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
Saturday 1 December 2012
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
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