Lake/Quarry Fishing...Help Please?!

[henda11]

hi,

yesterday i went fishing at the private quarry not far from my home, now i was there for 2 hours straight and caught nothing and didnt get 1 single bite, i was wondering am i to early to be fishing there ?

 

if so could you tell me when the right time would be please?

 

any help is appreciated thanks

[Guest Rabbit]

Hi Henda and welcome

You say it was a quarry you fished, have you heard what if any fish are there? Quarries are not a common place to fish for most people and so I imagine advice would be limited.

Perhaps you can give some more information on the water and what fish you think it might contain

Thanks

[Newt]

Do you have an idea what fish are in the pond?

 

Can you describe how you were fishing - bait, rig, groundbait, water depth, etc.

[gozzer]

hi,

yesterday i went fishing at the private quarry not far from my home, now i was there for 2 hours straight and caught nothing and didnt get 1 single bite, i was wondering am i to early to be fishing there ?

 

if so could you tell me when the right time would be please?

 

any help is appreciated thanks

 

Hi Henda, and welcome.

 

Rabbit and Newt are right, if you can give more info on what's in the water, how you tried fishing it, have you caught there before, and what part of the country you're in. Then I'm sure someone on here will be able to help you.

 

John.

[henda11]

well really im pretty sure its a lake, but people call it the quarry...... ive been fishing there before in the summer and ive caught perch,bream,roach,tench and a couple of carp................ but i have never been there at this time of year....and wen i went yesterday i was using the same bait as usually etc...... i used a float and hook with maggots.....

 

but there is definently fish there becoz during the summer holidays there is fishing club tournaments on

[Newt]

Flooded quarry sites are not uncommon and they do give you a nice, deep lake although usually not overly much food for the fish so populations can remain pretty low.

 

I imagine the water is still pretty coolish and the fish might be deep or congregated in a few spots on the lake.

 

If you can spend some time looking things over and watching for signs of fish movement you will increase your chances. If you know how to plumb the water to determine the depth you can often do well fishing very close to the bottom.

[henda11]

well ive been goin there nearly every summer for 3 years .....but never this time of year..but wen ive went in the summer for the past 3 years ive been catching 15 - 25 fish everytime ive went...15 at the least.....and ive had a couple of 3lb tench aswell which was pretty good..but there is definently fish there...but some guy said 2 me that we may be about 6 weeks early 2 fish there because of them feeding deeper down

[henda11]

would it help if i made the line longer leading from the float down to the hook? and maybe placing a shot near the hook aswell to help it sink further 2 the bottom?

[gozzer]

would it help if i made the line longer leading from the float down to the hook? and maybe placing a shot near the hook aswell to help it sink further 2 the bottom?

 

Hi henda,

As Newt says, you need to plumb the depth, (I've been looking for an article on it but no luck, if anyone can post one it would help).

You need a plummet, or weight, on your hook, and your unshotted float. Set it at the depth you think is right for your swim, and swing it in. If the float sinks, then increase the depth, until you float shows on the surface. If it lays flat then obviously you should decrease the depth.

By trying this in different places in your swim, you can find if there are any deeper spots, or shelves where fish will go to find food.

Then you need to, shot your float to suit. If you want to fish exact depth, then keep the float as it is. Usually I would increase the depth by about 1ft- 18ins, so that the bait is laying on the bottom. Put a small (about No6) tell tale shot, so that it is just on bottom, and this will help show a bite easier. If you get bite that don't show on your float, move the shot a bit closer until they do. If bites are too quick to hit, then move the shot away from the hook a bit at a time until you start hitting them.

This time of year feed a little at a time, not too much. And remember, in deeper, open still waters, if the wind is blowing, you will get an undercurrent. So, even if the wind is pulling your float one way, the undercurrent might be taking your loose feed and ground bait, the opposite way.

 

I hope you can understand my ramblings, it sounds complicated I know. But that is just a rough guide, if you have someone with experience to go with, or show you, it is worth more than any words I could write on here.

 

I hope that helps a bit, good luck.

John.

[goosequill]

'Plumbing up' is essential.

 

When I lived in North Devon, I used to fish a charming old limestone quarry, a couple of hundred years old (the quarry, not me)! After plumbing the lake I discovered most of it was between 60 - 90 ft deep about 4 to 5 rod lengths out. However, the margins of the lake varied considerably between 5 to 15ft and these were the key areas to catching the fish. It was some of the most exciting and educational fishing I experienced, as everything was under the rod tip in clear water and I caught some very good carp, most of the time actually seeing them pick up the bait.

 

If your 'Quarry' is similar then look (after plumbing around) for the shallower marginal areas of the lake - if you keep very quiet when fishing, then these will be productive areas.

 

I did fish it hard during the winter - every weekend in fact the first year I fished it - and only caught Perch by fishing a 'Slider Float' in twenty foot of water. Waters with depths like the one I was fishing took a long time to warm up after the Winter months, but come July, August and September it was simply fantastic - in fact right through until the end of November it would fish well.

 

Keep trying at the place - the more you fish it and experiment the more you will learn about the place!! It may seem daunting at times and you may think 'why don't I go to the local commercial carp pond and at least get a bite?' but your fishing will be improved in the long run with what you could learn from not catching.