After no fishing for me for a few weeks, I am finally back into it and trying to relight that said fire that I have had inside me for some time. I haven’t been on the bank for a few personal reasons, but now I have the availability to get out on the bank every so often, I am taking the chance with both hands.

As you may be able to understand I have been fishing a small club lake about an hour away from where I work in Luton. I made the long trek after work, or what seemed like a long trek to get stuck in traffic for over an hour. As I was sat in traffic it started to slowly get dark. I was still prepared to get to the lake and set up in the dark, which subsequently became necessary. I got to the lake at around 5:30. I pulled up into the car park and not a soul in sight just lonely old me for the night! That’s said two other lads turned up about 2 hours later after I was settled up with a brew.

When I arrived the wind was pushing a south-westerly across the lake, a wind of which I last had a result from the small Ouse dwelling club lake. I went for a walk around to try and see what I could find but the carp kept themselves concealed. I had information that a small bay had produced some fish so I set up about mid wind and flicked a couple of rods out and spread around 2kg of 14mm and 18mm boilies over the area.

As I got the rods set I was sat on my bed chair rustling up a proper man feast of steak and bacon butties which I must say with a bit of BBQ sauce went down a treat! As I was sat on the bed chair I could hear a few fish rolling over the far margin of which I couldn’t reach as I couldn’t see far enough out to get some rigs tight to the far margin, I would have been squirrel hunting otherwise! Ha-ha. As I put a wide spread of bait out, it shouldn’t take long before something happens.

A good night’s sleep only meant one thing, not fish to report, having set up in the dark I thought I had done quite well. I reeled both rods in to make a move into a small bay that morning, both rigs clear not a drop of weed on the hooks/baits which is a good sign I wasn’t necessarily doing anything wrong, the carp may not have been on the munch. I would have thought with a speckle of angling pressure the carp would have been on the ball and up for a bit of light grub.

Once I had moved into the small bay, I flicked one rig across to the far margin which is a critical roadway for the fish in the lake; they use it to navigate up and down the snags to the north and south end of the lake. The left rod I flicked down my left margin to a rope that was laid across the water to give the fish some sort of sanctuary, usually during the summer months this section of the lake is like an aquarium. Nothing unfolded; I was soon on my way home.

The next session saw me up at Drayton Reservoir, a lake which I love fishing as it is good for a few bites, or should I say a physically demanding session where you are catching fish after fish. It seems like I’m going through a bit of a low at the moment but the fight is there to shake it off. I made an early trip up to Drayton as I was pretty sure I’d bag something, after waking up late as I had been at an all-night Med School rave for my brothers birthday, I eventually arrived up at Drayton at 7:30 to find the better pegs for this time of year to be taken.

I settled for a peg at the end of the dam wall just off to the left of the jetty, I was fishing both rods tight to the jetty, so tight in fact a few spombs landed on the jetty smearing the jetty in spod soup and Goo! I kept persistently spodding over zigs all day in hope to draw in a few fish but nothing unfolded until around 3 o’clock where I moved down the dam wall where a couple of lads which were catching fish had left. Two zigs went straight out at 70 yards one at 13ft and one at 10ft. Both hookbaits were soaked in Goo for a bit of attraction in the cold water. After about 20 minutes one rod was away and I managed to save a blank.

Not quite the red letter day that I was all buzzed up for but a pretty scaly little carp was all I needed to help keep myself going until the next session which I’m sure I may even come back up for another go this side of Christmas. It just shows a bit of persistence or even a quick off the cuff move and you can bag one to save yourself a blank, it also shows that location this time of year is definitely key!

Until Next Time.