Reservoir virgin!

[carpepecheur]

On 31/05/2020 at 11:49, commonly said:

Can anyone suggest decent gripper leads. Max allowed is 3.5g. The bailiff had flat pear type and was still casting 25 wraps!! That's about 24ft depth. He did have Basier's though!

 

You did not respond to my suggestion of a collar on the lead to improve grip so may I make another suggestion?

 

If you go for something more conventional like a Fox Kling On, you can improve its effectiveness by adding a small barrel weight a foot or two above the lead. It works a bit like the chain on a ships anchor by flattening the angle at the lead. It is particularly effective in deeper water.

 

[commonly]

42 minutes ago, carpepecheur said:

You did not respond to my suggestion of a collar on the lead to improve grip so may I make another suggestion?

 

If you go for something more conventional like a Fox Kling On, you can improve its effectiveness by adding a small barrel weight a foot or two above the lead. It works a bit like the chain on a ships anchor by flattening the angle at the lead. It is particularly effective in deeper water.

 

Apologies carpepecheur. I will look into the washer system. 

The rules state no form of backlead, but I plan to wrap putty around a sinker to achieve what you have shown. 

Thanks buddy 👍

[carpepecheur]

The collar has always worked for me. I would avoid any ideas of a wired lead (a la sea fishing style). Even if you find a way to put lay your bait out carefully, small fish, crayfish or the swirling effect from fins of larger fish, will always find a way of causing a tangle. But good luck.

 

I am fortunate where I fish, there are no rules. You could perhaps do a “Barnard Castle”

 

 

[commonly]

I've gone in the loft for an old water tank, stop valve ball. The bailiff was using one and said you'd struggle to see a normal marker float! I assume it's always quite choppy on the surface of the open water. 

Point taken about the sea leads. I'm on the case for some large washers. 

[salokcinnodrog]

49 minutes ago, commonly said:

I've gone in the loft for an old water tank, stop valve ball. The bailiff was using one and said you'd struggle to see a normal marker float! I assume it's always quite choppy on the surface of the open water. 

Point taken about the sea leads. I'm on the case for some large washers. 

It can be difficult to see a normal marker at long range, even with minimal chop on the surface. 

[carpepecheur]

15 hours ago, commonly said:

 you'd struggle to see a normal marker float!

This is going to sound ridiculous but the best colour for a marker float is black. As part of my job, I used to plot the movement of water currents by putting out markers and following them. A black flag was always the easiest to find. If you visit a fishing port you will see that the most common marker flag used for crab and lobster pots is black. 

Edited June 2, 2020 by carpepecheur

[yonny]

2 minutes ago, carpepecheur said:

the best colour for a marker float is black

Yeah mine has orange and black interchangeable tops. The black is best for bright days.

[carpepecheur]

Not sure what shops you have near you but in art and craft shops around here you can by a large bag of large polystyrene balls for very little cost. Shove a bamboo barbeque skewer though, paint it black and you have an expendable marker float.

[commonly]

Has anyone had any experience with these leads?? 

The look kind of funky! 

[carpepecheur]

Wow they ARE interesting. It looks like you will get more grip per weight with those.  I would make some modifications.

1) I would remove the swivel, drill a hole place an insert and convert to an inline lead (personal preference only)

2) I would force a washer through the widest part of the centre hole to form a large gripper fin, that will not tangle. I have tried to make a diagram to show the idea but my Photoshop skills are rather limited. I hope you get the idea.

 

 

 

Edited June 4, 2020 by carpepecheur

[salokcinnodrog]

Going back to spawning; even though the reservoir was closed until this week, the carp have spawned at the end of May, in at least two areas.

One is the nature reserve end of the reservoir, where it shallows up and is fairly weedy, the other is near the deeper dam wall area, a small shallow bay. 

I was shown spawning footage, so good I was able to identify a particular fish to the ranger who showed me.

 

Sorry, the only gripper leads I have used is the Korda ones. I found a few on the bank at the reservoir or round and about. They do grip, so I do tend to use them mostly for pike fishing to tether baits on rivers. 

[commonly]

11 hours ago, carpepecheur said:

Wow they ARE interesting. It looks like you will get more grip per weight with those.  I would make some modifications.

1) I would remove the swivel, drill a hole place an insert and convert to an inline lead (personal preference only)

2) I would force a washer through the widest part of the centre hole to form a large gripper fin, that will not tangle. I have tried to make a diagram to show the idea but my Photoshop skills are rather limited. I hope you get the idea.

 

 

 

Edited 11 hours ago by carpepecheur

Hats off for effort with photoshop mate! I wouldn't have a clue! 

Suely if you turned it into an inline, the line would snag on the washer? Or am I missing something?? 

I've ordered some, so I'll let you know how they perform. 19th I'm doing my first 48. 

[carpepecheur]

Hi Commonly. Sorry my fault. I should have listed my mods in a different order.

Put the washer in first.

Then, if you wish, put the inline insert into the lead passing through hole in washer. I much prefer inline leads because, in my experience, I get fewer occasions when the hook link tangles around the lead. Note that the insert will go through the hole in the washer and serves the extra bonus of preventing it coming loose if the fit of the washer in the lead is not tight enough.

Interested to know how you get on. Bon chance.

[salokcinnodrog]

Some more on the reservoir I'm fishing, that may or may not be relevant to you. 

While I have fished the main reservoir, I still prefer features; bays, structure, like bridges or the original stream culvert, inflows, even snags. Places where the water flow changes direction. 

An arm of the ressie may appear straight, but by walking it you can see gentle curves in the bank. 

Ardleigh is divided into two arms, but my fish didn't come from anywhere near the main dam end. 

If you can Google a map, I caught from Lodge Lane Ardleigh and Wick Lane dam where the road crosses. 

Wick Lane shallows up to 3metres deep, has a small inflow stream and an inflow under the road. 

Lodge Lane has a small bay where the bank takes two 90degree turns. A place where current changes direction. 

It was also the place where you got hit by strong winds coming down from the main reservoir. 

 

On Alton I have caught from a number of the bays as well as around the bridge. 

Obviously if your reservoir is bowl shaped ignore the above, but most are dammed as water supplies and take the form of the stream valley

[commonly]

Thanks nick. 

I'm looking for features. I have joined with a good mate, so fishing the bays is possible but not covering a lot of water. The bays look good, there's a few overhangs by the car park bay, which doesn't look like many anglers bother with, but I may try to get a few baits in.

As you suggested, I always believe fish will patrol the inlet areas at some point. So that is an easy acces, starting point in a couple of weeks if I don't manage to do the boat safety induction. 

I popped in today, fired out some bait. There is a lot of water to learn about!! 

[salokcinnodrog]

2 minutes ago, commonly said:

Thanks nick. 

I'm looking for features. I have joined with a good mate, so fishing the bays is possible but not covering a lot of water. The bays look good, there's a few overhangs by the car park bay, which doesn't look like many anglers bother with, but I may try to get a few baits in.

As you suggested, I always believe fish will patrol the inlet areas at some point. So that is an easy acces, starting point in a couple of weeks if I don't manage to do the boat safety induction. 

I popped in today, fired out some bait. There is a lot of water to learn about!! 

That looks like a nice place, Enjoy

[commonly]

I

[commonly]

Thanks mate. 

I'm chuffed to have found a new challenge /campaign for the foreseeable future. 

[dayvid]

Are you allowed bait boats on their ,

Or small dinghies 

Edited June 6, 2020 by dayvid

[commonly]

3 minutes ago, dayvid said:

Are you allowed bait boats on their ,

Or small dinghies 

Yes, but I met the head bailiff last week and not many people use them. A tight bed of hemp works, but no other bait. It's better to have a good spread of bait. I thought the GPS, could be handy, but the levels do change. Apparently if you fish at 100 yds now., you'd have your bivvy set up on that spot by the end of the summer!! 

They have their own boats so I don't think I could take my own, if I had one. 

[dayvid]

A bait boat with GPS and echo sounder ,would suite this venue perfectly , costly I know , but im sure would pay dividends in time getting to know the lake .

[salokcinnodrog]

3 hours ago, commonly said:

Yes, but I met the head bailiff last week and not many people use them. A tight bed of hemp works, but no other bait. It's better to have a good spread of bait. I thought the GPS, could be handy, but the levels do change. Apparently if you fish at 100 yds now., you'd have your bivvy set up on that spot by the end of the summer!! 

They have their own boats so I don't think I could take my own, if I had one. 

Almost the same here. I don't know if you saw the pics, but in summer the levels dropped by 4metres on the bridge supports. 

Where my rods were in summer is now 2metres deep underwater and you are setting up 10-15metres further back up the bank. 

[commonly]

1 hour ago, salokcinnodrog said:

Almost the same here. I don't know if you saw the pics, but in summer the levels dropped by 4metres on the bridge supports. 

Where my rods were in summer is now 2metres deep underwater and you are setting up 10-15metres further back up the bank. 

Yep, it all adds to the intrigue of the place. 

Apparently a few 30's came out last night! Good signs. I just hope they are still feeding in a fortnight 🙏🤞🙏🤞

[salokcinnodrog]

On 06/06/2020 at 12:28, salokcinnodrog said:

Almost the same here. I don't know if you saw the pics, but in summer the levels dropped by 4metres on the bridge supports. 

Where my rods were in summer is now 2metres deep underwater and you are setting up 10-15metres further back up the bank. 

I had another walk around today as I'm planning to fish from tomorrow for a few days. 

I found some pics I took of the culvert area last year, compared to one I took today, hard to believe it is taken from almost the same spot. 

 

I said I don't often prebait, I did put a bit in today, although I do know the carp already like KMG, but I have checked the weather and the wind is due to change. 

That walking around, even if not on the day you fish, gives you an insight into the water. Puts little clues your way. 

[elmoputney]

Something dave Lane said on his latest vlog may help you if it's weedy, the fish will make it easier for you if you can find clear spots as that may be where they like to feed, so mainly just find and concentrate on those and that might be a good starting point and then you can ignore and rule out large chunks of weedy water 👍