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Pontefract reservoir. West Yorkshire is fishing really well


mattylevantiz

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hi guys, im new to the forums so be nice haha

i have just had the best days fishing in a long time today,

well i had a heavy one last night and woke up feeling like death this morning(few too many i think) so i decided to go fishing and get some fresh air to help cure the hangover.

for those of you who live in west yorkshire you will know we have had a heatwave for about 3 weeks now and constant sun(not complaining) but the sun had a bad effect on the fishing, now today its been overcast and a bit cooler.


ive allways had good fishing at the pontefract racecourse reservoir even though its weedy all the way across no gravel patches from what i can tell so i allways fish up in the water when im there and catch a fair few perch and rudd of a decent size but today its been perfect.


got there about 2.30pm, set up and first cast about 3pm, first cast a rudd of about 8oz then about 50 perch and the swim was fizzing with fish everytime i put maggots in the water and then it died a little (over fed it i think) so i moved further round the lake, long story short, about 10 minutes before i it gets completly dark i get a big thump on the rod(wasnt watching the float) and i hook a carp about 5lb, came off at the net, then a small tench of about 1lb then cast after that i get a perch out of about 2lb then hooked another carp and that comes off within seconds, my friend messed with the clutch on my reel -.-

i left about 10.30pm because i couldnt see my float and was getting eaten alive by mosquitos(F**in vampires)


i reckon in total id had over 100 fish and a total of about 60-70lb, maybe thats just a fluke or its getting back to how it used to be on the boating lake i heard that used to be really really good

only downside is ive gone through 30-40 hooks today because nearly every perch decided to swallow the hook and get it caught around its stomach so i had to cut the line.

im going again in the morning and then fishing it on tuesday all day and through the night. hopefully will catch some more big fish and have some pictures to add.

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Hi and welcome to Anglers' Net. Sounds like a really great day on the water.

 

Try using circle hooks for the perch. Deep hooking is rare with them due to the hook's design. You have to modify your tactics slightly and simply reel to set the hook rather than striking but they work really well.

" My choices in life were either to be a piano player in a whore house or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference!" - Harry Truman, 33rd US President

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Sounds like a good day. However, I am concerned that you have left so many hooks in fish - are you able to use a disgorger? If not you really ought to find out, as its not really right to do so much damage to the fish. I too have had a lot of problems with deep-hooked perch, but I have never left a hook in yet (not since I was 10 anyway!). Sorry to moan but its a bit of a shame you weren't asking how to avoid that rather than stressing the size of the catch.

 

Just saying.......

 

Welcome to the forum.

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Sounds like a good day. However, I am concerned that you have left so many hooks in fish - are you able to use a disgorger? If not you really ought to find out, as its not really right to do so much damage to the fish. I too have had a lot of problems with deep-hooked perch, but I have never left a hook in yet (not since I was 10 anyway!). Sorry to moan but its a bit of a shame you weren't asking how to avoid that rather than stressing the size of the catch.

 

Just saying.......

 

Welcome to the forum.

thanks for your comments.

yes i can use a disgorger but when the hook is so far down the fish and wrapped around its stomache i dont want to put the disgorger right down there and push to release the hook because itd burst the swim bladder(what keeps the fish upright) and kill it ive had it happen before.

i allways use barbless (barbed have a better hold but cause damage, i dont even use micro barb....)

 

i allways try and catch then unhook and release as quick as possible without stressing the fish out any more than it will be (id be stressed if id just been hooked and pulled out of the water haha) and i was told by my local tackle shop to just cut the line if you cant get the hook out, the fish will get the hook out itself over time, im all for looking after the fish and even the small ones i lower into the water to swim away rather than a small throw like most people(the small fish could be the big fish you catch in 5,6 or 7 years and if im fishing commercials i take a unhooking mat for carp and tench, if im traveling light then i dont take it, its another thing to carry the 4 miles to my local lake.

 

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Newt,

 

Can you buy circle hooks in the sizes the Brits use for perch?

 

Phone

 

I was thinking along those lines, too! Seems as though you can, though the smallest I've found so far (in about 2 minutes of searching) is size 12's by both Mustad and Sakuma.

 

A slight diversion from topic, but if circle hooks are as effective as they are supposed to be, why are they not in wider use by anglers using semi-fixed lead set-ups, that rely on self-hooking for their success, raher than all the fannying about that goes on construction mag-aligners, and other self-hooking contraptions?

Edited by philocalist
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mattylevantiz have you tried a slammo disgorger: http://www.matchmansupplies.co.uk/maver-slamo-disgorgers-free-uk-postage.html.

It may help with some deep hooked fish as it traps the piont of the hook so it does not snag when you retrieve it.

IT may help to try fishing shallower as the fish may be taking the bait on the drop and your not seeing the bite until it's too late or moving the telltale shot nearer to the hook so the fish can't move as far before giving you an indication also strike as quick as possible.

But the way perch feed makes deep hooking a problem.

Edited by garylee
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Smile they said life could get worse, I did and it was

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mattylevantiz have you tried a slammo disgorger: http://www.matchmansupplies.co.uk/maver-slamo-disgorgers-free-uk-postage.html.

It may help with some deep hooked fish as it traps the piont of the hook so it does not snag when you retrieve it.

IT may help to try fishing shallower as the fish may be taking the bait on the drop and your not seeing the bite until it's too late or moving the telltale shot nearer to the hook so the fish can't move as far before giving you an indication also strike as quick as possible.

But the way perch feed makes deep hooking a problem.

no i just use a regular disgorger but if i see one of those in my local tackle shop ill pick one up.

 

pontefract park reservoir is covered in weed with no clear patches from what i can tell so i have to fish up in the water so fishing shallower isnt really gonna help because the bait is off the bottom anyway, i allways strike as soon as i see the float move before it goes under unless its a quick bite then nobody can react quick enough to a bite that just takes the float under quicker than you can see it.

 

i think its just the way that perch feed thats the problem with deep hooking because i never get deep hokked from carp, tench, roach rudd etc its just perch because they lunge at the bait not pick it up like other species

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Hi Matty, and welcome to AN, (from another Yorkshire man).

 

Please don't take this as 'having a go' at you. We all have accidents, but 30-40 deep hooked in one session seems a bit much. I don't know your float set up, but would suggest that you try what gary said, adjust your 'tell tale' shot. It's an old saying, but still true today, if you are getting bites and can't hit them, move your shot away from the hook, bit by bit. If you're getting bites and don't see them, (or deep hooking), then move you 'tell tale' closer to the hook, again a bit at a time, until you get a happy medium.

Don't leave the rod in the rests, hold it, even if it's just on one rest and the butt on the knee. Use the most sensitive float set up you can, and get a good disgorger, as suggested a 'Slammo' is good. You will always get one or two deep hooked, but hopefully not too deep. Another thing, angling is expensive enough without the added cost of 3dozen or more hooks every session.

 

John.

Angling is more than just catching fish, if it wasn't it would just be called 'catching'......... John

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Hi Matty, and welcome to AN, (from another Yorkshire man).

 

Please don't take this as 'having a go' at you. We all have accidents, but 30-40 deep hooked in one session seems a bit much. I don't know your float set up, but would suggest that you try what gary said, adjust your 'tell tale' shot. It's an old saying, but still true today, if you are getting bites and can't hit them, move your shot away from the hook, bit by bit. If you're getting bites and don't see them, (or deep hooking), then move you 'tell tale' closer to the hook, again a bit at a time, until you get a happy medium.

Don't leave the rod in the rests, hold it, even if it's just on one rest and the butt on the knee. Use the most sensitive float set up you can, and get a good disgorger, as suggested a 'Slammo' is good. You will always get one or two deep hooked, but hopefully not too deep. Another thing, angling is expensive enough without the added cost of 3dozen or more hooks every session.

 

John.

i allways fish light there its the only way to catch they are wary of large hooks and large ammounts of bait and get over fed very easily.

 

i use size 18's or 20's if im struggling for bites, i have the float shot right down so maybe theres only about 2mm of the float showing so any small touch takes it under and i use very light floats so its not that they are taking the bait so far down before the float goes under they are just very greedy perch.

 

im fishing the day and night there tommorow with a mate of mine, got carp rod and alarm off my uncle and gonna get some light sticks for top of my floats, gonna try get one of the big carp that cruise around that lake(a lad got a 24lb mirror out the other day) and maybe another big perch or some of the nice tench that are in there

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