bobthebailif

28+ for Split lin.......nice, those fish have been fed again then by the sound of things, with 8 20+ I reckon a few that were heading to 20 have done it then as there were only 6 I could get, I would be surprised if single scale and Lumpy aren't 20 now. Might have to jump on there for the winter then and see if I can winkle one or 2 out. I have been collecting some timber so I will probably see if I can make any platform repairs while I'm there, I havent been down there and baillifing half as much as I'd like, just been strolling round Hill farm and Pick your own as they are on my doorstep. Your right, if you have half a clue Bozy ain't a hard water, certainly not the headbanger it was, I would say more than 35 fish though but certainly no more than 50.

Anyone had any joy on there this year?

Oh also hill farm, yes there has been a problem, I am surprised it is still open while the fish are still dying.

To be honest mate unless you don't mind catching them I would leave the pop ups till the tench stop feeding as they are more partial to them than the carp, I would aim for a quality food bait and fish the same spot very regularly either early morning or very late into the night, as for the Method, try it, would be good for the silvers bream abd tench, maybe a carp, but you would be lucky to land it.

Sorry the reply took a while, must be months since I came on here last. TBH mate, the best way to fish for the tench is pretty much standard carp tactics, boilies and pellet, Trigga, Active-8, Spicy shrimp and prawn and SC-25 all do well for tench on there, I know some guys were fishing 10mm baits to great effect, and there is always the chance of a carp fishing that way, best swims are 3,6 and 10(left one of the 3 on the point and the 2 solid swims round to the left of the point) these are good tench swims, in all honesty if more of the swims on this part of the lake were fishable then most would be good tench swims, but strangely I have never done the bigger carp from these swims, well not by fishing them in a conventional manner anyway, and barely ever within their boundaries, although one of those swims has a little winter secret......lol. Last thing to mention is to fish the night, or dinnertime till 12-2am or first light, not between 9am and 4pm, it is amazing how many anglers fished these hours for the tench, even though there is a chance, they have to surely be the worst tench fishing hours. I have had to wind my rods in at 1am after 13 tench just to get some sleep as I was going straight to work in the morning from the lake.

Well to be honest mate, if people had weighed their fish properly this past season, then I probably wouldn't have posted the pics, but it is hard for the fish to be seen for more than what they actualy are now I have posted them. As for gems.......I wish, and if I found out otherwise I would go back, but in 8yrs there has been a oxygen crash and otter predation, so it is a wonder that the ones above are still there, there may be one or 2 that slipped under my radar, but not under the radar of all of the good anglers in the last 6yrs that I can be sure of, and we all fished it a bit differently, if you fished it recently though there are a couple of fish that may have reached 20 now.

Well as far as I'm aware you can, as long as A; you don't mind the nightmare of getting round there through all the sludge, and B; you can find a fishable swim, there is one new swim, 22, but if the water level carries on dropping it'll be like fishing Southend Pier.....lol

I am only willing to divulge what I post on the open forum, sorry, though I don't really fish it now, if by chance things took a major turn for the better over there I may return, so I don't want to give away too much, what I know took 8yrs, and it didn't come easy, putting me in a position where a blank would come as a surprise, having said that, it ain't the ballbreaker it was 4yrs back.

The only hard spots are the odd mussel beds, and they will usually end up with a cut off, presentation is not a problem, I won't say a lot, other than that I didn't fish it in the usual paranoid manner that most people do when fishing in silt, I fished it exactly the same way I would a gravel pit.

To be honest I wouldn't worry about them, there is much worse on the bottom of that place, and it'll all sink in the silt in next to no time anyway, have you not heard about the horse and carriage that went careering in their many, many years ago, few people died in that one, bet you wont find the remains of the carriage now though.

Would have to agree with ya there Blank, apparently something will happen sometime, but in all honesty, I have given up, such a shame as the potential is there, but I am not dangling for fish I have caught so many times I have lost count, not when they have all lost weight anyway, there is another Baillif on there now as well, I would say as well as me, but I have been there less than half a dozen times last year, and fished it about 3 times. I think the only way forward on that place would be a syndicate of likeminded gents wanting to cover the rent, materials and a stocking program and bring it back to it's former glory as a team that are in it for the long term goal, as managed correctly the lake will do 30's. For those who are interested though these are the 20's (or at least they were 20's, these fish were at their higher weights, they have all lost 2-4lb now ) Splitlinear @ 25-05 Pretty Mirror @ 24-08 (last caught at 21-14) Linear @ 24-04 Nan's Ghostie @ 20-12 Half Lin @ 22-08 Starry Common, my boy's PB @ 21-12 ( have had her at 23-13 but couldn't be bothered to upload pic to photobucket) so there you are, the Bosmere 20's, and for the record, the supposed 28lber ( then 29lb, then 30lb+ ) was Splitlinear, and the fish was in fact 22lb, so those scales were a loooooong way out........lmao, last summer when rescuing the boat I was drifting over the whole of the lakes stock, and, apart from the above fish, I saw no fish near 20, I had heard there were once more than these 6 20's, including a 28lb lake record 9yrs or so ago, but I think either the fish kill or Mr Otter had those, the Starry Common wasn't 100% identifiable, but my boy then caught it later to confirm that it was still there, when there are enough anglers on the lake to feed them properly these fish grow, but due to the lack of anglers that are generous with their bait, these fish have all lost weight, shame as they are gorgeous fish, and some of the smaller ones were rocketing up in weight when the bait was going in.

Havent heard a thing, aint had the chance to get down there and have had no comunication from the club or landowner regarding new swims, mind you communication isnt the clubs strong point, I have just found out there is another Bailiff on bozy now, I found out through the grapevine this weekend, apparently he has been for the last month, not a single call to let me know, all good though as finally there will be the eyes down there that I have never had the time to do.

The swim work has been started by the land owner now, I am a little worried by the height of some of Badgers, havn't had the chance to have a look at the others, but only another hot, dry summer will highlight that, looking promising though, I am gonna get down there and sort out the walkway to suicide (double boards) soon if the land owner doesn't intend to rip it out too soon. Could be some major changes down there, so watch this space

Burgh Castle is a nice little water, I had a go when on holiday, shame about the local muppets who don't realise if you fish quietly the fish come in the near margin during the day, I spooked one off of my bait when I stood up for a pee, they just started to come back and feed as the muppets turned up in force=no more fish, slamming bootlids/doors, casting to far margins, snaging recasting, blatantly dropping bait on mine with a baitboat after seeing me bait up there(it's that type of plum that gives us boat users a bad name), one bloke got in a dinghy not much more than 10yds up, rocking the water, placed a bait in the far margin, then walked round to bait up???? why not cast a lead to the far margin and rig it up then place it with PVA and a spare rod???, then sat by caravan making a racket getting lashed etc, p'd me right off, and to think I was worried about taking my 7yr old to a serious carp fishery , he was a better angler than most of the grown ups.......never again.

Sorry 4seasons, got carried away with the fish stock side of things......lol Guys who have got the key info have worked long and hard for it so it doesn't come easy, I will give you some that will be of benefit to you the other anglers and also, the fish, High quality food baits, the fish will get on it, you will catch the fish will benefit and so will all the other anglers and yourselves by the weight gains that will come with it, Jay is right, if there were enough anglers on there and the grub went in there readily enough and long enough, then maybe one day bozzy will do that magic 30. It frustrates me that there is so much wasted potential in there. Be prepared for the tench though , and the bream are starting to make a come back after the fish kill due to an oxygen crash 6yrs ago (that's old silty waters for you), it is also sensible not to pile the boilies in as there are few carp, but particle and pellet use plenty (within reason), the smaller fish will have the left overs. One big thing though.......Barbless hooks, fish have been towing tackle.

lol........30.....no chance, remember John at Viscount has share in FMS Ltd, I have had pretty much every fish out of there, apart from the 33lb wels that will be reported to the EA once I have personally confirmed it. Yes jay, hello again, there are some real pretty 20's in there, I counted 7 when I last fished it properly, since then the regulars have dribbled away bit by bit and now due to very little bait going in the fish have lost between 2-3lb, so a few will struggle to make 20 this year. The biggest I have had out was 25-05, this was out a couple of weeks back at 22lb, though a young lad showed me pics of it from early in the year convinced it was 29lb, but weighed it on a set of old spring scales so I enlightened him on that one, and some guys that were floater fishing had it out at the weight I suspected it would be near going by the weights of the other 20's I have had during last autumn. As for the fish a approx. 8yrs ago, it is the lake record still to this day I beleive, and came out at 28lb, around a month prior to this there was a 27lber out, both fish haven't been seen since. As for stock guys, other than the 20's, there are probably around 30 fish from upper single to double figures. The maintenance I wanted to get done and the working parties I have tried to get the go ahead for are going to be a no go, I asked, but got straight no's, unfortunately, though there is rumour of the land owner building 3-4 more solid swims later in the year, though I have had no information passed to me about this, but until then my hands are tied.

Just to confirm, I have spoken to the guy that is in charge of the clubs bailiffs, he is not aware of a 'running lead only' rule.

Hi Jay, there is no 'running lead only' rule that I am aware of, I really don't know where this has come from, if it has come from the top then as bailiff I have had no correspondence regarding this, so I will not enforce it, as long as leads are not fixed and are set up properly there is no problem, the barbless hook rule makes sure of this, please tell me who informed you of this as there are a couple of other supposed rule changes made last year that did not exist. Having said that I will double check with the club, but the bailiff who wrote the rule sheet in the main CP also said there was no running rig only rule. Swims are still covered in water but it is not a case of having to use waders now, normal boots are good enough........last time I looked anyway. Good luck. Rob

Cheers Nick, pretty much hit the nail on the head, we are lucky to fish it, and your right, the place is ancient so no the trees will not be cut down willy nilly, some have been removed to a; supply materials for the solid swims, b; to make gaps for the prevailing winds to get through, they are a part of the place Blank and like it or not, been here a lot longer than you, secondly this is the landowners 'fence' if you like, they keep the road noise off his land too, how would you like it if someone started to rip your fence down one day??? You are right though the water could be the best water locally if done right but not how you are suggesting, 2' on the swims , shows what you know of the place, the water levels have come up 2' since we built those swims, we have added 6" to the height due to the monsoon weather we have had the last 2 years, the first time we revert to "normal" weather then we will start to lose the water level, if you raised the swims we would be pier fishing.. , second to that, had me and the landowner not built these swims then there would only be 3 fishable ones, they were blooming hard work. Regards to the aerator, tbh Nick it never has worked as intended, as the time we have a fish kill is in the very hot, still weather, it never worked either when it was fixed, they took the brakes off when they replaced it and the thing span like hell but I have never seen it agitate the water, in my honest opinion we need a pump and irrigation licence. That will solve 2 problems, firstly the water levels and secondly the oxygenation problem. I may add though that there is nothing wrong with the QUALITY of the water Blank, just the oxygen content, when testing the water in the past the tests revealed perfect nitrate, nitrite and ammonia levels ppm and the PH is absolutely spot on for Carp. Blank, you really need to read posts before ranting....Quote myself..... the excessive baiting rule does apply as when the lake has a few guys fishing on there as it can get silly, while it isn't being fished heavily I can be reasonably flexible but it just hasn't got the head of fish for all anglers to put like 5 or 10kg in over a weekend.........HOW???? is this one rule for one and one for others????? It encompasses all anglers fishing the lake be they 3 anglers or 20. By the way I am not the person you need to take it out on, I do what I can, and yes it does put a lump in my throat to see the place like this. Rob

Just to add that the rule sheet is in the Main car park round by the vets so if you do look round have a look through it, it is pretty standard stuff.

Dry up........ The place has been like that for the past 2yrs now, and unless you know something we don't about an imminent heatwave this year, then I can't see it changing any time soon, my solution would be to pump the lake as we have at least 2' above normal winter levels, this would also double as an aerator, the wind driven one is about as useful as a chocolate teapot, when myself and the landowner first built the solid swims there they were probably an easy 18" above water level, since then we have added another log to the height of them at least. It is a nightmare at the mo and due to personal commitments I am finding it hard to put as much time as I'd like in on there, plus all I can really do on my own is tidy up after floods, hopefully I can get something organised with work parties this year, fingers crossed. even still with the high water, I have been fishing with welly's and managed to get on ok, not ideal but still at least it is fishable, and although not monsters the fish are immaculate so worth the hassle, and I would like to get more anglers on there as this equals more bait which the fish respond to, the excessive baiting rule does apply as when the lake has a few guys fishing on there as it can get silly, while it isn't being fished heavily I can be reasonably flexible but it just hasn't got the head of fish for all anglers to put like 5 or 10kg in over a weekend, though the tench will have a good try...lol I think you'll find a canoe would be more effective for navigating the paths at the mo..... The rules aren't unreasonable, your right, they are there for the fish, us and the landowner at the end of the day, the no prebaiting rule was put into place due to abuse which allot of anglers felt was unfair on them and felt it was ruining their chances.

The barbless hook rule, no litter rule are most certainly written in stone mate, I will take your ticket for those two, sorry but one is to protect the fish and the other to protect the water for us as any land owner would not appreciate litter on his/her property, someone has been littering badly down there this year and throwing it in bushes certainly doesn't mean it is hidden. Also no nuts, excessive baiting and pre baiting are not appreciated either, excessive baiting due to the silty nature of the water, this place is known for it's fish kills on a regular basis, it has had one most decades, the last was probably 6yrs ago, this is due to oxygen problems caused by the enclosed nature, silt chewing the oxygen etc, bait used in stupidly large quantity's doesn't help this, small particles and pellets are not too bad as the thriving silver fish population devours them but all the same take it easy. The use of the boat is restricted to bailifs only, I will pull tickets if anglers are seen afloat in it unless there is a tethered fish, it goes without saying though that a lifejacket is to be worn. Tucker, how long have you been a member then as although personal commitments have prevented me from putting in as much time as i'd like over the last 18 months (I've spent more time tidying up than fishing, only for it to flood again ) I am wondering whether I have seen you there, that fish hasn't been on the bank for nearly 8ys as far as I'm aware, just hope she is still with us.