I'M BACK FISHING....

[Janet]

It’s been a while, but at last I’ve been out fishing!

 

Well, strictly speaking I’ve never actually stopped, but after going away for a month’s holiday, today was the first time I’ve been up to my club lake since the beginning of April. Although I spent the whole of May fishing canals from the Midlands down to London and back, I was missing my local lake…I was even missing the company, and when you consider that the company spends all day slagging me off, that’s quite a statement!

 

We should have gone up last night for an all-nighter, but plans changed, as they do, so it was a late start this morning when Paul picked me up at about half past seven. There was a full contingent today – Paul, his son Ashley, Ray and myself, not to forget Max, the dotty rotty...it was a bit of a squeeze in the back of Paul’s car with all the gear and us, but with a bit of judicious shoe-horning we managed to get everything in…minus the kitchen sink for a change!

 

I didn’t pack all the usual accoutrements, deciding to keep it simple for a change. Well, I’d seen the weather forecast, which was good, so the brolly could stay behind. No problem if we encountered rain...I had my hair straighteners ready...I also left my rod bag behind, as I was only using my Shimano telescopic rod. I love my Shimano Beastmaster float rod, but it’s so much simpler just to pack the tiddly one, and I absolutely luurrrrrve it to bits! It has a lovely small butt (unlike mine!) and it’s got the most perfect action when playing fish.

 

Although I still packed my chair, I didn’t bother with any of the arms and twiddly bits, but just took along the side trays to store my bits and pieces. Although they cost a small fortune - rod rests and feeder arms etc., I don’t actually USE most of it on fishing trips, preferring to hold the rod. When I first started fishing, I lost so many fish because I didn’t actually have the rod in my hand that I now prefer to hold it all the time…at least while I have a hook and some bait in the water! I can get my two side trays, landing net head and unhooking mat inside the chair when I pack it, secured by a couple of bungee cords, so it’s no hassle to take them along. The bait boxes all fit nicely in my ruckbag, which stows away under the chair and is very akin to a Tardis with all the stuff I can chuck in it!

 

Bait was simple…which was why we had to sit outside Padiham Angling Centre for fifteen minutes, waiting for it to open so we could stock up on maggots. Honestly! Tesco can open 24 hours a day, why not tackle shops? Still, Steve’s just become a father for the first time, so I suppose he needs his sleep! It’s been a couple of months since I was in the shop and it’s all changed…new shelving, better display and looking very tempting...but I managed to resist any impulse buys!

 

Maggots-R-Us then? Mixed for the others, red and white for me….I really don’t understand mixed maggots! What fish in their right mind is going to go for a fluorescent orange, blue or green maggot? Even though I only ever use reds and whites if I’m using maggots, I’ve always blanked if I’ve pulled these out of a box of mixed…I also bought a tub of worms, but never got round to using them as the maggots were more than enough! The worms are now safely stored in the fridge, with a warning label for my son for when he wanders in late tonight after his birthday celebrations! I remember well the incident with the frozen white maggots being mistaken for rice…

 

The road down to the lake...looks like the farmer has resurfaced the track since my last visit, as it's missing some serious potholes!

 

 

The lake was looking fabulous when we arrived – the last time I saw it was at the beginning of April, or possibly sometime in March, when it was looking rather barren after the work party. Then it was cold, windy and not very welcoming. Today it was an absolute delight!

 

Looking from peg 5 over towards Pendle Hill

 

 

The sun was shining, the lake was like a mirror and the margins were filled with beautiful yellow flag iris…a bit past their best, but still a lovely splash of colour.

 

 

The white water lilies were already fully open and there were brilliant sapphire damselflies flitting about doing whatever damselflies do at this time of year…

 

 

Alan, our Work Party Manager has obviously been very busy since I’ve been away, and pegs 2 and 3 have had the steps removed and now have a sloping gravel path down to each of them, making them fully accessible to our less mobile members and those in wheelchairs.

 

 

They are still looking a little bit bare where the banks were dug out, but it won’t be long until the whole lot is covered in grass and flowers. The paths that were laid earlier in the year are now mellowing nicely, and almost the whole of the lake is now accessible for our disabled members.

 

 

 

Peg 7

 

 

Peg 8 - now accessible for wheelchairs and widened so that two can fish together - ideal for carers or father and son fishing.

 

 

I think these two pegs, 11 & 12 are still a bit difficult for anyone with walking difficulties to get to, but there are still 10 pegs on the main lake and several on the smaller back pond that just about anyone can get to.

 

 

These two pegs are the closest together, but nobody minds - it's that sort of place. Half of the fun of fishing here is the company!

 

I chose to fish peg 3 – mainly because it was so much easier to get down to it now and I wanted to shake off the jinx of the last match, where I sat and shivered in the cold and the wind on the very same peg. I would have loved to have fished my favourite peg 6, but since they removed the clump of waterlilies in front, it isn’t anywhere near as inviting as it used to be, even though I know the contours of the bottom like the back of my hand. I wonder, now the lilies have gone, will the fish still be in the same little dip that they used to be? Perhaps I’ll fish it again next time, just to see…however, today wasn’t the day for it. I wanted to be surrounded by lily pads. I wasn’t just fishing…I was chilling out after a stressful week at work.

 

Paul opted to fish peg 1, Ashley set up on peg 2 and Ray was on peg 4. It wasn’t long before Ernie joined us on peg 5 and Roy made a late entrance on peg 12.

 

From left to right - Ray, Ray and Ashley and Ernie

 

 

Ernie, with Ray in the background. The pegs are farther apart than they look in this photo.

 

 

There were already two anglers there before us on pegs 8 & 10, but we didn’t recognise them, so Paul went round, hackles rising, to challenge them. This is a private club, but it’s such an inviting little lake that we do seem to attract a few “poachers”. However, we needn’t have worried, as it turned out to be Steve, one of our newer members, and his guest. As soon as I saw him, I remembered him from the last work party, where he put in a sterling effort. However, I do also seem to remember that he was one of the ones who stood by laughing whilst I was using the thwacker thingy to bash the tarmac down in the car park, and wouldn’t tell me how to turn the infernal machine off, leaving me going round and round in ever decreasing circles until I was rescued…I will get my revenge!

 

We’d been called to an emergency Committee Meeting (yes, yours truly is now a Committee Member!) earlier in the week as one of the members had voiced concerns that we possibly had blue green algae on the lake. However, it looked to all of us like the usual scum that seems to arrive on the lake following the pruning of lily beds and the carp rubbing off whilst spawning. I’ve recently spent a month on the canals and seen blue green algae…this certainly wasn’t it. Still, as a precaution, we sent a sample away for analysis and it came back negative for anything detrimental to the lake. They actually said it was in tip-top condition, which was reassuring. They did comment that the back pond was a little high in ammonia content, but that should sort itself out with some decent rainfall (if only!) The main pond is just as it should be.

 

They also suggested that we should have at least 25% cover over the lake, with reeds, lily pads etc….something that I’d totally agree with. I feel we’ve pruned the lily pads far too much, but I’ve been overruled. Sure, we still have a few lily pads, and they’re looking wonderful, but there are far too few of them now. I think this will be a long running argument! I fish with a rod, not a pole, and I can count on the fingers of one hand the times I’ve lost a fish in the lilies. It seems that a few of our pole anglers have lost a few....still, if they insist on fishing right next to the one area that the fish are going to retreat to and can’t keep them out of it, then who’s fault is it?

 

As for the fishing today? It was bloody brilliant, once I got past the hordes of perch fry that tormented me from the beginning. No complaints though…I absolutely love catching perch, although I would have preferred some slightly bigger than the maggots they were attacking with such relish! Yes, they were a bloody nuisance, but all those tiddlers must have mummies and daddies…there are big ones in there…it’s up to me to find out how to catch the buggers! The ones I caught were no more than two or three inches long, but feisty little beggars, with brilliant coloration. You’ve got to love ‘em!

 

I had a few decent fish during the day…a couple of delightful Golden Rudd…gleaming like spun gold, with red fins and a beautiful bronze/gold sheen…two delightful mirrors and a rather large common carp which lead me a merry dance all over the lake…three lovely tench – none more than about 9” in length, but fought like stink – a good sign that our tench are breeding well. We have some large tench, but this is the first time I’ve caught any of the smaller ones. We suspect they are from last year’s spawning. I also managed some tiddly roach and a few skimmers, as well as one bloody big bream…I don’t like big bream! Nasty, snotty, slimy things! However, they seem to like me, as I find it difficult to avoid them.

 

Ashley had a couple of very nice commons and a mirror, including one from the back pond that I didn’t get to see.

 

 

He was also plagued with small perch on the main pond, but seemed to enjoy it just as much as I did. Paul had a slower day, with just one tench, skimmer, mirror and chub…but they were all bloody good fish! It took me three or four catches to get to anywhere near the same weight as he did in one…he most definitely had the quality fish on the day.

 

The day got progressively hotter, and I am now burnt and buggered…well, not in the literal sense, but you know what I mean…I did lather on suncream but rather too late to be of any use. I really should have known better! I will regret it later…my arms have erupted with prickly heat and I’m going to blame Paul, as he’s convenient and used to being blamed for everything…

 

So, the final scores? Janet 27, Ashley 10, Paul 4

 

I guess I win, in quantity, if not in quality! If you're wondering how I keep tally of the scores, here's how! It's known affectionately as Janet's Jotter, and is simply a notebook that I started back in 2008 - I only started it when I began fishing on Kingfisher, just to keep track of my own catches, but it's got to be a bit of a tradition now. It's falling apart, but I'm going to keep on using it until I run out of pages. It's comical to hear Paul shout "Janet, have you got your Jotter out?" when he catches a decent fish!

 

 

It’s been a brilliant day. We packed up at four, as we all had things to do at home. An overnight session was mooted, but all of us have things to do, places to go, football to watch…

 

Janet

 

PS I have loads of pics, but I'm too bloody jiggered to upload them...will do it tomorrow...

Edited June 27, 2010 by Janet

[Newt]

Nice to have you back Janet and still up to your usual excellent reports.

[Janet]

It's nice to be back Newt! I've really missed the fun on my lake whilst I was away!

 

Photo's added now...

 

Janet

[TrevBoy]

Thanks for a great write-up of your great day out.

 

S'funny, but fihing on small ponds where you are surrounded by other angler within spitting distance has never appealed. Because I like solitude, I guess. That and the fact that so many yobbos who I see when fishing would make for a very unpleasant afternoon.

 

Glad you are back "in the swim"

[Janet]

S'funny, but fishing on small ponds where you are surrounded by other angler within spitting distance has never appealed

 

I wouldn't have thought it would appeal to me either, but I've changed my mind! If I want solitude, I go down to the river or onto the canal, where I can be on my own.

 

However, if I want good company, lots of laughs and entertainment, then I go to my club lake. I know almost everyone now, and it's a great place to just enjoy fishing with friends.

 

That and the fact that so many yobbos who I see when fishing would make for a very unpleasant afternoon.

 

We don't get any yobbo's, unless you count Paul, my fishing buddy? It's a private angling club - strictly members and accompanied family members only and NO day tickets.

 

There is another local fishery nearer to me which has the day ticket yobbo's, and they're welcome to them and their fish with deformations and damaged mouths due to angling pressure.

 

There's a great sense of camaraderie here, with everyone pulling together to keep the lake and its inhabitants in fine condition. Members visit virtually every day, even if not fishing, just to check that everything's OK or simply for a walk round. It's just that sort of place.

 

I'm sure it wouldn't suit everyone, but it suits me just fine.

 

Janet