Summer at last

The evening following the capture of that first Tench of the season, Shelley and I popped down to the lake for a short evening session. We had the place to ourselves again so I dropped into the same swim again. I hurriedly spodded out a bit of seed mix to the edge of the pads before dropping a pop up boilie on top along with about 20 free offerings catapulted out. On a second rod I float fished pop up fake corn in front of the reeds again, well I would wouldn't I? Groundbait here was a handful of seed mix thrown beside the float with every cast. It was a beautiful summer evening with a light breeze from the south east and we sat sipping tea, chatting and enjoying the peace and quiet.

Shelley was fishing a whip, baited with maggots but the evening was quiet fish wise. The Rudd shoals were conspicuous by their absence but the odd Carp was showing by the lilies, no sign of any Tench though. As the sun began to dip Shelley's first bite resulted in a nice Roach of about 8ozs and from then on the Rudd moved in giving her a bite a chuck. I had a few Rudd on my float rod but after one or two these nothing more than annoyance, taking my bait on the drop so regularly I couldn't settle my float in position over the bait I'd chucked in. By ten o'clock I could still see my float but the Rudd were becoming a pain and the temperature had dropped below the comfortable in our shady swim so we packed up and head home.



The week that followed was glorious, very hot with clear sunny skies which is all very nice if you don't want the Tench to spawn just yet. However as I arrived at the lake at 5am for another short session I was sure they must have done just that and would be considerably lighter than they had been a week ago. I chose a swim on the southern bank for three reasons; firstly it was one I'd never fished before and secondly I'd read that Tench like to spawn amongst the roots of willow trees. The trees around me weren't willows, oh well... The third reason was I'd dreamt about fishing this spot the previous night, well you never know...

On my tramp through the swamp to reach the swim I disturbed a Jay which departed through the woods and announced my arrival by making a right old racket that sounded like a car alarm on a still night. Its shrill cries rang out sounding oh so loud despite the almost constant chatter of birdlife. I arrived at the swim and it looked good, nice overhanging trees on both sides and a small bed of lilies in the middle. On the left I laid a carpet of seed mix beside the tree and fished a 10mm boilie balanced with a bit of fake corn. I also chucked in a few boilies as free offerings. To the tree on the right I used the chod rig with a PVA bag full of pellets and a pop up boilie as bait. I chucked about thirty free offerings here too. In the middle, at close range I float fished a piece of fake corn and used some more seed mix as groundbait.

Within minutes the bubbling started, first over the right hand rod and then the left. Following my experiences fishing 'The Cauldron' I tried hard to ignore this but it had to be a good sign surely? By 6.15 I had activity all over the swim. There was loads of fizz over the right hand rod, the float was misbehaving as Rudd tried unsuccessfully to eat the fake corn and despite the line being pinned to the lake bed by back leads I was getting short pulls and taps on the tip of the left hand rod. Things looked really good and I couldn't help feeling confident but I have been here before...

Ten minutes later I saw a strange disturbance of water amongst the overhanging trees to my right. This was followed by a trail of bubbles moving quickly towards me, past me and away into the overhanging trees to my left. I've seen this before at other venues so I was 99% sure what was going on. I continued to watch the water to my left and sure enough an Otter popped his head out and slowly rolled back under again. This is the first Otter I've seen in this part of the world, a beautiful sight that I should feel privileged to have witnessed. Fantastic if you're a wildlife fanatic but as an angler I can't help fearing for the fish stocks. I sat back in my chair and scanned the water which now seemed devoid of life, surely my chances of catching anything were long gone now?

At 6.35am I had a proper take on the right hand rod baited with a pop up boilie and bent into a proper fish. Obviously a good sized Tench moving with power and pace now that it was free of spawn! No, it was a Carp. With the methods I'm currently using I suppose it was inevitable that I'd connect with one eventually but the thought hadn't entered my head until it rolled in front of me showing off its golden mirror scales. It gave a good account of itself on a short line but not being a Carp angler I like to bend my rods and soon had it in the net. It was a strange looking specimen, short & podgy, a bit like me? I know many people rave about Carp but I could never describe this particular fish as a thing of beauty despite the pretty scale pattern.

Twenty five years ago I did a lot of Carp fishing, back then 'forties' were still a fish of a lifetime and we had to drive for an hour to have a chance at catching a 'twenty'. Twenty five years ago a fish of this size would have well and truly made my day. Nowadays match anglers often land bigger fish on a pole and this fish would not even be worth mentioning in a conversation between 'proper' Carp anglers. I grew to dislike what 'Carp fishing' became through the nineties and beyond but I've discovered that I still like fishing for Carp, if that makes sense? Here at the Marsh I just enjoy catching whatever comes along and I thoroughly enjoyed catching this Carp which may well be the first of many. However, I would have been blown away with a Tench of the same weight!

With the rod cast back out and everything back to near normal the swim looked like it could yield me another fish or two. There was still bubbling by the tree on the right, sharp pulls on the left hand rod and Rudd were still trying to eat the plastic corn on the float rod. A 'fish', maybe a Carp or possibly a Tench rolled close to the float but didn't pick any of my baits up. As the sun grew higher and the day got hotter so the bubbling fizzled out and fish activity dwindled away. Even so with the banks beautiful in full summer bloom and framed by the trees all around me the lake looked an absolute picture. It didn't look like I was going to catch anything else but packing away just before 9am was still a wrench.

Fathers Day

I had another early morning, mad dash, short session in the swim I have now christened “The Cauldron” due to the amount of bubbles that are always breaking surface. Unfortunately it was a repeat of the previous few visits. I fished the overhanging bushes opposite with a pop up boilie and the margins with a method feeder & balanced boilie/fake corn. Once again the surface of the swim resembled a shaken lemonade bottle as bubbles erupted here there and everywhere, including over and around my baits. This morning I didn't have a bite, not even a daft Pike! I have never fished anywhere, for any species where there is so much activity from fish and failed to catch. I left tired and frustrated vowing not to fish the swim again if I could avoid it!

Over the past few weeks my Tench methods have evolved considerably. I started off by thinking it might be easy, float fish amongst the lilies and chuck a maggot feeder down the marginal shelf, that'll do the job surely? I wanted to use 'traditional' methods for catching Tench but as the weeks have passed by fishlessly I have found myself reverting to the methods that have caught me most Tench in the past. In the early eighties I learnt to catch Tench by float fishing Bread flake or sweetcorn amongst the lily pads but over the years I've caught far more, either by accident or design, using what should really be called carp tactics. Boilies, bolt rigs, PVA bags, method feeders and it's to these methods I find myself reverting. It's a confidence thing, I'm going back to using the tactics that have worked for me in the past. I've made a bit of a change in baits too. The pellets have been replaced by a seed mix and I've splashed out on some proper 10mm boilies from a real bait maker. The groundbait has a twist too with an old favourite special ingredient X added to the mix. With the weekend approaching I felt confident I had the methods and bait to fool a Tench.

The kids mother had informed me that the youngsters wanted to spend 'Fathers day' with me. That's fine by me; “what do you fancy doing?” I asked them. “don't know Dad, it's up to you” they say. “Fancy going night fishing?” I tentatively suggest. “Great idea Dad!!” comes the reply. So that's that then!

There is one swim on 'The Marsh' that is perfect for our requirements. It's dry, has plenty of room for a bivvy or tent, a nice big bed of lilies opposite for me to position a couple of Tench baits and very little marginal weed for the kids to snag their gear in. It happens to be one of the most popular parts of the lake so the chances of us finding it free on a Saturday evening were minimal. Work couldn't pass quickly enough but by 1830 Isaac, Madison and I were pulling into an empty car park. Not only was that swim I fancied free but we had the lake to ourselves as well! We set about unloading the car on a gloomy evening with a fresh northerly wind and threatening clouds. Before touching the fishing gear I quickly erected their tent so I could get them settled and comfortable so any showers that happened to dump on us wouldn't spoil things. This was achieved and thankfully what rainfall we had was light and brief, the kids were able to explore their surroundings while I got my stuff ready.

Before I rigged up the Tench rods I done something I thought I'd never, ever do; I used a spod. After discussing things with one of my Carp fishing pals I'd been convinced these ridiculously named lumps of plastic are not sold in adult shops but are just the job for baiting up. Half an hour later I'd come to the conclusion that the whole procedure was tedious and labourious but I had to admit I'd managed to put about two kilos of seed mix, maggots and casters out accurately and effectively. Maybe I should get a bigger spod? Now for the Tench rods; I fished a helicopter rig baited with a 10mm boilie, balanced with a bit of fake corn and cast this right on top of the baited area. The other rod was the chod rig and a 15mm pop up cast just out of the baited area. On both rods I used “Grippa” type leads with a lump of groundbait moulded around it. By this time Madison & Isaac had grown tired of whipping in Rudd and demanded supper so with everything ready for the night out came the stove for sausage and bacon sandwiches.

The sun slipped beneath the horizon and the sky gradually darkened. The kids and I crept up to the car park for a minute or two to watch the rabbits scampering about in the field then we settled back into our chairs to watch the aerial display put on by hundreds of bats. I set up a float rod, baited with a piece of fake corn popped up a couple of inches off bottom. This was fished a rod length out and to the right in front of a bed of Norfolk reeds. The float dipped a couple of times but on both occasions Rudd were the culprits. The children retired to their sleeping bags and when it became too dark to see the float, so did I. I lay back feeling confident, I'd put a nice bed of Tench food out, positioned nicely on the corner of a large bed of lily pads. I had two good baits fished on rigs that gave me confidence, surely tonight would be the night?

I slept easily but was awoken by the occasional bleep occurring on both rods, unfortunately nothing developed on either. At 4am I awoke to find the sky was light enough to make recasting easy so put two fresh baits out and topped the swim up with around twenty more boilies before climbing back into the kip bag. Why hadn't I caught? At 7.30am I was awake again and asking myself the same question. The children were awake now too so the three of us emerged from the tent. Once again I re-baited and recast both rods then set the kids up with the whip. I sneaked my float rod out too, just round the corner in front of the reeds and out of the way. Two palm sized balls of groundbait joined it along with a couple of handfuls of red maggots and the last of the casters. A fish rolled over my baited area by the lilies, almost certainly a Tench and bubbles broke surface, maybe I still had a chance? The kids amused themselves with the whip, taking it in turns to catch Perch, Roach and the inevitable Rudd while I busied myself with breakfast. We all enjoyed a nice cup of tea while the sausage and bacon sizzled.

I kept an eye on the float and noticed bubbles in the vicinity but I've seen this so many times here lately that I hardly paid it a second thought. At around 8.30am the float rose slightly then began to slide away. I was expecting yet another bloody Rudd and for a few moments that is what I thought I'd hooked, a Rudd but a good 'un. However the rod hooped over and stayed bent! I was attached to something half decent that took a few moments to realise it was hooked. The fight was unspectacular apart from a few deep boils, It dawned on me that I was actually into a Tench but at first thought it must be fairly small. The longer things went on the bigger the fish seemed, especially when it tried to get into the marginal reeds. Surely I wasn't going to actually catch it? I drew it over the net and “YES!!” It, or should I say 'she', was mine. A beautiful dark green fish, full to bursting with spawn. Would she be a PB? No she wasn't but only a couple of ounces under. That'll do for me!

We resumed our postponed breakfast. I re-baited all three rods and carried on fishing for a couple of hours more but no other Tench took pity on me. At long last I've broken my duck with the Tench from 'The Marsh'. I'd spent all week plotting & planning the fishes downfall on my boilie rods then go and catch one on the float which I'd chucked out as an after thought! We packed away the camping gear then tidied up the fishing tackle before taking a slow stroll around the lake. First through the trees where Isaac carved a path through the stinging nettles with his light sabre. Then we sploshed through the marshy bog and walked on through the field to complete our circuit. “Happy fathers day!” said Madison. “Have you had fun?” asked Isaac. “Too right I have!”

Agony, Irony and the law of sod

31/05/10

Saturday morning was dull, damp and 'orrible but I managed to drag myself out of bed and get down to the Lake before 5am. Once again I was on a tight time schedule and I didn't have to spend much time making my mind up where to fish. This was due to the fact that four over night anglers were already bivvied up leaving me with little choice anyway. I ended up in a swim on the eastern bank, sitting right in the teeth of the fresh westerly wind whipping drizzle in at me. I'd not fished here before but knew from a trip I'd spent chucking a lure around that on my left was a relatively shallow slope leading away from a bed of Norfolk reeds. On the right was deeper water with the occasional patch of lily pads and here I cast the chod rig with a strawberry pop up and a PVA bag full of mixed pellets. This I topped up with five pouches of pellets, the bait kept on a fairly tight spot. On my other rod I fished a maggot feeder, filled with loads of little red wriggly things and the hook baited with fake maggots as well as the real thing. I made a line of groundbait going down the slope, consisting of the green Lake Wizard stuff topped up with lots of free offerings and goodies. My traps were set, now it was just a case of braving the elements and waiting.

I began getting pulls on the maggot feeder straight away, a procession of Rudd hooked themselves. It didn't take very long before I was becoming fed up with this but thankfully the Rudd attention soon died down. It was hard to stay comfortable in the cool, damp, dreary conditions but I was cheered to see a bit of bubbling in the vicinity of my maggot feeder rod. Maybe the Rudd had been pushed away from the area by larger fish moving in? I'd become used to seeing patches of fishy bubbling around my baits and absolutely nothing happening so was hardly on the edge of my seat as the amount of bubbling increased. Nothing was going to happen was it? No sooner had the thought entered my head than the alarm shrieked and the bobbin smacked into the butt! The strike resulted in yet another Rudd...

Half an hour later and I was fed up with the bloody things so took the drastic measure of swapping rods. The chod rig was cast on the slope in front of the reeds and the maggot feeder dropped in the deeper water to my right. The drizzle eased and the sky brightened, things got more relaxing and comfortable but fishing wise, absolutely nothing happened. Not a blip. I actually began to miss the attentions of the Rudd! As all the action had occurred to the left of the swim I decided to put both baits in this area. I managed one more Rudd before time run out and for once I wasn't unhappy to be packing up.

Now I'm used to 'not catching' Tench but this is becoming beyond a joke. All my methods and tactics have gone round in circles and I've pretty much ended up back where I began, albeit with a few refinements. I want to use what would be known as 'traditional' Tench methods as opposed to scaled down Carp tactics but it's the latter that has worked best for me in the past and its to these methods I seem to be returning. What throws me is the silt, this limits the methods I feel confident using but should I just ignore it? About 25 years ago I fished a very silty water for Carp and here I did just that, I ignored the silt and my baits frequently came back smelling of shite yet I still caught carp. However I seem to remember catch rates improved once we discovered “pop ups”. Then there's the bait. Should I continue with the pellet and groundbait approaches that have worked for me in the past or go for chucking a loads of seeds out? Maybe this is all just bollocks and I'm not catching anything because it's a deep lake and the fish just haven't woken up yet. After all, no-one else seems to be catching either. What the hell, I'm enjoying fishing a beautiful lake and despite everything loving the challenge.

05/06/10


Back to 'the Marsh' again, this time I had company in the shape of my son Isaac and nephew Oliver. I managed to get the boys out of their beds fairly early and by 6.15 am we were surveying the lake. The sky was clear, the sun was already shining brightly and it was getting hotter by the minute. By 0630 we were settled in fishing a swim on the north eastern side. I put two rods out for the Tench, baiting an area beneath an over hanging tree, positioning a feeder and popped up maggots at the top of the slope and a popped up boilie at the bottom. These were pretty much left to fish for themselves as I was going to be busy this morning!



The main purpose for being there was to hopefully help the boys catch a few fish and soon both were float fishing maggots in front of the marginal lily pads. It didn't take very long before both were catching Rudd, a bite a chuck with fish up to about 6ozs. I now had a full time job, unhooking fish, untangling lines and tying on new hooks as both lads developed a knack for snagging the lilies. I didn't feel I had much chance on the Tench rods but otherwise all was going well, that was until a Pike put in an appearance.

Normally I welcome the attentions of predatory fish but today this one was proving to be a pain in the back side, literally grabbing every single fish the boys attempted to land. Some they managed to get in, minus a few scales but others were engulfed and lost, hook and all as the Pike made hay. There was only one option so I rigged up a free roving float rig with a wire trace, now all we needed was a bait and hopefully the Pike would learn to avoid the area for a while. The problem now was thanks to the Pike the Rudd were now proving elusive but eventually one succumbed, was mounted on the trace and swung out into the danger zone. It didn't take long for the Pike to home in, the float buried and ploughed towards the pads. I set the hook then handed the rod to Oliver who was now playing his first ever Pike. Ollie was surprised by the strength of the fish but soon steered an immaculate looking fish of about five pounds into the net.



After that the day was an anti-climax. The sun rose higher, the temperature soared and the Rudd never returned in any kind of numbers. I kept catapulting a few chum mixers out to see if I could interest any Carp but apart from one small fish that stuck its head out, nothing doing. We kept going with a couple of fry ups but by early afternoon we were all hot and tired so decided to call it a day.

The following morning I was back again, I had the place to myself so after a quick look around settled into what has become my favourite swim on the lake, I always feel confident here despite never actually catching anything. By 5.45 I was float fishing sweetcorn in the margins and had an open end feeder baited with fake corn and maggots at the bottom of the shelf. I trickled in groundbait, pellets, corn and maggots, little and often throughout the morning. It was a dull muggy morning and with bubbles popping up in the swim I felt confident.

By 6.30am my swim was a mass of bubbles, not the classic Tench fish but big patches of bubbles breaking out here and there. They may have been caused by Carp but I was convinced they were being made by fish of some description. Today was going to be the day! The float dipped but I hesitated, it just didn't look or feel right and I didn't want to spook the fish. The float settled again, had I missed my chance? I kept recasting the feeder rod but after ninety minutes without a touch I rang the changes and switched to a maggot clip and a big wriggling mass of the things popped up, irresistible? An easterly breeze sprang up rippling the surface and the sun poked through the clouds every now and then. At 7.40 I had a “proper” bite on the float and struck into thin air, bugger!



As time passed still great clouds of bubbles broke out around the swim, fish were definitely about so why wasn't I catching? I switched the feeder rod for a pop up boilie, scattering a few free offerings around, would this do the trick? Every now and then bubbles would break out right beside my float or above the boilie rod. I began getting tentative dips and lifts on the float but struck at very few, each time connecting with sweet FA. It's ironic, the float would move and I would tense, ready for the inevitable sail away bite that never came. The second I relaxed again another slight dip on the float. The trouble is I just can't concentrate, I'd never make a matchman. My gaze keeps wandering, there's just too much to look at. This reminded me of something that I've always known. I'm hopeless at float fishing! Still fish moved about the swim and still I failed to register any positive bites. This was a situation I knew only too well when I used to do a lot of Carp fishing, I'd have fish in my swim but just couldn't catch them! Highly frustrating but in this case, strangely addictive.


By 11.30 I was tired and hungry and the fish activity had decreased markedly so I packed up. I had a totally free day so resolved to return in the evening. Before doing so I spread about a kilo of pellets around the swim and retreated pondering how to tackle the bloody fish later!

The biggest obstacle when you've baited a swim up is the possibility that someone else will set up in your place so on returning I breathed a big sigh of relief when I found the car park empty. I began carrying my gear down the path and noticed a rabbit carcass I'd seen earlier had moved. Strange...scavengers? At the bottom of the path I found a push bike and saw two teenagers, the only anglers on the lake sitting in my baited swim. Bugger!! I half heartedly set up in the swim next door while I waited for them to bugger off. Two hours later at 7 o'clock with storm clouds gathering they departed with a smile and a “good luck” and I was able to move in, getting settled just before the heavens opened.

I fished two rods while it was raining, a pop up boilie and PVA bag was cast across the bay to an overhanging tree and the feeder rod was dropped close in on top of the baited area. When the rain finally stopped I put a float rod out too and sat back enjoying the solitude as the light faded. There was a bit of bubbling going on but much less activity than the morning. At 8.30 a Carp angler I'd met before arrived and after a quick chat started setting up nearby. After about fifteen minutes I heard a cry for help and wandered over to see him with a bent rod, he was into a fish already! After a few minutes I happily netted a cracking Common of twenty one pounds for him. He was delighted and I just found it hilarious, fishing is great! As the light faded I packed up and left him to it, I was down but not out.


Like a glutton for punishment I returned the following evening for a couple of hours with Shelley for company. This time I decided to just chuck a couple of rods out and leave them to fish for themselves. Once again the pop up boilie and PVA bag combination was cast across to the tree and on the other rod I fished another boilie close in. groundbait consisted of a few free boilies and on the close rod a few handfuls of mixed pellets. Then we sat back chatting, dodging showers and enjoying the tranquillity of the beautiful lake. For some reason I felt confident that tonight I was going to catch something.

At 8.30 pm it happened, the alarm on the rod cast to the tree signalled a steady take and I bent into a fish. It wasn't huge, definitely not a Carp so surely it had to be a Tench? It came in much easier than I expected so obviously not a big fish but that didn't matter! I caught a flash of green in the dull light and prepared the net. I drew it to the surface....another bloody Pike!!! I just laughed out loud and to add insult to injury it bit through the hooklength just short of the net.

An hour later we were in the car, both still giggling about my lack of luck. I have plenty to think about and will be back soon for another go. Bloody Tench!

Spawn

It was Saturday evening and I just couldn't decide whether or not to fish the following morning. This gave me a perfect excuse to drag the family out for a walk around the Marsh. After a hot day it was just cool enough to be comfortable as we left the car and headed down to the lake. The first part of our walk was through woodland which in the kids imagination became a tropical rainforest full of Tigers, Snakes and Rhinos. I don't know how the kids would fare in a real rainforest as the “dangerous” stinging nettles were a real challenge to them. In their imaginations they were both Indiana Jones and battled bravely through the swamp and dense forest to emerge unscathed in the savannah, AKA “The bunny field”. Here they squealed with delight watching the multitudes of wild Rabbits scurrying for cover as they approached. The kids wanted to get closer but their heavy footfalls gave the game away no matter how hard they tried.

Meanwhile I was nipping in and out of the various swims we passed, scanning the Lake for signs of activity. This place is usually quiet but this evening it was fairly busy, the hot weather had brought a few extra people out for the night. At first glance it seemed too busy for me and I'd half decided not to bother the following morning. I nodded to the angler bivvied up in the swim I'd fished last time out but he either didn't see or pretended not too. The next swim I passed was one I haven't yet fished and looked nice, a large bed of lilies to the right and reed beds to the left. No fish showing here tonight however. We reached the far end of our walk and as the kids strived to get ever closer to the elusive bunnies I crept into another swim for a look. I passed a couple of young Carp anglers bivvied up with enough gear for an army. They ignored my greeting...or maybe I should give them the benefit of the doubt and say they couldn't hear it above the sizzling stove? Whatever, the swim next door to them looked good, opposite me was a bed of lilies which looked the part and as I stood there Madison clumsily joined me, spooking a decent sized fish which displaced a lot of water in the margins in front of us. That was enough for me, I decided to set my alarm and have a couple of hours fishing right here, in the early morning.

We retraced our steps through the bunny field and this time I decided to give the mud and nettles a miss and steer us on a more comfortable course back to the car. We passed plenty of Rabbits, to delight of the kids, along with unidentified birds singing their hearts out in the trees. However, to Isaac's disgust there were no bats putting on an aerial display, we were a little too early for that tonight.

By 5:30 the following morning I was back, in the swim next to the slumbering Carp anglers. I quickly cast a chod rig baited with a pop up strawberry boilie and a PVA bag full of pellets across to the pads. The other rod was an open end feeder fished bolt rig style, baited with pop up fake maggots and filled with the green Lake wizard groundbait. The plan with this rod was to be vigilant and cast to any bubblers showing. If any particular area showed lots of signs of fish or the unlikely event of me actually catching a Tench then I'd put a load more bait in this area. As I tackled up I hadn't seen any bubblers so cast into open water in an area I'd seen a Tench roll before. What I had seen however was Carp, lots of Carp and they were spawning.

Throughout the session Carp were crashing in the pads opposite me, rustling the reeds beside me and swimming hurriedly by in twos and threes. It was all very showy and noisy but I suppose if you only have sex once a year you might as well make a big deal about it. Most of the fish were mid doubles but I did see a couple (or was it the same one?) that were big fish. It's almost certain that it was a Carp that Madison had spooked the previous evening.

My fishing was uneventful to day the least. I left the Chod rig in place all morning and apart from the occasional blip on the alarm nothing happened. I did see the occasional patch of fizz to my right so decided to concentrate the feeder rod here with three big balls of groundbait chucked in too. At 7.30, with an hour to go I decided to set up a float rod too, fished very close in shallow water near to where the Carp were spawning. This failed to stir any fishy interest either. At a little after eight o'clock the slumbering Carp anglers beside me awoke and began swearing at each other. They were greatly excited by the amount of Carp activity around them and were dumbfounded as to why they hadn't caught anything. Not that they talked to me of course but you could have heard them in the next county.

By 8:30 it was time for me to pack up and get away as child care duties were calling. Usually I hate packing up but today I hadn't seen a sign of any Tench today, would they be scared off by the spawning Carp? Who knows. I definitely didn't relish sitting next to the two cursing, clueless Carpers any longer so getting away wasn't too much of a wrench. Another trip has passed without the elusive Tench but the fat lady ain't singing yet!

In the absence of any fish here's another picture of the Lake, nice hey?

Resignation

The weekend arrived and the kids were having a sleep over at their grandmothers house giving me an all too rare opportunity to spend a night fishing the Marsh. I spent Saturday afternoon getting stuff ready; bait, gear, food, drink... and it was early evening before Shelley and I arrived at the lake. Unfortunately there were several Carp anglers already fishing and all of the swims I'd had in mind were occupied. I had a quick chat and learned that very little had been caught of late, Carp or Tench. Either that or they're all playing their cards close. I was forced to fish the same spot where I'd spent my first trip to the lake a fortnight previously. Add to that another cool forecast with a northerly wind and I wasn't confident, not at all. In fact I was almost resigned to the fact that I wouldn't catch. That didn't matter however, I needed the break from routine, I needed the fresh air & countryside and I needed to be fishing!

After lugging the gear round it was time to get everything ready for the night. I daren't set Shelley up with the whip too soon as that would invariably mean I would be constantly unhooking fish and wouldn't be able to set anything else up. I quickly tackled up my own two rods; an open ended feeder/bolt rig, baited with maggots both fake and real was swung beneath an overhanging tree. Groundbait was a green concoction made by 'Lake Wizard' to which I'd added crushed Hemp, maggots and corn. I also chucked a few balls of groundbait in a line at right angles to the bank. This line ended at the bottom of the marginal slope and it was here that my second bait was placed. A chod rig baited with a popped up strawberry boilie and a PVA bag of mixed pellets was dropped into position. My line of groundbait (incidentally a Rod Hutchinson idea from “The Carp strikes back” published in the mid eighties) was topped up with about a kilo of mixed pellets and I was fishing.

Looks the part

I couldn't avoid setting the whip up any longer and before very long Shelley was happily hoisting in a procession of Rudd. These were swung right into my chops to be unhooked and returned while Shelley giggled. In between I managed to set the bivvy up and get everything sorted out for the night. At one point Shelley dropped a Rudd back in the water while she waited for me to unhook it, only to jump and shriek as a Pike nailed it to save me the job. Shelley gave up fishing when it became difficult to see the float, I recast and re-baited both rods around 10pm then sat back in my chair with a glass of wine. As it grew dark the sky came alive with bats, I can't ever remember seeing so many whizzing through the air. They seemed to head straight for us then veer away at the last second. Nature is pretty mind blowing at times. The temperature fell quickly and all too soon the only comfortable place to be was tucked up in the bivvy.

For over twenty years the only night fishing I have done have been in the flat, largely tree-less landscape of the Fenlands. I cannot remember the last time, or indeed if I've ever fished a lake in a wood before. Therefore the volume of the dawn chorus came as a bit of a surprise to me! Here the trees are very thick, very tall and very old. A perfect habitat for a variety of songbirds and wildfowl all of which gave a high volume performance which roused me at around 4:30 am. I staggered out of the bivvy, answered the call then recast and rebaited both rods and topped up the groundbait after a fishless night. A mist hung above the water as the sun brightened making a beautiful scene before me. However there were no Tench rolling and no signs of life in front of me so I decided to retire to the bivvy once more and rest my eyes a little longer.

By 7am the sun shone brightly and I was up and at 'em once again. I'd had a couple of liners during the dawn period, one on each rod, but no proper takes. Fresh baits again, kettle on then I sat back with a brew and tried to wake up. I looked around the lake and noticed all the Carpers seemed to be packing up. I sneaked a few Rudd out on the whip and caught a couple more, slightly bigger ones on the feeder rod but despite the occasional patch of bubbles the Tench weren't playing. It's disconcerting as I'm sure fish are responsible for the fizz but they never seem to hang around my baited areas for long. Soon Shelley woke up, we enjoyed breakfast and the early morning sun before starting to slowly tidy away the gear. While doing so I had a proper take on the feeder rod at long last. I dropped what I was doing and for the first time this spring I bent into a fish that pulled back. Surely this was my first Tench of the year?.............It's very rare that I'm disappointed to see a Pike on the end of my line but...I could see a nice sized Rudd in the fishes' mouth and when this was shaken out somehow my hook remained attached to the Pike. I was determined to land the bloody thing and duly christened my new landing net (courtesy of DLST, see link at the side) despite it biting off the feeder link and eventually trashing the hooklength as I unhooked it. Although it was vividly marked the Pike was a tatty looking specimen of about two pounds that looked like it had strayed too close to a big sister at spawning time.

And that was that. Another trip passed, relaxing in lovely surroundings but I still hadn't banked a Tench. My title of 'the worlds worst Tench angler' remains intact but fishing really IS great and it's only a matter of time............

Lots of F's

The alarm clock shrieked at me just before 5am and after punching it I lay back thinking “What the F...?'" I had a choice; switch it off, roll over and pretend it never happened; or get up, boil the kettle and head off to the Marsh for a short session before duty calls. Of course I chose the latter. There was a car in the car park when I pulled up and the law of sod continued to play its part as the owner was bivvied up in the swim I fancied, the one where I'd seen a Tench roll last week. No good worrying about that, the one to the right looked nice, a small lily fringed bay to my right, overhanging trees opposite and as I stood there a few bubbles broke the surface a few yards out in front. That'll do for me. The morning was overcast with drizzle and a light wind from the north, the lake was flat calm.

I tackled up quickly and dropped the maggot feeder across the bay on the edge of the lilies. I then baited this with about ten pouches of mixed pellets before tackling up a float rod. This was set to fish a piece of plastic corn in nine feet of water just in front of the lilies. I baited this with five palm sized balls of fishmeal groundbait laced with crushed hemp and corn. Actually there was a bit of a plan behind this. The other anglers I'd seen fishing the lake so far were all targeting Carp so I figured the 'old fashioned' approach of balling out a bit of groundbait might be different from the norm. A few years ago I'd done reasonably well for Tench on a gravel pit when precisely the opposite approach had worked; everyone else was struggling fishing feeders and groundbait while I was catching Tench on boilies fished with bags of pellets.

I must have woken the slumbering Carp angler as he wandered over for a quick chat. He was actually a likeable young fella but had caught nothing and seen very little. It was him that noticed some bubbles fizzing a few rod lengths beyond my float, this was a good sign and for the first time this spring I felt confident I had a Tench or two feeding in front of me. But in my haste to set up had I baited up too close to the edge? I was pondering this when the feeder rod signalled a twitchy take with the bobbin dancing and the rod tip thumping. I thought I'd missed the bite but no, a small Rudd sparkled on the end of my line. Fifteen minutes later the same rod was away again and this time the strike met with slightly more resistance, caused by a nice conditioned Perch of about half a pound. Throughout this time all the bubbling activity was away from the areas I'd baited up which I found confusing because surely the Tench are supposed to be in the weedbeds around the edge? Haven't they read the right fishing books?

Should I wait and hope the fish will find my feed or should I change plan? I decided on the latter course of action and after a quick plumb reset the float a foot deeper and put a couple of balls of groundbait further out in open water. For the next couple of hours patches of bubbles continued to fizz to the surface, I'm convinced they were caused by feeding fish and none of them were near either of my originally baited areas. There's a lesson learnt, in future I may well tackle up and get a bait in the water quickly, especially on a short session but I'll have a good look before I put any groundbait in! The feeder rod had gone quiet so I decided to move this into the area where the bubbles were showing, this time slightly further out than where the float was fishing. I wasn't here to catch Rudd or Perch anyway.

For an hour I sat watching patches of bubbles regularly fizz up in the area my baits now fished, some literally on top of my float. Anticipation turned to frustration as by eight o'clock the bubbles had all but ceased and apart from a couple of slight dips on the float I hadn't had a take. During the period of activity I'd also seen Tench roll and bubble in an area across the bay close to an overhanging tree. Half past eight was my enforced packing up time which was just as well as I doubt I could have hung on to last night's curry for much longer. No fish but plenty to think about. When I next fish this swim I have a good idea of two areas to put my baits, where fish were showing today. However I must keep an open mind, maybe when the weather warms up the Tench will be happy to come in closer and feed in shallower water? Ah fishing, it's bloody addictive!

So addictive in fact, I repeated the early morning routine the following day. This time I was so keen I was up before the alarm and at the lake a little bit earlier than before, opening the car door on another dull, damp day to hear a cuckoo in full cry. I had the lake to myself so had no hesitation in dropping into the same swim again. Having made a mental note of where the fish had been fizzing the previous morning I swung the maggot feeder into open water to the left and fished the float rig a bit further out in open water. I decided to bait this with fake maggots instead of corn, just to try something different. This latter had been changed slightly to include a much lighter float and hopefully a more sensitive set up. I only had a couple of hours before I'd be needed elsewhere but I'd much rather spend the time here than in bed.

By 5.20am I had two rods out and was sitting back with a cup of tea hoping there would be as much tench activity as I'd seen the previous morning. Over the next couple of hours there was the occasional patch of fizz but nothing like as much as before. The float dipped a few times but each time my strike connected the result was an anti climax. Once again I started off with a Roach then followed this with a succession of Rudd, why does this happen? After a while I got fed up with these so reverted back to using corn as bait. At around 7am a Tench rolled by the same overhanging tree as yesterday. I quickly tackled up the third rod and cast this across with a small pop up boilie and a bag of pellets. The cast landed perfectly and I was quite impressed with myself as I'm totally out of practice for this type of fishing.

Most of the fizzing and rolling this morning occurred near to the feeder rod. The rig was bothering me as I felt I should have picked up a fish. Every time I wound the maggot feeder in it was still half full of maggots and stinking of silt. I guessed it was embedding itself into the lake bed and not allowing the maggots to escape. Being a quick thinker it took me a couple of hours to switch to an open end feeder filled with maggot laced groundbait, which discharged it's contents without problem and left me feeling a lot more confident, yet still fish less. All too soon my time was up and I began a slow packing up of the tackle. Once again I'd had fish in front of me but had failed to catch. I could say I didn't have enough time but that would be kidding myself. Frustrating but fun. Something isn't right with the way I'm fishing at the moment, time for a re-think, it's only a matter of time before I get it right. 4-0 to the Tench, I'm battered but far from beaten. Actually I'm loving it!

Sods Law

At long last I had some free time and so Shelley and I made our way down to the Marsh to spend an afternoon by the water. Typically sods law had already intervened, the first day in ages I'd been able to fish was the coldest in absolutely weeks. With my track record of (not) catching Tench it's hard to feel confident at the best of times but this sudden, drastic drop in temperature along with a biting easterly wind done little to inspire me for my first visit to a new water. What the hell, lets do it anyway, at the very least I'll learn a bit more about the place. We had a wander around before choosing a swim. I didn't see signs of anything that looked remotely like a Tench so eventually settled for a spot on the east bank that would accommodate the two of us comfortably, gave me a good view of the whole lake and importantly, was out of the worst of the bitter wind.

For once I opted for comfort and set the new bivvy up before anything else. The rain was easing but it was still cold and 'orrible so staying warm(ish) and dry was a priority today. I set a Whip up for Shelley, put a little cloudy groundbait laced with red maggots out then proceeded to begin tackling up my own gear. This was to turn out to be a very slow process as I was constantly having to stop to unhook yet another fish for Shelley. She began by catching two Roach then the Rudd moved in and it was virtually a bite a chuck.

Back to my own fishing. I laid a carpet of mixed pellets, 2 to 6mm in a variety of flavours and types, in nine feet of water under an overhanging branch to my left. I'd spent some time pondering what rig to use but after chatting to a proper Carp angler (ie. One with a brain, not a chav), earlier in the week I'd come to a decision. I was concerned about silt so took his advice and used the oddly named “Chod” rig, with a 35g feeder on the end and a 3” hooklength with a size 10 hook. Bait was two plastic floating maggots sandwiching two of the real things. This was under-armed to the baited spot and I was fishing! On the second rod I float fished a piece of plastic corn beneath the rod tip with a couple of handfuls of real corn and a bit of groundbait. Lovely, all I needed was a fish. Shelley was having no such problem and was thoroughly enjoying swinging a procession of Rudd to me so I could unhook, return them and re-bait for her. After a while we were visited by a pair of Carp anglers. They were clad entirely in real tree camo but I had no trouble seeing them. They were friendly enough but when I said I was after Tench looked at me like I had two heads. Apparently someone they knew had caught one of “about ten pounds” recently. Obviously this fish wasn't as interesting as the twenty pound Carp that inhabit the lake....

A classic float in the lilies photo, shame it was bloody freezing.

It was great to be fishing again and great to be sitting and soaking up a bit of East Anglian countryside. I saw my first Swallows, and Martins of the spring, heard my first Cuckoo but as time passed I had yet to see sign of my first Tench. Then things started to look up, the Lilies in front of me shook as something large and unseen swum through them. Beyond the overhanging tree I was casting too the odd patch of bubbles began to appear and I began to get the odd line bite on the feeder rod. I decided to clip a back lead on as if there was a fish about I definitely didn't want it spooked. Shortly after this I struck at a twitchy “take” but hit thin air. I was sure it wasn't a liner so topped the swim up with more pellets and recast. I'd hardly sat down again when that rod started singing again and this time I set the hook into something solid and fishy. There was a good weight on the line and the swim boiled yet the fish left the bottom easily. I caught a flash of green amidst another swirl, the fish felt heavy but it looked like it was coming to the net all too easily. Then there was another large, deep boil and all went slack. Well slack-ish, I retrieved a Rudd of about 6 ounces that was nicely chewed up yet still alive. The Rudd must have hooked itself only to be taken by a decent Pike, kind of ironic considering my last Pike session in March!
Yes, another rainbow pic.

After that even the liners dried up and the swim seemed dead. I set up a third rod with a bolt rig baited with plastic corn and a PVA bag of pellets. This was chucked into open water, more in hope than expectation. The afternoon turned to evening and it got colder still but we were kept going by hot tea and bacon sarnies. Shelley gave up catching fish on the whip when her total reached fifty, I caught a few myself but can't get interested in this type of fishing unless I need bait. As dusk approached the temperature fell quickly and as much as I'd enjoyed fishing again I was cold and uncomfortable and I'd had enough. Before leaving I popped into a couple of other swims for a look, checking out whether or not I could cast to various weed beds for future reference. I could hardly believe my eyes when a good sized Tench rolled in front of me, in open water of about nine feet deep. Talk about rubbing it in....

Most of the following day was spent decorating, tidying and mowing but in the evening the jobs were done and my girls were settled. All night and all day I'd been haunted by the sight of that rolling Tench and it had become too much for me. The gear was still in the car so Isaac and I headed off down to the Marsh for a couple of hours. There was a couple of cars parked up and the swim where I'd seen the fish roll was occupied by a Carper, my run of luck continues... I considered heading home again but my lad wanted to catch some fish so we headed off to the spot I'd fished the previous day. I told myself that the bait I'd put in the day before might have drawn some fish in.

That's my boy...

Isaac was soon fishing with the whip. His first fish was a Roach and this was followed by Rudd after Rudd. Exactly the same thing had happened to Shelley the day before. Her first two fish were Roach then all the rest were Rudd. Very strange, I guess the Rudd moving in on the little groundbait I put in must push the Roach away?? I put the float rod out again then took my time changing the set ups on the other two. I wasn't entirely happy with the feeder rig as to me it seemed over complicated for fishing at short range. I switched this to a paternoster set up with a short hooklength and put this back under the overhanging tree once again. By this time sods law saw the Carper in the swim I'd wanted pack up and leave. I considered moving but by the time I'd done this it would have been virtually time to leave. Instead I put a dreaded “Chod” rig on, baited with two grains of plastic corn with a PVA bag of pellets. I felt this would be a better option for fishing the open water with deeper silt. I gave this a big cast this towards the area I'd seen the Tench roll and although I can't be sure how close it landed I was pleased with the result. Isaac got bored of catching Rudd and was getting cold but I cajoled and encouraged him. We lasted till the light was fading by which time we'd both had enough.

So far it's 2-0 to the Tench but I'm a stubborn git and this only makes me more bloody minded and determined to catch a few. I've got the bug again, it's a nice place to fish and I'm enjoying myself in the peaceful surroundings. Looking forward to my next crack at those bloody Tench!