13.05.12 - Felthorpe

Early start for Foxy and Paddy. We met at 6am to have a crack at mirror lake.

Within 7 minutes I had my first fish....

An hour (almost to the minute) passed and I was in again.

This fishy didn't want to hang around..... I just had to hold on and hope really.

I was on my 1lb test curve avons and my size 30 Okuma Epix V2's.... 6lb hooklink and a size 12 hook. Such Fun! :)

Eventually I started to gain line. Foxy went for the scales and the big net..... Thank God there aren't many snags in Mirror lake. It's pretty shallow where I fish too - around 3 feet maximum.

I didn't see the fish for what felt like an hour, but after 5 minutes or so, it was heading towards the smaller net.

I managed to squish it in somehow. Foxy commented on its size and then it hit me.... This was a very, very nice looking Common...

Scales out next...

We had to take the net off.... It weighed 1lb 2oz, so the fish was 16lb 14oz - My PB since I began fishing again!

Great picture - Thanks Chris!

It didn't really hit home until i'd returned the bronzed beasty, just how lucky i've been in the past few days. A gorgeous Ghosty and a stunning Common! Still, i've put the hours in so......

All in all, I had 2 Carp and 2 Tench. My day was done by 09.30 or so. I stuck it out until 5pm, but alas it wasn't to be....

I'm getting closer to my goal now.... A 20 will be mine before the end of 2012 :)

I've also bought the Size 40 reels now.... I must be mad, but they're so so good! Bargain price too!

Not sure where or when the next trip will be.... I need to get that 20 in the net ASAP. Then I can concentrate on my next goal.... A 5lb plus Tench...

Tight Lines! :)

Felthorpe 08.05.12

I had a day off work, so decided to go fishing (what a surprise)

I'm glad I did...

You know when things just fall into place every once in a while? It was like that....

I fished Mirror lake. I felt it was time for a change, so headed to a new swim... One that doesn't seem to get visited very often....

I decided to aim for the tench. The water was bubbling away merrily as I set up my gear.

I began by fishing the lift method in 2.5ft of water and was rewarded pretty swiftly with a chunky little greeny...

I also took a rather fat common on a method feeder

The Tench kept coming

Some pretty nice looking roach too (My big fat hand shown for scaling purposes... I do own a thumb....)

I had another run on the feeder rod and thought i'd hooked another decent tench. Then I saw a flash in the water and began to panic. I'd hooked one of the Ghostys!

A ten minute fight on 4lb line and she was in the net. 13lb 5oz of gorgeous Carp! My best fish since I began fishing again recently.

Most fish were taken on my hair rigged maggot/corn combo. It's a new rig for me and involves a size 10 hook with a hair, onto which a size 14 hook is tied. a piece of corn is threaded on the smaller hook. You then thread the maggots on and then turn the point of the hook into the corn to prevent any "double hooking". It work perfectly and it's a technique I intend to use again very soon. It seemed to work better than the korda maggot clips I tried later in the day.

I eventually changed the float for another feeder on a 10ft ledger rod (my first ever rod) and a £19.99 Drennan Red reel (superb for the money) I fished tight lines and watched the tips for signs of activity (of which there was plenty)

There's something about the sound of a clutch that just injects that dose of adrenalin around your body. The "unknown" factor is a real buzz and it's something I never tire of.

I can heartily recommend Felthorpe lakes. Steve and Charlotte are great hosts and they really look after their water.

Visit their site by clicking this link

I was rewarded with another Common towards end of play too...

So, all in all I had...

3 Carp
5 Tench
3 Good Roach (definitely the biggest i've ever caught)
Zillions of Perch....... :(

Light/Cheap/Old gear, basic baits, no bite alarms, no rod pods, no bait boats.... just simple fishing

You know what? In my eyes, it beats all that techno guff any day of the week ;)

Roll on the next session.