Roosthole Pond - 17/05/09

After my epic failure at Bluepool last weekend I was badly in need of a confidence boost and with that in mind I set off to Roosthole hoping to redeem myself, the plan was to meet at my friends house at 07:30 and hopefully have our lines in the water by 08:00. Roosthole is a few acres in size and the muddy water is home to many species including a large head of Carp most of which are low doubles. The water is owned by Horsham Angling Club so I was fishing on a guest ticket, my friend who fishes the water regularly had assured me that he thought we would have a decent day....

Having never fished the water before I turned up with a selection of methods and baits at my disposal including maggots just in case things got desperate and I needed to avoid another embarrassing blank that probably would of resulted in all my tackle ending up on ebay. What I really wanted to do was fish as I had done the previous weekend to try and boost my confidence and prove I wasn't doing anything radically wrong. With that in mind I set my two rods up exactly as I had done at Bluepool with size 8 hooks on relatively short hairs fished bolt rig style, the bait of choice was once again Dynamite baits spicy tuna and sweet chilli 15mm boilies fished with a small PVA bag of trout and halibut pellets. Roosthole supposedly fishes well in the margins so with that in mind I dropped one bait close in and the other rod was cast to the middle of the lake where there is a deeper trough and I could see fish rolling.

Within 40 minutes of my baits hitting the water I had a screaming run on the rod in open water (man, do I love the type of run you get on bolt rigs), this was my first Roosthole Carp and it fought like an absolute demon which I think had something to do with the increased water temperature in recent weeks and the fact the lake had been closed for a while due to work parties. After finally getting the fish on the bank my new digital scales confirmed the fish to be exactly 10lb.

At that point the heavens opened and we were treated to a torrential downpour so I retreated under my brollie for 20 minutes and waited for it to pass.

Within 20 minutes of putting my bait out again in the same area I had another run which resulted in another Mirror of 14.5lbs (my biggest fish of 2009 so far). At that point I decided to bring in the margin rod and fish both rods in the deeper water in the middle of the lake which paid immediate dividends as for the next two hours the action was non stop with a further four fish. At one point my bait couldn't of even been in the water for a 30 seconds when I had a run whilst I was still setting up my alarm and bobbin, I'm amazed the PVA bag had completely melted in that time. The pictures really don't do justice to how thick and solid these fish were:

A few of the fish were showing some battle damage (split fins & mouth damage) from being caught so many times which was a little disappointing but the Mirror in the middle picture was fin perfect and one of the best looking fish I've caught all season.

Just as quickly as the action began it ended and I failed to add any further fish the remainder of the day but I was still more than satisfied, what a difference a week makes, six runs and six fish landed (5lb, 9.5lb, 9.5lb, 10lb, 11lb & 14.5lb). If I wasn't already a member of so many clubs I would seriously consider joining Horsham to fish this water as I'm confident over the course of a season I could catch one of the twenties that are present.

Despite fishing the same baits in the same areas my friend was unable to bank any fish, the only difference being he was fishing free running rigs as opposed to bolt rigs and unlike me he was fishing without backleads and tungsten weighted rig tubing to pin the line down. No doubt he would also be quick to point out the bites/runs he missed whilst busy photographing my fish (sorry Graham!).

Burghfield Blue Pool - 10/05/09

With me not being a specimen Carp angler and considering I hadn't had a decent bend in my rods since I last went Piking at the end of 2008 I jumped at the chance to fish a water that is regarded so highly by so many Carpers in the UK.

For those that don't know the Blue Pool is a Cemex water that can be booked for £125 a day which allows up to ten anglers to fish it. The lake is about four acres in size with gin clear water but is weedy and unlike anything I have fished before and with it's big head of Carp which have an average size of 15lb+ and numerous 20lb+ fish I probably wouldn't have a better chance to catch a twenty this season.

As previously mentioned I'm not really a Carp angler so I spent the majority of the week frantically trawling the internet searching for info and also working with one of the guys I was fishing with to try and learn how to tie my own rigs. After taking advice I planned to fish short bolt rigs (size 8 hooks) with my three Free Spirit X.S.E 3.25lb TC rods and 15lb line. Upon arrival and after drawing number four out of the hat I opted for swim number one which was probably my first critical mistake.

Maybe it was the Pike angler in me but I was convinced the shallow bay at the end of the lake complete with two small islands, overhanging trees and clear patches of gravel amongst the weed would be a magnet for the Carp. I wanted to try and cover as many options as possible so opted for 15mm real fish boilies combined with 10mm pineapple popups fished snowman style on two rods and a single 15mm Dynamite Baits spicy tuna and sweet chilli boilie on the other, each rod also had a small PVA bag of pellets attached prior to casting. I cast one rod towards the open water, one rod in the margins to my right and one rod between the two small islands dropping my bait on a clear patch of gravel a foot away from the overhanging trees which meant it was a simple case of walking around the other side and literally dropping some freebies on top, all that was left to do was to sit back and wait.

Within an hour of putting my rods out I had my first touch on the rod with the single bait near the overhanging trees, it wasn't a good enough bite/run to hit but it was still an encouraging sign especially when this was a completely new way of fishing to me. Another hour later I had my first proper run as my screaming reel indicated that a Carp had made off with my tuna and chillie boilie near the overhanging trees but the fight was over as quickly as it had begun as the hook pulled and I contemplated what could have been. By the time evening had rolled around I'd had no further action but three of the five anglers on the lake had banked fish including a couple of twenties, all I could do was retreat to my bivvy for the night and have something to eat (my second critical mistake).

Just as I tucked into a cereal bar I felt a crack on my tooth as one of my fillings gave way and pain ensued. The combination of tooth ache (plus the migraine it caused), the drop in temperature, increased wind, lack of fish and lack of sleep due to everyone else catching made for one of the most uncomfortable nights of my life so by the time morning rolled around I decided to call it a day and get my tooth sorted but not before I was woken by a goose trying to get in my bivvy and then walking underneath my rods lifting them off the rests causing my alarms to go mental.

To cap it all off whilst I was packing up I had another screaming run on the single bait by the trees and yep you guessed it, just as I was getting the fish away from the snags and under control my hook pulled yet again. What with the tooth, scraping up my car on the Friday, losing most likely new personal best fish and Boro getting beat by Newcastle on the Monday the weekend was rapidly turning into one to forget.

It was an epic failure for me but the other guys ended up with 40+ fish between them which included numerous twenties, hopefully I'll get another chance to fish this water again someday as I'd definitely like another crack at it.

Mill Lake at Stubpond - 03/05/09

Thanks to it being a bank holiday weekend I could afford the luxury of a days fishing and after meeting my mate at 9am we made our way to Stub Pond, upon arrival the decision was made for us with regards to where we would be fishing as the specimen lake was packed out and Plantation was hosting a match. Mill Lake might not be anything to look at but I've been meaning to give it a go for a while thanks to the recommendation of one of the regulars on maggotdrowning.com. The lake is almost made for matches and pole fishing as its a long thin lake with an island in the middle that you could probably almost jump half way to. After a quick walk round and a chat to a couple of other anglers plus some serious cynicism from my mate we decided to fish two swims on the far bank which have access to the end of the island nearest to the car park.

Setup was nice and simple with my Carp float rod and small waggler fished straight through on 6lb line to a size 14 hook. I also had a sleeper Carp rod with a 15mm cherry boilie fished tight to the end of the island, I wasn't optimistic of any action on this rod considering the size of the water and the average size of fish present but I'd paid for two rods so I was going to use two.

I started the day fishing maggot on the waggler close to the island and the 'far' bank and was rewarded with a small Roach every cast, not exactly what I had come for but welcome all the same. I continued tiddler bashing for maybe 45 minutes until I noticed Carp on the move in the small bay/ditch to my left where water enters the lake which meant a change of tactics was in order. At this point I decided to switch to small soft hooker halibut pellets and feed a handful of sweetcorn every cast in an attempt to bag some of the lakes resident Carp and Tench. After 15 minutes of fishing just under the rod tip my float shot under and I was rewarded with this fin perfect Mirror of maybe 4lb.

I persisted with the same tactics for the next few hours and was rewarded with two more slightly smaller Carp (one of which looked heavily spawn laden) plus a small Crucian and Tench (my first of the year). By now the clouds had cleared and the sun had made an appearance which meant the Carp were cruising the upper layers and thrashing around in the reeds in the ditch to my left so I decided to have a go at trying to catch a few off the top (my favourite type of fishing). Setup was about as simple as it gets with a size 8 hook tied straight to the line, bait was chum mixer held in place with the aid of a bait band. Now Stub Pond is about as strict as it gets in terms of rules but I still wasn't aware dog biscuits are banned there which probably explains why the Carp were so happy to oblige with a further three fish in just over an hour of fishing, all of which fought like demons in such a small area of water.

I know some waters ban surface fishing because you get idiots striking and damaging the lips of Carp which is completely unnecessary, part of the thrill of surface fishing for me is seeing that line zip away on the surface as Carp take the bait and hook themselves.

By the end of the day I had finished with six Carp (the biggest being 4lbs), one Crucian, one Tench and a selection of small Roach, not a bad days fishing and I even managed to catch the sun a little, I was a little disappointed not to have caught on of the lakes stunning Ghosties that I could see cruising the lake. My mate who was fishing the feeder (aside from a little surface fishing late in the day) was less lucky, he managed one Carp, one monster Perch and few other bits and pieces but he was also snapped up by a bigger fish.