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

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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!

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 hunt for a winter Carp. Part 1- Stafford Moor Fishery

Well February is well and truly here with weather patterns and temperatures all over the place. Such conditions are hardly inspiring to go fishing but even in February if you time your trips right you can have some good results. As I've mentioned in previous posts I myself like to change what species I'm fishing for depending on the conditions. This month however I have done anything but this as almost every session I have had on the bank this month has been after Carp.

Winter is not the best time for consistent Carp action but it is however a very rewarding time of year if you can motivate yourself to go out fishing for them. Carp often look more stunning at this time of year as they take on their "winter colours", they also are often at a very good weight. Most Carp at this time of year however will not be feeding heavily. They will instead be seeking shelter in snags, looking for areas of warmth and picking up odd items of food. With the Carp being more lethargic and not moving around the lake so much it is important to locate areas they may be holding. 

The choice of venue is therefore also very important if you are to have any success when fishing for Carp during the winter months. 

Our choice of venue for our first session this winter was known to have winter form and had done several fish in the weeks prior to our visit. This is just the kind of water that would offer the best chance for a winter bite. The venue was Beatties lake on the Stafford moor fishery complex. The lake itself is  decent size at 8 acres but is well stocked with 400 carp to 35 pounds. Having never fished the lake before we didn't really know what areas were going to be the best so a bit of hard observation and help from the owners would be needed to hopefully put us on fish from the start.
On arrival we headed straight into the shop to get the tickets and hopefully that much needed tip off on what the best areas were. After a long chat with the new owners of the complex they kindly advised us of what the best spots in the lake were. We then had a couple laps round the lake to see if the fish would give anything away to suggest anything different. They didn't.
So with the advice of the owners are only real thing to go off we set up in two comfy swims known as the summerhouse pegs in front of the luxury Stafford moor lodges. I would be fishing with Kev on this session with the pair of us just hopeful of getting some winter action. Kev's swim was the first swim which looked a lovely intimate area full of features. The swim had two islands, a small snaggy bay and deep open water to fish to. This would give Kev a number of options and areas to present a bait which was vital seeing as we had no previous lake knowledge to go off.
The swim I was in was to the right of Kev and looked more out onto the middle of the lake. The area had a large island to the right and a no fishing bank going to a point up the left hand margin. The swim allowed a good view of the lake which is important in winter as you can often spot tell tale signs of Carp if you keep your eyes peeled.
Happy with our swims we set up and started fishing with a cautious and varied approach. On any new water I have found it's important to not put all your eggs in one basket but also to stick to what you know works elsewhere. With this in mind I set up one rod on my ever faithful chod rig and the other on a small pva bag presentation. The chod rig would be cast out on the left hand side of my swim to the point of the no fishing bank. This was a noted area according to the fishery owner as just off the point was a depression that the Carp often hold up in. The rig was then followed by approximately 20 free offerings and the trap was set. The right hand rod was to be a searching rod with limited loose feed around it. I would be moving this rod consistently around the swim to try and locate the Carp. Often in winter bites can come quickly from fish that may be laying dormant when your bait just appears in front of them.
After we had got everything sorted it wasn't too long before the night had arrived. Long winter nights on the bank can sometimes become a bit boring and therefore I probably would advise taking something to keep yourself occupied while you wait for those alarms to start screaming. Me and Kev however had not done this and as we waited we began to get more frustrated by our lack of success even though it was winter and are rods hadn't been out that long!!
This restlessness was about to be numbed however when at about 9pm my left had rod shot off with an absolute screamer. The chod had done it again it seemed. The fish didn't really fight as it came in towards me very quickly. A short sharp battle of 5 minutes or so then saw the first winter Carp of the year in the back of the landing net. As I gazed over into the net I gave a bit of a girly "ooooooohh" as I looked down onto a very chunky mirror Carp.
Before taking the fish out of the water Kev quickly zeroed the scales and got everything ready as we knew we would want to weigh this one. We quickly put her on the mat and removed the hook which was nailed in the bottom lip. Kev lifted the sling and the dial shot round to a couple ounces over twenty pounds. Happy days!!!! What a great way to start the Carp fishing year.

20 pounder!! Stafford Moor

20 lb 2oz

We slipped the fish back into the lake and were now full of excitement and anticipation for the remainder of the night. This anticipation was soon heightened as Kev's rods began giving signs of fish. He began to get bleeps on both rods indicating fish were in the area and hitting his semi-slack lines. Kev was now on tender hooks and sat almost hovering over his rods awaiting a take.My rods however were motionless and it seemed as if I had just caught one fish out of the blue.
The night grew darker and colder so we settled down to try and get some kip. This didn't last long as my left hand rod again let rip another screaming run. Being awoken in the cold is not the easiest and I think my reactions were slow to say the least. By the time I had got to the rod the alarm had stopped. Not happy with what had happened I reeled in to find a decent size branch attached to my size 6 choddy hook. I had been well and truly done!!! How do they do it?
Kev had a very similar occurrence an hour later as his island rod let rip resulting in a fish crashing on the surface as it shot free of the area. Unfortunately ditching Kev's rig in the process. There were definitely fish about but this would turn out to be the last bit of action for the night as a hard frost soon set in.
With such a cold night I have to say I wasn't the quickest to get up in the morning. This is always a mistake however as first light can often be the best time to spot Carp. The night that had started so well had resulted in only the one Carp and although we had other chances we couldn't help but feel the chance of another fish had gone. With little movement on Beatties lake we set about a plan to fish one of the other lakes on the complex.
We reeled in our rods on Beatties grabbed some bait and headed up the hill to a lake neither of us had seen before. The lake was "Jospeh's" and is the second specimen Carp water on the Stafford moor complex. As we arrived on the lake we could see that there were already a significant number of anglers set up and fishing for the larger number of Carp that were present in this lake. Not letting this deter us we set off on a walk round the lake. The lake was beautiful in its own right and full of character. Plenty of islands leading to sheltered bays with snaggy margins. It looked the perfect place to hold big Carp.
After seeing the beauty of Joseph's lake and some tell tale signs of feeding fish in the snags we headed back to Beatties to collect our gear. As there wasn't long left in the session we headed up to Joseph's with the minimum amount of gear possible. The tactics would be similar to those used on Beatties a light scattering of boillies accompanied by a handful of corn. The rigs had to be changed slightly however as the Chod rig which is usually fished on a slack line would not be suitable for such snaggy conditions. It is important to fish locked up when fishing against snags as any give in your set up could be the difference between landing and loosing a fish.
With the spot and tactics all sorted we were full of confidence. Our confidence was soon justified as literally minutes after setting up Kev landed his first fish of the session. It wasn't the largest of Carp but was a proper little stunner and certainly made Kev smile.

Joseph's Lake Mirror

Kev returned his fish and we were both happy that we had made the correct choice in moving onto Joseph's as the lake just looked a lot more alive. I had not even cast a rig into the swim yet but when I did I didn't have to wait long!! As I was adjusting the bobbin on the rod after casting out the line literally shot out my hand. I was into my first Joseph's Carp about 20 seconds after making my first cast into the lake!! The fish dogged it out in the middle before trying to ditch the hook in the snaggy margins. The fish was soon in the net and I had caught a nice little 12lb mirror.

12lb Joseph's Mirror

What a buzz to hook a fish so quickly after casting out. The surge of quick action did have a knock on affect though as we struggled to get a bite from the snaggy area for another couple of hours. With the sport slowing down I decided to try a rod out into the main area of the lake. This change in area rewarded me with a nice little mirror within about 10 minutes of casting out.

Stafford Moor Stunner

I slipped the fish back and decided to pack that rod down as the light was now fading. Just as I put the fish back my other rod that was still fishing to the snags screamed off!!! Get in!!! The culprit was another Mirror of the mark simmons strain. The fish weighed in at 11 pounds and was a nice way to finish the day.

Stafford Moor Double

It had been a very enjoyable 24 hours at Stafford moor and we were rewarded in total with 5 Carp between us. Not bad going for February!! The complex certainly does offer a lot of variety in terms of species to fish for and lakes to fish. We may have only managed to tempt one of the Beatties beasts on the session but the Joseph's stock were more than happy to show them selves. It just goes to show in the winter Carp can be caught, you have just got to choose your venue and find them fish!!! 

Tight lines!!!

A look back at 2014. Part 5-The Creedy Chronicles

Hello again, so I am nearing the end of the looking back at 2014 posts now and it wouldn't feel right if I didn't mention our fishing at Creedy lakes. We ended up spending most of our summer evenings at the venue tempting the lakes residents into taking mixers off the top. We were very lucky to have some amazing results too. In fact it would take me far too long to write and you guys far too long to read about every one of them. So this post is just going to show some of our best captures from what really was a great few weeks at this busy Devon day ticket water.
Our tactics for fishing Creedy were simple. Mixers, mixers and more mixers. We would tempt the fish into a feeding frenzy on the surface and then cast our trimmed down pop-up hook-baits out amongst the free offerings. This often resulted in instant action. Once hooked we then did battle with what I have to say are some of the hardest fighting Carp around.
Below are some of our best captures:

17lb 

16lb

17lb

18lb

20lb

14lb

22lb

16lb

21lb

19lb

16lb

18lb

15lb

19lb

21lb

18lb

So as you can see, we certainly got amongst them off the top. Not any massive fish but great fun on a summers evening and as I said before these fish offer tremendous sport even on heavy gear. It also is just nice to be out with mates and family at a beautiful lake like Creedy and just really enjoy your fishing. Too often nowadays people get carried away with chasing big fish and putting numbers on every capture, therefore ranking it higher than others that actually may have taken more finesse to catch. 

There was one occasion in 2014 however were I decided not to fish on the top at Creedy. On the day the lake had been rammed with anglers and the fish had been under a lot of pressure. With it being a Sunday though to my surprise by 7 pm I was the only on the lake!!! I then randomly decided to give the fish some bait and heavily baited an area in the silt off the island with Cell boilies. I then cast two of my ever faithful chod rigs out over the area. Within an hour I had fish rolling all over the area. They were straight on the bait!!! It wasn't long before I had a mid-double Common in the net soon followed by a high single. I put more bait in at that point but actually didn't have much left to offer them. Just after baiting up over the top of it my right hand rod roared off. I bent into a heavy fish that then lead me a merry dance all over the lake. It was at this point I was thankful that no one else was around as it may have cut some people up. The fish was just so strong! After a long battle though the fish was mine. I looked down in the net to see what was quite clearly my personal best common Carp. My best at the time was 22lb but it now was 27lb!!! What a result! From a spontaneous act of heavy baiting.

Pb Common 27lb

I think looking back maybe this capture was more being in the right place at the right time and I feel very lucky to have caught the fish. But however you decide to angle whether on the top or on the deck, Creedy really does have a lot to offer. For me though there's nothing better than a summer evening, a bucket of floaters and those big rubber lips slurping em down! 

Tight Lines!!!

To see more of our Creedy adventures check out our you tube video- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQg9ct_22WQ

A look back at 2014. Part 3- The Horseshoe Holiday

Hello again. Been a little while since I last posted as have been updating our You tube channel and doing various other things. But here we go and continuing on from the last post we are looking back at 2014, so hope you enjoy reading as much as we enjoyed being a part of it.
In the spring of every year the Haydon males usually take part in our annual fishing holiday. The trips are usually a lot of laughs and normally defined by some silly moment. The venue for 2014's trip was the Carp society's Horseshoe lake. The trip would be all paid for by my kind Grandma and Uncle. Happy days!! Unfortunately we were running out of time to fix a date and the trip that was supposed to be four of us ended up being just me and the old man. Anyway we headed off to Horseshoe in the early hours of the morning full of anticipation of a good few days fishing. Horseshoe will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the venue at where I caught my first twenty pounder. A stunning fully scaled and a fish that defines what horseshoe is all about.

The weather for the trip was looking good for fishing. Strong south westerly winds and mild temperatures. The aim for the trip was to have a good time and hopefully get amongst some of the much fabled horseshoe thirties. Our expectations had be dampened a little however by learning of the tragic fish-kill the venue had suffered a few years earlier. Was the venue still going to hold its magic without such a large head of special fish? 

When we got to the venue we were to surprised to see quite a lot of anglers already present. With it being mid-week we thought we could pretty much be able to go where we wanted. This wasn't the case. So after purchasing our tickets and having a look over the fence into the famous lagoon swim we set eyes on our first horseshoe Carp. The bay opposite the lagoon was always a good spot to see the Carp and it looked like nothing had changed. Unfortunately the swim for this area was already taken but with the area being on the back of the wind we felt certain there would be fish in other parts of the lake. A short drive to the point of the horseshoe revealed the windward end of the lake. The wind was smashing into the banks like waves hitting the sandy beaches of Exmouth at home. Not the nicest conditions to be sat in but conditions that just screamed Carp. As we walked along the banks we could already see a number of anglers had the same idea and the area was heavily pressured. We then managed to witness one angler land a decent double. The fish were there and they were definitely feeding. Indecisive about what to do we spoke to the bailiff who was patrolling the banks. He advised us of an area that had been producing fish in the last few days and was well worth a go.

So we headed to an area off the wind in a part of the lake known as the summer bay. The summer bay is the shallowest area of the lake with heavy weed growth throughout. It was in the summer bay that I had caught all my previous horseshoe fish so I wasn't new to the area. On the day though all my Carping instincts were telling me this wasn't the place to be. However we set up camp and began setting our traps for the horseshoe Carp. 

I set up two Chod rig presentations and began casting around the swim looking for the clearer areas. It wasn't long before I had found an area of light silk weed. This kind of area is full of natural food and although not all presentations suit this area it would suit the chod rig perfectly. I proceeded to lightly bait the area with a few boilies, trying not to bait too heavy as I was almost certain a move was on the cards. It wasn't long before night had arrived and I went round to Dad's swim for a bit of a social and some grub. On returning to my peg I flicked out two rigs into the same area and settled down for the night. At about 1am I was awoken by a screaming take on the left rod. As I got up and put on my shoes to go and strike however the run had stopped. I stood over the rod and seeing the bobbin was pulled tight struck into what I was hoping would be a big horseshoe carp. There was nothing but weed on the end!!! Was this a missed chance? Was it a carp?? Was it a Tench??? Is my rig presented??? All these questions went through my mind and prevented much more sleep being gained for the rest of the night. 

The next day came and went without occurrence and it wasn't until early evening when we began to get indications that the horseshoe Carp were in the area. As we sat eating our food in Dads swim we looked out to see a very subtle roll from a Carp just a little left of Dads baited area. Surprised and excited by what we had just saw we stood up and looked harder at the spot. It was at this moment when Dad's right hand rod roared off with a full blown take!! The first horseshoe Carp was hooked! After a short battle we were presented with a stunning horseshoe mirror of 19lb. It was Dad's first horseshoe Carp and the first of the session.  

We were off the mark but was this a one off fish or a sign of better things to come?? The night ahead now looked a lot more promising but actually in reality was entirely uneventful. Frustrated by my own lack of success the following morning I began looking in other areas of the lake. With the wind still hacking down the same end I felt less inclined to approach this area which would now have become stale. So as I walked the banks and talked to the other anglers it became apparent that apart from Dad's fish the only areas of the lake producing were at the ends of the two bays on the back of the wind. With this in mind I headed over to the Lagoon swim to find the angler occupying the area was just packing up. Without hesitation I rushed back to my Bivvy and began moving my gear to the area. I'm not one to jump into someones swim while they are in it but this was a chance that couldn't be missed.

By the time I had moved my gear the swim was now completely vacated. With the area having ample space for two bivvy's I couldn't help but go and persuade Dad to join me. So by the time we were both set up in the swim the light had already began to fade. We did however know there were Carp in the area. With this in mind we baited  lightly and fished all our rods to the bay opposite which had a rope across it signifying a no fishing area. Being in the closer spot I fished to our own margin whilst Dad fished out and across. The tactics were the same as those used in the previous swim and a quick lead about revealed clear areas closer to the rope and along my margin.

As the light continued to drop our first bit of action in the lagoon occurred. My right hand rod was pulled round with a stuttering take. I struck into the fish and began to battle with my first Carp of the session. The fish pulled hard and eventually found a snag mid-way between myself and the rope. Not believing my luck I began cursing and fearing the worst. As I slackened the line though the fish suddenly pulled out the snag and began swimming straight towards me. Dad quickly grabbed the net and after a lot of flapping in the margins the fish was in the net. It wasn't a monster at 15lb but was another stunning example of a horseshoe Carp and well worth the move. 

The night then came and as previous nights went without action. Looking back this was probably a good thing as the next day was to be truly unforgettable. We awoke in the morning curious on the nights lack of action but before we had a chance to even make a cup of tea to talk about it my right hand rod was off again. This was a much better fish and I could feel it plodding away again towards the area the other fish had snagged me up. As I pulled hard to get it away from the danger it kited hard out of the bay and into the main lake. Eventually I began retrieving line and up popped a unbelievable looking mirror in the margins. We got it in the net and after a shout of "Yes" from myself we set eyes on a rather large but bizarre looking Mirror. The fish was definitely one of the old warriors of the lake and one of the real characters too. We weighed it in at 27 pounds so he wasn't a small chap either!! I lifted the fish to see that it only had one eye, and had really tiny fins. It was an odd ball but strangely beautiful in its own right.

The target was achieved in catching a big old horseshoe warrior. It wasn't a thirty but I didn't mind. The day then went on as it started. The spot which was doing the business was a couple feet off the rope along our own bank. We were baiting the spot after every fish with 50 to 100 boilies and it wasn't long before fish came investigating even after the disturbances. Two more mirrors fell to my right hand rod before darkness one of 14lb and another of 17lb. Both of these fish an example of the newer stock that is present in Horseshoe. 

The day wasn't without its frustrations however as we had lost and equal amount of fish in the snag that appeared to be attached to the rope. We contacted the bailiff and thankfully it was removed and revealed to be a massive spiders web of lines all attached to the rope. Amazing really as a lot of the takes we were getting were not that close to the rope at all. With the snag out of the way though we looked forward to another nights fishing and hopefully another good morning the following day. The night again though came and went without action. It had now become apparent that the fish were moving out into the main lake during the hours of darkness and coming back into the bay for sanctuary during the day. 

We awoke the next morning to a slight change in the conditions and a change that had definitely affected the fish. A look into the bay revealed a lot fewer fish were present and our chances had lessened dramatically. Never the less we stuck at it as it was our final day of the horseshoe adventure. My rods unfortunately saw no further action but Dad managed to sneak one out and unfortunately lost one. The fish was another stockie but a nice looking fish of 16lb. 

It was a nice end to the session. We hadn't caught that Horseshoe thirty but we had caught our fair share of the stunning stock that resides in this magical lake. As we began to pack up we talked of how I could get out of work so we could stay longer. Always reluctant to leave, I think we could have stayed not another night but the whole summer. Just two bivvy's, the lagoon and the horseshoe Carp. 

Tight Lines!!!