Teillattes Sept 2012. The wet week!

I hadn't wet a line since visiting Luke Moffat's Graviers in June , a long summer of work , work and a bit more work . But autumn was upon me with the prospect of a couple of weeks on Teillattes the one off lake where over 30x60 pounders live including at least 5 maybe more 70plus fish and a couple that do 80! . If you've read the blog before you will know that Steve Cowell and I have been lucky enough to catch some very big carp from the pit over the last two years , but I still get that Xmas feeling the night before a trip as it is such an exceptional lake with a stock only second to the mighty Rainbow.
My life long friend Darren Presney would accompany me on this trip as Steve has managed to bag himself a dream job working at Korda's Gigantica , catching over 50 carp over the summer  just dotting around the lake in the available swims , great angling Stevie!

All was prepared plenty of bait ,tackle but not enough food, all that lay between us and getting on the fish was the draw ! We arrived at 9am after a relatively pleasant journey overnight down to Bray on the coach , something a generally dread but it seemed fine this time . Jake the balliff was pleased to see us as we have become friends with him over the years and even look after his mutt Fred on a number of occasions. 61 fish out and well spread with the Digital common out at 74 pound , looking good . A quick walk around and the fish appear to be in the Doubles area but a big weather change is forecast to go 35km SW wind on Sunday which i'm sure will move those fish quickly . Will we get the choice?
The draw , I pull 13, last , Darren pulls 10 not a great result but the other anglers are happy ,it's not a disaster as I have at least 5 swims to choice from and can move an advantage on this lake as many don't! Darren goes in the Out of Bounds , I go in Andys to start ,i will have my eye on the Trees and the Stump ready for the weather to change.
As i set up a few fish show in my area , my luck must be holding so I flick a couple of rods out while everybody else is setting up their Bivvys for the week , maybe a quick bite can be had but to no avail . I get some bait out there and sit back . The Crescent has a 41 , the Double has a 67 ! I have a lead shaken off , very bad news! A sign the fish are getting riggy . I believe this has happened because 300 catfish have been removed giving the fish more time to eat the bait!!!
Dawn breaks , there are fish in the area but nothing as yet on my 100 yd baited area , a few show to my left short on the drop off . Worth a go I think , just as I'm preparing to move a rod the middle rod bends over and it's game on , straight in the boat to combat the weed . A lively fight and a 30 in the net , it's a start . Darren comes round he's beaming as he's had a nice 43 Mirror . Looking promising I say, he agrees ! I'm a little concerned about the weather?
The second night is quite and the weather is changing , I'm getting itchy feet and start pacing the bank thinking of my next chess move . I'm told the Stump and Reeds have been booked for a move by two anglers on the field bank so that's two options gone . The wind is pushing the Carp to the east bank and my only option is the Trees a tight swim but a productive one that gets ignored . I have no other option! I then have a take on the left hand rod that I decide to put on the drop off! I jump in the boat , half way put the hook pulls . What do I do now?
I sat down and applly a bit of logic and soon had it sorted in my head , move to the Trees , find a nice area within fishable range due to the wind and get on with it ! 3 hours later I'm set up in the Trees , three rods on a nice bed of the best mainline bait I can get my hands on , Happy Days .

There are a large amount of fish showing in a swim called New Biffos which is actually on the back of the wind and the predicted move of fish into the NE corner hasn't happened , they appear to have stopped in the middle , an area commonly known as the football pitch and there are lots of them , some huge fish have shown . Craig the angler next door has a few in front of him but a long way out so I encourage him to get a rod out there and try and catch an oppurtunistic fish or two . It works and by midnight Craig has 2x40 gracing the mat and he's as happy as a Sandboy ! The two fished were captured dead centre of the lake at 150 yds with two handfulls of bait ! "Lets hope they get on the beds of bait soon matey!" There big creatures and can't live on 50 baits for long.

Up with the crack of dawn , very nice sunrise too ! Not a bleep on all three rods , have I made a mistake?
I don't think so as a Big Un sticks its head out behind my area , then another to the left , only time will tell .
11am and a bleep on the rod a little longer than the mother load and I'm in bussiness . A strong slow fight from the bank and a lovely Common is in my new net ! Cheers Lockie it worked a treat . Looks like a 50 plus to me Craigy ! On the scales she goes 52lb a known fish , I call Split Dorsal always around 51/ 52lb . I'm relieved and Buzzing now as I know when they get on it all hell can break loose!

Evening arrives and I run around to get the dinners , my turn and it's a bit rude to rely on others ! I grab the plates a couple of drinks and walk the half mile back to the swim ! No Craig has one of my rods in his hand ! " What's occurred?" " Drop back and no lead on " he replies . Not again , I hate being caught out by carp ! I get the rod back out with a couple of kilo for luck , all is looking good for the night but the wind and rain are coming , I can smell it in the air .

I awake to vey excited Craig who has a big un in the net and it's lashing down with rain and windy . It's a bruiser of a Mirror at 52lb , " Get it in the recovery sling " lets do the shots in the morning . Back to bed , I'm awoken by a single bleep on the left hand rod then crack out of the clip ! The fish comes in easily and in the torch light looks small , however in the net it's a good 40plus. 46lb on the scales back out with the rod in the boat and now i'm soaked through , not to worry i'm catching carp. Two hours later and a take on the left hand rod . A very heavy fight and a lot of heavy head banging , after 20 minutes in the rain a good fish is in the net , could go 60 I think to myself . We weigh her up and she's 57lb on the button a beatifull mahogoney and red coloured fish , one of the best lookers I've seen from the lake.Get in ! Back out with the rods , Craig has another by the morning . A good nights angling me thinks , 2x40 2x50 to the us on the River bank . Come on! A wet night but a great night too.

The day is slow for us , although Mick in New Biffos and an angler in the Rock are getting action in the day , Darren is slowly picking a few off too ! A patern is emerging with our area producing in evening and night up to 4am. I rebait all the rods another 4/5kg goes out on the spot to attract the Scuba Pigs who certainly aren't in my swim in numbers. I plan to sit up until midnight watching and waiting to see whats occuring. 10pm and off goes the middle rod ! a slow, strong but unspectacolar fight and another big mirror is in the net . 49.14 ithoovered on 50 but who cares!Now the hard bit , both other rods have weed on them amd to get the middle rod out is going to be difficult , cast the marker to the right , spot it with the lenser as it's dark , get Craig to radio when i'm in the correct position and it's blowing force 5 . I manage it with a lot of luck and an hour later have a 42 common on the same rod ! Craig has another 50 in the night so another suucessfull nights angling.
Big Fish Thursday is here!Craig has a 59.12 , I have 2x30 ! So much for that .

The weather changes and not another fish is caught , oh well i'm back in  two weeks. Bring it on !
  
    

 







 

Les Graviers June 2012

Just got back from Luke Moffat's home Les Graviers, I was a little nervous meeting Luke as I had heard  he was an unusual character that was obsessed with fish care , rigs and general behaviour . When we arrived , I was with young angler Bill Turner he was a really nice guy , a total gentleman who is only looking after the place that makes him a living , something he has worked hard to make a great place to fish . What a place it is , the perfect carp lake in my humble opinion , loads of water for everybody, well looked after and of course some huge fish to go at .
After a couple of coffees and fags with Luke we decided to fish the point , mainly because we could fish at least two thirds of the lake from there . I set up on the front Bill on the left .

Well to cut a long story short Bill managed 20 fish 13x20 4x30 1x47 1x50 Hutchys Fish and 1 x60. I stuck to my task of catching the big uns and ended with 5 2X30 1X52.8 1 X55and another 60 . Cant wait to get back . Here are the photos.

Island Lake May 2012

Just got back from The Island lake run by Mick Bowman. We booked the lake over 2 years ago and decided then that we would only take four anglers rather than the usual ten on a mixed week . We would also invite Mick Bowman to fish as a bit of a good will gesture and of course to pick his brain .
The previous week saw 14 fish caught including a 64 pound fish to Gary Harrow an angler from Kent with a good Rainbow track record , he had only caught two fish so I came to the conclusion that  it must be fishing slow. The Filthy four were Stevie Cowell , Mark Footman , Steve Perry and I , it was all a bit tense when we met up as swim choice is crucial on these waters . For once I was fairly relaxed as I knew these fish are mobile from a previous trip in October. I agreed to go in my last choice of swim 7/8 Stevie in 5/6 , Steve P in 3/4 and Mark in 1/2 . Mick Bowman would fish from his hut and cover swim 13 an area I really fancied!!
Mark and Steve had a good start taking fish of 46,48 ,51. 52 in the first couple of nights. I stuck to Mick's advice on spots for three nights with no action , then changed them to where I had studied patterns of fish showing mainly at night. This was a hard decision as the fish are renowned for clearing up spots once the lines come in . With three new spots sorted Tuesday afternoon and the introduction of half hemp half boilie mix I put 3kg over each rod and crossed my fingers.
The sun was just setting and I had seen a few shows on my right hand spots when the open water spot on the left burst into life. A spirited fight and the smallest but prettiest fish in the lake was in the net 28lb it was a start. Two more bites in the night with a 62 and a 42 things were looking up, Mick Bowman had four that night at 41, 42, 44 and 53. Great stuff .
The next two night produced another two 60s for me at 62.8 and 61. I was over the moon , beyond my expectation and a first for the lake at 3x60 to one angler.

The last night was a bumper one as well with Mark having a 49 and a 60 , the 60 being a PB. I managed a 40 and a 52 right at last knocking with one rod in the water.

A great week of highs and lows and my tenth 60 in 18 months , destiny or luck who cares!

Total fish caught by 5 anglers 17. 4x60 4x50 8x40 and 1x28. 

Here are the photos.

Solar Tackle Trip March 2012.

Steve and I had been invited by our lifelong friend Martin Locke on his annual Solar trip to Teillates , I thought it was a bit early as the lake can by quite moody at this time of the year. The Nogent had already been caught at a great weight of 77 pound by new bailiff Martin and the previous weeks party had struggled with a dozen or so fish to 12 anglers. There would be seven anglers on the lake Martin Locke , Dave the Wave , Dave Hyham , Pete " Bomber" , Martin the new bailiff , Steve and I . All competent anglers in the own right with a list of huge fish behind them . The scene was set.
Steve had just moved to his new job as bailiff on the new Korda Road Lake so I went down on the Friday to pick him up and have a bit of a social with Dan Turtle and young Martin from Sparsholt College , a young Italian angler was there too waiting to get on Gigantica for the Freespirit week . We had a nice meal of steak and rice and a few red wines before getting some sleep ready for the 4am start and drive to Noyen Sur Siene , about 50 miles.
We arrived at the lake early and phoned Martin who was asleep in the hut, he sounded awful as they had been drinking until 4am with Jake the bailiff , always a mistake to drink with Jake as I have fallen foul to his antics in the past . We went down to Bray to get a coffee and some food to pass the time . All exciting stuff as the lake looked fantastic in the early morning spring sun.
A quick walk around and the low down on all the swims , Martin had ended up paying for two places on the trip so we let him have first choice of swim , New Biffos was a predictable option as it has early season form . I went to the bag of balls first and got 1 for the first time and Steve pulled 2 . Great news , Bailiff's point for me and the Rock on the field for Steve .
The first day was a long one , I went out with a sounder and found the features and decided to go for a short spot at 80yds to the back of a plateaux and a long spot in 18ft at 120yds in the middle.
Steve fished the back of the feature in the Rock at 100 yds a known early season hotspot where Tim Oatley had caught 16 fish on an April trip. I got my baits out by 4pm and started on the house etc , Dinner turned up and I stuffed that down . I then noticed Steve playing a fish , the bait had been in the water less than 20 mins and a 46 mirror was on the end . Great start.

I awoke at first light , got on the radio to Steve who had caught a 43 common in the night , Martin caught a 25 also . What happened to my carefully placed traps, not a bleep. Crash a fish jumps to my left in the mouth of a bay, then another and another. I get a rod on them and so does Steve from the field bank. No action all day . What's going on mate?
Steve and I have a chat about tactic , the stringers at jumping fish isn't working as the area has weed and chod so time to find some spots and set the traps . I go for a short clear area close in with half a kilo of Boilies , Steve a known hotspot where we have done well on at the foot of a feature 80 yds from the Stump swim.
All is set , first light Monday morning and only Martin has had a fish at 20lbs . Steve and I meet at Mannys and chat , another fish rolls . What's occurring here then ??? I walk back to my swim and as I get close one of the 80 yd rods is away , a short spirited fight and I have a 20 something in the net 5 mins later the other rod is off and a 30 something is in the net , then one of the long rods goes and I have another 20 in the net . Lucky I brought 3 nets.
The day is slow and warm , I have a re bait with a couple of kilo and reposition the rods . The sun dips and i'm confident of a bite again , 7pm and the short rod is away , a fast fight and a 32 linear in the net , great . I put him back and get a drop back on one of the long rods and another 30 , cast it back out and I'm off agian with another 30 . Can't be bad , I'm off to bed .
I'm awake to another slow take from the 80yd spot , the fish takes line steadily until its well out in the lake 5 mins go by and I have still haven't gained line and it's moving very slowly right , I get two pumps in and the hooks pulls , gutted , it felt like a big un . Back out with the rod I go back to bed to sulk but I'm away again on the same rod , another slow ponderous fight in the morning light and I net a big Common that looks all day 50 it goes 47.8. Steve comes round to do the photos and the short rod is away and a spirited fight results in a 44 common . A great morning angling and 8 fish in 24 hours , bring it on . Steve has also had two in the night 27 and 30.

Dave the wave who is at the other end of the lake makes the move to Mannys , who can blame him and first chuck has a lovely 48 common . Lockie comes over in the boat to see what's going on and I have a mid afternoon take in 18ft of water on the long rods , another 20 something! Things are looking good my old friend , we have a chat about all the Bream Martin is catching , dump the seed I say and you can see he's thinking about tactics.
The week pretty much went to the same routine with morning bites for Steve and I and a few in the night , by Thursday we had clocked up 21 fish but had no bites that morning , the fish had gone and I had found them down in the Crescent and Andys at 2 am , I walked up and down the bank thinking I should move and then went to bed!
I get up and talk to Martin the Balliff who has caught 3 fish in the night , I move to Nice Andys on the edge of the fish , Martin Locke moves to the Shithouse Corner . Traps set, Lockie get a lovely 44 common just like Richard Walker's record. I manage 2 by midnight at 29 and 31 but it's Martin the Bailiff's night 3 fish including a couple of 40s. Steve has a lovely 47 in the middle of the day which looked all day a 50.
The last night was productive , I had another 30 , Martin Locke a Scaley 47, Steve 3 fish to 35 and Martin the Bailiff 4 fish including a 49 and a 50 common." A great week to blow away the winter cobwebs " as Lockie nicely put it. We will be back for the big uns next year.

We pack up and leave it to the Sticky bait crew.

48 fish caught by 7 anglers . 14x40 2x50 . I managed 14 fish and Steve 13.

The Unkown Common at 77 pounds

Island Lake October 2011

We were on a real high coming off Telliates and went straight to Island lake 15km down the road for our second week of the holiday.

I had heard it was a weedy lake that was a little tricky . After borrowing the van from Jake the bailiff at Telliates to get to the draw for 11am and rushing around the super market for some food for the week I evetually was in swim 13 on Island lake . Steve I put in swim 12 on bailiffs advice . Steve was now on his way back to Dover to pick up his van !!!!
As soon as i looked over the side of the boat in swim 13 i knew this wasn't going to be easy. Crystal clear water and i could see boilies at 12 feet down . The clear areas and recommended spots were huge and i just couldn't see me getting a bite in the day here. I found a spot along a tree line that reminded me of a great spot on the Anson back in the day at Dartford lakes. Tree line clear and it was polished , that will do nicely and it was shaded most of the day . The other two went on very obvious spots , huge clear areas that had been cleaned by carp .
Steve arrived at 2am , after a cuppa and a fag , I got three bleeps on the tree line rod , went down to the rod and it was curved around nicely . It was on and turned out to be another 60 common. Lucky or what .
It turned out to be a hard week with only six fish caught by 7 anglers . We had four of them . 60.4 Common and 55 common to me and a 55 Mirror and 38 mirror to Steve.

Telliates Oct 2011

Just got back from another amazing trip and a near copy of last October for Steve and I . Steve managed to pull the number 1 ball from the hat , I got 8 . Tim Oatley and his crew had been on the previous week with Tim catching the Nogent Mirror at 78 ,again . New Biffos had done a few fish in the last 24 hrs , so as he left on the coach he gave me the , New Biffos , New Biffos message for the draw.
Steve stuck to his guns after seeing a catch graph of the double swim with all the big 6 coming from there this year . Nice one Steve , I had to wait and went for the Shithouse . I could have gone in the Crescent or the Fence but saw the colour of the water in Shithouse and a fish show. Game on.

We set up and I went for a spot at around 85 yds that Steve had done well on last year and a deeper spot to the right. Steve went on the spot I had 2X60 last year and the famous rock spot where Si Haldane has done so well . I put 2kg on one spot and 1 kg on the other and was surprised to get a take at 10.30pm . 43 pounder, another at 3.30 am 44 pounder , and Steve had a 38 a first light. Blimey we never catch first night.
I won't bore you all with the detail but we ended up with 17 fish . 1x77 Common , 2x60 Common , 1 x61 Mirror, 3x55 Plus. All caught on Mainline New Grange . We used around 50kg during the week . Another awesome week on the lake and a memorable year for me with 6x60 including 3x70 plus.