Myself and my Son travelled back up to Yateley again for a three night session this weekend. Being half term it was an ideal opportunity to do another longer session. This would likely be our last trip this side of Christmas but we do have another penned into the diary as soon as the festive season will allow before normality resumes in the New year.
Upon arrival it seemed the lake was pretty quiet which went against our expectations, however it seemed the reason for this was the lake had been fishing hard the last couple of weeks since our last visit which seemed to have put many off. From what I have gleaned so far this is pretty much the norm on the Match lake anyway and not to be put off we went in search of suitable swims in which to set up camp.
I had a hankering to pick up where I left off last time and decided to do a night in the bottom bay again and pending any activity or lack thereof would be prepared to move onto any showing fish. You may recall last time I felt I had definitely had pick ups while in the bottom bay but that the fish were 'getting away with it' and I had come suitably armed with a modified rig to hopefully convert any pick ups into fish. It seemed however that this time I was not visited during that first night as I had no obvious signs of activity from the alarms.
It was apparent laid there all night listening to fish ( they sounded more like cattle being thrown in ! ), crash out a few swims further up that a move was indeed needed, and so the next morning I wandered up the bank with a rod and a light lead to search out any clearer areas in amongst the still profuse weed beds on which I might present a bait in the areas they had been showing. Indeed I saw signs of fish in the thicker parts of the weed beds while having a feel around and felt confident I was making the right decision.
Having moved the house and all the gear and settled into the new swim, right hand gravelly I think it's called, fish continued to show in the general area throughout the rest of the day making me more certain I was in with a chance. Fishing the left hand rod on a Chod rig in a channel in the weed and the right hand rod on my normal blow back rig close to the Island on the right hand side of the swim on what felt like a clear spot.
What I didn't account for that evening was the way the temperature suddenly plummeted and almost certainly dropped into single figures from being in the upper teens or low twenties. It was a shock to me and I'm pretty sure it was to the fish too! Late October I have found can be a tricky time with the temperatures yo yo'ing as they do and needless to say a very quiet night followed with an odd fish showing here and there but they seemed to have moved off the area.
A warm day followed and the next night was a lot warmer, in fact ridiculously so with the air temperature staying in low double to mid double figures. Crazy weather, and it's no wonder the fish seem confused and difficult to tempt. Despite the odd fish still showing here and there they just didn't seem to be showing any obvious signs of feeding, in fact I am more of the opinion they were just ridding themselves of parasites from being laid up in the weed beds and inactive.
Quite a frustrating session to be honest, especially as my Son managed to get a take on the third morning which he unfortunately lost due to a cut off. Such a shame as he worked hard to get the fish's head down only to lose it to misfortune. He did nothing wrong, the line must have simply touched a sharp Mussel or something when under tension. I felt for him and he handled it well considering. He re set the trap hopeful of a repeat occurrence but no more action came during the rest of our stay.
To say the Match lake is a head banger is an understatement, but we will continue to persevere . All being well by the time the next session comes around some of the extensive weed will have died back and the fish should have settled into a more predictable pattern as should the weather.
To be honest I fully expected our first few sessions to be tricky so I am by no means bemoaning our luck. In fact I actually think we have done better than most having had chances on our first and second sessions on the lake. I have fished plenty of difficult waters in the past so this is nothing new. Carp fishing is a puzzle and I think we are close but need to find a few more pieces before the picture begins to look complete.
Another atmospheric Yateley morning.
After the serious stuff at the Match lake it was time to return to our little fun water this weekend. The high winds we have been experiencing with Hurricane Ophelia and storm Brian had coloured the water slightly due to the undertow created by the prevailing wind and the long narrow shape of the lake, thus stirring up the clay sediment on the bottom.
I opted to try out a rig modification I have come up with for the Match lake, and though these fish are very far from clued up when it comes to rigs It would still give me an indication as to whether the rig is working as I intend it too.
After a long slow day with little buzzer activity I finally had a take on one of the rods. I had placed this rod away from the usual areas we have been catching from in an attempt to see if I could tempt one of the better fish in the lake. After a short fight a glance in the net confirmed I had managed to score one of the slightly better residents possibly proving my theory right as to the kind of areas they preferred to feed. My test rig also seemed to be working as I intended and therefore will be being used on our next trip to the Match lake later this week. All being well if I can find some feeding fish it will be put to the true test.
The fish itself was slightly pale in colour as expected due to the lack of water clarity, but a pretty specimen nonetheless and heavily scaled on both sides.
The next few days will be spent preparing to do battle with those famous old wily Yateley Carp! Lets hope they are in a feeding mood and that my modified rig proves difficult for them to deal with!
Our Autumn adventures proper began last Thursday as we packed the car and headed off to the Ferry. Our destination being the famous Yateley Match Lake. I like many thousands of other Carp anglers have wanted to fish the Yateley lakes for as long as I can remember. I have never been a crowd follower and never will be, but there is no denying the heritage that these lakes represent in English Carp fishing history.
The lakes these days are not the same as they were back in the early days, most of the original stock for which these lakes are well known have long since gone, but they still hold some superb looking specimens from subsequent stockings and in the case of the Match lake a mere handful of original fish survive to this day. The selling off of these lakes by the previous owners CEMEX saw the lakes on the East of the complex bought up by Farnham Angling society, an open to all fishing club with a large membership and some very nice existing waters in their portfolio. This means of course that the lakes do get busy at times and the fish are under an enormous amount of pressure all year round. If you are lucky enough to be able to drop on the fish, with the right approach, there are some incredible rewards to be had.
Travelling long distances to fish for wary Carp has never bothered me, no chance of pre baiting and it takes much longer to get to know a lake and it's residents habits, but if you have a bait in the water, as far as I'm concerned you have as much chance as the next fellow. Observation on arrival is key of course and we, my Son and best friend and myself walked the Match lake and adjacent Copse and Nursery lakes looking for clues as to where we might find success. None of us expected to catch on our first session at a strange water of course and this proved to be the case, but during the next few days we learnt an awful lot which will stand us in very good favour for subsequent visits, and of course we shall continue to learn more on each try.
The Match lake is roughly 13 to 14 acres and for much of the year solid with various types of weed. A large proportion of this seems to be a cotton candy type silk weed that reaches from the bottom almost to the surface, only small areas being clearer or supporting a more normal type of hornwort or Canadian pond weed. The silk weed is nigh on impossible to fish or present a bait in and then the chances of actually landing a fish buried in this mess is probably extremely slim. The areas with hornwort also seem to be the more popular swims, as it can be raked out a lot easier than silk weed and there are clearer patches amongst it if you search hard enough. I would imagine that once the first frosts set in, ( if we get any! ) the weed might abate a bit. This is what we are banking on for the next few months anyway as it should make presenting a bait a bit easier even if the Carp feed less as the temperature drops!
Our observations on this visit led us to believe the majority of the fish were favouring the areas of silk weed, no doubt they can move through it fine and will have created underwater corridors for themselves to navigate around it, they certainly showed more regularly in amongst it than anywhere else on the lake.
Eventually after a couple of hours walking and very tired legs we all decided on out individual plots. No social session this one as we all chose very different areas to fish, so it was communication by text for the most part, sharing our findings and observations in these areas.
For my part I chose the furthest point from the car park, a small bay in the far corner which despite still containing some weed seemed to offer a fishable and bait presentable area. I won't give a blow by blow account of my findings but I did find some obvious areas that fish had clearly visited and presented two baits on those spots.
We'd been told by other anglers that it was a night water, but as always your own findings are the best guide before taking notice of what others say. My own experience on this trip would suggest this may indeed be the case as all buzzer activity was between set times in the hours of darkness. Indeed for the three nights we were there I received activity on the two baited spots on every night and only at night, the daytimes being seemingly devoid of activity or fish in the bay. Further more I am certain my baits were picked up and ejected on all three nights with the fish ' getting away with it'. the positions of the bobbins and line angles confirming this in my mind after each subsequent bleep or series of bleeps on the alarms. clearly these fish are extremely cute when it comes to dealing with anglers rigs. This is something I have taken a great deal of interest in over the last few years, rather than dismissing each bit of buzzer activity as simply liners or small fish attacking the baits. I believe on many waters we are constantly being picked up and our rigs being ejected by fish without even knowing it. This has made me pay particular attention to certain aspects of rig mechanics, constantly making adjustments until they stared to convert more of these pick ups into fish. It seems likely that despite using my normal rigs that I supremely confident in, these fish have diminished that confidence and it's back to the drawing board! I am actually not convinced the rigs themselves are at fault, more what happens after the fish has pricked itself and the headshake that causes the hook to be flung from their mouths. Heavier leads and taking the leads out of the equation as soon as possible after the rig is picked up are things that I shall be looking at for the next trip. Pick ups from these fish will be hard won and I can tell you it was very frustrating knowing I was indeed getting those pick ups but not converting them into fish on the bank!
Hopefully there will be more to report on the Match lake and Yateley in the coming weeks and months.
Part of being an angler is being more in tune with the changing seasons than most non anglers. If you are out on the bank regularly you will notice the more subtle nuances as the seasons ebb from one to another. In many ways I find this slows down the transition and allows me time to enjoy it more. It allows me to appreciate the natural beauty of things more readily and feel I am a part of it all.
We've now rolled over into October and where I live so far south we are probably a couple of weeks or more behind most of the rest of the country, but the leaves are beginning to fall nonetheless and carpet the ground in places. The daylight hours are shortening and the temperatures are beginning to show signs of waning. Bankside vegetation is coming to it's end for the year and wild flowers are going to seed. The aquatic life is at it's peak and the Carp are making the most of the abundant natural larder, building up their fat reserves for the coming winter.
Pretty soon this will all come to an end as the water temperature drops, the fish will form small shoals and settle into their winter patterns. This means more predictable feeding times and hopefully being able to pin them down in their favourite areas. If you hadn't guessed I prefer autumn and winter fishing over spring and summer. I guess you could say it suits my strengths as an angler, less bait, more precise location and tactics, a more delicate approach all round, and of course a quieter time on the banks.
This weekend produced a couple more fish for me from our current venue. The corking looking fish below and another smaller double.
Still having fun at this lake but yet to encounter any of the bigger fish, hopefully this will change as the temperatures fall and the smaller fish slow down while the need to carry on feeding drives one or two of the larger one's into our nets.
I think there will be one more session here and then we shall be heading off the following weekend for a long stay on a very special and famous water on the mainland. Whether any of the prestigious residents will be kind enough to drop their guard for us remains to be seen but as long as we have a bait in the water we have as much chance as anyone else! I am really looking forward to this one and all being well subsequent trips here over the next few months, it's somewhere I have always had a hankering to fish and I decided a while ago it was time to do something about it. In the meantime thanks for reading and keep catching!
Chris
