The Problem Is.....

I was hoping that there would have been far more in the way of piscatorial adventures than I have had this year.  I would have liked to have been out on the bankside with far more frequency than I have managed this year so far but work has to come first in order to keep a roof over my head and food in the stomach.  There have been other factors which have not stopped me from getting out there, but have made the times when I have a little less enjoyable.  I seem to have lost the friendship of one of the group and their absence from the odd fishing trip I have managed to get out on has been very noticeable and saddened me.  I have to respect their decision though and feel to go into anything further would be disrespectful so I will leave it there.

This time last year I was thinking of stopping fishing for the Winter and planning my tactics and approaches for the warmer months.  I was reading whatever articles and blogs I could find and planning my adventures on the bankside with thoughts of breaking personal best records every trip but as Robert Burns said "the best laid schemes of mice and men often go awry".  I have managed a handful of excursions to the local fisheries and canals this year which is very disappointing and hopefully not something that I will repeat.

Luke has mentioned giving Winter fishing a go and a few other mates have said that they find the colder months far more productive when it comes to Roach, so maybe I will give the local canal a try before Spring arrives, it just depends on work.

Finally....

Sunday 28th August 2016
Ashby Canal @ Moira Furnace Museum, Moira, Swadlincote, Derbyshire

My first session on the bankside for over two months finally arrived on Sunday, and I was able to spend some time just sitting in quiet reflection of everything that has been going on over the Summer.  It has been quite an eventful period in my life, both personally and work wise, with lifestyle changes that were so badly needed happening and a new role at work that is proving challenging and very rewarding.

A few weeks ago I made the decision to shed some weight and get fitter and also to become more active in general instead of wallowing in self pity at the thought of having reached the weight I have (24 stone) whilst shovelling another pork pie or sausage roll down my neck.  I joined a local Slimming World group on Saturday mornings and have to face the scales every Saturday morning, to see how much I have lost or gained over the previous 7 days.  My previous attempt at following the Slimming World plan had been moderately successful, but the consultant left the area and moved her group to her new location, so after just 3 sessions and a total loss of 6lbs in weight it all came to an end.  This time round I have settled into the group and find following the plan easy with the result that in just 5 weeks I have lost half a stone and my confidence is rising with each loss.

Another change I have made is that I have stopped taking my anti-depressants and whilst I still have the odd day where I slip back into the darkness and get stressy, I have learned a few coping strategies which enable me to navigate the gloomy waters of depression quickly and effectively and emerge from them happier and more resilient.  I should have really consulted the Doctor before stopping but I just found myself in a place where I thought I was ready to stop the medication, so I did.

The work thing has been something of a double edged sword though because on the one hand it has given me more responsibility and purpose, but on the other hand it has seen a very much valued friendship stall, briefly I hope.  I'm not going to say any more about the situation, just that mistakes were made and maybe I should have handled things a little differently, but I stand by my reasons, though it does seem to have had a damaging affect which was what I was hoping to avoid.

The fishing came just at the right time for me after a very hectic few weeks at work that has stretched me but I have risen to the new challenges and faced them head on with a new found confidence and belief in myself.  I had mentioned to Luke that we hadn't been fishing for a while and he suggested that we went on the Bank Holiday Sunday.  There didn't seem to be the usual discussions about venues and somehow we ended up deciding on giving the Ashby Canal at Moira a go.  I did the usual reading up on the web and found out that it is regarded by many to be one of the best silverfish venues in the Midlands, or even the UK. The canal is now landlocked and offers over 2 miles of water to go at, though we decided to stay close to the museum because of the car parks. Despite the growing reputation of the canal you'd be forgiven for thinking you had come to the wrong place, there will probably be very few people fishing, which was the case when I arrived at 07.45 on Sunday morning.

Luke, who lives about 4 miles from the museum, had been down to the canal a few nights previously and began to bait it up with a mix of particle baits and sweetcorn and had parked his car on the car park of the local Co-op, about half a mile or so along the canal from the museum.  I arrived and found myself in the middle of a convoy of vehicles all waiting to get into the museum grounds and set up stalls for some sort of craft fair that was being held there.  At first I couldn't see Luke where I thought he was going to be so set off for the short walk along the tow path to the Co-op, to see if his car was there.  Apart from a few people walking their dogs, the only others I saw were two blokes fishing on the far bank on a bend in the canal.

With no sign of Luke's Mondeo on the car park, I set off back to the museum to see if I could get hold of him on facebook or by text.  It was only when I was half way back that I remembered that the Mondeo had died a few weeks ago and he had a new car but I couldn't remember what type, so I carried on with the original plan and sent him a text when I got back to the van.  It turned out that I had been looking for him at the wrong bridge and he had already set up and had caught a few fish.  I made my way round to him and he was in a highly excitable state, very excited and for a minute or so I thought he may start doing a little jig or something.  The reason for his joyous state was that after all of his years fishing, he had finally managed to catch himself his first Tench.  He had been after a Tench for a while and had been most disappointed when I had caught one last year but chucked it back in before he had seen it, but now he had his own, safely stored in his landing net (he'd forgotten his keep net).

Ashby Canal @ Moira Furnace

Luke had two of the tribe with him, the ever present Reece and Cam, and the boys were busy fishing in their shared peg.  Reece is one of those kids who will carry his love of fishing onto his adult years and he is quite an accomplished little angler already, though you sometimes look at how he has set up his rod and wonder just how he catches anything.  His set up for the day looked as though he was after some huge Carp, but he was pulling out loads of small Roach, Perch and Bream with ease, though his counting needs some work on it because to listen him him talk you'd have thought he'd caught thousands.  He's a great kid and willing to learn from everyone though he does have a reputation of being a jinx for me.  On one of our trips everytime he walked over to my peg and started talking any fish I had on the line would come off or they would disappear from my swim for a while.  This resulted in having to ban him from the peg or run the risk of getting himself chucked in......

The fishing was great, though the Carpers would disagree, and we were pulling out a mixed catch of Perch, Roach, Bream and the odd Dace.  One of my best fish was a Perch which was in the 1lb weight range, but having no scales (I really should buy some) this is just a rough estimation.  Someone in the museum has put some thought into the fishing here and anglers have to use the far bank and the joggers and cyclists use the main towpath.  This means there are no disagreements between anyone and anglers don't run the risk of getting their kit damaged.

All in all it was a great way to spend the Bank Holiday Sunday, with glorious weather and we weren't baked to a crisp in the open because Luke had selected pegs that were in the shade all day.  I can't think of a better way of spending a Sunday, though as stated earlier events elsewhere did mean that it was a trip that tinged with a little sadness because people were missing from the bankside with whom I have shared some good times.....Maybe one day we can again.

See you on the bankside.....

I NEED A DAY ON THE BANKSIDE

Sunday 14th August 2016

I haven't been able to get out on the bankside for 2 months now and the strain is beginning to show a little.  The reasons behind the lack of fishing stem from several places, working all week and being knackered at weekends, people changing plans, a general lack of funds etc, all of the usual reasons for not being able to drown a few maggots.

Hopefully I will be back on it over the Bank Holiday weekend and get a few hours in at the Moira Canal, Derbyshire....Unless someone changes the plans again....

Under a blazing sun......

Sunday 5th June 2016
Hunnington Coarse Fishery, Hunnington, Worcestershire, B62 0JX
Mallard Pool

After a disastrous Bank Holiday weekend when I discovered that I had a leak on the central heating system, a ceiling collapse in a cupboard and a faulty gas meter, I was looking forward to losing myself on the bankside for a few hours either through the week when I had no scheduled work or on Saturday or Sunday.  I just needed some time to recharge the batteries and indulge myself in a bit of maggot dangling.  It was going to be a solo trip because Damian had arranged a weekend climb of Snowdon for work and both he and Luke would be trekking up the mountain.  I never feel as confident fishing without the lads with me and even though John and Richard were not going on the walk/climb, it would have been too far for Richard to have come and John's little scooter wouldn't have made it with all of his gear.

I absolutely love this fishery, it was one of the regular haunts from last year and I have learned a lot from fishing there, it is a great place to learn how to fish and has a good regular bunch of anglers who are only too willing to pass on advice, hints or tips.  It has a lovely family feel about it which I suppose comes from it being a family run fishery on a working farm.  The site has five main pools and unless there is a match on it's very much a turn up and fish wherever kind of place.  The only thing you MUST be mindful of is closing the gates because of the sheep that are often in the field grazing.  Other than that it's the usual fishery rules that are the same almost everywhere you go.

The weather app on my phone promised sunshine all day, though these apps are sometimes far from accurate, so I decided to venture over for an afternoon next to the water once I had done my household chores.  One of the things about living on your own is there is usually just one plate, one cup and one set of knives and forks to wash up so that didn't take too long, I threw a load of work clothes in the washing machine and let that run and generally cleaned up a bit and I was ready.  A quick stop at the local Angling Direct on Long Lane, Halesowen, for 2 pints of mixed maggots, 2 bags of 2mm micro pellets, a bag of silver fish groundbait and something I had never used before, a bottle of Halibut flavoured additive and I was ready.  I was also going to try out a new approach for larger Carp and bought a can of chick peas and hot chilli powder from the local Tesco Express, to see if that would tempt them to sacrifice themselves for my amusement.

The sun was blazing down when I reached the fishery and made my way down to the pools and there were obviously quite a few who had had the same idea as me but they were all concentrated on the big main pool, so I went into the field with the sheep and had a look at the other two pools in there. 

Mallard Pool

Only two blokes were fishing on the top Mallard Pool, so I chipped up there and set myself up well away from either of them so we wouldn't run the risk of encroaching each others swim.  As I was setting up I thought it was probably a good job young Daniel hadn't come with me  because he's a bloody nightmare for casting his feeder into your swim if he sees you fishing in the margins on the waggler.  You always know he's done it when you cast the float out and then hear a splash somewhere out in front of you.  Anyway, the hairy beast wasn't here so there was no danger of that today.

The Carp were patrolling the edges and you could see their shadowy shapes just below the surface, but this pool held some big Tench and I wanted one of those if I could get them interested in the maggots with added Halibut flavouring.  I set up the feeder rod and cast out to about two rod lengths from the peg and waited.  It wasn't long before the rod snapped round and I had to grab it before it was dragged out of the rest and into the water.  I didn't have to strike, the fish had hooked itself so it was a case of just keeping a calm head, using the clutch on the reel and bringing the fish in.  Whatever I had on the hook, it was putting up a great fight and took me a good 4 or 5 minutes before I got a glimpse of it under the surface.  I managed to get my new landing net (if you remember I slammed the van door on my old one on the last trip and snapped the handle) underneath it and hauled it in.  It was my first ever Ghost Carp, almost white with the lustre of Mother of Pearl, I had seen them on TV and in books, but to actually catch one and see just how wonderful their colours are was fantastic.

My first fish bought a new PB, nothing huge in terms of weight and I didn't manage to get a photo because I had left my phone in the van, but a very rough estimate (I had no scales) would put it around 2lbs.  Over the next hour or so I managed to catch a nice Rudd and a couple more Carp, but it felt as if feeder fishing was going to be slow with the big Carp high in the water.  Time for a change, so I set up the Carp rod with the pellet waggler and tried the chick pea approach.  At first I had difficulty getting my range with the catapult and overshot the area where the fish were gathering and they disappeared from view for a while.  I must have spooked them, so I reduced the length of cast and fed some freebies just in front.  Straight away the waggler bobbed under the surface and came straight back up.  I reeled in, remembering what I had read in my Steve Ringer Guide to Fishing Commercials, to cast just beyond where I had been feeding in case any fish were hanging back a little, then draw the waggler into the area, thus enabling two chances of catching.

The tactic bought me loads of interest but no fish, the waggler would disappear almost as soon as it hit the water but when I reeled in the chick pea had gone.  They had worked out that by taking the bait and giving it a good shake, it was coming off the hook, they're not daft these fish.  I had to try another approach so decided to start reeling in almost straight away and hope they would hook themselves as the bait travelled through the water.  It worked a few times and I landed another two Carp, around about 3lbs each.  The sun was blazing and I was starting to feel my arms burn after nearly 3 hours under its glare and not being a sun worshipper kind of person I was starting to feel a little jaded by it.  I thought about packing up but as usual I always have to have 'one last cast'.  I tried the same tactic and began reeling in and had almost reached the bank when out of nowhere, a big Carp shot from the depths and wolfed down the chick pea.  It set off for the cover of an overhanging tree next to the peg on my left and I had to strike hard to stop it in it's tracks or I would be in tree roots and branches.  The line was flying off the reel and I had somehow got a huge tangle hurtling along the rod through the guides.  Thankfully the diameter of them didn't stop the tangle from going through them and I decided that the time to worry about it would be later when this fish was in the net.

I had to fight hard to stop it from heading further out into the middle of the pool and just let it tire itself out and just pull it back bit by bit until I could get the net under it.  I managed to get it within range of the net but it saw it and made another dash for cover, three times it did this.  I'd heard Luke saying before that they got spooked by the sight of the landing net bit had never experienced it myself before, but eventually I got it over the net and pulled it in.  I hadn't realised just how big it was, I suppose the adrenaline had kicked in and I had concentrated more on the fight than the fish, but now as I lifted it out of the water I realised just how much of the net it filled and how heavy it was.  This was either a new PB or close to my current PB of 8lbs.  Having no scales I couldn't claim a new PB, but I was happy enough with the catch.  I later posted the picture on facebook and Damian commented that it was around the 8lbs mark judging from the photo, so I was happy with that.

 I'm still not sure what type of Carp it is, hardly any scales on it except for by the tail, and they have the look of a Mirror Carp about them, so I'd say it was a Mirror.

The fight to land this fish in the heat had taken its toll on me and I was exhausted so I decided to get a drink from the van.  The sheep had been grazing around the peg and even come and had some of the chilli infused chick peas off me, but I hadn't seen much of them for about an hour so thought they must have gone off to another part of the field.  Imagine my surprise when I walked around the back of the van and there they were, about 15 of them all sheltering from the sun in the shade of the van.  I'm not sure who was more surprised, me or them.  I jumped out of my skin and they all bolted in different directions.  Most of them were lambs, but one or two of the ewes were there, but they all split up and went flying off in all directions.

After getting a drink I decided to have the last hour on the float rod and so put the feeder rod away, laid the Carp rod down next to the landing net and set up the waggler float.  I'd been feeding the margins with freebies all through the session and within seconds I had interest in the swim.  I finished off with a total of 9 x Perch, 5 x Roach, 1 x Rudd, 4 x Carp and a small Dace.  Now usually I have some sort of disaster on my adventures on the bank side and today was to be no exception.  I had got a fish on and stood up to keep it from the reeds and stepped to the side, realising at the last moment that my landing net handle was there I managed to move my foot back but stood on the reel on the Carp rod and snapped the bail arm off...Oh well It should be easy enough to repair and it wouldn't be a good days fishing if I didn't step on something.....

I took this as sign to leave and packed all the gear away and made my way home, tired, sunburnt but very chilled out and relaxed....

See you on the bankside.........

Stu's Fishy Blog Spot Rating

It's Been Way Too Long.....

I was trying to remember the last time I sat on the bankside and lost myself in the age old contest between men and fish.  I was shocked when I realised that the last time I dangled a maggot was when I went to Cudmore at the start of May, and that despite making plans to go fishing, something had come up and scuppered my plans.  Over the last few weeks I have been rushing around doing favours for others, working away from home or extensively travelling back and forth to jobs with the end result being that I was too shattered to do anything much on weekends apart from sleep and try to catch up with myself.

This weekend Damian and Luke have gone on a works event to Snowdonia and have climbed up the mountain.  It wasn't for me, I don't seem to mix very well away from work except with those I trust implicitly like Damian and Luke, and the thought of being around some who went filled me with dread.  I've done Snowdon before but that was when I was a lot fitter and thinner so I told myself that it was the best that I didn't go, kind of making excuses to myself for again avoiding a social situation.  I guess that is one aspect of the depression that I am going to have to work on more.

I have decided that I will be going fishing tomorrow now, maybe to Dayhouse Farm or Hunnington, just to get away from the house for a few hours and find a bit of peace and quiet that only fishing gives you....

See you on the bankside....

Well it started off sunny...but then

Cudmore Fisheries
Pleck Lane, Whitmore, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, ST5 5HW

Milo Lake

Luke suggested that we all get out on the bankside last week and so we began to find a new venue to fish at the weekend.  He is getting married soon and his partner Jo, wants him from under her feet as she plans everything so he has been given a lot of free passes lately and tries to get on the bankside as often as possible.  We can all see what is going to happen once that ring is on her finger, so he is making hay while the sun shines and building up a bank of memories to reflect upon when the free passes suddenly cease and we are all sat bankside and he is cutting the grass or trimming the hedge on a Sunday morning.

He suggested that we pay a visit to either Cudmore or Furnace Mill on the Saturday and it was quickly agreed that a days fishing was something we could all do with and so we had to chose the venue.  I did say that I thought Furnace Mill would be a little too far for Richard to travel to from Northants, and I knew Damian wouldn't be too chuffed either because the fishery wasn't in Nottinghamshire, although to be fair to him he has travelled quite extensively lately to Northants, Buckinghamshire and Warwickshire for our little fishing adventures so he is improving.  We settled on Cudmore after looking at the website and saw that one lake, Tara, held Catfish up to 65lbs, Carp up to 32lbs, Pike up to 20lbs and Perch at 4lbs.

This meant there would be something for everyone, Damian and Richard could go after the Cats, Luke, John and myself could try and land a pretty decent Perch and there would be lots of smaller fish to keep us all busy.  It was decided then that we would head to what has become the Wembley of Coarse Angling and the home of the Fish 'O' Mania Final.  I was really looking forward to it and headed into the weekend full of confidence that I may break the 10lbs barrier for a Carp.  It was also the first time that I could use some of the new tackle that a mate Kirk James, had given me and I had plans to get my new(ish) 16 metre pole out of the holdall for the first time and see what all the fuss about pole fishing was about.  Unfortunately Richard had to pull out because he had been working in Ireland during the week and wanted some time with his kids, so it would be just the four of us and whichever members of Luke's tribe came with him.

It was agreed that an early start would be in order because with it being a Bank Holiday weekend, there may be quite a few heading out to get some fishing done and so we all said we would meet up at the fishery at about 07:00.  Now arriving anywhere on time is not my strongest trait, a fact that is well known amongst those who know me, so at around 06:00 I had a call from Damian to check I was on my way and I could happily tell him that I was indeed about to eave the house and head up the M6 to the Potteries.  I set off accordingly with that little nagging feeling that I had left something important behind.  As I sat at the lights, waiting to go up the slip road at Junction 2, M5, I checked the van's well in the top of the dashboard and quickly realised that I had left my glasses on the kitchen worktop....Bumholes !!!!! 

Cudmore Map

After a quick turnaround and retrieval of the aforementioned specs I was on my way again, but I had added an unnecessary 20minutes to the journey and the 07:00 start was looking like yet another broken promise to be on time.  I flew along the motorway with the cruise control set to 80 mph in the vain hope I would make up some of the lost time but it was not to be and I got off the M6 at Junction 15 at 07:10, not too bad and certainly not as late as usual, so I was taking what positives I could from the situation.  I then noticed a car ahead with a trailer attached and realised it was Luke and John so another positive because I would arrive at the same time as they did.  I followed Luke down some country lane, slightly concerned that the trailer was going to overturn as it bounced rather than rolled through the many potholes, and eventually into the fishery.

Damian was already there and had been up to the cafe / shop and been told that Tara lake was being used for those who were there for the night fishing and that we would have to go to another lake.  This wasn't really a problem for myself, Luke or John because we were not going to arget the big Cats or Carp, but Damian had prepared for those type of fish with some huge 32mm pop ups for the Cats, huge Size 4 barbless hooks etc.  Now he was going to have to rethink his tactics.

After a bit of a chat about pegs we all set off to the shop to pay and have a look at what baits were available.  I only needed maggots because I was planning on using the Method Feeder with green bethaine 4mm pellets mixed with 2mm feed pellets and a can of sweetcorn mixed in and then one or two kernels on the hook.  The rest went off into the used tackle section of the shop and had a look around before paying and heading to the lake.  John then appeared from the used tackle section laiden down with a bivvy, day shelter and trolley which he got for under £100, so he had a proper little result there.

We all set up on our chosen pegs, Damian and myself at the end of the lake facing a small island with the wind blowing into our faces, and Luke and John around to our left also facing the island but with the added feature of a few over hanging trees away to their left.  We felt that we had all bases covered and had set up accordingly following the generally accepted rules of fishing into the wind tight to the bank of the island etc.  However, the fish did not appear to have been sent the script and for the first 2 or 3 hours it looked as though we could all be on for a Blankety Blank cheque book and pen if things didn't improve.

My old school bite alarm

I had been using one of the carp rods that Kirk had given me and I had found a very old bite alarm amongst some tackle I had bought last year, so I had this set up on the rod pod with the Method Feeder out near the island.  Nothing had happened on the line for ages and so I went off for a cuppa by my van when I heard an alarm going off.  I was looking around to see who was on with a fish when I saw Damian running down to my peg and striking the rod.  It had been my alarm that had been going off and I had forgotten that I had it out.  Unfortunately the fish got away with it this time but I had provided the rest of them with a good laugh which I doubt they are going to let me forget in a while.  After much laughing at my expense, everyone returned to what they were doing and it was around this time that Damian pointed out the colour of the sky to the east of us and which was heading our way.  The clouds were the colour of slate and moving very quickly towards us.  Both Damian and myself rushed to our vans and moved them a few yards back to be directly behind out pegs, I put my umbrella up in the newly purchased extension arms that I had fitted to my new(ish) seat-box and we waited for the downpour.

Biggest hail I have ever seen

The grey clouds got darker and darker, the temperature dropped dramatically and the first few spots began to fall.  I remember feeling them hitting my knees, which were just sticking out from underneath the cover of the umbrella, and thinking that I wasn't getting wet.  It was then that I saw the hail on the floor in front of me and realised that we were getting a mixture of rain and hail, but then things changed again and we were bombarded with just hail, the biggest hail I had ever seen.  The little balls of ice were the size of processed peas, not the usual garden pea size I'm used to.  A quick glance from under the umbrella told me that it may be time to leave the peg for the shelter of the van as the lake surface looked as if it was boiling as the hail smashed onto it.  It was like a curtain travelling at speed across the lake and I had real concerns that they would rip through the material on the umbrella.  The sound of a van door slamming shut told me that Damian had already done one, so I began to make my way to my van as well.  It was at this point that one icy missile found it's target and pinged me in the right goolie and I was left almost doubled up in pain, but then to add insult to injury a second one managed to hit me right on the end of the winky.  That was enough for me and I abandoned my peg and sort of hobbled to the van, where I sat feeling very sorry for myself with a throbbing knacker and sore winky.

The situation around by Luke and John was equally as bad, but whilst John and Luke's three kids, Lauren, Rhys and Fin, took shelter from the hail, Luke just zipped his coat right up, pulled his hat further down and sat like a little hunkered up hero throughout it all.  Nothing it seemed, was going to deny him a single second of his fishing.  What a man !!!!!....When the weather improved and we were all back in our pegs it was time to assess the damage caused.  My umbrella had caught the wind and blown inside out and tipped my seat-box over.  The result was I had maggots mixed in with the corn, my loose pellets and on the floor and so I began the now usual task of trying to retrieve what I could from the mess.  This has happened to me on the last three outings and it is beginning to get a little tiresome now.

Damian had not had a single bit of interest in his swim and he was hoping that the hail hitting the water would have put more oxygen into the lake and might be a little bit of a kickstart for the fish to begin feeding, but we were all suffering from a lack of interest, all except Lauren that is.  She had been fishing next to her Dad, and had been catching quite a few, putting us all to shame.  It was time to change tactics.  I decided to abandon the method feeder and go with a maggot feeder instead, so a quick swap over was called for and I was away.  The results were almost immediate and I soon had my first fish of the day, a small Chub.  The fish were responding to the change as I had hoped and pretty soon I was catching regularly, nothing too big but as they say a fish is a fish.

I have always struggled with having two rods out at the same time, I always ended up getting myself snagged up on the lines and so it isn't something I have ever done with much confidence, but Damian kept saying that I should give it a go and so I fetched the float rod from the van and set it up with a loaded waggler, a new quick change adaptor for the hook length (I've always used snap swivels before but now these little plastic beads are my preferred method) and a short hook length to a size 16 hook.  Size 16 is a nice size if I got into anything bigger than a few pounds but small enough not to put the smaller fish off and soon I was catching on both rods.

In between periods of rain I managed a final haul of :

8 x Chub
9 x Perch
7 x Gudgeon
6 x Roach

30 fish wasn't a bad return at the end of the day and even Damian had a few when he had a go on the float rod so he wouldn't blank.  John and Luke had also been catching and had about 20 fish a piece so it ended up a good day all round.

I have to say that I was a little disappointed with the fishery though, it didn't quite deliver what I was expecting and seemed a little bit subdued.  I was probably expecting more than it could deliver and because of it's coverage on Sky TV with the Fish 'O' Mania Final, I had set myself up for a bit of an anti-climactic feeling, but the general appearance of the place didn't do much for it.  I think with so many lakes so close to each other there isn't much space for many bushes and trees, which I think create a nice atmosphere for fishing, and whilst Cudmore does have quite a few trees around it, there were big open spaces that gave a feeling of it being too open if that makes sense.

Anyway, it was still a day out on the bankside and that can never be a bad thing, and we did have some entertainment when an attractive blonde pulled up on the path behind us and made her way down to where those fishing either 24 or 48 hours were.  I'm not sure what went on but she returned pretty quickly and was in a very emotional state and muttering "F*****g b*****d" under her breath.  Damian said he was going to see if she was okay but when he heard her swearing he realised that it was a domestic and stayed out of the way.  Both Luke and Damian then saw her head back down to someone's swim where she was very animated and stood in front of him obviously shouting and waving her finger at him, but like a real man's man, the object of her anger just calmly sat there and continued fishing.  The next thing we were aware of was a car door slamming, a bit of a wheelspin and the roar of an engine as she sped off into the distance.  I think Wayne (Damian heard her curse his name) could be on short rations this week.

Anyway....See you on the bankside (Except Wayne of course.  He may not be allowed)....

Carp Rating

Carp Anglers - My Observations

In my brief time on the bankside I have come across a strange group of anglers who are a little obsessed by one species of fish and will go to almost any length to catch the biggest Carp in a particular pool or lake.  I had known that there were these strange creatures who targeted Carp, there is always some programme on Discovery Shed with some loud-mouth Cockney creeping around in some lakeside bush or a hyperactive Turkish bloke jumping around in someone's swim, so to be amongst them was, and continues to be, a bit of a revelation.  The thing I noticed about this group is that there are sub-groups amongst them and that two of these sub-groups could not be any more diametrically opposed to each other.

The Chav Angler

Typically attired Chav angler

You see this group at any commercial venue at some point throughout a session, but not for long as they usually only appear for around 2 or 3 hours before heading off somewhere else.  They arrive in a souped up Corsa or similar boy racer car, sometimes in their work mini van though, and usually have some young lady, who believes that she could make it as a model but will more than likely end up on a cheap Babe Station rip off or in a down market lap dancing club, in tow who will sit texting in the vehicle while he fishes.  Invariably he will be dressed in the latest offerings from Sports Direct, JD Sports or rip off Armani E7 clothing with the standard Nike or Adidas trainers on.  They don't carry huge amounts of kit usually a rod, landing net and a bucket of boillies, bag of dog mixers or a single loaf of cheap white bread, which is all they need and they always seem to time it just right to arrive and leave in between the times when the Bailiff does the rounds for the fees.

Even celebrity Chavs enjoy fishing

They fish the same way they try to live their lives, fast and loud, but annoyingly they never seem to blank and regularly catch fish in the double figures, much to the consternation of everyone else around the lake.  No one really knows where these people get their baits or equipment from because you never see them in an angling shop, but they do seem to have an understanding of the fish and their habits and, as mentioned earlier, very rarely blank before packing up and leaving as quickly as they arrived to go to some other venue, local McDonalds or wherever it is that they go.

Another venue where you will see this group will be on a local park boating lake, though the variety who fish there do differ slightly from the others and will have a bivvy set up and may even fish through the night.

The Regular Angler

A typical carpers swim set up

This group are possibly the most rounded and level headed of the three sub-groups and can be found on pretty much any commercial lake or pond though some do like to favour one particular venue and may be a member of a syndicate group.  This group are easily identified by their bivvy set-up which is invariably olive green in colour and includes a bed, camping stove, camping cooker, water container and, if they are planning a 24 or 48 hour session, a cooler box in which they will have bacon, sausage and the other usual ingredients required for a fry up in the mornings.  There will also be a back pack or holdall with tins of things like curry, chilli or soups for evening meals, though some are known to favour the local takeaways around the venue and the one thing that you can guarantee to be present will be a kettle with coffee or tea, milk and sugar for a brew up at a moments notice and/or the odd bottle of beer or three.  There may also be a Carp Chair outside of the bivvy set up facing the lake and within easy reach of the rod pod which will invariably have two or three rods set up on alarms but a lot of them will just sit on their bed in the bivvy.

The smelly spod mix

 They will also have three or four buckets (sometimes with a camo pattern on them) with a variety of baits for loose feeding and one will be a kind of messy semi dry mix for 'spodding' which usually stinks to high heaven thanks to the additives poured into it. (Damian's van is particularly ripe after some sessions)

This group will research each venue and find out as much info as possible about what bait works best, which swims are producing the biggest fish, which rigs work and which rigs don't, how other anglers have approached their sessions and which tactics work.  Part of the fun for this group is the researching and Damian is a prime example of this practice, looking at venue after venue and deciding on baits beforehand, choosing his rigs and tactics and then spending up to 47 hours (as he did at Farlows) just gazing out across the lake.  A hardy bunch who just want that 'big one' but this is often their downfall as they chase a new PB.

The Stealth Angler

Stealth Carper bivvy

This group are the ones that provide me with the most amusement being clad head to foot in camouflage patterns along with just about every bit of their kit.  They are very secretive and give little way about their rigs or baits and go to great lengths to keep any info to themselves, not daring to divulge anything to anyone just in case someone beats them to a big catch.  You see them at the bigger commercial venues like Cudmore or Makins where there are some huge fish, but less so at the smaller venues like Hunnington or Dayhouse Farm fisheries, where there are more pleasure anglers.  This lot are 'hardcore' Carpers and seemingly regard the pleasure angling venues as ones to be avoided but the capture of a 20lb plus Carp will get their interest.

The all important DPM pillow

The inside of the bivvy will reveal the extent of their love of DPM camouflage patterns.  Everything will be a blur of brown, green and black from the pillow on their bed-chair to their phone covers, bait buckets to rod pods,sleeping bag to socks...If there is an area void of DPM then they are not happy.  The funniest thing about these anglers is that if you were to ask them why so much camo, the reply is usually "Because the fish can't see me and get spooked".  Okay, fair point, but then they go and cast their lines about 70 to 80 yards out into the lake....Even I would struggle to see you from that distance let alone a fish.

These anglers do provide me with some amusement though, they'll arrive all cammo'd up, set up their hides (there is no way it can be called a bivvy), sneak around all very quiet....and then like a bloke I once saw at Weston Moat in Derbyshire, sit in his shelter, which has been strategically placed behind a bush, with 10, yes TEN, lines out, and put the radio on.  This group spend thousands each year on the latest 'must have' gadgets and manufacturers seem to know that as long as they finish their item off in DPM material then someone will buy it.

To be honest this post has been written with the tongue very firmly inside the cheek and I mean no malice or offence to anyone who recognises themselves in either group.  It's just a light hearted view on the world of Carpers.....Pleas don't send Danny Fairbrass round to bore me to death.

See you on the bankside.....