A mixed bag!

Since writing last, I have ventured out onto the bank for a few sessions, some hoping to break my silence on Fordwich, a quick overnighter at Stonar Lake and a few quick trips at Minster and Trenley to practice for the Maggotdrowner's Southern Champions Match at Tricklebrook which I fished today.

In spite of being fortunate enough to have the summer off work, I only made it down to Fordwich for three sessions and as far as carp are concerned, they were all blanks. On the third trip I decided to take some maggots with me to instigate some entertainment. The result was a nice net of roach - I only started retaining these in the last hour of the trip so I am quite pleased with this net.

I will return to Fordwich in pursuit of carp again this autumn, work permitting, before my attention turns to the pike and perch.

At the beginning of September, after a bit of encouragement from a friend, I went to Stonar for a quick overnight session. I was fortunate to get on the swim known as 'Sheds' which is something of a hotspot partly due to it being the last peg before a large section of the lake which is closed to fishing.

No fish came my way through the night but I had three in the space of an hour in the morning of which these two were the best.

A good stamp of fish at Minster

I went to Trenley with my wife a couple of weeks back, hoping to get into some good bream. She struggled for bites for a long time whilst I struggled to hit any that I got for most of the afternoon. I realised that I was a little rusty on the quiver tip so took myself off to Minster the following week as I knew bites would be plentiful there giving me the opportunity to hone my skills. I had 10 small carp and several roach in just 2 hours fishing. They were a good stamp of fish too...

Todays match at Tricklebrook will be, I'm sure, my final trip in September but it was a great day! As chance would have it, I drew the same peg I fished last year. That was my first ever match and I came 4th, so drawing a familiar swim gave me a bit of confidence.

This photo really was the best of a very bad bunch...

I got off to an excellent start, landing 8 fish in the first hour on the pellet feeder. There was then a bit of a lull which I overcame by changing my hook bait to a trio of red maggots. However, as the clock turned 12, the bites turned off. 

For the next two hours I hardly had a twitch. The bites that were strike-able resulted in short-lived battles ending in hook-pulls. I decided to change my hook every time I caught a fish because I feared the losses had been due to the fine wire hooks blunting easily. This paid off! Thereafter, every bite resulted in carp in the sack.

At the weigh-in my net turned the scales to 35lb 12oz meaning I won the carp section! The person who came second for carp had also produced a decent enough bag of roach to bring his total weight to 36lb meaning he won overall - a pleasure I missed out on by just 4oz!!!

I am overjoyed with this result and had a great day with some top guys. My only disappointment is the photos really didn't turn out well at all.

So all in all, the end of the summer has provided a variety of experiences, all of which have been enjoyable, some educational and Fordwich, for now is just baffling!

If at first you don't succeed...

On my birthday I like to go fishing with my wife. The only problem with this is that, my birthday being in February, she invariably ends up cold and wet and not enjoying the experience. This year she suggested instead of pike fishing on the Stour in February, why not do a few days carping in France in August. I had never fished in France as an adult, though remember catching some variety of small catfish on a float fished worm in the Sein on holiday as a nipper.

So I set about finding the right venue - it had to provide the opportunity to catch something special without being a runs water. Equally, I didn't want to rock up at the French equivalent of Fordwich which following last years relative success, seems to be beating me once more. It was also important that the venue had some facilities to make the stay more comfortable for my wife who I knew was going above and beyond by volunteering to rough it for a few days on the bank.

Lake 2 at Le Val Dore was recommended by a mate and seemed to fulfil all of these criteria. The only potential downside was having to book swims in advance and not being able to decide where you are going to fish on arrival.

In the weeks running up to the trip I kept a fearful eye on social media which consistently reported that the lake was not fishing well and that peg 9 where I was set to fish was not exactly a hotspot!

Furthermore, on arrival I read inscriptions previous anglers had left on the pegs wooded bin lid - some reporting catches but most were quite derogatory and used some very vibrant language to emphasise their sentiments! If I was going to catch here I was sure to face some challenges and have to learn the lake quickly as with only 4 days to fish, time was not on my side.

DAY 1

On arrival at the lake I set about feature finding with the marker rod. I had been told there was a gravel bar coming out from an opposite peg at about 75 yards. After a couple of chucks revealing only deep troughs of silt I reduced the radius and found a very thin strip of clear gravel at 60 yards at a depth of 6.5ft descending to lows of 8ft either side.

The recommendation of the lake's bailiff, as well as others who fish there regularly, was to use small hookbaits, preferably particals, and size 6 or 8 hooks. I had no doubt that I could catch on a boilie approach provided I didn't over feed them, so offered no whole boilies in my loose feed but presented my bait over a bed of boilie crumb and a handful of 4mm pellet and sweetcorn. I decided not to take the advice about small hook baits and tied up an 18mm snowman - my attitude being 'if they are hungry, they will eat it'.  Given the potential size of the fish I could catch I used a size 6 hook, believing at the time that this would be adequate.

I'm prepared to take a bit of stick for confessing to using a boat to position my left and right hand rods under overhanging trees, but casting to the edge of the tree line would still result in being a couple of rod lengths from the margin, which drops off very quickly. If I were to fish these spots at all, delivering the rig by boat was the only option. I've never used a boat in my fishing before and would normally frown upon it but I considered this an exception. Not to mention that I was one of only a couple of anglers who cast a single line 'manually' the whole time I was there!

At 3am I had a run on my middle rod. I lifted into it and felt the fish as the line tightened up. I was expecting it to take line as the clutch was not tight but before I knew what was going on the fish had gone. I was far from discouraged however - it was my first night and I had already found a feeding spot though I was baffled about why the fish came off.

DAY 2 

It would've been easier to use a pod but worth going with
single sticks when locked up to snags.

The next afternoon I decided to have another exploratory session with the marker rod. I found depths of 9ft at 80 yards out to the left with a silty bottom which I decided to fish a zig over with my left hand rod. I also found a continuation of the gravel strip at 50 yards which raised to 5 foot so I duly repositioned my middle rod to this spot and, now knowing that this was on a feeding patrol route, put a bit more of a spread of bait across the area with the spomb. Once again, at 3am came a bite, this time on the right hand rod which was still presenting a single bright pink popup over a bed of boilie crumb. I picked up the rod as the alarm was screaming but felt no response from the culprit on the other end. At 3:20am the middle alarm started jittering which suggested to me that the fish was using the weight of the lead to shake the hook. Sure enough, it was all over before I reacted. 3:35am and the left hand rod fishing the zig screamed off. Once more, I picked up but there was no connection. 

It felt great to have had so much action in the swim - three different approaches on three far removed locations but why had they not resulted in a decent connection? I was now halfway through my trip and starting to worry I might be going home empty handed. 

DAY 3 

I was up early, watching the water whilst my head whirred trying to figure out what I was doing wrong when two lads who work at the club house came round to chat. They laughed when I told them I was using 3oz leads and 8" links and recommended I stepped up the weight and cut down the link to really nail the fish! 
On my way back from the tackle shop later that morning with a hefty supply of 4oz leads I had a chat with the guys on the opposite peg to me. They had had some success on particles but were using much bigger hooks. Although one of them had returned a 40lber to the water that morning, he was disappointed that he wasn't getting more bites and quizzed me about what I was doing to get so much action, having heard all three of my alarms going in such quick succession. Whilst flattered, I felt a bit out of place passing on advice and felt quite stupid admitting to having now let four opportunities to bank a carp slip through my fingers. 
At 1:20am, my right hand rod in the tree line with a single popup now above a size 4 hook gave me a very positive take. I picked up the rod and finally connected with what felt like a very angry fish determined to take me into the snags. It was a true 'hit and hold' situation. I managed to steer it away from danger fairly rapidly but whilst playing it in open water only a few yards in front of me it simply came off leaving me totally bewildered. 
The middle rod also experienced a several short-lived series of bite-alarm blips at regular enough intervals to make it impossible for me to get any sleep but each time not sustained enough for me to feel confident about striking. 
Having had no attention on the zig rig I decided that for the final night I would return a bottom bait to the left hand tree line where I had heard fish 'boshing' and most likely enjoying the freebies I had continued to trickle into this spot to build their confidence in feeding here. 

The rest of the night passed with no bites and no sleep. Questions and anxieties racing through my mind.

DAY 4

'VF' - the bait that did the business

It was clear that even with the stepped-up tackle I wasn't getting good hook holds. I didn't have time to fine-tune rigs through a process of trial and error - this was my last day and last night. I sharpened each of my hooks to an extreme point and decided that striking a little harder couldn't do any harm either! The day passed quick enough and at 11pm, the left hand rod in tree line received a proper take. I picked up and hit it hard. As per the right hand rod the night before, this fish powered into the trees. I heard branches snapping as I applied side-strain to steer the fish away from danger. After a hairy moment, I got the fish clear of the snags and back out in open water. The dorsal broke the surface just in front of me as I held my breath in anticipation of catching a first glimpse of my capture. Surely now a netting was inevitable? Of course not! Without any indication or additional struggle, the fish suddenly swam free and my line went slack. 

It is impossible to articulate my emotions at this stage. Distraught. Broken. There isn't a word which encapsulates the juxtaposition of being tantalisingly close to success and then so painfully denied. 

Insomnia ensued in silence until 5am when that trusty strip of gravel where my middle rod was positioned came up with the goods once more. As the alarm sang I struck hard and stepped back. Holding the rod tip high I felt the fish pulling back so I loosened the clutch and let it take line whilst maintaining a gentle pressure, safe in the knowledge that, aside from the bar and oyster beds on the bottom, there were no major snags within at least 100 yards. It took line for some time before slowing and as soon as I reclaimed any, it took twice as much again! Knowing full-well that this was most probably my last chance of any success in this session I became aware of a mild tremble setting into my arms. I called to wake my wife and asked her to help net the fish as I could not afford to be complacent about anything. Eventually the fish tired and I brought it to the net where it obliged with the traditional last bid for freedom before finally submitting. After releasing a primal 'whoop' I lifted the fish from the water and was surprised by how heavy it felt given how it had appeared in the water. As I placed it on the mat I could see that this was bigger than anything I had caught before and whilst I know it is a mere baby compared to other fish in this lake, I was overjoyed to have my first fish over the magic 30 mark at 31lb 6oz!!!! 

I think the things I got right from the outset were to find good spots and not overfeed them. 'Fishing for a bite' was certainly a winning tactic especially given I had no way of knowing how much bait had been put in by the previous occupant of the swim. I learnt that bigger, sharper hooks and a firm hand initially help acquire a better hook hold but perhaps some of my losses were due to bullying them too much, though I'm not sure what else I could have done so close to snags.

If only I could start again with this experience behind me, perhaps I could capitalise on a few of those opportunities I missed. That said, I do feel proud that I persevered through one of the steepest learning curves I've faced so far and reaped some rewards.

If you snooze you loo's!

The last couple of months have easily been the busiest and most stressful I have ever had to contend with at work and needless to say that has had a massive impact on the amount of time I have been able to spend fishing. However, the perk of the teaching profession is a generous amount of holiday in the summer and as always I intend to make the most of every moment.

My wife, Doz, is giving fishing a go for a one year trial period. She came with me a few times in May and early June before things got hectic with work and experienced some success targeting both carp and silvers. I was delighted when she agreed to spending a couple of spare hours under a brolly carping with me at Stonar lake today on this rainy Sunday afternoon!

We positioned ourselves with the drizzle-laden northeasterly blowing straight at us and as the swim we chose was only really big enough for one angler, decided only to fish 3 rods between us.

I put two rods in the left margin and put Doz's rod out for her under an overhanging tree on the right. As we scattered a few boilies around the general area the sky erupted with sea birds looking for a free meal! We sat back and waited for about an hour before Doz walked round to the loo near the carpark, leaving me with the rods.

Moments later, her 1.75lb TC barbel rod wrapped right round, the bait runner screaming and I lifted into a hard fighting carp. Just as I had guided the lovely looking mirror into the net Doz returned and realised this fish could have been hers! After weighing and photographing the fish she was determined to do everything for herself and recast bang on the money. Unfortunately, with another engagement planned for the evening, time was not on our side forcing us to leave before her efforts could come to fruition. 

This Stonar mirror turned the scales to 13lb 13oz

I have plans to put in some serious time on Fordwich again this summer but am glad that today we made the most of only a couple of hours and still caught. It would have been all too easy to be apathetic and make excuses due to the rain or limited time available. Thankfully, Doz wants to go back soon to settle the score!

The glass is half full! (24hrs at Stonar)

It was early evening on a grey bank holiday Monday when I arrived at Stonar Lake, Sandwich for 24hrs in pursuit of carp. The wind was blowing with some conviction towards the east bank and so I headed straight over there to locate a suitable, or least vacant, swim.
The margins are almost always productive here. This is probably because the lake bed reaches extreme depths as it slopes towards the centre leaving the margins and a few isolated bars and plateaus as the only fishable water. With this in mind, my left and right rod were positioned accordingly in the shallows near the perimeter reeds. I put my middle rod on standby until I had located a gravel bar I had been told was about 90 yards directly ahead of the swim with my marker rod.
Long casts [I still consider 90 yards to be a long cast!] are not my forte however and whilst I am frequently putting yards on to my cast each time I have the opportunity to practice, hurling the marker float against the oncoming wind was never going to work out well. What's more, above the surface of the water Stonar is pretty featureless and appears as an ongoing, sea-like expanse of water making it very hard to judge distance. I had the great idea of setting up marker sticks, wrapping and clipping up at 90 yards so I could tell if I was making that distance or not. This could well have been a good tactic had I not managed to get into a goofy tangle. At 8:30pm this tangle appeared salvageable. At 2:30am it was time to cut the braid and try to get some sleep.
Sleep evaded me for some time and no sooner it seemed had I drifted off I was woken, as is the cliche, by the screaming tone of my left alarm at 4:30am. The result was one of Stonar's many small, yet hard fighting common carp weighing in at 10lb 8oz. Once returned to the water, I began to settle back down only to be torn from sleep once more, again by an aggressive little common of 11lb 4oz. By now it was almost 6am, so I resolved to have breakfast, say good morning to my wife and then kip back down. Whilst I was glad to have caught a couple of fish, I was seriously failing to cope with the lack of sleep!
Breakfast was lovely, as was the phone call home but just as my head hit the pillow that blasted alarm went off again!

This time however, the fight went on and on. The first two fish had been taken on popups in the margins but this fish took a snowman rig on the middle rod positioned another rods length away from the main baited area with a little pva stringer of chops - a decision I made after abandoning the idea of finding that gravel bar! Eventually, I caught sight of what appeared to be a good sized mirror before it careered down into the depths once more at a rate of knots.  When, after many attempts to net this valiant warrior it was finally my captive, it turned the scales to a satisfying 21lb 6oz.

This same rig also produced a 14lb common and 13lb mirror (both below), albeit with a long quiet afternoon watching the clouds go by before the latter was in the sling.

All the pictures above were taken on my phone as, in spite of getting a lovely new Nikon DSLR, I could not get satisfying results on the self takes as I could with my old Sony bridge camera which I used to use for blogging purposes. The phone got the job done quickly and reliably which, when you have a fish on the mat, is exactly what is necessary. I hope, with a bit of practice, I can raise the standard of the photography I offer in these posts.

You might have to put up with me posting a few of these cliched studies will I'm getting to grips with the new DSLR!

As the evening drew in and home time approached, a bream kindly attached itself to my middle rod to let me know that there's no point staying, I'd had my lot. This trip could be viewed as a glass half empty or a glass half full. The best part of the night was spent untangling newly purchased braid only to bin it after much stress and sleep deprivation. The following day however, gave me a steady run of fish, all doubles and my first Stonar twenty! I know which memory I would prefer to hold on to.

Charlie's Transformation!

The new swims at Charlie's Lake are lovely. However, you will need a mallet for your bivvy pegs! 

It has been about a year since I visited Charlie's Lake, Ashford for the first time. My experience on that occasion was quite mixed - the quality of fishing was great but the strict rules did not seem to have been enforced and the facilities were not exactly comfortable.

How it has changed since then! New owners Karen and Steve, who are both very friendly, have done a remarkable job of tidying the lake up, building new swims, the toilet flushes now, rig checks are carried out and bookings are strictly enforced. My latest visit last weekend was a real pleasure, marred only a little by the cold north easterly wind. A warm spell a week prior to my session had served to raise water temperatures and switch the cats on to feeding and whilst by my arrival the frenzy had slowed a little, a steady stream of runs were enjoyed by my friends and I throughout our stay.

Angling buddies Richard and Shaun getting some action!

If you are targeting cats at Charlie's you must have 18b mainline, use running rigs and barbless hooks. Last time I fished here I used ultra light ledgers in the belief that cats don't like to feel any resistance. I have since heard that it's a change in resistance they don't like and so used heavier leads which will stay put and allow line to run through the big plastic eye of my korum run-rig lead-clip. I experimented with slack and tight lines and to be totally honest neither seemed to have any advantage or disadvantage when it came to hook-ups under these conditions. 

One tactic that did pay off, I believe was glugging all my hook baits heavily in Predator Liquid. Everyone knows that cats can sense food from some distance through their whiskers but when you see how small their eyes are you realise that they are clearly not sight-predators in the same way pike are for example and therefore any additional scent I can put in the water to help them find my bait has got to be an advantage. For hook baits I used 30mm Bloodied Eel pellets, double 20mm Halibut pellets, ID Bait's Krustacean boilies and large chunks of luncheon meat. The cats took all of these indiscriminately. 

I had several double figure fish and beat my old Wels Catfish PB of 17lbs 3 times in this session resulting in a new PB of 22lb. Although bigger fish are regularly caught here I am very pleased with this fish as I don't go after cats often at all. Now that the new owners have transformed Charlie's Lake I am much more inclined to return to try for something even bigger!

21lb 8oz

My new Wels Catfish PB - 22lb

Fishing at Charlie's is strictly for over 18s and costs £15 per 12hrs. Look here for rules and further details. I'd recommend booking at busy times by calling Karen on 07857539785.

Click here for a little treat...

Looking back at 2014

On reflection, this year has been a successful one for me in terms of my angling. Severing ties with a bait company I was field testing for lead me to try a new, local bait maker's products which I believe have made a big impact on my catch rate. Whilst I have become more busy with work and spent some of the longest spells in recent years away from the waterside, I have also managed to put the most consecutive hours into one lake on a campaign that I have ever achieved, which again has been very fruitful. My one regret is not spending more time on the river: A few sessions early in the season saw a few barbel lost due to silly mistakes and since then I have not pursued them with any sincerity or persistence. 

So here are some of the highlights of the year...

Fordwich Carp

One of the perks of being a teacher is a good block of time off in the summer and I put this to good use this year by virtually living at Fordwich lake. In previous years after my first blank I would be deterred and sheep off to fish easier waters. The key to my relative success at Fordwich this year was the fact that I stuck at it! Even when I was not fishing I was there talking to anglers, watching the water and soaking the place in. I am over the moon to say I caught a new PB of 28lb 4oz and 2 other fish that beat my previous PB and a couple of upper doubles. 

Wels Catfish

This year also saw this blog's Facebook group's first social outing to Charlie's Lake in Ashford where we targeted wels catfish. I can't pretend to have found this particularly tricky fishing but the fight these creatures put up is something to behold. In the time I was there some big smelly pellets on very light running rigs caught me a few cats; the biggest  being 17lb and this being my first time going for catfish this is indeed also a PB.

Bury Hill 

In April I took a day trip with my friend Kent to Bury Hill's 'Old Lake'. We had hoped to catch some tench but both got breamed-out! Kent caught almost double my numbers which he put down to smaller hooks and finer tackle. I had most success on the float although some bigger bream were had on feeder tactics. The fish that made my trip however was this tiny

Zander caught on double red maggots. Whilst it may seem hilarious, this is also a PB as it is my first Zed! Bury Hill is a beautiful venue which I know holds some amazing specimens of a variety of species I target and so fully intend to return.

Pike

This is still a work in progress but so far this season I have been out but a few times for pike and all but my last session have been productive. I've caught on dead sea baits fished on a paternoster in still and flowing water as well as on lures. The fish pictured was taken on a lure in high, coloured flood water in very poor light in an effort to entertain myself in my last unproductive barbel session! I have never fished with live bait but every time I've been out this year for pike, the guys using live baits have totally out-fished me. Got to be worth a try...

Fullys

I've not caught many fully scaled mirror carp but this year I have had a few on association waters. They were not big but they were very beautiful...

Perch

I never make time for this pursuit but look lustfully at other angler's catches of big sergeants and vow to make the effort in ernest some day soon. I went out twice for perch in the early season. The first time I caught a few small fish on a little jig. I did spot some better fish however but they were not at all interested my lure so I went back the next day with a float and pot of worms. The first fish I had was a small flounder, 20 miles upstream from where the river meets the sea! The second however was a gorgeous perch which I guessed to weigh about 2 1/2 lbs.

All in all, this year has been a blast with many good times on the bank besides those mentioned here. Of course there have been some lows and moments of utter despair and hopelessness but they only make the highs all the more fantastic when they finally come. The biggest lesson I have learnt is to relax, enjoy and relish the peaceful contrast fishing provides to an otherwise hectic life!

And now for something completely different!

Percy Preist Lake, Nashville at the start of fall

I have been fortunate this last week to have taken a holiday in Nashville, Tennessee which featured a bit of a road trip to Memphis - something of a musical pilgrimage you might say but I couldn't go all that way without packing a travel rod and a few jelly lures. 

Nashville is situated below the many meanders of the Cumberland River so I expected that might provide me with the odd opportunity to wet a line. The river, as it flows through the city however, is quite inaccessible to anglers due to urban developments and scarily steep banks so I had to seek an alternative location for my taste of fishing in the states. Percy Priest Lake seemed to be the perfect location but as it was a little bit out of town and we had a busy schedule my only window of opportunity fell upon the final few hours before check-in at the airport.

To fish in Tennessee a TWRA (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency) license is required but it seems most public parks and waterways are free to fish without day tickets or club memberships. I found out the hard way in advance of my trip that it is impossible for a non U.S. resident to purchase a license online but the TWRA Facebook page were very helpful in pointing me in the right direction and once in town I was able to buy a 3 day permit for $16.50 with relative ease at the Bass Pro shop, which by the way, is the biggest tackle shop I expect I will ever see in my life! The TWRA provide a PDF fishing guide which got my hopes up to catch some Bass or Sunfish perhaps or maybe even Gar - all of these hopes were reinforced by the very helpful guy in the tackle shop.

The reservoir itself is massive! 14,000 acres of man made lake fed by the Stones River. This flooded valley takes its name from the engineer who built the dam, J Percy Priest, for the purpose of hydro-electric power. This is by far the biggest lake I have ever fished and yet I had such little time! I had been directed to a couple of spots either side of the dam wall - the first of which was shallow and rocky with a sudden drop-off. I lost several jigs trying to fish over the shelf - an approach which would have been far better attempted from a boat casting towards the bank but that wasn't on the cards unfortunately. Over the other side it dropped off much quicker and I could see small fry and amongst them, slightly larger fish milling around. They did not seem interested in anything I offered, even though I tried a variety of bottom-bumping techniques. I noticed a few fish in the margins spooking as they saw me walking the bank so I sought out a spot 'off the beaten track' where they might take cover in snags which I could cast to without giving myself away. Even this resulted in nothing but frustration as my one and only chance to catch here was slipping through my fingers. 

I spoke to some other anglers who acknowledged that the fishing here had been slow recently and so I decided to drive down beneath the dam and fish the Stones River as it reemerged to resume its course into the Cumberland. A few other anglers were already there which gave me a bit of confidence as did the sight of many fish leaping out of the water. One told me that this isn't really the time of year to catch bass and pointed out small minnows (roach) in the margins being chased by slightly bigger silver fish - these, he said, were skipjacks or skipjack herrings also known as the 'Tennessee Tarpon'. They were feeding up before starting their migration to the sea. I had previously been most persistent with a little silver shad which resembled the bait fish but noticed this local angler was using a bright yellow jelly, so with such little time left, I saw no point in being proud and copied his tactic. This produced me a fish on  the second cast! Now these fish are certainly not river monsters, averaging only about 12" but they fight like fury and made great sport on my 10-30g casting weight telescopic travel spinning rod! This battle is enhanced immeasurably by this fish's tendency to leap right out the water whilst you are trying to bring it in. These acrobatics cost me 2 fish before another kind angler came over as I was playing one  and told me to tighten the clutch and reel it in quickly because otherwise the fish will be able free itself by creating slack in the line whilst doing air time. I took this advice and managed 2 more fish before having to leave for my flight home. 

I might not have caught anything huge, nor were they the bass I was hoping for but it was tremendous fun catching fish that punch well above their weight in such an epic setting. Nashville is known as 'Music City' with a bit of a reputation for being a party town and it lived up to this and totally exceeded my expectations but I am so glad that my passion for angling lead me to experience a very contrasting, beautiful and peaceful side of this vibrant musical Mecca.

Not bad for a novice!

At the risk of sounding a little hypocritical, I have in the past been been fairly vocal about my disdain for competition fishing and yet this, I concede, was probably based on an unfounded prejudice which in fairness a good many match fishermen return in spades to those who call themselves 'carpers'.

However, when invited by a friend to take part in the 'Maggotdrowners Southern Champions Match' a degree of curiosity and a little 'can't knock it till you've tried it' drove me to accept.

The venue was the 'Tricklebrook' match lake, which is stocked well with a wide variety of species but I decided that if I was to be in with a fighting chance of weighing in well I would have to play to my strengths and target the carp as it is a long time since I fished seriously for silvers. I had in mind to fish the method but I took the advice of Ray at Blean Angling who put me onto the pellet feeder having explained its numerous advantages. He told me I needed to decide upon a plan and stick to it. 'There's no use chopping and changing' he said, 'you've got to have faith!' and I took heed whilst  allowing for the 'wag and mag' as a plan B should blanking look like a possibility.

The sun was just coming up as I arrived but a small crowd of likely looking gents were already engaged in friendly banter by the waterside, something which would continue throughout the day. 

The sun coming up on Tricklebrook Match Lake

Whilst waiting for the draw I took a stroll around the lake. In some parts carp were already showing on the surface but my spot for the day was not going to be for me to choose. As chance would have it I drew peg 2 which allowed me a reasonable amount of open water and an island to cast to. Even more unlikely was that the chap who drew peg 1 next door to me was none other than Mike Jameson, a former world champion! What a juxtaposition for my first ever match!

We started fishing at 10am and agreed to finish at 4pm. By the start of the competition the sun was baking down which some said had a negative impact on the roach's feeding. It didn't seem to stop the carp from feeding though as I received many great takes, each almost ripping the rod off the rod rest before my reflexes kicked in! I was fishing with a 6mm pellet on a bait band tied to a short hair. When the bait band spoiled on a few occasions I snipped off the hair and put a big clump of reds on the hook which accounted for some of the better sized fish. There was a time when I thought I was ahead of everybody but some, it transpired, we're keeping their cards close to their chests. Mike had found a good margin spot which produced consistently throughout the day, whilst my method was a little more intermittent.

After a spell of almost an hour with no fish I did change briefly to the Waggler and dropped it in the margin spot I had been baiting up as a contingency. Half an hour past with no bites on the float and I felt like I was deviating from the plan so I reeled back in and persevered with the feeder which did me a few more fish before time was called. Frustratingly in the last 2 hours I lost 5 carp to hook pulls. I don't know if the hook had blunted but I changed it nonetheless and the positive hook-ups resumed. 

As you can see, at the final weigh in I came 4th out of 12 anglers with a total of 24lbs- which I am very proud of. There's no shame in being beaten by a world champion. The other guys who placed above me were both old hands too. I am thankful for the advice I was given as another angler I observed who didn't do as well kept changing his method every 5 minutes and casting here there and everywhere which clearly worked against him. So a little faith and confidence in what you're doing evidently counts for a lot!

You could say I am now a convert. Not that I am going to abandon my specimen angling but to be made to feel so welcome, instantly one of the gang, took away the intimidating mystique that surrounded this aspect of the sport in my mind and the sense of accomplishment when my nets were hauled up to be weighed full of fish compelled me to concede to do this again.

More fun at Fordwich!

Since my last post, Summer Carping on Fordwich Lake, I have been back to the lake 3 times, 2 of which were notably fish-less! Today however, I return from 48hrs fishing which have been somewhat more successful.
Over the last week, perhaps since the full moon, a number of good fish have been caught on the west end of the lake where the wind was headed. News of these captures filled me with excitement in anticipation of my weekends fishing. On my arrival however, this part of the lake was inevitably packed with hopeful anglers and so I trekked around to the furthest swim on the lake, being the first spot available I had any confidence in! The night and most of the following day passed without so much as bite and no fish showing at all so instead of re-positioning my rods for the night, I took a walk to look for a better spot. Although I was very comfortable with the wind behind me, time was limited and the fish were clearly not coming to me so I had to go to them. Serendipitously, a swim known to be consistently productive was available, only once again it was the furthermost point from where I was set up at the time!
It was a bit of a mission getting there and putting the rods and bait out before it was impossible to see what I was doing but I hit the sack confident that I was in a better place.
At about 10am the next morning I received a confident take on my right-hand rod which was positioned quite close in, unlike the other two which were out as far as a course of lily pads would allow. Although not too far out, the fish could have taken me round various snags had I not applied a fair amount of pressure without giving any line away. The fish cooperated until I got it to the net when it went totally nuts! I was grateful to have a good mate with me who helped me net it.
As per all the carp I've had this summer, this 24lb 8oz mirror fell to a very simple snowman rig of a 20mm fishmeal bottom bait and matching 15mm popup.

Shortly after returning this fish, I had a run on my middle rod. I connected with the fish, which felt good but it was much further out and the fish started kiting right into a bay. Again I applied considerable pressure and started reeling in quickly as there was enough line out for the fish to take me into numerous hazards. Unfortunately, this resulted in the fish coming free. Any angler who has lost a fish can relate to the feeling of devastation but on reflection I would rather have lost the fish this way than in the snags where the fish could have become tethered and so am consoling myself that I took the right course of action.

The blank sessions made me very wary of causing too much commotion with a spomb, so I restrained myself and used the catapult wherever I could get away with it this time. The other thing I have learnt this season is the power of persistance. In previous seasons I would fish a couple of sessions at Fordwich, blank and then go to an easier water to remind myself what a carp looked like. This year I have focused solely on Fordwich, aside from a few trips to the river for barbel but I'll tell you about that in another post! Coming back again and again has allowed me to be in touch with the lake and to a certain extent be in the right place at the right time. I've still got so much to learn about this amazing water but I am feeling very content to be making progress.

Summer Carping on Fordwich Lake

Fordwich Lake, near Canterbury, is in my opinion amongst the most beautiful waters in the country and holds some very special fish. It is a lake that has got the better of many, myself included, though many great anglers have cut their teeth here. Although I have been targeting carp for the greater part of my youth, I didn't truly start carping until my first season on this historic water. The learning curve was steep and painful and yet each obstacle held a valuable lesson. After a while I began to experience some success but more recently, as I continued to experiment with various factors in my approach, the catches dried up. Having had time to reflect and refine my tactics and with a fair amount of exploration and discovery behind me, I have challenged myself to capitalise on the knowledge I have acquired and make 2014 the year to start banking fish from this formidable venue.

Sunset on Fordwich Lake

My first proper session this season did not come about until the last week of July. The lake had been fishing hard, probably due to the abundance of naturals thriving in the weed bloom. With so much food available, not associated with the danger of being caught, the carp could quite easily survive without the need to touch any angler's offerings. However, a few laps of the lake in the days before my campaign began revealed some valuable information. There had been some significant catches just after a storm had hit a little over a week before, which is when the wind started blowing west. The anglers who followed this wind were successful as were a few who had jumped in their swims behind them for a few days. However, a week on and the catches had become distant memories. I spoke to some guys who clearly knew what they were doing but for reasons unknown, were not catching.

On the day I arrived at the lake ready to fish, it was evident that the wind was now easterly and therefore I decided to resist the temptation of occupying the now vacant hotspots and trekked round to the opposite side of the lake with my friend who was joining me for the next 48 hours. That night we settled in adjacent swims, I set up on a swim where features above and below the surface could be found at about 100 yards. The spots are a bit closer on the swim next door where I have had success in the past but unfortunately it was taken. At the best of times 100 yards is about my casting limit but with the wind coming straight towards us I found it hard to get the full distance with my rigs and almost impossible to get my spombed freebies on the same spots. The night passed with my rigs a rod length or two off the desired location and the loose feed another length or two shy of my hookbaits. Needless to say my sleep was uninterrupted!

The next day we decided to move round to a picturesque swim in the corner of the lake where many snaggy features are all within the lightest of casts. What's more, the wind was blowing right up into this corner and algae residue, weed, snails and all sorts were collecting here now. It was a bit of a squeeze getting us both into one swim, something I would normally try to avoid but we were there to be sociable on this occasion and so threw caution to the wind. We took the time to get our rigs exactly where we wanted them and scattered the area with boilies and maize. At 3am my friend had a run but the fish got the better of him. At 8am I also lost what felt like a good fish. All the while we kept the bait going in on the premise that the fish were there and they were eating it. If we didn't keep it coming they would go elsewhere! By mid-afternoon, knowing that the remaining hours were into single figures and still no fish had been landed, despondency was setting in. Thankfully this emotion was short-lived as my right hand rod was pulled sharply towards the singing alarm. No line could be given as I was fishing just in front of a sunken tree, so the spool had to be locked up and my full attention devoted to it. I managed to turn the fish from the snag without too much trouble and then steadily coaxed the fish, laden with weed, into the net. As I was using a large bait presented snowman fashion, I had lengthened the hair considerably as I suspected short hairs were the reason many takes last season didn't result in a connection with the fish - a move I believe paid off as this time the hook was set perfectly in the bottom lip of this carp's cavernous mouth. It weighed a tantalising pound below the magic 20 but I was absolutely elated. Back the fish went into the water in a floating retainer sling whilst I got the camera ready. As I started to lift the sling from the water the cracking common thrashed around and swam straight out of the sling! It became apparent that although I had zipped it up, the zips were not clipped and the fish had been able to work it open whilst in the water. I felt ecstatic and cheated simultaneously - a very confusing sensation! I put myself in line very quickly - I had lived the moment and that was what mattered. In addition, I had resumed catching carp at Fordwich and that, for me, was no mean feat.

Round two began with high hopes as I arrived early on a Tuesday morning with three days and two nights ahead of me. The lake's car park was packed, which is always a concern but as I barrowed round to the eastern side of the lake where the wind was still headed I past many anglers in adjacent swims all down the previously productive west end and along the main length of the lake where only the most epic casters dare display their machismo. I was delighted to find I had the pick of many lovely close range swims but settled again in the same spot I fished last time as I had already put in some ground work there which gave me confidence.

Left: the problem with the old way
Right: from now on it'll be done like this!

Again, I made good use of the line clips on my reels to get my leads where I wanted them before attaching my rigs. With regard to this - the fish I lost in the previous session was lost due to my misuse of a rig component. I had been attaching my rigs with a rig clip but not using a sleeve to cover it as I get paranoid about how it sits on the bottom and I think without a sleeve there is more chance of the braid following the contour of the lake bed. However, without taking the precaution of covering the clip with a sleeve, the clip had worked its way over the swivel and therefore when I connected with the fish it was able to pull the rig straight off the swivel. I'm not happy about this or at all proud to admit it but I am pleased that I have learned from this error and have vowed from now on to always use a simple loop to attach all my rigs. 

So out they went along with liberal helpings of boilies and maize and then I sat back and waited. 

And waited.

I waited a whole 48 hours before at 9am on Thursday my middle alarm started jittering, a sound which progressed to a single tone as line started to peel off the reel. I picked up the rod and connected with a solid weight which started moving steadily towards sunken branches. I turned the fish from immediate danger but it continued to power away. I could give no line but continued to steer the fish and let the rod tip cushion every lunge. Once in open water I knew the hard part was over but when I saw the size of the fish my heart started pounding and my nerves started snowballing. To loose this now would be devastating and that fear, I feared, would become a self-fulfilling prophecy. This fish just refused to be netted! Now however, I was able to let line off and play the fish to the point of submission which I did with several deep breaths and a mantra of 'keep cool'.

After resting it in the net I lifted out the biggest fish I had ever seen in the flesh and knew it had to be a personal best. I unhooked it and then put it back in the water in the floatation sling, this time taking the utmost care to zip and clip! Although it was early morning the sun was baking down already so I made sure I had a bucket of lake water ready to douse the fish as well as my scales and camera.

28lb 4oz - a new PB! I couldn't help releasing a primal 'whoop'! I rested the fish in the water again before taking a few pictures. Only a couple came out well but I didn't persevere as I had captured the memory and my priority had to be returning the fish safely.

My PB Carp at 28lb 4oz from Fordwich Lake.

Only an hour later my left hand rod went off, the alarm tone beginning again with the same jittering sound which leads me to think perhaps the fish are shaking their heads to use the weight of the lead to free themselves of the hook. This rod had been cast to some lilies and I thought the challenge would be turning the fish from this obvious safe haven. However, this fish had other ideas. It made a beeline to the left right round the back of some trees which were growing out of the water. I was fast to respond and managed to kite it out of the most extreme snags but as I was doing so the handle on my reel broke and became loose so on every turn it clashed with the bail arm. This momentary lapse of attention to work out what was going wrong with the reel allowed the carp the second it needed to find safety in the tree line. Suddenly the fish was immovable and I had no choice but to put the rod down, open the bail arm and wait. As I mentally prepared myself to strip down and go for a swim to free the fish from the snag line began peeling once more from the spool. I picked up the rod and turned the fish which complied but was bringing the tree with it! The most violent of fights ensued and my heart resumed the acrobatics it had been performing an hour before. When finally I landed the fish and the huge tree branch it had brought with it and placed the feisty common on the unhooking mat, I leaned over to unhook it and it slapped me full in the face with its tail, far worse than the last time I upset a lady!

This one weighed in at 17lb exactly and although much smaller was a real rival to the first fish in the thrill-of-the-catch competition. The rest of the day past without another bite but now, if they weren't obvious enough before, signs of fish movement were blatant as they basked on the surface in the heat and crashed around in the lilies. If I had any surface baits with me I would have given that approach a shot for sure.

There is still plenty of summer left so perhaps there will be a 'part 2' to this post if I catch or learn anything noteworthy at Fordwich over the next few weeks. For now however, I could not be happier that I am making progress on a water that has been an ongoing challenge for me but the years of hard work have rewarded me with the best fish I have ever caught.