Weight – 60lb 8oz (12lb 0oz – silvers)
Catch – 19 Skimmers, 8 Carp, 1 Roach
Weather – Frosty start. Mostly sunny, slight breeze. Showery later.
Water Temp – 7.1c – 7.7c
With nothing planned for the weekend, I got an e-mail from Mark asking whether I wanted to go fishing, because he couldn’t go during the weekend because he was laminating his kitchen floor.
As the week progressed the weather was getting colder and the cold I picked up was getting worse. I woke up at 2.30 feeling rough, so decided to watch 3 episodes of Battlestar Galactica, cooked myself a sausage sandwich, before driving to the lake, hoping some fresh air would do me some good, although Mark kept his distance most of the day.
Mark decided to target the carp on corn. Me on the other hand wanted to improve my soft pellet fishing, so settled on fishing 4mm expander and occasionally a JPZ pellet at 13m over micros. My rig in the 7ft deep swim was a HB 0.4g frostie, .10 bottom and 18 silverfish pellet hook. I also had a 0.2g frostie to fish the 4ft deep margin swim, but with .13 bottom and 18 B911, since I was expecting some carp. Over my 13m line I was hoping for skimmers, however I wasn’t sure if they would feed after yesterday’s cold rain and today was cold, bright and flat.
It was nearly an hour before I got my first fish, a skimmer at 13m, but by toss potting a pinch of micros every put in I had a run of skimmers. As the session progressed, whenever the pole line slowed and needed a rest, I would try the lead & corn.
I caught 3 carp on the lead and 3 at 13m. As for my margin, I had been feeding micros all day and eventually caught 2 carp, plus a skimmer late on. My 8 carp weighed 48lb, plus 12lb of skimmers. Whilst Marks 8 carp weighed 40lb. A really enjoyable day despite my permanently blocked nose!
Showing posts with label Lavington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lavington. Show all posts
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Saturday, February 12, 2011
11/02/11 - Lavington - Merretts Lake
Weight – 36lb 13oz
Catch – 9 Skimmers, 6 Carp, 5 Roach, 2 Crucians.
Weather – Mild, cloudy, sunny periods. Breezy
Snowdrops on the verge of the road, means spring is definitely on its way and I won’t be sorry to see the back of this winter.
Went fishing with Mark today, who following resigning from his job, was told he had take some unused holiday, so a fishing trip was arranged and tickets organised. I was just glad to get out, following a bout of proper flu and then looking after Sue for the last 2 weeks after she slipped a disc.
Have to say I’ve missed fishing matches regularly, however I sincerely hope as from April I will be more financially secure and as such will be able to get out more regularly. Following a period of turmoil at work, it appears my hard work over the last 18 months seems to be bearing fruit, with March and April potentially providing significant rewards, so fingers crossed.
Back to today and the mild weather meant we were really looking forward to a good day, particularly since Mark had fished the lake a few weeks ago catching carp on the lead & bread, including a PB of 21.5lb. The controlling club for the lake has a rather odd rule regarding bait. Pellet is banned, but you can use fishmeal based groundbait and paste, yet there is no limit on the amount of meat you can use. Weird.
Anyway, Mark organised the bait, unfortunately the 2pts of caster to be shared, included 1¼pt of floaters, which meant feeding options were a little restricted. Mark also gave me 2 bags Marukyu groundbait courtesy of Roy Marlow who was looking for some feedback on what is a new product. Marukyu are a Japanese firm who are trying to break into the UK market. They are different from the standard commercial or continental groundbaits. I tried the EFG130 which was a cold water formula, which had what looked like bits of seaweed in it, but apparently the amino acids, unique yeast extract and NORI (the sea weedy bit) trigger the fishes appetite. My initial assessment was the colour was too light for cold clear water, so mixed ½ a bag with ½ bag of black lake.
We settled on pegs 9 & 10, which would provide shelter from the wind. We both set up a lead rod and pole rigs to fish at 13m which was 7ft deep.
3 balls of feed were deposited at 13m with a pinch of caster and a few bits of corn, after which I tried the lead & double corn, but after 45mins and no fish it was time for the pole. Although I was looking for skimmers, there was a chance of a carp, so I set 0.6g Jean François, .11 hook length tied to an 18 silverfish pellet hook.
First put in with double maggot and a 3oz roach was soon swung in, but bites were difficult to come by. After a couple more roach, decided to pot another ball of feed and netted a skimmer almost immediately, but then nothing. This was strange.
Mark only had 1 small carp on the tip, but had fully expected a few more and the day wasn’t going according to plan. I thought the wind may have pushed the carp further down the lake or they were sitting half depth, but they certainly didn’t appear to be on the deck. I went to grab my waggler rod, but realised I hadn’t packed the right rod. Mark had similar ideas and did set up a waggler, but other than a couple of knocks from roach no bites were forthcoming.
As for my swim another pot of feed, produced a fish straight away, before bites dried up again. An extra couple of cm on the depth helped present the bait better, since there was a bit of tow. The fish seemed to be coming to the feed, before backing off, so decided to start feeding a nugget of groundbait, with caster & a couple bits of corn via a large toss pot every put in. This definitely improved matters. The roach disappeared and although I had to be patient for a bite I started to get a few skimmers as well as a couple crucians, with corn being the best bait. However, the fish definitely seemed to be sitting above the feed and I would have preferred to start regularly feeding caster and fishing half depth, but due to the caster disaster had to stay feeding the groundbait.
With the fish appearing to sit higher in the water, I started feeding the margins with caster, maggot & corn. Mark had been doing the same thing and with the day drawing to a close promptly caught 7 or 8 carp on corn, including 1 fish about 12-13lb to make up the bulk of his 65lb. My margin swim was very slow to get going, but I kept drip feeding caster & corn and eventually had 6 carp on corn.
As for the groundbait, did it make difference? Who can tell after 1 session? Mark used a darkened Sonu F1 mix. My silvers net went 8.12, whilst Marks weighed 5.10, so it certainly didn’t do any harm.
Catch – 9 Skimmers, 6 Carp, 5 Roach, 2 Crucians.
Weather – Mild, cloudy, sunny periods. Breezy
Snowdrops on the verge of the road, means spring is definitely on its way and I won’t be sorry to see the back of this winter.
Went fishing with Mark today, who following resigning from his job, was told he had take some unused holiday, so a fishing trip was arranged and tickets organised. I was just glad to get out, following a bout of proper flu and then looking after Sue for the last 2 weeks after she slipped a disc.
Have to say I’ve missed fishing matches regularly, however I sincerely hope as from April I will be more financially secure and as such will be able to get out more regularly. Following a period of turmoil at work, it appears my hard work over the last 18 months seems to be bearing fruit, with March and April potentially providing significant rewards, so fingers crossed.
Back to today and the mild weather meant we were really looking forward to a good day, particularly since Mark had fished the lake a few weeks ago catching carp on the lead & bread, including a PB of 21.5lb. The controlling club for the lake has a rather odd rule regarding bait. Pellet is banned, but you can use fishmeal based groundbait and paste, yet there is no limit on the amount of meat you can use. Weird.
Anyway, Mark organised the bait, unfortunately the 2pts of caster to be shared, included 1¼pt of floaters, which meant feeding options were a little restricted. Mark also gave me 2 bags Marukyu groundbait courtesy of Roy Marlow who was looking for some feedback on what is a new product. Marukyu are a Japanese firm who are trying to break into the UK market. They are different from the standard commercial or continental groundbaits. I tried the EFG130 which was a cold water formula, which had what looked like bits of seaweed in it, but apparently the amino acids, unique yeast extract and NORI (the sea weedy bit) trigger the fishes appetite. My initial assessment was the colour was too light for cold clear water, so mixed ½ a bag with ½ bag of black lake.
We settled on pegs 9 & 10, which would provide shelter from the wind. We both set up a lead rod and pole rigs to fish at 13m which was 7ft deep.
3 balls of feed were deposited at 13m with a pinch of caster and a few bits of corn, after which I tried the lead & double corn, but after 45mins and no fish it was time for the pole. Although I was looking for skimmers, there was a chance of a carp, so I set 0.6g Jean François, .11 hook length tied to an 18 silverfish pellet hook.
First put in with double maggot and a 3oz roach was soon swung in, but bites were difficult to come by. After a couple more roach, decided to pot another ball of feed and netted a skimmer almost immediately, but then nothing. This was strange.
Mark only had 1 small carp on the tip, but had fully expected a few more and the day wasn’t going according to plan. I thought the wind may have pushed the carp further down the lake or they were sitting half depth, but they certainly didn’t appear to be on the deck. I went to grab my waggler rod, but realised I hadn’t packed the right rod. Mark had similar ideas and did set up a waggler, but other than a couple of knocks from roach no bites were forthcoming.
As for my swim another pot of feed, produced a fish straight away, before bites dried up again. An extra couple of cm on the depth helped present the bait better, since there was a bit of tow. The fish seemed to be coming to the feed, before backing off, so decided to start feeding a nugget of groundbait, with caster & a couple bits of corn via a large toss pot every put in. This definitely improved matters. The roach disappeared and although I had to be patient for a bite I started to get a few skimmers as well as a couple crucians, with corn being the best bait. However, the fish definitely seemed to be sitting above the feed and I would have preferred to start regularly feeding caster and fishing half depth, but due to the caster disaster had to stay feeding the groundbait.
With the fish appearing to sit higher in the water, I started feeding the margins with caster, maggot & corn. Mark had been doing the same thing and with the day drawing to a close promptly caught 7 or 8 carp on corn, including 1 fish about 12-13lb to make up the bulk of his 65lb. My margin swim was very slow to get going, but I kept drip feeding caster & corn and eventually had 6 carp on corn.
As for the groundbait, did it make difference? Who can tell after 1 session? Mark used a darkened Sonu F1 mix. My silvers net went 8.12, whilst Marks weighed 5.10, so it certainly didn’t do any harm.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
23/01/09 - Lavington - Merretts Lake
Weight – 41lb 6oz
Catch – 14 Bream, 11 Carp, 4 Roach, 2 Crucian
Weather – Rainy start, quickly clearing. Mostly bright & sunny.
Water Temp– 6.5c > 6.5c
An e-mail from Mark AKA "Slider" on Wednesday revealed he had the day off and would I come out to play. We eventually decided on Merritt Lake, because they allow keepnets, which apparently was important to Mark – bless!
He also felt my last blog entry was rubbish, because I didn’t mention him beating me on my "home" venue and relieving me of a golden nugget. Some people just want all the glory.
Merretts is Mark’s club water, so I needed to return the favour and beat him on his home water. The lake has 30 or so pegs, with an island at 1 end and plenty of open water. Apparently the lake had been fishing well recently, so fingers were firmly crossed for a good day. However heavy overnight rain could put a dampener on things? We chose a couple of pegs that would offer shelter from the forecast wind.
I started on the straight lead fishing double or tripe corn, whilst setting up the pole. After 90 mins I landed 4 carp and lost 1, so at least there were a few fish willing to feed.
On the pole, I set up 2 rigs to fish at 13m, which was 8ft deep. I was hoping to catch roach & skimmers, and Mark thought that we would we catch a few carp on pole line as well. The silvers rig was 0.8g Jean Francois, with .10 bottom & 22 silverfish hook & the carp rig was 4x16 Chianti, .13 bottom & 18 B911.
I cupped 2 balls of groundbait (Black Lake and Black Mussel & Squid), with a pinch of caster & pinkie. Having let that settle for ½ hour, 1st put with the silvers rigs produced a 3lb carp and the 2nd put in resulted in another about 1lb. To be honest I wasn’t expecting any carp to come over the groundbait, but since they were showing, I switched to the carp rig but never had a bite. A switch back to the silvers rig resulted in a skimmer, but bites soon tailed off.
At this time of year, it’s difficult to assess when and by how much to top up. I decided to cup a small ball, plus another pinch of casters. A few more skimmers followed, but again bites tailed off. Mark in the meantime only had a couple of carp and his pole line was only producing roach, so I made sure he knew I was battering him – that will teach him to send me cocky texts ;¬)
I felt topping up with a ball of groundbait wasnt sufficient and decided to top with some chopped worm, 20/25 caster, plus a small of groundbait. This seemed to do the trick, after an initially slow start, I had a purple patch of 30/40 minutes when every put in I was coming back with a skimmer or a carp, including 1 of 5lb, which took a while to get out on 6 elastic.
Throughout the session I was feeding my margin with caster & chopped worm, but only caught a few fish and no carp, so with an hour to go, 2 handfuls of caster, maggot & chopped worm went into the margins. In the last hour my long line became a bit dodgy, however Mark started to catch after adopting a shit or bust attitude, feeding 2 cups of fed.
My 1st put in the margin after letting the swim settle produced the biggest carp of the day at 5lb 6oz on tripe red maggot. I thought about another go, but Mark needed to go and I was more than happy with my day. My silvers net went 11lb 5oz (including a 12oz crucian that missed the keepnet!), whilst the carp went 30lb 1oz.
The majority of my fish on the pole fell to single maggot, fished mostly 1/2cm over depth, all on my silvers rig.
Mark weighed 19lb – so let that be a lesson to you! 1-1 for the year now.
As the afternoon turned to evening the wind dropped and w
e had a very pleasant end to the day.
Catch – 14 Bream, 11 Carp, 4 Roach, 2 Crucian
Weather – Rainy start, quickly clearing. Mostly bright & sunny.
Water Temp– 6.5c > 6.5c
An e-mail from Mark AKA "Slider" on Wednesday revealed he had the day off and would I come out to play. We eventually decided on Merritt Lake, because they allow keepnets, which apparently was important to Mark – bless!
He also felt my last blog entry was rubbish, because I didn’t mention him beating me on my "home" venue and relieving me of a golden nugget. Some people just want all the glory.
Merretts is Mark’s club water, so I needed to return the favour and beat him on his home water. The lake has 30 or so pegs, with an island at 1 end and plenty of open water. Apparently the lake had been fishing well recently, so fingers were firmly crossed for a good day. However heavy overnight rain could put a dampener on things? We chose a couple of pegs that would offer shelter from the forecast wind.
I started on the straight lead fishing double or tripe corn, whilst setting up the pole. After 90 mins I landed 4 carp and lost 1, so at least there were a few fish willing to feed.
On the pole, I set up 2 rigs to fish at 13m, which was 8ft deep. I was hoping to catch roach & skimmers, and Mark thought that we would we catch a few carp on pole line as well. The silvers rig was 0.8g Jean Francois, with .10 bottom & 22 silverfish hook & the carp rig was 4x16 Chianti, .13 bottom & 18 B911.
I cupped 2 balls of groundbait (Black Lake and Black Mussel & Squid), with a pinch of caster & pinkie. Having let that settle for ½ hour, 1st put with the silvers rigs produced a 3lb carp and the 2nd put in resulted in another about 1lb. To be honest I wasn’t expecting any carp to come over the groundbait, but since they were showing, I switched to the carp rig but never had a bite. A switch back to the silvers rig resulted in a skimmer, but bites soon tailed off.
At this time of year, it’s difficult to assess when and by how much to top up. I decided to cup a small ball, plus another pinch of casters. A few more skimmers followed, but again bites tailed off. Mark in the meantime only had a couple of carp and his pole line was only producing roach, so I made sure he knew I was battering him – that will teach him to send me cocky texts ;¬)
I felt topping up with a ball of groundbait wasnt sufficient and decided to top with some chopped worm, 20/25 caster, plus a small of groundbait. This seemed to do the trick, after an initially slow start, I had a purple patch of 30/40 minutes when every put in I was coming back with a skimmer or a carp, including 1 of 5lb, which took a while to get out on 6 elastic.
Throughout the session I was feeding my margin with caster & chopped worm, but only caught a few fish and no carp, so with an hour to go, 2 handfuls of caster, maggot & chopped worm went into the margins. In the last hour my long line became a bit dodgy, however Mark started to catch after adopting a shit or bust attitude, feeding 2 cups of fed.
My 1st put in the margin after letting the swim settle produced the biggest carp of the day at 5lb 6oz on tripe red maggot. I thought about another go, but Mark needed to go and I was more than happy with my day. My silvers net went 11lb 5oz (including a 12oz crucian that missed the keepnet!), whilst the carp went 30lb 1oz.
The majority of my fish on the pole fell to single maggot, fished mostly 1/2cm over depth, all on my silvers rig.
Mark weighed 19lb – so let that be a lesson to you! 1-1 for the year now.
As the afternoon turned to evening the wind dropped and w
e had a very pleasant end to the day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
