72 hr Session Back of Island - Hendre Lake

By Martyn Russ

After the great session on the lakes opening myself , Joel Mathews and Stephen Quinn decided to do a 72 hr session down at Hendre Lake but as we were delayed getting to the lake on Monday due to appointments we fond that nearly all the swims had gone and by lunch time the lake was full. We had managed to get the very last peg at the back of the island on the house bank. A swim that many of the local anglers rated but i personally have never fished. We had decided on fishing in a group and taking certain areas of the swim each as the back swim is actually a single and a double joined together in size. 

Joel had decided on targeting just in front of an overhanging tree on the edge of the island and another rod tucked in tight to the right of the island. I had decided on one rod under the big tree on the right side of the island and one next to it fished slightly further back from the tree just to the right. Stephen placed both rods into the bay one along the margin area towards a small bush and the other cast slightly into open water towards a larger bush where we had seen fish topping. For the first night we all just chose a high attract bait and placed the rods on the spots with a handful of boilies over the top scattered about,. 

 I had chose to place one rod out with a Solar Candy Floss 20 mm boilie Topped with a Mainline IB Popup glugged in Pineapple Korda Goo and the other was a Solar Candyfloss Cork Dust Wafter 16 mm soaked in Sherbert Korda Goo fished on a whipped D rig on a Size 6 Pallatrax Gripz SP Hook Each set up was completed with a small GodmanPVA 18 mm mesh stick containing a mix of Solar up and down mix and other oils and attractors. By the time we were all set up and all rods were in it was coming up early evening so we settled down for a coffee and waited for some action.

 

 

I was actually the first to catch but it turned out to be a greedy bream. Joel was the fist off the mark with the carp with a lovely little common. I followed shortly after with a nice common at 17 lb 2 oz. Then it was Joel's turn again with another 2 carp in quick succession taking us through the first night. My next fish came in the early hours 13 lb 8 oz again caught on an IB / Candy combination followed by a quick double take where I landed the first and lost the second.. Joel also had one during the early hours that managed to get the better off him during the fight and ended up wiping my rods out but that's the risk you take when fishing close together.

Stephens rods remained quiet for the first night apart from a strange take where it took line then dropped the bait. Then come early morning when he had his first proper run the fish managed to pull him into the margin area where his line ended up breaking from a branch or something. Then around lunch Stephen managed his first carp of the session followed by a huge bream The carp then suddenly seemed to switch off and the water went quiet with no sign of the fish right into the night. As the water had gone quiet Joel decided to pull his rods at 1 am to get some sleep. myself and Stephen continued to fish though the night. I managed another 2 small ones at 2 am and then nothing until the next morning. 

As we entered the final morning and had planned to pack p and be gone by 4 pm I decided to spod the remaining bait out over the spots. there wasn't much left only a couple of spombs but it seemed to spur them into action as Joel landed a small double and then i followed just before lunch with the biggest fish of the session at 21 lb 12 oz and then my final fish of the session which turned out to be a lovely 15 lb Ghost carp. We had a great session over the 72 hours and i learnt a lot about the swim and really enjoyed the company. It was nice that all of us ended up catching and i can't wait for the next adventure.

Wet Nets & Tight Lines

Hendre Fishing Lake Opening weekend - Jne 2019

by Martyn Russ

Once again the time of her approaches that signals the start of a new season . The lakes have closed and rested the waters, carp have taken advantage of the sunny days and hot weather and begun spawning. Workers were scurrying about the banks, sweat pouring from their brows as they clear the grounds and cut the grass ready for a year long heard of anglers to come trekking around the lakes targeting the monster size fish lurking in the brown murky waters. Excitement fills the air as you prepare your tackle for the up and coming battles. Companies release loads of new products to help you catch more but seem to catch more anglers than fish. Memberships and season tickets are paid and fishing licences now renewed as that magic date comes quickly and soon it's time to get packed and go fishing.

Normally I personally avoid fishing the open weekends on venues as it  is always very busy  and the fishing pressure effects the way the carp feed. This year I was talked into it and I am glad I did choose to go. The morning came and my fishing partners Stephen Quinn and Joel Mathews had decided we should get there early and meet up with others so we could all choose the swims fairly but to our surprise there was only one angler on the lake at 8 am, one of the bailiffs, Scott, who was actually there to  fish the open weekend he had chosen the centre sluice peg. I was going to jump on the peg next to him but we were told not to go on the pegs till 10 am as members were all allowed to setup one day before the lake actually opens, a great little bonus to catch the carp when they are very hungry after spawning. As I had to go pick up medication I stashed my gear in the trees next to the bank and left Joel watching it whilst I popped away to pick up my bits. By the time I got back we were told we could start setting up. I had gone in the second swim on the railway bank with Joel next to me and then Stephen in the very next peg. This meant the 3 of us would be fishing in a line and we would be able to bait up along a line so all 3 swims could take advantage of the feeding fish off the baited area. By lunch time on the first day everything was set up and ready, we baited up a small area with boilies only, for the first day, with high attract hook baits to see what they would do and if the fish were up for a feed. Fishing yellow Solar top banana popups as singles and also as snowmen on top of 20 mm IB bottom baits. The wait began , they had decided fishing would be allowed to start at 6 pm that evening so we had plenty of time to prepare things like sticks, stringers and Spod mixes.

6 pm came and the announcement screamed across the lake "ALL RODS IN" and that was it, fishing had began and another season started. It wasn't long before the first fish came out to Scott fishing on the end peg. It wasn't only him on the peg but also 2 others had joined him which meant 6 lines coming from one swim out in the open. This gave them a great advantage and they would be able to pick off the fish as they slowly move up the lake., The lads took full advantage of this and from day one they were constantly catching. The centre Sluice peg managed a whopping 120+ carp out over the opening weekend which was amazing and a great result for Scott and Kieran who was working hard non stop all weekend and casting was spot hot hitting his mark almost every time. With the pressure from the amount of anglers on the lake, with every peg full, I thought we may have to work a little harder to entice the feeding fish to travel further up the lake so i mixed up an high oil spod mix and baited out in the swim. It wasn't long after doing this i had my first fish of the session and lovely 14 lb carp. This came to the Solar Top Banana Pop up fished on a D rig Ronnie Style with a Godman PVA mesh Stick made up with solar up and down mix with my secrete mix added. Joel wasn't long behind me catching his first carp again on the Solar Banana but this time he had topped a mainline IB bottom bait fished snow man style..

After catching each fish we would then re-cast the rods and bait up over the top with a couple of spod full of particle mix. Although the end peg was catching consistently all day from the swim we noticed a lot more action was coming in evening and early hours for a lot of the other pegs. The second day came a went with much the same type of action catching the odd fish during the day but getting most through the night. Fish had started coming out all over the lake so the carp were defiantly hungry and the new season had kicked off to a great start. By using Whipped D rigs, Size 6 or 4 hook and Solar Top Banana Wafters or Snowmen rigs consisting of 15 mm bottom baits and 14 mm popups. I would thread a Stick made from the Godman PVA 18 mm mesh  packed with Solar up and down mix and other oils and ingredients. This seemed to be the winning bait for me for the session as most of the fish were caught using this set-up.

 
 


The action seemed to be consistent over the next couple of days with a lot of fish being caught from the end swim by the centre sluice by Kieran and Carl who were having a proper red letter session. I also noticed that nearly all the carp were double figure up to 20 lb with only a couple of smaller ones coming out and none of the bigger girls. Joel was also starting to catch consistently each day as he seemed to catch on to the winning tactic very quickly and was soon into more fish. Stephen managed to get a couple of good runs but down to bad luck managed to loose a couple at the net and a strange occurrence where the line seems to get cut by something mid water. He eventually managed to land one by the end of the second day.
  
We had a nice surprise on day 2 when Joel decided he wanted to put a fresh bait on and lifted his rod and started to reel in when a pike of around 4-5 lb decided to snatch his bait. He had managed to catch it clean in the scissors of the moth area right in the corner with his line clean away from the ,mouth so no chance of snapping but the pike could have turned and bit through the line. He was lucky and despite the pike tail walking during the fight and giving him a good tussle he managed to land it. As hes never handled a pike before he asked me to hold it for him and to sort it out as Summer pike can be very delicate and you must treat with care.l We got a quick picture and got him back in the water as quick as possible and made sure he was well revived before releasing him.  

The Hendre Fishing Lake open weekend turned out to be a brilliant session. All the anglers were catching and many of the Club FAW members getting new personal bests. Joel managed to do it twice in the one session including his first ever double take. Club FAW member Robert Folland also managed a new Personal best dead on 20 lb and i am sure many other anglers on the lake that weekend had some amazing fish. It was a great time, we all caught fish, had a laugh on the bank and i can't wait for the next adventure!

Tight Lines & Wet Nets