The Old Hall pt 2

I was in luck, i had managed to extend this session into a 3 nighter if i felt like staying for the extra period of darkness, it would mean an up and early departure but it could be worth it. I woke early by nearly an hour and decided not to turn over and get the extra hour, but to get myself sorted and on the road, Leaving the house at 4.30am in torrential rain, the roads were deserted, an uneventful hour and half passed by and i turned into the car park unbelievably the rain came to a sudden stop, i shouldered the first batch of kit and headed towards the lake, as i turned the corner i could hear the stream raging through into the shallows. I was hit with a dilemma, i had mentally planned to fish the far bank, with it being on the north bank it would receive the winter sun and i believe the fish would be present along the reed lined margins, but with this much water going into the lake the dissolved oxygen levels would be exceptionally high and i was confident the fish would be up at this shallow end and around the stream. I opted to give the area 24 hours and then make the move to the northern bank if i had seen little or no activity.

Setting up with 30 or so minutes of  darkness i was in no rush to drop the rods in, the rain was coming back on and with it the south westerly that had been forecast, i wanted to place the rigs with accuracy and minimal disturbance, i didn't want to cast each rod more than the once. As the first light filtered through i could see the areas and it was time to drop the baits in. Obviously the stream would receive a rod at around 20 yards to my right, this would be a finely balanced, but very stiff, corn baited rig to be fished over a mix of pellet and corn. The left rod was flicked out 30 yards towards the island and the middle rod flicked the 90 yards across to the far reed lined margin, both on balanced blow back rigs with 16mm bottom baits and 10mm yellow scuds, the scuds really do compliment a balanced rig like this and having tested it in the silty margins of other waters, i know the rig sits just proud of the bottom. A few pouches of corn and B1 pellet to the stream, a dozen pouches of pellet and 40 bacteria bottom baits out to the left hand rod and 50 baits flicked out along the far margin with the throwing stick. It was time for a brew.

Reaching for the kettle the rod on the stream gave 2 bleeps, peering round the corner of the bivvy i saw the rod bucking in the rests, fish on. A short but spirited fight ensued, the fish managing to make sanctuary int he reeds for a few seconds before constant pressure brought it back into open water, once in the margins it ploughed around on the surface and made some strong dives but was soon under control and in the back of the net. This was a very long mirror. It was carrying a fair amount of mucus build up, so after a few shots on the camera by a well timed syndicate member, the fish was treated and returned non the worse for his ordeal, for such a long fish of around 36 inches he only weighed in at 15lb 3 oz, but the weight of these fish are irrelevant to me, its all about catching these elusive fish. Shortly after the release of the fish and before id had chance to re bait, the left hand rod was nodding in the rests resulting in a bream of around 3 1/2 lb.

cracking start to a session

With the 2 rods replaced into their successful positions it was finally time for that much needed brew. Sitting back i was suddenly aware of what had actually happened, the rigs had been in the water for around 10 minutes and had given me my 3rd carp from the venue on my 3rd visit. I could have wrapped and gone home i was so happy to have succeeded in banking another. Thoughts turned to what may happen during the rest of the session. Lunch time came and went with little sighting of fish, the tufties and coots were making short work of the bait i had applied to the left hand rod, but were leaving the other two areas alone. Ill settle for that, at least 2 spots were nice and quiet. With such an early start and a tiring drive down in the heavy rain, i thought id treat myself to an hour or so on the bed with my feet up, i was happy and content, if i didn't have another fish this session i would still be content with the result. I was persecuted by the wildlife and decided to leave them to clean me out and top the swim up as darkness fell.

I had not long drifted off into a half slumber when i came too to a take on the left hand rod, flying out to hit it, i leaned into a lump, it spent itself trying to reach the sanctuary of the island and with even pressure was soon kiting away from it to my right, this fish was power-full and felt much heavier than the previous fish. The fight was soon over and in the net sat a large mirror with few scales. 21lb and 3 oz of lean but fighting fit mirror carp. A quick call and i soon had a camera man, i found out the fish to be another of the originals having spent around 48 yrs in the lake. I couldn't believe how my luck was running on the new water.

48 year old creature weighing in at  little over 21lb

With the rod positioned back on the feed spot and with a few hours of daylight left i baited up with around 1/2 kg of bacteria pellets along with another 40 baits, i could finally settle back for some much needed rest, laying back i couldn't sleep i was still too overwhelmed by my day. I spent the rest of the day and much of the evening watching the water and after a hearty Balti curry i finally succumbed to sleep.

Unusually for me i slept through the night and woke to the dawn chorus and a finer day than the previous, although there had been a heavy ground frost, the cold wind was still pushing straight at me but the sky's were blue, promising some much needed sunshine. By mid morning, the sun was as high in the sky as it was going to get, yet it had barely lit the bivvy up, the far bank was bathed in glorious sunshine and i was confident the rod over on that margin could produce a fish. The day passed, along with thoughts of the move, i was going nowhere, although id seen little and received no indications of fish present in the area, this day, i couldn't move out of the swim having had it produce two fish for me. The temperatures dropped in the night due to the clear sky's and the third day broke with very similar conditions, a heavy frost and clear blue sky's, as much as it meant it was going to be a nice day again, the low pressure that had produced the fish for me had long passed, leaving high pressure and tougher winter conditions for catching carp. I was unsure whether to see the final night out  but mid afternoon the stream rod went off on a run, leaning into what initially i thought was a big bream, i steered it passed the reeds before realising it was a small mirror, the fight was over in seconds and my 5th fish from the venue was nestled in the folds of the net. How could i even think of leaving when they were obviously still in the area and prepared to feed. The fish was a small one at around 8lb, its is one of the resulting fish from a successful spawn a few years back

With the evening drawing on i put the last of my pellet into the area around the left hand rod and topped up with another 40 baits, i decided to bring the middle rod into open water with a scattering of 20 baits in a wide area around it and flicked out a few more pouches of corn around the stream with that rod positioned to the near edge to avoid the line passing through the swim. The evening passed quickly and i packed the bulk of the kit in readiness for an early departure. I set the phone to ensure i didn't sleep through but there was little chance of that with the start of the dawn chorus at around 6.30, i had the spare time for a cuppa before the rods had to be brought back in, it was now or never for a final fish, it was not to be, but after the session id had, i wasn't overly worried, i left anticipating the next session in a couple of weeks time.

The Old Hall

Towards the end of last season i was shown around a lovely old estate lake and given the opportunity of a ticket on it for this up coming season, i accepted and made mental plans over the last few months of the year, thoughts of the lake drifted in and out of my mind as the year came to a close. The lake is only fished by a select hand full of anglers and i was honoured to have been given the chance to go at some ancient creatures residing in there, many of which are nearing the ripe old age of 50 years. At around 4 acres and around 35 fish this was to be a new challenge with the chance of some stunning old fish.

With the new year being very mild and late January exceptionally warm it was time for a visit and a 2 night session was organised. Arriving with around half an hour of darkness still, i wandered the banks and found a comfy spot halfway along one bank, with high winds forecast to fish the opposite bank would have been foolish,  this spot would give me pretty much a full view of the lake due to the lack of canopy on the trees.
Having got the kit sorted and home built, it was out with the marker rod to find some likely areas to fish this session and to get an overall idea of water depths, silt patches and such like. Finding the marginal shelf quite sandy and containing areas of interest, with a few feet of water above it, a margin rod was established and baited up lightly. The other rods were fished out toward an island and one in open water, both surrounded by a light scattering of bait. Once settled i did a little marker work from the swims adjacent to my area, i could pretty much get a lead to most areas and finished up with a good mental image of the lake bed and structure. The lake slopes away gradually from the shallower north east corner to around 8 ft in front of the left hand end, no drop offs or features were found, but i occasionally felt the drag of silt.

Over the 2 days i spent up there, much of it was in driving rain and howling winds, i spent much of my time watching the water for signs of fish, but so early on in the year it was unlikely i would spot anything to go on and the session ticked away nicely towards its end.

It would be 2 weeks before i could get myself back up to the Old Hall lake and again i managed to arrive with an hour of darkness still on me. I had been working on a pre-conceived idea that the fish would be sitting in the deeper water for the winter so i settled into the bottom left corner of the lake, again with the strong winds coming off my back, giving me as much escape and comfort from the gusting wind as i could gain. Following through with my plans i fished a rod about a third of the way along the west bank, this went out on a balanced corn bait, over a few handfuls of corn and a similar quantity of B1 pellets, into 8 ft of water. With the line left to settle slackly onto the lake bed, it was time to prepare the other spot. I wanted to present a decent spread of bait in a good depth of water, so found a spot in seven foot of water, within comfy range for flicking pva bags out to, dropping the two rods no more than 10ft apart. I deposited a spread of 40 16mm B1 baits around the hook baits, and topped up the area with  dozen pouches of the B1 pellet.

As the afternoon drew on i had been harassed by the bird life with coots, tufties and moorhens all competing for the food id applied to my swims, but after a few had dived and came shooting up to the surface and clearing off out the area, i was sure there were carp present in the area. As darkness fell the left hand rod gave a couple of bleeps and then proceeded to rip off, i leaned into my first Old hall carp, it steamed along the reed lined margins all the time attempting to bury itself in them, i kept the pressure on and in time the fish turned out into the lake and kited across towards me and into my margins, after a few more dives in the shallow edge i managed to steer it over the net and the fish was mine.

A stunning common carp of 16lb 9 oz, a true bar of gold, with pictures done it was slipped back to its watery home and i was happy as a pig in muck. Off the mark so early into the season on the lake, i was on cloud 9.

The evening passed and in due course it was time to get some needed sleep, the night was uneventful and i woke to a slate grey sky with howling gales and driving rain. Not wanting to disturb the areas i was fishing i decided i would leave the rods alone for the day and by late afternoon the daylight hours were drawing to a close and had passed with no indications or sightings of fish. With the rods baited up with fresh hook baits and again small pva bags they were dropped back into the same areas and a few more pouches of pellets applied to the swim. Again the second night passed with no disturbance. With just one night left the weather on the Saturday morning took a turn for the worst, the gale force winds had picked up and were battering at me, some of the gusts were starting to scare me. By mid afternoon i was coming close to calling an early end to the session, the wind was getting even worse and was now driving the rain horizontally across the lake in waves, the surface of the water being whipped up to a foam. The decision to stay on was not made lightly but with just an hour of day light to go there seemed to be a drop in the amount and strengths of of the gusts, although the constant battering of the gale was still taking its toll on me. The rods were sorted out and re positioned on the spots with the exception of the right hand rod that was flicked up towards the right hand margin but in the deeper water off the marginal shelf. My decision to move this rod came about simply due to the fact that the previous carp had come from what was pretty much a marginal spot, albeit with 8ft of water above it. Shortly after darkness fell, this rod went into meltdown, lifting into a weighty fish it started to kite towards the reed line, but with gentle even pressure it was steered back into the open water. It wouldn't be too long before i slipped the net under my second Old Hall common carp, immediately i was aware this was one of the original fish from the lake and my spirits roared, one of the ancient beasts was in the net. A call went out to a couple of the lads who fish this water and it wasn't long before i had a hand with the photographing of such an ancient fish.

With the excitement over and the fish returned, i escaped the weather and got back into the comfort of the bivvy, dried off and racked up the kettle, a brew was well overdue. The last night passed pleasantly considering the howling gale and driving rain. The pack down the following morning being a wet one was done in haste, but prior to leaving the remainder of the bait i had with me went out onto the areas i had been fishing.