Bob Goes Fishing

Syndicate Lake (6)

11 September 2012 Venue: Syndicate Lake

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 11.00
Weather: Sunny / cloudy.
NW wind was behind me but it caused sideways drift, making it difficult to control a float.
Swim: Lily pads
Tackle: 14ft Shimano Speedmaster match rod, Shimano Exage 1000RC reel with 5lb line and 14 hook.
Baits: Sweetcorn and luncheon meat.
Fish: Two carp and 16 roach. Best carp 11½ lbs. Best roach 1lb 2oz

Today I decided to try for the roach. I started with sweetcorn and took two roach with the first two casts, the biggest around 4 oz.

After this it went quiet. I was having some difficulty casting to the gap between the lily pads. The cross-wind was troublesome and the overgrown mangle of bramble and shrubs behind me limited the backcast. I changed to a light ledger but things seemed to have gone very quiet.

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Species: Carp 10lb+, Carp, Roach

Syndicate Lake (4)

04 September 2012 Venue: Syndicate Lake

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 15.30
Weather: Overcast, brightening into evening.
Light wind not affecting lake.
Swim: Lily pads
Tackle: 11’6” Hardy Marksman, Shimano Exage 4000RC reel, 8lb line, 12 hook.
Bait: All fish taken on luncheon meat.
Fish: Two carp, best 11¼lbs, and a rudd just under a pound.

I decided on a late afternoon / evening visit. The brambles had grown back, so the first job was to clear a few hanging tendrils that were both an annoyance and a hazard. It’s certainly back to nature at this lake. No freshly mown banks and spacious platforms.

It was a slow start but at 16.10 a good indication on the bobbin resulted in a nice rudd of 15oz.

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Species: Carp 10lb+, Rudd

Fields End (91)

24 May 2012 Venue: Fields End

Only one photo today.
Larger light-box version in the full report

Arrival time: 13.30
Weather: Clear sunny sky and very light easterly breeze.
Swim: Reed End
Tackle: 12ft Greys’ Prodigy Rova Specimen, 5lb line, waggler, 12 hook.
Bait: All fish taken on bread flake.
Fish: Three carp, best 10lb 12oz, and a tench.

It was the end of March when I last went fishing. The weather has been somewhat wet, to say the least, but I have also been doing other things that have kept me away from the water.

It was also an opportunity to try out a newly acquired Greys’ Prodigy Rova Specimen rod. This is a six-piece 12 foot rod designed for travelling. Now in the past such rods have not come anywhere near matching the performance of two or three-piece blanks. However, this had good reviews and I wanted something I could pack in the car when going on holiday that didn’t need to be laid through the car boot and into the space between the front seats.

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Species: Carp 10lb+, Carp, Tench, Roach

Fields End (90)

26 March 2012 Venue: Fields End

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 14.10
Weather: Clear sunny sky and very light E/SE breeze.
Swim: Reed End
Tackle: 13ft FishTec multi float, 8lb line, waggler, 12 hook.
Bait: bread and luncheon meat. All fish taken on bread flake.
Fish: Three carp, best 13lb 2oz, and one good crucian of 1lb 11oz.

A spell of unseasonably warm and calm weather saw me off to Fields End. I had already set my sights on the north eastern corner, to shelter from the forecast easterly breeze. There were about six people on the lake and the spot I was after was free. I set up in what I call the Reed End swim, situated at the other end of the reed bank that forms the Reed Corner.

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Species: Carp 10lb+, Carp, Crucian

Fields End (85)

19 May 2011 Venue: Fields End

Only one photo today.
Larger light-box version in the full report

Arrival time: 14.00 (started to fish at 14.30)
Weather: Bright and warm with white cloud.
W wind moderated and eased completely into the evening.
Swim: Reed End.
Tackle: 11’ Korum light feeder, Shimano 5000 reel, waggler, 8lb line, 12 hook.
11’6” Hardy Marksman, Mitchell 301 reel, controller float, 8lb line, 10 hook.
Baits: Bread flake, floating crust and luncheon meat.
Fish: two carp, best 10lb 2oz

Another afternoon session but this time the lake was busier. The Reed End wouldn’t have been my first choice but it was the best pitch of those that weren’t already occupied.

I tried flake and luncheon meat close to the reeds but whereas last week I was quickly into a couple of decent fish before things quietened down, on this occasion nothing. Plenty of fiddly bites, some of which sailed away, but no contact was made. One small roach confirmed my suspicion that these were smaller fish and an occasional small scale on the hook reinforced this view.

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Species: Carp 10lb+, Carp

Fields End (83)

06 May 2011 Venue: Fields End

More photos in the full report

Arrival time: 07.00 (started to fish at 07.45)
Weather: Bright, warm and sunny later.
Light S wind became troublesome in the afternoon.
Swim: Reed End.
Tackle: 11’ Korum light feeder, Shimano 5000 reel, waggler, 8lb line, 14/12 hook.
Drennan Barbel Specialist, Shimano Exage 4000 reel, 12lb line, 8 hook.
Baits: Bread flake and luncheon meat.
Fish: Three carp, best 10½lbs, six crucians, best 2lbs 4oz, a tench of 3lb 3oz and a 1lb roach.

Because of bank holidays and other things to do it’s been a couple of weeks or more since I’ve been fishing .

The forecast for a southerly wind made swim choice difficult. The south bank is somewhat featureless so I opted for the reed end swim in the north east corner. Things started well enough. With a light breeze conditions were perfect.

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Species: Carp 10lb+, Carp, Crucian, Roach

Bob Goes Fishing

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Syndicate Lake (6)

Syndicate Lake (4)

Fields End (91)

Fields End (90)

Fields End (85)

Fields End (83)