March arrives and it is not until the 6th that I am able to get to Bowood arriving at peg 10 with a frost on the ground, air temperature of -1C and fog! I was ready to fish by 9 and continued to 12:30, the fog eventually lifted and the day turned very warm and sunny, however the water was highly coloured with a max of 3 inches clarity. Anyway the usual set up was in place and by 10 am I had one micro perch that dropped off! There were two others in the top field and another regular, Bob, turned up and went on 9 as he assumed the other two had gone on the other bank and had been planning on going to the top field. While chatting the float started going against the tow, a strike and a solid resistance followed by a goodly amount of elastic came out. Unshipping slowly I finally put the net under a 3-08 bream hooked in the pectoral! I had a small bream of 1-12, five roach, 3 skimmers/blades and 6 rudd for a final total of 6-10.
With the close of Bowood approaching – it keeps the same close season as the rivers- I went on the last Sunday, thinking it would be busy, how wrong I was- I had the lake to myself! Back on 10 with the usual approach I managed to get another bream of 3-06, a tench of 3-00, 25 rudd, 4 roach and 3 skimmers for a 7-12 total.
However there was a point when I quickly unshipped the pole as the pike float bobbed and started to go then stopped. On finally retrieving the bait I find there was a piece of flesh cut out with almost surgical precision less than 5mm from my top hook.
There have been no reports of crayfish in the 10 years I have been going to Bowood and I have never seen one there. Showing the picture to Jackie in TK Tackle she was bemused at first but came up with the possibility of it being a catfish. The lake was design and built by Capability Brown and many of his lakes at that time had carp and catfish introduced, it is quite feasible that some offspring of the original fish may still be in the water as 80% of it is not fished. A thought to ponder!
I decided to go on the Wednesday and leave the last day of the season alone! Bowood 10 was the peg again but the wind was blowing very hard and the water had got very coloured with a couple of heavy overnight downpours. I started at 9 but packed up at 11:30 having to fish the last hour or so just using the top two of the pole as the wind was extreme. Seven roach, twelve rudd and seven blades finished my season for 1-03.
To review the season – I have again succumbed to peg 10 during the autumn and winter due to it being the deepest area and with bait going in it does hold the fish (possibly!). Anyway the initial outlay for a Bowood ticket of £205 may appear expensive but given it is only 3 minutes from door to gate it is convenient plus the 55 visits I made means each outing cost me £3.93 so it is financially worthwhile.
I netted 555lb 5oz of visit making an average of just over 10lb a visit. That breaks down in the following way Pike 17 caught for 168-05, seven over 10lb (18-11,17-06,14-04, 14-04, 13-00, 1`2-04 and 11-13), Tench 13 caught for 51-15, the best 5-06 with 6 between 4 and 5lb and 6 between 3 and 4lb, there were 82 bream weighed the best being 5-00 with five between 4 and 5lb, 35 between 3 and 4lb, 32 from 2 to 3lb and 9 from 1 to 2lb for a total of 234lb. That leaves 101-01 of other fish. I made 25 fewer visits this season, partly down to spending more time on matches and Gareth dragging me to the canal or river!
Who knows what next season will bring, if it follows the usual Bowood cycle it will be a tench year with few bream!
With Gareth and family safely back in China I made preparations for a Maggotdrowners match at the Glebe on Saturday 17th. I had talked Darren into having a go and arranged to meet him at Moreton in the Marsh so he could follow me up to the Glebe as it was his first time. We arrived on time without incident and Darren drew peg 20 and I was on 26. My preparations had not been done that well as I realised that I had left my pole cup in the other bag when I had been out with Gareth, fortunately Darren lent me a spare. For some reason I forgot to take any pictures but I started on the feeder tight across and was patting myself on the back when the feeder was going down the same hole each time – a rare incident! Anyway a roach, skimmer and monster gudgeon made the way to the net by the time we reached the 30min mark while peg 24 had about 4 carp in this time.
The match had been split into two payouts- silvers only and everything counts -with each section getting a silvers and overall winner, you could win one but not both. I had set out for silvers as I wanted to see if I could get the usual bream of 1.5lb to 3lb feeding as being February I suspected the carp may be more bunched up. Hence, I had fished maggot on the feeder and had primed a long line at 13m and a short line at 2+2, the long line with groundbait, 4mm pellet and corn, while the short line received one ball of groundbait and a pot of micros with a few 4mm expanders and a few maggot. Tackle was unusual for me as the long line was normal with a 0.8g homemade float on 0.14mm line, a 0.12mm hooklength to a 16, the short line however was again homemade but took just three no8 shot spread in the last 3 feet again to a 0.12mm line and 16 hook.
The feeder was put up the bank and I had a look on the long line and began to pick up small skimmers of only an ounce or two on maggot or expander at 13m but although I was putting fish in the net along with one better skimmer of a pound it was not fast enough due to the size of the fish. So on to the 2+2 line again it was a case of small skimmers interspersed with the odd roach and gudgeon no matter whether I had maggot or expander on the hook, but expander brought the bites faster. I stayed on this line for the rest of the match but the fish were very small in comparison to the usual silvers at the Glebe. After three hours I hooked and landed a carp of around 8lb but it was the last 40 minutes when the silvers got pushed out by the carp. I caught two carp of a similar size to the first but then I managed to snap my hook off in the bank side vegetation and instead of just tying on a new hook I took the hooklength off and replaced it with a similar one but with a narrower gauge 16 hook – a big mistake as I lost three carp on the bounce as the gauge of wire was pulling through and not holding the carp. I managed one further carp of about 3lb. I was on the board for the weigh in and Darren had had a good day – sticking on the 2+2 line and feeding and fishing maggot he had caught consistently all day and ended up winning the silvers pot for the section. Looking at his fish I guessed I had caught a similar amount but mine were a great deal smaller. I ended up with 15-11 of silvers and my 4 carp went 29-10 that put me 6th overall, and 5th in the silvers.
Darren went home pleased with his day and looking forward to the next on 16th March! It was only at the end of the match that we discovered that Roy Marlow, the owner and ex-Likely Lad, had died on the bank the previous day, a true loss to angling.
Events and weather then conspired against me, with a recurrence of my dodgy knee and monsoon type weather at times I stayed in until the following Siunday when I packed the haversack seat and took a rod bag with a waggler and feeder rod up to the Stock Pond at Bowood on the premise that it would do me good and was the only place likely to be fishable. It was fishable but no-one told the fish!The main lake was muddy after all the rain and it looked as if they had opened the sluice as the water level was lower than normal. I squelched my way up to the Stock Pond and despite it only being 1C on arrival I expected to get a few bites- how wrong can you me – 9:30 to 11:30 fishing and not a bite on either waggler or lead. There had been one hardy pike angler on the main lake when I walked up but he had gone when I walked back.
Tuesday sees me pluck up the courage to go to peg 10 at Bowood, there was a lot of debris and large sticks on the platform and walkway which gave credence to the theory that the rain over the last week or so had risen the level to over the platform and the sluice had then been opened to alleviate the situation.
There was an undertow from right to left against the strong cold wind again a cold night and only 1C on arrival. I fished in my usual manner, the pike rod was untroubled but I did prevent a blank with 3 roach, 2 rudd, 2 skimmers/blades and a micro-perch for 0-06. Two other anglers came after me on the other bank but I did not see them catch, Oh for a period of settled weather! It has to be said that apart from one bite that took the float under the rest merely moved the tip a mm or so which meant I needed to concentrate hard on the float.
March means 14 days maximum of Bowood to end of season and then the return to the Glebe.
December arrives and as is usual at this time of year time for fishing is limited and often non-existent due to the weather. Anyway I decided to chance my arm at Bowood peg 10 on December 3 following a rise in temperature from -4C the previous day to the balmy heights of 3C. Setting up with a chianti style float on a 0.08mm hooklength to a 20 with spread shotting to investigate all depths – I got nado, zilch, not a sausage or as it is that time of year not even a pig in blanket! HOWEVER, the pike rod saw action having acquired a new batch of sardines with fish of 7-10, 14-04 and 5-08 in a session lasting only 2.5hrs.
The 14-04.
Rain on the Monday meant that on my return to peg 10 on Tuesday I was faced with water that looked like stewed tea and flowing! I did not expect to get any pike and was right! I did surprise myself as ten minutes in the float (a 1g Paster) disappeared and a rather shocked blade of an ounce came swinging in! That was i,t I had started at 9:15 but packed up at 10:50 knowing any further efforts were futile.
Weather and family visits then prevented any further outing until the 15th. I fished from 9:30 to 12:15 and by the time I left the three other anglers who were piking had blanked as I had with the pike. I was surprised to see the water still very coloured with a visibility down to about 3-4 inches despite a fairly dry period, this may have been partly due to the major construction work taking place to repair the bridge into the estate. I persevered with the light rig and size 20 but as usual could only get interest when using double maggot, ending with 12 blades, 6 roach and a rudd for a level 1lb.
Hopefully I will get out a few times before the end of the month but Merry Christmas to anyone who reads this!
September arrives and the first Friday sees me at Bowood peg 20. The session starts slowly with me priming the swim at 11.5m with 3 balls made up of 2 parts Caperlan Etang, 1 part Coco Belgique and 1 part vanilla laced with a sparse helping of wheat, corn and micro pellets. Corn did not get any response for 30 minutes until the float lifted (I am persevering with the double bulk approach) and the strike resulted in a small bream of 1-10 coming to the net, the next hour was interspersed with roach and rudd at intervals before at 10:30 (the bell was chiming) the float disappeared and I struck into what felt a better fish. The fight was not like a bream nor a tench nor typical of the pike and you would have seen my jaw draw when it finally surfaced – a perch. Now it is rare to catch any perch on the main lake and they usually are 1-2oz when they do occasionally appear, but this pulled the scales down to 1-6, a PB for Bowood and a vary pleasant surprise.
Next put in another decent fish, this time a tench of 2-2, again one of the smaller tench but more of them later! Back to the odd roach, rudd, a couple of hybrids and a skimmer before ending the session with a better roach of 12oz. The final total for the 4 hours 15 roach, 9 rudd, 2 hybrids and skimmer and the 4 better fish for 9-2.
Next day I was back but this time taking the long trek to the first peg on the stock pond. I wanted to have a session on this peg as I had the Monkees v Shandees 3 day match coming up at the Glebe and wanted to try various things.That night had been a bit cooler but I was hopeful of some action. Setting up at 11.5 metres in 7-8 feet of water I fished a 1g home made job with the bulk set at 3 feet from the hook and three no 8 droppers below. Line was the usual Shogun 0.16mm to 0.14mm hooklength and a 16.
Three balls cupped in with wheat, corn and 4mm pellet, sat back and waited, 10 minutes later float dipped and a roach was soon in the net! Things didn’t quite go to plan as the carp were not playing ball but I had a nice 3.5hour session with 32 roach that weighed 5-3 and a solitary carp of 4-12.
The Monday sees at the Pondtail, peg 1 me for a short session with the whip. Very slow but managed to winkle out 8 perch, 18 roach and 24 gudgeon – nice to see the gudgeon making a comeback, we must be in one of the high points of a three year cycle they go through.
Wednesday sees me travel up to the Glebe for the aforementioned M V S match. I was fishing for (handicapping more likely) the Shandees in this North v South annual encounter, I was drawn peg 106 on Pool 7 for the first day, a new pool for me in my infrequent visits. The fact I did not take any pictures may tell you something about the peg! Clear banks so no margin cover. I decided to set my stall out with 6 lines of attack,
1. feeder over
2. groundbait and pellet at 13m
3. 5m straight in front with pellet/corn
4. 2m out from bank at 7m pole distance groundbait
5/6 the margins one with pellet and corn the other wheat and corn.
First cast on the feeder I had a bite as I was cupping in on the 5 metre line (this is allowed under the Glebe rules) and managed to net a carp of about 6lb, the next 3 hours were biteless on the feeder long pole and short line. I went on the angled 7m line and by alternating between corn/paste/pellet managed to put one or two fish in the net, finishing with a couple from the margin (left one) on corn for a disappointing total of 54-11 (7 carp I think, plus lost 2 and a skimmer of 1-11).
Day 2 sees me on peg 8 on pool 1. I discovered at the draw because of a couple of withdrawals two pegs were being taken put and yes one of them was 106! I had been told that there was a hole close in to the right of the peg and when Jason Weston trundled up on the left of me he confirmed that they normally caught to the right half way between the stump and the post in the water. I plumbed up there, at 13m 5m in front and also close into my right just over some bankside reeds forming a bay.
Feeder didn’t produce, long pole neither, 5m line was a waste so I went on the right hand area where I had been feeding groundbait, pellet, hemp and wheat. I began to get some bites landing a couple of bream before a couple of carp then more bream , I belatedly tried the inside line only to find the carp were there, adding three more and losing two in the last 30 minutes. When packing up I was told by Shorey666 the section winner the day before he had all his fish in that bay, he had seen me plumb there and thought I was aware of it!!! The bream went 19-11, the carp 31-6 (just 2 lost) for a 51-1 total DOH!
Final day and peg 13 is drawn for me on Pool 1 another peg that had won the section the day before.
Again a carp early on was a one off on the feeder, the 13m line produced not a single bite and most the action was fixed on the 5m line in front, 7m to the side and the right hand margin. To cut a long story short, 7 carp lost 2 for 41-14 and 10-5 of bream for 52-3, consistent if nothing else!
Family matters then stop me wetting a line for a week and a return to Bowood with my first visit to peg 10! I decided to increase the initial feed and put in 6 balls laced with wheat and corn. I also put out the pike rod with a sardine to one side of my swim. A slow start then a roach, a skimmer and it goes quiet, the float dips and a better fish comes to the net – the smallest tench I have caught at Bowood at 1-11! The session went on in a similar vein with catch a few small fish, swim goes quiet, hook at tench. I ended up with 5 smaller tench of 1-11,3-10,3-12,2-5 and 2-3, 1 skimmer, 10 roach and 6 rudd for a 16-4 total. However I also lost a good tench of 4lb+ plus an unseen fish that I suspect was a pike plus I hooked a tail walking pike of about 6-7lb that was great fun on the pole, but not a sniff on the pike rod! Typical!
I decided to reduce the tackle down to a waggler and feeder rod combined with my rucksack seat for my next visit on the Sunday, taking the 1340 paces to peg 14, the last peg in the top field. I had some groundbait left over from the Glebe – Green lipped Mussel- and wanted to get some practice on the feeder. I started with an open ended 30g feeder and 3ft hooklength of 0.12mm to a 16.
Starting on worm with chopped worm in the feeder I began getting indications from small skimmers and roach, ragging the worm, maggot produced small roach and a switch to corn gave a slightly better stamp. After an hour I rested the swim and had a dabble on the waggler at 15m where I had been feeding wheat, same story with rudd and roach attacking the corn and wheat baits. Back to the feeder and a minute twitch on the tip was struck at resulting in a small bream of 1-10. I was on braid mainline and I am sure I would not have seen that bite if I was on mono. The next 2 and a half hours see me land bream of 2-4, 1-8, 1-4, 2-8, 2-0 ,2-4, 1-10 and 1-15 which with my four skimmers, 10 roach and 2 rudd gave me an 18-12 total before the 1340 pace return journey!
Two days later back on the long trek, this time to peg 13, same kit but this time the waggler stayed in the bag. A slow start with the groundbait the same but the three hours produced three bream of 2-4, 4-0 and 2-0 along with 10 roach and 5 skimmers for a 9-12 total, I bumped one good bream and that was the signal for them to move off!
It is interesting that my reel and braid are both Chinese, both perform admirably, have lasted well and the combined total of £15 (reel £9, braid £6 for 300m) makes them totally affordable if not fashionable!
The last Friday sees the temperature go down to 3C overnight and it was only 6C when I arrived at peg 10. I had decided to go back to 10 rather than try and continue the “fish every peg” target as given the sudden change I figured the pike might be more willing than the bream to feed. I cast my first sardine at 9:15 and began setting up the pole, but stopped and put my neck warmer on and zipped up my jacket tight as the wind was very strong and cold. I began on maggot to see if anything was over the three balls of groundbait I had cupped in. Fifteen minutes later I had a minute roach to show for my efforts, this is usually a sign of something larger in the vicinity so on went the corn but after an hour I had moved on to 3 roach, albeit the corn fish were bigger. I decided to top up and switch back to maggot, this prompted a few roach before it quietened down and a switch to corn saw some net roach coming to the net. The major problem was the strong cross wind was making the pole difficult to hold never mind present a bait attractively! Every time I was able to present the corn in a reasonable manner I was getting a bite, the problem was my shoulders were getting sore with the constant battering of the pole by the wind. Suddenly the pike float stopped its rhythmic bobbing with the waves and slid under, my first run of the season a firm strike was met with an equally firm response from the pike which finally succumbed after trying to impersonate a jet boat! Not massive at 8-12 but a welcome intervention on a cold windy day, I gave it another hour and packed up just after 12pm with 17 roach, 3 skimmers,2 rudd and a hybrid weighing in at 3-10.
Sunday sees me at Sutton Benger guesting for Clanfield in the North Wessex Winter League. I was hoping not to draw the last two sections which had mega walks through cloying mud and was relieved when told I had been drawn in the top field , B4 which was permanent peg 13. Not fantastic unless there was a bit of flow and there wasn’t! But you are able to park next to the peg so no long walk .
The water was fairly clear and you could see thousands of this year’s fry in the margins. Usually you can get an hour or so at the start to catch well but as soon as the sun hits the water it kills it and you are in scratching mode for the rest of the match. With this in mind I opted for a groundbait line at 11.5m where there was six feet of water, a 5m line with hemp and wheat, a second 5m line 6m down the peg, a far bank waggler and small feeder.
The previous night had been cold so I started with 3 plum sized balls of groundbait (2 parts Sensas Noire, 1 part coco belgique, 1 part vanilla, 1 part Caperlan etang) with 30 casters and similar amount of hemp. The depth was fairly uniform so I had set up just two rigs, the first a 1.5g Paster that would act as both my main attack and later worm rig with a 0.10mm hooklength to a 20 microbarb. The bulk was set two feet from the hook with a single number eight dropper (I would later move a number 6 from the bulk down to the number 8 to counteract the minnows). A single ball went on the 5m line and this was fed with hemp and wheat throughout the match.
The match started and second run through I had a microscopic gudgeon, then another, and another , then a minnow then a smaller than microscopic gudgeon! I was feeding a pinch of casters every put in whilst feeding about a dozen maggots across every other put in. At this point I changed to double maggot and proceeded to catch minnow and gudgeon interspersed with 2 half ounce roach and 3 small chublets! A switch to caster saw a slowing down of the minnows and a slightly better stamp of gudgeon (4 to the ounce). After an hour an a quarter the sun was up and the bites slowed right down. A switch to the waggler sees – minnows- then a net roach then minnows.
I had continued to trickle casters on the 11.5m line and tried a bit of chopped worm, no reaction at all, possibly any perch were gorged on the fry! Back to the pole line and more gudgeon on caster, nothing on feeder nor on the short lines, into the last hour and a little bit of shade was coming back, with 30 minutes to go I hooked another net roach and added a few more gudgeon. At the weigh-in I had 25 gudgeon, 3 chublets, 17 minnows, 4 bleak and 4 roach for 1-14-8 and second in section, beaten by the first peg who had 3-10 of gudgeon. Clanfield won the day as well so my efforts were not in vain.
October sees me at a group coaching session with Andy May at Partridge Fisheries up North!
wheatnotcasters 