2018 16 June 6th, Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

Today, I decided to make a return visit to the club's mixed fishery at Nursery Fields on the outskirts of Edenbridge in Kent.

It was just before 7am when I arrived at what was, a fairly well populated car park. I wasn't too bothered as the lake is large enough to accommodate far more anglers than I've ever seen up there.

I unloaded car and made my way round the lake looking for a swim that best suited my style (hit and hope!).

It was going to be my usual two rod attack today and so it wasn't until 7:50, after I'd set up and fed both swims, that I was ready to make my first casts.

It was a great start to the session as the waggler rod produced a tench, a bream and a roach while the leger rod produced two hard fighting tench.

An hour passed and the virtual net now contained 10 fish. The original five were joined by 2 tench, a bream and two small roach.

By 11am the net bulged with 14 fish with the addition of a bream, two roach and a crucian carp weighing 2lb!

The hour before lunch, brought the session's first ide, another bream and two roach. Total for the day, just before I stopped for lunch, was 18, not bad at all.

The hour after lunch was pretty slow. Only an ide and yet another small roach made the net.

The following hour was just as slow as the waggler line only produced a solitary crucian. The leger line did chip in with another tench.

By mid-afternoon (15:00) the day's total had crept up to 26 with the addition of a gudgeon, two ide, a bream weighing 3lb 6oz and yet another small roach.

The roach took over the next hour with four of them making the net accompanied by 2 ide. The leger rod also made a contribution, another tench.

The last two hours were special for me in that I broke my bream pb twice in 20 minutes! The first came in at 6lb 2oz, the second at 6lb 3oz! They were joined in the net by the only tench caught on the waggler that day and the only ide caught on the leger line.

I packed up at 18:00 a very contented man. A personal best bream and a 2lb crucian in one session how could anyone not be.

2018 15 May 30th Chittenden, Edenbridge, Kent

Today I decided to pay a visit to the club's carp lake at Chittenden on the outskirts of Edenbridge in Kent.

I arrived at the fishery around 7am to find a few anglers already present there. I unloaded the car and made my way down to the dam end of the lake.

I went back to my usual two rod attack policy today. One waggler line fished to my left and one small leger on the feeder rod fished to my right.

I was set up and ready to make my first casts by 8am. For bait, I started with meat on the waggler and 10mm strawberry boillies on the leger.

As the first hour drew to a close I was a happy little bunny. The net contained three good bream with a liking for meat and a seven pound carp with a taste for strawberries.

For the next hour I switched from meat to corn and was rewarded with three more bream. The leger line was quiet.

The next hour I switched back to meat. This proved to be a disastrous decision as I caught absolutely nothing.

I switched back to corn and caught nothing on that either. It was now noon and the net bulged with seven fish.

I switched back to meat and my luck changed as I pulled in a carp of around 8lb and another bream.

Corn was the order of the day for the next hour which did produce another bream but overall the fishing was still slow.

I decided to stay on corn for the next hour and was rewarded with two carp, one of 3lb and one of 8.5lb.

At 16:00 when I decided to pack up, the virtual net had increased with the addition of another bream. My total for the day was 14.

Not one of my better days but it's all part of the learning curve as they say.

2018 14 May 24th, Swallow Lake, Gabriels Farm, Edenbridge

Today, I decided to pay another visit to Gabriel's Farm on the outskirts of Edenbridge.

Lake choice today was going to be Swallow as I fancied landing a haul of the lake's fighting small carp. Great fun on light tackle.

I arrived at the fishery bang on opening time at 7am.

I drove down the track to the car park nearest to Swallow lake. On arrival, as expected, I found it empty which meant that I had my choice of swims.

The lake is quite small with two or three islands in it. I decided to fish towards the biggest island where the channel was the largest.

As per the rules I was only going to use one rod today. I was, therefore, set up and ready to make my first cast at 8:10.

For bait I intended to use nothing except pellets. I had found this approach to be very successful in the past.

I was into the small carp straight away although the start was slower than previous visits. I would have expected about ten however I only got five.

Surprisingly the next hour was even slower. Only two carp made the virtual net. I could tell there were fish about so it was obviously me that was the problem.

To that end I decided to change the size of the pellet, I changed from 8mm to 6mm. The result was even worse as only one more carp made the net. Three hours down and only 8 carp caught, the day wasn't panning out as expected.

Usually the fishing slows a tad once the sun comes out however this day was different as the next hour six carp made the virtual net.

As it happens that flurry turned out to be a flash in the pan as the next hour only yielded one fish. What a day I was having.

This family kept me company all day.

From 13:00 until I packed up at 17:10 the fishing remained the same, slow and steady. The net was increased by 14 carp making the total for the day 29.

Perhaps the carp were eating these tadpoles rather than my pellets!

Ready for action shot!

Considering I normally catch around 100 fish a session from this lake I can only say that this was a very disappointing session.

2018 13 May 18th, Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

Today I decided to pay another visit to the club's mixed fishery at Nursery Fields near Edenbridge in Kent.

I arrived at the fishery around 7am. I quickly unloaded the car and set off up the lake. Today I intended to fish the swim right at the top.

There was no one around my intended swim and so I knew that I was in for a quiet day!

It was the usual two rod set up today. A waggler line fished straight in front of me and a small leger on a feeder rod fished as close to the island as possible.

I was ready to make my first casts about 8:05. The first hour for me is really just a settling in period. That is allowing the swim time to develop. I knew that initially the loose feed would attract the lake's small roach and so I wasn't disappointed that the first fish of the day, attracted to the corn, was indeed, a roach.

The second and last of the first hour was one of lake's hard fighting tench.

The next hour was an almost identical copy of the previous one except that the roach and tench was joined by a nice skimmer bream.

The action really slowed down during the next hour. I only managed to bag two small roach.

Between 11:00 and 12:00 things did not get any better. One roach and another tench made the the virtual net. I began to think that a change of bait was required.

I decided to make the switch to meat. Initially I used very small cubes with the intention of increasing the size as when it was successful.

I must say it wasn't a great success. I only managed to add a further 4 fish to the virtual net before I packed up at 18:00. They were, in order of appearance, a tench, a barbel, an ide and a roach.

So how did the feeder line fare I hear you ask. I managed to catch three fish, 2 more tench and a nice carp which came in at 9lb 10oz. The carp was caught in the first hour.

So that was it for a pretty disappointing session. Just the 15 fish making the net. Better luck next time I hope.

2018 12 May 11th Chittenden, Edenbridge, Kent

Today, I decided to pay another visit to the club's carp lake at Chittenden near Edenbridge in Kent.

I arrived at the lake around 7am. I quickly unloaded the car and made my way down the lake to my favourite swim at the dam end.

It was the usual attack tactics today, one float rod to my immediate left and one leger rod fished where the overhanging tree used to be on my right.

After feeding the swims and setting up, I was ready to make my first casts. The time was 8:10.

For bait on the float rod I started with two pieces of corn. I didn't have long to wait for the action to begin. When the float disappeared I knew it wasn't the expected bream straight away. The culprit was a carp of about 7lb. Good start.

I also captured the mandatory Bream during the first hour which made my total for the day, two!

I lost another carp in the second hour which, aside from that, was unproductive.

The third hour of the day was also very quiet although I did get a bite on the leger rod which I promptly lost.

Things were not going well, by 12:20 all I'd added to the virtual net was a small Bream.

I did have some company though.

That hour was followed by another hour where absolutely nothing happened! Not what I was expecting at all.

For the next hour I changed hook bait from corn to small cubes of meat and was rewarded with two of the lake's Bream. Total for the day was now a paltry five.

Another blank hour followed, I began to suspect that this wasn't going to be my day.

At 16:30 I caught my last fish of the day, yes you've guessed it, another Bream.

So that was it for what was a pretty poor day by my standards - never mind things can only get better.

2018 11 May 1st, Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

It had been a couple of weeks since I'd last been to the club's mixed fishery at Nursery Fields and so I decided it was going to be the venue for today's session.

The car park had a few cars in it so I wasn't sure where I would end up. After unloading the car I made my way round to the far side of the lake. On arrival I found peg 13 vacant. I'd had good sessions before there and so I was content with that.

Two rod attack today, a float line fished between 1/2 and 3/4 of the way to the island and a small leger with a 10mm boillie fished just past the lily pads.

After setting up and feeding the swim it was 8:20 when I was ready to make my first casts.

I started on corn as I only use maggots in March and April. I didn't make the wrong decision as 11 fish made the net in the first hour. These consisted of an Ide, a Perch, a Bream, a Rudd and 7 Roach.

The next hour was a tad slower, only yielding a Roach, a Crucian Carp and two Ide. I was content with that.

From 10am to 11am it really slowed a lot. So much so that only one fish made the net, a nice looking Tench.

By 12:30, the swim still wasn't setting the world alight. One Roach and an Ide falling victim to the corn. The feeder rod did chip in with it's first fish of the day, another Ide.

I switched to meat for the next hour in the hope that this might give the fish an incentive to feed. Alas, it did not. Only a small Ide made the net.

This fella was feeding though:

Another slow hour followed, 1 Ide and 1 Roach made the net. It wasn't going to be one of those special days today. The session's total was 22.

Until packing up time, which was around 5:30, I decided to go all out on the meat. 

My prize for this change of tactics were 2 reasonable Bream.

The only other fish that were interested were the Ide, three of them to be exact.

So that was it for a fairly uneventful session. I wasn't complaining though, 27 fish in a day isn't bad.

2018 10 April 23rd, 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 arrived at the fishery a little after opening time at 7:10.

I made my way down the mile long track to the fishery's car park to find it completely clear of cars.

I unloaded the car and made my way over to Silver Lake, the fishery's match lake.

It was just the one rod today - the waggler fished close to an outcrop of reeds. I'd fished it before and been quite successful.

As I was only setting up one rod I was ready to make my first cast at 8:10. I'd already fed the swim with a generous helping of free offerings.

I started on double maggot and was into a variety of fish straight away. In fact, twenty made the net in the first hour. These consisted of, 2 Chub, 2 Perch, 1 Rudd and 15 Roach. Lovely.

This fella kept an eye on me all morning.

The next hour I changed to corn and had one bite. It must have been a carp by the way it took the line however today wasn't the day when it would make a visit to my net.

I alternated between maggot and corn for the next hour but the fishing still stayed slow. Two Roach made the net, one on maggot and one on corn.

I did have this fella for company though.

I stayed on the corn until noon but perseverance didn't pay off in my case as I only managed to nab one small Chub.

Another hour passed with very little action, the only disturbance to the day's total was a small Rudd!

I decided at this point that a change was needed. I decided to give 6mm halibut pellets a go. In the next hour I lost one carp of about 3lb and captured one of about 6lb. Good decision then.

My fortunes swung back to the unproductive side as I sat for another hour without a bite. Very strange day - no consistency at all.

By 16:20 having spent the rest of the afternoon on pellets I'd added a Gudgeon, Bream and a Carp of 2lb to the net. My total for the day was now 28.

At 18:00 when I decided to call it a day, I'd added another three fish to the net. This consisted of 2 Carp and one Roach. A very strange day indeed.

2018 9 April 16th, Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

Today, I was going to pay another visit to the club's mixed fishery at Nursery Fields, near Edenbridge in Kent. After the good session I had last time there I was filled with a good feeling of optimism.

It was just after 8am when I arrived at the fishery. There was one or two cars in the car park so that meant I was going to get an almost free choice of swims.

I unloaded the car and set off on the trek up the lake to the top swim. I like this swim as it is the shortest distance from the bank to the island.

I intended to fish the float line about 3/4 of the way across to the island and the leger rod about as close as I could get to the corner of the island.

I was ready to make my first casts at 9:30.

I started on double maggot and this proved a wise decision as the swim got off to a flyer. Fourteen fish comprising 2 Ide, 1 Crucian Carp, 1 Gudgeon and ten Roach made the virtual net. Not to be left out the feeder swim chipped in with a nice Tench.

As I felt I was on a roll I decided to switch to corn for the next hour. Alas, not much of a success. Only one of the lakes' Bream made it to the net. The feeder rod gave up an Ide and my first Barbel of the year.

I don't know why but I decided to stay on the corn for another hour. What a difference. 3 Ide, a Bream, 3 Crucian Carp and 2 Roach made the net. My total for day was now 27.

The next hour was the best of the session not because of the Ide, Roach and Bream that I caught but for the Crucian Carp which weighed in at 2lb 3oz, a personal best!

The next hour reverted to the day's  norm, one each of Roach, Crucian Carp and Rudd and a couple of Ide from the float swim. The feeder rod supplied a Tench and a small Carp. Total for the day now stood at 39.

By now it was 15:40 and the net's total stood at 43, having just added a Roach, Crucian Carp, an Ide and a Barbel to it.

An hour and twenty minutes later the net was bulging with 58 fish! Three Tench were from the feeder rod. The rest, consisting of, a Tench, 2 Crucians, an Ide, a Bream, 2 Roach and five Rudd were from the float swim. The corn was working well today.

I'd been feeding the margin to the right of me all day with one or two pieces of corn. At 17:00 I reeled in the feeder rod and shortened up the depth of the float rig and had a look down the side. Over the next half hour or so I caught 2 Ide, a Tench, a Crucian and a carp of about 5.5 pounds.

I decided after the catching the carp to call it a day. The net was bulging with 63 fish, one of which was a personal best, so I went home a happy man.

2018 8 April 12th Chittenden, Edenbridge, Kent

Today was going to be another one of my visit's to the club's carp lake at Chittenden near Edenbridge in Kent.

I arrived at the fishery about 7:45 to find the car park empty. As is the norm I loaded up the trolley and headed down the lake to my favourite swim.

As it was still spring, some would say still winter, my attack on the float line would be predominately maggots today. It would be small 10mm boillies on the feeder rod as usual.

As I was setting up I generously fed both swims with maggots, hemp and boillies and pellets respectively.

I was ready to make my casts at 8:45.

The lake's bream were quick to latch onto the maggots with five of them making the virtual net by 9:45.

For the next hour I decided to have a dabble on the corn. This was a complete failure as by 11:10 I'd caught precisely nothing.

In the last hour of the morning session the fish suddenly went mad for the cord. Seven bream and a carp of around 3lb made the virtual net.

Another hour passed with no action on either rod. The feeder hadn't moved all morning which was unusual.

By the time the clock had ticked over to 14:30, the float line had gone mad. I caught another bream, lost and caught two carp. The first was 8lb 12 and second a tad bigger at 8lb 15.

By the time I packed up at 17:45 my total for the day was 21 as I managed to add a further 7 fish to the net. Some were carp however they were not as big as the ones above.