Sunday, August 12, 2007

Stones Fishery Sherness

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
I was going to visit Stones today for the first time; I thought I better fish a match there before the 2 day festival in September.

The lakes are on the side of Stones Garden Centre that conveniently has a café that opens in the morning for breakfast, the draw was carried out in the café and I pulled out peg 31 which meant nothing to me but I was told you can do well from anywhere on the lake. It is a strange looking lake as there are pots in the water with reeds growing out of them!
Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
This was a day for experimenting being my first visit so I was going to try a few different things, I was limited to only fishing the pole as there is no way I would get any carp in fishing beyond the pots on a rod and line.

I set up a couple of shallow rigs made up from Drennan Carp 4 Dibbers, one with a long line for swinging away from the pole. These had a 0.14 trace and a Drennan eyed size 14 carp hook attached. A on the deck rig with a Carpa Chimp float, these all had a number 10 latex in the top kits. One for each margin with a BGT Short float with 0.16, and a size 14 Fox Carp hook. These had yellow Drennan hollow in them, the main reason I use this down the margins is with the extra stretch if I hook a big fish I can just hang on keeping the tip low, and then don’t have to follow the fish out and add extra sections.

The plan for the day was to feed a long and short lines down the left margin, and one to the right. But the main attack was going to be shallow between the two pots in front of me where there were quite a few carp cruising around. Bait as always was lots of Skretting 6mm pellets, 4 and 6mm expanders and some paste. I have the utmost confidence in this bait when commercial carp are the target even on unfamiliar water.

At the off I fed the margins, then went straight out with the shallow rig, I did however stick out a couple of balls of groundbait out where I was fishing shallow to hopefully draw some fish in. Feeding 6-8 pellets every few second I was soon into my first carp a fish of about 2lb, soon followed by its mate another one about the same size. Half an hour in I hooked a bigger one about 5lb, when it surfaced I missed it with the landing net and it went crazy! Unfortunately the hook then pulled out.

Things were very slow and two hours into the match I only had 5 carp in the net, word was the lake was not fishing too well. I did drop in where I was feeding the margins but there was little sign of anything down there. So back out with the shallow rig and adding a section took me to beyond the two pots full of reeds. I started to pick up a few more small carp and f1’s here, I was warned not to use a light elastic by the reed pots but they came in with not too much trouble, you just lift slightly into a fish then instead of shipping back pushing the pole forward slightly seemed to confuse the fish then you can easily lead it between the reed.

I keep on dropping down the margins but had no response, so carried on picking up the odd fish shallow. I did try a maggot hookbait for a short while and had a few roach and rudd.

30 minutes from the end I spotted a carp down the left margin, dropped in a bit of paste and immediately had a bite and hooked one, another 2 came out from here before the whistle went to signal the end.

When the scales came round 90lb was winning and I knew I had nowhere near that, I stuck 37lb on the scales, the half of the lake I was on didn’t fish as well as the top end where the winner came from. I had an enjoyable days fishing though and would recommend a visit to the lakes, I will certainly be back.

I did fish on after the end of the match down the margin and had one a bung! The margin was solid, I’m sure the carp know!

No comments: