Which is harder big pits or ponds?  This is the question everyone is always going on about and it’s funny how anglers forget, it’s us against the fish.

I personally believe unless you are fishing a stock pond, all lakes are equal.  I fish a small 4 acre reservoir in the middle of a wood, you can happy fish all day long.  I have witnessed a big behaviour change when they hear a bang or a foot step to close, the fish are put on edge and clearly are fully aware when angler’s are present.  The only way to approach this lake is be as quiet as possible.

I have also fished small boating lakes where model speed boats are raced and swimmers get in there as well.  You could probably have a rave there and the Carp would not bat an eye lid.  It’s all about their conditioning to their environment.  This also applies to big pits, if the fish are conditioned to noise and get fed by the public (well the birds do) and the Carp mop up the leftovers – they will not worry at all.  However, find yourself on a big pit which is peaceful and has no real activities, other than anglers, you in the same boat regardless of size of venue.

This was one of the last original fish remaining a lake which was only 3 acres and the fish certainty knew you were there.

This fish came from a lake next to a main road.  This had boats, people and all sorts going on.

All venues, regardless of size should be tried, not all of the lakes I fish are well know and famous but I still give each lake the respect it deserves.

The above fish was taken, by being very stealth-full, on a very busy lake, which proves even on the most noisest of lakes, the quiet approach helps.

Regards

Richard

This is an odd topic.  Over the many years, I have spent fishing, I have asked myself this many times when sitting up in the same swim each week.  I am 100% confident the fish are close by or will pass through my swim in the time I will be there.  So, why bother with all this walking around looking for them.  The conclusion I have come to (for myself), it depends on the circumstances of your fishing, I feel.  How dedicated are you to catching fish on that particular day?  This can be affected by the stresses of life or are you just looking for a break from it all.

I have found over the years, this can certainly play a key factor in some of my fishing trips.  I think it’s a very good thing and it can help your fishing for future trips.  You just need to make sure this doesn’t become the normal route.  The car park swim is the best example of this on most lakes.  Oddly enough in the past ten years, these have become the best swim on the lake.  Probably because they have been ignored in the previous twenty!  On one particular lake, I avoided this swim for some time, until one day I had no option.  I had seen fish, it just felt right and that swim went on to produce some stunning fish for me.

Even when my fishing is going very well, I still find that I fish the same swim, my favourite margin spots.  If you read all my blogs, it has not done me very well this year so far.  I sat there the other day and started to think about this and then thought I should do a blog – Why I was in the swim again?

I personally feel that out of all the little margin spots on this lake (and along the day bank), this swim gives me the best chances of banking a big lump.  So far over the past couple of years, my biggest is a 34 lber.  The swim offers the perfect opportunity as I am hidden behind the bushes.

I drop my bait the other side of the Beech leaves and sit back.  There is also plenty of room to play the fish once you have them under control and under your rod tips.  All the other swims are very tiny or very open with you sitting in full view of passing fish.  I did move around before on my quick one-rod trip.  It became clear to me that the fish were moving freely up and down this bank and they would pass this swim every time.  It’s more or less in the middle of this bank and the other thing I was worried about was the disturbance of catching a fish.  However, I realised one day that a carp 20 or 30 yards down the bank would never know and I soon found myself catching two fish, within my four-hour fishing window, until this year when all have to list so far is one.

I still see the fish moving along this bank, so why change spot?  This is the big question I am facing currently and the answer this time was move on.  This is a lesson learnt for the future.

Hope This Helps

Richard

More Ramblings

Deeper Sonar isn’t just about fish finding, it is so much more.

Finding holes in the weed is made so much easier, just drift your Deeper around in the breeze, without any disturbance to yourself and other anglers. Once you find the spot take note of the distance to the shore, the best horizon maker, wrap up and get a single hook bait on the perfect spot. Others will spend hours thrashing around with a marker float, spooking all the carp and upsetting everyone else.

Fish Deeper Page, is such an amazing tool and once you have mapped your lake, you can simply see a carp show and know where it is, what depths it’s in, and know the direction it’s traveling. You can work out where it’s heading, position your bait accordingly, intercept it and bag yourself a PB.

People say it takes away the watercraft side of fishing, but I say that with the volumes of anglers out there today, it just must help cut down on disturbance and the annoyance that the increased angler pressure on the bank giving everyone a better chance of catching.

You still need wafer craft to understand what’s out there and how the fish are going to behave (if you’re going to be very successful at catching fish of any type). The Deeper is not just for carp fishing, it’s an all-around tool for the all-around angler.

Back in the early ’80s, when the closed season was still inforced and with permission from the club, a few of us would go and map the lake for a few days. We were armed with a couple of marker rods each, we would find a spot and mark it with all the rods we had from different spots on different banks to get the best picture of where the gravel bars were. We were always amazed that you would think a marker float was close to another one, but in fact, it could be way past each other. We all know how deceptive angles from different swims can be. On this small water, it was pretty straightforward mapping it, but in reality, we only cover small areas, and a Deeper Sonar drifting about for a few hours can map more than we could ever manage in our close season trips.

I think some people may be wary of technological advances within the fishing industry but I think it has vastly improved our chances. Lakes are now packed out, so, the ability to arrive armed with knowledge can’t be a bad thing.

Until next time

Richard

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