2017 08 May 12th, Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

Today, it was back to Nursery Fields for another all day session at the club's mixed fishery.

It was just before 7am when I pulled into the empty car park. Great I thought, this gives me an opportunity to take my time and maybe fish a swim I hadn't, as yet, fished previously.

I loaded up the trolley and starting from the bottom of the lake on the far side I examined all the swims until I came to the one almost opposite the two islands. This gave me a good swim to fish to on the far bank with a feeder rod and some lily pads to fish to with the waggler. Excellent, I thought.

I set up both rods and was ready to make my first casts at 8am. On the feeder rod I was using 10mm tutti fruitti boillies and on the waggler rod I stated with 6mm halibut pellets.

Sometimes when you start a session early and have fed the swim with a fair amount of food it shouldn't be a shock if a biggish fish is attracted into your swim. Basically what I'm saying is, don't be caught off guard when you encounter a decent bite early on. That's my advice, pity I didn't take it. I lost three good fish in the first hour.

It wasn't a complete disaster though as I managed to catch an Ide first cast and a carp of about 2lb a short time later.

I then decided to switch to another flavoured pellet - this time I chose crab. I only caught one with it in the next hour but it was a nice crucian.

For the next two hours I switched back to halibut pellets but only managed to get 1 solitary roach. It wasn't a total disaster though as the feeder rod came to life with a tench and a bream.

A mixture of flavoured pellets brought me another Ide and two tench in the next hour. The feeder rod chipped in with another bream and a reasonable carp.

Another hour passed and I'd added another 6 fish to the virtual net, a crucian, a roach and four scrappy tench.

Here's how my set up looked:

It was back to crab flavoured pellets for the next hour. As always seems to happen here the fishing died at lunchtime. Proof of this was the fact that I only caught a roach and a crucian. The feeder rod hadn't obviously heard of this rule as it produced another four tench.

As I reached mid afternoon (15:00) things had slowed right down, A 2lb carp came in on the feeder rod and a single Ide joined it in the virtual net having shown a liking for tangerine dream pellets.

It was at 16:00 that the action began in earnest, the waggler rod produced absolutely nothing however the feeder produced a tench and 2 carp, one of which went 12lb 8oz. Another double! I must be close to a personal best on the number of doubles for a season.

By 17:20 which the time I decided to call it a day, the tangerine dream pellets had accounted for a bream and a tench. The feeder rod had gone mad again. A carp of 13lb took the boillie which was significant in that it was the first time I'd ever had two doubles in one session.

Where the good carp came from:

I'd hardly settled down again when the buzzer went off and I was into another good fish. I could tell it wasn't a carp, barbel or tench by the way it fought or rather didn't. I was proved right when it broke the surface to reveal itself as a very good bream. This was confirmed by the scales, 3.5lb, which equalled my personal best.

So that was it for the day, 26 fish caught, two doubles and a near personal best bream. I went home a very happy man.

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.

2017 4 April 7th Chittenden, Edenbridge, Kent

For my fourth outing of the year I chose to visit the club's carp lake at Chittenden near Edenbridge in Kent. My last visit had produced two early season doubles so I was full of confidence for the day ahead.

I arrived at the venue around 7am to find that I was the second one there. I unloaded the car and made my way down the lake to my favoured swim.

For the first time this year, I started the day fishing with two rods, the first, a float rod with 6lb main line and the second, a feeder rod with a small bomb on 8lb line.

As far as bait went, for the float rod I decided to start on corn and for the feeder rod it would be 10mm Tutti Fruitti boillies.

I was ready to make my first casts at 8am. The float shot out and I settled down in my chair ready for the action, if any, to begin.

I didn't have to wait long for my first bite of the day. The float shot away and I was into my first carp of the day, when it made the net I estimated it to be between 5 and 6lb. Not a bad start.

By the end of the first hour, I'd caught another carp of about 3lb and a small bream making my total for the day 3.

By noon I'd caught my first carp on the feeder rod, it was in the 7lb bracket, nice but no monster. Because of the long quiet spell on the corn I decided to change to 6mm halibut pellets.

An hour later and my decision to swop had been vindicated as I caught another two carp, one of around 9lb and the other about 4lb.

By 14:20, I'd added another carp of about 3lb from the pellet rod to the virtual net accompanied by a 2lb bream from the feeder rod.

In addition to halibut pellets I also had some crab flavoured ones and it was these that were responsible for the two carp that made the net in the next hour. Again no monsters, one was 4lb and the other around 3lb. Total for the day was now 10.

Bream also like crab as I discovered when another one made the virtual net.

By the time I packed up at 17:30 I'd caught another three carp, the largest of which was about 9lb. I was a bit annoyed that I had to keep estimating the sizes because my digital scales decided to play up. Of course when I looked at them at home they worked perfectly fine!

So the total for the day was 14. I was pleased with that, there weren't any monsters but I had enjoyed myself and that's what it's all about. One bonus was that it was hot all day so much so that I went home with a sunburnt face!

2017 03 March 31st Nursery Fields, Edenbridge

Beware The Ides Of March

For my third outing of the season I thought I would make a return visit to the club's mixed fishery at Nursery Fields near Edenbridge in Kent.

As I drove down I could feel that the sun was going to be quite strong for the time of year. This might be a factor in whether or not my trip would be successful. Time would tell.

It was just after 7 when I arrived at the venue. There was one other angler there who could only have been a couple of minutes in front of me. We exchanged pleasantries and some information and then went our separate ways.

Today's tactics was going to be the same as the ones I used at Chittenden the previous week, Initially a float rod and then another rod with a small bomb and a 10mm boillie as bait later on.

When I arrived at my swim I decided on a cocktail approach to my loose feed. A combination of hemp, maggots, corn and pellets was thrown in at regular intervals whilst I was setting up.

I was ready to make my first casts at 8am. The first hour flew by as I had action from the get go. Six fish made the net consisting of roach and ide, a species I found out from the bailiff that had recently been stocked.

I decided as the fish were biting that I would stay on the corn until that slowed down. By 9am I'd added another three Ide to the net.

The swim was definitely alive now. Ninety minutes later and I'd caught one more Ide and three tench. My total for the day was now 13.

By noon I'd set up the feeder rod and was fishing a line close to the island. Just before my lunch (12:30) I'd caught one tench on the feeder rod with the float line chipping in with 4 teach plus 1 each of crucian, roach and ide. I was rocking. I'd be taking my coat off next.

The Nursery Fields lunchtime slump then kicked in as by 13:30 I'd only added one more Ide to the virtual net.

The feeder rod then roared into action, the result was my year's first barbel. A nice 2lb specimen. Total for the day was now 23.

The rest of the afternoon (until 16.05) continued to be full on action. The float rod produced two tench, two bream and four more Ide. The feeder rod however produced a carp of 13lb 4oz, another double for the year and a personal best for Nursery Fields. Total for the day was now 32.

The carp - sorry photo not the best.

For the last 2 hours of the day I fished the margin swim that I'd been feeding, little and often, all through the day. I managed to get my best Ide of the day, around 1lb, and several tench and bream. However there weren't any showstoppers between them.

This fellow managed to keep me company throughout the day.

I packed up at 18:30, having caught 40 fish, one of those being a personal best carp from Nursery Fields. The biggest Ide was a personal best as well, however I'd never caught one before so it doesn't really count.

2017 2 March 24th Chittenden, Edenbridge, Kent

For my second outing of the season I decided to visit the club's carp lake at Chittenden, near Edenbridge in Kent.

Driving down to the venue I noticed that it was very much colder (6 degrees) than the previous week. The good news was that there was an absence of wind. How would this affect the fishing?

I arrived at the fishery just after 7am to find just one other car in the car park. The weather was obviously putting  people off.

I unloaded the car and made my way down to the bottom end of the lake.

Today I was going to start with one float rod and then introduce a feeder rod later on. My initial set up was 6lb main line, size 18 hook and single maggot as the hook bait. I fed the swim with hemp, pellets, maggots and corn as I was setting up.

I was ready to make my first cast at 8am. At this time of year I didn't know what to expect from the day so I was full of positive anticipation as I sat back in my chair to wait for the action to begin.

By the end of the first hour I had caught fish, the only problem was they were very small bream and roach, Still it was better than no action.

The next hour was pretty much the same as the previous one except that the three fish were all small rudd.

By 11:35 the small fish had kept coming in on the maggot. One rudd, one bream and five roach to be exact. Total for the day was now 13.

About 11:45 I made two changes to my tactics, the first was to switch hook bait from maggots to corn, The second was to start fishing a small bomb on the feeder rod with 10mm tutti fruitti boillies as the bait.

By 12:20 my plan seemed to have worked. On the float rod I'd caught 2 bream both bigger than the ones I was getting on maggot (the largest being about a pound) and on the feeder rod I'd landed this 7.5 lb carp. Things were looking up.

The next two hours were slow but rewarding. On the float rod I'd added another bream to the virtual net. On the feeder however I'd caught my first double of the year, a 12 lb 12 oz specimen, I was a happy little bunny.

By 15:30 the feeder rod had delivered another fish, Not a carp but a bream of about 2lb. My biggest of the year so far.

Just after 4pm, as I was starting to have thoughts about packing up, the feeder rod went off again and I was into another good carp (for me that is). This was my second double of the season although not quite as big as the previous one it did weigh 11 lb 2 oz.

It was at this point that I decided to call it a day. Twenty fish caught including two doubles. I can't complain about that.