http://www.bakelakes.co.uk/
I've just had a week down in Cornwall & Devon with work and I managed to get a few hours on the bank-side at a great little fishery just off the A38 at Trerulefoot, Cornwall. I had planned on getting out earlier in the week when I was down in Falmouth, but the weather on the Tuesday was rather nasty and so I was forced to spend the day stuck in my hotel room going stir crazy and climbing the walls. I had to make do with scouring the internet to see if there were any local tackle and bait shops where I could get my maggots but the only shops I could find were mainly sea fishing places. Undeterred I found a fishing lake not far from Saltash, that the website I was using said that the fishery sold bait as well and as I was due to head that way the next day on my way to Plymouth it seemed the perfect answer to my problems.
I had been given an old float rod by Shaun Hartley, and I was planning on using this on my trip. It is a big old rod with brass connectors and the reel is held in place by just two rings which are pushed tightly over the reel foot. Because I am new to fishing I have only used rods that have reel seats that screw down to hold the reel in place so I was looking forward to using something different for a change.
I arrived at the fishery after driving down some of the narrowest lanes I have ever been down with the hedgerows whipping the van and in places grass growing through the tarmac because no-one had driven down there for years. After navigating the lanes and finally coming out on some decent roads I saw the fishery signs and followed them to my destination. The lake at Trewandra Farm is a wonderfully secluded place and there were a few carpers fishing there but unfortunately I was unable to join them because despite what the website I found the venue on said, there was no tackle and bait shop on site. I was forced to look elsewhere for bait and headed into Saltash where the closest tackle shop was and so set off, mindful that every minute spent sat behind a caravan on the A38 was a minute lost on the bank-side. I found the shop on a side street just off the main shopping street and took my bait box down to make my purchase of some juicy red and bronze mixed maggots. As I got through the door the owner reeled off a list of baits available which were all for sea fishing and when I said I wanted maggots he told me that he didn't keep them because he had no space for them. I was gutted, he had every bait available for Carp, he had spod mix, boillies, pop ups, pellets of every size but no maggots and I was starting to think I wasn't going to get any fishing done. The owner told me I might have more luck up at Bake Lakes where he was sure they sold maggots, and gave me directions to the lake.
Armed with a new confidence that I was going to manage to get a few hours fishing done I set off for this new venue and headed back into Cornwall along the A38, and followed the directions to the Bake Lakes. I found the lakes easily enough and made my way into the cabin to pay for my day ticket and purchase some elusive maggots. I asked the young lad who took my money for a pint of his finest only to be told he had sold out. I couldn't believe it, do the Cornish have something against maggots or something ? He was helpful though and told me that if I used micro pellets to attract the fish into the edge and fished the margins with soft hooker pellets I'd definitely catch. I only had Strawberry flavour soft hookers and a few Krill flavoured with me and apart from the very first fishing trip I'd made with Luke back in May, they hadn't been of any use. I trudged off to my peg on the Dunes Lake convinced that I was going to blank, but rather than dwell on the negative I looked at the situation from a positive and remembered that I got to sit on the bank-side while Luke would be stuck in the office. I would be out in the sunshine while others would either be sleeping after a night shift, sat in traffic in their van or stuck in a sterile office environment.
I set up the 10' float rod at first to see what I could do in the margins but before getting any gear out I dug out the 4mm micro pellets that Damian had given me at Woodhall Lakes a few weeks ago and threw a few handfuls into the areas I was going to try. The fish were all over them as soon as they hit the water and from what I could see here were some right big lumps patrolling the edges. I set up the peg with everything to hand and made my first cast into the area just to the right of where I had fed. I had watched Tight Lines on Sky a few weeks ago and they said that the undertow in the lake would always work opposite to the wind direction so any food introduced to the swim would move opposite to the wind. Not fully understanding how this would work I dropped the first fruity flavoured pellet into the swim and waited. Within seconds there was activity on the hook and it disappeared a few times, returning straight away to the surface. Luke and Damian have been telling me for weeks that I was striking too early, so this time I waited before doing anything and my first strike produced a little Roach. With one fish under my belt I felt confident enough to carry on using the flavoured pellets, armed with the knowledge and satisfaction that I wasn't going to blank.
I was using one of the reels that I had bought from a colleague with 10lb line because after seeing the size of some of the fish I was a little concerned that I'd end up getting a lot of line snaps, so I went for a heavier brown line on the waggler because the lack of maggots meant that I wouldn't be using the feeder rod which I had planned on. My only concern were the hooks to nylon I had because the line on those were no more than 6lb and if anything heavy got on the hook it would be there that it snapped. I managed to get myself in allsorts of tangles and spent a lot of time trying to sort my line out rather than fishing, so I decided to get the old float rod out that Shaun had given me. I also decided to use the Carp reel that Luke had given me when I first started fishing. That also had a heavier line and I set everything up with two float stops, a waggler in a float adaptor in case I wanted to swap, between them down to a No 16 Snap Swivel and a Size 14 hook on a 8" lead. To make sure the line dropped I used 4 x No 8 Stotz and I was ready to go after plumbing the depths to ensure I was presenting correctly and not fishing too shallow or too deep.
My first cast with the new rod was a bit of a surprise because the rod was so heavy compared to the modern carbon rods I've been using and the reel seat took quite a bit of getting used to, but it's action when casting was wonderful and I hit the spot that I had been aiming for. It took a while for things to settle and I fought the temptation to reel in and cast again, not letting my impatience get the better of me which is something I find myself doing now and again. The float was dipping and rising but there was no sure indication of a bite and again I had to fight the urge to strike too early and my patience was rewarded when the float disappeared under the surface so I counted to three and then struck. I had a fish on and he was a big one compared to my usual catches of small Perch and Roach. I had so much to remember to get this one landed and I was a little nervous with no Damian, Luke or Richard there to guide and advise me. I let the fish run a little on the clutch and then dipped the rod slowly as I wound the line in at the same rate, when the tip of the rod touched the water I stopped winding and slowly lifted the end of the rod and repeated the process again, letting the fish have a bit more line off the clutch, reeling him closer to the surface until I could see the head. I played the fish for no more than 3 or 4 minutes but it felt like a lifetime as I tried to steer it towards the safety of the landing net and the bank-side. The fish gave one last flick of his tail but it was tired and soon in the net and on the bank-side with me. I had landed a nice 2lb Common Carp and was more than pleased with myself.
The rod was so heavy and after about 30 minutes my arm was beginning to ache but the pellets were working for once and I was catching a lot of small silvers from the margins so the aching was quickly forgotten. I had planned on leaving around 3.30pm and as the clock crept slowly towards 3pm my rod went mad and the line started flying out. I managed to grab the rod and felt the pull of something big as it raced out towards the open water. It had all happened so fast, the float moved slightly and was then gone in a heartbeat. I pulled the rod up to try and slow whatever was on the end down, but remembered that I was losing a lot of fish that way in previous weeks and I dropped the tip slowly and began reeling in. The fish made a dash for the reeds on the left of the peg so I moved the rod to the right, keeping it level so the fish would be forced up; it then made a dash for the reeds on the right so I moved the rod accordingly and I caught a glimpse of the beast....It was a Mirror Carp and looked bigger than the earlier Common.
My personal best for a Mirror was 1lb 8oz, which I had caught at Friezeland Lakes back in May and I already knew this was a lot bigger, so I had now put pressure on myself to get this one landed. The fish was fighting and thrashing around as I got it closer to the bank and it made a dash for the safety of the underside of the wooden platform in the peg, but instinctively I lifted the end of the rod and stopped it from reaching it. The fish now surfaced and was on it's side, but having watched Luke and Damian when landing a Carp I knew that there was a chance it would find enough energy to go at anytime so I was careful not to let my guard down. The fish rolled and made a dash for the open water with a powerful kick that almost caught me out. I let it run with the clutch for about 20 yards but I knew that it was finished now and after reeling it in I soon had my landing net underneath it and it was on the bank. It was a 4lb Mirror and I had smashed my PB.
The fact that I had landed the fish myself, hadn't panicked and had to rely on others to land the fish like my previous bigger fish sent my confidence through the roof. I felt so good about myself and what I had achieved that it turned my week around. Up until that point it had been a bit of a grind and I was struggling with a few things because of issues at work with the installs I was working on, the fact that I was away from home and had forgotten a letter I needed to book a speed awareness course. They weren't major issues but collectively they were starting to get to me and I could feel the familiar signs of things getting on top of me appearing. The session at Bake Lakes put a stop to all of those feelings and I started to look at things positively again and stop worrying about things that I had no control over and really didn't matter that much in the long run.
One last cast got me onto another Common, but this time it was smaller at 1lb 8oz and I ended the day with two Commons, one Mirror and nine Roach. Not bad for a session well out of my comfort zone, with just Strawberry and Seafood flavoured pellets for bait.
See you on the bank-side....
I had been given an old float rod by Shaun Hartley, and I was planning on using this on my trip. It is a big old rod with brass connectors and the reel is held in place by just two rings which are pushed tightly over the reel foot. Because I am new to fishing I have only used rods that have reel seats that screw down to hold the reel in place so I was looking forward to using something different for a change.
I arrived at the fishery after driving down some of the narrowest lanes I have ever been down with the hedgerows whipping the van and in places grass growing through the tarmac because no-one had driven down there for years. After navigating the lanes and finally coming out on some decent roads I saw the fishery signs and followed them to my destination. The lake at Trewandra Farm is a wonderfully secluded place and there were a few carpers fishing there but unfortunately I was unable to join them because despite what the website I found the venue on said, there was no tackle and bait shop on site. I was forced to look elsewhere for bait and headed into Saltash where the closest tackle shop was and so set off, mindful that every minute spent sat behind a caravan on the A38 was a minute lost on the bank-side. I found the shop on a side street just off the main shopping street and took my bait box down to make my purchase of some juicy red and bronze mixed maggots. As I got through the door the owner reeled off a list of baits available which were all for sea fishing and when I said I wanted maggots he told me that he didn't keep them because he had no space for them. I was gutted, he had every bait available for Carp, he had spod mix, boillies, pop ups, pellets of every size but no maggots and I was starting to think I wasn't going to get any fishing done. The owner told me I might have more luck up at Bake Lakes where he was sure they sold maggots, and gave me directions to the lake.
Armed with a new confidence that I was going to manage to get a few hours fishing done I set off for this new venue and headed back into Cornwall along the A38, and followed the directions to the Bake Lakes. I found the lakes easily enough and made my way into the cabin to pay for my day ticket and purchase some elusive maggots. I asked the young lad who took my money for a pint of his finest only to be told he had sold out. I couldn't believe it, do the Cornish have something against maggots or something ? He was helpful though and told me that if I used micro pellets to attract the fish into the edge and fished the margins with soft hooker pellets I'd definitely catch. I only had Strawberry flavour soft hookers and a few Krill flavoured with me and apart from the very first fishing trip I'd made with Luke back in May, they hadn't been of any use. I trudged off to my peg on the Dunes Lake convinced that I was going to blank, but rather than dwell on the negative I looked at the situation from a positive and remembered that I got to sit on the bank-side while Luke would be stuck in the office. I would be out in the sunshine while others would either be sleeping after a night shift, sat in traffic in their van or stuck in a sterile office environment.
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| My swim on the Dunes Lake |
I set up the 10' float rod at first to see what I could do in the margins but before getting any gear out I dug out the 4mm micro pellets that Damian had given me at Woodhall Lakes a few weeks ago and threw a few handfuls into the areas I was going to try. The fish were all over them as soon as they hit the water and from what I could see here were some right big lumps patrolling the edges. I set up the peg with everything to hand and made my first cast into the area just to the right of where I had fed. I had watched Tight Lines on Sky a few weeks ago and they said that the undertow in the lake would always work opposite to the wind direction so any food introduced to the swim would move opposite to the wind. Not fully understanding how this would work I dropped the first fruity flavoured pellet into the swim and waited. Within seconds there was activity on the hook and it disappeared a few times, returning straight away to the surface. Luke and Damian have been telling me for weeks that I was striking too early, so this time I waited before doing anything and my first strike produced a little Roach. With one fish under my belt I felt confident enough to carry on using the flavoured pellets, armed with the knowledge and satisfaction that I wasn't going to blank.
I was using one of the reels that I had bought from a colleague with 10lb line because after seeing the size of some of the fish I was a little concerned that I'd end up getting a lot of line snaps, so I went for a heavier brown line on the waggler because the lack of maggots meant that I wouldn't be using the feeder rod which I had planned on. My only concern were the hooks to nylon I had because the line on those were no more than 6lb and if anything heavy got on the hook it would be there that it snapped. I managed to get myself in allsorts of tangles and spent a lot of time trying to sort my line out rather than fishing, so I decided to get the old float rod out that Shaun had given me. I also decided to use the Carp reel that Luke had given me when I first started fishing. That also had a heavier line and I set everything up with two float stops, a waggler in a float adaptor in case I wanted to swap, between them down to a No 16 Snap Swivel and a Size 14 hook on a 8" lead. To make sure the line dropped I used 4 x No 8 Stotz and I was ready to go after plumbing the depths to ensure I was presenting correctly and not fishing too shallow or too deep.
My first cast with the new rod was a bit of a surprise because the rod was so heavy compared to the modern carbon rods I've been using and the reel seat took quite a bit of getting used to, but it's action when casting was wonderful and I hit the spot that I had been aiming for. It took a while for things to settle and I fought the temptation to reel in and cast again, not letting my impatience get the better of me which is something I find myself doing now and again. The float was dipping and rising but there was no sure indication of a bite and again I had to fight the urge to strike too early and my patience was rewarded when the float disappeared under the surface so I counted to three and then struck. I had a fish on and he was a big one compared to my usual catches of small Perch and Roach. I had so much to remember to get this one landed and I was a little nervous with no Damian, Luke or Richard there to guide and advise me. I let the fish run a little on the clutch and then dipped the rod slowly as I wound the line in at the same rate, when the tip of the rod touched the water I stopped winding and slowly lifted the end of the rod and repeated the process again, letting the fish have a bit more line off the clutch, reeling him closer to the surface until I could see the head. I played the fish for no more than 3 or 4 minutes but it felt like a lifetime as I tried to steer it towards the safety of the landing net and the bank-side. The fish gave one last flick of his tail but it was tired and soon in the net and on the bank-side with me. I had landed a nice 2lb Common Carp and was more than pleased with myself.
 |
| 2lb Common Carp |
The rod was so heavy and after about 30 minutes my arm was beginning to ache but the pellets were working for once and I was catching a lot of small silvers from the margins so the aching was quickly forgotten. I had planned on leaving around 3.30pm and as the clock crept slowly towards 3pm my rod went mad and the line started flying out. I managed to grab the rod and felt the pull of something big as it raced out towards the open water. It had all happened so fast, the float moved slightly and was then gone in a heartbeat. I pulled the rod up to try and slow whatever was on the end down, but remembered that I was losing a lot of fish that way in previous weeks and I dropped the tip slowly and began reeling in. The fish made a dash for the reeds on the left of the peg so I moved the rod to the right, keeping it level so the fish would be forced up; it then made a dash for the reeds on the right so I moved the rod accordingly and I caught a glimpse of the beast....It was a Mirror Carp and looked bigger than the earlier Common.
My personal best for a Mirror was 1lb 8oz, which I had caught at Friezeland Lakes back in May and I already knew this was a lot bigger, so I had now put pressure on myself to get this one landed. The fish was fighting and thrashing around as I got it closer to the bank and it made a dash for the safety of the underside of the wooden platform in the peg, but instinctively I lifted the end of the rod and stopped it from reaching it. The fish now surfaced and was on it's side, but having watched Luke and Damian when landing a Carp I knew that there was a chance it would find enough energy to go at anytime so I was careful not to let my guard down. The fish rolled and made a dash for the open water with a powerful kick that almost caught me out. I let it run with the clutch for about 20 yards but I knew that it was finished now and after reeling it in I soon had my landing net underneath it and it was on the bank. It was a 4lb Mirror and I had smashed my PB.
 |
| 4lb Mirror Carp |
The fact that I had landed the fish myself, hadn't panicked and had to rely on others to land the fish like my previous bigger fish sent my confidence through the roof. I felt so good about myself and what I had achieved that it turned my week around. Up until that point it had been a bit of a grind and I was struggling with a few things because of issues at work with the installs I was working on, the fact that I was away from home and had forgotten a letter I needed to book a speed awareness course. They weren't major issues but collectively they were starting to get to me and I could feel the familiar signs of things getting on top of me appearing. The session at Bake Lakes put a stop to all of those feelings and I started to look at things positively again and stop worrying about things that I had no control over and really didn't matter that much in the long run.
 |
| 1lb 8oz Common Carp |
One last cast got me onto another Common, but this time it was smaller at 1lb 8oz and I ended the day with two Commons, one Mirror and nine Roach. Not bad for a session well out of my comfort zone, with just Strawberry and Seafood flavoured pellets for bait.
See you on the bank-side....
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