Readers Lake - 19/11/09

I arrived at the lake at 08:00 to find two other anglers already fishing but thankfully my favourite swim (13) was still free. I set up a small Porkies elasticated method feeder as usual but this time I incorporated a small piece of tungsten tubing into my rig to help pin the mainline down in the choppy conditions. The bait of choice was the ever reliable three grains of corn on a hair which has been responsible for catching me more fish than I can remember at Readers this year.

Because of the wind I set the tip so it was almost touching the water and waited for the inevitable wrap round bite that usually happens when fishing the method. Within half an hour of dropping my feeder near the island I was into my first Carp of the day, the Carp in Readers had certainly been getting themselves ready for winter as though it only weighed 4 lb it was solid and fought like a fish of twice its size.

For regular readers of this blog you may recall me catching a new personal best Crucian from Readers a few weeks back and my second fish of the day broke my P.B yet again with this 1 lb 6 ounce specimen.

From that point on bites and fish came thick and fast and I decided to call it a day at 14:00 having caught six Carp to 11 lb plus one Crucian, not a bad haul for six hours fishing especially when the two other anglers on the lake had only managed one Carp between them.

The one disappointment of the day was that I also lost a decent Tench at the net but that's fishing I guess.

Roosthole Pond - 14/11/09

Roosthole has definitely become one of my favourite waters this season so I didn't need to be asked twice when my friend invited me to fish there on the 14th of November.

I woke up Saturday morning to find the South East being battered by 50 mph winds and torrential rain as the first storm of the year hit the UK. After a quick glance outside and a text from my mate we decided to chance it, it should be good for a laugh even if we didn't catch.

No sooner had we arrived at the lake we were hit with a hail storm as well as thunder and lightening, it was hardly surprising to see no one else at the lake (only lunatics would fish in this weather!) but at least we would get our favourite swims.

I went with a standard bolt rig but as the weather was cooling down I decided to get away from the fishmeal boilie/halibut pellet combo and instead opted for a 15mm Mainline Cell on one rod and a 15mm Dynamite tiger nut boilie on the other, both rods had small PVA bags of chili hemp attached for each cast.

By now the wind was really starting to get up, thankfully for us we were quite sheltered but that didn't stop a huge gust causing my friends brolly to turn inside out and take off like something out of Mary Poppins. It was only when we looked at the trees higher up in the distance could we see how windy it really was as they were almost doubled over! I had to spend a lot of my time holding the sides of my brolly just to stop it collapsing and the torrential rain made it impossible to use PVA as a whole tube of mine turned to mush whilst trying to make up bags. The wind had also caused branches to fall from the trees and these were drifting around the lake and all over my lines giving me indications on my bite alarms and hampering rig presentation, if I could catch in these conditions I could catch in anything!

I filmed this clip on my phone just to show how wet and windy it was:



Over the course of the day I had six runs (all on the tiger nut boilies) and I ended up landing three Carp, two were around the 7 lb mark and the biggest just over 13 lb. For some reason I always get plagued by hook pulls at this water and today was no different, I suspect today it was due to me bullying the fish just so I could back under my brolly and out the rain!


My friend managed two Carp which meant another point to me in our match series but I sensed a severe lack of enthusiasm and competitiveness from him today, obviously it was completely down to the weather and nothing to do with the fact that the score now stood at a 8-3 and he was getting beaten like a drum.

Yateley Pads - 27/10/09

I only started specimen Carp fishing this year and the goal has been to catch a 'twenty' a feat which has eluded me in 15 years of general course fishing so when my friends asked me if I'd be interested in spending three days at the famous Yateley Pads I jumped at the chance.

Pads is a Cemex water at the famous Yateley complex, it's roughly 4 acres in size and costs £125 a day to book the entire lake, you simply divide the costs up amongst you and your friends. The lake itself contains somewhere in the region of 90 Carp which have an average size of over 20 lb, if I was ever going to catch my first twenty it was going to be here.

We arrived at the lake to find that all five anglers on the lake for the two days prior to us had blanked and not only that but the weed was absolutely horrendous. According to the bailiff the temperature roller coaster in recent weeks had caused to the weed to die and start growing again which meant apart from a few areas the size of postage stamps the bottom was thick with about a foot of weed.

I drew number one out of the hat which meant I had first swim choice so I opted for the legendary end of pads swim hoping the pads which were dying for the year would still attract some fish and I could also find some weed free areas on the outskirts.

I cast out and waited....


and waited....

Nothing, not so much as a beep for two days despite trying every imaginable rig and bait going, chods, slack lines, bolt rigs, free running, popups, naturals, they just weren't having it, none of my friends had caught either and unlike me they had even tried raking and spodding.

The last night I decided to take a massive gamble and go all in, I switched to a completely free running (and safe) rig and with an underarm lob dropped my PVA bagged rig and double corn bait right into a hole in the middle of the pads no more than two rod lengths out. The pads were nearly finished for the year and there was a clear 5 x 5 foot hole right in the middle so I was optimistic of being able to extract any fish I hooked, not only that but I was using strong gear and was more than prepared to go into the lake and rescue a snagged fish if need be.

I decided to fish my line completely slack and without a backlead, I waited until near dark and dropped half a kg of chili hemp over the top, anything bigger would of drawn the attention of the lakes numerous resident moorhens and coots.

Nothing, nadda, zip, not a touch even though I could hear fish crashing all around me all night.

We were due to leave the lake at 10 am that morning so after accepting it wasn't to be I began to start packing up my gear. Whilst taking my winter skin off the bivvy I had two short beeps on the bite alarm and I looked round and saw the bobbin was up tight against the rod but no line was being taken, odd, quickly picking up rod I felt resistance as if I was snagged. It was only when I slackened off the line and noticed a tiny twitch of the pads and the my line zipping away that I even realised I had a fish on.

After a little gentle pressure my line cut through the dying pads like a hot knife through butter and within 5 minutes my mate who had heard my screams of "GET IN THEEEEERE!!!!" from across the lake came running round and slipped the net under the fish. It's just as well he was there to help as I was fishing between two overhanging trees so I would of had trouble netting the fish on my own.

I could tell she was a definite twenty (my first ever!) but how high would she actually go.....

.....the scales revealed 30lb 15 ounces!

There can't be too many Carp anglers who's first 'twenty' is actually a 'thirty' and with it coming just an hour before packing up I definitely felt lady luck was smiling on me even though I'd waited 71 hours for just one fish.

My friends had found it equally tough going, one had blanked, another had managed just a 5 lb Bream, another a 32 lb Carp and the other Carp of 25 lb and 29 lb.

I definitely feel privileged to have fished such a historic water and we've already booked the lake again for April.


Happy days.

Readers Lake 09/10/09

After my recent red letter day at Readers I was itching to get back there and with the mild weather forecast I decided a midweek session was in order. The plan was to be at the lake by 07:30 and fish peg 13 just as I had done previously so it was a little disappointing to see the only other angler on the lake was already fishing that swim when I arrived.

I decided to fish the same island but on the north side which I've recently nicknamed the north pole because it's usually much colder due to the surrounding trees blocking out most the sunshine. I setup exactly as I had done on my previous trip and dropped my treble corn hook bait next to a set of lilly pads by the island.

In light of my recent trip you could forgive me for thinking sport would be relentless but in typical Readers fashion the lake was predictably unpredictable and I had to wait over an hour for my first bite which resulted in a small Carp of approximately 4 lbs ending up in the net.

As the morning progressed and the temperature increased the fish got their heads down and started gorging themselves on all the bait I had been putting in with my feeder, hooking fish wasn't a problem but the pads made landing them hard work and I lost two fish to hook pulls and one that managed to straighten the hook!

I decided to call it a day shortly after lunch as the chill in the air was starting to get to me, I had only managed one fish but I suppose I should just be grateful that I haven't blanked since way back in May, there can't be too many anglers than can boast that.

As I trudged back to the car I caught sight of a Kingfisher as well as a Grass Snake that was meandering slowly across the surface of the lake, a bit late in the year to be seeing Snakes I thought to myself (global warming?).

Readers Lake 25/09/09

After spending the day as a guest at Roosthole the previous day it was my turn to return the favour and I had arranged to meet Graham at Readers for a day on the method feeder.

The weathermen had predicted a scorcher but when we arrived at the lake at 08:00 there was a chill in the air and dew on the grass which my trainers soaked up like a sponge. With that in mind we decided to fish the right hand bank as that would be the first area to receive attention from the sun, I dropped into lucky peg 13 and my friend set up just to my left on peg 14.

I pretty much only use corn as bait at Readers these days and the plan was to fish three grains on a hair as tight to the island as I dared, thankfully for me (and my wallet) I could reach the island with a gentle underarm lob so I was optimistic that I wouldn't be adding to the collection of tackle and rigs that other anglers had lost to the island.

More by luck than judgement I dropped my feeder within 6 inches of the island, placed my rod in the rest and tightened the tip so it was just ever so slightly tensioned, no sooner had I sat down the tip wrapped right round and I was battling my first Carp of the day. I managed to add a further three more small Carp within an hour of setting up so I was definitely optimistic of having a good day.

By mid day the temperature was soaring, here we were just a few days from October and it was probably getting on for 80 degrees. It was good to top up the tan but at one point I had to set my brolly up for a bit of shade as I was starting to get a migraine from the heat and glare off the water.

I finished the day with 15 Carp up to 7 lb plus a new personal best 1 lb 3 ounce Crucian which was easily the highlight for me, well other than seeing my friend yet again nearly fall into the lake trying to stop his rod being pulled in (surely one day he will have to go for a swim?). I did lose a few fish (hook pulls) but that was to be expected when fishing so close to snags.

My friend managed 8 Carp which meant I took the point in our 'match' series (7-3 to me!) but to be fair he did catch the bigger fish with one Common topping the scales at 11 lb which fell to luncheon meat. At one point we even had three Carp on at the same time which took a bit of juggling with the landing nets but we did manage to land all three fish.

It wasn't until we had a chat to another angler on the way back to the car park that we realised how good our day had been, he had blanked!

Roosthole Pond - 24/09/09

In my opinion when it comes to fishing there's not a lot better than a lazy midweek day in the summer sunshine, not only do the fish usually respond but you normally also get the lake to yourself. With that in mind I had arranged a day at Roosthole on a Thursday and with the forecast predicting sunshine and mild temperatures I was hoping for a cracker.

We arrived at the lake to find it completely deserted, other anglers would turn up later in the day but it meant we could jump straight into our two favourite swims; 'the aquarium' (swim 18) and 'no fish corner' (swim 19).

I decided to start the day using the soft halibut pellets that I had so much success on last time but as always I had also brought along a variety of boilies just in case, as usual a small PVA bag of pellets was attached for every cast. Since the Pike season was now upon us I had also brought along a few Mackerel deadbaits to try a bit of cheeky Piking for an hour or two if the Carp action was slow.

For the first couple of hours it didn't matter what bait I opted for I couldn't get a run for the life of me, I even tried a popup boilie which is a rare tactic for me. My first fish of the day came in the form of a small Pike that snaffled up my margin fished Mackerel deadbait, the fish only weighed a couple of pounds but being so small was awkward to unhook so I decided to abandon the Piking for the day after returning the fish to the water. My friend on the other hand had managed a couple of Carp on tuna and chili boilies but it was definitely slow by Roosthole standards, we suspected the lack of rain might be having an impact as the water level was visibly down from a few weeks before.

A quick wander around the lake revealed a few fish showing themselves on swims 12 to 14 and there was plenty of feeding activity on display in the form of bubbles and silt clouds, they were probably from Bream but by now I was in no position to be picky so the move was made.

I dropped my baits in the area where I saw the silt clouds and eventually after an hour I was rewarded with a run that eventually resulted in a small Mirror Carp of approximately 5lbs being landed. After a few more hours I had failed to catch any further fish from the middle of the lake so I decided to drop my baits as close to a big overhanging tree on the far bank as I dared, not exactly an easy task considering the limited casting room the trees in my swim afforded me.

Within 10 minutes of casting the bobbin on my left hand rod fell, climbed half way and then stopped, rather than waiting for it to move again I decided to hit the bite and connected with something that initially felt like a Bream. It wasn't until I got the fish within a few rod lengths of the bank that it started to use it's big rudder to go on a series of surging runs. After a thoroughly enjoyable fight with the fish staying low and plodding I eventually had her lying on the surface and beat as my mate slipped the landing net underneath what I thought would be a new personal best. I didn't think she would go quite as high as the magical and elusive twenty but I was pretty sure she would be the biggest Carp I had caught, how wrong I was. Sadly for me the fish had the size but she didn't have the conditioning and with her big saggy hollow belly she could only move the needle on the scales to 16lb.

I finished the day with just five Carp and one small Pike, my friend on the other hand managed a much more respectable seven Carp. It definitely looked like the Carp were feeding in spells as more often than not me and my friend would either have fish on at the same time or within a few minutes of each other. Not exactly the best day I've had at Roosthole but I can't really complain, it certainly beats working.

Readers Lake - 29/08/09

Readers is rapidly becoming my second home this season and after arranging a days fishing with Graham I had no hesitation in choosing this lake as the venue. We arrived at the lake just after 07:30 and eventually decided to fish the far end, an area where over the years I've caught most my bigger Carp from. The weather forecast had predicted mild temperatures and sunny spells but unfortunately for us the sun spent most of the day behind the trees at our back so it was actually quite chilly. Our swims also appeared to be directly below the flightpath out of Gatwick airport so if nothing else we were in for a noisy day.

The plan was to fish the method feeder tight to the island just as I had done on my previous few trips to Readers. As the weather was still warm (allegedly!) I opted for Envy hemp and halibut method mix in the feeder with three grains of sweetcorn fished on a hair. Just in case the fish weren't having the corn I had also brought along some strawberry luncheon meat and soft halibut pellets as a backup.

I didn't have to wait long for my first bite and I use the term bite loosely, anyone that fishes the method feeder knows that bites from Carp are usually savage with the tip wrapping right round and the rod being nearly ripped out of the rests. Within two minutes of the first cast I hooked my first fish but unfortunately because I was talking I was slow to react and it made an immediate beeline for the island reeds and the hook pulled as I tried to turn it back into the open water, nevertheless an encouraging start.

Within fifteen minutes of recasting I was into another fish and this time I made no mistake, after a brief but spirited scrap I was rewarded with a small but perfectly formed Ghostie. Unflattering photo alert!

At that point I was expecting to have a good day but even though I kept catching throughout the day the action seemed to happen in patches with a couple of fish followed by a lull of a few hours, something I've experienced at Readers many times before. I did manage to catch a small Skimmer of about 4 ounces but how it managed to get two 11mm soft halibut pellets into it's tiny gob I'll never know. Another distraction was provided half way through the day when two bailiffs from the environment agency turned up and checked my rod license for the first time in ten years.

My friend Graham was having even less luck, by midday he had managed a small Bream and an even smaller Carp from the shallower water by the edge of the island. With two hours to go he decided enough was enough and moved swims so he could fish against the island like I had been doing, the move certainly paid off as he went on to catch four more Carp and the jammy git even managed a catch a Tench of approximately 2lb.

Now if you follow this blog regularly you know how competitive myself and Graham can get so at this point his Lazarus like comeback was getting me a little worried and only a single Carp now separated the two of us.

With just a few minutes to go Graham hooked into another fish but unfortunately for him he had wandered from his rods to try and wean the fish onto chickpeas with half a ton of them going into the lake as loose feed, by the time he'd ran back to his rod the fish which was obviously a lump had already taken enough line to swim to Fiji and was lodged in a set of pads only to be lost seconds later when the line snapped.

I finished the day with six Carp plus a Bream and a Skimmer, Graham had managed five Carp plus a Tench and a Bream with most his fish coming in the last two hours of the day. I definitely felt like lady luck was on my side, had Graham started the day in his second swim I have no doubt that I would of been destroyed and he would be the one gloating.

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