Harlesthorpe and Butterley Blank - again!!

Fished Harlesthorpe before Xmas and Butters on New Years Eve. Nothing zip. Deadbait and on Butters even tinkered with maggot. Bring on spring! Must be 4 sessions and nothing - need to break the blanks at least with a token roach. .

Nico the predator master. 4lb Pike which looks bigger than it was. Imagine a double figure monster?? Harlesthorpe Dam, smelt , 5 metres out. Not bad after a merry go round trip to Park Hall to find a match. Well worth another visit.

Higham Tench Hunt

Fished pool at back. Moved around. Method produced nothing but didnt stick at it - poor. Dicked around in corner and lost monster perch on maggot. Roach, perch and Rudd. Fished like a muppet. Saw fish coming out on method. Weather roasting and very bright. Gut feel it's a method or pole session sitting it out on corn or pellet. Lesson learnt. £8 to fish!

Park behind ya peg

Tuesday 18th August 2015 Drumble - Cudmore Fished a bit further round in front of the lillies. Cage feeder with 2mm pellets and dead reads, reds on the hook. Margin to right and left plus out in front on pole. Caught from the off 2 quick carp in first 3 casts of around 3lb mark. Then skimmers and tench followed to 2lb. Margins brought barbel to 3lb on dead reds fishing as close in as possible. Caught throughout the session at points one a chuck. At one point someone drove up to my peg thinking it was the road, see photos below of where they tried to drive - mental! Very good session enjoyed mixed bag, Tench, carp, bream, crucians, roach, rudd, barbel and chub.

Cudmore in the rain

Friday 14th August 2015 Papa and myself Drumble - Cudmore Warm-ish, still but poured down with rain nearly all day. Fished cage feeder with red maggot - mix of tench, carp and bream. Ok session but frustrating with weather and brollies which made casting very difficult. Papa cast like he was carpet bombing the whole lake. Biggest fish 5lb carp.

2 Inches Deep

We fished Butters for tench. Nico fluked one on a set of bike handle bars. I lost a few and caught a few bits - no tench. Fished near to bay Swanwick side. Bailiff thought we had lost plot.

Animal Mineral Vegetable

Day 1 Some anglers are born great, some achieve greatest and others are just born to fish like a great. Weeks and weeks of anticipation and weather watching were over and Saturday started with Nico bang on time and informed of Sophie's breakfast preferences. The lads stuffed the car and were off, optimism reached new highs as lakes, tactics and past sessions were discussed as the miles zoomed by. MacDs visited and lads recharged. Shrewsbury drew near. Hand brake turn into Spring Lea and the usual dreams of 'if this was my fishery' were now put aside as the boys pulled up alongside the welcome sight of Magnums van. Magnum having a pow wow with the bivvie brigade - well one stoned dude - fully informed of the lakes form - ready to bag! Pegs mid lake the only choice and draw made. Nico middle peg - Nicholls boys happy with end pegs and option of margin later. Game on, match on, fish ? It was tense odd carp for Nico, coot targeted silvers and magnum odd fish. Steady as she goes. Cob van shut. Amateur luck and boring tales of fish.Nico always attracts them. Steady as she goes. Odd silver IDE carp roach Rudd. Carp not present. Hot and warming up. Nico tanned his legs and Magnum wore his new garbolino hat with silent pride. Coot catcher sensing silvers victory and a share of the species packed up before the rest. Weighting in came as a surprise - magnum 12lb silvers and 8lb carp , Nicholls 31lb silvers carp DNW and ( can you believe it) Nico 10lb carp and 31lb silvers. Points day 1 - Nico 7.5 Coot 5.5 Magnum 5. 3 beers staring at menus and Kanye West at Glasto - Nico slept like a baby. It was still anyone's! Day 2 Lads arose feeling redeemed for an early night and no lime pickle. At the venue before magnum, cussing the rain. Bonged out bivvie man night fishing but not night fishing? Are you MOD? End of Orfe and end of the match as Magnum picked the peg on the corner - no one puts magnum in the corner. A few silvers and odd carp. Nico end peg, far end of lake decided to add Matey to the water so fish could have a bubble bath jacuzzi. Sprats and lost carp followed. Crazy feeder for coot resulted in skimmers and small carp through out session. Nico lost his mojo and humour. Sat like a gnome and moaned. Magnum we couldn't hear or seen in the corner - vegetating. At the weight in Magnum 4lb silvers and 4lb carp. Nico carp DNW and silvers 18lb. Coot 8lb carp and 21lb silvers. Total points and weights - Magnum 9 points 28lb Nico 12.5 59lb Coot Catcher 13.5 60lb. A better showing from Magnum, some costly mistakes from Nico and Coot - but justice in the end! Lesson learnt - maggot maggot maggot and odd bit of corn!