Great Days!

So wow, its the first day of spring in my eyes! Those horrible north-easterlies have buggered off! The sun was out and I decided on a spur of the moment that an outing to a local commercial lake was the order of the day today with my 9 year old daughter Jamie-Lou.

As it was so short notice I hadn't brought any bait with me except my PVA bucket, a selection of hookbaits and my pellet bucket. Luckily for me (well not me but J) I had a small bag of 10mm Nash Scopex Squid shelflife boilies with me from our last session, so at least we had some bait for J if the fish started feeding.

We set up at the deeper end of lake after we had seen some fish enjoying the warmth of the sun. It was such a heart warming sight to see the fish moving and crashing out after the winter of hell and relying on luck as much as watercraft.

After we got the gear out of the car I set up my rods. A single white Choddy cast to a small reed bed and a PVA bag to the showing fish, both rods fishing with some special hookbaits from Kieran. I then got Jamie all set up with her help and she had a practice cast before heading around to the next peg to bait the reed bed by hand with a good handful of the squid boilies.

Baiting her spot. 

We picked her leader out, a Nash diffusion one with a lead clip and 1oz dumpy pear and next came a rig. We picked a nice simple blow-back rig and I decided that the fish might still be a bit picky and wanted a balanced bait so we opted for a snowman type set up with a 10mm Nash Scopex Squid bottom bait and a small pink bit of pop-up corn. We tested the rig in a spare bucket and found it just popped up with the hook of bottom, perfect. So with the test cast done, bait and rig done all that was left was to cast out. This is something J is great at, with a bit of coaching she dropped the rig on her baited spot first cast! Proud was not the word. We set the rod on the stand and proceeded to get the sandwiches out and only a few moments after J's alarm let out a series of beeps as the rod tip pulled around. 

The rods are out!

Again with a bit of coaching she lifted in to the fish and immediately started to panic, as this was only her second fish ever and the last one was a very small one, but she held her own remarkably well with me only having to touch the rod once which was to steer it away from my lines. As we were about to net the fish my right hand rod melted away as a small angry mirror took my choddy with all the vigor of a great white! After a few minutes we had both fish in the net, not ideal by anyones standards, but needs must. I was lucky and my fish unhooked itself in the net which made the situation so much easier as I could get rid of my rig and scoop the fish straight out of the net and back to its watery home. 

Jamie's fish on the other hand was a keeper. A few photos and a weigh were certainly in order. So out came the Kaptive sling and we slipped the fish in for a quick weigh, at 6lb 10oz it was a great result for J! 

Result! 

After the fish went back we dug out some more bait and J placed some on her spot again before recasting, this time not quite on the money, but still looked good for another bite. So at this point I had two scrappy mirrors to my name and J had the larger common. As I was using my 3.5tc Entitys I thought I would have to play the smaller fish with a lot of care but the rods are superbly soft and I only suffered the one hook pull the whole session. Jamie had another small common she lovingly named 'Bob' and we topped the swim up again. 

The Nash Scopex Squid! 

She was in again a few minutes later! The fish were really turned on to this bait today and I think we had just got everything right for her. Me, on the other hand, was struggling big time. I even tried a 2ft zig to no avail, but alas the day was not to be mine and Jamie ended the three hour session on four fish with me lagging behind on three. It was a great few hours though and the fish are certainly on the move, now all we need are the ones on my target lakes to wake up! 

A few liners had her sat at the rod!

If I had have had more bait with me we would probably have stayed a little longer but as it was last minute we had to make do and had such a fun time which I think a lot of people are missing from their fishing. It was a really 'needed' session, as was the ice-cream and milkshake on the way home! Roll on the next time!

Matt.

The Life Of A Day Carper - 1

Due to many factors this year I my carp fishing will be mainly day sessions, and by day sessions I mean 4-6 hours after work on a Friday afternoon unless I get to book some time off. Are you mad? I hear. Well in part yes I am. But if I want to get out and fish then that is my time slot and I will need to make the most of it.

So with the limited time on the bank then I need to make certain choices. The first will be the venues I want to fish. I have decided to take on a few waters in my local area and try too bag a few carp from them if I can. All of the waters I intend on fishing hold some good fish in to the 20lb bracket and only one of them I would consider a runs water but they all hold other species which will be the challenge.

The runs water is a small lake which holds plenty of fish with carp present up to 21lb+. It is on the out skirts of York called Stillingfleet. I have had very good sessions here in the past and will be targeting carp and tench. This is a great water for PVA bag work as it is fairly short distance work and the bags allow me to present baits for both my target species.

My other water in York is called Shipton Lake and is on the Bradford AA book. This water has a much lower stocking of carp but they run up to 25lb and it will be a much, much trickier venue as the fish tend to feed on an evening and the lake is rammed with bream which will mean plenty of bait will be needed. This lake will most definitely test me to the limit but with correct bait application and perseverance then hopefully one or two of them will grace my net.

The third water I am looking at is another club water but is in the village I live in and is called Sherburn Bacon Pond. This is the hidden gem of my venues with a reported 25lb+ common and for a mere £20 a year is a real gem. Weedy, low stocked and heavily fished by match anglers after the big shoals of bream and roach make this a tricky water to get the carp feeding in such a short space of time.

I am by no means a big carp hunter but with the low stocking of the last two lakes I would love to bag a big girl. Realistically though I see plenty of blanks this year on the low stocked venues and a fair few smaller fish thrown up from the runs water but all in all a carp is a carp, be it 2lb or 22lb I love catching them and with the support I get from the DNA lads and my other angling friends then I really can see an enjoyable journey ahead with my day sessions.

The biggest hurdle I face, as many of us do with limited time, is the motivation to get out and fish!

I get my motivation from many sources. My daughter and the thought of taking her on a few trips. My angling hero Mr Julian Cundiff who gives me inspirational pep talks. This blog gives me a lot of motivation, it not only motivates me to get out fishing so I have something to write about but also inspires me to write my other things away from fishing.

Other than motivation and venues the next thing on the shopping list for my success has to be bait. Be it sweetcorn and pellet to 20mm boilies, what I use I use because I have confidence and faith in it. My two main feed baits come from the DNA stable, NuttaS and S7. I will be using them in different shapes and sizes, from 12mm rounds upto 18x21mm barrels. Along side my food bait I will be using various pop ups, wafters, balanced bottom baits and particles to my advantage.

One edge that was pointed out to me at the NAS was Batizones range of PVA friendly particles and pastes. I recently purchased a few tubs from their range. Crushed hemp with garlic, tiger nuts in juice and particle paste. I have a bucket of prepared PVA bag mix which I have boosted now with tiger nut juice, crushed hemp and when it comes to filling my bags I will add some crumbed up paste.

The paste is fantastic stuff. It moulds extremely well and sticks to virtually anything. I experimented with some of the paste on a recent session and even though the water temp was close to freezing it still broke down relatively quick. I rolled a thin layer around a Milky Malt wafter and watched it breakdown in a bucket. Every time I touched the bucket the paste would send a plume of attraction out from the bait, almost like a smoky haze, This bait will definitely feature heavily in my season this year. 

Once on the bank I like to know that if needs be I can move at the drop of a hat! In a previous blog I scaled my gear right down and believe that this is without a doubt the best way to get the most from my sessions this year. A two rod set up, sticks and buzz bars, large padded unhooking mat come weigh sling, a bucket bag and PVA bucket is about all I will be taking to the bank on these sessions along with food and bait in a rucksack.

So that's about it for the first instalment of TLOADC, I will be getting out for a few 24hr sessions which I will cover separately so until the next session see you soon.

Matt.

Q Lake - UKCC Prep Round 1

So after a gruelling weekend at Q lake with Kieran last week I sit back and look at the odds we faced. With the temps not getting much above 2 degrees with a light snow fall, we never thought we would stand much of a chance of catching. But we were treated to a calm wind blowing and not many other anglers on the lake so here is what we made of it.

I rocked up to the lake at 7.30 Saturday morning to find K looking a bit disappointed. He had had a very frustrating night with several missed runs, false pick ups and trailing lines and had brought the rigs in at about 11pm to get some sleep after a rough few days at home.

Things didn't look good for us getting in to the fish but you cant catch them at home.

K was fishing single hook baits in to the holes in the weed on the far margin so I opted for solid bags and Choddys. As K had settled in to peg 13 I dropped in behind him on peg 12 and put a solid bag just off the far bank weed bed with a scattering of S7 and NuttaS barrels around it. The other rod was cast to the area known as the 'doughnut' with an S7 Pink Choddy for the time being. After a few hours of motionless buzzers and a good old chat with K I decided to change it up a bit and made a worm rig with a small piece of pop up corn to balance it out. I cast it back to the 'doughnut' and redid my PVA bag with a Wraysberry wafter trimmed down hook bait.

Again after a few hours K had some more false bites which we now believe are fish trailing we were both getting frustrated. Soon talk turned to bait and in particular hook baits so Kieran produced a pot of his own special Double H 12mm pop ups. He had several colours with him but the white ones grabbed my attention and soon he was handing me a small pot with white, red and cream baits. Hmm yummy. We decided before the light went we would have a plum around in one of the empty swims next to us and found some interesting features.

So after our plumbing session I decided it was time to get the rods sorted for the night and loaded my left hand rod with a multi-chod and a Double H white pop up.

Might not be a DNA hookbait but K is a field tester so works for me.

Again on my other rod was a PVA bag with a Wraysberry wafter cast to a reed bed on the far margin then it was time for tea! With a little prep anyone can cook well on the bank and it needn't cost the earth! I had chopped some onion and coriander at home and placed it in a small Tupperware box with some olive oil and brought my awesome Tefal frying pan. I fried the onion and herbs for a few mins before adding some mince which I browned off. Then the sauce ingredients and let it simmer, tasty! And K thought so too!

Warming up with Chilli! 

After tea we stopped up chatting for a bit and came up with a viable game plan for our attack on the UKCC, admittedly a lot of the match will depend on the draw but with things as they are a good draw could see K through to the semi's which would be epic! We soon retired to bed as the temps came down further due to no cloud cover and a huge full moon.

As I was wrapped up in my new Big Snooze + (Thanks Wife) my left hand rod gave two single bleeps I thought to be a liner before ripping of a few seconds later! The Double H was away and I was battling to keep the fish from getting its head in the weed. I soon had a common laid in the bottom of the net which I secured before going to wake K up who thought I was playing a joke on him! The hook hold was excellent, centre of the bottom lip and a good inch back! Nailed! After a few quick camera shots and weighing her in at 14lb and a few ounces we slipped her back to the cold water before I checked the rig and recast to the open water to my left. Then I made a brew to try and warm the hands a bit! I climbed back in the bag to have an uneventful night except a few liners.

14lb and a few ounce, will remember this fish.

Dawn came around 6.30 and I was up making a new bag on my spare Diffusion leader which was put on the right hand rod to the far margin again. I brought in my left hand rod to find I had been done! The loop was tight up to the eye of the hook with the bottom bead near the lead. I would have thought that would have given me a good indication but all I had was single bleeps with no bobbin movement. Ah well it happens to us all.

Rods as I woke up left hand bobbin still in the same spot! 

I sorted the rig out and recast for it to rattle off five minutes later but as I got the fish to the surface the hook pulled and a mid double ghosty splashed the surface. Such is life but to even had a bite in the conditions I was super happy and a fish made my weekend! Looking forward to my next session in a few weeks now. Hopefully I will be able to get some bait out this time and have a few fish munching.

Matt.