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It is often said that football is a game of 2 halves, well after this visit to Hare Lake at Gabriels Farm I could say the same about fishing. More about that later.
Today was to be my third visit of the year to this lovely fishery in Kent. I don't specialise in carp so I tend to fish the three non specimen lakes, Silver, Swallow and Hare. The latter being the only one I haven't fished this year. Today I intended to put that right.
On the way to the fishery the temperature gauge at one point read 2.5 degrees, not a good omen for the day ahead.
The car park was empty when I arrived so I knew I had first choice of swims. I unloaded the car and made my way to the lake. It is in two sections, the nearest is in a wooded area and the farthest is in open ground. I decided on three possible swims in the wooded area as if it rains I would have some sort of protection.
The first two were in the bay area fishing to either side of the not quite developed lily pads. The third and in the end my choice of the day was the narrow section at the end of the bay where you can fish just in front of some reeds. (See picture below).
Only one rod today so setting up didn't take me too long. Once the swim had been fed I settled back and made my first cast at about 7:55. I decided to feed maggots every cast regardless of what the hook bait was. Initially single maggot was my weapon of choice.
The first hour was like rush hour on the M25 as the float barely had time to settle before it disappeared from view. By 9am I'd caught 13 roach, 4 bream, 1 carp (not big), 1 rudd and a gudgeon. I was feeling confident of the day's prospects.
For the next hour I switched to corn and the fish although not as many but definitely better quality kept coming, 3 roach, 3 bream and a smallish carp kept the day's tally mounting.
Back on the maggot for the next hour and still the fish kept coming, 4 roach, 3 bream and another small carp. I was a bit concerned that the pace had dropped since the early morning. Perhaps it was the amount of food that went in early and the lesser amount I topped it up with?
The next corn hour produced much the same as before, 2 roach, 2 small carp and a bream. What began to change was the weather. Initially the precipitation had been light and with my waterproofs on, manageable, however from the early afternoon onwards it really began to come down hard.
Learning from the last time I fished in a heavy rainstorm, I packed away all non essential items (including my notebook), put the brolly up (lucky not much wind through the trees) and settled down and hoped it would stop soon. I decided to have lunch at this point before it to took a soaking.
It was also very cold and I began to get the shivers. The rain was so hard I couldn't even begin to think about packing up. I still caught some fish although not too many. By 5pm when the rain abated somewhat I'd had 5 roach, 2 bream and a gudgeon. Scant reward for 5 hours fishing!
Due to the fact that there was no sun to speak of the meat hadn't hardened enough to put on the hook. There were though one or two pieces I could use. I gently cast in and was rewarded with three roach of about 0.5lb. A pleasant conclusion to a damp and miserable day.
In conclusion, I caught 51 fish consisting of 30 roach, 13 bream, 5 carp, 1 rudd and 2 gudgeon. Not bad, but how good could it have been? To find out I will have to go back when the weather improves.
The two halves? Well the morning session in bearable conditions when I caught plenty and the absolute deluge in the afternoon when I caught very little.
Today was going to be my first visit of the season to Morehouse Farm fishery on the outskirts of Haywards Heath in East Sussex. I've been there before so I knew the potential was there to have a good day.
The fishery gates open at 7am however due to roadworks at the end of the M23 I actually arrived at 7:15. It didn't seem to matter though as I was the first person in the fishery.
After I'd paid my money in the honesty box, I unloaded the car and walked to the lake. First thing I noticed was the fish activity on the top, the second, was that for my favourite swim the platform had been moved a couple of yards to the left which made the bay more accessible but which made fishing along the reed bed impossible.
Undeterred I set up my match rod to fish about 3/4s of the way across where the fish seemed to be and my new feeder rod (as I broke the last one) to fish as close to the far bank as I could about 15 metres to my left.
I mixed up a generous amount of ground bait with the usual brown crumb plus meat, hemp, maggots and corn. Next I threw in three large balls directly over the area where I saw the fish movement. On the leger set up I decided today to use 15mm pineapple boillies so I threw in several free offerings of those and the smaller 10mm variety.
I made my first casts at 8:36. I was using maggot initially on the float rod. Although I caught a carp of about a pound on the first cast it does take me a while to get myself sorted and in some kind of a rhythm which goes some way to explaining why I only caught three carp in the first hour when it should have been more.
For the second hour I switched to corn however although I was getting bites I just couldn't hook them. It wasn't a completely barren hour though as I got a carp on the feeder rod. Not a large one, around 2lb I would say.
I changed back to single maggot and immediately started to hit the bites. I caught 3 carp and a solitary bream in that hour however it could have been more but for the buzzer going off 3 times and me having to move to land three nice carp.
The hour before my lunch was just as quiet as I switched back to corn. I netted three more carp plus another nice one on the leger rod.
I decided it was time for a break so I poured myself a cup of tea to go with a few small sausage rolls, savoury eggs and some cocktail sausages. As luck would have it I dropped a cocktail sausage and was about to bin it when I thought "would carp like this?" So I took a bit off the end, threaded the hook through it and cast out. Less than 2 minutes later the float went and in came another carp.
In the afternoon I decided to retire the maggots and concentrate on the larger hook baits. As before I started on the corn. Four more carp came in on the con plus one on the leger rig.
The photo below shows a typical carp that I was catching, it wasn't the biggest nor the smallest.
The time was now 14:30 and so I decided the time was right to give the meat a go. Instead of loose feeding corn I began to feed the meat. Three carp in the next hour fell to these tactics plus another on the pineapple leger rig.
The next hour didn't produce the mad rush on meat that I had expected, it only yielded a further three carp. However all the action came on the leger rig, 5 carp with a taste for pineapple all made the virtual net.
I always take a slice or two of bread with me just in case everything else fails. I'm not keen on using it when the swim is full of small roach as the real bites are hard to see. Anyway for the last 90 minutes of the day I thought I would give it a go. It turned out to be an amazing decision as with just one slice of bread I caught 18 carp! Oh, and I still had time to land another one on the feeder rod.
As I packed up I had a quick count of the day's catch, 51 fish, consisting of 50 carp between 0.5lb and 4lb (13 of them on the pineapple boillie) and a lone bream. The previous week I'd caught 113 fish at Gabriels but weight wise this haul had that well beaten.
On the downside the field of llamas had been replaced by horses!
Just before I left I went over to Canal Lake, the fishery's premier match lake. With pegs on just one side it is designed definitely for the pole man but peg 1 as you enter has a lot of water to the right of it that contains some lillies. I didn't see any fish movement but it still made me decide to try it next time I visit.
Due to work commitments I had to forego a Friday session in favour of a Saturday one. I was going to go to Morehouse Farm fishery in Haywards Heath but decided against it as I thought it would be too crowded on a weekend. Instead I decided to return to Gabriels Farm and try Swallow Lake.
At the crack or dawn the dog decided to get up and play and so, as the fishery opens at 7am, after loading up the car I found I had enough time to watch an episode of Coronation Street before I left.
Even though I drove as slowly as possible I still managed to get to the fishery 10 minutes early. Luckily for me I was let straight in and so I made my way to the car park directly below Swallow Lake.
As no one else was about I took the opportunity to have a good look at the pond before selecting my swim as I'd only ever fished it once before. With the swim selected, I returned to the car for my gear. I didn't need the trolley today as the car park is very close to the water.
Having had a glance at my report from the last time I was here, I discovered that the pond contained a lot of small carp, from 2 ounces to maybe a pound and a half. With this knowledge in mind my set up remained light and unchanged. That is to say, match rod and 4lb main line to a size 18 hook.
I fed the swim with the usual mix of ground bait with a good helping of my proposed hook baits for the day, maggots, corn and meat. I also added about half a pint of hemp. I had some maggots left over from my previous outing which although I had kept them in the fridge had turned to castors. I added some of these as well.
The castors turned out to be floaters but the effect on the swim was obvious as fish after fish came to the surface for a free meal. Buoyed by the sight of this I finished setting up and made my first cast about 7:35. At this stage the weather was chilly with a bright blue sky.
I started on single maggot and straight away I was into a small carp. Although small they do make the rod bend. I fed 3 or 4 maggots every cast. Eight carp and two gudgeon came in the first hour.
For the next hour I switched to corn to see if anything bigger would take an interest. Although I did get one about a 1lb the rest were all in the range stated above. No gudgeon this hour though but I did get 17 carp.
Back on the maggot for the third hour saw a reduction in the number caught but an increase in the number of species. Eight carp, 2 gudgeon and 1 roach. I began to think that I may reach the magic ton of fish (100 I mean not the weight!).
The last hour before lunch saw me switch back to corn, the result 11 more carp. It was about now that I was hit with the first rain shower. Nothing to worry about at this stage though.
The re-introduction of the maggot sparked the gudgeon into life and for a while it was carp then gudgeon however by the end of the hour I had 12 carp and 8 gudgeon.
After lunch I was back on the corn which if nothing else it gave the gudgeon a rest. Ten more carp came into the virtual net.
The showers had now increased in intensity to the point where I had to put the umbrella up. It didn't seem to put the fish off though as 13 carp and 2 gudgeon with a liking for maggot came in.
This carp was my best of the day and came in about 2:15.
It was now that the rain started to come down so hard I couldn't see the far bank. I packed as much stuff away as I could but still lost all my remaining maggots as they managed to crawl out of the bait box. Each time I got up I had to tip accumulated water off my chair before sitting down again. Even the umbrella took flight at one stage forcing me to put it away and sit in just my waterproof jacket and trousers.
My notebook was soaked so I had to resort to keeping count in my head. Also my mobile stopped due to the wet conditions so I had no idea what the time was. I was also fishing into a strong wind which gave me several problems involving tangled line!
Eventually even I had to say enough was enough. The white flag was shown and I decided to pack up. When I got back to the car I discovered it was 5:15. By the time I got home and had a shower I managed to catch the second half of the cup final.
With the 17 carp I caught in the afternoon added to the total in my notebook I had caught 113 fish. My first +100 fish of the season!
With the Club closed down for the month of May I had to find an alternate venue for my fishing adventures. Gabriels Farm Fishery in Edenbridge was my choice today. It is one of the most attractive fisheries that I have come across and can offer some good fishing to boot.
Somewhat surprisingly the temperature read 0.5 degrees as I headed through the countryside on the way down to Edenbridge. The fishery opens at 7am and I reached the barrier about 6:55, perfect timing. There was one angler in front of me so I knew that with 5 lakes to choose from I would get a good swim today.
I unloaded the car and made my off to peg 1 on Silver Lake. I've had some really good sessions on this peg before so it was really an easy decision to make for my first visit of the year.
I mixed up the usual ground bait concoction and then set up my one and only rod of the day. My Shakespeare 12' match rod. I was still using pretty light tackle. Four pound main line to a size 18 hook. I then attempted to plumb the depth. I soon discovered that my original chosen line contained a submerged lily pad bed which had yet to rise to the surface. I had to move my projected line 2 metres or so to the left to find a snag free bottom.
I made my first cast just before 8am. For hook bait I started on single maggot. The float barely touched the surface before it disappeared and I was into my first roach of the day.
Another roach and a skimmer bream accompanied the roach into the virtual net by the end of the first hour, however the highlight of that hour was a 1.5lb common carp with a taste for maggots.
A good start and with the carp around I decided to change hook bait and go for the sweetcorn. Disaster, not a sniff for an entire hour so it was back to the maggots.
At 10am I went back on the maggot and the action resumed. It was almost a fish a chuck but not quite as 8 roach, 1 perch, 2 gudgeon and another skimmer made the net.
At this stage of the day I made the decision to alternate on an hourly basis between maggot and corn. So on went a piece of corn. I sat back and waited. Imagine my surprise when the float went and in came a perch of about 3/4lb! To complete the hour a 3lb common carp also with a liking for corn came in.
Another hour another change of bait, this time back to the maggot. Yet again it seemed like a fish a chuck although they were a lot smaller than the ones on corn. I managed 12 roach, 4 perch and a solitary gudgeon.
Lunchtime arrived, sadly only for me as just 2 roach fell to my corn bait. As well as changing bait every hour I was also throwing in a large ball of ground bait to keep whatever was about interested.
Business as usual for the next hour when I switched back to maggot although this time the perch really made it onto the scene, 7 roach, 6 perch and a gudgeon all fell victim to the little grub. It was now 3pm and so I decided to retire the maggots for the day.
I had one last go on the corn before I started using meat. The result was 1 roach and a 2lb carp.
For the next 90 minutes I used meat as the hook bait. I loose fed the swim corn and maggots in an attempt to draw the larger fish in. I was only fishing about a rod lengths distance from the bank. In that time I had 9 carp between 2 and 3 pounds. They went absolutely wild. Each one was a fight as I was only using 4lb line and my match rod.
A great finish to a brilliant day. I ended up with a total of 62 fish. I shall be back at some point in the season.
Man v Fish
One of the carp decided at the last minute to get itself snagged up on an underwater lily pad weed bed. For the life of me I could not get it out. Right side pressure, left side pressure and straight up pressure could not shift it. I was thinking it was all over when it occurred to me that if I slackened of the line it might come out. So I put the rod on the rest and watched the float. Sure enough less than a minute later the float moved and out it came. A short time later it was in the net. Man wins battle of wits with fish.
Today was going to be my last visit to NF before the Club's May break. Due a large overdose of alcohol the previous Thursday evening I had to break with tradition and go fishing on a Monday.
The sun was shining for once as I loaded up the car. I had a feeling that today was going to be a good one - mind you I always feel like that!
Surprisingly there was no one in car park as I entered the fishery just before 7am. As I have done three times already this season I unloaded the car and made my way up the lake to my swim. As I left the car park a second car turned up. Today I was not going to be alone.
As I did at Chittenden last week I started setting up by mixing some ground bait. This consisted of brown crumb, some red attracter, corn, meat, maggots and about half a pint of hemp. I then left it for 20 minutes to settle. In the meantime I began to set up my waggler rod.
For the waggler set up I used my new Shakespeare 12' match rod, 4lb main line tied to a size 18 hook with a 2lb hook length. After plumbing the depth I fed the swim with three handfuls of ground bait and then while it settled I turned my attention to the leger set up.
The leger rod due to my 'accident' at Chittenden was now my Shimano float rod. For this set up I used 6lb main line, 1/4 ounce leger, size 16 hook to a 4lb hook length. For bait it was the trusty old 10mm Monster Crab flavoured boillie.
I made my first casts at 7:50 and then settled back for the action to begin. Up until today I'd always got off to a slow start but this was not the case on this occasion. By the end of the first hour the float rod had yielded 4 roach, 1 chub, 2 gudgeon and a crucian. Not to be out done the leger rod swim gave up 3 tench! At this rate I felt I was going to empty the pond!
I got a bit over confident in the second hour as I switched from single maggot to corn. The result was a barren net. The leger rod gave me another tench to stop it being a complete disaster.
For the next hour I switched back to single maggot although I did catch some fish, 2 roach, 1 rudd and a perch the action had slowed dramatically. Had I missed the boat? Even the leger rod had a barren hour.
Here's a visitor to my swim.
I rang the changes again for the last hour before noon. The swim appeared to have died so really I had nothing to lose. Yet again the float swim produced nothing however the leger rod sprang back into action with 2 tench and a very nice crucian of about 1.5lb.
The first hour of the lunch period was no better, 1 gudgeon and a perch to maggot on the float rod and 2 more tench on the leger rod.
Those tench seemed to be loving the monster crab boillies.
Perhaps these fish were just early morning and afternoon fish. This was seemed to be the case because by 3pm the float road had added 2 roach, 2 rudd, 2 perch and for the first time today 2 bream. Not to be out done the leger rod yielded three more tench.
Another quiet hour followed, just one other tench with a taste for crab came to the net.
As the evening session started I switched the hook bait to meat. This proved to be a successful tactic as I got the day's first tench on the float rod and the first carp! Strangely I also caught a rudd on meat! Three more tench came in on the leger rod.
I started to pack up at 6:30 but not before I'd added 2 more tench and a carp on the float road and 3 tench on the leger rod. My decision to end the session was for two reasons, I lost the only carp that fancied monster crab and my face was burnt to a frazzle. Where's that sunscreen when you need it!
In conclusion I think I had a fantastic day. I caught 18 tench on monster crab boillies which I truly did not expect and a further 29 other fish making a grand total of 47 fish!
I can't wait for June to arrive.
