Making up for lost time !

So I've been fishing a fair bit lately and establishing a bait on one of my local waters, one that is dominated by a certain popular mainstream bait...
Obviously the anglers there have little imagination because most seem to be struggling despite being on this particular bait. As usual I have gone my own way and have chosen a bait about as far removed from what the fish are used to seeing as possible rather than jumping on the bandwagon. To me there is no reward or merit to following the herd, I can only gain satisfaction from working out the puzzle myself and taking the 'old school' route of doing my own thing.
So I set out to establish my own bait and results have steadily increased over the past few weeks to the point where I have been catching well, and in fact better I believe than most people who are on the mainstream established bait. My rigs though fairly simple have evolved also over the last few weeks with little tweaks here and there to maximise their effective hooking potential. The fish in this lake, though not big, are very cute and rig shy, and have demonstrated on several occasions their ability to 'get away with it '. I am now pretty confident that my rigs are working pretty well combined with the baiting situation I am using, which is always something that should be taken into consideration when deciding what rigs to use in a given situation. Sadly due to the high density of silver fish in the lake, being a club water, there is little room to use anything other than larger, harder baits, and as I am not keen on using particles such as Tiger nuts over the long term, boilies and large one's at that, are really the only option.
I've really been enjoying the fishing thus far and seeing my bait and rigs steadily begin producing some good results, however one piece of the puzzle that hasn't yet come together here is catching the bigger fish. The lake record stands at about 25lb ish, and there is a fair head of Carp in the lake to get through to reach the better fish. Having said that, many of the Carp are only 20lb plus at the right time of the year, i.e. winter and spring, so maybe I am worrying unduly as I have been getting a few fish in the 18 and 19lb bracket, which will obviously break 20lb later in the year. I have had one scraper '20'  which was clearly still empty after spawning. I'm not sure just how many '20's there are at this time of year, but I would imagine not too many, maybe half a dozen at a guess so hopefully in a few weeks I should start to see a few more in my net.
I haven't bothered to photograph many fish as I have been catching so many, most of which have been in the 13- 15lb bracket but I have taken snaps of one or two of the better fish when I have had a photographer handy to save me doing self takes.

The stamp of 'double' I've been getting.

 

 

An 18lb 8oz Mirror.

 

 

 

Chub Extra Protection Carp Cradle

I recently decided to upgrade some of my Fishing gear as some of my old gear was starting to look a bit dilapidated after years of hard use ! One of the more pressing items I had to replace was my unhooking mat as my old Chub compact Beanie mat was no longer providing the support and protection it used to due to my using it to sit on when I was stalking ! So it was time to look around for a new mat, and with the recent development of the cradle type mats that offer the best in fish protection, I decided this was the type of mat I would look into getting. After considerable research and considerations regarding the practicalities of the various types of Cradles and Mats available to suit my own needs I decided to take a punt on the Chub Extra Protection Cradle Mat. As I only fish very short day sessions, I needed something that was compact and easy to transport, and the Chub Cradle fits this criteria very well. The mat folds down to a very compact size thanks to the use of zips on the four corners of the mat that form the support of the padded side panels. When unzipped the sides collapse and you simply fold the mat into itself to make a very compact package that fits neatly into a drawstring carry bag. Padding wise the mat is very well padded and there is a separate padded base that velcro's  into the bottom of the cradle. there are drain holes n the bottom of the main section to allow excess water to drain away. Other features include a small fold away kneeling mat, side pockets for your Carp care kit, and a fold over flap to keep any fish secure should you need to leave them unattended whilst preparing weighing gear etc. So far the mat has proven itself to be a good investment and has lived up to my expectations well and fits nicely into the niche that I require for my angling. Obviously I will have to see how it performs in the long term as regards durability, but it appears to be very well made and robust and as long as the zips aren't mistreated I see no reason why it should not last a long time. All in all I think this is a great product from Chub and in my opinion one of the best designed mats on the market.

Well supported sides that don't collapse !

 

The fold over protection cover

 

Carry handles

 

Unzipped ready to remove Velcro in mat for folding

 

Mat removed showing drain holes in base

 

Plenty of room for fish of all sizes

 

 

 

 

 

Stinking hot July Carping !

July, and it's stinking hot. Not my favourite time of year and not a great time to re immerse myself into Carp fishing ! However I have been doing a bit on a local water and with some immediate success. I've been fishing just mornings for a few hours while it's still relatively cool and the sun isn't too high. Once it is too high of course the Carp just bob up to the surface like corks and have no interest in feeding, then it's time for me to leave. One of my short sessions yesterday was quite busy and I landed four Carp all in double figures in a short space of time. Three of the fish were commons to around eighteen pounds and I also had this nice looking Mirror of just over Eighteen pounds as well.

 

 

 

 

Tactics for this lake are very standard fair I'm afraid due to the large number of silverfish present, 18mm Boilies fished over a scattering of the same keeps the Carp coming and the silvers at bay most of the time ! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coming home

Well, here I am again back on the Coarse fishing.....
To tell the truth I'm not that surprised really, I've been struggling with my physical ailments for quite some time now and having attempted some saltwater fishing this year I'm afraid it has only served to aggravate my condition. So that's it I think, no more saltwater fishing for me, certainly not any adventurous trips anyway such as climbing up and down cliffs or long hikes along shingle beaches ! I had no real ambitions with the saltwater fishing apart from to catch fish. You have to take what you can get with saltwater fishing unless you can really put the time and effort in and there is so much against you all the time, not withstanding health problems on top!
I still have a lot of ambitions to achieve in coarse fishing however, so having turned 44 years old yesterday I have decided it's time to fulfil those dreams !

I left off the last blog entry here talking about a special little local water with a very nice stock of desirable residents in the form of Carp, I did pretty well there last year for the short time I was on the water and to tell the truth though I caught some nice fish, I didn't catch any of the fish I really wanted to catch apart from maybe the first one, the fully scaled. I had fish to 34lb and whilst that may be a nice fish weight wise, it isn't always about weight, though it's a nice bonus if you catch a good looker at a good weight !
So I'm toying with the idea of having another go to try and finish what I started, and depending on what sort of deal I can work out with the owner on the price of a ticket I may well begin a campaign on the water in a few weeks time.
In the meantime however I will just be fishing the local club waters to get back into the swing of things, much as I did last year, it's important for me to gain my confidence in my methods again and hone my skills before moving onto anything 'serious' !

I'll try and keep the reports coming and busy the blog up a bit with what I'm doing and how I'm doing it as I go along, in the meantime here are a few pictures of some of the fish I had last year at the special water.

Fate takes a hand....

The last few months have seen me revert back to Carp fishing, mainly due to some health problems I have been suffering for some time that forced me to temporarily give up the Saltwater fishing for this season, due to the more physically demanding nature of this side of the sport. It's not something I would have done by choice, as I prefer to Coarse fish in the colder months these days, when the banks are quieter and the fish are in their best condition, with the fishing itself being slightly more challenging than during the warmer months.
It seems fate has in it's twisted way, provided me with some very memorable and interesting fishing that I might otherwise not have experienced....
Earlier this year the opportunity arose to fish a water containing some very worthy Carp. I had planned to fish this venue during the coming winter, but due to my problems, in short I decided to have a look during the warmer weather. Not only would the more static nature of the style of fishing provide me with a more relaxing and ailment healing form of fishing, but I could get in tune with the lake and it's inhabitants while they were more obligingly active, I could  then follow on through the autumm and winter with much more confidence as to their whereabouts and feeding habits.
After a short stint on a local club water to brush up on my Carp angling skills, I began with a couple of day sessions on the target water around the beginning of August. Prior to this I spent about a week or so visiting the lake,observing the fish and introducing a bit of bait. What I saw excited me greatly, for the stock of this lake is certainly interesting, and along with mixed scaling and strains of fish, the condition of the inhabitants is superb. Save for a few spawning marks on the fish I have caught so far, they are remarkable to look at, and their mouths are pristine. This is admittedly largely due to the fact that they have been angled for very little in the last few years as the lake has been inaccessible to angling save a lucky few. But despite this they are not that easy to catch, the lake is incredibly rich in natural food, so they certainly do not need to take a bait, and they have had time to develop natural habits without angling pressure, which adds to the puzzle of tracking them down and catching them.

I was fortunate enough to catch one on my second day session on the lake, I had set up on a small point and one bait had been placed on a small clear patch amongst the weed on the very end of the point only a few yards out. Around midday the alarm on that rod sounded as a fish picked up the single hookbait and tore off into the surrounding weed,by the time I had picked up the rod the angry Carp had made it through several weed beds. Steady pressure was needed to keep the fish moving through the weed as it kicked and fought for freedom, eventually it was clear and after a short fight where it once again tried to bury itself in the surrounding thick walls of weed I had it steering towards the net. Before I had even encompassed it in the mesh of the net I was struck by the scaling of the fish, a heavily scaled Mirror Carp was my reward and first capture from the water. I whooped with delight as I secured it in the net and began preparing the mat and scales. Another angler happened to be on the lake that day and he offered to do the pictures for me. Although the fish was clearly well spawned out it was still a striking and beautiful creature to look at. She weighed in at 22lb 5oz, with a burnished fully scaled pattern, a brilliant way to start my campaign!

Finish with a flourish!

The saltwater season is upon me now, but before I disappear into the salty yonder I had one last evening session at my local lake in search of a good Carp with which to finish my freshwater stint. I got very lucky with a very special, ( to me and my friends ),  character of the lake . All was quiet in the pond and my friend Mr B and I were sat chatting enjoying a few warm drinks and some good conversation. I had a little while earlier placed my hookbait on a marginal spot, settled the rod onto a bite alarm and retreated a few yards away from the swim to try and keep things as quiet and peaceful as possible so as not to disturb my carefully laid trap. A scattering of free offerings had been introduced to instill confidence into any potential diners...
The sun was setting low in the sky and the evening had taken on a reddish glow when the peace was shattered by the sound of a stuttery take on my alarm. By the time I got to the rod the tip had pulled right round and the alarm was now singing a single note. A short fight ensued, with an unsettling moment when the fish managed to find an unseen snag on the bottom of the lake, but a bit of pateint manouvering had things in motion again and I was still connected to the fish. On first sight in the water I thought I had a small stockie on the end, but a second look told me that I had been wrong. As the fish tired and I eventually drew it toward the net, manned by my mate, we could clearly see which fish it was and recognised it as a very old friend, a fish we have seen a good few times over the years. Lifting it from the water I was quite staggered by how heavy it felt and I knew she was a good weight. The number is really irrelevant but this time she was at the biggest weight we had seen her before and the scales settled on 28lb 11oz. The linear looked stunning, as well as plump, and I asked her politely to behave for a few moments while we took her portrait. All went well and she did as asked before we finally slipped her back into her watery home.
It was good to see that fish again, not only is she my biggest carp for some years but also my third ever biggest fish. A smashing way to draw a line under the coarse fishing for now. Next time I resume It will be approaching winter again and my friends and I should hopefully be looking forward to some Carp fishing on the special water that contains some much bigger Carp. For now though the salt is beconing and I have already made a start with a nice little result that can be found over on my other Blog. Thanks for reading and see you in the winter.

A fabulous way to finish..28lb 11oz's.

March madness.

March has been a strange month all in all, the weather has been crazy warm for this time of year, opportunuites have arisen out of the blue, and some short session float fishing has produced some very early Tench.
Let's deal with the big fish water first. Last weekend was our second and last session for now on this special water, though the day was warm and very pleasant compared to the previous week, the fish still refused to play ball. We had hoped the unseasonably warm spell would create opportunities for us to stalk them in some margin spots, but the fish had other ideas and spent the day in unfishable snaggy areas sunning themselves and, I would imagine, digesting a large amount of food they had probably been troughing from someone's baiting campaign. But despite this we were able to get a grandstand view of some of the lake's impressive inhabitants to wet our appetite for a sustained campaign much later in the year during the Autumn and Winter season.

Just a few yards away, some very big fish were sunning themselves......

Early Tench.


One thing I do enjoy is Tench fishing, and this very warm March we have experienced has woken them up very early indeed in my local club water. A few evening float fishing sessions have produced a handful of nice specimens that have given good accounts of themselves.

The third and final report for now concerns a little session yesterday evening with my eldest son and my mate. The three of us descended on the local club water for a short session into dark in the pursuit of some Carp. Fishing a single rod each on some close in margin spots, just how we like to fish. My friend was the first to get a run from what was clearly a good fish, as I approached to assist with netting I could see his powerful Century stalking rod bent alarmingly through almost to the butt. Obviously not a small stockie then! The fish led him a merry dance for a few moments and managed to pick up a loose fallen branch from the bottom of the lake, still playing the fish with the branch attached to the line, my mate tried to inch the fish and branch toward the waiting net, then as it looked as if we were going to be able to net the fish, disaster struck as the Carp, in slow motion, rubbed the hook out of its mouth and into the branch, right in front of us! The fish sat motionless for a second and then slowly cruised off. Gutted isn't the way to describe how we felt, because having got a really good look at it, the fully scaled mirror Carp was clearly well over twenty pounds....

Throughout the session we all continued to receive line bites as the fish fed on our small baited patches, occassionally brushing the lines and making the bobbins rise and the alarms sing. Dark had descended altogether now and the temperature had dropped dramatically, my Son began to ask when we would be going as he was feeling the cold. Just as I was about to give in and declare home time, his alarm began screaming a one toner as a fish shot away from his margin spot having picked up the hookbait and hook !

It was again clear from the start that he was connected to a decent fish and he played it well with a little coaching, and soon it was ready for the net. As soon as I saw it in the headtorch I knew which fish it was, and as I lifted the net complete with fish out of the water I was certain we had another twenty pounder.

The scales confirmed my suspicion, and settled at twenty pounds and four ounces!

As for my trap, well as I went to reel in to go home, I was snagged on the bottom. The vicious liners I had been receiving all evening had dragged the hook into a snag....

A little assistance was needed to help the youngster with his prize !