It certainly is on its way now! The temps are dropping as fast as the leaves and the banks are quieter than they have been for many a month. Now is the time to start those winter campaigns and I've started mine on Stillingfleet Pheasant Farm near York.
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| Summer On The Farm Lake |
Now winter is upon us and with work commitments, family life and house savings, both time and money is short so my only chance for a bit of sport this winter will be locally and day sessions only. I decided that instead of jumping from lake to lake I would focus on Stillingfleet and see if I can bag a big winter common from the place. I had her last year at 21 pounds and I'm sure she will be a bit higher now with all her winter fat stores on. If not, the sport from the other smaller fish will keep me occupied for the cold months ahead.
Being around 20 minutes from the house it means I can get there early without having to sacrifice too much sleep, which for me is a good thing. It also means I can prime the lake a few days before I am fishing with a few handfuls of bait in some of the spots I have found.
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| A Few Handfuls Of Chops Should Keep Them Feeding |
So with this in mind I popped down to the lake on Friday afternoon after work and put some bait in the lake ready for Sundays session and it seemed to work as I hadn't even got the second rod in the water when my single hookbait ripped off. The result was a stunning little Ghost Common of around 8 pounds. It might only be small but it was a little special to me because it was the first fish I have had on my home made Secret 7 white popups.
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| Little But Stunning |
It didn't take long to get the rod back out and once in its spot I got my second rod sorted with a small PVA bag and bright pink Korda slow sinking maize on a blow back rig. One of my favourite PVA rigs and one I have scored a lot of fish on this summer. About an hour after the ghostie the same rod rattled away with the single hookbait but sadly I dropped the fish as it neared the net, it was a better fish and I was a bit gutted as I saw it swim away because the better fish tend not to show themselves often.
Anyhoot, I checked the hook point and my Twister was still sharp as a needle so a quick change of hookbait and the rig was soon back on the spot. The day wore on and not a fish showed anywhere on the lake and as the sun started to dip below the tree line I considered packing up but before I did I brought in my PVA bag rod, which I had been casting to several different spots during the day and changed it out for a helicopter set up and a semi-stiff combi-link with a Twisted blow-back attached to the end. I changed hookbaits and put on a yellow PB pop up from DNA Baits and once balanced cast to the reed line on the bank opposite me. About 10 minutes later the rod rattled away and I started to curse myself for not changing to yellow sooner! After a spirited fight a lovely looking little common was in the bottom of the net.
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| Scale Perfect Commons Seem To Be All That Live Here! |
A quick rig check, fresh 15mm hookbait and out it went slight further up the reed line and with time running out I was hoping for one more. My prayers to the carp gods must have been heard as it wasn't long before my alarm let out a single bleep as the bobbin tightened up. I struck in to the fish and it was soon under my feet before it went berserk and took me into every nook and crevice it could find, it was real 'heart in mouth' stuff using my 3.5lb Entity's as I feared I would drop the fish again but with the right amount of clutch control and the forgiving tip section the fish was soon on its side and then in the net. Result! It looked a better fish than the others and it was, not huge again but maybe 11 pound as I don't tend to weight these guys in here, but happy with it for sure.
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| Best Of The Day |
I love this little water. It's a lake I can go to in winter and maybe not guarantee a bite but know I stand a good chance at one when the other lakes in the area slow right down, and especially for day time bites. And one thing I must remember is to get on the yellow! Last winter I scored well on both white and yellow so lets hope this winter proves the same again before I move on to my syndicate early next year. Now that is a lake I can not wait to get on! 5 acres, 10 anglers and one of those is my idol and all round legend Julian Cundiff! And a stunning zip linear I have seen Julian with is a fish I would love to catch. Lets hope they take a liking to the S7 and my hookbaits!
Till next time,
