Yet another blank
Thursday 2nd. July 2020
Paddlesworth, Pollard, peg21
13.00
Sitting in my pit absolutely exhausted. I got to the lake to find half of it closed. Apparently, the bailiffs had been round and decided the Carp were spawning in the top part of the lake and fishing should be shut down. I can see the sense in this because the welfare of the fish comes first. However, I couldn't see the argument for allowing fishing in the other half since the Carp are able to travel to the half the anglers are fishing!
Anyway, restrictions were placed on swims up to peg 21 on the car park bank and peg 46 on the house bank. Since a fish had come out of 21 I chose to go in there. But what a ball-ache getting in there! Up and down a very steep slope at least six times - there was no way you could haul a barrow up it so hand-ball it was.
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| The prospect of hauling this lot up and down a steep slope did not inspire. I think it took me six trips in the end and by the finish of it I was exhausted! |
It's left me cream-crackered although I have to say not too shabby for a man just a few months off his seventieth birthday.
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| What a ball-ache getting up and down this! I was gasping by the time I got to the top! |
Fishing down the margin to the right. Two baits are pop-ups and the other a wafter. The usual spod mix over the top.
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| My margin spot - just off the tree to the right. |
14.30
I must be suffering from Lockdown Blues or something. This past couple of weeks I've been playing 70s rock songs. You know, the kind my dad thoroughly disapproved of - Led Zeppelin and Whole lotta Love, Stairway to Heaven. Guns 'n Roses, Sweet Child o' Mine, ft. Slash. Now there's someone dad didn't like! Git yer 'air cut lad!
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| Not happy with balancing the rod-butts on the boards but I can't get a pod or back-rests in. |
Another age. Another Carp fishing era. They come and they go and each time they do, the newest era thinks it knows all there is to know. Like they invented it or something. As time races on I get to feel I know nothing at all about Carp fishing. That no matter how much I learn, that learning is always superseded by another, different learning. Just when you think you've cracked it, something comes along and you realize you haven't.
15.30
Changed all the rods to stiff hinged rigs. Once again there is cotton wool algae on the bottom and I don't want my baits hidden in it. I long for the days of autumn when I can confidently fish bottom baits.
17.20
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| Switched round and fished out in front. Lots of Eel-grass there but baits were fished just over it. |
There's a massive shoal of Bream out in front at about ten to twelve wraps. They're cavorting on the surface as if they're spawning. I've also seen a couple of fish not five wraps out, straight in front of me and I've switched all the rods round to fish onto them. Two rods on Stiff Hinge rigs and one on a wafter. Put the last of the spod mix over this spot. Confident.
20.30
At four wraps I've found twelve feet of water. Not too deep for summer fishing. At the deep pit I used to fish, Carp were caught in twenty feet regularly. This is contrary to the received wisdom which says ten is the maximum at this time of year.
Friday, 3rd. July 2020
05.00
The Bream activity started just after midnight and continued into this morning although I've yet to receive a proper take from one yet. Sometimes all three bobbins have been going one after the other. Must be line-bites.
Cold and clear night, at least it didn't rain. Now all I have to do is dry out. Everything saturated from a heavy shower this morning!
05.50
Still getting activity from the Bream and still none of them have managed to hook themselves. I wonder if the rigs are tangled?
06.15
Just checked and recast all three rods at four and a quarter wraps. I picked up eelgrass on the reel-in so I've added the extra quarter of a wrap to make sure I get past it. Still getting Bream indications. All baits were intact and showed no signs of nibbling. I wonder whether I was in fact in the eelgrass and I'm getting line-bites.
09.00
Session Restart
I had a very informative chat with my longtime acquaintance Paul Forward. Paul and I go back a very long way - all the way to the Faversham Bysing Wood days in the 70s and 80s.
If there is one person who knows how to fish Pollard then it's Paul. He's now got superstar status which actually is richly deserved. I know of no-one better. Paul's advice is to fish all three on zigs at six-foot depth. There are fish moving on the top and it makes perfect sense. I wonder if I can now get it to work, unlike previous attempts I have made.
10.30
On more than one occasion I have come to the conclusion that zigs are the way to go on Pollard. Paul's confirmation of that should give me the green light to make it my frontline method. Bottom fishing will be successful, but not until later in the summer as the water cools down.
I suppose I have been guilty of not sticking with it previously, if I had I'm sure it would have led to better results.
11.10
Nothing showing on the lake at the moment. Wind very strong so it's a bit difficult to see anything out there. Waiting for the evening when I anticipate more activity. Should be able to position the baits a bit more accurately.
12.00
I've been trialing the Fox and Nash zig floats again this summer and I'm coming down on the side of the Nash. The Fox has a little insert piece which I find doesn't work for me at all. It's supposed to be where you put dissolving foam in but I can not get the bait to release from it. The lead attachment system I am also wary of as I've had more than one occasion when the lead has failed to allow the float to rise.
12.20
Will the fish put in an appearance here this evening like they did last night?
15.00
Getting a right battering in the wind at the moment. Really gusting very strong and it's blowing right into my pit.
Still no sign of fish on the top. I've got all three at six foot down which was the magic number given to me by Paul. All I want is one fish to give me that all-important confidence. I just get the feeling that once I've got the first one I'll be away.
15.45
Someone's moved in beside me to the left. Nothing I can do about it, I'll just have to move the left-hand rod over.
In fact, what I did was make it my right-hand rod and move the others on the pod. Always a problem with pegs so close together. Nothing to be done.
Wind blowing a hooligan right down into my pit which is threatening to blow away. Haven't dealt with winds this strong in a long while.
18.00
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