Due to being a user of fine fishing tackle, rods of cane, vintage reels and nets constructed of ash and bamboo, I tend to lean towards favouring those smaller, more secluded pools. Reed fringed, tree lined havens with lily pads to place my quill beside and deep margins eliminating the need to cast too far. This does not make me a lazy angler, no, quite the opposite. So, with all that in mind, you can begin to realise that having a 15 acre windswept lake on my doorstep really isn’t much use at all.
Yes, its large stock of mediocre sized carp can be fun on light gear, at the right time of year you can employ various methods to catch them, but there are only so many 5lb carp one can catch before feeling the desire to catch something else, something bigger, maybe something prettier. I always knew there were other species in the lake, but with so many pitches to choose from it always seemed such a daunting affair. The smaller pools giving me the feeling I’m never too far away from my target fish.
Recently, however, I've been hearing the grapevine rumours of big roach. It’s no secret that I’ve yet to catch a roach over 2lbs, and the rumours I’d been hearing were of fish this size and more, which at first sounded a bit farfetched, but when you think about how big the water is, I guess anything is possible. I really couldn’t ignore the lake any longer. Last weekend I bumped into an angler who claimed to have caught these fabled two pounders, and he told me about the area he caught them. No guesses where I was headed at the next opportunity.
Friday PM
I finished work on Friday at the usual time of midday. It was warm and overcast, whether or not those were good roach conditions I can’t say, I’m no roach fishing expert, but it certainly felt good. I swung by home first, dropped off a bucket of KFC for my parents who were looking after Jessica, threw the required kit into the car and made my way to the lake. The drive was all of five minutes, and soon I was pulling into the little parking bay.
I was delighted to find the pitch I wanted to fish was vacant and I had just about everything in the swim when panic set in, no landing net head. I scratched my head for a few seconds wondering how to get round this, but there was only one simple answer, I’d have to go home and get it. To be honest it really wasn’t too much kerfuffle, it took me a minute to reload the car and ten minutes to get home, grab the net and get back, I just felt sure that someone would arrive whilst I was gone and nab the hotspot.
Luckily they didn’t, soon enough and only about twenty minutes late I was in the swim setting up. I thought this a nice way to christen the Dawson’s 'Sabina' Paul Cook had just restored for me; I had used it the weekend previous but never caught anything. I coupled this with a Delmatic, attached a 4bb waggler float and a 2.5lb hooklink ending in a size 16 hook. Bait was red maggots, two on the hook and plenty sprayed into the swim little and often to attract those big roach. I knew I’d be wading through smaller roach, and more than likely be busted up by the odd carp, but if I really was to catch that dream roach it would be well worth the effort.
I was casting around 20 yards just past a point in the reeds to my right and with the tip submerged I wound back quickly to sink the line; this helps keep the float where you cast it. Out went some more pouchfuls of maggots and I settled back on my basket full of confidence and very happy. A dabchick was to become very familiar, as were the very noisy flock of long tailed tits that played among the trees above me for most of the afternoon. There was also a very loud bird singing in the reeds, I couldn’t see it, and never recognised its call, but I’d like to find out sometime what it was.
The first bite came after around ten minutes, as usual I wasn’t paying attention, I was watching the dabchick tackle a small fish, looked up and noticed the float wasn’t there. I struck and felt an agreeable pull on the other end, certainly not a tiddler. It darted around shaking its head quite a bit and splashed about near the surface; as it got closer I spotted those wonderful blood red fins. With the net arm outstretched I scooped up the first fish of the day, a wonderful roach, and certainly over a pound too.
Just to gauge a feel for how much the fish weighed I zeroed the scales watched the needle spin past 1lb and settle 4oz past. What a start. It had one patch of slightly odd colouring on one flank, but apart from that the scales were like little silver coins. I was on cloud nine, it had been quite some time since I caught a roach such as this, and being the first bite of the day I wondered what else could be out there, and there was only one way to find out but the prospect was very good.
I missed a couple of bites soon after, topped the swim up with some more maggots and eventually connected with what felt like a smaller fish. Another roach was swung to hand; it was around 6-8oz and was as fresh as the day it hatched. I slipped it into the margin and cast back out. The next bite came straight away and fought slightly differently. This time a rudd was hooked, and what a rudd. Not a big fish by any means, but so beautiful with its rose gold scaling and ruby red fins, gorgeous.
I won’t describe every bite thereafter as this report would then give ‘War and Peace’ a run for its money, but the next couple of hours saw more wonderful rudd and roach tricked, but nothing as large as that first fish. Then I opted for a change of spot. To my immediate right there was a small bay, it was slightly shallower here but looked wonderfully fishy. I knew there would be the chance of carp feeding here as the reeds that surrounded it kept knocking from time to time, but I thought it was well worth a go just in case the roach were held up there.
After plumbing the depth and feeding the swim for a few minutes and made my first cast. It took a few minutes for the first bite, which did turn out to be a carp and did swim off through the reeds taking my hooklink with it. I was prepared for such, quickly tied on a new hooklink and was soon angling once again. A small rudd was the first to come from the bay, followed by a delightful crucian which weighed 1lb 4oz, the same as that first roach.
It was now approaching 6pm, I was mindful that England were playing a friendly match against Peru at 8, a match I wanted to watch so I gave myself two hours before packing up time. It was about then the sky brightened, the clouds drifted off with the breeze and the sun came out. Next time the float dipped I struck, dropped the rod tip and pulled hard to the left, this way whatever was hooked was steered away from the reeds. Into the net went another big roach which looked as though it could be even bigger than the first fish.
This one weight 1lb 8oz and was pristine. Already shaping up to be a red letter day I couldn’t believe it when three more similar sized roach came to my net as a result of the next three casts, I was in dreamland. They were all mint, fought like tigers and swam off gracefully when slipped back into the margins.
The last of the shoal was the biggest of the bunch, at first glance I thought it could be the 2lber I was praying for, it was certainly deeper than the others, but at 1lb 12oz it was still the biggest I’d caught on cane and only an ounce lighter than my PB. Even if the 2lb fish didn’t come, it was still already one of those sessions you never forget. The next cast produced a bream and then the roach were gone.
For the last hour or so I caught a few more rudd, lost a carp and even managed to land a carp. The float dipped and slid off sideways, I struck and pulled hard away from the reeds but it was quite obvious a carp was hooked so I just held the rod tip under the water to soften the blow and waited for the inevitable, but the inevitable never happened. Instead the carp skipped the reeds and swam out into clear water, a few minutes of steady pressure and into the net it went.
With ten minutes before packing up time I was starting to think about putting things back into their boxes and baskets, but there was one more surprise in store. That last cast, the one that usually ends in four casts, produced yet another crucian. It was another beauty, around the same size as the other one and just as pretty. It was the perfect end to the perfect session.
With everything back in the car and a pint or so of maggots left I thought it rude not to return in the morning for another go. Besides, I still had to catch me a 2lber!
Saturday AM
I was up early, 5:10 my alarm woke me and after making a flask, a cheese and pickle toastie and opening my mail (of which I received a delightful Birthday card (Birthday Sunday) from Yorkshire tea with a tea bag inside) I left the house just before 6 and arrived at the swim a few minutes later. Nobody was there apart from a fox, a rabbit, some Canada geese and a blackbird. I settled into the swim and got myself ready with a cuppa and some breakfast.
I set up the rod, started to feed maggots into the swim and whilst giving the fish a few minutes to tuck in I took some photos of my surroundings. Two particularly lovely sights were the bees buzzing around the bushes to my right, in one shot I captured an ant I never knew was there next to the bee until I studied the photos later. The other was a cute family of Canada geese.
The fishing started off fairly slowly, but, much the same as the day before, a really good roach was the first fish of the day, not as big, but certainly around the 1lb mark. I tried both the bay and the tip of the reedy point, up in the water, nailed to the deck, but whatever I did the bites were very slow coming and for some reason I missed quite a few of them.
Then the dandiest thing happened. I flicked the float just a little way out in front of me whilst I reached for the catapult to feed the swim. As I reeled in ready to make my cast I saw something shiny hanging from my hook. Upon closer inspection I realised it was indeed a stickleback, a lovely little fellow with three spines on his back and two more near its pectoral fins which were rigid and very sharp. I was so pleased to have caught that tiny fish.
The next fish to come ashore was a bream. This one was much darker than the one I had previously. I didn’t fight much, bream don’t, but it was another reminder that at a place like this you really don’t know what's going to pull your float under next.
The rudd began to come steadily with just an hour left to go. Good rudd too with one of them looking quite chunky and could have weighed close to a 1lb. They were all coloured very similarly too, greenish bronze flanks with blood red fins, classic summer fishing at its best.
Sadly it was time to get packed away, I said I’d be home at midday to help shop for the Birthday BBQ we were having next day. Though true to form that last cast turned into four and I managed to hook, play and land another carp with the very last, last cast.
I’ll certainly be back, I have no doubt that the lake could hold big roach, I’ll just have to keep plugging away. One thing is for sure, it feels so nice to have such an exciting water right on my doorstep, and the funny thing is I never ever realised how much potential the place had!
Yes, its large stock of mediocre sized carp can be fun on light gear, at the right time of year you can employ various methods to catch them, but there are only so many 5lb carp one can catch before feeling the desire to catch something else, something bigger, maybe something prettier. I always knew there were other species in the lake, but with so many pitches to choose from it always seemed such a daunting affair. The smaller pools giving me the feeling I’m never too far away from my target fish.
Recently, however, I've been hearing the grapevine rumours of big roach. It’s no secret that I’ve yet to catch a roach over 2lbs, and the rumours I’d been hearing were of fish this size and more, which at first sounded a bit farfetched, but when you think about how big the water is, I guess anything is possible. I really couldn’t ignore the lake any longer. Last weekend I bumped into an angler who claimed to have caught these fabled two pounders, and he told me about the area he caught them. No guesses where I was headed at the next opportunity.
Friday PM
I finished work on Friday at the usual time of midday. It was warm and overcast, whether or not those were good roach conditions I can’t say, I’m no roach fishing expert, but it certainly felt good. I swung by home first, dropped off a bucket of KFC for my parents who were looking after Jessica, threw the required kit into the car and made my way to the lake. The drive was all of five minutes, and soon I was pulling into the little parking bay.
I was delighted to find the pitch I wanted to fish was vacant and I had just about everything in the swim when panic set in, no landing net head. I scratched my head for a few seconds wondering how to get round this, but there was only one simple answer, I’d have to go home and get it. To be honest it really wasn’t too much kerfuffle, it took me a minute to reload the car and ten minutes to get home, grab the net and get back, I just felt sure that someone would arrive whilst I was gone and nab the hotspot.
Luckily they didn’t, soon enough and only about twenty minutes late I was in the swim setting up. I thought this a nice way to christen the Dawson’s 'Sabina' Paul Cook had just restored for me; I had used it the weekend previous but never caught anything. I coupled this with a Delmatic, attached a 4bb waggler float and a 2.5lb hooklink ending in a size 16 hook. Bait was red maggots, two on the hook and plenty sprayed into the swim little and often to attract those big roach. I knew I’d be wading through smaller roach, and more than likely be busted up by the odd carp, but if I really was to catch that dream roach it would be well worth the effort.
I was casting around 20 yards just past a point in the reeds to my right and with the tip submerged I wound back quickly to sink the line; this helps keep the float where you cast it. Out went some more pouchfuls of maggots and I settled back on my basket full of confidence and very happy. A dabchick was to become very familiar, as were the very noisy flock of long tailed tits that played among the trees above me for most of the afternoon. There was also a very loud bird singing in the reeds, I couldn’t see it, and never recognised its call, but I’d like to find out sometime what it was.
The first bite came after around ten minutes, as usual I wasn’t paying attention, I was watching the dabchick tackle a small fish, looked up and noticed the float wasn’t there. I struck and felt an agreeable pull on the other end, certainly not a tiddler. It darted around shaking its head quite a bit and splashed about near the surface; as it got closer I spotted those wonderful blood red fins. With the net arm outstretched I scooped up the first fish of the day, a wonderful roach, and certainly over a pound too.
Just to gauge a feel for how much the fish weighed I zeroed the scales watched the needle spin past 1lb and settle 4oz past. What a start. It had one patch of slightly odd colouring on one flank, but apart from that the scales were like little silver coins. I was on cloud nine, it had been quite some time since I caught a roach such as this, and being the first bite of the day I wondered what else could be out there, and there was only one way to find out but the prospect was very good.
I missed a couple of bites soon after, topped the swim up with some more maggots and eventually connected with what felt like a smaller fish. Another roach was swung to hand; it was around 6-8oz and was as fresh as the day it hatched. I slipped it into the margin and cast back out. The next bite came straight away and fought slightly differently. This time a rudd was hooked, and what a rudd. Not a big fish by any means, but so beautiful with its rose gold scaling and ruby red fins, gorgeous.
I won’t describe every bite thereafter as this report would then give ‘War and Peace’ a run for its money, but the next couple of hours saw more wonderful rudd and roach tricked, but nothing as large as that first fish. Then I opted for a change of spot. To my immediate right there was a small bay, it was slightly shallower here but looked wonderfully fishy. I knew there would be the chance of carp feeding here as the reeds that surrounded it kept knocking from time to time, but I thought it was well worth a go just in case the roach were held up there.
After plumbing the depth and feeding the swim for a few minutes and made my first cast. It took a few minutes for the first bite, which did turn out to be a carp and did swim off through the reeds taking my hooklink with it. I was prepared for such, quickly tied on a new hooklink and was soon angling once again. A small rudd was the first to come from the bay, followed by a delightful crucian which weighed 1lb 4oz, the same as that first roach.
It was now approaching 6pm, I was mindful that England were playing a friendly match against Peru at 8, a match I wanted to watch so I gave myself two hours before packing up time. It was about then the sky brightened, the clouds drifted off with the breeze and the sun came out. Next time the float dipped I struck, dropped the rod tip and pulled hard to the left, this way whatever was hooked was steered away from the reeds. Into the net went another big roach which looked as though it could be even bigger than the first fish.
This one weight 1lb 8oz and was pristine. Already shaping up to be a red letter day I couldn’t believe it when three more similar sized roach came to my net as a result of the next three casts, I was in dreamland. They were all mint, fought like tigers and swam off gracefully when slipped back into the margins.
The last of the shoal was the biggest of the bunch, at first glance I thought it could be the 2lber I was praying for, it was certainly deeper than the others, but at 1lb 12oz it was still the biggest I’d caught on cane and only an ounce lighter than my PB. Even if the 2lb fish didn’t come, it was still already one of those sessions you never forget. The next cast produced a bream and then the roach were gone.
For the last hour or so I caught a few more rudd, lost a carp and even managed to land a carp. The float dipped and slid off sideways, I struck and pulled hard away from the reeds but it was quite obvious a carp was hooked so I just held the rod tip under the water to soften the blow and waited for the inevitable, but the inevitable never happened. Instead the carp skipped the reeds and swam out into clear water, a few minutes of steady pressure and into the net it went.
With ten minutes before packing up time I was starting to think about putting things back into their boxes and baskets, but there was one more surprise in store. That last cast, the one that usually ends in four casts, produced yet another crucian. It was another beauty, around the same size as the other one and just as pretty. It was the perfect end to the perfect session.
With everything back in the car and a pint or so of maggots left I thought it rude not to return in the morning for another go. Besides, I still had to catch me a 2lber!
Saturday AM
I was up early, 5:10 my alarm woke me and after making a flask, a cheese and pickle toastie and opening my mail (of which I received a delightful Birthday card (Birthday Sunday) from Yorkshire tea with a tea bag inside) I left the house just before 6 and arrived at the swim a few minutes later. Nobody was there apart from a fox, a rabbit, some Canada geese and a blackbird. I settled into the swim and got myself ready with a cuppa and some breakfast.
I set up the rod, started to feed maggots into the swim and whilst giving the fish a few minutes to tuck in I took some photos of my surroundings. Two particularly lovely sights were the bees buzzing around the bushes to my right, in one shot I captured an ant I never knew was there next to the bee until I studied the photos later. The other was a cute family of Canada geese.
The fishing started off fairly slowly, but, much the same as the day before, a really good roach was the first fish of the day, not as big, but certainly around the 1lb mark. I tried both the bay and the tip of the reedy point, up in the water, nailed to the deck, but whatever I did the bites were very slow coming and for some reason I missed quite a few of them.
Then the dandiest thing happened. I flicked the float just a little way out in front of me whilst I reached for the catapult to feed the swim. As I reeled in ready to make my cast I saw something shiny hanging from my hook. Upon closer inspection I realised it was indeed a stickleback, a lovely little fellow with three spines on his back and two more near its pectoral fins which were rigid and very sharp. I was so pleased to have caught that tiny fish.
The next fish to come ashore was a bream. This one was much darker than the one I had previously. I didn’t fight much, bream don’t, but it was another reminder that at a place like this you really don’t know what's going to pull your float under next.
The rudd began to come steadily with just an hour left to go. Good rudd too with one of them looking quite chunky and could have weighed close to a 1lb. They were all coloured very similarly too, greenish bronze flanks with blood red fins, classic summer fishing at its best.
Sadly it was time to get packed away, I said I’d be home at midday to help shop for the Birthday BBQ we were having next day. Though true to form that last cast turned into four and I managed to hook, play and land another carp with the very last, last cast.
I’ll certainly be back, I have no doubt that the lake could hold big roach, I’ll just have to keep plugging away. One thing is for sure, it feels so nice to have such an exciting water right on my doorstep, and the funny thing is I never ever realised how much potential the place had!
Happy Birthday fella! Another great read :-)
ReplyDeleteMight just see you on the bank soon.
Another great account SK, I've re-discovered float fishing for anything that comes along this close season whilst concentrating on a similar sized local pool, I'll no doubt forget all I've learnt once the river season arrives but still it's been very enjoyable and something to fall back on during floods or the odd mid-week evening session. Keep up the writing it's most enjoyable!!
ReplyDeleteThanks fellas.
ReplyDeleteThis place has the makings of a great water, it just requires a lot of time, and as it is such a lovely place to be, it really isn't too much trouble at all.
Float fishing is so overlooked these days, but I think it's the most magical and mysterious way to fish.
Regards
SK
Re read and thoroughly enjoyed again :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree about float fishing. I can't remember the last time I went and didn't have a float set up. Now, whens my next day off!