The wait for Paradise is over...........

I had been looking forward to going to Anglers Paradise since February when I was last there for the Lure weekend, which was awesome, but this time I was returning with family and friends, which could go either way.
Travel plans where changed slightly due to a change of circumstances for Steve meaning he and his daughter Jess had lost their ride up, so we scoured the internet for a minibus come crew cab van we could hire so we could all get there, my car was well big enough for who and what it was going to be taking but with 2 extra people plus fishing kit there was no option.
Abacus hire in Andover came through in style with a 9 seat Renault Traffic with loads of space in the back, result.

Saturday
We all met up Saturday morning, and by all I mean in the minibus there was me driving, Steve and daughter Jess and my daughter Ellie, in my sister Kim's Mini there was Kim driving, my wife Emma, son Liam and family friend Vicky, let the road trip commence.
The journey should take about 3 1/2 hours on average but due to the sheer weight of traffic stopped and starring at some bloody old rocks on the A303 it was pushed towards 5hrs.
My side of the crew was staying in one of the top villas on the complex called Excellence, which had 2 double rooms and a four poster room all with on-suits, and even a Jacuzzi bath in our four poster en-suit. Steve was staying round the corner in another high end villa sharing the same view.
We parked the vehicles and walked round to the reception to collect the keys and meet in the bar to have a glass (or 2) of Zygs famous wine and have a chat with Zygs daughter Zenia and book our food nights for the week.

Then it was time to have a look around the villa and move all the stuff in, everyone was amazed how stunning it was and the views out the back where to die for, as with all villas I have stayed in they are fish themed all over the place, rods on the roof, pictures on the walls just brilliant.
We decided to get straight out fishing and went down to Pixie lake with Liam, Pixie has an incredible head of small ornamental fish with the odd donkey thrown in.
It didn't take long for Liam to have his first Golden Rudd and Goldfish, I got fixated trying to catch a big Koi that kept popping up, but I ended catching a small Carp of about 4lb, which in a lake this small was quite hard. After a few more we headed back to the villa to get ready for a few drinks up the bar, a great way to top off any day, which became a regular occurrence during our stay.

Sunday
Obviously with having the family with me on this trip to Anglers Paradise meant I was going to have to do some non fishing activities, which was fine with me, just being at this fantastic place was enough, but today, me Steve and the kids were going fishing for the morning on the float lake.

Float fishing in the edge we had many many fish including Goldfish, Golden Rudd, Golden Tench and Koi, was great fun and the kids were hooked. After a couple of hours my daughter went back to the villa whilst Liam and I went to fish mystery lake, because not even I know whats in there. Liam fished the edges and caught plenty of Rudd and as usual for Liam plenty of Gudgeon, I stalked a few Carp off the top using free lined bread, but sadly all good things have to come to an end and as we was at the Wine and Dine night later we headed back to get ready.

The Wine and Dine night is always good fun, Zenia and Zyg head up the evening which includes some beautiful chicken and sausages plus as much salad, garlic bread and wine as you like.
Once the food is consumed and your suitably drunk Zyg and Zenia will crack out the merchandise for you to buy, a brilliant tactic. After we headed into the bar to continue the fun.

Monday
Today was a family day, we was heading to the town of Bude, set right on the sea front, with some stunning eateries, there's a famous fudge shop which was amazing and the best pasties I have ever had, well worth the trip.

When we got back we had a bit off chill until Liam begged me to go fishing, so I couldn't say no.
We went down to the Beginners Carp lake as I have never fished it before and thought it would be good for a bite, and it was. I pitched up opposite a nice bushy island with a hole dead ahead, and using my 12m baiting spoon I was shipping my flatbed feeder under the bush then using a quiver tip waiting for the bite, which was normally whilst shipping back he spoon.
I had a load of Carp around the 5-6lb mark. I let Liam have a go too and have a few as the float fishing was not producing the goods on this occasion.
After packing up the rest of the day was spent chilling with the family and eating fudge.

Tuesday
This year I had made it my mission to try and catch my first Catfish, so this morning I was starting the campaign on Octopussy lake, home to some truly monster Cats and Carp.
I was using a solid bag of pellet with Luncheon meat on my R/H rod bait spooned out to the right of the island, the left rod had was positioned round a bit with a mesh bag of pellet with a large Halibut pellet. I had arrived quite early to try and get a good chance as I only had a few hours. 

After about half an hour I had a short screaming run which sadly amounted to nothing, then shortly after another dropped run, I was starting to get a bit frustrated then whilst spooning out my rig I obviously undone the spool on one of my Diawa big pits a bit to loose and it rolled off into the deep margins. After 15 minutes of dredging the lake bed with my net I finally pulled up a very silty spool, I was not happy.
I decided to pack up that rod and start packing the rest o the kit when fishery manager Joe turned up with Marty one of the fishery guys and after a good chat I decided there was a few things I could change on my rig to make it more Catfish efficient, for next time as it was time to get back for a little trip out.
We decided to visit a local little village called Okehampton, to have a little look about the local shops and stock up on a bit of grub for the villa, it was a lovely little village and well worth a trip.

Wednesday 
Today I was up at the crack of dawn to meet Steve out the back of the villas to go down to Easy Access lake which has a good quantity of Cats so it was time for another go, time to try the newly thought out rigs for less resistance. We fished the far side of the lake, with an island in front I was fishing about a rod length or so off, lightly baiting with Carp pellet for an hour or so before casting in. It was a really nice day, but maybe not the best for fishing as the air pressure was very high (getting the excuses in early).

There was a lot of bubbling fish in front of me and I did eventually get a run from a small but perfectly formed Carp. As the day creeped on we stopped for a break and to witness a truly magical moment, an Anglers Paradise blessing with a couple who very recently got married, and as with a lot of things here it has to be a little different.

The were brought down to the Koi lake on the back of a little buggy then walked around next to the pagoda where Zyg performed the ceremony, after then blessing the lake with port it was time for both Bride and groom to jump through a beautifully designed floating flower arrangement (made by Joe and Marty) in full wedding gear, as you do. A really memorable event, finished with a cup of Zygs famous wine.

As the family disappeared back to Bude for yet more fudge and a day at the beach I returned to Easy Access lake to carry on trying for a Cat.
After some more bait was deployed and some more Carp were banked it was not looking like a Cat was coming to the bank for me, I was feeling a bit like Mick Brown.

My wife and kids brought me dinner and desert down to the bank, which was amazing, but as the sun dropped I admitted defeat, packed up and left.
Even though the Cats evaded me again it was a hugely enjoyable day, as they all are here in Paradise.

Thursday
Today was mine and Emma's 10 year wedding anniversary, and we awoke to the villa decorated by my sister and Vicky, and looked amazing, and to show how in tune we are we ended up buying each other watches, mine a stunning Fossil watch which was engraved also, my wife's was a Micheal Kors watch, she was over the moon.

Our original plan was to spend the day at Paighton Zoo, and although it never rains in Devon, it was definitely moist so we decided to go tomorrow, and me and Liam decided on a couple of hours in the rain on Float lake. We had a few Golden Tench, Rudd and a few stunning Koi off the top.

With the fishing done for the day, and the week sadly we headed back to get ready to go out for a meal down the local pub. The food at the Junction inn was amazing, not a bad word to say about it and highly recommended and all payed for by Steve which was a great surprise.  

After we headed back to the bar at AP to carry on the celebrations with 2 bottles of Procceto, which was far too bubbly for me, but went down well all the same.

Friday  
Today we all decided on a day trip to Paighton Zoo, as the weather was too bad yesterday.
We arrived just before opening and queued for a short while before going in, I was really excited as I haven't been to a Zoo for a long time and as an animal lover there's a lot to do and see, but sadly the weather was pretty bad, as usual the weather app that stated it should stop raining by about 10am was way off, but we tried not to let it bother us. I think a highlight was the Lions and the Gorillas, fantastic to watch.

After a fantastic day at the Zoo we went round the corner to Morrisons to get a load of pizzas, garlic bread, salads etc and have a mass feast at our villa for us plus Steve and Jess.
The last evening was brilliant yet sad as it was the last night here, drinks flowed and way too much food was cooked and ate.
We went over to the bar for a couple of drinks and for the presentation evening which sadly I hadn't won any but then I didn't spend as long fishing as I usually would, but was a good evening.
I made sure I brought a few bottles of wine off Zyg as all the money goes to charity and I love the stuff.
 bhjbhjb
We said our goodbyes to the other anglers of which we made good friends as usual and to Zyg, Zenia, Joe and all who work at Anglers Paradise for making the whole family so welcome and headed back to the villa.  
We packed most of the stuff up that night so there was less to do in the morning and headed of to bed.

Saturday 
It's always hard leaving a place you love so much but it was time, we loaded the van and car, popped the key back to reception and headed off for the 3 1/2 hour journey home.
I really cant speak highly enough about Anglers Paradise, it really does have it all, yes there are other holiday fishing venues around the country but I would bet all I own that you wouldn't catch the fish you could catch here and everyone is so friendly you really do feel like part of the family.
A HUGE thank you to Zenia, Joe, Zyg, Rose and all who work at Anglers Paradise. See you all soon.

Fishing the Hungerford Canal
Who said having a week off meant lots of fishing...................mine has consisted of gardening, decoration and everything apart fishing, but on Wednesday I told the world to do one as I was going fishing.

This time me and Steve were both free so we decided on the Hungerford canal to try and catch a few Perch and to try out the new lure kit.

I picked Steve up at a leisurely 8:30am after popping to Bato Baits in Basingstoke for a few maggots, there was no rush at all this morning as the pet shop selling the permits in Hungerford town centre where not open until 9am, so it was a nice lying.

After getting the permits we parked up next to the Church as we have before {due to free parking} and with the lure gear out consisting of a small waist bag of lures and scales, net and my new rod and reel.

I was lucky enough to win this Fox Ultron jig and spin rod earlier in the year at a lure weekend at Anglers Paradise for biggest Trout, coupled with a new Quantum spinning reel.

We started right next to the Church where there is a small bridge to left, we headed right up the canal. The weather was looking perfect, a nice amount of cloud cover, maybe a bit warn for my liking but bearable, the water was sadly very coloured and due to a lot of boat traffic locks where being opened either side of us, so one minute it flowed left then right.

We walked a couple of miles up the canal with not so much as a nibble, at this point I was just using a small jelly lure and changing the colours as we went, Steve had the first right at the end of the stretch we could fish, a nice Perch of about a pound.

It was time for a change for me as nothing had really happened, so it was time for a bit of drop shotting, a big craze in angling now and completely new to me so time to give a shot.

After walking back up to the top of the run and still with no fish I gave up on the lures, although we did see a horse drawn canal boat, which is a first for me these days but great to see.

After a pasty or two from a lovely bakery in Hungerford town we decided to crack out the float fishing gear and try for a bite or two this method.

We setup near the rear of the church where we have had luck before and began fishing, I setup towards the front of the boat moored here, there was a few small trees to sit under, which was good for staying out of the sun but bad for everything fishing related as it was near impossible to lift the rod due to branches, but worth the risk of not burning in the now blistering heat.

I was using a small 10ft float rod with a centre pin reel loaded with 4lb line to a 3lb hooklink using a size 18 hook baited with 2 maggots. After plumbing up it was a short wait to catch the first fish in the shape of a small Perch. The fishing was steady with plenty of fish including Roach, Rudd, Skimmers and Perch. Soon most of the fish had disappeared except the Perch which were feeding well and I had them up to around 1lb and good fun on light gear. With loads of Perch caught I wanted to catch a few Ruffe, Steve had a few in his swim at the rear of the boat but I think with all the Perch about they were a bit scarce.  I decided to move to my left a bit next to the bridge to see what was home turns out not a lot, after about an hour I had a couple of bites but no fish, so we decided to call it a day and head home.

For me a great but disappointing day, float fishing was brilliant but was only packed as a secondary method hoping to catch a few on lures, but the lure fishing was poor I think due to the conditions but you can't win them all, or catch them all in this case.

A Proud Moment

I have been waiting quite a long time for my son to show a real interest in the sport I hold so dear, he has been with me a few times but has never shown a real interest...until now.
A real moment happened a couple of days ago when my son asked me to take him fishing, I nearly shed a tear.
Then came the hard decision of where to go, we have a lot of great fishing available around this area and I wanted somewhere my son hasn't been before, we have fished Bishops Green as it suited both of us, Liam fished for the Gudgeon and Roach whilst I fished for the Carp, it worked, but Liam told me he would like to move up the fishing ladder and catch something like a Tench.
We trolled through through various venues to choose one we thought would be appropriate and settled on Marsh Farm in Godalming, a venue with a great reputation and somewhere I have fished a few times and loved it.
So Friday came round and as I was off work we set off for Godalming and arrived at Marsh arm at 7:30am, popped into the brilliant and award winning onsite tackle shop Apollo 2 to get some Maggots and purchase our day tickets.

We decided to fish Hill pond due to its high stock of fish which should guarantee a great days sport.
I set Liam up in the swim next to me to the right of the pond from the entrance, Liam was going to be using a standard waggler type setup with 4lb line to a 3lb hooklink and size 14 hook, I didn't want to set him up quite as light as I was fishing just in case he hooked into a big Tench.
We baited the swims right in the margins either side of the peg with a little ground bait and micro-pellets whilst we setup, I was using 3lb mainline to a 2lb hook link using a very light pole float with a size 18 hook using a single maggot, caster or pellet.

It was soon apparent that the lighter approach was by far catching more fish, Liam was catching the odd Rudd and Roach but I was getting into a few Crucians and Tench too, so with that I swapped Liam over to a pole float and a 2lb hook link like mine and he was soon into a few more fish. My main intention for the day was for Liam to catch his first Tench and Crucian but with sun really beating down the bites were getting harder to come by.

Liam soon hooked into something a bit more serious which I thought was a Tench but as I saw it roll I thought he had a huge Crucian on, he was playing it very well, but his dreams where soon shattered when we realized it was actually a small Common Carp, gutted, but a great fight on light tackle, this was shortly followed by a small Tench of about 9oz which as it was his first so he was over the moon with it. The day was going well I had a fair few fish with Crucian to 1lb 7oz and Tench to 2lb 12oz and I even had a big Gudgeon of nearly 2oz but was still trying to get Liam his first Crucian but we was running out of time so I put some bait in for the last stretch and let him fish in my swim on the right of me where I had a few Crucians throughout the day, and the next fish he hooked was a 1lb 5oz Crucian, JOB DONE.

We packed up and left having had a fantastic days fishing and I had one happy and very hooked boy, Marsh Farm delivered as usual and it makes me even more impatient about joining the Godalming Angling Club in July, cant wait.

Free Fishing on the Thames.

Today we had decided to fish the fantastic River Thames on the Kingston stretch, its a part of the Thames we have wanted to fish for a long time and decided its time to pay it a visit. But after being told by 2 different people that it will fish hard unless we get some rain did we waste our time...

We decided to leave nice and early so as to have plenty of time to search for decent swims, so I pulled up outside Steve's house at 5am still in the pitch black and we set off to Kingston.

We pulled up in the small turnout next to the start of the stretch about 6am and still dark, we went for a walk along the path looking for some good looking areas, a couple of swims down there seemed to be quite a lot of disturbance on the surface so we got some gear and started to set up, I decided to use a Barbel rod on a quiver set-up with a medium fixed spool reel loaded with 6lb line, cage feeder with a 4lb hook link to a size 14 hook baited with either maggots, worm or corn. I also had another Barbel rod same set-up but size 10 hook baited with a big worm as a sleeper rod hoping for a bonus Perch.

As we started to be able to see the River it was obvious we was going to have our work cut out as the River was low, slow and very clear.

Sadly it was becoming obvious the fish were not really playing ball, with no bites in the first few hours, but I was watching all the Bleak jumping out in front of me and could take it no more, I had a backup float rod with a centre pin on and 3lb line so decided to go for some Bleak, and I caught loads.

The Thames is a quite unique place to fish and can be hard to concentrate on the fishing with so much going on around, by midday we had had a bike rally/race behind us, probably over 2000 bikes in total, there was a small boat with a huge speaker on the front blasting out reggae music, and we still had a few hours left.

By about 5pm we decided to pack up, mainly because there was some eastern Europeans starting to fish next to us and they were so loud I couldn't handle it anymore.

On reflection the fishing was very hard, Steve had one Bream which was our target fish, I had a lot of Bleak and a few small Perch, but the place itself is so different to fish that it was enjoyable even with a lack of fish, loved it, and looking forward to returning with a bit of pace and colour in the water.

Lakeside fishing

This month we decided to fish Lakeside fishery in Berkshire due to the slightly better weather we was hoping to rake in the Carp, but as usual things didn't quite go to plan.

I picked Steve up about 7:30am and we arrived just after 8am and luckily Kate the owner had just arrived and let us in.

We had a quick walk around the lake, knowing that it wont take long to get busy, on our last trip we fished in the canal section to the side of the lake and the left of the main bowl so this time decided on fishing behind the islands as thought they would hold groups of fish or intercept them as they swim round.

I decided to start by fishing the flat bed feeder towards the island with a couple of maggots and light ground bait, light tactics really for the size of fish in here but that's what I caught on last time so decided to start with that. After an hour or so with no bites and a chat with the bailiff decided to fish the bottom of the shelf with a solid PVA bag and 12mm tipped pellet on the hair, the second rod cast just to the left of some snags.

The sun was up and it was really hot and un-comfy at times, I had a tree next to me and was moving my chair constantly to try and keep in the shade as I'm not a fan of sitting in the sun for long periods of time.

Time was getting on and still no fish, I could see loads on the surface but on the other side of the island and well out of my swim, but I started firing dog biscuits my side of the island to try and bring them in.

I put a zig rig on the left hand rod and cast between the islands, after a few twitcy bites I had a run which promptly fell off. Then another bite which took me round the island and came off luckily all the rig came back and the fish was safe, after quite a while I had another screamer and this time after one hell of a fight and trying to keep it out of snags and the island the fish was on the mat, only about 6lb but that didn't matter. I think one of the most challenging days fishing for a long time, not because the water is a hard water or lack of fish by a long shot but the conditions where not easy and our swim choices where not the best for the conditions.

Soon after catching that fish and with one each we packed up had a quick chat to the bailiff and left, and although a very challenging day weather wise still a great day and will return for a better go at zig rigging in the more open water. And a big thanks to the owners and the bailiff for his advise.