Andy Spreadbury's Fishing Blog

Tuesday, 21st.May Paddlesworth, Burrows, ‘The Stones’ 17.00 A late start due to all sorts of things occurring (including yet another pile-up on the M25 which shut the carriageway for hours). I have walked past ‘The Stones’ every time I have fished Burrows - it’s been one of those pegs I keep meaning to fish but always seem to end up elsewhere. 'The Stones' peg on Burrows ‘The Stones’ is characterised by a number of stones placed in the water on top of a shallow plateau which shelves off into deeper water. ‘Practicing’ for Pollard, I am fishing in seven feet of water at four and three-quarter wraps which more or less corresponds to the bottom of the slope. Once again I am testing out plastic corn presentations and these have been inspired by an occurrence that happened at the end of the last session I fished. During the course of the last session, a certain amount of corn (spill from the catapult) had accumulated in the margins at my feet and ...

Tuesday, 30th.April Paddlesworth, Burrows, ‘The Bush’ 10.30 Back down Burrows yet again to try out some rigs and presentations I have in mind for Pollard - The Big Girls’ lake. I stopped by every peg in a leisurely barrow-push to see if I could see anything and eventually ended up in The Bowl at this peg from which I can view things a fair way up ‘The Arm’ to my right. Looking up 'The Arm' From my position in 'The Bush' peg I can see if there's anything moving both in 'The Bowl' and a fair way up the rest of the lake. If anything moves there I shall be packed up and on it before you can say “Bream!” (No! Don’t say that word! That’s tantamount to using foul language!) In effect, I’m ready to up-sticks and move to anywhere I see fish but for now I have two baits fishing The Bush. The 'Bush' swim If anything moves in 'The Bowl' I'll be able to see it from here. Rig Development I’m using th...

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 f...

Wednesday, 17th.April Paddlesworth, Burrows, ‘The Shallows’ 10.30 Back down at Burrows, brim full of confidence, convinced I’m going to get one. I got some ‘inside’ information from my old friend Ted Spillet, “fish the Shallows; they come right in close”. So here I am, as instructed with two baits on the one spot. I put out a marker float and found 4-5 feet with it getting deeper to the right further out into ‘The Bowl’, the western end of the lake. The aim was to find a reasonable depth of water and catapult some corn around the marker float. this also had the advantage of giving me the clipping-distance for the rod. There has been a sudden change in the weather and we are blessed with glorious sunshine and a significant rise in temperature. They just have to be in the shallow water! I put some corn on the spot; not a huge amount, about five or six small handfuls and positioned my 12mm. Pink NS1 pop-up and Krill Wafter baits over the top. ...

April 10th.2019 Burrows, Paddlesworth, Peg 11 11.20 So finally, after all the house renovations have been done - the knocking down of walls, the plastering, bricky-ing, painting and decorating, I can at last bend my mind in serious fashion to my carp-fishing. The past six months have been stressful to say the least but at last Christine and I can look forward to a more settled future. The finishing of the house has coincided with the arrival of a new ticket for which I have been waiting three years. It’s for the Paddlesworth Complex at Snodland in Kent run by the Kingfisher Angling and Preservation Society (KAPS). There are four lakes on the complex - Burrows (which I am fishing now), The Pads, Rugby, and the big fish water which I ultimately have my eye on - Pollard within which fish go to forty pounds! Well above my PB which still stands at 34:12 caught in 1977; 42 years ago! The Paddlesworth Complex, Snodland, Kent. Kingfisher Angling and Preservation Society...