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OK so earlier this year I decided to drop my ticket on my syndicate lake in the Fens. I've enjoyed it there and done ok, but it really doesn't suit the handful of overnighters per year that I normally get to fish, and it works out too expensive when I simply don't get the time to be there. I decided to sign off with a few nights to bag one of the special ones. When I say special, I mean it.... a handful of old big mirrors with scattered scales and little melted heart shaped tails, and a couple of bigger commons. They share this little pit with a mixed bag of carp that have been stocked since the turn of the century. Even the stockies, as can be seen in my previous post, are a bit special with plenty of lookers to go for. The trip started as well as it possibly could, but we'll come to that later. For now, the next fish I want to show you lot is one of the bigger stockies, certainly destined to become one of the A-Team at some point. This fella came at first light after my 2nd night off a little spot that's only fishable at this time of year.... by June it'll be covered in weed. I discovered this spot a couple of years ago and it's done me a fish for the last 2 years. Obviously, I needed a rod on it. Nothing special required here, a short cast with a nice smelly pop up on a hinge. Job done. I actually caught this one last year so it's a repeat but I'm not complaining. It was 2lb up in weight so doing well. If it carries on like that it'll be a real biggun in a few years.

I have a few to upload but file size will be a problem so may have to do it over a couple days. Lets start with the smaller ones.

I can trouble this month's Catch report, with a 26lb mirror this morning on a 12mm Monster Crab pop-up on my reverse combi rig

I may be able to merge posts for you if it limits it due to picture size

This is another session that seemed to start out badly for various reasons. I got to the lake to discover someone in the swim I had been baiting up, no major problems as there is 45acres of lake, so I chose a swim opposite, albeit over 150metres away, so not going to interfere. A pallet had blown in and drifted up the lake into the margins, so I attempted to pull it out. As I did so a rotten piece broke and the pallet fell down my leg, with a nail ripping a brand new pair of combat trousers from thigh to shin, and giving me a couple of cuts on my thigh. I already knew that I had left my coffee and sugar at home, so after changing into clean trousers I took a trip to the shop in Botesdale for some antiseptic and coffee and sugar. Last night I had ducks taking off and flying through the right hand lines twice, on the second occasion for some reason my middle white Ipro indicator body broke in two, so I had to bodge a repair. This morning just drinking coffee and the male swan swan through the right hand line, getting tangled in the process and eventually smashing me up. I re-rigged and was sat with just two rods in the water, thinking I'd recast after walking Sky round. Another coffee and the left hand rod screamed off, this was a better result on the reverse combi-rig and 12mm pop-up when I landed a 26lb mirror. That puts a smile on the face!

Ive just moved onto the shrimp after a conversation with @yonny (dont have the time to amke my own this year), good start as i managed to catch one first time out, has a very distinct smell to it (think possible SSA & Monster Crab combo/Nash Cajun Prawn as the lead smell/flavour.)

Went to local lake yesterday just for afternoon managed one carp just an 8lb 40z, lovely scaly mirror, jesus i really am looking like an "old codger" these days

How it's done!!! well in big man ♥️

It's lovely to see you smiling in the top 'photo , Nick . You usually seem to be grimacing in pain from the effort of lifting your catch due to your bad back . 😃

It's their own patented shrimp flavour. Stinks doesn't it 🤣

Bit early! The water temperature is not high enough for carp and I don't think the days are quite long enough yet, be about right towards the middle of May.

Was he sheeping you up for emptying the place?

This has to be one of my favourite rod shots, taken this week, with the sunset.

Nice Fish Nick, well in mate, by eck we are both looking old these days

It certainnly does and holds in the bait well, will be complex mixture of carboxlyic acids which is what made the for mentioned fishing bait classics when it comes to flavours, plus very attractive to our cyprinid friends

I've had a bit of a lead around the past day or 2. It's definitely very deep compared to other places I've fished, with an occasional clump of weed in places but I'm not sure 100ft is quite true, unless it's a hole I've not found yet. Someone I met on the bank yesterday said 60ft which may be more accurate. There's definitely some shallower slopes and ledges around the edge and people have said they've had fish up to 22lb in the past couple of weeks, so maybe it's not as hard as I expect. The difficulty is going to be making sure I'm not too deep.

Sounds interesting! As with all waters, look for the fish. Despite the depths, most waters still have margins, a shelf or ledge and then either a gradual slope or a sudden drop off. I can't imagine that there is much natural food at depths beyond say 40feet either. That's not to say none, but I would think most is above that. I seem to recall a thread around 5years ago asking how deep carp go, and I think that 50feet was the limit that carp were caught from (Bundy's?). Funnily enough I was reading Rod Hutchinson Carp Now and Then again this week, and his thoughts were that Cassien carp preferred to feed in depths to around 20feet, but would go down to 60feet. This is where your friendly echo sounder and bait boat may be handy? (Did I really just say that?🫣) Casting near the gardens is relative, how do you define what is near? Do the residents always sit out with a measuring stick and a yellow or red card?😆🤪 A small splash may or may not be noticed, and once the line is in the water who is to say where it was cast.

@yonny, once again cheers Mate. I did the same, placed an order for 15kg of boilies, mixed fresh and stabilisd, added some pop-ups and hard hookbaits. Trent Baits website is easy to navigate and payment was easy online. Compared to many companies it was no hassle.

Thanks Mate. I'm limited on freezer space so reckon that 5kg is the maximum I can keep in the freezer, which makes a good shelfie important. I've not done badly on shelf life's from Alton and The Syndicate. The Rod Hutchinson KMG was a brilliant bait in shelf life. I do tend to use the throwing stick to put bait out so reckon using frozen to put some bait out at the start, then 'prebaiting' at the end of the session with shelf life, and mixing the two during the session. Normally 70metres is my maximum on the syndicate.

Frozen is better but the shelfies are decent. A little firmer so brilliant for sticking at very long range. At normal range I'd go frozen every time.

Aren't a lot of us now showing our age , Jules , except Elmo of course who just gets more adonis like 😁 .