So on to the PL i went this winter/spring, the list of waters at my disposal is pretty large and growing. Passing the driving test has let me into a whole new 'world' of waters that are now accessible to me.
One of the closest was the pl at just over 33miles away its not too bad at all, Knutsford would be over my budget on the petrol cosumption and i hear it gets a little buisy down there. Thats not to say the pl is a compromise

So first session was sometime early march i got down for an overnighter after work on the saturday, i saw very little but my aim was to get on there early before many others and sort the place out for myself. I still hadn't decided if i could put up with the 'night life' that the gaffs renound for and the 1km walk with the gear:D It didn't seem a problem so a couple of weeks later i was on for a 2nighter i had a saturday off work and with no parties planned i headed straight down
I arrived and was soon talking to tudge who had pussied a night on wyre lake due to it being abit "windy" ( ). He kindly carried the quiver to the overflow there was only one other angler on at the time who'd seen nothing for the last 2/3days anyways tudge proceeded to spot a commom head out towards the far side opposite to my swim within 5 mins . Right where i'd deposited 1.5 kg of the round sort the previous evening, a single was quickly sent over but nothing happened for the rest of the 2nights i had easter half term coming up work permitting i could get two 2nighters in roll on.....

By my return there had been a development a small common had been out from the large bay, i was the only angler on the lake and had two rods where they were, nothing the first night but i did get to see some of the pl's character coming through the first morning was just text book as far as mornings go with the mist rolling off the water and feeling of aloneness you can only get when you know you have the lake to yourself (check first light pics in gallery). A number of regulars turned up to put in there gear, spods were flying on several occasions in the day dispersing the fish (spotted by tudge AGAIN), second night i stayed put but spread the singles right out trying pick up a fish around all the bait lying around .......... nothing........ i paid for the glorious morning the previous day with a torrential down pour all morning a seriously wet pack up

I returned the next week after the bank holiday, big tail been out to a zig, but with 4 other anglers on it was abit buisy down the island end. Anyway i went round the other side and got in the swim where the fish had been caught and put out a couple of singles and a zig. In the days i sent zigs out then swapped them at night only leaving one zig out. A few liners is all i had to show for that session, i should have gone with my first instinct to go towards the bigger bay end because of the pressure, but i was assured by the regulars advice that the were still there. Iv met some sound lads on there so far
Sure enough the next fish comes from the big bay end the day after i left

The bank holiday just passed was a good one but not on the angling front beer festival on the firday night and a night on the razz on the saturday left me feeling abit rough on the sunday ready to drive down to boundary for an overnighter/social. However the majority of the fish were in one corner with my mate being right on them and me not being ale to get a swim within 100yds of where they were. He took a stuning 26 mirror

So thats the pl so far now its warming up iv got to hang the rods up with another 'angling ban' from the parents untill my last exam at the end of june, hopefully il be able to keep up with the place prior to some good sessions when i have my 3 months off in june

Nicely written.
Who actually caught big tail light blue touch paper and run like [censored] !!
Good luck on there young jedi.

p.s. delete some of your PM's

pms cleared

Wednesday is my day off college, with the sun shining i headed down to a local match lake of 1 1/2 acres, full of fish except carp. Iv counted no more than 10 carp all over 10lb with the biggest doing 27lb top weight although rumours say its been out at 29

these fish love the surface and on any hot day your gauranteed the big'uns will be swiming under the angler's poles. So you'd think job done get on there and winkle tham out off the top WRONG. These fish have been competing with match lines for all their lives, anything heavier than 10lb double strength and there off big time. After taking a 15lb mirror last week i was hopeful of another.

The big'un was about with it's unmistakable creamy belly and black scar on it's flank, it simply laughed at me big time, it swam straight underneath and down the far side of the lake

soon enough though as the light faded and surface 'bite time' was upon the place a perfect 13lb common slurped it down and gave a fine 15min scrap it was really chunky for the weight and looked more like 16+

iv been doing 3-4 hour sessions on the place for a few years now after the big'un maybe this year i'l winkle it out

An interesting read... Well done....

Interesting comment about the Drennan 10lb Double Strength which I last used many years ago for floater fishing on the Patshull Church Pool... after years of fishing waters where floaters don't catch, I'll be back to using it this year on Horton early season, hopefully....

The best floater angler I've ever fished with - ever - was the Leg-end....

He caught fish from waters where no carp had ever been caught before on floaters such as, Hawkstone Park....

Leg-end have you found any mainline/hooklength better than the 10lb Drennan Double Strength for floater fishing that would help me on Horton....?

Do you want some Trilene Paul?

Can also recommend Trilene Sensation which is a bit more abrasive resistant.

Well im mid way through the exams now, 6 weeks with no proper angling and its begining to get to me
iv had a few random trips lately with partying a no no at the mo i felt the need to visit the pl, so at 7pm last saturday i headed down with a floater rod, i gave the small bay on the back of the new wind half an hour with nothing rising to the bait, and then moved to the wider end where a cracker of a wind was blowing into, i floated some down on the ripple but again saw nothing rise, perhaps it was a little late in the day or tudge had given them the spook
So after an hour and a half i gave up and sat with the 'thug' untill the light faded, watching a couple of decent fish crash out on the other side, if only i had had my night gear with me

This excursion was followed by another unplanned trip to a local park lake, this time i only had the idea to go at alf 9, by 10pm i had a rod on the snags its shown me how quick i can now get angling, last year with the rod sleeves and the buzz bar bags etc it would take 20 mins or more to get set up, but now everything is to hand and within 5 min i was cxasting out and that includes getting the banksticks level i was rather impressed with myself i didn't bother with 2 rods i was happy to sit by the 1 rod as there were no other spots in that swim really, i had a few liners but it can be abit hit and miss on the swim i was in, where i wanted to be was taken and that angler proceeded to loose one due to not being on the rods I took a cracking picture but it has come out all blurred A swift pack up at 12pm ended quite a relaxing bit of angling

and thats about it on the angling front, except from a few walks round a new water iv just joined and watching the 1st 30 iv ever seen in any water let alone just there, and not another angler in sight the pl campaign is soon to be resumed at the end of the month, looking forward to some loooooooooooong sessions the fire is truelly lit

Im on study leave now absolutley immense this is, i can revise whilst watching ALL of the world cup games

Nicely..Get on there

Stuff the footy, Study whilst you're fishing

as a guardian im surprised by that comment mr sloan

forgot to add i become a man on friday, il be 18

yes my birthday is indeed on the 16th of june was it fate?

At the tender age of 40 I changed career by taking a course in IT. Most of my study was on the bank. After all if you're after big fish in the NW it's not as though you haven't got plenty of time in between runs

sounds ideal

i still live under lock and key though

it'l be worth it in the end though

Nowt worse than trying to get your head round some horrible formula, when every time you look out of the window you can see the trees bent double and all that keeps popping into your mind is them carp boshing in the ripples. Thats why I did some of the revision on the bank, rods out on the bait and them 'if only i was fishing thoughts' are being fulfilled giving you a full day to get your head round them tricky revision problems and the chance of a carp to boot.

There's plenty of time for fishing later in life, but the odd day out in the sun with a chosen book will do you no harm.

Be Lucky

Nipped out back to the local park tonight, got there at half 7 and realised id left the camera at home, so i arrive back at 10 past 8 camera in hand

Same swim onto one of the main snags, spodded 1 kg of halibuts real tight to the branch and bush, theres a clear shelf with a depth of less than 2ft coming about half a foot out from the snag, if you get a bait on it youve got a take most of the time pellets were joined by about 50 baits,
Nightmare ensued after this after the precise spodding it took over 15 casts to get on said shelf, but then i get the peach i was looking for
[image][/image]



rod on rests at alf 8 and ripps off at 10 past 10 only to strike into feck all, so top up swim jut enough light for a recast only took 3 casts this time and bang on, an hour later rod rips off 9lb mirror, there all really old and nice fish so i was happy with that(no one to take pics though). Quick pack up and home for 12

[image][/image]

jobs a good'un, i might be tempted to return tomorrow the last 20 in there would be welcomed into my net

All the best for tomorrow,Mike.Happy Birthday pal.

cheers mate, not long now

goin for a few legal

then on the razz satruday night, should be a good'un if i can forget about my two main exams on monday

anways for now

last night i went down to local park again after the game, went for the shallow area of snags as it was catching the last of the sun and the other area was fairly stiched up, get all set up pellets and boilies went out to the spot, it didn't take long to get a rod tight the the big tree, i had a few liners which a very predictable on there a bite normally occurs 20-30mins after a couple of liner for some reason. But then a coot decided to pick up the bait and forced a recast, all set again but by this time the suns gone and its getting abit nippy, same as happened last year, the shallows are no good on a clear night, so i packed up at about 11 and headed home
[image][/image]

forgot to wish you happy birthday l.c. hope your not feeling to after your first big legal and hope ya mam isnt giving ta to much about why you shouldn`t so much

rite chaps, just a short long overdue update to this blog, youve probably guessed i aint bin on the bank much this summer, iv given up fighting between fishing and socialising, most of my fishing over the last year has all been hindered by one side of me not actually wanting to be there and needing some good company, the new fs's have been tooled up for 2 months now im still yet to even fish with them,

iv taken step's advice in a previous thread a while bac, which is to drop the fishing and get partying, well thats what he meant but not in those exact words eh steps!

so iv got into leeds uni and i leave for student life in 8 days!

good luck l.c. ,get your head down,don`t forget to come up for air ,tune a few nipples for me !!!

Don't forget to drop us a line now and then..when you are not using some bird as a matress

goes without sayin tudgey

the last blog entry has had to go due to publicity issues, from now on i can only talk about the PL

On a more serious note Mike...........
How many young student birds has thi bummed this term.F**k the fishing.Get em Primed..

since the 'break up' i managed to make 2 lady friends inside a week, neither however were willing to make a night of it, although 1 sounds up for it next term

im honeing my skills steps and don't worry il always use protection

Nearing the end of my 1st year now only exams to go before home for the summer. Its been a wild one to say the least!

I was home this week for a couple of days, after a niight at home i needed to get away so i was off for an overnighter on my syndicate.
Ariving at 7pm wednesday night i went for a walk around to catch up with the last months goings on. A bait appears to have been established this year by a large group of anglers. I've never been into geting onto established baits or even taking part in establishing them unless its all my own work, although they have plmuped up the fish for me..........considerably. Either way with the amount i know about the place by now i'd be cheating myself by going on such a bait because its simply not needed. I know these fish, their fussy eaters with a regards to where they dine. A dustbin lid is the average size of their dinner plates on their favourite areas, yet few choose to find these 'glass' like spots.
Anyway back to the overnighter. As i talked to a chap who'd had a fish known as the dwarf a few hours earlier in the afternoon i was sure and commented to him that he should have 'ralf' in the night as iv witnessed and cuaght them both within 2 nights 2 years before. A couple of minutes later a fish stuck its head just on the edge of the flat water on the back of the wind, i had been looking to move onto the island where the wind was sailing into but the showing made my swim choice very easy. I went straight back to the car and got the gear to the 'fallen tree' asap, this swim offered the half of the lake on the back of the wind.
I wasn't there 5 mins when a very good fish lumped out not 20 yds out in my swim, i put a bait on it within 2mins and then set about geting the other rods on the 'glass' spots in the swim. They were hear and i knew if they fed i'd have a bait on the dustbin lid they like best. All set and im off to bed at 10 still recovering from weeks of going out in leeds. At 2.30am i was awoken by a 1 toner on one of the rods on glass, after abit of scrap i landed guess who....ralfy a repeat but at 24lb something to make it worthwhile.
I got off at 8am with no more action as per usual on there, and got back to uni rather satisfied that by just going off past exsperiences and basic observations i don't need to keep up with the place to catch when im back, this said it could be different next time.
But it's doubtfull, and for this reason il be moving on once im home for good.

spot on mike

Nicely Mike... can't beat the smooth spots .. lumpy areas are worth a look at ;)... in the lake i mean!

lol smoothly does it tudge!

back to the drennan double strength a mo....tried all sorts of knots with it,and unless superglued,they slip open.anyone else come across this....i use the 12lb stuff...or did!

always been ok with 10lb, maybe the 12s just a little stiffer to make it recoil from knots.

come on mike leave the women alone and lets have some more of your quest lol

WELL IN MICHAEL!!!....scoring on all fronts !!!

Alright chaps its been a while since ive posted on here. It pretty much reflects my angling over the last couple of years, my heart hasn't been in it. Maybe it'l come back later in life but for now i've come to massively hard decision to sell up. Overdrafts too big to justify keeping over 1.5k of cash, sitting in a room.
I don't see this as me out of carpfishing forever, just a break while i sort out what i want from life career wise.

Met so many great people i feel like im letting some down.

expect some item for sale soon...

Seriously don't do it!


You will get peanuts for your gear, and then have to spend a small fortune replacing it when you next get the urge.

That will probably coincide with the first warm sunny day next year.

Seen it happen before and it almost always ends in tears, honest!

My advice is mothball your gear and shove less beer down your neck.

I'm in total agreement with Andy on this....don't sell up.

OK, so beds and bivvies are coming down in price,but everything else is increasing. It costs nothing to have your tackle kept in a safe place, and you've said it yourself......you'll be back.

To compromise,sell or give your bait away, sell any duplication, then mothball the rest.

How sad.. Mike, modern carp fishing needs young men with the attitude and integrity that you possess. The couple of times that we have met and fished together i was very impressed on your approach and ideas towards your fishing techniques. I tipped you for great things in the North West carp fishing scene, and i still stand by my comments now.
The best of luck to you whatever you choose to do.
I have sent you a pm.

wait till spring fella then make your mind up u'll only blow all the coin over christmas on the deman drink
bin their a few times totaly guting feeling noing youve got no gear an its lookin good down the lake

but anyway i'll still have that spod rod fella lol

balls to it. I can't do it!

sorry dirtdevil you should have kept stum!
thanks for your kind words of advice, its a too bigger part of me to sell off.
I will come back to it, just when i don't know.

no worries mate