levigsp

I think people are looking at this from a carp fishing view only. When I started fishing every lake, canal and river was solid on Saturdays and Sundays, the river and canals with match anglers and the lakes with pleasure anglers, then in virtually every harbour in the UK there would be dozens of boats taking anglers out. This reached its peak in the 1970s with a few exceptions, a hand full of lakes in the country were quiet, either because they were private or just unrewarding to the average angler, Wraysbury and surrounding pits comes to mind as does Swarkestone gravel pit. Pits and lakes were dug out in the 1960s and stocked with trout for the close season, most are now closed down used for coarse fish or shooting etc. The number of specimen hunters at that time was very small numbering in the hundreds! Move on to 2018, the number of match and pleasure anglers is a fraction of what in was in 1970 and has not been replaced by carp anglers, although their numbers have massively increased. And virtually every harbour in the UK now has but a handful of angling charter boats and a lot of these sit idol. I well remember seeing every drain and ditch in EA full of anglers, miles upon miles of the Nene, Trent etc full both banks, and sitting in Whitby, Aberystwyth, Southwold and Brixham waiting our turn to leave the harbour in a cue of boats full of working class men hoping to catch some cod or such for the freezer. Over all In the numbers game, there is no comparison the only increase is the number of Carp/specimen anglers.

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

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!

Did you read any of my others?

Just an after thought. At least Three people of this forum have seen the fish I caught from this water. But for reasons that will become obvious I asked them not to disclose to much, likewise I never tell people the whereabouts of the lake.

I have been sorting through some of my writing, some for print and others for forums, so some of you will have already seen a version of this, I apologise for that. After I wrote the thread about checking out new waters etc, I thought this article on how it SHOULD NOT be done might be poignant and I have decided the put this up on this forum as the version on another has been wiped out. Sorry for lack of photos but they went missing with the article and if I finally get my files etc of my desktop I will add them. I will put it up in instalments as it was planned originally. Yeld, one mans obsession. So, I just could not resist having a look, seeing I was so close anyway. I drove down the lane, stopped in a short pull-in next to some trees, and got out of the car. Ignoring private property signs I walked through the trees as I had done oft times before; there before my eyes lay a beautiful lake. It was not a huge lake but it was stunning within its parkland setting and I thought I knew some of its secrets. It was set in a valley overlooked by a huge house on one side, with its bowling green short grass lawn right up to the waters edge, on the other two sides were trees, a classic English estate lake in every-way. Whilst I had known this place most of my life I had never fished it only dreaming of doing so on many occasions. It was one of those places one is just mesmerized by, I cannot really explain, but I could not pass by without looking. Sitting there by the dam in the hope of seeing some movement and day dreaming of giant scaly beasts within its depths, I was disturbed by a movement. Definitely not what I wished for, it was two well-dressed gents walking towards me with dogs, I had been here before and I did not fancy an altercation so I got back to the car and away without uttering a word. Once back at my holiday cottage all sorts of thoughts were going through my head, was she still there? Could I get to fish? Etc, I went to bed that night knowing I would not sleep. This happened relatively recently, however the true tale begins some years earlier: I had first seen the lake in my early teens whilst on my way home from a rabbiting trip, at that time I lived in the county, I passed by the lake on a regular basis and as normal I used to stop off to look for likely rabbiting areas. It was October, as soon as I stepped through the trees I saw the lake, I was instantly spell bound, there were leaves gently drifting down its length and carp were slurping at them!, it looked a truly magical place. I sat there looking and dreaming when a chap suddenly grabbed me, startled for a second I thought about running for it, but thought better of it, when I realized he was not alone and his mate had a rather menacing Alsatian on the end of a short lead. Questions were asked along the following lines: Q. What are you doing here. A. Err errr, just looking. Q. Looking for what? A, looking for fish, wondered if I could fish. Q, Have you got fishing tackle with you- or what. A, Err, no, no not at all, just looking and thinking. I was met with the following reply. "No fish here, this is private land, can you not read or something? Leave; if we see you again we will call the police." I scampered as quick as I could, glad of the fact that they had not looked for my bike and the rabbits and ferret boxes hung from it, for that could have caused all sorts of problems. Over the next year or so, I mentioned the place to a number of people that I thought would know about the place and all came up blank. The following summer I went to the local village and asked at the post office, this was after telling the postmistress that I had JUST found the lake whilst walking. I remember her words now as if they were spoken yesterday. Ah, Yeld, your lucky you we not arrested going there, most are, there are private signs everywhere round the estate. I went home and again made inquiries, except this time I knew the estate name; Yeld. Again, I was met with blanks, NO ONE had ever herd of the place, and some friends started thinking I was cracking up and imagining the place. I even asked old man Howard, a good friend and mentor, being born in 1903 he seemed to know everywhere, except this place! I went back to the area again in the autumn in the hope of catching a few rabbits and perhaps catching a glimpse of the lake. This time I hid my ferrets and nets before heading down the lane; it was a very short visit, as no sooner did I get there than I was hightailing it out again due to the guards! I went into the shop again and explained who I was and my interest in the lake and that I had asked people about it, but no one knew of yeld estate. " Ah, that's where your going wrong, yeld is a local name for the place, its real name is #John’s estate and you will not get to fish it, its too private and they regularly get people arrested for simply going there. I am surprised you have not asked Joan Hicking, she knows all about the place. Now Joan Hicking or Miss Hicking to me was a rather aged local land owning farmer. I had known her for some time and had permission from her to catch rabbits on her land, yet I had not thought of asking her about the place. The following week I went and had a chat with her and asked if she could give me any information. She explained that the estate had a distant connection to James bond! And in addition, the government, hence the guards about the place, she added, that it was so private, the estate did not even have a pheasant shoot, something very unusual in the area. Then more importantly, she explained that a long time ago pre war, the young gentleman of the house had courted her until his father had put a stop to it, as she was not suitable! Whist she was with him they had often walked around the lake and seen fish "big ones", this really fired me up, it meant carp had been stocked quite some time pre-war, otherwise they would not have been "big ones" I was back at the lake within an hour, having a look again, but this time I was hidden in the trees. I was there for about 20 minutes before the blooming guards turned up again and chased me away, but I was there long enough to see carp again. This time I had clearly seen some rather large blue backed creatures not far from the bank basking in a gap in the extensive weed and it fired me up even more. I went through the same sneak up and look scenario half a dozen times more before it got too much, on the final occasion, I spied a beast of a fish, a real monster and that first sight of the fish is clearly imprinted in my mind. This fish was one of the widest backed carp I had ever seen, blue backed, golden sided and clearly a mirror. I decided that the following year come hell or high water I was going to fish my secret lake.

The Leila I knew was not carpy either but a very good ambassador for Anglo Israeli relations, if you get my meaning .

As you know I have travelled round a lot of the worlds carp breeding sites and I must say that some of the European breeders are very careful about what they do, after all its their livelihood and reputation that's on the line. However Europe has got some nasty virus diseases etc and unfortunately a lot in the wild and that seems to be the source of a lot of fish destined for the UK angling market. Legally fish can only be exported imported from fish farms that can prove they are Virus free and bio secure, Illegally they can be exported/imported from anywhere. As for Israel, I am torn on this one- On one hand they are fantastic at breeding, rearing and general husbandry, but lets be honest their expertise came from the masters in what is now Germany, Poland, Czech rep and Slovakia. Likewise their brood fish came from same self countries after the 2nd world war and from these through selective breeding they produced some fantastic strains of carp, some were exported to the UK and South Africa etc. But on the other hand some of the breeders there are producing and exporting fish that are danger to the carp as a breed worldwide. On the subject of Israeli exports, I knew one called Leila, well worth knowing but that another tale!!!!

I know, I pointed this out on every forum I could find years ago and if you go back and look, you will find my heated discussions with the owners of a farm.

So, I find it sad that after all the work done by echo, we now have more KHV in the UK than at anytime before, something inevitable considering the UK stance on it. It should be a notifiable disease with a total eradication program of any fishery found positive for the virus. KHV has no effective vaccine and any fish surviving the disease is a carrier for life. The method used by Israeli fish farms to produce the so called vaccinated carp is not effective. It produces batches of carp that can be reared to edible sizes without succumbing to the disease, but not 100% wont succumb, given stress factors a small percentage [2-3%]will contract the disease and die, this is acceptable in a rearing pond where one expects to lose a small percentage it better than losing 98% in none inoculated fish. However stock these same fish into a mixed carp water and one is asking for trouble as that small percentage of diseased fish will infect all the naïve fish. We simply should not allow inoculated fish into the UK, we should wait for a real vaccine. We are currently importing these inoculated fish at an alarming rate for the pet trade and given the fact that in the latest government questionnaire about none natives 2% of people openly admitted in releasing fish into the wild, its plain to see where this is going to end.

So The amount of active ingredient given off will have no effect on fish on the matt! bees yes if they sit on the pad, ie direct contact with the chemical. Deet based repellents will cause far more harm! I am passionate about protecting bees and other similar creatures, but I use these Thermacells

You are correct in a way, as I have just looked and my first mats state a type of Allethrin , the last lot state permethrin and that's what I reload with.

Correct I wouldnt use it.

You can buy matts for 200 @£20, or reload with permethrin is you so wish.

So Each matt works for 4 hours and the gas lasts 12 hours if left switched on. If I'm in the biwvy I only leave it on for short periods as its effective that way, but if sitting in the ipen Ill have it on all the time mozies or midges are about. I also reload the matts myself it works out about a penny a matt and the gas can be refilled with butain from a pound shop! .

Really simply to use, turn on, press start button and its instant no biting critters.

Yes that the type of thing, but mine came in a nifty carry bag that hold spare refills etc and straps direct to you or a bivey pole etc

Sorry, senior moment there. Thermacell. weigh next to nothing, well made and in use ,last hours, days depending on what you need, and with its carry case can be strapped to you self eg ankle or just left near you. They keep everything at bay, I've tested on Scots midge, Mosquito, Sand Fly, Birch Fly etc etc and the closest any came was about 2 metres.

You lot are unreal, its 2018 and you still cover your skin in chemicals that cost you the earth! There is a far better option that's guaranteed regardless of insect, or person type.

I have had my lifelong thoughts confirmed, the world is full of arseholes. So todays thought of the day is- may they all catch something uncurbable and no I will not elaborate.

I got a GSP dog from Slovenia and everything went to plan except the fishing, air temps in the 30s stopped play! although I did get a few rudd and vimba.

In a couple of weeks I head abroad to pick up another puppy, I am going to get to know him very well as I will spend a month or so with him on the bank everyday!, that should achieve two things I think.

Over the years I have had a long list of dogs on the bank, Terriers-Jack Russel, Fell, Sealyham, Lucas and Staffie. Collies, Lurchers, Pointers, Setters, German Pointers, Labs and I can say the all made great companions, they just need to be trained in obedience from pups.