It's a good many years since I was last at Yateley South lake and I wasn't really expecting to be visiting it again just yet but I suppose I should have expected it given that the Match lake is so popular. My Son and I arrived to find it absolutely rammed the other day, there were a few swims available but they just didn't seem to appeal to either of us. Neither myself or my Son are up for just slotting in for the sake of it and prefer to try and use at least some watercraft to locate fish, but when most of the water is already covered that just isn't possible! Having also looked around Nursery and Copse as well, with the low water levels and zero signs of any fish they just had a 'dead' look which failed to inspire either of us to want to fish them. Thank goodness there are plenty of other waters available on the ticket and we decided to pop over the road and have a look at the South lake which had looked pretty quiet as we drove past a couple of hours earlier.
As it turned out it was indeed pretty quiet with just a half dozen or so Anglers present and plenty of swims and options available. What's more even though it was 10.am by this time it seemed we had arrived during a feeding period with evidence of fizzing and as we walked into the back bay area a fish jumped out causing us to pause and inspect the area more closely. It became obvious that a number of fish were present cruising just below the surface. Being extremely tired from an uber early start and then getting caught in traffic on the M3 due to an accident and then spending a couple of hours walking the other side of the road at Match, we decided that was a good enough place to start.
Fortunately there are areas all around South where you can park your car and none are very far from the nearest swims so in no time we had barrowed the gear the few yards from the van to the swims. Cutting a long story short I think we actually arrived too late and by the time we had disturbed the area trying to find spots to present baits most of the fish had done the off. Both of us went to sleep for a few hours in the afternoon by which time the sun was high in the sky and temperatures had soared. I woke up late afternoon in a sweat from the heat as the sun was pitching directly into our swims and my Son found himself in a similar position.
We opted to remain in the bay for the night in the hope that the fish would return at the same time the next morning but despite having several liners during the night I awoke the next morning fishless. Son had lost something during the night that he felt was probably a Bream.
We gave it the morning but it was obvious we weren't going to find success in the back bay so Son went off to do the leg work for his old man and see if he could find us another chance. Before long he was back having found an area where some fish were fizzing and rolling so we both trotted off to have a look at the area. In contrast to the cramped back bay the new area offered plenty of options for both of us with a large expanse of open water in front plus features to cast to.
20 minutes later we had moved the gear to the new swims and set about exploring the area with light leads trying to keep disturbance to a minimum. Again to summarise, the afternoon passed into the evening and night and I awoke the next morning feeling dissatisfied with my efforts. Son was in a similar frame of mind and we sat and had a discussion about tactics.
I had been fishing both rods on an area of firm silt over which I had spombed a couple of kilos of mixed feed. Fish had definitely been bubbling on this area but I felt it was more likely to be Bream so I decided to wind in one of the rods and reposition it to an over hanging willow opposite me on the end of an Island. The cast went spot on, in fact it was one of those hero casts that you know just has to get you a fish. I had to punch it low and hard to get it in position under the overhanging branches to the spot I thought would produce. As it went in the line just caught the very tips of the willow leaves and a little flick with the rod tip saw it ping off, just the job I thought. As I said I just felt it deserved a fish and it came as little surprise a short while later when the alarm signalled a powerful take. I kept the rod low and gave it plenty of side strain as the fish tried to get further under the willow branches, not that there was any real danger as there were no branches actually under the water for it to snag on, other wise I wouldn't have cast it where I did. The fish ploughed up and down and managed to find a couple of small weedbeds, but calm steady pressure and a bit of coaxing from me had it moving again and eventually the boy put the net under a nice sized fish.
On the Scales it weighed exactly 26lb, a short deep bodied Simmo strain fish. Not the prettiest of fish but beggars can't be choosers and still a nice reward for hard work.
Needless to say the rod was recast back to the same spot and once again it landed right on target and a short time later it roared off again with a slightly lesser specimen of 17lb 6oz.
I think the boy was getting a little frustrated by this time seeing the old man show him how it's done! I suggested he place one of his rods to an Island margin to his right as the sun was beginning to show signs of breaking through the clouds and lighting up the margins of the Island. Kudos to him he managed to get an absolutely spot on cast in under some overhanging branches on the Island and again it was one of those casts that deserved a reward. Sure enough with just two hours of our trip left he received a take from the spot. The end result after a plodding fight was a lovely grey coloured Mirror of 20lb 4oz.
Despite the initial disappointment of not being able to get on the Match lake we had managed to bank three fish between us, a good enough result given the circumstances and we both returned home buoyed by our success. To be honest I'm kind of glad that we were forced onto the South lake as I think we both needed to catch a fish, The Match lake is a ball breaker for many people who aren't local and can't pre bait spots and visit it often enough to get in tune with the lake. I'm under no illusion that we have set ourselves a difficult task in catching any fish from Match and so an occasional trip over the road to get a bend in the rod will be needed from time to time. South lake isn't a hard lake but it still requires a bit of thought and I believe very precise bait placement is the key. There are still some very good fish in the South lake and some very nice looking one's so I won't mind too much in future if we have no choice but to spend time on this lovely little water.
A solid lump weighing 26lb not especially pretty but very welcome!
The boy did better in the nice looking fish stakes with this wonderfully grey coloured 20lb 4oz Mirror.
Last weekend my Son and I returned to the Yateley complex, upon arriving in the Car park after a two hour journey, most of which was taken up with the ferry crossing from our Island home, we found that there weren't very many other anglers on the complex, always a bonus and it meant that we pretty much had carte blanch when it came to choice of swim.
With it being so quiet it didn't take us very long to find some fish, and they were feeding in a quiet margin. I sent the boy shinning up a nearby tree to have a look and he confirmed that several good fish were indeed present and making the most of a natural larder. Being the generous Dad that I am I gave him dibs on the swim but we still continued round the rest of the complex to see if we could find any other opportunities. We toured all three lakes but the only other activity we could find was in a swim opposite where we had found the feeding fish on Match and so after much deliberation I decided to pitch up in this swim. And the lad pitched up opposite in the other swim where we had found the feeding fish on arrival. I actually found some pretty decent spots in my swim where fish had obviously fed previously and was confident that my presentation would be good.
Well the first night passed quietly for both of us though I did have several odd bleeps from the alarms, the feeding activity wasn't repeated the next day. I have often found that fish will return to a spot a couple of days on the trot to feed and I have successfully caught fish in the past on this basis but this time it didn't follow through and as we were keen to present ourselves with as many chances as we could to catch we wound in and went for a look around again. This time we found fish frequenting a couple of areas on Nursery and Copse and so we set up adjacently for the next night with me on Copse and the boy on Nursery. Now the problem with moving swims was that I had had a senior moment and forgotten the handles for the wheelbarrow! Not a clever thing to do on these waters especially for an old geezer approaching his fiftieth year! We were both shattered by the time we'd moved and I began to also realise that I wasn't feeling too good, and over the rest of the session I had a bout of man-flu come on which made me feel totally crap and certainly not in the right frame of mind for the task in hand..
Apart from a liner in the early hours for me it was another fishless night. When I checked the spot in the margin that I had the liner on it confirmed my suspicion that it had been visited by fish and they had eaten the small amount of bait I had put in and done the off and probably my rig with it!
Once again we both felt that our chance had passed and after another huge amount of effort we returned to Match but in different swims to the first night. both of us had large holes in the extensive weed beds to fish to and indeed fish were present in the adjacent weed. For once I was feeling quite confident, I found the clearer areas in the holes and wrapped the rods accurately and dispatched the baits to the areas. The boy did the same and we both settled in for the night. Once again morning broke without a fish despite my Son having constant activity in his swim. These fish really are some of the trickiest we are ever likely to fish for, add to that the constant merry go round of anglers coming and going, and the ever present thick weed and we have really presented ourselves with the ultimate challenge.
We are not however giving up, and will be returning hopefully in a couple of weeks time.
I think this time personally I will take a more static approach and work my chosen swim, the fish seem to get all over the lake and they always seem to be widespread throughout. Due to the sheltered nature of the lakes with all the tall trees around them they don't seem to be affected by the wind very much so it doesn't push them to one end or another. I think in any given 24 hour cycle fish will come past your baited area and most likely feed on it, whether they end up making a mistake and pick up your hook bait is another matter.
So in summary not the best session for several reasons not least the fact I was feeling unwell and probably made several errors of judgement. I felt I should have stayed in my first choice swim on Match, there were fish showing in an adjacent weed bed and time spent applying bait little and often may well have coaxed them out and onto the baited area. The Youngster felt the same, it's easy to get carried away and end up chasing the fish around, and there is no denying that sometimes this approach can work well but I think on these busy pressured circuit waters it can be a better proposition to sit on your hands and wait, apply bait little and often and let the fish come to you. My first instincts are normally pretty good when it comes to fish location even if there are no obvious signs. As always it's a case of fitting the pieces of the puzzle together and as we slip into autumn and winter things will become simpler rig and bait wise, the weed will die back and hopefully the picture will start to become clearer. It'll certainly be a bonus if I don't forget the handles for the barrow in future or contract a deadly man-flu virus while I'm fishing!
How efficient are our rigs?
I'm sure that we all spend hours playing with different rigs in an effort to come up with the ultimate answer to ensuring we hook as many fish as possible when they pick up the bait. I personally have spent hundreds of hours over the last 30 odd years tying, testing and retying rigs. I've caught fish on many of those rigs and some I've tied up and never used, binning them before ever chucking them in the pond...
The Internet and Carp magazines are full of the next new rig fads. No doubt some of them work very well.
It's my certain belief that any rig will catch fish, I have seen what I consider to be very badly tied rigs catch fish much to my surprise. But as long as a fish sucks it into it's mouth there is always the possibility of the hook catching hold before it's rejected and blown back out.
It's the percentage chance of the hook catching in the mouth that is the crucial point. There are many variables here, the mechanics of the rig itself, the manner in which the fish feeds and what it does with regard to movement once it sucks in the bait, the bottom structure over which we are fishing dictates which type of rig we might choose or be forced to use...
I'm sure by now most of you will have seen the Korda Underwater video's, myself included, and whilst fascinating to watch I found them very demoralising watching how many times some seemingly very good rigs were picked up and blown out without the fish getting caught. Sometimes the fish did get pricked by the hook but were able to shake the hook out using the lead as a lever the 'throw' the hook. So there is another variable to add in, what happens after the fish realises it has been hooked. It isn't just the hook link that needs extreme consideration but also the lead arrangement.
My own rigs have evolved over the years of course, from simple braided hair rigs to coated braids to Blow back rigs and Chod rigs. I've used many different materials including mono and Fluorocarbon and Amnesia, all with different hook patterns to try and find the holy grail and they all caught me fish. The standard advice is to choose a rig you're confident in and stick with it. This is good advice and I follow it myself whenever possible. Once I found a rig I was happy in I stuck with it. I have stuck with one type of rig for the last few years, and it has served me very well catching me plenty of fish and some good one's at that. There's nothing overly special about it, it's a normal blow back rig using coated braid. There are however a few crucial aspects as far as I am concerned that make it what I believe to be the most efficient version of a Blow back rig that I can come up with.
Firstly I use a rig ring on the hook for the blow back aspect rather than trapping the hair with silicone tube. The problem with using silicone tube, and this is well known, is that the rig will not reset, once a fish has picked it up and ejected it, the rig is rendered almost useless as the silicone tube will be blown back to the eye of the hook, trapped there by the silicone. Sure there is always a chance that the hook will catch if another fish picks it up again, but mechanically the rig is not fishing as effectively as it was before.
The second aspect of my Blow back rig is that I use one of the new generation of stiff coated braids. Though difficult to work with when tying rigs, these super stiff - rigid once steamed - materials are I believe, very difficult for Carp to deal with, plus they are sitting out almost perfectly straight on the lake bed, so it only takes minimal movement from the Carp to make the hook turn and catch in the mouth. I do strip some of the coating off to allow the hook to turn, but not by the eye, I leave about 2cm of coating on as it exits the eye leaving almost an extended line aligner using the stiff coating. I strip about 1.5cm of coating off and add a large piece of putty where the stiff coating starts again, almost like I would when fishing a nailed down pop up...
Which is the third aspect, I believe this helps the hook to turn quickly and get dragged downwards towards the bottom lip. In practice this works about 80% of the time but sometimes I have found the hook to be in the scissors which simply means the fish has turned to the side as it picks up the bait, the rig still working as intended as the hook hold is inevitably in the lower part of the scissors. I always use this rig with a Snowman set up, with a small 10mm pop up on top of a 15mm bottom bait making for a slightly more buoyant hook bait ensuring it's easier for the fish to suck in. This also ensures the hook bait is sitting virtually on top of the hook which is lying flat on the lake bed, not that I am convinced fish recognise hooks for what they are, but it helps to add to the subtlety of the overall presentation. The rig is tied in conjunction with a curve shank hook which promotes a very aggressive flip. I can attribute a better catch rate than ever before to this rig, and I believe it is an extremely efficient rig, however it is only suitable for clean bottoms over gravel or clay, it definitely isn't a rig for fishing in weed. Most of my local fishing is on weed free waters so this isn't an issue and I will use this rig wherever I go as long as I can fish it over a clean bottom.
The other rig I have ultimate faith in is the Chod rig. Now I understand the Chod rig is a bit Marmite, some love it and some hate it. I started on the hate side and moved over to the love side once I found out what I was doing wrong. You could say I changed from the dark to the light side! There are three crucial aspects of the Chod Rig that many people get wrong which is what leads to the notorious hook pulls that are the result of not getting it right. The first is simply in the tying and positioning of the curve in the stiff bristle filament. The second and most critical aspect is that the Chod rig is often over weighted. it needs to be fish as a critically balanced bait. Lead core in my opinion is too heavy for the Chod rig and then some people add extra weight, this is the single reason why it won't work properly. The rig needs to be fished on a leadless leader or as a naked version straight onto Fluorocarbon mainline. The last part that many people get wrong is not allowing the Chod to run up and down the mainline enough. Trapping it in place tightly between two beads so there is no free movement is a mistake, either allow it to run the full length of the leader from the lead to the top bead or as I prefer leave a gap between the two beads of a few inches to allow the rig to run between allowing the fish to suck the rig in further and thus facilitating a better hook hold. In short the fish needs to be able to suck the rig off the lake bed just as a normal rig would allow it to. This is why an un weighted leader is the best option, pinning the rig down with leadcore or extra putty only serves to prevent this. A very buoyant hookbait is also the best choice, if it's still too buoyant and lifting the mainline or un weighted leader off the bottom then by all means add some putty but only so the rig sinks super slowly and only just touches the bottom. All these tweaks allow the rig to function better and reduce the risk of losing fish through hook pulls as it allows the fish to such the bait in much more freely.
Conventional wisdom suggests that 'if it isn't broke don't try and fix it', and I would agree with that statement, but as anglers we are always trying to gain those extra percentage points and so I will be experimenting over the next few weeks with a version of another well known rig but with my own little tweaks. I am hoping it will perform as well as my current rig but will offer more versatility when fishing over different bottom structure including weed. If I'm happy with it I will write about it here, If it's rubbish and doesn't work, well it's back to my old faithfuls!
I mentioned the Lead arrangement as also being crucial as to what happens after the fish has picked up the bait and pricked itself. With so many waters being extremely pressured these days, the Carp have learned to deal with being hooked almost on a casual basis as if it's an almost normal occurrence, which it is given that they are being fished for pretty much 24/7. They have learned that by shaking their heads as such, they can dislodge the hook with the weight of the lead, as you may have seen in the Korda video's. Years ago I used to receive odd single bleeps or knocks on the rod tip, I would put this down to fish bumping the line in the vicinity of the hook bait, but in reality I now realise it was more likely fish 'getting away with it' and dislodging the hook having actually picked up the bait. This happens far less these days than before, because my rigs are clearly converting more pick ups into fish. However having said that I wrote in an earlier blog of how I believed the Yateley Match lake fish were doing me at night as I was getting several bleeps which didn't lead to a run and in the morning I found my rigs in slightly different places to where I had placed them the night before. This happened not just once but two or three times which is what led me to make my conclusion. The worst thing was I was using my old faithful rigs, which of course diminished my faith in them....BUT.. in actual fact the rigs were doing their job and there was nothing wrong with them, they were clearly hooking the fish. In reality what was at fault was my lead arrangement which was a standard inline set up. I was fishing over a clean gravelly area and the surrounding weed wasn't going to be a problem as it wasn't thick or up to the surface and therefore the thought of discharging the lead wasn't an issue, however the fish were able to dislodge the hook using the weight of the lead. Had I been using a drop off lead set up, or a helicopter rig with a friction fit bead that slid every time they tried to shake it might have been a different story..
A bit of a schoolboy error on my part, but I keep telling myself I can't be brilliant all the time !! To get the pick ups was an achievement, to not convert them into fish on the bank, very frustrating and I should have known they would be extremely wise indeed!
Having said that I used a drop off lead on a difficult session on Yateley pads lake due to there being weed present, The first time I had really encountered a situation like this were it would be prudent to discharge the lead. I managed to get a take and had a fish on for a minute or two whereupon it simply came adrift.. Now at this point I will say that my hooked fish to landing ratio is very good and apart from when I have had to use Barbless hooks I really am not in the habit of dropping fish. Do I put it down to bad luck or do I look at the drop off lead arrangement? Perhaps the lead discharged too early not having had chance to drive the hook point in far enough before being shaken off by the fish? It's my feeling that this is what happened so I now have a bit of a headache and several hours of experimentation regarding the perfect moment to allow the lead to discharge. So far I am not happy with the results of the tweaks I have made but I hope to arrive at a satisfactory system soon. In the past on weedy waters I have always searched for the thinner patches and then deposited a solid PVA bag on them with a light inline lead and had no problems, but I would say the weed was nothing like I have encountered on the Yateley lakes and so I was able to present well with the solid bags and the small leads were really not an issue.
This is something I will also be addressing over the next few weeks and certainly when I return to Yateley I won't be making that same mistake!
Which brings me onto the palm test.
Once we have tied up our latest super efficient ( we hope! ) creation, we need to test it. The standard practice over the years has been to drag it across your palm of your hand and see how quickly the hook flips over and catches in the skin. Not only how quickly but also how many times out of a hundred times dragged across it actually does it! I have seen a few comments here and there about the palm test being a load of rubbish and bearing no relevance to what actually happens in the water with a bait attached. While I agree your rig will behave slightly differently once you have some buoyancy added from the water or a buoyant hook bait I still believe the Palm test is a reasonable guide but perhaps not a definitive test. I will continue to use the Palm test and always take into account the fact that there may be subtle differences once any buoyancy is added when a bait is attached. My recent rig experiments have taken this into account as I want to use a wafter hook bait so the rig has actually been designed with this in mind.
Below: Whether you believe in the palm test or not, I feel its a fair guide as to how your rigs are working. OUCH!
Most of you reading this must think I'm half baked dreaming of winter in July, in fact just dreaming of winter full stop! I expect many of you have spent all winter dreaming of summer and I really can't blame you for that. Winter can be a long dismal depressing time and motivating yourself to get out on the bank can be near impossible especially if its cold and wet. Having said that I've just seen a post from another Angler on social media saying that they can't wait for winter too...maybe I'm not alone after all..
A nice double figure Common from September last year, not winter but cooling off for Autumn, an early start for me.
Summer offers many benefits over winter for the Carp angler and I'm not saying I won't fish for them while it's warm but prolonged periods of hot weather like we're currently experiencing really doesn't float my boat. Carp are definitely easier to locate in the summer but I wouldn't say they are always easier to catch... Granted at certain times like after spawning they can be ridiculously easy as they get their heads down to try and regain some condition but to me catching them when they are hungry and out of condition has never sat comfortably... Sitting around in the heat trying to find a bit of cool shade whilst the Carp simply bask in the Sunshine and refuse to feed... Sure I could chase them around on the surface with floaters, and once upon a time this is exactly what I would do but having been there and done that and been quite proficient at it, these days I prefer not to exhaust myself. As I've got older I prefer to have more relaxed fishing sessions, but also most Carp lakes are so busy these days, actually fishing effectively on the surface is near impossible. Most of the time your efforts are scuppered by other discourteous anglers or there just simply isn't the room. I remember having been lucky enough to get a day session on the famous Stoneacres in Oxfordshire many years ago and through a lot of effort had got several fish going on the top until another angler decided to pitch up next to me, go out in his boat to bait and plumb the area and spook every single fish I that had spent the last few hours finding and gaining in confidence! I'm pretty sure that was probably the last time I floater fished in earnest...
For many years now I have avoided fishing for Carp between the months of May and August, normally only tentatively treading the banks in mid to late September depending on the temperatures. This self imposed close season allows me to recharge my Carp batteries as it were, and pursue other forms of Angling that I enjoy, revolving around Salt water which I pursue at night when it's cooler!
October and everything is turning yellow and Brown, with much more favourable temps for catching Carp.
Winter Carp fishing isn't easy, the fish are harder to locate, their nutritional requirements are less, they can spend long periods in no man's land in the water column nowhere near the bottom and more often than not the weather can make things very uncomfortable, be it cold or wet or both! Drops in temperature are the kiss of doom in winter, even a drop of half a degree in the water temperature is enough to switch them off most of the time. Cold North or Easterly winds also are a negative.
So why bother then? As I mentioned Carp are in their best condition of the year at this time, and this is the main reason for my preference of fishing for them at this time of year. Quieter banks are a bonus, especially when it comes to trying to locate them. If it's cold I can put on extra layers, if it's wet I can use a shelter or put on waterproofs, if it's cold and wet I can do both! It's harder to keep cool in the summer than to get warm in the winter.. Rain doesn't bother me as long as I have a good shelter and waterproofs. Rain in the winter often marks a milder spell which means the Carp will be more catchable and therefore I need to be out on the bank when this happens if I'm going to stand any chance of catching some.
Winter fishing can be more 'Technical' than Summer fishing, using bits and pieces in your bait mix, finding the right flavours and additives that will work in cold water, refining your rigs and scaling down to get bites are all part of the fun and something that I really enjoy. I've become something of a light line specialist in the last few years and being forced to use heavy gear such as at weedy water like the Yateley lakes is something I am not comfortable with. Skull dragging fish through weed isn't really very sporting but I understand it is a necessity on many waters these days. Having said that, in winter the weed is often less which means you are able to fish lighter and more refined and if the water is weed and snag free I am not afraid to scale right down to 8lb mainlines and Rods of 2lb test or less. My favourite rods I own are my 10ft Free Spirit Bank Creepers. If I could use these 100% of the time I would. It's very rewarding using balanced light tackle and you actually get to fight the fish rather than 'walk' them in. Most of my local waters offer the chance to fish pretty light but If I need to step up for bigger waters on trips away then I will.
End of December and water and Air temps of less than 5 degrees.
I really enjoy the Technical aspect of the winter fishing and it plays to my strengths as an Angler. PVA bags have always served me well wherever I have been and when I look back over the years I have probably had more success on solid bags than any other method, especially on unknown or new to me waters, Sometimes catching me fish quite quickly without knowing very much at all about the venues. I love tinkering with the mix for bags, bit's of this and that, different liquids and powders, it gives me great confidence, especially when the odds are stacked against me. I take great pleasure in refining the rigs and hook baits for the job too. Years ago, ( here I go again! ) I used to visit Broadlands lake in Romsey as it is just over the water from me ( really must have a go there again.. ), at the time it was known as a PVA bag water and that was pretty much exclusively what the fish were caught on. If you weren't on bags it seemed you struggled. I think the fish were just conditioned to finding little patches of food or even single hookbaits once the Roach and Bream had eaten the pellets. The point is my friends and I learn't how to make up and tie PVA bags well and this stood us in good stead for taking the method to other waters and of course we adopted it as our favoured winter method. PVA bags seem to have fallen out of vogue now , especially solid one's and everyone wants to Spod or Spomb out big beds of bait or use stocking bags which are much easier but don't achieve the same level of presentation.
My friend and I used to fish some of the CEMEX waters before they were sold off, including Kingsmead 1 and Papercourt, both of which were weedy and both of which we fished on the winter ticket available at the time. I found success from both these waters and others using bags and little parcels of food of a technical nature. Finding the thinner patches of weed and dropping a well packed solid bag full of goodies worked well.
It was Snowing with a bitter North Easterly wind when I caught this one in the first week of January this year!
So there are my reasons for my preference of fishing for Carp more in the winter than summer and hence why I start dreaming of the winter in July! I think the pictures speak for themselves.
We're now in early July and I haven't Carp fished or indeed done any Freshwater fishing since April when we had our final sessions on our little water. Once the weather began to warm and Sea temperatures rose to an ideal level the Carp gear was put away and we moved on to some Saltwater fishing. This is a normal pattern for myself and my fishing friends which might sound strange to many Carp anglers, especially those that hang up their gear for the winter. There is no doubt that Carp are easier to catch during the summer months but I have always found it less of a challenge. That probably sounds like an arrogant statement, and it is in a way, but I have always said I have a short attention span when it comes to fishing and once I have achieved a target I get bored and feel the need to move on. Now living where I do on an Island, the challenges are limited as far as freshwater and Carp fishing goes and I hate going over old ground again and again. It isn't an easy thing for me to travel to new destinations both logistically and financially so I have to look elsewhere for those challenges and the Saltwater that I am surrounded by holds plenty of those hence why I hang up the Carp rods for the summer. Having said all that, all this fishing takes a lot of planning and usually I am thinking months ahead, so through the late winter and early spring I am preparing for the summer and usually about this time of year I start to think about my Autumn and winter fishing whilst still pursuing my summer targets. I won't write about my current summer exploits here as I want to keep this blog about the Coarse side
of things but if you are interested you can catch up with them here : https://saltwaterflyfishingdiary.blogspot.com/
So what are my plans for later in the year?
Last Autumn saw me visit the famous Yateley complex with a particular interest in the Match lake, an extremely challenging water for many reasons and made all the harder by not being able to spend much time there. I only managed a couple of trips for various reasons which was less than I was planning on, but the two trips that I did do were very interesting and I did learn a few things. I have outlined them in the previous posts and I hope to return for some more sessions this Autumn and winter. I will however be making my first trip earlier than last year whilst it is still relatively warm to give myself at least a fairly decent chance of learning more about the lakes residents and their movements and feeding habits. I will be taking what I learned on the two previous trips and implementing that knowledge in my baiting situations and presentation. I don't like to move too far out of my comfort zone when it comes to how I fish wherever I go, and I have a few tried and tested presentations that I am confident in but will be making small adjustments for this particular water...
Travelling for my fishing is nothing new to me and is something I have always done and I have managed to be fairly successful on some quite challenging waters up and down the country, so I am not daunted by the prospect of this particular water. Carp are Carp and they have to feed at some point, if you're there when they do then you stand a chance of catching them, if you're not there then you won't. That's the way I look at it anyway, if you've got a bait in the water you stand as much chance as anyone else, more so if you look, listen, and learn. Cagey they may be and as I discovered on my first trip, they are clever enough to get away with it on a regular basis but eventually they will make a mistake.
The biggest issue for me is the amount of kit needed for these long sessions, 48 - 72 hours is quite a long time and logistically a total pain. I am a far better short session angler and always have been. I like to be mobile, and focused but with 3 tons of gear that is impossible! So this is something I am going to be looking at. I moved a couple of times on the last Yateley trip and I was completely exhausted by the time I'd finished! I aim to be more mobile, even if it means leaving food and drink etc. in the car and not carrying it with me, at least I can fish off the barrow then and be much more mobile if I need to be.
I'm still a few weeks away from any of that at the moment and will be continuing my Saltwater fishing both in the meantime and in between any Carp sessions that I manage to do.
On another note:
As part of my tackle business I have introduced a small range of low cost Terminal tackle bits for Carp fishing, all of which I use myself and have done for some time and have been very successful whilst using it. The range includes Semi translucent rig bits such as Tube, Lead Clips, Beads etc. I am a huge fan of this type of end tackle as I believe it is much harder for the Carp to detect it and it blends in far better with most lake bottoms than some of the solid coloured stuff on the market The range is based on over 30 years of Carp fishing experience. Along with this I am stocking the superb new VMC range of Carp hooks. Again I have extensively trialled this range and I am of the opinion they are amongst the best hooks I have ever used. If you are interested please visit the Ebay shop and have a look at the range, if you make a purchase and aren't happy for any reason I will give you your money back, no questions asked!
https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/saltwaterandpredatorflies/Carp-fishing/_i.html?_storecat=11809259015
Until next time tight lines and Thanks for reading!
Our campaign on our chosen venue continues and so far we have only missed one weekend since September last year due to me having the Flu.
Sometimes it's been good and others not so. But we tallied up yesterday that between my friend and I we have had 70-80 fish out of this water including 7 Twenties.
We have built up a very good picture of the habits of the lakes inhabitants and their daily habits, the puzzle is by no means complete but we can usually put our baits in front of some fish on any given day, whether they will feed is of course down to them but I would say 8 out of 10 sessions result in fish on the bank. Bait placement here is crucial and they seem reluctant to pick a hookbait up that isn't within a few inches of the target zone, which considering they aren't pressured fish is interesting.
Yesterday was one of the strangest days we have fished this winter, the day started off looking promising but took a turn for the worse as the day progressed and conditions became almost intolerable, however we still managed to put some fish on the bank. The previous week has been mild with temperatures reaching scraper double figures on most days. We knew this would raise the water temperature at least a couple of degrees meaning it was almost a guarantee that the fish would be feeding despite the air temperature being just on freezing. On arrival we were able to confirm this with a reading of 5.2 degrees, the highest we had noted since winter proper set in, well up on the previous weeks reading of 2.7degrees and prior to that the week before when we had the beast from the East a reading of 0.8 degrees!
Any rise will stir fish into action, it doesn't have to be significant as long as it's trending upwards, and so we set out our stalls feeling fairly confident. With Snow forecast and air temperatures plummeting over the weekend we weren't too worried as it would take at least a day for the water temp to drop again. And so it proved to be, as I swiftly banked two nice doubles within the first couple of hours.
Apologies for the Mat shots, it was just too cold to hold the fish for the camera!
Just after the second fish it started snowing, and with the driving Easterly wind it was blowing it in horizontally with the snow increasing until it was practically blizzard conditions. Fortunately the ground was still too warm and damp for it to lay other wise we would have probably abandoned ship as the lake is in the middle of no where and getting out would have been tricky!
Around two thirty in the afternoon I had another take resulting in a lovely mid double Common. During the fight however I was in agony with my hands ( forgot to take any gloves! ), with the biting Easterly wind showing a wind chill factor of -7 degrees! My friend had to keep clearing the ice that was instantly forming in the tip ring of the rod as I wound in and the droplets of water on the line froze in the tip ring!
By this time everything was freezing solid due to the wind chill, the Cradle, the Sling and the Net were all freezing solid almost straight away! A little while later I glanced away from the rods and a second or two later looked back to see the bobbin on the left hand rod up tight and the tip of the rod bent round, I had got a take and the alarm hadn't sounded which I later discovered was due to the roller being frozen up! Anyway this turned out to be a small single figure fully scaled Mirror which is a bit anomalous for the lake but it still took the tally of fish for me for the day to four which is a good result given the conditions. My friend also managed a very nice looking double figure Mirror from further up the lake. So a tally of five fish between us for the day. By the time we decided to call it a day the water temperature had dropped 1.2 degrees and looked like continuing to do so with the biting wind chill. There is no doubt our timing was spot on with the deteriorating conditions, all the fish were taken in no more than a couple of feet of water, but as the temperature dropped no doubt they would go off the feed. Perhaps if we'd fished today the result would have been different with the overnight drop sending them into a more torpid state in deeper water.
Today the ground is covered in a good layer of snow which to be honest was a bit of a shock! Obviously the ground temperature had dropped enough over night to allow it to lay so most likely the lakes water has dropped by another degree or two which I have no doubt will have switched them off. Hopefully this mini beast from the East will have passed by next weekend and things will be back on an upward trend!
Time flies doesn't it? It's three weeks or so since I last updated the blog. There hasn't been much to blog about with the weather and temperatures taking a nose dive. As I sit writing this we have a yellow warning for snow in the next couple of days. Whether we will see any of the white stuff is debatable but there's no doubt that the freezing temperatures forecast are going to knock any fishing the coming weekend on the head. If we don't fish it will be the first time this winter that we have missed a weekend. I'm not too worried though as personally I could do with a reset with the struggle we've faced the last few weeks, with just a few small examples visiting the bank and a couple of blanks.... I've just looked out the window and seen a few light snowflakes drifting down!
So lets talk about where we will go once things start to look better and what plans we have for the coming year.
We aim to finish off our winter Carping on the water we're fishing at present, carrying on into March and possibly early April ( spring ), until the temperatures improve and we are putting fish on the bank regularly again. Once we determine that the time is right the beach will beckon us and for a few weeks we shall be fishing hard for Rays. Along side this when the sea temps and conditions are right the focus will switch to Lure and fly fishing for Bass, Pollock, Mackerel and Gars. Hopefully this will take us back through to October and maybe even November when we will revert back to Carp fishing on our present water. In between all of that I hope to get a couple more trips in to the Yateley complex.
A pretty full itinerary isn't it? That's the plan, to keep busy and keep the momentum up, more fishing means more chances of catching fish. No one ever caught fish by sitting indoors thinking about it, you have to be there, come hell or high water to present yourself with the most opportunities! Working to a timetable as we are means we have something to plan ahead for. It's all about making the most of what the changing seasons have to offer and taking advantage of natures natural order.
I've always said I have a short attention span and that is why I have always been more of an all rounder. I'm not big on summer Carping and never have been and being surrounded by salt water has always been a distraction to me. I love being stood waist deep in the sea, waves lapping around me retrieving a lure or fly in anticipation of a vicious attack from a marauding Bass or standing on the beach as the sun dips behind the horizon waiting for the tell tale nod and pull on the rod tip as Ray picks up the Sandeel bait and glides off....
Preparation is the key to being able to do all this. Having the gear packed and ready to go at a moment's notice. I have several lots of kit in this state of readiness, as well as bait in the freezer and fully stocked lure and fly boxes and bags, depending on what the weather is doing I can grab some kit and go and do some fishing of some sort. I have tide tables and weather forecasts at my finger tips so I can assess the situation. The windows on the coast are often small and so the fishing can last just a couple of hours, but being in the right place at the right moment is all it takes. Preparation for all this begins now, sorting gear, servicing reels, checking rods and end tackle, replacing anything that needs it and making sure I have enough of the right tackle for the job. That way I needn't worry about rushing around sorting it all out at last minute and can focus on picking the right time to start.
For now though until the year moves on and some warmer weather arrives we shall plod on with our winter Carp campaign and dream of those wonderfully atmospheric mornings and evenings in pursuit of salty quarry!
We've been through some pretty tough weather this winter, recently it's been high winds and torrential rain and prior to that some very cold spells. Through it all we've not missed a beat and even though the blanks have been creeping in on the odd occasion, fish have still come to the bank with some regularity.
Continued bait application has been the key, not a huge amount and only a couple of times a week, but it has kept the fish feeding. Pinning down the areas where the fish feel comfortable and recognising where they want to be given the prevailing weather conditions and temperatures has been of great benefit.This involves a lot of trial and error hence the odd few blanks but some good bonus fish have been coming to my own net as a result of the hard work. The vast majority of the stock are double figure fish with a currently unknown head of Twenty pound plus specimens. So far I have been lucky enough to capture three of these anomalous fish with a fourth brought to the bank with the hook through it's pectoral fin which of course isn't counted as a proper capture, however the fish had a strangely formed mouth caused either by previously bad angling or more likely a genetic deformity and as such is unable to close it's mouth in the normal way which must cause it to feed in a weird way and we believe this led to it being hooked through the Pec whilst attempting to feed on the bait..... Shame because other than that it's a clean fish in good condition.
So my last fish of 2017 was a twenty pound specimen and my first fish of 2018 was also a twenty. I count myself very fortunate to have made such a good start to the New Year, I just hope it continues!
Yesterday was my first session of the year, arriving at the venue we found a strong northerly breeze blowing across the lake which didn't bode well for the days possibilities. A very unusual direction for here making swim choice difficult. We settled on having the wind on our backs, far from ideal from the point of view of accessing areas where the fish may be occupying but a comfort choice took priority on this occasion as the wind was bitterly cold.
A couple of early strange occurrences on my rods where the alarms signalled takes and yet I connected to nothing had my hopes for a good day climbing but it soon became apparent these were seemingly anomalous and the alarms remained silent for the rest of the morning.
Around 1pm whilst my fishing buddy and I were engaged deep in conversation the left hand bobbin suddenly slammed into the rod, dropped all the way down and then smacked violently into the rod again and the tip of the rod surged round signalling a fish had made a mistake! The violent nature of the take suggested a very angry fish and the fight also reflected this with the Carp charging all over the lake. Early into the fight I suspected a better fish but we have been fooled before by these fish as they really do fight above their weight.
Slowly I managed to bring it into shallower margins and a few glimpses in the clear water confirmed that it was indeed looking like a decent fish. And so it turned out to be as a lovely scaley low Twenty slid over the net cord.
The weird thing is the conversation my fishing buddy and I had been engaged in was about this very fish! The owner had previously described a fish just like this to me as it was likely the biggest of the batch of this strain that was in the lake, and we were discussing the likelihood of one of them being over Twenty pounds by now. I guess you could say we talked it onto the bank....
Anyway a good result on what turned out to be a bitter day and this fish turned out to be the only visitor to the bank for both of us. I think you'll agree it's a cracking looking fish though.
First fish of 2018 at 21.02lb
My last fish of 2017 at 23.11lb
