Holyfields Fishery ' First And Last Session'

I'd been wanting to fish a new day ticket lake for a while now, after taking a look on the internet I found a water called Holyfields, based in Essex. It was reported to contain a fair amount of big carp, after delving a little deeper I found that there was suppose to be lot of big fish in both of the waters they have. 

There were mixed opinions about the place, one of the main points being that the mouths of the carp were suppose to be real bad. I wasn't really feeling it, like I've said before, I'd rather catch a clean looking 10IB fish than catch a battered 30IBer. Despite my gut feeling I thought I'd give it a go, it's always nice to fish a new water every now and then.

I arrived at the lake just gone 8:00am, there were a lot of anglers on the top end of the lake, the first peg was free, it had a quiet corner and a real nice looking margin to go at, I also had a fair amount of open water in front of me. To start off with I decided I was going to have one rod on the far bank opposite, one down to the left of me tucked tight in the corner and then one just off of an overhanging tree along the main margin about 25 yards out.

In regards to my baiting approach, I was fishing my new 'Savory' rig on one rod, Starmers Coconut fish on the other and my third rod had a popped up Honey Nectar on it, all three rods will be fished with a small stick mix and a light bed of free offerings spread in a couple of meters radius of the hook bait. It's always tricky fishing a new water because you're not really sure what works and what doesn't in regards to baits and spots.

 Mixing It Up

 

 The Finished Mix

I mixed my ground bait up the night before so it had time to really soak all the flavors up. My mix consisted of Starmers 'Hot Chilli Hemp' method mix, 'Green Lipped Mussel' pellets, Tuna, Sweetcorn, Luncheon Meat, Sardines and some chopped 'Chilli Peperami'. I really wanted something that had high attraction and high leakage qualities. I didn't add any water, I used all the juices from everything that I added, I keep water to a minimum when making a mix up because I feel it breaks down a lot better, I like the end result to be quite dry, this helps when putting it in any kind of pva bag.

View From My Swim

After a few hours of my rods being out I noticed that a fair few anglers set up at the other end of the lake were hitting into the fish. After talking to a few regulars it seems that the majority of the carp gather in the top end of the lake for most of the day and then head down to my end later on. I had a gut feeling that I was fishing some good spots, I also had a sense that the bigger carp may be lurking away from the main shoal, if I kept quiet and sat on my hands I knew I could stand a real good chance of picking one off.

The first part of the day ticked by without any action, I noticed a few carp cruising just under the surface of the water. They seemed to be making a beeline for the corner down to the left of me. They were gathering really tight under the overhanging tree where my bait was sitting. They weren't taking it though, this got me thinking that maybe I can intercept them on the way to the corner. 

Later on in the day an angler turned up to fish in the bottom corner just opposite me so this forced me to move my two baits and make a few changes. I decided I would flick one rod out about 3 meters in front of me and the second one down the margin to my right. My thought process for this was simple. If the carp are visiting the corner I wanted to get them on route. All my three rods were now pretty close to each other and I was sure I was approaching the swim in the right way.

Second Rod positions

Fish still seemed to be coming out up the top end of the lake so it was pretty clear where the majority of the carp were. I still felt that I was going to pick a few off, I was convinced that some fish will steer away from the pressure. 

Savory Rig

The day continued with no action, a few carp were starting to show in my swim, I knew it was just a matter of time. Mid afternoon came and out the blue my middle rod tore into life, my gut feeling was right, I lent back into the fish, it felt like a lump. I guided her my way, she really wasn't putting up much of a fight, after an unexpectedly short fight I slid a fat looking common over my net. Scales sunk to 22IB 5oz.

22IB 5oz Fell To My Savory Rig

She had pretty bad mouth damage so I added my two klinics to the wounds, I use an antiseptic liquid that sterilises and a second gel that creates a protected film round the treated area. I slipped her back and got my rod back out on the same spot. 

A few hours went by and the same rod went ripping off again, this fish had more of a fight in it. Eventually I slipped another common over the net, scales slipped to 16IB. Again the mouth was really battered, it's pretty upsetting to see really, I just don't get it. The hooks I use are none aggressive and leave little to no tears in the mouths of the fish I catch, I feel this is because I really don't bully the fish, I just let them do their thing keeping firm control of the situation.

16IB Common, Again Fell To The Savory Rig

By this point it was starting to get late, I was in two minds if to cast out or not, I was fishing with my mate Alex who said he had spotted a fair amount of bubbling on my earlier spot underneath the overhanging tree along the margin. 

Alex seems to have twenty twenty vision when it comes to spotting fizzing and bubbling from a mile off. I thought I'd try my luck whilst I was packing the rest of my gear down. I had put a fair amount of bait out so it only made sense that some carp may have moved in on it. I was packing my other two rods up and getting my kit together when all of a sudden my middle rod ripped off at speed, it had been out about 10 minutes. By this time it was getting dark and I still had loads to pack away, we were told we had until 8:45pm and it wasn't far off that so I was worried we weren't going to get packed up in time. 

Whilst I was playing the fish it struck me that I had a big girl on because I just couldn't do a great deal with it. I was giving it some real pressure but it just wasn't having none of it, thundering up and down the margin tight to the right of me. It was now dark so I couldn't even see the line anymore, I just kept the pressure on. A good 25 minutes had gone by and the fish still wasn't ready to give up the ghost.

After about 35 minutes the fish started to show signs of tiring, eventually I slipped her over the net, it was only when I shone a head-torch down into the net that I realised I'd got a real big girl. Me and Alex were flapping around in the pitch black trying to get my weighing station set back up. finding my scales, finding my sling, it was crazy and while this was going on I was thinking 'shit, we're going to get locked in, I didn't want the owner thinking I was taking the piss'.  

We eventually got everything sorted, as we hung the sling onto the scales I knew I had an upper twenty, the fish was wide and deep. Scales sunk to 29IB, I was over the moon but stressing that we had to get out of there, after a few pictures we got the rest of our gear together and made our way to the car park.

29IB Common, Another Beauty To Fall To My Savory Rig

When we got to the front gates, both of them were locked, there was an emergency number which I called, at first we couldn't get through. I tried a second time and the owner picked the phone up, he wasn't happy. He came out to let us out, saying we were taking the piss, 'if it took me that long to land a carp, then I obviously don't know what I'm doing etc' and said that 'we won't be fishing the place again'. 

I wouldn't usually bring things like this up on my blog but I have to say I felt pretty pissed, many who know me know that I take my fishing very seriously. Firstly it's pretty clear that I do know how to play carp, I have been doing it long enough and I take great care over everything I catch. To be told I'm a piss taker that doesn't know what he's doing was just wrong. It goes without saying that I won't be going back, even if I wasn't banned, I wouldn't go back, the state of the carp is a disgrace and the water should be closed down. In the future I am going to pick my day ticket venues carefully.

Burrows 'Five Hour Session'

I shot down to Burrows for a short five hour session, the weather was still very hot, I'd had my eye on a marginal area that never seems to get fished. I arrived at the water at about 2:30pm, there were a fair few anglers already fishing, luckily the spot I'd had my eye on was free. It was a marginal area that I was yet to fish, there were very few features on it, I had a gut feeling it could produce. To get the spots I wanted I didn't actually set up in a swim, I perched myself in between a couple of trees, I fished my rod tips high because the marginal growth was pretty heavy.

My Chosen Spots

I cast my baits as close to the far margin as I could get them, I baited up heavily all around my hook baits, Burrows carp respond very well to this method. I was fishing slack lines on both rods, there is so much junk on the bottom of the lake, using back leads can cause problems because the line has a tendency to get caught under rocks and bricks, I learnt this the hard way. Once my rods were in position I decided I wasn't going to do any recasting, I felt confident in my approach. I sat back and waited for some action.

I cast one bait out without any bag or stringer, the popped up bait was fished in combination with a very small PVA bag, the main ingredient being 'Green Lipped Mussel' pellets. After testing this in the margin it's a great presentation because the pop up sits nicely in the middle of the ground bait, when it breaks down it looks perfect.

A Mixture Of Sorts

A good three hours went by before my left hand rod shot into action,  it went powering off peeling line from the spool, racing down the lake to the right of me. It really took a fair amount of pressure to gain control of the fish, it wasn't having anything I was giving it. I had a feeling I'd hooked something pretty big by the way it was plodding about. 

As the fish started to tire, it surfaced for a few seconds, it was a big, a lovely dark looking mirror, a real lump. As I got her closer to the net I started to think I'd bagged a twenty, I slipped her over the net and a big fat mirror laid there staring at me. I left it in the net for a few minutes to recover because it had really given its all. This was the perfect fish to christen my new monster cradle with.

Carp Safety Is Of Up Most Importance

 

I placed the carp in my weighing sling, scales sunk to 24IB, I was absolutely over the moon, I really feel like I'm starting to break through down Burrows now.

A 24IB Stunner

A Carp To Remember

All the little refinements I have been making over the past months have really started to change my catch rate, from pinning the rig down tight with the use of my 'flat inline pear prototypes' along with my decision to use the blow-back rig with the ring, seems to be working, I have a few other ideas that I will put into practice, I still feel there are a few points I want to address in regards to rig mechanics.

Two Days Down The Farm 'Heatwave'

In this blog post I'm covering two day sessions down on the farm, both days were so hot, I knew I was going to have to really work at it to get the takes. The first day I arrived at the water at 7am and conditions seemed perfect, it was overcast with a light breeze. It didn't take long for the sun to break through and it was really starting to get hot by 9:30am, I was already sweating buckets. 

I decided I was going to fish the same swim as last time because it ended up being pretty productive. This time around I was going to fish pop ups on all three rods, there's a lot of mess in the margins where I was choosing to fish and from past experience I know that pop ups tackle this problem. 

Before I cast out I got my weed rake out, quietly lowered it into the lake on all three spots to clear any troublesome debris, it's amazing what I ended up collecting, I removed a fair amount of crap from each swim, going through this motion instantly made me feel more confident in my rig presentation.

My Weed Rake Is A Vital Bit Of Kit

I decided I was going to keep my baiting approach to a minimum, over my previous sessions on the farm I have noticed that so much bait gets put in the water, I had a gut feeling I'd stand more of a chance if I fished single pop ups with a small bag of pellet or crushed boilie. In the picture below you'll notice the compressed PVA nuggets in the top of the funnel web bag, this helps to keep the hook bait suspended above the silt as the rig lands in the water, also it helps mask the hook. Sometimes I will double bag to help slow the process down a little.

Chosen Rig

How The End Presentation Looks, Fished Over Ground Bait

Sometimes I add a few grains of corn into the PVA bag so the hook bait doesn't look so obvious. You'll notice in the picture above that the hook bait had already started to fade, this is because Starmer baits are very 'high leakage' and start to wash out very quickly, the beauty of Ian's baits is that they break down after 72 hours of being in the water. Not many other shelf life baits on the market do that. 

I find the advantage of putting compressed PVA nuggets in the funnel web bag is the fact that on the breakdown they float to the surface almost acting like beacons. They appear on the surface of the water showing exactly where your rig has landed. If you want to add some bait into the swim after the cast you aim for where the nuggets have surfaced. This is a great method when fishing at distance and keeping your bait application bang on the money.

My Swim

Third Rod Spot

The first part of the morning came and went without even a bleep, it was getting so hot, there wasn't even any fish showing in the upper layers of the water. I felt confident in all my spots so I didn't bother recasting, I thought I'd just sit on my hands and wait. Early afternoon came, then out of nowhere my left hand rod went screaming off, I lent into the fish and guided her my way, she was really giving me a good fight, as it surfaced I saw that it was a long lean common, I slipped her over my net, scales sunk to 12IB.

A Long Learn 12IB Common, Spotless

I was very pleased considering the conditions, I slipped her back and got my rod back out, the advantage with the swim I was fishing was the fact I could actually just walk around and lower my bait into the water so if carp where present they wouldn't get spooked by the cast. By this time of the day I was roasting so god knows how the fish must have been feeling.

As I have mentioned in the past, I have noticed that the fish do respond to 'a little' bit of ground bait, I never go over the top with spodding or filling a swim in. Two bits of kit that I really do like to use is my mini spomb and my pocket rocket, the thing I love about these two products is you can introduce little bits of feed with little to no real disturbance. When fishing tight against islands or marginal growth you can really benefit from putting a light bed of bait out, sometimes in spots that don't really see much loose feed.

Two Great Tools 

A few hours past before my left hand rod shot off again, I lent into the fish and it went careering around the bowl area thrusting its way into the marginal reeds, I managed to guide her out with a bit of side strain, she soon tired and I slipped another mint looking common over my net. Scales sunk to 13IB.

A 13IB Beauty

Everything went quiet after my second fish, the heat was still intense and was really contributing to slowing things down. After 5:30pm things started to cool off and a few fish started to move into my area of the lake. The hours ticked by and just as it was approaching 8:00pm my middle rod shot off, the fish tried flying down the channel that I was fishing and really started to strip line fast, I gained control and was having a wrestling match underneath my rod tip for a fair while. 

Just as I was guiding her over the net the hook pulled. It looked like another common floating around the 13IB to 16IB mark. It was very annoying but the positive side was the fact I got another take in the first place. Both fish landed fell to popped up Coconut & Halibut boilies topped of with buoyant corn. I'd made the decision that I would come back in a few days with a slightly different approach.

Session Two

On the second day I arrived at the lake with all my rigs and rods having been tied the evening before. I chose to fish a part of the water that I hadn't bothered with in my past sessions. It was a section with a couple of islands and some 'carpy' looking channels to go at. I decided I'd stick to my Coconut & Halibut pop ups topped with fake corn on two rods and try something different on my third. Before casting out I watched the water for a while and noticed signs of feeding within the narrow channels in front of me. This was a good sign because it's pretty rare to see this down on the farm.

Probes Out

My Swim

My savory rig is something that I've just come up with, the presentation is like the KD rig but with out the use of a shot. The bait is critically balanced, the hook lays totally flat on the lake bed. 

Savory Rig Setup

I also use this rig in conjunction with Starmers new 'hooker pellets', they're a similar shape to Peperami, cutting a quarter off has the same presentation effect as fishing Peperami. Before I cast out I mix original Peperami with the chilli flavor. It's a great bait that is so very often overlooked.

Starmers New Hooker Pellets

I ended up fishing my savory rig tight to a bed of reeds where a nice thick scum line was gathering, it was originally going to be my 'fourth rod spot' but I moved my third one there because I saw some carp in the area just under the scum. It really didn't take long for the rod to go off, I saw a carp top over my bait and then five minutes later the rod tore into life, I banked an amazing looking 9IB mirror.

 A Dam Fine Fish Fell To My Savory Rig

This gave me great confidence in the rig, taking in account it was the first time I had used it. I got the rod back out adding a few chops to the PVA bag mix. The sun was really beating down again, the water had a very light breeze passing over it, I knew it was going to be another hard day. 

I was in two minds if to fish a zig or not but I don't like fishing them in 5ft of water or less, I decided to make my pop ups longer. A few hours ticked by and everything had gone dead, I had the lake to myself so to cool down I decided to get in the water and have a feel around with my feet, I would never do this if anyone else was fishing.

From the short time I was in the lake I learnt a great deal. There were solid clay areas and loads of bits of debris littering the bottom. The biggest shock I had was the silt pockets I came across, it amazed me how deep they were and the way the silt gathers in certain places. On the edge of solid clay you'd suddenly sink half a foot into silt. This really got me thinking, I knew making my pop ups longer and topping them off with yellow was the right approach.

Having A Feel Around

I dried off in about five minutes after getting out the water, I was being baked, I decided to reel my rods in and go for a walk around, I couldn't see any evidence of fish feeding anywhere, I just watched the water, I wanted to get a fresh perspective on things. 

When I got back to my rods I decided I was going to put a fair amount of freebies around each spot, both my island baits were now going to be cast really tight to the overhanging grass and my scum-line rod was going to be moved really close into the marginal reeds. 

My baits had only been out about 30 minutes and my middle rod tore off, a big vortex swirled off of the shallow shelf I was fishing on. The fish was going totally crazy, weaving, darting and tearing line off my spool at an incredible rate. It took me up the channel, turned on itself and then shot towards the margin to the left of me. This frantic fight went on for about 15 minutes before banking a lovely looking common, as I lifted her out I noticed she was blind in one eye, this might of explained why the fight was so mental, she was turning all the time to see where she was heading. Scales sunk bang on 17IB.

A 17IB Nut Case Of A Common

I was over the moon with the result considering it was still so bloody hot, I slipped her back and got the bait out on the same spot. The hours started to dissolve with very little indication that I was going to get another run. Evening came, before packing up I decided I was going to move my 'savory bait' round the back of the island that was to the right of me, there was a little area that I really liked the look of. I quietly walked around and flicked my bait about 2cm off of the overhanging grass that was growing off the island, 10 minutes later the alarm was screaming, my punt paid off, I netted yet another common weighing in at 11IB.

11IB Common Scoffer Of The Savory Rig

As I packed my gear away I was feeling like I'd really earned every fish I'd hooked over the two days. Conditions were tough but it does show that with a little refinement you can get some good results, a big girl had once again eluded me but she will come.

If You Fish ....... They Will Come .....

Birds Green 'A Testing Session'

With the weather being so erratic it's made the fishing pretty hard work of late, on a fair few lakes it's looking like the carp are up for a second spawn. I decided I'd go to Birds Green for the last time in a while, I've got my sights set on other waters now. When I turned up to the lake it was really busy and talking to most of the anglers nothing had been coming out. After my blank down there the other week, I went back with a whole new approach in mind and still felt I could get a few out.

I managed to tuck myself in an island swim, I was hemmed in between two other anglers so I felt pretty limited. This time around I decided that I wasn't going to put any freebies in and just fish a single hook-bait with a small PVA bag, all three rods were on the blow-back which I have to say is becoming my favourite setup.

My Swim

I decided to keep my baiting to a minimum because over the past few weeks I have been watching other anglers and it struck me that so much bait goes in the water, the fish have got a constant supply of food. On this lake especially I don't think the fish will sit feeding on big beds of bait solely because it's such a pressured water. 

The morning came and went without any action, by this time the sun was beating down on my back and I could see fish milling around in the top layers of the water. The weather was playing havoc with the fish. First it was mild, then it was hot, then pissing it down, it came as no surprise my rods had stayed static. As the afternoon came I was thinking a change of approach was needed. I reeled one of my rods in and decided I was going to try some surface fishing. 

I started to introduce small floater pellets into the swim to see if I could get the carp going. There was pretty much an instant response, a good few fish started to come up and slurp them up. I continued to introduce more pellets little and often. The carp were responding very well. I decided I'd try my luck, my surface fishing setup is very simple, I use a Korda surface float and a fake dog biscuit hair-rigged, I cut a line in the biscuit so the hook can slip nicely into it.

Fake Dog Biscuit Setup

After casting out my bait was taken within about a minute of it hitting the water, the fish raced off peeling line from my spool, I was using my 9ft Greys stalker rod loaded with eight pound line so I had to be really careful. The fish was kiting from left to right, I managed to tease her my way, she really woke up underneath the rod tip so I just had to be patient waiting for her to tire. She eventually did and I slipped an amazing golden looking common over my net. Scales sunk bang on 16IB.

A 16IB Bar Of Gold

Off She Goes

The fight had spooked the fish off and all the carp that were still on the surface had moved further down the lake into the bowl end, I couldn't get to them because there were other anglers fishing.

By now time was ticking by pretty fast and it was approaching five o'clock, I decided I'd recast all three rods in hope I could bag a fish off the bottom before I left. I decided to cast the baits a little further back off of the island. There were carp fizzing and jumping all over the place and I was certain that another fish was on the cards. 

A couple of hours went by and as I was starting to pack up, my middle rod flew into life, I lent into the fish and it raced tight to the left along the islands edge. I gently applied the pressure and she started to steer my way, it was a real hard fighting fish and really gave me a run for the money. After about 10 minutes I slipped another perfect looking common over the net, she weighed in again at 16IB, I was very pleased because the fishing had been really hard and most anglers had packed up and gone home due to how quiet it had been all day.

16IB Common Caught On Starmers Coconut Fish

All in all I was happy with the result, like I said before, it really has been hard work this week with the weather conditions. It shows you don't have to cake the bait in to get results, if anything in the future on any pressured day ticket water I fish I am going to concentrate on location and keep the baiting up to a minimum.

Back Down The Farm 'Again'

I really like fishing Bax farm, there's some really nice fish in the specimen lake and I am slowly starting to get pretty consistent results. It's a weird water because in theory it really isn't that big but the carp are fussy and pretty wise. From past experience I am starting to feel that it's a fish meal water because my fruity boilies never seem to produce. 

I decided I was going to fish Starmers monster squid over a bed of hemp tight in the margins. It's strange because through all the years I have been fishing, there are certain lakes that are fruity and others that seem fishy, when it comes to bait flavours, it goes without saying there are a lot of lakes that go for both.

Before setting up I took a long time walking around and watching the water, the fish here rarely give themselves away. I have come to believe that they shoal up and move around the lake in groups at specific times of the day, I think I've mentioned this in my previous blog posts about the water. They seem to come on the feed late afternoon and mid evening, if you're lucky you can bag a few during the day but you've really got to be on the fish. 

In regards to approach, fishing over a bed of particles or method mix seems to work well. I've had some very quiet sessions down here, on the flip side I hit a point in the evening where I've had up to eight runs in an hour, it really just depends on the conditions.

All three rods where set up with my in-line pear prototypes and bottom baits on a blow-back rig. My left hand rod was to the left of me under a willow, the middle rod was tight to a reed line in a narrow channel and my right rod was in my secret spot tucked underneath the bank by hand really close in. I stuck it into the silt literally underneath the swim, I placed two hand fulls of boilies with hemp and corn around it.

Placing The Bait By Hand Underneath The Bank

View From The Swim

Left Rod Spot

I felt confident in all my spots, I had a feeling that I wasn't going to see much action during the day. The lake is very open so it gets very windy, the wind was blowing into the bay that was over the back of the island in front of me. I felt a lot of fish would be hauled up in this specific part of the lake, I couldn't fish there though because three anglers pretty much had the area covered. I just needed to sit on my hands and be patient. 

 Me And Eric Waiting For The Runs

Throughout the day I was introducing around 5 baits every hour just to keep the swims topped up, I didn't bother recasting, I do try to keep swim disturbance to a minimum. The morning came and went without any real action, also there wasn't really any signs of fish in my area. The guys fishing on the front of the wind had a few fish out so that confirmed my theory about where the carp were hauling up. 

I know they visit the bay I was fishing, the secret is patience. A few more hours went by, all was pretty quiet then suddenly out of the blue early afternoon my secret rod spot went firing off. I lent into the fish and it started to strip line fast, I guided her into the middle of the bowl in front of me, it really woke up underneath the rod tip. After a modest fight I slipped a perfect looking mirror over the landing net, scales sunk to just under 14IB, it was a solid bodied fish and was perfect looking.

A Lovely Bax Farm Mirror

I was well pleased with the result, I got my rod back out on the spot as quickly as possible. I decided to add a little extra to the swim to help with attraction. I mixed up Starmers 'Carp Red' with some green lipped mussel pellets thrown in, I mixed it up nice and sloppy and then added some boilies, a few handfuls were dropped over the baited areas. From past experience I've found the carp on the farm respond well to a bit of ground bait.

Sloppy Mix 

As the afternoon passed I started to notice a few carp where starting to top nearer to the bay area, they were starting to move into my part of the lake, I was feeling very confident now. All of a sudden my middle rod sprung into life, this was the rod fished in the margin of the channel to the right of me. I lent into the fish and guided her my way, she really woke up underneath the rod tip and was determined to snag me in the marginal reeds. I managed to guide her over my net, it was a lovely looking common, I slipped her into the weighing sling, scales sunk to 12IB. Her propotions were amazing, she's going to be a real big fish one day.

Plump 12IB Common

I gently slipped her back and got my rod straight back out, topping the swim up with a fair amount of bait, I had a feeling that most of it would have been hoovered up by now. The evening came and my spots had gone quiet, I could still see signs of fish near me and was expecting to get at least one more run before I left. 

As the sun slowly started to set I got an absolute screamer on my middle rod, a huge swirl kicked up erupting the whole margin, I rushed to my rod and lent into the fish, it was stripping line something rotten, it felt heavy, as I applied the pressure the hook slipped, I couldn't believe it, I'd be done again by yet another big girl from the farm. As I reeled in and looked at my rig everything seemed to be fine but I did have a bit of debris masking the hook. I am thinking when I put my back-lead on it may have dragged the rig back a fraction.

A few hours past and everything remained quiet, I kept my rods on their spots without recasting, I decided I'd start to slowly pack my gear up. The light was fading fast, just as I was about to reel my rods in, my middle one shot into action. I rushed to the rod and lent into the fish, it was racing up the channel, I had to apply a fair amount of pressure to guide her my way, as usual she really woke up underneath the rod tip, they all seem to do this. I was trying to hurry her in because the light was fading fast. Eventually she gave up and I slipped another lean looking common over my net. Scales sunk to 14IB, I was really happy, 3 fish and one lost is pretty good going for the farm.

'Sorry For The Blurry Picture, it was pretty dark' 

A Lean Bax Farm Common

All in all it was a pretty successful session, I am still determined to find where the majority of the fish hold during the day, it really does seem they group up, as I stated before, all fish were caught on Starmers monster squid fished over a little hemp and corn.

The Sun Closing A Solid Session Down On The Farm