Trip #91 - Higher Farm - Lower Lake

Today’s session was going to be a wet one. The weather forecast was set between light - heavy rain all day. Still a day on the bank is better than a day in the house, and after my recent sea fishing trips I was looking forward to a trip where I knew I would actually catch some fish. I decided to visit a new lake at a venue is visited recent. Lower Lake at Higher Farm, Wincanton. Apparently this lake was where the big fish lived, so naturally I was excited. I set off early making sure I had the waterproofs in the car and was oddly glad that it was raining as it would give me an opportunity to test drive my new waterproof fishing coat. Finding the lower lake was easier than finding the higher lakes, (big gate and signed) and after parking up I found that I would be sharing the lake with 3 generations of anglers, all trying to out catch each other.  I opted to leave them duke it out and chose the last peg on the lake. It looked to be one of this more inviting pegs on the lake, with margin features to right and left and an island to the left at 11.5 - 13m.

Off to a damp start, but I was optimistic.

Trip #89 - Higher Farm - Higher Lakes - Lake 2

After my last trip to the Long Load Canal and my trip back to Wales I decided my next trip was going to be another new venue. The tides were not working in my favour, not was the weather so instead of braving a beach I opted for a safer option of a lake. Or rather a selection of 3 small lakes knows as Higher Farm Fishery, not far from Wincanton. I would say apart from find the 2 Higher lakes in which you have to drive down the side of a field, one of the hardest parts of this trip was the junction off the A303.  Which appeared very quickly, with no slip road and very little signage. Anyway, after I finally found the lakes I parked up and after a quick walk discovered that a local match was being held on the lower of the 2 lakes. It really nice to see actually as all the people fishing the pond were regulars at the pub who apparently "did this sort of thing once or twice a year". It meant however I had to heave my gear up what was a rather steep and very slidey pathway to get to the top lake where I had decided to fish.

My peg had plenty of options

How to attach Hard Pellets

Over the last 2 years there is one thing that has hugely increased in number in my shed and holdall, and that is pellets. Pellets aren’t a particularly new idea and I remember them really starting to take venues apart in the late 90's early 00's when they starting to spike in popularity and it was all still a bit of a novelty. Since then pellets have come a long way, in various different sizes, styles, shapes and flavours. They have gone from strength to strength and consistently form the main stay of many match anglers "go to" bait. In all honesty I steered clear of pellets for as long as possible, believing that more natural baits would produce as well as any pellet, but the more venues I visited and the more lakes I fished, it was clear to see that although natural baits were effective, they just didn't consistently compete with pellets. Wanting to have as successful a day as possible on venues where matches are fished I switched over to pellets and to be honest, I haven't looked back. There has been a bit of trial and error, and when asked recently how I was hooking the hard pellets (on this occasion I using a hair rig) I had a look at my topkits and explained that I had few rigs set up to cover my options.

Fishing Basics - Knot Tying - How to tie a Lasso knot

This is just a quick post in response to a question I was asked a few weeks ago when out fishing using Pellets. I was alternating between a few rigs which had various hook set up's (using the pole), these were;

• A haired 8mm pellet,
• A banded 6mm pellet, and
• A lassoed 6mm pellet. 

I was then asked how I tied a lasso knot, as the angler asking didn't have any pellet bands with him. I admitted of the three methods I like the lasso least as I think the presentation of the pellet is not as good, when compared with either the haired or banded approaches. However, I proceeded to show him how I was taught to tie the lasso knot, and for those wondering, here's how you can too!

Trip #67 - Todber Manor - Whiteposts.

I've never been in a situation (aside from river fishing) where I needed to drive a mile to the lake from the venue reception, but that is the case in Todber Manor Whiteposts lakes. On leaving the tackle store I was given a handy print out with idiot proof instructions on how to find the lakes, and was told "It is exactly 1 mile away". Okie doke! The Todber Manor complex has several lakes, all boasting a range of fishing types. There are several specimen carp lakes another lake which Golden Catfish (judging from the website photos) a designated match lake and 2 general coarse lakes (one of which I intended to fish). I had rung in advance to ask what lakes would be available to fish, in the off chance of a match being on. Good job I did as there were matches on both Park lake and one of the White Posts lakes. I did wonder if this was part of the mini league I have read about in other anglers blogs, but never managed to get around to asking the match guys as they were well underway by the time I arrived.

I originally intended on arriving at the lake for half 8 - 9, but for one reason or another I didn't actually arrive until 10:30 and once I had set up and gone through a very untidy carryall I was set up and ready to fish from quarter past 11(ish)...

Lots and lots of options for me on this peg.

Trip #66 - Cefn Mably Bridge Pond

Today was going to be a busy day. It was going to involve several family visits, a family meal and 100 mile return trip to Somerset from South Wales, so my time bank side was going to be limited. I was also travelling very light with 2 reels, 2 feeder rods, a landing net, a handle and a box of rig bit essentials. I was hoping for a very productive session and with a few venues very close to my parent’s house offering this I was spoilt for choice. In the end I went with Cefn Mably on the advice of a mate of mine (Dale). To be honest he echoed what I was already thinking "They all fish the same! Just fish close to the island and don't forget to feed the margins!" so with that advice I decided veer away from my favoured Horseshoe Lake to try out one of Cefn Mably's newer lakes, the Bridge Pond.

Trip #64 - Potwell Farm Lake

I've driven past this venue several times on the way to and from Bridport, but have never had chance to get down to the water and check it out. With a Sunday going begging I decided to give it a try, especially as this venue is only 12 minutes drive away - Ideal! I must say that the Google Map search beforehand didn't look too promising. The satellite images showed a ditch still being dug, hopefully it would be more inviting when bankside. Arriving at Potwell farm and making my way down the lane to the lake I was surprised at the size of it. To be honest it's a bit of an odd shape, with defined pegs all along the right hand bank but no pegs and limited access to the left hand bank. There was also a small section of the lake which can only be accessed by one peg (not marked), and even then accessing the pegs full potential would be difficult because of the angle of the bank. The lake itself has few features, and can't have been in existence for many years. The position of the venue (on top of a hill) meant the wind was surprisingly strong (as it was today a solid 15-20mph wind in the face). 

The top left hand corner of the lake as you leave the car park

From the opposite end of the lake.

Trip #55 - Revels Fishery - Crooked Tree Lake

After my session on the Viaduct the previous day and spending far too long browsing and chatting in the Revels onsite tackle shop I hoped the fishing was going to be live up to my expectations, as my confidence was still high after yesterday's belter of a session. There was a match on one of the lakes at Revels, but the multitude of other lakes open to pleasure anglers. The fishery was set in truly beautiful surroundings and after a quick walk around I decided to fish the Crooked/Broken Tree lake. It looked quite promising with plenty of features, and after speaking to one of the anglers I decided that peg 10 is where I would set up camp.

Plenty of options at my chosen peg at Revels

Trip #43 – Mathern Mill

After my disaster of a fishing trip to Acorn fishery in Clevedon, my next trip had to be filled with fish to compensate. After a Google search and speaking to some friends I decided to try Mathern Mill. This hugely successful match fishery frequently produces 200lb bags of carp, and as I would be accompanied by one of my friends who was after a “lump” I thought this would be the perfect place to catch some good quality fish. Speaking to my local tackle dealer, he warned me that the main carp lake usually has matches on both weekend days (Saturday and Sunday) and fishing the same lake on Monday might prove tough. There was only one way to find out...

After a slow start this was the third double of the day!

Trip #42 – Acorn Fishery, Clevedon

Having never done much serious carp fishing, and with the recent spell of warm weather, my brother and I decided on an overnight session to a fishery which came heavily recommended by other anglers. Acorn fishery has several lakes, split between match and specimen venues, this time we would be targeting the specimens. After some research into the venue, I found out that huge match weights are possible (this summer Des Shipp managed 300lb+ in one match), which could only mean good things for us chasing the bigger fish.

Looks fishy!

Trip #37 - Why the Wye

Recently a few friends of mine have been venturing further afield in search of specimens or bountiful river sessions. But as yet I have been unable to join them. So when I had a phone call from one of my angling friends recently, to see if I wanted to join him for a few hours in the evening on a day ticketed stretch of the great river Wye I positively jumped at the chance - Especially after he had confirmed that the stretch we would be fishing contains an enormous amount of Barbel (a species which I have yet to catch from a river). My friend being an avid (and secretive) river angler was quite wary about my writing up this report, so adhering to his rules I can’t mention the exact peg we fished. But the day tickets for the stretch can be bought from the local tourism office (and online).

A sign of things to come! Although he didn't let me land the first fish!