FISHING, FUN AND FRIENDS....

[Janet]

Today I think I’ve had one of the best days I’ve ever had fishing. The weather was as good as anyone could hope for, although to be honest I didn’t expect it to be great fishing with scorching temperatures and clear blue skies. Oh what the hell! What could be better than sitting by my favourite lake in lovely summer sunshine? Well, catching a few fish would be good for a start….

 

I hadn’t intended fishing until early this morning, but I spoke to Paul, (my so-called friend and fishing buddy) yesterday, and he announced that because the weather was so good he was going to do an overnight session. What? Without me? Not a chance! I’d trust that bloke as far as I could throw him (which isn’t very far…) and there was no way I was going to stay home and put up with text messages telling me how well he was doing. Oh no, he wasn’t getting away with that!

 

Unfortunately I had a prior engagement early in the evening, but I managed to make my excuses and leave early, giving me time to whiz round like the proverbial blue arsed fly, stuffing bait and tackle into bags and hoping that I hadn’t forgotten anything. On my way out to my meet my other friends for the prior engagement, I managed to buy some eggs, bacon, rolls and milk ready for a nice cooked breakfast in the morning. Thank goodness for capacious handbags and that there were no bag security checks on any of the pubs we went in to! I’d have had some trouble explaining why I was in the pub with that little lot!

 

In the event I was able to call Paul to come and collect me rather earlier than was perhaps polite, but who cares? I was going fishing! Paul had been at the lake since late afternoon, but left his gear and came down to pick me up, and we arrived at the lake at about ten. Being slightly the worse for wear after having had a long day at work and a rather copious amount of alcohol, (it was forced on me, honest!) it took me several attempts to get set up, with umpteen ridiculous tangles and stupid mistakes. Rod set up, hooklength attached….oops….shouldn’t there be a float in that set-up somewhere? Start again Janet! Float duly attached in the correct place, depth plumbed (well, sort of….) maggots carefully selected, retrieved from where they had fallen onto my lap and hooked in a very innovative manner – anywhere where I could focus long enough to find the hook point and a wriggly thing! Head? Tail? Who gives a flying wotsit! Stick the hook in and hope for the best….

 

All things considered, and discounting the fact that it took me the best part of an hour to get set up (normally ten minutes….) I thought I was doing quite well until I cast in. Hmmmm…..slight problem here Janet. It really does help matters if you can actually SEE the float! I have several packets of Starlights. I know I have, but their whereabouts elude me at times. Well, the packets are so small that several times I have thrown them away, not realising that they are in the bottom of my carrier bag. This time I was convinced that I’d packed them, but unfortunately I’d managed to pack an empty packet. Luckily Paul had a spare packet as he was using a battery operated float, so once again he came to my rescue. Thanks Paul!

 

It wasn’t long before my float dived beneath the water, and I was playing my first fish. I really love night fishing – the atmosphere and the sounds are so intense, and never more so than when you see your illuminated float heading for the depths. I’d decided at the start of the evening that I wasn’t going to be content with whatever came along as I usually do. I was specifically trying to target the larger carp and bream, and particularly the tench, so I was using a large (for me!) hook (size 12) and a select group of half a dozen maggots. I had taken with me a bait bag filled with ground bait, flavourings, various assorted soft hooker pellets, ready cooked hemp, frozen maggot and caster, worms, sweetcorn, paste, luncheon meat etc. In the end I needed nothing more than the humble maggot for all the fish I caught throughout the session.

 

Despite being a tad the worse for wear, I had plumbed up carefully, and found a slight drop off just to the side of the reed bed about ten feet in front of me, and every fish I hooked both during the night and the day was caught within about two feet of that spot. I did feed another line to my left, ready to switch over when bites dried up, but it didn’t produce all day. Not a thing!

 

I managed to land a nice couple of smallish carp (around the 2lb mark) and what we think was a lone ghost Koi. I say we think, because unfortunately it slipped out of my hands as I was about to take it round to Paul for verification. It was fully scaled, very long and lean, but had two patches of faint but definite gold scaling on its back and tail. It certainly wasn’t a common or a crucian. Paul had a real result though, catching a named fish! Yes, he caught Gertrude the goldfish…looking slightly larger than when we landed her last time. She’s obviously making the most of her freedom!

 

By one o’clock, after having been up since four the previous morning and with an increasingly aching back, I was flagging a bit, so at about 1.00am I retreated to the cabin to get my head down for a while. Ashley, Paul’s son, had already admitted defeat and was crashed out in the car, where he remained until about ten in the morning, only being roused when we threatened to eat his bacon and egg butty for him!

 

I didn’t think that I’d slept much, feeling rather cold and aching, but as I didn’t surface until five thirty, I guess I must have dozed more than I thought! I woke to an absolutely glorious morning in one of my favourite places.

 

 

Here are a couple of views looking down the valley – it really is a nice secluded place up here.

 

 

 

The sun was already quite high in the sky, and as I looked out of the window I could see our resident moorhen pecking around the adjacent field with her chicks. All five of them! When they first hatched, one was so small that I don’t think any of us thought that it would survive, but survive it has and it’s looking very well, although it never strays far from one or other of its parents. We’ve had ducks and Canada geese hatch broods on the lake this year, but they’ve all now left for pastures new – a bit of a relief in the case of the geese as they don’t half make a mess on the paths!

 

Kettle on and brew made for me and Paul, I was soon on my way back to my peg, ready for another session. I wasn’t disappointed! Before I went to the cabin last night I had introduced some balls of ground bait, containing chopped worms, maggots and pellets, and my swim was bubbling with activity. I may have been as fissed as a part last night, but I knew what needed doing! Paul fired up the large cooker in the cabin, just for me, bless…..but then I left him to it, so he was responsible for the bacon and egg butties in the morning….and very good and welcome they were too!

 

Throughout the day I consistently caught bigger fish, just as I’d intended. I wasn’t plagued by so-called “nuisance” fish (although I don’t really consider any fish to be a nuisance if it’s on the end of my line!) Apart from the last couple of fish towards the end of the day, a feisty little baby bream and a stroppy little mirror that would struggle to make 8oz, the rest of my catches were very satisfying. I didn’t catch anything under about 1½lbs, with the best two being a couple of common carp that went to 3 and 4lbs and two apparently nuclear powered tench of between 2 and 3lbs. I realise they’re not huge by any standards, but they are very good fish for this lake so I am very satisfied that I’ve had an excellent day. It’s all relative, isn’t it? You have to judge your catches by the stock that is in the lake. There’s no point being disappointed that you didn’t catch a six pound tench when you know that there’s nothing bigger than 5lbs in the lake! Saying that, Paul did manage to land (and photograph) a cracking tench that weighed just over 4 ½ pounds. That’s the biggest that I’ve heard of from here. Such a pity he didn’t have an audience, as he hasn’t shut up about it since!

 

All in all it was a truly excellent day, as I beat Paul by 13 fish to 11….and mine were bigger than his! Not that I’m competitive of course….I think Paul was hindered somewhat by his companion – Max, the dotty rotty who went loopy every time he tried to land a fish.

 

 

Both of us lost what must have been very good fish throughout the day. I had one absolute beauty on, that took me all over the lake – it dived into the reeds, and when I managed to keep it out of the sanctuary it was looking for it promptly powered off into the middle of the lake, made like a dolphin and leapt out of the water, shaking the hook in the process. Gutted doesn’t begin to describe how I felt, as it was most certainly the largest fish I’d ever had from this lake, but I didn’t feel too down as I have the satisfaction of knowing that I managed (probably more by luck than judgement!) to tempt it to take my bait. If I can do it once, I can do it again! I don’t worry too much about lost fish now I’ve been at it for a while. It happens. The bream in the lake were going slightly loopy today, obviously having some sort of crisis and thinking that they had to behave like carp or salmon. Every time one of us hooked one it would dive all over the lake and then leap out of the water like a thing possessed. Very strange, but great fun!

 

Roy joined us on the banks mid-morning, and what was already a rather nice day turned into something just a bit more enjoyable. I don’t know what Paul and Roy were on, but whatever it is, I want some!

 

Here's Roy sitting and enjoying the sunshine, peace and quiet

 

 

And seconds later he was into a nice mirror

 

 

The craic was absolutely brilliant! Jokes and asides were flying thick and fast (thick in Paul’s case) and I think we all spent most of the afternoon in hysterics. They had immense fun at my expense, and I suspect I won’t hear the end of it for a while. Whilst we were fishing and having rather more fun than we should do, Ashley donned a pair of waders and helped Ray to prune some rather overhanging hawthorn bushes by peg 12.

 

 

Nothing too drastic, and the lake still looks natural, but the overgrown branches were really restricting the fishing there and needed a bit of pruning. I think they’ve done a very discreet job, despite Ashley complaining about the temperature of his bits…..honestly, you just can’t get the staff these days….

 

I had my bait in by the lilies to the side of me, and I had placed my rod in the rod rest whilst I took some photographs of some nearby flowers growing at the side of my peg.

 

 

 

 

Suddenly my rod jumped in the rest – only fractionally, but enough to make me grab it so I didn’t do a Roy (he lost a rod and reel last year, and it’s still languishing in the depths of the local lodge…) Although the rod only moved slightly, I was amazed to see that my line had been completely snapped off, but ABOVE the float. I can understand a hook length being taken, but bitten off above the float? Do we have barracudas in here? Needless to say, I never saw the culprit wot did it, but my float did resurface later in the day, by the lily pads in front of Roy. I’m pleased to say that it appeared to be of an independent mind, and not attached to a fish. I can live with the loss of a float (even if I had had it for so long that it was more of a family member and regarded with total reverence…) but I really don’t want to watch a fish swimming around trailing a float, line and shot.

 

Paul and Roy have been absolutely unmerciless and unremitting with their jokes and asides about this float. Personally I feel they ought to get a life and stop victimising a poor defenceless woman, just because she outfishes them on almost every occasion. So what? I lost a float….deal with it guys! Stop trying to cause a distraction to deflect interest from your abysmal performance….honestly. Whooped by a woman? Again? Look, if I do well, it’s skill….if I do badly, it’s because I’m just a beginner. You can't win!

 

In the end the final score was Janet 13 – Paul 11 – just in case you missed it….and a great day (and night) was had by all, although I caught rather too much of the sun and now look as though I've just come back from a week in the Caribbean...I can't wait for the next time!

 

Janet

 

PS. My normal view is that fishing and alcohol don't mix, and I never drink whilst I'm fishing, but on this occasion it was too good an opportunity to miss!

[Janet]

One thing that I forgot to put in my report was the big bream that we saw...

 

...and when I say big, I mean BIG!

 

Ashley was heading to the cabin to put the kettle on when he shouted us to look at the fish he'd spotted. It was a huge bream, cruising along slowly and basking on the surface. I couldn't get round to see it as I was in the middle of playing a rather nice common, but I did see it later in the day and he wasn't exaggerating when he said it was huge! Even Ray was able to see it, and considering that he's as blind as a bat, that was no mean feat, although in fairness, it was about the size of a dustbin lid!

 

It was guestimated at approaching ten pounds if not more - a very large specimen for this lake. On speaking to Ray later in the day, he confirmed that a couple of large (7/8lb) bream had been stocked about three years ago, but this was the first time anyone had seen one, and so far nobody has ever managed to land one.

 

I guess it's back to peg 6 for me then, as I always seem to land large bream from there....I really don't like the slimy critters, but I think I could force myself for a fish like that!

 

Janet

[1superken]

A good read Janet im glad someones catching some fish i think i,ll try & catch a few myself this week i blanked on my saturday overnighter

[natty]

A fantastic read Janet and some excellent photos too

 

It sounds like you had a great time and well done on the fish you caught too

[Janet]

Cheers Natty. I think I spent almost as much time with my camera as I did fishing, but it's great to be able to combine two of my interests, and it really couldn't have been a better day.

 

The weather was glorious, the company and the banter was great, and I thoroughly enjoyed myself, despite getting rather burnt because I forgot my hat and sunblock. I was mocked and ridiculed but I still managed to beat the rest of them and show them how it should be done...

 

Most of the fish I landed were above average size for the lake, which was good as it showed my tactics were working, but I'm gutted that I didn't land Gertrude the goldfish...

 

I know I fish the same place week in and week out, but you know, I wouldn't have it any other way. I feel totally relaxed when I arrive and knackered when I leave, but each time I'm looking forward to my next visit...you can't ask for much more than that!

 

When I first started I read all the magazines, and thought that catching the biggest was best. Now I know that there's a whole lot more to it than that, and I get my satisfaction from a good day spent with fishing and friends.....

 

Janet

[golder3636]

the pool looks really nice and a good place to fish, it was a nice read janet