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Part two. The following summer I got some tackle ready and headed for the lake, first it was at unearthly hours of the morning, then at night on the full moon and again on the new moon. However, no matter what I tried no sooner would I get myself comfortable, and then I would have company of the wrong type, no matter what I did it was not long before the guards turned up, clearly it was not to be. This was the only time in my life when my feet weren't firmly planted and pointing in the right direction, I had been tempted by that fish to behave in error. Luckily for me, at about the same time I started seeing the estate mentioned in the news papers for various court hearings, for poaching etc and the fines for catching a couple of rabbits were so severe I realized I was best out of it and over the next few years I did my thing and slowly forgot about Yeld. Although I say, I forgot about Yeld; that was not strictly true. You see, I do not know about you, but I liken carp and dogs to some of the females of our species, I best explain what I mean. When I first spy a big carp, I cannot get her out of my head, I eat, sleep and dream about the fish, to the point of it making me unwell, until the day I get her, then just like the young blond at the bar the besotted feeling just leaves me. Whereas when I first see a puppy I want I eat, sleep and think about the pup until its mine, but then just like the brunette I met at a dinner party, I begin a courtship that lasts until death does us part. So you can see I never forget a dog or a fish but my relationship is just a little different with each and seeing that big fish was like seeing a gorgeous blond woman for the first time. In my late teens I started courting a young Lady, Heather, who was instrumental in my introduction to various things! Some off which would best be placed in a different category of literature to this!, however some of the people she introduced me to where rather influential to say the least. One such introduction was to a certain couple; the Strutts, now Lady Strutt for some strange reason took a shine to me, this got my foot into many a proverbial door. So, it came to be that one Saturday morning all dressed up in my Sunday best, I was at the door of the big house at Yeld where I got a fantastic view of the lake and its true reason for being became obvious. I was day dreaming when the door opened, I soon came to and I introduced myself and asked if it would be possible to speak to the owner. My introduction to the owners was all very pleasant and polite but in the end all to no avail and I left Yeld very disappointed, I had tried everything and still had no joy. Again, I had to forget about the place, but this time for some years, not completely but just enough, that was until now; it was now 2002 and I was here on holiday having moved away some years earlier. That night after my quick departure and whilst lying there in bed not sleeping, I came to the conclusion that I had nothing to lose by asking again, I have found that with age come some concessions and benefits that are often refused at younger age. In the morning I found myself there again, at the door of the big house all smartly dressed and looking at the lake down below and day dreaming yet again. It really did feel like deja-vu as I was invited into the lobby, where I introduced myself and explained why I was there. I was met with a different attitude this time almost like a long lost friend and I had quite a long and pleasant morning chatting over coffee. I was informed that the estate had changed hands since I was last there, but that the place was still used for important governmental meetings and symposiums. I also discovered that the place was riddled in live cameras and alarms and had been so for many years, this explained the sudden appearance of guards every visit. I also found out what the James Bond link was, an odd one and not really meaningful, but if I were to state what the link was, I would give the place away, something I am not prepared to do. The estate still had permanent dog handlers as guards and at certain times, they even had armed response guards in place; it was not looking good! Something else I learned from my visit was that since their take over I was the first to ask about the fishing! although people had asked about the shooting, now this really surprised me as it was only a few miles from the city and is easily be found on a map. Now for the real surprise, I could fish providing I obeyed the following rules. One- I had to leave the place as found. Two- I could only visit on my own. Three- remove nothing. Four- I had to pre arrange the dates with them so they did not clash with their meetings etc. Five- I was never to divulge the details of the place. I left on cloud nine and never stopped thinking about the place, just thinking about the big fish I had seen, the solitude etc. It was now the summer of 2003 and despite me trying my hardest to arrange fishing on the lake on a few occasions, I had still not fished it and I was getting more apprehensive by the day, it was as if the owners and the gods were trying to keep me away. Well nothing was going to stop me and I just kept trying, I phoned once again to ask if I could fish for one week starting on the 16 June, the answer this time was yes!

Don't worry, I will be in your neck of the woods in a few days, you can tell me how you feel then!lol

I'm not sure about all bait companies, but the spray from the company I use is exactly the same liquid they use to flavor their pop-ups and wafters. I just spray the whole tub of baits once or twice at the beginning of each session, then if I re-use a bait I spray it and let it soak for a minute or two and re-cast. It's especially useful in stinky silt

I've tried Sprays and the only thing i caught was a Tenner on the corner of my wallet as i payed for em

I use sprays on my hookbaits, namely pop ups. I keep topping them up and letting them dry in the pot before repeating. I fish silty meres mainly and I want the hookbaits to have absorbed all they can before going out. This should help them becoming tainted by the silt. My zig baits are kept in a solution of neat thaumatin b mixed with water, 50:50. These still have that sweet taste even after being out for over 24 hours. I dont beleive they are a gimmick, if used in a benificial way😘

Interesting you say that @kevtaylor as I've always done better on unflavoured zigs. My thinking is that with no flavour they're forced to mouth the foam to see what it is. If it's flavoured they can make a decision to take it or not. I want to remove that decision. Might see you at the weekend buddy😉