2016 05 April 10th Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

Today's session was going to be at the club's mixed fishery, Nursery Fields just outside of Edenbridge in Kent.

The season so far, had been far from spectacular due I think to the unusually cold weather. The question was could today be the day when it all tuns around?

I was out of the house and on the road by 6:20 am. When I arrived at the fishery's carpark I found I was the second one there. There was one other person as mad as me in the world then! Also he drove a red Astra, even the same model as myself. Coincidence or what.

I unloaded the car and made my way to the top of the lake where today's swim of choice was located.

It was the usual two rod set up today, a feeder to the island and a waggler about two thirds of the way across. Maggots on the waggler was still going to be my main method of attack.

I was ready to make my first casts at around 8 am. In these conditions I don't expect a fast start to the day however by 9 am I'd bagged 2 small roach and a skimmer bream.

The next sixty minutes was the same as the previous hour except that instead of a skimmer bream accompanying the two roach it was a gudgeon.

The next hour was my most productive so far, four fish in total, 1 rudd and three roach, Things were looking up.

The next hour bettered the last one by 1 fish. These were all roach and all still caught on single maggot. Corn was just not working.

While I was having lunch I manged to get three more roach plus a hungry little gudgeon. A big surprise was that the feeder rod sprang into action delivering up a nice bream.

At 2 pm, after catching another couple of small roach, I decided to concentrate my efforts on the reed bed to my left which I had been steadily feeding since I began the session.

Between then and 17:00 when I called it a day I caught, mainly on bread, eight fish which included four roach, two tench, a crucian carp and a bream.

I finished the day with a haul of 31 fish, not bad for the season so far.

2016 04 April 3rd Chittenden, Edenbridge

Today was going to be my second session of the year at the club's carp lake at Chittenden near Edenbridge, in Kent.

I was up at five to see that the day was going to be another cold one. Was spring ever going to arrive this year? I loaded the car and set off on the 30 minute journey to Edenbridge. I arrived at the fishery about 6:30.

With the trolley fully loaded I made my way down to the dam end of the lake which is home to my favourite swim.

I set up my float rod first and then the feeder rod, after which I fed both swims with ground bait and some free offerings. I was going to use maize as bait on the feeder rod today. On the float rod it was going to be maggots and corn and maybe bread later on.

I was finally ready to make my first casts at 7:25. I then settled back in my chair to wait for the action to begin.

For two hours nothing in the lake stirred, then between 10:30 and 11:30 I managed to catch three skimmer bream using a single maggot on the hook. I was cold by now as well!

Had the tide turned? Not really, the next hour yielded only another solitary bream. The morning session over and only four bream to show for my endeavours.

Lunch time came and I was hungry and so apparently were the bream as I caught another three. The feeder rod was still silent.

My best non carpof the day came at 15:00. Yes, it was another bream, this one weighed between 1 and 1.5 lb.

About 4pm I decided to have a go with bread. Nothing initially and then the float went. Eventuallly this lovely looking carp made the virtual net. To be honest it made my day.

I packed up at five pm. Nine fish in the day, not very good. When I got to the car park mine was the only car still there. I suppose everyone had struggled to. That's fishing.

2016 03 March 25th Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

Session number three of the year and it was back to the club's mixed fishery at Nurdery Fields, near Edenbridge in Kent.

I was up and out of the house by 6:30 which meant that I would arrive at the fishery around 7 am. The weather was warm (7 degrees by the thermometer in the car) so I was hopeful of a good day. The forecast though, had been for rain.

There were three cars in the car park when I drove in, however they all seemed to be fishing close to their cars, which suited me as I like to go to the top of the lake at this time of year. The further the walk the less chance of people fishing close to you, that's my motto.

My swim:

Although I had on all my waterproof gear I could feel that the day was going to be a warm one. Usual tactics today for this swim, 12 foot match rod, 4 lb line to a size 20 hook with a 3 lb hook length. The feeder rod had 6 lb main line to size 14 hook with a 6 lb hook length.

With the swims fed I was ready to make my first casts at around 8:10.

I started the day using single maggot. After each cast I catapulted a few maggots and some hemp at the float in an attempt to draw the fish in. This seemed to work as after the first hour I'd caught four small roach.

I employed the same tactics for the second hour, the result this time was three roach and my first two gudgeon of the season.

The third hour was just as successful, three roach, a rudd and a skimmer bream made the virtual net. By now the temperature had risen high enough for me to remove my waterproof jacket and trousers.

The last hour of the morning produced only another two roach. I did start to try corn for the last 15 minutes of the hour but nothing showed an interest.

The first hour of the afternoon session was much more productive, two each of rudd and roach plus a bream of about a 1 lb on the previously unsuccessful corn. Total for the day was now 21.

The action was now really hotting up in the swim, A rudd and five roach made the virtual net in the next sixty minutes. I had now removed my fleece, what a difference a week makes!

Between 14:00 and 15:00 the fishing slowed down somewhat however I did manage to catch a roach and my first perch of the year.

I had this little fella for company for a while:

The feeder rod had been quiet all day, that silence was broken around 4 pm when the tip went round and in came a tench with a liking for maize.

My swim had a reed bed either side of me and all through the day I'd been feeding them with a buffet of free offerings consisting of, maggots, pellets, corn and hemp. After landing another small roach I decided to shallow up the float and give them a try.

For bait I used a large piece of bread flake. First side I tried was the one to my right. I had to wait fifteen minutes or so before the float went and I was into a fish. I knew from the start it had to be either a small carp or a good tench. After a few minutes I had my answer, it was a carp of about 1.5 lb.

After releasing the fish I tried the left hand side. I only had to wait about five minutes before the float shot off and I was into something that wasn't a 1.5 lb carp. The fish fought well, it initially kept taking line as it headed off across the lake on my left. I finally got it back in the vicinity of my swim but it wasn't beaten yet. Time and time again it tried to run however I could tell it was getting beaten. Finally, after a good scrap it slid into the net. The scales revealed it to be 11 lb 5 oz, my best fish of the year so far!

I decided to call it a day at that point. Thirty three fish in total for the day which included a variety of species and my best of the season carp as well. Not a bad day!

2016 02 March 20th Chittenden, Edenbridge

My second trip of the year was to the club's carp lake at Chittenden, just outside Edenbridge in Kent.

I was up at 5:45 am. The view, in what light there was, from the window said to me that today was going to be a chilly one. Still it's March so can't expect miracles.

When I arrived at the car park there was one other brave soul there. I scanned the lake but couldn't see where he was set up even though at this time of the year the trees were bare and I could almost see the entire lake.

I unloaded the car and made my way down the path to the bottom end of the lake. As I rounded the slight dog leg I couldn't see anyone o at least for the start of the day I would have the section to myself.

Today's set up was as follows, a Shimano float rod, 6 lb main line to a size 18 hook with a 3 lb hook length. Light enough for the bream and strong enough for any reasonable size carp that came along.

I fed the swim with a couple of big balls of ground bait along with some free offerrings of hemp, maggots, corn and pellets. I intended to start with a single maggot on the hook.

I was set up and ready to make my first cast at 7:40. After about 30 minutes my hook got stuck on a reed. I went down the bank to free it and as I was leaning over the bank gave way and my left leg went in. Luckily I fell on my backside so no more of my body went in!

Lucky for me I don't drive in my fishing boots so I went back to the car to take off my boot and sock and put a trainer on. So for the rest of the day I had a trainer with no sock on my left foot and a boot and sock on my right - charming.

I did notice that in the 2 hours or so since I arrived quite a few more cars had turned up. "Hardy souls" I thought to myself.

When I returned to my swim and resumed fishing I could quite clearly hear their chatter. It turns outs it was a match! I was a bit worried that they would come and throw me out but luckily that never happened.

There wasn't a great deal of action in the first two hours. The bream hadn't shown up yet but the small roach had, three of them to be exact.

The next hour yielded just another small roach. By now I was also fishing a feeder line using maize as the bait. There was no action on that either.

As the maggots were not working I thought for the next hour or so I would try corn and bread. Alas I was no more successful with them and it was cold!

I had to wait until 15:00 hours before I had another bite, it was no surprise that it was another small roach. You don't normally see these during the summer months. I suppose the bigger fish bully them away.

That was it for the day, five small roach, a soaking wet foot and a freezing body. I called it a day at 16:30 and when I got back to the car I was the only one left. That told me that no one could have been doing all that great,

2016 01 March 11th Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

Today was going to be my session of 2016. The venue was the club's mixed fishery at Nursery Fields in Edenbridge, Kent.

Being March and pretty cold (1.5 degrees) when I set out about 7:20 and coupled with the fact that the venue hadn't fished very well last year I wasn't all that optimistic.

There was a heavy mist as I made my way through the country lanes, across the M25 at Limpsfield Village and then down through the Surrey Hills to Edenbridge.

When I arrived at the fishery's car park I discovered there was aleardy three cars there, a good sign the lake was fishing well? I hoped so.

I unloaded the car and put on my winter warmer gear as you never know how cold it is going to be sitting still all day. Better to be safe than sorry. I then quickly made my round to the top of the lake.

When I arrived at the swim I took in the new landscape, no trees! All the trees on the bank had been heavily pruned. At least I wouldn't have any casting difficulties today.

The mist was still very much in evidence as I set up my match rod. Today my terminal tackle would be a 2AA float, 4lb line and to start, a size 20 hook.

Single maggot was going to be the bait of the day as I thought that being early March it would be the roach that would turn up to feed first, if anything did of course.

After I fed some maggots and hemp I set my seat and was ready to make my first cast. The time was 8:40.

I knew it would be slow to start with and I was proved right as for most of the first hour the float never moved. I did keep feeding little and often and was finally rewarded with a small roach. I wasn't going to blank today.

The next two hours were a struggle. I kept plugging away though. I maanged to winkle out another small roach and my first skimmer bream of the season.

During the session I'd assembled my feeder rod and loaded it with a small crab boillie.  I'd then cast it to the far bank. I'd fed the swim with a generous helping of these boillies in the hope of maybe tempting a carp later on in the day.

At 11:30 after adding another small roach to the virtual net, the tip of the feeder rod went round and I was into something that definitely wasn't a 2 oz roach. It turned out not to be a carp but was one of the lake's tench. I would say it was about 1.5 lb. That lifted my spirits.

It was now lunchtime and the day had warmed up somewhat and so had the fish. By 13:40 I'd added another two roach to the net, almost a rush!

The next hour was even better, three roach and my first rudd of the season.

All day I'd been feeding the reed bed to my right with one or two pieces of corn. At 16:00 I gave up on my float line to concentrate on that swim. I switched from maggot to bread flake and was immediately rewarded with a carp of around 2 lb!

Thirty minutes later the tip went round on the feeder rod and I was into another carp, this one with a liking for crab. When it made the net I estimated it at around 4 lb.

As it was getting near to packing up time I dismantled the feeder rod and concentrated on the reed bed to my left. Again it was with bread flake on the hook.

I had to wait about ten minutes before the float dipped and I was into a 'biggie'. It took me all over the swim before I began to get on top of it. Alas it was not to be as it broke the hook length. At that point I decided to call it a day.

So the tally at the end of the day was thirteen fish, two carp, one each of tench, rudd, and bream plus eight very small roach. Not a bad start to the season.

2015 25 September 4th Chittenden, Edenbridge

Today was going to be my last trip of the season. As I'd had my best results of the season at Chittenden it was here that I decided to call it a day for 2015.

I was up and out of the house in semi darkness and reasonably pleasant weather. The thirty minute trip to Edenbridge was uneventful and so it was just after 6:45 when I arrived at the lake.

As usual I unloaded the gear and headed off to the far end of the lake. Set up today didn't take as long as usual as I now only had one rod! (See last post).

I was ready to make my first cast at 7:35. As I relaxed in my chair I wondered if just having one rod to concentrate on would improve my strike rate (pun intended)?

I started with corn as the hook bait and had to wait until 9:53 before I netted my first fish. It was as expected one of the lake's bream.

The rest of the morning was very quiet. I switched baits every hour or so but with no success. That is until 13:43 when a carp took my latest meat offering. Alas, it wasn't my day as during the ensuing tussle it managed to break my hook length.

My luck turned 4 minute later when I hooked into another carp. This one took corn and made the net. It wasn't large - about 2 oz!

Just under two hours later I was into another carp. Again this one fell to meat. After unhooking it I didn't bother weighing it as it wasn't a double. I estimated it to be about 8 lb.

About 30 mins previous, two anglers (sorry don't know your names) arrived and set up in the swim opposite me.After a while one of them came round to inquire how I was getting on. I told him the sorry tale. He then asked if I had tried cheese. I said I hadn't and that I didn't have any. He, luckily enough had some and gave me a large lump to try.

After releasing the aforementioned carp I decided to give the cheese a try on the grounds that things couldn't get any worse. Thirty minutes later the float went and I was into what turned out to be another carp of 8 lb. My first on cheese!

I felt I was on a winner so I stayed on the cheese and twenty two minutes later I bagged another carp, this one came in at 5 lb.

Another thirty minutes later and was into another one. This one though was a bit smaller, It came in at 4 lb.

At 17:50 the cheese worked again. This time it turned out to be my best fish of the day, a 9 lb specimen.

I decided to pack up at 18:21 after I landed a bream with a liking for the cheese.

So a bad day turned into a good day thanks to some help from another club member. If you are reading this, thanks very much. Eight fish in the day.

2015 24 August 29th Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

Today, as it turned out would be my last trip of the season to the club's mixed fishery at Nursery Fields.

I was up and out slightly later than usual as the mornings were now a little on the dark side at my normal time.It was therefore about 7 am when I pulled into the empty car park.

I quickly unloaded the car and headed out to the back stretch of the lake. The water looked very fishy, would today be a good one. I felt like it could.

It was the usual two rod approach again today. One waggler set up and another small leger set up on a feeder rod. I was all plumbed up, swims fed and ready to make my first casts at around 7:40.

I spent an hour on the corn but never even got any signs of interest let alone a bite. I decided to make the switch to meat and was rewarded at 9:20 with my first bream of the day. No blanking for me today.

Sixteen minutes later, still using the meat I was into my second fish. This turned out to be a meat loving roach!

It was now just after 10 am and I was back on the corn. Fish number three was a nice bream.

I had to wait another two hours for my next bite. Again it was on corn however this time the victim was a tench.

Thirty minutes later and still on corn I bagged my first crucian for a long time. I thought they had all emigrated!

Just after lunch I switched back to meat and was rewarded with this fine bream. Twenty five minutes later I netted another one - I was on a bit of a roll.

At 15.29 the tip of the feeder rod went round for the first time of the day. When I lifted the rod I knew straight away that it wasn't a carp. It did fight but not for very long. When it hit the surface I saw it was a big bream. The scales confirmed this as it weighed 3 lb 12 oz which I think is my personal best.

The first carp of the day turned up at 16:54. It was taken on the waggler rod and weighed 1 lb! It liked meat though.

The next carp, also caught on meat,turned up at 18:00 and weighed 4 lb. A good scrap on the float rod.

I decided at that point to give up for the day. It was a decision that would come back and haunt me for ever!

When I pack up I start by draining the excess water out of the bait boxes and throwing the small amount of ground bait that is left into the edge.

Next I fold up the chair and put the bait boxes and terminal tackle back in my box. That just leaves the two rods and the landing net to dismantle.

When I reeled in the float rod I saw a big carp right beneath my feet! It obviously had been attracted by the ground bait and flavored water that I had previously tipped in.

I made the decision to have a go for it, so I put a piece of meat on the hook and gently lowered it over the side. Immediately the line tightened I struck. The fish took straight off towards the island. I managed to turn it and also managed to keep it out of the lily pads to my right. When it was in the net I could see that it weighed about 8 lb. What a result.

Things turned sour when I was unhooking the carp on the mat. I heard a thump and turned to see my feeder rod heading out across the lake. I watched it stop and sink when it got to the far bank.

I was dumbstruck and really annoyed, mainly with myself!

So a day that saw me catch 11 fish ended up with me losing my feeder rod and reel. Lesson to be learnt here I think.