Blakey's Fishing Blog

The belated summer weather drew me away from the Saturday afternoon Football on TV to the lake for a couple of hours for a rare pleasure fishing session.

Suzy (my Jack Russell) stop off at Big Johns for ½ pint of Red maggots en –route.

I made my way to Peg 16 and Cyril Boozy who was over on peg 13 shouted across – “did I forget the house as well” a comment regarding that I had loaded my Match Gear on the trolley- but I had not – when I started to set up I noticed I had left my feeder Arm at home – Dohh ! Especially as my tactics was going to be Small Method and hair rigged Sweetcorn on the feeder for Bream / Small Carp and maggots on the Pole in the margins for Roach /Perch I already had a problem. Quickly resolved though as I was able to lay it down on the ground with a post acting as the rest and the bait runner on.

I had a good 3 hour session the weather was perfect sunny with little or no wind. I had lost of good Roach on the pole in the margins to the right – In the meantime Cyril has successfully landed a nice 13lb Mirror ( don’t know what bait he was using.) and he called it a day after that.

It was around 6.45 pm when I just answered a call from the wife whilst still landing Nice Roach that I would be home in ½ hour that I had the Feeder reel scream I lifted in this was something BIG and it was making its way to the Lilies / weed in the out of bounds area. I had no option but to hold on this rod had never had such a big bend in it but alas once in the weeds that was it the 5lb snapped!

Oh well time to pack up then, but I have a ¼ pint of maggot left so I up the feed rate on my spot and continued with the Pole attack there – I had being using Size 16 to 5lb line with Double red maggot. Dusk was on its way – as I had what I though was Perch Bite – lifted in but the elastic started to pull out – this was a carp! I played with my four sections – didn’t need to put any more sections on – good job as they where still in the bag! A good 10 minutes Fight and it was in the net – Black Mirror tipping the Scales at 10 1/2lb – that will do what a way to finish what was truly a pleasure session. – pack up and home for a shower dinner and the TV and a few beers!
Suzy was good as well sits patiently.

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Nice & Sunny – some say it was our Summer !!! Well at least I dusted off my sunglasses.

I drew peg 17, on my way I saw that Olly had drawn peg 20 with reed beds on parallel right of the swim platform twitching away with Fish. I said to Olly I see you are going to have fun in there today – "Yep – you remember Newlands Hall mud pool swim I had" was the reply - Only too well – you lost about 10 rigs that day.

My peg (17) looked great reeds to Both sides and an inviting bed of Lily’s out in front (see Pictures below) which were casting distance for Waggler bomb or feeder. So I set up on pole 3 lines in circle a bomb and a Waggler.

At the whistle went out on the bomb with size 18 3 lb 12” hook link– had a bite 1st off – Started feeding the margin and pole lines (in fact tried all day there with nothing more than a few tiny Perch).

Olly on the other hand was Snapped off on his two put ins and the question Mason Mills was asking each time was "Olly you going to get that one in" each time Olly had one on. John Buck was pulling them in the distance though!

Quite worrying for me was that I was snapped off of tow good bites during the morning session, the same thing that was happening at the last match at Tylers Common. There were no sharp features here – I must surely have a bad batch of Hook links – I changed over from the Kasman Animal to Preston Hook links and went to size 14 with bigger baits – Pellet & Sweetcorn but the bites were no better.

However I faired better than Steve Caellejo (sorry I don’t know the correct spelling – perhaps someone can advised via the comments, but soon to have new nickname before the end of the day) – His Pole section #6 snapped when pulling in after 1st cupping !!!!

Midday I swapped over to the Waggler with Pellet, Single, & double maggot plus worm and cocktails of each– Just a few Roach to show for it though (sprayed maggot). Finally the float buried and sailed away – Into a Carp of around 4lb gave a good account of itself but safely landed a lovely looking full plated Mirror after 10 minutes. But that was it the next 3 hours were only graced on all methods with a couple more small Roach,

However, the last hour was between Olly getting smashed up and Steve Claalejo to my left making a lunge for his feeder rod, which had been pulled in by a carp I would suspect? The Lunge resulted in him going in the drink much to the joy of everyone who saw it and he received much applause especially as he caught the rod.

I ran round to get a photo only to find the Camera’s battery had gone. The air as you could imagine was punctuated by laughter and blue language as Steve (now with the nickname flipper ‘praised’ his friends for helping in his hour of need. Somehow he was under the impression that I went to help – Nah I’d only gone to try and record it – Of course the jokes relating to whales, doplhins etc were sounding around to keep the lughter going for 1/2 hour. At least it was a sunny day but I think he got cold and was please the match came to an end and weigh in completed.

As expected the weights were not great – Results below and Final league tables. We got off the bottom. Looking at Team table is has an inverse synergy team 5 was 1st with team, team 4 second and so on.

Steve the Owner made us most welcome and took on a tour of the Main lake – Olly chose his swim as the 1st One we came to – Tight Squeeze’ Dean & Mason chose the next one ’61 (named so as the 1st fish Steve caught here was a 61lber) – being a double Swim. I choose the next one ‘Bonsai’ named after a late friend of Steve.

We were joined later by Kev & nark from Norfolk as they got lost. They set up on 1 & 2(but moved the following day to the top end.

The rest of Saturday was set up; evening meal cast the lines out for the night.

Sunday was a bright Sunny day which meant the lines stayed out as very little activity so we all went spinner fishing on the Bass Pool for the early part of the day. We all managed to capture a Small bass each.

I decided I would put some baits out on my marks as I said to Mason "you won’t catch anything if you don’t have bait in the water whatever the conditions”

I was rewarded at 5.30pm with a run and take on my rod that was set on a hard patch in the middle of lake along the top edge of the river bed that runs through the Lake.

It snagged on something out there but got it out. I gave a shout and help was at hand even though I knew it was only a low twenty, mason was 1st a got my other rods out the way then Dean got the Movie out to record and Olly arrived in time to see it a superb Common into the net & landed.

Cheers and handshakes all round as the 1st fish on the bank went 24lb 14ozs.

Alas that was it until Thursday Evening. No other bites at all from anyone, mark was reporting he had not yet seen a fish –

How that was about to change. The intervening time was spent on sessions on Bossard Two where Carp to 20 lb and Koi to 10lb were stalked by all. The other major events were the explosion from a Military exercise on the nearby farm land and Thunderstorms.

In fact I believe Aircraft were dropping Bombs - on 3 occasions on Thursday Morning we had three exposions that made the bivvies move ! Well it woke Olly up.

Rain was very much the order of the rest of the week with very long periods of up to 16 hours of sustained moderate to heavy rain. Mason was flooded out and by Wednesday evening he had enough and after Dinner He and Dean made their way back to The UK.

Steve was concerned about the fish not seeming to feed and thought it may have been the fact that he had cut the weed two weeks before and the disturbance and sudden abundance of natural food was caviar compared to what we had to offer. We had tried every natural bait we could lay our hands on to no avail. I will leave what they were to your imagination.

Steve likes the water and has a relationship with his baby such that he will don his wet suit and get out into the lake and clear hard patches as ‘Dinner plates’ for you - On Wednesday evening he cleared the spot I had the fish from on the Sunday and prepared a shot spot to just under the Tree to my right and place markers for each. On Thursday he boated out a bait for me some 300 yards. Later that evening just as dusk arrived I had a Run and somehow it pick up my 300 yd line even though it was back lead at the rod end. I managed to shout for help on the radio and Kev arrived shortly after. It proved a difficult fight and was now dark, once landed in the net we saw the reason – it had managed to get the 300yard line around its Dorsal such that - that was the way I fighting it. –

However a long slim Common which went 25lb 10oz.

That was the signal for Mark to start catching up the far End Over the next two days he managed to land Two PB’s – 44lb Common, 36lb 10oz Mirror and a number of other Twenties and his last fish on the pull in on Saturday morning was ‘Newt’ A small fish caught from the stock pond by a lad on a recent trip and put in Bossard One as a Trophy Fish – So that cost Steve another Bottle of Champagne (he offers a bottle for PB’s)

I had an Lovely 18lb 10oz Plated mirror from the centre Dinner Plate area on Friday afternoon. I called Steve as there should not be any fish less than 20lb in here. He inspected and agreed to release back as this would Twenty by the Winter – I would very much like to catch it again in a few years time – I only regret not taking a photo of it.

Olly only managed a PB Tench of 7lb 10ozs and a large Rodent, Kev did not have anything either.

I did have one really good bite – Wasp Sting on my top lip – I so engrossed in a book I was reading I forgot a was around I picked up my Beer for a swig and hey presto.

The facilities, food and the Company are superb, yes the Fish did not want to play ball but that’s fishing. I will be back next year – but I’m not saying when. I’ve worked out when the best time will be