Sunday 17th June, Liz and I set off for our annual trek to a pool that is totally unfished for 48 weeks of the year but for 4 weekends the owner gives an invitation to members of my club to visit in return for charity donations for the local church. In essence, each Saturday and Sunday, in the allotted period, 6 anglers are allowed on to the two pools on the estate on each of the days with each angler making a £10 donation to the charity. Spots have to be pre-booked with, and donations sent to, the club secretary.
Liz and I have made a visit to these waters every year since 2012 – although one year we had a problem with physical access to the waters (the method of access changed and we didn’t know) and we had to go elsewhere but problem was resolved and we were given an alternative date for our spot but Liz couldn’t make the new date and I had to go on my own.
Its a very quiet place, off the beaten track, and on land usually shared with cows and bulls – but this year they had been replaced by sheep…. Not a bad thing really as those bovines had a thing about tasting the cars and gave them a good licking all over! By the end of the day you usually emptied the car’s windscreen wash bottle clearing the screen of cow drool as to be able to see out of it! And the rest of the car was dripping too – and a car wash visit was well necessary.
The usual species are in the pools – one a mixed species pool with bream, carp, perch, silvers – and what we usually hope for, tench. The other is a carp pool, but we’ve never bothered with that one as we’re more interested in the tench really.
We had decided before arriving that we’d fish a new spot this year and we were going to fish the far bank opposite the island – in the photo there are 3 ‘white spots’ (actually geese) on the the other bank mid way along? – and that was our intended destination but on arrival we parked and wandered over to have a look but in the end decided against (too tight for two people) and headed back to our usual near bank corner along the dam wall from where the photo was taken.
As we left the house at 0630 a light drizzle had just started but soon after arrival at the water it had cleared and became sunny and calm but wasn’t to remain so… mainly overcast with a very cool breeze – Liz remarked that it was the first time in ages that she’d needed to wear a top during the day time – and a couple of short showers.
We both set up for ledgering – 2 rods each on buzzers. Liz fished cage and maggot feeders whilst I used 2 frame feeders. Baits used between us over the day were maggot, meat, sweetcorn, butterscotch paste, bread and worm. Worm proved the better bait accounting for the 3 largest fish, maggot caught a few small roach and sweetcorn accounted for one small roach….
Liz had first blood of the day with the first of a procession of small roach…
And over the course of the day, until we packed in at 1545, Liz, as I say had a number of small roach on the maggot and sweetcorn and also, towards the end of proceedings, a very nice mirror carp of 6lb 7oz taken on worm..
… and myself over the day, had a common carp of 5lb 6oz, a perch of 1lb 6oz and a mini tench – Liz said the smallest she’d ever seen but I’ve seen (and caught) smaller previously LOL – but still a tench – and our only one of the day.
And that’s it for the day – and all that was left to do was to head for a place of celebration and scratchings! And they had Titanic Chocolate And Vanilla Stout on tap! So, what better ending could there be to a fine day?
stevetheangler 
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