I’d sorted a few things out over this two-week break. One of them was my ridge monkey bucket and seat, kit for one rod this was for a few hours fishing after my gardening work where possible. As kept it in the car, it made it more readily available and gave me that extra push you need sometimes after a hard few hours of gardening.
Ridgemonkey Bucket and Seat
My plan is it go every Monday, which is the quietest day of the week according to the lady bayliff who I talk to over the winter months. It’s been a long time since I’ve fished here in the summer months, and with all the lily pads up, it will look very nice. I’m also planning on testing a few rigs out, as its hopefully going to be straightforward, but will all that extra food spread around the lake you can never tell.
First swim
I arrived just before 1 pm, which would give me just over two hours of fishing and the possibility to move swim if I felt the need.
I stayed in the first swim maybe a bit too long, but the carp were mooching around the pads, but after seeing probably the same carp show off the corner of the island, I simply had to move swim and give it an hour and then head home.
Second Swim
I’d planned on only using bags, but I needed to get this absolutely perfect, so a bag was out. The wind was pushing nicely up this end, next time I’d better bring a Catapult and a few lager pellets or boilies, just in case.
My time ran out and it was home time, but very nice to be back out on a lake fishing again.
Until next time
Richard
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With the success of the previse session of looking back over the year’s, I’ve decided to go back even more. This series off podcast will feature 2015 grouping multiple trips in one long podcast, from pike to carp fishing and easy lakes, to the big water I love to fish so much.
Today I am out for another short session along the tree lined margin bank and today the sun is out for the first time in a while. Which has put a little more confidence into this trip. However, the 3 guys who have just done the last 2 nights here, have blanked. This is starting to show that the fish may well be slowing down, some what.
Just the one rod as normal, with a couple of handfuls of chopped up Bait-tech Poloni Boilies and a godman angling mesh bag filled with my new winter mix (which I am playing around with).
As 1330 approaches, I am starting to scratch my head a bit, as this is my third trip in a row where I have blanked along this bank. A bit of a rethinking is needed I feel. I have a week from fishing soon, this may or may not help the rethinking. Whilst the kid’s are off school for the Christmas I will not get any trips out, so perhaps Pike fishing may be getting closer.
The freezer is stocked up with dead baits and I have a few bottles of Bait-tech Predator Plus all set.
I am out this coming Sunday for the night and at the moment with no fish showing, I’m a bit lost on where the fish may be. Perhaps tomorrow’s trip and a chat with some Syndicate members on Sunday morning will throw up some options.
Unfortunately another trip, turned out to be a blank, definitely slowly down.
Today I have moved round to a large bay area, after having a bit of a rethink last night. There is a warm S/W wind blowing and this area being on the back of the N/W wind that was blowing, the fish could be hold up here.
Two rod’s as well today (makes a pleasant change), I have flicked one to the right of me along a nice tree lined margin.
And catapulted a couple of pouch full’s of chopped poloni boilies in the area. I like to spread my bait about a bit, get the fish moving around looking.
The other rod is going to be used as a roving rod, hopefully when I spot some fish. In the meantime, I have cast across the bay to the other margins.
After about an hour, I spotted my first carp and reeled in and put a small Godman Pva mesh bag on and flicked it into the area where the fish showed itself.
Unfortunately, this trip resulted in another blank but seeing a fish top was good news and hopefully a pointer to where to fish Sunday night.
I am out for another Sunday night session, this will be my only trip of the week. As I have the dentist & Nativities to go to – I am a bit stuck for time.
I have picked a bay area, that is a bit sheltered from the strong and fresh S/W wind as I don’t feel confident that the carp will be on the full front of the wind. This is the same swim I fished last session and spotted a fish, when I left on Friday afternoon, there where a few people fishing the main part of the lake. I arrived a bit earlier then normal, hoping for a chat with them but the complex was empty. Good or bad sign? I will never know. Anyway, with all that bait going in, in that area and being by far the coldest area of the lake, I felt this had to be my best option.
The right hand rod was cast nicely up against some overhanging trees, I was able to walk round and bait up easily over the top with chopped poloni boilies with a couple of groundbait balls.
The other rod was flicked out with a string on, for the first 3 hour’s as I wanted to watch the water for any fishy signs. By 1530, it was time to get the marker rod out and do some feature searching and I found a night bar that come up a foot. It was in between two nice silt bed’s and this was the area I finally settled for. There was also a nice shelf down to the 11ft margin, this I will save for later on in the Winter. I spombed out five balls of groundbait and poloni boilies, which were all chopped up. I sat back, got the tea on and settled into those long Winter nights.
The night passed with a couple of bream and two carp crashing nearby and a very hopefull me thing it’s going to go off soon. But by 0530, I was starting to wonder if it would, it had been a warm night and the wind was dying down a lot.
Unfortunately, reel in time came to fast and with no carp on the bank, I was off home and not out until next Sunday.
With the weather so perfect today and it still being so mild. I had no option but to go out carp fishing on my Sunday night out. I can’t believe it’s still so mild and Christmas is just around the corner.
After a walk round and a chat with the other angler’s on the lake. I was told that there had been no fish out all weekend and the going was still very hard. As I had not been down since my last Sunday night session, I was not completely sure where to go – back in the same swim as before (as no one had fished in there for the last two nights) or there was the point swim which was free, it had produced fish for me before. It would be a rough night with the wind picking up again but it did feel good over there. However, I had some thinking to do, there had been a lot of bait put in other areas of the lake.
For the first few hours, I was going to single hook bait it until I had come up with a plan for the night.
Questions
Single hook bait
Margins
Open water
Bait up or not
Groundbait
Some thinking was needed.
The decision had been made, I was going to stick with the single hook baits tonight, just out of interest, as there will be a good amount of bait leftover from the weekend angler’s and I plan to keep my ears open all night and then bait up before I leave, as I will be back Tuesday for the day and hopefully if I fish here I will be in the right area.
I was awake quite a bit of the night, listening to a few fish topping in my area. Which is around 2 acres and the fish where very active. This kept me awake with anticipation, despite all these crashes, the trip out was a complete blank. However, the information about where the fish had been active, so not a complete waste of time. Still not very happy about another blank, at least I learnt something, so I should not complain.
Now, my original plan for this morning was and early start. As lucky me, the Mrs’ is starting late today and can to the kids to school. I was going to do a day pike fishing on the river. However, with all that carp activity the other night, I felt I had no other option than give it another go carp fishing. I know I do need to start pike fishing soon. I would like to get a PB pike this year, may have to draw a line in the sand soon and then move onto the river, as it’s been a good 4 months since I was last there, after the carp & barbel.
Back in this swim until 10 ish or until I catch a carp (which ever come first) and then I will move down to the other swim I normally fish. There are about 5 day swims along this bank, I just fancy these two a bit more than the rest.
Unfortunately 10am came first and a move was made to my other favourite swim along this bank.
Let’s hope the sunshine helps.
Looking very nice out here today.
What can I say? Well, I have completely moved away from the snaggy margin bank as don’t think the fish are there.
That looks better, a good view of the lake and a bit of fish spotting I hope.
With all my best efforts in moving around today, it turned into another blank on the score board.
Today I have moved onto one of the other lakes on the complex. I have not fished this one for for quite sometime. There isn’t the head of large carp here like the other lake’s but there are a couple of stunning mirror’s in here (that I love the look of).
This swim gives me an amazing view of the lake, which is the main reason for me setting up here today. It will give me some indication of where the fish are, one rod with be a roving stringer rod and the other, flicked in a nice small bay area.
With a few handfuls of chopped up Bait-tech Poloni Boilies.
The odd fish was occasionally topping in the middle section of the lake and by 1245 both rod’s were also in this area, unfortunately so was a bream. I was thinking “please don’t let this be another blank”, however it was starting to look like this would be the case as I only an hour left to go.
The bream was the only action on the fish front today.
When I arrived for this week’s Sunday night session, I was surprised it found that I was a bit stuck to find a swim. As there where at least 8 people fishing, in most of the swims I knew. I then thought, ah, it’s the last couple of weeks before Christmas, the weather is still so mild and perhaps this is why the lake was still drawing people out fishing.
After nearly two hours of walking and chatting, I finally settled for this bay. I had fished this area a couple of weeks beforehand and had heard a fish in the night. This was all I really had to go on as my weekday session had not produced any fish or spotted any.
The left-hand rod was cast over to the margin bushes and a couple of spombs of poloni boilies with a 14mm pop up on, over the top.
This rod may move if I hear any good signs of fish in the night.
The righthand rod was in open water just off a small gravel bar and I baited this spot quite heavy for the time of year. I used my groundbait mix and chopped up Bait-tech Poloni Boilies.
With the last few rays of sunlight going, I sat on my bucket and cooked up some chilli and rice and watched the lake.
I no interruptions in the night for bream or carp and that I didn’t need to pack up until 0830 this Monday. I was still feeling very hopefully that first light may buy me a bite, when I opened my eyes at 7 am.
With a brew in my hand, I sat and watched the lake for the last hour.
Despite the very mild weather, it was another blank to my name.
This week I have decided to switch lake for my last few carp sessions of the year. As after Christmas, I am going after Pike on the river. Regardless of the weather conditions, other wise I will just run out of time.
I have picked this swim, because it gives me good access to some great margin features and a good view of the lake. I plan to have a roving rod, if I see any carpy signs.
Unfortunately, I going to have to report another blank. The weather was perfect and the odd fish where about, but it was not to be.
Today I am back on the same lake as yesterday, however, I have moved around the corner. This gives me better access and angle on a small bay which has an overhanging bush.
No buzzers yet, I may well move swim.
Tiny bay with a nice overhanging bush, there are a couple of other nice spots too.
A nice overhanging Willow tree.
And another overhanging tree on the far margin bank.
I am just using medium size Godman Angling Pva mesh bag’s, made up with Bait-tech micro pellets with a squirt of sizzling sausage – to give them a boost.
After having a couple of carp, which were not that big, low double, but to say I was happy was an understatement. It had been sometime since a carp had been on the mat. No photos, but this made my mind up that this area was one to stick to for the next couple of hours.
Rod’s on a single bank stick and buzz bars (with the tips up, it does look nice).
Today’s round up, 4 carp up to 12 lb all commons. I was very happy despite the size, as any Winter carp, can’t be sniffed at.
This weekend trip is a social one, with a couple of good friends from around the Southampton area. We are fishing the Ressy, for the first time in over six months for me and as luck would have it I was also the first one to arrive. This is due to the fact that once I had dropped the kid’s off at school, I was free to go fishing because the wife had got a half day to use up! Great news for me – thanks Mrs H.
I arrived around 10 am and after a good look around, I settled on this area. As there where still a good few dead pads poking out and a lot of fishy movement.
My plan was to stick a couple of kilos of poloni boilies out over the dead pads and fish small pva bags with pellet and a 14mm pop up. Leave it alone until reel in time or I get a fish and with in 30 minutes, I had one of the new stock fish at around the 10 lb mark.
This fish will be quite stunning in a few years – I think.
The weather was looking perfect for another fish.
The night only action was sleep and plenty of it and much to our surprise, the morning was the same. We were quite shocked with the lack of activity, as the weather was so mild. Just have to see what the second night brings. I did spot a bubbler around noon time and flicked a small bag out.
Unfortunately the second night produced no fish action, I was starting to feel very lucky to have banked a fish within the first hour (small as it was). It was going to be my last carp of 2015 probably. The kid’s are on a two week holiday and all the social stuff connected to Christmas and New Year. This could well be the last trip of the year.
Today is the start of my Winter campaign to catch a 25lb Hampshire Avon pike. I have two months to do this, which should be plenty of time.
I do vary my approach from small single rod spots to large open bends on the river. I will also move around a bit but if along the way, I see a likely spot, I will always drop a bait in there for 15 minutes or so.
So far today, I have been in 3 areas and have had one fish.
A nice 21 lb 10 oz pike taken on a Joey Mackerel. I tend to use Mackerel, Herring or Sardines when Pike fishing.
Around 1230, I moved again and had a pike of around 10 lb.
Within 10 minutes of arriving in this swim – which was where the 20 lb (ers) had come from this morning.
I was having a bit of a dilemma now, as I did not expect to catch so fast. At this point in time, I had not had a bite to eat or even a drink due to my wondering around, looking for likely pike swims for my quick day session and for my barbel trips next year.
Unfortunately for me, my next choice of swim was on the opposite bank and I had spotted an angler walking along the other side heading for that swim. I will have to wait for another day.
With the sun slowly going down, I stayed in this swim as the only other option was a car journey move. This could have resulted in no free swims as it is the Bank Holiday after the Christmas weekend and there were a few angler’s on the bank today.
Did you know that you can get a better view of even the smallest underwater details by zooming in your scans up to 4X?
• Zoom in or out your chosen depth range in scan view by pinching the screen with your fingers, just like any other zoom.
• See further down into the bottom. Especially helpful when looking for second returns that indicate hard objects or bottoms, and use your judgement to better identify target species and other objects.
• Easily track your lure.
• Works with all Deeper Sonar models for both live and from My Scans/History list.
• Use zoom while fishing on any Fish Deeper app mode.
Make sure to update your app to enjoy all the latest features. Try it and let us know if you find anything interesting!
Do you need a groundbait with extra pulling power in cold water? The GO2 Krill Super Blend is a vibrant fishy mix made with a blend of pellets, antarctic krill meal, crushed shrimp and plenty of extra fish attractors. This super-attractive groundbait takes on water well and can be used for all styles of pole and feeder fishing. In colder months, you can mix 50/50 with one of our low-feed groundbaits such as Dark Lake Super Blend or Dark Super Blend.
Want a groundbait with extra pulling power? The GO2 Krill Super Blend is a vibrant fishy mix made with a blend of pellets, antarctic krill meal, crushed shrimp and plenty of extra fish attractors. This super-attractive groundbait takes on water well and can be used for all styles of pole and feeder fishing.
Slowly add water to your groundbait. Add a bit at a time until you have your desired consistency. (If you are unsure, a good rule of thumb is to mix 1 bag of 900g groundbait to 500ml of water). Leave for around 15 minutes and then riddle.
For more information, check out our HOW 2 guide for preparing groundbaits.
For extra attraction, try adding some bait sauces into the groundbait. Mix your chosen liquid with water first so it is distributed evenly into the groundbait. We recommend trying Liquid Tuna and Green Betaine Bait Sauce with this product.
For more tips and uses, check out our HOW 2 guide for getting more out of your groundbait.
Two new 2kg groundbaits dedicated to the Specimen carp angler, which we wanted to keep to real, old school staples. Krill and a Tiger nut based set of products and focused on using for Zig fishing, filling the edges in, PVA bags and Sticks, mixing with pellets for a great PVA bag option and the list goes on. For Zig fishing we have focused on ensuring there are particles of all different sizes/weights which will fill the water column, top to bottom.
Cream-X is a Cream flavoured, milled tiger nut, milled particle mix with milled pellet, based product with a hint of Scopex, with Spicy Krill sharing some of the tech used in Smokey Jack but with a Antarctic Krill base, with milled particle and milled pellets and using a blend of exotic spices, which we know are big carp and barbel attractors. Both smell absolutely divine and if you can get past trying to serve some up for yourself, we know the carp/barbel will love it. These are designed from the ground up for Big carp fishing tactics and specifically designed to put the right amount of fish attractiveness and stimulants in the water column. Perfect for getting out there this spring and your Zig fishing or banging out some PVA bag filled yumminess. Caution and Warning: Use Wisely, Very attractive to Big Carp and may cause a large bend in the rod!
The new Spotted Fin active gels leave a plate sized layer of attractors and stimulants around a PVa bag of classic corn pellets in a tank test. Just a small thin layer does this as the gel expands. It is also completely fish friendly. Can you afford to not be using the gels in your fishing ? #activegelhttps://spottedfin.com/product/active-gels/
Using a smaller hookbait can pay dividends when most lakes see the constant flow of Ronnie rigs with large popups attached. We do a whole range of 8mm and 10mm Dumbbell wafters that are as at home on a Slip D or German Rig as they are on a wide gape in a PVA Bag. This Classic Corn version being a big seller for those that know
Accessories made by Cyprinus® are specifically made to fit the Trakker® range of products. All materials used are the same as the original Trakker® products and all products have been checked for compatibility.
*TRAKKER/TEMPEST is a registered trademark of Cipher
International Limited. Use of this trademark does not imply any affiliation with or
endorsement by Cipher International Limited.
Summary
Made by Cyprinus®, the Overwrap that fits the Trakker® Tempest V1 Brolly
Features
Transforms Tempest Brolly into a twin-skin shelter
Reduces condensation and insulates
Lightweight and compact for easy storage
Dual-zipped doors, allowing you to create a letterbox opening
Roll-up mozzie window in the door
Dual rod straps
Supplied with carrying bag
Upgraded 10,000mm Hydrostatic Head fabric
Material: polyester
Weight: Approx. 2kg
Dimensions: Approx. 125cm H x 250cm D x 260cm W
Transport Size: 54cm x 35cm
Disclaimer
Accessories made by Cyprinus® are specifically made to fit the Trakker® range of products. All materials used are the same as the original Trakker® products and all products have been checked for compatibility.
*TRAKKER/TEMPEST is a registered trademark of Cipher
International Limited. Use of this trademark does not imply any affiliation with or
endorsement by Cipher International Limited.
UK Carp & Coarse Fishing 