stevetheangler

Friday May 29th, 0515, I set off for a day at a club pool, this time in sunny Staffs (AA-BP) arriving at 0600. However, on my last visit I discovered that my usual route had been hindered by road works and one major length of roadway I use had been completely closed (“except for access to frontages”) and I had to do a lengthy diversion. So, this time I headed directly to the pool using the same route but going directly to the ‘diversion’ without the need to do turn arounds etc. … it was only on my way home at the end of the session that I discovered the road had been re-opened! Oh well, LOL!

Having arrived I’d already decided on the peg I intended to fish this session – one of my two favourites that have usually served me well, the other being the peg I fished on my last visit (Session 12). The two swims are diagonally opposite to each other this one being at the near end and far side of the pool and the other one being at the far end and near side. Also this peg faces into open water whilst the other faces across to an island.

The chosen peg I’ve not actually fished in a while – possibly fished it once last spring – as the island peg has a bit of a magnetic pull on me…

So, the usual routine performed – bait up, set station and all kit – I made my first cast at 0630 with the usual 4AAA driftbeater float setup, size 10 hook with worm, fished laid on.

By 0815 the sum reward of my efforts was – NOWT! Despite the float bobbing, rising, getting dragged, etc I could not connect with one fish at all … and I’d also tried sweetcorn in the meantime which resulted in far less interest … but then it happened …

I tried a small cooked ‘cocktail’ prawn – to be honest I do prefer pieces of raw king prawn (TIP: Aldi do the best and cheapest ones!) which I find to be far better than any type pre-cooked versions – but they were the only ones I’d taken (more to add to the groundbait than anything else). Anyway, epiphany! Five minutes after casting out I was playing and landing a nice 3lb 6oz bream…

… and 15 minutes later the float sailed away again and a 6oz perch was soon posing for his portrait…

… and another 10 minutes later a 4lb 7oz mirror carp arrived in the landing net…

It then went quiet – or rather I did have a few takes which were missed and this led to a trial of a few other baits – worm, bread, sweetcorn, and anchovy paste. Of the new baits, bread did entice one fish at around 1030 but unfortunately it took sanctuary in the marginal lily pads to my right and snapped my line just above the quick-link to which I attach my hook lengths. Quick-link and hook length were replaced and further casts with bread failed to produce any further action so I switched back to prawn baits at around 1055 and almost immediately hooked a fish but unfortunately the hookhold gave way a few seconds later and the fish was gone.

1105 … the float rises and moves slowly across the surface – strike – and I play a 4lb 4oz bream to the landing net…

So, now at 1105, the two hour lull begins with very little activity apparent – apart from the surface feeding carp who are starting to wake up it seems…

1315 marks the end of the lull – and a small roach of around 3oz takes a small maggot bunch on a size 14 hook that I’ve changed down to….

1325 another bream is taken on a maggot bunch..,. at 3lb 6oz is the same fish as my first one or an identical twin possibly? :)

And that was the end of the day for me despite not actually packing up until 1500.

Basically, those surface feeding carp I mentioned earlier became a real pain in the posterior… and I’m sure they were acting out of malice swimming deliberately into my line and attacking the float and my rod tip which was touching the water’s surface … also had had 5-6 of them 12″ from my toes with their noses stuck out of the water slurping in carp-ese words which in English would have equated to something like ‘Feed me… NOW!!’ To tell you the truth I think from the gatherings of the afternoon that they are gathering to spawn – I can tell they’ve not done so yet as the lily pad patches are still intact! I was at one pool a couple of years ago – a beautiful pool it was when I arrived and I caught a nice crucian carp early on IIRC – but then the carp started their spawning and within one hour there was not one lily pad left attached to its stalk and with their 100mph zooming around the pool it was impossible to fish due to lines just getting caught on their fins and the lines and baits dragged away where they’d get caught up on another fish – absolute mayhem! Perhaps the best analogy is to compare it with driving off a car park at the end of a day’s outing to a Destruction Derby – and take it from me, the events of the actual Derby just do not come close! LOL! I know, I was that man!

PLANS

Note really decided other than I’ll be out on Monday 1st June on a solo mission and on Thursday with Liz who has all of the week off.

NEW ‘Angling eBay’ TYPE SITE

Dangler Angling Auction Site

See:  https://www.dangler.co.uk/#sign-up – for signing up. I’ve signed up but not actually checked out the site at all yet to be honest.