Late winter in the Fens. Zander, Pike and Rudd fishing.

The Winter just gone has been a bit of a grueler for me and many of my friends. A colder one then recent years mixed with warmer spells in between must have played with the fishes minds. To find consistent action from the predators in particular was very hard indeed! Towards the end of the Winter though, the action certainly increased noticeably which is usually the case given the longer daylight hours.

With the birth of my beautiful daughter in January it meant that fishing around this time was thin on the ground. I did manage to get a midweek day out on my local River to kick off my Pike fishing season. I started on a section that was kind to me the same time of year the previous season. I got there before first light eager to make the most of the limited time I had. Three rods were soon spread out across the River hoping to locate some fish. Every 15 to 20 minutes I would re position the rods to try and drop a bait in front of a Pike. After an hour or so it looked like my effort was not getting me the reward so a move was in order.

There was an area I wanted to try but it involved a long walk with a loaded barrow to get to it. No pain no gain I told myself as I made my way to an area with moored boats that just screamed Pike! 15 minutes later I reached my destination and just stood there for a few minutes to get my breath back! The 1st rod was soon in place and swiftly followed by the 2nd. As I was getting the 3rd rod ready the sweet sound of an alarm was ringing away after a fish had pulled the line from the clip. The fish was pulling line steadily from the spool so I engaged the bail arm and hit into it. After a short but spirited fight a lovely Jack Pike of around 8lb was netted. The bait was probably in the water 2 minutes max before it was taken. I was covering the baits with a generous helping of Dynamite baits XL predator liquid and it must have been triggering a feeding response as over the next four hours had several more Pike using the same tactic. Nothing bigger than the first fish came along but great action when it was looking so bad in the original area.

I was suffering from Rudd fishing withdrawal and the River season was ebbing away too rapidly! Waiting for perfect weather was not an option because I did not have time on my side. I planned a morning session before work and pulled up to the River to find the field in front of it not only flooded but frozen too! It was not going to stop me so gingerly I stepped onto the ice and hoped the water below would not be deeper then my Skee tex wellies. It was touch and go but I made it to the River and deposited my gear in the swim that had been kind to me a year earlier. Bait was good old bread used as flake on the hook and crumb in the feeder boosted with Dynamite baits XL liquid strawberry. Not long after casting I had a good fish on but it fell off not long after. This happened a couple of time and I was not happy about it! I assumed with the water being so cold they were not feeding hard. I didn't want to lose another good fish so I changed to a beaked point hook from a straight point hoping this would hook the fish better. Sure enough this did the trick and the very next fish stayed on all the way to the net! It pulled the scales round to 2lb 10oz and I was over the moon to eventually land a good fish. Several smaller Rudd fell to the same tactics before it was time to pack up and onto work.

I had unfinished business with those Rudd and another trip soon came around. I was to be joined by friends Giles and Chris who were arriving by boat a little later. Using the same tactics as before I soon had the rods out and was into a fish straight away! I wanted to make the most of this feeding spell so popped a hefty looking Rudd into the keepnet ready for pics when Giles and Chris turned up. Another two bites came in quick succession seeing two more nice sized fished popped into the net. Not long after I could hear a boat coming from up River and Giles and Chris soon made dry land ready to join in on the action. After the guys had got settled and started catching it was time to check the golden beauties I had waiting for me. One fish stood out due to it's size compared to the others. On the scales the fish went 2lb 10oz and I was very pleased to have such a good fish early on. The other 2 fish didn't quite make 2lb but who cares when you've just had a lump?!

Giles and Chris were getting into some fish and a flurry of 2lbers fell to all of our rods before the action got slower around lunchtime. That was a good time to sit back and relax for some much needed lunch. Giles and Chris headed off to the pub for a good feed but I stayed back to make the most of my time. I had a fish or two while they were gone but no biggies. The action was very slow for the rest of the day but there was still time for a surprise or two! I had a drop back bite and as I hit into it I was met with a solid resistance. I thought it might be another sizable Bream as I had several earlier in the day? This fish however started running upstream and taking line! Not many Bream do this so I suspected it was a Carp? Well it was not stopping so I shouted for Giles to follow me up River while I held on and hoped the fish didn't snag me up or break me off. Although it tried it's best the Carp was still in Winter mode and didn't give me too many heart attacks and was eventually expertly netted by Giles. A high five or two followed to celebrate before the stunning low double common was unhooked and safely returned.

The best was yet to come and the odd big Rudd slipped up to find their way into our nets. Chris carried on leading the way and netted a big fish. I could see from a distance it was something special and when I saw it i knew it. Chris weighed a very plump looking Rudd which pulled the needle to a weight of 2lb 14oz and was yet another PB in a day where he broke it at least a few times! It was a pleasure to not only share that experience but the whole day with two like minded angling friends. If memory serves I think we had around twenty 2lb plus Rudd that day. For me personally it was a day that took me to just shy thirty 2lb plus Rudd for the season. With the best a PB of 2lb 12oz what a season it was.

It was now the last day of the River season and and predators were to be the targets. I was joining Giles for a day afloat on a local River where Pike and Perch to specimen proportions lurked beneath moored boats. As you know the end of the season was a very wet one and the chance of the River being in bad condition was playing on our minds. Sure enough the River was up high and pushing hard! It was not fishable so we payed a quick visit to a Marina for a smash and grab raid. Giles was first into action on a hard Jerkbait lure. The fish was strong and put up a good fight and we were not surprised to see a mid double figure Pike pop up and duly netted. I had a small Jack on a big soft plastic lure and before the local residents could get on our case we decided to abandon the River in favor of a Lake.

We were not kitted out for bank fishing so we made a detour to mine to grab the vital bits of kit and of course bait. With the car loaded we set off to our chosen venue. It was a lake with a chance of Pike and Zander so Roach was the bait of choice. To give them a boost of attraction a good covering of Dynamite baits XL predator liquid was applied to the Roach. Another way to boost attraction was a few balls of the Dynamite baits silver x Roach groundbait over the top to attract prey fish into the area. It was quiet for a couple of hours but eventually one of my rods had the line peeling off the spool but as I pulled into it I was met with no resistance! Typical of a Zander bite but it was a good sign feeding fish were in the area. Within seconds of winding the rod in my other rod was away! This time I pulled into a fish and after a short tussle a Zander was in the net. It was a fearsome looking schoolie of 6lb or so and looked fantastic with it's dorsal fin standing up in defiance.

The activity went as quickly as it came and it was sometime later as the light levels were dropping another take occured. From the off I knew it was a much bigger fish. It was stronger and less erratic in the fight which told me it was most likely not a Zander. Sure enough a lovely low double figure Pike proved to be the culprit and was netted by Giles. As I was getting the mat ready the fish was trying it's best to escape. It actually made it half way out of the net before I dived onto the floor to scoop her up and catch her for the second time within minutes! We laughed our heads off for minute until we were composed enough to take a couple of pictures. That was the end of the action so it was time for home. Although not the end to the River season we wanted it was a great days fishing none the less.

I could not get Zander fishing off my mind for a couple of days after this. Knowing the conditions were yet again turning cold any day I soon found myself back at the lake. It was 16 degrees centigrade when I got there and I worked up a sweat getting to the swim. I got three rods spread out in front of me using the same tactics as the previous trip. I could now relax and enjoy the lovely warm evening. Well not for long because not long after the sun went down the temperature had dropped to 4 degrees centigrade! Not only that it also started raining then snow! Well as I sat there feeling sorry for myself I had a take out of the blue. I struck and felt a solid connection and quickly netted a schoolie Zander of 5lb or so which put a smile on my face. Now trying to take self take pictures in the windy, rainy and snowy conditions was next to impossible so the result was a blurry Zander. It was a new camera so it was good practice I suppose?!

I did not have to wait too long until my next take. I could feel this was a better fish and it had the typical head shake of a Zander. I drew the fish closer to the net when out of the blue the fish went crazy and refused to go in! After what seemed AGES in it went and it was certainly the biggest Zander I had caught in a long while. Much to my delight the needle settled at just over 10lbs. Again I attempted to take some self take pictures and managed to get a couple of half decent shots. The fish was soon back in it's cold watery home and I wanted to get back to my warm dry one! This was one of those sessions where it was worth the effort and discomfort as the end result was more than worth it.

River Carp fishing to Reservoir Perch.

It's been sometime since I last wrote a blog so this is going to be a re-cap of the last six months fishing. As always with my fishing it's been all about variation. From River Carp to reservoir Perch and everything in between. I have enjoyed every second of it and that's the way it should be!

I started the season on the hunt for Carp on my local Fenland River. There had been lot's of hard work clearing swims and pre-baiting with Urban Bait Nutcracker in the close season and it was now time to hopefully reap the rewards. I won't go into too much detail as this will be written up in a fourth coming issue of Big carp magazine. On the opening day of the River season myself and angling buddy Giles were camped up ready to cast in at midnight. With that done all we had to do was wait and see what, if anything came our way? Early morning saw me hit into a savage take and after a strong fight land a stunning 17lb Common Carp. It was just the start I hoped for and it was to get much better the following morning! I had a drop back bite and duly wound down into a Bream. Well that bream soon turned into an angry Carp and made off down River! After several runs Giles did a great job netting a very special fish. The most stunning Mirror Carp I have ever caught was soon photographed and weighed. At 29lb 8oz it was a pb River Carp for me and will always be one of the best fishing memories i'll have!

It was a few weeks into the season before I started Rudd fishing the River. The Carp fishing had taken priority and it was now time for a change. As I live so close to the River I could maximize my fishing time and target the Rudd for the last couple of hours of light. This is prime time and much better than killing yourself in the heat of the day fishing at the least productive time. My first evening out saw me sat by the River trickling in bread crust to get the Rudd feeding. As the sun started to dip behind me the fish started taking crust off the surface. They would only take the bait in the most awkward place possible. It was a muddy cattle drink with thick Reeds and a further Lilly bed in front of that. I had no choice but to cast where the fish were even if it meant a wet foot! I dipped my crust into the Nutcracker dip for extra pulling power and cast beyond the fish and dragged it as close as I dare! Within seconds a fish slurped down the crust and I hit into it. I held the rod tip high to keep the fish out of the Lilly's and managed to pull it close to the Reeds. Sure enough one wet foot later I managed to scoop the fish up into the net! It was a good fish in mint condition and weighed in at a new pb of 2lb 12oz. Well worth a wet foot hey?!

The evening sessions continued and the Rudd kept coming. In about half a dozen evenings I had another dozen or so 2lb plus fish. All falling for waggler fished bread crust on a size 8 hook and 4lb line. I dipped the crust in the Urban bait Nutcracker dip every time as the extra attraction i'm sure gave me an edge over plain crust. One particular trip didn't really go as planned but some cracking fish were still landed. Carl and Alex of of Youtube fame came up for a session hoping to bank a Rudd or two and maybe a River Carp at night. The weather was far from ideal with strong winds, rain and cool temperatures! I managed to bank a nice 2lb plus Rudd early the first morning just before the lads arrived. I was fishing good old bread crust but suspended three foot off the bottom on a running lead almost zig style. The lads were very happy to see the fish and get at least one nice fish on film.

As predicted the Rudd fishing was very hard going through the day and we could not buy a bite from any specimen sized fish. We hoped the evening would bring on the fish activity and sure enough Carl saw a fish top in the swim and duly caught a nice Rudd about 1lb 8oz in weight which was a new pb for him. Alex also got in on the pb action and bagged a 2lb stunner on the "bread zig"! It was however the action at night that really made the session one to remember. Through the night we caught another five 2lb plus Rudd to 2lb 9oz and I even managed a mint little River Common Carp to cap a very enjoyable session off.

I had been intending to have a trip to Pitsford water for a Perch session since it opened for lure fishing in May. It was now late July and a day afloat on the reservoir soon came around. The water level was low and it had not been fishing well prior to now. That was not going to put me off so I was soon anchored up at the first spot ready to cast in various drop shotted rubber lures. It didn't take long before I started getting taps on the lures on a slow retrieve. A solid bite came along and I struck into a hard fighting fish! As I got the fish to the boat and near the surface I could see it was a big stripey. At this point it decided to make a surge under the boat and towards the anchor rope! Well I was forced to pile on the pressure and sure enough the hook slipped and the fish gained it's freedom! Gutted but not deterred I carried on chucking rubber and was soon in with another take. This time all went to plan and a lovely Perch was my reward. Several more good sized fish were boated by me and Giles but the monsters did not want to make an appearance. But there is always next time.

It was now early October and I had not done much lake Carp fishing up to now. My local club lake was the perfect place to go and get some action so I was soon there looking for fish activity. Soon enough the fish gave me the nod and I scattered a kilo of Urban bait Nutcracker boilies about 40 yards out to hopefully get them feeding. The boilies were glugged in the dip to pull the fish down to the bottom of the deep lake. Rigs were my ever reliable Ronnie rigs with size 4 wide gape hooks fished helicopter style and 15mm Nutcracker pop ups. The action was almost instant and I was soon bent into a very hard fighting fish that was stripping line and kiting to the right making it a nerve wreaking fight! Eventually I had the fish in the net and it was a leathery lump. At 28lb it was a fantastic start to the session. Scattering the Nutcracker little and often throughout the day kept the bites coming and several more Carp succumbed to the tactics including another two 20lbers to 24lb. A great session to see my Carp season out. Check the link below to see a video of the session,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-axOJnu48Vc&t=3s

Now we were into early Winter and it was prime predator time. A day afloat with Giles was soon organised on a Fenland River where Pike and Perch were the targets. It was a cold and windy day but when we started casting big plastic lures for the Pike we soon warmed up. The Pike were obviously not on the feed as many casts were made with no response. Eventually I had a hit and was into a fast fish zipping around in the shallow water. As is the hazard with boat fishing the fish zoomed under the boat and the severe angle saw the hooks thrown from the Pikes mouth! It was a low double fish and would have been nice to boat but I enjoyed the fight at least. It was clear the Pike were not on the feed so we turned our attention to Perch. Drop shotting worms was the chosen method and with lots of moored boats along the River there was lots of cover for the fish to hide. We located some large Perch under two boats. A flurry of fish came to the boat with several good 2lbers with the best fish being just short of 3lb. A couple of jack Pike took a liking to the worms too and gave great scraps on light tackle!

Fishing will be on the back burner for a while as it's just a matter of days until my second child is born. I think that will keep me busy for a while! I have some great fishing planned for the new season including more River carping. Hopefully I will have some more blogs coming out in the not too distant future.

Fenland Lake Rudd, Tench, Bream and Perch. Plus club Lake Carp.

Since the end of the river season I have carried on in my search for a big Fenland Rudd. I have been fishing a Lake I have fished on and off for getting on 20 years but mainly for the predators. I had known for some time the Lake held big Rudd but had mainly been concentrating on the Rivers.

My first trip to the lake came in late March. It was unseasonably warm for the time of year with temperatures of 19 degrees centigrade. The area of the lake I was fishing had lily pads starting to reach the surface next to an island. I cast one method feeder to this spot in the hope the Rudd would be patrolling there. The other method feeder was cast about ten yards to the left in open water between two islands. It took only a few minutes to get my first take from open water and as soon as I pulled into it I knew it was no Rudd. The first of MANY Bream was netted, unhooked and slipped back into the Lake.

It was now heading into the evening and the sun was getting lower in the sky. Just as I was thinking the were not Rudd feeding I had a take that felt very different to the Bream. I knew it was a Rudd when it popped to the surface and those golden scales glowed in the evening sun. I was so happy to net the fish and get a result the first session on the Lake! It weighed in at 2lb and I was happy enough to pack up and go home right then. But I was soon attached to another fish when the alarm sounded and the bobbin slammed the rod blank! This again I could tell was a Rudd and when it splashed on the surface I could see it was a bigger fish. As I suspected the fish was indeed bigger than the last and weighed 2lb 5oz. It was definitely a good time to pack up and leave for home. A brace of twos on the first trip left me grinning from ear to ear!

I had a few more trips over April/May and caught many more Bream. I would not be surprised if I caught well over 100lb of Bream in the half dozen trips I had. The action was crazy! I always caught Rudd too which was fantastic but nothing quite as big as the first trip. The biggest was just short of 2lb. I also had the odd bonus Tench which were very welcome as they put up a great fight on the light gear I was using. I plan to carry on having the odd trip there in the summer but I will be fishing from my boat. It will give me access to so much water that cannot be fished from the bank.

After a few trips to the lake Bream bashing I needed a change. I left the feeder rods at home and took my predator kit with me as I fancied chucking out a couple of dead baits for the Pike and Zander for an evening. I also took a light jigging set up to chuck around if the ledgered baits stayed static. A guy had just left a swim where he had been fishing for the Bream. I went in the swim after him as I know the bait he used will have attracted the smaller bait fish the predators like to feed on. I decided to cast a small crayfish type jig around to see if my reasoning was well founded. On my first cast I felt something grabbing the jig but when I struck nothing was there. This happened a few times so when I felt a hit I left it a few seconds to let the fish get the hook in its mouth. It worked and I was soon into what I thought was a small Zander. Much to my surprise it was a nice sized Perch that came angrily to the surface! At 2lb 2oz it was a welcome surprise and I will definitely be targeting them in the future to see if there are any bigger ones in there.

Carp were another species on my Spring target list. Not having vast amounts of time at my disposal I needed a water with a good number of fish with the chance of a good 20 or 30lber. My local club lake fitted that need so it was there I would have a few day sessions. This lake is large and deep so my main method of attack would be zig rig fishing as the fish have so much depth they can be feeding in. Up to 32ft deep in areas and an average of 25ft! Over 3 day sessions I had several Carp per trip. Most of the fish were caught on zigs fished around mid depth of 12-14ft. I did have a few fish on bottom baits but the zigs out fished them five to one! Most fish were mid to upper doubles but the best fish went over 24lb. The action on this lake can be crazy and keeping one rod in the water can be hard sometimes let alone two!

Now I am getting ready for the new River season in the hope of tracking down some of the stunning dark Carp that roam my local River. And while i'm there it would be rude not to do some Rudd fishing too!

River seasons end. River Pike, Chub and River Rudd fishing.

The problem with being an all round angler is trying to find time to track down the larger specimens of your quarry. But the plus side is catching a variety of species and keeping the excitement levels high. The last couple of months of the river season was great fun for me for that very reason.

Pike seem to be my bogie species as I've never caught a large specimen. Although I have caught them to just shy of 20lbs. My local river was my choice for the day as I know it holds a good number of Pike and also throws up the odd bigger specimen. I was fishing 3 rods as I wanted to up my chances of catching. Two ledgered deadbaits and one float fished. Action was not long in coming and the ledgered smelt was snapped up! A spirited fight ensued and a good fish was in the net. A mint 12lber made it worth the early start!

Not long after that a fish of around 8lb graced my net. Again it was on a ledgered smelt. The action dried up after and it was about an hour after starting so I decided it was time for a move. I don't tend to move far on rivers as the fish may not be far away and I don't want to miss them. 30 yards away gave me fresh water to spread my rods.

The river was getting busy and three row boats were right in front of me over my baits. Just as I was thinking I hope I don't get a take now I got one and the ledgered roach was away! I had to hit into the fish as I didn't want to wait for the boats to go and risk deep hooking it. I kept the rod tip under water hoping to keep the line away from the boat oars. The fish decided to come to the surface between two boats! It was a good fish and I didn't want to lose it! Some how I got the fish under the boats and into the net. What a relief! It was a chunky fish and weighed over 16lb. It was recognisable as it had a vertical scare on its back. Maybe from a propeller? And in fact I actually caught the fish again one week later. I had a couple more jacks on float fished baits in the evening before calling it a day.

I use to do lots of Chub fishing in years gone by. It had been too long in fact so I made an evening trip out to a little river I knew had good form at that time. The light was fading fast by the time I got to the river. I set up in a nice looking area with cover on the far bank. A gentle under arm cast had my ledgered cheese paste deposited on the far margin. Just as I was getting my second rod baited the first rod was being dragged off the rest! Much to my surprise it was only a small Chub of about a pound in weight that was punching above his weight! Another small Chub took a liking to my cheese paste but it soon went quiet. It was now dark and a fancied a move.

Ten minutes later I had moved a short way upstream and got my rods into position. It didn't take long before a bite on ledgered luncheon meat saw my rod nearly pulled in again! This was a much heavier fish than the previous ones. It was a very dirty fight with the fish trying to bury itself in the near margin weed! It fought hard all the way to the net but eventually I scooped it up! At just under 5lb it was a lovely welcome back to Chub fishing and has given me the bug for the new season.

Time was getting on now and there was less than a week left of the river season. A Piking trip was planned but it turned into an unexpected Rudd trip too. I decided to take a float and feeder rod with me just in case the Pike fishing was slow. I got the pike rods out first and then got a rod out for the Rudd. I wasn't expecting much to be honest but I knew there had been some good late season catches in the past. Well it didn't take long for something to happen and I soon pulled into what felt like a good fish. Half expecting a Bream I was stunned when a golden Rudd splashed as it hit the surface! I prayed it would stay on and I'm happy it did as it was a beautiful fish weighing 2lb 7oz!

As soon as the bites came they dried up just as fast. The sun was out and it seemed to put the fish off for now. I did manage a few more smaller Rudd through the day but it was the Pike fishing that kept me busy. I had several fish to 14lb up to the evening when the Rudd switched on again. I had another two 2 pounders and several approach that weight too. I had to come back and try just for the Rudd.

I returned to the river a few days later nice and early. Rudd were topping on the surface and some sizable ones too! From the off I was catching 2lbers and in 15 crazy minutes I had four 2lb plus Rudd in a row! The biggest being 2lb 5oz. My mate Giles turned up soon after and was getting among the 2lbers too.

The action soon died down so a pub break was in order at lunchtime to recharge the batteries. When I got back to the river I resisted the urge of an afternoon nap and got the rods out straight away. The Rudd were feeding again and taking the bread flake on the drop. I lost count  of the good sized fish I caught but weighed the best ones and ended up with eight 2lb plus Rudd to 2lb 6oz before packing up not long after dark. The day was such a great day that it didn't seem so bad that the rivers were closing for three months. It just builds the anticipation for the new season.

Grafham Perch, socials and Rutland Zander.

It's time for another round-up of my fishing for Autumn and early Winter. Most of my fishing had been targeting Pike on rivers and lakes with the odd day chasing dreams on the big reservoirs. The last four years I have been cutting my teeth on the big Anglian water reservoirs of Grafham and Rutland waters. When I started fishing these massive lakes I felt like I was pissing in the wind as I had to learn how to tackle them on my own. To say the reservoir fishing had been hard this season would be an understatement! Although some anglers had caught fish of dreams most left with memories of what might have been!

September the 1st saw me and angling buddy Giles waiting at the gates of Grafham water for the chance to get an opening day specimen Perch in the net. We were not alone and I expect every boat was booked for the day! In just a few years I have noticed Grafham getting very busy. It's no surprise considering whats in there. Tickets were soon purchased and we set off chugging to the main tower (along with everyone else) to get our spot. We were mainly jigging and drop shotting to target the Perch. From the off we were catching lots of small Perch to a pound or so. Everyone was catching this size of fish with only the odd big stripey coming out. One particular take felt strange. It was just heavy and coming in like a dead weight. To my surprise it was a big Bream around 8lb in weight! In fact there were a few caught that day.

We were having fun but we wondered if we were going to get a chance of a big Perch? Well we did, but it was last knockings when I finally hit into a solid fish that started taking line fast! I was praying it was not a Trout and by the way it was fighting I didn't think I would be disappointed. Sure enough a big black and green stripey went in the net with a cheer! It had been hard work but very enjoyable. It went 3lb 7oz. The action didn't stop there as next drop down and Giles was into a good fish. It was not fighting like a Perch and when a good sized Zander started flapping on the surface it showed us why. At over 8lb it was a pb for Giles. That was it for the opening day of the season. We made our way back and saw that several boats had gone in early. Who knows what they would have caught if they had stayed out for the whole day?

With Pike in mind I decided to visit an old haunt in the fens. These lakes gave me my pb Zander many years ago and if the Pike were not in the feeding mood I hoped the Zander would be. I pitched up in the smaller lake as the trees would protect me from the strong cold fenland winds that were blowing! It did not take long before my DLD float was bobbing away nicely. I gave it several seconds before I wound down and pulled into thin air! Most likely a small Zander being the culprit?! Not long after this I saw a good Pike swirl on the surface. There was a lot of small fish activity so I switched the bait from a Smelt to a small dead Roach. Within a minute I had a savage take and the DLD float was ripping along the surface! I hit into the fish and this time was met with solid resistance. It gave me a good scrap with several strong runs. A solid looking Pike went into the net and weighed 14lb 8oz.

Another Piking trip saw me and Giles fishing from his boat on my local river. The plan was to anchor up at likely looking spots and float fish dead baits and allow them to go down river with the flow. However, the river was low and clear due to a lack of rain so it was like fishing a long narrow lake as there was no flow! It did not affect our plan much apart from we had to cast the baits around more to search the water. We had a great day watching the DLD floats bobbing along as Jacks to 7lb pulled them around the river.

It was way overdue for a social session with longtime angling mates Colin, Alan and Giles. We decided on a trip to my local club lake as it held a big stock of hard fighting Carp that Al and Giles would target. Me and Col would target the lakes small stock of Pike hoping that one of the few bigguns would make an appearance. Giles and I got there before sunrise and were soon looking over the lake watching Carp bosh out in front of us. Colin and Al arrived some time later and after casting out we were all drinking tea and eating bacon sarnies. Col had the 1st take and a small Jack Pike was netted. Soon after I had a Jack too.

The Carp were not in the feeding mood during the day but as soon as light levels began to fade Giles had a run. It was a plodding fight so we thought it would be a decent fish and sure enough a chunky mirror was scooped up! The fish was unhooked and weighed in at 23lb 10oz. Giles was fishing as a guest so I was very pleased he caught a good fish after hearing my stories of the fantastic fishing this lake has given me over the years. Al was next and he was given a very hard fight from a Carp that weighed in just over 20lbs. The feeding spell came to an end when Giles was beaten up by a 17lb mirror! Now he believed the stories of me leaving the lake after just a few hours a broken man from catching these muscle bound torpedos!

It was time for another trip vertical jigging for Zander. Giles and I had fished Grafham several times already but fancied a change of scenery. Rutland water was to be the destination and it would hopefully be more accommodating?! The 1st port of call was a pipe that runs along the North arm of the lake. The fish finder showed a few pockets of fish along the pipe but nothing was taking the bait. A change was needed so we were soon jigging in the main part of the lake. Larger numbers of fish were given away here by the finder. 1st drop down and I was into a Zander of a few pounds and it was extremely welcome. Over the next few drifts a greedy bonus Perch of about 1lb 8oz engulfed my lure along with a few more small Zander. Giles had a few similar sized zeds too. Soon after a better fish fell to my static lure rod. This had some weight to it and put a healthy bend in my rod. At 8lb I was very happy indeed!

Time was drifting away and the sun was getting lower in the sky when my static lure rod bent over again. And another nice sized fish about 6lb was netted and swiftly returned. There was only a matter of minutes left before the boat was due back when yet again my static lure rod was bending over in anger! After what felt like an age a nice Zander about 7lbs made its way up from the depths. As soon as it was unhooked I plunged it back down and we made our way back to the boat yard. It was a very enjoyable day afloat and my batteries were fully recharged ready to tackle Grafham water next time out.