Plenty Of Fish

I was able to get a couple of short trips in the following weekend, the first being a 5 hour afternoon session on the river whilst my wife and girls went clothes shopping. I had baited with maize on the Friday morning before work and arrived at the river just before midday on Saturday. I fished standard bottom baits but this time decided to fish a maize hook bait on the near margin rod. I cast my S-Core bottom bait tipped with maize to the far bank and slipped on a back lead (as two boats had already been through). I then swung out the near bank rod. Just as the lead hit the bottom, the far bank rod signalled a bite.

I dropped the near bank rod in the bankside vegetation out of the way and picked up the other rod. It was clear that I was attached to a carp as it swung round and headed off downstream. It turned in mid flow and started heading up river. This fish felt completely different to the fish I caught a couple of weeks ago and felt pretty heavy in the flow. After several heart stopping runs down stream eventually a decent set of mirror carp shoulders broke the surface. The fish slowly wallowed into the waiting net. It was clearly my best so far and when I weighed it at 19lb 10oz I was over the moon; just a few ounces shy of the magical river 20 I’m searching for.

Just short of the magical river 20, at 19lb 10oz I was over the moon.

I slipped the fish back and got the rod back out. I fished until 4:45 pm and had one other bite from a bream on the maize rod (think I will stick to the boilies next time!).

On Sunday I had the day at home but then ventured out to the Cotswolds for the night. I arrived at 7pm and after a walk round it was clear that there were loads of fish close in on the shallows. I decided to have a go for them and by 8pm I had 2 rigs under armed into position, one on a pop up and one on a bottom bait with small PVA bags of pellet. I laid the rods on the ground and left all the gear on the barrow. I was only going to stay there for the night if the fish looked like they were staying.

I received numerous liners from the fish but nothing picked up the hookbait. It was nearing 10pm and with the light fading it seemed as though the fish were drifting to my right. I decided to move and fish an area around the corner at close range.

I swung out two baits onto clear areas in the now very dim light and threw in around 50 baits over the two rigs about 25 yards out. I had one on a braided blow back rig with a PVA bag and one on a pop up on a hinged-stiff rig. I got the brolly up in the dark and settled into the bag at about 11pm.

I must have drifted into a heavy sleep, as at midnight, the left hand rod on the bottom bait absolutely tore off. I was out of the game and it seemed like an age before I was in my chesties with rod in hand. The fish had found a little weed but it came free and was soon in the margin. There was weed clogged around the line but I slipped the net under the fish…….or so I thought. I had netted the weed and the fish was still wallowing beyond the drawstring (I was still well out of the game!!). Second time of asking and the fish was mine. I finally pulled myself together and got the fish weighed and photographed, a 29lb 12oz Common. I was well pleased with this result.

I didn’t fish the following week so when I did get back out it was mid July. I arrived in the Cotswolds on the Friday night after work to find the lake fairly busy. With all of the best looking swims taken I really couldn’t decide where to go. After 2 laps of the lake with my gear and leading about in 3 swims, I eventually settled on a swim in the shallows. It was now 9pm. I found 2 clear areas to fish to, the left hand spot was clean gravel so a bottom bait rig went on that. The right hand spot was clear, but not as clean, so a pop up went on that rod. I baited with S-Core pellets and 14mm and 18mm S-Core boilies. I put a couple of handfuls of pellets in a bucket and a couple of handfuls of boilies, and then put 4 – 5 spombs of bait over each spot.

All was sorted just before dark. My first bite came very quickly on the right hand rod. The fish weeded me up and just as it was coming free, the line cut and the fish was gone. I got the rod sorted and back on the spot and topped up with 3 spombs of bait.

At 3am, the left hand rod was away. This fish didn’t weed me up but after a few seconds of contact and a couple of head shakes, the fish slipped the barbless hook and was gone. I was proper chuffed off but before I had time to think it over too much, the right hand rod was away again.

This time the fish stayed on and after a brief battle, it rolled into the net. It was clearly a good fish so I slipped it into the retainer sling and sorted out my camera gear. Once I had checked the camera framing and got everything ready, I brought the fish ashore. On the scales it went 37lb 12oz – I was over the moon with such a good fish just after spawning. I sorted out some photos and slipped the fish back.

A huge framed common of 37lb 12oz Common

By the time I had both rods back out and baited, it was almost light. I was hanging so got back in bed for a few hours. I woke about 8am and all was quiet. The Saturday was very quiet but at 5pm I had a bite on the left hand rod. The fish buried itself in weed several times and after 25 minutes of putting the rod down, waiting for the fish to move, getting it moving, it weeding up again and repeating the process, I finally got the fish in the net. It turned out to be a 23lb 12oz Common with a huge tail.

A 23lb 12oz Common with a huge tail

After the fish I recast both rods and topped up with 4 spombs of bait over each spot. At 9:15, the left hand rod bent round again and I netted a 15lb common. I got the rod back out and topped up with 3 spombs of bait. An hour later, the left rod was away again and this time a 20lb 4oz mirror was the culprit.

I had not long got the rod recast and re-baited when the right hand rod signalled a bite. This fish came in without any problem and was a mirror of 20lb 4oz. After the photos, re-casting and rebaiting, I had just got settled in bed when the left hand rod was away again. This turned out to be another mirror of 23lb 12oz.

It was now 1:45am. I was knackered so got into bed. A short while later, I heard a few fish topping. Coming to my senses, I soon realised that it wasn’t fish topping that I could hear, but fish spawning. I wound both rods in and tried to get my head down for some much-needed sleep.

When I woke about 7am, the fish were much less active. I stayed for a few hours longer, but then packed up and headed home.  I was very happy with this 6 fish catch topped by an upper 30.

The following week I did an evening trip on the Warwickshire Avon. I have kept the bait going in even though I’d not fished. Within 5 minutes of casting in I landed a bream of around 6lb. At 8pm I saw a fish top over my left hand rod then it immediately wrapped round signalling a bite. The fish fought well in the current and after a 10 minute battle a lovely common rolled into the net. It weighed 13lb and after a quick photo, it was slipped back. Whilst playing it out I saw another 2 fish top near my spot. However, 5 minutes later 4 young lads turned up and started jumping and diving out of a tree into the river. Whether it was their disturbance or the disturbance of catching a fish, I never saw another fish or had any more action. I packed away at 10pm and headed home.

A 13lb Common from the Warwickshire Avon

On the Friday of that week, I was due to fish an overnighter in the Cotswolds. I arrived after work and nothing took my fancy other than the swim I fished last time. I clipped up to the same spots that I fished before and baited with the same pellet and boilie combo. This time I baited with 8 spombs over each spot. The lake had been fishing really poorly with only one fish out in the last week, but there were plenty of fish drifting around and I was confident. At 11pm, the left hand rod ripped off. I struck into the fish and it was met with solid resistance. It didn’t feel a big fish and came in without too much trouble. When I rolled the net on its side, it was clearly a 30lb plus common. I set up the camera and got everything framed, then brought the fish ashore. It weighed in at 34lb 8oz so I was well chuffed. I fired off a few pictures and then slipped the fish back, recast the rod and topped up with another 5 spombs of bait.

A deep bodied 34lb 8oz Common

At 1:30 am the right hand rod was away. This fish seemed to gather some weed around its head and came in easily just like a heavy ball of weed. When I checked the net it was clearly another 30 and of similar size to the first fish. The margins were very shallow so I went to put the fish and net into the retaining sling so that I could secure it in deeper water. I guided the net into the sling and the fish then shot forward coming out of the other side of the sling! I had let go of the net and to my horror it had also slipped over the draw string.

So there I was stood in the margins looking at a 30 plus common nestling in the weed. This is where I did my best impression of a bear trying to catch salmon from the river. I got my hands under the fish to cradle it but it was having none of it. It powered off again and then nestled in some more weed. I had another go at cradling the fish into my arms, but this time the fish powered off and was gone. Using barbless hooks, as soon as the fish is in the net, the hook tends to come out. This time was no different so with the hook out, the fish found its way back out into the lake without having its picture taken. I was gutted and annoyed with myself for the minor errors that had cost me a good look at my prize, knowing its true weight and some picture for my album and memories. It was easily over 30lb; I had landed it and the memory would stay with me for the farce that occurred trying to get it in the sling!

That was all the action for the night. It was a right result considering how hard the lake was fishing. Most anglers are generally fishing straight boilie and avoid pellets due to the unwanted attention of tench. I was starting to wonder whether the S-Core pellet approach was helping to induce a stronger feeding response, particularly bearing in mid that I was boosting them with Serum which would trigger a prolonged feeding response from the fish.

That was the end of my fishing for July, which had been a particularly successful month on the catch front. Time on the bank was going to be less in August due to holidays, but I do have a week booked off at the end of the month for fishing so I’m looking forward to that.

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