crusian

Good luck for Saturday Neal , and hopefully you'll meet up with Spr .
 
Then together you can " unlock " Bayeswater .
 
  

Hi mate,
 
i am a current CAPS member with the layer upgrade and fish it quite regularly in the spring through to autumn. It can be a bit of a ball breaker at times especially when there are stacks of fish in front of you and whatever method you try, fails!
 
The lake is pretty even throughout, sloping off gradually with average depths of around 7 to 8 feet. The bottom is pretty silty and i often bring in bloodworm on the lead or hook.
 
They do love plenty of bait over there and once they get their noses down, they can certainly mop up the bait. Most guys tend to do the long chuck, spod plenty and use little baits to get the bites. Zigging also works well over there.
 
My pb of just under 35lb came out of there last year and i caught this close in, single boilie with a few scattered around. I think there are several different 30s in there and loads of 20s! The fish kill of a couple of years seems to have allowed the strong to flourish.
 
Favoured swims are the point, boathouse and some on matchmens and cottages. I tend to get down there around mid morning, see where there are less people fishing and look for signs of fish. They generally hang out in the middle, hence why the long chuck is sometimes needed, i prefer to fish the bays or the tennis court swims, this may mean that i may not get multiple catches, but i am out of the way of others and at certain times of the day i believe the larger fish come closer in, especially as evening progresses.
 
I guess you are referring to the opportunity to night fish it in May? I was tempted to enter the raffle but i cant justify the cost that is being asked to fish it for the night! My guess is that if you do fish it overnight, you aint going to get much sleep!!! 
 
If i was doing an overnighter on there, i would certainly have a bait close in and i would try and get away from the crowds.
 
hope that helps a bit?
 
Mike

The Specialised Hookbaits are lovely but don't expect them to catch you carp from spots that other baits won't. None of those fancy baits will do that fella.
 
If I was you I'd go in with any old half decent (but cheap) bait, put it about a bit, and work out the areas the carp are happy to feed. Once you've done that it's time to start chucking the good (i.e. expensive) stuff in to really get them going.
 
Bait is just one part of the jigsaw. IMO (and I know some will disagree) it plays a lesser part than we carpers traditionally thought. I truly believe if you have feeding fish in front of you almost any half decent bait will work.
 
It sounds to me like it's the rest of the jigsaw you should be concentrating on at this point. Your priority should be finding the areas from which they are catchable.  The most expensive bait in the world wont catch owt if it's in the wrong spot bud.

I'll have to see how it goes re the Polaris, I do like watching a float, but I'd do the same and probably miss bites!

Oh yes I will let you know if I get to skip church and go on a Sunday

Crusian - I ask myself the question of how I ended up married to a Christan quite often! I'm sure she pretended to be normal until we were married

There's a lesson to be learned right there bud - If you've had what you believe to be inquiries on a given spot and you're not 100% sure what the bottom's like, always find out at the end of the session. All it takes is a couple of casts with a bare lead - and you're one up in preparation for your next sesh!
 
I'd say I do more marking at the end of sessions than I do at the start. I agree that on 'proper' waters marking up can spook the carp - therefore if I can get a drop and I know I'm on fish it's good enough for me - but I never walk away without having a quick chuck to determine the substrate.

Hi Neal and Spr
 
I use  Polaris Floats more than I ledger for exactly the reasons you describe Neal .
One problem I get is that when the float goes under it all happens fairly quickly with little , if any prior warning .
I know it sounds nuts , but I use a Bite Alarm to give me an audible warning just in case I am not gazing intently at my float ! .
 
It's a shame the 19th is a Saturday , I have to work Saturdays , but hopefully you and Spr will meet up .
 
So how did an agnostic and a church goer get together , and don't the congregation object to a smelly , unshaven fisherman loitering in their kitchen ? .
 
  

Hi Neal
 
What Spr has said .
 
Maybe some marker rod work if nothings happening , and / or conditions aren't favourable , or just do the marker work as an investment for future sessions ? .
I expect someone will come along with the definitive answer  . 
 
Have either of you two got any dates you are working towards ? .

Well you really are a glass half full kind of guy Neal .
 
When , not if , you succeed you'll have damn well earned it for being so persistent and positive ! .
 
Just make sure you still have some working fingers left !
 
    

Ha ha! Crusian, got here at about half 7, most swims gone as predicted I am in the "shallows" it's not quite bright enough for my liking, but the rods are in so the is a chance

O.K. Neal , I'm awake , eating my breakfast in my centrally heated house , where's my live update ? .
 
  

O.K. Neal , I'm awake , eating my breakfast in my centrally heated house , where's my live update ? .
 
  

Oh I see mate.... best of luck
The thing that would put me off the shallows more than anything is the lack of bait that's been going in that area .
 
But you won't know unless you try them, people are still catching in summer bay up Horseshoe have been all winter so don't let the lack of depth put you off.

Roll on tomorrow then ! .
 
Hopefully you'll get some quality sleep ready to concentrate on the lake in the morning  .
 
As you say Neal at least you will gather more information to help you build up to getting amongst them .
 
  

If see a packet of hooks with the label "made by yonny" I'm getting me some!!!!

Aware this is an old thread however feel my history with the place will be of use to some... I learnt to fish on the canal when my grandad Trev was a bailiff, in that time I have fished every lake at the water park...
 
Jacobs Creek: personally I've not done very well on the lake, it is extremely weedy and the fish appear to switch off for periods of time. The huts are nice but the train track is literally 30-50 metres from you which can be loud at night.
 
Main lake: I've fished this so so many times, had dozens of nice pike (max 19lb), nice tench and even big bream however my time is focused on the carp... I've had 2 30's out of the big lake my biggest being 34lb 4Oz however I am focusing on carrot as my all out target! I tend to fish peg 6, 9, 14, 22, 28a, the car park swims BUT my favourite swim is 31... Fished to the right 80yards is an area which just works every time!
 
Trad: my personal favourite for an enjoyable 24HR session, out of the way and some pretty fish.. I fish bobs where the carp tend to shoal up or the opposite end of the point swim 5 yards off the island is a natural water spring which can produce!
 
M1: Mid summer all thats needed is one rod and some floaters however I fish one rod close in the margin and one 15 yards out when doing nights, confined to a choice of 3 or so swims in the trees.. Good fun for an overnight however I have had to bring my rods in twice as it was constant and had work the next day.
 
M2; not much to say produced some nice fish and good fun but not a go too lake.
 
M3(donut): nice for crucian and relaxed angling but like M2 makes more sense to fish M1 or trad
 
Canal: haven't fished this since my grandad bailiffed the Waterpark... The. There was some good fishing from one rod in the float with maggots
 
 
All in all I only fish the speci, trad and m1 now all just using Nutcracker 12mm boilees with stick mix and 4mm pellets in a mesh bag normally..
 
Hope it helps and will say the park is very rewarding given a chance but also please be courteous to others... Im not antisocial however when on the bank that's the rare time I get to myself and I like the waters edge calm and quiet so don't feel the need to charge in etc.

Good luck ,I think as it gets closer to nesting time your chances may well increase ,more so after the Robin has chicks,
 
That one almost landed on my boot a couple of times.

Now as some of you know i have a rig tying business and over the last few years i've tied 1000s of chod rigs. The best hooks by far for me personally and for my business have been korda choddys and nash chod twister i never get them back or any compaints. I am going to have a play this year with the Nash gapers as i like the wide gape on them and they look a nice tough hook.

I've found on my days a sleeping bag in the chair is heaven! So I'll keep going. Maybe next time will be the one! Thinking next time I'll head where the wind is and float fish alongside the carp rods may get something at least

Yes Suffolk water park is about 10min drive from me! But the main lake doesn't interest me, to big and too open! Traditional lake maybe but for a day only I'm not keen on the opening times.
 
I arrived at bayeswater by chance really, as my brother wanted to night fish and our usual lake of weybread carp fishery was fully booked.
When he is in England he stays in colchester and we ended up trying bayeswater. My interest is it is the first lake I've found where I've a good chance of catching a 20 and also I can fish 5am until 10pm on a day ticket

Hi Neal 
 
So how was your McDonalds breakfast ?   .
 
It sounds like you are getting closer each visit to catching some .
 
I guess  now you have invested  time and effort into Bayeswater you are  committed to fishing there long term , but I wonder why you chose Bayeswater over say Suffolk Water Park which would presumably be closer to you ? . 
 

I believe the closest a&e is Broomfield hospital....the other side of Chelmsford to Bayswater [emoji23]

That would be a great plan, I am sure somewhere there is another universe where there is a Neal that will be doing just that! This one however has to be content with the scraps that get sent my way! To be fair I am away with work, Sunday to Wednesday this week so I am amazed I've been allowed a day pass

Neal if you fished Saturday night into Sunday you could pop down the Brentwood Carp Show on the Sunday .
 
I'm sure your wife would be really impressed that you would be saving on petrol as Chelmsford to Brentwood would be a much shorter journey for you .