Tuesday, 23rd.April

Paddlesworth, Burrows, ‘The Trucks’

11.30
All set up; bait is out, and the kettle on!

If you read my last Blog, you’ll know that I identified this peg as a ‘banker’ where ‘Method Feeder Man’ bagged four in no time at all. This is because of the abandoned metalwork (in the form of mining equipment) which were used during the clay workings being a major feature in this part of the lake.

Six spombs of corn with a few boilies have been put out towards the metalwork, the recent mild weather meriting this amount of food.

'The Trucks'
You can just see a bit of the metalwork poking above the surface and the shadow of the structures laying sub-surface.
7 wraps drops you just short of it.

But today’s tactics do not just focus on my attempts to catch a carp; there is a higher purpose and a bigger picture.

Over on Pollard, just a couple of hundred metres away there dwell the fish of my dreams and my reason for joining the club in the first place. It is the home of forty pounders! These are more than big enough to smash my PB and I shall be fishing for them when the time is right, but first there is a problem to be solved, summed up in one word…BREAM. Not just any old Bream; I’m talking BREAM in capital letters! The sort of Bream, Bream Anglers would give their eye teeth for. The club holds matches on Pollard and they are won with literally hundreds of pounds of Bream for these fish go well into double figures and I have heard of fourteen pounders and rumours of even bigger ones. They are so big I may well have a go for them during the winter but for the moment they present the serious problem that no matter what you put out in the form of feed, the Bream will destroy it. Boilies, pop-ups, you name it, they’ll eat it!

But I have secret information folks! I know of one successful angler who uses corn (one of the few particles you are allowed to use on there) baiting heavily with it - and catching Bream - but in amongst them are carp, and from what I hear, big ones too!

‘C’ uses plastic corn as bait, which makes sense given that he baits heavily with it; it is also indestructible and given that the Bream will annihilate anything, at least means you are out there and fishing all the time. Use of a big hook probably helps too. The big question for me however is - does plastic corn catch carp?

Although it is much advocated by very well known and successful anglers, I have never been totally confident slinging it out there. I can see why it catches in the context of a solid bag - the fish comes along, inhales a mouthful of pellets and in goes the plastic as a consequence of this general ‘hoovering’. But will carp take artificial corn on its own?

Today, I have two ‘Spinner Rigs’ out; one has a Big Buoyant Corn (the ESP double moulded corn) and the other an NS1 Pink 12mm. pop-up. The aim is to compare results from both with one eye on its application to Pollard.

13.00
I saw a fish ‘show’ in the middle of The Bowl but nothing since soon after casting out.

At the moment I have the corn rod out on a ‘Spinner Rig’ but this may well be not the best way to present it. What I’m thinking is that maybe two grains of normal size corn on a number six presented ‘Blow Back’ style with a rig ring. Not buoyant enough to pop the hook right up but lower to the deck than the ‘Spinner’ and thus more ‘natural’ looking.

'Artificial Corn Rig, Blow Back Style'
[I later changed this after I lost a fish and on reeling the thing in and found it was tangled]

14.15
Do you ever get the feeling that you are just sitting there waiting for a rod to go into meltdown? It’s funny, sometimes you know darn well nothing is going to happen, and yet at other times it’s a case of not if - but when.

Weather more overcast and a bit of a breeze blowing from left to right down towards The Shallows. Looks good for a bite at the moment.

15.30
Rods re-cast early in case there is an evening feeding spell. Topped up with another three spombs of corn.

I’ve got a feeling I might be in the wrong place. There have definitely been fish in The Shallows, an under-arm lob from the bank and although I will stick it out here for tonight. I may well move tomorrow.

16.30
Session re-start…

'The Shallows', fishing it to the right.
I chose the wrong side! A fish moved to the left of the peg and I had to switch things around.

I have moved. I saw enough activity down on The Shallows to persuade me the fish are on the wind here, so. Same tactics as before - corn sprayed at maximum range with the catapult and one corn and one pop-up fished over the top.

I have put out the corn on the Blow Back Rig using a size 4 Krank which sinks the ensemble but is actually acting like a Wafter.

17.00
Nothing has moved since I moved down here. Have I made a bum decision?

17.05
A fish has just moved to the left of the peg. I’m fishing the wrong side!

I ended up fishing very near the same spot I had my fish last week.

17.25
Yes!… I’m away on the corn rod!… this felt a very good fish and when I saw it in the water I thought it might make twenty pounds. On the scales however it was four ounces short. I’m far from complaining however as it was a pretty carp and was on the new corn rig too.

Nineteen pounds Four Ounces
Not at all disappointed it didn't make twenty pounds; it was such a pretty fish with its big 'apple scales'. A twenty will come sooner or later.

The fish in here seem very dogged fighters and they don’t stop when they get on the unhooking mat either! They seem extremely reluctant to come to the bank.

This is extremely encouraging. One - nil to the corn rig.

I forgot to mention that after the fish moved to the left of the peg at just after five o’clock, I had a switch round and put both baits on where I had seen a fish move, putting three or four pouches of corn over the top. It obviously did the trick because it went half an hour later. Don’t you just love it when a plan comes together!

Wednesday, 24th.April

06.30
Nothing during the night. It’s curious because there was enough activity to suggest the fish were feeding but yet again Burrows failed to produce a carp during the hours of darkness. At the moment all is quiet where I am. my success yesterday proves the value of upping sticks and moving onto fish which lets face it is pretty standard procedure. The reason I don’t do it more often is that it’s such a ball-ache doing it!

Everything depends on the movements of the fish. Up to now, The Shallows has demonstrated a certain consistency in that regard so for now I am content to sit tight and see what happens.

Topped up with a bit of corn and recast both rods. Still got one on corn and one on pop-up.

07.00
I’m away on the corn again!.. I hooked the fish which kited towards the trees to my left, my efforts in trying to stop it resulting in the hook pulling… Gutted.

Shame. On reeling in I found the rig tangled; whether this happened before or after I hooked the fish I don’t know. Still, two nil to the corn rod.

08.00
Put out the last of the corn as I’m not intending to stay for much longer.

In view of the fact I brought the rig back tangled, I decided to alter it, removing the rig ring and hair and fitting the corn on ‘German’ style with a hook ring swivel and shank stop straight on to the shank of the size 4 Krank hook. Three pieces of corn still require a shot to ballast it but it sits up quite nicely.

09.20
The fish seemingly have ‘done the off’ for there are no indications anywhere in the Bowl they are present. Looks like the session has come to an end.