been an article about the lake in one of the carp mags, hence the new people coming round.
Friday morning came with nothing coming to my rods. I was leaving them out most of the day only renewing the areas with bait in the morning. Having said that, the rod with the popup was changed about a bit to find a spot - or not as it happened. The lake seemed to shut down, no surprise really I suppose, just very changeable weather always seems to confuse the carp as well as us anglers, it has to be said !
Saturday came round and a few more anglers turned up. I spoke to a couple of the bailiffs that I had got to know and was informed that a few changes were being made to the lakes which unfortunately involve a big hike in sindicate price - £270.00 to £450.00 per year, obviously the recession hasn't hit this part of Uxbridge yet !! Oh well we shall see, still a cheap day ticket though so all is not lost.
Russell and Tim came round to see me sunday morning ( two mates that introduced me to French carp fishing bless em )so we spent the morning chatting and then the boys looked round the lakes and I packed away in all a typical winter session. Lots of promise but no action, still a few more sessions to get an elusive winter carp
Well sort of !!.
I had brought one of my converted baitboats to test and the first two rods were boated out with the help of the internally fitted fishfinder onto clearish areas, there was still large areas of weed about.
All rods out and everything set up so time to relax. There were very few people about so all was quiet. I had not seen any action out in front but I was looking all the time. One or two more people arrived and I had a chat to those that stopped to ask the usual stuff. I didnt have a lot to offer them just told them about a few of the swiims that were still available. Unbeknown to me there had been an article about the lake in one of the carp mags, hence the new people coming round.
Saturday came round and a few more anglers turned up. I spoke to a couple of the bailiffs that I had got to know and was informed that a few changes were being made to the lakes which unfortunately involve a big hike in sindicate price - £270.00 to £450.00 per year, obviously the recession hasn't hit this part of Uxbridge yet !! Oh well we shall see, still a cheap day ticket though so all is not lost.
Saturday, 1 December 2012
Orchid Lakes Annual trip
Steve and I went on our annual jaunt to Orchid Lakes 12-13 November and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. The result was predictable - Blank - but worth it.
We managed to solve the worlds troubles and still have time for a beer!!
Unfortunately we didnt get to catch one of the resident carp as they were playing hard to get. We tried everything from bottom baits to method feeder, maggots to pop ups and still we blanked. God knows what we have to do to catch a fish.
We set up in the rain - which wasn't forecast - and eventually we had our bivvies up and rods out. I spodded out boilies and steve tried boilies first and later he changed to maggots which he boated out. we had rigs out in the middle, margins, close in trying to get a bite, but to no avail.
Not a lot more to say other than we may go again sometime
Cya
John
Steve and I went on our annual jaunt to Orchid Lakes 12-13 November and had a thoroughly enjoyable time. The result was predictable - Blank - but worth it.
We managed to solve the worlds troubles and still have time for a beer!!
Unfortunately we didnt get to catch one of the resident carp as they were playing hard to get. We tried everything from bottom baits to method feeder, maggots to pop ups and still we blanked. God knows what we have to do to catch a fish.
We set up in the rain - which wasn't forecast - and eventually we had our bivvies up and rods out. I spodded out boilies and steve tried boilies first and later he changed to maggots which he boated out. we had rigs out in the middle, margins, close in trying to get a bite, but to no avail.
Not a lot more to say other than we may go again sometime
Cya
John
Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Where have all the fish gone
Where have all the fish gone
Well, what can I say? I've been to the lake a few times but I haven't had much (any?) to write about. I had some bream a few times but the last couple of times I haven't even caught a bream.
Is it the weather or is it me?
I went fishing on Monday (29/10) and shortly after I had cast out my lines I started to get a few knocks and I was feeling quite confident. Several hours later I wasnt feeling as confident as I had been. To top it all the liners and little knocks had stopped.
I stayed til about 2pm but I'd had enough by now. I'm going to have to do a night session sometime but I don't know when.
If I go fishing and I actually catch a fish I shall let you all know tout suit!!!
John
Well, what can I say? I've been to the lake a few times but I haven't had much (any?) to write about. I had some bream a few times but the last couple of times I haven't even caught a bream.
Is it the weather or is it me?
I went fishing on Monday (29/10) and shortly after I had cast out my lines I started to get a few knocks and I was feeling quite confident. Several hours later I wasnt feeling as confident as I had been. To top it all the liners and little knocks had stopped.
I stayed til about 2pm but I'd had enough by now. I'm going to have to do a night session sometime but I don't know when.
If I go fishing and I actually catch a fish I shall let you all know tout suit!!!
John
Sunday, 21 October 2012
Thorney 9 October 17th to 20th
Friday, 12 October 2012
thorney 8 session sept 27th to 29th
Visited Thorney for a 2 day session weather a bit variable on arrival a few people fishing mostly on the road bank so I decided on a swim further round again not one ive fished before .As it was a friday morning I expected the lake to get busier later on so I chose a swim with a bit of room to myself.
All set up and ready to go no problem I thought,well wrong first visit from a bailiff no problem only couldnt find my syndicate permit great he must have thought i was dodgy so he asked to see a rig no problem reeled in the chod as it was easier to do so wrong again rig had a micro barb on god knows how anyway bailiff was so impressed I had to reel another one in this had a crushed barb on but not to his liking so last one in great but this was ok .To be fair he was fair and said if the owner of the complex Brian came round he would tell him and leave the decision to him wether I could fish on or not.
A bit later Brian came round luckily I knew him thought he was a bailiff not the owner and he was fine about it even had a bit of a laugh about it told me not to worry and carry on fishing what a relief !!
I was a bit dejected by my bad start to the session and didnt really fish very well Brian did tell me that the lake was fishing very patchy so wasnt too disappointed in my first blank for months still back to reality really.Ive got a longer session planned in October one of my favourite months for fishing so will get my head back together for then.
I found my lost syndicate card,or at least my wife did, so all is well roll on October ime after a big common and i think i know where they might be .
All set up and ready to go no problem I thought,well wrong first visit from a bailiff no problem only couldnt find my syndicate permit great he must have thought i was dodgy so he asked to see a rig no problem reeled in the chod as it was easier to do so wrong again rig had a micro barb on god knows how anyway bailiff was so impressed I had to reel another one in this had a crushed barb on but not to his liking so last one in great but this was ok .To be fair he was fair and said if the owner of the complex Brian came round he would tell him and leave the decision to him wether I could fish on or not.
A bit later Brian came round luckily I knew him thought he was a bailiff not the owner and he was fine about it even had a bit of a laugh about it told me not to worry and carry on fishing what a relief !!
I was a bit dejected by my bad start to the session and didnt really fish very well Brian did tell me that the lake was fishing very patchy so wasnt too disappointed in my first blank for months still back to reality really.Ive got a longer session planned in October one of my favourite months for fishing so will get my head back together for then.
I found my lost syndicate card,or at least my wife did, so all is well roll on October ime after a big common and i think i know where they might be .
Sunday, 26 August 2012
No more carp
Well, I've made a decision. From now on I'm not going to go fishing for carp, I'm going after tench and bream. Sod it, thats all I catch anyway. Or at least I used to.I seem to be struggling to even catch them. I've trieds catching carp and it aint worked.
I went for a night session on Thurs (23/8) and caught nowt. I am still trying the method feeder and I'm obviously doing something wrong. I get the odd nibble but not had a major run on it yet.
I marked up my spot and baited up with small balls of the mix and cast out the feeder. The other rod was cast out a few rod lengths onto an area where I'd previously seen some fizzing. I baited up with some freebies and waited.
I waited all day and night and only had a couple of knocks and bleeps to encourage me. Vic had a few knocks but he didnt have a run either. Between us we must have covered most rigs and baiting situations.
So its back to the drawing board and try another plan!!!
Until next time
John
I went for a night session on Thurs (23/8) and caught nowt. I am still trying the method feeder and I'm obviously doing something wrong. I get the odd nibble but not had a major run on it yet.
I marked up my spot and baited up with small balls of the mix and cast out the feeder. The other rod was cast out a few rod lengths onto an area where I'd previously seen some fizzing. I baited up with some freebies and waited.
I waited all day and night and only had a couple of knocks and bleeps to encourage me. Vic had a few knocks but he didnt have a run either. Between us we must have covered most rigs and baiting situations.
So its back to the drawing board and try another plan!!!
Until next time
John
Wednesday, 15 August 2012
Still trying hard
Went for a day session on monday. Got there about 6.30 and set up middle of road bank, where i'd definately saw signs of fizzing.
I was going to be trying out the method feeder approach and to this end I had mixed some dry bloodworm mix, nutty mix and blakes special mix together. This was added to my scalded pellets and hemp, which formed the basis for my method feeder mix.
I was fishing one rod with in line lead and one method feeder. The inline set up was cast about 20-30 yds out to the fizzing I'd seen earlier. The method feeder was cast a bit further out, approx 50yds or so. This was more of a roaming rod, although it was still in the general area I'd selected.
Nothing happened for a few hours, then out of the blue the method rod went into alarm as some angry fish sped off with my bait attached to it.
Yeee Haa! Success at last.
Sadly, my joy was short lived, as no sooner had I lifted into the fish and felt it on the end of my line, it went TWAAAANG!!! The bloody thing had shed the hook.
To be honest, it didnt feel like a great fish - possibly a small tench - but I was still gutted at losing the fish.
Thats fishing for you.
Anyway, after that, I had a few knocks on the boilie rod but nothing from the method feeder.
Another blank to record for posterity
LOL
Until next time,
John
I was going to be trying out the method feeder approach and to this end I had mixed some dry bloodworm mix, nutty mix and blakes special mix together. This was added to my scalded pellets and hemp, which formed the basis for my method feeder mix.
I was fishing one rod with in line lead and one method feeder. The inline set up was cast about 20-30 yds out to the fizzing I'd seen earlier. The method feeder was cast a bit further out, approx 50yds or so. This was more of a roaming rod, although it was still in the general area I'd selected.
Nothing happened for a few hours, then out of the blue the method rod went into alarm as some angry fish sped off with my bait attached to it.
Yeee Haa! Success at last.
Sadly, my joy was short lived, as no sooner had I lifted into the fish and felt it on the end of my line, it went TWAAAANG!!! The bloody thing had shed the hook.
To be honest, it didnt feel like a great fish - possibly a small tench - but I was still gutted at losing the fish.
Anyway, after that, I had a few knocks on the boilie rod but nothing from the method feeder.
Another blank to record for posterity
LOL
Until next time,
John
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
Thorney Weir part 7
For a change a nice dry start to a 2 day session at Thorney. There were a few anglers in the road bank swims but going past the channel the whole of the main lake was free. As a nice south westerly was blowing into this bank I made my decision. Another swim I hadnt fished before.
I was set up and found a few clearish spots in front of me at about 60yds (using my AT standard baitboat and internal sonar feature finder). Two rods on these spots with snowman set ups using CC Moore Meteor and 12mm pop up with a little pellet bag to mask the hook. The third rod was on a chod, again using CC More Meteor pop up. This went a little further out to my right at about 70yds.
I was very surprised when a couple of hours into the session my chod rig rod trundelled off. On hitting the fish I felt it snagged in dense weed. I eased the pressure on and off, trying to free the carp. It was still on so after a few minutes I put the rod back on the rests. After a minute or two it started taking line so I picked the rod up and gave it steady pressure whilst walking backwards. This did the trick and I was back in full contact with the fish. After a bit of a struggle it came in and was safely netted. Not the prettiest fish but I was very pleased to have another Thorney carp.
The rest of the session was quite uneventful apart from a couple of very big bream ( 8 9lb ish)., all the fish falling to snowman and small bags of stick mix .I had one small carp of 7.5 lb later on in the second day. I was happy with the session, nothing big but lots learned and again met some more nice people. Cant be bad. Packed away in the dry and headed home. I like this lake, very prolific and cant wait to get amongst the big boys !!
Monday, 9 July 2012
Thorney part 6
Day 2 still raining but not so hard moved the rods like you do but no fish showing still had 2 in the snag area but no line bites oh well I was certain something would make its way in there perhaps if the sun would come out and move them into the margin .
Day 3 happy days sun out mid afternoon it got quite warm so I sat right by my rods I had an inkling action might come, and it did a bit quicker than I anticipated ,at 1640 the rod to the snags bent round to full test curve and the reel started spinning christ up and at em!! must have left the backwind off but all was well rod under compression fish stopped I could feel the line grating but still attached to a carp so I just bent into it and felt it ease out a few more minutes and it came out from under the tree into open water job done and it came into view a lovely looking linear with white belly black top and a row of golden scales about 15lbs or so .At this point I just switched off fish wallowing above the net, in the net station ,it hit the net 3 times so i gave it some slack line and it fell off ..,,,rd I thought how daft was that .no more action that day.
Day 4 sun out time to pack away enjoyed the session not the weather not a complete blank and more learned about the lake so I was happy to go home !!
Thursday, 28 June 2012
5 thorney weir
Hi Steve again reporting on my 5th session on Thorney Weir.I joined the syndicate in April and I found the people very friendly there are two lakes The Mets which is the private part and Thorney the day ticket water both hold big fish but thorney has 3 40s and several 30s many of them commons also it has more fish around 600 the Mets doesnt hold as many fish and the biggest is 37 ish it is a more challeging water and is not so busy it has lots of small bays and fish holding corners I will be targeting this lake very soon .
Anyway Thorney it was to be this session .I arrived on monday 25th june at around 11am the lake seemed quiet and the channel was empty of anglers a suprise as this is a busy area usually.Anyway as I drove on I noticed the corner of the lake ,which is the start of the channel was empty and a brisk warm s westerly was blowing into it . I decided this would be a good starting point.
I put all 3 rods into the small bay to my front left and spodded a few kilos of hemp maize pellet and N Guage boilies out .As I was using maize i put 2 rods on rigs using N Guage boilie topped with plastic maize. The rest of the day proved quiet I thought I saw a few fish in the corner I was fishing but couldnt be sure.I settled in for the night with a glass of red all was well with the world !
I was woken at about 4 am with a little knock on my right end rod I thought it was wind pushing weed into my lines so I dipped all three rods into the water I still got the odd liner so I thought that fish were moving.Nothing happened till 7am when the same right rod tightened up and the tip bent round.I was very close to my rods so was up and pulled into a fish very quickly.The fish felt decent but was in silk weed so I wasnt sure after a slow battle the carp appeared in front of me and was netted easily.
After sorting the camera out I weghed the fish at 24.06oz not the biggest but I was well happy fish was marked a bit ,like spawning marks ,so I treated it with some liquid and returned it to the water..
All was quiet till a bit later when people started arriving a couple moved in to the two swims to my left the guy next to me asked where I was fishing as we both looked into the same area. He was a nice enough fellow but I decided to go the next day as ime not used to being so close to other anglers and I thought too much pressure would spoil the fishing a quiet night ensued so the next morning I packed up and left lessons learned again three different swims fished and 6 carp caught nothing big but very wellcome ,
Ime back again Monday 2nd July probably on the Mets should be interesting I have a going bait and the rigs seem to be working bit of confidence cant wait !!!!
I put all 3 rods into the small bay to my front left and spodded a few kilos of hemp maize pellet and N Guage boilies out .As I was using maize i put 2 rods on rigs using N Guage boilie topped with plastic maize. The rest of the day proved quiet I thought I saw a few fish in the corner I was fishing but couldnt be sure.I settled in for the night with a glass of red all was well with the world !
After sorting the camera out I weghed the fish at 24.06oz not the biggest but I was well happy fish was marked a bit ,like spawning marks ,so I treated it with some liquid and returned it to the water..
All was quiet till a bit later when people started arriving a couple moved in to the two swims to my left the guy next to me asked where I was fishing as we both looked into the same area. He was a nice enough fellow but I decided to go the next day as ime not used to being so close to other anglers and I thought too much pressure would spoil the fishing a quiet night ensued so the next morning I packed up and left lessons learned again three different swims fished and 6 carp caught nothing big but very wellcome ,
Ime back again Monday 2nd July probably on the Mets should be interesting I have a going bait and the rigs seem to be working bit of confidence cant wait !!!!
Still Struggling
I've been to the lake twice now and blanked again. Still catching bream but no carp.
The last time I went brought home to me the rewards of being mobile. I was set up in the LH point swim. An angler turned up and proceeded to set up on the point as well.
No problem there.
He was asking me if I'd seen any carp moving when suddenly- Spaloosh- a carp leapt out of the water approx midway in the middle point swim. Mark cast out and settled in to wait. 30 mins went by and no other sign of carp activity.
We were chatting about fishing Newlands when I pointed out to Mark some bubbles rising across the other side of the lake. As we were watching, a carp leapt out of the water. 5 mins later it happened again. Mark said that was it. He packed up his gear and setup on the roadbank, near where the carp had broken water. 30 mins after setting up, he was into a carp. A lovely 19lb mirror was in the net. He also had a run but didnt connect with anything
No more carp were caught that day, but I had learned a lesson!!
I stayed the night and was rewarded with a fairly hefty bream at 0130hrs. I managed to unhook it in the water and went back to bed!
Packed up later in the morning, no more fish
John
The last time I went brought home to me the rewards of being mobile. I was set up in the LH point swim. An angler turned up and proceeded to set up on the point as well.
No problem there.
He was asking me if I'd seen any carp moving when suddenly- Spaloosh- a carp leapt out of the water approx midway in the middle point swim. Mark cast out and settled in to wait. 30 mins went by and no other sign of carp activity.
We were chatting about fishing Newlands when I pointed out to Mark some bubbles rising across the other side of the lake. As we were watching, a carp leapt out of the water. 5 mins later it happened again. Mark said that was it. He packed up his gear and setup on the roadbank, near where the carp had broken water. 30 mins after setting up, he was into a carp. A lovely 19lb mirror was in the net. He also had a run but didnt connect with anything
No more carp were caught that day, but I had learned a lesson!!
I stayed the night and was rewarded with a fairly hefty bream at 0130hrs. I managed to unhook it in the water and went back to bed!
Packed up later in the morning, no more fish
John
Friday, 15 June 2012
Thorney Weir part 4
Hello again got a few days off work so off to thorney for a 2 or 3 day session.It had poured with rain for days so I did not expect a pleasant journey on the motorway to Uxbridge ,in fact it was a nightmare spray everywhere people cutting across lanes at turnoffs etc.
Arrived at the lakes about 1130am first swim ,down the channel, looked to be coming free a quick chat to the fellow packing away revealed he had 4 fish in just a 24hr session that would do for me . I placed a bucket in the swim told him not to rush on my account and drove up the lane to have a look around like you do. The swim I had chosen looked and felt right so after the previous fellow had gone I set up, really handy as the car can be parked a few feet opposite ,a blessing as rain was due again.
I started by putting both left hand rods to the out of bounds rope one on the right one to the centre my other rod was again to be a rover to the right of the swim .I put some baits out cc moore odyssey xxx and meteor a multirig pop up and a flurocarbon blowback using nash trigga as a hair ,a braid that stetches when wet , thought that would fool a carp or two .All was quiet till 7 pm when my middle rod ripped off it had been raining so I was sat in the bivvy having a glass of red anyway i was on it in several minutes and playing a lively carp no problem up it popped and safely netted well happy !! photo done 18.04 mirror rod back out now i can relax.
After a night of torrential rain and no carp I was woken at 3.30am by another run from the same rod this was a smilar fight as the last but didnt seem so big as it was proved when I netted it very pleased all the same took a quick pic in the carp cradle and returned it great,
more bait bait out and rod back in place back to bed . Not for long as i was again woken by the same rod going off another good scrap and then I netted ,or so i thought ,a nice common which decided to get out of the net anyway back in it went and hoisted up and into the cradle at 14.13oz a nice fish.As the sun was shining I decided to call it a day.Everything packed away dry and a nice drive home cant be bad.
After a night of torrential rain and no carp I was woken at 3.30am by another run from the same rod this was a smilar fight as the last but didnt seem so big as it was proved when I netted it very pleased all the same took a quick pic in the carp cradle and returned it great,
Saturday, 2 June 2012
Hi steve here again just been to Thorney Weir to fish a two day session on the day ticket lake.All started well ,or sort of ,swim chosen a few yards up the bank about 300 actually.No problem got the power porter so loaded up off I set well actually 20yds and the load tipped over ah well it might be powered but it has got to balance so 50 yds up the lake I dropped the rod holdall and kit bag off and then no problem got to swim not actually knackered great went back for other stuff and one of the lads had picked it up and bought it to me.I had to give him a beer like you do.
Session start this was a new swim and I had a bit of water in front of me as it had been opened out.Plumbing rod out and a couple of clear areas found at 75 yds or so .I spodded a few kilos of hemp sweetcorn and vitalin out at the marker right in front I was going to fish two rods one either side one on a cell pink halo pop up and one on the Meteor (cc moore)hookbait topped with a small piece of plastic corn A well known bait here so why buck the trend.My other rod was to be a rover with a yellow cell pop up fished to the left a bit further out.
Morning came and I was woken by my right hand alarm fish on bit of a struggle as it had picked up my left hand rod anyway came in after a bit of a struggle weighed and a nice 18 lb old warrior sorted camera struggled so just took a pic on the mat great first on the syndicate any way cup of tea and bacon sarnie to celebrate ! 9 am middle rod trundled off and the same sort of fight as it had caught my other line. bloody hell isnt anything easy.any way in the net lines untangled and one of the bailifs did the honours with the camera and weighing as I was the other side of the cradle holding everything up 21.04 minus 2.12 for sling so 17.08 lbs a lovely old common looks bigger though ah well so what.
Session start this was a new swim and I had a bit of water in front of me as it had been opened out.Plumbing rod out and a couple of clear areas found at 75 yds or so .I spodded a few kilos of hemp sweetcorn and vitalin out at the marker right in front I was going to fish two rods one either side one on a cell pink halo pop up and one on the Meteor (cc moore)hookbait topped with a small piece of plastic corn A well known bait here so why buck the trend.My other rod was to be a rover with a yellow cell pop up fished to the left a bit further out.
Morning came and I was woken by my right hand alarm fish on bit of a struggle as it had picked up my left hand rod anyway came in after a bit of a struggle weighed and a nice 18 lb old warrior sorted camera struggled so just took a pic on the mat great first on the syndicate any way cup of tea and bacon sarnie to celebrate ! 9 am middle rod trundled off and the same sort of fight as it had caught my other line. bloody hell isnt anything easy.any way in the net lines untangled and one of the bailifs did the honours with the camera and weighing as I was the other side of the cradle holding everything up 21.04 minus 2.12 for sling so 17.08 lbs a lovely old common looks bigger though ah well so what.
The rest of the day was spent fish spotting,spodding and pulting some boilies out easy as the wind was behind me.All was to change as the wind did a u turn came into me and the clouds looked grey ah well should be ok famous last carp anglers wish !! About 2 am wind blowing rain coming into bivvy action required Oh goody ! up I get door wouldnt shut so re arranged everything door down peace.5 am a slow take on right rod ( meteor) got out hit it nothing reeled in no hook what !! it had broken on shank pike possible but that was it for rest of the session .Lots of stuff learned and a few friends made cant be bad back again in a week cant wait.
Saturday, 19 May 2012
Return of Bream Boy!
Went for an overnight session, hoping to emulate my last outing or even better it!
I set up on the point (lol, where else!) in the swim facing the top bay. I'd had a few fish from under the tree there so I knew it could produce good fish. It was raining lightly when I arrived, so it was a quick set up and chuck the rods out. I'd sort them out later. Vic came shortly after I arrived so when the rods were out, we settled down and discussed tactics with a cup of tea!
Vic was using a method feeder and boilies, I'd be using boilies over a bed of hemp on one rod and just boilies on the rod under the tree. Morning passed into afternoon with only the odd beep from our alarms. I spodded out some more hemp and boilies and chucked a handful of boilies under the tree.
Vics left hand rod was acting strangely, beeping occasionally and then staying silent for a while. Finally, Vic had had enough and reeled his rod in.
The sight that greeted him couldn't have been made up. A crayfish had walked over his line and got itself well and truly tangled in his line. It took ages to unravel it. In the end all was sorted.
Afternoon came and went with no fish to show for our efforts. Finally, as it was getting dark, Vics alarm gave a series of beeps and stopped. This reminded us of last year when Vic told Mr carp he was packing up and about to leave. Within 5 minutes he had another beep. This went on for half an hour or so until it was completely dark and couldn't see! Lol, we did smile.
Anyway, Vic packed up and went home. I stayed up for a while, hoping my bite alarm would go off, but it never did!
At around midnight, my alarm made a series of bleeps. I was out of my bivvy in an instant, not wanting to miss my chance. I watched the indicator bob up and down but not take an line. Hmmm, this looks familiar. Sure enough, I reeled in a bream of around 5-6lb, maybe bigger. It was raining hard again and I wasn't going to mess around weighing and photographing it. I unhooked it in the water (God bless barbless hooks!) and got back into my sleeping bag.
Morning arrived with only the bream to my name. It had stopped raining but it was still damp and rain was forecast later in the morning. I managed to pack up my gear before the rain arrived and went home.
I set up on the point (lol, where else!) in the swim facing the top bay. I'd had a few fish from under the tree there so I knew it could produce good fish. It was raining lightly when I arrived, so it was a quick set up and chuck the rods out. I'd sort them out later. Vic came shortly after I arrived so when the rods were out, we settled down and discussed tactics with a cup of tea!
Vic was using a method feeder and boilies, I'd be using boilies over a bed of hemp on one rod and just boilies on the rod under the tree. Morning passed into afternoon with only the odd beep from our alarms. I spodded out some more hemp and boilies and chucked a handful of boilies under the tree.
Vics left hand rod was acting strangely, beeping occasionally and then staying silent for a while. Finally, Vic had had enough and reeled his rod in.
The sight that greeted him couldn't have been made up. A crayfish had walked over his line and got itself well and truly tangled in his line. It took ages to unravel it. In the end all was sorted.
Afternoon came and went with no fish to show for our efforts. Finally, as it was getting dark, Vics alarm gave a series of beeps and stopped. This reminded us of last year when Vic told Mr carp he was packing up and about to leave. Within 5 minutes he had another beep. This went on for half an hour or so until it was completely dark and couldn't see! Lol, we did smile.
Anyway, Vic packed up and went home. I stayed up for a while, hoping my bite alarm would go off, but it never did!
At around midnight, my alarm made a series of bleeps. I was out of my bivvy in an instant, not wanting to miss my chance. I watched the indicator bob up and down but not take an line. Hmmm, this looks familiar. Sure enough, I reeled in a bream of around 5-6lb, maybe bigger. It was raining hard again and I wasn't going to mess around weighing and photographing it. I unhooked it in the water (God bless barbless hooks!) and got back into my sleeping bag.
Morning arrived with only the bream to my name. It had stopped raining but it was still damp and rain was forecast later in the morning. I managed to pack up my gear before the rain arrived and went home.
Sunday, 6 May 2012
Steve !st session at thorney
Hi Steve here my first bit of writing for a while so here goes. First session on the Mets syndicate lake at Thorney Weir started as a bit of a exploring session (thats a blank then) I set up in the Lazy 2 swim and had a lot of water infront with two islands about 75 yards out to my left. I put two baits out to the islands with a bit of spod mix around them accompanied by 40 or so New Grange which I was able to stick out quite a suprise I was not bothered by the flying rats.
My right rod was flicked to my right hand margin by a willow tree only about 8 yds out
all ready by about 3pm Monday let the session begin ! I sat up till about 10pm but did not see a fish or hear one for that matter.Over the next few days I was passed by a few bailifs and syndicate members all of who stopped and passed the day and offered a few pieces of information which was gladly accepted.It was really nice to be welcomed into the syndicate so readily not always the case I have found over the many years ive been fishing I must say I have found most of the anglers on the day ticket side to be very happy to have a chat and give a bit of info if asked quietly .
On the fishing front I did not see any fish in my area of the lake but birdie ,one of the bailifs, did tell me he was having a few fish from the Royal Box swim which is a swim down to my far left and cannot be seen where I was fishing . As he was fishing very short I did not go for a walk down as I didnt want to disturb his margin spot . I have noted the info though and next time down I will investigate further.
Ime sure most of us have had strange experiences whilst at the lake side well mine is as follows .It was a quiet evening (sounds like a arthur conan doyle beginning) and I was , talking to sherlock oh sorry , contemplating my going home in the morning when my auto light came on ( it was 10.45 pm )and looking out to my door expecting a rat when a fox was standing there looking at me now I was suprised as I thought the light would have frightened it off but no it just stood there with a slightly quizical look I sort of sat up but it was still there looking i t didnt look that big but I was a bit disturbed and just said shoo and it sort of turned and went away After that strange happening I got up and put the door down with the mesh opened so I could see what was going to cart me away to its den !!!!
My right rod was flicked to my right hand margin by a willow tree only about 8 yds out
all ready by about 3pm Monday let the session begin ! I sat up till about 10pm but did not see a fish or hear one for that matter.Over the next few days I was passed by a few bailifs and syndicate members all of who stopped and passed the day and offered a few pieces of information which was gladly accepted.It was really nice to be welcomed into the syndicate so readily not always the case I have found over the many years ive been fishing I must say I have found most of the anglers on the day ticket side to be very happy to have a chat and give a bit of info if asked quietly .
On the fishing front I did not see any fish in my area of the lake but birdie ,one of the bailifs, did tell me he was having a few fish from the Royal Box swim which is a swim down to my far left and cannot be seen where I was fishing . As he was fishing very short I did not go for a walk down as I didnt want to disturb his margin spot . I have noted the info though and next time down I will investigate further.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
Yahoo!!! Its Official. The Drought is finally over
And I don't mean the weather.
I went fishing on 26 April 2012 for an overnighter and caught my 1st carp for a long while.
I set the alarm for 5.30 and when I got up, I looked out the window and thought to myself " Lets get this show on the road. Its stopped raining so get your bum in gear and go!"
I had a quick cup of tea, picked up my fishing coat and bib and left for the lake. I opened the door and couldnt believe my eyes. It was bucketing down!
Never mind, I'm still going fishing no matter what the weather throws at me.
The car was packed the previous night so that meant I could just get in the car and go. It rained from when I left home, all the way to the lake, setting up the bivvy and my rods and well into the morning. By the time it had stopped, I was already soaked to the skin. To try and dry my self out, I boiled the kettle and filled up my hot water bottle. I placed the hot water bottle on my thigh and when it got too hot, I moved it o the other leg. I did this for a few hours and eventually managed to dry most of the accessible parts of my jeans! Lol! You should have seen the steam coming off me!!
I did have a spare clothing in the car but I would only use them if I couldnt get my clothes dry before I got into my sleeping bag. Luckily, they dried out ok
In between the showers, I had spodded out some hemp, sweetcorn and pellets to 2 areas about 50yds out. I kept one area regularly topped up and the other spot only had the odd spod full. I had a few liners so brought one rod a bit closer but still no carp by the time it got dark.
Daybreak comes and still no carp. I spodded out the last of my hemp and sweetcorn and prepared to pack up.
At about 8am, my left hand rod gave a few quick beeps and suddenly roared into life.
Oh yes, this was no bream or tench. It fought hard for 5 minutes before finally tiring and coming peacefully to the net.
At last, my first carp for nearly 18 months! It was a simmo but hey! Beggars cant be choosers
At 21.03lb I was over the moon.
I got all excited and set up my camera to take a timed shot. The picture above is the practice shot I took. I picked up the carp, pressed the remote to fire the camera.
Nothing.
WTF?
I checked the camera, dead battery. B**lox
I have 3 batteries for my camera so no great drama. Load spare battery, fire camera.
Nothing
What on earth is going on?
I checked the camera and again found no sign of life. This is unreal. Still, I have another spare battery in case of such a disaster. You guessed it, that bugger was flat as well. What rotten luck (or bad planning, depending on your point of view!)
But all is not lost. I have a camera phone. I won't be able to have a posed picture but I could still take one or two of the carp. Out comes the camera, point at carp and click!!!
Yay, I have a photo of fish.
Checked the picture to make sure and closed camera phone. I then released the carp to its home and sat down to enjoy a nice cup of tea whilst I revel in my capture.
Check phone, no picture. Where did it go? I checked every single photo on my phone but couldnt find the photo of my carp. I later realised that, unlike a normal camera, my camera needs to save the picture to the memory stick and doesn't do it auto matically. By closing the lens, I automatically discarded any photo I had taken. I was gutted
So dear friends, this scabby picture is the only one I have of my capture.
There are a few lessons to be learned from this debacle, one them being - make sure the darn camera batteries are charged up the night before you go fishing!
When I got home, I charged the batteries ready for next time. The first battery charged ok after 2 hours but the 2nd battery was showing full after only 5 minutes. When I put that battery in my camera, the camera worked ok and showed a full battery. Don't know what happened there.
Weird!
Anyway, Im off fishing on 8 May, so I'll keep you posted,
Cya
JT
I went fishing on 26 April 2012 for an overnighter and caught my 1st carp for a long while.
I set the alarm for 5.30 and when I got up, I looked out the window and thought to myself " Lets get this show on the road. Its stopped raining so get your bum in gear and go!"
I had a quick cup of tea, picked up my fishing coat and bib and left for the lake. I opened the door and couldnt believe my eyes. It was bucketing down!
Never mind, I'm still going fishing no matter what the weather throws at me.
The car was packed the previous night so that meant I could just get in the car and go. It rained from when I left home, all the way to the lake, setting up the bivvy and my rods and well into the morning. By the time it had stopped, I was already soaked to the skin. To try and dry my self out, I boiled the kettle and filled up my hot water bottle. I placed the hot water bottle on my thigh and when it got too hot, I moved it o the other leg. I did this for a few hours and eventually managed to dry most of the accessible parts of my jeans! Lol! You should have seen the steam coming off me!!
I did have a spare clothing in the car but I would only use them if I couldnt get my clothes dry before I got into my sleeping bag. Luckily, they dried out ok
In between the showers, I had spodded out some hemp, sweetcorn and pellets to 2 areas about 50yds out. I kept one area regularly topped up and the other spot only had the odd spod full. I had a few liners so brought one rod a bit closer but still no carp by the time it got dark.
Daybreak comes and still no carp. I spodded out the last of my hemp and sweetcorn and prepared to pack up.
At about 8am, my left hand rod gave a few quick beeps and suddenly roared into life.
Oh yes, this was no bream or tench. It fought hard for 5 minutes before finally tiring and coming peacefully to the net.
At last, my first carp for nearly 18 months! It was a simmo but hey! Beggars cant be choosers
At 21.03lb I was over the moon.
I got all excited and set up my camera to take a timed shot. The picture above is the practice shot I took. I picked up the carp, pressed the remote to fire the camera.
Nothing.
WTF?
I checked the camera, dead battery. B**lox
I have 3 batteries for my camera so no great drama. Load spare battery, fire camera.
Nothing
What on earth is going on?
I checked the camera and again found no sign of life. This is unreal. Still, I have another spare battery in case of such a disaster. You guessed it, that bugger was flat as well. What rotten luck (or bad planning, depending on your point of view!)
But all is not lost. I have a camera phone. I won't be able to have a posed picture but I could still take one or two of the carp. Out comes the camera, point at carp and click!!!
Yay, I have a photo of fish.
Checked the picture to make sure and closed camera phone. I then released the carp to its home and sat down to enjoy a nice cup of tea whilst I revel in my capture.
Check phone, no picture. Where did it go? I checked every single photo on my phone but couldnt find the photo of my carp. I later realised that, unlike a normal camera, my camera needs to save the picture to the memory stick and doesn't do it auto matically. By closing the lens, I automatically discarded any photo I had taken. I was gutted
So dear friends, this scabby picture is the only one I have of my capture.
There are a few lessons to be learned from this debacle, one them being - make sure the darn camera batteries are charged up the night before you go fishing!
When I got home, I charged the batteries ready for next time. The first battery charged ok after 2 hours but the 2nd battery was showing full after only 5 minutes. When I put that battery in my camera, the camera worked ok and showed a full battery. Don't know what happened there.
Weird!
Anyway, Im off fishing on 8 May, so I'll keep you posted,
Cya
JT
Tuesday, 3 April 2012
Gone Fishing
I managed to get a day session in recently, although I had to reshuffle things.
I had arranged to go on a Wednesday session with Vic but had forgotten I had promised Mrs T to take her out. So I was thinking of going on Sunday.
I thought about it and decided "Nah, I like my Sunday dinner."
So we arranged to go on Monday. I expect Vic thought I wouldnt turn up, the times I messed him about. Lol!
We had arranged to meet early at the Lagoon and Vic text me that he'd be there well before me. Anyway, I turned up at 06.30 and it was just starting to get light. I couldnt see Vics 4x4 although there was a similar one there but that was silver and Vics was creamy.
I started to unpack and got the rods out. They couldnt have been in the water 5 minutes when Vic turned up and said
"I thought it was you".
The 4x4 was his but for some reason I'd gotten the colour wrong. Never mind. I picked up the stuff I'd already got out and moved down to Vics end.
I cast out and baited up. Last time we was here, I spoke to a couple of anglers and they recommended this part of the lake. There was afamily there today and I had spoken to the family earlier and they hadnt caught a carp, only a couple of bream.
I cast out my rods rod and baited up. Not too far out but not really close in either.
Nothing.
After a few hours I reeled in my left hand rod and decided to give it a chuck.
Nothing.
Bugger this, I'll try plastic corn. Reeled in, changed baits.
Nothing
After a few hours more, reel in, change rigs to chod and shorter link.
Nothing.
By now its 3.30 pm and I'm starting to think I'm going to blank. Again! I reel in and change my bait to plum. I had been using the Ninja from Blakes but nobody told the carp how good they were. Or the tench and bream!!
Lol
So now I've tried most things and nothing has worked. I'm starting to doubt myself and my rigs now, so I need to catch soon!
Suddenly Vic has a run on his rod. And then it stops. And stutters. We know this type of run. Its our old friend the Snotty Bream! Hooray, a fish. Sadly, its not caught by me. But we're both happy as the session hasnt been a complete blank and Vic can add it to his bream album. We didnt weigh it but it seemed decent enough. Seconds after relesing the bream, Vics other rod goes off. And stops and stutters. Another one!
I asked Vic what he was using and he said that he'd recently changed to halibut pellet, so now we know what to do if we want to catch carp. Not use halibut pellet!!!!!
That was it for the rest of the session. I blanked again and we'll give it a go another time.
Cya
John
I had arranged to go on a Wednesday session with Vic but had forgotten I had promised Mrs T to take her out. So I was thinking of going on Sunday.
I thought about it and decided "Nah, I like my Sunday dinner."
So we arranged to go on Monday. I expect Vic thought I wouldnt turn up, the times I messed him about. Lol!
We had arranged to meet early at the Lagoon and Vic text me that he'd be there well before me. Anyway, I turned up at 06.30 and it was just starting to get light. I couldnt see Vics 4x4 although there was a similar one there but that was silver and Vics was creamy.
I started to unpack and got the rods out. They couldnt have been in the water 5 minutes when Vic turned up and said
"I thought it was you".
The 4x4 was his but for some reason I'd gotten the colour wrong. Never mind. I picked up the stuff I'd already got out and moved down to Vics end.
I cast out and baited up. Last time we was here, I spoke to a couple of anglers and they recommended this part of the lake. There was afamily there today and I had spoken to the family earlier and they hadnt caught a carp, only a couple of bream.
I cast out my rods rod and baited up. Not too far out but not really close in either.
Nothing.
After a few hours I reeled in my left hand rod and decided to give it a chuck.
Nothing.
Bugger this, I'll try plastic corn. Reeled in, changed baits.
Nothing
After a few hours more, reel in, change rigs to chod and shorter link.
Nothing.
By now its 3.30 pm and I'm starting to think I'm going to blank. Again! I reel in and change my bait to plum. I had been using the Ninja from Blakes but nobody told the carp how good they were. Or the tench and bream!!
Lol
So now I've tried most things and nothing has worked. I'm starting to doubt myself and my rigs now, so I need to catch soon!
Suddenly Vic has a run on his rod. And then it stops. And stutters. We know this type of run. Its our old friend the Snotty Bream! Hooray, a fish. Sadly, its not caught by me. But we're both happy as the session hasnt been a complete blank and Vic can add it to his bream album. We didnt weigh it but it seemed decent enough. Seconds after relesing the bream, Vics other rod goes off. And stops and stutters. Another one!
I asked Vic what he was using and he said that he'd recently changed to halibut pellet, so now we know what to do if we want to catch carp. Not use halibut pellet!!!!!
That was it for the rest of the session. I blanked again and we'll give it a go another time.
Cya
John
Friday, 16 March 2012
John goes for 2 nights
After Vic's capture last time out, I was really up for getting a carp out. To that end, I'd managed to wangle a 2 nighter on the Lagoon. I set up in Vics swim, hoping I would emulate or go even better than Vic!!
I marked up, baited up and cast out the rods. Now for the wait.
I waited. And waited. And waited some more.
This wasn't supposed to happen. I should be up to my neck in carp and be so knackered catching them I would have to geet the rods in to give me a rest!! Lol, so much for dreaming.
I hardly saw any fish moving until the afternoon of the second day when a carp rose just over my baits. Shortly after that, a great big SPALOOSH! was heard. (I was attending to a call of nature, so I didnt actually get to see it). I looked across and sure enough it was in my swim. Won't be long now, I thought to myself.
Back to the waiting game. At 02.30am my bite alarm finally emitted a stuttering cry. Was it a carp? Was it trying to get rid of the hook? Only way to find out is to lift into it.
Deep down, I knew it wasn't a carp. As I reeled it in, the hope of catching a carp gradually died and I was left with a decent sized bream in the net. I didnt even weigh it, just unhooked it when it was still in the water. It looked like it was a decent size but I was after carp and no matter how I described it, it would still be a bream!!
Well, I was still waiting for a carpy bite when I got up next morning. During the night, a heavy fog had rolled in. From my bivvy I couldnt even see the end of my rods, it was that thick. And cold? It was bloody freezing. Damp all over the inside of the bivvy as well, but luckily none of the important stuff was wet.
I packed up at 13.00 and went home, still planning to get a carp from there. As I was leaving, I spoke to a couple of anglers that had fished there before. They told me that most of the fish that they had caught had all come from the road bank!
Guess where I'll be fishing next?!!
Cya
John
I marked up, baited up and cast out the rods. Now for the wait.
I waited. And waited. And waited some more.
This wasn't supposed to happen. I should be up to my neck in carp and be so knackered catching them I would have to geet the rods in to give me a rest!! Lol, so much for dreaming.
I hardly saw any fish moving until the afternoon of the second day when a carp rose just over my baits. Shortly after that, a great big SPALOOSH! was heard. (I was attending to a call of nature, so I didnt actually get to see it
Back to the waiting game. At 02.30am my bite alarm finally emitted a stuttering cry. Was it a carp? Was it trying to get rid of the hook? Only way to find out is to lift into it.
Deep down, I knew it wasn't a carp. As I reeled it in, the hope of catching a carp gradually died and I was left with a decent sized bream in the net. I didnt even weigh it, just unhooked it when it was still in the water. It looked like it was a decent size but I was after carp and no matter how I described it, it would still be a bream!!
Well, I was still waiting for a carpy bite when I got up next morning. During the night, a heavy fog had rolled in. From my bivvy I couldnt even see the end of my rods, it was that thick. And cold? It was bloody freezing. Damp all over the inside of the bivvy as well, but luckily none of the important stuff was wet.
I packed up at 13.00 and went home, still planning to get a carp from there. As I was leaving, I spoke to a couple of anglers that had fished there before. They told me that most of the fish that they had caught had all come from the road bank!
Guess where I'll be fishing next?!!
Cya
John
John and Vic's First Outing Of The Year
At last, we're on the bank. After a miserable winter we finally arranged a session. Only a days fishing but I was looking forward to it
I arrived at 06.30 and Vic would come later as he had some stuff to do at home. I set up in the bottom end of the lake as I'd seen some small fish activity and assumed that if the small ones are moving the big un's won't be far behind. A bit optimistic but what the hell!!
I got the rods out after marking up and put out some bait. Next went the rods onto my chosen spots and Bobs your uncle. Game on!
Nothing eventful happened for the next few hours and at 09.30 ish Vic rolled up. He set up in the next swim along from me and thats when he realised he'd forgotten his homemade boilies. In fact, he'd left them on the table in the rush to get here. Trouble is, hid dog would be able to get to them and Vic wasn't expecting them to there when he got home. Lol. But he wasnt the only one to forget things. I'd left my camera and catapult at home so it was a reminder to check, check and check again that you've got everything!! This first outing was turning into a learning curve.
After a awhile, Vic cast out his rods towards some fish movement he'd spotted. It wasnt long before his alarm went off and he had a fish on. This is going well! After a short struggle, we landed his first carp of the year and the first that he'd caught when I've been there. I was so chuffed for him. His little eyes popped out of his head when we took the photo's and you could see that he was well chuffed. Bless him!! Lol. And so he should be. It weighed in at 16.07 lbs. It wasnt one of the originals but a Simmo but it was still a nice fish to catch.
Now the onus was on me to catch a carp. Sadly, I didnt rise to the occasion and only managed a tench at 4lbs. Still it was an enjoyable day and a very good start to our fishing. Now all I got to do is catch a carp!!!!
Vic packed up at 5 ish and I wasnt much later.
Until the next time
John
I arrived at 06.30 and Vic would come later as he had some stuff to do at home. I set up in the bottom end of the lake as I'd seen some small fish activity and assumed that if the small ones are moving the big un's won't be far behind. A bit optimistic but what the hell!!
I got the rods out after marking up and put out some bait. Next went the rods onto my chosen spots and Bobs your uncle. Game on!
Nothing eventful happened for the next few hours and at 09.30 ish Vic rolled up. He set up in the next swim along from me and thats when he realised he'd forgotten his homemade boilies. In fact, he'd left them on the table in the rush to get here. Trouble is, hid dog would be able to get to them and Vic wasn't expecting them to there when he got home. Lol. But he wasnt the only one to forget things. I'd left my camera and catapult at home so it was a reminder to check, check and check again that you've got everything!! This first outing was turning into a learning curve.
After a awhile, Vic cast out his rods towards some fish movement he'd spotted. It wasnt long before his alarm went off and he had a fish on. This is going well! After a short struggle, we landed his first carp of the year and the first that he'd caught when I've been there. I was so chuffed for him. His little eyes popped out of his head when we took the photo's and you could see that he was well chuffed. Bless him!! Lol. And so he should be. It weighed in at 16.07 lbs. It wasnt one of the originals but a Simmo but it was still a nice fish to catch.
Vic with his 16.07lb Simmo
Now the onus was on me to catch a carp. Sadly, I didnt rise to the occasion and only managed a tench at 4lbs. Still it was an enjoyable day and a very good start to our fishing. Now all I got to do is catch a carp!!!!
Vic packed up at 5 ish and I wasnt much later.
Until the next time
John
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Orchid Lakes Revisited
Hi All,
Just got back from a couple of nights at orchid Lakes- Home of the 30's.
Yeah, right.
It was a pleasant outing, weather was extremely mild, swans, coots, ducks and geese all joining in on the vocal front and taking it in turns to wipe out Steves lines. Lol
Funnily enough, I wasn't plagued too badly, with only the occasional visit. The swans were a major fan club of Steve though, as they came visiting quite often and at various times theoughout the day and night!!! It probably had something to do with the fact that a bit of bait managed to be dropped into Steves swim.
We tried everything. Boilies, Chod rigs, running rigs, bottom baits, pop ups. Not a thing. We had one or two knocks but nothing that we were able to strike into. The water is still extremely low, probably 2-3 ft short of what it should be. Some of the swims we looked at would need climbing gear just to get from the bank to the waters edge. I wasnt going to be trying that at dead-o-clock in the morning.
We set up in Middles and New Middles, two of the prefferred swims apparently. We marked up, spodded out and cast the rigs to our spots. It seemed to take us an age to get everything ready but eventually we were all setup. Time for dinner.
We had an enjoyable 1st night social and retired to our bivvies later that evening, fully expecting that at least one of us would catch that night. But no, it wasn't to be.
Woke up next morning and had breakfast. Looked at the lake and thought "How come we didn't catch?"
No reply from Him up above!
We saw a couple of signs of carp but they were too far away but at least the carp were moving. Seems like they moved to the other end of the lake, because we didn't see any more signs of carp. Steve managed to catch a 3lb(ish) bream (much to his annoyance) but other than that, it was another blank day at the lake. They're certainly adding up now for me!
A quiet 2nd night and early to bed. Still fishless when we got up.
Packed up for 11am and came home to plan the next outing!
Cya for now
Jt and Sc
Just got back from a couple of nights at orchid Lakes- Home of the 30's.
Yeah, right.
It was a pleasant outing, weather was extremely mild, swans, coots, ducks and geese all joining in on the vocal front and taking it in turns to wipe out Steves lines. Lol
Funnily enough, I wasn't plagued too badly, with only the occasional visit. The swans were a major fan club of Steve though, as they came visiting quite often and at various times theoughout the day and night!!! It probably had something to do with the fact that a bit of bait managed to be dropped into Steves swim.
Steve chilling out on the 1st afternoon
We tried everything. Boilies, Chod rigs, running rigs, bottom baits, pop ups. Not a thing. We had one or two knocks but nothing that we were able to strike into. The water is still extremely low, probably 2-3 ft short of what it should be. Some of the swims we looked at would need climbing gear just to get from the bank to the waters edge. I wasnt going to be trying that at dead-o-clock in the morning.
We set up in Middles and New Middles, two of the prefferred swims apparently. We marked up, spodded out and cast the rigs to our spots. It seemed to take us an age to get everything ready but eventually we were all setup. Time for dinner.
We had an enjoyable 1st night social and retired to our bivvies later that evening, fully expecting that at least one of us would catch that night. But no, it wasn't to be.
Woke up next morning and had breakfast. Looked at the lake and thought "How come we didn't catch?"
How come we didn't catch? View from our swims
No reply from Him up above!
We saw a couple of signs of carp but they were too far away but at least the carp were moving. Seems like they moved to the other end of the lake, because we didn't see any more signs of carp. Steve managed to catch a 3lb(ish) bream (much to his annoyance) but other than that, it was another blank day at the lake. They're certainly adding up now for me!
A quiet 2nd night and early to bed. Still fishless when we got up.
Johns Digs for the 2 night session
Packed up for 11am and came home to plan the next outing!
Cya for now
Jt and Sc
Sunday, 23 October 2011
Thorny Weir
Steve went to Thorny Weir and had a memorable session.
I'll going to nag him to write an article.
Watch this space
I'll going to nag him to write an article.
Watch this space
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
Bream Boy!
Well, I've been to the lake 3 times in the last couple of months and still no carp.
Vic and I have recently tried out the States Lagoon. Its bigger than the Specimen lake and there are more inaccessible places, especially for Vic and me as we haven't got a barrow. I think Vic is working his charm on Barbs and he may resolve the barrow problem soon!! Its a long haul around that side of the lake with all your gear.
The first time I went, Vic was unable to come as I didn't know I was going until the last moment. He has to sort out who takes the dog for a walk, feed the horses and rabbits etc so the more notice I give him the better.
I set up on the bottom end of the lake and spodded out some mix. A few hours later, I had a tentative take and a bream of 5lb+ was on the bank. Not what I was after, but it was my PB for a bream. To cut a long story short, this was the tone of the session - bream. I tried sweetcorn (real and plastic), 8mm - 16mm boilies, pop ups, snowmen set up, tiger nuts etc. The carp weren't interested although the bream seemed to enjoy it all!! I tried short hooklinks, long ones, but the end result, bream. I did increase my PB for a bream again, this time a bream of 7lb 2oz. It fought for all of 20 seconds and then gave in.
I ended up with 7 bream, all over 5lb .
A few weeks later, we managed to arrange a session together together and we set up at the top end of the lake, near the top car park. I used the marker rod, clipped up, and used pva bags and netting with stick mix and boilies but no fish, not even a bream. I stayed that night and didnt have a run. I was a bit disappointed but I'll still carry on, just try another part of the lake and use plenty of bait.
The last time we went I stayed for 2 nights and Vic joined me on the first day. We set up on the left side of the lake near to where I had the bream previously. A similar story, spod, pva bags/netting, boilies, sweetcorn - all caught bream but no carp. Maybe I'm doing something radically wrong but I can't catch a carp to save my life!!
Vic getting his method feeder mix ready
Anyway, I'll keep going and see what turns up!
Well, thats it for now,
Cya soon,
John
Vic and I have recently tried out the States Lagoon. Its bigger than the Specimen lake and there are more inaccessible places, especially for Vic and me as we haven't got a barrow. I think Vic is working his charm on Barbs and he may resolve the barrow problem soon!! Its a long haul around that side of the lake with all your gear.
The first time I went, Vic was unable to come as I didn't know I was going until the last moment. He has to sort out who takes the dog for a walk, feed the horses and rabbits etc so the more notice I give him the better.
I set up on the bottom end of the lake and spodded out some mix. A few hours later, I had a tentative take and a bream of 5lb+ was on the bank. Not what I was after, but it was my PB for a bream. To cut a long story short, this was the tone of the session - bream. I tried sweetcorn (real and plastic), 8mm - 16mm boilies, pop ups, snowmen set up, tiger nuts etc. The carp weren't interested although the bream seemed to enjoy it all!! I tried short hooklinks, long ones, but the end result, bream. I did increase my PB for a bream again, this time a bream of 7lb 2oz. It fought for all of 20 seconds and then gave in.
I ended up with 7 bream, all over 5lb .
A few weeks later, we managed to arrange a session together together and we set up at the top end of the lake, near the top car park. I used the marker rod, clipped up, and used pva bags and netting with stick mix and boilies but no fish, not even a bream. I stayed that night and didnt have a run. I was a bit disappointed but I'll still carry on, just try another part of the lake and use plenty of bait.
The last time we went I stayed for 2 nights and Vic joined me on the first day. We set up on the left side of the lake near to where I had the bream previously. A similar story, spod, pva bags/netting, boilies, sweetcorn - all caught bream but no carp. Maybe I'm doing something radically wrong but I can't catch a carp to save my life!!
Vic getting his method feeder mix ready
View from Johns swim
Anyway, I'll keep going and see what turns up!
Well, thats it for now,
Cya soon,
John
Thursday, 26 May 2011
Another awesome session at Etang Du Bois
Hi all, its Steve.
Well, what a session I just had in France.
Following on from my last session there, I thought it'd be quite chuffed if I only had half of what I caught!
Read on to find out what happened.
After meeting up with Frenchy and Pete, we eventually left at around 8pm. Frenchy would be driving to Dover and I'd be driving the rest. We'd be using my car and Pete would follow us in his own. We arrived at Dover in plenty of time and we got the early ferry to Dunkirk (or Dunkerque in French!). The only downside was that most of the seats were taken with people lying flat out on them, fast asleep. Grrrrh!
Never mind, C'est la vie as the locals say!
A couple of our party had already spent a week at the lake and we would be meeting up with them later
Anyway, it was an uneventful trip and I wasnt sea sick once. We disembarked at around 3am local time and set off for the 4 hour trip to the lake. By this time it was quite foggy and as we travelled onward, so the fog got thicker. This wasn't what we had planned! After about 2 hrs driving we pulled into a car park to have a rest and get some zzzzzzeds!. My head was full of fishing and there was no way I was going to be able to sleep. I ended up exploring the area and drinking coffee and after a while I woke the others up. We set off at about 7am and arrived at the lake around 9am. The fog had cleared by now and we could see the splendid lake.
To decide who would choose the first swim, we would be pulling names out of the hat. Lowest number goes first. I let Pete and Frenchy go first and then drew my number. Guess what? I drew number 1! I now had first choice. Lol
We had already taken a walk around the lake and I really fancied the Lawn swim, so thats where I set up.
I'd been told of a couple of spots around my chosen swim that had produced in the past and I placed 1 rod near the area to my right and my other 2 rods to the island. Now we wait. I put out some bait with my bait boat and sat down and enjoyed my surroundings
I was in the process of making myself a cup of tea when I noticed that the flame on my stove was burning yellowy/orange and not the lovely blue flame that it normally burns. I decided to turn up the gas and try to unblock the jet that way.
B-I-G mistake.
The damn thing roared like a dragon and the next thing I knew there was flames shooting up the front of my bivvy!!
Holy s**t!
Thinking quickly, I managed to grab hold of the stove and chuck it outside.
Oh bl**dy hell, no! It bounced and clattered towards my rods and there wasn't a damned thing I could do about it. I watched horrified as it got closer and closer to my rods. Finally, it came to a stop a half rod length away from them. Whew! That was close.
Now I know why my mate John rarely cooks inside his bivvy!! Lol
I retrieved the flaming stove (no pun intended!) and went back to the bivvy to see if there was any damage. Damn, there was a hole the size of a small hand towel in the front of the bivvy. I had the original front and mozzy net with me so I wasn't too worried about getting wet. Just pi***d off it had happened at all.
Although the weather was pleasant, I had no runs that day or at night and managed to catch up on my sleep.
I woke around 8am and had breakfast. My alarms had remained silent during the night so I decided to have a walk around my area of the lake. As I walked I noticed at least 3 fish right under a tree in the margin to my right. This spot was about 8-10 feet from the other spot I'd been told about. I'd need my bait boat for this as it would be very difficult to cast to this spot with the rods. I loaded up the boat with a rig and a handful of bait and sent it out.
Trap set. Now we wait again.
Saturday proved to be another quiet day on the fishing front and I retired to my bivvy and got my head down for the night.
Woke up and had breakfast, again fishless. This had happened last time I was here so I wasn't too worried yet. It takes a bit of time to settle down.This lake has a couple of aerators and I was quite confident that I'd catch sometime soon, especially when the aerators were on. We'll see how it pans out.
I'd noticed that when I got my rigs in from the margin spots, parts of the rig were covered in black gunk. I wasn't happy with this and decided to change my bottom baits to pop-ups. A simple change but quite effective as it turned out. I sent out the boat with my changed rigs and some bait and sat in the chair enjoying the sun.
At 11.30 I had a blistering run on my RH rod. Game on!! I lifted into the fish and had myself an almighty scrap with mr carp. It fought like a demon but I managed to land it after about 15 mins. I looked into the net and it was huge! I could see it was a grass carp, long, sleek and powewful. With the help of some of the lads, we weighed it and the scales went round to 54.02 lbs
Awesome!
I was ecstatic. I would have been happy just to catch a carp, but to catch a fish this size first off blew me away. When we'd photographed, weighed and administered some carp care stuff, we released it and it swam away to its home. I sat down and made myself a well earned cup of tea. Presently, I made up another rig and sent it out with some bait to the new spot. I just knew the spot would produce and it did.
Until I sent out the bait boat to top up the swims.
I was enjoying my first cup of tea at about 6.30am when my RH rod (the one on my spot) burst into life. I was onto my rod quickly and I could feel it wasnt a monster, but a decent fish none the less. After another healthy scrap, the lovely looking common was in my net and being photographed and weighed. It was 27.02lb. It wasnt the biggest carp in the lake but it was in pristine condition.
This was turning into one hell of a session. The rod was put back into the spot and again only a smattering of baits around the area. At 8am my RH rod once again put on its battle curve and I was into another angry carp. This was proving a popular spot for mr carp. After another exhausting scrap (I hadnt quite recovered from the last one) I managed to get the net under the fish. Someone offered to help me weigh it, which I was grateful for! At 47.02lbs I was incredibly happy with the result so far - and we still had a few more days left!
Not long after, it started to rain and it stayed all day. Kind of put a dampner on things for a bit as I didn't get a bite until the evening. At times the heavens opened and we would all skuttle back into our bivvies.
If this keeps up, I'll be a quivering wreck by the time I go home! I'm well chuffed with my fishing though, especially with the way I have thought about things and then went and put the thinking into action and caught some decent carp.
Wednesday arrived and I'd been up since 7am. I had breakfast and a cup of tea and was considering if anything needed to be changed. Then at 8.30am my question was answered with the roaring of my RH alarm as it signalled Mr Angry Carp on the end. No changes required! Finding that spot was a real good piece of fortune for me. 4 fish off the spot so far. This fish wasn't as big as some of the others and I was able to land it quite quickly. Good job really, as I'd only just recovered from yesterdays haul! The scales went round to 26.09lb and we returned the fish soon after. Another common.
We were having a barbeque this afternoon so the whole gang would be bringing in our rods for a couple of hours and have a bit of a social. We'd have a few beers, some BBQ grub and a good chat. Leigh (the bailiff) was cooking the grub. Top Chef! Our group as whole were doing great, with several people getting carp to over 50lbs and many beating their PB's by quite a margin.
By 5pm I was back at my bivvy and getting the rigs and bait out to the spots ready for the evening. 30 minutes later my middle rod alarm nearly went into melt down as it screamed a take. My rod was doing what it is designed to do and I was having a battle with another Etang Du Bois carp. Yet again another fight and I managed to land the carp after a brief but powerful fight. It was a 42.09lb leather carp. Another PB by the wayside.
Thursday morning arrived and no action through the night. I had breakfast and after topping up the spots again I was hopeful of another fish - and I wasn't to be disappointed.
At about 10.30am I was talking to Leigh and some others. We were enjoying the morning sunshine, trying not to think about the next day when we would have to pack up and make our way home.
Look what happened when I went to use the facilities. My camera got hijacked.
Can you spot who is in the picture?
Lol
Well, what a session I just had in France.
Following on from my last session there, I thought it'd be quite chuffed if I only had half of what I caught!
Read on to find out what happened.
Thursday 28 April
After meeting up with Frenchy and Pete, we eventually left at around 8pm. Frenchy would be driving to Dover and I'd be driving the rest. We'd be using my car and Pete would follow us in his own. We arrived at Dover in plenty of time and we got the early ferry to Dunkirk (or Dunkerque in French!). The only downside was that most of the seats were taken with people lying flat out on them, fast asleep. Grrrrh!
Never mind, C'est la vie as the locals say!
A couple of our party had already spent a week at the lake and we would be meeting up with them later
Friday 29 April
Anyway, it was an uneventful trip and I wasnt sea sick once. We disembarked at around 3am local time and set off for the 4 hour trip to the lake. By this time it was quite foggy and as we travelled onward, so the fog got thicker. This wasn't what we had planned! After about 2 hrs driving we pulled into a car park to have a rest and get some zzzzzzeds!. My head was full of fishing and there was no way I was going to be able to sleep. I ended up exploring the area and drinking coffee and after a while I woke the others up. We set off at about 7am and arrived at the lake around 9am. The fog had cleared by now and we could see the splendid lake.
To decide who would choose the first swim, we would be pulling names out of the hat. Lowest number goes first. I let Pete and Frenchy go first and then drew my number. Guess what? I drew number 1! I now had first choice. Lol
We had already taken a walk around the lake and I really fancied the Lawn swim, so thats where I set up.
I'd been told of a couple of spots around my chosen swim that had produced in the past and I placed 1 rod near the area to my right and my other 2 rods to the island. Now we wait. I put out some bait with my bait boat and sat down and enjoyed my surroundings
 |
| The Lawn Swim |
I was in the process of making myself a cup of tea when I noticed that the flame on my stove was burning yellowy/orange and not the lovely blue flame that it normally burns. I decided to turn up the gas and try to unblock the jet that way.
B-I-G mistake.
The damn thing roared like a dragon and the next thing I knew there was flames shooting up the front of my bivvy!!
Holy s**t!
Thinking quickly, I managed to grab hold of the stove and chuck it outside.
Straight towards my rods.
Now I know why my mate John rarely cooks inside his bivvy!! Lol
I retrieved the flaming stove (no pun intended!) and went back to the bivvy to see if there was any damage. Damn, there was a hole the size of a small hand towel in the front of the bivvy. I had the original front and mozzy net with me so I wasn't too worried about getting wet. Just pi***d off it had happened at all.
Although the weather was pleasant, I had no runs that day or at night and managed to catch up on my sleep.
Saturday 30 April
I woke around 8am and had breakfast. My alarms had remained silent during the night so I decided to have a walk around my area of the lake. As I walked I noticed at least 3 fish right under a tree in the margin to my right. This spot was about 8-10 feet from the other spot I'd been told about. I'd need my bait boat for this as it would be very difficult to cast to this spot with the rods. I loaded up the boat with a rig and a handful of bait and sent it out.
Trap set. Now we wait again.
Saturday proved to be another quiet day on the fishing front and I retired to my bivvy and got my head down for the night.
Sunday 1 May
Woke up and had breakfast, again fishless. This had happened last time I was here so I wasn't too worried yet. It takes a bit of time to settle down.This lake has a couple of aerators and I was quite confident that I'd catch sometime soon, especially when the aerators were on. We'll see how it pans out.
I'd noticed that when I got my rigs in from the margin spots, parts of the rig were covered in black gunk. I wasn't happy with this and decided to change my bottom baits to pop-ups. A simple change but quite effective as it turned out. I sent out the boat with my changed rigs and some bait and sat in the chair enjoying the sun.
At 11.30 I had a blistering run on my RH rod. Game on!! I lifted into the fish and had myself an almighty scrap with mr carp. It fought like a demon but I managed to land it after about 15 mins. I looked into the net and it was huge! I could see it was a grass carp, long, sleek and powewful. With the help of some of the lads, we weighed it and the scales went round to 54.02 lbs
Awesome!
 |
| 54.02lb Grass Carp |
I was ecstatic. I would have been happy just to catch a carp, but to catch a fish this size first off blew me away. When we'd photographed, weighed and administered some carp care stuff, we released it and it swam away to its home. I sat down and made myself a well earned cup of tea. Presently, I made up another rig and sent it out with some bait to the new spot. I just knew the spot would produce and it did.
Rock on Tommy. Lets have another!
The rest of the afternoon passed quietly with no action.
The rest of the afternoon passed quietly with no action.
Until I sent out the bait boat to top up the swims.
I loaded up the boat as I had done on several occasions and sent it out towards my chosen spots. As it got about 20 yds out there was an almighty BANG! I must have jumped a good 6 feet in the air. I looked around in amazement and shock wondering what the hell was going on. I then realised that my bait boat had vanished!
Damn! What on earth had happened?
There were a few ripples where my boat should have been but no other sign of it all. Not even a bit of wreckage. It had been totally destroyed. The explosion was heard several kilometers away, as some of the party were fishing a nearby lake and say they clearly heard it!! I let Leigh, the bailiff know and he kindly volunteered to salvage any bits of the boat that he could find. Sadly, all he found was the fishfinder - and that was found on the far bank margin!! No other trace of my boat remained. And the fishfider still worked! Lol.
To this day I dont know why it exploded. I do know that if it had happened 10 mins earlier, myself and Frenchy had been talking, with the boat between us and one, or both of us, could have been seriously injured. Spooky!
Since then, the other guys called me Uncle Albert after that episode! Even people I didnt know were coming up to me on the ferry home and asking me about it, word had got around I guess!!
Anyway, as luck would have it, my rig was already out on my new found spot and I could bait up by hand if I walked around to the margin. Unless I had a run the rig was staying where it was, as there was no way I could get it back out there using the rod. I'd have to speak to Leigh the next day and see if I could hire a bait boat for the rest of the week, as I'd be needing it.
It was quiet for the remaider of the evening, no doubt the carp were suffering from severe headaches from the concussion!! Lol
Damn! What on earth had happened?
There were a few ripples where my boat should have been but no other sign of it all. Not even a bit of wreckage. It had been totally destroyed. The explosion was heard several kilometers away, as some of the party were fishing a nearby lake and say they clearly heard it!! I let Leigh, the bailiff know and he kindly volunteered to salvage any bits of the boat that he could find. Sadly, all he found was the fishfinder - and that was found on the far bank margin!! No other trace of my boat remained. And the fishfider still worked! Lol.
To this day I dont know why it exploded. I do know that if it had happened 10 mins earlier, myself and Frenchy had been talking, with the boat between us and one, or both of us, could have been seriously injured. Spooky!
Since then, the other guys called me Uncle Albert after that episode! Even people I didnt know were coming up to me on the ferry home and asking me about it, word had got around I guess!!
Anyway, as luck would have it, my rig was already out on my new found spot and I could bait up by hand if I walked around to the margin. Unless I had a run the rig was staying where it was, as there was no way I could get it back out there using the rod. I'd have to speak to Leigh the next day and see if I could hire a bait boat for the rest of the week, as I'd be needing it.
It was quiet for the remaider of the evening, no doubt the carp were suffering from severe headaches from the concussion!! Lol
Monday 2 May
 |
| 27.02lb Common |
I was enjoying my first cup of tea at about 6.30am when my RH rod (the one on my spot) burst into life. I was onto my rod quickly and I could feel it wasnt a monster, but a decent fish none the less. After another healthy scrap, the lovely looking common was in my net and being photographed and weighed. It was 27.02lb. It wasnt the biggest carp in the lake but it was in pristine condition.
The only downside to this capture was that I couldnt get my rig back out to the spot until I spoke to Leigh later that day. I decided to rest the whole swim until I had arranged something with Leigh about hiring a baitboat. I was still baiting up the spot throught he day with a light spattering of bait using my trusty catapult - or just walking around the other side and dropping them in. By 5.30pm I had arranged a deal with Leigh and my rigs were firmly on the spot again. All was quiet for the rest of the evening, a good nights kip ensued.
Tuesday 3 May
 |
| 56.02lb Common |
At 6am my middle rod screamed off, this time from the known spot near the margin to my right. This time the carp stayed deep and plodded along rather than go into a frenzy. It tried its damnest to shed the hook on the debris underneath the tree but I wasn't having any of it. I could feel the line juddering over snags or something and I prayed it wouldn't come off. I must have done something right, because I managed to steer it away from the obstacles and play it in the relatively open water. I've noticed that these carp really put up a strong fight, especially near the net and this was no exception. It thrashed the water to a foam! I eventually managed to net the fish after 15 mins. I was exhausted. My arms, legs and back were on fire. But when I looked at the fish in the net, I knew it was worth the effort. I was so knackered I had to get one of the lads to help me lift it onto the unhooking mat. I looked at the fish and knew it must be near 60lbs or so. It actually weighed 56.02lbs but I wasnt disappointed as it was in really good condition.
 |
| 47.02lb Common |
This was turning into one hell of a session. The rod was put back into the spot and again only a smattering of baits around the area. At 8am my RH rod once again put on its battle curve and I was into another angry carp. This was proving a popular spot for mr carp. After another exhausting scrap (I hadnt quite recovered from the last one) I managed to get the net under the fish. Someone offered to help me weigh it, which I was grateful for! At 47.02lbs I was incredibly happy with the result so far - and we still had a few more days left!
Not long after, it started to rain and it stayed all day. Kind of put a dampner on things for a bit as I didn't get a bite until the evening. At times the heavens opened and we would all skuttle back into our bivvies.
 |
| The heavens opening as viewed from my bivvy |
At around 8pm my middle rod was off. Again, a massive scrap ensued but I was able to land it fairly easily, as I'd had a lot of practice!! Lol. The carp was another lovely looker, weighing in at 53.00lb.
Wicked.
 |
| 53.00lb Common |
If this keeps up, I'll be a quivering wreck by the time I go home! I'm well chuffed with my fishing though, especially with the way I have thought about things and then went and put the thinking into action and caught some decent carp.
That was it for the rest of the evening, so I went to bed.
Wednesday 4 May
 |
| 26.09lb Common |
Wednesday arrived and I'd been up since 7am. I had breakfast and a cup of tea and was considering if anything needed to be changed. Then at 8.30am my question was answered with the roaring of my RH alarm as it signalled Mr Angry Carp on the end. No changes required! Finding that spot was a real good piece of fortune for me. 4 fish off the spot so far. This fish wasn't as big as some of the others and I was able to land it quite quickly. Good job really, as I'd only just recovered from yesterdays haul! The scales went round to 26.09lb and we returned the fish soon after. Another common.
 | |
| Tim, Pete, Frenchy and Russell with me behind the camera. Leigh is the one slaving away on the bbq grill |
We were having a barbeque this afternoon so the whole gang would be bringing in our rods for a couple of hours and have a bit of a social. We'd have a few beers, some BBQ grub and a good chat. Leigh (the bailiff) was cooking the grub. Top Chef! Our group as whole were doing great, with several people getting carp to over 50lbs and many beating their PB's by quite a margin.
The social went well and we all enjoyed the break.
 |
| 42.09 Leather |
By 5pm I was back at my bivvy and getting the rigs and bait out to the spots ready for the evening. 30 minutes later my middle rod alarm nearly went into melt down as it screamed a take. My rod was doing what it is designed to do and I was having a battle with another Etang Du Bois carp. Yet again another fight and I managed to land the carp after a brief but powerful fight. It was a 42.09lb leather carp. Another PB by the wayside.
No more fish that night so I went to bed.
Thursday 5 May
 |
| 45.08 |
At 12.30pm I had a take on on my middle rod again. I managed to avoid all the snags and thankfully landed it safely after a brief struggle. This one went 45.08 and another lovely common to add to the scrapbook
By 6.30pm it was all quiet and going by previous nights it was going to stay that way. And so it proved.
Friday 6 May
 |
| 30.08lb Common |
At about 10.30am I was talking to Leigh and some others. We were enjoying the morning sunshine, trying not to think about the next day when we would have to pack up and make our way home.
Suddenly, I had a rip roaring take on my middle rod and the fight was on. It didnt scrap as much as some of the others but it was a hectic and intense battle. Looking into the landing net I could see that it was a common. I weighed the carp and it went 30.08lb.
Saturday 7 May
The night passed quietly, and we awoke and proceeded to pack our gear away in preparation for the journey home. We were very happy as we'd all had decent fish, good company and mainly dry weather.
This has been an exceptional fishing trip at a wonderful fishery in the middle of France. Etang Du Bois has proved itself as a first class venue.
Our party had 22 fish between 5 anglers. All of us had at least one 50lb+ carp. The lake record was broken for the most 50's caught in a week - 8 x 50lb+ carp. A trulyy awesome result topped by a 60lb common caught by Russell.
This has been an exceptional fishing trip at a wonderful fishery in the middle of France. Etang Du Bois has proved itself as a first class venue.
Our party had 22 fish between 5 anglers. All of us had at least one 50lb+ carp. The lake record was broken for the most 50's caught in a week - 8 x 50lb+ carp. A trulyy awesome result topped by a 60lb common caught by Russell.
Summary
Well, what more can I say? My personal tally was:
3 x 50's - (53.00, 54.02 56.02)
3 x 40's - (42.09, 45.08, 47.02)
1 x 30 - (30.08)
2 x 20's - (26.09, 27.02)
That says it all really!!
Au Revoir
Steve
PS
Well, what more can I say? My personal tally was:
3 x 50's - (53.00, 54.02 56.02)
3 x 40's - (42.09, 45.08, 47.02)
1 x 30 - (30.08)
2 x 20's - (26.09, 27.02)
That says it all really!!
Au Revoir
Steve
PS
Look what happened when I went to use the facilities. My camera got hijacked.
Can you spot who is in the picture?
Lol
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