Damsel Practice Session

                 After wishing I had entered the UK Carp Cup and being too old for the British Young Carp Angling Championships, I am hedging my bets on a small local charity match. The venue is Manor Farm Fishing in Biggleswade on Damsel which was and still is a fly fishing lake but has been converted into a mixed coarse lake as well. This is the complex where I have been testing products for Velocity Baits for quite a while, but moving around venues I haven’t been here for a while. I must say it’s good to be going back.

                Onto the session objectives:-

                With the weather for Drayton only resembling classic “Great British” weather and making product testing incredibly difficult, I have taken this opportunity to test the NEW Colour Glugs which were featured in my last couple of blogs. There isn’t one method I am going to home in on particularly, but I have definitely headed in the direction for my favourite method- Solid Bags and also a couple of Zigs.

                I always use a different mix. I find this helps to keep my options open and it will be suited to different venues especially if the fish don’t switch onto one method or mix at all.



                I always tend to do a couple of laps of the lake, rather than making a bee line for one swim, I do have favourite swims on different lakes, as does everyone I am sure even though some people seem to hide it. I always tend to look for the fish. After all you don’t want to go for a good looking swim in terms of being comfortable and not have a single fish in front of you. 

                Onto the natural colour glugs. You’re probably thinking what are they? Being honest when I saw the videos on the Velocity page on Facebook and other videos I had seen, they are absolutely amazing in the ways that they react. They are a visual attractor as well as being a cloud creator. The glug isn’t scented at all although this isn’t saying you can’t add your own attractors to them if you want to. They can be used for the following –

1.       Glugging hook baits before casting especially singles or choddies.

2.       Glugging mesh bags

3.       Injecting into solid bags using a needle – good edge!

4.        Putting in zig mixes to “out cloud” other anglers.

                During this session I will be using most of the colours and trying to see which are the more productive colours of the lot. I don’t usually use glugs on my hookbaits but it has come about that during the Spring, Summer and Autumn they come into their own being extra attractive rather  than just a boilie or a standard flouro bait on their own. They have changed my fishing and have created a new edge.

                The Session –



Small Damsel Lake Common



                I eventually arrived at around 9:30 about an hour later than planned. I had a wander around to find a swim. After finding a big swim with fish in front in the big bay at the top end I’m taking up the task of deploying my rods. I am casting both rods around 30-40 yards out.  I'm using the Natural Colour Glugs on both rods; left one on red and the right one on white. I made up my Spomb/zig mix and put around 10 spombs over the top to start with. The left rod is having some reaction straight away so the introduction of 10 more spombs is on the cards.

                 After a bit of persistence with the zigs, I leave the swim to settle for a bit and see if anything kicks off immediately. I had a bit of an issue with my sloppy mix and it is too lumpy. Its only recently I have taken to the zigs so I’m not all that with the mixes, ha-ha. A bit of a change on the right hand rod; a medium solid bag was attached and cast to a small U in the reeds to my right as I saw a fish crash there earlier on. This was smothered with the White Natural Glug.

                12:05 saw an absolute screaming take on the solid bag next to the reeds, only to add some confusion when I felt it bang its head and the hook the pulled, gutted! The rod is recast with a smaller bag hopefully to entice another bite, again with the Natural Flouro Glug smothered on the outside.  After that unfortunate spell I have the rod recast a bit further to the left and within 20 minutes the rod ripped off resulting in a very feisty 6lb common. It was caught on my special solid bag mix coupled with a 14mm Mulberry pop-up.

                A spell of no action came and so I recast the rods with 2 bottom presentations on, the left rod being - 14mm NV-G combo with a bag of crushed HD Readies, the right rod was another solid bag with the proven mix in. Hopefully I can get 2 more quick bites. Things have slowed right down, with things going through my mind including leaving the rods out another 30mins and then recast at least one back towards the reeds, hopefully the boilies have defrosted and are useable so I can bait the reeds up with them.

                Finally another take. The rod with the NVG Combo on was fired out at range, a single line bite then the rod ripped off resulting in another mid to upper single. The rod was soon fired to the same place but no line clip so a good cast to the spot trapping the line to kick the hooklink out before it makes contact with the water surface.



Lightly Coloured Damsel Common



                The right rod was once again positioned even tighter to the reed opening to my right with another solid bag smothered in the natural colour glug. Let’s see what happens. Not long after repositioning the right hand rod, the tip wraps round and springs back signalling a pick up, then the tip begins to slowly pull round as the rod screams off again, resulting in another single figure common. Result. As I’m sat scanning the water I spot a fish roll around 10 yards to the right of my right hand rod. Hopefully I'll get a bite soon!

                No action followed that fish crashing yards from my right hand rod, so I brought it in and threaded on a new bag. This was then dispatched back to the reeds, this time with NVR glug poured inside the bag. This is sometimes just as effective as smothering the outside.

                Not long after the solid bag being in the reed spot, it absolutely screamed off. The fish kited 20 yards across that margin and went solid. I tried to free it for around 20 minutes and nothing, eventually the line gave way. Devastation for me as I know it was a good fish especially as I have been catching regularly on that rod. Another rod is re-positioned this time fished locked up in hope to stop the same happening again. Another half an hour and nothing else occurs. I think with the disturbance on that rod has moved the fish out. 

Home for me. Now I have the information I have needed - in other words a good successful session with a good few bites. Until next time, keep reading.