Since my fishing session Summer had made way for Autumn. Days were still occasionally warm but the temperature at night was dropping ever lower, a time for social media to be full of the question 'have you put your heating on yet ?' and for an occasional angler to plan his best course of attack for his next trip.
I'd agonised long and hard about venues but somewhat predicably decided to stick to somewhere I know. So Sat morning saw me back at the Angel in Tyne & Wear.
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A chat to Ann, the owner found the venue had been fishing well but the fish were beginning to shoal a bit and the water temperature had dropped over the last few days.
In my mind Lookout Lake is the better option on site as there are a greater mix of species. If the carp didnt want to feed I felt I had better prospects here than the other lake. I walked the banks looking for signs of fish to find an appropriate peg but it seemed quiet, so I headed to the island and an old favourite - peg 1. This peg usually gives you a few options to go at. Plenty of water and far bank reeds that you can cast along freely, especially if the opposite peg (16AA) is free.
I'd planned to start on a feeder letting my pole lines settle. And with the morning cool but bright it was clear the far bank would be getting the benefit of the early sun. Just right for a feeder to go over to. It seemed like a plan !
I opted to start on a pellet feeder with some dampened 2mm feed pellets. On the hook I was going for a big 10mm Marukyu pellet but had plenty of other options if needed.it was around 35-40 yards to the reeds and I'll admit my accuracy was woeful but I needed the practice.i cast out 4 feeder loads clipped up without a hook before setting up to fish The feeder was free running with a .14 hooklength and size 16 Maver MT6.
My main intended pole swim would be just past the base of the near shelf in about 4.5 feet of water on a nice flat bottom at 6 sections.I really wanted to feel my way into the session after probably feeding too positively last time here. I would initially feed 1/3 of a medium pot of pellets and maggots and every 5 mins I'd ping maggots over the top, hoping to build the swim up before fishing. I was starting on a Nick Gilbert Gimp .3G on Matrix Power Micron .125 to .105 hooklength and a 18 B911 F1 hook.
I also chose a line at 11m in case the fish didnt want to be that close, in about 5 feet and potted in a satsuma sized ball of groundbait then 1/3 pot of micros, chopped worm and casters. As with the short line I'd be cattying in casters regularly, reverting to a kinder pot when actually fishing. The rig for here was very similar but with a 16 hook for bigger baits and an XT Gimp with a slightly thicker bristle.
Starting on the pellet feeder with a 10mm Marukyu pellet on the hook, it didnt take long to get a few liners before a 6 oz skimmer took the bait. I then struck into a nice bream/skimmer of just under 2lbs before catching my first carp of the day, a feisty 3lb mirror. The day had started to warm up and I was enjoying the fishing, but this is where I started to get off track.
I'd set up a .2G NG XT Diamond on .165 Aspire to .145 Power Micron to fish the margins - but hadnt contemplated even feeding a line yet. However carp had moved into the the margin at my feet to scoff any dropped bait.
The water here is only 10" deep but still with a good colour and the fish were far from spooky but I couldnt catch them !
I tried the margin float with a succession of hookbaits; pellets, bunches of maggots, corn and paste. Nothing was touched. At one point my worm hookbait hit a fish on its 'nose' but it just watched non plussed as the worm dropped towards the lake bed. Yet they were obviously eating feed. I tried adding some various particles without a single bite.
I tried no shot down the line for the most natural drop i could mimic, to a bulk 3" off the hook. After an hour of this id managed 2 micro perch that must have bolted inbetween the carp to take my hookbait.
In the end I had to ignore the tails waving in my face and fish elsewhere for a while. Obviously the fish were happy to come in close, so I fed a big pot of groundbait and maggots 5m to my left on top of the marginal shelf. I had a good 18" here, so hopefully id start to catch. I left the swim for 30 mins to settle whilst I went out to 11m for the first time.
With the water being flat calm I could dot the float down and had moved to feeding through a pot (the new soft pots from MAP which I found excellent btw) to concentrate the fish. I started catching some nice skimmers up to 2lbs and by alternating with the short line, was slowly adding to the catch.
I was itching to try the margin and some knocking reeds and bubbles meant I couldn't put off any longer. I decided to try a bunch of maggots and was rewarded with a common of around 4lbs before I enjoyed catching 4 perch in 4 put-ins; the smallest 3/4 of a pound to the biggest of 1 3/4lbs. Beautiful fish that still put up a really good scrap on Drennan 14-16 Bungee. It must be over 20 years since I had a perch as big and I was surprised they were feeding over groundbait so readily.
To nurse the swim id dropped some loose groundbait at my feed and this time the worm was taken. I lifted into a surprised mirror carp that seemed stunned for a few seconds before tearing off. After a few minutes I netted my biggest fish of the day at just over 5lbs.
Over the last hour the pattern continued with me catching from both lines. I added more carp, skimmers, ide, small perch, a dumpy crucian and an orfe (?)
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Before having to pack up with the fish continuing to feed after about 5 hours fishing
With over 60-70 lbs of fish I was a very happy bunny. The struggle to catch the fish under my nose had been resolved, even though I'll never know if this was down to groundbait or purely time of day.
I'd also had 3 types of carp, and 5 species of 'silvers' a great way to welcome autumn and rekindle my enthusiasm. Great fishing for me.
Thanks again for reading.
Tight lines
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