Every year I set myself a target – fish three venues
that I’ve not been to before. This might sound a bit odd, but it forces me to
get out and about and stops me going to the same old comfortable places.
So, with a few days to myself, a trip to Fancott was
called for. I knew very little about the place, except what could be gleaned
from its website http://www.fancottfishery.co.uk/
so with a mixed forecast (light rain to start, giving way to drier conditions)
I set off up the M1 leaving at junction 12.
I found the fishery easily
enough and found myself in the car park a few minutes before it opened, a quick
read through the extensive noticeboard, get the gear loaded and pull the willies
on (it was a bit wet underfoot) and I was good to go.
The lake itself is a
reasonable size, with 20-odd pegs and absolutely packed with features. From the
map on the website I fancied peg 23 fishing out to the island on the pole.
However, when I got there it was clear that this was not such a good idea, the
island was only about 5 metres away and shipping back looked a challenge, so I
set off further around the lake settling on peg 13/14.
What attracted me to this
peg was the island a long pole range, an extensive inlet margin on the right
and the dozen small carp sat on the top.
The bottom was fairly even
across from the edge of the platform out to 11 metres it was an even 3 foot or
so, then it rose up steadily to about half that tight to the island. However,
the sight of a pole float tethered tight to the island suggested the tight was
not necessarily a good thing.
So, I decided to start
just short of the island on the pole, large expander pellet style and see what
happened, I might have a look at the far right margin at some point, but
shipping looked rather more complex than I would have liked due to a tree at 2
o’clock. I also flicked a few pellets at the carp – they melted away as expected
but at least I was in a fishy corner (or at least I hoped I was).
Second put in and the
float buried, but a 3oz roach was not the desired outcome. In fact another 5
similar roach that followed was not ideal before a stocky mirror of 12 ounce or
so made it to the landing net.
After about 30 mins I
pushed over to the island at 13 metres and again started getting touches on the
float, and eventually a proper bite. Yellow no. 22 elastic streamed from the
pole tip as at last I’d made contact. I gently applied some pressure as the
fish (presumably a good carp) shot off away to the right side of the island
towards a moorhen’s nest. In a second it was in the roots and the 0.15mm line
parted. Bugger.
Re-rigged with 0.19mm line
I pushed back out to the island – although it was shallow, so unlikely to hold
a lot of fish at the same time, it might be good for another fish.
A few more knocks and
another good fish on. This time I steered it clear of the island and it went
left. And promptly shed the hook. Then it went quiet.
I alternated lines for a
while, and fed tight with the cad pot and managed eventually to hook two more
carp. Which both also shed the hook. It was clearly going to be one of those
days.
Then, I hooked a good fish
and the hook stayed in. I played it out gently, got the pole halfway back to
keep it away from the island, when suddenly it swam round to the right and
straight under the platform. Securely wedged (the hook had long since been
transferred to the timber structure) I pulled for a break. It was 5-0 to the
carp, and I hadn’t actually fished that badly.
I tried a few different
things, picking up some more roach on smaller pellet and a couple more stockie
carp, but a proper lump evaded me. Bites on the far side seemed to be a bit hit
and miss so I thought I’d cut my losses and set up a dedicated roach line and
switch between the two.
A size 16 hook and a soft
4mm or 6mm pellet produced a bite a chuck at 6 metres and more immaculate roach
followed. After 10 roach I tried the far
line again – a few quick bites but no carp, then back to the roach. And so it
continued for a little while.
Every now and again there
was proper bubbling on the roach line, but these looked a little like skimmer bubbles
so I let in run.
I was finally hooked a
decent fish on the island line (a tench of about a pound and a half) when the
owner wandered round the lake and we had a chat. He was extremely helpful in
understanding the water, the pegs and the best tactics to use and also confirming
there were no skimmers in the lake (maybe two, but no more) so the bubbles
might well be carp.
To cut a long story short,
I carried on alternating lines and eventually hooked a 5lb mirror carp on the
roach line. It led me a pretty dance on no. 10 elastic, but was netted without
too much drama. The bubbles continued, so I decided to drop in a proper carp rig (to keep
the roach at bay) and see what would happen.
Well, an hour later and I’d had a few knocks, a lot of
bubbles, but no fish with neither big pellet nor paste doing any good.
So mid-afternoon, I called it quits. It had been a
frustrating day – I suspect the low temperatures and the fact that the carp
were yet to spawn were major factors in the day. This is definitely a venue that could deliver a great day out, but not on an unusually cold day in May.
On balance however, the fishery was well worth a visit,
tucked away, it’s a mature lake with loads of features and fantastically
conditioned fish. The owner is clearly a keen angler passionate about his venue
and extremely knowledgeable about every peg and tactic. I can see me going back
at some point.
Catch List:
Common Carp 1
Mirror Carp 4
Roach 50
Total weight 20lb
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