UK Carp & Coarse Fishing

Looking Back Over 2020 Part 3 of 6

Welcome back to my looking back over 2020 feature as part of my Podcast series and will feature multiple trip in one long podcast, from pike to carp fishing and easy lakes, to the big water I love to fish so much.

Trip 20 Carp Fishing – 2020

I fully expected to be at home this weekend; as the family had been away for Half Term and then the wife was away for two nights.  However, as luck would have it, one of my wife’s friends wanted to come over for a chat and a catch-up, so I got a hall pass if I liked! Hmm, let me think… I definitely like!

I arrived down the lake Saturday about 1030 to find one-weekend angler and one other setting up with a third going home.  This is why I love this syndicate so much, where else on a Saturday could you find a lake like this?

With the swim I’ve been fishing a lot in occupied, I headed for the closest swim to the area which has also been producing the fish for me.  The best one is underwater and I’m sure that will stay that way for some time to come – probably after the syndicate closes at the end of March.

As I’ve fished this swim many times before, with varying degrees of success.  I did have a run of carp from a lovely spot to my left.  So, with that in mind I flicked out the marker rod and the area was still clear, but as I’d been having a lot of success over patchy areas of light silkweed, I adjusted my position accordingly, in the hope that this would produce a carp.  I loaded the swim-up with Classic Corn and fished my normal set up over the top.  I’m so glad I’m organized and my kit is always ready to go, as I only found out last night I could go, oddly I’d spent some of Friday reducing down my kit for the Airfield lake, which opens on the 15th March.  You need to barrow your kit more on that lake, unlike this where 50% of the swims you can park in.

I was all done by 1300 (which is how I like it), this gives the swim time to settle down, other anglers to arrive and push the fish my way.

As the day passed, the wind picked up and oh boy did the temperature drop?! We even had a couple of hail storms, the only thing which was in my favor is that the pressure is brilliant – 987 Mb.  We shall just have to see what the night brings (as this is when most of the action is occurring).

My first take happened just after midnight to the right-hand rod, as the rods had been cast 20 feet, apart I had to be very careful not to pick up the other rod and be mindful of the overhanging margins as the carp got closer to the net.  This was all going to plan until the last few feet when I picked up the line from the other rod.  I soon got out of that,  which was lucky, I would still need to recast the other rod.  However, the carp was now safely in the Nsr50 and looked like another 20 to add to the list.

23lb 5oz Common

That will do me nicely.   With all things sorted, I was back in the bag, with two fresh baits on I was feeling confident and that I was in with a good chance of another take later on in the night.  There was plenty of feeding time to go.

I awoke to a hot bivvy and bright sunshine beating down onto it, what a difference after yesterday’s hail storms.  It turned out that I only had 1 take in the night, which was fine by me.  I wasn’t feeling the love later yesterday afternoon, it was very cold and bleak (to say the least), but the night did bring success again to me and I must be grateful for that.

Its time to pack away and head home for a nice family day.  I was very lucky to be able to fish last night as well and I will be back soon.

next trip

Trip 21 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – School Lake

Hours Fished – 5 hours

With Spring here, Monday will become my only free day for fishing (with the odd Friday).

When I arrived this morning, there were two other guys set up, so I thought it would be best to head for the island area as a starting point.  I would watch and listen for any signs of carp.  This has been a slow process here during February and it is normally mid-morning before they poke their heads out and give away their locations, if at all some days.

I’m very confident with the spots I’ve picked today and if I end up sitting here all day, I should pick up a bite.

I’ve adjusted the left-hand rod, to along the margins to my left and in front of another swim where I’ve had a few pickups before.  It’s 11.30 now and I’ve not seen or heard anything, the conditions are pretty favorable I will have to see.

Around noontime. I was pacing about wondering whether to move or not.  I just didn’t feel right here, but there was just nowhere better, so I settled on staying in this swim.  I’m glad I did, just before 13.00, the left rod was away, which was the one I had repositioned and I was into a very hard fighting carp.  It felt bigger than the average-sized ones I normally get.  Once I had got it around an overhanging bramble bush, it was sticking to the bottom, I finally had my first glimpse and was hopeful it may make the 20 lb mark, but I wasn’t sure when it rolled into the net.

18lb 2oz Mirror

It was close and still very happy with that result on such a hard period on the lake at the moment.  Hopefully, the warmer and longer daylight hours will get them to move, as I’ve still not seen a thing.

With only 20 minutes to go, I started tidying things away, I was surprised that the island hadn’t produced a run.  I’m going to have to put a bit of thoughtfulness into tomorrow’s session and hope there aren’t so many anglers when I arrive.

next trip

Trip 22 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – School Lake

Hours Fished – 5 hours

I’m making the most of days before the gardening starts up and I’m back on the school lake for another 5 hours today.  It’s a different swim to yesterday, but a similar area where I can still keep an eye on the island end.  There are other anglers down the popular end of the lake, which is ok as I’m quite convinced that the bigger carp will keep away (hopefully) and they will hang out here.

I’ve using tiny PVA bags with crushed CC boilies and a small scattering of 8mm Catalyst pellets, with my normal wafter/popup hook bait combination.

It was just before 10.00 when the right rod rattled off with probably the smallest carp I’d had from here, but it’s still a carp and its not a blank!

Which I’m always grateful for, as you now have the knowledge that you picked the right swim and presented the bait correctly.

With another bag on, I sat back and enjoyed the sunshine.  Unfortunately, this didn’t last long as the wind picked up and the wind arrived – I even had to get the brolly up.  I nearly moved around noon time again, but after seeing a small fizz up, I opted to hang on here again.  It was still the most sheltered part of the lake and there were no other signs of carp about, not even off the island.  I’m starting to think it could be worth a go down the other end of the lake, I spotted this morning that the pads had started to grow and the carp certainly love that time.

With only 15 minutes to go, it certainly looks like that the small carp, was my blank saver today.

next trip

I was given the opportunity to fish two nights this weekend.  I’d originally planned on arriving Saturday am, but after a friend asked if the youngest daughter would like to come over for tea straight after school.  What else could I say, but YES!  Oh, and thank you.

I quickly sorted some kit out, popped to the shop on the way down and arrived at noontime.  I was completely shocked by the volume of anglers on the lake, must be Spring.

After a good think and a chat with the anglers, I opted to move in after someone packed up.  I felt it would give me the best option.  I wasn’t 100% convinced of my choice, but it put me closer to where I thought the bulk of the carp were held up.  I did see a couple of flicks on the surface and the spot I had picked had produced carp before for me.

I flicked the lead about looking for the spot I was after, I also looked on the Deeper Lakebook for something different in the area.  Once this had been located, I piled in a good load of Classic Corn and Particle blend, I also put on some new Ronnie rigs I’d tied up in the week at home.  I’ve been using a combined style for most of the Winter with great success, 6 inches of Sf Chod filament and 1 inch of soft Fin skin, with a size 4 curved shank turning point hook, a Classic Corn wafter with a 12mm pop up on top.  This sits up perfectly and the hook hold is pukka.

Just before 3 am, I had a couple of bleeps, the bobbin pulled up to the top and held there, I picked the rod up and pulled into a Tench.  It was a nice one at that, probably should have weighed it, but it was freezing and I just wanted to get the rod out there on the spot again.

With that, all sorted it was time to grab some shut-eye.

With another Tench sometime in the night and getting an absolute belter at 0830 that the hook pulled out of, it was a sleepless night with not much reward.  Once I got my head together after a brew – at least I was fishing a feeding area.  I had the potential to produce more takes, this is definitely a good sign, rather than a complete lack of action.

I rebaited both rods after I lost that one and then topped the swim up with more bait just before 1000.  This would do me for the day and night, hopefully, with the lack of disturbance over the next 24 hours, it will produce me a carp or two.  The weather is getting warmer and there’s some rain overnight.  The pressure has risen a lot over the past 24 hours but will drop back over the next 24.

Just after 1715, the left-hand rod screamed into action and I gently pumped in the Carp towards the margins.  It kited both left and right, I very nearly lost it on the overhanging tree to left.

It rolled between the truck and the two other branches, I just had to maintain the pressure and draw the carp away.  Once it was under the rod tip I could relax and then just wait until the time was right to draw it into the awaiting Nsr50.

That will certainly do me.  It pulled the dial round to 17lb 5oz – not the biggest but another carp falls to the CC and a blank saver (depending on how the night goes), it’s always nice to get a carp in the net as you can relax a bit and focus on the next.

About 1815 the right-hand rod gave a few bleeps, dropped back and up again. Oh no, it’s a bream.  But as there was still plenty of light, I was able to get the rod back on the spot.

Just after 2015, the right rods belts off and after playing the carp halfway in, the hook pulls again.  This has now got me thinking and I’m starting to feel that it’s the smaller Carp e.g the Stock Mirror’s that were put in the other year.  There may be a good possibility that these fish have softer mouths and with the Ronnie rig, the pickup rate goes up.  Unfortunately, there is a small chance that you are likely to not get a perfect hook hold every time and I could just be a bit unlucky.  The 2 fish that this happened on, all felt a similar size to each other including the one I landed.  You know when you have a lump on and these certainly all felt like that.

Let’s hope the night brings me better luck.

Around 0315 in the middle of a heavy downpour and the wind that goes with it, the left-hand rod was away.  This time, it was certainly a better size fish.  After what felt like a lifetime in the pouring rain and a close call with the reeds to my right – glad I’d put my waders on, I had an extra 2 feet of depth to get out there!  A lovely Common graced the Nsr50.

24lb 9oz Common

That was a nice surprise and probably the first carp that I’ve had in the rain for a long time.  With the photos done, it was time to get the rod back on the spot.  It’s not so simple in a gale that is blowing a crosswind but I was happy on the third go.  You have to be happy with your bait presentation – 75% will not do.

Let’s see if I can get my head down for a bit.  It’s been a rough night so far.

It was certainly one rough night with not a lot of sleep, glad I banked another carp, can’t complain too much 4 takes and 2 landed, these things happen.

Now, its time to prepare for the Airfield Lake, it’s opening next weekend.  Unfortunately, I think my catch rate will drop because of the size of the water and the nomadic carp.

With my time on the Meadow Lake over for until October, it has been an amazing start to this year from this lake.

20 fish in total

4 x 30s

11 x 20s

This has to be my best start to a year for a long time.  It will help me move on to my next challenge full of confidence, which is definitely a boost.

next trip

Trip 24 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – School Lake

Hours – 5 Hrs 

It can be a bonus arriving at 0900 after everyone else has arrived and set up!  You can head straight for an area away from everyone else.  This also reduces the chance of being disturbed by others.  I find this key to success on club lakes.  However, there is a bit of a pattern forming, yet again I’m in the same swim.  Lucky for me, I quite like and today there appears to be quite a few carp about and they are on the surface.  There are a few ducks on here, which could cause an issue but I may just have to bring the floater kit with me or even try zigs.  But today I’ve gone for bags.  About 2-rod lengths out and filled with Catalyst pellets soaked in the Catalyst syrup for the past few months.  They are lovely and sticky/gooey, just perfect for attracting the carp down to feed.  I’m still using a Classic Corn wafter, they just love them.  At 0945, the right rod bursts into life with a reasonable carp on, that is until the hook pulls out.  That’s not the best start.  With the opportunity to move up to the island, the angler who was up that way has gone home.  After seeing a nice lump in the snags, it must be worth a go and I can still put a bit into the area where I was previously fishing.  It’s the best of both worlds.  Now, this trip is really not going my way, I’ve just lost another carp in a snag which I didn’t know about.  This has really hacked me off and has almost made the island an area I’m not prepared to fish anymore.  Fish safety should always come first and if a swim has a snag that clearly is unfishable, I just don’t fish there anymore.

I’m now casting off the end of the island and on to the spot where I was fishing first thing this morning.  I need to put some thought into my next option.  As I’m pretty close to going home time, as my head is not in the right place and it needs to be for these short sessions.  With 2 hours left to go and change of swim, a fresh start can’t be a bad approach and if I’m lucky I could save a blank.  Just after 1300, the left rod was away and amazingly this one made it to the net, I was bordering on packing but felt there wasn’t much else to do, I’m glad I stayed.

That’s much better and even a chance of another one, that would be nice.

And as luck would have it another carp graced the net!  They are certainly waking up in here and it may just be worth another trip before the end of the week.  I’ve only got another 30 minutes to go.  It certainly does prove that you can turn a disaster back into a successful session.

next trip

Trip 25 Carp Fishing – 2020

With the Airfield Lake opening at midnight and the opportunity to set up at 5pm, just for old time’s sake, I thought it would be nice for a change.

By the time I had had a quick look about, it’s still getting dark by 1830 and it was a pretty grey day, I just about got the spomb on the money and the rods clipped up for the midnight chuck.  The rest of the kit was all done in the dark, there was no rush.  I’d set up in an area where I hadn’t fished before.  However, I was very confident that the carp passed by a few times each day.  There had to be a good chance of a take.  It does tend to be incredibly slow on here at the beginning of the season, the fish have spent since the end of last September feeding on naturals.  We then spend the next six months getting them back off.  This year we are very lucky and are able to fish until the end of October, not wishing time away, but I can’t wait.

The night past with no action and no signs of carp.  This lake is not like Meadow Lake and is a hard nut to crack each new session.  There will be a few blanks ahead, a good deal of soul searching and deep thinking going on over the next month or so, to pinpoint the feeding areas they are preferring this year.  They always show on the far banks amongst the tree, but I’m convinced this is because they feel safe there and just show less in open water.  This makes the mindset of fishing here hard work, you have to be able to fish an area that’s showing no signs of carp when you are watching carp showing way across the lake.

After seeing a few carp showing at the range, it was time to get the marker rod out.  I  firstly investigating my Lakebook page and roughly worked out where they were.  I soon located the feature I was looking for and then set about getting some bait on the spot before the rain arrived; this was done in the nick of time.  The other rod was also rebaited but still on its original spot, I’m pretty sure that it will produce a take over the next 24hrs.

The sun finally arrived, the late afternoon and early evening were gorgeous, there was even a stunning sunset.

The night past by peaceful (as normal) and I awoke to a lovely frost.

It’s certainly looking like it will be a lovely day, with plenty of sunshine.  This will make a change after the dull and damp weather at the weekend.

I was a bit surprised that I had not caught, but then again its always a slow start.

With a few hours this morning, there is still a very good chance of a carp.

I stayed until 1230, but they just were not out there.

Next Trip

Trip 26 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – School Lake

Hours – 3.5 Hrs

Please note that this session was completed before the current Coronavirus lockdown.

With a few hours of work done and a few hours free before the kids get home, it’s time for some bank time.

And I was soon at the School Lake – and then heading back home to collect my Ridgemonkey bucket that has everything in it! Doh!  Luckily, I only live about 10 minutes away and I was back in no time.  This did give me the time to contemplate my opinions, there was a fellow angler in the hot swim and one up by the island.  So my opinions were plentiful, but limited, as I didn’t fancy going to my normal area or fishing open water just yet.  I had a look at the top end of the lake and the lilly’s were starting to show, this was brilliant news as I love putting large PVA bag in amongst them.  I didn’t fancy casting them across the lake, as I like being quite accurate with my baiting still.  So, by sitting on the other bank, dropping the bags into the margins and then scattered tiny handfuls of pellets and broken boilies about, hopefully, any passing fish would get their heads down for a quick feed.

I very nearly moved around noon as the man who was fishing the island end of the lake headed home.  But, I thought I needed to stick with this and see how things pan out and I was rewarded by a bream at just after 1330. Which was nice.  I managed to unhook it in the margins and quickly get that rod back out.  Ironically, a carp rolled near my spot as I was rebaiting the rod, but with an hour left on the packing up time clock, there is a good chance of a carp.

I was very hopeful after seeing another carp, but it was not to be

Next Trip

Trip 27 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – Airfield Lake

Hours Fished – 38 hours

With the schools shut now with the ramping up of defeating CV19, I’m the chief homeschooling man at the moment and my short day sessions have vanished for the moment.  All being well, I will continue to get out each weekend for some social distancing from the world (not the family I must add) or my editor will go on strike!

This place is just gorgeous and with so many options.  This year, I’m concentrating on the Bottom lake; regardless of angler pressure.  In the past, I’ve pulled up and there had been 3 cars in the car park and I would move on.  I feel that this may not have been the best move and could have cost me some good fish.  It’s hard as I don’t particularly like that style of fishing, I would much prefer to be on my own at the other end of the complex.  The cold east wind helped me this weekend as there is a large forest behind this lake which has reduced some of the strong winds to a little breeze – in all honesty, I very nearly stayed at home, but with the current crisis, you never know what’s around the corner and I need my nature fix.

I planned on baiting a few areas in an attempt to get the fish off naturals and onto boilies asap.  With the extra angler pressure, I’m sure that helps on this lake and could be the reason for the bigger carp being down here.

With no real need to mark the spot, I got the spomb rod out and dumped 3kg of dead maggots, Classic Corn boilies and particle blend mixture out.  I fished both rods on wafters in the same area, I didn’t fish the margins as there were a few anglers who were doubled up in swims.  This would create more disturbance and push the carp out into the middle more, as its only the second weekend of the season.

Once all that was done, I got a brew on, had a bite to eat and then time to get my head down.

Morning arrived with no action and no signs of carp.  The Friday night anglers drifted off home and 3 of us remained.  With the pressure finally heading down, there should be a good chance of a carp, there is still a very fresh east wind about.

In the afternoon, the wind was from the east so I took the opportunity to drift the Deeper over the parts of the swim that I had previously not mapped and over the area I was fishing.

This is just the perfect feature the carp will use to travel around the lake and the perfect interception point.

With both rods back out, it was time to relax in the warm sunshine and out of the wind.

At 0400, the right-hand rod ripped off into the distance and a long hard fight ensued with my first Airfield Lake carp.  It was doing its best to get into the overhanging tree to my right but didn’t succeed.  By then, it didn’t have the energy to cause me too many worries with the left-hand tree’s.  It did, however, manage to pick up that line at the last minute, but the carp was soon in the net with no more complications.

24lb 9oz Common

I was absolutely over the moon and a nice start to the season here.  Long may it continue.

With both rods back out and it was 0500, I nearly stayed up, but thought better of that and got back into the bed for a few hours.

0800 arrived and it was time to head home and do some homeschooling.  Unfortunately, no days sessions for me for some time, but all being well, I will be out again at the weekend.

next trip

Trip 28 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – Airfield Lake

Hours Fished – 18 hours

Well, where do I start?  Sad times indeed but hopefully we are now heading in the right direction.  I’m sure COVID 19 has changed the world, maybe for the better, but I don’t think I will find this out in my lifetime.  Well, my garden and garage are all pretty tidy and homeschooling is fun, I take my hat off to all teachers.

With Lockdown eased and angling on the ok to-do list, I was soon on the bank.  I was not going to join the mad rush; my syndicate isn’t like that.  Social distancing is not an issue as most swim are 30 meters+ apart.  In fact, there is only 32 ish swims on 64 acres of lake, with plenty of hideaway car parks.  I really had no idea where to go, when this is the case, I returned to the swim I had been fishing before lockdown.  I felt it was the best option and a good place to start from, I knew the spots – in fact, my spomb rod was still clipped up, from my last trip.

I also had new rigs on and were set up with 2 Classic Corn pop-ups, my rods were soon back on the mark.  Brolly was up and normal service could resume.  I find with fishing, I’m locked away from the rest of the world in my own little bubble and I’m so fixated with catching, everything else fades away (until I’m back in the car).  I think the next few trips will do me just perfectly and restore some order to my mind.  It was nice seeing the sunset over the lake this evening, it certainly feels like a long time, since I have seen this. We are due a cold night and the pressure is 1018mb,  so you never know, there may be a chance of a frost as well.  As we are in May and the carp feed to fill up before spawning time.  I had a couple of bleeps in the night but it was over too soon and a frosty pack up was underway.

next trip

Trip 29 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – Airfield Lake

Hours Fished – 65 hours

I didn’t expect to be out so soon again.  The wife and kids were happy for me to go out again, so I’m happy too and back down the lake again.

I did fancy going in the swim I fished last time, but just too many people on that lake, as there is plenty of room – 64 acres to play with, it seemed a bit silly.

After what felt like a life time of confusion and not really feeling the love for anywhere, I settled for a swim on one of the island.  This definitely conforms to social distancing!  There is only one swim one island – sorted!

By the time I has decided this, it was getting late, so I refured back to my lakebook for the readings from around the island and was very happy to find a lovely gully off the side of the island.  This felt like a perfect interception route.

I baited this area pretty heavily with a mixture of particle and Classic Corn boilies, and fished two wafters over the area.  I had baited the front of the island all the way along, where this gully was – in an attempt to hold any carp moving through.

I enjoyed another lovely Airfield Lake sunset and drifted off to sleep.  I was awoken by a belter of a run on my left rod, which proceeded to find one of the many boulders which litter the Airfield Lake, one of the remnants of its past life.

With the rod re done, I was back in my pit with the stove on and a brew underway.  I was enjoying the fresh, but stunning start to the day.  I lost a carp to a snag this morning,  so I’ve disided that I’m going to move that rod to a different spot where I’ve bank carp from in the past.  I will leave the other rod where it is.

After a great deal of marking, getting the Deeper out and viewing the data, there was clearly no point in casting to the island.  There is a 2.5ft bar dropping down into the 5ft gully I had found – no wonder I’d lost a fish.  A lot of the bars are littered with boulders and your line gets drag under them; there’s to much wildlife to use braid.  So, I’ve gone back to a couple of old areas that have produced and fingers crossed for another take, we shall have to see what this afternoon/evening brings.

The rest of the day passed by with no action and I watched another stunning sunset and I headed into my second night.  This was pretty peaceful, but as the morning slowly dawned there was the odd crashing carp and I felt there could be a chance this morning.  It’s pretty over cast at the moment, the last few days have been particularly hot and sunny.

Some more thought needs to go into today’s options stay, move or go home.

Do I moved rods around again?  Seems pointless as would be adding more bait to the swim.  But I need to find a productive spot and area on this lake, as I’m planning on being on here all season this year.

One change was made today, I moved one of the rods off an area, where I was getting plagued by the Tufftes and there was just no point in trying to keep them away.  This rod was moved into the margins and I added 2 spombs for attraction, and just rebaited the other rod.  I wasn’t going to put any more bait out, as I felt there was no real need, fingers crossed for the last night.

The night passed by slowly, there was plenty of carp activity all about, but just no action on the rods.  This was a shame as I was really confident.  I was up pretty early as it was my last morning watching the lake – it had gone quite again.  There was a gentle blow from the south west and the prospects of another hot day.  The pressure also up to 1025mbs, so it was never going to be an easy fishing weekend.  To get a take the first night and lose it wasn’t very helpful, but as I haven’t been fishing since the 22nd March who could a complain?  3 nights on an island away from the world and only spoke to two other people at a safe distance, was just what I needed.

Part 3 of 6 will follow in a couple of weeks

Until then Richard

Location Roach Pit

Hours – 24

Swim Webleys

I arrived down the lake around 1.30 pm to find a lot of anglers still on the lake.  This was a bit of a shock, so I did a lap of the lake and came to the conclusion that all the swims I fancied fishing were occupied and all the others I didn’t fancy.

So, I popped over to my other syndicate to have a moan at anyone I could find, sorry guys, but it did help me a lot and I headed back to RP to take another look.  I have to try and work around this somehow.

This time there where at least half the number of anglers about and I found one of the swims I fancied called Webleys free, that will do me.  The wind had certainly played a part in my swim selection as it had been blowing from the north east since Saturday morning.  The wind had picked up, it’s very fresh outside at the moment especially out of the sunshine.

I’d watched another angler set up in here last week and had some idea of where to start looking for spots.  This certainly helped me set up quicker than expected.

Two rods were positioned off the side of the island.  One closer than the other and the third rod was 3 quarters of the way across on a lovely clear spot.

I took the boat out and baited the area around the sides of the island.  The wind rapidly pushed the marker float back to where the boat had been moored up.  I’m hoping there may be fewer people about tomorrow and I can get out there again with my Deeper.  I’m only here for 48hrs this week, so I’m not sure I will get the chance.

The only interruption was a swan who was partially obsessed with the weed in front of my swim and its favourite patch to munch on was under my three rods!  After a couple of pickups and a completely trashing of two rods, I repositioned them as far left as I could push them over without causing me any issues with the trees.  It would be a right pain if I hooked a fish of any sort, but it fixes the swan issue until about 9 am the following morning when it very nearly got me again.

The catches have been happening a lot more in daylight hours, so I’m still waiting for my rods to burst into life at any moment.

I decided that it would be better to head home today, the cold north wind was still blowing and there was due to be another frost again tonight.  I felt it would be better to head back at the end of the week, before the Bank Holiday weekend.

Until next time

Stay safe

Richard

 

 

 

 

Location – Roach Pit

Hours – 69 hours

Swim – Wind Tunnel

This session, I’m out on the new syndicate water for a couple of nights.  I arrived just after noon, I think I will have to adjust my arrival time, as there were still plenty of members still fishing.  I very nearly had to wait for a swim I fancied.  Don’t get me wrong, there were certainly a few available to choose from.  I’d done some research into the area or part of the lake where I felt it would give me the best opportunity for a carp.

When I arrived, I did a lap of the lake to get a feel for where everyone had been fishing.  I had a good look in the snags and this swim floated my boat the most.  There’s a large plateau off the side of the island which gave me the option of putting a bait near the island, off to my right along the margins or even in the bay area (if the lake is pretty quiet over the 48 hours period).  If I really fancy it, I’ve the option of a third night, but we will see how the first 48 hours go.

All 3 rods are spread out over the plateau covering a good chunk of water.  I’m hoping that as the weather is due to be a lot warmer and the wind is due to swing around to the south, which is almost into my face.  The wind is supposed to flit about a bit between south west, south east, and a southerly.  This is all pretty favourable for my swim, if the carp venture out of their spring hiding holes and fancy warmer waters I’m hoping they visit the plateau.

I’ve put out about a kilo of my ground bait mixture which is spread between all three rods so they are all connected together and I’m fishing 3 types of hook baits, Smokey Jack, Classic Corn, and Catalyst this will give me (or the carp) plenty of options.

I have a friendly swan (or cygnet should I say) who may get on my nerves after the first 24 hours.  I’ve sunk the tip of my rod, which will hopefully stop any false bleeps.  It’s just into feeding up and down my margins.

The night was bleep and frost free, when I woke up, I was confronted by a wall of fog, so thick that I couldn’t see the island.  It was all gone by 9 am, the sun was shining and all set for a beautiful day.

The wind picked up from the south and was blowing nicely into my face.  The left-hand rod gave a couple of bleeps and the reel ticked away slowly.  I picked up the rod and found myself with the first of a few tench I was to have this session.  It was a nice size and over the size limit of having to put it on the stock pond, which is lucky for me as it is a long walk to the other end of the lake from this bank.  It was still early and plenty of time for another take, a fresh bait was put on and cast back out.

A view down the long bank.

My plan was to reel in at 1 pm and spend an hour or two in the boat.  I will do some exploring with my Deeper, and then get my bait back out there for the afternoon and evening.

By 3 pm I’d moved 2 of my rods; 1 to a completely different spot and the other just a couple of wraps further out onto the plateau.  I put my second bucket of bait out over the three areas.  I didn’t feel the need for a great deal of bait at the moment, only a few carp had been captured over the past few weeks.  They were clearly not on the munch for bait yet.

It’s now time to sit back, enjoy the view with a bite to eat and a brew.  Fingers crossed for a carp this afternoon or overnight.

Another lovely morning and after a couple more tench in the night, I’m getting even hopefully that a carp will soon pick my bait up.  It will happen at some point along the way, that I’m 100% confident about, which is why I don’t get caught up I’m blanking all the time.  I’m just happy I’m out on the bank and confident that I’ve given a 100 % into my fishing.  It will all come together, take it seriously and focus on getting it all right, let the rest of it just flow and you will enjoy fishing a lot more.

I’m hopefully going to do the same as yesterday and wait until 1 pm.  I will then reel in, get out in the boat again for another hour, map a bit more of the lake and then get the rods out for the last night.

It’s a lovely time to be at the bank

1 30 pm and I was out in the boat baiting up my swim.  I was taking a good look about and towing the Deeper behind the boat mapping the lake as I go.

Covering a lot of ground in the boat is extremely handy, as summer gets closer and more anglers are about, I want to be able to cover so much ground each trip.

Everything is all set for the last night and I can’t do anything more than I’ve done.

My last morning arrived and only one tench in the night.  There was less disturbance in the swim, except for the geese charging about and honking all night.  The joys of spring fishing!

It’s been a pleasant few days and nights on the bank and I’m looking forward to my next trip on here.

Until next time

Richard

Stay safe

Looking Back Over 2020 Part 2 of 6

Welcome back to my looking back over 2020 feature as part of my Podcast series and will feature multiple trip in one long podcast, from pike to carp fishing and easy lakes, to the big water I love to fish so much.

Trip 11 Carp Fishing- 2020

Location – School Lake

Hours – 4 Hrs

With my 2 day job completed by 11am on Tuesday, I quickly popped home and swapped gardening stuff for the Carp tackle, this is the simplest to organize and I soon pitched up at the lake.  I was also very interested to see the completed work on the lake and if it was possible to fish a certain area from the opposite bank, where  I normally do.  This would be nice, as it will now just involve an underarm cast as the trees have been removed.  The Carp will not be bothered, my only concern is the possibility of new underwater snags, but the maintenance team is pretty good.

I looked up and down that bank for a bit before I settled on a swim and then moved down one more!

I had quickly grabbed a bucket of the Catalyst expanding pellets and my trusty PPS/CC 12mm pop-ups.  I was going to be dropping large bags of the expanding pellets out with a scattering of 8mm normal Catalyst pellets.

I may move but it would be interesting to sit this one out in the same spot, just out of interest.

I’m down to the last 20 minutes before pack up time and the conditions have gone from sunny to rain and back again.  The wind it’s Baltic when the sun isn’t about and my plan looks like its heading for blank, but there is always a chance until the rods are packed away.

With the heavens opening up on me again, I was soon packing up and heading for the car.

next trip

Trip 12 Pike Fishing- 2020

Location – Waterworks Lake

Hours – 5 Hrs

I’m back out on the reservoir today, after the Pike and after successfully catching some live bait today, I’m very hopeful that I can bag my first Pike from this area.  I’ve checked with the Deeper and there is plenty of silverfish, so there has to be Pike about – other than the small Jack who tried to grab the Roach off me earlier on today!

Well, today has certainly been a step forward, unfortunately only small Pike, but it’s certainly proven that the live bait is the way forward.  I just have to locate the bigger Pike, who are surely not that far away.  I managed 2 landed and one dropped the bait, which is 3 more takes than the last two trips.

next trip

Trip 13 Carp Fishing- 2020

Location – Meadow Lake

Hours – 38 Hrs

I’m back out for another 48 hours and the conditions are pretty perfect.  Unfortunately, the other 5 anglers set up before me thought so as well!  But that’s fishing.  Mind you it’s good to see a bit of pressure on the lake and some bait going in.

There was really only one option where the selection of swim was concerned – I was in the same swim as last week.  The water level was much the same, it had also been raining for the last two days on and off, so it was like a swamp.

Bait up was going to be fun – there was a strong southwest wind blowing down the lake but I felt that I had done a pretty good job.  The baits were on their spots and I was a very happy camper.  I had baited with a mixture of 12mm & 15mm Catalyst, Classic Corn boilies with and few scoops of particle blend.  Pop-ups were my choice of hook baits, both 12mm, but one CC and the other PPS.

My first take of the weekend belted into action just after 0315.  I was soon out of the bivvy (with the waders on) and pulling into a nice lump who was on a mission to go right which is always a worry.  There is a small bay there with a lovely overhanging tree and I’m sure it very nearly found it.  Saying that it had certainly found a weed bed on the way in.  The thought of this worried me until it was under the rod tip and I could play the fish out.  Fewer obstructions were about at the end of the swim as it was some 3ft underwater.  I safely neglected all this and a lovely Common was on the Nsr.

31lb 6oz Common

That will do me!  It was definitely worth all that effort to set up in the dark and rain.  The rod was back on the spot and I was soon back in the warmth of the bag.

The second take happened before I had even settled down and turned the bivvy light off.  It was a hard-fighting Meadow Carp, but less of a problem with the tree than the last. Very much over the moon with these two fish.

19lb 6oz Common

It’s now coming up to 5am, after I got that rod back out on the spot and wrote the blog while it’s fresh in my mind.

I was up quite late, about 0930, I must have been tired after all that action!  I got the kettle on, got my head together and topped up the swim.  There where clearly a few fish crashing about out last night and if the same happens tonight I need to hold them there.  It’s a pretty windy day out, but with a good deal of sunshine, which is certainly nice to see.

The day passed by as normal.  The sunset and it was Netflix time.  I had a minor disturbance at 1950 with a Bream on the left-hand rod but I was all set for the night.  Unfortunately, there was a band of rain moving through in the early hours, right on feeding time, so we will see how that affects their feeding pattern.

The next Carp take happen just after 0615, interestingly not long after the rain stopped.  It was the left-hand rod again, after another hard fight (avoiding the huge tree in the water to my left), it was under control and in the net.

23lb 6oz Common

It must be the weekend of the lbs and 6oz fish!  I was very happy with my result.  With first light arriving at 7 am, it’s nice to see the days getting longer.  It’s going to be one very muddy pack up.

I was halfway through packing up and the left rod ripped off again!  I was into what felt like another lump and it was certainly nice to play a fish in the daylight.  After another encounter with the overhanging tree, it was soon in the net but after a good battle under the rod tip.

34lb 10oz Common

What a cracking weekend on the Classic Corn.  After setting up in the dark in the swap, I was certainly a happy man today.

next trip

Trip 14 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – School Lake

Hours – 5 Hrs

I’m back out on the School Lake for a few hours today and was quite surprised to find 4 other anglers on the lake.  They, however, were all down the other end.  I headed up to the island end of the lake and set up so I could cast to a couple of the corners.  I could also get a good view of the lake, just in case, it was worth moving, later on.  I’m 100% sure there will always be carp down this end, so I was very confident in my choice, but it still Winter and you need to keep your options open.

I was putting out 8mm Catalyst pellets with a 12mm CC pop up over each area.

After watching 3 or more fish crashing out further down the lake, I couldn’t help myself and was soon on my way.  I had to stealthily get the rods back out; on lakes like this I’m never sure it’s worth the move as you could end up chasing carp all day.  But with no signs my end, it just had to be worth a go and I was soon picking up liners, I just need a pickup.

The move finally paid off.  I had to adjust the baits after realizing that the carp were a lot closer than I thought, they were fizzing up right off the boards.

With no more action and zero signs of feeding carp, I headed back to the island but not the same swim as before.  I wanted to present a bait on the front of the island on my side of the lake and the other rod was put where my left hand was, first thing this morning.  Hopefully, I will bag one more before 2 o’clock.

It didn’t take long, a bit of a small one, but you can’t choose what bites!

The next fish was a Mirror and absolutely stunning.  This take had come from the spot off the end of the island, they clearly were in more open water more than normal.  And I was very happy.

I’ve about 15 minutes before pack up time and I’m very happy with my results.  It was hard going, I moved 3 times but successfully banked 3 carp today, which was looking very unlikely at one point.

After spotting another fish roll on the same spot, I quickly moved and put one rod on the spot, in the hope it rattles off in the next fifteen minutes, you just never know.

next trip

Trip 15 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – Meadow Lake

Hours Fished – 41 hours

After last week’s success, I was incredibly keen (to say the least) to get back into the same swim.  They were clearly held up in that area of the lake and it was only a matter of time before one of the big girls picked up a bite.  I was planning on it being my bait.  I managed to organize a friend to collect the kids from school on Friday, so my plan was to arrive at about 0930 Friday morning.  However, as the week progressed, Saturday night looked horrendous with heavy rain and 60mph wind and I’m not that stupid anymore, well some times maybe.  So, with the goodness of my wife’s heart, she let me go Thursday after she had got home.  This would give me 2 nights on the lake and hopefully a better chance to get into that swim.  I arrived at around 1845 and there was only one other member on the lake and nope he was not in that swim.  I quickly set camp up and set about spombing out a good load of Classic Corn boilies and particle blend soaked in Classic Corn syrup, into the darkness onto my spots.

This is pretty simple on a moonlit night and using the horizon markers.  You need you also need to have confidence in your casting skills.  Once that was done getting both rods onto the area.  One had a Classic Corn wafter and the other had a 12 mm ‘pps’ pop up which looks great.  Just about 20 minutes, the left rod absolutely screamed off and I was into a nice lump of a carp who plodded about and slipped into the Nsr50.  I just couldn’t believe it, what a start to a session!

39lb 5oz Mirror

Really an amazing carp.

The rod was back out on the spot, I just sat back and soaked up the feeling.

The second take of the trip happened just before 5am, it was freezing out there there was frost everywhere.  I slowly managed to get another carp into the Nsr50, with no real issues.  After a quick vid and some snaps, another lovely mirror was back home.

17lb 5oz mirror

The time I had written this and tidied up, it was coming up to 6am and -2 outside (brrr). The third take of session happened just before 9am and this was a lot harder fighting carp.  I’m glad it was daylight, as this helped me avoid that horrendous snag to my right.  Once that was avoided, it was pretty straight forward – play the carp out under the rod tip and then slip it into the Nsr.

26lb 5oz Common

I’m quite stunned at my results from this swim/session and I really need to keep my head together and not get to overwhelmed with it all.  I took the opportunity to bait up the swim again and rebait the other rod.  This oddly hadn’t produced a take and that was the main one last week! The carp must have moved off to the right more.

The fourth take happened, just after 1015.  To catch in daylight just makes life better, it was a great help today.  This fish was clearly intent on getting under the overhanging bushes and even found a big weed bed to my right twice!  It was completely enveloped in weed when I managed to get the fish (and the weed) into the Nsr50, to my great relief.

36lb 12oz common

I safely returned the fish and had a sip of my now cold coffee.  I got the rod back out on the spot and sat back a soaked up the moment.  The fifth taken happened just after 3 pm and if it wasn’t for another syndicate member talking to me at the time I would have not noticed as my remote was on low.  That was lucky.  I soon had another nice Common in the net.

29lb 14oz common

With the rod back out, it was worth putting a few more spombs of bait out for the night.  But before I even got the spomb cast out, the rods were off again!  Just unbelievable!  I’m up to six fish and just can’t believe how well my session is going.  I’ve now managed to get the rest of the bait out into the swim for the night.

13lber Common

With a lovely bank of cloud coming over the lake tonight, it will certainly be a lot warmer.  Just after 11 pm, I had a bream, it was similar to the size of the one I had last week.  Somehow, this one managed to tangle up with my other line and caused a wipeout of both rods! I now need to redo both rods.  It was gone midnight before I was back in the sack and getting my head down.  I fell asleep listening to the rain, one of the light showers forecast over the course of the night.  At 6 am, I had another bream.  It was looking like the carp had moved off the spot.  Dawn was just around the corner and with the activity, I received in the daylight hours yesterday you never can tell.

With only a few hours before I head home, I’m sitting on my bedchair writing this and reflecting on what an amazing session this has been.  More importantly, a big thanks to my family for sorting things out so I could get down the lake 24 hours earlier than normal.  It resulted in these incredible captures.  Otherwise, I would’ve arrived at 7 pm Friday night and only had bream.  I could have completely missed out on all the action, it’s amazing how luck can play a part on your fishing, some or even all of the time.

next trip

Trip 16 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – School Lake

Hours Fished – 5rs

With a gap between the storms, the next few days are looking quite nice.  I even caught up on my gardening jobs!  This is helpful and will give me a few more days free before Spring kicks in.

I’m out on the school lake today.  It was a very hard frost last night and now a fresh breeze running down the lake.  After looking for signs of carp and there being none; I’ve hopefully set myself up in a swim which has produced me fish before and I also get a reasonable view of the lake.  I can move on quickly if or when I spot any signs of carp. There is another angler up by the island so that rules that spot out, we shall just have to keep my eyes open and fingers crossed today, I think.

All I’ve done is put two bags on, filled with Catalyst pellets and I’m fishing a 12mm CC pop up.  There is a small scattering of broken boilies over each of the bags, once I’ve dropped them in the margins.

With no action by noon, I just had to move on a bit further up the bank and see how things go.  It’s certainly hard going at the moment, but lovely and warm in the sunshine still, which is definitely a bonus.

After spotting a showing carp, I was off down further along and quickly flicked the rods out.  Within 10 minutes, I had what I thought was a take, but it was just a heavy liner and that was that – time for home.

next trip

Trip 17 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – School Lake

Hours Fished – 5rs

With the prospects of no fishing at the weekend, due to another horrendous storm pushing through, I’m totally convinced that it’s a waste of my time.  Before or after would be better, preferably before at this time of the year!

With that in mind, I’m on the School Lake again.  After yesterday blank and today’s cold n wet conditions, it could be another blank, but I’m not giving up that easy.  I’ve been hunting out the Carp with the Deeper and I may well have tracked some down.  After 45 minutes of searching, I just need to convince them to feed, which may not be that simple.

With that in mind, I’m using tiny PVA bags with a scattering of Catalyst pellets, crushed boilies and both rods on pop-ups.

At around noontime and after the rain had gone away, I moved to another spot, this time of the front of the island and within minutes I was away but within minutes I had lost it. Not helpful.  However, on a positive note, my thought process was correct on where the fish may be.  That rod was soon back out and definitely hopefully another take soon.

There were only 20 minutes left on the clock before pack up time, so it’s looking like another blank.  It’s a real shame I lost one, but with no other signs of carp, I stayed put in this swim with the hopes I would get another chance, but it wasn’t to be.

next trip

Trip 18 Carp Fishing- 2020

Location – Meadow Lake

Hours – 119 Hrs (5 Nights)

The family was away, it’s Half Term.  I’m down the lake and all set up in the swamp swim again.  It was a difficult choice, as the other swim I had in mind was nice, dry, clean and you didn’t need to wade out, whereas this swim is horrendous.  However, the underlying factor was that it was still producing Carp and I had utter confidence in that swim after the previous few weeks of being in here.  I know that if I set up in any other swim in the lake (as I had the pick of them all), obviously not the ones underwater!  I would spend the whole time wishing I was in there, so it just had to be done.

There was no real point in leading about.  It was a case of spombing out 23 wraps 4 kilos of Classic Corn boilies and particle blend.  Then casting the rods on to the spot with my hook baits, exactly as previous sessions and take it from there as the week goes on.

Within 20 minutes of the rods being out, I was into a Bream and once it was unhooked the wind picked up.  It was a right struggle to get the bait back on the spot and had to redo it again once the wind had calmed down again.  Eventually, the rain pushed away and the sunshine arrived at the end of the day.  There was still a good blow on the water, but the temperature was dropping, the pressure looked good and was rising over the course of the week.

My second take happened just after 2300 hours and was definitely a Carp.  I say was because halfway through pumping the fish in from my spot (which is certainly a few yards out and a few more once the waders are on), the hook pulled and from my close inspection afterward it was needle-sharp.  Just one of those things.  I just hope they haven’t wised up to my change in rigs adjustments.  We shall see.  It’s nice to get a take off the spot.  With the rod back out and the blog updated, I was soon back on the sack (getting some more shut-eye).  I awoke to a lovely but still windy sunny day, there had been the odd heavy downpour overnight which woke me.  Just before 0830 the left-hand rod was off with another Carp, again, frustratingly, bumped the hook out.  Two hook pulls is not very good news and I was at a bit of a loss to why.  The rigs I had been using were no different from the nice new ones I put on.  I soon changed them and got both rods back out again, I then topped up the swim with more bait. There clearly had been action on the baited area, albeit no carp on the bank.  Let’s hope I don’t have to wait until the early hours to find out if I’m correct!

The day past by with no action.  My friend Ian came for a coffee and a chat for a few hours in the afternoon, which was nice, as I’ve not seen him for some time.  The weather was a mixture of heavy rain and sunshine today.  I’m hoping that tonight I can put last night’s problems behind me and move forward with a few carp in the net.

The night past in complete silence for me, I was fast off all night long – the fresh air must be working!  If it wasn’t for a friend calling I would have still been asleep now.  It was time for an adjustment with the rods, I didn’t feel it was necessary to move swim, just move one rod into another area.  As there is an incredible amount of water in front of me and only being able to fish with 2 rods does limit you.  I rebaited and moved the right-hand rod to a different spot, I left the other rod where it was for just for one more night, as there is a bit of bait out there.  Everything else is the same – rig, hook baits, etc. The weather is cloudy and an odd rain shower, tomorrow afternoon onwards there is rain forecast, but light rain, so all looks great.  Unfortunately, the pressure has gone up by 10mb which isn’t helping.  My fourth take of the trip happened at 1550 Tuesday afternoon and this time it wasn’t a Bream!  It also didn’t fall off!  After a very hard fight, avoiding the overhanging tree to my left, it was safely in the Nsr50 and wow, what an emotional fight that was after the last ones, I was just overwhelmed and relieved at the same time.

29lb 3oz common

The rod was rebaited perfectly on the spot, I was feeling much more confident now.

There was not a single bleep again all night long and I need to definitely spend some time thinking my options over today; stay, move or go home.  I’m going to give it until noontime before I make my mind up and way up the pros and cons.  I never like to wake up after a blank night and go ‘that’s it I’m moving’, I believe you have to be more calculated in what you do.  I’ll have a brew and a bite to eat (to feed the brain) because I don’t what to make the wrong choice.  It’s now 1300 hours Wednesday and I’ve decided to sit it out in this swim for another night or two.  I decided this after looking around and hunting them down with the Deeper.  It was clear that they were still in this swim.  The issue with this swim is that it commands so much water, you could fish six rods and not cover half of it.  The water in front of me goes into a sanctuary area, so unless you can cast 200 yards + they are safe from capture.  Therefore, after a long search about and returning to my swim for a look, an incredible reading popped up on the Deeper.

This just had to be the place to be.  They were drifting about, as I picked them up 3 times over an area, luckily I have baited this area.  I stuck both rods on it and fingers crossed that they pass this way again and fancy a feed.  The bottom looks perfect and felt brilliant once I had passed the marker rod over the area, as I like to do.  The weather conditions are perfect – with the exception of the pressure, which is still high, but hey you can’t have it all, I didn’t pick this week, the schools do!  My fifth take happened just before midnight on Wednesday after taking the decision to move my rods onto another spot.  This paid off with the hard fighting Common, who just ripped off with no warning – I was a bit dazed at first, but it was on the rod and I was gaining ground.  It was soon in the Nsr50, that was a nice result.

20lb 15oz common

I was well happy with that and as the rain started again I quickly got the rod on the spot, well I hope so.  The wind had picked up and was blowing very hard down the lake again, this definitely makes casting an issue and even more so in the dark.  However, once I had tightened up the line, it was pointing in the right direction, heard it click and it felt right when it hit the bottom, that the best I could do.  The next take was just before 0400 hours on the same rod as before, this also belted off like a train and did its best to get under a tree to my left.  Again, after a hard battle with the rod trip pushed deep into the water, I cleared the tree and set about playing the fish out under the rod tip.  It soon slipped into the waiting Nsr50.

28lb 14oz Common

Very happy with that and not sure if I will get back to sleep tonight as very much over the moon.  The rod was soon out again and looking like it was spot on.  I settled down with my head on the pillow; I hadn’t even closed my eyes before the right-hand rod was off this time and a very heavy fight ensued.  I was convinced I hooked a monster, but it was just weed the Carp had picked up on the way in!  But it was still another nice Common.

24lb 3oz Common

I was well happy with tonight’s results – after the bad start with 2 lost fish, that was in the past.  I had just banked the 4th one of the trip and that was pretty good going for February.  Yet another carp on Spotted Fin Classic Corn boilies.  I’m pretty much hooked on and have utter confidence in.  I can’t wait to get back on the Airfield lake in the middle of March with these babies.  It just went past 0500 hours, I had better try and get some sleep, I need to be up early to rebait the swim unless I fancy getting soaked in the rain again.

What an incredible night that was.  I managed a bit of sleep and got up at 0800 hours.  I baited up the swim with the last of my bait and settled down to a day in the bivvy as the forecast is rained all day long.  The next take happened right in the middle of a heavy wind and rain storm but was successfully landed without any issues.  I didn’t weigh it as it was pouring down, just did a quick vid and got it back out there.

That will certainly do me, another one to the list of Carp who love the Classic Corn.  I took this opportunity and got both rods in.  After a quick trip to the box in the car park and collect a couple more bits, I then set about getting the rod ready for a recast when the wind and the rain starts in about half an hour. Unfortunately, the wind is now blowing directly into my swim from the NW and has a cold chill about it, it’s due to swing around again to the SW as evening progress.  The pressure has started to fall, which is nice, I do look at these things but as I generally only do nights at the weekend and short days in the week (until the gardening season really kicks in), I just go when I feel happy about the conditions as you really never know.

I had yet another Bream at about 1730 and there was just enough light to get the fish back in the water and the rod out before the light was lost for my last night.  The next take happened just after 2030 on that very same rod, but this one was a Carp and a Mirror, it was one of the new stockfish and after I double-checked the weight, as it didn’t look that big.

14lb 5oz Mirror

Happy with that, it certainly breaks up the Common run a bit!  With that rod now out, I settled down to get some well-earned rest after last night’s captures.  I was hoping for the same tonight.  The next take was a long wait, it happened just before first light on my last morning and I was dozing at the time, wondering if I will get another one before I pack up this morning.  It absolutely belted off and made me jump.

26lb 1oz Common

What a lovely Common to grace my net again, there’s actually now rain forecast today.  This is handy as it would be nice to get things clean and tidy.

It’s time, to sum up my trip – with a hard start and the thought of moving in my mind, lots of deep thinking happened and I stuck with this swim.  It was certainly worth the effort as the rewards were brilliant and my trusty Deeper helped.  The Classic Corn boilies did their job.  It all came together and produced the goods again for me, by the time I get back on here, it will be March and in my book that’s the start of Spring and Winter is over.  Boy oh boy, what a Winter it’s been.

4 x 30s

9 x 20s and plenty of doubles

And this all when the weather wasn’t particularly nice, the lake had flooded and the swim turned into a swampy bog.  But the rest is history.

next trip

Trip 19 Carp Fishing – 2020

Location – School Lake

Hours – 3 Hrs

With a few hours free today and the prospects of no rain (which certainly makes a change, mind you the wind is pretty harsh).  I’ve selected my swim on the less windy side of the lake and its also in full sunshine, this is in the hope that the carp feel the same way and tuck themselves against these margins.  4 other anglers are out today, so the extra pressure around the lake may make them move.  Something needs to as its Spring on  Sunday (1st March) and it’s been a lot harder on here this February than expected.

With that in mind, I was just going to be using PVA bags with Catalyst pellets soaked in the syrup and a few crushed up CC boilies.  One rod as a CC wafter and the other as a PPS pop up, for a change.  I will just work on from that.  It could be time to try out the Catalyst boilies.

It was about an hour before the left rod was off and with a lovely mirror in the net, that was a pretty good start.

Unfortunately, not long after that the school called, my eldest was feeling sick with a headache, it was a super quick pack up and I was off.

Very happy with my results in that very short trip.

Part 3 of 6 will follow in a couple of weeks

Until then Richard