Top Lake At Birds Green 'Two Solid Sessions'

I decided I was going to do a couple of day sessions at Birds Green Fishery, I always arrive at the lake for about 11:00am, the thing I love about the top water and the fishery as a whole is the fact that all the big carp in the lakes are commons. This is rather unique because nearly everywhere I fish it's the mirrors that seem to dominate. 

Over the months I have been slowly introducing my bait into the water and my results have been steady. Many people say that Birds Green is a runs water, I don't really agree with that, we all have those sessions where you can't seem to do anything wrong and every lake has the occasional day where the carp are just on the feed. When this happens you can get the wrong idea about a water, I've done well at Birds Green but in the same breath I have also blanked a good number of times, the carp can be very moody and finicky, it is definitely a water that switches off when there are a lot of lines out.

When I arrived at the lake it was surprisingly busy considering it was a week day. I decided that I was going to fish the island, in the past I usually avoid the island because it gets so hammered. My chosen spots were all taken so I kind of had no choice. I had a few casts with a lead to make sure my spots were clear of any under water debris and decided I was going basically fish about 5cm off the island under overhanging tufts of grass, the carp seem to move and show very close in, I think the island actually shelves under more than what you think.

My Swim

I got both my baits bang on the spots, put about 10 freebies on each rod, got my back leads on and then sat back to wait for the action. I try to make sure everything is pinned as tight to the bottom as it can be. At the moment I am using flying back-leads and standard ones teased about half a rods length from the tip of my rod, this ensures everything is sitting correctly, I then tighten up until my rod tip just starts to bend and then I slacken off a little.  

There was a lot of casting going on either side of me from other anglers which was worrying, I felt this may put the carp on high alert. After fishing the lake a fair few times, I have noticed a fair amount of bubbling in open water, I've had some pretty good results fishing in the open but there has been days where the carp have been clearly kicking the bottom up but don't seem to take the bait. I have clocked these spots and next time I go back I'm going to get my weed rake out for a drag about to see if there's any natural food within these areas that the carp are getting stuck on. I did this before on one of my club waters and managed to find a slit pocket containing bloodworm. 

Instead of re-casting a few times throughout the day I decided to just sit on my hands, I knew I was fishing correctly and it really was just the waiting game. The morning came and went without any action, a few fish topped near my spots but the alarms and rods stayed silent.

Bang On For A Bite

Mid afternoon I started to notice that the carp were showing more and I could see movement on the points of the island near where I was fishing. Suddenly out of the blue my right hand rod screamed into action, I lent into the fish and it kited tight along the side of the island, it felt like a good carp and was really ripping line off the spool. I started to gain control and I guided the fish back, it really woke up underneath the rod tip, I kept the pressure on, it was circling, I couldn't get her head up so I just held the pressure, she soon started to tire. 

As the fish surfaced I realised it was a real lump, after a short while I pulled a lovely looking common over the net. As I lifted her out I had a feeling that I'd done another twenty. I laid her gently on my unhooking mat unhooked her and placed her in the sling, the scales sunk bang on 22IB.  

Beauty

Totally Spotless

I was over the moon, the commons in this lake are so lovely and most of them are in mint condition, after a few shots I slipped her back. I re-cast both of my rods and sat back to relax, I topped both my spots up with about 10 baits, each rig was once again cast about 5cm off of the island. As it started to get later most anglers had packed up and left. I was sitting tight and waiting, fish were starting to show all over the lake, I felt pretty confident I could catch another one. 

It was only a short while before my left rod tore off, I lent into the fish and guided her home, she came in pretty easy, I slipped a small but chunky little common over my net. I didn't bother weighing her, it wasn't a monster but I was still very pleased to get another take.

Not A Monster But Very Much Appreciated 

The evening came and went with no more action, I decided I'd come back the following day to give it another go. All in all it had been a pretty successful session, my coconut & Halibut was starting to do the business.

The Second Day

As I arrived at the lake for my second session it was once again pretty busy so I was limited to where I could go. I decided to setup on the opposite side of the island and again fish as close as I could. I was hemmed in between two anglers so my options were limited. I cast out my PVA pyramids, baited up with about ten baits on each rod and then sat back. There weren't many fish showing and I felt a little unsure of my spots because I had a lot of casting going on either side of me again. 

My Swim

My rods had only been out for about twenty minutes before my left hand one shot off, I lent into the fish and it was lunging to the left, I steered her in my direction, she was really giving it some, waking up underneath my rod tip. After a fair fight I slipped a common over my net, she had lovely proportions, scales slipped to 14IB, I was really pleased with the quick result.

14IB Common, Pristine 

Slipping her back, I got my rod back out, once done I decided to work on getting my 'third rod spot' going, I chose to bait up the margin tight to the right of me, the carp do tend to move really close in, especially towards the end of the day. I kept adding bait throughout the day with the plan to fish it later, like I've mentioned in previous blogs, this approach can produce a quick bite. 

Third Rod Spot

After the initial take things slowed up for me, I felt this was because the anglers either side of me were casting in and out an awful lot, I had a feeling this didn't give my swim a chance to establish itself. The day ticked by and my hopes of getting another fish were fading. Mid-afternoon came and the lake started to thin out so I was planning to move down to the bowl end to fish tight to the reeds, I had clocked a fair few fish showing in this area. Once the other anglers had left I shifted my gear down to the bottom margin swim. I baited up my 'third rod spot' with the intention of keeping an eye on it, if I saw evidence of fish moving in and around the area I would move back to fish it.

Spot 1

Spot 2

Because I was fishing so close in I managed to get both rods out with hardly any disturbance, I baited each spot quite heavily and sat well back from the waters edge. When I fish this swim I also put my rods further up the bank so nothing could spook patrolling fish. Because I was fishing under the scum line I put a PVA nugget on my hook to protect the point from collecting any debris.

My Business End

The rain started to set in pretty heavily and a fair few fish started to show in the bowl in front of me, I crawled down to look over the marginal reeds and noticed a few fish patrolling really close in, my confidence was sky high. Just as I got back to my seat my right hand rod tore off at intense speed, my rod tip was bending right around. I rushed down and lent into the fish, line started peeling off my spool at a great rate. 

It was kiting around all over the place, after a few minutes the fish started to come in close, shortly after, a lovely common rolled up on its side as I teased her over my net... Result !! my move paid off. I put her in the sling, scales slipped bang on 18IB.

18IB Common

I was really pleased because my raspberry ripple and my 'burying the bait' approach worked, it goes to show you can catch fish right next to the rod tip if you are quiet and present your bait well. It was starting to get late and the rain was setting in so I decided to call it a day. I will be going back to Birds Green regularly because I love the quality of the commons in the water and there are at least 3 fish knocking 28IB. I think I'll stick to the approaches I am using and hopefully one of the big girls will grace my landing net in the not too distant future.

The Carp At Birds Green Know How To Put On A Show

And Then Some

Chase Lakes 'A Formidable Effort'

I saw chase lakes on a 'Carp TV DVD' and was really surprised I hadn't heard of the place considering it's about 30 minutes from my door step. I decided I'd go and check the place out before fishing there, I shot down one Sunday afternoon to have a nose around. It's in a country park, there's a back lake and a front lake, the front lake is the harder of the two, the fish are wise and from the looks of it it's very weedy. 

The back lake called out to me straight away, it's big but it has lots of great marginal spots and a few islands, it spat out a 42IB a few weeks back, that's yet to be confirmed. I spent along while watching the water, the wind was blowing down into the first half of the lake and there were carp jumping along the margins. I had a word with a few anglers who were fishing, there's a good head of doubles and twenties with a fair few 30's and upwards. Obviously hearing this my mind was racing with 'where I was going to fish' and 'what tactics I was going to use'. On the drive home all I could think about was going back with my kit and getting the rods out.

My first session didn't go according to plan, first mistake I made was going on a Sunday and the place was rammed, I had no other option than to fish a small bay on the back of the wind, I had one fish out which was probably the smallest one in the lake at a whopping 3IB, not quite the monster I was expecting. It was a frustrating session because options were limited. I put it all behind me, I guess it was good not to have a blank.

The next time I went back it was a different ball game, I fished a point that had two islands and a channel to the right of me. I am not the greatest distance caster I think my limit is about 75 yards and then it all goes out the window. The islands were a fair cast, I managed to get them pretty spot on after a few attempts.

My Swim

My right hand rod was fishing tight to a marginal line that led to a shallow channel. After a few casts I found that it was weedy in a few areas so I found a clear spot about a rods length off of a overhanging bush, it felt like soft clay which was perfect to present a rig on.

 Third Rod Position

Before I even got a chance to set my landing net up my left hand rod was off like a rocket, this was on my island spot. After a slight wrestling match I slipped a tired looking mirror over the net, scales sunk to 17IB, I was very surprised I got a run so fast, it was an odd looking fish that had obviously been through the wars, unfortunately she had bad mouth damage which is always upsetting to see. I got some antiseptic on the effected areas and gently slipped her back.

17IB Chase Mirror Carp

I whacked the rod straight back out and added some more bait, a few minutes later my right hand marginal rod flew into action, teasing the fish around the point of the reeds, I had a fair scrap before netting a lovely looking common, scales sunk to 12IB. This was great because I knew they were on the bait and my rigs were doing the job well, my confidence was now sky high.

12IB Chase Common Carp

I re-cast, baited up and sat back to catch my breath. One thing I'd like to mention about Chase and something you will no doubt experience if you go, are the swans, they really give you hassle, they literally attack you so you've got to keep your landing net handy at all times to keep them away.

Swan Alert

I have yet again been experimenting with combining baits, I've found a Starmer cocktail which I call 'Telescopium' that seems to be doing the job, I am going down to the lakes with my PVA bags already made, this saves so much time on the bank especially if you're wanting to get you rods back out quick. I have 100% confidence with the cocktail I have come up with, also the advantage is, combined with a PVA nugget masking the tip of the hook, the bags make the rig very 'anti-tangle' which is a massive weight off the mind. Before hooking them on I roll them around in my hand to grind the contents down, this also tightens the bag up so when it melts it explodes out on the bottom leaving your hook bait sitting nicely in an inviting pile of freebies.

The Telescopium Blend 'Little Bags Of Secrets

Shortly after re-casting my right hand rod, it was off again, this was a ferocious take stripping line like mad. I lent back into the fish and felt straight away that it was big, it was powerful and really steady. I managed to guide it round the mouth of the channel, she was peeling line, tightening up the clutch, it still just kept forcing line off the spool. A good 15 minutes had gone by without so much as a sighting of the fish, I just took it easy keeping the pressure steady waiting for her to tire. 

Slowly but surely she started to give in, the fish topped, it was big, a real lump of Chase mirror. I gently teased the fish over the net, as I went to lift her out it struck me that I'd caught one of the big girls, luckily there was someone around to take a picture. I put her in the sling to weigh, there was part of me that thought I'd done my new PB. Scales sunk to 30IB. I was over the moon even though slightly shell shocked.

30IB Big Girl

Side On

This really was a great result and will be the reason that I join Chase lakes, my UK PB is 32IB and I feel this lake is the one that I stand a good chance of beating it on. She really was a beauty.

Slightly off topic - I have been refining all elements of my fishing in recent months and one change that I feel is helping me is my hook-link material. I got myself some 'Jelly Wire' which hasn't been out on the market for that long. In the past I've swapped between Silkworm braid, Merlin, Amnesia and Fox Illusion, there is an amazing fluorocarbon called 'Seaguar' which goes totally invisible in the water, I've caught countless fish with it. The thing I like about Jelly Wire is that you can strip it. In the past I would make my own combi-rigs using the albright knot but it's very time consuming, I've never been a fan of strippable braids but Jelly Wire seems to be a little different.

My Hook-Link

I heat shrink a tiny bit of tubing on the bend of the hook and bend it off the eye, 'top of the shank', this makes the rig spin into the bottom lip, every fish I hook it connects in the bottom lip with a very solid hold. Very rarely do I loose a fish once hooked. I got my right hand rod back out on the spot and topped the swim up, it had only been in about 15 minutes when it shot off again. 

This felt little a real big fish, I couldn't do a great deal with it, it started to make its way down the channel, this was a tricky situation because due to the angle of my line it started pulling against a section of reeds that were down to the right of me, I couldn't get the angle to apply the pressure properly. I held the rod out and up to give some side strain but unfortunately the angle was so tight the fish came off. I was gutted because this was another big fish for sure.  

The Reeds

After that everything went quiet for a few hours, I recast a few times and continued to put bait out. Because I had now moved all three rods along the margin leading into the channel, I thought I'd move my left hand rod back out onto the island. Because I had baited up there in the morning I thought there might be some carp sniffing about. I hammered the rod out to get maximum distance and managed to get it right underneath an over hanging bush. 

A few hours went by before out of the blue my island rod burst into life, I lent back into the fish and it was instantly taking line, putting up a really scrap. I was starting to get the fish closer in underneath the rod tip when my middle marginal rod started screaming. There was no one around to take it for me so I just had to let it run. I was trying to rush the fish I was playing but it wasn't having none of it. 

Eventually I got her in the net, legged it over to my other rod and lent into it, it had gone into the reeds but I managed to tease it out. I got her in towards me pretty quickly and ended up slipping her into the net, I'd bagged two carp. The rigs were tangled and it was all a real mess.

Double Take 

The bigger of the two weighed in at 18IB, I didn't bother weighing the smaller one, they were both beautiful looking fish.

18IB Chase Lakes Common

After slipping both fish back, my rigs were a total birds nest, I cut the lines, this signaled the end of my day, and what a day it had been. The back lake at Chase is by no means an 'easy' lake. It's very big, has a few weedy areas and a load of places that carp could be hiding. With a little bit of observation and careful baiting, results can come in abundance, I will be heading back there soon to see if I can bag another big girl. 

Bovington Lake 2 Short Session 'The New Awakening'

My Colchester Angling Membership has been staring me in the face for a few days now. After much mental debating I decided to go and fish Bovington lakes. It's about a two hour round trip from home but totally worth it for the fact you're fishing a water with carp knocking 40IB's, lots of 30's and loads of 20's and doubles. There's also reported to be plenty of double figured tench.

As I opened the combination lock to the front gate I also opened a new chapter in my carp fishing journey, the next thing I had to unlock was the lake, it's by no means an easy feat. As I walked to the lake side I was instantly hit with a feeling of a water steeped in history and it seemed to melt perfectly into the landscape. I walked around to see if I could spot any carp. There are plenty of reed lines and over hanging trees, lily pads and marginal areas that appeared very 'carpy'.

Fishing a new lake for the first time is an exciting but very daunting prospect, I decided I'd follow the wind which was pushing down into a back bay partially filled with a big lily bed. I got my gear into the swim and thought I'd do some quick marker work. The bottom was silty with thin weed in places, the depth was about 5ft. I decided I was going to fish helicopter rigs with long hook-links and a pop up, hooks protected with a PVA nugget. As I was reeling my marker in a carp topped exactly where it landed so that was promising. I baited up at the point of the lilies and a spot where the lilies met the reeds. Carp where jumping in the center of the pads, some of them looked like mid-twenties, I was buzzing. I had my face to the wind so casting was tricky even though I was fishing at short range, I wanted to be 100% accurate.

The Business End

Lately I have been experimenting with all sorts of baiting ideas which I will go on to explain in future blogs. On this session I decided I would make my hook bait a different color to the freebies that I was throwing out. I have tried this in the past with great success, the idea came to me when I was looking at boilies on the bank.

Where Does Your Eye Go When Looking Below ?

Mine goes straight to the orange Tutti Futti, visually I believe this creates something a little different. I have been trying to target 'bigger fish' recently and I know that the 'big girls' may linger around large beds of bait whilst letting the 'care free' carp to get on with the munching. My idea is to fish over large beds of bait but fish the different colored boilie on the edge of the main baited spot. This can go two ways, it's either picked up out of curiosity, or spooked off from looking different.

Bait Positions

I got both my rigs on my spots first cast, put the back-leads straight under my rod tips and sat back to take it all in. The wind was blowing in my face so I tucked myself behind my umbrella to get some relief. There were a few fish jumping in the center of the lake, as the hours ticked by they seemed to be getting closer to my end.

When you start on a new water it always appears to be a huge expanse of unanswered questions, when you crack the code the water seems to shrink. Instead of looking at the lake as a 'mass' you start to beable to divide what you see into sections, through time you tie them together and then you develop a full understanding of what's in front of you.

No action came in the first part of the day, I re-cast a few times and added a little bit of bait every few hours. When I was reeling my rigs in the weed hadn't attached itself in anyway so I knew my presentation was right.

Tranquilly In The Swim

Later in the afternoon I had my eyes firmly on the water when out of the blue my left hand rod went ripping off. I ran to the rod leaning into the fish. It was kiting everywhere furiously darting all over the place, it didn't feel like a carp, it had all the characteristics of a tench. As the fish surfaced I saw the green flank and orange eye staring at me, I slipped her over the net, she was pristine looking, the scales slipped to 5IBs. It may not have been my target species but I was very happy because it showed my rig presentation was correct.

A 5IB Beauty

I got my rod back out on the spot, carp where continuing to show themselves very near my right hand bait. I topped both spots up with about 15 boilies and then sat back semi expecting my right hand rod to shoot off. After about 30 minutes the left hand rod was off again. It had a similar feel to the previous take. After a little bit of a scrap I pulled another Tench over the net, it was also bang on 5IB.

The rest of the day into the evening came and went without anymore action, I thought it was a pretty successful session. I might not of banked any carp but I learnt a great deal. Firstly my presentation was correct, I've started to clock a few areas where the carp seemed to be showing and my baiting application worked. Next time I go back I'm going to sit for a while just watching the water, I'm not going to return with any preconceived ideas. I think we've all fallen into the trap of deciding what swim we are going to fish before turning up to a lake. A couple of hours in the right swim can reap rewards. Next time I'm hoping to hook my first Bovington Carp.