I am out just for a couple of hours today, in a very nice looking swim that I have never fished before.
There are two islands with a channel running between them. Unfortunately, it’s roped off because of bad angling in the past.
I cast one rod on the right side of the gap and the other along the island to the left of me.
There is a bit of weed in the small bay area, so I am using Poloni 14mm pop ups and a snowman set up on the other rod.
I have made up some Godman Pva Versacast with Bait-tech Hemp oil and Krill & Tuna Oil.
And these, I put over the hook.
For instance added attraction, I have also put a couple of pouches of poloni boilies over the top. This swim is about attracting the fish out of their safe haven.
Looking though the gap.
My first fish came about 45 minutes after I arrived to the left hand rod by the ropes, it was a scrappy bar of gold, in the shape of a 14lb Common.
I recast the rod with another Versacast, filled with Bait-tech krill & Tuna oil and sat back and soaked up the last of the summer sunshine.
I was starting to think that I was only going to catch one fish and couldn’t believe that the other rod had not ripped off. Within a few minutes of thinking this, it finally did and I was attended to a very unhappy 18 lb 4 Oz common.
I didn’t bother putting the rod out as it was just past 1400 and I should have been in the car and up the road, oops.
I would like to give a brief snap shot of my life and introduce myself;
My name is Richard Handel and was born in 1965 in Suffolk. I have worked as a UK Operation & Intermodule Manager for a shipping company. I live in Hampshire now and am married with 2 young children, both girls so I am a bit outnumbered even the cat is a girl!
I have been fishing since I was about 7 years old. I started on small local rivers in Suffolk, then moved onto gravel pits and then carp fishing. My personal best is a 39.08 mirror, over recent years I have started river fishing again, on the Hampshire Avon, this is a nice break from the carp lakes.
My life has turned a big corner this year, the company I was working for relocated their Operation centre to Estonia. I was offered a job at the head office in London. This would have meant a 5 day commute and working in Stratford. As a family, we did not fancy this, as I would hardly spend any time with the children (and the Mrs). So after 22.5 years, I was given a nice redundancy package and with my wife is working full time. I became the house husband.
This has meant a complete turn around in my fishing, as I can pick and choose when I go. I have found a splendid new syndicate to fish this year, which includes 5 lakes and some 8 miles of river with only 150 members. It's an amazing change to the way I am able to fish.
I am now trying to start my own tackle business and make a bit of a name for myself in the world of fishing, as I have retired from real work.
Richard
UK Carp & Coarse Fishing 