Jump to content

Opening day magic

Anthony78

By Anthony78
in Coarse Fishing

 Share

Recommended Posts

Anthony78 Member

Anthony78

Posted
Posted (edited)

Fancied something different for opening day after some very poor running water sessions in previous years so booked up a boat on Blenheim Palace lake which keeps the traditional closes season and would, I hope, still give us that opening day buzz.

 

Unfortunately when we arrived it was p**sing it down and blowing a gale so not ideal conditions but hey we were there and determined to enjoy our day. We'd read that before heading down to the boat house it was worth driving to the bridge which splits the lake as sometimes the bream shoals, which are huge on here apparently, stir up the bottom and give away their position. On this occasion we could see nothing and the wind was making it impossible to look for rolling fish. From our vantage point we could see that some people were already rowing out from the boat house and most were heading for the far bank and tucking themselves under cover to get away from the elements.

 

We were one of the last to leave after loading our gear into the boat and decided to go in the oposite direction to everyone else and check out the dam end of the lake where, on a recent visit to the palace and gardens, I recalled some large lilly beds. Rowing was hard work against the wind but when we arrived at this beautifully calm bay surrounded by lillies we realised that it was well worth the effort.

Blenheim2012005.jpg

 

We manouvoured ouselves into the lillies and threw the mud weights on to the bank so we were basically fishing from a floating platform with lillies to our left and right and the main body of the lake out in front of us. The plan of attack was to margin fish against the lillies at either end of the boat. Cliff chose to fish a float but I decided to drop a bolt rigged maggot feeder down my margin as I fancied fishing a slider float out into the lake for the bream which we hoped would move over our large bed of pellets, dead maggots and corn.

 

We fished our socks off for over 8 hours without a touch even though there were obvious signs of feeding fish like this shot below where Cliff had tench ripping up the bottom looking for his red maggot but he tried everything and couldn't buy a bite.

Blenheim2012008.jpg

 

Just after 3 pm Cliff turned back to look at his float only to find that it was no longer where he'd left it. An exploritory strike met with resistance and straight away we though that he'd hooked one of the tench that had been feeding in his swim but when it surfaced we realised that it was a very big perch. He landed it without too many problems and after unhooking it we went about the weighing and getting a few photo's of Cliff's new pb perch of 3lb 7oz (below)

Blenheim2012017.jpg

 

As Cliff was slipping back his perch I noticed that the rod that he'd just landed that fish on was bending very alarmingly. I dived for the rod and gave it back to Cliff and after a short spirited fight it was obvious that the previous perch had a friend which took a liking to the worm hookbait still attached to the rig that we'd just taken out of the first fish and had dropped over the edge of the boat. It looked like his twin brother but was 3oz bigger which meant that Cliff had broken his pb for the second time in about 5 minutes with this 3lb 10oz beauty.

Blenheim2012015.jpg

 

My story, however, wasn't as interesting with one lost fish to the lilly stems and a couple of feisty crayfish which took a liking to my worm hook baits but even so, it was a fantastic day in beautiful surroundings and we will deffinitely be back there next year if not before.

 

Thought I'd finish with a pic of Cliff doing some perch juggling :)

Blenheim2012013.jpg

Edited by Anthony78

Effort equals reward!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Dales Member

Dales

Posted
Posted

Great report and pics. Also agree with everyone else, smashing colours on the Perch.

Stephen

 

Species Caught 2014

Zander, Pike, Bream, Roach, Tench, Perch, Rudd, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Eel, Grayling, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout

Species Caught 2013

Pike, Zander, Bream, Roach, Eel, Tench, Rudd, Perch, Common Carp, Koi Carp, Brown Goldfish, Grayling, Brown Trout, Chub, Roosterfish, Dorado, Black Grouper, Barracuda, Mangrove Snapper, Mutton Snapper, Jack Crevalle, Tarpon, Red Snapper

Species Caught 2012
Zander, Pike, Perch, Chub, Ruff, Gudgeon, Dace, Minnow, Wels Catfish, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Roach, Bream, Eel, Rudd, Tench, Arapaima, Mekong Catfish, Sawai Catfish, Marbled Tiger Catfish, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Thai Redtail Catfish, Batrachian Walking Catfish, Siamese Carp, Rohu, Julliens Golden Prize Carp, Giant Gourami, Java Barb, Red Tailed Tin Foil Barb, Nile Tilapia, Black Pacu, Red Bellied Pacu, Alligator Gar
Species Caught 2011
Zander, Tench, Bream, Chub, Barbel, Roach, Rudd, Grayling, Brown Trout, Salmon Parr, Minnow, Pike, Eel, Common Carp, Mirror Carp, Ghost Carp, Koi Carp, Crucian Carp, F1 Carp, Blue Orfe, Ide, Goldfish, Brown Goldfish, Comet Goldfish, Golden Tench, Golden Rudd, Perch, Gudgeon, Ruff, Bleak, Dace, Sergeant Major, French Grunt, Yellow Tail Snapper, Tom Tate Grunt, Clown Wrasse, Slippery Dick Wrasse, Doctor Fish, Graysby, Dusky Squirrel Fish, Longspine Squirrel Fish, Stripped Croaker, Leather Jack, Emerald Parrot Fish, Red Tail Parrot Fish, White Grunt, Bone Fish
Species Caught 2010
Zander, Pike, Perch, Eel, Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Mirror Carp, Common Carp, Crucian Carp, Siamese Carp, Asian Redtail Catfish, Sawai Catfish, Rohu, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Pacu, Long Tom, Moon Wrasse, Sergeant Major, Green Damsel, Tomtate Grunt, Sea Chub, Yellowtail Surgeon, Black Damsel, Blue Dot Grouper, Checkered Sea Perch, Java Rabbitfish, One Spot Snapper, Snubnose Rudderfish
Species Caught 2009
Barramundi, Spotted Sorubim Catfish, Wallago Leeri Catfish, Wallago Attu Catfish, Amazon Redtail Catfish, Mrigul, Siamese Carp, Java Barb, Tarpon, Wahoo, Barracuda, Skipjack Tuna, Bonito, Yellow Eye Rockfish, Red Snapper, Mangrove Snapper, Black Fin Snapper, Dog Snapper, Yellow Tail Snapper, Marble Grouper, Black Fin Tuna, Spanish Mackerel, Mutton Snapper, Redhind Grouper, Saddle Grouper, Schoolmaster, Coral Trout, Bar Jack, Pike, Zander, Perch, Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, Common Carp, Golden Tench, Wels Catfish
Species Caught 2008
Dorado, Wahoo, Barracuda, Bonito, Black Fin Tuna, Long Tom, Sergeant Major, Red Snapper, Black Damsel, Queen Trigga Fish, Red Grouper, Redhind Grouper, Rainbow Wrasse, Grey Trigger Fish, Ehrenbergs Snapper, Malabar Grouper, Lunar Fusiler, Two Tone Wrasse, Starry Dragonet, Convict Surgeonfish, Moonbeam Dwarf Angelfish,Bridled Monocle Bream, Redlined Triggerfish, Cero Mackeral, Rainbow Runner
Species Caught 2007
Arapaima, Alligator Gar, Mekong Catfish, Spotted Sorubim Catfish, Pacu, Siamese Carp, Barracuda, Black Fin Tuna, Queen Trigger Fish, Red Snapper, Yellow Tail Snapper, Honeycomb Grouper, Red Grouper, Schoolmaster, Cubera Snapper, Black Grouper, Albacore, Ballyhoo, Coney, Yellowfin Goatfish, Lattice Spinecheek

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Worms Member

Worms

Posted
Posted

I tried that exact spot about 3 years ago on opening day...I had three big perch too, biggest was 3lb 1oz if I recall correctly....wonder if they're the same fish?

Eating wild caught fish is good for my health, reduces food miles and keeps me fit trying to catch them........it's my choice to do it, not yours to stop me!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We and our partners use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences, repeat visits and to show you personalised advertisements. By clicking “I Agree”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit Cookie Settings to provide a controlled consent.

  I accept