2017 07 May 7th Chittenden, Edenbridge, Kent

As we entered the month of May, traditionally the time of the club's spring shutdown, I decided to have another go at the carp lake at Chittenden. "It's closed" I hear you say - not this year it isn't. This year it is staying open to protect the fish from the predatory fish eating birds that can decimate a fishery.

This was also going to be my first afternoon/evening session of the year at this particular lake.

I arrived home from Junior Kickers at 11am. I sorted my tackle out, ate a very nice fry up and was on the road by noon.

I'd decided on the way there that I would forego my favourite swim and instead, try the one on the far side of the first island. I knew that I would be able to get a waggler quite close to the far bank.

When I arrived there weren't too many people there so I was confident of getting the swim I had planned on. Sure enough as I made my way down the path I could see that it was unoccupied.

It was going to be a two pronged attack today, a waggler fished close to the island and a small leger set up also fished tight to the island but a bit further away to the left.

I was set up and ready to make my first casts at 13:50. I started with crab flavoured pellets on the waggler and 6mm tutti fruitti boillies on the feeder rod.

The action was fast and furious from the start. Unfortunately it wasn't as successful as it sounded. Two of the first three bites I missed. I knew they were good ones as they both took line before spitting the hook. The third bite at 14:10 I managed to land, a nice carp of 9lb 3oz. I was chuffed.

It was a full hour before I caught my next fish, it was one of the lake's many bream.

Another hour passed and into the virtual net came another bream and a 10lb 10z carp. Another double I was on a roll!

For most of the session I had these little fellas for company:

I had to wait a further 2.5 hours for my next piece of action. When it came it was on the feeder rod. The result was a carp of 8lb 6oz. Life was good!

My last fish of the session turned up at 19:15 and was another bream.

I decided at that point to call it a day. Three carp, an 8, a 9 and a 10 plus three bream. I went home very satisfied with my efforts.

2017 06 April 28th, Silver Lake, Gabriels Farm, Edenbridge

Today was going to be my first visit of the year to Gabriel's Farm Fishery on the outskirts of Edenbridge in Kent.

I've been to this venue many times in the past so it was a bit of a surprise that when I rang the bell the barrier did not go up straightaway. I tried again but with no more success than the first time. Then, out of the rear view window, I spotted the ticket lady strolling towards me. It transpired that they no longer walk around collecting the money but now do it as anglers enter the complex.

After the barrier went up I drove the mile from the entrance to the car park, scaring a few rabbits and pheasants as I went.

After I'd loaded the trolley I made my way to peg 2 on Silver Lake which was my choice of swim for today.

As I was only using one rod it didn't take me long to set up. I decided to use my match rod with a waggler float on 5lb line with a size 16 hook.

By 8am I was ready to make my first cast. Today, I'd decided to start the session on sweetcorn as I wanted to avoid the many small roach that inhabit this lake.

The action was non-existent. I wasn't even getting line bites. What was wrong? I was loose feeding pellets, hemp and corn in moderate amounts every hour and a a couple of cornels of corn every cast. Could that have been it?

With a dry net at noon I decided to forego the corn and switch to 6mm halibut pellets. Thirty two minutes later I'd bagged a carp of about 2lb.

By 13:00 I'd added a roach to the total which now stood at a miserly two! Not good at all.

I did, however, have this fellow for company all day long. He spent the day nicking my bait!

The next hour was considerably more productive. I managed two bream and two more small carp on crab pellets. Total for the day was now six.

I switched pellet flavour again, this time to tangerine dream. Over the next ninety minutes this only attracted one very small carp.

For the next hour I went back to the crab flavoured pellets and was rewarded with another small carp of about 1.5 lb. The time was 16:22 and I wasn't happy with the day.

At 17:23 I decided to pack up and call it a day. The last hour or so had yielded three carp, one small one and two very small ones (ounces rather pounds).

Eleven fish wasn't exactly what I was expecting. I was the only one on the lake all day, do other people know something I don't?

2017 05 April 23rd, Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

After a couple of weeks away from fishing due to ill health I decided today that I would have my first afternoon and evening session of the year. I chose the club's mixed fishery at Nursery Fields for this venture.

I arrived at the fishery around 12:40 to find a fair few cars in the car park. As I looked at the lake I could see that the majority of anglers were either on the near band or close to the car park. To be contrary I headed to the swim diagrammatically opposite to everyone else, peg 15.

I decided to fish parallel to the bank along a reed bed in about 2.5 feet of water. I only intended to use one rod today. For bait I was going to start with corn and then if warranted switch to 6mm pellets. I fed the swim with corn, pellets (crab and halibut) plus a generous helping of hemp.

I was set up and ready to make my first cast around 13:40.

There was action straight away. Two of the newly stocked Ide and two Crucians made the virtual net in the first hour.

By 16:00 I'd added another two Ide, a Tench and a 2lb Bream. As the day was wearing on I noticed that the other anglers began leaving. One passed me saying the fishing had been poor all day!

Around 16:30 I changed bait from corn to pellet and was immediately rewarded with two Ide and a Tench.

Another Ide and another Tench also fell to crab pellet as the clock turned 18:00. I was now the only one left on the lake.

The last hour of the session brought me another Tench and my best fish of the day, a Carp which I estimated to be about 5lb.

That was it for the day, 15 fish, mostly Ide, but still a good haul when most were saying the fishing was poor.

For most of the session I had this fellow for company.