Andy Spreadbury's Fishing Blog

Tuesday, 10th.July Bough Beech, Estate Yard Bay 13.00 So I’m back down at the reservoir having another go. There is news… I had a quick look in at the Clubhouse before driving round and got talking to an ex-carp angler - now a bird-watcher, who said that a 45 pounder had been caught. If this is so it is fantastic news and well done to whoever caught it but I have to say - I’m insanely jealous and wish I could get one even half that weight! Any carp would be more than welcome! At the mouth of Estate Yard Bay fishing twenty-five yards out over a bed of 'Pokernut' boilies. I haven’t been fishing lately, apart from a short session (recounted below) to The Back Lake and the reason for this has chiefly been because of the weather. We’ve had the longest, hottest spell of dry weather in years and I just haven’t been able to summon the enthusiasm to get out. Not because I I think the hot conditions are not conducive (which actually, they aren’t) But I just simply c...

Thursday, 5th.July The Back Lake, Exit Path Swim 12 Noon Have you ever had a water that for years you’ve been meaning to have a go at - but never quite found the time to actually get around to fishing? So it is with The Back Lake. I’ve known about it for years, several friends having fished it, caught its inhabitants and moved on to pastures new. I’ve only held back because of the very bad reputation it has of being local to one of the less salubrious neighbourhoods of the town; new, modern houses, but populated by scumbags. Indeed, it’s only a year or so ago the club’s bailiff was so badly beaten up whilst confronting someone who refused to buy a day ticket, that he was put in hospital. A sad state of affairs, not to say absolutely disgusting. You can understand my reluctance to even come near the place! Lately, my interest was aroused when an acquaintance told me about the fish he had caught here during the winter months, fish that were over thirty pounds! I felt I ha...

Tuesday, 19th.June Bough Beech, White House Point 11.45 Survey, with a rapidly dropping water level: Distance: 17 wraps, depth: 34 feet, temperature: 20C Distance: 12 wraps, depth: 18 feet, temperature: 20C Temperature in the edge: 21.4C I got this castable thermometer on eBay but I think the problem with it is, is that it’s so fast reacting, that by the time you’ve reeled the thing in, you’re getting an ambient reading instead of what is at the bottom of however many wraps you are at. Fine in theory. You cast the thing out, leave it a little while, reel it back in and you can tell what the temperature is at the bottom of your spot. Wrong! It's so fast reacting, that by the time you reel the thing in, it's showing the ambient temperature in shallow water. 12.30 All rods on the dancefloor, fishing single 18mm ‘Pokernut’ boilies; no snowmen, pop-ups or anything else - just the boily out of the bucket. For an explanation as to why - read my Blo...

Moulin-de-Gassas, Part 2 Monday, 11th.June 08.00 More overnight rain (and a forecast of more to come) has forced us into fishing from directly outside the front of the cabin. One rod is short, on the lily-spot; the middle rod way over to the far corner at the entrance of the channel. This looks to be my best chance of a fish and I am quietly confident this will produce at some point. The left-hand rod is fishing at 12 + 3 wraps to one of the trees on the island. Light rain is falling and although it has put a damper on things - we’re fishing, and that’s never a bad state of affairs! 09.30 Lost fish!.. A drop-back on the long range rod cast to the far corner and a fish is on! I got it as far as the lily-pads where I had to give it a bit of ‘welly’ to get it through - and the hook fell out! The unfortunate thing about these lilies is that although it is possible to get them through it, unless the hook-hold is extremely solid, a certain number of fish are going to b...

Moulin-de-Gassas, Part 1 Thursday, 7th.June Moulin-de-Gassas nr. Lalandusse, in the Dordogne, France We flew to Bergerac where our charming hosts Peter and Madeline Bartholemew picked us up at the airport and drove us back to "The Moulin". The lake is right next to the river Dropt (pronounced "Dro".) 07.00 I’ve got a hangover this morning. It’s true, I disgraced myself somewhat last night by having too much to drink - but I blame our fantastic hosts Peter and Madeline Bartholemew for plying me a confection of Champagne, Merlot, Chateau-Neuf-du-Pape, and several sorts of Brandy and Whisky. “Here, try this; this is a nice one!” So I’m feeling the worse for wear this morning as we make another start at the angler’s paradise that is Moulin-de-Gassas. The Moulin Moulin means "Mill". Peter and Madeline who own the Moulin have the job of controlling the height of the river by raising and lowering the gates at the weir. To get to our ...

Most of my thinking and preparation for fishing sessions is done at home where copious notes fill my Diary. Here are just some extracts on the madness that is my mindset away from the waterside!.. 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 ri...