June 2014 Start of Season Special.

Preparations

A holiday at the start of the month combined with lots of work before and after (to pay for it) meant a late start to the river season for me. It didn't stop me planning what I was going to do though and a few phone calls were made regarding a stretch of my favourite river I have been meaning to find out about for a number of years. Bit of a strange one this as the club (if you can call it that) doesn't advertise, doesn't seem keen to either attract members or indeed do any kind of maintenance on the stretch. It suits me though as joining has opened up another two miles of prime river for me and it seemed as though I may just have it all to myself.....

"Fancy a walk up the river," I asked Mrs P. She always falls for it. "We aren't going fish spotting are we?" she checked. "No Dear," I sort of half lied. "We were going swim-making and weed-raking too....... "

We walked the whole length and not a single peg had been cut out, a good sign although the river was almost totally inaccessible in a lot of areas. After spooking a resident Cormorant I set about trampling a couple of likely looking spots down. Then it was time for the weed raking. Mine is an old garden rake head, some lead roof flashing for weight and a bit of rope. After the relaxation of my holiday it was hard work. The weed was thick and stubborn and truth be known I barely made a dent in it. However any clear spots I had created were baited with hemp, maggots and corn ready for my return a few days later. My target species were Roach and those elusive Bream that every local seems to know about but have never actually caught. Regulars will remember it was here I once found a scattering of very large scales on the bank. I speculated that an Otter had taken a Bream and by the size of the scales it was a big one. Eight pounds plus I guesstimated.

All I had to do was turn up?

With the amount of preparation I had done I fully expected to turn and crack it straight away. It was just after four am when I arrived at the river and I headed straight for one of my prebaited spots. A bite less hour and a half followed. Never mind, the other spot I prepared looks a bit more promising I kidded myself as I moved downstream and settled expectantly. Another two hours passed and I was dejected. All that preparation and hope, not to mention the cost of the ticket, was amounting to nothing. There was one area more than one person had mentioned to me in the past couple of seasons that I could try. It was my last resort. The only problem was getting there.

I had to somehow get my normal estate car on top of the flood bank. I managed it just and drove a mile gingerly in first gear. Happy just to have made it suddenly dawned on me that what I had done may well be frowned upon. Be just my luck to get banned on the first visit I thought as I made my first cast. 

It wasn't very deep, maybe two feet at most with a gentle flow. I had a small stick float set up and flicked it out baited with a couple of bronze maggots. On about the tenth run-through with the float I lost interest. It was so frustrating and I rummaged around in my tackle bag for a magic wand or something, anything. Sure I'd seen a few Cormorants and I knew there were Otters on the River but surely they had left some for me or was I too late? I turned back around to see what progress my float was making. Wait, where? What? Before I had time to compute my rod already had a healthy bend in it. A fish. Wow.

Whatever it was didn't want to come in and I had a right old tussle with what turned out to be a Bream of 4lb 7oz. After three or four years of being on the river, albeit the upper length it was the first proper Bream I had caught. You can imagine my face when I added another of 6lb 1oz.........  

After those two I lost a good fish and it seemed to unsettle them. Luckily there were a few hungry Hybrids willing to mop up any surplus maggots I had fed.........biggest 3lb 2oz......

They seem to have different 'amounts' of Bream in them and let me tell you, that top fish gave me a fright. When it was in the water I could have sworn it was a proper Roach. After the Hybrids I endured a barren spell of a couple of hours. The fish had gone but at least I had something to show you and could go home a happy man. Only problem was in my determination to catch I had forgotten about my return journey along the flood bank. That would be the bank that is almost exactly a car wide. At least it refreshed my reversing skills.

Opportunity knocks 

My car went in for MOT. So what? I hear you cry. Well it would be in for a couple of hours and behind the garage is a drain. A drain supposedly full of Roach. The spot I had my eye on was a bit challenging due to some overenthusiastic strimming but I set about the swim. My tackle was an old swing tip rod, ideal for small streams being only 8ft and being mostly fibreglass it has a soft action. A small reel, stick float and size 14 hook baited with bread completed the set up. I ran it through a few times and more often than not came back with a lovely Rudd or plump Roach. All too soon it was time to collect my car, stopping off at another spot on my return walk. Maybe I'll go back. Certainly beats the usually coffee machine/old magazine arrangement in most waiting rooms.......

Let's do it properly

After a long week at work I was itching to get back to those Bream. Now I knew were they were I could fish a little differently, feed more etc. I arrived early again and this time I manged to turn my car around on the bank. As usual three Cormorants scattered from their roosts as I continued downstream. I was soon in position and by five am I was fishing. It was three hopeless hours later that I had my first bite. The culprit? A very small hybrid..............

Mrs P texted to see how I was getting on. After informing her it was rubbish she put me straight- enjoy the weather/stick at it etc. She was right, all week I had been looking forward to this, I wasn't about to leave just yet. The weather certainly was glorious and being literally in the middle of nowhere (the nearest town is twenty miles away) it was very relaxing, tranquil even...........

I even wound in and had a little sleep. By lunch time though I was packing up. Despite the weather and the peace I was deflated. Where were those fish? At least I knew they occasionally visited the spot I was in so before leaving I put every bit of bait in my bag- hemp, corn, maggots and some old pellets in the swim. The farmer even gave me a cheery wave on my way back over the flood bank so that was one less thing to worry about.

The next morning I was back. It was gamble. It isn't an easy place to get to and working late nights meant two early starts in a row would take a bit out of me and I'd pay for it later in the week. As soon as I got to the swim it was obvious the fish were there. All those doubts went straight out of the window. Patches of bubbles, big bow-waves and swirls were everywhere. In the stillness of the morning it was a magical time. A feeding frenzy was going on not six feet away and to any 'normal' person they'd be almost completely unaware of it. Knowing what was going on it was a struggle just threading my line through my rod rings. Only another angler will know this feeling of expectation. Anyway I was right to be excited because I caught straight from the off. Two Bream came in before a couple of those feisty Hybrids were netted. I tried to take fish from the edges of the shoal to keep them there as long as possible. In the end I had five big Bream and seven Hybrids including a personal best river Bream of 7lb 14oz......

Despite........

About half way through probably my best ever river Bream session I saw what I thought was a large piece a wood floating towards me. I did a double-take. It was being propelled. It wasn't a lump of wood at all but a massive Otter, much bigger than any I have seen before. It had a great big square head on it and dissapeared from whence it came as soon as it saw me. You know me by now, I'm a bit of a hugger (not a typo). I do worry though, especially about the Cormorants. The river is very clear and combined with the Pike and Otters it may just be too much for the river to stand. I could be (and do hope) that I am wrong. Time will tell. One thing is for sure, every time I go the Cormorants scatter and the Otter swam away rapidly so if more people used the river they'd be more reluctant to live there.

Tackle Talk

Those Bream were caught using mostly car boot sale tackle- a Shakespeare Spliced-Tip match rod (£4), D.A.M Quick Reel (£2.50) and I even got the John Dean stick float off there too (10p). To be honest it is lovely gear and shows you don't have to have the latest, greatest tackle or spend a fortune to do the business. The D.A.M along with a few other purchases...........

Silstar CX41 (£2.50). Not to use, purely for nostalgic value....

Mitchell 410 (£5) and a Shimano Powerloop match rod (£8). Maybe my greatest purchase ever.....

I only really go to one boot sale. I'm not up every morning rummaging in peoples boots before they have set up like some ignorant idiots I've seen. I also wont be there the following week selling stuff I bought the week before. Seriously, I've just been lucky. 

While we are the subject of tackle there is a lot of nonsense written about stick float fishing. If you have never tried it then give it a go. Some people say it is an art and you have to be super-skillful to master it. While there are little tricks that'll come with practise the basic principle is incredibly simple- just keep the float going through the swim as naturally as possible. This usually means keeping the line behind the float. You can even use them on lakes when the tow needs to be dealt with. As always you can contact me for any further advice or just to say hello.....

the.power@tesco.net 

Afterword

I swear to god this is true-

It was about 3am in Benidorm, Spain. I was on a big stag night for two of my good friends. At first we all stayed together but at that time of the morning we had split up. "Let's go and watch the midget strippers," some said and off they went, hunting for performing dwarfs. Me and a couple of others passed up on this and headed across town to KFC. Turning down a side street I waited for my buddies to catch up. I was leant against some railings when a smiling face came towards me. I had never seen him before in my life. "Hi, Phil." he said. "Hello mate," I replied still none the wiser. "It's Dave, I've messaged you a few times, you know, about your fishing blog." he added.

Hello Dave

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

May 2014

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-

the.power@tesco.net

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

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............

March Part 2 plus free gift!

Introduction

"Where are you off today then?" Enquired Mrs P

"The forgotten lakes," I replied

"Really?.........Can you remember where they are?"

Tale of the unexpected

With the rivers out of bounds due to the close season it had to be a stillwater venue. Now the forgotten lakes are only two miles from my house............ or should I say old house because I am writing this from my new abode some fifteen miles from the lakes. In the middle of the month my house move was imminent so I decided to have one last crack at them while I was still just around the corner. On my next free day I headed off early in the afternoon. It would also be the first time I had been down in my new car. Not new exactly but undoubtedly the best car I have ever owned so I approached the turn off with some trepidation. I needn't have worried because I was soon parking up at the side of the top lake. 

Looking out onto the top lake I wondered if those pesky Cormorants from last summer had eaten all the Roach. After a couple of minutes I saw an area where small fish were dimpling on the surface which restored a bit of faith that at least some of the stocks had survived. I picked a likely looking spot and threw in half a can of corn to fish over later and wandered off with my kit to the bottom lake.

After making my way through some brambles I settled in a spot by an overhanging tree. My ubiquitous tip rod was set up and I cast a worm out alongside the sunken branches. I kept a close eye on this while I set up my pole. Regulars will remember I'm not a massive pole fan but I do have a margin pole that I am quite happy to use. It's a Shimano Beastmaster 850B. A birthday present from Mrs P, I believe they are about a hundred and fifty pounds which is more than enough for a bit of fishing kit. Anyway I was soon watching both my tip and my pole float for any signs of life. 

The tip was first to go and a savage bite resulted in this unexpected but very welcome Perch of 2lb 3oz... 

I popped the angry stripey in the net and carried on fishing. A few very skinny Roach came to hand from the pole line before I struck into something far more substantial. I knew what it was straight away and it gave me runaround for a bit before I slid the net under it. Half an hour later one of its mates gave me a repeat performance. Two Cruician hybrids of 4lb 9oz and 4lb 11oz....... 

I was turning into quite a session but I had planned to have a crack at the top lake where I had baited earlier so I reluctantly dragged myself away with about half an hour of daylight left. The top lake is really rather strange. The water is dark and deep, the banks massively overgrown. The island is probably actually half the size it looks such is the extent of the foliage. I always feel like it holds something special but have never really managed to catch anything of any note from it. And so it was, although I did have a couple of bites on corn I missed both of them, probably (hopefully) just small Roach.

Over the next week or so I had another couple of short visits to the lakes but the weather had turned cold again and it was slim pickings as bites were very hard to come by. In fact I didn't have a bite at all in the top lake despite a couple of days of pre-baiting with corn. I did hear a big Carp crash though, maybe the really big one I have seen there before. The bottom lake gave up a few of its Roach and Rudd along with this stocky little fella............

Supercup

With the house move underway and an inordinate amount of DIY and decorating to do I had no chance of just going fishing for the sake of it. Luckily (sort of) I couldn't get out of my commitment to Spilsby AS to fish in the Angling Times Supercup at the Woodlands complex. Having not match fished for six months or so I wasn't really looking forward to it but I found myself in the car park at 8am after having only four hours of sleep due to a late night at work. We were due to fish against another team of eight anglers from Lincoln and sure enough they turned up in full force. How embarrassing then that we were a man short due to a no-show. That put us under pressure straight away. Another annoyance was that someone had mapped the areas where each peg could and could not fish. What a waste of time. Haven't these people got anything better to do? If they aren't tying bloody rigs they are drawing pictures. After wandering about all winter on all manner of natural venues I felt like a bloody caged animal. Surely it is common sense where you can and can't fish. Strange breed these 'serious' match types.

How did you do Phil? Rubbish is the reply but the team won so that is the main thing. To be fair my peg demanded an approach I was totally unprepared for. It had lots of fish in it but they were in about ten inches of water on the far bank. Of that ten inches about six or so were old reed roots. I lost four floats and as many feeders. It was a nightmare. I'm not making excuses, if I had that peg again I'd do a lot better. How? I'd fish the candle. I didn't think at the time but the candle method would have been perfect. Dead easy- just carefully hollow out the wick from and ordinary candle break it into a bit that is the right weight for casting the required distance and away you go. You can fish a inch deep if you like. Hindsight eh?

Tackle Talk

Last month I mentioned a stretch of river that contained some fish I was very keen on catching. With the close season upon us it is an ideal time for fish spotting, especially as the rainfall gradually subsides and the rivers run clear. They are never quite clear enough though are they? I have to admit I'm a bit rubbish at fish spotting. I even went to the Hampshire Avon once and was at a total loss as various locals walked the banks picking out individual fish. Now it is common knowledge that polarised sunglasses help to see in water but I've always thought their effectiveness was overrated. Despite this I took the plunge on a cheap pair from eBay......

They were about £12 but more importantly I could wear them over my normal glasses and so have the benefits of both. On my next day off I took the dogs for a walk along the river. While it wasn't particularly clear the difference the glasses made was really remarkable. In the coming months they are going to be invaluable. I'll keep you updated if I see anything newsworthy. Oh and one more thing, don't expect to wear two pairs of glasses and look cool.......

A couple more purchases were made in the last few weeks. The first was a pair of scales. Now I usually use some Reuben Heaton Flyweights but a friend of mine swears by the old Avon type scales. He is a bit more serious about these things than me so I took his advice and a got a set from that popular auction site again (£12 posted). I've not caught anything to weigh on them yet but they certainly seem more sensitive than my Flyweights.....

Next up is an old favourite of mine. After joining one of those 'for sale locally' pages on facebook a Sigma Wand popped up for £15. I had to have it. There is also also a story behind it. You can read that here-

http://daisydo100.wordpress.com/2014/03/25/ive-had-better-evenings/

Revesby Resevoir

I'll just quickly tell you about a visit I had here. If you want a Big Bream in this area then Revesby is the place. Only snag is it is run on a membership basis. I arranged a meeting with a very nice (and quite posh) chap called Paul who kindly showed me around. It is a lovely place if not a little bit daunting being nearly forty acres in size. That membership I mentioned? It's three hundred and five pounds a year (sounds more when I write it in words). Despite my best efforts Paul wouldn't let me have a half year membership. I simply couldn't justify the outlay especially when I spend so much time river fishing in the colder months. Maybe things will change there. As soon as they do I'll be having a go.

Free Gift

 How do you fancy a crack at this........

That is the bottom lake, wait till you see the top one. And so I give you the forgotten lakes. Now I have moved I wont really have the time to give them the attention they deserve so I'll let you know exactly where they are. First of all look on Google Earth and find Mavis Enderby. Zoom out a little and find West Keal. Smack between those two hamlets are the Lakes.........

If you look closely you can make out the track down to the lakes to the South. Go carefully and you'll be fine. Keep left to start with and you can't really go wrong. Just don't go when it is raining or you'll never get back up the hill. I've only ever seen the man that takes the money once in twenty odd visits and the only other anglers I've seen are people I've arranged to meet there. From memory he asked for £3.50 so it might not be a free gift if you bump into him. Oh and don't forget to let me know how you get on. 

the.power@tesco.net

Final Word

I'll leave you with a couple of images that missed the cut from last time (the Chub is 4lb 6oz). Guess I must be missing the fishing season proper.....

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