Another day at the lake

Went to Newlands on Monday for a night session. Set up on the point, LH swim because I thought saw some fish signs and the bird activity seemed to confirm it.

I set up the rods (we're allowed 3 rods from 1 Nov-31 March), and cast out to the marker float. I baited up with a few freebies and each rod had a PVA bag of pellets and chopped boilies.

Not long after the indicators started beeping on 2 of the rods, showing single knocks.

Hmmmm. This sounds familiar.

I felt the line but couldn't feel any resistance so left them for a bit. The knocks kept occurring and after reeling in I found one rod had no bait and the other had nibble marks all over it. Damn those crayfish!

I changed over to plastic baits and although I still had the odd bleep, the change in bait seemed to keep the crayfish at bay.

Vic was there too and he was also getting crayfished out. He had a kittle run later but it didn't develop into anything. He packed up around 2.30pm

Not long after I had a severe drop back. I looked out the lake to where the rod had been cast and up popped a coot. Blast them things. As I looked away the indicator sounded a run! Damn, it wasn't the coot! So with I'm into a fish at last. It wasn't to be though. The coot had managed to drop my bait but in the process it somehow managed to hook itself in its webbed foot. It is not fully realised how difficult it is to bring in a reluctant coot without hurting it. It took me round the point, under a tree and finally tethered itself onto a branch.

Shit, what was I going to now? Luckily, I managed to snap the branch that it was caught up in, which meant that I could now get at the line. By gently pulling the line and guiding it over some twigs I was able to grab hold of the birds foot and try to take the hook out. But it wasn't having anything to do with that. I got pecked a few times before the line finally snapped and I was able to get the hook out. It flew away well pissed off but not as much as me!

That was it for the rest of the evening, but funnily enough, the bird activity died down to almost nothing after all that commotion.

Evening came and went as did the rest of the night. Beside the odd beep, nothing occurred and I started to pack up at 10am. then the heavens opened and I wasn't able to finish packing up until 12.30 Some of the gear was still damp but hopefully it wont matter as I'll be taking it out again shortly. Maybe!

More consistent

Hi Steve reporting on a recent session at Guys Lakes.

Arrived at the lakes on Wednesday morning and had a good look around and found most of the swims I fancied taken.

Oh well, I'll go to plan B then, a swim that had produced for me before, at the south end of Unity lake.

I was settled in the swim a day later when Bob came round asking me to photo a common he had caught. I reeled in and obliged ,as you d. It was a nice 22 lb common from the swim I most fancied, I must add.

Back in my swim I was messing about early afternoon ,when I had an absolute screamer on the chod rig cast toward the centre of the lake. Rod up, strike to the left, I felt the fish on - then nothing.

Gutted.

I reeled in and upon inspection of the bait, found it had a few marks on it. The hook was still sharp though, so back it went to the same area, 80yds or so.

Thursday morning and I had to make short trip to the loo, 0ne of many on site. when I returned I found the tip of my left rod in the water. I immediately felt the line and it was solid, fish on! I pulled into it and sure enough felt some resistance. After a decent fight the fish was in net, not huge but very welcome at 16 lb 15oz.

The rest of the 4 day session passed quietly with no sighns of fish at all. The weather was variable and got cold at night so that might have slowed the fish down. Still, 2 runs, 1 fish isn't too bad on a slow week, according to the bailiff anyway !!

Back on a roll again

I had a good session on Friday night. Caught 2 carp and a tench.

I arrived at around 7.10 am (I'd told Vic I'd be there 6.30 -7.0 am but I had a spot of bother getting my arse in gear). Vic was already there and had set up in the LH Point swim. He'd generously saved me the swim in the middle and he was setting up his second rod by the time I arrived!

There was one other person there while we were setting up and he was in a spot of bother himself. He'd had a run but had lost the fish when it snagged him in the bushes to the right of Top Bay swim. Ashley was giving him an hand so it wasn't a complete disaster.

I spoke to him a little while later and he was saying that he'd been there a week and put loads of boilies out in all the point swims, around 10k, but had lost 3, been snagged twice and caught bream and tench. As he said that, one of his rods rips off and for a second it seems that he may have a decent fish on. Then it got knackered. Only one fish has so little stamina and that's the dreaded snotty bream. He was not a happy chappy! Not long after that he moved onto Coot Island, as Ashley had caught a 29lb+, 27lb+ and a 26lb+ carp from there over the past few days.

I set up my rods and cast them out. My left hand rod was around 50-60 yds out, slightly left of centre and my RH rod was 60-70 yds out, slightly right of centre. Bait was Dynamites Red Fish and Spice, with freebies coming from bits and bobs I had left over in my boilie bag. I wasn't going to be putting loads of bait out just 4-5 boilies on a stringer and a small handful of freebies around the area.
Putting the boilies out was a nightmare. There was a pack of around 20-30 seagulls giving everyone a headache. As soon as a boilie went out, one seagull would screech and then the whole lot would descend on your swim. I tried spodding out the boilies and although the seagulls ignored it, it didn't spread the boilies in a big enough area for my liking.I added in some mixed pellets and cast out around 4-5 spods containing around 7-8 boilies, but in the end I settled for catapulting 1 load of boilies and then waiting for the excitement to die down before putting out another pouchful. Trouble is it could take up to 10-15 minutes for the gulls to go away or settle down enough for the boilies to have a chance of landing in the water! I'd go away and make a cup of tea!

Around 12.00pm I had a couple of bleeps on my LH rod. I was considering changing it to a chod rig. I'd just tied on the hook when my alarm went screaming into overdrive. Carp on!
It fought hard but I knew it wasn't a big one. It kept coming to the surface and splashing around. After about 5-10 minutes I'd reeled the fish in ready to be netted. My able assistant, Vic, landed it on the second attempt. I was over the moon. This was the first carp that Vic had seen landed at Newlands so he was quite pleased to be involved. We weighed it and it came to 18lb 1oz. I had forgotten my camera so Vic was the photographer for this occasion.



We released the carp once the pictures had been taken and had a nerve calming cup of tea. I rebaited the hook and cast back out.

There wasn't a lot of fish activity that we could see. I saw a fish leap right across the other end of the lake but that was it. We settled in for the waiting game.
Vic was baiting up his swim on a regular basis, still using his trusted method feeders. His mix had everything in it - pigeon conditioner, wheat, millet, etc. I'm amazed that he didn't have take. as it was, he had the odd bleep but nothing substantial

By the time it was dark, Vic was reluctantly getting ready to pack up. Suddenly, my LH rod screamed off again taking yards off the reel. I maanged to halt its maniacal run and then we had a lively fight. Finally it was ready to be netted.

Then Vic said, "John, how do you put your landing net together. The arms have come out."

B***ks!

I have a collapsible landing net and when I'd finished using it earlier in the day, I had put it next to the rods but it had got caught on some sticks. I gave it a flick and it seemed to cure the problem. In hindsight, it had collapsed the net! Anyway, I managed to show Vic what to do and together we managed to sort it out.

Phew! That was close.

It was a 14lb10oz simmo. Vic had never seen a simmo so I explained the reason behind this type of carp. Quick growing and almost scale less. He said they looked ugly. I agreed with him! Vic took the photos and back in it went.












Soon after, Vic packed up and made his merry way home. He's only got a day permit so he couldn't stay the night. I enjoyed a glass of red wine and listened to the radio for a bit. I started to nod off in the chair so I checked everything and then got my head down for the night. I was woken several times during the night with half takes, single beeps and rats knocking the indicators. Unfortunately, I didn't catch anything more

Morning arrived, cloudier than the day before. I was confident that I may get another carp before I packed up. Around 10am my LH rod stutters away. After a brief struggle I land a small tench of around 4-5 lbs. Its in quite good condition. I rebaited the rod and the swim but nothing further graced my net.

I eventually packed up and left for home about 12.30pm

Brought down to earth

I Went to Newlands and set up in the first 2 swims on Roadbank. I was hoping to set up in the same swim where I caught the 19lb but there was somebody already there. I didn't get there until nearly midday as one or two things happened and delayed me. Never mind, I'll try the other faithful swim on the road bank.

I'd already emailed Vic that morning so he was already there and wondering where I was.

We both set up our rods and then had a chinwag about everything and nothing. Well, it was something to do while we were waiting to catch our fish!

Ha Ha Ha! Good joke or what?

Vic was on his trusty method mix and a safety lead clip setup whilst I was on two inline leads, one with a bottom bait and one balanced bait. I was fishing towards the middle and Vic was fishing closer in. Between us we should have covered all avenues into the lower bay, but we must have missed something because we didn't get anything to indicate a bite. We tried all methods from changing baits, popups, pva bags to recasting to different parts of the swim. Nothing. Vic packed up at around 8pm when Barbara turned up and I soldiered on through the night. I slept well and got up at 7.45 for breakfast and a cup of tea - fishless yet again. Ah well, maybe I was over confident after my last 2 captures. Brought down toearth with a bump!

The weather was sunny windy for most of the day that Vic was there, only easing off towards 5pm. nothing like the forecast though.

I packed up at 2pm after having a couple of knocks - turned out to be coots, the damn things!

Anyway, summary - back to normal.

Zilch.

Nothing.

See ya around,

John

John gets his 1st carp of the year!

Well, what a day.

My son Gareth had been nagging me for weeks to go to the Club Lake at Orchid lakes. It cost a tenner for a day or £20 for 24 hours. As we were only going to be there for a day we chose the cheaper option!

We got a lift round to the lake (still £3 per angler) and set up in what is known as the high bank. There was already two blokes fishing, one of them definitely fishing for the catfish that are resident there. The other were small fish anglers.

The Club Lake is not very big, being only 2 acres in size so finding the fish wasn't a problem. They were literally yards from your bait! I was using plastic corn on one rod and a pop up on the other. I was fishing across to the other bank as we'd seen a carp jump near there earlier on, while we were setting up.

It was a pleasant day, not too sunny, but at least it was dry. Gareth was fishing with one bait runner and one quiver tip. His quiver rod was set up to cover the small bay to his right. His other rod was covering the far bank opposite his swim. The bloke to my right packed up around midday when 2 young lads came and setup 2 pegs down. They thrashed the water trying to cast out, their bite alarms didn't have an on/off button (or if they did, they didn't know how to work it). They were casting out literally every 10-15 minutes. They were only around 12 -14 years old. I thought our chances of catching had been severely curtailed thanks to the young lads antics. Eventually, they settled down and then I began to get line bites, bleeps and the odd aborted take. A few times I'd reeled my baits in to find that the hook was bare or the rig was in tangles. These were wary fish and had seen most tricks.

Then at around 15.45 my alarm sings out and I'm into a fish. I'm on lighter gear than I am normally used to, so I probably made a meal out of landing the fish but after my last dismal record I didn't want this to go tits up. I finally manage to land it and it turns out to be a common of 15lb 7oz.

I was ecstatic. My first carp of the year. Now maybe I can get on and do some proper fishing and not have to worry about blanking!!!



The fish looks great but don't be too critical of me please, I bruise easily (as the song goes!)












Here's another piccy, taken on Gareths phone


Its a shame the pictures don't do the fish justice as its a really pretty fish, in pristine condition and well proportioned. You'll just have to take my word for it!

All went quiet for a while and then I had a take on the quiver tip. I reeled it in and it was a small skimmer bream. All slime and snot. Needless to say it was unhooked in the water and put straight back. That was it for our session but around 6pm the heavens opened. It lashed and lashed it down. Luckily I'd brought my brolly so we were quite dry although everything was spattered in dirt from the rain splashing on the ground. Luckily it managed to stop raining before the gates were shut so we packed up and went home around 18.55 pm.

Right, time for bed and to dream of my next fish - hopefully at Newlands!

CYA

John

Another Good Nights Sleep!

Evening all! John Here.

Well , I went fishing at Newlands on Monday night. Quite an eventful session, I can tell you.

It all started badly when I couldn't be arsed to get my act together. I'd planned to get up around 5.30am and get to the lake around 6.30 - 7am. As it happened I didn't get up til 8am, hummed and aarrrred, eventually getting to the lake at 1pm - reluctantly!

I set up on the road bank, 2nd swim in. I'd seen a fish top in the middle of the lake, opposite the swim I was in, so that decided me. I'd heard on the local radio that rain was forecast for that afternoon so I put up my bivvy first thing, along with all my luxuries. It seemed to take forever! Two hours later the bivvy was up and I was finally ready to cast out. Then it took me ages to set up my rods.

My LH rod was fished about 50-60 yds out, about the same distance as the sticks but 10-15 yds left of them. My RH rod was only a short distance out, into the entrance to the bay. I spodded out some boilies to my left rod and some pellets and a sprinkling of boilies to my right rod. Ok, now we're cooking on gas.

While I was looking at the lake a fella came and had a chat from further down the lake. He was studying at Brookes University and was fishing Newlands during his time off from his summer job and the start of next term. He'd already spent 2-3 nights at the lake but only had a mid double mirror for all his efforts. He had been taking a walk around the lake to see if he could see some carp, as they'd apparently moved from his area (top half of the lake). While we were talking, a few fish crashed out, right in front of us. It was like a display, the fish were topping, jumping and doing lots of carpy things. I thought I might have a fish or two here! He said he'd definitely be moving down to here but didn't know where I was fishing. He didn't want to interfere with the area I was fishing. I explained where I was and he went and set up on the high bank. You don't see much of fishing etiquette nowadays, so it was quite refreshing to see that at least some of the younger carp anglers (he was 20 ish) are considerate of other anglers.

After about 40 minutes my right hand rod screamed off. Fortunately I was stood right next to it and picked it up straight away. Alas, it was on for around 10 seconds, then - boiinngg - it came off. By this time, the lad from Brookes had set up on the high bank and had already cast out his rods. Now, after that run, all activity seemed to stop. No fish showed, no fish jumped. no sign of any fish on the top. It might have been coincidence or it might have been that losing the fish scared them off. It might have been the extra lines in the water upset the carp coming in towards us. I don't know. All I know is that nothing happened after and I woke up next morning fishless, even though I'd been so confident of catching a fish the previous night.

I made breakfast and recast the rods. After spodding out some more boilies and pellets to the respective rods I settled down to wait. It wasn't long before I had a run on my left rod. I struck into it and it felt like a really good fish. As I was getting my landing net to hand I suddenly felt the rod and line go slack. NO, please no! But it was true. The damn thing had got off again. I threw down my rod in a hissing fit and walked away. I came back after a while and reeled in the line and examined the end. The line had parted above the clear leader and looked as if someone had roughed up the end with a bit of rough sandpaper. I'd been done. I had been using the Korda leaders so that the weight could be shed by the fish should the unthinkable happen. I text Steve and Vic, who were quite sympathetic about it all. Steve's been fishing for decades so knows what it feels like and Vic is a ex match angler who has got the carp bug.

That was about it until around midday when I noticed a lot of carp activity heading towards my swim. The wind was blowing into my face again and it seemed to excite the carp as they were jumping, topping, etc. I held on for as long as I could but I had to call it a day at 13.30pm. Somebody would have a good session soon.

Thats it for now,


John

Hello again,

I went fishing at Newlands Specimen on Monday for 2 nights.

I set up in the middle Point swim. My RH rod was fishing about 60-70 yds towards the right of my swim. I checked out where the marker float was in relation to the next swim to my right and discovered that the marker was slap bang in the middle of the swim! I decided to leave it there and move it if somebody moved into the swim.

My LH rod was fished to the far side of the gravel bar, around 15-20 yds, straight out. Both rods had boilies around them as freebies, the boilies being spodded out to the RH rig and catapulted out to the near bait. The reason I spod out the boilies is because its more accurate and it attracts less attention from the local wild birds.

The RH rod had a running rig with a 8-10" hooklink and a square 3oz lead. Bait was a Bait and feed Co mixed boilie, as were the freebies.My LH rod had a fish-oil boilie, along with around 15-20 freebies. The rig and weight were in a PVA bag full of pellets.

Monday passed quietly, with only a few beeps on my alarm. It rained a lot in the afternoon, sometimes quite heavy. I went to sleep around 11pm and woke up at around 6.30 am, the weather damp and miserable.
Another fishless night.

Vic had turned up by this time and was busy setting up his rods in the LH Point swim. Vic has been fairly successful on his home made crayfish boilies, catching several tench and bream but sadly, no carp yet. Mind you, a couple of the tench were crackers - 6lb 12oz and 7lb 14oz.
Both were caught using his crayfish boilies. The action has died down now though and Vic joins us in the "...sorry, no fish - yet" club!!

Tuesday morning passed quietly although I did hook a fish for around 5 secs then I had a hook pull.

Gutted.

Vic and I managed to do our bit for the nature watch people by releasing a swans leg from a branch that it had got tangled up in. At least it wasn't attached by a anglers line. Somehow the stupid swan had managed to get one of its legs stuck in the V of a fairly large branch. It could only use one leg and don't ask it to turn left!!!

I started to get a few beeps and liners during the day, even managing to hook another fish for approx 10 secs! I received a few beeps on my alarm so I gently lifted the rod and felt some resistance. Fish on! I lifted the rod into the fish and watched the rod tip as it took up its fighting curve. Suddenly - BOING! - it came off. The rod tip straightens and the line comes in easily. Somehow the damn fish has shed the hook. When I reeled in I immediately took off the offending hooklink and chucked it in the nearest bin. A new rig was assembled and cast out but with no result. Its been raining most of the day ranging from light drizzle to thunder, lightning and monsoon weather. Unbelievable.

Around 8pm I recast my rods for the night and topped up the baits.

I was awoken at about 3am with my alarm emitting 3-4 beeps from my LH rod. I sat up in bed and prepared to get out. Nothing more out of my alarm. I couldn't see my indicator and thought that a rat may have knocked it off on its way past to the rest of the lake. As I drifted off to sleep a thought came nagging into my conciousness - "hang on, my indicators are about 18-24" off the ground. The rat would have to be using a trampoline to reach my indicators."

So I decided to get up and check the rod. What you have to bear in mind is that its lashing down in the monsoon season outside and I'm not keen to get wet. I take the bull by the horns and pick up the rod and immediately get soaked. I notice that the line is at a totally different angle than when I cast in earlier. I reel in slowly but nothing happens. Its snagged on some weed. I gently apply some pressure and eventually the line starts to move, albeit with a heavy lump on the end. Before I could drag the weed in it drops off and I reel in a baitless rig. I rebaited the rig and cast back out. I had got soaked for nothing.

C'est la vie, as the French say.

Around 10 am I thought my luck had changed and that I had hooked a carp. My alarm screamed for a bit and then stopped. As I was running to my rods I noticed a big bow wave between my rod tip and the hooklink. I'd had a line bite of good proportions! The line pinged off the fish's back as it settled back down to its normal position.

I packed up around 12pm and made my way home

Hopefully the next time I post something I'll be writing about the fish I landed.

Until then,

Cya

John

Hi, its Steve again.

A quick report on a session at Yeoman's Guys syndicate.

I was at the lake in question on Monday 2nd August. After an extensive look at the other lakes, Yeoman's looked and felt right.

I set up in my chosen swim, which is pictured right.
The wind was blowing from my left across the lake with plenty of cloud, so the conditions were were OK.

I was all set up and I was just looking for something in my bivvy ( the new Trakker Crossfire, excellent bit of gear), when the guy in swim next to mine popped by. We had a chat, as you do, discussing whether we would spod some hemp out or not. We both decided it might be worth a try. He shot off to cook a late brekky and I got the spod rod out and put 8 -10 spods out to the tree line.

At 1pm , 2 hours after spodding out, I had a bleep or two on my right rod, 1 of two in the spodded area. I got to the rod and felt the line, which was solid , so I hit it. At first it seemed snagged, then I felt some movement so I kept the pressure on and sure enough, it started moving right and eventually kited into the reeds on my right. I was not losing this one, so after taking a deep breath and using steady pressure, I managed to moved the fish through the reeds into my waiting net.

What a relief!

Not a huge fish but very welcome after my last episode. At 14lb, as I said not huge fish, but a carp nonetheless and hard earned. I gave the swim another 24 hrs and then went home, quite pleased with myself . I'm sure bigger fish will come, now I know how to do it!

Hi its Steve again,

Just a short report on a 3 day session I had at Gaunts lake.

It was a sunny start with a South South East wind blowing into the car park area, so I chose a margin swim opposite the very popular Stones swim. As the wind was blowing into the tree margin I put two rods on that line. The other rod I put out around 45 yds to the left towards the middle in the weed. This was on a chod set up, to sit on any weed found. This rod produced a run on the second day( Monday) at about 1pm. It put up a good scrap and was well on the way to the waiting net when, unluckily for me, it picked up the back leaded margin rod. I could quite easily see the very lightly coloured mirror in the water, it looked like a mid double. I gave it a chance to get untangled but it also took the liberty of shedding the hook! It took the opportunity gladly!

Oh well, such is fishing!

I decided to move the offending margin rod to the same area as the rod that had produced the run, again on a chod rig. As the wind increased I thought that I might get a bit of action on one of these rods. Unfortunately, it wasn't so for the next day or so.

I left early Wednesday morning to get home to celebrate my wife's 20th birthday (or so she said). I didn't meet her till she was 30-ish and that was 20 years ago, so not sure about the maths !!!

As promised, Marc has kindly sent pictures of his two massive fish.

Nice one mate!

Dont ask his more experienced brother how many he caught though !!

Marc with his new PB of 33lb 8oz

At 42lb 6oz, it don't get much better than this!

Marc with his NEW PB of 42lb 0 oz

Steve's 2nd session 3 x 30s and a 42lb mirror - awesome

9lb (ish) simmo


Hi there, Steve again. Just reporting on my second session on Guys Lake.

I had planned on a concerted effort for 5/6 nights to get a fish or at least find out more info.

The 1st day, Monday, was blowing a very cold N.East wind with high preassure. Damn! Oh well, I can't pick and choose when to go fishing so its get on with it and fish the conditions as best I can! I had a good walk round the lake and settled in a swim next to the one mentioned in my previous posts. This time I was in the middle of island, the south(sheltered) side. There wasn't a lot to report really as nothing showed in my area.
I had several walks around the lake, noticing the odd few fish showing in open water but the swims were all taken so a move wasn't really on.

I spoke to one fellow on Wednesday, Marc, who was really chuffed to get a PB fish of 33lb 8oz mirror.

Well done that man.

He had moved from the opposite end of the lake as he'd seen fish move at the other end. It was quite a hike round the lake. I suppose I could have moved into next swim to him but thought I might restrict his area, so decided that wasn't fair. Two more 30's were caught in open water at the end of the island, I believe.

Wednesday also brought a change in the weather and suddenly, in the late afternoon, a storm blew up and it lashed down. I new this would bring some fish on the move . After a rough old night with wind, rain and more rain I woke disappointed not to have had any action in the night. I looked at the rods - as you do - and noticed that my Right Hand rod had come out of the clip. I got up and felt the line and it was solid so I hit into it and Lo and behold! - a carp was on the end!!!

It was a simple job to land the fish really, considering that it was my first carp for ages. I netted and put it on the unhooking mat, ready for the photos. It wasn't a huge fish by any means, a little simmo of 9lb ish, but it was still a huge relief to finally catch a carp! It felt like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Later in the day, Marc, who had the earlier PB of 33lb 6oz ,came round to tell me he had another new PB - this time a mirror of 42 lb 6oz!! I was really chuffed for him and shook his hand.

This carping lark is easy, eh?

Game on !!!!

With a bit of luck I will be getting some pictures of his catches via E-Mail. I must say the pictures of the 42 are stunning.

A very interesting day in all but nothing more for me. Friday night was uneventful so I left Saturday morning with only my little simmo to add to my portfolio but masses info on certain big fish spots. Also, being two swims away from the capture of 3 x 30s and 1 x 40. gave me a genuine lift. Maybe it will be my turn soon. Well we live in hope !

Steve goes to Guys Lakes. A new start

Hi again. I have just got a permit for Guys Lakes Syndicate so on Thursday I made my way to the site for a exploratory three day session. Eventually I found the entrance and drove down the road with some excitement.

On arrival at the first car park I was surprised to see a few cars there and even more pleased to see the nature of the lakes. In the end I made my way to Gaunts and was very pleased to see plenty of parking around the sites lakes. There are ample toilet facilities and best of all, well manicured banks and walkways, which is a blessing when getting to the not too distant swims. After a look round I settled on a swim at the far end of the island. After a little chat with Tim and Andrew who were already fishing, I made my way to the car and started take my gear to the swim (with a big help from Andrew who brought some of my gear for me, life saver that he is !!).

Anyway, to keep it short I was fishing and taking notice of things.

I had a good chat to the guys already mentioned, gathering info, as you do. Tim was finding it hard to get his bait and attached PVA bag to spot near island in the brisk wind, so I told him to use bait only, and to get it on the spot. Low and behold a bit later we were photographing a 27.05 linear! Well done that man! He had one more little simmo and dropped another in the next two days, his first from the lakes. His mate Andrew had a 22lb carp and a 10lb+ tench. I must say they were two very pleasant guys and we will be keeping each other informed of the lakes catches etc. Myself, I did not catch this session but i am confident that I will and I am glad to say what a really pleasant time I had. I can't wait to get back in a weeks time for a really serious assault on these lakes. Many thanks to Tim and Andrew for making me welcome and giving me plenty of info. Much appreciated guys !!!

John goes to Newlands for one night

Wednesday 15 April 2009

Arrived at 6.30am, it was a grey and miserable start to the day. The weather forecast was for rain and drizzle all day with heavy rain that night. The forecasters haven't been exactly spot on recently, so I might have a bit of leeway before the rain comes in. I just hope its not raining in the morning and that I can get my bivvy and stuff packed away before it gets too wet while I'm packing up!

First thing I set up is the bivvy. I've chosen the 2nd swim on the Roadbank side of the lake for various reasons: There's an Easterly wind forecast, rain is coming in and I saw people catch from here before. If it does start to tip it down at least I'll have somewhere to keep dry.

When that's done I cast out the rods. The LH rod is about 45yds out on a patch that felt slightly bumpy while I was using the marker float. Its a running rig set up with a KD rig on a 8-9" hooklink. Bait is Fusion Pop up topped with plastic corn. RH rod is a chod rig. I've caught a tench or two on this rig this season but not a carp. Maybe I'll get lucky this time! The popup is one from Steves own stock. He's made them himself and is still nurturing them to maturity! I'll be chucking this rod around a few places and use it as my roving rod. If I see a fish top, I'll throw this at it.

I also spodded out around 40-50 boilies around the LH rod, using 5-6 boilies in a spod and half filling with mixed size pellets. Not long after, a few fish topped over the bait but I think they may have been tench. They didn't pick up my bait anyway.

Later that evening, around 18.45, my LH rod tip whips around to the left and the bite alarm goes off. I pick it up and my first thought was that I'd missed it. Then I felt a slight tug on the rod. I knew it wasn't a carp but only a tench or bream. It turned out to be a smallish (4-5lbs)tench. This gave me confidence that the fish were feeding and that if the tench are feeding, the carp won't be far away.

Alas, I was wrong.

No fish that evening or night BUT, I did enjoy a lovely bottle of Pinot Noir. Very nice.

I go to sleep around 22.30 after listening to the football on the radio - Man U v Porto. Arsenal were also playing but they weren't on the radio. I wanted to listen to the Arsenal match instead. What's the point of having several sports stations if they only broadcast one team when they could have had one on each channel? I know, I know, money, politics, contract clauses and producer preference all involved. Makes you mad sometimes

I wake up at 00.30, not with my alarm in overdrive but my shoulders and knees giving me jip. I end up walking the road bank for awhile before getting my head down again at about 00.50. This happens twice more during the night and is becoming more and more common as I go fishing. It wasn't as painful this time but still sore enough to get me out of the bivvy. At least I could keep an eye on the water during the night!

Nothing stirs on the water until around 08.45 when my LH rod alarm goes off stutteringly. It seems to be a small carp and its putting up quite a scrap. I manage to land it easily enough but it turns out to be a 6lb 11oz tench. A good specimen even if I'm not trying to catch them!

Well, I pack up the bivvy and have most things packed away in the car by 07.45. Not long after though, it decides to rain. It had only been drizzle and light showers during the night, making a mockery of the weather forecasters predictions. They'll get it right one day. Luckily, I had my 50" brolly with me so up it went. I had my chair, table and tea making things under the brolly and the rest of my gear safely packed away. I never got wet!! Only my rods left to pack away now.

During a dry spell, I start to pack up the rods but half way through it rains. I don't even bother to put the rods or the rod rests in the bag, nor the bite alarms. I chuck everything in the back of the car and sort it out at home.

Until my next session,

Cya,

John

John Goes to Newlands For a day

I got up at 5am and made my way to Newlands. Its a goddamn weird time of day - to late to be night, too early to be morning! I made it there with no problem so its game on!

I met Steve, who I knew was already there, in the Coot Island swim. He 'd set up the previous day and was feeling quite confident.

I had seen a couple of lads catch from the Diving Board swim the last time I was down, so I set up my stall there for the day. The weather forecast was for light to heavy rain that afternoon so I set up my brolly in readiness for the rain. As it happened it never did but at least it kept the wind off my back. I was using a chod rig on my RH rod and a running rig on my LH rod.

I had a small take on my chod rig around 10am but other than the odd bleep from my alarms, all was quiet and no fish presented themselves yet. Steve and I saw a fish jump across the lake, near the first swim on the road bank, so it looked like the fish were on the move. Maybe we'd see some action soon!

Well, it got to 6pm and I was fishless so I packed up and went o home, wishing I could stay but knowing I'd be back at sometime! Steve was staying until the end of the week so I wished him farewll and made my way home.

No doubt Steve will give a commentary on his session when he gets back

Until next time,

John

John goes to Newlands

Went to Newlands on Monday for a quick dip of the rods. Only a one nighter but a chance to catch a carp.

I set up around 10am. I finished the bivvy and recast the rods to their proper spots about 11.45am. I was knackered. I'd just finished nights that morning so I thought I'd get my head down for a while. I slept like a log for 2 hours. Trouble is, I'd stiffened up while I was asleep and my joints were in agony. It took about 10 mins to get loosened up and back to a semblance of normality.

I didn't have a spod mix with me, only boilies. I'm useless now with a catty, only able to get the boilies around 20-30 yds. So I decided I'd spod out about 4-6 boilies at a time. This seemed to work quite well as I could spread the boilies around my swim quite easily and at greater range. Another plus was the fact that I wasn't plagued by the rats with wings! (seagulls!) while I was putting out the boilies, I'll have to remember to do that more often.

So evening comes and only a couple of knocks on the bite alarms to show for my efforts. I enjoy a glass of pear cider and a bottle of stella to see the evening through.

By 22.00 I'm in my bivvy and fast asleep.
By 23.30 I'm pacing up and down the road outside my bivvy trying to walk off the stiffness in my joints. I manage to get back to my bivvy around 23.55 and nod off once more. I was up within the hour walking the road again. This went on throughout the night sleeping for around 1-2 hours then walking off the stiff joints for around 10-20 minutes. By 05.40 I'd had enough and decided to stay up. I watched the morning sun appear and saw a few movements on the lake surface as the fish basked in the early morning sun.

At 07.30 (ish) my bite alarms sounds and I'm into a small tench. Its not what I wanted but at least its not a blank session now! I land and release the tench and hope for better things to come. Sadly, it never did.

Steve came around 10.00 and we had a chat and he threw some boilies in. He left around 12.30 and I packed up and left at around 14.30.

Don't know when I'm going fishing next, so watch this space

John

Korda Tackle and Tips 2 DVD

I just watched the latest free DVD from Danny Fairbrass and Co. It's called "Carp Tackle, Tactics and Tips Volume 2". It's quite enlightening. It is full of tips, tricks and suggestions, as well as all the latest gear from the likes of Daiwa, Trakker, Harrison's Rods etc.

I've watched a lot of these dvd's over the years and some of them are diabolical, but Danny and his gang have made this a peach of a DVD. Some of our top anglers have produced some horrendous DVD's but this ain't one of them! I recently received a Hinders DVD with Bran Jarrett showing you their products. Although it was a well produced DVD, it didn't make you want to go out there and get some fishing in. Bryan did his best but there's only so much you can talk about pellets or boilies or mixes. I didn't get to finish the DVD as I got bored but that's only my opinion. You watch it yourself and see what you think.

In contrast try watching the Korda Carp Tackle and Tips 2 DVD. Whatever you may think of Danny Fairbrass, at least he makes decent DVD's (or at least features in them). They've got articles that get you thinking about your own fishing situations and giving you tips in the construction and use of your own rigs, plus previews of the latest offerings from leading manufacturers. I was particularly interested in the construction of the KD rig, as I'd seen this in action when Steve changed his rig at Orchid Lake. Within a short space of time of changing his rig he'd lost a bream and landed another bream. OK, it wasn't what we were after but it did make you wonder if the fish had been at our rigs before and done us.

I understand that Steve is making his own single hookbait pop ups, using advice on the DVD from Ali Hamadi and Gareth Fareham. We shall have to see how that pans out!

The people on the DVD caught some spectacular fish, from 20 lb to 60 lb+ . It was filmed on a lake in France (it did mention the name on the DVD but I wasn't listening!) Also, they moved to another location which turned out to be a lake that Danny Fairbrass had just bought! It is now called Gigantica but it was called something else before Danny bought it. It looks like a smashing location and no doubt we will be hearing of it more in the future. He's obviously got big plans for his new lake so expect a few advertisements and plugs for his lake during the last part of the DVD!

All in all a DVD worth watching even if your not wanting to buy anything!

See ya later,

John

Getting Sarted

Hi Its Steve.

I've been told by John to post my comments in the correct manner so that's what I'm doing right now!

I'm undertaking a pre-baiting campaign this season (hope its easier done than spelling it !!). I have been fishing away from the area for 3 years, so I have not been able to do any pre-baiting at my previous lake. I hope to get down to my new lake at least once a week and put bait in areas that I know fish do frequent. Not loads and not whilst anyone is in the area. I will be using a good quality bait so I would expect some sort of action in a shortish time, maybe as soon as a month, say. I would not put in a lot of bait whilst I'm fishing but this could change with a bit of action. I'm able to put a bit of time in, during the week mostly, so we shall see. I'm quite looking forward to putting some time in, fishing or not

Steve

P.S

As John has pointed out, our session at Orchid Lakes was quite a pleasant time. Although fish less (carp wise), a few lessons were learned i.e. DO NOT accept the offer of a second bottle of red wine after dinner. Even if you are forced to, DO NOT finish the bottle! This leads to a condition known to many as "Ooh, that was nice, lets have another one" syndrome!
Anyway, no bad effects next morning as we blanked quite comfortably!! Next time out I'll probably be fishing Newlands Specimen Lake at Heyford Fisheries (in April probably), after a bit of pre-baiting (I am on the Guys Lakes Syndicate waiting list but I'm not expecting a reply just yet). After travelling to Reading and Slough for the last few years, its quite nice to be at a local again. Anyway, the bait has been ordered from Mike Wilmot. I can't wait to get going.

John and I will keep you informed !!

Steve.

Two Nights at Orchid Lake

Steve and I arrived at the lakes car park around 10.30. I didn't recognise him at first as he'd changed his camo outfit! It wasn't until he spoke that I recognised him. How silly is that!

We went into the office to book our swims and that's when we were told that the lake water is high and some of the swims were underwater. We'd need welly's or waterproof boots to access some of the swims.

Hmmm, not a good start.

We decided to have a walk around and see for ourselves how bad it was. Walking along the roadbank side it was obvious that the lake was high. The people already fishing there had their bivvies on the bank, rather than in the swim and the rod rests were positioned on the side of the swim so that their feet were kept dry should they have a run!

Walking further around it became quite obvious that selecting two swims that were fishable was going to be a big task. We decided that two swims were possible choices although Steve's face said this was not a good idea. Mine probably looked the same. Other than the swims that were already occupied it didn't look like we had much option. I was already thinking that we might have to scrap this session. I found out later that Steve was thinking the same thing. It really was grim.

On the way back to the office we were debating whether we should go on the roadbank side or the other two swims near the swim known as the Royal Box. it certainly wasn't ideal but at least we'd be fishing. I must admit that I wasn't looking forward to setting up in either swim and I suspect that Steve was of the same opnion.

Anyway, as we approached the office we I suggested that we take a look at the L-shape and the Alamo swims. These are swims that have a "lodge" in them that anglers can use instead of their bivvy, although lodge is the wrong term. Garden shed that needs a major face lift would be better description!
We checked out the L-Shape and although one person would have been comfortable, 2 people would have been a bit cramped. Casting our rods out would have been a bit of a nightmare as well. We decided to hold judgement until we had seen the Alamo. As soon as we saw the swim I knew we would book it. The water level wasn't over the boards, there was ample room for two bivvies and we could cast quite easily (ability notwithstanding!). We could also cast to most of the bottom half of the lake. We didn't know how much more it'd cost us but if it would cost more than £20 on top of the normal rate, we were going to go elsewhere. So off we went to see Phil, the bailiff.

We were under the impression that these swims are only available if you book in advance. We talked to Phil about how much extra it would cost to book the swim for two nights. He said that it could be booked as a normal swim unless it had been booked in advance.

And it wasn't!

Great stuff.

We weren't allowed to use the lodge at all, not even for sheltering ourselves or our gear, but that wasn't a problem as all our gear would fit in our bivvies anyway.

We set up and I spodded out a mix of hemp, pellets and boilies to an area approx 40-50 yds away (that's about how far I can cast at the moment due to joint problems). I cast out my three rods quite confident that we'd have something that afternoon or that evening. Steve cast out his rods a bit further with one rod positioned just before a sandbank, one near some trees and the third towards the middle.

We waited.

And waited

And waited some more.

While we were waiting we chatted and had the occasional glass of wine, watching the evening close in and the night fill with stars. But still no bites.

Damn!

Second day arrives and although we hadn't caught anything we were still hopeful of one or two that day. Later on in the afternoon, Steve changed the rig on one of his rods to the KD-Rig. This is where the hair is brought forward from the shank of the hook after two turns of the knotless knot and then the knot is continued up the shank with the hair coming from near the eye, making it heavier near the hook eye than the hook point.
Not long after Steve had a drop back and he knew straight away that he'd got a snotty bream. As luck would have it, it became unhooked before Steve could land it. All we need now is for Mr Carp to pop in. Not long after Steve has yet another drop back and again its a snotty bream. But Steve lands this one and unhooks the fish and releases it whilst its still in the water.

I had a couple of knocks and bleeps but nothing to brag about!

We pack up on Wednesday carpless but still happy that we managed to get out on the bank and in a decent swim. Maybe next time will be different.

Here's hoping,

John

Littemore RFC Reuinion

I'm going to watch Littlemore RFC play today. Its an important game apparently (aren't they all!!).

I'm going because its also a reunion of the old players - and a bit of a piss up! Time to have a chat, reminisce about past times and how good we were (and we WERE good!) and generally have a good time.



That's me in the middle row, left hand side wearing the Welsh Rugby shirt

Last time I went I ended up singing Max Boyce songs with John Searle. Also, The opposing captain got presented with "why was he born so beautiful...etc" for giving away the penalty that made Littlemore the winners. Oooh, so sad!

Damn! Just missed the 12.35 bus to Littlemore, I'll have to catch the 13.35 now. All because I forgot my mobile phone. Prat!

I arrived at around 2pm and was pleasantly surprised that there were so many people already there. I didn't know hardly anyone, so I got myself a lager and loitered around the clubhouse!

Lol, I wasn't the only one either. A couple of other boys must have come together because I heard one one them comment "it aint changed much has it". It certainly made me smile as I was thinking the same.

Anyway, kickoff was at 2.30 so I finished that one and had another to take away and watch the match.
The first 5-10 minutes was looking pretty dire for Littlemore as they didn't seem to be switched on to the game. Suddenly, a couple of passes, a few offloads in the tackle and some very good supporting work from everybody and Littlemore had scored their first try. It was a lovely worked try and a pleasure to watch!

Not long after that Littlemore were again attacking down the left wing. Forwards were dummying and swerving, backs were clearing out the rucks and again some superb support play created another try for Littlemore. Perfect Stuff!
Tadley managed to score a penalty right at the end of the 1st half to make it 15-3 ( I think!)

2nd half kicked off and I was still in the clubhouse nattering. I had a pint whilst I was there and had another take away for the 2nd half. Littlemore seemed again to be starting the game with their thumbs up their backside. To give them their due Littlemore didnt concede a try but they never looked like scoring one again either. Then about 10-15 min into the game, a friendly little tête-a-tête started between 2 forwards and in the wink of an eye had escalated to handbags and bunfights at 5 yds. The ref took an instant liking to his whistle, even putting the crows and magpies to shame in his haste to separate the miscreants. Tadley were awarded a penalty and Littlemore were deemed to start the fracas. Warnings were issued and the game resumed.

A few minutes later and Tadley were attacking. A Littlemore player said/did/or did not do something that the ref didn't like. So he was sinned binned!
Tadley broke through the Littlemore defence to score a try, which wasn't converted, but soon after a lovely break and support from the backs ensured the game was won comfortably. Final score:

Littlemore 35 Tadley 18.

Right,back to the bar! By this time I had been stood up for a considerable time and my joints were on fire so, unusually, I decided to go home. I had just missed the bus so I rang Jane and she picked me up at Sainsburys.

A good day out, all in all

Time to get ready

As you can see, I had a bit of a nightmare trying to get my head round the proper way to use this blog. I think I finally managed to understand it, but in the process, the chronography went astray slightly. Hopefully I won't make that mistake again! The 1st post should have been the "here Goes" entry but due to editing errors on my part it ended up as 2nd entry. never mind, at least I know now.








Anyway, here goes.


Well, now that the decision has been made, its time to get the bait ready.

I think I'm going to go with hemp and pellets, with dynamite bait boilies, plus a few pva bags.

I'll also need to change my sleeping bag to my warmer one as I read that it is gonna feel quite cold over the next few days. Hope the lake doesn't freeze over though. That would be the pits

My tv is knackered so its only my little battery radio for company, along with some decent wine and beer. I'm sure Steve and I can entertain ourselves somehow!!

I'll not be able to chuck out a rig more than 40-50 yards but hopefully that'll be enough to entice Mr and Mrs carp into my swim. You never know, I might be onto a winner. Steve also has a few new pieces of equipment to try out as well, so all in all, it looks like an entertaining session

Here's Hoping

Steve and John are hoping to go fishing on Monday. Depends on the weather and if Marsh Pratley is still doing the half price tickets.

We shall see.

I tried to get hold of the office today, but got no reply. 4 times I tried. Steve is going to try later on today. If he doesn't get hold of anyone or Marsh isn't doing the half price tickets then I might try to go to Newlands. I think Steve is going to Kingsmead for 4 nights if it falls through

Its on

Rang up Orchid Lake. They're still doing the half price tickets until week Sunday so guess what? Steve and me are going fishing Monday and Tuesday.

When Steve sees this Picture he's going to do his nut. Last time I wore it he threatened to disown me and throw me in the lake if I wore it again in public. Called me the Little Chechyan tank commander on a bad day! Cor, at least I was warm! Sadly, I have traded in this item for a more modern look! See below.