Carpers On Tour......

Well my visit to Yateley was an enjoyable one albeit slightly exhausting!

I left home at 6am to go and pick Aaron ''Lead Shed'' up from Colchester, the trip was an easy one and I arrived at Aaron's front door at 8am, after a "posh coffee" as Aaron called it, we hit the road to do battle with the M25 and M3.
After only a few delays we arrived at Yateley Angling Centre at about 11:30am, we picked up our pre-booked tickets and headed straight to the South Lake.
On our arrival we were greeted by a very busy lake and with only a handful of swims available we certainly had our work cut out, we did manage to find the fish, although as soon as the weather changed they soon drifted off and with no swims free to move to we just had to sit tight.

The Swims were well marked!

I set up in the "Ladders" and Aaron next door in the "Channel", we had a good number of fish in front of us so felt confident of a take, the rods were soon sorted and we sat back to enjoy a long awaited social and some fine cuisine not to mention some very heavy rain, Aaron cooked up an animal of a Curry......we both regretted it after though as we crawled to our bed chairs to rest our now stretched stomachs!

Carpy Cuisine!

It didn't take long for me to get into the land of nod and before I knew it the alarm on my phone was going off, that will be 5:30am then! I put the kettle on and rolled a smoke, it was still raining!
I received a few big liners at 7am, I was hovering over the rods expecting a take at anytime but unfortunately it never came.  It was great to finally fulfil my lifelong ambition to fish The Yateley Complex after reading about it for so many years, I shall definitely be back to fish one of the other ''special'' waters.

By 8:30am the heavy rain had now turned to light drizzle and we took this opportunity to pack up before we hit the road again this time to drive to Kent to pick up some bait from Active Bait Solutions.
After being greeted by Paul and having a well deserved coffee and a catch up we got back on the road Colchester bound to drop Aaron off although we did have a slight detour to get some grub as we were both starving!
After dropping Aaron off, I got straight back on the road and headed home and walked through my front door a little after 8pm.
Whilst on the way home I noticed a lake situated right next to the A428, now I've always known about it but never really took any notice, but with the sun setting over its banks it looked very idyllic and once home I did a bit more research and found the info I wanted, definitely one to keep an eye on this one.

Heading back to familiar territory.....for now.

I intend on doing an overnighter on "Heron" tomorrow,that's if it isn't too busy we will see maybe its time to head back to the Beds Pit......I was going to leave that until the Autumn but may well have to get back on sooner.
Time to get the gear sorted again, if you're on the banks this weekend be lucky and I hope you have a fish that makes your dreams come true.

Until next time,

Smithy

One Hell Of A Week!

Apologies for the lack of activity in the last week, its been pretty hectic to say the least!

Firstly, I decided at the last minute to chuck the gear in the van and fly down the M5 Clovelly bound to see my Dad and also have a dabble on a very attractive venue that I spent a bit of time on whilst living in the South West.
I had a great Journey down and completed it in a little over 4 hours which isn't bad for a Friday afternoon, on arrival it was the usual ritual of meeting Dad and jumping straight into the pub then stumbling out sometime early the following morning.
I awoke Saturday morning feeling a lot worse than when I went to bed, strange that I felt great the night before must of been the pillow!
I very slowly got myself organised and made my way to the lake, it was lovely to see the place again, its been years since I've graced those banks.
It didn't take me long to get sorted and soon enough two rods were dispatched to the far bank, very accurately as well considering my condition!
An a hour or so later, I was just tying up another rig ready when my hand slipped and I embedded a Size 7 Barbed Fox SSC straight into my finger, I then spent 30 Min's trying to tease it out......but had no joy so I just bit the bullet and gave it a big pull and out she popped, flesh and all!

Ouch!!!!

Following the incident I decided to move as not much was showing in front of me, so I loaded the up the barrow and went for a mooch.
It didn't take me long to find the fish, I located them doing circuits of a reed bed at the far end of the lake, two "Magic" PVA bags were put on their patrol routes, I sat back and rolled a smoke......by this point my head had got a little less hazy and I started to feel more like myself again, but for how long I didn't know....you can never tell once you are in the deepest darkest Devonshire country side!
Out of the blue my left hand rod melted off, I lifted into it and felt the solid pull of a good fish when all of a sudden the hook pulled, I was gutted! The rod was soon back on the spot and I awaited action.....I didn't have to wait long as the left hand rod was away again, this fish decided to go through every reed bed in the corner of the lake, I thought I had lost it a few times but after a bit of a struggle and having to wade out up  to my waist in silt I had an immaculate upper double common in the net, photos were soon done and she was returned to her watery home.

A Stunning Upper Double From The South West Venue.....

I decided to call it a day, I had a great few hours fishing so headed back to the village to have a nice dinner and a pint or 2 before having an early night as I was driving home the following morning.
The drive home was great and I did it again in a little over 4 hours, I had a few website bits to do as well as catch up with some photographic work before an interview the following day on the Monday.
Which brings us pretty much up to date, I got the call today (Wednesday) saying that I got the job so took my wife and son out to have a joint celebration as its her birthday too!
Tomorrow will see me heading down to the Famous Yateley Complex in Hampshire with Aaron from the "Lead shed" to have a quick 24 hour session on the South Lake, to say I'm excited is a big understatement, having never set eyes on the historic complex before.  I can't wait and will be sure to have the camera clicking away for the duration of my stay and will hopefully land a fish or two as well!
Before I go I must mention how saddened I was when I heard the terrible news about the death of all the fish in "The Mere" including The Black Mirror, its been an awful year for fish deaths lets just hope this is the last of it.
Right time to sign off and get the kit sorted, I will report back in a few days.

Be lucky,

Smithy

Taking The Biscuit......

Well I did manage to grace the bank for a few hours today, I arrived in the Island car park at mid day.
I got a bucket of mixers out of the van and set off in hot pursuit of my prey, I decided to have a quick look in the "Fridge" on Heron lake as it's right next to "Island" and is the first swim you come to between the two lakes.
I was greeted by quite a few fish, the majority of which looked well over 20 lb, I fired out a few mixers and watched as one was slurped down straight away, perfect!
I fired out a few more handfuls then popped round "Island" to get an update on the latest captures from "Brownie" and to see if there was anything worth putting a bait to on "Island".
After a quick chat it was quite clear that there wasn't much occurring on "Island" other than Gav's capture of the stunning "Plastic Linear" at 28 lb+ well done Flex!
I trotted back round to the van and got the kit before make the very short journey back to the "Fridge", I sat on a log and continued to flick baits out but they didn't seem anywhere near as interested as they did when I first arrived.
I continued to flick out a few mixers at a time for over two hours, the fish were still there but only ever taking the odd mixer, "not having it" you might say.
After another 20 minutes or so they seemed to get a bit more confident, I would have preferred to wait a bit longer but was worried the right time might pass, so I gently cast out beyond them before slowly drawing the bait back to the hot area.
Just as I did this, the wind turned and the swim looked dead, completely devoid of fish and then to top it all off the flying rats got scent of the mixers and swarmed over the area, I reeled in and spat my dummy out.
I decided to have a quick look at Island, and spent about an hour in a secluded corner of the lake trying to get them going but they just didn't seem interested, I threw in the towel and went back to the fridge with my tail firmly between my legs.

A Stunning Little Mirror Falling To The Biscuit....

On my return to the fridge, it looked completely different to when I left, the flying rats had left and the fish had returned.
I started flicking mixers out again, just one or two at a time for about an hour, they seemed to be getting more confident by every pouchful, I could see a fish was taking very confidently down the right hand margin so I  gently cast a bait onto it.
A minute or so later a pair of lips came up and engulfed the bait before causing an eruption as I lifted into it, after a short scrap in the heavily weeded corner of the lake she was soon in the net, I couldn't believe how easy it came in, I expected the weed to cause me much more trouble than it did.
I guessed she was about a low double but in reality the weight was immaterial to me, I had a quick picture before returning her to the crystal clear water of Heron Lake, I then left for home a happy man.
I spent all afternoon down the lake, but actually only fished for about 30 minutes, I've always known it's best to get them feeding confidently before putting a bait out, but have always struggled to sit on my hands for the right moment.
But since I realised the error of my ways, I've managed two fish on the bounce.......things are certainly coming together now.

Be Lucky,

Smithy

Lost Legends......

It seems you can't pick up a magazine or surf the forums at the moment without reading about yet another one of the big girls going up to the great pond in the sky.
This last year has seen a huge amount of big fish including some of the most well known carp in the country passing away.
The Yateley Complex in Hampshire has lost arguably it's most famous fish "Heather The Leather" not to mention more old warriors including "Pearly" & "Chunky".
I've enjoyed reading about these old characters for virtually all of my angling career and had hoped one day in the not too distant future to try and outwit one myself.  Many of the country's best anglers have put their wits against these old beasts, most failed but a handful did succeed and I'm sure these legendary fish will mean all the more to them now than ever before: "Lost but never forgotten".

The final resting place of Heather....

Another high profile water to lose some of it's bigger residents is the Bluebell lakes complex home of the now late "Benson".  This fish more than often caused controversy when you mentioned its name but when regularly topping the scales to 60 lb+ you couldn't help but look on in awe at this huge framed big common.
Even after its passing "Benson" was still causing controversy, this time surrounding the cause of its death, alot of people blamed poorly prepared baits, I however have my own opinions...but I will keep them to myself.
It's not just the high profile waters that have lost their bigger residents, I have been hearing of a few syndicates in Colne Valley that have lost fish well in excess of 40 lb+.
Obviously at this time of the year spawning has a huge impact on carp and sometimes it can be the case that these older fish can't cope with the ritual anymore and the stress associated with it, what it does mean is that when we do catch them at this stressful time of year we must take every precaution to ensure the well being of the fish we love so much.
After all, this last year has proved the dreams we have long read about will not be around forever.

Moving on, I've got a chance to do a few hours floater fishing tomorrow so hopefully I will be able to repeat my success from last week, here's hoping!
The "Islands" big girl "Single Scale" hasn't graced the bank in quite a while and many believe it is just a matter of time before she slips up, I'm not sure if she has ever been out witted on a floater but there's always a first I suppose!

After being lucky enough last year to fish 4 - 5 nights a week, I'm now finding it very difficult to even fit in a night a week so I think there will be a few more of these short sessions, I've certainly got to make the most of the little time I have.

Hopefully I will report back with some news,

Until next time,

Smithy

Floater Success!

Well I've just returned from "Island" and had a very enjoyable session, a bit frustrating at times though I must admit!
I got down the lake at 4pm and was soon set up in the "Trees", I placed one of my baits by hand with a good scattering of hemp over the top, the other two were put on proven areas with the ever faithful "Ninja Rigs".
I was soon sat on the bedchair enjoying a coffee watching fish roll over my bait when Pete arrived and set up next door, a social was on the cards, and a huge Chinese delivered to the lake.....Perfect!
We sat up late into the night discussing anything and everything Carp related, before moving on and moaning about life in general.......the mood soon lifted though when the liners started and the fish started rolling in huge numbers over both of our swims, we both felt that it wasn't a matter of if but when we will get a take!

A Proper Carpy Morning.........

The liners continued all night, I didn't get any sleep at all and a few times I jumped out of the bag and straight onto the rods thinking it was going to rattle off!
Dawn soon arrived and we was treated to a stunning sunrise, a proper Carpy morning if ever I saw one.....the fish thought so too, the area I had baited with hemp resembled a Jacuzzi! There was fish everywhere, I scratched my head wondering why I hadn't had a take, I just couldn't understand it.
Pete lost a good fish in the weed at about 7:30am, I felt absolutely gutted for him......so much so that I got him to make me a Bacon roll!
At about mid morning I noticed a few fish starting to mooch about on the surface, I didn't have any floater gear with me at all so begged all the bits and bobs I needed of Pete, including 3mm floaters.
I managed to get the smaller carp feeding quite confidently close in, then typically just before I was about to introduce a hook bait the seagulls turned up and spooked them off whilst smashing the water to foam.
I spat my dummy out and just chucked the hook bait out somewhere into the lake, just after I heard a voice "you floater fishing bud?" it was Ian "dirtydog" Brown, "I'm trying, but I've had enough the bloody seagulls have ruined any chance I had" I said. Ian said "Come on we will get them going".
Ian pulled out a tub of what he referred to as his "magic mixers",they were about 8mm the same size I normally use (if I had brought them!), these were perfect as they could be catapulted further to where the bigger fish were showing just past the Island, Ian flicked single mixers out one by one for probably an hour, we both sat eyes fixed to the water, they were certainly getting a taste for them so I introduced a hook bait, seconds later I had a decent take but pulled out of it, 3 1/4 TC Torrix`s are really not built for floater fishing!
Ian started flicking baits out again then I introduced a hook bait it didn't take long for the bait to disappear as I struck there was a huge explosion as what was obviously one of the better fish tried heading to the nearest weed bed, I applied as much pressure as I dared but it was soon stuck solid in the middle of the lake at about this point Pete appeared he had watched the fish take from up a tree, I didn't even need to ask him.....he just said "I will go and get my waders!".
Me and Pete were soon wading out to the Island all the whilst Brownie was documenting the fight with my SLR, Once on the Island I managed to get the fish moving before it weeded itself up again this continued for a good 20 minutes....the Torrix was at full battle curve and I honestly thought I was going to lose it but inch by inch I managed to get it towards the bank before the fish and half a tonne of weed was expertly netted by Pete, we both knew at this point that it was "The Snub Nose Mirror" as Pete had caught it a few months ago, I actually photographed it for him and said I would love to catch it at the time, now it was my turn and I was chuffed to bits!

Returning from Battle!

We both waded back to the bank, Pete kindly carried the fish as I was still sweating from the fight!
She behaved perfectly on the bank and we weighed her at 31.08, the photographs were soon done and she was returned to her watery home.

The Snub Nose Mirror at 31 lb 8oz

As soon as we had released her Pete's alarm went into melt down and he hooked into another powerful fish but again he lost it in the weed......I really felt gutted for him now, losing a fish is never nice but two on the bounce is awful!
We bid brownie farewell and both had a coffee before packing up, we had decided to go and have a look at another water close by.
In conclusion, it was a great 24 hours Carping with great company.....I just wish Pete could of been as happy as I was when we left, although the water we visited on the way home soon put a smile on his face! But I'm not going to say anymore than that.
And finally I just want to thank Brownie for giving me a kick up the bottom when I needed it and Pete for being an expert Gillie.

Until next time,

Smithy

So Little Time......

Well normally I would be writing a brief article telling you about my planned session for the weekend, however since moving Jobs I will now be working every weekend.

Obviously this has its advantages like being able to fish when the lakes are at their quietest in the week but due to the split shifts I am working and with the late finishes an overnighter isn't always going to be possible......but a few sneaky stalking sessions will be on the cards I think, especially on the "Beds Pit".
I have managed to get Monday evening and all day Tuesday off so I plan to head straight to "Island" as soon as I finish work at 3pm on Monday, Ive got a few tricks up my sleeve that I hope will fool one of the venues bigger residents, if they work I will let you know what they are!
The venues big girl "Single Scale" is due out anytime, I wonder if I shall be one of the lucky ones that hold her up for the camera.......only time will tell, but I can dream!
You may of noticed that I have added "Chasing Myths TV" to this page, it currently has a video of Terry Hearn playing, however I shall be recording various videos on different subjects on a weekly basis so keep your eye out for those.
Well that's it for now, I apologise for this brief post but I really don't have much to write about at the moment, I will of course report back after my overnighter on Monday but until then I will leave you with this thought.......

Why do Carp Anglers bit*h more than women?

Take Care,

Smithy

Short Session Frustration

I arrived at "Island" a little after mid-day, I had already been informed that it was very busy before I arrived so wasn't to shocked to see every swim taken.
I had a walk round to Kev who was set up at the top of "Island" he told me that a couple of guys were packing up soon and it just so happened that they would be vacating from my no1 & no2 choice swims......I smiled slightly, things were not so bad then!
I had a quick word with the guys leaving and they were more than happy for me to get my gear round and start setting up as they were doing the off very soon.
I went and loaded the barrow then pushed it round to the "Trees" swim before nipping over to Tesco to get a few bottles of cold drink as it was now roasting!
It didn't take me long to get set up and all the rods were on spots that I was more than happy with, I put out a scattering of bait with the stick then sat back in the shade and awaited events.
Kev kindly treated to me to a fish and chips supper and as I sat there scoffing it a few very big fish started rolling over my bait and this continued late into the night.

              Waiting for something to give the game away.......

I went to bed confident of a take at any time, so it was no surprise when I was awoke at 5am by some voracious liners, fully expecting a take I sat next to rods with my eyes fixed on the baited spots, after an hour the liners stopped so I reluctantly got back in the bag for another hours kip.
I was wide awake at 7am, coffee in the hand fully expecting a take but unfortunately it never came.
By 9am the sun was high in the sky and the temperature soared! It was about this time that I noticed a large group of fish close in to the left of the swim, after climbing a tree I could see they ranged from the stockies to 35 lb+, it didn't take me long to get a Zig on them and fortunately managed not to spook them.
Cutting a long story short I spent the rest of the day climbing up the tree watching them almost play with the zig, it has to be one of the most frustrating sessions I have ever had, although it did get my brain working and I've got a few ideas ready to try next time.
I packed up just after 5pm, if I'm honest as I was glad to get away!
I'm not sure when I will manage to get back down I am going to have to juggle a few things to do it but I'm hoping Sunday evening for a very quick overnighter, after that I think it will be full steam ahead on the "Beds Pit"..........

Until next time,

Smithy