2012 10 May 20th Broxham Pond, Edenbridge,Kent

Today was going to be my second ever visit to this pond. The first was a hard session because of the incessant rain and cold. I did manage 3 bites that day one of which turned out to be an 8lb common.

Today I also had a plan. Assuming I was able to grab the same swim as last time I was going to fish the channel linking the two ponds with 10mm strawberry boillies. As groundbait for the swim I was going to use homemade strawberry flavoured corn. Feed the swim and sit back and wait, that was the plan.

I left home at 6:20 with the temperature at 9.0. Although it was extremely cloudy there was a yet no rain.

I found the fishery a lot quicker this time but to my dismay so had 2 other anglers. One I knew to be B(ill)LARGUS and the other I subsequently found out to be a new member called Keith. Anyway as it was dry I drove up and alongside the field until I came to the pond.

Both of the aforementioned anglers were on the piece of land I wanted to fish so I made my 'good mornings' before throwing my plan out of the window. I then made my way around the pond looking for another swim.

On the top bank I found what I would call I real nice fishy looking one. I had open water in front of me but to the right I had a little bay with a tree hanging over it. Some of it was actually in the water.

I baited the swim with a few boillies and quite a substantial amount of corn before proceeding to set up my two rods for the session. One rod, the feeder would fish the boillie swim and the other would be my waggler rod fishing the swim about a rod length in front of me.

For the waggler swim I fed two large balls of groundbait and several handfuls of maggots. I started with one red maggot on a size 16 hook. I cast in around 7:55.

The first hour came and went without even a small indication of anything living under the surface. Sometime around 9:00am two more cars made an appearance. The new arrivals set up down the far end of the pond.

The second hour came and went again without incident. Despite a new cuppa every hour the cold was beginning to get to me. I had to pinch myself to remember that it was mid-May!

Around 11am Bill decided that enough was enough and headed off for pastures new. One down three to go.

The morning session finished with a grand total of no bites. On the waggler rod I'd tried bread, corn, meat and maggots but nothing appeared to be interested.

Just before I had my lunch the two anglers at the far end decided that they to had had enough and also headed off. Now it was only Keith and myself on the pond.

I can't remember exactly when but soon after lunch a couple of young lads arrived. They then proceed to set up, cast in, walk off, return, reel in and then move to another swim. They did this for about 2 hours until yes three adults and five kids arrived to take them home!

I began to realise that the writing was well and truly on the wall as the afternoon wore on. I can get a bit stubborn when I want to and so I resisted the urge to pack up by telling myself that they will sure to come on in the late afternoon, early evening time.

Keith didn't agree and went home around 4pm. Now I was the last surviving angler. It was now a head to head between and the fish.

At 5:30 I had to concede that the fish had won the day. My record on this pond now read 2 days, 3 bites and 1 fish. This was not a very good day at all.

In conclusion 5 anglers, 1 carp and a few small perch was not a very good haul. It's pretty plain to me that the pond has a very low stocking level which is a shame because on the whole it looks a very nice venue for the club angler.

Wildlife Report 1

On the way there I had a little competition, foxes against rabbits, how many of each could I spot? Before I entered the country lanes I'd spotted 3 foxes and no rabbits however in the country it was the other way round! Three rabbits and no foxes so after all that it was a three all draw.

Wildlife Report 2

Not really a wild life report as such because it involves sheep. The pond is in the middle and at the end of a sheep field. To get from one side to the other they have to travel along a path directly behind me. In the morning they went one way and in the afternoon they all returned. Mostly they ignored me but did stop if I moved!

2012 09 May 12th Hare Lake, Gabriels Fishery,Edenbridge

I couldn’t swing the hours at work this week so I had to go fishing on a Saturday. The venue of choice today was Hare Lake at Gabriel’s Fishery.

I’d fished Hare Lake once the previous season. On that occasion I’d fished the swim at the bowl end of the lake in the wooded area. Whilst there I saw someone having a good day fishing the channel immediately before the lake opens out into the bowl and it was this swim that I hoped to fish today.

I arrived at the venue at 6:55 to find the car park empty (unusual especially for a Saturday) I assumed that the weather was having its toll.

I unloaded the car and packed the trolley ready for the short trip to the swim. The swim on first impression looked very ‘fishy’. On the far bank (far being relative) there was a reed bed and already I could signs of underwater life.

On previous visits to this lake I’d caught mainly roach and skimmer bream so bearing this in mind I decided to start with a waggler and a size 18 hook.

I mixed up the groundbait and threw 2 large balls about three quarters of the way across. I then fed some hemp and maggots in the general area of the groundbait.

Starting on single red maggot I made my first cast at 7:50. Seconds later the float dipped and in came a nice little roach.

The first hour was very productive. The single maggot was working wonders on the hook. It managed to lure 5 more roach, 2 rudd, 2 very small carp, 1 bream and reasonable size perch.

After the first hour I realised that I could probably keep catching these small fish on maggots all day but if I wanted something a little more substantial I would have to change baits. To this end for the second hour I swopped to corn.

As the swim appeared to be alive with fish I fed some more groundbait, loaded the hook with corn and waited. The second hour wasn’t as productive as the first but did yield another small carp and two skimmer bream.

I decided to try a small cube of meat as well as corn for the next hour and this seemed to give me better results, 3 roach, 3 small carp and a bream. The roach and bream were on the whole bigger than those I caught on the maggot.

The last hour before lunch continued in much the same vein, 3 roach, 1 bream and 6 small carp.

Whilst eating my lunch and having a well earned cuppa, I still managed to land six more small carp. I was beginning to suspect that either the larger fish weren’t around or that the smaller carp were just getting to the food quicker. I was feeding relatively heavy in comparison with recent trips but it still didn’t seem to deter the small carp.

The next hour showed a return to the swim of the roach and the bream perhaps the carp were taking a siesta! There were 2 bream and 2 roach as well as another 6 carp.

I was beginning to give up hope of catching anything over a pound in this session however I still had another card to play – bread flake. For the next hour I alternated between meat and flake. The result I hear you ask? Eight small carp and a gudgeon!

I only use the middle of the slice as bait so from time to time I broke off a piece of crust and threw it into the reed bed to my left. Within a few minutes a mirror of about 3lb came up and scoffed the lot! I knew then they were still in there.

After landing another 4 carp and one each of roach, perch and bream I got into an almighty tangle. By the time I was sorted I was left with just line. I took this opportunity to switch to the feeder rod for a spot of free-lining down the margins.

In the margins I used a large piece of flake however I still couldn’t tempt anything substantial and had to be content with 2 more small carp.

In conclusion this was a day of two halves. The first half was dominated by the silver fish and then the second half by the small carp. I’d never caught small carp in Hare before so I can only assume he’s bought some in or stocked it from Swallow lake.

Due to the larger carp not making a visit today I’m forced to have to go back there in the near future to see if they make themselves available.  

2012 08 May 4th Sidewinder Lake, More House Farm Fishery,Haywards Heath Sussex

Today was my second visit of the year to this fishery which is just outside Haywards Heath in Sussex.

The first by the standards set the previous year hadn’t been a success so today I was looking to set things straight.

I was out of the house and pedalling down the motorway around 6:30am. The temperature was a dizzy 7.5 degrees. The windscreen wipers were on but not working furiously for a change.

I arrived at the fishery about 7am and then went straight away to pay my money. Having done that, I hopped back into the car and drove down to the lake.

Peg 14 was free (as was all the others) so I unloaded the car and made for the swim. When I arrived I saw that the bank in front of the swim was practically under water! I was going to get muddy today!

Undeterred by the standing water I managed to set up without any ‘funny’ incidents. In addition to my float rod I thought I would set up a feeder rod to fish the far side of the bay if the going got slow.

Having fed the swim with a fairly generous helping of groundbait and loose fed maggots and corn I made my first cast at 8.20.

I didn’t have to wait long for the first bite. The float started to make it’s way across the swim and after a while I struck and was into my first F1 of the day. As this was caught on a single red maggot I decided to stay on that. By 9.20 I’d added a couple more to the total.

A little after 9:30 a van pulls up and a fellow angler comes over to see how I’m getting on as he had a match there on the following Bank Holiday. Around an hour later he bids farewell and takes his leave!

After he left I re-fed the swim and resumed serious fishing. By 11:30 five more carp of all varieties had been caught. Most it must be said were under the pound mark.

One of the 5 carp caught was a 2lb F1, the biggest I’ve ever had. This was caught on the feeder rod using a 10mm strawberry flavoured boillie.

Corn has always worked well here so I thought for the lunchtime period I would give that a go. As luck would have it the decision was a good one as the next ninety minutes did yield a further six carp.

For the start of the afternoon I gave bread a try. I had some initial success but nothing amazing.

I’d brought along some meat that I could use late on in the day if I wasn’t getting some success. As I was I decided to give it a go. Firstly the float disappeared and I was into my first bream from the lake. I don’t honestly think I’d caught one in there before. It was covered in spawning follicles.

Using just meat it was carp after carp until I had to pack up about 5:15.

I also took a couple of carp on the feeder rod, one a 3lb mirror and the other a nice 2lb white ghostie.

I took 15 carp and 1 bream in the afternoon session all but the two mentioned above were caught of small cubes of meat.

So in conclusion a much better day than the previous one although I feel like the place is really going to come alive when (if) the sun comes out.  

2012 07 April 30th Broxham Pond, Edenbridge, Kent

Due to the closure of EBAS’s two major fisheries I have been forced to look elsewhere for my weekend angling fix. One of the venues I’d looked into to was the club’s fishery in Bloxham.

I knew next to nothing about this venue other than it’s the only club water that is open every and all day. I wasn’t even sure where it was in relation to the other venues around Edenbridge.

I left home around 6:30am, the outside temperature was 5 degrees and it was pouring with rain. I arrived in Edenbridge about 7am and that’s when the fun started. Firstly you have to go from the B2026 to the B2027. Sounds simple doesn’t it? Well the signpost was so well hidden I had to go past it and come back on myself to actually find it. Secondly, according to the EBAS book “once on the B2027 the fishery is 100 yards on the right after the 40mph sign”. Well after going up and down the road I discovered that the sign should have read 70mph because the 40mph was on the other side!

When I finally arrived I saw another car in the car park but no sign of a pond! Leaving the gear in the car I set off to find the pond. I went up the hill and then right into a wood. No obvious sign of the pond so I made my way left until I saw the other angler walking around the pond with all his gear. Turned out it was B(ill)LARGUS on his way home! Ho told me he’d been there awhile and hadn’t had a sniff.

Undeterred I returned to the car and loaded up my gear onto the trolley in preparation for the long trek to the pond. In the summer (or more accurately when it’s dry) you can drive up to the pond. A few minutes later and somewhat out of breath (it’s uphill) I arrived at the pond.

I then had an exploratory look round and decided that the most attractive swims were on the piece of land that almost cuts the pond in two. I couldn’t get the trolley fully loaded to the swim so had to make a couple of journeys before I was able to start to set up.

After unloading I discovered that I’d left my groundbait mixing bowl behind. I would have to use corn, maggots and hemp as the attractors.

I decided I would use two rods, the first the normal 2bb waggler set up fishing a rod length or so directly in front of me and a second one set up with a very small bomb with a 10ml strawberry boillie.

Disaster number two happened when I was attempting to put the baiting needle through the boillie, it slipped off and went straight into my finger! I didn’t cry I promise despite the fact I couldn’t get it out. I tried to shake it out before deciding on just turning it. This was successful and painful. As I type this I can see it’s nicely swollen.

I made my first cast at 8:55(!) and sat back under my umbrella and waited.   

The feeder rod rig I cast into the channel between the two ponds.

Boy did I wait. I never got, in the first three hours any indication that there were fish in the swim and looking further afield any in the pond.

Around 11am the float dipped and I struck, the rod bent and the fish turned and ran away taking line with it. However just as I was getting ready for the fight the fish (presumably a carp) spat the hook and was gone. I wanted the earth to open and allow me to jump in! The fish took a single red maggot.

I baited the swim and hook again and re-cast out. Twenty minutes later the float went again and I was into a good one. I took my time with this one. I didn’t want to lose a second one. The carp (I saw this one) pulled left and right for several minutes before I determined it was ready for the net. Bad news though because just as I was reaching for the net it snapped the hook length and was gone.

I was now thoroughly soaked and totally despondent. Never one to give up though, I baited up and cast out again in the hope that perhaps I would get lucky a third time.

At 2:30 the feeder rods tip flew round and I was into a good fish. After 10 minutes of patiently playing the fish it was ready for the net. It was now that I discovered the weak spot of the swim; I couldn’t reach the fish from the bank with the landing net. In the end I had to get as close to the water as I could and stretch as far as I could before the fish was captured.

I was very pleased with the result – an 8lb common! The day hadn’t been a complete failure.

 With renewed hoped I cast the feeder rig out again. Alas that was it for the day. I did stay until 5:30 before deciding to head off home for a well earned hot bath.

In conclusion a wet and miserable day and because of that I feel I didn’t learn too much about the pond. I will have to return at some point in the season for another go.

Wildlife Update:

Nothing wild made an appearance today (can’t blame them) however as the pond is in a sheep field I was kept awake by their bleating all day. 

2012 06 April 21st Silver Lake, Gabriels Fishery, Edenbridge

Due to large amounts of alcohol consumed on the previous Thursday I decided to go fishing on the Saturday instead of my usual Friday.

I also hoped that the extra day might give the weather a chance to improve a bit.

As the Edenbridge main waters were still closed my venue of choice was Gabriels Fishery, the lake I wanted to fish was the match lake, Silver.

I arrived at the fishery at 6:50 and discovered that I was the only 'non carper' there so I had the choice of swims on the fishery's three non specimen lakes.

I made my way to peg 1 on Silver which currently is my favourite swim. The immediate area in front of the swim has been dug out and enlarged from last year which is ok however the reeds and lilies seemed to have gone as well which is a shame as you could tempt a carp or two out of there during the session.

My set up was pure waggler. A highly visible orange 2bb one due to the light conditions was my choice of the day. To complete the set up I used a size 18 hook, 2.5lb hook length and 4lb main line.

My groundbait was the usual mix of brown crumb with pieces of corn and meat. I also had some hemp and some old maggots/casters to use as loose feed.

I made my first cast at 7:50 bang on an hour after my arrival. For hookbait I started on single red maggot.

Almost immediately the float dipped and in came the first roach of the day. Not a specimen by any means but satisfying to know that they are around.

By loose feeding 3 or 4 maggots a cast I kept the fish coming in. The first hour yielded 1 gudgeon, 7 roach and 2 rudd. None of them were massive but all appeared to be hungry.

I was by 9am pretty confident that if I stayed on maggot I would catch fish all day so I began to experiment with the hookbait to see if I could filter out the small fish and get into something of better quality.

Unfortunately the only bait that 'worked' was castors but to be honest the fish caught weren't any bigger. By 10:15 the virtual net had grown by 2 rudd, 3 roach and 1 gudgeon.

I wasn't deterred by the lack of results on the bigger baits. I persisted with the by then established game plan, hourly groundbait feeds, 3 or 4 maggots or a few hemp seeds every cast and a rotation of hook bait. Maggots, corn, meat and casters were the baits of choice.

I continued to catch a variety of silver fish (plus one very small carp) all afternoon and was considering my disappointment of the previous week happy with the results.

Around 2:30 the float dipped in the normal way, I struck and nothing moved! My initial reaction was that I was caught on the bottom however after a moment I felt some movement. Again because of the apparent lack of response I thought I was into a largish bream but once the fish came to the surface I could see it was a good carp. Once I could see the fish it came to life and fought a lot harder. Sadly for me on this occasion it won because it came off the hook.

Now that I knew the carp in the lake were feeding I switched hook bait to bread flake. At first the float showed signs that the smaller fish were pecking at the bread but then it began to move across the surface. I struck and off went my quarry. Remembering that I only had 4lb main line I took my time playing the fish. I was rewarded for my patience with a nice 6lb'er.

The next hour or so brought 3 more carp, one 6, one 4 and one of 2.75lb. These like the first all fell to bread flake.

Now I come to the incident that soured the day for me. As previously stated because I was on 4lb main line I made sure that I played each of the fish very carefully. The result to an onlooker would have looked like I was taking too much time. While I was playing the last carp which turned out to be the second 6lb one a group of 5 people assembled behind me to watch the proceedings.

After I landed the fish (around 4:45) they asked me when I was leaving. I replied that as I was on a roll it wouldn't be for some time. One of the group said that I was in the swim he wanted (I was at that point the only person on the lake). They then went (all 5 of them) into the adjoining swim and began to cast all around my swim (including the trees!) in an attempt to move me on. I went into stubborn mode and sat it out for about an hour before calling it quits. Needless to say I got no more bites.

Anyway in addition to the above I did get 2 rudd, 7 roach, 1 small carp, 1 perch and a bream.

2012 05 April 13th Sidewinder Lake, More House Farm Fishery,Haywards Heath Sussex

I’d been looking forward a lot to today’s outing to More House Farm’s Sidewinder lake because I’d always had great days out there and because it was the venue where I achieved my first ever double figure carp.

The fishery advertises an online swim booking system whereby you send them your visit details and they send you a confirmation text – well I did this and guess what? Yep I’m still waiting for it.

The fishery opens at 7am so I left Croydon around 6:30 for the journey. The temperature on leaving was 4.5 degrees however by the time I arrived it had gone down to 1.5! Add a fog to the mix and you can imagine the scene that greeted me when I arrived.

I was the first one there so I had the choice of swims. Peg 14, the first peg on the front stretch so to speak was where I caught my double so it was this one I chose for today’s session.

As usual I mixed a small amount of groundbait and fed the swim with two golf ball size portions and with loose fed maggots and corN.

I made my first cast at 8:20 and then sat back to wait for the action to begin.

I only paid for one rod so my set up decision was easy today. It was a 2BB waggler to a size 18 hook with 2.5lb hook length and 4lb main line.

For hook bait I started with single maggot but was prepared to try sweetcorn, bread and even meat if the occasion called for it.

First cast went in at 8:20. For what seemed like an age I waited for the action to begin. By 9am I was still waiting.

With still no bites at 9:20 I was faced with a dilemma, normally I would feed another ball of groundbait after an hour’s fishing but today I didn’t know whether it would attract or distract any fish. I decided to stay with my normal pattern and so in went another ball and a few maggots.

The decision seemed to be a good one when the float started to move across the surface causing me to strike into a very small carp. I was happy that I would not be blanking!

Around 10am there was some good news, the fog finally lifted and I was able to see further than the far bank (it’s a snake lake so the far bank isn’t very far away).

I’d always had success with corn at this venue so I thought I would spend an hour on that which to be honest was more in hope than anything else. I was rewarded with a couple more carp of the small variety.

During the morning 4 other anglers arrived with the intention of having a match to determine whether the venue was suitable for a proper match. Anyway judging by the comments that I picked up most of them weren’t anymore successful than I was.

Never one to give up I persevered all through the remainder of the day until 5:30 when I decided to pack up. I didn’t have a choice on that as the fishery closes at 6pm.

By the end of the day I’d caught 11 fish, all carp between a couple of ounces and a pound. I am putting my failure down to the abnormal weather conditions. I will go down there again in the near future.

In conclusion, results wise it wasn’t a great day however I know that this place is good so I will definitely return later in the season.

Wildlife Update:

I didn’t see any llamas today. I think perhaps they were in the barn keeping warm. I did see a water rat hanging around my swim all day though. At one point he darted across in front of me only to run straight into the board with the peg number on it! It gave me a laugh.