Its Been A While.... 

It's been a long time since my last post, sadly not so much fishing but a new role at work as a surveyor means I have been working a fair few hours.
But in between work and family life I have managed a bit of fishing since my last post back in July, firstly me and Steve returned to Marsh Farm for our first night session, and I couldn't wait.
We decided to fish the far end of Richardsons as the first half had a match on the following morning so we needed to be out of the way.

My plan was to start very light float fishing tactics until dark then crack out the barbel rods for feeder fishing through the night.
I baited lightly to start and was having a few bites from Rudd, small Tench and the odd Crucian but nothing big.
After dinner the sun started to drop so it was time to put the rods on the alarms.
I was still fishing one of the rods in the margins and the other into open water, both on flat bed feeder method, one using plastic caster, the other real caster.
The bites were slow but steady to both rods and I had some really bad pictures as I'm not used to having my picture taken in the dark.

By now it was really dark, and we had both made the mistake of using a weather app, which stated a fairly mild whether throughout the night so we didn't even bring a Bivvy or shelter, I mean its summer, I luckily had a sleeping bag, but during the night the weather plummeted.
I woke up at about 3am, all the kit covered in dew and freezing cold,  Steve was already awake and making a fried breakfast just to keep warm.
After some food we decided to pack up and leave, it was far to cold to continue fishing, and with a drop in temperature like that it was unlikely to fish very well anyway.
Well not the best night session but still had a few fish, just worth remembering whether apps are just pants.

Fishing for Tinca's at Marsh

This fishing trip I will be flying solo as my fishing partner Steve had a prior engagement.

In eagerness for starting my Godalming Angling ticket I decided to fishing Marsh Farm in Godalming for some hard fighting Tench and Crucians, and as usual I couldn't wait.

I left home around 06:45 as Marsh doesn't open till 07:30 so there was no need to get up really early, which was nice for a change.

The gates had just been opened when I arrived so I parked up and as the tackle shop was yet to open I had a quick lap of lakes.

I decided to fish peg 1 of Richardsons as there was a nice warm wind pushing into the corner, Harris was looking a bit clear and Hill pond was closed for a coaching day.

The Tackle shop staff seemed to be running a bit late so I walked my kit to the peg in readiness, I was trying to travel light as my back is getting a bit of a battering at work recently, one rod coupled with a centre pin, net and handle, rucksack, chair and small bucket for pellet and groundbait.

Shortly after I had set up the swim the staff arrived so I paid for my ticket and a pint of Casters which I believe are the best Tench bait for Marsh, well for numbers of fish anyway.

I put a little bait either side of my peg to start with, just  few casters , pellets and some Roach groundbait I had left over from my last session.

Tackle wise I was trying pretty light kit, 10ft float rod with the centrepin as I said earlier, pin loaded with 3lb line and a 2lb hooklink, size 20 hook and light pole float shotted down so just the very tip was showing.

Sadly although the conditions were near perfect the strong wind did make it very hard to see the type of bites a Crucian would give but I decided to stick with it and see if the wind dies out.

After a nice chat with an official at Godalming Angling talking about the coaching programme they have often on the Hill pond which is a fantastic  idea and one I think more fisheries should follow suite with.

I love float fishing, starring at the float then that first bite, even if the float just bobs slightly I think my heart skips a beat, it's such an exciting way to fish, and I was soon into my first hard fighting Tench, not huge at around 3lb but great fun on the light gear.

I was really enjoying the day, Marsh Farm has so much to offer, whilst enjoying the sport I was seeing and listening to the kids around the Hill pond catching there first fish and the magical expressions on the faces of a newly hooked fisherman/woman, there was Buzzards overhead and I even had a stunning Heron catch a fish from the swim next to me, only wish I had the camera in my hand at the time, but both cameras where on the tripods filming for a new YouTube.

All was going well and during a brief moment where the lake was completely flat I was able to see the really shy bites from the Crucians and a had a 2 in quick succession to just over 1lb which I was more than happy with.

Shortly after the wind picked back up again and the Crucian bites were no longer visible but the float shot under and I was into a powerful fish causing me to hold the rod right out into the lake whilst the fish powered down the right hand margin, my heart was in my mouth thinking this was one of the huge Tench and I was playing it very carefully and letting the rod blank do its job so as not to snap the very light hooklink. After a hard battle sadly a Common Carp of about 7lb popped up, I dont mind catching Carp at all, but when you think it a PB Tench it's a bit of a downer.  

But on the plus side the next fish was a 4lb Tinca and a new PB, just, but Tench has always been a species that I've struggled with so I was over the moon.

I celebrated the Tench with a nice cup of tea from the tackle shop, yet another plus point for Marsh Farm, and then continued fishing for a while longer.

Sadly I had a family event to attend so had to pack up about 2pm, but what a day, by far the best days Tench fishing I have ever had, over 10 Tench in total from just under 3lb to a 4lb PB, along with a couple of Crucians, Roach, Rudd, Bream, F1's and the unexpected Common Carp, I can't wait to start the Godalming Angling ticket in July and be able to night fish brilliant water.

Having a Gander.

Day 1

This weekend has been a long time coming and one I've been looking forward to, it's the weekend me and Steve check out the waters on our recently joined club, Godalming Angling Society.

This is the PERFECT club for us as were not Carp focused and although I do enjoy Carp fishing I would much rather wet a line for Tench or Crucians, so this was the only club for us.

I picked Steve up about 8am, no rush, and drove straight to Apollo Angling on the Marsh Farm complex, mainly to ask some questions about the rules to make sure we stick to them as some were not straight forward.

After clearing that up we set off around Marsh Farm, Coffee in hand (as I forgot mine this morning and I don't function without it) on walking around Harris another angler pointed out a huge quantity of Tench spawning in the corner, what a great sight and there was some real clonkers there too.

As we have fished Marsh a few times we only had a quick lap then headed out onto Johnsons lake which is just behind, the railway bank was shut due to maintenance work so we headed off the other direction, and what a lake,  I can see why there is a lot of hype over this lake, not only does it now have a British record Crucian Carp but it's a truly stunning lake, snaggy bays, weed beds, islands it had it all, beautiful. I had a note pad with me to make notes of areas of interest or information off other anglers whilst walking around, mainly because I have a very bad memory.

Next on the list was up the road to Busbridge Lake,  which took a bit of finding, once in through the locked gate we walked up to possibly the most stunning lake I have ever seen, just perfect, lilies in most swims, tree lined, well kept but just the right amount of neglect to give it a natural feel.

We spoke to the only angler on the lake who was also a new member and very impressed, he had caught a 5lb Tench too, which was nice. I can't wait to fish this lake.

Next on the run was the main Carp water called Broadwater lake, this is a public park lake which seems to get very busy for anglers and dog walkers alike. It's a really nice looking lake and although it's not on my priority list as there's other waters more my type of fishing it is one ill fish at some point.

Next up was a smaller lake called Bramley, a very picturesque lake with plenty of lilies and rushes in the margins.  The lake was quite clear too meaning in the shallow parts of the lake we was able to spot a few Carp milling about, as with Busbridge it was a nice quiet lake with only 2 people on.

I love walking around lakes, whether its whilst at work on a lake I will never fish or a lake I fish all the time just being waterside relieves stress like nothing else can.

The day drew to an end and I was still hyper about the following days activities, walking the miles and miles of River Wey

Day 2.

I picked Steve up about the same time as yesterday and we headed to Johnsons to see if we could have a look along the railway bank, but this time there was a match on, so we headed for the River.

The River Wey is stunning, we walked so many miles in total, and it has literally everything the river angler could want, deep sections, shallow sections, slow and fast, from Barbel to Carp. Although some sections were a little hard to get to there was a lot to go for.

By the end of the day all I could think was how I was going to get enough time to fish all this river, but I'm sure somehow ill manage. I was also thinking how much my feet were aching.

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.

Bashing Bishops.........
Sadly I was having a fishing trip without my fishing partner in crime Steve due to a prior engagement but as I was itching for a fish and the weather near perfect it had to be done.

I spent a while deciding where to go, the choices were between Marsh Farm in Godalming or Bishops Green near Newbury.

An old school friend of mine asked for a day out on the bank and as his style of fishing steered towards Carp it was decided we would target the Carp at Bishops Green.

With Bishops now quite a popular place to fish even with a day ticket increase I felt we needed to be there early so I picked James up at 5:45am and we headed for Bishops. And as I hoped for we had arrived first, paid in the dog house, and made our way down to the lake.

After a lap we decided the far end of the lake looked favorable as there was a few bubblers in the edge, which was where I planned on fishing.

I have fished Bishops Green a lot in the past, it's a great place to take the kids, as I have done many times, there's a lot of Roach and Gudgeon present so the kids love float fishing for them which is a great way to start, whilst I have a couple of cheeky Carp rods out on alarms, perfect.

Over the years I have chopped and changed a few different methods but have found two that I use and have never failed, and on this occasion they really done me proud.

The first and normally the most prolific starts the moment I get in the swim, where I will put two handfuls of Halibut Pellet either side of my swim right next to the bank and in this case next to some rushes either side. Method wise I use solid Pva bags, small bags stuffed with 4mm Halibut Pellet nice and tight with a 12mm halibut pellet on the hair topped with plastic corn of any colour soaked in Betalin, strong size 10 hook as I have seen the Carp in here snap hooks with their brutal fights, a short 3-4inch hook link of a supple Braid to an inline lead of 2-3oz all on a leadcore leader of a couple of foot.

The second method is simple floater fishing tactics with either a controller float held by rubbers and a size 10/12 surface style hook or straight to the hook for close in work, a couple of simple methods which really do the business.

Whilst setting up base camp with mat etc and a shelter with a possibility of rain and every few minutes I put a bit more Pellet on the spots.

With alarms in place, rods put together and one of the 20 ready made pva bag/leader setups on either rod and dropped right in the edge a few feet from the alarms.

It took all of about 20 seconds for the first run which resulted in a little Common of a around 2lb, but off the mark, before a new bag was put on the other rod was away with a similar sized common.

The bites where so frantic for the first couple of hours that it was hard to have both rods in at the same time.

There was a few anglers on but not many fish out, it seemed all the fish were in the edge with me, well all the small ones so far.

James had had a couple using similar tactics but without pva and I wasn't even putting a bag on every time anymore as they were so frantic it wasn't needed.

Whilst fishing I had my camera out doing a bit of filming for an upcoming YouTube video so decided after over 15 Carp to nearly 13lb and being about midday I would have a rest, and try to get some shots also I had caught that many fish I was getting fatigue in my right forearm causing my muscle to pop out, not something that has ever happened to me and not something I wish to ever happen again.

After a long lunch break and some really strong wind resulting in my camera on its pod to go flying and my mat to disappear into the hedge, I got back to job in hand, there was fish to be caught so I carried on, pegging the mat and pod down.

Although the wind was being a pain there was fish coming up for the odd floating dog biscuit so I set up my Barbel rod on a simple setup of just 6lb mainline straight to a 12 hook and stalking around the edges near our swims as there was no one fishing up near us.

After a few tense minutes I had a nice Ghostie on the bank of around 11lb, followed by another similar size Common.

With my arm still giving me gip we decided to call it a day and with over 20 Carp and half being doubles to my name I was happy and having comments whilst walking back to the car asking what on earth I was doing felt like I must have been doing something right, for once.

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.

Another eve at Ashmoor

With the Wife finishing work at 2pm and me still continuing my week off it was another perfect opportunity for a fish.
Ashmoor again for no other reason really than its fantastic, by far my favorite fishery.
I decided to start on the flat bed feeder method on lake 2 fishing the close margin and the odd cast to the far margin.

Both areas seem to be fishing well and I was having a ton of Carp, Bream and the odd Roach/Bream Hybrid from the off.
The flat bed feeder method is a cracking way to get a bite, I was using a small to medium feeder with a short 5lb hooklink to a size 14 with a plastic Caster on a hair berried under the grounbait, the groundbait itself was part swimstem, part Roach and Part Bream groundbait, basically the left overs from the last few sessions.
Feeder fishing is one of if not my favorite form of fishing, I simply love it, and its a method I feel most confident in so I was really enjoying this session, plus I was doing a bit of filming for a YouTube channel both me and Steve are setting up.

As the sun started to drop it was time to put the feeder gear away and get the floater kit out.
The gear I use for Ashmoor is the same every time, a Barbel rod and medium sized reel, 6lb line straight through to a size 12 hook baited with a lump of crust, I use a bucket bag with all my kit in, a mat and net conclude my gear, simple yet very effective.

As the fishery was now empty, bar me and Steve, its easier to walk around and just drop a few dog biscuits here and there and wait for Carp to turn up, which they did, not quite as explosive as the last evening I fished here but there was still a fair few had off the top up to about 5lb so nothing huge but great fun.
As the sun really dropped we put the banger on for the night and left.
As usual a cracking few hours fishing but where to next....

A Well Deserved Fish.

After a very stressful day at work and now with 9 days off I decided to pop to Ashmoor for an evening's surface fishing with Steve in toe.

I wasn't going to bother to be honest as I was knackered by the time I got home about 6:30pm and was wondering if there was going to be enough time for a fish, but I shouldn't of worried.

We pulled into the car park about 7pm and had the lakes to ourselves, which was nice, tackle could not have been more simple, Barbel rod, medium sized freespool reel and a size 12 hook baited with a bit of crust, no floats or shot etc, simple fishing, just how I like it.

As time was limited we walked around the lakes baiting all the areas we know to produce, after the lap it was time to grab the gear and find some fish, which took about 10 seconds and I had a Mirror on, only a couple of pounds but any fish after the day I've had was very welcome.

The bites came steadily throughout the couple of hours fishing, I had so many I lost count after 10.

As usual Ashmoor provided some cracking sport with Carp to over 8lbish and an unbeatable way to relieve stress.

And with a few days off hopefully I can get a few more days down here as its always been a home from home and the fact its owned by my good friend Steve's Grandparents makes it just perfect.

Family Fishing at Bishops Green

Today was a family fishing day, which can be a right faff.

I had a struggle deciding where to go to cater for all, we needed some small fish for my daughter Ellie as she hasn't done a lot of fishing so starting her off small, my son Liam has done a bit and was progressing through the different styles of fishing and he wanted to try some feeder fishing, and as I was going to be helping the kids most of the time I wanted a venue which catered for me having a couple of rods out on alarms.

We left home at about 8am which for me was very late, but as there was women in toe they needed more beauty sleep.

We popped into Frobury farm and it was rammed and looking very strange with recently astro turfed swims, so we decided to pop further up the road to Bishops Green where we decided to fish.

After a quick walk around the lake I decided to fish the car park end as everyone else was fishing the far end, after paying we set up, Liam on the feeder, Ellie on the float with her little bright pink Princess rod, and my rods set on alarms fishing PVA bags in the margins for Carp.

Ellie was soon in on the Gudgeon and the Carp soon sprung into life with long lean Commons soon on the mat one after the other.

The feeder was producing nothing so I switched Liam to a float so he could get a few Gudgeon and maybe a Roach which he did.

My Carp setups where producing the goods throughout the day fishing solid PVA 2ft from the bank with a handful of pellets every 30 minutes or so with fish to around 10lb, great fun.

I decided to try and catch one off the top just to finish the day off, and after feeding the ducks off I started feeding the Carp little and often with some dog biscuits, after about 15 minutes I had a small Common of about 6lb on the bank.

With that we packed up and left, a cracking day fishing and Bishops Green producing as always, not huge Carp but they go like a train due to the fairly shallow water.

Barbel Bashing at Ashmoor Lakes

At long last it was time for the start of a weekends fishing. First up Saturday was Ashmoor Lakes, lakes stuffed with fish of all sorts of shapes and sizes, I was just going to target all that swims as its been a while and just need a bite or two.

I was not going to delude myself, it was pretty cold so was not expecting a massive amount of action, I decided to start o the feeder, towards the car park corner on Lake 3 using a flatbed feeder and fake caster for bait. I was getting bites but nothing much so I changed over to a maggot, I had a couple of small Bream but nothing else so I moved behind Steve onto Lake 2 with instant results, first fish was a Barbel, which was the last fish I thought would be on the feed, but in the next couple of hours I had 4 Barbel only up to a pound or so but an unbelievable fight for it size.

Sadly the weather soon changed and it got very cold, all it took was a slight wind and it was enough to turn the fish right off.

After an hour or so of the freezing wind and no bites we decided to call it day, we had had a few fish between us so all was good and we left in high spirits.