The Local Pit

Id not had the chance to do much fishing over the past few months so when the chance arrived i was on it, a quick overnighter on a local water. Conditions for that night were not perfect but never the less i thought i could nick a bite or too off a few old spots. On arrival the car park was empty and so was the lake so in to my old peg i went, whilst setting up the bailiff turned up and after chatting for 10 min id gathered that not many had been fishing the lake over winter and out of the few that had none had caught anything. Nevertheless i went through the routine of casting to the spot at the side of a big overhanging willow tree and clipping up, i would be fishing over Soar Tackles new Roasted Nut Mix, the fish just cant get enough of this stuff and the second rod would be cast tight to the opposite bank with the Dark Fish boillie also from Soar Tackle. A boillie i have  great confidence in. Being as i arrived late it was just getting dark before i got both rigs on the spot's, within minutes the rod on the over hanging willow dropped back about an inch then screamed of which took me by surprise after what the bailiff had said i wasn't expecting anything. After a 10 min battle she gave up and started to wallow under the tip and Matt netted her for me, she was not the biggest in the lake but to say no one had caught anything over the past few months i was more than happy with this Mirror.  

A fair few hours passed by before  we had any more action, when at three am my margin rod took off with a small Common, after slipping it back i got the rod back on the spot and climbed back in my sleeping bag. The rest of the night past with out anymore action but to nab two off the lake that wasn't fishing to well gave me that buzz and i new it would not be long before i was back again........

Spinney Pool 25-01-2014

The one thing me and Lee take a lot of time over is trying to pick the right conditions to fish in. It seems all the bites this time of year come in a window of a sudden pressure drop. We had a window this session in the afternoon running in to the night then it would start to rise through early morning. From knowing this we arrived in the morning allowing us to watch the water for a while and position ourself in the right pegs to get the baits where we think the fish will. The wind was pushing into the high bank and would only move around a little to the end bank. Knowing this we picked an area where we would both have the best chance of a fish. Before the gear was out the car we baited a large area of Soar Tackles Nut Particle Mix with Bud Boilies with the plan of both of us putting a rod on it for the night. All the other rods where fished with single baits allowing us both to roam around. After setting up camp and getting the rods on the spots we sat watching the water for the next hour with no signs but the wind was picking up now so it was into the bivvy and get some grub on. Before we got chance to got the food out the thunder, lightning and rain started and I mean it really started and soon turned into hail which really battered the bivvy with the wind tipping 45mph gusts. As quick as it started it passed so we got out the bivvy and had a look the hail was right up the side of both bivvys that’s was proper good storm. Back to the bivvy to get the food on, just about finished cooking the chilli when my rod let out a couple of bleeps I stuck my head out the bivvy just in time to see it rip off, I shot out the bivvy and lent into the fish. It started off very slow heavy pulls but was still heading towards the bank, after a couple of minutes it was under the rod tip plodding around. Lee slipped the net under a lovely looking Mirror, we where both buzzing to have one so early on in the session things looked good.

  

A lovely upper double sat on the bank the second one Mirror of the year. We took a few photos and returned her with a big smile across my face. Lee had turned the food off while we landed the fish so we finished it off and this time there was no interruptions. Although the pressure was suppose to carry on dropping off it didnt it began to rise slightly, this was not a good a sign. We battled through the following storms with no more success through out the rest of the session. Still it was a well enjoyed session with good company....  

Rigs of choice this season

This might surprise some people but id say 80% of my fish caught have been on the same rig,both barbel and carp and it's such a simple rig.iv used it everywhere from weedy lakes to clearer ponds and even on the river.so many company's are pushing so many new super rigs and telling you that you need to no 10 different rigs for any action but in my fishing this simply isn't true.I put more emphasis on where I put the rig and how it's presented.the rig I use for most of my fishing is made of 3 components fluorocarbon,a sharp curved shank hook and a small peace of silicone that's it nothing else.wen fishing for carp I use this at 6-8 inches and wen fishing for barbel on the river about 12-15 inches with a smaller hook and a bit of putty,because of hook shape and the fluorocarbon the aggressive angle of the hook always ensures the hook turns in to the bottom lip.

When fishing over particle I use a combi rig,a combination of fluorocarbon and a supple braid at the hook end and I use 2 bits of popup corn critically balanced so it fly's in to the craps mouth with ease.the last rig I use is a stiff hinge rig,I use this for all my popup boilies. This rig spins so quick in the fish's mouth they don't no how to deal it, witch ever way the fish comes at the bait the hook always ends up in the bottom lip.

That's it 3 easy to tie rigs that i can take anywhere and have a 100% faith in.tight lines.....

Spinney Pool first fish of 2014

Me and Lee were both stood in my kitchen one evening discussing when we could next get out on the bank. As lee had already had 2 carp out this year I was eager to get out there and bag one for myself. We decided to fish the Sunday night (12.1.14), as the conditions according to the weather report could do a bite.


On arrival to the lake there was already somebody fishing, after walking around the lake and talking to the gentleman who was just packing up, he told us that himself and another man had fished that night but due to the sub zero temperatures neither or them had seen a fish let alone had a bite. At that point we knew we had our work cut out for us. We left the bloke packing up and continued to walk around the lake we eventually came to the decision of fishing the low bank with the wind behind us and casting over to the far margin.


After that we walked back to the car, grabbed our gear and tossed a coin to choose the pegs. Lee won the toss and decided to fish the closer peg to us which was fine with me because that left me with the other peg which I had fished before. I chose to fish 3 rods the 1st would be a simple chod rig just chucked out down my right hand margin 2 or 3 rod lengths out. The 2^nd would go out to the far margin to an over hanging tree using a stiff hinged rig popped up about 3inch off the bottom with a bright home-made pop-up. The 3^rd would be cast to a baited spot which both me and lee would be able to fish to from our chosen pegs. On the baited area we would be using a nut based spod mix from Sour Tackle (I have had a number of fish off this through out the year so had great confidence in it). I would be fishing over this with a small combi rig with 2 bits of corn just sat above the bottom.

Before we put the rigs out onto the baited area we had a discussion of how we should actually apply the bait to the spot. Rather then going round and placing the bait on 1 large area (which we do in summer) we decided to spread a line of the nut particle along the margin over about a 30 yard space. Lee put a good few handfuls of his krill boilies over the top as he would be fishing a krill boilie on the hook. The idea behind this is if one of us got a bite the other could switch to the bait that had produced the bite.


After getting all that sorted we knew it was going to get dark and cold soon, we scrapped around and found any dry wood/leafage to get a good fire going in the pit. After 20 ish minutes we had the fire going and we were sat round having a cup of tea whilst Lee cooked us some sausage sandwiches discussing what would hopefully take place during the night. At about half six the wind picked up from the south east and the rain started to move in, so we both climbed into the bivvies to get settled down for the night.


I went through my usual routine for about half an hour of tying rigs and getting them ready for the eventuality of a bite, as tying new rigs with wet cold hands is never easy! According to the weather forecast the pressure would be at its lowest between 3am and 5am so I wasn’t expecting a bite until around that time. After lying there for about an hour listening to the wind and rain getting stronger and stronger by the minute I must of dozed off.



The next thing I knew I was awoken by a back drop on the left hand rod (the baited rod) after climbing out the sleeping bag I rushed out the door to pick up the rod and felt nothing. Started to reel back quickly as it was freezing and I was stood in tracky bottoms and a t-shirt, all of a sudden I felt a tug on the rod, the fish had obviously picked up the bait and moved straight towards me hence why I couldn’t feel it straight away. After giving lee a shout to tell him I was into a fish, he replied instantly with a shout of 'yes lad get in!' a few moments later he arrived beside me on the bank. I didn’t realise how cold it actually was until lee picked up the landing net which was frozen solid. He put the net in the water to defrost it and a few moments later the fish was in the net. A stunning mirror. The fight didn’t last long but as always in winter the fish tend to come in that little bit easier. We left the fish in the net for a moment whilst I went to get some warm clothes on, with the weather being so cold we didn’t want to mess about with the fish so we got it out placed it on the mat, un-hooked it straight away put some carp care on its mouth just to help with the healing and took a few quick pictures then slipped it straight back with as little stress to the fish as possible. The colours of the fish were exceptional as they generally are at this time of year.

Although cold both me and lee were over the moon, I got the rod back onto the spot while Lee made us a cup of tea. Whilst drinking the tea and scanning the horizon we saw the most amazing night sky so Lee took a couple of pics.

Local pit 1.11.2013

I was sat at home on the 1st November listening to the fireworks going off prematurely, I looked at the weather to see what it was doing for the night ahead which was wet and windy but the pressure was really low so my mind was made up. I decided to hit a local pit as I knew it was generally good for a bite and held some decent fish.
I rang my mate Matt to see if he fancied a night on the bank and hour or so later we arrived at the pit. The light was fading quick so it was a rush to get everything set up Matt took care of that while I went through the usual routine of setting up the rods.
The spots I would be fishing were spots I have fished before both across to the far margin as tight as you can possibly get it. As the weather had predicted it was raining and by the time we sat down we were both soaking wet through.
The kettle had just boiled when I had a drop back on the left hand rod, I rushed out picked up into it and instantly knew it was a little bream (gutted) the 1st cast to that spot was perfect and now I had to chuck back out in the pitch black with the wind and the rain in my face,at least I new my rigs were working as it nailed plum in the middle of its bottom lip,I unhooked it in the net and let back. Fortunately I always mark my spot with some tape on the line.
After walking my rods out to my marker I put a fresh rig on with a pva stick and cast it back out. I hit the clip and felt the lead down with a clunk I knew I was on a clear spot and the bait was presented correctly.
After getting back into the bivvy still wet through I stripped off and got into some dry clothes id brought with me unfortunately Matt wasn't so lucky and had a very uncomfortable night ahead of him. We made a brew and I went through a couple of rigs with Matt and should how and why they work and before we knew it it was 10pm and we decided to get out heads down as the weather wasn't looking any better just seemed to be getting worse.
I was awoke at 1am by a roaring take which wasn't alarming to me but Matt jumped out if his skin and ran around like a headless chicken not knowing where he was or what he was doing!!! By the time he had woke up properly the fish was ready for landing, which he proceeded to do quite well. I could tell it was a decent size of fish, so left it resting in the net whilst we ran around getting scales, camera etc (it's much safer and easier to leave the fish resting in the net for 5 mins whilst you sort yourself out,rather then leaving the fish flapping around on the mat).
After getting the fish out safely and placing it on the mat the hook just popped out of its mouth which so often happens. This beautiful long lump of muscle came in at 21lb 14. A new fish to me I had never seen this one before. This put a real smile on my face and excited Matt as he had never seen a fish this size and was just getting into carp fishing.

After slipping the fish back I went through my usual routine of walking the rods out to the mark, clipping up and putting on a fresh rig. I cast it out to the same spot, put a few more freebies over the top and got back into the bivvy to try and get warm as it was still raining and I had no more dry clothes!
The rest of the night passed without a take and come 8am both me and Matt were ready to go home as we were both soaked through.
Even though the conditions wernt brilliant and I was only there for 15 hours I managed to bag a really nice looking fish,a wise man once told me effort equals reward and this is the proof in the pudding.

The hunt for a barbel

After recently moving back to the town I grew up in I was invited to do some barbel fishing by a friend (lee) down on a stretch of river he had been bailiff,id never caught one of these magnificent fish before so naturally I jumped at the chance,lee had told me there were a few in the river and he'd had them out to just over 12lb so he was sure id have one and true to his word I did,I had a 9lb'er,everything id herd about these mystical creature was true,solid muscle and real hard fighting.after revisiting the river a few more time's with lee and have a few more barbel under my belt I thought it was time to go it alone.

 There is a little river at the back of my house,in places it's only a meter wide and an inch deep but there are a few deeper and wider pegs and thought that these would be a grate place to start,the peg its self is one a used to swim in as a boy before I got in to fishing,I got to the peg around 4pm and started to feed the swim using a bait dropper,the chosen bait would be a tried and tested boilie that I have grate confidence in on the hook and id be hooking on a bag of soar tackle's micro-pellets,again something I have grate confidence in and I would be re-casting every 20 min.an hour and half past with out a bite so I pulled the rods back in and jumped in to the next swim for an hour as I had to be home by half 6,again nothing happened for an hour so decided to call it a day and pull back the rods,after pulling one in and putting it away I turned to pick up the other one wen out off the corner of eye I saw a long lean golden shape move slowly out of the over hangs on the opposite bank,a shudder of excitement ran through my entire body,they are here I said to my friend who had joined me on the bank a bit earlier,but I had run out of time so didn't fish for it that night but I did
Put a few bait droppers full of the micro-pellets in before I left. The plan was to return the next evening.
I returned to to the spot the next night with my mate,he had come again for 1, to help me land anything hooked as the banks are high and steep and 2,he had never seen a barbel.the swim was tight so I left Matt up on the bank and a crept down in to position,I put to droppers tight to a over hanging willow on the far bank(I say far but it's only half a rod length) after I put my rig to the same spot,after seeing that fish yesterday I was confident of a bite,and I didn't have to wait long for the rod tip to rip round and I was in to my first barbel on the new river,I had to slide in to the river to play the fish as I didn't want to lose it.after a 10 minute battle she was in the net a 7lb 12oz solid lump of barbel I was over the moon and it wasn't till I slipped her back that I realized that my boots were full cold water and after crashing the swim up there was no chance of another fish I called it a night but before I left I went back to the first peg and put every bit of bait I had left in my bag in the swim ready for the next night.

I was wet,cold but grinning from ear to ear. The next evening me and Matt met down the river at the peg I started to get the stuff together while Matt made tea with-in 20 minutes the traps were set, and it didn't take long before I was in to the first of the night,a 3lb chub had took the bait.

 No sooner had I recast the rod the other one screamed of and I was in to the first barbel of the night,Matt grabbed the net and a sort time later it was on the bank, a beautiful 6lb 8 barbel.

 After slipping her back mat put the kettle on and I put a few more bait-droppers full of pellet in and re-cast the rods,we sat back and looked at the pics we had just taken and laughed about the fact that we used to swim in river,wen the right hand rod slowly took off, i new it was a greedy chub ad soon as I picked the rod up, not as big as the first but still a cracking fish.

About an hour later the left hand rod took off,this was no chub I could tell by the fight it was another barbel,not a big one but still a stunning 6lb fish.

An hour or so past with out a bite so we started to pack up,but I had a feeling there was one more bite to be had so I re-baited one rod while Matt continued to pack stuff up,I cast the rod to a bit of slack water at the back of the over hanging willow,before I had chance to put the rod on the rest it was nearly pulled out of my hand(this was no small fish) it went crazy I was playing the fish for a good 10-15 min before  it finally gave in.when we had the fish on the bank I was surprised to find out it was only 8lb.

Don't get me wrong for the size of the river this fish was big but the way it was fighting I was sure it was a double,after a quick photo I slipped her back,wot a few days it had been,more barbel on the bank than I could of hoped for from this tiny little river,needless to say but I will be back,in hunt of an Erewash double!     

Syndicate 25.08.13

A few days before my 34th birthday I had been invited to fish the syndicate lake again (thanks Scott). We arrived at the lake around 5.30pm, the lake had been closed for a few days due to an air show on the adjacent field, due to the planes taking off & landing so close to the lake Scott thought it be wise to close it for a few days. We pulled up slightly early and managed to catch a few of the planes landing. After watching them for half an hour or so they all took off into the sky and we were free to start fishing!
First of all we took a walk around the lake to see if we could see any signs of fish movement/feeding and unusually for this lake we couldn't see any clear signs. I once again decided to hit the same spot, which wasn't a bad thing I think too many anglers fish the same spot a couple of times and after not hitting into anything big they decide not to fish there again this however is not the case for me.
It was 8pm before anything happened, Lee's rod screamed off and after a 15 minute battle (which we have become accustomed to on this lake) the first fish was on the bank a cracking 17lb 10 common.

Once again the nut spod mix had worked. After a few quick photos and slipping it back we decided to get some food down us. It was 10.30pm before any more action, again Lee's rod went screaming off but unfortunately it snagged him up in some weed and the hook pulled. After that it was time for us to get our heads down and hopefully be woken up by the bite alarms.
Morning came with no action over night but knowing the swim was generally good for a bite I decided to pull my rods in check my rigs and put a fresh lot of bait out on all 3 spots. After chucking back out it was time for breakfast, like always Lee had brought a fee pounds of sausage meat with him for us to have a hearty breakfast to keep us going through the day. The morning and early afternoon passed with no action until 3:30pm when I had a drop back on the left hand rod(nut mix) I lifted into it whilst walking backwards and reeling at the same time to take up the slack,with in seconds I could tell it was no carp but a snotty bream,not what we wanted but at least I knew my rigs were working. After slipping it back I decided to put 2 rods on that spot ,one on the new boilies I'm testing and the other one would stay on the pop-up corn. After re-casting I put 10 more spods over the top and about 50 or so boillies. With the conditions not being very good with a cold north-easterly howling down the lake it was early evening before the next take,the new boilie's had done the trick.I could tell instantly that this was a better fish,it dragged me all over the lake even picking up my other line which could of been a problem but lee came to lend a hand, 20 min later I had my biggest fish of the lake to date,a cracking looking common at 17lb 8 needless to say I was over the moon after a few pics

I slipped her back,I took a few minutes to calm down and gather my thoughts then went though my routine of walking all 3 rods out to my mark,clipping up putting new rigs on and getting them back on the spots with more bait over the top. Although I was confident of another bite nothing happened till 6:30 the following morning when I had a take but lost it in the weed(gutted). Later that morning we were just sitting down to eat breakfast when the new boilie rod screamed off,10 min later my second fish of the set was on the bank a stunning mirror.

After slipping it back I went back to get my breakfast,which the Mrs had eaten most of(thanks Kelly).
Shortly after that it was time to leave,the wind had picked up and we were out off bait but it will not be long before I'm back,the hunt for a big girl continues!!!

The Syndicate 18.08.13

Early Sunday morning I got a phone call off lee asking if I wanted to drop onto the syndicate again for a quick over-nighter. After the success of the last set on there I could hardly refuse,so I packed the car and headed over to Lee's.
We arrived at the lake a little after midday after having a quick walk around and knowing we were only here for a quick over night session I decided to fish the same spots.
After going through my routine of casting out,clipping up,marking my line etc it was time to choose the rigs. Over the left hand rod (which was going to be the particle rod again) I fished a combi rig with 2 popped up bits of corn. The other 2 rods would go across the far margin, both were on standard bottom bait rigs with a pva stick on to mask the hook in case of snagging the tree during the cast, as the 2 boilie spots were tight into the tree line.
The first couple of hours past without any interest,conditions weren't brilliant with a cold easterly wind howling down the lake. Half past 3 came and I started to get a few indications on the particle rod,the bobbin lifting up and down ,the usual indications you get when a few fish are in the swim, 20 minutes later it roared off.The lead ejected on the take causing the fish to come up above the weed, 5 minutes later there was a lovely common on the bank, another really pretty clean fish. After slipping it back I re-cast to the same spot and put a few more spods out over the top, hoping to snag another quick fish.

Unfortunately it wasn't to be. After having some food and discussing the options with Lee, I decided to re-cast the 2 boilie rods. Whilst walking up to the rods from Lee's camp (which wasn't far away from mine) the right hand boilie rod didn't scream off, but rather plodded away quite gradually as if the fish didn't know it was hooked! Until I lifted up into it and then all hell broke loose. After what can only be described as a 20 minute battle from weed bed to weed bed, snag to snag, the 2nd fish of the set was on the bank. A stunning common and my biggest off the lake so far. Although still not one of the monsters that are in this lake, slowly but surely they were getting bigger for me!

 By the time I slipped this one back it was early evening the wind had picked up, so I decided to pull all the rods back and put some bait on the spots for the night to come,I then had a quick cup of tea and a chat with Lee. Lee wasn't feeling the peg he was in and didn't think it would produce a bite, so he decided to move to a peg further down the lake. After helping Lee move I headed back to my camp,the reason I didn't put the rods straight back out onto the spots was to let any fish come and have a free feed to build their confidence. After getting the rods back on the spot a couple of hours later and making sure I had rigs ready for the night I decided to get in my bivvy and get my head down.
The next thing I knew it was 7am and I crawled out my bivvy to see Lee landing his first fish of the set, another beautiful fish as they all have been out of here,just showing that being able to read the swim and having the confidence to move pegs during a short set can pay off. Well played Lee.

After battling the elements for the next few hours with no success I decided to call it a day whilst Lee decided to carry on and stay until early evening, to see if he could nick another bite but unfortunately this wasn't to be.
Although the hunt for the bigger ones still continues it was nice to bag a couple if fish in conditions that weren't perfect.

The syndicate video

Here is a video from the last set on the new syndicate i hope you enjoy.

The Syndicate 06-08-2013

It’s Tuesday morning and all the gear is ready to go for a two night session on a new lake. Lee turned up around midday and we were off. I have never seen this lake before apart from on goggle maps and friends photos. To say I was excited is an understatement. The first impression of the lake was a good one. We both had a walk around and spoke to a couple of members who were after the big Tench. After spying a couple of fish mulling around on the top on the west bank we made our way back to car to get the Floater kit out. My rod was already set-up with a Controller Float so I started to feed Floaters which the fish reacted to instantly. As soon as they started taking them Pac Man style i made the first cast. It was looking great for a take when Lee shouts “am in lad” he had got one out the margin Free-Lining bread. His fish crashed up the swim so I reeled in to help out. First fish I see on the bank is a lovely little Common. After that the wind got up so we decided to set-up camp on the south bank half way up the lake. After having a feel round with a lead for an hour I decided to fish a clear gravel spot i found in the middle of the lake in about 17 foot of water. The lake is very weedy and the water is gin clear so I couldn’t ignore this spot for the first night.  I put two rods on this spot fishing both with Krill Bottom Baits; the third rod will be on a spot one of the old boys told me he had raked out under a tree. This would be perfect for the new Nut Particle mix I would be testing for Soar Tackle. Unfortunately the old boy was fishing his lines over the spot so I had to wait till early evening to get the bait and rod on there.

 

 It was slow up until the early hours of the morning when I was woken by I one toner off the Nut mix. I nice little Mirror to start me off.

The next fish fell to Lee early morning on his Nut mix spot a nice little Common. After that it was time for breakfast, Lee cooked up a pound of sausage meat with bacon eggs and beans just what we needed to get the day started. With nothing happening on the two Boilie rods I got the Marker out again and had feel round on the opposite bank. There is a big tree over hanging the margin and I found two nice silt spots about two rod lengths apart. Accuracy was key with these spots as they were tight into the tree line. I put the two rods on the spots and fired in half a kilo of Krill Boilies on them.  A couple of hours later I had a take-off one of the Boilie rods which I lost in the weed. Proof the change of spots was a good move. Minutes later the Nut mix rod was off and i was bent into my third take.

On the bank was a lovely Common only a small one but a great looking fish. Throughout the day the Nut mix spot keep me busy with a couple more takes first from another Common and then a stunning Mirror with white tips on its fins similar to the Common Lee had at the beginning of the session.

The next fish was on Lee’s Krill Boilie rod another nice Common. Things went quite after this so I took the time to tie more rigs and make sure am all ready for the night.  I am glad I did this as from nine till four in the morning I had six more takes. Each one ran from weed bed to weed bed causing me to lose two out the six even though I was dropping the lead on each take. Although the fish landed where all singles the battles I had were like none I had landed before, they fought hard then any of the 20s I’ve had this year so far. That is a true testament to the fish and the quality of the water.

 

 I didn’t get much sleep so I kept on top of the rigs, re-sharpening the hooks and tie a new one if necessary. I think this is where a lot of anglers go wrong with not spending the time making sure everything is in perfect working order even through the night. The other key point to getting these takes is being able to hit the spot in the dark. I do this by clipping my rods up in the day to the spot using a reference point on the top of the tree which will be visible at night and marking my line. Then at night I walk the rod out on the bank to the marker and clip the rod up. This way I insure I hit the right spot every time. Effort equals reward. The next couple of hours passed without a take until Lees rod ripped off with a upper double Common. Soon after this the wind changed direction and the pressure started rising and no matter how hard we tried the fish were just not playing ball. It was early evening before the next take falling to Lee`s rod another lovely little Mirror. As Lee was returning the fish one of my rods ripped off.

 As I was about to net the fish I had another take which Lee hit into for me. Lee passed me the rod moments later but after a couple more minutes the hook pulled first one of the session gutted. That was the end of the set for me. A busy two nights on the bank although these fish were not the biggest in the lake but size doesn’t matter when they fight so hard and look so good. I look forward to returning soon.