Hurlston Hall on a Bank Holiday Monday.... You having a laugh?

Common Carp 9lb 6oz

It's Bank Holiday Monday, and that means one thing to me. Fishing! So after a good few hours of deliberating where to fish today I settled on giving Rosemary Wood another crack. I arrived there at 7.15am to find that the gate was still locked. I waited until around 7.45am still locked. I drove to Hurlston Hall to see how busy it was, surprisingly it wasn't that bad, I joined the queue and I lasted there for around 5 minutes, there was a gang of around 5 lads and they were already acting like idiots, so I took this as a sign of things to come and headed back to Rosemary Wood, which unbelievably was still not open waited once again (Now in a queue) until 8.15am I lost my patience and for my sins headed back to Hurlston. What a nightmare, I was up at 6.00am this morning as I wanted to make a day of it. I was finally rods in by around 9.00am Grrrrrrrrrrrr! The wind was still howling like a demented banshee, so made fishing hard work again. There wasn't too amny people fishing there today, it would seem that the winds and the threat of rain had put them well off. Around 4.00pm I had a screaming run on my left hand rod, a Carp had succumbed to a double fake sweetcorn and a smattering of free offerings. I struck into the fish and I felt the weight of a very big fish, when disaster happened. Unforgivably my main line snapped. Lets just say that I will be investing in some more reliable line this coming week, although if I'm honest it was probably a nick in the line caused by me when getting tangled in a tree or something similar, but I'm not prepared to take any more chances. I had to wait until around 7.30pm until I landed my first and only fish of the day. A fabulous fighting Common Carp which battled for around 5 minutes. It weighed 9lb 6oz, and was a fine example of some of the residents of Hurlston Hall, and which is why I return there time and time again. Admittedly it's not the best of waters but it's good value for money at £6 for two rods and £7 for 3 it's a great water for trying out new rigs and techniques.

Hurlston hall on a Bank Holiday weekend you'd have to be mad!

First Common Carp caught on 360 rig

As the title would suggest you would have to be mad to fish Hurlston hall on a bank holiday weekend. But the weather wasn't too clever and was blowing an absolute howler. So I guessed that this would put off a lot of the numpty's that would normally grace the bank. I was right, it wasn't as packed as normal. I headed to the bottom of the lake to the middle peg which is more isolated. I set my bivvy up and settled down for the day. By 5.00pm I hadn't even had a bite. I decided to do something that whilst carping I hadn't done before, pack up and change peg. I favoured one of the pegs near the biggest patch of lilly pads. In all I caught 2 Carp both around the 7 to 8lb mark. Not the best of sessions today, and 60+ mph winds certainly had it's effects on the day.

Windy again!!!

Today was not the best of days for making my Anglezarke debut on my feeder rod. To say it was windy would be an understatement. Although I knew it would be tough going I decided to give it a go. The water was very choppy and was not ideal for fishing on the tip. I lasted around half an hour. There was no chance I was fishing into 60+ mph winds. I headed off to Beacon View Fishery for the rest of the day. Not too much action as I only caught 2 Bream. I may head back there Monday and have a Carping session.

Blank at Twin Lakes

A few hours at Twin Lakes drew a blank today. I'm convinced that this lake is not very well stocked, and there is certainly no head of Carp in there. After talking to other members they too have their suspicions. The majority of fish that come of the lake seem to be Skimmer Bream and Roach, perhaps this lake is better suited to Match Men. I'm not saying I'm never going to fish there again but it's time to give it a rest for a bit. As for the picture of Maggots, I bought a new camera today and was going to take some pictures using the Super Macro feature, the detail from the Fuji Fine Pic is stunning I was going to take some close up shots of a fish or two, alas I was thwarted.

Twin lakes and the usual couple of Eels

A few hours at Twin Lakes on my tip rod didn't produce too many fish. I caught another 2 Eels and one skimmer bream. I did notice though that I was getting a few bites further out than I normally cast, so I may head back tomorrow and cast a few yards futher.

Quick afternoon session at Sollom

Bream 3lb 5ozFirst Perch of the year

A pretty slow session on the canal today. I fished at Sollom and used my tip rod again. Not many bites at all, also too many Canal boats for my liking. I did though catch 2 fish, my first Perch of the year about 10 oz, and my biggest Bream of the year weighing in at 3lb 5oz.

First Night Session Wyreside On Saint Michael

This was to be it, Myself and Beef's first Carping night session. We'd booked onto Wyreside On Saint Michael Fishery. We arrived at 8.30pm and rods were in Bivvies set up all by 9.oopm. Beef was on peg 14 and myself on 15. The place is very nice and tidy, there is no litter, the pegs are wood chipped and kept in very nice order. There is an on site tackle shop that is very well stocked and there isn't much you're left wanting for. There is also a fantastic Cafe that serves up some delicious treats alas I was soon to learn that it is closed Monday's and Tuesday's (Much to Beef's delight!) As I hadn't packed any food DOH! I was OK though as I snaffled my way through Beef's ample supply of goodies. After discussing tactics for the next day we called it a night by about midnight, it was surprisingly cold and my sleeping bag was a welcome sight I was zipped right in like a caterpillar. It seem to take me an age to get to sleep, I've not really done much camping in the past so it took me a while to get used to the great outdoors. I'd finally gotten off to sleep when at around 3.ooam I was awoken by a Visitor to my Bivvy. It was Beef! "I've Just been snapped off" "Right I'm coming mate" I said in a tired stupor. I stumbled over to his bivvy and we worked out what had happened. He had been into a monster of a catfish which had fought the length of the island until finally his braided hook length gave way and snapped. It would seem that the abrasive pads from it's mouth had ground the braid down and finally gave way. To say he was gutted would be an understatement. Which got us talking about the often raised issue. When fishing is it better to have love and lost than never loved at all? I'm not so sure as Beef was rueful all day, many a time he was in deep thought as to what might have been. As it turns out that was about as exciting as it got as we didn't see any more action the whole time we were there. After we packed up we walked around the lake and compared notes with other anglers. It turns out that in the 24 hour period that we were there a total of 3 fish came off the lake. This is due to the unfortunate timing of our visit. We fished there just as they were starting to spawn. No matter what we threw at then they just were not interested. So then from this session I will take away a few positives. I enjoyed night fishing, I had time to practice a few new rigs and got to grips with the 360 degree rig (The uni knot) which can be absolutely deadly, and will be using it to full effect over the next few weeks, a certain winner! A revenge mission is already on the cards and hopefully we'll be booking the pegs for a visit in the next 2 weeks, lets let them finish off their spawning first ;-)

Where has Summer gone?

I had arranged a session on the canal with Mo today. We arrived at around 7.15am. After basking in the sun all week and enjoying temperatures in excess of 70f. Today was like stepping back to winter, it was cloudy, light drizzle and breezy and temperatures returning to around 50f. After around an hour on the canal I decided that we should head for Twin Lakes. This is because I thought the fishing would be slow on the canal today and that Twin Lakes would offer better fishing and shelter. The fishing was hardly frantic today, Mo only caught 2 fish and I caught 5 including the usual 2 Eels. Twin Lakes seems to literally switch off in the afternoon better fishing can definitely be had in the morning here.

Rosemary Wood

I arranged to met Beef at Rosemary Wood fishery today, we had decided to fish this venue because the last time we fished there Beef had blanked. This water is proving to be an enigma for the both of us. Although we hear reports that the lake is stocked with a good head of double figure Carp we're yet to see any being caught, either by ourselves or other anglers. I caught a total of 6 fish today, the largest being around only 3lb. Amazingly Beef had to wait around 12 hours before his first run, we had started fishing at around 7.0oam and it was just after 7.00pm before his bite alarms screamed into action. In total Beef caught only 3 fish, again the biggest only around the 3lb mark. The guy who owns the lake stopped for a chat, he told us that the fish are still spawning and he assured us that there are some big fish in the lake. We'll give it one more go in a couple of weeks.

Red hot day but not too much action

My Feeder rod was my weapon of choice today and I opted for a different stretch of the Leeds Liverpool canal. I headed to the Causeway section at Rufford. The weather today was absolutely scorching, once again into the high 70's and there was hardly a cloud in the sky. The fishing though was rather slow, it took a good few hours before my first bite came, I only caught 3 fish in a 6 and a half hour session all three were Bream. The Biggest weighing exactly 2lb's. I may dig out my Pole next week, as I've not used it since around last September

Two sessions in one day on the Leeds Liverpool Canal.

Typical Skimmer Bream

Large Eel caught on a single maggot

A session on my Tip rod at the Leeds Liverpool canal at Sollom was today's choice of fishing. Although the fishing was rather slow, I did catch 4 Skimmer Bream, and a pretty big Eel, it was definitely the biggest Eel I have ever caught, it was over 2 foot long and was caught on a single red maggot. I tried the calming down trick you're supposed to to with Eel's by covering their eyes and stroking their backs. It worked! Amazing! It stayed on the spot where I left it until I touched it. I shot some footage of this on my camera (See clip) If the weather holds out tonight I'm going to head back there until dark...........

The Return!

I arrived back at the canal at around 7.30pm. And made my way back to the same spot I was fishing at earlier in the day. It took me a while to get my first bite and when it came it was another Eel, again quite a mature Eel and easily over a pound in weight. In total I caught 3 Eels and a Bream of around 1lb 7oz. Not a lot of fish, but it was great experience for fishing into the dark on my tip rod. A few more night sessions are definitely on the cards. I finally called it a day at 11.30pm

Relaxing Day at Twin Lakes

Biggest catch of the dayDusk at Twin Lakes

A nice relaxing day at Twin Lakes today, far removed from the Circus of other waters. My chosen fishing method was once again my Feeder rod. My first cast of the day produced a little Skimmer Bream of around 3oz. I was getting a bite a cast early on. Noticeably the lake seemed to switch off after dinner until around half four, myself and other anglers struggled to even get a bite. In total I caught 22 fish today, mostly Skimmer Bream (The biggest around a pound and a half) the odd Roach and a few Eels. I hate the things, the way they crawl up your line and leave slime everywhere. This fish is my least favourite, and I like to avoid them at all costs (Blurrrgh!)

Getting Sniggy with it!

"We're not being competitive today, but how many fish have you had?"

Twin lakes was the destination again today. Met Beef in the car park at 8.45 am. We had decided to have a nice relaxing day away from the rat race at our local Carp waters. I fished on my Feeder rod and was soon into fish. In total I caught 16, mostly Skimmers and a few Roach, no fish of any size. Beef fished on his Match rod and was also catching well, finishing his session with 12 fish. I might add at this point that although he will not admit it, Beef is very competitive. He decided today that we would not be competing and there would be no winners or losers, how come then he kept asking how many fish I'd caught? Also how come he wouldn't let me forget that he caught the biggest fish of the day? ;-) Just as I was about to pack up I hooked into a fish that was much bigger in size, line was peeling off my reel and my rod was bent right over, after a battle of around 5 minutes my hook length snapped. Gutted! Still it's settled a debate that I was having with myself again. Where should I fish tomorrow? I'll head back there, I've bought 2 pints of maggots, so I'm well armed for a long session.

A Scorcher of a day at Hurlston Hall

Common Carp 7lb 14oz

Another Common 9lb 4oz

Beef's new friend

Cracking common caught on floating bread

Commons were definitely common today

The weather was absolutely gorgeous today, the temperature hit the high 70's. Perfect Carping weather. After much discussion between myself and Beef we decided once again to head to Hurlston Hall, the reason for this is that the last two times we fished there, we didn't do that well. I put this down our choices of swim. On Monday I observed the lake and in particular which pegs were producing the most fish, so armed with this knowledge we went to the pegs that were producing the goods. A Good decision, as between Myself and Beef we landed 17 fish between us. 10 for Beef and 7 for myself, my catches were 4 Tench and 3 Common Carp. one at around 6lb one at 7lb 14oz, and finally my biggest Carp from this water at 9lb 4oz. All my Carp were caught with hair rigged 12mm halibut pellets. Beef had a fantastic time, he was caining them by using floating bread, he had around 7 or 8 commons to around 9lb 7oz. Apart from a brief visit from the Circus again we had a great day today. Next time I fish there I'll have a go at surface fishing.

Don't forget to put your bait runner on!

The Circus has most definitely come to town

The question is why? Why did I do it? What on earth possessed me to go to Hurlston Hall on a Bank Holiday Monday? I had other options, much better options, I could have gone Pikeing at Anglezarke reservoir I could have relaxed and enjoyed the peace and tranquility of a beautiful nature reserve. But I didn't, instead I seem to enjoy punishing myself by venturing to this water time and time again at it's busiest periods. The place was absolutely full of mindless idiots. Hurling abuse at each other and at other anglers, the profanities are loud and free flowing, and never have I seen such awful fish handling, from being dropped on their heads to being chucked onto the banking without the use of an unhooking mat. An awful sight. Lines were cast without a care or thought for other anglers, many a line was cast into my area. I'm sick to death of them, They know who they are! I saw a few fish come off today, most of them came from right opposite me. The biggest was aledgedly 24lb. My catches for the day are as follows.................................., that concludes today's captures. A gut wrenching blank! Where i ask you is the justice in that? The only good things about today are that my mate Ben came down for a few hours and that my Mrs came with a Dominoes Pizza take away. Like my post title says 'The circus has most definitely come to town'

R.I.P OLD FAITHFUL

A very half hearted attempt at lure fishing today, made my way to my local lake Bretherton and Croston, I really am struggling to get to grips with this water, this is because it is so weedy, every time I retrieve my lure it comes back looking like it's wearing a wig. I soon gave up and went to the Canal. I lasted there around 20 minutes, I returned home as I was less than enthusiastic as I was so tired. Had another sneaky session just before sunset, didn't catch though. I was talking to a guy who apparently often walks his dog on this section, he asked me quite a few questions about Pikeing, he then told me that a few weeks earlier he'd found a lure in the spot we were chatting at, I couldn't believe it, he'd found my Abu-Garcia lure that I'd lost there a few weeks ago, he told me that he didn't take it home and that he'd left it there hanging on a post. Gutted! So close to being re-united.

Hurlston Hall

Crucian Carp 1lb 13ozBeef's Common Carp 6lb 3oz

A full days session at Hurlston Hall was on the agenda today. Met Beef and made our way to one of our favoured pegs. Spring is well and truly here, the lilly pads are starting to break through the surface and awaking from the winter slumber. The hedge rows and trees have been given their colour back. Everything just seems so green . Confidence was sky high today. I used The Method on one rod and bolt rigs on the other two. Beef was the first to catch, with his traditional Tench. Within two or three minutes I too was in to a fish, and landed my first Crucian Carp of the year, it weighed 1lb 13oz. Beef caught a couple more Tench and then that was it, someone flicked the switch and the lake switched off. I caught the Crucian at around 10.30am and didn't catch again at all, a very poor showing. Beef also went most of the day without a catch, until around thirty minutes before we packed up, he landed a Common Carp at 6lb 3oz. I really thought we'd cain the fish on here today, confidence was high and the conditions looked perfect. I'll head back there on a revenge mission in the next week or so. We had a quick twenty minute lure session at the Red Lion stretch of the Leeds Liverpool canal. No Joy! But it felt great to be using the lure rod again, after a two week break it was like seeing an old friend.