Beaten up!

Blog Update

Blog update, had the same 14lb common in two running sessions? Then the Biggest fish so far this season from Straits a 21.8lb Common but didn't have the camera :( But todays fish made up for it, a 19lb immaculate ancient common (like a fish you would find in redmire) and it fought like stink!!!!!

Score Draw

Fished Straits this evening and had four fish, two low tratty doubles and the "Two Tone" Common at 17.12lb and also a decent 16.11lb.

I've had a few trips in the last 10 days and this has only resulted in handful of low to mid double figure fish, the state of the mouths on most of them is shocking. Two of them would stuggle to get a 14mm boilie in there mouth?

Short and Sweet

Will be joining BDAC this season as a short session option, again mainly fishing Straits Mill. Had a walk round at the end of March, some of the sneaky secret spots are no longer present including the "Alex Swim" tree along with the "Compass Swim" over hang tree spot. With the lake being opened up and with many carp holding spots being removed fishing may become slower this year. But many of the overlooked fishing spots still exist and a bend in the rod should still be easy to come by....hopefully

The Fairytale Session !!

I had eight Carp in a nine hour session down Straits Mill which included: 13lb, 18.14lb, 14lb, 16.8lb, 9.13lb, 20.1lb (Fully Scaled Mirror), 11.4lb and 19.6lb !! I will no be joining BDAC next season so this was the final session for a year or two down Straits, so what away to bow out...

Round Two

Turned up a Straits late afternoon today, their must have been 10-12 cars in the car park! But bagged two doubles the swirly belly Common at 16.1lb & 12lber.

End of March Glory!!

Fished Straits Mill today and fished the compass swim. In the nine hour session I had six Commons 16.14lb, 10lb, 18.06lb, 13.5lb, 13.03lb & 16.8lb

Popped down to Straits on Saturday afternoon for a few hours, there were a few fishing there but plenty of space. I set up in the ‘BMW man’ swim on the right of the little island and put one rod out for carp and another for pike. Had a take on the pike rod when reeling in but it dropped it before I had a chance to strike.
After a couple of hours I moved to the corner swim and fished the overhanging bushes. The guy fishing on the compass swim had 4 carp while I was there – on his first session! One of them was an 18lb, a mirror I’d never seen before, dark and scaly in perfect condition and one of the best carp I’ve ever seen.
I had a small jack and a liner on the carp rod and left around 5pm.
It was good to see the new fishery officer for the lake and have a chat, there is a lot of well thought out ideas and I think the lake will fare better now.

Straits mill summer evening

Random photos

Vintage 2011

From Straits Mill this year Neil and I had:

"76 Carp"
3 Twenties
65 Doubles
8 Singles

From Laundry Lake with only a hand full of short sessions:

"22 Carp"
3 Twenties
19 Doubles

Other Lakes:
2 Twenties
10 Doubles
?? (Can't remember) Singles

Autumn Glory

Fished Straits yesterday evening, the carp were rolling out in the middle but I managed to bag a "Two Tone" 19lb Common from the tree margin. I was lucky to land him after my line became snagged with some snagged line! Neil was dead baiting and managed a Jack Pike and was also getting plenty off action from the sneaky greedy eels. The temperate then dropped rapidly and the unhooking mat even began icing up.

Eleven o'clock

15.4lb

Meet to far away!

15.10lb The little Orange

Another big double

Went fishing in the birdcage yesterday evening, had a few feeding close in but it was a bait fished in the silt that produced a run that resulted in a cut off on a mystery snag but after retackling this old mirror of 19lb 4oz turned up. Graham was next door in the Alex swim and had a 4lb bream, apart from that we didn't get any more.

Stumpy common

Fished the birdcage swim this evening and had this short bodied 18lb common that fought for 20 minutes! Missed a run too, saw a huge mirror early on that looked about mid twenties.

On the move.

Arrived at Straits this morning for a session up to lunchtime.
Started by fishing the clear patches as usual but after a while it became obvious there were not any carp about so I had a look about. Saw a big fish in the birdcage swim then some a bit further down. There were loads hanging around near the gap swim so I stealthily set up close in. After a few fish had came in and fed without being caught I went up the steps for a better look. Just then a carp came in and started feeding over the left hand bait and I saw him suddenly shake his head like crazy before charging off ripping line off the baitrunner! After a really good scrap with the fish lunging around on the surface like a pike, I landed it, an immaculate mirror of 11lb.
The swim was now trashed so I moved again, right up to the end of the shallows. The water here was now only about a foot deep and carp were feeding in the dying weed. I cast one rod on to a gravel patch and set up a chod rig to fish across to the other side. After a couple of hours I was just getting ready to move again when the chod rig slowly moved off. I struck into the fish which plodded off along the far edge for a few yards before rolling on the surface, at that distance it looked like another low double but seemed to be wallowing a bit in the shallow water and I managed to draw it in without any fuss. I got it within about 15 yards away and saw that it was the fat fully scaled mirror! My nerves really started going as I knew she would be a good size and it didn't help that she was almost impossible to get really close because of her bulk. With the net pole and my left arm at full stretch I netted her, apart from a split in her tail she was in perfect condition and went 20lb 1oz. A fish I've always wanted to catch!
I had to take her halfway up the lake to find some deep margins for her to waddle off.
After that I moved for the third and last time to the birdcage swim. There were a few nice fish moving through from time to time including one of the big mirrors which looked a mid twenty. I set both rods up close in and after a couple of hours had a take right under the rod tip and after a good scrap in the deep water had a nice 13lb 6oz common th round the session off.

Junior!!!!!

Fished Straits this evening and had one off the stocky Mirrors at 11.4lb. In three season's this carp has put on maybe over 7lbs in weight, it may never have been caught before and in another three season's this maybe a twenty?