Sleepless in Paradise

It's June the 16th. Which must be why it's raining relentlessly. And I didn't even go to the river. Instead I've been back to Anglers Paradise for a long overdue return. Two nights of fishing in the excellent company of Chris Lambert have yielded everything summer fishing should be about: screaming runs, some genuine surprises and lily infested swims discussed over glass or two of cider. I just love the main lake here. The next bite could be anything- like this terrific 4.12lb golden tench I took on maggots yesterday.


My approach to fishing these lakes is simple at the moment. I tackle up one rod with a large bait for big fish, while the other line is aimed solely at earning bites. I have a lot of faith in feeder tactics and dead maggots at present. For the price of four pints, you get one heck of a lot of bait. Preparation is easy- I riddle the maggots and replace the dust with a potent ground bait. Any strong smelling stuff is ideal, and I'm currently getting excellent results with the Bait Factory mixes I'm testing.

I feed my swim much like a match angler, continually adding small amounts and regularly recasting a small method feeder crammed with sticky, matching ground bait. The beauty of a decent bunch of maggots is that you'll catch fish of all sizes- and with persistent feeding, the bigger fish tend to show later as you build the swim. On my previous night session, maggots accounted for this fine 19lb linear mirror:


I must admit, I never sleep brilliantly when night fishing. You get into a kind of "half-sleep" mode of relaxed readiness, and I usually spend the following afternoon knackered. Especially when big fish make raids in the wee silly hours as they have been lately. Chris had a sensationally long cat fish last time out (do check out his "Fish Tales" blog for a fun read and ramblings on Everton FC). Last night was my turn to hook one- and spend the twenty minutes heaving, holding on and cursing. Strangely, it hadn't gone for a meaty bait this time but picked up a Fennel and Hemp boilie (vegetarian catfish?!!). The reel sounded like it was in pain in the pitch black. Bats were circling the rod as drag strained. Even with a pretty robust carp set up, these fish try and almost succeed in pulling your arms out of their sockets. It was pretty intense, but Chris was cool as you like in scooping her out. Wow!


While I wouldn't describe cats as beautiful, they're certainly beautifully designed for their job as nocturnal killing and scavenging machines. After the most dirtiest, most gut wrenching battle this cat of 32.12 was surprisingly well behaved on the mat. Slimy, but very docile. Nor was the cat our last surprise as Chris landed a grass carp at dawn.

There really is a terrific variety of sport at the complex, whether it's pleasure or specimen fishing. The trout lake is also very interesting and I'm hoping to provide future visitors with tuition on the fly.
In other news, I'm also raring to go for the BFFI (British Fly Fair International) next weekend. I hope to catch one or two of you there for the event, which I always find fantastic for finding new materials, ideas and like minded nutters. Plenty of homework before then however, tying up flies. For any of you keen to get your hands on coarse fish patterns, do remember I can offer a bespoke service. Here's a box of traditional spiders tied specially for a customer in the USA:

Bloody Fishing

What have a size 20 dry fly and a lump of sickening offal got in common? The answer is that both have been cast in the last few days in search of fish. Another example, should any be required, that fishing is insanely varied, even in the space of one county. The offal forms the start of a new experiment in search of a reel screaming monster. I'd remembered Richard Walker's accounts of offal being dumped into pools that was devoured by carp and other scavengers- and liver, kidneys and even hearts have a history with species like catfish. Chris Lambert scored a few kilos of pure, blood drenched horror from a butcher and so this line of enquiry begins. Add white coats and clipboards and it could be a scene out of "Reanimator". So far, this is the main type of cat that has been attracted by the stench, the loveable old moggy of Town Parks fishery known as "ginge", -but watch this space to see how the trials progress: Actually, the fishing has been fairly tricky in the heat. The end of May has seen an explosion of plant and insect life however, and so the fly rod has been put to good use. A quiet revolution continues with coarse anglers grabbing fly rods- and fresh from the butchers, Chris grabbed the fly rod to bank a first on game tackle in the shape of this canal perch, which barged through the roach to grab a pink shrimp: We also nipped out for my Dad's birthday to seek further kicks with rising coarse fish on both small nymphs and dry flies. The fish are already gathering prior to spawning and not entirely focussed on eating- although sport was reasonable. Perhaps the best fun of all was taking roach off the surface at Westleigh, with takes falling to either a size 18-20 F Fly or a ginked up spider presented in the surface film. A few Sunday boats then coloured the water- and sight fishing got harder thereon in. Do you need to see the fish and takes to catch roach on the fly? Not necessarily- you can watch for rise forms or use an indicator. But in truth, it's a bloody big help to spot your fish, as is having flies that show up well, whether that means a black fly for light backdrops, or a light tan, pink or hares ear coloured fly to stand out against darker backgrounds. Goldheads have also been surprisingly decent for roach and rudd- albeit only in pretty small sizes (16-18). And that's fly fishing- whatever the species, a little change can be the difference between fish and frustration. Good luck to everyone casting a fly this summer- lots of absorbing sport to look forward to.