On my doorstep
An early finish on the first Sunday of the month saw me heading down to the lake just around the corner from my house. It was about 7pm by the time I rolled up. I had a few dog biscuits and my cheapo Mach 1 Specimen rod. The wind was fairly gentle but still enough to give half the lake a shallow ripple. I positioned myself on the back of it and drifted a few dog biscuits downwind while soaking a few to soften them up for the hook. There was a chap at the far end of the lake, also surface fishing but with bread and a bubble float.
The Carp soon started rising to the biscuits and I hooked one straight away. Unfortunately it turned out not to be a Carp....
It was a blooming Ide. Funny looking things and far from my favourite fish. A couple more Ide were taken and then the Carp began to dominate affairs. After the second one the lake owner came around and I overheard him talking to the bubble float chap. "Bloody typical, I've sat here all day struggling, he's been here ten minutes and they are going nuts," the man said to the owner. To be honest this happens a lot. It's nothing to do with skill, after all I'm only freelining. It's more watercraft and a certain flexibilty to move around. If they hadn't started rising in my peg I would have moved and tried again somewhere else. In the end I lost count of the number of carp I caught. Nothing massive but great fun as always......
Would my luck turn at the mysterious lake?
I returned to the lake behind the farm early one morning hoping for a Tench or maybe even a Bream. The only thing I had to go on was the Tench I had caught in February so I headed for the same area. I fished with a sliding float and maggots just to see what was about. I also set up a second float rod to fish against a nearby tree with a worm to try and tempt one of the lakes elusive Perch. After a couple of hours I did in fact have four Perch in the net but alas, they were all tiny. The maggot produced a few Roach and a couple of Skimmer Bream and I packed up and headed back home. It looked beautiful though.....
On my second visit I fully intended to have another go for the Tench but as I got out of my car and peered across the lake several large shadows were lurking about under the surface in the early evening sunshine. They were Carp and big ones too. I still had some biscuits in the car so I put them in my bag and headed to the far end of the lake, once again on the back of the wind. I put out a bit of corn and legered a couple of pieces over the top about fifteen yards out. As ever the line from the rod tip was almost vertical. How deep it is I can only guess- bloody deep. With that in place I put a few floaters out and they drifted slowly out.
Now it wasn't instant but every now and again a Carp would tentatively suck down a biscuit. They were very cagey but I wasn't going to wait and see if they got more confident. The venue sees mostly Carp anglers but I was pretty sure nobody would have freelined a dog biscuit on eight pound double-strength line in the recent past. In fact there were two Carp anglers fishing, both on the bottom with their three rod set ups. Much like the bloke with the bubble float I wondered how they justified spending hours of their lives not catching anything or at best having very little hope of a take. As if to prove my point I was soon playing a good fish. Shortly after the hook pulled to ease my smugness. Nevermind, I got one in the end.......14lb 2oz......
As a caveat I would say don't team lightish line with a poker of a rod. I think I am right in saying Dick Walker landed the infamous Clarissa on a pound and a quarter test curve rod. The Mach 1 I use is probably about the same. I defy anyone to snap eight pound line using it.
Another short evening session saw me positioned at the top end of the lake again. I had a bit of a disaster though. My bait was in prime position among a few freebies but a small Roach was nibbling at it. I gently lifted the rod to move the biscuit and sure enough a massive Carp came up for it and spooked just as it took. I pricked it and spent the next couple of minutes cursing. All went quiet for a while so I set up a float with some corn as bait and cast it close in to some nearby reeds.
After about an hour I hooked another Carp on a biscuit and sure enough I lost that one too. Things just weren't going my way. Or so I thought. My float dipped slightly and then slowly disappeared. With two grains of corn I expected to strike and have a healthy bend in my rod. I struck into nothing. I worried a few more Carp on the top before the light began to fade and I reluctantly made my way home.
A good few days at work later and I was back. Same place, same tactics. One floater rod and one on corn. This time it was the float that went first. Exactly as before it twitched once and then slowly disappeared from view. Again I struck into nothing. Arrrrrrg. All was quiet for a long time before several patches of bubbles started appearing about twenty yards out. With limited gear I made a mental note of where they were coming up for my next visit. Luckily I did manage to fool one off the top before I had to leave. A pretty little common....
I had it all planned for my next trip- plenty of corn over the spot where I had seen all the activity previously. Unfortunately it was ten degrees colder and er.... raining a bit........
I didn't catch and packed up when the rain subsided enough for me to escape. Frustratingly I did have another one of those unmissable bites on the float........which I missed. Bugger.
Right, those bubblers. Round two kicked off a few days later. Feeding plenty of corn again I placed two feeders over the top. Result? Another blank. So annoying when this is happening all around......
My final visit was just this morning. I got there very early (just after four am). After failing with the corn I tried maggots again fished close in on a sliding float. As ever I also had a few floaters with me. The Carp weren't really having it though, staying low in the water waiting for the sun to warm the upper layers. Luckily the maggots were attracting plenty of interest.......
Followed by a few of these......
Not a Specimen but very welcome.........
Then the Carp started to show..........
In the end I had three Bream, five Eels and three Carp. The biggest two shown at 13lb 4oz and 14lb 8oz. All that and I was away by ten am. A real shame then that I lost a very big carp after having it on for a good five minutes. Still it was hard to feel disappointed with what was a fantastic mornings fishing.
Match Talk
Two more matches fished at Partney. The first was attended by ten of us and I was pegged between Don Green and Derek Skinner. Despite being on the 'wrong side' of the venue I came first, Don second and Derek third. They worked hard for their fish while I just stuck out a dog biscuit. Luckily my only fish weighed 10lb 4oz which was more than enough for victory.
Second match saw me turn up late and on the usually terrible peg 23. I won that one too. Dog biscuit again. three fish for 18lb 8oz.
I fished the first match at Candlesby and had 14lb odd which wasn't good enough on the night. In fact due to work I had to drop one of the matches so I haven't been back. It isn't sour grapes but I need a niche to compete with guys wielding two grands worth of pole. At Partney I have that niche. Toad Hall is still a fantastic venue though. Highly recommended.
Tackle Talk
I thought I had cured myself of my old rod addiction but a mint Shakespeare carbon spliced float rod turned up on the local car boot sale. The price? Four pounds. "What are they all for Phil?" I hear you ask. My still-under-construction fishing room which I am very fortunate to have...........
And don't worry they will all get taken out of the rack and used every now and again. I'm not that precious about them.
Dog Talk
I'll leave you with a few shots of my fishing buddies. Someone once said-"The problem with dog owners is that they think you'll love them as much as they do.". It's probably true but they have been great company and when you are in possession of so many biscuits do you honestly think they would stay at home?
Afterword
The best biscuits to use are Pedigree Chum mixers. They need soaking in a little water to soften them for hooking and give them some casting weight. Bakers Meaty Meals are a great alternative should you need more distance. You can hook them straight from the bag but I like to soak them anyway so my hook pulls through easily on the strike. As ever if you have any questions or just want to say hello you can do that via my email-
Till next time..............
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