More Ramblings

My main syndicate water is an old World War II airfield, hence why I’m always referring to it as the Airfield Lake. It was then dug out for gravel and then filled in with Blitz rubble but no bombs apparently! This is good news for us anglers as we need to wade out a lot, to avoid getting the carp snagged up. The lake suffers a lot in the summer months as it’s pretty shallow and the water evaporates quite quickly.

Boulders! The place is littered with these. Some are extremely large and the carp know exactly where they are and will kite hard to run the line underneath them, resulting in a cut-off. The only way to combat this is by keeping your rod as high as possible on the bank. This is also more important when you have to wade out to net the carp, which is also quite the common practice. Over the years, I’ve learnt where a lot of boulders are and have managed to combat this issue in the swims I fish. However, the carp always have a surprise up their (metaphoric) sleeves. They are very cunning creatures.

Dead trees are also a problematic feature of this lake, the carp are fully aware of the locations. They will bolt off in the opposite direction, mostly open water, then kite back once they have gained enough ground on you to make it to the trees. The way around this is getting in your waders, beat them to the snags, or even getting onto a shallow bar and head them off.

2-foot bars are mostly in the top part which is the bigger expanse of the complex. These also have their own issues as the carp like to go over the top of them, run left or right, hoping the line picks up a boulder on the way or they can bump the hook out. When I first fished here, it was extremely hard to understand what was happening and get my head around the fact you actually lost carp. This was something I rarely did over the proceedings years of fishing other waters. On here, it could happen 3 times in a row, this was something I’d not experienced before and was quite soul-destroying at first, but now I’ve become customized to it. I still get that horrible feeling and it is certainly frustrating, but as long as I don’t get cut off and the rig comes back, I can now get over it faster. Getting cut off is and always will be, gut-reaching. I don’t like leaving the carp trailing line.

Waders are an absolute must on here and for some swims, they are the first thing I put on before picking up the rod! In some swims, you feel like you are going for a walk to be able to net the carp, in other swims you can get away with wellies unless you fancy getting wet feet (but that’s not for me anymore).

This is one of the reasons why I absolutely love this lake – it’s not straightforward. You have to outwit the carp to first pick your hook bait up and then work your way around the above obstacles in the hope you get the carp in the net. I could fish this lake all year long, unfortunately, it closes for 5 months each year over the winter. Upon my return, I have to battle against the natural food all over again and there’s the other phenomenon that they start spawning in late April/early May and randomly do this a couple of days at a time over the period of just over a month. You can arrive there and there will not be a single sign of them about to spawn and by 2am they are fully at it until 8 or 9am. They simply just stop, they also spawn at different times depending on which part of the complex they are in, I’ve never known a place like it in all my years of fishing.

I hope you have enjoyed an insight into Airfield Lake and the joy to fish here. I’ve not even mentioned the wildlife life and the swimming deer you get going across your swim.

From deer, badgers, foxes, and the Nightjars on the heath above the lake. This is one of the most beautiful venues I’ve ever fished and is so relaxing. Good for the mind and soul.

This lake certainly holds a monster or two, but it’s a battle from start to finish. The whole of the west bank, which is nearly a mile long, is all out of bounds. It’s a labor of love and I will get there at some point in time, there’s no rush, as I’m not sure what I would do if I cracked this nut. I’ve never stayed on the same water for more than 5 years regardless of success. I get completely bored with the view and the surroundings, but this place has gotten under my skin. I’ve been fishing here for 7 years and there is not a hit of dislike, which I get with other waters and I feel it’s time to move on. It’s likely to be my last session on the School Lake as that’s become boring already. I come through the gate here and it feels like home, shame I can’t bring the family. It’s a credit to the estate manager for leaving the lake to run as wild as possible. All the car parks are in the wood, you never see a parked car or those dreaded white vans, sorry folks.  Most swims just look out into open water and if there’s a swim opposite you, it’s about a quarter of a mile away.

Once again I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings.

Until next time

Be lucky

Richard

 

 

 

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