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 .....

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

Back Down The Farm 'Rooting For A Bite'

I made the decision to take a trip back down to Bax Farm Fishery again. I am very determined to get some of the big girls out, I know I've hooked at least one but haven't managed to land anything over 16IB. The lake is tricky, it's really not that big and has so many channels and features for the carp to hold in. The stocking is pretty impressive with an estimated 300 carp in the water. 

I find this pretty amazing considering you can go down for 24 hours and only bag two fish. I have fished it a lot now and I am convinced that the carp shoal up and patrol around the lake in groups, they definitely have a path they follow and can be located on this route through certain times of the day. I've always had most my action mid to lake afternoon, especially around the right hand side of the second island, they seem to move in around 7:30pm onwards.

Getting My Control Station Prepared 

Because the wind was hammering down into the bottom right hand corner I decided I would fish one rod off a small island, my spot was at the bottom of a steep shelf that dropped from 1 1/2ft down to 3 1/2ft, my next spot would be in a channel in between two islands and then the third down to my left underneath a willow tree.

First Rod Spot

There was a nice calm spot off of my island rod, I spodded out my mix tight to the marker and carefully spread it in a three meter radius of my hook bait, my mix was Starmers 'Red Carp' mixed with their 'Green Lipped Mussel' method mix, I added some corn and hemp with Starmers 'Chilli Hemp' glug. There was a lovely slick on the surface of the water as my mix went in. 

Mixing It Up

My Business End

My Second spot was in about 3ft of water, I baited the whole channel with Coconut & Halibut, I was fishing a bottom bait topped off with fake corn with 10 large spombs full of hemp and corn all around the baited area. I cast my bait just off of the baited area. I feel fishing off of a big bed of bait can tempt the fish that aren't comfortable sitting in one place scoffing. I had never fished this channel before and felt very confident that I was going to get a take.

Second Rod Spot

My third spot was just to the left of me fished in the margin tucked under a willow tree, it was near the bridge that divides the lake, I was hoping I could intercept any carp passing through from my side of the lake to the other. I was fishing a popped up Coconut & Halibut boilie also topped off with fake sweetcorn.

Third Rod Spot

I spent a while getting my three spots sorted so it felt good to take a seat and wait to see if my effort would pay off. I felt confident in the positioning of all my baits, now it really was just the waiting game. I sat watching the water and as expected no carp where showing themselves, they always seem to give themselves away around 4:30pm onwards. 

I decided to get a 'fourth rod spot' going, I chose a set of reeds tight down to the right of me, I introduced tutti frutti boilies throughout the day every 45 minutes. Every so often I would crawl over to see if I could see any movement or reeds banging, I deliberately threw my baits in the reeds, this way I'd know if the carp had moved in because they'd been banging the reeds around whilst seeking out the bait.

A good few hours passed with no sign of any carp in or around my spots, I decided I'd continue to sit on my hands and just wait it out, I knew at some stage a group of fish would move through the channel and around the islands, I believe the areas I'd chosen were definitely within their usual patrol route.

Third Rod Business End 

The hours were still passing without any action, the positives was the fact I was getting a few liners, I decided I'd go for a quick wander to see if I could spot any carp elsewhere on the lake. I left my wife with my rods. I only walked a few meters away, it was very windy. As I was checking a few other spots out I thought I heard my alarms but didn't take a great deal of notice, as I headed back to my swim I saw my wife struggling with my rods, apparently the two island rod has gone off at the same time. My right hand rod had tore off and the fish had slipped the hook which was very annoying, my middle rod was still rattling. I lent into he fish and managed to guide it out of the channel, the fish put up a good scrap, after a short fight I slipped a lovely looking common over my net, scales slipped to 13IB

13IB Common

I was really pleased, but slightly annoyed with the fact that I'd gone walking off. First rule "Don't Ever Leave your Rods". I got both my rods back out on my spots, topped the swim up with my mix and free offerings. Two takes at once shows that the carp really do move around certain areas of the lake in a group, this is not the first I've had a double take out of the blue on this water.

My Mix In The Margin, It's Perfect.

The hours ticked by and I started to feel that the fish had been and gone, there were no shows over my spots and my 'fourth rod spot' wasn't giving out any positive signs of being investigated. Late afternoon I decided to reel my rods in and take a walk around the lake to see if I could find any feeding fish. 

I was lucky because by this time most other anglers had packed away and gone home. This gave me a lot of options, I managed to find a group of feeding fish in a small bay on the back of the wind, this surprised me because a fair few lines had been in that part of the water earlier in the day, once the lines had gone they'd obviously moved in. I rushed back and got my gear together with the plan to just lower all my rods really close in the margin.

My Swim After The Move

Before I even managed to get all my rods out my left one had shot off at great speed, I lent into the fish and tried to guide it towards me without disturbing the other carp that were obviously feeding in the swim. I got her underneath my rod tip and let her circle until she was exhausted, then all I had to do was quietly slip her over the net with minimal disruption. It was another common, scales slipped to 11IB.

A Very Long Lean 11IB Common

By the looks of things there were still fish feeding in front of me so I walked the rod back round to the same spot and lowered it gently in. All my rods were now out and I stayed low to the ground, the fish were slowly moving around the channel in front of me. 

Before I knew it my right hand rod rattled off again, I made contact with the fish but there was a big reed stem on the hook-link which unfortunately dislodged the hook. This was something totally out of my control, I felt this could of spooked the swim because the carp darted towards the other feeding fish, I saw a few vortexes from where they all bolted. 

Putting the rod back in position I sat patiently but felt like the moment had passed, also a couple of anglers turned up and started casting close to my spots from the other side of the island which wasn't helping the situation. By this time it was getting pretty late so I decided to call it a day. The move paid off and I am thinking that I will do a mid-week day where I can move swims every hour to see if I can start to figure out the carps patrol route and what spots work at certain times of the day.

Before I left I had an idea, I pulled my sleeve right up and put my arm into the water right in the margin, I could feel that the margin actually goes a good foot underneath the bank, theoretically under your feet. Next time I go back I am going to take my rig and bait and place it underneath this ledge by hand, pretty much burying it into the side, I am very curious to see if this is going to work. I've seen carp moving so close in and this tactic might end up tricking one of the special fish. 

  

Bax Farm 'Head Banging Session'

I decided to do another session on the specimen lake at Bax Farm on the Sunday just gone, it was the only day I could get out on the bank last week. I'm always a little dubious about weekend sessions because of how busy the banks can get. I gave the farm a call the night before and they said the specimen lake was pretty rammed, I thought I'd try my luck for a good swim on arrival. After arriving there was an awful lot of people packing up having done a night, instantly I got a feeling that the carp could be on high alert due to the number of lines being in and out the water, I didn't feel very confident. I have a firm belief that when a water is pressured the carp can switch off.

I Need A Bigger Car

I managed to get in my usual swim, already I was starting to think that I'm stuck in a mode on this lake because I have been fishing the same swim each time I go. Next session I'm going to try a different one, I've started to see other spots that interest me. I was fishing my grange & monster squid pop up combo on two rods and a bottom bait on my third. My Starmer order will be with me on Wednesday so, for the last time I was using Mistral on the bottom bait rod. I halved one of their new FM boilies and a banana tutti boilie and then combined them on the hair. I like topping my baits off with yellow, it's a colour that proves to be a great attractor. 

The Usual Spots

I had a really potent mix for my spomb, I decided to make the overall mix a little stiffer this time so it breaks down slower on the lake bed. I put five mini spombs over each rod and sat back to wait for bite time. My mate Aid who I met on my club water was coming down to fish the swim up from me, there was a lot of bubbling going on in the back channel where he was going to fish. I felt this was due to the fact so many anglers were in the main section of the lake, I think the carp were grouping up in the quieter part of the water.

The Control Center

My rods had been out for about an hour or so before I got a screaming run off my middle spot, they'd taken the grange & monster squid combo again, they love it down there. The fish was ripping line of the spool like a rocket, Aid was around to take some action shots.

Giving It Some Stick In Stealth Position

Nicely In The Net

She's In Good Hands

A Lovely Proud Little Lady

Not the biggest of fish but that doesn't matter to me, any carp is a beautiful carp, it's the science behind it and the thinking that I love the most. I put my rig back out on the same spot, I didn't feed the swim anymore, I was thinking enough bait had probably gone in the water in the past 24 hours. I decided to make up a few funnel web PVA bags, the presentation would be tidy with the pop up perched in the middle of a little bit of ground-bait.

My Little PVA Land Mines Release A Controlled Explosion Of Flavour

Things went quiet for a while and then the middle rod bobbin pulled up and stopped, at this point I had lots of thoughts racing through my mind .....'Have I Been Done', 'Is The Hook Blunt', 'Is The Rig Sitting In A Snag'. This very rarely happens to me, when I reeled the bait in there was a reed stem through the hook. I put a PVA nugget on it and re-cast. A few hours went by and I got the same sort of run. I reeled the bait back in again, everything seemed fine but then I started to realise that I wasn't fishing a blow-back rig this time around and maybe the carp are picking the bait up and spitting it out. I didn't have any 'blow backs' on me, I used them religiously but stopped a few weeks ago for a while replacing the rig ring with a small section of silicone tubing. After these two weird runs I'm going to stick to my 'blow back' setup because of its anti-eject properties. I am 100% confident in the rig combined with tying a figure of eight knot on the swivel, I feel this makes it very difficult for the carp to do you over.

A Slightly Stiffer Mix For Slower Breakdown 

The day continued with very little action, come 5:30pm the fish usually start to show and move in and around the islands, it seemed quieter than usual, I still put this down to angling pressure. The evening came and went without any more runs. My mate Aid had a run but it took him around the island so he didn't manage to land it. 
Thinking hard about the situation I've decided that I am going to find some margin areas that rarely see a bait, there's three known thirties in the lake that haven't been out for ages. I think that they avoid all the obvious features. The beauty about the farm is that it has so many nooks and crannies it's hard to make up your mind where to go. When you fish a lake, nine times out of ten you nearly always head for the main features, I'm going to go for the unassuming spots, even if it means fishing directly underneath my rod tips.

The Willows Are Tempting Me

As mentioned before, next time around I'm going to try a totally new swim and I think I'm going to stay mobile, any signs of feeding fish, I'll move, I think it's a lesson for all of us, you have to find the fish, it's too easy to just sit in one spot all day thinking the carp aren't feeding.