The Old Hall pt 16

Well this blog has certainly taken time to come together, apologies to those who read them and follow my exploits. What can i say, this summer has come and gone so quickly, I've put in the usual amount of time on the lake, fishing every second week for a couple of nights, at the height of summer the lake was hit with an algae bloom that within a week of starting would see the gin clear water turn to a dark green, oxygen levels were low and the fishing was tough, These fish tend to sight feed, of this I'm sure due to the amount that come out to high viz white scud pop ups that i top my bottom baits off with. So once the algae took a hold it wasn't long before it resembled pea soup.
I was still catching consistently, picking up a fish or two in the session, these mainly being the stocky commons that went in a few years ago, they ranged from 12 to 16lb and are definitely on there way forward, the spinal growth on some of these fish is pretty impressive, they're getting bigger without getting fat belly's !

 Unlike last year where i tended to fish one end of the lake or the other, this summer i tended to concentrate on the middle of the lake fishing out towards but away from the floating island. The bite times became pretty obvious after a session or two and the dark hours were prime, so with the lake being busy with duck feeders and dog walkers in the day it made sense to switch over to snoozing in the day and staying up through the dark hours. At least that was the plan. My pet goose had had chicks and they were growing so fast , each session i was astounded at the differences, now they are fully grown and join her in the daily visits and overnight stays at my bivvy, 3 geese is getting a bit noisy now and i wonder if and when they may fledge. I'm hoping they leave with the Canada geese when they start to fill the lake up any day now.

Among the commons i was catching i also picked up a couple more small mirrors scraping the 10lb mark, some of these are going to be fine fish in a few seasons.
With the summer in full bloom, a recapture of some of the ancient original residents, the Stumpy common, Twin Scales and the Chestnut mirror all within a session of each other were added to the tally, and wherever stumpy is I'm sure single scale would have been close by. I spent the summer searching for the big pale fish i had seen the previous season but with the algae bloom continuing right through till mid September sightings of any carp were rare. As with last year the fish are only ever showy after dark, when if its a quiet night you can track them around the lake with just the use of your ears.

The Ancient Stumpy common @ 19+

Chestnut

The Ancient Twinscales @11lb

September was a tough month up there, but the algae was dropping out and the night time temperatures were plummeting with the effect of cooling the water down nicely. The lake is around 1000ft above sea level and has a very short spring summer autumn on it , with around 6 months of winter ! The water is still feeling warm to the touch and this session saw me heading away from the shallower top end towards the deep water.

 Settling into the brambles swim it was out with the marker rod to find the small drop of i fish to , as luck would have it the line was still in the clip and after a single cast i found what i was looking for and settled a rod onto it with a small scattering of around 80 SAE bacteria B1s onto it. The 2nd rod was as usual fished towards the reedbed in the usual spot that has provided me with a fair few fish over the last 17 months. The night drew in and was completely uneventful, waking to the dawn chorus and a very misty lake all i could do was get the kettle on the go and sit on my hands for an hour or two.

 


Once the mist lifted the rods were re baited and dropped back into the areas. I'm not one for shouting about the products i use in my fishing as i hate to be an advert, but I've come across what can only be described as the stiffest coated braid hooklink material making the blow back rig  i use as stiff as tying a combi rig without the hassle, its the Fox Camo tec in a clay colour. Really happy with it.

Soon after the sun had burnt through, the temperatures soared and after a few texts off a mate on a lake not too far from where i was, we both agreed that the chances of a fish in these conditions were slim to say the least. Id no sooner put the phone down when the rod off the reeds bent round on a pretty violent take. A strong tussle ensued it initially went for the outlet pipe in the corner to my right, but I've fished this swim a lot and was prepared for this exact scenario, i leaned on the rod and the fish turned into open water. It kited out across me and was soon turned again towards the net, once glance and the fish dived deep into the 7ft of water beneath my feet, getting it off the bottom was not easy and once the fish did come up it rolled in the sunshine and went back down again, it seemed well hooked and even tho i was sure it was Single scale i let it make a few more short runs into open water to try and tire it out ready for netting, one more dive under my feet and she came up and into the net with ease.  At 22lb15oz shes the biggest fish of the year for me so far so although a repeat capture i felt a shot was well deserved. So that's that then really, there's a repeat capture of a fish that i would like, this being the coach mirror, only to see how its progressed since i had it in march or April last year. A very elusive fish for sure. I'm still chasing the ultra elusive big pale fish that hasn't been out for 15 years now and theres a small cluster of ancient beasts that are proving tricky as hell to trip up , I'm starting to wonder if they just don't eat boilies !

The Ancient Single Scale @ 22lb 15 oz