DH FISHING |
As we moved in to July there had been a short enforced break as the Syndicate fish finally spawned, so I had left them alone while they got it out of the way. I was looking forward to a return though and hoped that the fish would be up for a good feed being post Spawn. One of the lads said Scar had been sighted a couple of times so after a good fortnight away I made my way back for a session. Once again the warm weather we were enjoying had continued and it looked good for a fish off the surface. The Carp were a bit lethargic though and although plenty were about they weren't mega keen on the floaters. Eventually though one tripped up but it was just a scraper double. I tried for another but the opportunity did not arise, so it was back to base for the night. I got the baits in position and then sat on my hands. All evidence suggested that fish were in the area, however the night passed with no take, which was annoying due to several quite aggressive liners. As fish had showed and there was even several periods of fizzing on my patch I remained patient and eventually well over 24hrs later, the rod which had seen the most activity went, producing this nice 21lb+ Mirror. This was the spot where I had heard what I thought to be the big girl crash before spawning and on previous captures she has form for coming from this area, so I felt I was edging closer and closer. Comically i'd nicknamed it scars bush and as we edged in to evening I was graced by a beautiful sunset and the lake looked simply stunning, creating an atmosphere perfect for the crowning moment.... As the backdrop of deep purples, blues and summer green hues melted into darkness, I was hopeful of another take... and it came. Much sooner than I expected, just after midnight, I was connected to a good fish, which as with many spots on Selby was hooked locked up and it was a take no prisoners situation until the fish was safe and in open water. As I flicked on the headtorch beam, I got a glimpse. It was a Common and after a short fight it went in the net relatively easily. I looked down and thought it was the 25lb 13oz fish I caught before. But it wasn't and it was on trying to lift it out that the penny dropped..... I'd done it. There she was. I was absolutely speechless. Personal best smashed and my first thirty at 37lbs 8ozs. To catch it only half a season in was simply a privilege and it was my goal for the year. After ending up in water seeing her off safe I then spent the next hour just sat in a bit of daze letting it sink in. I never bothered putting the rod back out during the night and once the adrenaline died off a bit I caught up on some sleep. A beautiful, warm dawn ensued and it looked good for a bit more stalking. So I trundled off and added another fish to the tally for the session - This beautiful scaley which is without a doubt one of the nicest Carp I've ever caught! After slipping this one back it was definitely time to quit while I was ahead and it was back to base for an hour to chill, before packing up and heading for home.
Despite the success of Catching Scar, I was still looking forward to more sessions on the lake and i'll detail those in a fourth blog, which will see us through to the end of 2017.... Those that know me, know there was a bit of a plot twist and by my own admission a humongous slice of luck yet to come, but for the time being I decided to go enjoy a couple of session elsewhere before returning. Look out for the next instalment in the next week or so. Thanks again for reading, Tight lines, Dan
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Following the long session even though it had been difficult I felt like I was getting in to my season nicely and was itching to get back down again and the opportunity soon came for another 48hrs, which although quiet proved fruitful after a short bit of stalking in one of the beds of lily's where fish were held up sunbathing. This time it was one of the lakes smaller residents that turned out to be the prize, but it was another one under my belt and I left the lake happy having not blanked. As time progressed and the warm rays of summer tightened their grip, I looked forward to my next session and with a very warm spell forecast hoped I could do what I enjoy best and bag a few off the top. Indeed when I next arrived it was absolutely sweltering, approaching 30 degrees and the Carp were lapping it up mooching about on the surface. So I wasted no time in going after them and soon banked myself this lovely 17lb Common. The fish in the area moved off following this one, so a quick relocation followed and I found a few more basking Carp, which were willing to have a go on the floaters. The next take didn't take too long and it turned out to be this lovely 22lb 14oz character, with leathery, dark flanks, which I was particularly pleased with. Again the fish that were left following this one didn't really hang about, so I decided to go check out the other end of the lake and there were good numbers there too, that were all up for a floater or two and It didn't take long at all to add a third fish of 16lbs 8ozs! By now after my 'chasing', the soaring temperatures had me a bit jaded so I decided to retreat in to the shade, re-hydrate and get base camp set up. In retrospect why I then opted to barrow my gear back round the lake to do this I'm not too sure, but I soon had three rods out for the evening to likely looking areas, in the mind set that any more fish would be a nice bonus. I was confident there were fish in the area and the following mid morning a received a take off the right hand rod and straight away It felt decent. Quite a protracted battle ensued and I soon caught a glimpse of a good common. At this point I was a little nervous as it was the right shape to be the big girl but I couldn't be sure if it had the size. The fish proceeded to charge all over under the other rods but eventually I had her subdued and in the net. The result was this cracking 25lb 13oz bar of gold, which I was chuffed to bits with. My fifth fish of the season over 25lbs. I really couldn't ask for much more. The weather had cooled significantly that morning and it looked good for another and the same spot produced again around 5hrs later, but unfortunately the culprit managed to get rid of the hook and that was to be that. When I next got the opportunity to get down we were again in the grips of very warm weather and amazingly the fish had not yet spawned. In comparison to the last session there were no where near the same quantity of fish present on the surface, however the ones that were, definitely showed willing to take surface baits and ten minutes in the first swim led to a take and a slow powerful fight ensued. Another ten or so minutes later, I slipped the net under a very chunky fish, that dwarfed my previous capture..... 'could be 30' was all that was in my mind at the time. After gaining assistance from Steve, the head bailiff, the Reubens read 29lbs 4ozs. 5ozs short of my personal best and 12ozs short of the magical number. Again I was elated and I went in to the night full of confidence after getting the rods out on the spots. Dawn broke and shortly after the left hand rod rattled off. Unfortunately the fish on the other hand had other ideas and soon had me snagged. After my previous experienced of already losing a fish to a snag I did not hesitate to go and get the boat and as it was my first time in a boat to 'retrieve' a fish, it was undoubtedly going to be fun. So off I went around the back of the offending snag and after a quick pull on the line the fish kicked and swam straight out, leaving me to play a game of carousel until eventually coaxing it in to the net! Although much smaller at around 17lbs, landing this one was quite rewarding, with the cat and mouse involving the snag, so it was very welcome. Later on I did manage to hook another, only to go and lose it at the net!! The rest of the session passed relatively quietly although on the final morning I managed to nick a third after a proper battle. A muscle packed Common of 24lbs 4ozs. All In all it had been a very successful few weeks and I felt like I was building momentum. During that session i'd heard a massive fish crash over one of the spots, leaving me very keen to get back and on it, as it hadn't yet produced. I was adamant it could only be one fish, leaving me ultra confident that I was slowly homing in on her...
Maybe next time? Third instalment to come, Thanks for reading, Dan In March I was over the moon to get the opportunity to chance my arm at the Selby Syndicate. A fishery with real history on the Yorkshire scene and one that was right up my street. The lakes have changed over the years but in the current format, the syndicate is totally separate from the adjacent Day Ticket and forms a myriad of bays, snags and features. I actually first set foot there in 2007/8, doing a bit of work for Roger while studying in fisheries management and back then I was just transitioning in to Carp fishing. I've always wanted to go back though! Of course my main aim for 2017 was to catch my first 30lb fish and swimming around in there is one that would do just that - The Scar Common.... If I was lucky enough to catch it. I'd always wanted to break the barrier with a bit of a challenge and being the only resident of the lake always over the 30 mark, singling it out was going to be no mean feat. So, after my grandad's passing I took myself straight there after his funeral to clear my head and familiarise myself with the lake once again. It was hard not to fall in love with the fishery instantly and although it was still in it's bare state coming in to spring, it was nice to watch it start to come to life as the seasons changed. My first session passed without event, but it was nice to be there getting a feel for the place and I was eager to get back. Due to it's sheltered nature and deep water, sport can be steady away early season, but there were a few fish getting caught and one of the swims that seemed to be producing was 'pads'. One of the trickiest swims to fish due to precise casts that were required very close to the far bank, plus snags aplenty. Dawn had broke and I had a take on the middle rod which turned out to be a Roach that dropped off! Cursing a little there was just enough light to drop the rod back in tight to the bank. Shortly after I got a take on the left, this time a Carp. It seemed bad luck was set in though as the hook pulled. I had thought that would be it, with any fish there probably spooked from the area due to the disturbance but amazingly, the middle went again and it was action stations. Sadly though the fish on the other end knew exactly where it was going and shot off like it was on rails, despite following what I was told to get them out. It had found sanctuary in a snag to the right. I had a bit of a Mexican stand off on my hands with the fish still on but long story short the line parted and much to my annoyance the fish was gone. I took some positives away from the session, as i'd had a couple of takes, so as soon as I got chance I was straight back in the swim on a day session. One thing that had become apparent very early was that fish were coming out in the day, or at least the majority were. So I knew it was worth going. I got two rods on the money and I sat down to sort the third and unbelievably the first was away!! It had only been in the water 10 minutes. The fish felt decent and came in as good as gold thankfully, going in the net first time. On looking down in to the net I realised it was a good fish. I was absolutely ecstatic to get my first one in the bag, but for it to go 27lbs 14ozs was a real privilege. At the time it became the second biggest Carp I had ever caught and was one of the lakes better fish. It was only mid morning and in the elation of the capture, i'd made a schoolboy error, running out of leads. So I decided to quit while I was ahead and call it a day early. My next session came around quickly and I was itching to get back. Opting to fish a swim called dugout, one of the most popular swims on the lake, I got the rods out on to a couple of spots that were obvious features to fish to. Unfortunately it was to be a quiet session. However on the second day I had noticed what looked to be debris drifting around an island around 60-70yds away. I sat for hours watching and the more I did so, the more I wondered if it was actually fish. I wasn't expecting fish to be on the surface but had been told they do like to get up in the layers at the first sign of sun. I suppose it makes sense with the lake being 10ft+ in most places. So I wound in and went for a wonder. Sure enough there was a shoal of Carp, unwittingly minding their own business. I shot back round to the brolly and set up a surface rig straight away. To my amazement on feeding the fish responded instantly and quite positively. So much so I didn't even wait to cast in. A couple of minutes later a fish smashed the hook bait and I was in! The fish kited hard and tried to go round a corner to my left but steady pressure brought her back round. Still though, it was a dogged fight under the rod tip, but eventually I gained the upper hand and was soon looking at a block of gold in the net! I was blown away at this point. Roger came round and did the pictures for me and the fish turned out to be the 'Perfect Common' at 26lb 2ozs, which set a new personal best Common! I literally couldn't have asked for more. There was no more action from that session, but I was looking forward to a long session coming up and hoped I could bag a few more! From there I had a 10 day session planned at the start of May and was really looking forward to it. I had organised to have a bit of a social with my good mate Jack, with him tagging along for a guest session. On arrival we had a good look around and saw fish immediately in the car park cut through. We had already eyed up two particular swims due to their closeness together and one was immediately adjacent to where we'd seen the fish. Obviously it's not always a good idea from a 'fishing' point of view to think about the social aspect of things, but we'd not seen fish anywhere else and to be fair fish had been getting caught in various areas, so given the time we had I believed we had a decent chance of a fish or two! In these swims in particular, they aren't the easiest casts, with baits needing to be chucked tight to the far bank in order to get bites. But we got the rods in position and then kicked back. The night passed with little event until I was woke at first light with a beaming smile from Jack followed by the words 'I've got one'. For me that was mission accomplished. Obviously I wanted to catch myself but was very pleased to see him get a fish. My memory escapes me a little here but I think it went over 23lbs and was a lovely Carp, with sparsely scaled leathery flanks and a big old rudder. From here on in, the mood was buoyant. Until the Carp started mugging me off that is! I got a take mid afternoon, only for the hook to pull and as the week went on, through getting hammered by Bream, then going on to lose two more - it was quite safe to say I was having a nightmare! But I soldiered on and unfortunately there had been no more action for Jack apart from a couple of Bream. He was pulling off on the Friday, while I intended to stay for another few days. On his last evening we ordered the mandatory Chinese takeaway and shortly after another Bream related interlude, one of his rods went again and this time the curve in his longbow confirmed it wasn't a Bream. A short scuffle later I caught a glimpse of it in the twilight and it looked a good fish and it went in the net first time. Unbelievably it was the same fish I caught first, right at the start of this entry. But heavier. Just shy of 29lbs was the result on the Reubens and it was a great moment to share. A nice send off for him as it was his last fish of the session. Unfortunately I had still not managed to put a fish on the bank, which was frustrating and a swim move was considered. But I decided, having seen fish not far away and given the bait I had invested in to the swim, to stick it out, hoping my luck would change.... and eventually a take on the left hand rod came. Drawing the fish safely from the snags, it wallowed in and with a big shout dropped in to the net - and what a Carp I was looking down at! There have been a few more fish since I caught this one, but it remains one of my favourites on my Selby Campaign so far. I couldn't have asked for a better fish to see off the gremlins that had been tainting the session until she went over the cord - by pure coincidence, the fish went 27lb 14ozs and equalled my first capture of the year. It was job done, but it seems the good old 'swings and roundabouts' stage of the session had arrived and no sooner had this one swum out of the sling, one of my other rods was away! I couldn't quite believe it and again teased the fish away from the far bank snags. It became clear I was attached to a decent Common. I had photographed one of the ones I wanted a few days previously for one of the other lads on the syndicate, the Holmes Common. Amazingly, two minutes later it was sat in my net! Pectorals brisling in defiance, none of us could believe it as three or four of the lads were congregated in my swim. We got her out and she went 26lbs 8ozs, setting a new PB Common again and it wasn't happy about having it's picture taken! Eventually though, the fish co-operated with us! I was very relieved that the session had come good. It would have been a bit gutting to blank for that length of time, but I guess effort equalled reward in the end and I will leave it there for now.
There will be another instalment to come very soon, but in the meantime... Tight lines, Dan. |