I'd fancied fishing Rolf's for years, but never had the chance or inclination; I don't really enjoy match fishing and I didn't want to shell out on an open just to have a play. However, thanks to a thread on MD I found out about pleasure fishing the lake, and a few phone calls later, I was booked in to fish.
I arrived in time for the 8am opening, suitably breakfasted, armed with tackle and ready to have a go. Objectives for the day were (1) not blank & (2) not embarrass myself.
I met John Bennett in the car park, paid up, bought some fishery pellets and asked about pegs. John kindly showed my around some pegs (22-19) and made a few suggestions. I settled on peg 19, (scene of a former Godber experience I believe), at the right hand end of the lake, this has a bush tight to the left, a long margin away to the right and a tree/bush extending into the water at 10m on the right. These were the suggested target areas.
I set up three pole lines. 3 metres to the left under the bush, 8m straight out and 10m to the right towards the trees. Plumbing up I found that all three lines were similar depths, (give or take a pole float length), so I decided to start with one 0.20mm rig to size 10 hook and adjust the depth between lines.
Each line fed with 6mm pellets and in I went with a large expander on the hook and waited for the action to start. 10 minutes straight out. Nothing. Right, nothing. Left, nothing. I ran through the different lines, pellet, paste, nothing.
55 minutes after starting fishing the float finally buried on the straight ahead line. A brief fight and a pound and a half bream lay in the landing net – hooked fairly and squarely in the anal fin. Objective (a) achieved, blank avoided. Sort of.
With renewed enthusiam I started reworking the lines. Nothing again. I set up a lighter rig to a 14 hook for the straight ahead line in case the skimmers were present. Nothing, although there was the odd dip and rattle on the float. Hmm.
Almost to the minute, an hour after the bream, the lighter rig dipped on the straight ahead line and suddenly there was proper resistance. The fish hung deep and steady, the yellow elastic compensated and soon the common carp surfaced and slipped into the landing net. All 12lb 8oz of it. Nice.
Back out again, suitably boosted that the fish had appeared. Nothing for an hour. Then two fish shed the hook. Two quick bites on corn (missed both). Then nothing. Then a quick bite and very brief fight and a 6lb 8oz common.
Then nothing for an hour.
Out to the right line and eventually I started to get little knocks, suggesting there were fish present. Eventually a half hearted bite. Nothing. Another one. A biref fight and a hook pull. Then a proper bite and yellow elastic everywhere.
A good five minutes later and a foul-hooked common eventually found the landing net. It'd been hard work and but 16lb 8oz of carp was in.
I reworked the line on the right, played with the presentation and started to see regular knocks. Seems like the fish had turned on. A few false starts and then the fish started to flow for the next hour or so. 5-8 mirror. 5-0 common. 9-0 mirror. 12-0 common. 12-0 mirror. All in the space of an hour.
Then it went quiet. So I refed and tried the line to the left. A few bobbles of the float, so I deepened off and tried paste. 3 minutes and a run away bite. 11-8 common.
Back in on the left and five minutes later another wrenching bite, but this was a big fish. 10 minutes later and it was all but under control, a brief view of the fish showed it to be a big common, maybe 20lb or so and possibly foul-hooked near the head.
It made one last gasp run, elastic nearly bottomed out. And then the hook pulled. Oh dear (or words to that effect).
Try as I might I could not buy another bite for the next hour or so before I needed to pack up. But I'd had a fish or two, 5 doubles, no tackle breaks and I leant one or two things should I come back. A good day (90lb), but clearly there is more to learn on this venue.
I may be back at some time.
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