Archived Lake Reports for April 2006
North Lake adult only non-members*
23/04 2006
With seven carp over 30lb and another three 40lb plus catfish banked in the last 10 days it’s fair to say that North Lake is fishing pretty well. 16 Carp over 30lb have now been recorded this year with seven catfish over 40lb as well.
Well done to Mark Osgood for his stunning 36lb 8oz mirror mention also to Rob and Michael Blackburn for their thirties and John Buck for a lovely 44lb cat. The method seems to be working well at present with either boilies or Maize as the hook bait. Pellet is well worth considering as both a hook bait and free offering. As always with North Lake, the most important rod is the marker, find the features and you will find the fish.
09/04 2006
North Lake has switched on now with the milder weather. 9 Carp over 30lb and 4 Catfish over 40lb have been recorded already this year. I know we harp on about it but… use a marker float to find the features, it is essential for success on North Lake. Ensure that you take the time to match your terminal presentation to the features you find. Absolutely loads of 20lb plus fish being banked daily at present and as the weather improves so will the sport.
* Minimum tackle requirements: 40” net, 40” unhooking mat, 2.5lb T.C rods and 10lb line per angler, no sharing allowed. Pre-booking 2–3 weeks in advance for 24 hour plus weekend sessions on North Lake is advisable.
Plantation Lake*
23/04 2006
Single baits with small amounts of freebies are the way to go. Maize over pellet is a good combination. Don’t expect instant action on Plantation, the big fish are there but you have to work for them.
Carp to 25lb have been recorded this week with plenty of “back up” doubles to boot. Dynamite’s new hookable pellet range is proving to be a real winner fished over small beds of matched pellet and/or ground bait. As always presentation is the key to success on Plantation Lake. Make sure your bait is presented to match the feature you are fishing to.
09/04 2006
Plantation is producing some really nice Carp at the moment with several 20lb plus fish in the last few days. As always presentation is the key to success on Plantation Lake. Make sure your bait is presented to match the feature you are fishing to. Again single baits with small amounts of freebies are the way to go. Maize over pellet is a good combination. Don’t expect instant action on Plantation, the big fish are there but you have to work for them.
* Minimum tackle requirements are a 30” net and an un-hooking mat per angler.
Prairie Lake
23/04 2006
Scale down your tackle and concentrate on bait presentation. Don’t over-feed your swim, little and often is the way to go. Small hooks and baits on a light presentation will give you the edge. Bites can be very delicate so it pays to watch your rod tip or shot your float down as far as possible, if either so much as twitch, hit them! Just about every kind of bait works in Prairie but the favorites have to be, meat, pellet, corn and worm.
Again the flavored corn seems to have the edge, try something different, 2 grains of flavored corn on the hook and a single grain of “pop up” artificial corn on a short hair. This can be fished over a bed of corn and/or pellet. Give it a try it can make all the difference. The method is always a winner, if you are on a budget try using Vitalin dog food but pre-soak the night before in warm water for best results.
09/04 2006
Although the fish are pretty active now don’t over-feed your swim, little and often is the way to go. Scale down your terminal tackle as much as you dare, small hooks and baits on a light presentation will give you the edge. Bites can be very delicate so it pays to watch your rod tip or shot your float down as far as possible, if either so much as twitch, hit them!
Dynamite’s new hookable pellet range is proving to be a real winner fished over small beds of matched pellet and/or ground bait. It won’t be long before the surface sport starts again so keep a bag of mixer handy and watch the top.
Sandwich Lake
23/04 2006
This week’s Sunday match was won with 118lb of mixed fish, so Sandwich is most definitely worth a shot especially if you appreciate the ‘non carp’ species. Plenty of Bream and Tench showing with good numbers of Crucian carp as well. We have had a good run of pound plus Roach and Rudd recently (See Bill and Virginia Rushmer’s article in last week’s Mail).
All baits working well with corn, worm, pellet and maggot on top of the list. It is important to build up you swim for consistent results on Sandwich, feed little and often and don’t lump it in. Light hook link and small hooks definitely aid presentation, if using a soft bait try to mask as much of the hook as you can.
09/04 2006
Sandwich continues to fish consistently as the weather improves some good bags of mixed fish are being recorded with more and more Tench in evidence. Pole or float and feeder are the way to go with as light a set up as you dare go. Small hooks, light hook-link and well presented baits make all the difference. Pellet is a favorite at the moment. The Tench and Bream are responding well to sweetcorn, flavored and coloured baits seem to have the edge over natural at present.
Kettles Lake
23/04 2006
Although the fish are pretty active now don’t over-feed your swim, little and often is the way to go. Scale down your terminal tackle as much as you dare, small hooks and baits on a light presentation will give you the edge. Bites can be very delicate so it pays to watch your rod tip or shot your float down as far as possible, if either so much as twitch, hit them! It won’t be long before the surface sport starts again so keep a bag of mixer handy and watch the top.
Lots of good carp being caught at the moment, well done to 10 year old Charlie Killick for his hatrick of doubles, topped with a cracking 15lb mirror.
09/04 2006
Scale down your tackle and concentrate on bait presentation. Don’t over-feed your swim, little and often is the way to go. Small hooks and baits on a light presentation will give you the edge. Bites can be very delicate so it pays to watch your rod tip or shot your float down as far as possible, if either so much as twitch, hit them!
Just about every kind of bait works in kettles but the favorites have to be, meat, pellet, corn and worm. Again the flavored corn seems to have the edge, try something different, 2 grains of flavored corn on the hook and a single grain of ‘pop up’ artificial corn on a short hair. This can be fished over a bed of corn and/or pellet. Give it a try—it can make all the difference.
Pullens Lake members only
23/04 2006
Pullens continues to produce and just about everyone is catching at present. As always, lump the bait in for best results, you will not over feed these fish. Presentation is everything so special attention needs to be payed to terminal set up.
09/04 2006
The re-stocking program is now finished and a further four, 30lb plus fish have been added, with fish to 37lb being stocked in Pullens.
Best fish recently was a stunning 32lb Mirror for new member Richard Brewer there have been several recorded 20lb plus fish this week. Tactics remain the same as always, lump the bait in there to get the fish feeding. Scott Shepherd showed us all how to do it with a staggering 11 fish haul of which seven were 20lb plus to 27lb. Well done Scott!
West End Lake members only
23/04 2006
Same as Pullens, loads of fish being banked with some very nice high twenties showing a lot of potential. Fill it in with bait for best results. Try something different, lupins and tares can be a real winner at this time of year.
09/04 2006
Lump the bait in there to get the fish feeding. Well done to Rob Prince for his 31lb fully scaled Mirror with lots of nice 20lb plus fish also being recorded in the last week or so. We have now finished our re-stocking program and a further six, 30lb plus fish have been added, with fish to 37lb being stocked in West End.
Matt Ottaway finished the week with a lovely Mirror of 29lb 12oz and at the last minute, as I write this, Danny Cooper has just reported in with another 30 pounder, a pristine 32lb Mirror. Two in a week can’t be bad!
2006 memberships
There are a limited number of memberships available for 2006, these are adult only and you must first fish North Lake. We will now allow potential members to fish both of these lakes at North lake rates before committing to membership. Membership costs £350 for the full year ‘all in’.