Right….well….here we go….I’ll ramble on and if anybodies still with me at the end of it then well done! You’re officially a bit sad! Just as a forewarning if you’re expecting tales of monster lumps and a master class in applied Carp fishing theory then click the close tab right now and save yourself the disappointment! However if ‘smerkin’ tabs and trying to figure out just why you got it wrong are the foundations on which you’ve built your angling career then its quite possible we may get along just fine.
I’ll be as honest as possible…even if it makes me look like a weapon... but one of the waters I’m fishing is a no publicity water, so therefore exact details will be kept sketchy for fear of me loosing my ticket…..so…Please..IF YOU KNOW WHERE I’M REFERING TO THEN PLEASE KEEP IT TO YOURSELF BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO LOOSE MY TICKET…thanks.

Well here we are Mid April already and I’ve only wet a line a handful of times. All the jobs that I promised the withering harpy would be sorted for spring remain in various states of deconstruction….much of the bathroom captures that authentic feel of rustic Greece (anybody ever seen a nice Greek toilet?) and I’ve assured her that the 3 lengths of 3x2, a bath panel and assorted boxes of tiles constitute the cutting edge of style and panache in the bedroom. Anyway enough of my house, by next year I’m hoping to have convinced her that ‘Favella’ is indeed the lifestyle choice of today! Couple all this rubbish with the fact that I’ve gone back into full time education this year; I actually have to produce something in return for the generous student loan I’ve squandered on expensive carpy toys; and you can at least see my excuses for being a bit slow to get going this year.


My new stove...weighs less than 30grammes

The first two trips of the year in mid March were short sessions on Smiths, to be honest I felt more confident of seeing Ashley Cole as the new face of Vaseline than seeing any fish on the bank, but hey it was a chance to blow the cobwebs off and I have sort of made a vague commitment to fish Smiths a bit this season if; I can muster up the necessary enthusiasm…..something that may prove irrelevant anyway what with the recent news surrounding the future of Smiths. Needless to say both trips ended in blanks and I haven’t really found any enthusiasm to go back for another round of self inflicted punishment yet. That’s the problem I have with Smiths…….Motivation….that and that awful stale feeling of going back over old ground….
Speaking of old ground I’ve had a few mooches round the Park Lake and I must admit to feeling a little flutter in the underpant area. For all its faults I still love the place and I’ve definitely got some unfinished business with a few fish down there. I’ve got a bit more time than I’ve had for the past five years or so, so the temptation is strong. I’ll resist for a little longer but I’m sure that a spot of ‘Tazer-Dodging’ is but a short way away…


The Park Lake....Happy days

So…..My main water for this year…THE ONE THAT MUST NOT BE NAMED….its big….85-90 acres when full, with a head of anything between 250 and 500 fish depending on who your speaking to at the time. I fished it fairly regularly last year probably about ten overnighters and I averaged roughly a fish every other trip….pretty unspectacular results I’ll admit but I drew a bit of satisfaction in the way I caught them and also engaged in a fair bit of exploring; perhaps at the expense of catching. I’ve fished it twice this year, both overnighters and both blanks. The first trip was last Thurs night and I had a pretty good idea of where I wanted to be….I was looking for shallower water, which this swim had, and I’d had some success in previously fishing to the stream bed. Baits were positioned in about 12 ft of water at 60 or so yards and one on the stream bed in about 8ft of water closer to the bank. The thinking was there’d be a few hungry carp already resident in the shallower water, which as well as being on the back of a pretty nasty cold wind would liven up a bit quicker than the 30ft+ depths in the main body of the lake. Freebies consisted of a pretty unimaginative 60 or so baits round each rig, to be honest I just couldn’t get my head round whether to stick some bait in or just fish ‘trap’ style so I pussied out of a decision and plumbed for a compromise, which is probably yet another sloppy mistake but hey you live and learn!.....anyway twelve hours of inactivity both on mine and the fishes part followed, so I packed up in the morning content only with the knowledge of how feckin good my new alarms and bobbins looked….tart!….can’t wait for rods and reels to follow.


Shhhhh!


I was back again this last Thurs night for another go only this time with a much less clearer idea of whereabouts I wanted to fish. I’d worked the Wednesday which involved a trip down to Maidstone, the capital of beautiful woman in my book and after all this good old fashioned pervin’ I decided on a little detour through Wraysbury on the way home. I parked up for five minutes, staring thru’ the fencing by the side of the Road Lake; hoping to catch a glimpse of Big Jim Shelly doing a topless photo shoot for Advanced Carp Fishing, but alas my hopes were dashed and I set off on the long drive home.
With the missus and kids away at friends for the night, it was just before dinnertime before I fell of the settee, oh yes! I can doss with the best of ‘em let me tell yer. Sky Sports News was still blurring away in the background and the crack in the curtains revealed a thin miserable looking slither of grey. Fighting my way thru’ the pungent air of man gas filling the living room, I made for the kettle. This was the life! While the cats away and all that….By the time I got to the lake it was getting on for half two, no thanks to Cheshire Constabularies answer to Mr. Charisma ,who’d decided someone dressed like Action Man doing a full on, balls out Shaun Ryder sing along probably warranted further investigation……


Are you aware zat your exhorzt iz angin orf sir?

Anyway, Big waters, I just love ‘em! But they can proper do your head in if you think too much about them. I knew that the correct thing to do was to go back in the swim I’d fished last week, surely it’s just a matter of time before some fish turn up there; But there are other areas of the lake that offer similar depths and features. As I drove around the lake stopping off at various points to check out some of my options I’m willing a different swim to sell itself to me. Nothing; however seems to be grabbing me. Nothing showing and the weather is still pants….30 seconds of sun that I could feel through two jumpers and thermals and then another 45 minutes of shivering in the wind.
Time was getting’ on and I really needed to make a decision so eventually I ignored what my head was telling me and opted for an area of the lake that I hadn’t fished before. It offered very similar features to my previous swim. This time baits were positioned at about 70 yards in 9 ft of water just on the edge of where the weed starts and one again much closer in on a stream bed that dropped from 9ft to 14 ft. Freebait this time was upped to about 100 round the far rod and 50 round the nearer which also received a sprinkling of pellet. The pellet was an attempt at stirring up a bit of fish life regardless of the species, but the baiting plan in general was again pretty uninspired to say the least. At this point the story should go along the lines of me bagging numerous pukka chunks on flouro pop-ups or imitation plastic dog turd and then lecturing you lot on how you’d all bag up if you get on ‘em!
If I was forced to think really hard about giving you the highlight of my session it would probably be the single bleep at three o’clock in the morning.
As I was packing up in the now bright, morning sunshine a lure angler walked round and told me he’d seen a few basking in the very shallow water near to where I should’ve fished…Ho hum…No surprise there then…


Get a move on

I was sat daydreaming in traffic, checkin’ out the Posh Totty of Alderly Edge on the way home. I was chewing over how, more often than not, trying to think your way round where the fish should be leaves you feeling a bit frustrated when it doesn’t quite work out as expected. Sometimes I’m sure that just dropping in the ‘going’ swims and playing the percentage game will put more fish on the bank….Never quite tastes as good as when you catch them on your own terms though’….

Just at that moment a gust of wind blew the blouse of some dusky haired beauty slightly open, revealing just a little bit more than she’d probably intended. She looked up and caught me bang to rights with my jaw still on the steering wheel…

I love spring its such a tease…

Nice John, nice

lovin it...

I think that tree in the middle of your last photo looks..........em, well.... sexy.


I'm seeing the doctor soon.

Very nice Jonny..

nicely murf.

yeh that was a awsome bit of wrighting:)

Couldnt agree more with the above sentiments
certainly got the knack JB

i`m reading laneys book at the minute, but that blew me away.

Quality , mate ..where can i get one of the stoves PM will do

Cheers Gents..

Pro me and you are deffinately on the same wavelength mate...

I'll dig some stuff out about the stove Jason and post the links when I get a chance.

As promised for anybody who's interested here's the links for the stove.

Click here to see how it works

Click Here for instructions on how to build one


I’m sat here typing this with the patio door open, kids barefoot in the garden and a peach of a south westerly blowing that keeps gusting and crashing through the freshly blossomed trees at the bottom of the garden.

I’m thinking about one thing……..

The Park Lake…….

I’m plotting and conniving a way to broach the subject to the missus of me disappearing for a few hours after tea, The 6 O’clock's are callin’ out my name and I wanna’ be tucked away down the sharp end in the evening sunshine just waiting for that first fish to show over my bait….

Alas….reality soon returns, and the fact is, that these days the odds of me being able to get within a few hundred yards of the fish to enjoy a secret evenings carping are pretty slim to say the least…No the truth is, that there’s probably 3 or 4 anglers down there now, bivied up, waiting…..I bet there’s probably been a few out anyway…ah well the thought was nice whilst it lasted…

Still….you never know I might just be bold and risk it for a biscuit when she gets in from work…….there’s always a chance….

Well….I suppose you wanna’ know about all those lumps I’ve been baggin’ recently?

Ladies and Gentlemen I give you…….THE 13LB COMMON……tah-daahh



First Fish of the year’n all that so lets start as we mean to go on…anyway I sound ungrateful, I’m not…..but I do catch more than my fair share of the little bleeders I’m sure of it…..still it’s a carp and from little acorns and all that…

This is my only fish to date so far, I caught it on the first trip out after my last blog. The optimism has since been replaced with frustration and I’m having a bit of a girly strop with the place because the carp just aint’ playing by the rules, either that or I’m a noddy who couldn’t catch a dose in brothel.

I’d arrived on Saturday late afternoon, had a good look around and found a few anglers where I expected them to be. This left the area I fancied free. Even the weather was behaving and actually doing as the boffins had predicted it would. Now, I’ve got this thing about fishing in really inaccessible swims…..I can’t help my self …give me a swamp, infested with ants nests and vicious spiky hawthorn bushes and the job’s a good ‘un. I’m as happy as a pig in sh*t, so to speak. Anyway this swim fulfilled most of the above criteria in fact if anybodies a bit of a Star Wars geek then If I say Dagobah then they’ll get the picture. The usual routine of wedging the bivvy on a tiny bit of dry land and getting everything covered in mud followed and I got to the point of getting the last rod in when I had a bit of a ‘Luke Skywalker Moment’ I looked over my shoulder to check for Yoda or Obi-wan but there was no sign. The upshot of this Brain wave was that whilst fannying about, debating where to position the last hookbait…suddenly the penny dropped. I changed my presentation to a method that for some reason I’d kind of forgotten about and yet managed to tempt a few fish on last year….A Stupid thing to forget I know….perhaps I’d better lay-off the ‘Jedi-Fags’





The Conditions for once looked good, wind tunneling in to my Swim, that kept up a decent chop into dark.A nice warm, damp night.……

……. *(WTF IS GOING ON? As I’m writing this the local polling station is only round the corner and honestly I kid you not there’s a Tory candidate driving round with a PA system givin’ it the big one with the Theme from Star-Wars playin’ in the background…..That’s it definitely no more Jedi-Fags I’m scaring myself!)

……..As is always the case I’d just got out of the chesties and slipped inside the bag to dream of Selma Heyak, naked and wrestling a couple of Big 40’s in a paddling pool when Stevie’s little wonder starts singing. Cue swearing, and muddy feet, a 15 minute demonstration of how not to land a fish that’s swam behind you on the blackest night since Jemini’s Eurovision entry, and eventually the cheeky little fella was having his photos done with my good self.....Proof indeed that the Force does actually exist!

Nothing else through the night and I packed up fairly contented in the morning, save for the mid double pike that’d got caught up in my line and charged full whack jaws style at me, launching it self out of the water; whist I stood warming my waders waist deep in the margins. Thankfully I managed to control my bowels and I untangled the nutter and watched it slip menacingly off through the crystal clear margins hopefully to go and eat lots of Bream.

So, I was back again the following week, I’d decided before I’d had a fish to concentrate on a shallower area of the lake, This area covered roughly 30 acres with a fair few nooks and crannies, so it was still a substantial piece of water to angle in. I’d convinced myself that the fish would turn up there sooner rather than later and having nicked one last week I was happy that things were going according to plan, Its easy init’ this Carp Fishing lark a little thought, a bit of effort and bingo! A few plump ones on the mat……



Yeh right ‘course it is! Two blanks later and here I am no nearer any sort of understanding of their routine than I was a month ago. I fcuked up on Location and got it wrong, end of. There was obviously at least one fish present but my catch rate tends to point to the fact that there wasn’t enough of them present to swing the odds decently in my favour……either that or I’m the noddy bloke in the brothel again! The niggling thing is that the only fish I’ve seen was the one on the bank so I’ve got virtually nothing to go on.

The fish are a bit funny about showing on here. That’s my own observations anyway. In my experience they show in a conventional sense in certain parts of the lake and not in others. In the area I’ve been fishing, I noticed last year that in the summer you spot them laid up in the weed beds but very rarely see them ‘top out’.

There’s a particular area of the lake that’s quite popular and it’s somewhere that I’ve tended to avoid to be honest. I think this is probably getting in the way of catching a few more fish and if I could wind the clock back on the last few sessions, it’s where I possibly should’ve fished. The problem I’ve got now is, especially with the weather forecast for the next few days is whether to persevere with the area I’ve been fishing or go and fish a different area to see what I’m missing, and possibly risk passing the fish going in the opposite direction.

I dunno…Fishing Bloody hell!Time is precious and I hate the thought of ‘wasting’ my fishing time in the sense that trying to force the result I'm after into what is usually just over a 12 hour session is probably going to lead to a fair bit of fustration and dissapointment along the way.Anyway this gorgeous sunny day has passed into one of those all too rare sultry evenings, the clouds have built up thick and dark over the clough and the wind, a deliciously warm breeze perfumed with cherry blossom is just dusting over the tree tops…..I’ll make one prediction, there’ll be some Carp caught tonight as sure as eggs is eggs, and I’ll still be left here pondering over the sound of one hand clapping……..




….Thats a Zen thing in case you where wondering!

Entertaining and well written stuff mate

Yeah.. very entertaining JB..More please

Excellent stuff Johnny !!!
Harv

Thanks Gents genuinely apreciated....

Sorry It's a bit dull on the old fish front I swear I'll try harder for next time!

Quality read. Don't spoil it by catching.
Enjoying it just as it is. Makes me feel like i'm not alone.

Schools out for summer (I could get used to this!) and I’m back working again, Part time only mind as life’s to short for making other men rich. The great thing about my job is the travel, that’s probably the only great thing as the money and hours make your average Vietnamese sweatshop seem like a reasonable proposition. I cover virtually every blade of grass on this fair Isle and the grass closest to the wet stuff is particularly well trodden. A late morning pick-up in Batchworth put through the Carp Fishing translator meant only one thing to me…..An hours sightseeing in the Colne Valley! (As if an hour would even scratch the surface!) As I trundled through Harefield I checked the map again…..just a few more hundred yards and then left…..Moorfield Rd…..that’s the one…just a little further now past these shops……Ohhhh feck me there’s the Horse and Barge Heee-heeeee…..(Getting a bit giddy and veering widely onto the wrong side of the road)….Can’t be far off now……over the Bridge….this must be the Grand Union Canal……where are you?....And then from nowhere, like Teddy’s outstretched foot one night in Barcelona she’s there before me…….SAVAY…… bathed in the golden morning sunshine and framed in springs fresh greens. I pulled the car up on the curb adjacent to a small gap in the trees and just gazed out for a few minutes, day dreaming and drinking in the view before me. I’m not really into all this heritage bollox but having spent hours locked away in my bedroom as a nipper reading and re-reading Hutchy’s articles in hand-me-down Coarse Fisherman magazines this was and still is an almost mythical place. A truly special lake and I challenge anyone who reckons they’re a carp angler to not feel just the smallest tingle of awe when they lay eyes on the place for the first time.



Anyway back to reality. Where was I? Blanking probably and so in keeping with the current theme that’s exactly what happened on my next trip on the big lake I’ve been fishing. Determined to prove absolutely, that I was fishing the wrong area I went back for another go. In my defence conditions for the swim, which had an abundance of shallow weedy water in front of it, were pretty much text book perfect. It was a hot, bright day with plenty of sun and a warm southerly was pushing right into me. How could I fail? Anyway I won’t bore you with the finer points except to state the obvious…..that being that Bream fcukin like pellets don’t they! All night long the little slimy bastids played head tennis with the hookbait and the bigger ones dragged me out of the bag, which, when fishing a swim where you had to wear chesties just to get to the rods was an absolute fluking’ joy let me tell you. In the end I left the chesties on and collapsed on my sodden bedchair hiding under the bag cover and praying for the sun to come up.
I packed up a few hours early and spent it poking around the margins and shinning up trees. I didn’t see a single Carp, not one just a steady procession of pike either drifting silently like U-Boats through the middle layers or sunning themselves amidst the branches of the marginal trees.
It was a couple of weeks before I could get back on and the weather along with the missus’s Hormones was foul to say the least. Cold and drizzly with quite a bitter Northerly, the weather was doing little to swell my waning motivation. Anyway I forced myself out of the door hoping that I’d warm to the task as the session went on. After the last couple of total non-events I’d decided that I’d done enough dicking about and, putting plan B into action, I headed for an area of the lake I’d had one eye on all along.
Rods were positioned close in at different depths, a liberal sprinkling of bait over each one and finally I was able to sit back on the bedchair, slurping down coffee and smoking as the trees in the background fell away into blackness.
Save for the odd twitch here and there all was quiet until about one o'clockish when the left hander let out two bleeps as the line tightened, stayed tightened and then finally ripped off. Five minutes of the usual fun and games followed and then I slipped the net under a little leather that managed 15lb on the scales.



I drifted off to sleep just before dawn and all was quiet through the early hours. I’d just swilled down a fag with the dregs of my second morning brew when the left hander let out two bleeps again and ripped off. A rare daylight (for me) fish turned out to be a chunky little mirror that just came up short of 19lb.



The Sun began to burn the cloud off as I slipped it back and another brew followed by a leisurely pack down saw me on my way home before dinner. I left much happier than I’d arrived, mainly due to the fact that a couple of fish works wonders for your outlook but it’s also nice when some of the pieces actually seem to fit into place. It sounds cocky and it’s definitely not meant to be but I wasn’t totally surprised to catch, half of it was that strange feeling you get when sometimes you just know it’s going to happen and the other half was being sure of knowing where they weren’t made me confident of knowing where they were. An arse over tit way of going about things I know but if I did things the right way I would’ve listened to my dad when I left school gotten a good job; and probably not have to resort to covering my battered old boots in gaffer tape to keep the water out!
Anyway I’d arrived on the back of grey clouds and was leaving in a T-shirt with the windows wound down. I trundled off along the country lanes having decided to leave the place for a while. There’s a few other places that I’ve got my eye on and I was away with the fairies excitedly running through a list of future possibilities in my mind. The local Waters……Horseshoe…….Oxford……maybe a trip on the A1 pits…..The Trent.
Suddenly a Megane on French plates came hurtling round the bend towards me, straight down the middle of the narrow country lane, a plume of dust and insects in its wake. I looked out over the fields through the haze of the morning sunshine and for just one short moment it was like being in France. Now there’s a place to fire the imagination!

Top Drawer stuff again JB..
Hurry along with the next one..i know you have a lot more to tell

Crackin read as usual Mr B !

Quality stuff.

cracking read

Slipping the straps off my aching shoulders, I slumped down in the fresh grass and stuffed a fat wedge of tobacco into a rolling paper. “Come on then you slags” I muttered under my breath in my best Jack Regan voice, scanning the water in front of me, carefully counting the anglers tucked away in the lush undergrowth as my eyes strained to match the faint outlines of ducks and shadows with anything resembling a showing fish. Strangely for a Saturday night on a bank holiday weekend the lake wasn’t that busy and after 25 minutes of the invisible carp show I decided that when the going gets tough, the tough cheat and phone Tudge. A quick download from www.baldspot/WherearetheyyouC*nt.com revealed nothing much having come out in the last few weeks and no major drama other than slow fishing to explain the absence of anglers. With the sun sinking lower, a cold but gentle North Westerly lapped at the bank in front of me and the swifts winged their way across the dappled surface sending out tiny ringlets as they nipped at the rising flies. I sat back and rolled another Fag…… Still no Carp.



And that’s how my fishing for the year on the Park Lake started. Having decided to have a change from the other place for a while it was the Park lake that took my fancy and this was the beginning of a handful of overnighters I did probably getting on for a month or so ago now.
Having seen nothing on my arrival for that first trip I ended up setting up in the spot I’d dropped down in, not my favorite place and a bit on the open side for a lake with a dodgy reputation as far as peace and quiet goes. Anyway I survived the night and was promptly woken by a phone call from Tudge who was stood on the opposite bank “Fcukin ‘ell ‘ave you seen ‘em ‘ere?” (‘course I had I was a lean mean Terry Hearn style fish catching machine and was not in anyway semi-unconscious in my bag dribbling like Pete Docherty ). I lent out of my bag and peered out from under the brolly…..Badoosh….a pair of thick dark shoulders slipped back into the water roughly in the middle of the lake. I pulled on my boots, had the obligatory morning slash and then amazingly dropped a bait bang on the money. Too easy this carp fishing lark. Anyway to cut a long and ultimately fruitless few sessions short, that was pretty much the pattern that followed. The fish showed and myself and others all had a little go for them and all of us got sent home with our tail between our legs. Fish were obviously in the area but seemingly unwilling to get their heads down, or at least not on anglers baits anyway. I’m not sure why, it’s one of those puzzling things about fishing that your likely never to find out, My own guess is maybe they where preoccupied on naturals, there were definitely some significant hatches going on, or maybe they where just congregating in the area for some other reason than feeding. One things for certain the weather definitely got hotter on my last trip on there and although lots of fish where easily visible they definitely only had one thing on their minds…..and as Chef from South Park would put it “Makin’ Sweeeet Lurve”.
Sandwiched in between this was a little dabble on a local water that ended up being one of those really good little sessions that you look back on in years to come and think yeah that was top! Like the good old days, I spent the night in the car park with Robobailiff stuffing greasy strands of Kebab meat down my neck and talking bollox as we listened to carp boshin’ out in the lake. The first hints of daylight signalled the end of our enforced absence and after staggering back onto the lake with legs in need of sleep I soon had the made up rods plopped out to the marks. Somebody had decided to grant me that bit of good fortune that you need and it wasn’t long before the lefthander was off. A powerful and dramatic fight saw me bag the first one in a while from this place and it weren’t a bad ‘un either. Chuffed like the cat that’s got the cream the fish was the cherry on top of a proper nice little trip. Sometimes everything conspires together, the company, the surroundings and a bit of luck and suddenly you’ve got another one of those memories to file away and revisit on a cold, wet winters evening.



And that has been more or less it for the past month or so. The missus’ shift patterns and me mam (who often has the kids) being on holiday for the past couple of weeks has seen me confined to the school run and feeding the ducks for the past couple of weeks. The Momentum that I’d built up in getting out pretty regularly has slipped away and I’ve got a month or so to get going again before I’m away on my jollies with the family to France. I got out last week sacrificing England ‘V’ Sweden for a bit of fishing but it was all a bit fcuked up to be honest. I dropped onto a lake that I’ve been meaning to fish for a few years now, it contains some good fish but it does absolutely nothing for me. A fact not enhanced through dragging a 25+ dead common out before even getting set up. As you might imagine it takes the shine off it a bit, so after a little fannying about I bagged it and drove up to the big place with the match on the radio and just enough time to throw my gear in the nearest swim before darkness. A blank night followed as the wind picked up and changed direction. After priming myself with a couple of cups of coffee I was packed up and away into Shropshire to check out another place I’ve been meaning to look at for a few years.
So here we are all dressed up and nowhere to go….I’m pretty keen to fish but no where’s really grabbing me at the moment I guess I’ll just leave it until Tuesday until I wake up and then just go……..How much is a Wraysbury ticket?

nice one john...
especially on the fish. Thats one of the better mirrors..
Looks like it's dropped a bit but still a good un !

Picture of Gaz with it in his album.
top bombin mon...

nicely put shag!

Nice one Jon..

Right here we go I suppose I’d better update this Sh1te for anybody who’s dull enough to be still reading it…

When did I last do it….end of June….right then let’s have a think….

That’s it. I was struggling to get excited about anywhere…well I still am to be honest….I’m quite buzzin’ about fishin’ but just havn’t got that desire to be in any particular place.

I had a couple of half hearted trips on the big place I’d been fishing but a combination of dodgy presentation and tits up location (possibly) saw me catching jack sh1t. If I could just find that extra little bit of motivation to get up there a bit more often i’m sure it’d make a difference. It’s just not really that nice a place to fish at this time of year and I guess if i’m being honest i’d rather be somewhere when the alarm does sound the chance of it being a ‘good’ fish are considerably better….

….and if that’s not Sour Grapes then I don’t know what is….anyway Boll8cks to it…….



Sunbathers on another local pond

If I remember right the weather started to really pick up towards mid July and I spent a handful mornings wandering round Miffs with a stalking rod. I spent more hours looking to be honest and when I did have a dabble for them it was mostly an exercise in frustration, watching my tiny,freelined cube of pepperami treated to the kind of reception reserved only for Gary Glitter at a Chinese Orphanage.
Many of the fish I chased on these trips, that so blatently took the p1ss, were later to be caught by Tudge……..I swear he Hypnotizes them….it’s the only logical explanation….
I even spent one Morning clearing a swim of Pads….only to see the Pads grow back quicker than the blisters on my hands could heal…….

Again, bollocks to it……more Sour Grapes…..and anyway, like Arny……I’ll be Back!

I went on Holiday in mid July with the family to France. The rods were squeezed in a tube on the roofbars ‘just in case’ rather than with any expectation . Sure Enough the opportunity never really presented itself and I consoled myself as best you can with an hours fishing on the Campsite lake for Poisson Chat and tiny Commons. I did manage, as promised to myself, to have a better look at some of the regions rivers.




The look says it all....

Arriving back in the first week of August I gave it a couple of days before suggesting to her indoors that I might go fishing…..a lastminute.com overnight affair on the big place saw yet another blank and me getting a bit tardy with it all so another evening swoop was planned, this time on a runs water to restore a bit of confidence….





A pan full of doubles and a twenty common was the outcome……14 fish and 21 runs if I remember right….it sounds a lot and it certainly kept me busy but the water can be extremely productive at times…all of ‘em scrapped like demons and come dawn I was well and truly boll0cksed.I should’ve just gone home ‘cos to be honest I’d had enough but having ‘booked out’ with the Missus for two nights I was loathed to not use them. I swung via Tesco en route for some late breakfast cum early dinner and arrived at the big place shortly after. It looked sh1t in the dinnertime sunshine. Anyway to cut a long story short by this time my guts were beginning to make some strange noises. So, after much debate I forced myself into a half mile yomp with all my gear round the other side. By the time I got there I felt awefull, cold sweats and aches end everything. I didn’t even get the rods out . I just opened up the bedchair and fell asleep daring not to fart in case I followed through. Anyway I woke up a couple of hours later still feeling like crap and eventually decided that I was a beaten man. I lugged all my crap the half mile back round, drove home; had a right big, good sh1t and promptly fell asleep on the bed, still dressed and stinking of 24 hour old carp slime, sweat and stale bait…

….Who says romance is dead?

Real quality Jon..
I hope i speak for the majority of those 'Dull' f*ckers that wait for your next installment..
For those that don't know Jon...One of the fella's you hope is on the lake, and always look forward to speaking to.
Top guy.. you really should be livening up some of these overated £5.00 carp mags.

Cheques in the post..

top read ..........as usual

Excellent reading - right up my street

Charlie

Nice reading and some nice fish to boot.
And the look on the boys face is one we can all relate to!!

I do like a good read, and this is pretty good.
Caught your lad on camera just right there, would make a good avatar.

Bless him.......

He just sat there dangling this horrinble spiny little chat looking at me as if to say 'What the F*ck am I supposed to do with this now?"

The worst part came when I told him to 'Chuck' the little common he'd just caught back....

The moment the words left my mouth I knew I'd regret it and about 3 seconds later this poor little common went off like a grenade as it hurtled through the air 10 yards out...

Funny tho' init....The first fish I ever caught was a mill pond Roach.....his was a Poisson Chat.

good reading as usual jonny! jims face.....quality...lol...

Well here we go again I suppose I’d better update this thing. To be honest things have been a bit lean on the fishing front and I’m struggling for something to actually write about.

I’ve only managed four overnighters on the big place since I got back off holiday and less than a handful of fleeting visits to the Bolton Gaff have resulted in shag all.




It's warmer than you think in Bolton...

After a motivational crisis in mid August looking for somewhere to fish that would fire me up a bit, I eventually managed to get settled down again and slipped into a pretty workmanlike routine of overnighters on the big place. By now the conditions on the water had changed quite dramatically from early season and so had the angling pressure!

First trip back on I arrived early Sunday evening and counted nine bivies all in the area I wanted to fish. I almost turned the car round there and then but time was getting on and I couldn’t even muster enough enthusiasm to even bother anywhere else so I lumped my gear round to the far side and dropped into a little area that I wanted to explore a bit more. I tried to convince myself that if the wind could get up a little and just swing slightly I might be in with a slim chance but to be honest I was half resigned to a blank already. Sure enough one followed but the swim did give me a pretty good view of what the other anglers were or weren’t catching. There where about five anglers in a line roughly opposite me and despite having people fairly close either side of him one lad managed three fish whilst those either side of him blanked, only one other fish came out that I knew about and that was to an angler more or less on the end away from the action if you will. Anyway I packed up in the morning mulling over the previous nights events and also noting the strong showing of fish in front of some of the other anglers and also those I’d noted closer to me but further left along my bank. The missus’ shift patterns had been kind to me this week and as I pulled away in the car I had already decided to get back on for the Tue night.

I arrived back on the water Tues early evening as planned and after a quick scout about counted only five bivvies this time. The swim that had produced on Sunday was of course taken and so where the swims giving access to the areas where the fish had shown. In fact even as I stood there I made out a couple of fish breaking the rippled surface out in front of me. I was determined to try and get as near to the fish as I could and without resorting to the pretty low trick of fishing opposite and blasting them across my next best option seemed to be a couple of hundred yards up the bank on a small point. I’d had a good look at the forecast beforehand and the westerly that was blowing was due to give way to a gentle southerly in the next few hours if my luck was in and the weathermen had got it right it might just push them my way.
I’d never fished this area before and after the long walk round I finally dumped my gear 20 yards or so up from the little ridge in the bank that constituted the point. A quick fag whilst I weighed my options up and I eventually decided to fish one short in the margin ‘on’ the ridge if you will and the other half way out in pretty deep water straight out in front of me. Rods baited and cast in and I decided to put a bit of bait out. Firstly because at this time of the year I think they’ll eat it and secondly because I’d decided to spread it in a diagonal line stretching from my near rod to my far rod and hopefully anything moving through my swim would have to move over bait. 2K’s of Pete and Dean’s finest went out and after setting up camp I settled down to a nice spot of Mango chicken and a can of contraband Mackesons Stout. To be honest I don’t know anybody else (other than the late queen mum) who drinks Mackesons and the missus says I’m an “Effin Wierdo” but I’m telling you this stuff definitely gives you the edge! It’s purely just a matter of time before all the names are swapping there Stellas and White lightening for the more sedate and refined mannered Mackesons, and don’t forget you heard it here first!
Anyway food dusted and fag smoked and a couple of hours had passed it was about ten thirtyish I think and I was on the phone to the blonde puff moaning about how fcuckin ridiculous it was that this place was stitched when the left hand margin rod let out two bleeps and ripped off…..”Gotta pisser gotta go”. Phone and half rolled fag went for a burton as I skidded down the bank, lifted the rod, and leant into the fish. Those first few moments of sussing out what you’ve got, where it’s going and whether or not it feels big passed into the usual dogged scrap that these fish give you and I eventually slipped the net under a mid double mirror. I’d literally just fired off the last of some quick shots of the fish when the other rod screamed into life; quickly I scurried down the bank with the fish in the sling, slipped it back into the margin and hit the other rod. It felt like a smaller one and sure enough an 11lb common was guided into the net.



King of the Fraps!



A consumate proffesional at work!

I’m now left with both rods out of the water after only a couple of hours fishing and having introduced 2 kilos of bait as well. Do I put more out? Have they cleaned me out? By this point it was gone eleven and the wind had only just gotten up and begun to blow a southerly. Feck it! Out went the rods. Out went the last of my bait, approximately a K and a half, and I settled back down on the bedchair wondering what kind of night was in store.
It was about 2’o clock when I finally gave in and drifted off but not before seeing and hearing a fair few fish crash in the swim, to my right and then again in an area to my left where I’d seen them last week.
I woke up about five and it took me a few seconds just to digest the fact that no further action had come my way.
I whiled away the early morning with a rare (for the water) Tench, re-casts, fags and hot coffee and at about half seven the lad from the swim down to my left had a walk up. He’d had one fish just as I was setting up last night but like others around the lake nothing else through the night. We chatted about the place in general and specifically about how localized and ‘peggy’ the place seems to be at the moment….the conversation was cut short by my deep water rod bursting into life. This time a common of about 12lb came over the cord. I re-baited and flung the rod back out but despite a bit of movement in the swim nothing else occurred for the next hour or so until it was time for me to leave. In fact nothing else happened for the next two trips I managed over the following weeks either, where again angling pressure kept me away from the ‘going’ swims and I got frustrated by showing fish that wouldn’t pick up and non showing fish that show up when your going, but hey such is life and such is fishing.

With my midweek overnighters out of the window, at least until half term anyway, my visits to the big place are likely to become even more fleeting. I’ll go and do a bit over the winter but after spending much of the summer looking for somewhere to really light that spark I think I may have settled on somewhere for next year.

How do you reckon a Redesmere Blog will go down……….LOL..

Niiiiiiice

"Mackesons"

Sorry mate... you are one deranged geezer...

There's nothing wrong with being slightly deranged Pete.


Cant quite make out the bird John, what is it?

Its a cockatiel Daz

Lovely stuff jONNy
The Cockatiel is still hanging around.. I reckon it thinks it's a 'Posh Bolton Maggie'.
Lets have more from the 'King of the Fraps'

less of the blonde puff!.................... pest-controller!!!!!

Nice result mate,very nice indeed.Well done chap

Yes indeed..result and a half, please do tell jOnNy

Cor Blimey the internet's got nowt on the Bolton Grapevine...

Cheers Gents,Just Checked my photos out and been even more surprised..

First Chance I get I swear....

c,mon jonny.....are you bovverin??????

Christ this is well overdue! I’ve been puttin' it off for ages because I just couldn’t be arsed but alas I’m all spent up on E-Bay and anything is better than ploughing through the [censored] load of reading on ‘Theories of Cultural Identity’ I’m doing my best to put off so bollocks to it here we go.

I’m going back to around about the end of September now so my memories a little bit patchy but enforced absence from the big place and a new term at University meant my winter campaign on the Bolton gaff was about to get underway. I can’t remember if I fished it in the preceding weeks or not to be honest, if I did I blanked and can recall nothing of any note had happened in my fishing since I last updated this Blog.




Autumn nights in Bolton

It was one of those nice wet, warm and blustery days that mark the end of summer and the beginning of autumn and I’d been busy getting my Car through an MOT and running around picking bits up for the house. I’d just got back from IKEA if I remember right and it was mid afternoon when I found myself at a bit of a loose end. Anyway to get to the point of it, I’d decided that what I was planning to do could wait until weekend. So as a bit of a spur of the moment thing, I shoved the gear in the Car and belled the bride to tell her I’d be back at about half Ten. Surprisingly she didn’t moan, so with a spring in my step I was Bolton bound, not having really thought much about where I wanted to fish or indeed what had been happening on the Venue.
As I rolled down the road I immediately spotted a handful of familiar cars…Silver Astra, Gold Punto and a Discovery, You know who you are…LOL.

I walked onto the wall with the wind on my back and straight away I knew where I wanted to fish, only problem being that the ‘Salford Flier’ had beaten me to it. I looked at the time on my Phone……all was not lost. After chatting with Judd and Daz for a couple of minuets, I loaded up my gear and started to trudge round figuring I’d dump my gear in a swim called ‘The Woods’ whilst I got the lowdown off Tudge and do my best to convince him that a chippy tea was calling his name. I got about 20 yards short of the ‘Woods’ when I heard an alarm start singing, sure enough I could just make out Tudge with his rod high and hooped over his shoulder. I quickened my pace and arrived just in time to see him slip the net under a 25+ Mirror. Seeing this as a good return on a few hours fishing and still being home in time for Granada Reports, he decided to pack up. Now I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth and to be honest years of fishing the Park Lake had taught me that following Tudge into a swim usually meant a blank since either he’d caught what was willing to be caught or the fish had done one. This Time however I felt there was still a bloody good chance and so did he to give him his dues but I was grateful for his generosity and my banksticks where in the same holes the minuet his rods where wound in. All set up and cast out, I tucked myself under the brolley sheltering from the squally rain that had gotten up as the daylight faded.



Night time in the 'Woods'

Finally after about an hour and a half the rain died and I could drop the brolley to give me a bit more room in the swim. I was dicking about with something probably trying to get my chair a bit more comfortable or something when the left hand rod let out a single bleep. I froze and looked up at the rod just as it screamed into life as something unseen started to wrench line of the screwed down baitrunner. I threw myself at the rod and swept it up high as it arched over with a real satisfying thump. Something at the other end pounded away, trying to reach the sanctuary of the pads as I stumbled my way through the swim sending chairs, kettles and baitbuckets flying. I crammed myself in the corner and leant out over a bush trying to get a better angle on it. Eventually we reached some kind of stalemate as the fish dug itself into the fringes of the pads and I tightened down to it with the rod in its full battle curve. I leant into the fish with the rod locked up and my legs crammed against the wall behind me; using my body weight I hung myself back on the rod and finally, as the pads erupted, the fish broke the surface, turned and begin to swim towards me. What followed was a grudge match as the Carp plodded doggedly in the deep water at my feet refusing to come up and me refusing to give it much line in fear of the thick sets of pads either side of me. Eventually after five minuets or so a thick, scaly golden back broke the surface and after a few last brief surges it slid quietly into the net. I relit the fag stub that had been in my mouth thru ought the fight and laying the rod down. I peered over the side and into the mesh. It was a good ‘un and a little flutter of elation began rising in my stomach. I phoned Daz and he came round to do the honours with the camera. After the usual ceremony I slipped her back, ‘Tango’ 26lb.04oz and I was buzzin’



Buzzin

I started to tidy the swim up as Daz made his way back round shaking his head and calling me a stuffy swooping [censored]…LOL….I know but somebody’s got to be. Swim tidied and rod re-chucked I settled down on the chair to have a fag and re-live the moment on the camera when the same rod that I’d just chucked out again let out a single bleep. This time my hand was already moving towards the reel seat when it exploded into action. The whole routine of pounding fish and flying kettles followed until again I slipped the net under a long lean Mirror this time slightly smaller at 23lb 10oz but the news was received with even more head shaking and ‘Swooping [censored]’s from Young Daz who was a real gent and once again made the journey round to take the piccys.



...Even more Buzzin

So there you go 2 runs and 2 carp in less than an hour on a venue that can easily give you the same kind of return for over a month of fishing. I went away that night with a real feeling of satisfaction and couldn’t wait to get back on.

It was over a week before I could get back and sure enough the swim I’d caught previously in was taken. I wasn’t bothered as conditions had changed and after spending a half hour talking to ‘RoboBailif’ the previous day it was practically impossible to not know where the active fish were.
Sure enough my luck was lasting and after a few hours of watching fish milling about in the pads and drinking Nescafe Caramel flavoured Cappuccinos (This stuff is awsome it tastes just like Scopex!) the right hand rod was almost dragged of the rests. Another hairy battle ensued as the fish charged into the dying pads but eventually victory was mine, not before having to strip my shoes and socks off and wade up to my knees to net it tho’. A smaller Common of just over 20lb this time and Daz having well and truly had enough of me sent Judd round this time to do the honours.



Golden Balls

So again I went away buzzing with my confidence Sky High and well happy with the fishes reaction to the UCN Bait. Which has provided me with multiple catches on a number of occasions this year and really seems to be living up to its billing.

The only trouble with having a bit of a good run is knowing that its going to end and sure enough normal service has been resumed. Undone by the usual restrictions on my time and some really shite weather. The last couple of trips have been pretty unspectacular affairs with the highlights being a brief conversation with ‘Robobailif’ about his tastes in fine white wine and a new found enthusiasm for drinking chocolaty things in packets. Still in keeping with the original Zen theme of this blog they say do good things and good things happen to you, well if that’s the case ladies and gentlemen and bearing in mind his camera duties let me introduce you to the new ‘Daddy’……..



"Young 'un" with a Good 'Un

Quote:

---

using my body weight I hung myself back on the rod

---

19 stone test curve ?


Crackin' stuff Johnny lad - chuffed for you and a great read to boot

Superb mate... absolutely superb

nice one johnny

cracking story and some quality fish .

Nice one John, good angling

good stuff j.b.!

nice read john boy... well done mate

nice one pal
some nice fish there too

As always Gents I'm grateful for your kind comments!



Apart from MarkJ whoses cruel insinuations regarding my Physique have forced me to seek comfort in a 6 pack of Pork Pies and a Mars Bar...

Nice one JB, I like the pic looking back up the hill..reminds me of many an hour sat uncomfortably in a reclined drivers seat with the exact same view.

Ads

Top stuff

Well I suppose I’d better update this before what little I can remember blurs totally into oblivion.

On reflection I’d had a pretty decent Autumn, the best for a long time if truth be known but then I’ve fished (at least for Carp) more this year than I have done in a long time.

The nights drew in even further through out October, the leaves from the Mature Oak and Sycamore in the woods were know carpeting the ground, crunchy and brown for the first few days before being trampled under foot into the ever increasing mud. The Short trousers and Jesus boots of Summer were fast becoming just another seasons memories mellowed with age and ‘cellared’ away ready to be revisited perhaps on distant summer dusks in between the sups from a beercan and a drag on a cigarette.

It was Halloween, mid afternoon when I arrived at the lake and after a quick mooch I plumped down in a swim known as the Pads. If I remember right Paul (of Long Common fame!) was in the Woods and Roborectum was trying to talk himself into the pub and out of the Short Wall swim. He was unsuccessful and skulked off chunnering on to himself with his Gay dog in tow.
The weather was foul with a steady biting North Westerly that felt like it was taking the skin of my nose and broken cloud interrupted by blinding spells of sunlight as the late afternoon sun sunk behind the valley opposite. It was hopeless fishing weather to be honest, the first really cold snaps had just began to bite and anybody with any sense could be understandably forgiven for throwing the towel in and calling it a ‘do’. Still I’d seen a bit of movement in the swim and ‘If I wanted to fish this was my only chance’ was my excuse as first Robo and shortly after Paul passed me on there way off. I’d virtually given up and settled for the blank that I knew all along was imminent when the ‘Nev’ let out a half hearted smattering of bleeps with only half an hour of play left. The bobbin dipped and then rose again as something at the other end made a vague effort to move the lead. ‘Bream’ I said to myself as I flicked over the baitrunner and whipped the rod up tightening down to whatever was on the other end. The tip folded over with a slight bend and a couple of faint pulls confirmed what I’d thought all along. Steadily I began to winch the ‘Snotty’ back towards me whilst making my way into the next swim and down the steps. The fish was milling about under my rod tip somewhere in the darkness as I flicked on my headlamp. I crouched down and begun to lift the fish up to slide it along the surface ready to be unhooked in the edge and save my net from getting wet for no good reason when my torch caught the back of what was either a hunchback Bolton record bream or one very sorry arsed mid double Carp with a severe motivational problem. ‘Bollocks’ my net was still in my swim so it was on with the baitrunner and back up the steps to collect the net before finally sliding the prostrate fish over the cord. I shouldn’t have really bothered with the photographs to be honest, trying to hold fish and remote wearing 18 jumpers in a biting wind as I cursed the failure of the camera’s focus to lock in the darkness was a right royal pain in the ‘arris but eventually I got a couple of shots off before slipping it back into the freezing water. It was a fish I recognized and I was sure I had photos of it being returned by a guy called Rob over ten years ago. It was a similar size then and mustn’t have put more than a pound on in that time. Anyway….they all count from that place and it just goes to show that the old adage of ‘Havin’ to be in it to win it’ is always worth bearing in mind.




'Kin Freezin'


That was the last fish I caught and from then until now my fishing time has dwindled as the dark nights, the kids and a growing mountain of work at University have all begun to bite. The only other notable highlight was ridiculously spending the evening on ‘bommy night’ fishing on the gaff. As Tudge will vouch the Bolton Indians Cricket Club firework display (complete with comedy Indian voice commentary over a PA) was second to none.



Bomfire Night; Stars are bright; 3 little Indians.....

With Christmas (and 4 weeks off Uni) just round the corner there might be opportunity to do a bit somewhere but it’s on the back of Carp activity dwindling to a standstill and a boatload of super chilled Manchester rain that I’m facing my first winter’s Carp fishing in over ten years. Roll on the new year. I’ve got two or three waters I fancy having a look at for next year and despite the freezing conditions and mostly cack fishing I just love plotting and planning the coming years adventures huddled under a brolley on a cold wet January day.

Merry Christmas and Good fishing for the New Year!

Sorted jOnNy .. Fireworks display off Mr Patels Pyrotechnics were about the most exciting thing go down on there for a while.
'Froggy' is havin a dabble on there at the moment in between visits to Redes

Good read

Quote:

---

Roborectum was trying to talk himself into the pub and out of the Short Wall swim. He was unsuccessful and skulked off chunnering on to himself with his Gay dog in tow

---

Made me giggle and dribble

"Roborectum was trying to talk himself into the pub and out of the Short Wall swim. He was unsuccessful and skulked off chunnering on to himself with his Gay dog in tow."


quality john

Well my last entry in this blog was over six months ago and I haven't had as much as a sniff from a carp since December, so its seemed like a pretty pointless exercise even contemplating writing something down. In fact I'll be completely straight with you and warn you now that this entry contains about as much fishing for and capturing of carp as Ian Pooles Tesco trolleys (sic) contain Californian green leaf salads.



New Seasons toys...50 mm x 20 mm,no moving parts,titanium, weighs less than an Oz complete with tin foil windshield. Rosy lee in under five minuites. Put your Lardy Colemans in the bin.

So there we are....what's the point in even bothering to write something down that somebody browsing an internet forum might be remotely interested in reading...erm...well there isn't one really so as you may have gathered by now your probably wasting your time....but if I weren't actually this bored and stuck in the house with CBEEBIES going on, full whack all day long and somebody could actually muster up something interesting to say on one of the forums then I might not have even bothered to write this down....so blame yourselves its not my fault.
Right then, fishing, well I've not really done that much to be honest and when I have it's been constantly interrupted by either exams, course work or spending too long in parts of the world with carp populations that make Manchester look like the Colne Valley.
I started on a new water in the middle of February managing an afternoon and a couple of overnighters before it closed at the end of March. This is a very well known, busy circuit water that lots of people using this forum know very well and I've even heard rumors that one or two of them have even caught carp from there. I'd gone on there early in the year just to get a feel for the place and despite it living up to expectations in terms of angling pressure and swim stitching (...or consistently not being able to get in certain swims...before anybody gets upset.) I do quite like the place, it's definitely got a bit of a thing about it....it captures your imagination. One thing that did surprise me tho' was how close together some of the swims are, not dissimilar to Smiths was my first thoughts but this place is much bigger and I guess I just kind of expected a little more room or more importantly privacy. I can be a bit anti-social sometimes when fishing, I like a bit of peace and lack of people, I can see that definitely prejudicing my swim choice sometimes...perhaps detrimentally. Anyway you must know where I'm on about by now and this is where I'll be setting up shop for the summer and autumn at least....a kind of grand tour of all the non stitched [censored] swims of the lake is what I'm envisioning at least until the pressure perhaps drops just a little later in the year. To be honest I'm not sure that I want to write much about actually fishing it. I could very easily make myself look a complete c*nt by getting it spectacularly wrong...which to be honest I don't really mind that much 'cos at the end of the day we should all play to our strengths, but its more about being on a new water and and firstly not wanting to give the impression of being some sort of wanna-be...and secondly wanting to observe whatever etiquette might exist on there...anyway....that's enough about that place. First trip of the summer is planned for next week so get your waterbottles and bait-buckets out waiting lads...



Caught in the act.....

So where else have I been? Well I ended up on the Park Lake for a few trips, a handful of overnighters and a few afternoons and got on fish virtually everytime only for the outcome to remain firmly in favor of the carp with me failing to manage a single take. The place just gets better looking every year and the stock is getting ever more impressive it should be a really great place to waste your time away but alas it isn't. I go fishing because I love fishing...being outdoors in beautiful places...the craic with the lads and the thrill of the chase not to engage in some sort of obsessive race to the bottom. I don't understand that sort of mentality and I don't want anything to do with all the crap that goes with it. I don't think I'll fish there again this year.
So having left the Carp of the two previous lakes pissing themselves at my efforts I ran away to the big place for some peace and quiet and hopefully the chance of tempting the obligatory 11lb common into making a guest appearance. Having blanked the previous week I'd talked the missus into letting me go for two nights and I arrived at dusk on the first night frantically throwing everything together before it went dark. A fishless night followed and I packed up and went for a mooch before moving into another part of the lake at dinnertime. Things looked good but I did have to settle for a third choice swim as two other anglers were occupying where I really fancied. Everything was sorted well before tea time and I've got to say It was one of those days when everything went as it should...rods were positioned exactly as I wanted them on break away leads and break away back leads to combat the weed, line lay was pretty spot on and the bait went in with a rare degree of precision. I lay down that night on the bedchair really expecting one of the rods to go at any minute especially having just listened to the bloke opposite land one shortly after mid night. The Carp however had other ideas and a blank followed what was a very noisy night on account of what I thought were the numerous ducks constantly fighting. As dawn broke it pretty soon became apparent that what I thought were ducks were in fact a large proportion of the lakes carp getting down to some serious spawning. The water was regularly erupting in huge sprays of carp and weed about 100 yards to my right. I had a couple of brews and chewed on a couple of fags before breaking the gear down and spending the next couple of hours perched up a tree just taking advantage of being able to see so much of the lakes stock at close quarters. I was gone by dinnertime leaving the two remaining anglers opposite to carry on fishing for the spawning carp....not something I agree with but hardly surprising these days is it.



S.E.X.


So there you go, after that, a week later I went on holiday and now I'm back with no more distractions to disrupt my fishing this is it so to speak,time to get stuck in a bit and try to do something about the bream/carp ratio that is way too one sided at the moment. I've done some serious bream hauling of late and to be honest it's just not healthy to catch that many bream.
For those of you who've made it to the end with me I'll leave you with a parting joke....


Q, What's the difference between night fishing Smiths and fishing the Mongument?

















A, Absolutely fcuking nothing.



Hang loose carp dewds

Quite simply 'brilliant'.. more please.

Beltin'...
entertaining stuff Jonny..
head nodding in agreement all through it.. spot on.

nice one jonny.. good stuff mate

good darts fetler!.........

Refresh this thread please john

Damn good read matey