by Martyn Russ
The main thing I love about the social sessions is getting to meet other anglers , club members and friends on the bank. Have fun whilst fishing, have a chat and banter and help each other catch some stunning specimens. It was great to have so many members turn up just to say hi and some even fished the lake after their own trophies. This year we had once again chosen our local venue, Hendre Fishing lake in Cardiff, due to most of our members being local to the lake and also the quality of fishing the lake has to offer. Originally the lake was a drain dug to reclaim the land around the area for social housing and was stocked with a huge variety of species. Linked to the foreshore by the back waters and reams this lake always manages to throw up a surprise or two with new fish entering the water. Tench, Bream, Roach, Rudd, & Perch to impressive sizes plus a huge variety of carp species up to the 30 lb weights and above. This lake is classed among the carp anglers as one of the best “runs”waters in Wales.
The weather forecast for the social was sunny and hot, which although is great for a gathering, it isn't good for fishing as it makes it difficult as they tend not to want to feed when too hot. Despite the high temperatures forecast I kept a positive attitude towards my fishing and made my way down to the lake. Upon arrival I had a quick look around the water and couldn't see any signs of the fish. I questioned a few anglers and they all seemed to say the same thing and that was they were up in the water because of the sun and not in the mood. Due to no signs of the fish and no signs of action from the anglers I chose a peg on the railway bank that I had fished before and knew the layout of the swim well. It was the second swim from the centre reams walking towards the carp park. The area I had planned on fishing was a patch I knew about that was between 13 and 15 wraps out in front towards a tall tree on the horizon. Choosing this spot would mean it would be easy to identify during the dark hours and I would be able to get back on the spot.
To start the session I decided on my usual trick of throwing out 2 high attract baits one a balanced bait on the bottom and one a pop up. This usually tells me if the fish were in the mood for feeding or not just by how long it takes to get that first take. To do this you must use a bait you have complete confidence in knowing its not a case of “IF” they will want the bait but more a matter of “WHEN” they will eat it and how quick. In the mean time whilst waiting for the first take I set about preparing everything for the 4 day session ahead of me. I made up my spod mix which was a mixture of sweetcorn, hemp, Pellets and Boilies in 15 and 20 mm sizes. I then added tuna and mixture of my own secret ingredient liquid additive. I then left this to soak in for several hours before attempting to use it. The reason I do this is because the lake is made up of deep silt and un-soaked baits can sometimes take on the smell and taste of the silt around it and this can put the fish off eating. They don't usually mind but can mean the difference between getting the take off a fussy feeder or blanking on a session at times. Once the spod mix was completed I set about making up some small sticks and stringers ready for my session and to be able to bait up quickly and get the rods back out on the spot after each fish as fast as I can and make the most out of the feeding spells.
Unfortunate the first take didn't come until around 12.30 after lunch with s small common around 11-12 lb in size. This told me that they really were not in the mood for feeding due to the heat and I would have to think about catching these fish. At first i though Zigs and surface baits were the way to go but they were not interesting and despite trying as hard as possible at both methods for a few hours nothing came. Many anglers on the lake were all trying the same things but no bites developed. It was at this point I realised that due to the heat they were lethargically hanging in the layers and the only way to get the bites would be to draw them down onto the bait. I do this by using high oily baits or glugged baits cast over a baited area. The first job was to create the baited patch so it was a case of grab the spod rod and start spodding out the mixture. I started of by placing 10 spods per rod out on the bottom and then cast the rods on top of the area. The hook-baits were all soaked in high attract glugg (Korda Goo) and had a stringer and PVA Stick on every rig cast out. This was to ensure there was a few freebies around each trap set drawing the fish onto the hook-bait, Each rod was clipped up at the exact same distance as the spod and every cast I made sure they were re-clipped each time. Accuracy in this kind of fishing would be very important as if you cast off the baited area the bites start to dry up. It wasn't long after I set out my traps ready for the first night when they dropped down and began to feed on the spot and the runs began to develop. I continued to get a run every 40 – 60 mins during the night right through till the early hours on the first night and was well pleased with the action.
I then noticed as the morning came in and the day began to heat up the bites would slow up and it became more difficult to get them to take the bait, I again tried Zigs and surface baits with no results but every time I put a glugged bait on the bottom the rod would usually rip off after an hour or so and the bites were just steadily appearing from the baited area during the day. Due to this I continued to top up the baited area after every bite and a bit extra every 6 hours to ensure there was always food there for them to eat. As the second night drew in so did the action become more frantic resulting in several double takes and some lovely specimens being landed. Again it continued into the early hours and the lack of sleep was starting to get to me. Just as before as the day heated up the bites slowed down but this time I didn't bother reaching for the zigs or floater rod, instead I decide to continue placing glugged singles over the top of the food spot during the daytime and this seemed to be the key as the carp kept following them down and every couple of hours It resulted in a fish or two.
By the end of the 3rd day and night was approaching I had started to feel so tired from the lack of sleep due to all the action through the night it was starting to effect my fishing. That with the serious heat due to the heatwave we were having wasn't doing me any good. So I decided to pull the rods out for a couple of hours early evening before the action would really take off and get some rest. I did manage a couple of hours but it wasn't long before the angler took over again and I just had to get the rods back in the water as I felt I was missing out on bites. By continuing to feed regular and use high attract baits during the day time I was catching steadily for the entire session but it was around Tuesday when the temperatures became unbearable and I could see that the carp were starting to suffer during the fight so unfortunately it was time to call it a day and cut the trip short. I was also suffering from the heat so I really didn't mind and I had a really enjoyable session catching well over 20 + double figure carp (I actually lost count but approx 27 plus 6 big bream) .I really do like the longer session as you can really work at building your swim and catching the fish. I am now looking forwards to my next adventure....
Wet nets & Tight lines
