Dayhouse Farm Fishery
I really needed some time on the bank-side this weekend after receiving the devastating news that my cousin Kevin had passed away on Tuesday after a long battle with cancer. He was just 49 years old and leaves behind his lovely wife Natalie and his two young sons Nathan and Evan. It is no age for anyone to die but cancer is a vile disease that does not respect age and the sooner it is eradicated the better. Kevin and I were so close as kids and some of the best memories from my childhood involve him like when his Dad, Uncle Ray, took us boating at West Smethwick Park. Ray couldn't swim so Kev an myself started rocking the boat and he was gripping the sides so hard that his knuckles were white and the air was blue with his language, another memory is Kevin writing a ransom note in his tent for my Mom to find so, as we thought, she would go home and leave me at his house. The fact that it was in his handwriting and they would know where it was from hadn't occurred to us, but to make it seem more genuine, Kevin picked a scab off his knee and dripped blood onto the note for added dramatic affect. I am going to miss him.
I had tried to keep myself busy all week after hearing the devastating news because I couldn't let things get on top of me and undo the hard work that has gone into getting me to where I am now. I had been working on the South Coast and doing two shifts per day so I wasn't stuck in my hotel room where I would no doubt sit and think about things and slip back into a deeper depression, so the rushing about from job to job through the day really helped but left me feeling shattered. I had decided that after my last job on Thursday, I would be heading back to Smethwick and home, where I could look forward to my weekend and get some time in on the bank-side and come to terms with everything.
I decided that it was about time I got back to one of my favourite places to fish, the bottom pool at Dayhouse Farm, just outside of the village of Romsley on the Bromsgrove side of Romsley Hill. It is a wonderful venue, perfect for the experienced or the novice angler, situated in a small valley with trees and greenery all around and the kind of place where you can just chill out in the peaceful, relaxed setting and let your hassles just wash over you. It has two pools, the smaller top pool and the larger bottom pool and both are well stocked with a variety of fish. It was here that I caught my first Gudgeon, Ide and Bream on my first session here and I had not been disappointed on any visit since. This time though I was going to do things differently and come out of my comfort zone and not take any maggots as bait. I had been using them since my first fishing trip with Luke back in May, and they had become a sort of security blanket to me. The only time I had fished without them before was when I was down in Cornwall at Bake Lakes an could not find anywhere that sold them and I was forced into using 6mm soft hooker Strawberry flavoured pellets. I did okay that day though by fishing the margins, but this time I wanted to give my method feeder a try that I had got free with the Angling Times.
Aldi had just started to sell their fishing range and so I went for some of the particle mix of maize, hemp and seed and a bag of the green match groundbait. I mixed this up at home and took along some chopped luncheon meat an a tin of Tesco own brand sweetcorn for the hookbait. I got to the fishery and had a look at the top pool but it was packed an very few pegs were available so I made my way down to the bottom pool which was being fished by a local club for a contest. They were more than helpful pointing out which pegs were going spare and so I was set up for a days fishing.
I set up the method feeder and realised that I had made the mix too wet and it was sticking in the mould so when the feeder came out, the hookbait and half of the mix were still in the mould. I plugged away though and just pressed the mix around the method by hand. The only problem with that was I kept stabbing myself in the hand with the hook but I figured a little blood would just add to the flavour. I cast out and sat waiting for the day-glo orange tip of the feeder rod to do something but then realised that maybe I should have watched a video on YouTube or something to know what to look for to indicate a bite. I'd never used my float / feeder rod as a feeder before and my only experience was when I sat with Luke when I went with him for the first time in May. Back then I was constantly surprise when he sprang into a flurry of activity because I hadn't seen anything to indicate a fish was on an I was beginning to think he had some sort of fisherman's intuition that I didn't,, that there was some special power that I had yet to find deep within my psyche that meant I could call myself an angler.
I suddenly had a brainwave and posted on the PIDS Fishing Club facebook page what I was up to and asked the question, What should I be looking for ?....Luke posted a reply pretty quickly that I had to do this, that and the other and look for the tip doing this or that. I read the posts and then realised that I had sat watching the tip of the rod do all of these things and missed loads of bites. Undeterred I reeled the feeder in and recast roughly where I had before, using a marker on the far bank as my aiming point. I only had to work out how to judge the strength of the cast now to ensure I was in the same area each time I recast, but I got through okay even though I was just providing the fish with a free feed.
I had been two hours providing this takeaway service for the fish when everything came together for me and I got the moulded bait perfect from the mould, the cast was bang tidy and the tip moved as it should to indicate that I had a bite at last. I struck the line and felt the fish catch, something I had heard other anglers talk about on the angling shows on Discovery Shed bt never really experienced myself. The fish took off and I realised there was a problem with my reel straight away because everything went tight and there was no run on the line. I looked to make sure that I had the clutch set to allow the fish to run and that was correct but the tension on the line indicated there was a problem still. I tried to reel in and the rod bent right over making me fear that it was about to snap and I would lose everything. I then remembered what Luke had said about making sure the drag was set properly so any activity would allow the line to run freely. I hadn't done that part and the drag was set not to run. I turned the knob to allow the line to run and there was an explosion of line from the reel as it suddenly had the freedom to go, the fish must have been as surprised as I was and it started to run into deeper water. It was now that I made my second mistake an started to reel in furiously and suddenly everything stopped. I looked down to see the line had come off so fast that it had wrapped around the reel and I had added to the tangle with my over eager reeling.
I had no choice but to hope that I had the fish securely hooked well enough to stay on the line as I attempted to untangle the Gordian knot I had created. The Gordian Knot is a legend of Phrygian Gordium associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem (disentangling an "impossible" knot) solved easily by cheating or "thinking outside the box, only I am not Alexander the Great and I didn't want to cut anything if I could help it. I sat for the best part of 20 minutes trying to extricate myself of the problem when I realised that my line had gone slack and my catch had managed to rid himself of the hook. I decided that I had nothing to lose now so cut the line and untangled everything. To say I was slightly miffed would be an understatement and I decided that feeder fishing was rubbish and I was never going to attempt it again. I got the trusty pellet waggler out and set it up on the big carp rod using the luncheon meat as my hook bait. The pellet waggler had been bought for use at Drayton Reservoir when I went fishing with Damian, and had caught nothing with it. Hopefully this time would be different and I would not draw a blank as I had up until now, because it couldn't get any worse.
My first few casts felt promising and there were loads of knocks and bumps on the line and the float would dip and bob as the fish investigated the bait. I was mindful of my habit of striking too soon and waited patiently for a proper bite that would pull the float under the surface. I sat there waiting....and waiting....and waiting and when I reeled in the meat had gone and the hook was bare. I re-baited an this time I added some of the Aldi amino feeder dip I had bought and gave the meat a generous amount of Tutti-Frutti flavouring. I was fishing in the middle of the lake, just on the drop off and in the margins and the activity was the same in each area with line bites, knocks, bumps and everything but I could not get a fish to take the hook. They took the bait every time, but not the hook, and I had never been so desperate for some maggots in my life. I was so far out of my comfort zone and my confidence was rocked by my failure to catch anything and I was cursing under my breath at Damian and his suggestion that I tried fishing without maggots.
My fears of blanking were banished when the float disappeared from view and I felt the familiar pull of a fish on the line. I didn't care what it was, how big it was or what species it was. I had caught something and I could go home with my head held high, safe in the knowledge that it was possible to catch without maggots. The luncheon meat and sweetcorn combination had paid dividends and I had a nice Bream on the hook.
It was getting quite late now and the sun was slowly disappearing the trees on the hill to the west of the lake and so I decided to call it a day. I had got my fish an hour or so earlier and had a few nibbles on the hook afterwards but my timing was off and I was beginning to strike too early again and I thought it better to pack up and be satisfied with my one fish. As with every fishing trip I have, I learned new things about fishing like making the groundbait mix too wet, allowing the groundbait to soak in the moisture the night before and not immediately before trying to fish and to remember to allow the line to run freely by turning the clutch down. Fishing is a wonderful sport that really does help anyone to relax and unwind, but there are some frustrating parts to it, but funnily enough that frustration is fleeting and doesn't last longer than a few minutes until you sort yourself out and calm down again.
I left the fishery having come to terms with the loss of Kevin though I wasn't looking forward to his funeral on the following Wednesday at all, but I as already looking forward to getting back to Dayhouse Farm in the next few weeks when I have a week off work and will be fishing most days.......
See you on the bank-side.........
I decided that it was about time I got back to one of my favourite places to fish, the bottom pool at Dayhouse Farm, just outside of the village of Romsley on the Bromsgrove side of Romsley Hill. It is a wonderful venue, perfect for the experienced or the novice angler, situated in a small valley with trees and greenery all around and the kind of place where you can just chill out in the peaceful, relaxed setting and let your hassles just wash over you. It has two pools, the smaller top pool and the larger bottom pool and both are well stocked with a variety of fish. It was here that I caught my first Gudgeon, Ide and Bream on my first session here and I had not been disappointed on any visit since. This time though I was going to do things differently and come out of my comfort zone and not take any maggots as bait. I had been using them since my first fishing trip with Luke back in May, and they had become a sort of security blanket to me. The only time I had fished without them before was when I was down in Cornwall at Bake Lakes an could not find anywhere that sold them and I was forced into using 6mm soft hooker Strawberry flavoured pellets. I did okay that day though by fishing the margins, but this time I wanted to give my method feeder a try that I had got free with the Angling Times.
 |
| The bottom pool at Dayhouse Farm |
Aldi had just started to sell their fishing range and so I went for some of the particle mix of maize, hemp and seed and a bag of the green match groundbait. I mixed this up at home and took along some chopped luncheon meat an a tin of Tesco own brand sweetcorn for the hookbait. I got to the fishery and had a look at the top pool but it was packed an very few pegs were available so I made my way down to the bottom pool which was being fished by a local club for a contest. They were more than helpful pointing out which pegs were going spare and so I was set up for a days fishing.
I set up the method feeder and realised that I had made the mix too wet and it was sticking in the mould so when the feeder came out, the hookbait and half of the mix were still in the mould. I plugged away though and just pressed the mix around the method by hand. The only problem with that was I kept stabbing myself in the hand with the hook but I figured a little blood would just add to the flavour. I cast out and sat waiting for the day-glo orange tip of the feeder rod to do something but then realised that maybe I should have watched a video on YouTube or something to know what to look for to indicate a bite. I'd never used my float / feeder rod as a feeder before and my only experience was when I sat with Luke when I went with him for the first time in May. Back then I was constantly surprise when he sprang into a flurry of activity because I hadn't seen anything to indicate a fish was on an I was beginning to think he had some sort of fisherman's intuition that I didn't,, that there was some special power that I had yet to find deep within my psyche that meant I could call myself an angler.
I suddenly had a brainwave and posted on the PIDS Fishing Club facebook page what I was up to and asked the question, What should I be looking for ?....Luke posted a reply pretty quickly that I had to do this, that and the other and look for the tip doing this or that. I read the posts and then realised that I had sat watching the tip of the rod do all of these things and missed loads of bites. Undeterred I reeled the feeder in and recast roughly where I had before, using a marker on the far bank as my aiming point. I only had to work out how to judge the strength of the cast now to ensure I was in the same area each time I recast, but I got through okay even though I was just providing the fish with a free feed.
I had been two hours providing this takeaway service for the fish when everything came together for me and I got the moulded bait perfect from the mould, the cast was bang tidy and the tip moved as it should to indicate that I had a bite at last. I struck the line and felt the fish catch, something I had heard other anglers talk about on the angling shows on Discovery Shed bt never really experienced myself. The fish took off and I realised there was a problem with my reel straight away because everything went tight and there was no run on the line. I looked to make sure that I had the clutch set to allow the fish to run and that was correct but the tension on the line indicated there was a problem still. I tried to reel in and the rod bent right over making me fear that it was about to snap and I would lose everything. I then remembered what Luke had said about making sure the drag was set properly so any activity would allow the line to run freely. I hadn't done that part and the drag was set not to run. I turned the knob to allow the line to run and there was an explosion of line from the reel as it suddenly had the freedom to go, the fish must have been as surprised as I was and it started to run into deeper water. It was now that I made my second mistake an started to reel in furiously and suddenly everything stopped. I looked down to see the line had come off so fast that it had wrapped around the reel and I had added to the tangle with my over eager reeling.
I had no choice but to hope that I had the fish securely hooked well enough to stay on the line as I attempted to untangle the Gordian knot I had created. The Gordian Knot is a legend of Phrygian Gordium associated with Alexander the Great. It is often used as a metaphor for an intractable problem (disentangling an "impossible" knot) solved easily by cheating or "thinking outside the box, only I am not Alexander the Great and I didn't want to cut anything if I could help it. I sat for the best part of 20 minutes trying to extricate myself of the problem when I realised that my line had gone slack and my catch had managed to rid himself of the hook. I decided that I had nothing to lose now so cut the line and untangled everything. To say I was slightly miffed would be an understatement and I decided that feeder fishing was rubbish and I was never going to attempt it again. I got the trusty pellet waggler out and set it up on the big carp rod using the luncheon meat as my hook bait. The pellet waggler had been bought for use at Drayton Reservoir when I went fishing with Damian, and had caught nothing with it. Hopefully this time would be different and I would not draw a blank as I had up until now, because it couldn't get any worse.
My first few casts felt promising and there were loads of knocks and bumps on the line and the float would dip and bob as the fish investigated the bait. I was mindful of my habit of striking too soon and waited patiently for a proper bite that would pull the float under the surface. I sat there waiting....and waiting....and waiting and when I reeled in the meat had gone and the hook was bare. I re-baited an this time I added some of the Aldi amino feeder dip I had bought and gave the meat a generous amount of Tutti-Frutti flavouring. I was fishing in the middle of the lake, just on the drop off and in the margins and the activity was the same in each area with line bites, knocks, bumps and everything but I could not get a fish to take the hook. They took the bait every time, but not the hook, and I had never been so desperate for some maggots in my life. I was so far out of my comfort zone and my confidence was rocked by my failure to catch anything and I was cursing under my breath at Damian and his suggestion that I tried fishing without maggots.
My fears of blanking were banished when the float disappeared from view and I felt the familiar pull of a fish on the line. I didn't care what it was, how big it was or what species it was. I had caught something and I could go home with my head held high, safe in the knowledge that it was possible to catch without maggots. The luncheon meat and sweetcorn combination had paid dividends and I had a nice Bream on the hook.
 |
| My saviour from a blank |
It was getting quite late now and the sun was slowly disappearing the trees on the hill to the west of the lake and so I decided to call it a day. I had got my fish an hour or so earlier and had a few nibbles on the hook afterwards but my timing was off and I was beginning to strike too early again and I thought it better to pack up and be satisfied with my one fish. As with every fishing trip I have, I learned new things about fishing like making the groundbait mix too wet, allowing the groundbait to soak in the moisture the night before and not immediately before trying to fish and to remember to allow the line to run freely by turning the clutch down. Fishing is a wonderful sport that really does help anyone to relax and unwind, but there are some frustrating parts to it, but funnily enough that frustration is fleeting and doesn't last longer than a few minutes until you sort yourself out and calm down again.
I left the fishery having come to terms with the loss of Kevin though I wasn't looking forward to his funeral on the following Wednesday at all, but I as already looking forward to getting back to Dayhouse Farm in the next few weeks when I have a week off work and will be fishing most days.......
See you on the bank-side.........
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