2015 19 July 24th Chittenden, Edenbridge

Well today didn't turn out like I planned but let's start at the beginning and work up to it.

After a disappointing visit to Nursery Fields the previous week I decided today to visit the club's carp lake at Chittenden.

I was up at 5 am to ensure that I got a nice early start which hopefully would enable me to get my favorite swim down at the far end of the lake

I arrived at the fishery just 6 am with the sun shining on the sheep in the nearby fields. "What a glorious summer's day" I thought to myself as I drove down the track to the car park. Only a car or two in the car park so my plan was coming together.

I unloaded the car and made my way down to the dam end of the lake where my favorite swim was awaiting me. The lake looked in fantastic condition, I was anticipating a great day.

As usual today was going to be a two rod attack, The first would be a waggler set up of 6 lb line to a size 16 16 hair rig hook on a 6 lb hook length. The second was a straight bomb using maize as the bait fished at an angle of 90 degrees to my left.

With the swims fed I was set up and ready to make my first casts at 7:05. The sun was still shining.

I got off to a flyer on the waggler rod. I started on corn and immediately the bream were on it. Five of them in the first hour,to be exact. It had now begun to spit with rain.

I switched to meat for the next hour and was rewarded with one of the lakes smallest catfish! The rain was getting harder and the skies were very dark.

It was quiet for the next sixty minutes, the only action was that I missed a good carp with a liking for corn. The rain was really coming down now. It was time to put the umbrella up.

Between 10:00 and 13:00 the rain really came down. The wind also got up to make matters worse. Most of the people around the lake had packed up and gone home. Only the idiots remained! Still one bream in three hours kept my spirits up!

Just after 1 pm the feeder rod's tip went round and I was into a fish. It didn't dash away with any power so I knew it wasn't a carp. I was right as when it broke the surface I saw it was a bream that weighed 3 lb exactly. Nice one!

On the waggler I was still using meat as my bait. I was rewarded with my first carp, which came in at 6 lb. I and everything else was totally soaked by now.

They were going mad now, a few minutes later I was into another carp with a liking for meat. The one was bigger coming in at 9 lb 7 oz, almost a double.

My 13th fish came in soon after, this was another carp with a weakness for meat however at 8 lb 10 oz it wasn't as big as the previous one.

The rain was really crashing down now and I was beginning to feel uncomfortable and cold. Did I pack up and go home? No, this moron stayed on. By 15:00 I'd added another four fish, three bream and another carp, this one came in 2 oz under 10 lb. Not my day was it?

I was back on the corn for the next 90 soaking wet minutes. I did get a couple of fish, both carp and both estimated as it was now too wet for the digital scales. The first was about 8 lb and the second a bit smaller at 5 lb.

Between 16:00 and 18:00 when I packed up I managed to get another five fish, four of them on meat. Three bream and a carp of 9 lb. The fifth was my second fish on the maize, a carp of 8 lb 6 oz.

I did have a bit of luck at the end of the day, the rain stopped when I was about to pack up!

So despite getting absolutely drenched I finished the day on 22 fish, one of them almost a double. Not too bad, Sting in the tail when I got home it was raining again so got drenched unloading the car!

2015 18 July 19th Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

After my somewhat unsuccessful trip to Boulthurst farm a couple of weeks back, I decided today to return to the club's mixed fishery at Nursery Fields.

For a change today's main bait tactic was the small (6 ml) halibut pellet banded on a size 18 hook. I would still use a feeder rod with maize as the bait as back up in case the pellets failed. 

I was up at 5 am and out of the house around 5:45. The drive was uneventful despite the rain! I wasn't looking forward to setting up in the wet.

I arrived at the venue at around 6:15. I loaded up my trolley and headed off round the back of the lake.

The rain was still coming down as I set up my Shimano float rod and my Maver feeder rod. It generally takes 45 minutes to an hour to set up which includes, mixing the ground bait, setting up the two rods, plumbing the depth, feeding the swims and organizing the peg so that everything is to hand.

With the pellet safely banded on the hair I made my first cast at 7:13. The first hour passed without any action. It wasn't until nearly 9 am that the float finally dipped and I was into a fish. The result a skimmer bream of about a pound.

The going was tough, I began to doubt whether or not my choice of tactics for the day was correct as first one hour passed and then another without a bite. It wasn't until 11:49 that the float went away again and I was into another skimmer bream.

After another two hours of inactivity I put a piece of corn on the hook and was rewarded with another skimmer. It was now just after two in the afternoon and I'd only caught three skimmer bream. Oh dear.

The pattern was now fully established as I had to wait until nearly 16:00 before I was into another fish. This one was taken on the pellet and was indeed another bream however the good thing was that it weighed 2 lb 13 oz very nice.

At 16:31 I caught my first tench on pellets. So that was something to be proud of!

For the last 90 minutes of the session I decided to fish down the margin using cubes of meat. This was fairly successful as I caught three fish of differing species: a bream, a tench and a barbel. None of them unfortunately were of any size.

That's was it for the day. eight fish caught, none on the feeder rod, half on the pellets. Was it my tactics or something else? I shall have to go back.

2015 17 June 29th, Boulthurst Farm, Oxted. Surrey

Today I decided to take myself back to one of my old favorite venues, the Holland A.S. controlled small pond at Boulthurst Farm in Oxted, Surrey.

Today's target was not the carp that everyone goes for but the crucians. Could I get one and if so could I get a good sized one?

When I arrived at the small car park (there are only 5 swims on this pond) I was glad to see no one else there. Choice of swim was therefore all mine. There is only one swim with lily pads to fish to and it was this one that I chose.

I was set up and ready to make my first cast at 7:05. For bait I started on single maggot. Immediately I could see fish activity in the swim. It was however only the usual small roach, I caught two of them in the first hour.

It seemed to me that if I stayed on maggot I would always be bothered by these small roach so for the next hour I switched to corn. The result was another roach albeit slightly bigger than the previous two and the first small skimmer bream of the session.

I used the same tactics for the next hour however my reward was less, just the skimmer bream. Perhaps it was the heat. Today felt like it was going to be a really hot one.

Due to the slow going I set up a feeder rod, baited a swim with maize and cast that out. By noon I'd only added another four fish, three roach and a skimmer bream. I think the extreme heat was affecting the fishing.

For the next three hours I decided I would try small cubes of meat. I did get five fish, four roach and a carp but not the crucians I was looking for.

The next two hours was just the same, blazing heat and next to no fish. One small roach and that was it.

Just before I packed up, the feeder rod's tip went round and I was into a carp. They like maize here apparently.

Sorry about the photo, I had to use my phone as my camera has broke.

I decided at point to call it a day. Sixteen fish in the day wasn't what I was expecting. I think the sun and the heat had beaten me on this occasion.

2015 16 June 20th Chittenden, Edenbridge

Today it was time to return to Chittenden in an attempt to correct the mistakes I made on my previous visit.

I was up at 5 am and on the road by 5:30. It's brilliant driving down to Edenbridge at that time of the morning, you hardly ever see another car.

I arrived around 6 am and quickly loaded the trolley and headed off down the lake to my favorite swim.

As usual I first mixed the ground bait so that I could get the swim fed. A change I did make was that for the leger rod instead of fishing directly in front of me I was going to try about 15 yards to my right and about 5 yards out. This swim I fed with handfuls of maize which I topped up every hour.

I had the two rods set up and ready to make my first casts at 7:10 am. Learning from last time I had both clutches set very tight so that only a really good fish would be able to take line.

I started with corn on the waggler and maize on the feeder. The first hour was quite productive, at least on the waggler as I caught one good skimmer bream and a 5lb 12 oz carp on the waggler. I did find that I was able to bully it away from the reeds quite confidently.

By the end of the second hour I'd added three more bream to the virtual net, one on corn and two on meat. A good start to the day.

At the close of hour three I'd managed to get another two on meat, one bream and a very small carp.

By 11:05 I'd only added another carp to the total, It did weight 5lb 13 oz and it did fall to meat again.

Leading up to my lunch I had another carp, this one was slightly bigger at 6 lb 7 oz. Again, this one fell to a cube of meat.

It must have been the smell of my lunch because another hour later a caught an even bigger carp, this one came in at 8 lb 15 oz. It also fell to a cube of meat. I was doing well. This carp was accompanied by a 2 lb 6  oz bream, very nice.

Here's the bream.

For the next three hours I went back on the corn as the bites seemed to dry up. Two bream were tempted by it. Close to 16:00 I switched back to meat again and almost straight away a carp of 4 lb 4 oz came in.

Thirty minutes later another carp weighing 4 lb 8 oz was in the net, Yes that one fell to meat as well.

At 17:00 the feeder rod went off and I caught my first Chittenden carp on maize. It was a good one as well, 9 lb 2 oz, almost my first double of the year.

Eight minutes later and the waggler rod was off again. The result was another carp. This one was smaller than the previous one, 8 lb 2 oz, nice all the same.

Was that it for the day? Absolutely not, there was one more card to play. It was 18:00 and I was thinking of packing up for the day when the float dipped and I struck. Very slowly the fish moved away. It took line quite easily despite the clutch being very tight. I began to have flashbacks of my previous visit however this time I managed to turn it, although by that time it was a good distance out. I played the fish for what seemed an eternity before I first got a glimpse of my quarry. By my standards it was huge. I struggled to get it off the bottom, finally when it did come up I saw it was a catfish! I prayed the hook would hold as it came nearer and nearer. Soon it was close enough for me to reach for the net. Don't panic, Ken I thought just relax and don't rush. How I did it I don't know but eventually it was in the net! It weighed, 14 lb 2 oz, needless to say it was a personal best!

At that point I thought it couldn't get any better so I packed up and went home. Eighteen fish caught in the day including a personal best catfish. I'll be back.

2015 15 June 13th Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

After a disastrous session at Chittenden the previous week I needed the confidence boost of a good day so I decided to pay a visit to the club's mixed fishery lake at Nursery Fields.

I was up at 5 am and on my way by 5:45 which meant that I arrived at the fishery about 6:15. Only one car in the car park so effectively I had a free choice of swims. Just how I like it.

I went round the back of the lake and chose a swim that had lily pads to fish to but more importantly some that allowed me to fish right handed. On the left hand side of the swim there were some reeds jutting out that I thought would be a perfect place to drop a small leger. I think it was peg 12.

I had both rods set up and ready by 7:15. The waggler swim had been fed with a genourous helping of ground bait, corn and meat plus a few halibut pellets. The feeder swim had been fed with three or four large handfuls of maize.

I started the session with corn as my hook bait and the initial going was slow. I did catch though, one solitary bream.

The next two hours was much more eventful. On the float rod I had another skimmer bream plus a carp of 2 lb. The feeder rod though produced this bream of 3 lb 1 oz on maize. I was really happy with that one.

Things quietened down for the next hour. I was still on the corn and the only fished tempted by it was a small tench.

It was the feeder rod's turn to produce in the next hour, and produce it did. Another good sized bream (2 lb 13 oz) yet again on the maize

.
The lunchtime section of the session saw the arrival of the small roach, two of them to be exact with a liking for the corn.

I switched to meat for the next hour and was rewarded with another tench and a skimmer bream. the feeder rod chipped in with my first tench on the maize.

The next hour was all about the maize on the feeder. Another tench and surprise surprise a barbel. Neither were of any real size but fish caught nevertheless.

Between 16:15 and when I packed up around 6 pm I caught a mixed bag of fish on the waggler and the feeder.

This included a tench and a barbel on meat, two bream, two roach and a barbel on corn.

So my first day at Nursery Fields for the season ended with a total of 19 fish. A good start. I will return.

2015 14 June 5th Chittenden, Edenbridge

The new club season was upon us and today I chose Chittenden as the venue to make my seasonal debut.

I arrived at the fishery just before 6 am. There was one other car in the car park and the sun was shining. It couldn't have been a better start to the day.

I loaded up the trolley and headed down the lake to my favorite swim at the bottom. When I got there the lake was flat calm, the surface only broken by the bubbles caused by feeding fish.

Two rod attack was the plan for the day. A waggler by the reeds and a small leger about a third of the way across. For the first time this year I was going to use maize as a hook bait. I intended to use it on the feeder rod. For the waggler I was going to use corn to start with and then meat later.

With the swims fed I was ready to make my first casts of the season at 7:10 am.

The first hour proved I was right about the feeding fish as I had three good bites, two of them spat the hook but the third made the net. It was this 6.5 lb carp. I was off!

For the next hour I switched to meat. I only caught two fish, the first was a 3 lb 9 oz bream which I believe is a personal best for me. The second was a catfish weighing about 4 oz!

I stayed on meat for most of the next hour and was rewarded with a carp of 4 lb 3 oz. I did swop back to corn for a bit which attracted two hungry bream.

Between 10 and 11 am I blanked. I was not expecting that. The feeder rod had been motionless all the morning so far as well.

The next hour was going the way of the previous one when all of a sudden the float went away and I was into a carp of 6 lb 11 oz. That however led into the situation that ended my day but strangely improved my season.

About 13:00 the float dipped away and I struck into a fish. It ran away from the reeds and out into the center of the lake.As it ran I started to tighten the clutch however this had no real affect. I tightened it more and more until I thought something must give. Eventually it did, I looked down and saw that the fish had emptied the spool. I was gobsmacked, sickened and annoyed. My attention had so been on tightening the clutch I hadn't notice that the spool was getting empty. My spool only takes 100 meters of 6lb line.

Worried that it may happen again I reeled in the feeder rod and packed up. I left the fishery about 13:30 totally cheesed off. I had no one to blame but myself.

Postscript

On my return home I logged onto WWW.MAGGOTDROWNING.COM to seek advice as to how this situation could have been avoided.

The solution most offered was that I should have had the setting of the clutch much stiffer as a starting point than I had so that when I tightened it further if the fish didn't stop the hook length would have broken.

Also I think I lacked confidence in how much I could pull on the rod.

Since this incident I have taken the advice given and it has helped me out. I can now bully the fish away from the reeds and into the open water quite easily. As a generalization, the clutch will only release line when fish 8 lb or over run.

2015 13 May 31st Silver Lake, Gabriels Farm Fishery, Edenbridge

Today was my second visit of the year to Gabriel's Silver lake. I was really looking forward to it as I always seem to do well on that particular lake.

When I arrived I was almost shocked to see three or four cars already in the car park. I unloaded the car and set off for my favorite swim, which on Silver lake is peg 1.

When I arrived at the lake I discovered that the owners of the cars in the car park were on the first four pegs having a match (the keep nets gave it away). What to do now? I decided to have a stroll up the far bank. One of the first swims had a nice looking reed bed to fish to. I decided to give that one a go.

One rod waggler set up was to be my tactic of the day. Bait wise I was going to fish corn over a base of maize. I had fed the swim and was ready to make my first cast at 8 am.

I forgot to mention that although the spot I was fishing was about midway across the lake the depth was barely 2 feet. The first hour brought a solitary roach however undeterred I fed the swim some more and kept on fishing.

Another hour passed and the only other occupant of the virtual net was a skimmer bream which also fell to corn.

For the next four hours and ten minutes I couldn't buy a bite. The wait was ended when the float dipped and I was into a fish that took line! The culprit was a 3 lb carp. Small by carping standards but a welcome relief.

It was nearly 2 hours before I had another bite. It was back to the bream again.

Nothing happened until about 6 pm when the float shot away and I was into something a bit more substantial. Unfortunately for me it managed to get into a snag on the far side. Try as I may I couldn't get it out. The result a broken hook length.

It was then that I decided to call it a day. Not one of my best, just four fish in the day. Obviously the very fishy looking reed bed wasn't quite what it seemed! I shall be back.