After my success at the Match lake I felt that I had achieved what I set out to do. It may have been only one fish from the lake and most anglers would get the bit between their teeth and perhaps feel that the thing to do was carry on and try and catch some more fish but, because the lake isn't really my sort of fishing nowadays I am more than happy to leave it, at least for the time being, and move on to other things. 

The first thing I did was to go and try and catch some Bass locally. Something I normally love to do during the warmer months. Unfortunately I had been feeling unmotivated towards that this year. However I felt that it was time before the season ended. A couple of days on a local mark saw me get lucky and catch a few half decent fish on my favourite method of Soft plastic lures. My Son even joined me on one of the days and managed to catch a couple of nice fish as well, which was really nice. I even filmed the sessions too which you can view below.

I also had a session on the fly after the Bass but to no avail which was disappointing, but probably my own fault for leaving it so late and not putting in a concerted effort earlier in the season.

From there, as we were moving into Autumn I began thinking about what to do for the winter. As I have mentioned many times before in my blogs, I live on an Island, which has both advantages in terms of the saltwater fishing on offer but severe limitations for the ambitious coarse fisherman. Something we lack is any proper Rivers and I have not had many opportunities to fish any rivers in my life. I decided it was high time to remedy this. After some searching around I decided on the Dorset Stour at Throop. Many years ago I fished the Dorset Stour for Barbel on beat three during a family holiday when my children were all still quite small. I was successful in catching my target species with Barbel to 13lb, which I was told at the time was a good fish. Having enjoyed the fishing so much I vowed to return, but unfortunately as happens a lot with me, life got in the way and  fishing wise I got distracted with other things.

Now,  All these years later, Throop is an easily accessible fishery for me and my fishing partner. as well as being only 45 minutes from the Ferry at Southampton it's a day ticket stretch incorporating 3 beats and is quite well populated by Chub, Barbel, Roach, Dace and Perch. Being as we would be campaigning on the fishery during the colder months I have decided that Chub will be the main target as they are renowned for feeding in even the coldest conditions and although a nervous customer for the angler, once their confidence is gained they can be extremely obliging and can be caught on most baits in most conditions. My angling companion is more inclined towards trotting for Roach, which is to say that I'm not, I love Roach fishing and will at some point put a concerted effort into trying to catch some specimens, but at the moment Chub are the favoured target.

The first trip was naturally, an exploratory one and I wasn't too bothered about what I caught and so decided to trot a float with maggots as bait, as a starting point just to see what came along. It actually turned out to be a pleasant but tough day due to my inexperience and I managed a few Dace and Roach but was plagued by minnows which was extremely frustrating. I resolved on future trips to fish bigger baits and sit it out in the hope of a larger specimen and as luck would have it I achieved my target on the third trip catching three Chub to 4lb 13oz on ledgered Lobworm. I also made the effort to rove around trying different swims for short periods and this paid off handsomely. 

4lb 13oz Chub from beat two of Throop

The second and fourth trips to Throop were again difficult one's in unfavourable conditions, but I am not afraid to admit that much of the lack of success during these trips was down to my inexperience of fishing rivers, however something is always learned during any session and contribute small pieces to the larger jigsaw. 

Thus it was that some of what I have learned on Throop so far was put into practice whilst on a trip to another river that I have had my eye on for some time. This one is a smaller, slower running, overgrown river that holds good specimens of all species. The plan was to fish it for two half days and one full day. The first half day I arrived around midday in quite cold temperatures, with the forecast for temperatures to rise the next day before dropping back again. A small but welcome window of opportunity. A small chub and a few missed bites the first afternoon were encouraging signs that at least some fish were feeding in the conditions. The following day was one of two halves, a highly frustrating morning spent being highly mobile and trying to search out some fish with various baits and methods but to no avail. In the end I decided to settle in a swim for a while and changed tactics from larger baits to 3 maggots on a size 12 hook and a small feeder full of maggots. The change paid off almost immediately and I was hooked into my first good fish of the trip which, unfortunately and again, frustratingly, fell off! I felt exasperated by this and assumed I had blown my chances in the new swim. I resolved to try again for a few minutes before going in search of yet another swim. I need not have worried because the very next cast I was into another fish and managed to get this one to stay on. A Chub of 4lb 7oz made me extremely happy. Another couple of hours of  missed bites passed by before I eventually found myself attached to another fish. This one felt better than the last and before long a large Chub surfaced next to the net and I instantly knew I had new personal best. The beast weighed 6lb 1oz! I was and still am incredibly delighted with the result after so much effort. 

Personal best 6lb 1oz Chub from a new river

This fish was caught late afternoon and despite staying a while into darkness I was unable to muster any more fish that day. Still, I had a few hours the next morning before having to be on my way home.

I was up early and made sure to be at the swim for first light the next day. On the second or third cast I lost an extremely good fish that took off like a rocket and broke the hooklink on an unseen snag. I believe the offender may have been a Barbel the way it took off. Shortly after this I landed another chub of 4lb 6oz which finished the session for me. After this the sun came out and the temperature dropped, clearly putting the fish off the feed and I received no more interest for the remaining couple of hours. 

I made a film of this trip too which can be viewed below

So far the winter has been both kind and cruel but I am hopeful that persistence will pay off and I am looking forward to many more trips this winter, both to flowing and still water depending on the conditions. Obviously I shall reports on my successes and failures here soon.

Thanks for reading

Chris.

Success at last!

 It was almost four years ago in October 2017 that my Son and I first set foot on hallowed ground for the first time. Farnham Angling club had come to my attention and the fact that they had recently purchased the Yateley East complex from Cemex angling. One of the lakes was the legendary Match lake, somewhere I had always wanted to fish. As the cost of the ticket was extremely reasonable we decided to join the club with a view to fishing the Match lake. 

After considerable research it became apparent that there were some extremely good fish to target in the Match lake, including a few originals. For my own part I simply wanted a change from my local waters and the thrill of fishing and hopefully catching from a water with some prestige. 

What we weren't prepared for and rather naively, was the amount of footfall and pressure that the lake now sees. Being so open access and containing so many big fish, means that it is almost constantly rammed with anglers, and the pressure has increased over the time that we have been visiting the lake, especially during the Covid pandemic with so many being unable to work. In truth it's quite a headbanger of a lake!

We have only actually done a total of 20 or so nights on Match over the four year period. We would have done more, however, several times we have been forced to fish other waters after finding Match too busy upon arrival. Most of the time it is simply a case of slotting in wherever you can find an empty swim. Watercraft and the ability to locate fish is virtually none existent. Take your ticket and wait your turn is the phrase that springs to mind! 

The fish themselves are clearly extremely clued up. There are estimated to be around 250 fish in 14-15 acres, however the irregularity with which they are caught considering the amount of anglers and hookbaits constantly in the water, you would think an awful lot more fish would visit the bank than actually do. To be truthful it's probably one of the hardest waters in the country for that reason. Multiple hits are as rare as rocking horse droppings, and captures of two or more fish in a session are something to shout about, indeed to catch one fish is certainly an achievement. The sheer pressure those fish are under is mind boggling, how they get away with it is completely beyond understanding.

Despite the huge drawbacks however, we have persisted with wanting to fish the Match lake. There are too many stunning fish to walk away with our tails between our legs. Dealing with the pressure has been especially challenging for me, and I am not shy to admit that I have let it defeat me mentally on many of our sessions, which of course has a knock on effect on how you approach your fishing. The only plus for us is the reasonable ticket cost and the fact that there is plenty of other waters on offer on the ticket, albeit nothing like the stock of Match.

Initially this year I had decided not to renew my membership and focus on other branches of the sport, leaving Match lake firmly in the rear view mirror, or so I thought. But after suffering a bout of severe illness for several weeks I had a complete change of heart. Call it a moment of realisation of my own mortality. I won't say any more than that, but I got to thinking about what I wanted to achieve in my angling over the next few years, given that I am getting on a bit now! and while I still have some level of fitness and mobility. I know that sounds a bit morbid but at some point we all have to face the truth that time waits for no one. 

Carp fishing has always been my number one passion as far as angling in general goes. I have had a love hate relationship with it from time to time but that is more down to my own intolerance for the Bull Crap that comes with it at times! Again, I won't go into details but there have been times when I have taken some things too personally instead of ignoring them and it has had a detrimental effect on my view of the sport, causing me to engage in other types of fishing far away from the childish and petty element that Carp fishing seems to attract at times.

So I found myself, for my own reasons, making a decision to return to the Match lake determined to achieve my ambitions, and those of my Son, despite the difficulties that come with fishing such a busy pressured lake. My mindset was the first thing that had to change in order to do just that. Son had never been bothered about it all like I had, but he has grown up fishing busy waters and has really never known anything different, whereas I come from a different era, when Carp fishing was very much a minority sport and Carp, and fishing for them, was shrouded in far more mystery and lore than it is today. Waters that contained Carp were few and far between and Carp anglers even fewer, you could expect to easily be able to use your watercraft and location skills to put yourself on fish, with little or no competition from other anglers. 

And so, we arrived at the lake on Sunday morning at about 06.30 after having left home at 03.45! The ferry journey across the Solent adds an hour to our journey time but thankfully traffic at that time of the morning is normally light, especially on a Sunday. We hoped that being a Sunday it may be a changeover day and that some of the anglers would pull off the lake relieving some of the pressure for at least a few hours and allowing us a chance of finding a half decent swim each. As normal the car park was pretty full and I had visions of us aborting the mission, but a walk around the lake revealed a few half decent swims free. We decided to slot in and stick to the game plan with a view to moving swims if our predictions were right and some of the other anglers pulled off the lake.

Within an hour or so we were installed in our chosen swims, both of which had good form meaning we were both feeling reasonably confident with Son having had a few fish show in and near to his water. The first day and night passed by quietly for me but Son had a small Common of about 10lb during the night, possibly a stock fish or even a spawned on fish, we weren't sure but with plenty of fish showing on and around his spots he was hopeful of a better specimen. My own area seemed very quiet despite at least two swims on the opposite bank having been vacated for twelve hours or so relieving the pressure in the area. Later the second day I was visited by one of the Bailiffs who, very helpfully suggested a different spot to the one's I had my rigs placed on. Now one thing I have learned is you should never ignore local knowledge and given the difficulties in fishing the lake intermittently I was more than happy to take his advice. Upon exploration of the suggested area I found a nice clean firm bottom, probably clay as the lead slid across it with ease before the tip bent round into heavier silt and dead weed. That settled it, and I delivered the rig along with a tight patch of about half a kilo of free offerings onto the spot. 

I was just finishing my dinner some time later when out of the blue the freshly placed rig was picked up and the rod and alarm went into meltdown! The remainder of my dinner was discarded and I grabbed the rod and bent into the fish which was tearing off at speed, clearly very angry at having made a mistake, forcing me to give line. I could feel it still shaking it's head trying to rid itself of the hook as it went. At this point I had no idea what size the fish might be and we settled into a terse battle with the fish kiting from one side of the swim to the other forcing me to hop, skip and jump around the bank trying to prevent it from getting into any of the marginal cover. It wasn't until I had it closer in to me that I realised it might actually be quite a good fish judging by the way it was steadily plodding pretty much where it wanted and holding station whenever I applied any pressure. The fight was very protracted but eventually I began to get the upper hand. It took several attempts to get it's head up enough to try and net it. Finally I was able, with some effort, to draw it into the net. I couldn't believe it, I finally had a match lake Carp! Looking down on the creature nestling in the bottom of the net I noted the incredible width of it's back... At this point I hadn't taken in the length.

A moment or two later I was being assisted by Son, and as we lifted the Carp out of the water and placed it on the mat, he told me I had the fish known as Kiss Scale! I asked him if he was sure, but being as he has spent many hours studying pictures of the lakes stock and I was beginning to realise just how big the fish really was, I was pretty sure he was right! What an incredible moment for both of us!

The scales revealed a weight of 43lb 8oz, a spawned out weight as she has been up to 49lb, but a new personal best for me! What a way to open my Match lake account! Yes luck had played a huge part as well as the advice from the Bailiff and I am more than happy to acknowledge that, but in this game you need all the luck and advice you can get!

We did the pictures as quickly as possible as I was keen to not stress the magnificent creature and return her to her home as soon as I could. We treated a spawning sore on her side with propolis and then I donned the waders to return her. She had given her all during the fight, and I wanted to make sure she went back strongly. Looking down on her length and girth in the water I was completely awestruck, still not believing that I had caught such a sought after resident of the lake. 

Eventually she swam off, looking like a miniature submarine, clearly sulking at having been caught out. I had kept surprisingly calm up to now but then the adrenaline kicked in and I was shaking whilst trying to sort the rig out! In the end I calmed down a bit and decided to tie a fresh rig to put back out on the spot. I think I'll keep the rig that caught Kiss Scale for posterity as it was such a special moment, especially as my Son was there to share it with me. I'll certainly treasure the memory of my first Match lake Carp. 

I wasn't lucky enough to catch any more fish during that session. despite returning to the same spot again, but I am not a greedy person, for me catching that fish was enough. Unfortunately Son had quite a frustrating session, with plenty of activity and fish showing on and around his spots throughout his session, but despite trying a few different things he just couldn't get a pick up from them. He's been lucky enough have had three other fish from the Match lake so far including one of over thirty pounds so he's not doing too badly but when they are all over you like they were him, I can imagine how frustrating it must have been. I think seeing his old man catch Kiss Scale eased some of his frustrations though he was overjoyed for me and like me will treasure the memory for ever.

Until next time, Tight lines and thanks for reading.

Chris

Thorncross lake

 I was first introduced to Thorncross lake many years ago as a much younger man. Back then, the lake had not long been constructed as an irrigation reservoir, and at the time was being used a stock pond. I was there to help out with a netting party to remove the stock in order for them to be transferred to another lake. It was a bleak winters day, there was no cover around the lake and not much in the way of grass at the time. The water level had been dropped in order to facilitate easier netting. I remember thinking what an ugly looking little pond it was. I didn't think much about Thorncross again until over a decade later when it was mentioned in an overheard conversation. Apparently the owner had taken control of the lake and stocked some Carp, but from the sound of it there wasn't much to write home about regarding size. It wasn't until about four  years ago that it came to my attention again. At the time I was at a bit of a loss for something to do fishing wise, and as autumn and winter were fast approaching I decided to give Thorncross a look.

Myself and my constant fishing companion Lee, arrived one September morning to be greeted by Francis, the fishery owner. It seemed he hadn't seen anyone for some time and was surprised, (suspicious!) to see two new (unsavoury looking!), faces arriving at his fishery. He informed us that the Thorncross fish were moody and that most anglers seemed to struggle on the lake, and being the honest chap he is, told us not to expect too much. (Francis has become a good friend and later confessed that he didn't expect us to catch anything!). Now for myself and Lee that's like waving a red flag at a bull! It seemed the challenge was on! 

We made our way through through the gate and onto the fishery. My first impression was that things had changed somewhat since my first visit many years earlier. The bankside vegetation had matured, with marsh grass along the margins and odd iris beds. The grass had grown lush underfoot and was now neatly mowed. A small copse had sprung up about halfway along the car park bank and beyond that some reeds. On the opposite bank, dense Willows populated reasonably heavily instantly drawing the eye to potential fish holding areas. The Willows also extended along the dam wall nearest the gate. A reed bed in the corner also seemed an obvious fish holding area. Although there was now some vegetation here and there, the lakes position means it is still very exposed to the elements. Not to mention the fact that the lake lies in the shadow of Brighstone Down, and because of this, during certain weather patterns, the Down can cause tremendous downpours of rain as the clouds pass over the top! This is exactly what happened during our first visit and we were caught in a rain/hail/thunder storm with mini tornado's! We wondered what on earth was going on and what a place this was if this happened with any regularity! It certainly makes for a dramatic backdrop though.

I don't recall why, but we ended up fishing the far end of the lake near the wooden seat. Probably we saw some fish movement which helped our decision, but either way that was where we fished. To cut a long story short, we caught fish without any trouble at all. In my experience it is often a case of you either click with a water or you don't, and After four years of fishing Thorncross I can definitely say that we clicked with it. That's not to say we have never had to work at it, because at times we have. We've had the odd few blanks but have always come back strong on the back of any, determined not to let the moody Thorncross fish get the better of us! Anyway, fishing to the gaps in the overhanging bushes on the opposite bank I think we caught seven fish between us that first session. Four to me and three to my friend. We weren't doing anything special. simply casting our regular rigs and baits into the gaps between the trees and following this up with a few boilies catapulted across. Later that day Francis came to visit to see how we were getting on and was seemingly very surprised with our result. 

To be honest we were in two minds as to whether we really wanted to return to the lake for future visits, if it was this easy would it really offer the challenge we were looking for? The other thing was most of the fish were only low or scraper doubles. I think one of mine was maybe about fifteen pounds, (terrible memory these days!) but all the fish were nice and clean and in excellent condition which we felt was the only thing going for them at the time. Rumour was the lake held the odd twenty pounder but I am always sceptical until I catch said specimens myself. It was only the fact that we really didn't have much else to do at the time that made us decide to have a few more goes. It turned out to be a pivotal decision in our angling for the next few winters. 

Brighstone Down in the background.

It's funny how things change. From that initial visit and not really being sure if it was for us, we went to wanting to be there every weekend. Thorncross grew on us and even got under our skin at times. The lake holds several appealing factors. It's Isolation being one, being is situated in a lovely spot, out in the middle of the countryside, barely any noise interference, apart from the odd Barry Sheen wannabe hurting along the military road behind on a Sunday afternoon it is a really quiet place. Surrounded by fields and an unfettered view of Brighstone Down. On a bright, sunny, day it's the best place in the world, watching the Para Gliders launch off the Down, the Buzzards circling overhead, the Kingfishers buzzing up and down the far bank, Kestrels and Sparrow hawks hunting and even a Red Kite gliding low over the fields opposite. Thorncross has a way of enchanting you, with it's abundance of widlife such as the aforementioned birds of prey or foxes wandering along the bank, Stoats, Rabbits, Voles all scurrying about their business, Finches, Tits, Goldcrests, Tree creepers, wrens and Warblers, the Little Grebe that is often there. Beware the Coots though! These black menaces can drive you mad if they latch onto your bait! Even after eating every last free offering they will constantly and stubbornly continue to pick up the hookbait setting off your bite alarm every five minutes and making your heart jump! Do not despair though because on numerous occasions, after suffering endless pick ups from the dastardly things I have had takes from the fish! I don't believe the Coots activity bothers the fish and indeed you can use it to your advantage if you watch them closely, they will give the fishes position away and if you see a Coot leaving the area of your bait after persistently picking it up, this is often a sign that the Carp are about and a take is imminent! 

At the opposite end of the scale, when the weather is inclement Thorncross can be the worst place to be as the wind howls through the valley, and the rain pours down and you have to hold on to your brolly to prevent it being ripped out of the ground! We even fished once as it started to snow, and caught fish! Truthfully though, this all adds to it's charm and as long as you have a decent day shelter most of the time you can get comfortable. 

Thorncross looking serene and Beautiful

Caught in a Hail shower!

Autumnal session

Whatever it was that drew us in about the lake, we have found ourselves fishing it for the last few autumns and winters. We have got to know the lake and it's inhabitants pretty intimately. The fish are moody, some of the moodiest I have come across in over 30 years angling. They have their preferences food wise and there is no doubt that they are very keyed into the natural food chain in the lake. Whether it be digging for bloodworm in the soft clay silt bed at the bottom of the lake, or chasing fly hatches up through the water column or hunting Dragonfly and damsel larvae and we have even seen them fry feeding in the margins. Thrashing their tails hard in the edges to stun them before mopping the disoriented  and injured fry up. The Thorncross fish are keyed into very small food items. I think in the early stages when the fish were first introduced into the lake they had to rely heavily on the natural food as introduced supplement from anglers was few and far between and unreliable. We have found that the smaller the boilie the better. Ten or Twelve millimetre boilies seem more effective than larger offerings. We realised this quite early on in our fishing thankfully, after testing different sizes side by side, it was always the smaller baits that went and the larger one's were left untouched. No doubt they could prossibly be weaned onto larger sizes with some prebaiting though, we never attempted to, as we prefer smaller baits anyway. Most of the year the water is quite coloured, mostly due to the fish activity but no doubt at times daphnia and algae play there part as the lake is so rich in light and oxygen. In the winter however the lake can clear right off, not quite to tap water clarity, but smaller baits work in the anglers favour during the colder months and allow you to fine everything down. I believe the Thorncross fish are very aware of end tackle, particularly at this time of year, so matching the lake bed colour is important, especially if certain areas of the margin spots get 'cleaned off' I believe the tackle can stand out like a sore thumb on smoothly polished areas. Often moving the hookbait slightly away from these areas can get the takes coming again. 

The most obvious places to present a hookbait are to the far margin willow bushes. The fish do spend an awful lot of time tucked up under the branches tight to the bank, but even so, tempting them to pick up the hookbait can still be difficult. The temptation is to fish as tight to the branches as you can, and whilst this will get you pick up's, strategic baiting can help to draw them slightly away. Always fish with clutches screwed up as tight as they will go and baitrunner mechanisms disengaged so the fish cannot take a millimetre of line! Sit as close to your rods as possible and be constantly alert for bites. Once you get a take keep the pressure on to steer them away from the snags. Most of the time they seem to kite along the front and away from the bushes, but initially they can try and get in under them, especially if fishing directly across to your spots which at least one rod may be if you are using three rods. Better to fish at a slight angle to your spot which seems to encourage them to kite away from danger rather than dive straight into it. I use Fluorocarbon mainline most of the time and with it's limited stretch I have found it ideal for Thorncross. The underwater topography also has a huge bearing on where to fish here. As I mentioned earlier it was originally desiginated as an irrigation reservoir, so it was dug for depth to hold as much water as possible. If you ask Francis to show you his pictures you will see what I mean. Basically the bottom of the lake is flat and uninterrupted throughout its length with no discernible features. There is a slight depth variation between either end of the lake of about half a metre, but that's it. The bottom is also soft and silty. Introducing any amount of bait in this soft, puffy, clay/silt will result in the fish going into a frenzy, but it is very difficult to get them to pick up a bait here, plus it ends up colouring the whole lake up heavily, such is the nature of the lake bed. It is possible to present at the bottom of the steep slopes where the lake bed and bottom of the slope meet. We have had fish from here as the bottom is slightly firmer, however it can still be hit and miss. For these reasons I think, most anglers tend to fish directly opposite to the far margin. and to the Willows. The margins here are pretty firm and of course the fish frequent the bushes for cover and no doubt they know that at times they will find introduced food here. 

As time went on and we fished the lake more and more we began to establish certain feeding patterns however, the more we, and other anglers fished, the inhabitants seemed to feel the pressure, and the feeding times have changed. Initially we would have a chance of a few fish from when we arrived, normally about 8 o clock in the morning, to 11.30am, then we would experience a lull for a couple of hours and then from about 1.30 pm to 3.30 we would catch again. This went on like clockwork for the first couple of years but this last couple of winters we have regularly had pick ups within minutes, even seconds of putting the baits out first thing! Such has been the regularity, I got into the habit of tackling one rod up as quickly as possible and getting it out straight away, and numerous times have had fish before I have even got the second rod out, occasionally I have not even got the bobbin on the first rod and the line has been pulled out of my fingers! Then We would experience a huge gap and things would go quiet from about 10.30am until 2.30pm whereupon we would have another little flurry of activity before leaving at 4pm. It was obvious to us what was happening. The majority of the fish were clearly feeding under the cover of darkness, probably pre-dawn and dusk and just into dark. Please bare in mind these are winter feeding patterns and only our experiences. Although I have done limited fishing here during the warmer months the feeding periods should be extended during the spring and summer months. 

Stock wise, after several winters, we have had very few recaptures. I estimate I alone have caught an average of 50-60 fish a winter from Thorncross, and bar a handful of recognisable fish I would say recaptures have been limited. My estimation is that Thorncross contains around 150+ fish ranging from 10lb to 27lb. The average size currently, is probably around 15lb. The average size of fish has definitely increased over the last few years. Last winter I had a fair few upper double and Twenty pound plus fish to 23lb+. This winter I have had a good amount of upper doubles but only a handful of Twenty pound plus fish up to 24lb+ This is mainly because we started late, not until December and haven't actually been able to fish much due to Lockdown and weather conditions. When we first started, the average size was around 12-13lb, a Twenty pounder was a rarity and seemed to be reserved only for the handful of Simmo's that were left. Exactly how many fish are in Thorncross is difficult to say, I estimate 150+ simply judging by the numbers of fish caught, both mine and others, and the regularity with which they are caught. I could be way out of course, but I don't think so. The fish have always spawned very successfully and I know there are young fish coming through all the time. There are fish of various shapes and strains, The majority are AJS fish, a handful of Simmo's left from when it was a stock pond and there are definitely some hybrids of both from spawnings. When we first started fishing Thorncross, a large proportion of the fish we caught were Mirrors with the odd common. This winter I have had a large number of Commons, smaller fish of low to mid doubles which have clearly been spawned and are coming through. I think the bait I have been using has been partly responsible for singling out the Common's, being more attractive to them however, we never caught them as smaller fish, so the bait definitely has had an influence.

In my mind, for a day only fishery there are plenty of fish to go at. Yes, they may not be as big as some other fisheries but the bonus is that there are some really nice looking fish. It isn't always about size. There are a variety of scales patterns, some lightly scaled mirrors, some almost naked, some heavily and some almost fully scaled. Then there are the Commons, Long fish, short deep bodied fish, the truth is you never quite know what is on the end of your line and each one is a surprise. I dislike fisheries where the fish are all from the same stocking, they tend to be peas in a pod, but Thorncross has liquorice allsorts! The great thing is they all fight hard. Incredibly so. The deep water allows them plenty of room to get up a head of steam and and the fight can be thrilling. Add in that the lake is highly oxygenated as it hardly ever is free of a wind and they have plenty of tackle testing energy!  During the winter when the water is clearer the fish tend to darken off in colour and they look absolutely stunning!

I think many are perhaps put off fishing Thorncross because of it being a day only fishery. Many of you will prefer to bivvy up for longer sessions, I get that, but don't dimiss this wonderful fishery simply because it's day's only. Thorncross has lots to offer the visiting angler in terms of peace and quiet, lovely surroundings and some prolific sport from some wonderful looking, hard fighting Carp. Sometimes they can be a bit moody but they can be persuaded to pick up a bait with a little thought and cunning. We have enjoyed our time at Thorncross immensely over the last few years, and I for one am glad to have had the pleasure of the lake, the fish and Francis' aquaintance.