The High's And Lows

Guest Ticket On Knipton Res Not So Happy Return

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:02:00 +0000

My boss had brought me a weekend ticket to fish Knipton for a christmas bonus so i could have a few days with my brother who is a member on there. I made my mind up to fish the easter bank holiday of 2011 that way it would not get in the way of fishing the nene valley complex when the ticket started in june also it was just before we was due to go to France and i thought it would get the juices flowing get the buzz back ready for the Trip abroad. Well it did not go to plan well the fish didn't anyway the sun came out and just ruined the weekends fishing totally not a sniff from any of the rods a big fat blank.
I thought that i had blown my chance of a knipton fish when my brother phoned me and said that Antony from ajs fisheries had invited me back on a guest ticket i over the moon. We made arrangements to fish the next bank holiday which was August. I fished the same swim because after reading the catch report book it had been throwing a few up in the last few weeks plus it was easy to get your gear round there too as you can drive to the swim drop your stuff off before parking the van in the carpark.
We did 2 nights the 1st was very quite and the second not being much better to be honest. The fish are very shy at knipton and don't show that often so the sights of carp are very scares indeed. The only show we did have was when i spotted what i thought was a lose buoy only a small one which was heading up the lake towards us which was very strange because the wind which was not strong was blowing down the lake away from us. But this buoy was bobbin a long nicely as my brother was in the next swim to me i walked round and told him about the orange buoy that was coming towards us Although it had been a few minutes since i had spotted it i still had not clasped what it really was. My brother started to laugh as he was telling me in fact it was a local woman that swims the 40 acre lake on a regular occasion.
She had not seen us tucked up in the trees in the swims we was in because as she made her way out of the lake she stood on the porch of the lodge to dry herself down and peeled her swimsuit off there she was stood in her birthday suit drying herself down oblivious to the fact that we stood watching from the other side of the lake be rude not to now wouldn't it not.

At 7.00am i was up and about with a fresh brew on the go when the right hand rod pulled up tight held for a moment or two before the bobbin dropped back to the floor nice i thought as i sipped on the hot cup of tea. Then the right hand rod gave a single bleep intresting i thought i had fish moving threw my swim and seemed to be have a little taste of the bait that was down there. All went quite for 10 minutes or so when the bobbin on the right hand rod slowly tightened up to the rod butt the rod tip was pulling round and i could see that the fish was hooked i grabbed the rod and pulled in to it That's the bit the carp did not like it shot down the lake to my left trying to pick up the middle rod's line as it did so but i was not having any of it so i bullied it away from the line and started to get line back of the carp that had my hook in it's mouth.

The fight did not last long and it was soon in the net a nice dumpy mirror laid in the bottom of it and as i left it in the net to rest Andy came walking in to my swim asking if i had had one. We weighed it at 28-06 took the photos before slipping back the mirror. Revenge was sweet and i was happy to no that i had banked a carp from a water that i had blanked from previously.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIT6LIjqpmw

But my happeness soon changed to sadness because as we packed away the rods and put the gear back in the van ready for the off i had the radio on in the van when the news came on and the tragic news came of the death of marco simoncelli a motogp rider that had been killed at the start of the race at the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang at the age of 24. Both me and andy have been folowing the motogp all season and we was real fans of the young rider and had watched him come threw the ranks to be such a great if not a little crazy rider. So i would like to dedicate this chapter of the blog to marco simoncelli may he rest in peace.

Very Lean

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 20:51:00 +0000

After i had the big common the idea was to carry on fishing the lake as there was other fish to catch. But the next time i went down the swim was taken so i walked further up the lake only to find that the next two swims i had in mind was taken by anglers. So it was time maybe to move on to another lake after all there was three more to have a go at. I found myself having a go on all three over the next few month's and not one of them was kind enough to throw a fish my way.
What i was finding and i was not on my own with the problem was that the weekends on the complex found that the main lake was rammed and the carpark lake was seeing enough anglers too. The trouble was that anyone that joined and paid the £600 price tag worked during the week so like me the only time that they can go is the weekends hence why the lakes are full on a weekend. You cant blame the anglers they had paid there money just the same as i had. Also with so many lines in the water the fish would do the off. After a word with a mate of mine Tone we came to same conclusion about the weekend so i decided to sunday night as well think that when everyone had gone home the fish would go on the munch mopping the bait up that had been put in over the weekend.
I had got down there on the friday and was camped up on swim they called the baby elephant a cracking swim that is up the first arm which meant you was fishing in to the first bay. Saturday came and went leading in to sunday not a fish had been seen by mid afternoon i was the only one on the lake time to see if my theory was right. Ed Betteridge turned up and after a brief chat he made his mind up to fish the 2nd point which turned out to be a good move on ed's part.

The Baby Elephant swim

As dusk started to drop the sun down the fish started to show first off the top of the arm at the point to my left little shows that all at first it seemed they was making there way in to the bay as the fish started show more and more with full blown crashing as they lept right out the water on several shows. It was like i was on a different lake all together. It did seem that me and Tone's idea's was right my Confidence was pretty high by the time it got too dark to see any movement.
It was five in the morning when the fish picked up the bait from a hole in the weed i had found while leading about a rod length out by the time i had the waders on and pulled in to the fish it had bolted a good 40-50 yards in to open water in the bay. After a brief scrap it was under the rod tip plodding left and right hugging the bottom for a few minutes till i managed to pump the fish to the top and with just one gulp of air it was beaten and the net slipped under the common. What a fish it was a stunner with a nice dark back and mint scale pattern and to top it off it was another 30 plus carp tipping the scales at 34-08

The other side

Sadly that is the last fish i had out of the complex in 20011 i still fish there and i will keep on fishing it till the ticket runs out in june 2012 so plenty of time to maybe bag one or two more if the carp gods are on my side that is.

Till next time tight lines

Russ

In Again

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:38:00 +0000

It was a couple of weeks before i could get down there again. As i pulled up to the gate to unlock it i could see that there was a lot of cars at the bottom of the track. I started to count them 21 that cant be right i thought so i counted them again i was right 21 cars plus me that was a least 23 anglers as i could see Ants car and he sometimes brings his mate Steve. I had never seen that many on before normally it was 12 -14 on a friday night so this was going to be a wasted weekend or so i thought.

The van was unloaded and barrow was loaded i had a quick peep at the carpark lake that looked full up. So off i went at a steady pace towards the swim in which i had been in when i had the linear. I was all set up for the disappointment that someone would be in there already so was was shocked to find it empty i parked the barrow up and had a walk down the causeway to see how many was on the lake i was going to fish.
Seems everyone was not interested in my lake as there was only my mate yoda set up in his normal swim 22 anglers dotted around the complex and not one of them set up on the prison lake Thank you very much i thought. Not wanting to waste anymore daylight hours so i soon had the waders on and withg a baitbag full of belecan and seasnail i was marching round to the other side to bait up THE area where i had had the linear from. Half a kilo was soon on the zone then it was back round to set up the rods. One rod was placed on the zone which was a snowman rig. The second rod was placed on the other end of the reed's near the corner of the lake with 50 baits around the hook bait which was a double bottom bait And the third rod was put on a gravel spot about 30 yards to my right that was just a single bait again with about 50 baits placed around it but was nice and tight rather than spread in a wide area. Everything went pretty smooth so i still had time for a brew and watch as the sun set on what was a cracking summers evening.

I had not been in my sleeping bag that long when i had a bleep on the left hand rod that was the one on the zone i switched on my headtorch and sat looking for line pick up it bleeped again it was like that scene out of jaws where he gets a touch on the rod and he starts to strap his self into the chair. I new i had a fish on i was waiting for a more positive take before i lifted into the fish i was trying to get the waders on and keep my torch fixed onto the bobbins when bang all hell broke out alarms reels and line bobbins all started to sing and dance as the fish took off down the lake with my hook and bait in its mouth.
Within a second i was on the rod and pulled up the line and it was game on i could not believe it two fish in such quick succession after all them weeks sat there seeing nothing week after week then like buses 2 bugger's come along but i was not complaining not by any means. The carp had started to come towards me as the rod's arc started to straighten up so i reeled in what seemed a hell of lot of line before the arc bent over again the fish rolled it was only 10 yards out i must have reeled in about 50 yards of line. The fish started to just use its weight to hug the bottom and go from left to right i was in no rush to bully this now and have the hook pull after all this time would have been madness so i was happy to let do what it liked for a minute or two which i did just to wear it's self out a bit. Right it was time to get its head up so i started to lift the rod up and gain some line within a few minutes it broke the surface once or twice on the last time it was all ready for giving in and i slid the net under the fish. I put the rod on the rod rest and looked inside the net to see what my prize was laid in there it was a very big common at well over the 30lb mark.
I left the fish in the net to rest while i got the scales,mat,camera and bucket of water set up. I was ready so lifted the fish out of the water and placed it on the mate unpeeled the net and unhooked it slid the fish out of the net into the weigh sling and raised it up the needle was bouncing around as i struggled to lift the weight on my own. I was just not strong enough to hold it up steady so i could see what it weighed all i could make out was the needle was around the 38lb. I needed back up so only one thing for phone yoda ask him if he would help with the weighing. As i had a trakker retention sling it was easy just to put back in the lake while i waited for yoda to get round.

We both lifted the sling out and placed it back on the mat as we had to drain the the sling i unzipped it to show the common to yoda he took one look and said 'Well done that's the one' 'what you on about that's the one ??? i said 'it's the big gal' was the reply i had only gone and caught the biggest carp in the lake which at the right time of year was 40lb plus but was it that time?? We both lifted the fish on the scales and i let yoda tell me the weight 38-15 is what he said not the right time of year then but i was not bothered not one bit it was a new pb common and the biggest in the lake just to top it off.

The photo's was done and the fish was slipped back into the dark water back in to it's home ready to fight another day

As you can see it had a swim bladder lump sticking out

Over she goes to take photos of the other side you can see how wide its back is from this photo

After the capture of the big common i never got to fish the swim since because the following week the swim was took up so i just moved from that lake and fished the main lake or the Island lake once i had had a go on them two lakes i felt that i needed to catch from them so i just moved between the 2 lakes depending on how many and which lake had swims free.

success at last

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:21:00 +0000

Things was just not going to plan and frustration was creeping in so with friday come all to quick the van was packed and off down the lakes by 7.30pm set up and rods in and we are fishing. The kettle is the next thing on as darkness once again starts.

Over the past few weeks of fishing the same swim i had notice that when the carp did show they was showing up against the reeds on the other side of the lake. After another fish less night i sat watching the water when one or two fish started to roll and show against the reed's I sat and watched them for maybe an hour before they finished there show for the morning. Mid afternoon and i was wading out to the reeds where i had seen them after a quick marker and lead about i was happy to put a bait in there. I spread by hand about a killo of belecan and seasnail went back to the rods and put a baited hook over the zone.
Night soon came round and having the last brew i slipped into the sleeping bag it was not long before i fell asleep because before i new it the sun was bright in the sky. I lay there for a minute or two before i turned my head and just looked at the gardener bugs they was still in the same position as they was last night when i set them. I just closed my eyes and thought to myself why am i bothering when one of the alarms bleeped twice. In the mood that i was now in i slowly raised my head off the bedchair to see which one it was i stared at it for a few seconds then threw my head back down on to the bedchair mumbling something under my breath when the alarm went into melt down it was a bloody run at last.
Within what seemed an age but was just seconds i was up out and was trying to climb into the waders the reel was peeling line and i couldn't get the dam things on. There prologic waders and the welly top of the boot is squashed and not round which makes it a mare to slip your foot in sometimes and this was one of them times. In the end i sat on the floor and just pushed my foot into the boot jumped up got the straps pulled up around my shoulder's they where on. I grabbed the rod and pulled into the fish. The rod arched over and the line pulled up tight out of the water i was in fish on let battle commence. This was the rod i had up against the reeds the other side. The carp came towards me and it was soon within netting distance it made powerful runs dropping deep into the depths trying to shake the hook.

Three times i went to net it and three times it was not ready i had seen it up close now and saw it was a big un not wanting to lose it like the last big fish from last year i made sure on the fourth attempt she was in the net i was one happy boy i can tell you. I placed the rod back on the rest's and looked into the net there laid in it was a big linear and a cracker too.
I phoned yoda and asked if he could take some photos for me He was soon round and was happy to see what was one of the A team carp laid in the net. After taking the photo's it was time to put her back i watched as the carp swam off back to her watery home. By this time it was still only 7.00am still time for another one i thought the rod was rebaited and cast back out to the far side. The kettle was put on and a brew was soon on the cards I was feeling pretty dam pleased with myself i can tell you i thought things was coming right after all these weeks i had only the one carp but what a fantastic looking one it was.

Here is a link to a small video of the carp
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMp310ZrYfE

31-02 of stunning linear

Water shot

Back she goes

Blanking why ???

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 22:14:00 +0000

After a few trips and fishing the same spots with no action from them and the bait going in every weekend it seemed to me that it was not working. After all it had been 7 nights in the same swim and nothing the carp was really shy we had not really had any shows to speak of. It was now Saturday night and a nice breeze was on the lake i had had my tea and was stood watching the water when the first show was seen. A nice common that would have made 20lb plus that was out towards yoda he had spotted it too. Then with out warning another bosh further down the lake then another but this time just to my left. Things was starting to look very good for both of us within an hour we had seen fish roll and top all over the lake all in all we had something like 10 -12 shows in an hour which was more than we had seen since we started to fish there.

My confidence was very high and so was yoda's we both thought that it was going to happen after all this time and effort it was going to pay off. The shows stopped was that because they was feeding i thought. The light was fading fast it was getting more and more difficult to see if anything was moving or showing i just had to listen for any carpy sounds that might have gave me some kind of clue as to what was going on out in the lake. I stayed up as long as i could and heard no more or saw anything so i got into the bag and soon fell asleep. It was 9.00am before i woke up i just lifted my head off the bedchair looked at the bobbins that had not moved and just threw my head back and was feeling gutted thoughts started to go threw my head then what was i doing wrong is it the bait the spots all the things you think about when it just is not working.

By 11.00 i was up and about so to speak. Yoda had already packed up and had barrowed his gear round to my swim as it is on his route to the car park. A quick chat on what had happened last night or not had happened and he was off to make his long journey home. But things was about to change for both of us over the next few weeks.

Buzzing

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 22:22:00 +0000

The first trip was great got a bit of a feel for the place and was very surprised on how nice and carpy the place was you see it from the road and it don't look that good but when you are down by the water's it really is nice trees line themselves around the place and all the lakes are reed lined.
As you can see the rods have to go in the water which makes wearing chest waders a nightmare to get on in the middle of the night when all hell breaks lose when a run goes off.

This is a video of 2 of the lakes i did when down there one weekend you can see just a how nice and grown up the trees and lakes have become.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwdrjDnGyTM&feature=channel_video_title

The following weekend i was down again on the friday night this time i settled into a end swim because the weather was going to change over the friday night and bring in some strong south westerly winds which meant they would blow straight up the lake and hopefully push the fish up my end of the lake. Again the baits was placed on the zones i had found with the marker and the marlarky was put over the top about half a killo per rod. The wind started to get stronger about 2.30am and by 5.00am it was up to 25mph. The wind was good and strong all day but still no carp was showing. Yoda was in his swim across the other side of the lakes he had a better view of the whole lake where he was sat and a quick text to him and and he was the he had seen nothing all day too. I was beginning to think there was no carp in the lake with the wind howling in to the top of the lake like it was i could not figure out why i had not at least had one show.

All was very quiet during the night the wind slowed down to next a breeze and by morning it was hardly putting a ripple on the water the sun was up and it was going to be a warm pleasant day. I like to fish till midday sunday if i can to get hopefully a morning bite. Yoda was packed up and barrowing his kit round by 11.30am With a quick chat on how things was panning out so far we both said that we would again carry on on the lake. Both of us was putting bait in before we left as it seemed me and yoda was having the lake to ourselves at weekends which was good no fighting for swims then.

I packed my gear away just after dinner and put in 2kg of the marlarky on the areas i was fishing. Even though i had not seen a fish yet or had one i was still happy and relaxed i new it would come good and it was going to take a bit of time and effort to catch something but that is how you get the rewards.

Thats it from me for the time being i just want to wish you all a merry christmas and a happy new year. I hope that 2012 will be kind to you and you get that fish of a life time.

Till next time saty lucky
Russ

The new waters

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 20:46:00 +0000

Looking forward to the summer and a new water's to get to grips with. I first saw these lakes when i was fishing wellingboro lakes i had seen anglers set up across the river but finding anything out about them was hard work everyone i spoke to seemed not to no or did not want to say anything so info was the 1st step to over come. Then on a forum a guy called Dani on there was doing his dairy on his season on a set of lakes. The fish was stunning big common's after big common's was going in to his net along with other big carp mirrors and linear's graced his net all stunning fish. And they was all coming out the lakes i was looking at. After a few pm's between dan and me i had phone numbers and names of who to get in touch with my name went on the list and it was a case of finger's crossed and hope for the best. The old members are asked in march if they want to rejoin so i was to find out in April if i had got a ticket or not. One or two of my mates where getting the phone call to see if they wanted there tickets when i had a call off Richard (The head bailiff ) saying if i wanted a ticket i had so many days to accept it i did not need any days to think about it and told him i would take up the offer there and then on the phone Happy Days.

The ticket would not start till 1st june i would be in France the first week so could not get down there for my first trip till the 3rd week of june. Also because of my leg still not 100% right i could not arrange to meet up with Richard and have a walk round the lakes to see what i was getting for my price tag of £600.

With France out of the way and we was well in to june the first friday that i was going to go down the lakes had come work seemed to drag that day but 5.00pm came in the end and it was home bathed fed and watered and the van loaded in double quick time. I was heading down the A1 by 6.10pm looking forward to the weekend. An hour and fifteen minutes later and i was unlocking the gate while counting the cars in the carpark. 12 cars was there all ready so not too bad. I loaded the barrow up went over the foot bridge had a quick think to which way to go left or right. I had had a look on google earth so new that if went right i would go between two of the lakes so thats what i did sure enough i came to a split that was between the lakes both lakes looked carpy and time was knocking on so i walked down the causeway to the middle of the lake on my right it was a biggish swim with reeds that had cut outs in them to put the rods in it was a case of putting the rods in the water ( Good job i had chest waders ) I thought it was a good place to start lets get some rods in for the night and have a better look around the next day.

I manged to get a couple of choddy's chucked out and a bit of bait on the zones before it started to get dark with the bivvy put up and the bedchair sorted the kettle was on the go i thought i would look on the website and see what lake i was on i had no idea to be honest. After a quick look on the mobile seems i had picked the prison lake and looking at the website it seemed to have the most fish in with a common that goes to 40lb at certain times of the year. With only me another angler on the lake a mate of mine called yoda i thought well this lake will do The idea being that i would stick with it till such times i got fed up or i caught all the fish in there lol Why fish the other lakes when this one had everything going for it lots of carp up to 40lb and only 2 of us on it every week

After a good nights sleep i was up at first light watching the water again the kettle was on and the sun was getting up everything was looking good for a bite . Yoda was up too he had all ready started his campaign 2 weeks earlier and he was still yet to see any signs of carp so spotting carp was not going to be easy. After 1.00pm i reeled in and went for a walk around the lake and for a chat with yoda Every swim was the same rods in the water and cut outs for the rods but the lakes was stunning they all oozed carp the lake to my left was the carpark lake that had the biggest common in on the complex at 45lb. After a good long chat i went back to my swim got the rods back out and watched the water some more till night time came it was a stunning nene valley sun set that slowly turned in to night i sat there till 1.00am listening for any thing that might sound like a carp in the water before falling a sleep.

Morning came and a round 10.30am yoda came round to say he was off as he had a 2 1/2 hour drive home we both agreed that we would stay on the lake and see what happens in the next few weeks. Not long after i said my farewell to yoda i was locking the gates behind me ready for my trip home but as i did i took a look at the lakes thinking how exciting the coming season was going to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SwdrjDnGyTM&list=UUP6_SJaTPwi2VJH8S-LwpfQ&index=12&feature=plcp

The last farewell

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 19:29:00 +0000

As the week went on the bites slowed up which was good because it was giving me and martin time out to have socials with the other two Andy and Merv had had a steady week with Merv catching most of his fish at night.
As with every trip friday is always the downer because the week is nearly over so packing away stuff you wont be needing making it easier in the morning rush to get off the lake before the new lads take over for there week. With stuff packed and tea out of the way me and martin have a chat about how the week went for us all in all it was a great week with a new pb under my belt and martin having a cracking stalked fish yes it had been a really good trip. But it was not over yet not till 10.00 am we still had the night to go. It was 8.00am Saturday morning when the middle rod burst into life an uneventful fight and a big mirror was netted All that noise of the buzzer never woke martin i had to get him up to do the photo's
41LB MIRROR

This was to be the last fish of the week leaving the rods till the very last second before breaking them down and putting them away in the back of the van for the long ride home back to Grantham which none of us was looking forward too. We said our goodbye's to our host's and wish them luck as this was there 1st year at being the owner's of the lake.
This was it i took my last look at the lake as we drove up the lane to the main road and said farewell as it was the last time i will be fishing in France (unless i win the lottery ) yes i was sad and on the way back martin noted that i was silent for the first hour as i was deep in thought on the past trips i had done over the years from the very first time 18years ago to Les quis to the great trips to suvjia the home of 40lb carp.

Now it was time to move on its still only the start of june and the new syndicate ticket has just started so was so looking forward for the challenge ahead another water in the nene valley in search of the nene water pigs

My next blog will be about how i tackle what has been the hardiest water's i have fished in 30 years of carping

Till next time
Russ

Lac Naploen 1 part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 20:40:00 +0000

Things was looking up for me but not for martin he was getting the fish but losing so many. After a walk round the lake martin came back to the swim and was unpacking rods going threw bags telling me at the same time " There under the trees in this back bay and i am going to have one " He was setting his staking rod up which didn't take long and with a bag loaded up and on his back and net and rod all set up he headed off to the bay where he had seen the carp.

After 20 minutes it got the better of me and i just had to go and see how he was getting on. Martin was laid down watching the margins i crept up beside him and looked over the edge where i saw 8 carp heads down and tails up the smallest was lower 30lb with the biggest upper 40lb Martin had put sweetcorn maize and hemp down after they moved out and they was digging and rooting at it big time after coming back and finding the food. Martin lowered the hook bait right in the middle of them within seconds the float dipped and the whole margin boiled as the fish spooked the other's was off like greyhounds as martin started to play the hooked carp we didn't no which one it was big or small??

Martin had the carp under control but playing it under the trees was a challenge he was stood in between 2 bushes that was cutting into him he then told me to get ready with the net. Bloody great i thought now i have to suffer the bushes too but with the fish getting beaten and ready for netting i never had time to worry about the bush i just got in there and slipped the net under the carp. Martin was over the moon he loved stalking carp and this was with out dought the biggest he had stalked because laid in the net was a 37lb mirror and it was a cracker too.

I am sorry but to upload the video was taking too long so i will put links up to youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ooSkSgpB4X4

I spoke about the swims that we choose to fish for the week here is some photo's of the lake from our swims

Lac Naploen 1 part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 22:20:00 +0000

Martin was gutted to say the least and he then refused to go get the breakfast from then on so that job was left to me every morning. There was a bay to martins left that went to the back of him every night there was loud crashing coming from there fish was getting up there so a rod was put in there nothing to lose i thought. At 8.30am the next morning martin was snoring away and i was sat having the 1st coffee of the day when a one toner was heard i looked at my rods nothing then i got up and checked martins nothing ??? Then it came to me the rod in the bay was away i rushed to the rod that was still running and hit into it game on it was a mental fight with it making its way to the snags several times which was heart stopping stuff in the end it seemed to get a gulp of air and was beaten a few pumps of the torrix and the mirror was in the net.

I thought right away it was bigger than the 53 we had before we got everything ready and got the big fish on the scales they went round and this time settled on 50-00 was i a happy man and Andy and Merv new it with the shouting that i was making so happy i was shaking just could not belive that after 18 years of going to france i had got a 50 on my rods i love it when it all comes together my last trip and it could not of ended any better

Lac Napleon 1

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 19:19:00 +0000

What a trip this turned out to be. The crew that was on this trip was my son martin brother andy and a good friend who we had been on loads of trips with Merv. We always travel on a friday so we get to the lake nice and fresh saturday morning. We had done all that traveling threw the night on past trips and you just spend most of the saturday trying to catch up on sleep so we now do it friday's.

We met our host and had the rules pointed out to us before the walk around the lake once done we all picked our swims me and martin picked a swim that could take both of us easy. To be honest the swims was the best swims i have ever seen with Wooden gazebo's for a cooking area and all the swims wood chipped
Martin choose to fish to the left had side of the lake and i fished the other side as we was sat on a kind of point i was fishing into a bay but because the fish held up in snags the baits where placed tight to them. we never new it was snag fishing when we booked to go something that none of us had done before so it was a 1st for everyone.

After 2 days the 1st fish came to martin but due to the way he was fishing the snags by the time he got to the rods the fish was already in the snags. They was just to fast with him so tight aganst it was one after the other of lost fish and it never got any better for him over the rest of the week He fished different parts of the lake but it was just not working out for him and to add injury to insult we both took turns in fetching the breakfast that was being made for us each morning. It was the tuesday morning both looking forward to the bacon and egg in french breadstick and martins turn to go get them. At napleon they give you pushbikes to get around on so off he went he got to the next swim where my brother was when his left hand rod went into melt down I hit into the fish and the fight was on within minutes martin had hread the buzzer and was stood next to me gutted 3 days with out a fish in the net this one did the right thing and ki8ted to the right out towards the middle of the lake. I told martin to take the rod but there was no way he was taking it as far as he was concerned it was my fish But i didnt want to claim it too.

After a 10 minuate battle the carp went over the cord and it was massive could this be a new french pb for me and martin. It did turn out to be a new pb for both of us it went on the scales at 52-14 a stunning mirror It was hard pill to swollow for both of us but thought as it was my last french trip i would have a piccy with it because it could be the biggest carp i will ever hold or so i thought.

A long time

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 18:20:00 +0000

Its been a year since i last updated the blogg. So over the next few weeks I will update you on what has happened over the past year. As you all no the lakes all froze over in what was one of the worst winter for something like 20 years so fishing was out of the question which was alright gave me a lot of play time to be with the grand kids.

Back in February i was taken into hospital with blood poisoning in the leg i spent 2 weeks in hospital and another 5 weeks off work which took us into april. I was having problems with the leg so i never went fishing till we was due to go to France at the end of may.

Because i was off work my ticket renewal came up for wellingborough lakes. Well i never had the money at that time so had to say goodbye to Heron and Island lakes which was sad really as i had met so many new mates down there and had caught loads of fish had pb commons and mirrors but needs are a must and i had to let the ticket go.

All was not lost and things was looking up i had a french trip booked to a new lake called Lac Napoleon 1 at the end of may plus the best news was i had a ticket offed to me that was full of big fish just across the river from wellingborough lakes so happy days to come.

That is where i will start my next blogg all about the fishing at napoleon then i will move on to the new water and tell you how things have panned out over the year on there.

Will all so be adding videos to the blogg too

Give me a day or two to write it up As i have said before i am not that good at writing so my grammar is poor but i will do my best to make it a entertaining read as possible

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 19:20:00 +0000

Good evening
Sorry it's been a while but since my last write up i have not caught anything. Heron lake has not done a fish in over 3 weeks now so friday night saw me head around to the Island lake it just seemed that it would be my best bet for a fish or two.
Now the night's are drawing in and the clocks was due to go back on saturday night it means i get down there in the dark so i normally just put some singles out and see about putting the rods right in the morning at first light which i did early morning.
At a round 10.30am and after seeing a few shows the middle rod burst into life. Fighting to put the waders on and the run of the carp slowing down i struck into what i new straight away was a big angry carp it took a long run before turning and heading into my margin where it plodded and rolled and dived trying to get away. I had seen the fish roll and that's when i new how big it was and that it was a type of carp i wanted. It was a Linear i could not believe it I was over the moon all i had to do was get it in the net easier said than done twice i thought it was ready and twice it made a dash for it but i held on and i was telling myself "please don't lose it" The fish was ready for the net and as it's head went over the cord it just seem to look at me wink and spit the hook out. I have never felt so sick before over losing a fish before. I just stood there in the water as i watched it slide back into the lake. Normally i would just laugh it off because that's how it goes some you win and some you lose But this was different i was gutted i have never been like it before after losing a fish. Not sure why it was not a fish i was targeting it was just a linear fish which i said i would like to catch as i have never had a linear before i was not that bothered how big it was. It was a bonus that the fish was going to be 35+ i just wanted to catch any linear.

The rest of saturday went with out any action. Smithy turned up for the night and set up in the next swim his wife was down and staying the night for the first time .The dark had returned and we sat having some hot food which Trudie had got for us and having a good old natter about anything and everything when the middle rod once again burst into melt down. Making sure the hook was set this time it came straight in making one or two small attempts to break free from the hook. I asked smithy to hold the rod while i put on the waders again. By the time i had done that the fish was in the margins and i put the net under it nice and easy. It was a cracking looking fully scaled mirror. we put it in the sling and weighed it and took a few photos before slipping it back unharmed.

The next morning Smithy came round to my bivvy saying he had just lost one which was bad luck really as he has not had a fish in a while so hopefully this weekend he can make amends and bag one. This weekend is a bit of a social weekend as Paul from Abs baits is coming up to fish so i am looking forward to to seeing him as its been a while.
Till next time be lucky
Russ

23-07 of scaly mirror

What a weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 20:13:00 +0000

What a wet and horrible weekend we have just had it never stopped raining all day friday. Lucky for me when we got to wellingborough lakes at around 8.00pm the heavens finally stopped its downpour just long enough for us to set up the bivvy's and get the rods out before it started again.
With just singles being put out for the night it was not long before the kettle was on and a brew was made Before getting in the sleeping bag for the night. I was up early saturday morning just after first light only to watch the lake disappear slowly behind a thick fog so i went back into the sleeping bag for another hour or two. It was a little after 11.30am when the hanger on the middle rod slowly tightened and started its merry dance as line peeled from the spool. I was in after its first run and i stopped it dead in its track's the fish boiled to the top before it dived down trying to get its head in to the weed. But i held tight and pulled hard and kept it out after that it was soon under the rod tip and was plodding back and forth before it was netted. It was another stunning common with a back as black as coal they are stunning the fish in welly that's for sure.
That was the last of the action for a few hours till i was sat chatting with my brother when his left hand rod burst into life and he was soon into the fish which turned out to be a lovely looking stockie mirror of around 10lb. After telling my brother that i had never had a fish at night at 10.10pm my left hand rod was in melt down by the time i had got out the bag put my shoes and coat on and hit the run i felt it go solid it had made it's way into a weedbed. After trying to get it's head up with out success the only thing i could do was put the rod down and wait. It was 20 minutes before it started to take very small amounts of line i sat on my hands waiting for it to take a run for it. I must have fallen asleep because when i did open my eyes it was daylight i new right away that there was no chance the fish was still on i had another go at putting the pressure on but it was still solid and i never felt anything from the fish he had slipped the hook. I now no that the very small movements of line was the fish getting rid of the hook.
All though the wind got up and the rain started to come down again which made it impossible to pack up so we just sat and waited for a break in the weather before finishing the weekend with no more fish. Still it was a good weekend despite the weather and am looking forward to getting down there again soon hopefully to bag a autumn 30 who knows.
Stay lucky till next time
Russ

Getting There

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sat, 18 Sep 2010 20:00:00 +0000

What a cracking day today has been. i had made up my mind that this week on Dogleg i would stay in a swim all day rather than move after a 2-3 hours if i had no action. Finding the fish seems not to be a problem it's getting them to take a bait that is not the easy part Soon after arriving at about 10.00am i had found a few fish cruising up and down one of the arms that run off the main part of the lake. So that's where i made up my mind to stay for the day. Putting 3 rods out i sat back and watched as the fish came in and out of the main lake and up the arm these carp was in mid water so after a couple of hours i made my mind up to put a 3 foot zig out hoping that at least one would take an interest in the black piece of foam with the hook in it.
It was a little after 2.00pm when the middle rod burst into life a short battle with the mirror and it was soon in the net a short dumpy fish. I left him in the net while i sorted the weigh sling and scales out and also to set the camera up i have a cannon g5 and its fantastic for quality photo's especially self-takes i just set it up on a tripod get the remote set the timer for 10 seconds that gives you enough time to pick the fish up and get your self in the pose you want and it's done. You can if you wish hold the fish in the pose position and use the remote control which ever is easy for the user. Any how this time the camera would not switch on the battery seemed to be dead which was odd as i had charged it this week Thought was running threw my mind that the camera was broke which meant that A) i would have to buy a new one and B) who can i call to come out and take a photo for me. When from out the of the blue i heard a voice say "you got one mate" It was a guy that had walked pass me an hour before. After explaining that the camera had broke on me i asked if would mind taking a few shots for me with my phone "no problem" he said so lucky for me he turned up when he did. I thanked him for doing the honors with the photos and off he went in search of his own carp.
After the weighing and photos was done i slipped the fish back into the water and off it swam ready to fight another day. I sat it out for the rest of the afternoon in the swim but that was the only carp to grace the net. So had the idea of sitting it out in the same swim all day seemed to have payed off but is it the answer to cracking the lake??

23-12 mirror

captures Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 20:35:00 +0000

The story i am writing about is again with me and my brother the first time that we both went to juvigny. It was wednesday night me and andy was sat chatting over a brew And i said that we had been carp fishing for a lot of year's he agreed and started to say it would be nice if one of us caught the big one that was in there. It had not been hooked for a while so according to Chris the lake owner it was due a visit to the bank. Shortly afterwards i went back to my swim as it was getting dark recast the rods on the spots and sat chatting with the rest of the group on the 2 way radio till well after midnight before getting into the sleeping bag.
I was a wake early as i normally am watching the lake for signs of fish movement when the 2 way burst into life and andy was asking if i was up and could i go down to his swim as he had one in the net and he could not lift it out the water. I thought to myself here we go again. I ran down to his swim and asked him what he had got in the net. He said it is the big one i think? He asked me to take a look at it and what did i think it weighed. He passed me the arms of the net and as i spread them open and peered in my jaw just dropped wide open before i spoke the words "Fuck me" It was massive i thought the 55 was big but this thing just looked so much bigger its back was as wide as any carp i had seen before. I radio Martin my son could he come round and on his way grab Merv's scales as his went to 120lb.
I never told martin what was in the net and when he arrived i just said how big do you think this goes mate. He like me just peered into the net and the words of "Fuck me" rang out again.

We all thought that it would go 60lb It took 2 mats up and 3 of us to weigh it the scales again went round and the needle stopped Martin read out the weight me and andrew lowered the fish on to the mat and we just bust into giggles and laughter we was shouting shaking hands it was a great moment. We again lifted the beast to weigh it again but this time Andy was watching the scales to confirm that Martin had read them right. No mistake he had read them spot on it went
a massive 72lb.

How great was that that i had been there again to witness such a thing and again i could not have been more pleased for him. Just mind blowing stuff. I may never see a carp of that size again for the rest of my life, But i was so glad that i was there and what made it just as special was it was my brother that caught it.

Capture Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 20:04:00 +0000

I love it when i am there to witness someone else's captures or i hear of someone i no catching. I have been lucky to be at my brother's personal best catches not once but twice. The first time was in France at a lake that he had been fishing for ten years. A lake that i had never fished due to either time or the money. This trip was back in about 2004 i saved up the money and took the the trip out there. I remember that it was the wettest week of the year it rained every day for hours on end even some of the nights was just non stop rain all night. By thursday we both had no dry clothes left because if it wasn't raining there was no sun to dry anything out. As per the previous day the rain was coming down in buckets i could only just see Andy threw the rain on the otherside of the lake i had the camcorder with me and was taking a shot of the rain and the lake when i scanned it round to see andy was into yet another fish i just sat inside the bivvy and started to laugh thinking thank god that's not me playing a fish in the rain.
Ten minutes went by when Andy gave my a call on the 2 way radio that we use when fishing away from each other said he had one mirror in the net but was too heavy for him to lift out the water! After reeling in and getting round to him in double quick time thanks to the use of a push bike that was on site. I told him it better be worth me coming round to help. We both grabbed the landing net and lifted the lump out the water on to the mat. It lay there as we both looked at each other it was the biggest carp that we both had ever seen. The laughter started as we new it was going to weigh heavy and we was right once in the sling and the scales was lifted the needle on the dial just went round and round till it settled on 55-01lb a new pb and a new lake record. It was unbelievable i never saw anything like it after we had done the photo's and slipped the big mirror back into the water we just sat and talked about the fish we just could not get over the sheer size of it. I don't no who was more over the moon my brother on catching the fish or me for just being there and witnessing it and being so happy that my brother had caught such a beast.

About Time

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:14:00 +0000

Had a day on Dogleg this week its the 3rd time i have fished it. I got there a little after 7.00am and had a short walk to a nice little swim. The rods went in on a couple of spots nice and easy. But after a few hours and not seeing a single fish i thought i would move so up sticks and off i went i had not gone 40 yards when i spotted fish cruisin on top so out came the floaters After an hour or so one of them was happy to take the chum mixers and he proceeded to make a pig of himself. It was time to put the hook out to him he sucked a few more then came up to the fake one. That is where it all went pear shaped as the mirror come from underneath the hook bait mouth wide open he must have spotted the hook he just turned his head and was spooked off that was the last i saw of him and my only chance of getting one off the top.
It was time to move again so off i went in search off the fish. Wasn't long before i found a few Well i counted 9 but they could have been more. This time i was going to try a short zig on them they was only in 4-5 foot of water just below the surface so set a zig up of about 3 foot i put on an once lead just small enough to get over to them but not enough to spook them out. I cast over to them and feathered the cast to make the least noise i could. It was a perfect cast and it sat right in the middle of the group. i could see that the fish was still there so i just sat back and waited for one of them to take the trap. 15 minutes went by and i had not even had a liner i climbed a tree and saw that the fish had moved out was it the line or the sound of the lead that made them move on. Only one thing for me to do was move again that was 3 moves now and it was only 1.30pm This was going to be the last move of the day so i found a nice swim where i had seen fish every time i had been there i set 3 rods up this time all on pop ups Squid from Active Bait Solutions that Paul had gave me when i was going to France they are only 12mm i just love fishing small baits on the hook. Small baits mean big fish in my book. The baits where placed on the spots that i was happy with and i put about 50-60 free malarky offerings around each hook bait.
After an hour or so i had a screaming take on the left hand rod after a brief gentle fight the mirror was beat and as i slid the net under it the hook slipped and it was off It just lay there on its side for a second or two so i made a stab at it with the net to try and scoop him up but i missed and he just swam back in to the dark water. I was gutted but all i could do was laugh the thought of me trying to net him after he spat the hook out was so funny. The mirror was a real pretty one it would have been my first Dogleg carp. After recasting and topping the area up with marlarky i sat back and thought on why it had just lost the hook so easily what i came up with was it's been that long since i had a fish that all i did was pick the rod up i NEVER set the hook a big mistake which cost me a carp lesson learned.

Time was knocking now and the night was drawing in so i started to pack my stuff down when the left hand rod was a way again this time there was no mistake i pulled into the fish and made sure the hook was set. A short battle and the fish was in the net a cracking looking common and a big one too. i left him in the net while i sorted things out. i got the scales out and weighed it a belting 28-12 I did the self take photos and slipped it back into the water. To say i was pleased and a very happy angler was an understatement it was a cracking end to a cracking day i worked hard for the two fish i had and it had payed off.

Till next time
Russ
My 1st Dogleg carp 28-12 happy days

RAMBLINGS

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 17:55:00 +0000

Hi I am going to start this piece by the sad news this week of the death of the Black Mirror from the lake called the mere The Internet forums where on melt down sunday night when the news broke. There was rumors being branded about how the lake seemed to die over night. some where saying that the lake was poisoned. It was not just the black mirror that died Every thing in the lake died roach,perch. and even snails where found dead. But 4 days after the event it seems that there was an algae bloom crashed so causing depleted oxygen levels unbelievable that this can happen. It has been such a bad year for some of our big well know carp Benson, Two Tone just to name a few have all passed away this summer is it coincidence or or is it down to the weather? the long harsh winter we had. Lets just hope that this is the last of the fish deaths for a very long time.

I have now pulled off wellingbro lakes for now and have now started to fish another water which i will call dogleg for now. Had a trip there Sunday and was shocked at how many carp is in there. The weather report for sunday was for showers but it turned out to be a nice blue sky warm day. After a quick walk around the lake i set up in a swim at the bottom of the lake. Having never seen the lake before i only went with the bear essentials 2 rods and a rucksack for terminal tackle. Which was the wrong thing to do as the fish wanted to swim around on top and sun themselves. They looked just right for a chum mixer or two sadly that sort of fishing gear was left at home. Any way with so many carp in my swim i just put a couple of rods out on some spots that i found. Again i had no takes but i did find out a lot more about the lake that intend to fish for the next few months. I must say that i am really looking forward to being there again hopefully the bank holiday weekend and i will get the rods in. Also i have changed my main line to x-line it was not cheep to do but i am hopefull that it will help put some fish on the bank It seems ok now i have had a few casts with it and has settled down on the spools The only thing that i have found you have to do is run the line threw a rag at the end of the session to keep it clean you will be shocked how much dirt gets on the line something that i never thought about till i started using fluoro line.

Well thats all for now thaqnks again for taking time to read this.
Russ

Hi

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:25:00 +0000

Hi Sorry its been a while since i posted anything on the blogg it's down to making time to do it to be honest plus you need to have something to put in it. Since i came back from France the bad luck continues lol A few weeks ago the weather took a change for a couple of days when it started to rain with the change in conditions it was a good time to go to MK for an evening session. I rushed home from work had a bite to eat and a quick bath and was on the bank within an hour. To make things a lot better as well i was the only one there. Standing in the rain waiting for some thing to show it was not long so set up the rods and put 2 rods nicely on the spots one about 40 yards and the other a bit further out at a round 60 yards. It did look good with no wind and a flat clam water
i new i was going to have one before the end of the night. The rain started to get more heavy at 21.15pm So with time running out i started to put my stuff away laying the rods on the grass at 21.35pm the right hand reel started to peel line i was in and after a nice slow plodding sort of fight the mirror was in the net.
It was an old friend of mine it was the last fish i had out of MK last year and it was my 1st fish of this year how mad is that!! I was excited to get this one on the scale's as i was told that he had been out 2 weeks before at 31-12 which would have been my first one past 30lb plus To my dismay it went on the scales at 30-08 o well i was still over the moon another 30lb fish under my belt and made the effort of getting soaking wet all worth it.
The parrot at 30-08

Since that fish things have not been going that well on my syndicate i have not had a fish out of there since the 9th may. Its a bit harder this year with the weed being so aggressive But we are going to plod on and try and get something that i have never had before and that's a linear. The pursuit of one has started.
Till next time thanks for taking time out to read this.
Russ

Monday 2nd week

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 10:44:00 +0000

Its about time i have had one a welcome fish i am made up. Taken on plastic corn something i never would use back in England At 32lb i am well chuffed i just hope it's the start of things to come Martin is doing really well catching a few it is keeping him intrested

Friday Day 7 End of the 1st week

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 10:25:00 +0000

Its the end of the 1st week and what a week it's been Merv and Martin are the one's doing the catching. I am very down at the minute and frustrated again i have had nothing. Martin lost a good fish last night at about 11.00pm Merv and Tich are struggling to get amongst them as the weather has turned very hot the temps is in the high 30's and the fish are just laid sunning themselves on top.

Thursday Day 6

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 09:39:00 +0000

Merv continues to catch steady and has 3 fish this morning Biggest a 52-04 plated mirror which Tich had last year at 47lb so the fish are putting on the weight. As for me i have now moved swims to the other side of the lake. Apart from one take and a lost fish Saturday night that is all i have had not a bleep in 5 days so made up my mind to move on to showing fish.
The swim i am now in is on the opposite side of the lake and in the middle It's great for viewing the whole lake. Got 3 new spots all marked up with h-blocks and feeling good about the move
One spot is in a 9 foot hump that falls all sides to 13foot and is rock hard on the top feels like the fish have been feeding hard on this spot. The other 2 rods are are sat in 12 foot and 13 foot at the back of weed beds. As for the weed it is now clear that the lads really did a worst job than what we 1st thought. Seems they put the rake in the middle of the lake and pulled back from there once the rake was full it just flattened the weed in front of it because now after a few days of lying flat the weed is now popping up and you can see just how thick it is it will be unfishable in a few weeks if Chris does not do it again.

Monday Day 3

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 09:04:00 +0000

Martin got me on the 2 way radio at 3.10am and told me he had a lump in the net and would go and help him out. I went round after to getting myself together. I new right away that it was a fish he said he would have liked on this trip and the scales confirmed it a 50-03LB mirror That's what he wanted from this trip a 50 and his 1st fish was a 50 how good was that.

The weather today so perfect with a nice cool wind blowing across towards the top of the lake which is where most of the fish are showing towards martin and merv. Early afternoon and merv is in to his 1st fish a stunning chestnut mirror and tipped the scales at 42-08 while Tich opened his account with a nice looking 26LB mirror. Things are not going to plan for me yet but with 3 new spots i found today hopefully it will happen soon lol

Sunday Day 2

noreply@blogger.com (Russ) — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 08:50:00 +0000

Let me say that i will not be posting every day but will post on most of the trip and what happened.

The 1st night was not that productive which i would say is the norm for this type of lake with guys packing and leaving and new guys turning up and settling in for the week it will be a day or two for things to get back on track. I went out in the boat and found more spots to bait up not an easy job as the weed was so bad. The guy's that was on the week before was there to rake the lake and remove the weed but to be honest they did a pretty poor job of it it was soon clear that this was going to be hard work again. Just like last year if and when you hooked a fish you at to get in a boat to have any chance of landing it. It's not a good thing to do at say 1.30am in the pitch black of night being in a boat.

Me merv and tich all had runs saturday night but none on the bank Martin was yet to get his rods out!