April 2013
The Forgotten Lakes
Old Bolingbroke, Lincs
I have stopped calling these lakes Neals Pits. It just doesn't do them justice. Anyway at the end of March I reacquainted myself with these lovely pieces of water nestled in the middle of nowhere. My first visit of the month saw me sat on the old weed bed again on the west bank of the bottom lake. I have a feeling it isn't the best area of the lake but my word is it peaceful. Sheltered by dense undergrowth in the afternoons it becomes a real sun trap. In fact it was so peaceful I fell asleep which is rare for me when I'm trying to catch an unseen beast. While conscious I did catch a few Roach and Rudd and then lost what I was sure was a big Perch. Playing it for a couple of minutes it came off before I could see it. Frustrating but it was just extra encouragement to go back and have another go.
My second visit of the month was with my friend and match supremo Tony. He fished the lakes years ago and was keen to join me. We settled on the East bank and were treated to some glorious spring sunshine. Tony and I caught Roach steadily all morning on both the float and tip. Nothing big but we were both getting a few bites. Totally out of the blue my worm-baited tip rod whacked around and I struck into a good fish. Could it be? Yes it was! A Perch. Bang on two pounds Tony assured me that it was still on the small side for what the lake used to produce. Still a great fish though and I was made up.
I have had a few visits since but caught no more Perch of note. As the weather got better though the weed bed peg got more and more pleasant to be in. My rugby mate and keen Carp angler Chris came down to have a look at the lakes one night. Regular readers will remember the massive Carp I saw in the top lake last year and I'm rather hoping Chris will have a go for it. After having a good look around he joined me on the weed bed. "Wow, it's idyllic," Chris exclaimed taking it all in. Just about sums it up really. I did manage to get one of those big mutant Crucians one evening. What a shame they aren't 100% because if they were I'd be famous by now!
River Lima, Italy
My good friend Andy lets me and Mrs P use his home in Italy and so we had a week over there this month. As luck would have it his house is close to the Lima valley. It is one of the most beautiful rivers I have ever come across. A bit of online research suggested the Lima holds some good Chub. They didn't give locations though so I struggled all week. I say struggled but it's not really a hardship when the surroundings are so amazing. Like my weed bed spot, sometimes the catching is secondary. Just being there is special enough.
Casoli Lake, Italy
"You want to go up to the lake Phil, loads of fish up there," said ex-pat Daryl in the village restaurant one night. "Loads of snakes too though!" He added. After a long trudge up a farm track we came across a massive heard of goats. Good I thought, they'll scare the snakes off. Unfortunately they hadn't because the first thing I saw when I got to the Lake was a snake. My match fishing buddies will tell you I can't even stand eels so I can't begin to tell you how much I dislike snakes. I'll endure pretty much anything to wet a line though and I had a few fruitless hours with my jeans tucked in my socks just in case!
Afterword
This blog is coming up to three thousand hits. A massive thank you to all that read my diary and I hope you continue to enjoy it.
Till next time....................
