Ramblings

Funny how things work out one day all your fishing comes together and you think you have clicked with the water when bang it smacks you back in the face the following week. Since the the last two fish I have had 2 blanks. but that is carp fishing for you and if it was that easy we would probably not do it.
I sometimes sit and think why the hell do we do it week after week sitting in all kinds of weather sometimes cold, and wet waiting hours ,days or even weeks for that one bite only to play the fish for a few minutes then photograph it and then put it back to do the whole thing over again. It's no wonder the wife's,girlfriend, and partners just don't get it and think we are all mad.
         Apart from the time we spend on the bank it's all so the amount of money that we spend on the things that we use to catch our favourite scaly backs. With the price of tackle nowadays its a miracle that when we do have the gear we can still afford to go. Who ever goes into a tackle shop just for a look. No one we go in with no intention of buying anything because you think you have everything you could possibly need. But within seconds there staring you in the face is the latest gadget,bait,tackle or what ever and you just got to have it. Only to come out the shop with a load of stuff you don't even want or won't even use and the poor old wallet has took a real bashing. It's not just getting the gear it's also the price of petrol the food bill. I don't no about you but i just pig out on junk food crisps,biscuits,chocolate and the odd take away which all adds to the cost of going. And not forgetting bait. All the different types of glugs,dips. Boilies,pop ups it's just never ending. Now I have sat back and wrote this I am now thinking is it worth it ( laughing out loud )
            This now brings my thoughts on to how much time we spend on the bank for me it's mostly every weekend. Work for me just gets in the way of my past time
But it's always an end to a means and work has to be done to pay for the life style I have and for the family that I love.   Its maybe most anglers dream to be able to fish 24-7 like some of the top boys do. But sit back an really think about it for a while would you really want to fish everyday week in week out??
          I love my fishing after all I have been doing it over 30 years now. But I would not want to go full time. I used to do a week every year one in France then the other on a water over here I used to look forward to them two weeks. but I was always glad to get home and have a week or two off before going back to the weekends chase.
      I take my hat off to anglers that want to fish full time jim Shelley, Ian Russell just to name two that are what I call full timers they do tuition's to make their living then like us normals have to take time off to do there on fishing. For me that's just too much fishing and as much as I love it I would soon get fed up being on the bank that amount of time how they keep the buzz is beyond me. Takes a special kind of angler to commit to that much time and effort. Is that why these carp anglers are top of there game maybe??
Well these are just some of my thoughts I would share with you while I am sat here behind the rods
Till next time
Russ

Over the edge

            There was 7 on the lake on the Friday night so it was a case of drop in where I could. I was in the swim where I had the big girl from and as I new the swim a bit the rods was placed in double quick time. Bivvy up and bedchair sorted the kettle was found I the bottom of the bag and a brew was soon on the go. It's now early autumn and the nights are getting longer by the day soon the clocks will go forward or is it back? Any the bed was calling by 10 with a few liners I was hopefully of a fish. I never sleep well on my 1st night and had a restless night only to be woken by the liners I was getting off 2 of the rods. That was about as exciting as it got the night soon came and went into dawn. These days I have a little longer in the sleeping bag than I used to must be my age or the fact that if I was to spot fish I could not move anyway as the lake was pretty full. Saturday was not very good the sun was hot in the sky and the fish just started to poke the backs out of the water and cruse around on top a zig went out for the day but I do hold my breath on it working. It's also a mare on here as its mostly 18-23 foot deep.
       Nick text me at 4pm did I want a take away for my tea Too bloody right i did and swift text was sent back with my order. By 7.30 I was into what can only be the best value for money half pound Burger and chips in the world it was epic to say the lest. Eyes bigger than my belly I struggled to eat it all just leaving a few chips ( well I still had some midget gems ) I sat back put the iPad on and watched the movie the Avengers assembly. The buzzers never buzzed as I fell to sleep only to be woken be carp crashing to my left up on the north bank. They spent most of the night up there.
      Sunday morning and it looked like another blank was on the cards . Mark had been baiting a small area just off the reed line about half a rod length out. He lives close to the lake and been going down after work and baiting it with a few bits and bobs. He had taken a 25lb linear off it in the morning  Saturday afternoon and I had sat and watched 9 fish grubbing around I the spot one a mirror called scargill was there he had been out at 34lb only a few weeks ago.

                          Clippo with the linear at 25-14

As nothing was happening in the middle of the lake I baited the spot and dropped a small 3" hooklink along with a 3oz lead on it. Anything that picked that up would deffo be nailed. It was the next swim to mine only a matter of yards so the sounder box was switched on. I kept nipping back to see what was going on. There was fish on the spot heads down and tails up only a matter of time before one slipped up.
I watched as the fish buried themselves in a cloud of sand as they went mad sucking and blowing food. It's really easy why they get away with not being hooked. At least twice the hook bait was taken by the carp and just spat out. One of the carp that was in the group was scargill again I saw him on top of the hook bait 2 or 3 times only to miss it by millimetres. It was a real buzz standing there watching and waiting heart stopping stuff at times. As the feeding got more intense one of them shot of across the lake he was the one with my hook all the others was spooked too. And the battle began.
       This one was not happy he wanted to bury his self in the weed at point he got his head down and did get in it the power he had was immense but I kept the line tight and the tension on as I pulled him free of the weed he came to the top with half the weed still over his head. He shook that off and found new strength and then again trying to bury him self back in the weed but I held on and got his head up once again he came out of the water and took in air he was beat and the battle was mine. I soon had everything set up while he rested in the bottom of the landing net. Scales zeroed and he was in the sling and weighed in at 25-08 Again he was in great shape as all the fish are. So the effort paid off and it saved a 3rd session blank. I was going home a happy man with a smile put back on my face.

The rig that caught it short 3" hooklink along with a 3oz leadshed distance lead coated in leafs the yellow foam is foam from a factory earplug cut down

        Clippo had a few days off works. So took the chance to get down the lake. He was only there a few hours baiting the spot up again and watching when he nailed scargill at a nice 35-10  Then followed it up with fish of 34-06 and 33-01 not all off the spot but that's good angling 3 x 30lb plus fish in 12 hours.

                         Clippo with the old warrior scargill

Till next time
Russ

Another one bites the dust

                After having the 39lb i had already made the decision to take the following weekend off and spend it with my granddaughter trouble is i have 3 two of them at the age (7) that no what they want an they wanted to go to the seaside. We did all the fun stuff and it was a great couple of days.    The following weekend however was a very different story the weather thought it would start a mini summer and because it was so nice i stayed at home again spending some time with the family which gave me some bonus points.
     This has put me in the good stead to fish now till christmas hopefully banking a few Autumn and winter waterpigs in all there winter colours. Anyway it was the weekend again the van was loaded and travelling south at a rate of knots. I pulled threw the gates to find only a few cars in the car park i grabbed a bucket and went for the usual walk to a peg.   The wind was blowing a nice gentle sw and the north bank was free with fish topping and rolling it was the best choice for the night. The barrow was soon loaded and i was on my way round to the swim with my bucket in there. With the nights drawing in so fast now i am racing against time to set the rods up and get a couple of spots found while i have light.   I had 2 rods set up and cast out with a hand full of bait placed around them.  I was only fishing a rod length or so off the margin they seem to like to travel along the marginal shelf that runs close in along the bank.

        The bivvy house was set up before the dark beat me and the 3rd rod was set up this time with a fox rapid bag with a few loose boilies and chops in and was cast again just a couple of rods lengths out. Then it was lay back and chill with a nice cup of tea.   It was not long when the eyelids started to get heavy and the thoughts soon turned into dreams as i got into the bag for the night and into a deep sleep.  Before i new it it was daylight and another bleepless night. Thats how most friday night goes so no surprises there.
      The rest of the day saw the fish roll and crash all over the lake with no swim getting anymore attention than the next so i sat tight i was the only one on this side bank so only my lines was that end of the lake.  The take away meal of Kebab was soon put to rest and at 9.00pm i was tooked up in the bag. I hate these long winter nights.
    Blllleeeeeeppppppp was what i opened my eyes too at around 12.30am the left hand rod was away it was still taking line when i got to it which meant it had not found a weedbed to bury its head in.  It was not long and it was in the net i could see right away i had another big mirror in there. I got everything ready and gave my mate flash a shout on the 2 way and asked him to take the photo's   As flash has fished the lake for 6-7 years he has seen these fish grow on he new the fish he had it at a lower weight. The scales was zeroed and the carp was lifted.   I was right it was another big mirror banging the needle round to 35lb on the button what could i say that was 2x30lb plus fish in two sessions I was buzzing big time now nothing beats the buzz of catching big fish.

                                      The one they call lumpy at 35lb

    Photos done fish back in the water safe and me back in the bag chatting all things carpy to flash on the 2 way till i heard his buzzer scream out he was in to another of the lakes big fish I was soon stood at the side of him as he played the fish and soon i slipping the net under it. A cracking 34lb mirror one that flash had had  before a couple of times at lower weights it's all ways good to see that they are growing and fit and well.

                                  Flash with his 34lb waterpig Well done mate


    So all in all a great weekend for both me and flash. As i write this i have since had 2 weekend blanks but that is carp fishing for you some you win some you lose.

  Till next time
     Russ

Getting Close just 6oz

 Its August bank holiday when the boss asks me if i would take the Tuesday off as well which made it a 4 day trip was on the cards. The weather was not going to be the best for fishing with high pressure during the day i would just have to make the best of what i had after all it was 4 days of what i love doing.
     I set up in a swim that i had not fished before which meant i could put a rod on to the tip of the Island and the free offerings about a killo was spombed  over the top what a great bit of kit the spomb is. The one i use is the mini spomb it delivers 15 x 15mm baits at a time and it saves me carring a spod rod to do it.  The other 2 rods was spread around with a a killo of bolies on one rod and over the other 3 killos of mixed particles.

      The first fish came at 2 in the morning a nice looking mid double common that gave a good account of its self it had a really big tail which would explain why.

               That was the only fish i had during that sunday and the lake seemed to just go dead normally the fish are rolling and showing all over the lake but it was so hot and not so much as a breeze.  The carp just came up and was just swimming under the surface so 2 rods was changed to zigs. I have used zigs on the folly before and not had a one yet but when there on top or just below you just got to give it a go they could just switch on to the zigs at any time. One lad did try the zig when he sat watching them roll for 12 hours without a pick up on bottom bait and changed to zigs he ended up with 11 takes with the biggest going 32lb.

    Monday soon came with just 3 of us on the lake and the wind due to pick up i was confident that things was going to change i had heard fish crashing and rolling all night in the deep water to my left. At mid morning the wind started to pick up and within 2 hours wind speed was up to around 25 mph it was just what the doctor ordered carp was showing all over in front and to my left over the particles i made the decision to reel in the right hand rod and put it over the to the particle area too it was a good idea because it ripped off within minutes of me casting it there.  It was a short battle because the hook pulled i soon had the it in and checked the point it was still sharp so i rebaited it with enigma pro boilie and recast it back to the zone. The carp where still going mad and was enjoying the windy conditions when the second  run of the afternoon came this time to the right hand rod i made sure i pulled into this one a little harder and within what seemed only a few moments it was in the net a cracking mirror this time of 24lb.

                                              24lb mirror

   Right i have saved the best bit till last its now tuesday morning and the lake once again looks void of carp nothing showing anywhere.Its my last day and the sun is getting stronger by the hour so i decide to pack up early and spend sometime with the good lady. But i thought i would just have a mooch about first i had my receiver for the delkims and had a look in the pads. You can stand there and watch them come in and out of the lilies again nothing was showing so i walked back past my swim and went to the next swim up from mine again after a few minutes watching and seeing nothing i walked back to my swim where i saw the bobbin on the middle rod move only a twitch before it went into melt down unbelievable i thought as i pulled into it. Right away i could feel the x-line grating threw the weed that it had picked up on the take i was now thinking that the line would break or the hook would pull.  It was just one massive ball of weed as big as a mini car roof . I just kept the line tight and pulled gentle till the ball of weed was in the swim i put on my waders jumped in and started to part the weed i new the fish was in there but just could not find it. But there at the back of the weed was the fish with its head buried in the weed  it never looked that big.  I thought might do 20lb.
     I new that i could get the landing net under the fish so thats what i did i slipped the net down the side of the fish and as i scooped it in it rolled over on its side.  It was massive bigger than the 20lb i thought when i first saw it more like a mid 30. I could not help my self from laughing i new it was a big un and how lucky i was to get it in with all that weed around it.   Everything was set up camera, scales, water,weigh sling and i was ready to see just how big this mirror was i lifted the scales up to read them 39-10 a new pb for me i could not believe it over the moon i was. The photos was done and a video was done fish was back in its home and i was one happy carp angler.


Here is the video of that bank holiday with footage of some of the carp i had plus the big mirror Hope you enjoy watching it

    Till next time thank you and have a good un
   Russ

A brand new start

 By the time you read this i am well into the new water and after a sticky start things have started to turn round and the carp are coming to the net. Firstly i would like to point out that i am no longer using sticky baits and i have now moved on and am pleased to say that i am now using Steve Renyards pro boilies and the carp seem to like them too Also i am also being sponsored by The Lead Shed and they are quality leads i must say Well that's the plugging out of the way lets get on with the blog.
   The new lake is great full of big fish and it was a shock when i got down there for my first trip on the main lake. The last time i had seen the lakes was back in January when the trees was empty of leaves and things was looking a bit bleak. It was now june and my god things had grown the swim i last fished was covered right over by over hanging branches full of color the grass was 8 inches in height it looked so inviting.

                             Just one of the many sexy looking swims

The first trip was a bank holiday just to get a feel for the place and meet other members There is only 20 members on it and 10 was fishing that weekend so a few was met and we chatted about the coming year and how we was all looking forward to catching the carp that swam in the lake. All though i blanked it was good just to soak up the feel for the surroundings It was after a couple of trips that i had my first folly carp out a cracking 24lb linear nice and dark with a lovely off white belly.

                         24lb of stunning linear proper looking carp

Over the coming few weeks the fish was coming nice a steady with one or two gracing the net every weekend Most was just doubles commons and mirrors Here is a nice common one of a three fish i had that weekend.

           Not the biggest in the lake but who cares when they look like this

I had walked round the lake to find the fish held up in one of the corners of the lake they seem to like this area when its a nice hot day

                                         Found em
I set up about 30 yards down the bank away from where they was i put 2 rods out in the margins a rod length out in 8 foot of water the lake is like tap water so i went naked no leadcore and fluro hook links size 8 hooks and 2 enigma bottom baits on the hair with a good scattering of hemp and groats no bolies only the hook baits then sat back waiting for them to come down the margin and find the bait. In between where i had placed the 2 rigs was a tree in which i could climb and watch for the carp coming and going i spent hours up that tree as the fish came in had a little bit of the bait then swam off only to come in again and repeat it all over again it was only a matter of time before one of them slipped up and took the rig. I watched as 6 carp was on it feeding on the baited hemp and groats 3 of them was well over the 30lb plus mark. I climbed down out of the tree as if i had a run i new i would end up falling out of it trying to rush to get to the rods.

      Within seconds of walking round to the rods the one that the carp was over ripped into life then all hell was unleashed as this carp went on a rampage. Having made a good attempt at escape i slipped it into the net at first look i could see it was a good upper 20lb. The scales told the truth though and the needle stopped dead on 31lb Happy days my first 30lb carp from the lake. They had just been spawning that week so i had 3 photos took and slipped it back as i did not want to stress the fish too much (  it was caught 2 weeks later at 29-05 )

                               Hope i have more of these

Well that brings us up to date and i hope i keep catching so i have something to write about so till then tight lines

Russ

R I P Malcom Grice a true Gentleman

The ticket on the nene valley pits has now run out and it was time to move on to pasture's new also it was a move out of the nene valley and in to a different county all together that was Cambridge. A smaller water of about 7-8 acres a water that i had watched for years as i drove by in the lorry. Once a Coarse lake and very baron with no trees or shrubs surrounding the margins it is now grown up to be such a beautiful lake with bushes and trees all the way round its margins. With gin clear water that is in place's 22 foot deep you can see every stone and pebble at the bottom of the lake in 12 foot of water. I was lucky enough to fish the smaller of the 2 lakes over christmas. the smaller lake only 3 acres in size with plenty of fish to go for. I had 7 carp in total from mid doubles to a stunning 30lb mirror. The smaller commons of 18lb was a stunning fish and one was the blackest carp i have ever hooked

                                                           .

                    I also had a crazy time on zig rig i have been using them on and off for a long time now and never done any good. After having one on set at 5 foot all night i was watching the water and noticed that there was swirls coming from just under the surface like the carp was dashing about just under the water line causing small vortexes to rise and make these ring's on top.  I reeled in and swapped the 5 foot for a longer 10 foot zig with a cut down 10mm avid ziglight in yellow and black this was shown to me by my fiend Malcolm Grice who rates zig fishing very highly after catching for the second time in 10 days a 45lb nene valley common on a zig and at night. After i had seen malc's zig rig and spoke to him i was confident that they do work in the right conditions. I was sure that this was the right time too use a zig. It was cast out without much trouble and i picked up my mug and off i went next door to get my mate flash to put his kettle on for a brew. Well i had not been at his all of 5 minutes when my delkim rung out then stopped then brust into life again by that time i was on it and the my 1st ever zig caught fish was on it was a mental fight that resulted in a stunning common.
  So it does work i had 3 more over the next hour and a half they was having it just below the surface in the middle of winter on a small piece of rubber how mad is that. Something that i just cant get my head round how a carp can eat something that does not smell of anything we will never really understand i don't think.

         Like i say that was back in winter over christmas and while i was there i kept an eye on what was happening on the main lake the lake that i would have to wait till june to fish with only one angler fishing it over the festive period it still looked good and i could not wait to wet a line in with so many big fish in it up to 41lb 

        This is a small video of the 30lb mirror i had out of the small lake at the time a winter 30lb in all its colour's

   I like to write my blog a few weeks in advance and already had this next section written and was ready to post But i am very sad to say that i had the sad news That Malcolm Grice passed away 28/07/12.
  He had been ill for a few months and my thoughts go out to his family.
 
  I first met Malcolm last year when i had added him to my facebook friends list he posted up that he was down Little Irchester for the weekend and i told him if he wanted me to photo the big one then i would be in the bungalow swim.  At 5,30am Saturday morning Malc came bounding into my swim shaking my hand and at the same time he is asking me to take photo's of the one they call cut tail the biggest common on the complex at 45lb That was unreal first night on the lake and malcolm had had his target fish.  Now you may be reading this think that was luck or just a jammy bugger. But let me tell you that malcolm due to work and other commitments could not get back down the lake for 10 days. Again i was down there and 11.30pm malcolm's come round to my swim asking if i would take more photos of cut tail he had only gone and had it again this time on a zig.  So you see malcolm was not just your average carp angler he was a bit more than that he had had some big fish over his life time The fat lady being one of them.   The last time i saw and spoke to him was back in march when i took some snaps for him of a 20lb common i will never forget him and i am pleased our paths crossed      R I P Malcom Grice a true Gentleman

    Here is a video of Malcolm when he had cut tail the 1st time on a rig that he loves to use the chod.

      

Its not over till the fat lady sings

In my last blog piece i said that i had said my farewell to the syndicate well i had but because work was not very busy and i had some holidays left i was stuck with where to go my new water ticket didn't start till june so that was a no go. I new my mate yoda was going down for one last session so i thought i would join him and have a bit of a social as it would most likely be the last time we would ever fish together as we are both going to different waters this year.
  I met him in the carpark so we could have a look round see where we wanted to fish it was the hottest day of the year so far which did not please yoda not one bit not ideal fishing conditions and after a few laps of the lake yoda made up his mind to jump back in the car and make the 2 hour drive back home me on the other hand made the decision to stick it out and fish the main lake in a swim called the pond.  Its a cracking swim where you get maybe a acre of water to fish and is literal like a pond hence the name.
     Fish where everywhere all laid on top basking in the sunshine.   As the afternoon went on i leaded about and found three clear spots which was baited and hookbaits placed on ready for the hopefully the night time feed. I was again not that confidant after all i had done over 6 months now on the main lake on and off without a fish Night came and i settled in the summer bag for the night. All hell broke lose at around 2.30am when the left hand delkim was screaming a one toner. I was up and at them rods within seconds i pulled into what felt a good fish the rod banged over it was game on. It made two very strong runs as it tyred to get away when the line went limp on the 3rd run. I was gutted this lake has for every 3rd fish is a 30 plus so maybe thats what had just done me who knows.
  I could not believe it was i now after a year on the complex starting to find my way had i put the jigsaw pieces together that was three fish now in as many sessions and from two different lakes. All though i had lost that one i was buzzing and with another two days to go god knows what was going to happen.

   The two days went so quick and it was time to pack away and leave this was it the very last time i was going to fish these lakes the ticket runs out in 2 days and i was back at work so that was that. Banger the bailiff came round and said his farewells and wish me luck on my new water.  Everything was loaded up on the barrow apart from the rods they where still in in a last ditched attempt to catch when again the lefthand rod ripped off. Unbelievable i could not belive my luck i was in was this a big mirror that i hoped i would catch. Within a few minutes it was mine another common that banged the scales round to 25-06lb  What great way to end what had been such a crazy year with so many highs and lows threw out the year.

Well you no what they say it's never over till the fat lady sings
 Till next time have a good un
 Russ

Long Time

Hi is it really 3 months since i last put a post up my how time fly's. Well things have been very slow on the fish side of things i spent the last 2 months of my syndicate fishing the lake with the complex big common in.  It was a case of if it goes it goes a run i mean. I started in a swim that don't really get a lot of lines in its one they call the deep corner i have no idea why as it was not that deep anyway i had done 3 weeks in there when Easter bank holiday's came round which meant i had an extra day to dangle the rods'
  Flash text me on the sunday to tell me he would call in on his way home from his water for a brew on the bank holiday monday. Sure enough at around 7.30am i was woken with the usual greeting "morning gay" it was flash true to his word there he stood with his mug waiting for me to put the kettle on.  After a few minutes we both sat watching the water for anything that looked like a carp showing its self in the dawn sunshine when all of a sudden the middle rod bobbin started to lift and because the tips of the rod was high in the air we both sat as the line lifted and was getting tighter.  The delkim burst into life and i just sat there looking with my mouth wide open i was in shock it was a run from a lake that only had 20 or so fish in it.
        It must have been only seconds when i heard the shouting from the nutcase sat at the side of " Don't just look at it hit it" flash was shouting . i jumped up and kicked off the crocs so i could get the waders on first the right foot then the left but the left foot wouldn't go in the top of the boot it had squashed itself in and i couldn't get it on  "just run in fuck the boots man" i heard flash shout again. No way was i going in with no boots the water was still freezing from winter I sat on the ground still struggling to get the left boot on so thought it was best just to sort it out sat down rather than risk falling in the lake by being over balanced.
     Flash by this time was ready to jump in and grab the rod himself. He liked to do that now and again when he has a run he did it last year when he thought he had his first take on this very lake but it turned out to be coot There he stood wet threw up to knees in his trainers and tracky bottoms. O how we laughed.   Anyway back to me getting my waders on which i finally did pulling the shoulder straps up as i run in and grab the rod it bows over as the carp gets the hook deeper into the lip. After a short fight the carp was safely in the net a lovely looking common of 28-08 was soon weighed and photoed before it was back in its home.

That fish came out of the blue i never thought that it happen after all But that was not the last one i had out of the lake i kept the bait going in on the spots before i left hoping that no one would be in the swim come fridays when i got there. Again i arrived on friday night and was happy that the swim was empty again.
   The rods went out on the spots with not to much trouble and a kilo of bait was put out too then it was a case of sitting back and enjoying the weekend with the hope that i could repeat what happened last week.

 It was Sunday morning before anything happened the right hand rod went in to melt down when an mr carp thought he was clever and picked up my chodded hookbait.   Everything went smooth this time i was in the waders and pulled into the fish with out any problems whats so ever. The fish did how ever did put up a bit of a struggle once or twice it gave me a heart stopping moment as the line pinged off its dorsal fin and i thought it had lost the hook hold but it was soon in the bottom of the net looking sorry for it's self  It was another of the lakes commons not one of the big commons that swam in there at only 23.00lb it was great just to have a it because the lake is not an easy lake to fish that was two fish in as many sessions i was a happy man.

  The plan was working but it was short lived because in the week that followed after the 23lb common the lakes and complex big girl was caught although down in weight at 43lb. Well that was that i never expected to catch it  when i started to fish the lake and end my year on there but but with the second common i had hook i must admit i was thinking that i had a chance. That had gone now and i was calling it a day on the complex i had had enough months of blanking and disappointment had got the better of me and it was time to call it a day and say goodbye

  This is a video blog i did about the deep corner swim i was fishing

Till next time have a good un
Russ

 

Guest Ticket On Knipton Res Not So Happy Return

My boss had brought me a weekend ticket to fish Knipton for a christmas bonus so i could have a few days with my brother who is a member on there. I made my mind up to fish the easter bank holiday of 2011 that way it would not get in the way of fishing the nene valley complex when the ticket started in june also it was just before we was due to go to France and i thought it would get the juices flowing get the buzz back ready for the Trip abroad. Well it did not go to plan well the fish didn't anyway the sun came out and just ruined the weekends fishing totally not a sniff from any of the rods a big fat blank.
I thought that i had blown my chance of a knipton fish when my brother phoned me and said that Antony from ajs fisheries had invited me back on a guest ticket i over the moon. We made arrangements to fish the next bank holiday which was August. I fished the same swim because after reading the catch report book it had been throwing a few up in the last few weeks plus it was easy to get your gear round there too as you can drive to the swim drop your stuff off before parking the van in the carpark.
We did 2 nights the 1st was very quite and the second not being much better to be honest. The fish are very shy at knipton and don't show that often so the sights of carp are very scares indeed. The only show we did have was when i spotted what i thought was a lose buoy only a small one which was heading up the lake towards us which was very strange because the wind which was not strong was blowing down the lake away from us. But this buoy was bobbin a long nicely as my brother was in the next swim to me i walked round and told him about the orange buoy that was coming towards us Although it had been a few minutes since i had spotted it i still had not clasped what it really was. My brother started to laugh as he was telling me in fact it was a local woman that swims the 40 acre lake on a regular occasion.
She had not seen us tucked up in the trees in the swims we was in because as she made her way out of the lake she stood on the porch of the lodge to dry herself down and peeled her swimsuit off there she was stood in her birthday suit drying herself down oblivious to the fact that we stood watching from the other side of the lake be rude not to now wouldn't it not.

At 7.00am i was up and about with a fresh brew on the go when the right hand rod pulled up tight held for a moment or two before the bobbin dropped back to the floor nice i thought as i sipped on the hot cup of tea. Then the right hand rod gave a single bleep intresting i thought i had fish moving threw my swim and seemed to be have a little taste of the bait that was down there. All went quite for 10 minutes or so when the bobbin on the right hand rod slowly tightened up to the rod butt the rod tip was pulling round and i could see that the fish was hooked i grabbed the rod and pulled in to it That's the bit the carp did not like it shot down the lake to my left trying to pick up the middle rod's line as it did so but i was not having any of it so i bullied it away from the line and started to get line back of the carp that had my hook in it's mouth.

The fight did not last long and it was soon in the net a nice dumpy mirror laid in the bottom of it and as i left it in the net to rest Andy came walking in to my swim asking if i had had one. We weighed it at 28-06 took the photos before slipping back the mirror. Revenge was sweet and i was happy to no that i had banked a carp from a water that i had blanked from previously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIT6LIjqpmw


But my happeness soon changed to sadness because as we packed away the rods and put the gear back in the van ready for the off i had the radio on in the van when the news came on and the tragic news came of the death of marco simoncelli a motogp rider that had been killed at the start of the race at the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang at the age of 24. Both me and andy have been folowing the motogp all season and we was real fans of the young rider and had watched him come threw the ranks to be such a great if not a little crazy rider. So i would like to dedicate this chapter of the blog to marco simoncelli may he rest in peace.

Very Lean

After i had the big common the idea was to carry on fishing the lake as there was other fish to catch. But the next time i went down the swim was taken so i walked further up the lake only to find that the next two swims i had in mind was taken by anglers. So it was time maybe to move on to another lake after all there was three more to have a go at. I found myself having a go on all three over the next few month's and not one of them was kind enough to throw a fish my way.
What i was finding and i was not on my own with the problem was that the weekends on the complex found that the main lake was rammed and the carpark lake was seeing enough anglers too. The trouble was that anyone that joined and paid the £600 price tag worked during the week so like me the only time that they can go is the weekends hence why the lakes are full on a weekend. You cant blame the anglers they had paid there money just the same as i had. Also with so many lines in the water the fish would do the off. After a word with a mate of mine Tone we came to same conclusion about the weekend so i decided to sunday night as well think that when everyone had gone home the fish would go on the munch mopping the bait up that had been put in over the weekend.
I had got down there on the friday and was camped up on swim they called the baby elephant a cracking swim that is up the first arm which meant you was fishing in to the first bay. Saturday came and went leading in to sunday not a fish had been seen by mid afternoon i was the only one on the lake time to see if my theory was right. Ed Betteridge turned up and after a brief chat he made his mind up to fish the 2nd point which turned out to be a good move on ed's part.

The Baby Elephant swim


As dusk started to drop the sun down the fish started to show first off the top of the arm at the point to my left little shows that all at first it seemed they was making there way in to the bay as the fish started show more and more with full blown crashing as they lept right out the water on several shows. It was like i was on a different lake all together. It did seem that me and Tone's idea's was right my Confidence was pretty high by the time it got too dark to see any movement.
It was five in the morning when the fish picked up the bait from a hole in the weed i had found while leading about a rod length out by the time i had the waders on and pulled in to the fish it had bolted a good 40-50 yards in to open water in the bay. After a brief scrap it was under the rod tip plodding left and right hugging the bottom for a few minutes till i managed to pump the fish to the top and with just one gulp of air it was beaten and the net slipped under the common. What a fish it was a stunner with a nice dark back and mint scale pattern and to top it off it was another 30 plus carp tipping the scales at 34-08



The other side


Sadly that is the last fish i had out of the complex in 20011 i still fish there and i will keep on fishing it till the ticket runs out in june 2012 so plenty of time to maybe bag one or two more if the carp gods are on my side that is.

Till next time tight lines

Russ

In Again

It was a couple of weeks before i could get down there again. As i pulled up to the gate to unlock it i could see that there was a lot of cars at the bottom of the track. I started to count them 21 that cant be right i thought so i counted them again i was right 21 cars plus me that was a least 23 anglers as i could see Ants car and he sometimes brings his mate Steve. I had never seen that many on before normally it was 12 -14 on a friday night so this was going to be a wasted weekend or so i thought.

The van was unloaded and barrow was loaded i had a quick peep at the carpark lake that looked full up. So off i went at a steady pace towards the swim in which i had been in when i had the linear. I was all set up for the disappointment that someone would be in there already so was was shocked to find it empty i parked the barrow up and had a walk down the causeway to see how many was on the lake i was going to fish.
Seems everyone was not interested in my lake as there was only my mate yoda set up in his normal swim 22 anglers dotted around the complex and not one of them set up on the prison lake Thank you very much i thought. Not wanting to waste anymore daylight hours so i soon had the waders on and withg a baitbag full of belecan and seasnail i was marching round to the other side to bait up THE area where i had had the linear from. Half a kilo was soon on the zone then it was back round to set up the rods. One rod was placed on the zone which was a snowman rig. The second rod was placed on the other end of the reed's near the corner of the lake with 50 baits around the hook bait which was a double bottom bait And the third rod was put on a gravel spot about 30 yards to my right that was just a single bait again with about 50 baits placed around it but was nice and tight rather than spread in a wide area. Everything went pretty smooth so i still had time for a brew and watch as the sun set on what was a cracking summers evening.



I had not been in my sleeping bag that long when i had a bleep on the left hand rod that was the one on the zone i switched on my headtorch and sat looking for line pick up it bleeped again it was like that scene out of jaws where he gets a touch on the rod and he starts to strap his self into the chair. I new i had a fish on i was waiting for a more positive take before i lifted into the fish i was trying to get the waders on and keep my torch fixed onto the bobbins when bang all hell broke out alarms reels and line bobbins all started to sing and dance as the fish took off down the lake with my hook and bait in its mouth.
Within a second i was on the rod and pulled up the line and it was game on i could not believe it two fish in such quick succession after all them weeks sat there seeing nothing week after week then like buses 2 bugger's come along but i was not complaining not by any means. The carp had started to come towards me as the rod's arc started to straighten up so i reeled in what seemed a hell of lot of line before the arc bent over again the fish rolled it was only 10 yards out i must have reeled in about 50 yards of line. The fish started to just use its weight to hug the bottom and go from left to right i was in no rush to bully this now and have the hook pull after all this time would have been madness so i was happy to let do what it liked for a minute or two which i did just to wear it's self out a bit. Right it was time to get its head up so i started to lift the rod up and gain some line within a few minutes it broke the surface once or twice on the last time it was all ready for giving in and i slid the net under the fish. I put the rod on the rod rest and looked inside the net to see what my prize was laid in there it was a very big common at well over the 30lb mark.
I left the fish in the net to rest while i got the scales,mat,camera and bucket of water set up. I was ready so lifted the fish out of the water and placed it on the mate unpeeled the net and unhooked it slid the fish out of the net into the weigh sling and raised it up the needle was bouncing around as i struggled to lift the weight on my own. I was just not strong enough to hold it up steady so i could see what it weighed all i could make out was the needle was around the 38lb. I needed back up so only one thing for phone yoda ask him if he would help with the weighing. As i had a trakker retention sling it was easy just to put back in the lake while i waited for yoda to get round.

We both lifted the sling out and placed it back on the mat as we had to drain the the sling i unzipped it to show the common to yoda he took one look and said 'Well done that's the one' 'what you on about that's the one ??? i said 'it's the big gal' was the reply i had only gone and caught the biggest carp in the lake which at the right time of year was 40lb plus but was it that time?? We both lifted the fish on the scales and i let yoda tell me the weight 38-15 is what he said not the right time of year then but i was not bothered not one bit it was a new pb common and the biggest in the lake just to top it off.

The photo's was done and the fish was slipped back into the dark water back in to it's home ready to fight another day

As you can see it had a swim bladder lump sticking out

Over she goes to take photos of the other side you can see how wide its back is from this photo

After the capture of the big common i never got to fish the swim since because the following week the swim was took up so i just moved from that lake and fished the main lake or the Island lake once i had had a go on them two lakes i felt that i needed to catch from them so i just moved between the 2 lakes depending on how many and which lake had swims free.

success at last

Things was just not going to plan and frustration was creeping in so with friday come all to quick the van was packed and off down the lakes by 7.30pm set up and rods in and we are fishing. The kettle is the next thing on as darkness once again starts.

Over the past few weeks of fishing the same swim i had notice that when the carp did show they was showing up against the reeds on the other side of the lake. After another fish less night i sat watching the water when one or two fish started to roll and show against the reed's I sat and watched them for maybe an hour before they finished there show for the morning. Mid afternoon and i was wading out to the reeds where i had seen them after a quick marker and lead about i was happy to put a bait in there. I spread by hand about a killo of belecan and seasnail went back to the rods and put a baited hook over the zone.
Night soon came round and having the last brew i slipped into the sleeping bag it was not long before i fell asleep because before i new it the sun was bright in the sky. I lay there for a minute or two before i turned my head and just looked at the gardener bugs they was still in the same position as they was last night when i set them. I just closed my eyes and thought to myself why am i bothering when one of the alarms bleeped twice. In the mood that i was now in i slowly raised my head off the bedchair to see which one it was i stared at it for a few seconds then threw my head back down on to the bedchair mumbling something under my breath when the alarm went into melt down it was a bloody run at last.
Within what seemed an age but was just seconds i was up out and was trying to climb into the waders the reel was peeling line and i couldn't get the dam things on. There prologic waders and the welly top of the boot is squashed and not round which makes it a mare to slip your foot in sometimes and this was one of them times. In the end i sat on the floor and just pushed my foot into the boot jumped up got the straps pulled up around my shoulder's they where on. I grabbed the rod and pulled into the fish. The rod arched over and the line pulled up tight out of the water i was in fish on let battle commence. This was the rod i had up against the reeds the other side. The carp came towards me and it was soon within netting distance it made powerful runs dropping deep into the depths trying to shake the hook.

Three times i went to net it and three times it was not ready i had seen it up close now and saw it was a big un not wanting to lose it like the last big fish from last year i made sure on the fourth attempt she was in the net i was one happy boy i can tell you. I placed the rod back on the rest's and looked into the net there laid in it was a big linear and a cracker too.
I phoned yoda and asked if he could take some photos for me He was soon round and was happy to see what was one of the A team carp laid in the net. After taking the photo's it was time to put her back i watched as the carp swam off back to her watery home. By this time it was still only 7.00am still time for another one i thought the rod was rebaited and cast back out to the far side. The kettle was put on and a brew was soon on the cards I was feeling pretty dam pleased with myself i can tell you i thought things was coming right after all these weeks i had only the one carp but what a fantastic looking one it was.


Here is a link to a small video of the carp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMp310ZrYfE



31-02 of stunning linear


Water shot


















Back she goes