Thursday, 17th.May
A new Strategy
This is the spot I found on my walk after I packed up last time. On the sketch map Ken Crow the Fishery Manager gave me it’s marked as ‘White House Point’; on the Ordnance Survey map of the area however the nearest place is marked as ‘Betty’s Plat’. A Plat is described as ‘a piece of ground’, so this area must have been Betty’s Bit in days gone past. Betty’s is the green bit shown in the vicinity of ‘Keeper’s Cottage’ on the OS.
It’s a bit of a stomp from the car park at Estate Yard Bay and there are some soft and rutty bits on the way, but it’s mostly flat all the way through the wood. The hardest part is when you exit the wood and leave the path and go across the rough ground out to the headland. This is tough going and being as it’s right at the end of the walk - pretty knackering. I’m attempting it however because the rewards potentially are enormous. I don’t think many people fish it - I’ve only ever seen one person bivvied up on there, the remnants of which I saw last time - flattened grass and a discarded plastic tackle box lid. But it’s perfect for intercepting fish moving up and down the West Bank. There’s a bay (Hump Bay) between White House Point and Crooked Cross Wood and I reckon the fish just swim straight across it without going into the bay. Same with Pete’s Bay. Although the received wisdom is that carp do get in the bays, I think it’s a very hit and miss affair. They’re either there or they aren’t. Mostly aren’t. Intercepting them on their peregrinations along the shoreline is a better strategy in the long term.
Friday, 18th.May
Baiting Strategy
Been thinking about how best to use the bait I’ve got, in particular, bait quantity and baiting pattern, and this is determined by what I want to achieve with it. My aim in fishing White House Point is to try and intercept fish moving in a North-South direction along the West shoreline. Of course, there is no way of knowing how far out from the bank they might be so some sort of intercepting pattern would seem to be appropriate.I managed to make an accurate map using Google Earth and used the line measuring tool to plot lines of sight. A direct line towards the Clubhouse seems to give me a reasonably ‘perpendicular’ line out into the lake where I can position baits at 6, 8, and 10 wraps. This equates to baits at 24, 32, and 40 yards from the bank where there will be different depths. A small patch of (say) 15-20 baits around each rod should give me enough of a scatter to interest anything that might be out there.
Saturday, 19th.May
I got a call from Phil Baker last night, fishing in the Car Park Corner at Bough Beech. Carp have been moving up and down the Dam all afternoon and Phil had set traps for them by the bushes which grow out of the water; some of these fish were certainly twenty-five pounds plus!This is not the first time Phil has seen them there this Spring - he seemed to think this is unusual for this time of year and might be because of the exceptionally hard winter we have had and the delay in the normal progress of the seasons. All over the country it is reported that things are at least four to six weeks behind.
I must have a look in this area before deciding where to fish next time; although I am extremely keen on fishing my ‘little piece of Heaven’ on White House Point, positive sightings of fish can not be ignored and it would be bad angling to do so.
Monday, 21st.May
I was in contact with Mark (Gregory) over the weekend. A 37 pound common has been caught from the Estate Yard Bay! This, together with reports of fish from Day’s Bay, suggests fish are being caught all over the reservoir - they do not seem to be confined to any one particular area; there’s a randomness about their locations.Before I make my way round to White House Point tomorrow I’m definitely going to have a look in The Car Park Corner for if they are there, it would make no sense to ignore them.
Tuesday, 22nd.May
13.00Arrived at the res. and drove straight to the Clubhouse, parking up at Car Park Corner. The water is dropping rapidly and soon the more inviting wooded areas will be fishable. I had a good look in the corner, particularly around the three bushes which grow on the concrete of the dam. The wind was blowing straight in and it looked cock-on - but not a fish did I see. I know I’m getting on in years and my fish-spotting abilities are somewhat diminished to what they used to be, but I’m sure I would have seen them had they been there. Even though the water was very coloured by the wave action lapping onto the concrete apron, conditions were still good enough to see the unmistakable black shadows of carp, mooching along in the shallow water.
I walked along as far as the First Steps and stood on top of the concrete; still nothing. They’re not here. And yet conditions were just perfect…
Plan B - White House Point. I drove round to the estate yard and signed in. The Fisherman’s Hut is not the tidiest of premises but epitomises what every good carp fishery should have - a ramshackle, untidy den, full of carpy-ness, an ideal start to any fishing session.
Barrow packed and I’m off on the long walk through the woods. In actual fact, it wasn’t as far as I first thought and I made it out onto ‘the point’ in good order.
I can confirm they are an absolute bugger to extricate a fully-loaded barrow from!
First disaster - I lost my marker kit first cast. I thought I’d try one of those Fox pronged marker leads - you know, the ones with the little prongs on the side; said to be just the thing for sampling the weed on your spot. You cast the thing out and let it sink on top of whatever debris there is on the bottom and a quick flick of the wrist sees you attached to samples which get caught in the prongs. A very good idea as long as the prongs don’t get stuck on something more unyielding than weed. Which is what happened. And not only was it unyielding it was positively as solid as a rock! I pulled for a break and lost the lot. I imagine these pronged leads are a very nice earner for Fox on all but the cleanest of bottoms!
Project Interception was put into operation. Rods at 6, 8, and 10 wraps. The l.h. rod aimed at ‘Three Trees’, the centre rod at the Clubhouse, and the r.h. rod at the mobile mast over near Car Park Corner. 16 baits were catapulted around each hook-bait and a tin of sweetcorn catapulted out towards the ‘short’ rod. The aim of this was to provide a carpet of yellow on the bottom to at least encourage a carp to pause along its route down the reservoir margin and hopefully come across the free boilies. That’s the plan anyway.
One thing is certain - this is truly ‘wild’ fishing - or at least, as wild as it can get in the county of Kent these days. Out here on the point there is not a soul in sight - I do believe I am the only person on the reservoir at this moment. I can see right across to the far side of the res. (over 700 yards away. I measured it on Google Earth) and I can’t see a soul. It feels remote, wild, and I have to say, with just a little smidgeon of apprehension, isolated. If anything happens to me over here, help is at least a half a mile away minimum. Must keep my mobile close to hand and the card you are given on joining, with all the emergency ‘phone numbers. Fishing is wonderful but it’s not worth any risk to life or limb.
15.40I’m having to sit right down at the edge of the water to get shade from what is once again fierce sunshine. It’s ironic, I spent the whole winter - from November until only a few weeks ago, longing and praying for warm summer days - only to go chasing after the shade when they finally get here. It’s never right is it? Too hot, too cold, too windy, no wind, and whatever you wish for and finally get - that’s no good either!
Where are the fish? Where are they? This is my fifth session on Bough Beech and I have yet to see a carp either in the water or on the bank. Those in the know (and much better anglers than me) have told me to ignore those who say “you never see them”. They say that yes, you do, and describe experiences of just such sightings.. Only a few days ago, Phil (Baker) described to me how he saw fish in the Car Park Corner and was able to fish to them. And yet I haven’t seen a single solitary thing. Nothing.
There is a psychological effect at work here. When you see fish in the water (or leaping, swirling, or other displays which are so obviously carp) it immediately gives you a clue as to where they are and of course where they might be caught. Those wiser than me often say, “you cannot catch fish which are not there”, and I can not disagree with that. Casting baits into ‘empty’ water is as good as not bothering to cast at all. You can not catch fish which are not there.
And so the psychological effect of not seeing fish is just as profound as the confidence that comes with seeing them - only in reverse. There is a debilitating effect on the confidence that accompanies the prolonged not seeing of carp and I think the only way to combat this is to go and find them!
But what if they are nowhere to be seen?…
16.00Sailing dinghies are out on the water as they have been for most of the afternoon.. Big bodies of inland water like this are bound to have other water sports enthusiasts and I suppose we should be thankful that water-skiing is not numbered among their activities here. I still resent them though.
I know this is a facility that has to be shared and there are differing interests in a variety of activities, but I can’t help thinking I wish they weren’t here. Am I being selfish in wanting the reservoir for the exclusive use of the fishing syndicates? I suppose if the boot were on the other foot and I was a sailor, I’d want exclusive use for sailors. (There’s probably a joke in there somewhere that includes the phrase “hello sailor!” But I can’t quite think of it just now).
I guess I’m just focussed on them right now because they are in my field of view and they are convenient to blame for the lack of carp action. We’ll blame anyone and anything for failure, things not going as we’d planned on the carp front and I know I’m not being fair.
Carp angling though isn’t fair. Do any of us ever get a fair return for all the effort we put in? I mean a really, really fair return? Carp angling isn’t about amassing enough credits with the carp gods to persuade them to reward us with a carp. It’s about good, solid Angling. Simple as.
19.30The shadows are lengthening as the sun starts to dip down behind the trees. Temperature dropping so time to don some warmer clothing.
Phil (Baker) has arrived and has taken a boat over to Forge. He came up with the very good suggestion of fishing large halibut pellets. At the moment the Bream don’t seem to be a problem so I think this is well worth thinking about.
Phil was really encouraging about the spot I am fishing. White House Point is the scene of some big fish captures and has something of a history for producing ‘lumps’. Oh how I wish!
All rods have been re-baited for the night and a few more freebies have been introduced just to make sure there’s enough to interest any passing carp for I am not fishing for resident fish, but for those migrating around the reservoir.
Wednesday, 23rd.May
05.30Blank night, cold and clear. Phil messaged me to say he wasn’t feeling well and had to pack up and go home. Before he left, he did however say that a fish had been caught from Betty’s Plat which is the next field down towards the dam. Think I’ll go and have a shufti before leaving today. Only one more possible session before Christine and I go to France so better try and make the most of it. France could be really exciting though as we went last year and had a great time, catching loads of fish at Peter and Madeline’s Moulin de Gassas near Bergerac.
There are small fish ‘topping’ at short range in front of me this morning. It’s curious; you only ever seem to see activity from the small fish of the reservoir first thing in the morning. I noticed this in Pete’s Bay on the last two sessions I fished there; all other times of the day they are completely absent.
Before Phil went home I was discussing with him how to decide where to fish when there is a complete absence of anything to go on. With so few fish in the res. (and my personal belief is that there are vastly less than what is touted) it is a massive coincidence to be looking in the direction of the precise moment a fish shows itself. Despite the opinions of The Wise, I am firmly of the opinion that the carp of Bough Beech do not ‘show’ as such at all and I think the reason for this is their feeding behaviour.
It is the accepted wisdom that leaping is associated with feeding and this may be to clear debris from their gills, or free themselves of lice. I don’t know about the latter, but the commonly held belief is that Bough Beech carp are fry-feeders and don’t actually feed in the bottom silt at all. I agree with this. Silt feeders are eating bloodworm (and other bottom-crawling invertebrates) but it is predominantly the larvae of the Chironomid fly (non-biting midges) that are this food source.
I read a paper on this and it said that bloodworm commonly make up more than half the population inhabiting the bottom of stillwaters. They are an incredibly diverse and adaptive species and have a very wide tolerance of depth, toxic tolerance, acidity, temperature, and adaptability to ground conditions.
I might be barking up the wrong tree here but I think there is evidence these larvae are absent from the bottom of the reservoir - or at least those areas that are exposed when the water goes down. I have seen few to zero examples of these insects on the wing here at Bough Beech. At this time of year on all waters, airborne midges are an accepted part of pond life and are usually seen in great clouds, especially in the evenings. Biting mosquitos are also present on almost all waters, the larvae of which thrive in the bottom detritus of all standing bodies of water.
Chironomid larvae are not tolerant of dessication. In another paper I read, there is a description of how Chironomids lack the chemical in their epidermis which limits the passage of water out of their abdomens that is present in other invertebrates, hence, they are not tolerant of drying out. This is a problem when the water recedes and is lowered during the summer. It is noted however that Chironomids possess the ability to migrate horizontally along the bottom; they do this by flagellation of their bodies and it is possible they make their way to deeper water.
I just get the feeling though that ground that is left high and dry by the draw-down will not be populated by these creatures during the winter and Spring when the water is at high level for the simple reason that midge eggs would have been laid in the warmer weather when the water level is low. I really am not sure whether I’ve got this right though. I could be completely wrong. What I do know however is that something is going on in the reservoir that disrupts the life-cycle of the food that carp feed on and this has an effect on what they feed on, and where they feed on it.
Conditions are cold and windy this morning. The thermometer is showing only 11 degrees; I am sure one of the reasons for the patchy sport on the res. is the topsy-turvy water temperatures. There has been no spawning activity on the part of the Bream and those who know the water well say it should have started by now.
I don’t think I would elect to have such an elaborate baiting pattern in future. I think all rods could be fished at the same distance - but an intercepting pattern could be achieved with a wider spread of bait with the rods fished in the middle of it. [I’ve had second thoughts about this; now I’ve had a chance to think about the session - and in particular the issue of vast areas of the reservoir bottom drying out during the draw-down, my plans are evolving. See note at end.]
06.30As you know, I am a follower of Leon Bartrop’s Vlogs on Youtube and his latest piece was from Wellington Country Park from which he has yet to catch a carp this Spring. (Tell me about it!) Leon found fish amongst snags, one fish of which was an absolute stonker which had to be all of fifty pounds! As Leon says however, he doesn’t do snag-fishing. It’s not his style. Snag-fishing requires sitting right on the rods, ‘locked-up’ and ready to leap into action the minute the bobbin moves; this, he says, is just not ‘him’.
I love his attitude, especially as it comes from one so respected. It demonstrates to me we don’t have to necessarily fish in the accepted ‘right way’ to fish for carp. It may well be that fishing to the snags may be the only chance of a bite during that session (and he did in fact blank), but he passed on it because it was not right for him.
Doing your own thing. Setting your own standards - not just in terms of ethics - but in terms of how you like to enjoy your fishing, for me constitutes ‘good angling’. The hot-shot carp-at-all-costs angler is not necessarily a ‘good’ angler and doing whatever is necessary to get a bite is not necessarily ‘good angling’.
Time to load the barrow. Not looking forward to the long walk, but “hey ho!”
I'm tired...My feet are hurting. My arms are hurting with the strain of pushing the barrow.
I love it!
I’ve already mentioned the lack of invertebrate life on the areas of the res. left high and dry when the water goes down. Since midge larvae represent fifty percent of all the life on the bottom (ref. Andrey Przhiboro and lauri Paasivirta: Chironomidae of semiaquatic lake shore habitats in the Karelian Isthmus (northwestern russia) they just will not survive in dried-out conditions and either perish or migrate to deeper water. It is these areas below the Low Water Mark which will harbour midges and may thus offer the best chance of carp feeding on the bottom in the silt and where they might be far more likely to pick up a boily.
This then suggests a more long-range approach, specifically intended on reaching these low-water mark areas. Phil mentions a draw-down of twenty feet so it makes sense to target these depths.]
Keep at it Andy, I am sure it will come good soon. And won't it be sweet..
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