April 2014

Welcome Back

This month will see us go over eight thousand page views which is brilliant. As ever thanks for reading and enjoy.......

Four pound Perch please

After getting side-tracked by the forgotten lakes and the Supercup I had to remind myself that I should actually be trying to catch a big Perch. Having not visited for a couple of months I made my way over to the reasonably local Caravan Park. There are six lakes on-site and I had sussed the one that supposedly holds the big ones. I even knew the peg where a fish of 4lb 6oz was caught a couple of years ago. 

The man on reception was a lot more cheerful than when I last saw him in February. Maybe he was in semi-hibernation or something. I can't imagine working on a mostly closed caravan site in the middle of winter is a very uplifting job. Anyway he very kindly gave me an evening ticket which saved me a couple of quid even though it was just after lunchtime. I thanked him and quickly drove around to the lake on the newly surfaced road.

First thing to set up was my tip rod. I baited a three swan link with a big worm and cast out a couple of rod lengths. With that placed to my right hand side I set up my pole to fish straight in front of me. After my previous visits where I barely caught anything I decided to fish maggot to just try and get a few bites. Surprisingly it didn't take long but it wasn't a big fish or even a Perch.....

After that might Gudgeon I followed it up with a few Rudd. They were all small but I was happy enough to be getting a few bites. The tiddler catching was interrupted by some interest in the worm. As the tip curved around I struck and brought in a very welcome Perch of around six ounces. Target species- check. Target weight- nowhere near. A few more small Rudd were caught on the pole before the tip went again. I struck and immediately my heart rate increased. It was a big fish and I was pretty sure it was a Perch. A couple of minutes later after slowly bringing it towards me the line went limp as it shook the hook out. It took me a couple of minutes to stop swearing and generally having a bit of a tantrum. After pulling myself together I re-baited and cast out again. Sure enough five minutes later and I had another bite on the worm. I struck again and this one felt even bigger. It didn't feel like a Perch though, it was too heavy and slow surely? Unfortunately I'll never know because that one came off too.

For the next three hours I didn't have another bite on the worm. I did catch a few fish on the pole though including a Bream but it was no consolation. I even floated a bit of bread across the left of the swim to see if any Carp were about while waiting for my tip to go around. A Carp came up and slurped most of it down. To be honest it was a big fish, maybe an upper double but it looked as if it'd been caught a hundred times so I left it in peace. The only other thing of note was a visit from the bailiff. Always a good source of info it became apparent that in late February they had stocked the lake with nearly two thousand fish, mainly Rudd. They had stocked it because the local Cormorants had eaten the previous stocks (heard it all before). "What about the big Perch?" I enquired. "Oh yeah, old George had a three pounder yesterday from outside his caravan" said the bailiff, pointing to a spot not far from where I was fishing. Lucky George I thought to myself as I packed up. Sorry about the quality of the photo, it still gets pretty cold on some April evenings and was shivering.......

The next two visits were, for want of a better word, disastrous. On the first visit a great big Cormorant was swimming about for a couple of hours until a resident came out and fired some stones at it with a catapult. The Cormorant didn't really give a toss and the bloke caught me laughing at him as he charged up and down the bank. "It's a Cormorant- it's eating all our fish," he shouted. "No shit," I replied still giggling to myself. Back to the fishing- I concentrated on the tip and fished two rods with worm as the bait. The Rudd had a field day both times and the worms weren't lasting more than a few minutes. I did manage another couple of Bream but the Rudd well and truly scuppered any chance I had of catching a Big Stripey. Some people like attracting bait fish when perch fishing but seriously they were just a nuisance. Back to the drawing board before my next visit. It's not even a particularly nice place to be either.......

Prawns were the only bait I could think of to deter the Rudd. "What about your self -imposed sea derived bait ban Phil?" I hear you cry. Sod it, I was desperate. Plus I only bought one pack instead of two like I used to. I also had a move around and fished outside George's caravan. I soon had the Mach 2's set up and two big Prawns in a couple of likely looking spots. I wasn't particularly confident having caught very few perch on my previous visits. When one of the tips started to shiver I struck expectantly. The culprit? A Perch barely bigger than the Prawn it was trying to eat. On the very next cast I had another bite and struck into a much bigger fish. It felt like a Perch again and a very good one at that. It came off. Good job old George wasn't in his caravan.

Ten minutes later a had a Bream followed by a biteless couple of hours. I decided to pop them back and have a wander around to another spot I fancied having a crack at. The tiny perch and rather sorry looking Bream.....

The new spot, surely some Perch among those reeds?

It didn't take long for someone to show an interest in the maggots I had with me.........

That isn't a Perch.....

Or that....

Gave up after this one.......

So that was that. Four visits and not a single perch over six ounces. First it was the Rudd and on the last visit it was the Bream doing their best to beat any resident Perch to my baits. With me also inexplicably losing anything decent I decided that I needed a break from the place........maybe a permanent one. It doesn't matter where you are in Lincolnshire, the evening sky will always make anywhere look nice. Scant consolation but it was pretty much all I had......

On my doorstep

It came to my attention that a local lake held some big Barbel. I decided to have a go for them just for a change if nothing else. When I got there, like the caravan park, it was not really a very inspiring place to be. With overly manicured grounds it was like fishing in the middle of a golf course. I only stayed a couple of hours but while there I had a chat with another angler. A lovely old boy, he told me about a lake that was about a quarter of a mile from my new house. "It's a bit of a dump but has some decent fish in it," he informed me. Before the owner came around for the money I packed up and headed for the dump.

By the time I had bought some dog biscuits and had a bite to eat I only had a couple of hours of daylight left when I got to the lake. Now I had fished it before but not for ten years or so and it was a lot bigger than I remember. I wandered down the steep bank and fired a few biscuits in. Sure enough after a couple of minutes the carp started to show an interest. Before I had time to get my kit out of the car the owner arrived. He wanted to charge me three pounds but as I pulled out a bit of spare change (no more than two quid) he said "That'll do". Result.

Did you catch any though Phil? Of course I did. They are Carp, cagey yes, bright no. Great fun though....

Tackle Talk

Before I tell you about my continued obsession with buying old rods off eBay I have also been scouring the local car boot sales. I have to admit it is hard going but there were some bargains to be had. "How much are these floats love," I asked one old lady. "Ooh, they were my husbands, he passed away recently," she replied. "I'm sorry, are you sure you want to sell them," I asked as I looked longingly at some John Dean stick floats. "Oh yes, I've kept his favourite rods and but he'll be pleased if someone is going to use his floats," she added. "They'll get used alright, I'll take good care of them, how much are they?". "Ten pence each.". And cherish them I will..........

I've always wanted a Silstar Traverse-X rod and I finally found one at the right price of that most popular of auction sites. I've used it and to be honest compared to modern rods it is a bit rubbish but I do have plans for it, more of which I'll tell you about in the coming months. Looks the part though......

Another bargain I simply couldn't pass up was an old Shakespeare Kevlar match rod in mint condition for twenty quid including postage......

To be honest there have been a couple more editions to the family but as Mrs P sometimes reads this then I'd better save those for next month. You may remember me telling you about the Shakespeare Odessa Gold Match Rod I bought a couple of years ago and singing its praises. One went recently for forty five pounds so it seems the secret is out. If you can find one for twenty, buy it.

Is a knot tackle? Not really but as I'm writing this then it goes in this section. A friend of mine recently bought his young son some fishing kit for Christmas. Last month was the first time he took him and not being an angler himself he came to see me for some advice. I had a quick check through all his gear and gave him a few pointers. One thing I was keen to show him was a knot. It's very important to get a reliable knot that his son will probably use for the rest of his fishing life. Now I've always known it as a grinner knot but some people tie it a bit differently. You can use it for more or less anything and everything; joining line; tying hooks and swivels; putting line on a spool etc. Most importantly it never lets me down.......

I am pleased to say after nearly a month the house move is complete and the last thing to arrive was my fish. I had to buy them a new home (eBay again, £51). Luckily some chap was selling it on the next street and he carried it round negating the need for a van. It took me a couple of weeks to find the time to install it but it is one more job off the list..........

Breaking News

I fished my first match last night in the summer series at Partney. I drew peg 18 and had 16lb 10oz. My Spilsby AA team mate Scott fluked a very cheeky win with 16lb 13oz. Bugger.

A new chap started at work and he knows one of the rivers I fish. "Honestly Phil, I saw a Bream come out of there that defied belief," he informed me. I need to get up there and do some serious fish spotting with those glasses I bought. As ever if I discover anything you'll be the first to know. I have also learned of a burgeoning Otter population on there too so I need the season to start soon so I can have a proper go for them.

Mrs P has bought five Ghost Carp for the new pond today. Good girl she is. Maybe a sign my luck is on the turn?

Contact

As ever you can contact me via e-mail.

the.power@tesco.net

I'm also on facebook. Probably the easiest way to find me (as there are thousands of Phil Taylors) is to go to the Spilsby Angling Association page and I'm on a few of those posts. Feel free to add me.

Alternatively this link might work-  https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=785045474


Till next time............