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Having spent the last 6 years fishing on a local club water with mixed success, it was time for a change in tactics. The lake I’m on is an old gravel pit works of approximately 8 acres. It is essentially an elongated pyramid in shape, with a river running down the length to its right hand side and a railway embankment along the bottom. The lake was dug in the early 1970’s so is reasonably well established, with a good bordering of trees and foliage. There are approximately 130 fish in the lake to 36lb / 37lb, 20 or so of the original stock, with the remainder made up of stock fish. The earliest of the stock fish are between low to upper 20’s in weight with the more recent stockings around the upper single low double weights. This lake has lots of things going for it, it’s close to home (but then where I live there are some of the best lakes in Berkshire right on my door step), there are a very few anglers who fish it throughout the season and best of all for me it is absolutely stunning. There are a few downsides to the lake, but good downsides if there is such a thing. Firstly there is a lot of natural food for the fish to eat, and I mean lots of it. Secondly due to the lack of pressure on the lake throughout the full season, it’s not what you would call easy. I’ve fished harder waters and I’ve fished easier waters, but this is somewhere in between.
So with very little angling pressure throughout the year and an abundance of natural food a baiting campaign was in order. Unfortunately trying to find some like minded anglers who would be prepared to put a similar amount of effort and money in had been hard, so I was going to have to go it alone. I had tried a number of different baits over the preceding years, changing once a season or even having a summer bait and winter bait but nothing had set the world on fire and some had even blown within a few months. Being a Bailiff for the club who controls this water, I had got to know a few of the other guys who fished our lakes. One of them had mentioned to me about the Ocean Fresh range of baits and had sung it praises to me on numerous occasions. I took a walk over to one of our other lakes and met up with him, a few hours and plenty of cups of tea later it was decided. Ocean Fresh Red Shrimp and Garlic would be the bait for me.
In late October 2006 my bait arrives. If you’ve never seen 100kgs of bait, I very much doubt your wife or girlfriend has either. What is like Christmas Day with sheer delight to your face, is not necessarily the same feeling that she has. Fortunately a promise that it can all be hidden away in the freezers in the garage was enough to placate the situation. A couple of hours shifting “non-essential” food stuffs around and all 100kgs are out of sight and out of (her) mind. Until she wants some ice cream that is……
I’d already decided on which swim I would be baiting up, this for me was the advantage of not having many competing anglers. The railway bank was ideally suited, it was the northern side of the lake and during the winter I would be sheltered from the most bitterly of cold winds, whilst at the same time should a warmer southerly arrive it would be blowing right into my face. I’d decided that because the weather was still quite warm, the trees were still full of green and the temperatures were still mid to late teens, I would start with between 5 and 10kg’s of bait a week. I baited with a mixture of two thirds 18mm and 1 third 15mm Red Shrimp and Garlic. The Ocean Fresh Red Shrimp and Garlic boilies breakdown to create a carpet of attraction and more importantly nutritious food, if the fish were to get on them sooner a combination of sizes would keep them occupied and make it harder for them to detect my hook bait when the time arose. Although I was looking to bait a certain swim, I wasn’t going to be a martyr. I would need to visit the lake daily as part of my role as a bailiff, so if I saw fish activity then I would look to be fishing where the fish were and just hoping they were eating my bait. On Tuesday and Thursday I would visit armed with my bait bucket and throwing stick. Again I was fortunate not to have to do this under the cover of darkness due to the lack of angling pressure. The swim I chose had a good area of water in front of it, I would easily be able to fish 3 rods across the area the size of a tennis court about 35 to 40 yards out. One rod would be in the centre of the concentrated baited area, one just off it in the lightly baited area and the 3rd right on the edge of the baited area.
I arrived at the lake on Friday of the last weekend of October and after a few circuits of the lake without seeing any fish decided to set-up in my baited swim. Single 18mm Red Shrimp and Garlic bottom baits were put on each rod, all three rods were cast to their chosen spots with 3 bait stringers attached, and I settled down for a brew. A few fish crashed during the night but my bobbins remained motionless. I was up at first light and watching the water with a brew in hand. About 9am a very good sized common crashed about 50 yards or so in front of me. Nothing for it but to put a rod on it’s head. I reeled in and cast to where the ripples were. The first cast missed, but the second was inch perfect, the baitrunner went on and the bobbin was attached. 15 minutes later and the rod screamed off, it took about 20 yards off the drag before I could turn it. I applied pressure and it kited around to my right still some 65 yards out. A bit of a scrap later and I had it in the margins, it was the common I’d seen jumping. A sudden dart to the right and a little bit of line later and it was heading for the net. Next second it’s powered off, the drag singing its heart out, I turned it again and it headed to shore. The net poised, I slowly edged it towards me when it turned its head towards me and cleanly spat the hook. I was gutted, but then again I was chuffed to bits. Ok so I may have lost a good common, it’s time will come, but more importantly they seemed to like the bait.
I continued with the Tuesday and Thursday baiting. The following weekend I had my first landed fish. An upper double mirror of 18lb 3oz but a fish on the new bait none the less. As November came and went I was catching consistently one or 2 fish a week, between mid double and just under 20lb. December came and because I continued to catch every week or every other week I continued with the 5-10 kg’s of bait. During the last weeks of December and the first weeks of January the frosts were quite harsh, but still the fish continued to come out to my baits. Towards the end of January, I’d only be able to get one nighters in.
I arrived at the lake on the Saturday to the usual sign of an empty Car Park, loaded the barrow and headed off to the Railway Bank. Now normally I would get my rods out first before setting up my bivvy, however this particular day it was freezing, with a biting wind coming from a North Easterly direction so nothing for it, the rods would have to wait. I’d been chopping and changing between single 18mm Red Shrimp and Garlic, double 15mm Red Shrimp and Garlic and 15mm and 18mm bottom bait snowman Red Shrimp and Garlic trying to find which one the fish preferred best, but had continued to catch one or two fish per visit despite the hook bait size or combination. This time I decided I would fish each rod differently, one 18mm on one rod, double 15mm on the second and a 15mm and 18mm bottom bait snowman on the third. Will all combinations up against each other I would be able to see which one they preferred. A 3 bait stringer was attached and they were cast to their respective spots on the edge, just inside and in the middle of the baited area. About midnight I had a couple of bleeps on my left hand rod, I raised my head from the pillow and could see the led from the alarm shining on the green bobbin. I watched for about 30 seconds then put my head back on the pillow. I was just dosing off when I’m awoken from my bed by a one toner, beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeppppp. I sprang to life expecting to see the left hand rod peeling line off, but it’s the right hander. I struck the rod, the bait runner clicked off and I was into a fish. With my right hand almost frozen to the rod, I slowly bring the fish to the margin. Just as I’m about to pick up the landing net handle, my left hand rod screamed off. I strike it and then place it back on the alarm with the bait runner engaged, making sure that the line is bypassing the alarm. That’s woken me up. Quickly the first fish is in the net and the net is secured to the bank. A few minutes later and I have the tricky procedure of netting a second fish with the first fish still in the net. A deep breath and a look to the heavens, the second fish is also in the net. Right lets see what we’ve got. I pull the mesh of the net apart and there lie 2 mirrors one upper double and one low to mid twenty. Both fish are weighed the smaller of the 2 going 17lb 2oz whilst the bigger is weighed in at 22lb 10oz. Time for some photo’s, time for a better camera more like. Its one of those things isn’t it, you keep thinking you should do something but never do. Well I’d had some trouble with the camera when the frosts arrived, first the remote wouldn’t work and then the battery wouldn’t keep its charge. I’d swapped the batteries in both and they both worked in the warm of the lounge during the week. Well when I needed them in minus 5, they failed me. The camera turned on, but a second later, beep, beep, beep it shut itself off. Oh well, I got my last resorts back-up camera out and fired off a couple of shots on the mat. Always the way how the rubbish last resort back-up camera always works perfectly.
Both rods were recast, kettle was on and I slipped back into my bag. I was awoken about 2am, by a single beep on the middle rod. I lifted my head just as it burst into life. A short scrap later and I had another twenty pound mirror on the bank, this time going 20lb 14oz. I looked at the camera, turned it on, beep, beep, beep. Picked the spare up and fired a few more pictures off on the mat. 3 fish and it was freezing cold, I was chuffed to bits. The rod was recast and I slipped back to bed. I was woken at 5.30 by a one toner on the right hand rod, out I jumped struck into the fish and played it to the margin. I picked up the net and it had frozen itself to the unhooking mat. A quick yank later and I was left with just a sold form landing net. A bit of dunking in the net to thaw it out and I was able to slip the net under another mid double. I’d been catching quite consistently the one or two fish a week, now on one of the coldest nights of the winter I’d caught 4.
One of my mates came down about 7.30 for a brew, “Bet you blanked, it was minus 6 on the Weather Report last night” he says. “They’re like London Buses mate, I managed 4”, he nearly fell over in shock. |