An Interesting June 16th.

Wow! What a long time it has been! I can’t even count the previous article as my own in January! What a busy start of the year it has been – no fishing but plenty of fish related work, I can tell you that. From the 1^st of Jan up until the close season in March, I had very few sessions and even fewer worth writing about. The issue (if you can call it that, really) was the increase of my Fishery Management course I’m currently studying.  Not only is it the occasional trips we do, but also the assignments that come with it. Slacking could not be tolerated and the fishing, unfortunately, had to subside. My second ‘excuse’ was the close season itself! Between March and the 16^th of June, I did 2 trips! One of which was a blank and the other was a social event with only very few – and rather small – fish being caught. On top of all this, part time jobs were increasing in busyness and the work I do for HCP Baits made fishing fall back even further priority-wise. Recently, I bought a new camera that I am very proud of and I hope there is a noticeable difference in the photography. Previously, I’d use Edwin’s or my little compact digital which wasn’t up to the job for what I wanted it to do. Using Edwin’s DSLR made me want one too and the photos you may see dotted around here may have well been taken on that too (before I bought my own, obviously). This year has been somewhat of a breakthrough for my angling though and work with HCP Baits and a local rod builder has given me many opportunities for the future – for which I am extremely grateful for!

I think that is enough of my waffling about why I have deprived you of blogs on here, but that is about to change! Without further ado, I shall commence the ‘story’ of An Interesting June 16^th.

You'd never know that
they were once 1 piece!

It was my first proper night session where the regulars of my local fishing club would congregate for a BBQ and drinks to ‘see in’ the open season at midnight. I had spent the day either packing my stuff or in the local town of Burgess Hill to meet a man called Graham Dadswell. Graham is a class rod builder and can do most things you can throw at him. I had previously bought 2 rods under the name of Wychwood Extricator 6’. These were very classy little rods and at 6 foot, they were rather compact too. Well, they would have been had they not been 1 piece.  After searching around, I was put onto Graham and he agreed to, essentially, cut them in 2! Of course, with his expertise, he would whip ferrules in and create a stunning set of rods with quality spigots. Now with 2 super slim, 2 piece, 6 foot rods, I knew I could take these anywhere. 

Their length allowed me to get in almost
any swim...and be right on my rods.

I would have to use them for the open season night! Though we were late, we still managed to arrive at the lakes’ car park at about 6 o’clock. This gave me plenty of time to look around the lake of my choice and even set up before dark. I chose a spot where most people would normally not fish from due to overhanging trees but with my new rods, casting was, as they say, a doddle. I was also casting to a spot where many people fish from instead of to. The reason was simply a pressure thing and not many people fish under their feet. Now, I wasn’t doing that but I was casting to a bank many people fish from and thus achieving the same thing. Many people also easily access this bank and what with the many fish that are happy to take floating baits, people regularly throw in all sorts of food for them.  Even though I was only casting within feet of the bank, the lead had a while to hit the hard bottom. Though it wasn’t actually a deep spot, it was for this margin. I could easily walk round to bait up with my slightly different bait too. Most people feed pellet and/or hemp, but I decided to still fish particle but with a liberal dose of chick peas. To that, I would also add Coconut Crunch boilie crumb, sweet corn, fast breakdown pellet (not the normal 10mm halibuts that this lake is synonymous with) and a good glugging of HCP Baits’ Coconut Crunch liquid * find how to make this mix in ‘Angling Tips ‘n’ Tricks. I wanted to give a sweet but very nutritious mix, as the fish would respond better to this than an overly enhanced artificial flavoured mix. The Coconut Crunch liquid not only added a whole new dimension to the bait, but emitted a sweet, nutty, cloud into the water column. Along this typical patrol route, the fish should be drawn down to my bait at any level. The rigs would be simple and very anti-tangle. A simple coated braid hook link and stripped back section at the hook end, with a balanced hook bait consisting of a trimmed down Coconut Crunch dumbbell. A buoyant piece of corn balanced it nicely and was then all glugged in matching liquid. All of this would be attached to a leadcore leader and a leadclip arrangement. Lead wise would be a 1.5oz Dung coated flat pear swivel from J&R Leads on Facebook *find in ‘Links’ . Their leads are top notch and can offer you the largest range of coatings imaginable. They can even do custom coatings. I chose the dung coating due to its ability to appear natural on any lake-bed. 

'Dung' coating, big-eye swivels and
low profile body made them
the best leads around.

After the BBQ, drinks and social, everyone went their separate ways onto the lake of their choice on the complex and began baiting up, clipping up and making final adjustments for the midnight cast out. It was just like a match when 12 o’clock eventually came around and the whistle was blown. Thankfully for me, I was away from most of the commotion and I felt this gave me a good advantage. I got both rods ‘on the money’ first time and I had a lot of faith in my PVA bag mix and prior baiting approach. My mix was very similar to the free offering bucket mix but with more boilie crumb and less chick pea juice. Every cast, I would find my tape marker, clip up and then dunk my 50p-sized PVA mesh bag in my ever faithful Coconut Crunch dip. It is a bright white liquid and certainly creates a very attractive cloud. I managed to hit the clip hard most times and feeling the lead down in the 5 or so feet of water made me safe in the knowledge that the rig was presented well. If I was paranoid that I hadn’t hit the clip hard enough to kick the bag away from the lead, I could get away with dragging the lead bag 3 inches or so as the bottom was clean and the PVA bag protected my hook point. 

Natural patrol route and feeding
spot from the public.

It was about an hour and a half later when I had a little twitch on the rod closest to the bank which very quickly developed into a good run. I had a tight baitrunner set and I merely had to swing out of my bedchair and reach out to pick up the rod - the joys of having compact rods and being on top of them. This also allowed me to keep my volume on the alarms very quiet and it was only when the head torch was turned on to see what I had in the net was when I was asked whether it was a “good’un” from my closest neighbour on the lake – still at about 40 yards away. I simply replied with a quiet, “na”, and I was right. It was another of the stocked fish which didn’t surprise me. These greedy little blighters were always the first to scoff all my bait but I was thankful I was off the mark.

The weight simply doesn't
matter when you get off
the mark with this.

As I’ve mentioned before, these fish are so solidly built and are very strong little fighters. Though only being 6-7lb, the growth rates of these fish are phenomenal and other than the odd parasite around its face (which I removed); it was as clean as a whistle. Again, I simple walked my line back out to the tape and tucked it under the clip. Though I probably should have put more bait in to top up the swim, I didn’t as I was already running out. Top tip would be to make more than you think as you can always freeze it (if the missus allows). That night was the first time I was on my own as I have always done sessions similar to this with friends. However, I liked the peace and it possibly even had a positive effect on my angling as I had fewer distractions - saying that, you can’t beat having a good chat on the bank and a cup of tea with your mates. The rest of the night was quiet and even my new neighbour down the lake only had an 8lb common and an eel. The issues with this lake are the masses of smaller carp you have to fight through to even get into double figures. On the other hand, they are clean fish and scrap well for their weight. When it’s that snaggy, you can’t complain about getting – and landing – bites. Had I been using heavier leads, dropping them off would have certainly been at least a consideration due to the amount of tree stumps left in there. However, my 1.5oz leads still gave me the ability to stay in direct contact with the fish and the lead clip would have done its job had I become snagged anyway.

Just as my friend Simon arrived at 09:30 the following day, I received another steady run and I was on it in a flash. I knew it was a better fish as it plodded rather than violently shake its head and dart around. I normally pride myself in knowing the stock of the larger fish in this lake but as soon as it boiled on the surface and its massive head hit the surface, I could have told you instantly I didn’t recognise it. Most of the fish in there are lean commons with dark colouration and the mirrors were either fully scaled or of the above strain. I could tell it was a special fish, not only because it was unknown, but also because it was rather old. The experience was heightened even further when I realised what I was playing it on...my new 6’ rods. It just felt so natural and smooth that I forgot about their length and short handle. Still, the fish eventually tired from plodding in front of my feet – too deep to net safely – and ran off purely for the hell of it, it seemed. Even with half the length of my normal rods, I still managed to turn it and after about 7 minutes, Si did the honours and the draw cord passed   easily under the fish’s almost out-of-proportioned length.

Bit of a warrior, one might say.

Though being an old fish, it clearly had managed to avoid capture as, like most in this lake, its mouth was so clean it looked almost uncaught.  Its fins, scales and tale were all immaculate and I simply didn’t care about the weight. At a touch under 14lb, it was never going to be considered a ‘beast’ but I was so pleased I had at least a double - and a mirror at that!

Matching paste just
added another dimension.

After those 2 bites, I baited heavily again and positioned both rods tight on the patch again. However, I think I had missed any more bites from the initial feeding spell as everything dried up. One last fish was to be had soon after and was a typical 15lb common from my neighbour up the lake. He was a brave chap and was prepared to fish right in the middle of the miniature lilies that almost covered the majority of the lake. I spent most of the day talking to Si and catching up with what we had missed for many months. Though he had set up next to me, he didn’t have the patience to wait for a larger fish and soon went off with his new fly rod onto one of the easier lakes to winkle out a carp. Though it turned out to be a typical middle-of-summer day what with the rain showers and humidity, it still seemed not all that unpleasant and I too soon wound in to try and find my friend.

Typical summer day, eh?!

I also bumped into my step-dad who had also had his first carp of the season whilst, what he calls, “tiddler bashing”. One lake up, I found my brother and Si both after the carp that were still on the surface despite it raining. To say that his Hardy Zenith was a magnificent piece of engineering was an understatement and its flex was extraordinary whenever he had even the smallest of carp. My brother, who was either half up or crouched under an overhanging tree, was usually in too and had them up to about 9-10lb – which was nice for him. After the weather subsided, I went back and cast out to my rested swim. It had certainly worked leaving it for a couple of hours as a bite was then almost instantaneous. The proof that was when the fish were in the area, they couldn't resist a bit of the ‘Crunch. I definitely think that the added shot of the matching liquid made a massive difference and drew the fish right back in. The bite was typical and so was the fish itself. At least, the shape and colouration was. It looked a little underweight but it could have been spawned out for all I know. It could have pushed double figures after a scoff but I had to admit it wasn't a double just yet.

No matter how hard I tried, I just
couldn't make this a double. 

Only a little over an hour later, at 16:15, I had my 3^rd fish worth taking a photo for (as I had 1 or 2 extra during the day but were the fish probably swept down from one of the match ponds). It was a little bigger and seemed a lot angrier on the mat. I simply smothered it with the weigh sling and the darkness calmed it soon enough. Covering its eyes usually calms most animals and fish are no different. Though it was another clean fish, its mouth was not quite right but probably had nothing to do with previous captures – simply an odd shape to it. The orange in its tail was somewhat nice and most of the fish in this lake have some sort of character to them, no matter how big or small they are.

Glad to finish off with a nice
 chunky and angry carp 

Now that the season is upon us, expect more tales from especially Edwin and I and always check out Si’s blog at alwaysangling.com.