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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.
Swimming Deer
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.
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My original plan was not to fish until the first weekend in September. The weather over the August Bank Holiday weekend was full of thunderstorms, etc., and not particularly good for days out. With a week of school holidays left to go, the family was happy to let me out for a couple of nights. It was worth a try, at least.
So, with no particular swim in mind, I decided to take a drive around Meadow Lake, as I’d not seen it since late March. It was full of weed this year and I really needed to know how bad it was for the coming winter.
There were a few syndicate members here I’d not seen since March, it was nice to catch up with them. I stopped in the first car park and went in the first swim, I ended up staying there. The wind was pushing in nicely. The guy who was in there filled me in with all the information I needed regarding the weed situation and I just felt it was the right place to be. In all honesty, I was happy I was out on the bank again after 3 weeks. It was an easy swim to get to a good one to ease your way back into that 3 night a week routine. After all the stress of GCSE results and college enrollment with my eldest, it certainly felt like the best option for me.
Paul, kindly let me put up my bivvy, as 75% of his kit was in the car, due to the pending thunderstorms forecast. This situation ended up being handy for him, as we had a couple of heavy downpours. Once he was gone, I set about getting the rods in place, leading around a bit, getting the bait out there, and hoping the rain would stay away long enough. Which it did. I was all done by 1500 hrs, this gave me a few hours to relax and take in my surroundings.
This was put out over the range rod, and cast alongside the island towards the channel into the sanctuary area. I didn’t fancy going too far, as I wasn’t aware of how bad the weed was further out. I will lead around a bit more tomorrow. The closer in rod was just going to be the 12mm boilies catapulted out, as I planned to trickly more out over the next 48 hours, after the initial load.
The right hand is situated in the middle of this picture, and 9 wraps out on a lovely silty area.
The left-hand rod is 17 wraps out, on gravel, just off the weed bed, and heading out towards the tail tree.
Hopefully, one of these spots will produce a bite tonight, or I may have to adjust something tomorrow. I’m only here two nights, so I may well stick with it.
The skies were fantastic last night, with a bit of a chill in the air, and the same this morning. Unfortunately, there was an event on the estate last night, I believe it was the annual Christian gathering, however, they behaved like teenagers at a rave and the music was blasting out down the valley until well past 2 a.m. With lots of yelling and screaming going on the way past then. I know I sound like an old man, I’ve been to plenty of rock concerts in my time and at least they finish around 11pm and it’s all pretty quiet by midnight. My head is thumping this morning with the lack of sleep and I fancy driving passed all their tents blasting my horn at 6 a.m, to get my revenge. Hopefully, I can have a nap this afternoon and there’s not a repeat performance tonight.
Hopefully, today will bring peace and harmony back, plus the possibility of a carp after last night would be a great help. The carp are certainly feeding on here more than the Airfield Lake.
Over the course of the day, I’m going to think about moving a rod or just leaving them out there. There has been a lot of bait going in and people are getting big hits off the back of other people’s baiting up. This makes me wonder if it’s worth just leaving the rods out until tomorrow morning when I pack up.
The day passed uneventfully, the wind picked up nicely, and the cloud cover increased. I spent part of the day editing the first half of my video and the rest finishing off watching a series on Netflix before my subscription finishes today. I had my lasagne and salad for tea, watched the highlights of the Dutch GP. This was interrupted by a tench, which luckily fell off before I got the net wet.
I needed to get my head down early after my sleepless night last night, which I did until just after 3 a.m. when the right-hand rod was away. The fight wasn’t like the Airfield Lake, but it was slow and steady, this was helpful at that time of the morning.
22lb 10oz of lovely looking Meadow Lake common. That will certainly do me. I put the carp in the retainer, (it was pretty feisty in the net), did the rod, and set up the photo stuff before getting it out of the water. It had calmed down a lot, which was a bonus.
I was a bit late rising this morning, I didn’t set my alarm clock, I needed as much sleep as possible. It was 2 minutes before 9 am when I woke up and I’d promised to be home by 10, which was going to happen.
I got packed away and headed home just after 10 a.m.
I was very happy with my result and would take a drive around again on my next trip and see where I end up.
Baiting pole is amazing bits of kit. I have found my one incredibly useful and it’s certainly has helped me catch fish.
Now, before you rush out and buy one, there are a few things to consider.
1. Cost – you will probably think that a 12m pole will be just perfect for you. Not the case – as it’s not even 4-rod lengths from the bank. This means you will need a few extension sections.
2. Carrying it – I have 1 x 12m pole + 11m extension section. I carry it in an old brolly bag, which was lucky, as you can’t buy anything to carry them in
3. Practicality – they are not that easy to use in small swims or slopping swims as you need to lay the pieces out.
4. Being able to use it – this is not about the operator, it’s about the condition of the lake. A crosswind or a strong wind will affect the pole and can easily cause the pole to break.
5. Advise
A. Never use on strong winds.
B. Don’t lift, always push or pull.
D. After 12m add extra floats every 10m.
E. When maneuvering the pole in the water, take your time. As to many side, strains will snap the pole.
F. Dry the pole and keep the joints free of gravel.
G. Treat it with respect.
Hope this helps and doesn’t put you off buying one. They are a great bit of kit and used correctly will help you bank carp.
