With a full house again this Sunday I wasn't really sure where I wanted to draw on the New Lake, my only request was a peg out of the wind! When peg 23 came out of the bag in my hand I was well happy, as not only was I off the worst of the wind but I also had a fair bit of room! I've tried to upload the picture of the peg but for some reason it won't (I will try again later!) but it's the same peg I drew on my first blog, should you want to look!
Obviously the first line of attack was a small method to the island. Normal gear here was my trusty 10ft puddle-chucker and a small 30gr Preston in-line method. Normally I'd use Dynamite Swim-Stim for the groundbait but I'd decided to pick up the bag of Marukyu something or other that I was given by a mate to try - it's been in the shed for ages so I thought I'd use it! Standard fayre otherwise, with size 16 Kammy Animals on .18 hook-links completeing the set-up. I had two lines ear-marked for the pole; a 5m line and a margin rig in to the bay to my left at 13m. The 5m line was in 5ft of water using a .4gr NG Decker. Line was .17 to .15 and an 18 Fox Series 2 on black hydro. I had two rigs for the margin in 2ft of water, both .2gr DC5's on .19 line, just one with a .17 hook-link and 16 Fox Series 2, the other with a .15 hook-link and an 18 hook. The stronger was on purple hydro and the other on Preston 15h. I wanted a lighter option as sometimes the fish are smaller in the peg, or so I've found.
With the whistle blowing I started off by feeding both the pole swims, both a bit lighter than perhaps normal for the time of year in the cold north-westerly wind. Starting on the method to the corner of the island it was a good twenty minutes before I had any indications, with the next two chucks also giving liners before the tip finally yanked round with a fat 4lb+ common, funilly enough on the first cast after I'd buried the bait right in the feeder instead of leaving it on top of the mould. Thinking I had it sussed I did the same again, but I most definetly didn't as no bites followed on the next two drops so I had a brief (biteless) spell on both pole lines.
Pretty much first chuck back on the feeder and another bite saw me attached toa fish that felt bigger, but it wasn't really much bigger, just one of the black and gold/silver koi that inhabit the lake and fight like stink!
As seemed to be the theme for the last few weeks the swim totally died, and I coudln't get a bite! I'd bought worm with me and started to introduce choppy and caster to the margin in a bid to draw some lif e in to the swim, but it just didn't work! And it was the same for everyone, apart from peg 27 who I could see was nicking an odd fish.
With an hour to go a brace of big commons started to cruise in and out of the bay to my left so I abandoned the feeder and plugged away more on the pole in the edge. I decided to feed whole cups of loose groundbait to give a fair amount of attractant with little feed. Fishing a fair size dendra over the top I started to get an odd liner with half an hour to go, then with just ten minutes to go the float went and the lakky followed! After playing what was obviously a lump for about five minutes the hook just in-explicably pulled.... And I swore very loud.
As the scales came round 20lb was top weight with 16lb second. I tipped back 9lb with two fish and the late lost fish was most likey a double costing me definetly third and in all likelyhood second, with 32lb winning and that 20lb being second. The only saving grace was listening to van der Vaart smash one home from 2o yards as I was packing up, then Modric stabbing in a (dubious) penalty as I left the peg on the radio as Spurs completed the league double over Liverpool (sorry Carl!) Still, it enlightened my day when everything in the fishing seemed to want to go against me!
2 comments:
Morning Gavin, thanks for the update - i must admit your past comments gave me a good idea of what to expect from Lake 1, as it was my first visit. I drew peg 27, but after reading your experiences on the peg and speaking to Peter, felt quite confident i would at least catch. Started on the method into the bay, casting in about 12 times to put some bait down but, not a touch on my corn hookbait. Put a paste line in at 8m 45 degree angle to my right, in approx 6ft of water - fed hemp, 4mm pellets and small peices of paste. Hemp, corn and meat went into the margin to my right just in front of the lillies. Fed both lines throughout the match, every 1/2 hour - not a touch, not even a liner! Perservered with the method for the first two hours, saw a few fish swimming over my feed, decided to set up at 16.5m (couldn't reach any further) to see if could draw the fish towards overhanging tree branches, slightly left of the bay. Fed 3 or 4 corn pretty much every cast to the right of the branches, result; hooked 9 carp on 9mm bread punch or corn, landed 6 (lost a monster on the whistle) for approx 30lb. All in all, an enjoyable day although hard work! Thanks again to youyself and Peter, see you in two weeks. Kind regards. Chris
Glad you enjoyed yourself! Hopefully in two weeks the fish will have spawned and it'll fish better.
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