North Devon angler Lee Watts fished Colebrooke fishery at Cullumpton and banked the carp known as paw print at 35lb 4oz along with a a common carp at 25lb 8oz both caught on grizzly test baits and Lees home made leads.
Plan “B” Brings A Pleasing Twenty – Lower Slade
The weather scuppered the boat trip out of Minehead with the wind due to swing West to North West by midday. A difficult call for the skipper but the right one as the weather men got it right. And so it was plan B. I had loaded the carp gear into the van the previous night thinking I might set out early but it was 6.30am by the time I woke up and close to 8.00am by the time I was on the road with dark thundery clouds in the morning sky.
It was precipitating down profusely when I arrived at Lower Slade and I watched a fellow angler pushing his barrow into the bay. With this area no longer an option I settled on a roadside swim that gave access to areas where I had previously enjoyed success. Whilst I haven’t fished Slade much for carp in recent years I don’t believe they change their habits to dramatically frequenting the same old areas with the wind influencing this.
By the time I had three rods out and some bait scattered about it was around 9.30am. The showers had passed by and the sky was blue with wisps of white cloud and the lush green growth of late spring was all around. A robin alighted upon the rods and searched for crumbs of bait around my feet.
After an hour or so I decided to check one of the baits and recast. As I prepared to recast the bite alarm on the right rod blipped and the bobbin bounced a couple of times. I grabbed the rod and wound down to feel a heavy weight as a good fish shook its head. The fish gave a good run around giving a few anxious moments as it found some weed, becoming solid for few moments before steady pressure coaxed it free. Eventually it swirled close to the bank and moments later it was safely within the net.
The scales put a number on it of 21lb 14oz; a pleasing result and another carp ticked off my challenge to bank a carp from each SWLT North Devon Lake this season. I had charged my camera battery the previous night and had remembered to grab the camera on the way out of the house but had forgotten to put the battery in! Fortunately these days we always have our phone with a camera! Hence the slight grainy image.
The rest of the day drifted past and for a while it seemed as if summer had arrived as the call of the cuckoo echoed around the valley. I packed up late afternoon as a cool North-West wind sprung up as predicted.
Lower Tamar Lake Carp & bream catch
Lower Tamar’s most recent exclusive booking was enjoyed by Dave Bellew and friends. 16 carp caught with the best common at 26.06lbs and Mirror 22lb. The biggest bream was 11.04lbs.
Lower Tamar can be booked exclusively – 16 swims, toilet, shower, great fishing, stunning surroundings! Please drop Ben Smeeth a message at South West Lakes Trust.
Plenty of Personal bests from Stafford Moor
(Above) Drew Davey who fished up on Albert Square on Lodge Lake. Drew had 8 fish out up to 26lb which is a new pb !!
All Drew’s fish were caught on CC Moore 15mm pacific tuna boilies over 10mm Pacific tuna / house pellets and corn.
(Above) Dan Wallis banked 11 fish out from the inlet swim on Beatties lake. All fish were caught on CC Moore NS1 wafters.
(Above) Matt Thomas fished up on lodge lake in swim 15 (Albert Square) Matt had a total of 14 fish out up to 32lb 2oz which is now Matts new pb.
All fish were caught on Sticky baits krill boilies and house pellet.
First Visit Twenty @ Upper Tamar
(Below) Francis Hayden made a successful first trip to Upper Tamar and this 23lb mirror was his reward! Fishing from second point second using DNA the bug boilie topped with washed out pink pop up.
Big Slade Mirror!
Pete Roberts fished Slade in terrible weather and was rewarded with a very fine mirror carp weighing just over 29 lb. Recent weeks have seen some stunning fish banked at this picturesque water nestled in a valley above Ilfracombe beside the old Barnstaple to Ilfracombe railway line.
Lake Record!
Dan Carder continues his run of success at Lower Slade Reservoir banking what is believed to be a new lake record. I am hoping Dan will share a few more details of the capture in due course. In the mean time congratulations to Dan on catching such a stunning fish from one of the areas older more established fishery’s.
Early Morning Mirror
Dan Carder continues to enjoy success at his local South West Lakes Trusts Water banking this stunning 25lb 1oz mirror carp during his latest session shortly after daybreak.
TWENTY FOUR HOURS AT LOWER TAMAR LAKE
Twelve months or so ago I stood on the dam at Lower Tamar Lake watching several large carp basking in the Spring sunshine. I promised myself that when I had more time I would return and invest some quality time into pursuing fish. Twelve months on I have done just that and returned tackle loaded and ready to cast.
https://www.swlakestrust.org.uk/lower-tamar
On arrival at the lake the sun is shining across this large shallow expanse of water that was created as a feeder for Bude Canal back in the 1820’s. The depths in the lake vary from 8ft to 3ft and my guess is that fish movement may be influenced by wind direction, water temperature, food availability and angling pressure.
The choice of swim is not easy as three other anglers are already in position and a quick chat with them reveals that the fishing has been slow with just one carp banked by them in the past twenty four hours.
My aim is to catch carp or a double figure bream and realisation soon dawns that this is not a forgone conclusion and any rewards will have to be earned. After a stroll around the Lake, it was gut instinct that made me choose to fish the swim at the far end of the dam that would give access to deeper water.
The barrow was loaded and pushed to the swim where I was to spend the next 24hours. Ominous clouds were building as I hurriedly erected my oval brolly shelter and bed chair, stowing those items that needed to be kept dry beneath in preparation for the oncoming rain.
I cast around with a marker float that revealed that I had seven foot of water at fifty yards. The next thirty minutes was spent launching a few spod’s full of particles to the zone I intended to place my baits. Two rods with wafters and one with a method feeder baited with a couple of grains of artificial corn.
The rods were cast out as the rain began to pour down, the sky taking on a grey and foreboding tone.
I took shelter beneath the canvas and began the vigil watching the days weather pass by with traps set. Strange how time flies as the contemplation and observation occupy the mind.
As the rain beats down swallows and martins swoop low over the water. Ducks and ducklings busy about and a grebe hunts far out in the lake. As the rain eases warm sunshine illuminates the scene transforming the vista to that of summer. A buzzer hatch brings a frenzy of activity from the summer migrants. The swallows and martins are joined by the delightful sight of swifts twisting and turning in the blue sky a sure confirmation that Spring is turning relentlessly towards summer.
Afternoon turns to evening and baits are checked and recast. Sausage’s sizzle and hot coffee is enjoyed whilst watching and waiting.
The evening starts to descend and the light fades and with it comes expectation that the alarm will ring out as a fish locates the bait. Wood pigeons coo relentlessly and the hooting of an owl drifts across the stilling waters as the breeze drops away with the coming of night.
Far across the lake the surface is broken by fish but they are beyond my range.
I drift off to sleep the twinkle of farm lights in the distance. Rain patters on the canvas and cool air intrudes into the shelter. I drift back into sleep. The alarm screams out and the blue light of the Delkim shatters the darkness. I stumble out into my boots, right foot in left and left foot in right! I lift the rod to feel a pleasing weight on the end. I am hoping it’s a big bream as I slowly retrieve a ponderous dead weight. Within yards of the margin’s, it wakes up ripping line from the reel telling me it’s no bream.
A golden flanked mirror carp of 19lb 4oz is a pleasing result and avoids a blank session.
After recasting the rod, I retreat back to the warmth of my sleeping bag. Heavy rain lashes down and I dread another run.
I sleep an interrupted sleep drifting in and out of strange dreams that seem to have been prevalent throughout the previous months of pandemic invoked lockdown. I step out into the night to answer natures call and marvel at the vividly clear star studded night sky and reflect on the fact that this is one of life’s constants virtually unchanged for millions of years.
Dawn breaks and the dawn chorus rings out to greet the day. All is still with a mirror like lake stretching before me. I savour the dawn expectantly but all is quiet. A couple of hours later I boil the kettle and cook up a bacon butty.
A couple of dog walkers take a stroll and the day unfolds sunshine illuminating the lake as life resumes. I chat to a fellow angler of waters he fishes and swap notes. He has caught one bream of perhaps five pounds in the night and congratulates me on my success.
With heavy rain forecast I slowly pack away already planning my next trips. I intend to catch a carp from each of SWLT’s waters before the year is out and have made a good start. But still need to catch that double figure bream.
Lower Tamar Lake can be a challenging venue but it has many treasures within including carp to over thirty pounds, double figure bream, 2lb plus roach, big perch, tench, trout and eels.
https://www.swlakestrust.org.uk/lower-tamar
https://www.swlakestrust.org.uk/lower-tamar
Big Common at Slade
Dan Carder was delighted to slip the net under this stunning common carp scaling 26lb 9oz a fish he has been targeting for several years. Dan also banked a couple of stunning mirrors with the recent low pressure stimulating feeding.
