After the rivers close it always leaves me feeling a little deflated. I enjoy river fishing the most, but it is refreshing to switch to the lakes for a new challenge.
As you will probably know I am slightly obsessed with Rudd?! I decided to target them in a Cambridgeshire gravel pit I had been intending to fish for a few seasons. The pit was perfect for my feeder tactics and so I set up with great anticipation for my first evening on the pit. Two spots were found by casting around and feeling for the drop. One spot was in around 5 foot of water at the bottom of the shelf and the other was slightly shallower coming up the shelf. Feeders were baited with my usual mix of Dynamite baits silver x carp method and frenzied hemp groundbait. Several feeder fulls were cast on each spot to get a bit of bait on the spots straight away.
The action started surprisingly soon and a good Bream of 5lb was netted. The action continued into the evening with four more Bream around the same size and two hard fighting Tench to 6lb. I was buzzing with excitement, but started to wonder if the Rudd would feed at all? It was now way past sunset and my rod was a way again. This time the fish felt very different with lots of head shaking so I knew it was a Rudd. I hoped it would stay on as it felt like a good fish! The weed was not bad so early in the season so no drama was had as the fish slipped into the net. It was indeed a good fish and before I could even get it out of the net the other rod was a away! Again the tell tale shake of a good Rudd was transmitted up the line and was netted a minute later. From experience I knew this was going to be a short and sweet feeding spell so I placed the fish in the keepnet so I could get the rod out again.
As I thought, the feeding spell continued and it was an action replay of the previous two fish with both rods going at the same time! I didn't have time to weigh and photograph the fish separately as I wanted to make the most of the opportunity. The hectic spell saw me catch around ten Rudd in a 20 to 30 minute spell with one or two fish standing out in size from the rest. The action dried up and it was now time to do the weighing and photographs. The biggest fish looked like it would easily beat my pb and sure enough it did. At 2lb 15oz it did so by 3oz. The second biggest fish went 2lb 8oz and another two went over 2lb. I had just bought a nifty bit of kit to help me with my self take photography and now was the perfect opportunity to try it out. It was difficult to say the least to get a brace shot but I'm glad I tried. The pictures came out fantastic and I was very happy with the outcome for a change.
It was now early May and I had to scratch an itch had for surface fishing for Carp. My local club lake was the perfect place for this as the big shoals of fish make for exciting fishing. My mate Giles was joining me for a guest session and we were hoping one or two of the bigger Carp would make an appearance. There was one fish I told Giles about that had been getting bigger over the years and was out the previous season at over 35lb. I joked it would be great to get that out on light floater gear!
We had good conditions for the day with warm temperatures and a slight breeze. We saw some fish show in the middle of the lake so decided we would start baiting that area with mixed dog biscuits glugged in the Dynamite baits Crave bait soak. The fish were not in the feeding frenzy they can be, but we soon got some fishing feeding. It was time to get a hook bait in the mix and I soon had my 40g rocket controler flying out 60 yards or so to them. A fish took instantly and was taking line steadily. As always in this lake the fish was fighting hard, but didn't feel heavy. After what seemed like ages a lovely mid double common was netted. It looked stunning in the mid afternoon sun and even better sliding back into the clear lake margin.
We kept spodding the biscuits in on a regular basis and the Carp would come in on smash and grab raids. They are wary as they do get surface fished for much of the spring/summertime. But they do slip up and I was again holding on for dear life as the water exploded with a violent take and what felt like a better fish was tearing off down the lake! A good hard fight ensued without too much drama with the fish staying deep and plodding around in front of me. With a smallsize 12 wide gape hook there is no point to bully a fish if you don't have to. As I gained on the fish and drew it to the surface, sure enough one of the lakes better fish came into view. Giles expertly netted it and a fat mirror rest in the margin for a few minutes while the mat, sling and sclales were made ready. Hook out and anti septic applied the fish was weighed in at 29lb 8oz before a few snaps were taken and returned safety back.
Giles was getting in on the action too with some lovely Carp ranging from beautiful scaley mirrors to bigger leathery mirrors to mid 20's. The action was not as hectic as it can be, but it made it easier to appreciate the quality fishing we was getting. The day was getting on but the fish were still smashing the mixers.
I soon had another victim hooked and from the off this fish was in a different league. Even 60 yards out it felt heavy and I could not do much with it! When it decided to kite right towards the snaggy margin there was not much I could do except not to panic. It was only 30 yards away now, but unfortunately for me it was under so many marginal snags! I could feel the line ping occasionally until I managed to coax it under them towards me. When I got the fish under the rod tip it was still 20 foot down so I could not see it just yet. Remembering the small hook and possible line damage I was a nervous wreck whenever it made a run! As I gained on it and brought it up in the water I saw the fish and recognised it straight away. It was the fish Giles and I were talking about at the start of the session! So now I knew it was a mid 30 the nerves were even worse! When after what seemed like an eternity, the fish was netted and I let out a cheer of relief! She looked big resting in the net and felt heavy as I lifted her onto the cradle. She weighed in at 36lb 8oz and was my biggest surface caught Carp ever! After she was slid back I did not have any energy left to fish on. I sat down and just took in the whole experience for a while until it was time to leave.
Bream are not a species I target too often, but on light gear there really are a pleasure to catch. I had fished a Cambridgeshire gravel pit a few times over the Spring and caught a few nice ones to 7lb. I had an afternoon spare so went to the same venue with them in mind. Tactics were my usual feeder tactics with the same Dynamite baits groundbait mix. I went to a swim I knew from previous trips so dropped the feeders in the same spots.
The Bream were obliging from the start and a fish of around 5lb gave me a good fight on my soft rods. With the first fish returned a second soon made an appearance. Another Bream around the same weight. Several more fish fell to the same tactics with the best one going 8lb 4oz. This was the biggest I've had from the pit, but I know they go into double figures so will definitely be a target again at some point.
Once again Rudd were my target and so I found myself back on the Cambridgeshire gravel pit. It was to be a short evening session, but as I knew from previous experience the action could be crazy! I cast the feeders out to the usual spots and sat back for the sun to dip behind the tress and mayhem to break out! Like clockwork the Rudd came on the feed like expected and the first Rudd of the evening was shaking it's way to the net. It was a good fish and certainly over 2lb so in the net it went so I could cast out and make the most of the action.
It was action packed and intense for a short period of no more than thirty minutes! Around a dozen fish fell to my rods with around half of them looking 2lb plus in weight. This was confirmed when the weighing was done and I had six 2lbers from 2lb 4oz to 2lb 12oz! Short and sweet and shows if you can get to know how your target fish behave in your chosen venue, the rewards can be had without sitting behind motionless rods all day.
The moment I had been waiting for all season was almost upon me and it's safe to say it did not go as I had hoped! It was June 15th and I was on the River baiting up for the Carp. I got there early and heard a splash not far from the baited area. I was at first excited to see a Carp, but then realised it was in a group of fish spawning! Not what I wanted to see just before the opening! But as I could not change the situation I just enjoyed watching them and checking if there were any biggies among them. There were some lovely mirrors to mid 20's among the smaller commons. Definitely encouraging even though I knew they would not be on the agenda this trip.
We set our camps up anyway and just took in the atmosphere. The bbq was lit, burgers ate, cider drank and all was good. Midnight came around and as the Carp stopped spawning the previous day we dropped our rigs in hoping rather than expecting. Sure enough the next morning the rods were as we had left them. That was until late morning a cracking Tench ripped off after taking a monster tigernut pop up hook bait. At 6lb it was by far the biggest River Tench I had caught.
We reeled in and decided to target the Rudd that were hopefully going to visit the baited spots. Bread crust dipped in Dynamite baits XL liquid strawberry, fished zig style four feet up was the chosen method. It wasn't long before a Bream was in the net! It wasn't what I was hoping for, but it was action none the less. The Rudd were obviously not in the area as the Bream continued to take the bait instead. One fish was different and when I saw it in the water I thought I had hooked a massive Roach! When it was netted however, I could see it was a hybrid of some kind. It has been suggested it could be a s Silver Bream/Rudd hybrid due to it's very silver body and reds fins? It was a lovely fish to catch either way.
Some Rudd did move through the swim, but most were small. A better one did eventually turn up and was a cracking 2lb 4oz specimen. Although the Carp were not in the feeding mood we caught other fish to keep us entertained. We left without catching our intended species, but did have the rare chance to see them spawn and see what special fish are there for us next time we get on the bank.
