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May Catch Reports


monkey_climber

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A late start for me this year after the winter lockdown and starting a new job in March. Hard to believe it is May before I have had the chance to get the rods out!

I had the lake to myself and so, I perched up in a corner swim with a South Westerly rippling in. It was mild and drizzly and looked ripe for a bite after a few shows in the area but alas, the weather changed during the night and the bobbins remained motionless.

Brew in hand, I watched the water intently as the morning broke and there seemed to be some activity a little further up the lake. Half an hour of watching gave me all the signs I needed and the rods were soon wound in, a fresh rig tied and with just a rod, net, mat and a pocket full of bait, I made my way around to the other side of the lake.

Creeping up to the margins, the morning sun warmed my back and I gently lowered my rig onto the spot a few feet from the bank between two overhanging bushes. The lead went down with a crack and once I was happy my rig was presented, I sat well back and waited. I didn't need to wait long as less than 10 minutes later, the rod tip jerked, and then again before the clutch ripped off just as I was grabbing the rod. 

After a short but powerful battle, I netted my first fish of the year and while it was one of the lake's smaller residents, it was a pristine spring fish made all the more special by catching it in my favourite way. A great (if a little late) start to the year.

 

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Well done mate, good angling 👍

I am going to join in this catch report, its been too long, I'm bringing my A game this week, and if i can't catch one I will cry I am going for a night Thursday and will be doing a fresh game plan before, those carp have had it too easy for too long I am going to wallop them 😂😂😂😂😂

 

Or be sulking 🙄

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On 10/05/2021 at 13:49, monkey_climber said:

Nice one! Looks like the pink goo is doing the trick 😂

I did try the pink goo and the mystic spice in the end it was a 10mm miscreate with fake maggot as a stop that got me the bites it was just one of them times the guys in the next swim were using maggots an could only pick a tench an bream up that was it the match guys struggled too

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Just done 48 hours social on a new water to me, a small pond containing carp and cats.

There was a rope through the middle with a shallow bar on the other side - I used the baiting pole to get under the rope and onto the bar between the sets of pads coming up.

First night I had the first fish - a mid double at dusk of the bar.  Then a mid double grassy at 2am on the marginal point rod.  Mate had 2 double figure cats.

2nd night I dropped one rod short of the bar into a deeper gully and upped the baiting in the hope of a cat.

Soon into dark I had a take from what was obviously a cat, it took some line and tried going round a corner into a bay but I was having none of it and gave it the butt - back in front of me I dragged it back over the bar and got it under control.  At 29 and ounces not a bad first cat, might try for a real good-un one day.

 

 

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Well, it was another work overnighter for me this week. Arriving at the lake the entire surface was covered in fluff and a slight ripple was coming in on a South Westerly breeze. It was warm and the sun was out. Perfect conditions for a floater really but alas, I needed to get sorted for the night ahead as the light was soon to be fading.

As always, I began with a couple of laps, baiting up a few spots in the edge with a mix of boilie crumb, pellet and corn. I settled into a swim at the eastern end of the lake and got the rods sorted before cracking on with the important business of preparing Fajitas and a brew.

Shortly after dark, I had a few bleeps before the bobbin dropped back. I assumed this was a liner at first but as time went on, I started to think I may have been done. As it was quite an enclosed swim with a tricky cast, I decided not to redo the rod and left it in place until morning. Not much happened for the rest of the night but I was awoken just before first light to a twitchy, Bream like take on the same rod which when I wound down into nothing, confirmed my suspicions. Looking at the rig, the hair was tangled which further confirmed the idea that I had been done the night before as I had cast it out with a mesh bag threaded on.

Waiting for the kettle to boil, I looked around and conditions were very different. A cold overcast morning with a gusty north westerly. Not much was showing and with only one rod now in play, I decided to do what I love best and get mobile.

Before long, I had found a couple of fish in a bay just off the wind. A small handful of bait went in which pushed them off the spot long enough for me to get a rig in the water. I couldn't quite see the bottom so opted for a short, low multi rig baited with an orange 11mm Scopex, Peach and N-Butyric Proper Job pop up (they smell good enough to eat) and sat back in anticipation.

A few spots of rain had just began to hit the water when the rod arced round and it was nearly in the lake when I managed to grab the butt. The fish gave me the run around kicking up huge patches of fizz as it aimed for a snag just to my right but before long, it was safely netted and resting while I prepared the mat and camera.

Again, not one of the lake's larger residents but two fish from two sessions on what can be a tricky little venue made packing up in a torrential downpour a little more bearable.

 

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After weeks of incessant rain, there came a break in the weather and with little time to waste before the banks became busy for the bank holiday weekend, I set out once again for quick overnight trip. The session began in the usual manner, with me walking the lake for a couple of hours trying to find some fish and lightly baiting a few marginal spots. There was only one other angler on the lake so I had plenty of options in terms of swims and after chatting with him briefly, he told me that fish had been crashing in a side channel. I know that channel is 2ft deep in most places and covered with blanket weed so decided to leave them to it.

After a good few hours walking and not a lot to go on, I decided to set up in a swim called 'Pads' which has plenty of water to go at and would allow me to set some traps in case the fish left the channel during the night. The left hand rod went out 14 wraps fairly tight to the far margin and just off where the channel joins the main body of the lake. The right hander went 8 wraps out and to my right where a large bed of lily pads was beginning to bloom. Both rods were baited with my favoured 11mm Scopex and Peach Proper Jobs on multi rigs and only the right hand rod had any loose feed in the shape of a dozen 15 and 18 millers spread over the top with the catty.

Just on dusk, the left hand rod pulled up tight before dropping back a little, when it pulled up tight again and the line pinged out of the clip, I looked out to the spot where I saw a big swirl erupt and a set of rings began pulsating across the flat surface. I picked up the rod and wound down and upon making contact with the fish, it came round on an arc towards my right hand rod and the pads. Fortunately, I managed to steer it away from the other rod after a bit of 'knit one perl one' with the rods and after a good scrap, the fish began to tire. I managed to net it at the second attempt after it had one last burst, swimming over the net cord at my first attempt. Looking down into the net, I was convinced it was a 20 although the scales do not lie (well, not mine anyway ;)) and it went 19lb 4oz. Needless to say, I went to bed very happy with a big, full moon on display right out in front of the brolly.

The rest of the night passed uneventfully and unfortunately, I had to be home for work but packing up on a glorious sunny morning was made a little sweeter by having not blanked. It's just a shame that I had to be at work for 9am as this lake fishes really well from 8am-10am and I had just had a couple of liners on the right hander when time finally ran out.

Ah well, theres always next week.

 

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22 hours ago, monkey_climber said:

It's just a shame that I had to be at work for 9am as this lake fishes really well from 8am-10am and I had just had a couple of liners on the right hander when time finally ran out.

Walking away at bite time is the worst bit about work overnighters.

I remember one time I had to leave a lake early for my own birthday party and genuinely considered not turning up 🤣

Great report mate and well done on the kipper.

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@yonny Yeah, it is one of the downsides of fishing midweek but it's either that or endure the circus of weekend fishing. I have been spoiled in that I've barely had to work for the past couple of years so have done loads of fishing and the banks have been quiet for the most part (minus the post lockdown surge). The downside is that I now feel like I'm missing the best part of the day driving home to be in work for 9am.

 

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Well, I had just managed to get my gear dry and put away from Wednesday night's session when I got a text from a mate asking if I fancied a social as the sun was out. After obtaining permission from the relevant authorities (a.k.a the wife) I swung by the off license after finishing work for a couple of cold cans and made the short journey to the lake. On arrival, it was busy with another 6 anglers on plus the two of us. This is a fairly small (and sometimes tricky) lake so we didn't have too many options in terms of swims but after a little look about, we both decided to fish behind one of the islands directly across from the lazy pegs where a couple of regulars were bivvied up already.

The swims we had chosen are rarely fished as they are a bit of a jungle and getting a barrow round there, especially with all the rain we have had recently is a bit of a nightmare. Nevertheless, we made our way around and I sat and watched the water for a few minutes to come up with a plan. Before I had readied a rod, the two anglers across from us, came out from their bivvies in tandem and proceeded to absolutely fill it in. Scoop after scoop of pellet went in and I stopped counting after 40 scoops. Fortunately for us, there was a large bed of lily pads between us and them so with the hope that the commotion may push the fish away from them, I quickly got a rod ready with a single Scopex and Peach popup and with an underarm flick, dropped it tight to my side of the lilies.

With one rod out, I set up camp and doused on the jungle formula as the mozzies were out in force before readying the other rod with another multi rig and Scopex and Peach. For this rod, I decided to have a feel around with the lead tight to my own margin, a few feet off to the right of my swim. After finding a nice glassy spot with a fairly soft donk of the lead, I 'Pacman' baited a row of chops and chickpeas below my feet and for a few meters further down the bank to my right where a channel between the bank and the island narrows right down to around 6ft wide before it opens out into the main body of the lake. A perfect ambush point, I thought.

I had just set the trap on the second rod when the first rod ripped off and after coaxing the fish away from the pads, it came to the net with very little fuss. As I looked down into the mesh, I saw a recognisable stockie. In fact, it was the same fish that I caught a couple of weeks ago (you can see the picture in the first post of this thread). It must really have a liking to those little pop ups and who could blame it? I unhooked it in the net and let it go quickly before cracking a nice cold beer and getting some food on the go.

It was a muggy night and I didn't sleep well but managed to finally zonk out at around 3am before being rudely awoken at just after 5am by a one toner on the margin rod, I leaped from the bedchair struggling to get my boots on and rather than wasting time unzipping the mozzie mesh on my Lo Pro, I went straight through it, pulling it off the brolly in the process. The rod was bent double and by the time I was on it, it had already cleaned out my other rod. Fighting to open my eyes, the fish went wild and put up one hell of a scrap, flat rodding me a couple of times before I eventually managed to net it. Once on the mat, I realised this was another fish that I recognised having caught it off the top a couple of years previous. When I had it last time, it had some serious tail damage but it seems to have recovered quite well. So, with a visit to the scales which read 17lb and a quick photo, I slipped it back leaving just enough time for a brew before I had to hit the road.

 

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