A Bit Of Interactive Bank Chat

[yonny]

On 28/07/2018 at 14:48, B.C. said:

Last night we had some rain and as I speak there is a nice light cool wind and a few clouds in the sky...…. Sometimes you just have to say "sod it I'm going fishing"... I may have missed the best conditions, pretty sure they will be getting their heads down right now. But I will be out tomorrow evening for 24 possibly 48 hrs, once the weekend boys have had their space.

How did you get on @B.C.??

It still looked banging around here when I left the lake yesterday morning. I would have killed for another night!

[B.C.]

7 hours ago, yonny said:

How did you get on @B.C.??

Unfortunately, I didn't go mate, as much as I would have liked to...… I have one or two issues that get in the way, so sometimes when I plan something, it doesn't always happen..... You are right about the conditions though, they were still good. I did manage another walk round tonight to put a few handfuls in and saw two lots of feeding fish, sheeting bubbles up about 7pm...…. One group over  a spot I baited yesterday, it's quite an obvious place to put some bait  and I dare say others have put some there too. But it was still a confidence boost, and I'm sure they would have eaten what I put there along with anything else.... I am determined to get the rods out as soon as, thanks for asking...🙂...

[Gazlaaar]

I'm not out fishing until a week Friday, I've got too much to catch up with at home, building wardrobes, hanging doors and decorating, that sort of thing. Typical because it's looking great out there at the moment (sods law)

Long Term

I've decided to do the winter where I am, a couple of perch fishermen and mentioned in passing the amount of carp they saw last winter and not a single carp fisherman. The cray activity would of died off, the weed won't be such a problem and the fish aren't really fished for during the colder months. 

It's not an easy water by any stretch during the best timed but if I can just get one or two I'll be happy. 

Anyway, as for now I'm just going to keep plugging away week in and week out, there are some lovely fish to be had and my spirits are high

[smufter]

Had to swap my day off this week so out tomorrow. New rods getting their first trip out. How I'd love to christen one.........

[smufter]

Boom!!! 

[finchey]

On 01/08/2018 at 06:29, smufter said:

Had to swap my day off this week so out tomorrow. New rods getting their first trip out. How I'd love to christen one.........

 

1 minute ago, smufter said:

Boom!!! 

That's  one rod. 👍

Now for the other two. 😉

Lovely looking fish mate well done. 😀

[smufter]

49 minutes ago, finchey said:

 

That's  one rod. 👍

Now for the other two. 😉

Lovely looking fish mate well done. 😀

Thanks! Not the best picture but a lovely conditioned mirror at 20 on the nose. Put up a right scrap thanks to the massive rudder 

[B.C.]

1 hour ago, smufter said:

Thanks! Not the best picture but a lovely conditioned mirror at 20 on the nose. Put up a right scrap thanks to the massive rudder 

Back on your favourite rods... Amazing what a bit of confidence does.... Nice one...🙂

[salokcinnodrog]

9 minutes ago, B.C. said:

Back on your favourite rods... Amazing what a bit of confidence does.... Nice one...🙂

That confidence really does make a lot of difference.

2 hours ago, smufter said:

Boom!!! 

What a start, that confidence really has paid off.

 

 

[smufter]

40 minutes ago, B.C. said:

Back on your favourite rods... Amazing what a bit of confidence does.... Nice one...🙂

Worst thing I've ever done was selling those old FreeSpirits. Won't make the same mistake twice 

[greekskii]

Decided to drop in for my first night on the new place. 

I think I’ve sweat my body weight, my legs are totally numb from stinging nettles but the rods are out. Not sure if my plan on how to land fish will work out, but I’ve got to hook one first! 

 

 

[yonny]

Good luck @greekskii.

[jh92]

Been doing a few short sessions after work this week and baiting the swim up before I go. Decided to do the night tonight so loaded the car and off I went, turned up and the lake is rammed... gutted! 

[Gazlaaar]

Just a little update on the crayfish front, I was dead against wrapping my hookbaits, thinking any leakage would be seriously slowed down until I saw Korda's perforated shrink wrap, after a bit of practice I'm quite happy, I just need to see how they perform with the crayfish now, fingers crossed

 

[B.C.]

Good luck Gaz, hope it works out...…. 🙂

[B.C.]

Banged a couple of kg in last night on the local small water, the dogs have worked out that the boilies are like sweets to them. No more chasing after a Jack Russel when it's time to go home lol..... Looks like we've got a break in this hot weather coming in a day or two, for a couple of days, so I'm aiming to go on Wed/Thurs when some rain is expected...…. No one on the main lake, must have spooked at least 3 fish right in the edge as I walked round, wouldn't say they were feeding, just milling around, none the less a good sign as they were areas I'd been sprinkling a few handfuls in...….. Fingers crossed I can get back on track 😀

[Gazlaaar]

I'm fishing this friday for 24hrs, it's a bit of a long session for me. I've changed things slightly on the bait front and gone more for stink and dark. All my hookbaits are now wrapped, I just need to get the pva bags done tomorrow then I'm all set.

Good luck BC 

[B.C.]

Well, finally got out for a couple of nights Thurs/Fri.... Got to the lake about 2pm Thurs and it was chucking down, fish were showing everywhere and there was no one fishing. Weird one this, as it actually made swim choice more difficult than you'd think. So after a couple of wet laps and numerous shows all over the lake I just decided that they were having it and no swim looked better or worse than the next, so opted for a central swim that I could back the van up to, to unload and keep an eye on most of the lake in case the shows became more localised...….

I'd also clocked a few bubblers that looked like they were on the seam of the dying weed beds and margin gravel about 3 rod lengths out in a couple of swims on my walk round.

The water level had dropped about a foot since my last visit,.. Making it 3ft below bank level, so a little forward thinking was needed as playing and landing anything would involve stepping down from the safety of the sleeper in front of the swim onto some very hard and slippery gravel that shelved off at 45 degrees into 7ft of water, Not too much of a problem in daylight, but in the dark could prove tricky, and as I was on my own didn't want to take any silly risks, even though I was itching to get a baited rig out there....

I fished one rod close in on the hard gravel ,bottom bait slightly balanced with a cork stick hair stop that I'd had soaking in talin with a few other buoyant bits and the second rod was fished about a foot into the old weed bed, not far out , with a squid liver cork ball pop up...…….

Turned out to be a pretty mental evening...… 2 takes on the bottom bait rod 23lb common and 16 lb mirror and 3 takes resulting in 3 lost fish on the pop up rig,(I later.. Over weighted this rig a bit more) one of which I'm sure was a cat as it steam rolled me with no head shakes and powered off into the middle of the lake before spitting me out...… By now it was 10pm and after a couple of 2lb kittens and a tench on the pop up rig to my right and not much happening on the margin rod to my left apart from loads of single bleeps caused by blobs of rain water dropping from the trees, and the odd liner, I decided to spread a kg of bait between the two spots, wind in, and get some kip...….

The next day was a bit slow, a few lads had started turning up for the weekend so the fish activity slowed down. I couldn't move swims now , even if I wanted too. But feeling confident , I stuck to my guns with the close, in tucked away approach, and hoped that the slight commotion from the other anglers would push a few fish my way...… I'd noticed that a couple of fish were just cruising the upper layers out front, at about 6pm on the Friday. I was just contemplating a switch to zigs, when, wallop, the margin rod was off , resulting in a really good scrap from another 23lb common, happy days...… Now, all 3 carp have come from a spot , quite literally 3ft from the bank and about 3mtres to my left , off a bush that has a nice , clear undercut. I don't think any fish congregate hear, more likely passing through, along the edge and being ambushed...…..

Later that night around 11pm, the margin rod was off again, 1 toner, that I just couldn't turn, so let it run, being as the weed had died off..... This thing took me all over the lake, and I was convinced it was one of the lakes bigger carp...… Baring in mind I was using 9ft Dwarfs, I had literally no right to land the 33lb cat... Not what I was after, but what a scrap and I was happy to get a bite, since the lake had switched off with the arrival of yet more anglers and a barrage of bait going in...….  We talk of carp with big rudders putting up a scrap, well a catfish is 75% rudder and this one was over 4ft long...….

Again , I wound in at midnight and got some sleep...…….

The following morning I had another cat of about 10lb on the pop up rod as I was packing up...…...

It was good to get out for a chill out and a few bites. No pics, as I didn't take my phone with me, just wanted a bit of quiet time.  It also gave me a chance to get some more of my bait in, ready for Autumn..... Really pleased with my new hookers, dusted with liver powder and squid extract powder, there was no surprise really that the cats took a liking to them...…. Something you have to take on the chin , if they are present. They should quieten down in a month or so and the carp will be on it hopefully, so I'll just keep a bit of bait going in , in readiness....

Starting my new water in the next few days. The first visit will probably be a reccy in one of the boats, followed by some, somewhat blind, tester sessions to get a feel for the place... I will deffo sneak the odd session in , on the local lake that I've just talked about..... It's not the most difficult of waters, and a good "confidence" water if things get tough elsewhere...…..🙂

 

[smufter]

Off out later today for a 24.

Plan is to fish tight to the pads during daylight hours, when it gets dark I'll bring the middle rod in, and fish open water a bit closer in with the other two.

I don't wake from my sleep easily so if I do get a run in the night I will hopefully have a bit longer to come to my senses and get on the rod.

Plus carp get a bit braver during the hours of darkness don't they????

😉

[yonny]

19 hours ago, B.C. said:

2 takes on the bottom bait rod 23lb common and 16 lb mirror and 3 takes resulting in 3 lost fish on the pop up rig

Sounds familiar...... have a look at the post I've just put in the August catch reports mate!

[Gazlaaar]

The shrink wrap seems to be working well, the baits arent totally impervious to the attentions of the crays but it does slow them down somewhat. One of the bailiffs has assured me there are some traps going out soon to try and thin the cray population down. Personally, I'd rather deal with crays as I believe they'll be in every single water within the next ten years so I might as well come to terms with it now.

Anyway I'm back out Wednesday, rigs, bags and bait have all been prepared already and I can't wait to get back.

[smufter]

On a 24 at the moment, woken up about 1.30am by an alarm going off, came to nothing. Sat back in the darkness, lit up a smoke and just spent an hour looking up at the night sky. No light pollution, thousands of stars twinkling in the heavens with the remnants of the recent meteor shower zipping across in all directions. Worth the cost of the ticket alone. 

Edited August 14, 2018 by smufter

[yonny]

1 hour ago, smufter said:

Sat back in the darkness, lit up a smoke and just spent an hour looking up at the night sky. No light pollution, thousands of stars twinkling in the heavens with the remnants of the recent meteor shower zipping across in all directions. Worth the cost of the ticket alone. 

Perfect.

It's not all about catching fish eh Rob. Sounds awesome mate.

[smufter]

40 minutes ago, yonny said:

Perfect.

It's not all about catching fish eh Rob. Sounds awesome mate.

It was mate.... I thanked God I come fishing. I'd have missed all of that otherwise 

[B.C.]

I was due out today on my Syndicate, for the first time since joining earlier in the year.... Then, disaster..... We got messages last night to say the place is off limits for a bit.... Massive DO crash means a few fish have been lost, including at least one 30plus so far...….. The EA are on it and aerators have been deployed.... Double figure bream and worryingly eels, too, have also perished, which would point towards a DO crash more than some kind of virus, I guess? I thought eels where quite hardy in low oxygen situations...…….. This place is quite open at 30acres, so does get a bit of ripple even in these current conditions...… But after the Summer we've had and temps still high, weed dying off and the odd algae pocket, and water levels dropped, and recent air pressure troughs, it's not at all surprising, none the less, not the sort of news you want to hear...…… I can't help thinking that it was on the cards and perhaps some forward thinking from the lake management was needed.... (Although, it's always easy to comment in hind sight)…………..

Really not sure what to do about this ticket...… I joined full of enthusiasm early Spring when the banks were empty. I've put off fishing it through the Summer due to the numbers (which I never thought would be an issue). There seems to be rules for some and not others, the most productive areas are well and truly stitched up (the lake owner does 7 night sessions on a regular)…… Some swims get closed off, the only reason I can see this for, is so that certain other swims get more water...…. There are some lovely fish present to ounces under 40lb, however, there is also an ornamental strain, which you can  see in some of the mid twenties, something else I wasn't told about on my initial walk about...….. Might just wipe my mouth and cut my losses on this place. Something doesn't feel quite right.  And with a bit of truth bending going on, not sure we'll really get to know what is still swimming about. Seems weird the place being off limits , when people have volunteered to help out...…...

So, in the mean time, I'm going to try and get started on a couple of club lakes and carry on with the local water I've been dabbling on, whilst browsing a few places for next season, may have to go a bit further a field... "Still Searching".... As one certain angler might put it....lol.... Although not specifically for fish, but somewhere that feels right.....🙂