Back In Business! 24 Hour Session.

                After weeks of not catching, I thought that my best bet to get a bite was to get on the reservoir for a night whilst the pressure is still low, not forgetting when it is empty as well. I managed to get down to the reservoir at around 11am, I was greeted with a few cars in the car park, after a quick mill around and a quick update on catches from the bailiff I find myself barrowing the gear to  a decent peg which I have liked since day one. I made way to the lake with a spod mix in mind but unsure of whether to use it or not, in the end I bit the bullet and put some bait out, I put out 15 spombs of the mix and set about thinking what I want to present over the top of it, the one thing that sprung to mind was the snowman presentation featured in last week’s blog. That went straight on the left rod, a Velocity Baits 14mm NV-R Bottom bait and a Velocity Baits 10mm Pink Shelfish popup.  

 



Adding the New V-Cloud to the Mix(Still Under Test)



                After dispensing the mix of – Bird Seed, Sweetcorn, Halved NV-R Boilies, (New) V-Cloud Powder, NV-R Stick Mix and some NV-R glug I set about presenting two rods over the top. Before all of the baiting up I clipped up my left rod at around 9 ¾ wraps around the sticks which is about 39 yards, it seems short but I was happy that I was clipped up just before the shelf drop off. I then clipped up the right rod at the same, however, I got the spomb set up on my spod rod and I clipped this up at 9 wraps, the reason I did this is when the rigs with the leads are cast to the spots, they fall towards you, and knowing I’m fishing in roughly 10ft of water this left me a reasonable margin to get the rods on the money.

The Finished Mix, Caused a Massive Cloud in the Water.

                The left rod was the first to go out on the spot, hitting the clip first time. The second rod was a chod rig with a 16mm Pineapple popup on my usual preferred method, this was also cast on the spot in hope the pop-up was on the near edge of the baited patch.

The Chod Rig(Please Click if You
Can't See It)

                I had the rods in up until 3pm and made the decision to recast and put some more bait out across the top and freshen the hookbait and put a fresh bag on, 5 more spombs topped up the spot and the rigs repositioned, I left the rods in up until the evening again refreshing the bags and hookbaits. I was sat scanning the water whilst waiting a month of Sundays for my cooker to boil the kettle so I could have a nice hot cup of tea. After all this it wasn’t completely dark so I could still have some gauge on movement, throughout the evening up until 8:30 I spotted two fish crash on and behind the spot which left me in confidence of putting a fish on the bank.

3 Baits Which Have Done Well For Me - Corn, Particle Mix and
NV-R Boilies.

                9:00pm soon came round, half in a doze, I am awoken to my siren belting out a twitchy one toner... I’M IN! A good battle with a wiley carp which first I thought was a pike, where it was thrashing its head around so much, I slid the net under a stunning low double common weighing 13lb 5oz.  All the mat and weigh gear was sorted out, the desired presentation had nailed the common, she wasn’t coming off! I set up the self-take gear, which I set up straight away with some testing before hand in the garden, a few fruitless pictures later I managed to get a good shot of me cradling her. It made it so much better as I hadn’t caught on the reservoir since November, so this capture was a good ember to the fire.

13lb 5oz of Pure Gold Common, First Time Self Take.

                I slipped her back in the weigh sling and returned her safely. I then had a beaming smile on my face and set about getting the rod back out which was done effortlessly with a head torch. A fresh hook bait and mesh bag, I wrapped the 9 ¾ turns round the sticks and got the rod back on the money in hope for some action later on in the night. An hour passed and an odd occurrence on the left hand rod which had be sat bolt upright on the bed chair, nothing unfolded so a fresh bag was soon put back out. As I lay gazing out across the lake, the heavens opened and the wind began to howl across the lake, at times was a bit hair raising but I was fine tucked under my brolly in my sleeping bag. As the rain continued pouring, the rod I had recast melted off very slowly, as I lifted the rod there was an odd resistance, as I got the fish in the margins, it was a bream of 3-4lb which was unhooked and put back straight away.



The Bait That Did Well For Me!



                With the rain still pouring it made it a bit of a pain trying to get the rod back out or set round the bank sticks, so a blind cast was made and I was sure it was near as dammit.

                The night moved on and only line bites to show through the night, I was still really happy with what I would be going away with, it saves a blank and adds the first (hopefully of many) to the list of captures to follow, maybe night sessions instead of days on the reservoir may be the pick of cards, but we’ll see how time gets on. Once waking at 9am I fired up the stove and got the kettle on and had a nice hot cup of tea before packing up the barrow to set for home.

                This session has added a good buzz, I will be returning hopefully on another overnighter.  

Thank You for Reading!

Ross.

Follow Me On Twitter - @Rosst93

A Return to the Reservoir!

            After spending a week or so at home with not visiting the reservoir, it is about time I got back down there. The first reason is to get out the house, and second reason, I haven’t fished there for a while. After ordering new tackle, a new bag and a new neat tackle box, I had a selection of rigs tied up which gave me the buzz a bit more. I had spoken to a few anglers before making the drive down there and have a look around. 

A Good Winter Combination When Coupled With Glugs!

            I got down to the lake to find a van in the car park, the lake was frozen over but I still had a walk round to lay out which swims I’m more likely to go to, if the lake is busy and any other swims I fancied, providing I hadn’t seen any fish in the meantime. In some ways it may have been a wasted journey? Definitely not as I wanted to see the state of play in terms of the ice which was over an inch thick.

            After a friend kindly taking me down to the Brentwood carp show, after reacquainting with some friend and contacts, I got my hands on some new bobbins to carry on my tackle tartness ha-ha!

            I managed to compile some advice on which is the best method to use through the winters, which were zigs. Some people may say “what’s the point they’ll be on the bottom!” this isn’t entirely true; in the water you have a thermocline layer which is the changeover of warm to cold water. With all the ice sinking, the temperature may be all over the place so there may not necessarily be a warmer layer at the top.

Always Tight Lines When Using Zigs.

            The zigs sit in the warmer water which the carp, albeit cold blooded, they will sit in the warmer layers hence why the zigs are just as effective in the winter months that in the summer months, this is the plan of attack which will more often than not be going out on at least one rod unless the fish are respond well to zigs up in the layers.

            I got down to the lake later than planned however, I had a whole days fishing on my hands being able to stay as late as I’d like to. I went for the religious lap round the lake chatting to the local anglers, although there was only one on, and looking for signs of fish, I didn’t see anything but going on previous information I got on the back of the wind which sometimes pays off on some of my fishing as it did a few months ago on the same bank I have got the rods out on at the moment.

            I got 2 rods out quickly, both on zigs cast to around 14ft of water fishing between 3 and 6ft up from the lake bed with hook baits glugged in the Velocity Baits NV-R liquid, this is a good tactic for fishing for bigger fish or on day tickets that boosts and enhances the attraction of the zig hook bait. After leaving the zigs out for a little which I recast to a different area and then reset the bobbins bow string tight. Usually on this specific reservoir I wouldn’t use bowstring tight lines mainly as slack as I can get but if the fish are up in the layers, I don’t need to worry too much about line concealment.

One of my "Go Anywhere" Bottom Bait Presentations.

            The day rolled on slowly, I was watching the water like a hawk in between recording a video to coincide with this blog which will be following very soon. I didn’t see any tell-tale evidence of fish moving in front of me and very unusually no line bits from the tight lines? I thought that the fish may be sat dormant in one of the corners or sat somewhere out of the way of the angling pressure which in some circumstances wouldn’t surprise me. 

            I then got a message telling me the atmospheric pressure which was consistent throughout the day which was sitting at 1,000Pa, I was recommended to put on a bottom bait to see if there is anything lingering in the depths, to which I put out a bottom bait rig consisting of 15lb braid, Size 8 Nash Fang Twister, with a piece of silicone on the hook pinning in place a NV-R 14mm bottom bait with a 10mm Pink Shellfish Pop-up and a piece of shrink tube to act as a kicker to finish the rig off with the addition of a piece of putty to fully pin it to the bottom of the lake bed. This was cast just to the right of the swim with a small mesh bag of crushed NV-R boilies dipped in the glug to increase the attraction as with the zigs.

Another Brilliant Zig Rig Presentation Used to Great Affect
At Different Venues.

            This rod was put completely slack with the line lying fully on the bottom and was left for quite a while before re-casting over an hour later to a different spot. I had settled on a roving type method to try and search out the water in front of me at least trying to scrape a bite or two, after the rods were positioned back out on the lake bed I went and had a look in the swim 2 metres next door to me and to see a better angle of water, I watched for a few minutes with no signs of fish in the area. The wind was hacking down the lake in to peg 27 on the left from the car park so I cast into that general direction before deciding to move later on in the session.

            I decided to move a few pegs round into the wind and put 2 rods straight out and laid the rods on the deck. After the rain continuing pouring down on me with no brolly, I stood in hope for something to come from this drenching. The rain finally stopped and I stayed put in the swim for a little while longer and set up the stage stands to stay for another hour in the swim.

            Unfortunately it’s another point to the fish with no fish banked again. However, I’m still going to keep plugging away as I’ll get a result eventually and it may be back to my preferred way of tying choddys and putting them out and keep roving around the lake to search out the water a bit more, but on a better note I have a night planned to brace the cold weather.

Thanks for Reading! 

Ross.

Follow Me on Twitter - @Rosst93

A Snowy Mission.

 

 

                 After my return from a really good trip to France on the 11^th of January, the forecast showed that there was snow on the way, after a chat with a good friend, Dan Woods, we decided to go fishing in the snow to get a few snaps of us holding fish with a snowy backdrop, something we have both dreamt of. We arrived in Langford at 7:00am ready for the gates of Chestnut Pool to open at 7:30. The snow was slowly falling but we weren’t worried, we still wanted to get the rods out.

Rods Out in the First Swim, No Joy.

                We got into the car park with no cars so we were the only anglers to be on the lake which is another added bonus; if the fish were hungry they would soon get on the feed and stumble across us. Saying that as soon as we got set up it didn’t take long for Dan to hook into the first fish of the session only a small mirror but very welcome. We fished on the “hot peg” and one I can’t seem to get on as when I get there it is always occupied for reasons that will come about. The fish were taking quite well getting a good few bites which at times it was really hectic.

A Small Mirror to Kick Off the Day!

                I started off to the left of Dan with one rod in the margins, and one rod in between 2 bushes on the island, I was regularly recasting to keep a fresh bag or supply of bait on that specific zone. An hour or so passed and no fish for me so I decided to move to the right of Dan and had one rod just in the channel and one as tight as I could get it to the island which caused some confusion for me, around every 10-15 minutes I’d get a major drop back, thinking I was into a fish I’d lift the rod for nothing to be there so maybe I was getting to the rod too late, the next time I re-cast I got the bobbin tight so that when that specific rod dropped back I knew straight away, but same thing happened again, no resistance on the opposite end. As I was getting confused with this I decided to leave one rod there to see if I could overcome the problem but no more takes but tangled rigs were brought in so something was up? So I kept re-casting to that spot. I managed to start getting bites on from the opening of the island on my left hand rod which was relief for me.

Nice Small Mirror For the First Fish of
the Session.

                Dan was managing to get a good spell of bites at times getting pretty hectic, using bottom baits cast only just into the channel as it seemed the further you go into the channel the smaller the fish were getting. He got a good amount of fish casting the left hand rod onto the longer side of the island with a good few boilies put out over the top of both rods which seemed to hold fish, when the bait was gone they stopped feeding but as soon as more bait was introduced they came back and got on the feed again.

                One thing that I see is paramount is trying to get clipped up so you can cast to the clip to get everything sitting properly rather than casting and letting everything fall into a mess on the bottom of the lake bed. Dan was feathering the lead down to the bottom which is another good method of getting the rigs sitting properly. I prefer clipping up as I can sit in confidence of the rig being functional, this is the same as when I’m fishing for a high stock of fish on zigs so that there is 2 splashes, one being the lead and a light dimple from the zig foam as it hits the water, if the rod doesn’t go within 15 to 20 minutes I reel in and then recast the same rod back out hitting the clip slightly harder.

A Nice Small Brace When Pete Came Round For a Chat!

                A good steady flow of action carried on through the day seeing Dan catch into double figures, he added a good amount of fish to the tally up to around 11:00am catching 17 fish, to carry on catching throughout the session, I was slow behind as I feel I wasn’t completely prepared catching around 4 fish up to lunchtime, I was having problems hooking the drop backs from the island which for me was a nightmare! As the afternoon went on, Pete came round to see how we were doing for Dan to hook into a fish and then as I started talking to Pete to see my left rod scream off, he was a tad shocked as to how many fish we were catching, a better way to do it with both of us playing a fish as Pete was taking pictures to put onto Facebook. I had the bigger fish of the two but we were still smiling getting some snaps done in the snow.

                To start off with I was using small rigs around 4-5 inches as it seems to help hook the fish quicker but they didn’t seem to get any bites, I adjusted the size of the rig with adding a 8-9 inch hook link and I got much better bites coupled with a size 10 fang twister and a small orange popup nailed to the bottom on a running rig set up on one rod and a 14mm chocolate popup chopped down around 1cm off the bottom was another method that caught me some fish, they weren’t at all picky with what they were taking either being popups or bottom baits which was getting more bites.

Nice Shot of Both of Us Playing Fish At the Same Time! Happy days.

 

                Dan was using long hook links with inline leads which he said were his favourite bottom bait presentation, I could fall for the idea but instead of using the square pear leads, I would prefer to use the distance inline leads. He used long hook links around 9-10 inches and a bottom bait tipped off with a 10mm pink popup and a double 10mm presentation which was getting just as many bites as the other presentation, we also realised we weren’t being plagued by bream so they weren’t a problem trying to combat them or risk using 10mm baits which is what I was using.

                Dan proceeded to hook into the biggest fish of the session being a lovely 16lb common on the nose, I was really happy for him as we didn’t anticipate anything of that stature but it was a lovely common and made a brilliant picture in the snow, well done mate! As the session went on the snow got heavier and from various texts from friends and family, the snow was getting heavier and heavier so that was our cue to pack up. Between us we managed to land 35 fish up to 16lb and losing some along the way, Dan lost a few fish but I didn’t lose so many only 2 fish, that’s why I love using the Nash Fang Twister presentation as it is a wide gape hook and hooks the fish in the bottom lip or the scissors every time. 

Dans 16lb on the Nose Common! Well Done Mate.

                It was a good enjoyable session and to be bagging up in the snow made it so much better along with some footage which I shall try and upload very soon, with a good amount of bait ordered, I shall be fishing when the lids disappear on the lakes, may even be another trip to Chestnut in a few weeks’ time after a few sessions on the reservoir!

Thanks For Reading!

Follow Me on Tiwtter - @Rosst93

An Interview, with Nash Tackles Tom Forman.

An Interview, with Tom Forman.

            Where I have been a student at Shuttleworth College for 3 years now, through my tutors I have got to know some names of people that have moved onto good career paths, one of them being Nash Tackles very own Tom Forman. I have read a lot of his work in the magazines and other bits and pieces and he’s a good lad. I’d just like to take this opportunity to thank him for taking part in this short interview and I hope it benefits a lot of people into how to get into the industry and what’s the best route to getting a job along with how to adapt your angling and to take on different methods and how its beneficial for you. 

            What lead you into going into Shuttleworth College to do fishery management and how did you manage to get yourself into Nash Tackle?

Well I left school at 16 not really knowing which direction to take. I initially enrolled in a 2 year countryside management course at Moulton College in Northamptonshire but soon realised it wasn’t the course for me. At the time good friend Alan Blair was teaching at Shuttleworth and told me about the Fishery management course. I didn’t need telling twice and had soon switched college’s and courses and literally a few days later I met up with the main man Mr Chris Vaughan. ( I owe this man a great deal ).

I first got involved with Nash through my work experience. Our fisheries class spent a week at Lac Cavagnac in France which was Kevin’s fishery at the time conducting a work party. After working hard for a week I decided this was a bit of me so quickly got in touch with Kevin and asked if I could get back out there during the summer holidays, which he thankfully obliged. As you will know, in the second year of the course you have to complete a 7 week period of work experience which again I done out at Cavagnac. Again I worked my n*tz off , which paid off as I ended up working out for 3 seasons after completing my diploma at Shuttleworth. 

            I’m sure you may be aware of how many people ask this very similar question, how do you recommend people try to get into the industry; I recommend through colleges and shows what do you think is the best route to take?

For sure if I hadn’t decided to go to college and complete my diploma I wouldn’t have got the links into the industry, Nash being a prime example.  When I started college I told myself to make of the most of these two years and make it worth my while. Don’t get me wrong we had a good laugh at college, probably my most memorable two years to date in fact. We had a great time socially meeting a lot of new friends along the way, however when it comes down to it  I got my head down, grafted and was eventually rewarded. That would be my best piece of advice. A bit of brown nosing goes along way as well…. Ha.



A 26lb Church Pool Stunner 

            I understand that you enjoy the job that you do, what sort of things does your job include from a day to day basis?

Since working for Nash ( almost 7 years now ) I have had a few different job titles you could say. Like I’ve already mentioned I spent 3 incredible years out in France working at Nash Resort’s Lac Chateau Cavagnac. I was only 18 when I started so it was incredibly daunting at first, however it definitely changed me for the good and the friends and contacts I made along the way steadied me for the coming years. When I returned to the UK I move down to Essex and started working at Nash HQ. Im now part of the marketing and media team at Nash and loving every minute. I looked after the media side of things, website , facebook etc as well as the majority of the in house photography. 

            Onto the angling side of things, I have seen numerous questions people asking like, how do I get sponsored? How can I become a field tester? What sort of things do you think people should be doing to get them noticed?

Again, just get you name out there. It sounds incredibly big headed, but you simply have to promote yourself as much as possible, Promote everything !! With facebook and twitter alike being at the forefront of most things these days, it makes things so much easier and is the easiest form of free promotion out there. Again, a bit of brown nosing goes a long way and catching a few fish also helps obviously ! 

            During the fishing seasons is there any sort of fishing you like to do? Going to get a few bites on a weekly basis or sitting on the bank in hunt for something bigger?

Believe it or not my time on the bank is very limited. I’m one of these people who struggle to sit behind static rods for days on end awaiting a bite, I struggle to keep still so much prefer fishing for a fair few bites whereby I’m kept busy and always doing something.

hat is your favourite tactic in fishing from standard safety bolt bead setups, zigs and floater fishing and why is this affective in your fishing?

My favourite method by far is floater fishing, I just love it! The stalking element, the buzz and the mobile style of approach for me cannot be beaten. Like I said, I struggle to sit behind static rods for days on end so any approach that allows me to keep on the move I will always favour. 

            Nash offer a good range of hook patterns, my favourite patterns to date are the Fang Twisters for bottom bait presentations and also the Fang Gapers for my Zig rig fishing, what is your favourite hook pattern(s) plus what sort of situations do you tend to use them?

I’m very similar to be fair, I love the twister. Its aggressive nature and versatility for me cannot be beaten. Floater fishing I will use a Fang Uni and for my zigs I will again opt for a Uni with a little kicker. 

Toms Preferred Method of Floater Fishing.

            Many anglers have the favourite venues across the country, what are your favourite venues be it syndicate or day ticket also how highly do you rate them to anglers spread across the country?

I have a couple of of syndicate waters in Essex , however Essex is full of carp anglers meaning most syndicates are generally always rammed out, and that’s not for me. I love visiting day ticket waters for the first time, the challenge of trying to get a bite from an unknown water on a limited time is something that gets me going. This will be me for the up and coming winter anyway, however come March I will get my syndicate fishing head back on.

As other anglers have said to me that the best approach when getting to a lake is to walk around, look for bubblers or anything showing or some sort of disturbance, do you agree with this and is there anything else you do when you arrive at a lake? 

I follow the same rules mate to be honest. However I also do my homework prior to my session. Websites, facebook, and the forums offer a world of information on most venue’s these days so doing your homework with regards to favoured swims, favoured baits, and general tactics prior to your session will save you an incredible amount of time when your actually on the bank.

I understand you sometimes get to Chestnut Pool in Langford in the early stages of the winter, something that I can adopt into my own fishing and to benefit others, how do you make the most out of a session on high stocked venues like Chestnut Pool?

As I just mentioned above, doing your homework prior to your session is key. Chestnut pool is a prime example, I know Pete Wilson quite well so a few phone calls to him prior to your session to see where’s fishing and what’s working will give you a plan of attack for your session. In winter I only really fish short sessions, e.g -  day sessions. This means I’m only really getting 8 hours of fishing time meaning you have to be prepared and equipped ready to fish. Chestnut is frantic at times so it’s vital to have plenty of rigs, bait, and PVA bags ready to go. Doing this on the bank will cost you time and fish, so being prepared as well as organised in winter is vital.  Also you have to fish hard, for example I recently done a 24 hour session on Chestnut for Maximum carp magazine. If I remembered right I had 25 fish but during that session I think I made 88 casts and went through nearly 10 metres of PVA mesh. Basically what I’m saying is you have to fish hard and make the most of the small amount of time you have. 

            Onto memorable captures, taking a step out of carp fishing tactics for the moment, which is your most memorable capture throughout your years of carp fishing?

It would have to be finally banking the famous Single scale from Lac Cavagnac in France. I witnessed and photographed the fish on the bank several times during my time there and always wanted to catch her. I finally did 2 years down the line at 59lb 6oz, It was a great moment that will stay with me forever.

A 37lb 12oz Two Tone Mirror, Beauty!

I enjoy fishing for Roach on the quiver just as much as carp fishing especially when the conditions are right, what is your next favourite species to hunt for?

Hands down it would be Perch, I just love them. I think there an awesome fish to look at and a true predator. Growing up in Milton Keynes I had the great Ouse quite literally on my doorstep and spent much of my childhood down there fishing for them. That will be me this winter as well, catching a 4lb + plus stripey is the target……. I’ll let you know ;)  

            What are your plans for the New Year in terms of carp angling and what venues will you be targeting?

To be honest Im not entirely sure just yet. I have my name down for a few tickets close to Nash HQ so if one of them were to come through I would be a happy man.  Im also keen to continue to improve my match carp fishing skills so will no doubt be spending some time on a variety of day ticket waters up and down the county, hopefully bagging up ! 

Tom, I hope you have a good Christmas and a good new year, I hope to read some articles and features in the future, as always Tom it’s a pleasure to have you taking part in this interview. Hope to do another one again soon, all the best mate.

Follow myself and Tom on twitter - @Rosst93 & @forman_tom

 

 

The Height of a Busy Couple of Weeks.

The Height of a Busy Couple of Weeks.

          Well here we are again, after an amount of busy weeks I finally make it on the bank for a proper session. When I say I have been busy I had been to Billingsgate fish market at silly o’clock in the morning, working most days of the past few weeks and also doing some bits and pieces for Alan at Nash. After being with a mate last weekend he received a phone call to go down and help out in the warehouse. We went down to Nash HQ and helped out, also at the same time I managed to seal the deal on my work experience, that has now got me buzzing for next spring for my 2 months of work experience.

Extra Weights on the Stows for Better Indication.

            After spending a day down at Nah HQ this week and getting over my birthday, I made a visit to Johnson Ross Tackle in Hoddesdon. It is an amazing tackle shop catering for all side of angling. I could have spent a fortune, all I bought was a couple of bank stick and the Fox Black Label stage stands with the pennies I had got for my birthday, it is money well spent as it’ll make my fishing easier especially fishing on the reservoir on the wooden stands, considering I’m not a raving fan of rod pods, pretty much becoming an established tackle tart.

Slack Lines During Winter, Real Big Edge.

            I’m getting on the bank this weekend as I am back down at Nash HQ on Monday and Tuesday helping Alan and the other lads out in the tackle warehouse. On the course I’m on at college I can’t urge enough that if you want to get into the industry get out there and get networking, after all you won’t get a sponsorship deal just sat in your arm chair at home, get on the bank and talk to the right people and get recognised through shows, another one day which was taken up over the past few weeks, networking at the Sandown Carp Society show.

My Preferred Components for Chod Rigs.

            Anyway onto the session ahead and what I’m hoping to achieve. This winter is most certainly going to be difficult; I have read numerous articles in Total Carp and my new favourite for research purposes, Carp Talk. Reading article I find can help when fishing in the winter as you can take the anglers tactics and adapting it into your own fishing, I have read in the magazines that if you keep bait going in i.e. taking up a low key prebaiting strategy can pay off big time, it’s all about getting the fish interested and moving about, if they know there’s food there, they have nothing to lose and you really will keep the, hunting around for more bait. On the flip side, if you don’t like using a bed of bait in the winter to get them active, you can use single hook baits either on a hook link or my newly adopted tactic a choddy fished low to the lake bed. Also another fact, people say that zigs aren’t a winter tactic but after studying water in the winter, they are a deadly tactic as fish rarely glue themselves to the lake bed throughout the winter so a pre-tied zig is definitely worth a try.

            I have had a lot of difficult decisions to make throughout the past couple of weeks so the blogs may be lacking as I need to make these choices and being so busy with college nettings throughout the winter it could become difficult although if I get the chance I may even do a write up of the netting we have done that day.

The Best Winter Pop-up Selection!

            This session I am back down to the reservoir in hope to get my new Sirens screaming and to make good use of the stage stands, I shall be keeping my options open with bait, I shall have a sack of 3kg of Velocity Baits ZUB-0, a good winter bait and I have heard these fish appreciate a boilie or two whatever the weather. I shall be using choddys and zigs in hope to search out the lake and hopefully get a take and at the same time casting to showing fish to get a quick bite, after all I work Sunday evenings so staying at the lake late as I like won’t be happening as xmas is usually a “busy period” for us delivery drivers.

            A small bed of boilies will be used along with a small single cast around to showing fish will be the tactics I will be using this session, I really hope this pays off and we’ll see what’s around the lake throughout the day, I’m hoping to find some fish from the off and hopefully stay on the but if not I shall be moving around throughout the day to search one out as I’m eager to catch a nice winter carp before xmas and it will certainly be a good well respected present for my belated birthday and certainly early xmas.

Hemp Attack Insider, This Was Put Into Mesh Bags.

            I managed to make it to the lake at just before 10 o’clock Sunday morning, the sun was shining and it looked beautiful outside. I have a wonder round and have a chat with some of the anglers that were dotted around the lake, but to be honest I’m not overly surprised it is busy as this is the best weather for fishing we’ve had for weeks. I wonder round with a bag of boilies and a throwing stick to put some bait out before I go and grab my gear from the car, I find one swim which takes my fancy sitting with my back to the wind, was it a good option?  I spread out 40-50 boilies in front of the swim and trot back to the car to retrieve my gear to get to the swim. When I got to the swim the first plan of action was to get the rods out and lay them on the deck until I have all my other gear sorted out. One of the rods was dispatched on a choddy just inside the baited area on a white chocolate pop-up; I completely slackened off and laid the rod with a loose clutch on the stage. The next rod had a simple pop-up rig, again with a white chocolate pop-up on the hair, this was cast off to the right hand side of the baited spot the two rods were put out along with another spread of 20 boilies over the top.

            I am really loving the Nash Zero Tolerance range as it was keeping me really warm and is real good quality, definitely a purchase that won’t waste your money!

15 Boilies Isn't Alot.

            As it was my birthday on Friday I went to Johnson ross and finally got my Fox Black Label Stage Stands, without the stage stands my setup wasn’t really functional as I really hate using rod pods. Anyway they were really easy to set up and screw onto the stage and held the rods in rock solid, the perfect combination. I have another few tricks up my sleeve in hope to get a bite in hope that it works, that is using choddys and bags in conjunction with the Velocity Baits V Cloud. After using this throughout summer and getting some good results on it, throughout the winter it won’t go a miss as there’s no scent to it like the Goo just a simple Smokey cloud.

            At the moment it is between 7 and 8 degrees and compared to the minus weather we have had it feels lovely and warm to be sat on the bank, albeit I am sat on my unhooking matt. The lake was dotted with anglers which made swim choice difficult for me, on this occasion like the others I had chosen this swim down to water craft, fishing on the back of the wind seemed to pay off a few sessions ago. After an hour or so gone by I clip up and bring both rods in and re-do the baits and put a fresh rig on so that everything’s fresh, I notice on the right rod cast to the right of the baited spot it was tangled, this could have happened on the cast although I was adamant that it was sitting cleanly on the bottom, the other reason that makes me think that the rig had been ejected by a fish is that the silicone on the bend on the hook was up by the knot, another tell-tale sign of the rig being ejected by a fish. Rods are re-done and another 15 boilies go over the top, you may think why so much bait but 15 boilies in the lake that I’m fishing would seem like nothing. 

The Rods Are Finally Out, Also With the Lines Very Slack.

            A few more re-casts during the session but nothing unfolds unfortunately, a good spread of bait was out there with functional rigs on the lake bed, so something wasn’t happening, a guy up the bank had a high double figure common, maybe the fish were up the top end although I didn’t have any room up the top end of the lake to barrow the gear round and get on the move like I first mentioned, I shall be back down in a week or so in hope to bag an early xmas present along with re-visited rigs and baiting strategy, lastly very sneakily before I left I deposited around a kilo of boilies in front of the peg I was fishing in hope that the fish may move in, if I can’t get down there regularly to bait up then I may be able to hold some fish or keep them coming back for more and familiarising themselves with the bait I am putting out there. 

            I hope you enjoyed what I managed to knock up on this session, along with more pictures as I have acquired a decent camera, I hope to be back on the bank soon, most definitely back at the reservoir and possibly to Chestnut Pool in Langford in hope to get some action before xmas and to get them sirens into meltdown before the new year.

Follow me on twitter on - @Rosst93.

The Week Where Things Went Right.

After a slow trip last time I got down to the new reservoir, my chosen venue for the winter, the lake is incredibly deep and full of fish with a few lumps in there as well.

I have always wanted to fish the grand union canal, so if all fails this will become my last resort. After a tiring Monday morning planning to get up early and fish till late, I failed to wake up, what an idiot! That morning I received a phone call and got invited to a local lake to fish for pike, which I have never caught before. Myself and Big Rich from college set off to the tackle shop and got some dead bait and proceeded to the lake. We arrived at around 3:00pm, I flicked a mackerel dead bait down the margin but this rod didn't produce, unfortunately. I then under armed it a bit further off the bank and the rod eventually tore off like a carp, I was into my first pike, 9lb 6oz, not massive but a lovely fish for my first Pike!

What a Creature, All 9lb 6oz of Her!

            Anyway, onto this session. It is lovely and bright outside so chod rigs and flouro baits are cast out whilst I set up my gear. I have all the amenities out on the stand and begin to tie up some bags, and trim down a few popups. In the bag mix I’m using something new, NV-R Stick Mix, Hemp Attack S-S (fine ground hemp), C2-R pellet and some Gremlin pellet to get the fish rooting around. This is tied up in a small stick, an easy mouthful for any Carp. I have had countless fish from high stocked waters on a similar mix but in solid bags! Could that approach be enrolled? The chod is left on the left rod, and the stick mix with a trimmed down white chocolate flouro popup is dispatched on the right rod, the rods are out!

The Awesome V-Cloud!

An hour or so later, the left bobbin springs up and settles down. I lifted into it and the fish bangs its head once and came off, I fear I may have done the wrong thing! The rod is soon dispatched back out to where I had it before. The right rod is sat motionless for the whole time, another bag is threaded on with a good soaking in the Velocity Baits V-Cloud glug, I have caught a lot of fish on the range of V-Clouds especially Roach and Bream when feeder fishing on the quiver tip!The fish are getting more active, topping left front and centre, one lad has had one opposite me; let’s hope they will swing round my way! With a few hours of no action and after that occurrence on the choddy, I have recast the rods and packed down the gear so I only have my rods and a net out on the stand. The fish are still crashing but nothing has taken my bait as of yet.

My Favored Winter Hook-baits!

The weather has become over cast and still remains quite warm. The wind had picked up but it’s just a light northerly breeze pushing across the lake. Both rods are incredibly slack as I believe fishing slack lines are the way forward. I am expecting a bait delivery of boilies and dumbells which I shall have with me on my next session to try and get the fish a bit more active. If all pans out I shall hopefully be doing a night over the next couple of weeks, a night on the reservoir will hopefully increase my chances of a better bite.

The light levels have dropped since earlier on today but it hasn't stopped the fish poking their heads out on the spots. The lake is still a bit busy with the odd angler slowly packing up but I’m aiming to stay on the lake until 5:00pm, just hope we’re not busy at work!

My Preferred Choddy Hook.

Just as I came off the phone, things finally started to unfold, the choddy let out a flurry of beeps and the bobbin settled down to the original position. The fish are still in the area; I had been waiting a couple of hours and watching the rods this is looking ever so promising. Eventually that rod screamed off minutes later, a short lived fight because of the sheer drop in water temperature I am sat cradling a beautiful Autumn coloured 12lb 10oz Common on the choddy! The pressure is now off from bagging my first fish from the new lake.

I would love to stay the rest of the evening but it is getting dark very gradually, so I’m packing down and setting off home in the next 20 minutes or so. A short while after that fish they are back on the ball so I couldn’t help but put the rod back out again. The fish are back in numbers over my rods once again. It’s looking pukka for another bite! The fish stayed active but unfortunately I couldn't trip another one up before I decided to reel in and make tracks home.

Here She is in All Her Autumn Glory - 12lb 10oz.

I have really enjoyed this session so I packed the barrow and made my way home, first fish from the lake C’MON! This week I’m busy with college for the rest of the week and out at the weekend so we’ll see where the weather takes me over the next couple of weeks. Thank you for reading I hope to be back very soon!

Follow Me on Titter - @Rosst93 and have a view of the matching video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvaS7SE25Gs.