Donno 2017

To a day ticket for a change and a local one at donno. I meet up with Colin and a couple of his work mates who want some help sorting there rigs and bits and bobs. We only fished the afternoon on a Friday so if you know the place you will know it gets hammered so there was a few on when we turned up. Colin was already down there when I got there so I just jumped in the swim next to him Colin was not fishing just helping the lads out. I had a chuck to the far margin which is lined with reeds and good spot to start, I wanted a couple of rigs really tight to these reeds so I clipped up and used the distance sticks to be as accurate as possible. I then put out about a kilo and half of boilies along the reeds which took a while with a throwing stick and one boilie at a time, I wanted to make sure they all went where I wanted them well some did end up in the reeds lol. After a couple of hours there had been a few fish showing short of my margin spot by about three rod lengths. I did move both rods and put them around the area the fish started showing but after a good hour nothing happened. Time for a change with the fish still showing on the same area and no take, I shouted over to Colin to tie me a five foot zig up with a little pop-up. He had all the zig kit with him so he soon had the perfect zig ready to go. I only changed one rod over to a zig and put this in the area they were showing. After ten minutes the zig was off with a lovely little common. I soon had another zig tied up and both rods out there in the area. But the weather changed with a few minutes of good rain which stopped them topping, a while after the rain the fish started showing again but this time proper crashing tight against the reeds on my bait so one rod was changed back to a bottom rig and put on the spot tight to the reeds and again a few minutes after the rod was off and this time it was a better fish. After a good battle in open water the fish was soon getting close to the bank and huge reeds on my bank lucky for me Colin was on the scene ready to land the fish.

As usual Colin ended up with wet foot as he stepped out to far to get the fish in the net lol good old Colin. This was a better fish and a good looking one shy of the twenty mark but still a good capturer. Nothing else happened in the next hour so I decided to call it a day and get off, I asked the other lads fishing if they had owt and only one lad had a run but lost it so not a bad days fishing then bonus.  

The Railway pit for the last time.

My last visit to the railway pit before my ticket runs out. There is only one reason why am not getting this again is the bailiff, to be honest hes a real pain. I hope in the future I can return here with my lad and enjoy this place like my Grandad, Uncles and mum that have fished this very lake in the past. Well on to the session I turned up late one evening to find the lake empty which was a bonus as I want to get a bed of bait down on a spot ready for a first light session. I was still in the time limit for the lake as this is a day only water. Arriving at a old spot I fished regular in the past I could tell it had not been fished for a while or someone is covering there tracks well. Its a great spot to fish from you can almost see the whole lake from here. I returned the next morning just before first light with a empty car park bonus for the weekend. The lake was deadly quiet apart from the waking birds not a fish in sight but confidence was high for a bite so I got the gear set up and two rods on the spot. I sat back and watched the sun rise at the far side of the lake, its nice to sit and take these moments in and people wonder why I get up at silly times to go catch a fish well thats just part of the bigger picture. I sat for while watching the water and then the right rod ripped off and I was in to a angry fish, after a healthy battle and one last lunge for the snag on my left I slipped the around my prize.

Buzzing away I lifted the net to have a little look and was surprised the fish was not a lot bigger after that scrap still pleased with my self I left the fish to rest before taking a mug shot. After slipping the fish back I repositioned to the rod on the spot and sat back for a little while hoping to get a quick bite but it didnt happen so I was pleased to leave the lake with my last capture. As I loaded the kit in the car the bailiff turned up at the gate and again asked me for my ticket its not like he didnt know who I was as he said my name when I asked, well I showed him my ticket and left without kicking off lol.

The Railway pit 11-12-2016

One last session before the year is up, this year I haven't been on the bank very much so a bit of baiting the night the before was in order. I baited a old spot of mine with a couple of kilo of boilies to get them on the spot for first light as this is a day only water I planned to get there for first light. On arriving at the lake just before first light I was not surprised to see the lake empty. I got myself round to my spot and got the gear set up, with both rods on the spot and ready to do the business I sat back with a smoke and cup of coffee. I thought a bite would come quite quickly as these fish love there bait but it took two hours to get the bite I was waiting for. The fight started off slow until I had the fish 10 yards off the bank then it woke up and gave me the run around under the rod tip trying to dive for the sanctuary of a near by tree. After a hair raising battle under the tip near the snag it finally went in the net.

The fish was just under the 20lb mark and I was pleased with that so pictures done fish sent back on its way I packed up and headed home with a smile on my face. I have not caught many fish this year so I was pleased with myself for this capture.

Show time

Its that time of the year again show time first up is the Carp Society Show at Sandown. This will be the fourth time i have attended this show and its one of my favourites. I was on the Castaway Pva stand again this year with a new stand which looks the nuts, all the products have new packaging which really pops out at you with a black background and bright green lettering. Once again it was a great show for the brand with the regulars coming for there yearly top up and new customers trying us for the first time. Its always great to meet up with old friends and make new ones at the show.

The next show was the Brentwood Show another great show but this it was a little slower then previous years but still plenty of laughs where had and good to talk to old friends again.

The best show of them all was next the Zwolle Show in the Netherlands, its a long old day with a seven hour ferry crossing and a few hours driving which is not to bad as me and Dave share that part. Arriving on the Wednesday evening we checked in to our home for the week which i can only describe as like a Center parks, we had a six person house which was really nice. We had Yvo our Dutch consultant and Mark our German consultant staying with me Colin and Dave. There was two other german team members with us but they were staying with Pete owner of Deception Angling. Its a huge show much much bigger then any of the uk shows. With five halls of stands there is loads to look at but there is so many bait companies there knocking out cheap bait people love it. You see them with a wheel barrier full of packs of boilies but i have looked at some of them and i would not use them on my waters thats for sure. There is a big pool in the last hall for the bait boats which are something else some of them fly round its mental. The show went very well much better then last year, its was real hard work last year with the language barrier with none of us speaking anything but English but this year with three Dutch and three German guys on the stand it was a breeze for the boys. To be honest me and Colin felt like a spare part on the stand so we had plenty of time to walk round and check out all the gear. Plus a nice walk around the local town a few times a day lol. On the last night we all went in to Amsterdam for the night which was such a laugh with Colin and Dave never been before a walk round the famous Red Light District and a couple of bars and cafes on the way had to be done.

Northan Social time

Its social time five of us had arranged to meet up and hit a water together for two nights. The venue was up North from me so me Colin, Chatt and Shaun loaded two cars with gear and headed up North to meet up with Major Melt himself Dave.  The water is Daves local which he has done very well on after pre baiting with Duster Baits Nutrix. He had been putting bait in knowing we were coming up for a session so we were all hoping to get in on the action. The bait was the key or so i thought but we seemed to get our wires crossed with Dave, Dave had been pre baiting the spots with just boilies which was fine but for some reason we all thought he had been putting seeds in from Duster Baits but he had not. When we tried to order some Nutrix Particle mix we could not get it in time for the session so Dave arranged to pick a nut mix up from another company which i wont name in this blog. The mix is from a very popular company i have heard a lot of good things about but and this is a big but the mix was terrible all the ingredients had been cooked separately and then added to each other in the bag so we had ground nut just chucked in the bag on top of the rest of the seeds. When we spodded out the mix some of it floated which i was not impressed with. Me and Colin have made some great seed mixes over the years and we could tell this was just done by bulk for the market and was not the best it could it be. I only put two spods out of the mix before i decided to just put boilies over the spot.

We had a right laugh as we were all close together for a social we spent most of the first night in Shauns Rod Hutchinson 2 man bivvy well i say 2 man its huge you can get three bed chairs in it so it was comfortable for five of us to sit in.  We had seen plenty of fish topping over the lake and a few over mine and Shauns spots, we were next to each other and both buzzing waiting for a rod to go off but nothing happened i had a re chuck to make sure everything was sound but still nothing happened until darkness fell.

At around seven o'clock my right rod ripped off we all flew out of the bivvy and i was soon in contact with a fish. Colin and Shaun got in the water while i was playing this one ready to net it, everyone was waiting to see what i had on but it was hard to see anything with a thick fog over the lake which we had not really noticed how thick it had got sat in the bivvy. Finally the fish topped out in front of us and i guided a Common over the cord. Everyone let out a cheer we had one and this gave everyone a confidence boost. Me Chatt and Dave got the cradle and cameras sorted while Colin and Shaun unhooked the fish in the net and let it rest in the margin. On the scales the needle just tipped the 20lb mark which we was quite surprising as it looked a few pounds heavier in the cradle.

Pictures where taken and i was a happy man to get a bite as soon as she was back in the lake i wrapped up to the spot (#16wraps) and got the rod back out certain of some more action. Back in the bivvy the mood was even better then before with everyone confident another rod was going to go off soon but the hours ticked by with nothing more happening that night. We all woke in the morning a bit disappointed nothing had happened but with another night to go everyone had plenty of time to get a bite. Not many fish topped that day which was different to the day before and didnt do much for our confidence but we plugged on and had another good laugh the next night. Just as we got tucked up in the bag for our last night Daves rod ripped off and he was into a fish, it had started raining now so i lifted my door to see how dave was getting on but as i did he lost the fish while trying to put his waders on. That was a bit of bad luck but it was a good sign of some fish in the area so may be another fish is on the cards. Nope we woke in the morning with no further action so we had some breakfast and got the gear packed away leaving the rods till last. Well we had all enjoyed the session but it was time to head home i was glad i managed to winkle one out, was that down to the seed mix everyone had put because Dave baited another spot with just boilies to get that bite so it could of been.......... #16wraps.

The Mighty Trent 2016

The Mighty Trent is where i planned to do most of my fishing this season but the best made plans dont always work out. I have only done a handful of sessions due to other commitments so its been a disappointing year. the start of the season was in flood not the way i like the rivers, i know a lot of river anglers love it when its up and coloured but i have found these conditions hard to find the carp and to be honest i have never done very well in these conditions. Am not fussed about catching Barbel the main species am after is the Carp, i know there is some big old Barbel in the Trent and i would never turn my nose up to a good double as they do give a good account for themselves. I find the carp do fight a lot harder and longer then the Barbel pound for pound.
Me and good friend Colin plugged away at it and have both been rewarded for our efforts, we fish the same swim on one of the stretches which is a big peg with plenty of room allowing us to both get in on the action. The man in the up stream swim is the bait man he will put all the bait in his swim and up stream, the man in the down stream spot only baits the margin this allows both anglers to get some action. Usually the man down stream will end up having the hot swim but with only the man up stream baiting up this will allow the fish to pass by the man down stream to the baited area the man down stream is just trying to get a bite from fish passing through to the bait, we found this is the best way to fish when doubled up in a swim.

Colin was the first to get a bite and what a first bite to get, his first river Carp a lovely mid double Common. It was a real special moment and one i am proud to of been apart of. I did manage to get the camera rolling and record most of the battle and it really was a good battle as you can imagine, Colin was proper buzzing with his first river Carp capture. It was a couple more sessions before i got in on the action and slipped the net around a lovely little fully scaled Trent Carp, i also had a double figure Barbel shortly after.

I have to say that session was all down to Colin as he stayed up most of the night regularly baiting the swim up while i got my head down lol. Both takes came in the small hours and we thought there would be more to come but that was it for that session. Colin also had a lovely double figure Barbel on another session, we also had a few bream between us but surprisingly no Chub. I hope to get out more on the Trent in 2017 but i see most of my time being taken up by a new ticket i have which is mainly still waters.

The big pit July 2016

A recent trip to my local gravel pit was a success with this minter of mirror. The lads Colin and Shaun had already done a night and invited me down to do the next one with them, it was a good spot for a bit of a social with three swims close together but still have plenty of water to go at. I found my self a couple of nice spots to fish on, one down the margin and the other two in open water. The margin spot was baited with a kilo of Duster Baits Matrix,

 I put three big handfuls around the spot I was fishing and then used the throwing stick to bait the margin past my spot.  The idea being there will be a long line of bait for around 60 yards to draw the fish to the spot. The spot in open water was also baited with a wide spread of Dusters Matrix fishing two rods with a 25mm Pva stick on each of crumbed Boilie. The evening past and everything was quite so we all got our heads down. My margin rod let out a bleep waking me up around two in the morning, seconds later the rod bent round and I was on it in a flash. After a epic battle trying to keep the fish away from the over hanging tree I finally slipped the angry mirror in to the net. I decided to sack this one till first light not something I do often but done right I don’t see a problem.

 I was well pleased to see this minter in the morning light and very pleased with the pictures.  That was the only action we had but what a fish. The method which slipped this one up was a chod down the margin using Pva foam to make sure everything lands perfect. Well pleased with that result.

Latest up date 2015-2016

Well its been a long time since I last wrote a blog, so here is what I have been up to.




Looking through the fishing files to refresh the memory I release how much time I have not been on the bank, even blank sessions are record and although there was a few of those there is not much to catch up on. The next capture I had after the last blog was from a local day ticket. The session was only a day set with Colin and Dave. The weather was still pleasant to be in and the fish were wanting some grub, the trick with this place is the fair margin as you can only fish from one bank. The fair margin is lined with reeds and bull rushers and it seems to be the tighter you get to them the more bites you get, now don’t get me wrong this is the method most anglers use here so I have been here in winter and filled the middle in for a 24 hour set and had it away just because everyone else was using small baited areas close to the reeds. Well it was an enjoyable set with Dave banging a new p.b. at the time but only after he worked for it I think that capture took six casts to get it spot on and it paid off well. The tactics were very simple and effective, a spread of boilies along the margin for 50 yards and the ever faithful Stiff Hinged over the top, I was also using a Chod set up on one rod to allow me to over cast just slightly getting the hook bait tight to the reeds which got a few takes. We all had a great laugh and bagged a few so a productive session.

The next session was again with Colin and Dave at one of Dave’s local waters for 48 hours. We walked round and checked out some likely looking areas out but we didn’t see any signs of carp. I had a marker set up with me on the walk round just to get a better feel for the areas and check the depths as the water was very low by the looks of the banks about five foot low.

 After a couple of hours we decided on an area to target and all three of us fished on the same bank. There was a huge expanse of water to go at so we could be just close enough to have a little social and all fish safely. We all got the gear set up and began baiting our areas which became a right laugh playing a couple of jokes on each other with the spomb while filming our antics, Dave got the worse of it with Colin opening his spomb a couple of times just as he whacked it out and he also dropped the spomb down to low just before casting and it empted on the floor and opened on him, again good times fishing its not always about catching. We all thought Colin would be the first one to get a bite as it looked like the hot swim but things can go so different to what to think in carp fishing the best plans can go to pot in this game.

The first bite came to me in the night a little stockie but pristine. The next bite was again on my rod the same as the last one another stockie but again in pristine condition, there is some lovely originals in there which is what we were after but the future looks good with the stockies I caught. Unfortunately that was to be the only fish banked this session, another great laugh at a new venue which I will be returning to.

Next it was time for the first show of the winter The Carp Society Show, Sandown. I did this show last year with Castaway Pva so I been looking forward to going. The shows are a right laugh meeting new and old friends talking all things fishing. I have helped a lot of anglers improve there fishing and also learnt a few new things myself its such a good feeling knowing you have helped someone new to sport. I have watched Castaway Pva grow over the last few years and am happy to say I have been with the brand from the start, the team which Castaway have now is amazing and the future looks very bright and so it should be with all your Pva needs covered. There is still new products being developed and tested by the guys, some have been very impressive and others not so but that’s why we test everything so you get the best product possible. To all I have spoke to at the shows thank you for you custom and thank you for supporting us.

I was lucky enough to be asked by Castaway Pva to represent them in the Netherlands for the Zwolle show. I love this country and have visited it many of times. Me Colin and David travelled over by ferry which was my first time for a ferry crossing I have always flown. We had such a good time in the Netherlands and as always the Dutch are very welcoming. Its was an eye opener for us things are quite a bit different over in Europe to the UK just the size of the waters out here is unreal. We stayed in a lovely place which reminded me of centre parks back in the UK. After six days out there for the three day show we where all shattered and not looking forward to travel home but on the plus side it was made better by the Deception Angling lads who had also been at the show. We had a right laugh on the travel back but boy I was glad to get home and in my own bed. Big thanks to Sebastiaan Schuurman and Yvo Klinkenberg for a great laugh see you soon boys.

The next show was Brentwood, this one was going to be a little different as we had plans to fish the nights between show days rather then staying in a hotel. We stayed on the banks of Crowsheath Fishery and tried to get a bite or two, my approach was just to use three rods on singles up to the first island. Unfortunately there was no fish out that weekend the conditions were not great but it still beat sleeping in a hotel. After talking about fishing all day it made a nice change to get on the bank. Another great show and great laugh. Big thanks to Nick for letting us fish his day ticket, well worth a visit check them out on Facebook.

Next show was Carpin On and again we had plans to fish at night between show days. This time it was Bayeswater Day Ticket and five of us fishing. When I arrived two of the guys were already on the day ticket and its was getting a little tight with anglers turning up all time. We had been told if we wanted to we could go on the syndicate lake instead. I was straight on that and got the gear on the barrow. I know nothing about the lake apart from about 90 fish in there and some proper chunks. I picked a spot at the end of the first back where there was a whole bay full of snags and a island at about 100 yards. At the time I only had maggots to bait with as I thought I would be on the day ticket , I decided to fish singles and keep moving the spots just seeing if I could nick a bite. Its was not to be and it was another blank for me but I did enjoy the experience. Big thanks to Terry Howlings to sorting this session and big thanks to Gary Bayes for allowing us on his waters.





So thats about it really I have done six nights on the big pit this year but with no joy yet. Bank time has been hard to get this year but things will change soon.

Linear Fisheries Brasenose Two

This was my first trip to Linear Fisheries, we planned to fish Brasenose One but on arrival the lake was full. There where a couple of swims on the lake spare but with two of us fishing we wanted to get close together. After a drive round Brasenose Two we spotted three swims free on the opposite side to us, by the time we had drove round one of the swims had been taken so we had to make a quick decision and decided to drop in the two swims left. I said to Lucas I wanted to be on the opposite side to this as we had a very big cold wind in our face, now some of you might be thinking well that’s where you want to be but the water was very warm and some fish had started to spawn a couple of days ago, In this situation I would rather be on the back on the wind and if they had been spawning when I arrived I would of headed off and found else were to fish.

Now settled in the swim I went through the usual stuff having a feel round etc. When I was happy with the spots I got some bait out keeping a keen eye on the water for fishing moving and they was moving and showing a lot but all on the back of the wind out of reach. I chucked a rig as far as I could hoping to snag one and this paid off a few hours into the set with a my first carp from Linear a lovely Mirror, I thought it was on and got the rod straight back out but the day passed by with out another bleep I hoped the night would bring a few bites but I was wrong.

This had not turned out like I had hoped but that’s fishing for you my friend didn’t get anything or the guy the other side of me. I will be returning for another go soon I really did enjoy the session its very different to what am used to with how busy the place is, this just adds to the challenge a bit. If you have not been because of this then I would say go have a go its a lovely place. Later that night I had a look at the Linear website for the recent catches and the guy that was fishing opposite me had a great session I thought I would of done better with the stock in the place but it was not to be. Till next time.......

2015 Update

Well talk about being behind with the blogs, I have been so busy working with a company helping them get there business up and running. I have build stands ran there media and became UK Team Manager for all of three days lol. It took me a long time and effort to build a team for the company which I didn’t mind doing as I thought we had a great relationship but boy was I wrong. I was dropped with no real reason, I was told the company feels like its holding me back and I should be working with the big boys. Poor excuse if you ask me, well companies come and go but one thing with never change my love and passion for the sport. I am happy to say am still with Castaway Pva, Soar Tackle and a new one Deception Angling. Castaway Pva have supported me for over three years and I would to take this opportunity to thank David for the support, also a big thanks to Team Leader Paul who has done a great job, keep up the good work fella. Scott Johnson who owns and runs Soar Tackle in Kegworth has also supported me for over three years and I must say Scott is a top bloke if your ever around the area pop in to Soar Tackle and have a chat with Scott his local knowledge is second to none, big thanks fella. Right lets now how a look what I have been up to the last the few months.

I have not been doing as well as I had hoped to be truthful, with bank time being limited due to my commitments for the shows late last year and early this year I have missed out on some really carpy conditions. Plus working full time and having two young children time is precious.



 

The Railway pit has been hard going being 14 foot over 90% of the lake it is taking a bit longer to wake up. The lake is featureless apart from a tree covered bank, bait is usually key on this Pit. Its been hard to find em but its not just me other anglers have been having the same problem. I have had a small Common and Mirror but the rest of the sessions have been blanks. The last week they have started showing themselves so things are looking better. One session the carp where boshing all over the lake but still no one got a bite. The other night I had a run just at time which was giving me a good battle for ten minutes before the hook pulled talk about gutted. This Pit has a no night fishing rule and the times to be off in May are 10 o’clock so at the moment I can get a hour of fading light before I have to be off. The pit is lovely to fish with plenty to watch while your waiting for a bite, this time of year is a great time of the year to be on the bank with all activity from the wildlife.

One of the more recent sessions a had a Mirror just under the twenty mark and thought my luck was changing but to be fair the last five sessions have been blanks. I am sure things will start to change soon and the lumps will graze my hooking mat.

The Big Pit has also been hard going so far, last year in march the fish were on it and I was getting bites every session. This year its been harder to find them with the weather we have been having, Easter weekend I spent two nights with two other anglers and none of us seen a carp near mind catch one the fish showing were bream and the odd pike close in the margin. We all decided to call it a day but when I got home I could not stop thinking about another area I know. I headed back down that day for another two night session with a 15 minute walk to the spot. As soon as I got to the spot things just felt right for a bite even tho there where no fish showing at the time. That night I was well confident in a bite and I was right, at 2.30 in the morning my right rod screamed off and I was out the bag like a shot. I bent in to a healthy fish and had a good old battle till finally she slipped over the cord. On the scales she just scraped over the twenty pound mark what a lovely Common with not a mark on it. With the fish slipped back in I placed the rod back on the spot and sat up for the next few hours there where fish boshing over the spot so I thought another bite was going to come quick, I didn’t happen until I finally fella asleep and at first light the rod was off again. This time I don’t know what I had done while being asleep but I was so wrapped up in bag I struggled to get out and by the time I was holding the rod in my hand the fish had found a snag gutted.

That day a couple of mates came down to do the night but the only bite to happen was on my left rod. There was a problem I had made a school boy error and not turned the left bite alarm on so the first thing we noticed was my cutting through the water in the wrong direction. Unfortunately this fish had also snagged me up so that could have been three fish on the bank. I wont be making those mistakes again lol. The next session was a couple of weeks later and the conditions where right for the spot again so I headed down after work on Friday and got set up. I only had the one bite over the next two days which was a stunning little Mirror. That’s the beauty with the Pit its the only place I know where there is still uncaught fish and some of those will be proper lumps its so vast and sees little pressure, 99% of the fish are true minters no matter what the size. This is what its all about to me the lumps will come along at some point but until then am happy catching these minter doubles and low twentys. I will be spending a lot of time on here this year.

The Railway Pit

Continuing from the last Railway update things have been great on this water when I have turned up to fish most of the time I have had the lake to myself. A recent session I had one rip off with a another 20lb+ Mirror but as I was sorting the mat and camera out the other rod ripped of making this the third double take on the lake. When I picked the rod up I knew straight away this was different to everything else I had hooked, taking forty yards of line from me before I could get the fish turned and once I did it was a slow plod all the way in. There is a big snag to left and you guessed it the fish headed for this and there was nothing I could do, the fish was in the snag and stuck solid. I had no other choice but to put the rod back on the rest and slack the line off hoping the fish would come free or at least allow the fish to get off so I could pull for a break, the last thing you want to do is damage the fish if this means losing one of the biggest or could well of been the biggest fish in the lake then so be it. All this time I still had the other fish sat in the net so I got the gear sorted and pictured the fish, on the return of the fish my line tightened up on the other rod. I picked the rod up and the fish boiled up on the top about ten yards away from me, I got the fish just in front of the net when it boiled up on the top, I could see this huge Common and the hook dropped out. The hook had been straightened which must of happened in the snag to say I was gutted was an understatement. This was the last time I fished the pit but I will be returning soon.....

Spinney Pool update

I have not been on Spinney Pool that much but the sessions I have had have been very enjoyable. The first was a quick overnighter with my lad, mostly float fishing in the evening and first light. I did put a couple rods out on singles for the night time but nothing happened there. Still it was a very enjoyable session fishing with the lad.

The next trip was with a good friend of mine Colin, we both work for the same fishing companies and been friends since school. He started things off with a bang with a lovely Spinney Common.

Shortly after I was in with another Common then things went quite over night until the morning when I was in with a lovely Mirror.

The next two hours it went mental Colin bagged a cracking Mirror then I had a double take with two minter Commons.

Then I had another Mirror followed by another Common which is a special fish, I first caught this one just under a year ago and was pleased to see it was up another 4lb in weight which is great news. All in all a mad morning and very much enjoyed by both of us.....

Me and Colin returned a month later with some new gear from Star-Flite Stainless to try out.

Things did look good for a couple of bites and it was not long before one of the rods ripped off, unfortunately I lost this fish after it had weeded me up twice and then headed to a set of lily’s in the margin where it stuffed me. Its was not long before Colin was in with a lovely Mirror. This is a fish Colin has called Maggie as he has caught it three times this year plus I have had it once, she loves the grub which has tipped her over the 20 mark that’s another new 20 this year.

The next session me and Colin helped out a couple of new members with spots and rigs and managed to bag a fish each, the first one fell to me after casting to bubbles it only took a few minutes till the rod ripped off with a another stunning Spinney Common.

While I was playing this one we both spotted a couple of fish showing at the other end of the lake. After the fish was returned safely we both moved the gear to the other end of the lake. After a couple of minutes of being in the spot Colin's rod was off with a lovely little Common.

This was the end of a short session and both us were very happy on the drive back home satisfied with a couple of captures and the fact we have both been able to pass our knowledge on. A couple of weeks after this session Colin was involved in a serious accident and will not be returning to bank this year so I hope you all join me in wishing him a speedy recovery.


The last time I visited Spinney was for a 24 hour session, I turned up to find I had the lake to myself once again but the light was fading fast so I just got the gear out and set up in one of the corners for the night. I was up at first light watching the water for any signs, this paid off as I spotted two shows at the other end of the lake so the gear was on the barrow and round to the new spot. I made a brew before I put the rods out and then there was another show, I got the rods off the barrow and dropped a couple of singles around the area. It was minutes before the first take from the spot, a lovely Common to start me off.

There was still fish in the area so I got both rods back on the spot and sat back with a fresh brew. About half hour the other rod ripped off with a stunning moon scale Mirror one I have caught before last winter, this is another fish putting on the weight again 4lb bigger then last year. It wont be long before this one hits 20lb......