The Ancient Mere

Many years ago, 30 at least, a friend and i used to fish an ancient heavily wooded pool, we used to have to get the first bus out of the depot and laden down with fishing gear make the exhausting journey from the nearest bus stop to the venue, then make our way to the farthest end through dense woodland where we used to squirrel ourselves away out of sight for the weekend. The lake was private and no fishing back then.

Recently i met a chap who re awakened my memories for the mere and i finally got around to making a visit around the pool, albeit in driving torrential rain.
A local club currently has the fishing rights to the place and its generally fished by day anglers who pursue the bream in the water. Much has changed on the venue, its in serious disrepair and nature has took a hold over most of the lake again, there are plenty of spots for a day angler to fish but to spend a night on there is tricky, the areas that are accommodating are very small and you would be pushed to get a brolly set up with a bed underneath, getting across to the far side, which is vaguely fish able entails a clamber over a very rickety bridge, that reminds me of something out of raiders of the lost ark !
Once over the bridge there are about 5 areas that could be fished, this area in the first shot is shallow and very silty in the margins, conditions for landing fish is awkward but while spending time watching the area i would see a fish roll a few times, size wise i would put it at around mid double, it had good length but appeared quite lean. Next shot is from the main body of water to the left of the bridge, very narrow bank sides, but fish able. As you travel further along this bank the swims get tighter and less fish able, but the potential for stalking fish is high. Along the banks the marginal cover is high, detritus and dead fall are under every tree, snags galore and deep liquid silt abounds everywhere, this shot is possibly one of the better areas for setting up in. The shots shown are from swims that may be comfy enough to night fish, albeit awkward and uncomfortable. I'm contemplating a ticket on here for the autumn/winter as a local venue i can drop onto for quick sessions.  The damn end of the lake is completely impossible to fish, you could sit on a chair here but again , not a feasible area to spend a night.

As for the stock of the place....who knows !

The Old Hall pt 8

Having had a fantastic session the previous session i was on a high, the lakes residents were responding very well to the Bacteria B1's, the more i put in the more i seemed to be getting out. I had been spending a fair amount of time up in the shallows but felt like i needed a change of scenery. I arrived under the last of darkness and headed to the deep water, setting up in a comfortable swim that gave me access to most of the bottom end of the lake. The rods went out on the usual blow back rigs fitted with 18mm bottom baits topped off with 8mm scuds as sighters. Forecast had been for an overcast session with a wind blowing from the north east, how could they have got it so wrong ? By mid morning it was roasting hot, i was seeing little of the fish until a 3rd visit to the shallows would see me sighting 18 carp milling around along the reed line and stream mouths. Back to the kit and it was dropped and stowed within minutes, I arrived at the shallows and made the decision to fish the opposite bank to give me some shade from the relentless sun.
With the rods positioned on areas Ive caught from it was time for some shut eye. The day passed over far too quickly and evening was soon on me. The fish were still present but appearing to not want to feed. I reassured myself that this would change during the darkness. To my surprise i woke the following morning after undisturbed sleep. The fish were still present in the shallower water so the rods were left stationary till lunchtime before re baiting was in order. I had applied the bulk of my bait to an area in the deeper water before the move so i was limited until my bait was dropped off. Once this happened i was able to put out a couple of kg and settle two rods onto the area. Again the evening came and went and it was time to vacate the lake and head home. I felt defeated and a little confused as to why the carp wouldn't feed. Realistically i knew the weather was at fault but it didn't stop me questioning my move, should i have stayed in the initial swim and sat it out for the chance of a night time result ? One good thing was that the fish could feed freely over the large bed of bait without the hindrance of lines in the water over the next few days.

The next session couldn't come quickly enough, the blank spell had knocked my confidence a little. Determined to stick to my plan of refusing to move to the shallows i set up in a swim id not fished since my second session. I was tucked away into a corner of the deep end, giving me acres of water to go at and a complete view of the lake to watch for signs of these elusive carp.
It would be minutes before my friendly goose came to live with me for the session.

I had a margin rod up the right hand side of the lake in the deeper channel and one along the other margin to my left in front of the reed beds, both in 7 ft of water. Both rods had received a kg of the SAE Bacteria B1s in 18mm to help avoid the annoying bream that are present in great numbers. The middle rod was positioned into 5ft of water at a range of 80 yards from the corner, in effect fishing down the middle of the lake. This rod was fished over 3kg initially with a light topping up before dark and then again at first light
The day had been hot again, with temps up in the 29C and a light northerly breeze pushing straight into my corner. Early afternoon would see me getting up for a stretch of the back to find a dozen fish 4 yards out in front of me. Quickly and quietly i retrieved the left hand rod and switched it over to a zig rig, overcasting it and drawing it back to the vicinity of the fish, it was soon settled and i sat back eagerly awaiting the take that never arrived. By mid afternoon the fish had disappeared, there was no sign of anything in the area until evening came. As darkness fell the lake came alive, fish rolling and popping their heads out all along the reed line. Fully expecting a take i sat it out till nearly dawn when the eyelids were drooping and i couldn't stay awake any longer. I turned in.
Another hot day greeted me when i rose to start the 2nd morning, i had had about 4 hours sleep and felt rough. Coffee, breakfast and a smoke soon had me feeling human again. With little signs of fish, and no activity on the rods, i was starting to have doubts again, was i getting it so very wrong after believing i was getting in tune with the water ? Should i stay put or go wandering to the shallows?  I knew there would be fish up there, sunning themselves and boating around, but getting them to pick up baits was tough up there.
Tiredness and laziness made me stay put, the day was already up into the high 28C and looking to rise more, the breeze from the previous day had picked up and was pushing directly at me again giving a pleasant cooling feel to the day. Hoping the fish would arrive in the corner again, i opted to set 2 zigs in position before they arrived. Both margin rods were soon in place. One on a trimmed down scud, the other on small pieces of yellow foam.
Throughout the day i would see one or two fish appearing in the heavy chop but identifying them was impossible, a few good lumps were about in the area, so it was time to sit on the hands and wait it out. Evening arrived far too quickly and after a good meal and departure imminent at 7am the following morning, much of the kit was packed and stowed away for a quick pack down. As darkness encroached the left hand rod went into meltdown, lifting into a small carp i still prayed it stayed on. Once in the net i saw a little 11lb common. Elated that i had banked it and saved the session, a quick mat shot was taken for the records and it was slipped back. Fish number 20 from the venue was mine albeit a little un. With the rod soon positioned back on the area, i decided it was time for bed. Sleep wouldn't come, amazing how sometimes such a small fish can mean so much.

14lb 11oz

I woke to a single beep and saw the middle alarm lit up. The bobbin on the line was still in the same position, i layed back down and as my head touched the pillow the rod went off, with fishing open water i had no need to have a tight spool and this fish took advantage of it and went off on a long run, shoes on and out into a pitch black night, with a fish bucking around on the end of the line, it was soon under control and heading to the waiting net. Again a small fish at 14lb 11oz, but i didn't care, it was yet another rarely caught beast from the old hall venue. My confidence in myself and my rigs was back.