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Just got permission from the farmer while i was looking round the lake, 80 euros for a year! he said no body has ever asked him before I am buzzing

I split my fishing between day only fishing and then the more hard core 48 hour sessions on bigger waters. The bigger waters haven't really happened this year but it seems that most people were struggling so not too despondent, especially with the 2 heatwaves we have had this year. Yesterday I went to my local days only park lake. It's a 2 rod limit and I started at 10:30 and you have be off by 21:30. I caught 22 fish including a 17, 18, 19 and 21-5. It was so stupid, I struggled to find time to eat my sandwiches! At 21:00 I sent the boat out for the last time. I had just dropped the second one and the first was away which was the 21 so I opened the bail arm on the second and left it on the pod. When I picked it up about 10 minutes later, I knew that a fish would be on! One time I was clipping on the bobbin and the line was ripped from my fingers. The previous trip I had 14 but the biggest was only a 16 and the 2 trips before that I had 8 and 9 including a 20. You could be forgiven for thinking it's massively overstocked but I don't think that's the case. I've been fishing it for about 15 years and 2 or 3 fish is a good result and my previous highest tally was 9. I've blanked more times than I care to remember and it can be a bit moody at times. The water is pretty murky and so it's difficult to gauge what is happening but it can't last forever and so it's a case of making hay while the sun shines.

I was out on Friday evening from about 6 on my local lake (old deep clay quarry) with nothing to show. It was funny listening to and watching the teenage kids in one of the posh houses opposite having a party. Once they started swimming and diving into the lake it was game over, but I kept on for another hour before reeling in. Back out again early doors 6.30am this morning. Previously bites have dried up by 9. I had 2 strange aborted takes where the bobbins pulled tight to the alarms and then stopped around 9. Once it got to 10, I though it was too late, but thought I was planning to go until lunch, so let's give it a while longer. 11AM and my right hand rod screamed off. A nice little 12lb 12oz lightly scaled mirror. That was a nice surprise for the time, but I noticed it was overcast so that may have played into it. 30 mins later and the right hand rod was off again. A 12lb 14oz zip linear this time. As I was bent over returning the fish, my left hand rod screamed into life. After releasing the fish, I went to pick up my other rod, then remembered my net was still broken down, so left it to run for a bit whilst I sorted that out. The run slowed to a stop then sped away again by the time I could get to my rod. I tightened down the clutch and pulled into it and could feel a much stronger pull back. After a 10 minute fight, I managed to get it in the net and could see it was a much bigger fish. I secured the net with a bankstick whilst I refreshed my bucket and prepared everything. A lovely long lean 25lb 4oz fully scaled mirror. It's about the size of the largest fish in the lake. I'm not sure if it's the 'big one' or if that's a common, but I'm more than happy. I returned it as soon as I had finished with everything and then sat down deciding I'd had my fill and the fishing gods had been more than generous. That and the fact I had other things to do this afternoon. Overall, even though it started out quiet, it was a really good session.

Came through the latest heat wave fine. All the koi are happy and feeding really well, it's amazing what that extra air has done. I've been upping the food this past week and the fish are loving it. We now have a prolonged period of 25-28C which is absolutely no problem so it's time to put some weight on.

I went to club lake today, was gonna stay most of day but packed up about 1pm it was too hot and no bites and no sign of fish, i got sunburnt last week and when i felt the sun starting to rake over the coals thats when i left, gonna leave the fishing till things cool down a bit

Went on my syndi Saturday evening to Monday morning, started on one side of the lake but moved Sunday morning to one of the bays opposite after seeing a few show amongst the kelp beds. Had a small common Monday morning with only the rods left to pack up, then whilst dealing with that one the right hander busted off with a better fish that I lost giving it the beans trying to stop it reaching snags. Nice to get a birthday fish 👍

i know i will get shot down for this but i am not a fan of dropping the lead every time. yes there is a cost implication here as they are not cheap but most importantly for me it cant be great leaving all these leads behind on the lake beds. Yes i know they are made of safe materials these days but every angler dropping a lead on every take just sounds overkill to me.

A couple of weeks ago I sent a couple of models to Help for Heroes, a 1/740 Prinz Eugen which I had ordered in the wrong scale ( I build ships in 1/600) and an HMS Belfast I had duplicated. Really pleased to receive this today and that it is handwritten makes it such a nice reply.

Damn these fish they just don't care about an angler's comfort ! . Good on you for putting Sky's needs first . 😃

I tried that last weekend, setting up in the shade of a big elm tree, and blanked. Last year I created a bivvy spot right under the willows and again, the fish seemed to avoid the area. On both occasions the fish caught were in the brightest and sunniest spots. I would say that I should have moved, but with Sky I refused as I would much rather she was comfortable as possible, and unless I tell her will lay in the sun all day and overheat.

Oh no ! , in other words I can't just plonk myself down in the nearest shady spot I've got to actually put the effort in , how disappointing . Still good guidance as well as Kev , and Golden Paws .

Well the extra air supply looks to be working. All of the fish seem happier and they're all feeding well. One is still heading to the filter return regularly but he's also socialising and eating food. I'll be keeping the extra air going in for now, especially with temps heading back up next week. I now need to get the balance of food right. Digestion uses lots of oxygen so I don't want to pile the grub in for growth until the water temps are down a little.

One from the weekend after the heatwave.

I've met some great people on the bank but also some I'll be glad never to meet again. Here are some examples of "That Guy"; You've found a spot, got the rods out and the bivvy is up. Time to relax with a cup of tea and then it starts. Tap, tap, tap........tap, tap, tap.... tap, tap, tap. Worse, you know the idiot has about 11 more pegs to get in! You struggled to push yours in the hard ground with a bit of sweat and a few choice words but did it confident that the fish wouldn't be aware of your presence. Anyone owning a bivvy mallet should have it inserted blunt end first! It was 2 in the morning. It was during one of the recent heatwaves and all the bivvy sides were up. A blinding light hits you and a car rumbles past on the gravel track. Everyone has an emergency ever now and again so you let it go. Ten minutes later it comes back and parks again. I know the portaloo is 200 yards away and despite what you think, your Tesla does make a racket! A bloke was fishing on the opposite side with his missus and 2 kids. They had a BBQ at dinner time. No problem. Then the 2 kids get out a football and kick it all around the lake! I was fishing one rod about a rod length out near some rushes. All of the sudden, there is a huge splash right where I was fishing. I thought it must have been a fish. Twenty minutes later another splash and I saw the lead go in! I walked a good 25 yards to the next swim and had a few words with the bloke! A couple of kids were fishing near the dam. Doof. The lead went in. Five minutes later another doof. Every five minutes another doof as they cast repeatedly for hours. Yes, I blanked. A noisy bloke was on the other side, Regularly you would hear him tell his dog to lie down. Luckily after dark it all went quiet. Then at 2:30a.m., he started chatting to his mate in the next swim. I could hear every word, despite him being 100 yards away!

Only the one ? treat it to a pair lol

TBH, I recon now the temps have eased off a bit the fish are up for a feed. I don't think they've been feeding much whilst it's been so bright and hot, not there's a bit of a breeze, the temps have dropped and we're getting occasional cloud cover, they've got to feed in some shape or other. If you're luck enough to be there when they switch on and can keep them in the area, you'll get a great result. I haven't been back to my local pond to check water temps since last weekend, but I hope they've dropped a bit and I hope the breeze has helped oxygenate the water a bit.

Despite the sweltering heat, I managed 20 fish on my days only park lake including a 16, 17 and two 18's. The average size was about 12 1/2 lb. As mentioned before, it's not normally that easy and by no means a pastie water. Despite the conditions screaming zigs or a small PVA bag approach, I went in totally the opposite and sent out the boat with spod mix and pellet at least every hour or after a bite.

I went to club lake early morning today, had a few mid doubles close in under an overhanging tree, and one mid water too. By 12 o'clock was far too hot so packed up but enjoyed the fishing. Just a small thing tho, my Atts remote packed up mid session, tried to replace it with a Duracell AA rechargeable battery, blooming thing is actually slightly larger than a normal one so didn't fit!!☹️ Didn't stop me having a good day tho 👍 Take care in this heat all.

Blanket weed is my only issue, or should I say was... I stopped feeding them about a week ago, it took a few days but they started feeding on it, but not enough to stop it spreading. So i ordered 15 trap door snails. They have been in 48 hrs and I can already see the pond getting clearer. Water quality is better than what comes out the tap

No, there aren't any bream in there. I've had similar occurrences on another lake that contains some large catfish and they frequently smash people up and due to bad practices by anglers, they are frequently trailing tackle including leads and you get all 3 rods register a bite but then drop off a second later.

For my late July trip to Belgium I've just bought the Nash Tarp, so we have some shade in the daytime and 2 of the Wolf Fans for the bivvies which seem to work well. I also got the Aqua Pioneer 150, to go alongside my Ultralite, justified by saying it's for my son on this trip but really it's for me in winter when you want a slightly bigger shelter for the additional stuff taken. 😂👍

Depends on how badly you want to catch ‘em lol sometimes life’s too short.

I was out Sunday early and had a good result whilst it was overcast (see July Catch Reports), but ibthink that was very much down to local conditions. The club shut all fishing as of 11pm last night die to hugh water temps and their concern over DO, so I can't fish my preferred venue. I'm not sure I would go out locally right now. Its 30 outside as I write this and forecast up to 33/34 later today and throughout the week. Just unpacking the car, getting to the swim and setting up can be very unpleasant in this weather.

Thanks very much , Kev , top tips there . From a Grey / Ginger 😁

Don't guess..... Treat it like any other session and try to find the carp. If you can't find them, I'd start on the end of the wind but be ready to move on any sighting. Imo deep water is not the one in high temps but hey.... I've seen them show up in the oddest of places at the oddest times of year! 20C+ is bad for oxygen but good for digestion/feeding.... but digestion uses lots of oxygen (lol). Swings and roundabouts mate. All you can do is find them and fish for them.

I've got a 48 hour session booked for this weekend that I paid for last year and not particularly looking forward to it. Luckily that lake that I'm going to has quite good night form and early mornings also are pretty good but then not expecting anything until the following evening. On my park lake a few days ago, I was catching a few in very shallow water. I didn't actually plumb it but the time lag between opening the hopper on the boat and the lead smacking down was minimal, I reckon it was probably on about 2 foot but it was under the far bank trees. The lake is a dammed stream and I've been catching at the top end when the effect of the oxygenated water flowing in is at it's greatest.

Happy birthday Kev.

Im still recovering from one of the worst nights fishing ever, last weekend. Getting my companions and the gear to the lake was a separate fiasco, but won't bore you with that. Rods out all quiet until I started falling asleep around 11. Beep. Beep first bin lid🙄 I was then plagued by them until about 4.30am. Despite changing spots, going out as singles. I got a few hours kip. With the odd carp cruising about, I switched to zigs at 2 /12ft, about 2/3 depth. First blip after an hr, as my son reeled in, seemingly with nothing on. As the lead became visible, a fish rolled off in the margins. All I saw was a bronzy/gold flash. Back out, 10 mins later a few beers, my son struck. Again seemed like he lost it, but kept the line tight and felt something on. As the fish broke the surface, I quickly pulled the net in to avoid the bream slime. Ive only ever had perch or carp before on zigs, so this seemed a bit weird. Recast and same again 🙄. I changed them all over to 3 1/2 ft, nothing after that as it went overcast. One to forget 😀

Sounds like worrying times. Hopefully this intense heat will soon be over and I see that a fair bit of rain is forecast for Saturday and Sunday, hopefully that should help.

Water depth and oxygen levels in relation to stress will be an issue in shallow lakes. The mostly deeper lakes on the main continent are not as likely to cause as much stress. Oxygen is not as big an issue in the depths of lakes as it is in shallow waters. Fish can fight themselves almost to death in warm water, and take ages to recover. In theory, yes. Yet every year adults as well as children die in lakes and rivers. A no swimming lake just outside Norwich, a number of deaths related to swimming in hot weather.

Thank you, baited up late last night, strange atmosphere there at night, its right next to where a young couple got shot riding a motorbike trying to flee the DDR the observation tower still stands today!

I bet you are. What a result.

Lake exclusivity is a great result, good for you We'll look forward to hearing about your campaign.

Result! I'm delighted for you. Ian.

As I'm not allowed to fish my local lake, I thought I would stop by to see what's happening. As expected, there's people using it as a swimming pool/somewhere to go paddle boarding/sunbathing. I bought an aquarium thermometer off amazon just so I know what the water temperature is. I was shocked to find the surface water between 26.1C and 26.3C. Hopefully the temps are going to start dropping soon. That can't be good for the fish.

Have you got a drone now mate?

Depending on your morals you could either pinch from here davidmillerart.co.uk or ask if you could use one or 2 for your private use and he may send you a file for a couple of quid so you could get a decent picture put on it. would look better than the crappy ones you see on the internet.

Ah , Zombie Sheep Lake ,and now they are coming mob handed 😱 .

A lake I fish has several lake bed aerators and it does produce a current almost similar to a river and the fish do feed just downstream of them. They also have 2 large water fountains that run for about 4 hours in the summer mornings and I tend to avoid those areas, it must be like sticking your head in the Marshall stack at a Motorhead concert- -trust me, I've been to one!

Possibly. Since we arrived that fish had always been a little lethargic compared to the others, certainly one of the older ones. In general the younger/smaller koi seem to be dealing with the temps much, much better.

What size do you think these mirrors are? I got close to them and they look blooming fat and deep. if you look close i am on the hill to the left for size comparison,

Oz ponds is very useful. He says to base the bog filter on about 20% of pond volume He was bang on 2 weeks for clear water. Very low maintenance, although im forever tweaking my makeshift skimmer, as the liner isn't big enough to go under my tub

Action stations at home. The last few days 2 of the koi have started sitting high up in the water in the flow of the filter return. No probs I thought, it's just because they like the flow of the water over their gills. Then a couple of days ago those 2 fish stopped eating. I've checked pH, nitrites, ammonia, phosphates..... all fine. Then last night a few of the others started sitting in the flow of the return. They're still eating ok but I'm obviously getting worried. I already have two air pumps feeding several air supply systems but they're all in the filter. This means the freshly oxygenated water is all coming out of that filter return and it's looking like the koi are desperate for it. None of the fish are gasping at the surface but they're opening/closing their mouths quicker than they normally do. Not yet gulping, but it looks like it could be on the way. Obviously the heatwave has elevated water temps considerably so it's becoming clear I need more oxygen as soon as possible. I'm picking up a new air pump later with a new air stone... both the biggest I can get. On paper there's loads of oxygen going in already but it's a big old pond with big old fish. Hopefully the new air line will sort it.

https://tacklebox.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/TB6030-Line-Test-PDF-Issue-15-190526.pdf The previous link is no longer valid; the above are the latest working links.

Therein are many problems within business and fishing, the need to make money. I've had run-ins in the past with Simon Pomeroy over someone using a huge single hook for pike fishing. He doesn't like people disagreeing with him! I have tried Stonze, in various sizes and they cast like a bag of spanners, more wobble than Jessica Rabbit. For short range fishing, fine. For the potential camouflage aspect, fine. For any distance, yuck. Pushing Dropping the lead was another business invention, the more leads you drop, the more you sell... The original reason for the invention of the Lead Clip was the ease of removing the lead at the end of the session, or changing lead size during the session! It provided a way of being able to fish semi-fixed without attaching tubing over the hooklink swivel, to hold a lead bead in place. Instead of buying 2 items you bought 1. I hate dropping the lead; in most cases there is no need, even in weedy waters. I have fished very weedy waters, and never found the need to drop the lead. Personally I used to use Zipp (Distance) shaped 1oz to 3oz inline leads in weed, and had few problems. As long as the lead has no shoulder, no weed catching. Your hook catches more on the retrieve. Gawd, imagine trying to play a fish through weed with a Stonze inline or not! That's not to say I don't lose leads; a snap-off thanks to pike or swan swimming through the line, an occasional quick clip and the lead pinging off the clip during the fight. However, there is an environmental issue, both as @greekskii says from microplastics, and the amount of lead in various waters, lost or 'dumped' tackle. Dumping the lead is really decriminalised littering, pollution, I do recall something about fishing weights being lead was raised in the EU Parliament. We are not just thinking freshwater fishing here, we have to include sea fishing, both beach, boat and commercial as all use lead weights. There is potential for a ban, and even though we are no longer part of the European Union.