The Car Park Lake - By Joe Miller

It would be fair to say, I would’ve liked to have begun my Car Park campaign in a better state of mind. A combination of working night shift for six years, an increased workload due to some questionable management decisions and a tough split with the girlfriend left me in a bit of a mess.
I was signed off work for two weeks and told to spend more time outside doing things I enjoyed. I decided then and there that I was quitting and never going back to night shifts. Being jobless and single, obviously meant I had plenty of time to fish but I needed to get my head straight first.
When the time did come and I found myself in Yateley Angling centre asking Kingy for my membership card, I think he could tell of my nervousness. He reassured me that at the end of the day, its just another lake and its inhabitants are just carp at the end of the day. It made me feel much better and I knew that if I remembered that, I could catch from the Car Park Lake.

It wasn’t long before I began my first lap of the lake, water bottle in hand. Due to its immense history, the Car Park was the only lake where I knew every swim name and location before I had even stepped foot on the place.
I first reached the Islands swim which looked inviting but with no signs of life, I carried on, and was soon stood in the famous Dessie’s swim. The angler occupying it was another new member, Jason and being keen to get to know a few people, I stayed and chatted for a bit before carrying on my lap.
I skipped past the rarely fished Traybins and surveyed the Curly swim. The Curly offers a long chuck out into the middle of the lake and was an option.
Next up was the Bars swim. Having read Darrells’ book and of the success he enjoyed in this swim, it was quite a cool feeling standing in the very swim where it all went down.
Next up was the snags swim. As the name suggests, quite confined with a snaggy margin either side of you and a small island just an underarm flick out in the 10 o clock position. I didn’t see anything in the snags and being my first session, if I couldn’t find fish, I wanted a swim with a good view of the lake. As a result, I wrote off the snags swim on this occasion.
Next up was the Chair swim. This was occupied by a guy who introduced himself as Scotty. I soon learnt nearly everyone on the Car Park had nicknames and so to this day, I still don’t know if Scotty is called Scott, or it's just because he’s Scottish. Either way, Scotty told me how, come early spring, this end was generally the place to be, as it was the shallower end and the fish sought the warm water on top of the bars.
With this useful information I bid Scotty farewell and continued my search. After completing the first lap, I really had nothing to go on so using Scotty’s information, I decided to spend at least my first night in the Bars. This gave a good view of the open water and gave me multiple options for my rigs. The leading rod soon revealed the location of the bar and I leaded until I could find the base of it. The first rod would go there, the second would go to the right with a couple handfuls of boilies spread between the two.

"I decided to spend at least my first night in the Bars"

I was in no rush to get the rods out, so set up the brolly and bed chair and started tying some fresh rigs. When I looked up and scanned the water, something caught my eye. Was it bubbling? It certainly looked like it. As my eyes focussed on the spot, a massive mirror rose out of the bubbles, side on, right up to the wrist of the tail before going over on its side. I just sat there stunned. That was clearly one of the bigguns, if not the biggest: 2 scale.
Eventually I snapped out of it and quickly began tying a choddy to flick towards where it showed. I didn’t get much of a drop but I didn’t want to risk a second cast so left it as it was. The remaining rod went out to the bottom of the bar that I found earlier. It had only been out an hour or so before it ripped off!
Again, I just sat there in disbelief staring at the spinning clutch before realising I should do something about it. A bite from the Car Park after a couple hours of being there? Surely not?

Of course, it wasn’t. After picking up the rod, the line was pointing directly round to the right before pinging off and I retrieved the rig from where it was cast. Clearly a trailer was responsible, and my nerves soon calmed. The rest of the session was largely uneventful. Despite being up at first light each morning, I failed to see another carp but the number of tench showing was truly incredible. I had never seen anything like it.

I returned the following weekend and set up my plot in the Islands swim. Again, this session was largely uneventful, until a quick opportunity on the Pads Lake yielded a 20lb 2oz common from the swim directly behind me. Syndicate members are allowed to fish the Pads as long as there is no group booked on. The number of fizzers in front of the swim behind me couldn’t be ignored and when my double tiger nut rig was cast past the fizz, then drawn back mid water, it only took 20 minutes to get a bite.

"A quick opportunity on the Pads Lake yielded a 20lb 2oz common"

That session turned out to be my last at Yateley for quite a few months. I had a new job now and after paying my syndicate fees for my other lake, I quickly got distracted by that and spent most of the spring and summer there for very little reward. By mid-August I had had enough and was soon making the long drive back to Yateley.

Needless to say, the lake had changed drastically since I had been away. The weed was right up to the surface and all the known spots that I had been told about were now glowing. There are some awesome climbing trees on the Car Park, giving a mega view of the lake and its spots. There were a few other anglers fishing but after a quick lap, I settled in the Curly. It didn’t look like it had been fished for while and there was some bubbling out on the long spot. I thought it was most likely tench but it was more than I had seen the rest of my lap.

I held off on investigating the area with a lead. It was too early in the morning for that and I didn’t want to ruin it for those around me. Over on the Match Lake, I had learnt that if the fish fed on a spot in the morning, and were not disturbed, they would generally come back the following morning. I hoped this was also the case on the Car Park.
The day was spent just killing time and meeting a couple more of the Car Park members. Rigs went out about 4pm, just like on the Match. Baiting wise, I went in quite conservatively. With a stock of roughly 35 fish, I felt that the chance of having a group of fish feed on the spot was pretty slim, so I just needed enough bait to get a bite from one fish. Then once I had got that, I would fish for a second.

I ended up crashing out just after dinner and when my 4am alarm went off, I felt ripe and ready to go! The kettle was soon boiling and as the light became good enough to see, I checked the long spot with the binoculars, only to find it bubbling out there. No surely not? I put it down to tench and hoped their feeding activity would bring the carp to the spot. I didn’t need the binoculars to see the next set of bubbles though.
A massive jacuzzi of bubbles hit the surface, just as the Neville screamed and the bobbin cracked into the butt of the rod. This was no tench! Despite the weed, the fight went exactly to plan and as I scooped up my first Car Park carp, I let out a huge sigh of relief. Phil, the bailiff, fishing in the Bars, and Tony, in the Snags, both heard the violent take and were now by my side to help weigh and photograph. On the scales she went 22lbs 8oz, a small fish by the lakes standards but I was just relieved to be off the mark.

"I was just relieved to be off the mark"

Despite it still being relatively early in the morning, I opted not to redo that rod. The spot was 65 yards out and not that big and felt that the chances of me hitting it first time were very remote. Therefore, I decide to let them feed on whatever was left out there undisturbed and maybe, just maybe, they would come back again in the morning.
This risk paid off, as right on first light, the rod on the long spot ripped off again and just like the previous morning, didn’t cause me many problems. Upon picking up the rod, it kited straight into the thick weed bed to the right. It went solid momentarily, but gentle pressure pulled it free, along with a big ball of weed. Once the weed covered its head, it was just a case of slowly bringing the ball within netting range. Once the net was underneath it gave a massive kick, but it was too late. She was mine. Immediately I knew it was a better fish and went to wake up Dean, who had moved into the Bars after Phil left. On the mat, Dean identified her as “The Suicide Fish”, one of the lakes big girls that had broken the 40lb barrier the previous year.

"The Suicide Fish"

With spawning still relatively recent, we knew she wouldn’t be as big, but I had no complaints at all when we recorded a weight of 36lb 11oz. Before we weighed her, I had quickly got the rod back out, with it being my final morning but unsurprisingly, it didn’t go again. I cared not though. My target had been just to get one bite from the Car Park all year and I had got one on my 5^th and 6^th nights. I packed up and drove home a very happy man.

"I packed up and drove home a very happy man"

With that success I was keen to get back but due to being busy with work, I couldn’t get two nights to make the drive to Yateley worthwhile. Come September though, I did have a whole week at my disposal to give the Car Park another go. I had other plans though……


Until next time


Be lucky


Joe

(Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube for more great content like this)

From the Match Lake to the Car Park - by Joe Miller

The following is Nash Baits backed Joe Millers account of his incredible fishing adventures on the famous Yateley Match Lake. If you want to read how the story began, you can do so by picking up a copy of 'A History Of Yateley, Volume 4'.

Match Lake adventure continued…

It was late September before I decided to make the long drive back to Yateley, although things didn’t start to happen for me until a couple trips in, and I found myself plotted up in the 'Left Hand Birches' swim, whilst my mate Chris, went in the right side. At least it would be social if the fishing was slow. In my absence, the 'Redmire' had been caught from there, along with a few others and gentle bubbling over what looked to be a nice clear spot out in the weed, was enough for me to give it a go, for at least one night. It was gone mid-day by the time the fish had done the off and the leading rod revealed they had been feeding on what was, for me, the perfect spot - smooth silt with the odd tap of gravel transmitted down the rod. There was also a clear channel all the way to the spot, which saved me having to make one for line lay. Given the vast football pitch of weed out in front of me, I didn’t have many options spot wise but felt the spot was just big enough to fit two rods on. My favourite mix of flaked Key Cray boilie, hemp and tigers was soon spombed out to the spot, followed by the rigs, and I settled down for the evening.

“Everything looked perfect”

Both rigs were still in position come morning after the dreaded catfish failed to make an appearance. Everything looked perfect and the wait for the first bubbles over the spot began. Eventually they did and it felt like it was only a matter of time.
It was just the way it happened at Yateley. The first couple bubbles, then a few more, then nothing. Then they would start again and your confidence would rise - its only a matter of time. Then as they continued to fizz and no bite materialised, you would begin to question everything “Surely both didn’t tangle?, Point must have gone over?, rig cant be sat right".
Nine times out of 10 though, nothing was wrong at all and the Neville would sing its tune as the bobbin cracked into the rod. This morning proved to be no different and after a short fight, a 33lb 4oz mirror lay beaten in the net. With it being late in the morning, and the other rod still sitting pretty on the spot, I opted not to redo the rod I had just caught on.
Bigger fish can often move in after a fish has been caught on the spot so I hoped this ploy could pay dividends. It wasn’t to be though and the day faded out with nothing of note really happening. Both rods were reset, bait topped up, and Indian takeaway ordered. I went to bed super confident that night. I had found that if the fish were willing to visit a spot one morning, they would often return the following morning too.

“A 33lbs 40z mirror lay beaten in the net (September 2017)”

Return they did and given my confidence of another, I text Jordan, telling him he would be needed on camera duty soon. I then set the camera on the tripod, set it to video, focused on the rods and hit record. It didn’t take long before the bobbin lifted slightly before flying to the top as the fish moved up in the water against the solid clutch.The culprit turned out to be the leathery character known as 'White Stripe' and after closer inspection, was a repeat of the mirror I caught from the 'Right Hand Parties' the previous autumn. With Jordan behind the lens I managed to get much better pictures this time around and she was soon slipped back.

“With Jordan on the lens, I managed to get much better pictures (White Stripe, September 2017)”

With two more captures under my belt, obviously I was keen to get back down there. Unfortunately, things took a turn for a worse and a bout of tonsillitis and a delay in getting the right medication kept me away for a couple of weeks. By the time I felt better, it was late October. By now, the weed was beginning to drop and the lake was beginning to slow down. The spot I had fished in the 'Left Birches' had been opened right up, and now the fish were reluctant to visit it. Thankfully though, they still fed on the spot in the 'Right Birches' and I manged to bag a repeat in the shape of the mirror I caught from the 'Stumps' earlier in the spring. Bites were becoming harder and harder to come by but I did manage one more before calling it time for another year; a pristine common of 31lb from the 'Golf Tees'. 

 “The weed was beginning to drop and the lake was beginning to slow down (October 2017)”

“I did manage one more before calling it time for another year (October 2017)”

As with previous years, I had booked to do a long session in October, but with the lake seemingly shut down early, four nights spent in the 'Right-hand Parties', yielded nothing for my efforts. I did get to meet Oz Holness though and his two night blank next door in the 'Left Parties' told me all I needed to know. I did have two nights left of my session though and had my syndicate lake to fall back to, so the car was loaded and I headed back closer to home, down to see the rest of the year out on there. Fair to say it went rather well, but that’s for another time…

“Fair to say it went rather well, but that’s for another time”

The 2018 season brought with it the usual renewed enthusiasm that a tough winter brings. I had spent the whole winter plotting my spring attack and when March came, I couldn’t get back fast enough. This spring though, nature seemed behind compared to the previous. Whereas, the same week last year, there were tiny frogs everywhere on the 'Copse Bank', this year there was hard frosts with thick snow forecast for the end of the week. 

“This spring though, nature seemed behind compared to the previous”

As a result, the Match Lake just seemed to take forever to wake up. It turned out, all thoughts of the Match Lake were soon forgotten when I got a phone call from Chris saying there was a ticket for the legendary Car Park Lake available - if I paid immediately. Needless to say within the hour, and with a dent in my bank balance, I was on “the other side of the road” and shaking hands with Martin Gardener. The ticket began in April and it couldn’t come soon enough… 

“All thoughts of the Match Lake were soon forgotten”

Until next time

Be lucky.

Joe

If you enjoyed Joe's adventure please like and share this post. On The Bank Angling is all about anglers sharing their fishing stories from the bank and no matter who you are or what you have caught, we are happy to hear yours.

You can be part of the OTBA community by:

Joining our Facebook Group

Following us on Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and FishBrain

Sending us your catches and fishing stories at onthebankangling@gmail.com

Want to read a fishing story? - The On The Bank Angling Blog is back, and we want your stories!

IT'S been a long time since we posted on our blog but this post is just to say we are back and are going to be creating as much fishing content as possible.

So why are we back and why should you have a read of the blog?

On The Bank Angling was originally set-up to share fishing stories between a small group of friends and anyone else who was interested. Since then we have grown to have a small following on several of our social media platforms but the one thing everyone says we lack is consistency - that's something we aim to change!

Ever since I was a young lad, I've always loved reading, listening and watching good fishing stories. Whether it be reading a copy of the Angling Times, watching Matt Hayes Record Breaking Fish for the 100th time or having a chat with an angler on the bank - I can't get enough of hearing other peoples fishing adventures. I feel this not only helps me learn more but also inspires me to get out on the bank to see if I can catch a monster fish myself.

We are obviously just one of hundreds of blogs out there and that is a great thing - if I had time to watch everyone's I personally would. I do feel the story telling in angling has been lost a little by some over the last few years with the coming of the social media age. It is great seeing peoples captures but its even better to hear the work that went into catching the fish and what it means to them.
Those of you who know me closely will know that I now have a job very close to Angling and I love every minute of it. So its great to try and use any knowledge I gain to pass on to others.

Our aim for On The Bank Angling is to hopefully revitalise the classic 'fisherman's tale'. We will hopefully do this by providing you guys with some great content on here and on our YouTube channel.

Its not just our stories we want to share and tell though - its yours. I have a lot of exciting ideas of things I would like to do with the blog and channel. This includes fishery catch reports, inside info, podcasts, you name it!

So if you do have a fishing story or you are a fishery that want to share your catch reports then here is what you need to do:

Join our Facebook group with 500-plus members - I honestly have never seen a bad word said in the group, its awesome!

Or you can email us at: onthebankangling@gmail.com.

So that's about it really, stay tuned for lots of fishing content and tight lines!!!

Here's a few pictures of what we have coming up on YouTube...

A species hunt at Anglers Paradise

Surface stalking at a secret lake

A mental Creedy session

Tench on the float!

Getting Jiggy With It! - Winter Lure Fishing

Well hey guy's long time no blogging and once again I have to say how sorry I am for the lack of post's! Hopefully if you follow any of the On The Bank Angling bits and pieces though you will realise there's been a lot going on!

Anyway enough excuses and may I wish you all a very happy new year! So, how has the new year started for the members of OTBA? Well all I can say is I can't wait till the summer!

That's being a little unfair to be honest, as I have actually had some cracking results over the past weeks whilst pursuing my new interest - fishing with lures.

To be more precise I mean fishing with small soft jigs on light rods. This approach really has hooked me. As a kid I often considered lure fishing as a desperate method that never really accounted for many big fish. Don't get me wrong, I would still do it and catch the odd fish but was never really amazingly confident. This may be down to the endless options of different lures all of varying colours, shapes and sizes. There's so many lures in some shops that the whole thing can get a bit confusing.

My first Pike was on a lure! Boy don't I look young.

With this is mind I have always been looking at other methods to catch predatory species such as Perch and Pike but now wish I had not been so hasty in ruling out lure fishing. The more I think about it the more advantages I see in this mobile and creative approach. Lure fishing offers the angler so many options. You can fish at all the depths , you can cover so much water , you can basically make that lure do whatever you want and you don't have to commit loads of time to it. 

It was that last point that made me start my recent spell of jig fishing sessions on the Bristol Avon. As I was up in the area visiting the girlfriend I would often only get a couple of hours fishing time. Not enough to bait and wait effectively. So why not explore the river with lures? 

My first session on the river with the jigs was more than enough to get me coming back for more as I caught Pike , Perch and Chub all on little jigs. Check out the video below to see just how I did it....

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPQUr87dmqY

The Bristol Avon has turned out to be the perfect river for the method too, since as you can see in the video it's just me on the bank without another angler in sight. This means I can try all the areas the fish lie up in - and I mean all the areas. I always tend to look for the predatory species near cover and every tree , undercut bank or snag is thoroughly explored. Soon you begin to get a picture of the exact areas the fish like to sit in and then fishing gets really easy. I have already had three Chub in three sessions from the same swim on the Avon , it's a swim where a concrete pipe enters the water in the near margin. The fish I find always are sat under the pipe , a spot that would more than likely be ignored using other methods as it is so close to the bank.

A near PB Chub on a Lure

Another Chub from the "Pipe" swim

It really pinpoints a fact that is important in all fishing disciplines and that's location. In a lot of the swims I try I end up biteless - however in other spots the jig is hit almost instantly, indicating there are a number of competing fish present.
The Perch I have caught on the Avon so far have all come from the same tree. This is a typical Perch spot where a fallen tree has created a large raft. The numbers of Perch under this tree are staggering and I am sure if I persevere that big two or three pounder will show up!
The method it's self is so simple too , a small jig mounted on a single hook. That's it! This is fished in an up and down motion to imitate a fish in distress. The skill in lure fishing really is working the different lures though and I'm sure far more experienced lure anglers than myself would have had a lot more fish - but I keep learning as I go!
A few of the other lads have also jumped on the method and are getting some cracking results. We pass on our observations and findings so that we can all use these tips in our own fishing. One observation we have noticed already is that how different species tend to prefer certain styles of retrieve. Perch prefer the classic jigging motion of a lift and drop, whereas Pike seem to like the faster dart - like retrieve. With the Chub I've caught I can only imagine that they are snatching at the lure as it passes. I personally find it hard to imagine Chub chasing down the lure but I may be - and probably am - wrong! What do you guys think?

A Dorset Stour Perch

So that's what's been keeping me busy recently, work and a bad case of the lure fishing bug! I hope those of you who haven't tried light jig fishing yet really fancy going and giving it a try after this little read. There isn't really too much else to say other than get out on the bank using this mobile and exciting method. Oooh - there is one other thing and that is that I've just got back from my first session drop shotting!  We'll save that story till next time! ;) .


Tight lines!

Is big always better?

Hi guys, I'm going to spice the blog up a bit more in the coming post's by talking about some of angling's most controversial topics. This is brought about by the fact that I haven't been out much recently and to be honest just need to talk about fishing. So for the first topic I ask the question is big always better?
This is an interesting question as the fact that we all declare our personal bests and claim venue records is enough to answer the question itself isn't it? Actually however there is a lot more around this question that can be discussed. No matter when you start fishing whether it be as a youngster or later on in life it doesn't take long for you to be hooked and on each cast want something a little bigger. This is a perfectly natural thing and would the sport be as exciting if we didn't want this?
What I'm really trying to get at though is when does bigger become boring. It seems to me these day's that a part of the angling community is obsessed with bigger and somehow that bigger means better. The Carp fishing world is full of enormous fish caught daily, so often that the bar for what is a big fish is constantly getting higher. Hundreds of venues across the country now can boast that they hold several fish over 30 and even 40 pounds! Fish of these sizes are truly monstrous!
A couple year's ago I was lucky enough to fish one such venue with a massive stock of monsters. The venue was the well known "Monument fishery" in Shropshire. To put a long story short we turned up for our 36 hour slot and after the second hour I had landed a 37 pound Mirror. A fish which absolutely smashed my PB of 24lbs. I didn't know the venue, or the stock or what was best to use but had bagged a fish of a lifetime. Unsurprisingly I was chuffed, because I had never seen a Carp that big before. The sheer size of it made you respect it and you couldn't help but think Wow!

37 pound Mirror. Monument fishery.

The interesting part of the story however came in my sessions on my home waters after I had caught the fish. On every session I went out thinking "I am the dogs bollocks". All because I had caught this one fish from this one lake at one time. This is where the debate swings round because yes I had caught a 37lb Carp which I could now claim as my personal best but was I a better angler because of this? The answer is no, however in bank side conversations you chuck in that you have caught a thirty pounder and suddenly people listen a bit more carefully to you regardless of where that 30 was from. Don't get me wrong I am not knocking the venue as the monument is a well set up business that provides big Carp on a day ticket. I'm just saying that sometimes weights often blind people to what actually happened.

This year in particular my eye's have been opened to paying a little less attention to size but not ignoring it completely. We can't really deny that we all want to catch decent sized fish especially those of us who are Carp anglers. But the way I have been looking at things recently is that big is in relation to the venue it has came from and the effort it has taken to outwit. A number of the waters I fish in Devon may only have a couple of fish over 30 pounds and in these venues a 20 pounder is deemed a big fish. A lot of these venues have an old stock and a fish of twenty pounds tends to be an older fish that has seen all the tricks in the book. So a twenty from these waters is a real achievement. 

In contrast there are also waters close to me where a twenty pounder is expected on a day session as this is the average size of fish, so a twenty from these venues is a little less special. 

Obviously angling is a very personal thing and that's what makes it so great this is just the way I have been looking at things and accessing my self as an angler. I like to think I have learnt a lot of tricks to outwit Carp regardless of their size and feel comfortable that I could fish on most venues and have results. However  more recently I have come to learn that regardless of what size of fish I catch I will never know it all. This is what is also great about angling. Even the best anglers are always learning and surprisingly there will always be things that even a relative novice could teach them. 

Spending time on the bank learning your craft so you can choose the right tactic for the situation is what makes good angling in my opinion. As this is equally as relevant if you are pursuing a low double common or a monster fifty pound mirror. You may get lucky and turn up to a venue as I have in the past and bang out a big thirty but does that make you better than someone who has learnt the habits of a low twenty and caught it off it's natural patrol route? 

This Mirror took some crafty angling to tempt and is one of the biggest fish in the Pond. 

Let's get one thing straight though I am always chuffed to catch a big fish and anyone who has caught one should be! But why should big fish get all the attention? If your sometimes struggling a bit, often stepping back and targeting smaller specimens can be really rewarding. Fishing is about enjoyment after all and not having caught a big fish should not make your enjoyment level fall.

If your ever in doubt and wondering if size is everything I can only recommend one venue to you and that's the beautiful river Wye. Barbel fishing on the Wye is some of the best fishing you can do yet after years of fishing there and catching hundreds of Barbel I have never caught a double. Do I care about this? Not enough to make me stop going, as a double from the river Wye is now in my eye's a true monster and a fish that takes tremendous skill to catch. This is why angling is so personal as perceptions can be so different.

The Wye Barbel are not often monsters.

As anglers we should always want to beat our personal bests and achieve our targets. This does not mean we should stop learning when we have done this or ignore the advice of others who have not yet achieved theirs. Consistency is what makes a good angler not their biggest catch. This is why sharing angling stories is not only fun but great at painting a true picture. Some of the hardest fish Iv'e had to catch have been quite small in general terms. So next time you see a photo of a fish think of what went into catching it and less of its size as bigger is not always better. :) 

A common that required a bit of extra thinking to outwit.

A 20lber the result of a real "Pub chuck"

My first Barbel was the result of an unexpected Lob!

But this Throop Chub took some crafty baiting to tempt.

 

And a good net from the river can be equally rewarding but just as difficult to tempt!


TIGHT LINES!!!!

What do you guys think?

These are just my opinions. Please share your's as that's what OTBA is all about.

The joy of travelling light and stalking them out!

Hi guys, big gap in the posts again I know and I apologise yet again. To be honest been a lot going on with the hunt for work and a lot of time spent on the bank just not catching really. That was until recently however when over a number of sessions my luck changed and I have been very fortunate to catch some stunning fish. All of these sessions have focused around one main strategy though, that being to travel light and stalk them out! This has been the case regardless of species or venue.

My first travelling light session came on the banks of the beautiful Bristol Avon near Chippenham. With only a few hours to fish it was vital that I was fishing near some fish. So on arrival the best thing I could do was to walk the stretch and use my eyes to try and spot fish on the clear gravels. It didn't take long! A quick look over the bridge next to the car was enough for me to spot three lovely Barbel and some big Chub too. I quickly opened up the boot and grabbed a handful of boilies. I begun feeding a few crumbed baits from the top of the bridge to see the fishes reactions. Unfortunately the Barbel were having none of it and vanished into a near by weed bed, meanwhile the Chub were troffing! Not disheartened I set off down the river to see what else I could find. Pretty much every swim had Chub that were willing to pounce on any bait that hit the water. So I knew there wasn't much chance of blanking. Anyway a walk back to the bridge was next, were as I was about to put a bit more feed in I noticed a rod poking out from the bushes. Someone had found the spot. Oh well (sigh) there would always be next time.
After all of my walking the river I did finally get some gear out and set up a basic free line approach with just a side hooked boilie in attempt to hook up with the ravenous Chub. I did just that, catching a Chub from three different swims on my way down the river. The light quickly faded however and the urge to catch Chub quickly diminished as all my attentions turned to Barbel. The stretch is not home to a massive number of Barbel but the swim I had chosen to fish for them was a swim I had caught a Barbel from before, so I was quietly confident. This confidence proved to be justified when I got that moment that all Barbel anglers crave the classic trademark slam round!! No mistaking what it was, and although it didn't feel like a massive fish it was still giving a good account for it's self and my knees were wobbling like jelly. After a spirited attempt to snag me under my own bank I eventually got the fish in the net. The light had now completely gone and I stared at a beautiful little Bristol Avon Barbel of approximately 5 pounds. What a great way to end a fun evening session on the river.

Bristol Avon Barbel

To find out more on the tactics,spots and fish I caught that evening please check out the video from the session by clicking this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUrvB62rDUE

Pleased with what I had caught on the river my attentions switched to still water a few day's later. In particular a water that I had fished a couple years ago regularly until it had quite a severe disease outbreak. I was eager to see what remained in the lake as rumours and stories surrounded the place. In order to get a gauge of the stock the travelling light and stalking them out approach would need to be brought in to action again! The lake is a little over 12 acres and has a lot of areas overgrown with reeds. When I previously fished the lake the Carp which I was targeting were often found in a number of key areas of the lake. It would be these areas that I would target first.
My baiting strategy would be simple chum mixers fed to attract the Carp up on to the surface were I could then identify their size and numbers. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the place really hadn't changed much and my usual spots held just as many fish as ever. As I sat back,fed and watched the fishes confidence grew to the point were they were literally feeding all around me. A truly amazing sight for a lake that some said "Isn't fishing well for Carp". This is a method I would recommend to anyone targeting big Carp in a lake with lots of fish. The more you feed the more confident the fish become and the bigger fish also turn up for a look. This is until on this occasion it got to one point were you could pick the fish you wanted to catch. Unfortunately for me my rod was back in the bushes not on the platform at this point.
I did however manage to get into contact with some of the lakes residents during a couple of evenings free-lining dog biscuits on the surface. I also regrettably lost a couple real nice fish in the reeds, but then the lost ones are always bigger aren't they? :)

To see how I got on please check out my video from the session by clicking this link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRtQ-nREDn8

It really is a beautiful lake though with a stunning stock of fish so if you live in the area I would recommend Tockenham Lake for a day out fishing.

Tockenham Resevoir

Talking of beautiful lakes, my next session came at probably one of the most stunning lakes in Devon. A venue run by the Exeter and district angling association known as "Abrook pond". The pond is a bit of a history water as it was once fished by angling legend Dick Walker.
These days the pond has a much younger stock of fish but the venues beauty has not changed. As you look across the pond you are greeted with large beds of Lillie's, overhanging trees and reed beds. The association have done a good job looking after the place into which they have put a lot of work. I was at the venue as my good friend Kev had decided to make it a bit of a new target water to see what exactly the lake holds. The findings of which will be posted regularly to our youtube channel so stay tuned for those in the future.
The first session on Abrook did fill me with some excitement as If anything it looked a lovely place to bivvy up away from it all. My swim really was just that too, as I chose to set up on a swim known as "Two bridges" which is on an island connected by surprisingly two bridges. There wasn't much thought in my swim choice other than "this is bloody nice". So I squeezed my bivvy into the little space there was and was presented by the view pictured below.

"Two bridges" Abrook Pond

The session started slow as a blank night soon turned into a blank morning. That was until the stalking them out approach was implemented! Abrook is the perfect stalking water as there are a number of secluded bays and reedy margins to fish too. So creeping about in the back bay was to be the order for the rest of the day. My first plan was to try and tempt cruising fish off the top on bits of floating crust but to be honest they just weren't interested. However as I watched the water I could see a fish clouding up on a spot about two rod lengths out from the bank to my right. I watched as this fish rooted about tearing up the bottom in search of food. It looked to be a fairly sizable common too. Frantically I began trying to get a bit of sinking bread on the hook but just as I did I saw the fish turn and slowly move off. Darn it! I was thinking that maybe even the stalking approach wasn't going to work. A few moments later however I noticed another fish head for the exact same spot, This fish was different all together what looked to be a decent mirror Carp. It also was a lot more confident and was clearly searching bait out, With my bread all ready to go I cast just in front of were the fish was clouding up and watched as my bread fluttered down out of sight. I now had to watch the line as an indicator of whether the fish had taken the bait. I didn't have to watch it for long though, as not 30 seconds after the bait had gone in I saw the line slowly tighten towards the spot. Bang! I was in.

The fish battled hard in the shallow water and made a right mess by turning over all the silt. It wasn't long though till I got it in the net and was chuffed to see a decent dark old mirror Carp. We quickly weighed the fish which gave a reading of 18b 12oz. What a great start! It turns out the fish is one named "Winston" and has been a lot bigger but probably dropped weight after spawning, a process which is common in a number of species.

"Winston" Abrook pond

The rest of the session went from strength to strength and myself and Kev caught some more Carp. I will let Kev's video diaries tell you the rest of the story just as soon as the bugger comes back from Malta.

Anyway the stalking approach was obviously working well and my confidence was back up. It is a way of fishing that I truly love as although I would spend years on the bank, some times little time is needed to catch. The next venue I would be targeting was a lot more closer to home being only a 10 minute drive from my house. I have fished the venue a lot over the years and have really got to know some of it's residents. These fish are heavily fished for however and the venue is small. This means getting on the water can be the main challenge. With this said I was pleasantly surprised when I turned up on a Sunday afternoon to find the place completely empty. 

It's at these times when you don't only rub your hands together but you also realise just how wary Carp are of us humans. As I came through the gate and crept round the lake I could see a number of fish sunning just under the surface. However when I came back with the gear these fish were gone. A sure sign that they had be alerted to my presence despite my best efforts to be quiet. Never the less I began baiting the lake from as far back as I could using a throwing stick to achieve the distance. This worked as after about ten minutes I had the fish in a frenzy near an overhanging tree on the island. The next two hours would be epic as I would catch not one but two target fish! One of which a cracking Koi. This was only to be bettered the next night however when again on an empty lake I caught another target fish! It just shows what can be done when the fish are not being heavily pressured. I will let the video in this link and the pictures below tell you the rest of the story. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe05nQmbXKs

One things for sure, stalking is not just an exciting method but also an incredibly deadly one! 

"One eyed Common" Darts Farm

"Paint Job" Darts Farm

"The Big Common" Darts Farm

TIGHT LINES!!! :)

The Carp strike back! A weeks fishing at Furzebray Carp lakes.

Carp fishing, a side of the sport that we all love but which often can end up taking over our lives. People have been known to get so obsessed with Carp fishing that it has cost them jobs,friends and even wives. But why does Carp fishing lead to such obsession?

On a recent holiday session I found out just why anglers can get so immersed in fishing for Carp. The highs and the lows of Carp fishing make it very exciting for one. However more importantly and what I learnt after my weeks fishing was you can never stop learning about Carp. 

My years Carp fishing to date had be a largely successful one, I had managed to catch several nice sized fish from a number of different venues. This meant I was full of confidence leading up to my years big fishing trip. The trip was to take place at Furzebray lakes in Devon where five of us had hired the island lake for an entire week on the bank.

The island lake at Furzebray is an amazing little lake. It has mature trees lining its border and several features dotted around the lake. With only eight swims there is also lots of water and options for the visiting angler. Perhaps what is more astonishing about this venue however is it's stock. With a little over 130 fish in the water the angler has plenty of chance for bites. More impressively however is that these fish grow in excess of 40 pounds! It is for these reasons why Furzebray has become one of the most popular day ticket venues in the south west. 

Having previously visited Furzebray a number of years ago I knew exactly what the lake is like and what magic it can produce. On my previous visit I was lucky enough to catch my personal best Mirror at the time which weighed exactly 24 pounds. The fish was known as "Star" and since then was piled on the weight becoming one of the A-team and one of the lakes many thirties!

"Star" 24lb. Furzebray Lakes.

With the confidence of having banked a Carp from the lake before I did not worry too much about how I was going to approach the venue for the week, instead planning to fish to my strengths. In saying this heated discussion had occurred weeks prior to the trip between the five of us as to what were the best methods and swims to choose. 

This debate ended however on our day of arrival. After a meet up and catch up in the car park we eagerly walked around the lake to see what the crack was. With a number of anglers still on we were able to gauge how the lake was fishing. Several fish had been out over the weekend but all in all the lake was fishing tricky and looking a bit peggy. The draw for swims therefore would be vital.

We then had a chat with the owner Tony who was very helpful in terms of tactics and spots. Tony also aided us with the draw which went as follows-

1-John (Point)

2-Chris (Jezzers)

3-Kevin (Lawns)

4-Jack (Aquarium)

5-Steve (Inlet)

With everyone happy with their swim choices the race was on to get sorted and baits in the water. From observation of the water it was clear there were a lot of fish present at the windward end of the lake in an area known as the lawns and secret. I myself was the next swim back up the lake so felt I too would have fish in front of me. But could I catch them?

The first few hours flew by with not much to report, the weather was sunny and a strong breeze began to hack down the lake. My tactics had been to pre-bait a spot on the far margin with the house bait and then fish it during the hours of darkness. The rig I was going to use for this would be my ever faithful chod rig as it had done me a lot of fish already this year. 

It was that evening when we saw the first signs of fish activity, The snag located to my left had what looked to be a number of fish round it. This was made more obvious by what appeared to be fish banging into the tree stump and rubbing up against it. After seeing this activity for about half hour I decided it was time to cast a rig over towards it. This proved to be a smart move as 15 minutes later the rod was away with the first fish of the trip! It was a beautiful woodcarving of a Mirror at a little over 18lbs. What a way to start the trip!

18lb Mirror Furzebray

A great way to start but was it really going to be that easy? The answer to that question was a resounding no. The next two days were perhaps some of the most frustrating days Carp fishing I have had. Keeping with the same approach I often had fish pass through the area without indication. I was not the only one suffering from this frustration however as Kev in the lawns had what appeared to be the entire stock of the lake sat in front of him. His frustration has then heightened by a loss of a fish which appeared to be a lump in the weed. 

So why were these two days so difficult? When observing the stock at this end of the lake it was apparent that 90% of their time was spent off the bottom and chilling out in the weed. Feeding was not really high on the fishes agenda at this time and therefore a cautious baiting and fishing approach was required. Almost certainly my own chances for this period had been ruined by over-baiting, a tactic I had hoped however would come good later in the week. 

Kev's chances I feel were hampered by poor line lay over the weed in front of him, this was putting the fish on edge in the area and less inclined to feed freely. With this said however the following morning Kev's rod rattled off again and this time he won the battle. The fish was another Mirror at a little over 16lbs in weight.

16lb Mirror, Furzebray Carp Lakes.

Kevin was obviously happy to be off the mark but remained frustrated by the loss of the fish in the weed the day before. That's fishing for you though! Another thing with fish is that they can often be like buses as not long after Kev returned his fish, Jack at the other end of the lake had one on! Jack's fish summed up the Furzebray stock entirely though as it was an absolute stunning fully scaled Mirror of 19lbs 12oz. 

19lb Fully from Furzebray Lakes

To be fair to Jack he had not had the same frustrations of seeing a lot of un-catchable Carp but instead had the frustrations of being in an area of the lake that at times seemed empty of fish. He therefore had only lightly baited the area which seemed to be key in the capture of this stunning Carp. 

The day had got off to a flier and suddenly what was a very frustrated and deflated set of anglers seemed to burst into life again. These Carp which appeared to be un-catchable were catchable again.

That evening it was John's turn to get off the mark in what was the lakes most productive swim in the past weeks. John's tactics were simple solid bags over a light scattering of bait towards the island. That night his tactics rewarded him with the biggest fish on the trip so far a quality mirror of 25lbs +.

25lb Mirror from Furzebray

It was now the middle of the week and 4 of the 5 of us had caught which was a good sign for things to come. The next couple of day's however we would get a massive helping hand from the weather. 

A change in pressure and a change in conditions saw a flurry of fish landed. John with a stunning mid-double and myself with an absolute belting linear of 20lbs!

16lb Mirror from the point

20lb Stunning Linear Mirror from Furzebray Lakes

But was it all to do with the weather? I certainly didn't think so as I had changed tactics in my swim. After a morning of fish fizzing all over my popped up boilies I decided a change was in order. With the bottom being quite hard clay at Furzebray were the choddies just to blatant? After all if the fish were being riggy and picky whilst not feeding hard a bait sat 2 inches off the bottom could quite easily be singled out and ignored. So that evening I switched to the most simple bottom bait presentations imaginable which incorporated a pva bag of 4 whole boilies. I was now fishing and feeding the exact same bait and thought to myself why don't I do this more often? It has almost become unfashionable to fish with a boilie straight from the bag but I for sure won't ignore them now.

John's approach was similar as he was using a standard bottom bait on the hair however inside a small bag of crumb. What was more interesting however was that baits had to be left in the water for a significant period of time before a bite. Almost as if the fish knew that fresh bait was a danger. All thoughts running through are heads as we tried to outwit these crafty Carp.

The next morning the rain was battering down when I was awoken by a vibrant John saying "I've got another one" and "Its a twenty". Just what you like to hear! Anyway I wandered out in the rain to John's swim were resting in the margins I could see the back of a fish that not only looked twenty but much much more! As soon as we put the fish on the mat it became quite apparent that the fish John had caught was one of the lakes monsters and an easy thirty pounder! With all of us in a bit of a buzz we weighed the fish and the dial slammed round to 32 pounds!!! What a result for John as it was his new pb! A chat with Tony later in the day revealed the fish was a character known as "Sovereign" which had yet to be caught post-spawning. What a moment and what a fish. John had outwitted what appeared to be some ultra-crafty Carp and done so in style. I will let the photo's tell you the rest! 

"Sovereign" 32lb Furzebray Lakes

32lb Mirror Furzebray

John's new pb "Sovereign" 32

Returning a 30 pounder

Think that ones worth getting wet for.

The rest of the day flew by with all of us buzzed by John's capture. Have you ever met or are you friends with anyone that just has an un-canny knack of catching big fish? Because that's exactly John to all of us that fish with him! 

So the rain had brought a change of fortune and it now seemed like anything was possible. Feeling more confident in my change of approach I switched both rods to bottom baits and began baiting the area more heavily hoping for that big feed up. I then proceeded to rest the area for a few hours so the fish could gain their confidence. As I rested the swim I sat and chatted with John in the point staring down the lake. This time was not wasted as the fish began to show like dolphins all over the place! Over the couple hours we must have saw twenty shows many of which were straight over my dad Steve's rigs in the swim next door. In fairness his swim had seen little to no activity to this point and he therefore had not yet got off the mark. This all changed though as his chod rig got snaffled by another stunning mid-double mirror.

Mid-Double Mirror Furzebray Lakes

We had now all managed to catch at least one fish from the lake that in all honesty so far had given us a battering and tested are Carp fishing skills to the limit. Seeing this action I couldn't resist going back to my swim and casting a rod to the showing fish. Resting the swim had definitely payed off as after just half hour the same rod was away. So are the fish aware when we are fishing for them? Are fish less inclined to feed with lines in the water? Or was this just a coincidence? Never the less in my eyes the plan had worked and I was rewarded with another 20lb + Mirror.

20lb Mirror Carp. Furzebray Lakes.

Again after returning the fish I thought I've cracked it! How wrong I was. With a day and a half of the trip left I felt certain that the spot would go from strength to strength. Which actually it did, I just couldn't take advantage. The Carp were now visiting the spots in the swim regularly but the rigs were being sussed just as regular. Violent indications suggested that the Carp were now feeding so cautiously that they were able to shake out the hook. It was at this point when I made a massive error. I decided to not change the rig. Now you may say "Why fix what isn't broke?" but actually for the current situation it was broke. When the fish were feeding aggressively the presentation was more than enough to slip them up but now a more effective hooking mechanism was necessary.

This remained the case right until the end of the trip and the Carp had gone back to doing what they did at the start of the trip "Mugging us right off!!!". 

So there it was a weeks fishing was over. What a week it was though. The highs and lows of Carp fishing all experienced over the week. Furzebray really proved it's self as a great Carp fishing venue for a true Carp angler. As the week made me learn there's more to Carping then chucking and chancing. The true Carp angler has to think like a Carp and perhaps that's why a hobby often turns into an obsession! 

Tight lines!!