Not having fished a river since the start of the season over a month ago, I decided on a few hours in the afternoon at my local River Cut this week, only taking my heavy pole in the hope of landing a carp, or two. Tackling up, I placed my keepnet into the river and a carp swam up to it, then curiosity satisfied, it drifted back beneath a tree. They were certainly in this shallow swim, another two basking in the sunshine downstream of a fallen tree.

Mixing up a sloppy, sweet flavoured groundbait, I put a few balls three quarters of the way over and watched the feed break up and spread along the bottom. I did the same half way across at the entrance to the trees, again the groundbait sank and broke up along the bottom. A couple of yards inside the tree cover was another fallen tree, an obvious escape route for a running carp, where I hoped that my heavy pole elastic would be adequate.

The water was only 18 inches deep, so used a short antenna waggler with, a single No 4 shot down the line, the 7 mm punched bread free to trip the bottom. Small fish bites were immediate beneath the tree, a couple of gudgeon running away with the bread, then a roach.

This was looking good for a decent session, without those carp moving onto the feed, the float sliding away again with another roach.

A burst of bubbles around the feed indicated a carp there already and I could see a tail breaking the surface. Slipping a fresh punch onto the size 14 barbless hook, I dropped the waggler upstream and held my breath as the float cocked, then lifted. The float wavered and slid under. I struck. Too soon!! A massive boil and a splash and the hook lost its grip. Oh, how annoying!

I scraped up the remainder of my groundbait, sharing it between the tree and the area across in front of me. Another roach and I was back to catching gudgeon, when I noticed that the pace of the river was picking up. The River Cut curse, pollution, was coming through, as the river turned a mucky brown. This happens at least twice a day. I had hoped that by fishing in the afternoon, I would miss it, but no, it was soon blanking out the bottom. It comes through the right hand water outlet from the western side of the town, leaving a sludgy deposit on the weir sill. It clogs the mesh of my keep net, so must also do the same to fish gills. The fish go off the feed. The Environment agency have been informed before, but they can’t trace the source. No fish die, so they are not interested. We should take samples I suppose?

Not and encouraging sight.

I had a cup of tea, then mixed up some more groundbait. This muck usually lasts for an hour. I kept running the float through. Nothing. Bored, I got up from my box and began pulling up the invasive Himalayan Balsm, that was covering the area, making sure that I removed what I could from the water’s edge. An annual plant that showers ripe seeds, when disturbed by the wind or touch, if close to the river, the seeds are carried downstream and sown along the banks. If pulled up before the flowers set, this area will be free from balsam next year. The plants grow to over two metres in height and starve out any other  growth and can cause erosion of the bank during floods.

Half an hour’s work.

Once the pollution passes down stream, bites can come straight back and as the water cleared, the float went under and a small chub came to hand. I began to feed a small ball of ground bait every few casts.

More bubbles indicated the carp were back on the prowl and I watched four of them swimming around together, one of them a big mirror carp, that was investigating the groundbait opposite me. I swung my float across and it studied the bread, inching up to it, then turning away. I think that it was spooked by the float.

I went back over the bait by the tree. Another small roach and smaller chub, then the float was gone, the elastic pulling the pole round in my hands. Bending the pole into the fish, all hell let loose under the tree, as the carp thrashed around in the shallow water. It then shot upstream like a bullet toward the fallen tree and I countered the run. I’d added a couple of turns of elastic at the start, when I saw the snaggy swim and it worked, turning the carp again. Holding the pole high, while stripping out the lowest joint, I let the elastic do all the work of playing this two pound common, slowing it down enough to net.

Got One!

The hook came out in the landing net and I took a photo, then lowered the carp back into the river, where it took a while to swim off. A cup of tea and chocolate bar allowed me to get my breath back. Another ball of feed went in under the tree and the gudgeon were back lifting the float.

The float was gone again, but thought I’d hooked a snag, which then moved upstream out of the shadows shaking it’s head! I’d hooked that big mirror carp, watching it wake up to being hooked, then explode into action accelerating upstream toward the gap between the fallen tree and my bank, dragging the pole through the branches of a tree on my bank. The pole was close to breaking point as the elastic absorbed the violent head shaking, the carp rolling in the shallows, before turning to run down the middle, taking the pole through an overhanging far bank tree. I hung on, the elastic was at full stretch and the pole was bent throught its length, when the hook link snapped. I could not have stopped that carp without a carp rod and 15 lb line. A size 14 barbless hook will do it no harm.

In a lake with room to manouvre, I could have landed this fish eventually on the pole, but with so many trees in the water of the Cut now, the loss of these carp is inevitable. A standard roach fishing rod has no chance against them. They were good fun, when they were around the pound mark, but as we know they grow quickly.

The carp were still feeding in the swim, but I’d had enough for one day, having been out gunned and packed up. Again no fancy baits, just bread.

These were all that I caught either side of the pollution. Nothing decent here.

 

Following a frustrating couple of hours with pike attacks ruining a fishing session at my local Jeanes Pond, I walked down to my very local Allsmoor Pond later in the week, where there are no pike, although cormorants have decimated the roach and rudd stocks this year. At least there are still common and crucian carp to catch, these being my target fish, when I arrived at 3 pm. Although part of a public recreation area, the reeds, trees and the lily beds have been left to encroach on the pond, with only a few swims now fishable. My chosen swim was a bit of a parrot cage, with little room to manouvre, hemmed in on all sides and overhead, a pole the only option to fish it.

I set up at what once was the outlet of the pond, but both it and the inlet have silted up in the last ten years, with the brook that fed it culverted around to one side. When I first fished here in 2010, the brook used to run down the middle of the pond with a flowing deeper channel, the banks then kept clear as a public amenity, unfortunately the reeds at the far end have already cut the pond in two and without attention by the council it will only get worse.

So much for the pessimism, what was it like to fish? With a high bank behind and trees above, the pole was limited to seven metres and I fed several loose balls of my groundbait, out in a line from the edge of the lillies. This was 40% liquidised bread, the same of ground pellets and ground hemp, plus an anaseed and strawberry flavoured mix. I tested the depth and it was only about half a metre, with the bread coming back coated in silkweed.

I swung out the 4 x 14 antenna rig, baited with an 8 mm pellet of punched bread on a size 14 barbless hook, placing it two metres from the lily bed and waited. Once I would have been speed fishing my way through a raft of rudd, but now the first sign of a fish came from lily pads twitching, then a bow-wave moving out in the direction of my float. The float, dipped, then came back up, twitched again, then moved and raised. “Come on take it!” The float disappeared with the line following. I was in! The elastic shot out of the pole tip, with the pole bending as the unseen fish turned back to the pads. I brought the pole round to the right, until it was buried in overhanging branches. It was a Tug of War. The bronze flank of a carp was almost in the pads, while the elastic was at full stretch. It turned and ran at full speed to the right, where the stump of an old fishing notice sits above the surface. The pole was switched round to apply opposite pressure. It kept going, then turned in an arc. Black mud was being churned up in the shallow water. This was a big carp for this pond. I shortened the pole to avoid the overhanging branches, just in time as the carp powered by. Soon the carp was wallowing on the surface, but not ready for the landing net. I shortened down to the top two joints and brought the carp closer, straight into the net and lifted it onto the unhooking mat. Phew!

The barbless hook was in the gristle of the top lip and I lifted it onto my lap to get my disgorger in play. The hook was out in seconds. A quick weigh up in the net at over 6 lb and another another photo, then it was back in the pond and away with a swirl.

Time for a cuppa.

That was a challenge in such a restricted area, but quick responses beat the carp. I had only fitted a new heavy elastic to the top two sections of the pole that morning, which was a good test with a 3 lb hook link to a size 14 barbless hook.

I put out a few more balls of ground bait and cast out again. A similar bite and I was ready for action, but a big 2 oz gudgeon was the result. I put the float back out again, this time a bobbing bite that slid under had me ready for another tiddler, but the elastic was out again and a lively fight was proved to be a crucian, that dived all over the swim, towards the pads, then into a sunken tree at my feet, before being guided to the landing net.

I felt sorry for this battered crucian carp. It had a damaged mouth due to barbed hooks, although it still had an intact dorsal fin and fought like the clappers.

A decent carp was next, which managed to reach the pads against full pressure. The hook flew out and catapulted into the trees along my bank, but the float was visible and within range of my landing net, so a bit of deft handling and branch bending had the untangled rig back in my hand.

There was a pause before the float inched away again and a firm lift had me playing a smaller carp, being able to control it with relative ease.

This carp had managed to escape a cormorant, having damage on both flanks, where the hooked beak had grabbed on, but was unable turn this near pound fish toward its throat.

After a smaller common and a couple of rudd, the mud was stirred up again with this battler, a clean undamaged common carp.

The sun was now behind me and I was fishing in the shade, which crucians prefer and a typical tap. tap, dither bite of a crucian produced the expected plunging fight. Then another minutes later.

I had said that I only would fish until 6 pm, although the crucians were now coming on the feed, so had one last cast and found myself fighting another fast moving common carp, that tested my reactions as it tried for every snag and obstical in range of the swim, but pressure from the elastic is relentless and it was soon rolling toward the net.

This image was spoiled by water splashing onto the camers lens, but worth including in the blog.

A very light antenna float and a size 14 barbless hook with an 8 mm punch of bread kept the bites coming all afternoon.

 

 

Arriving at Braybrooke’s Jeanes Pond prepared for a late afternoon tench session this week, I settled down in the shade of the south bank trees to keep out of the sun, which at last is giving us June temperatures.

Setting up my pole with a 2 gram antenna rig to a size 14 hook, I plumbed the depth and found five feet close in. Having made up a sweet groundbait mix of liquidised bread, ground pellets and hemp, with strawberry flavouring, I used a bait dropper to get the feed down quickly beyond the rafts of tiny roach and rudd, that now cover the pond’s surface layers.

Selecting an 8 mm bread punch, I wrapped the punched disc around the hook and dropped the rig over the bait. After a couple of minutes, a fish had lifted the No. 4 shot that is close to the hook and the antenna rose from the surface. A strike of the pole and the elastic reacted to a fish deep below, becoming visible through the green stained water, a rudd then breaking the suface, scattering the surface fry in the process. Not a bad start.

I dropped back down with a rebaited hook and waited. This time there was no lift bite, but a slow sink away into the mirk and lifted into another better fish, this time a roach. At least I was avoiding the small fry and the groundbait was working.

It would only become a matter of time before the tench moved in. The next bite continued down and a bigger roach was fighting below the surface. I got the landing net ready, then the roach disappeared in a green flash. A pike had taken it, stripping out the elastic as it continued toward a bankside bush. Side strain turned the pike away from the snag, but now it ploughed straight through the swim throwing up bursts of bubbles from the bottom. I had not seen it, but I guesed that it was a jack pike, as it turned again, a larger fish would have kept going. I wanted this pike out of my swim and was cosidering walking it round the corner, when the hook link was cut through, wrapping the rig around the float, when the elastic tension released.

I had fished this swim the week before and saw no signs of a pike, when catching roach, but with so many silver fish in the pond, they grow quickly and populate all areas. The shame is that they tend to take the better fish. Fortunatly the tangle was minor and another hook link looped on, complete with the tell-tale shot. I was worried that the swim had been disturbed, but a slow sinking bite was successfully struck. This was a heavy feeling fish, that was fighting in a solid run like a perch, but then it surfaced,

A Signal Crayfish!

This was on the bread punch. I thought that they only ate meat? A few other members have also caught them this year. It’s actual size was twice as large as this image. How did they get in there, it is over a mile to the River Cut? A possibility is being carried in the feathers of a cormorant, juveniles hitching a ride, when the bird dives along the bottom chasing fish. Oh well, that’s another nail in the fishing prospects of  Jeanes Pond. Once in a water, they take over the bottom, eating fish eggs and fry, failing that, they eat each other.

I bait dropped the rest of my ground bait in and started again in the hope that the pike was satisfied by that big roach. A few smaller roach followed, then a better rudd, that I swung in, just in case the pike was still around.

I hooked another crayfish, two in twenty minutes, this one fell off the hook with a plop! Ah, a better roach flashing in the sunshine as I brought it to the landing net. I would rather catch tench, but I’m happy to catch these all day.

All was not lost, bites and fish were still coming, but then I hit a snag on the bottom, that moved off. A tench? No, the pike was back. I pulled hard for a break, when it moved toward the middle slowly and I raised the pole vertically, putting pressure on. It came to the surface like a sunken log, shook its head and the hook came out with a ping. At least I’d got the rig back. I had got a good look at the pike, a jack of about three pounds. I contemplated moving, but it was shallow water one way and fishing between lillies in the other. Time to pack up early. One of the other members had caught a few tench further round the pond earlier, but that was move too far for me.

I’d found a better stamp of fish on the bottom with the breadpunch, but was not prepared to feed any more fish to the pike.

THE SURVIVORS

Following a successful visit to my local Jeanes Pond last week, I needed a repair session on my tackle before I went out again. Losing a 3 lb tench at the net had resulted in the elastic of my pole catapulting the float rig high into a tree behind me. An attempt to free the rig had seen the elastic snap at the Stonfo connector between the pole and float rig, sending the elastic back inside the pole.

This meant two jobs to be done, rethread the elastic down inside the pole from the PETFE bush at the tip, to the bung winder in the base of the second top pole section, then tying a new Stonfo line connector to the elastic at the tip. To get the elastic down inside the pole, I have a fine 1 mm dia soldering rod, to which I Super Glue one end of the elastic, laid on in parallel to the rod. Allowed ten minutes to set, the soldering rod is fed down through the PTFE bush, then a quick swish of the top section fires the rod and elastic through. The securing cover of the Stonfo should be threaded on first. Next the Stonfo connector is tied in tight with a double hitch knot. I leave a small tail of the elastic to protrude, once the cover is clicked in place for extra security, when playing a big fish.

With the float lost, I had to prepare a replacement float rig. Fortunately I had a spare 2 gram antenna float in my stock of floats. This was the most straight forward task. A 10 foot length of 5 lb line, was the base, which was passed through the top eye of the pole float, then through a fine 10 mm long piece of hollow neoprene. I have a large magnifier on a flexible stalk, which aids these fine jobs. The neoprene with the line, was then slid onto the fine carbon stem of the float. Pulling 150 mm of line through, allowed me to fit the weights to the line. To try the shotting of the float, I have a clear 2 litre Coke bottle filled with water to the neck, lowering the float in allows a clear view of the flotation point, in this case I prefer to leave the antenna 25 mm above the surface. Last of all two loops are tied in at either end of the line, the lower taking a loop to loop fixing of the hook link and the top to the stonfo clip.

With the pole and float ready for action, couldn’t wait to try them out and drove down to Braybrook Recreation Ground, where Jeanes Pond is and walked round to peg 5, which was vacant. By 3 pm I was ready to fish, making up some groundbait and putting in about ten baitdroppers full, 4 – 5 metres out, setting the depth for the bread punch bait to lie on the bottom.

Fine bubbles were soon rising across the fed area and I began catching small roach, despite using an 8.5 bread punch on a size 14 hook, some roach so small that that they were not hooked at all, just hanging onto the bread and falling off.

An hour into the session, bursts of larger bubbles began moving toward my float, the disturbance rocking the antenna before it slowly sank out of sight. I lifted into solid resistance and the elastic began stretching away from the pole. This would be a good test of my preparation a few hours before. I quickly added two lengths of pole as the fish made a bee line for a bush to my left, pulling the pole to the right it brushed the branches of a tree, that I had not been aware of until that moment. The fish turned and ran out toward the middle, while I kept the pole facing skyward. The Stonfo connector became visible, then the float, then the black, green back of a decent tench. Not for long though, it was away again. I was collecting an audience. Two young children, then Mum and Dad. A dog walker and a pair of school age sweethearts hand in hand. I could not relax, this was a very lively tench, almost netted twice, it zoomed off each time. On the third pass it was in the landing net.

The size 14 barbless was in the outside of the top lip and just lifted out, I was lucky to keep it on. At 17 inches long, this female weighed in at 3 lb 12oz. I think I can safely say that my tackle has been tested to the full. A similar bite ten minutes later turned out to be a 2 oz roach. I continued fishing until 5 pm. The wind had got up, the temperature had dropped and it looked like rain. More tench would have been nice, but I had proved the tackle.

Below are the roach and rudd that managed to get the 8.5 mm punched bread in their mouths.

The one month close season ended at Braybrook’s Jeanes Pond this week and I went down to try my luck. Since April the bankside vegitation has burst into life and the swim options were limited, although arriving at 10 am, I was the only angler present and walked round to “Lucky” peg 13 and set up my pole after mixing up a strawberry flavoured ground bait. Using a baitdropper, half a dozen fills, were deposited close to my side of the lily bed, this also giving me a good idea of the depth.

Hoping for a tench, or two, and wanting to avoid the tiny silver fish, that plague the pond, I selected an 8.5 mm bread punch, folding it over the size 14 barbless hook for extra security. Casting in the 2 gram float, with the weight bulked to within a foot of the hook, the bread sank quickly and a positive bite saw a rudd sliding toward the net.

With another rudd in the net, the float slowly sank away and the elastic was stretching away toward the middle. At this point I realised, that I had left my heavy pole in the van, this elastic had too much give and I had to keep the pole at 7 metres in an attempt exert enough pressure to control, what was a fish larger than expected today. It was like a tennis match out there, with the carp running hard to the left toward the roots of a bush, then turning and running for the lily pads. Back and forth, until the float came in sight, then the broad back of a carp, as it rolled on the surface, before making another run. At last it turned toward the landing net and it was lifted clear of the water. The size 14 barbless hook was just in the top lip, pushed out with a disgorger. A quick photo then weighed in the net at just over 6 lb and it was returned. My biggest Jeanes carp.

Time for a quick cupper, then I cast in again. I couldn’t believe it, I was into another whopper. A powerful run toward the middle stripped out elastic again, but this time the unseen fish decided to stop and fight, looping and diving against the taught elastic. I guessed that it was a big tench, playing it for several minutes, before it’s black green back broached on the surface. Once more a few ends of tennis were played out, before I was staring down into the landing net at a fat female tench. Once again the hook was in the skin of the top lip and detached itself in the net. Weighing in at 5 lb 4oz and 18 inches long, it was another Jeanes PB.

My next bite was so quick that I could barely lift the pole against the pull of the elastic disappearing across the pond. I thought that this running carp was going to wrap around the electric pond aerator, but it veered away, coming back in an arc, running just below the surface creating a bow wave. This is a known fish in the pond, a big white koy carp. It suddenly began zigzagging toward me at speed and I raised the pole to full height to stay in contact. It turned left heading for the pads. I forced the pole in the opposite direction. The pole bent with the strain and the hooklink parted. A trail of bubbles tracked through the lily bed. I had only been fishing for half a hour. Phew!

I filled the baitdropper a few more times and lowered the bread punch into the baited area. A slow dithering bite followed by a steady sink and I was ready for another battle, but the rattling fight produced a nice roach, which was soon netted.

After that anticlimax, I was in again, a powerful fish again, another tench, which was soon rolling on the surface in front of me. I hauled back on the pole and it sped toward the landing net. I don’t know exactly what happened next. Disaster no 1. The tench was in the net, but as I lifted the hook flew out, being cattapulted high into a tree behind me. Without the tension of the elastic, the landing net dropped back with the weight of a 3 lb tench into the water and the fish swam free. Disaster no 2. I could not see the float and pulled the elastic with my jacket wrapped around my arm. An angling friend had recently had his float ping back from a bush and had the float enter his thumb, causing painful bruising. The elastic snapped, the loose end flying back inside the pole, while the float was still high in the tree. The pole was now out of action and I did not have a relacement float made up with me. I began to pack up.

A couple had been watching me playing my fish and now walked around for a chat. I explained what had happened and asked them if they could watch my tackle, while I walked back to the van for my spare pole. They agreed and I set off back to the carpark. My problem also was that I had no replacement heavy float. Searching through my made up rigs, I found a 2 gram Bolo float. It had a size 14 barbless hook, bulked shot and an antenna, a bit thick, but it would have to do. A heavy river float for fishing deep water, it was not ideal, but with an additional No 4 shot close to the hook, it worked a treat.

The sun had come out and the tench and carp had faded away, but the roach and rudd were still feeding. Out in front of me, I fed the last of my ground bait, where I found free biting silvers, although they were very adept at bait removeal. Without a fine antenna, bites were either off, or on, but my keepnet was slowly filling with roach.

The local school had now turned out for the day and it was time to go. Using an 8.5 mm bread punch had kept the very small fish at bay. Having to go back to the van for my other pole has cost an hour of fishing time, when tench and carp were feeding in my swim. Oh well, better luck next time.

 

I had been kept busy all afternoon by better sized roach and rudd, although the pond is not a patch on its past glories. What happens to those fish? Surely the cormorants and pike haven’t eaten them all?