New water new challenge

After a ten year on off love affair with Carron row farm I was long overdue a change of scene,there's only so long you can catch the same fish year in year out so I took the step to move to a new club water,mainly funtley.
This water has a bad reputation for being very snaggy and costing you loads of gear but if you listened to those who were willing to give advice your tackle losses could be cut considerably. Funtley is a margin water and it tickles me when the mallet brigade turn up,put bait in like Fairbrass and then cast out to the opposite side of the lake and get snagged when winding in.
Not blogged for a while so ill make this one a general round up of my trips and successes and also my blanks! !
My first trip saw me bank 2 tench,1 of 6lb and one of just over 5lb but with an eye missing so i was fairly pleased to find out the place holds good tench and was later informed that they were present to double figures too.good start.!
My next few trips found me in the snags or hideaway swim where I suffered  some heavy tackle losses and it wasn't until I went back to lead core that I had the abrasion resistance to battle with the various types of snag and root systems.After this I had a few good fish from literally 6 inches from the bank.at one stage I could of laid down and stroked the back of around half a dozen fish feeding off the same spot in a single evening,was an awesome sight.

  I then spent a couple of evenings down the other end of the lake watching them milling around on the surface and this is where I first spotted the big orange koi. Unfortunately they weren't having the floaters so I opted for a different swim next time.
The point is a cracking swim that has a good margin as it is clearly a patrol route through from the oak tree. I was sat on my chair one evening watching the fish swim through under my rod tips. I counted 7 in total all lovely dark fish and this is when I bagged one of the prettiest commons I've had so far, well from funtley anyway!

Tuesday 25th august saw me back at funtley in the no night fishing swim at the lock up end,quite a small swim and i set up in my usual manner and put my baits on some very obvious spots very close in.after around ten minutes the lh rod was away with a fish that i just couldn't stop and as i tried to steer it from the weed bed it was heading towards the mainline parted with a very loud crack ! almost like a whip type noise.gutted was an understatement but that's fishing for you.I re-threaded the line back through my rods eyes and as i rooted in the bag for another leader and rig the other rod was away and to my utter disbelief the identical thing happened! i was starting to think there was a scuba diver with a grudge in my swim!!
 There i was stood in a stamp sized swim with both rods cracked off and my confidence well and truly shattered but I'm not one to admit defeat and shortly after recasting both rods i had a visit from a mate who i told what had happened to and he was under the same impression as me,either one of the big lean commons or a pike .As we stood there my rh rod was away again and this time i was on my game,this fish was very strong and it took line like you wouldn't believe,after about five minutes of twisting and thrashing around the swim,Rhys slid the net under a beautiful golden common,an absolute corker and one we preceded to name the scratch common due to a perfectly straight scratch down its rh side.this fish went just over 19lb and i couldn't believe how strong this fish had been,especially when i tried to pull line off on the drag and had trouble doing so!!

Bank holiday Monday saw me back in the same swim ,the weather was absolute pants and i sat huddled under my old brolly which had its own shower attachment for the day.not a great day but i did manage 5 fish with only one making double figures,shame really but 5 fish not to be sniffed at ,not from funtley anyway.

Monday the 7th saw me doing a very rare overnighter for me ,especially on a school night but i opted for the point swim on funtley as there was another water getting under my skin that i wanted to fish the following night.

Well my first overnighter in over 3 years was both great and rubbish at the same time,i blanked,not even a liner but i also had the best nights sleep ive had for months lol, every cloud.......

September14th saw me back in the same no night fishing swim and i was getting liners straight away on my lh rod,this was my first outing with some sticky baits krill,and the signs were looking good,after constant liners for about 20 minutes or so the lh rod was away and into a very strong fish which turned out to be the big koi that i had seen on one of my first trips to funtley.she was stunning,and very very strong,but i do find that with the more ornamental varieties.

I returned the following evening to be rewarded once more from the no night swim and this was to be my last visit for a while,hoping to get back there real soon to bag one of the bigger residents so that i can focus on some perch and pike fishing .

So this is what I've been doing for a while,loving funtley but there is another water calling that I've left far far too long to visit and i shall be making this my venue of choice for next season,until then funtley holds some good pike and perch so everyone's a winner.

tight lines and stay warm this winter guys and gals,much love.

dont forget to add me on instagram and facebook.

Early bird.....

5am on Tuesday 9th saw me back at crf before work,to try tempt a pastie or two! .The morning started off well with two young deer prancing up the track as I pulled up,a lovely sight at 5am.i opted for the jungle swim on Lake 2 and set about putting a few bits of crust out along the margin.wasn't long before the overhanging bush started to move and twitch and I could see there was a couple of fish up for an early breakfast!. I quickly dispatched a nice chunk of fluffy white bread into the area and it wasn't long before I saw a small carp having a look at it,unfortunately from the size of its mouth,which could be seen slurping away at my offering,it was only a baby,needless to say its constant slurping soon reduced the bread to a mouthful,and then it was away giving quite a spirited fight for its size.i took a snap whilst on the mat and released my quarry back to grow bigger and even stronger.

As is normally the case, the spot was quiet for a while after this disturbance so i opted for a change of swim,and as i was about to pack up my few bits and bobs i saw a much bigger fish just ghost out from under a overhanging bush, close to the bank.i quietly put my stuff down and stepped back from view,and once more a chunk of white fluffy bread was dispatched in an unusually accurate manner!
Its lovely being on the bank at first light,birds singing,no alarms beeping,no mallets,just yourself and the water at one with each other.
These early session are some of my most focused as you do not have any distractions and you can properly tune into your surroundings.

This second fish didn't need to slurp away at the bread as it took it in one mouthful, and as i struck my size 10 mixa into it, the water erupted and it proceeded to strip line from my little fox reel,the most worrying part of the fight was the alarming curve that my 1.5tc rod had taken on ,i was sure it would splinter at any moment but gladly it didn't, and slowly it started to straighten.i didn't see this fish until it rolled on top as i netted it,but as most of us know from the head shaking and jagged fight, i knew it wasn't a massive fish,but it was a double ,just! feeling quite pleased by now,5.35am and 2 fish banked.

All went very quiet after this hectic battle,and i sat and had a sip of coffee from my flask whilst pondering where to land my bread next.wasn't long after,when a good size silver common proper came out the water,right by the bush! decision made then.! i suffered hook pull after hook pull trying to temp another victim,and the penny finally dropped when i realised the hook point was proper blunt.i rooted around in my bag for a mixa hook or similar and as i found the packet and pulled it out my bag,the last one fell to the ground to never be seen again, gutted ,by sheer luck i had an old bottom bait rig in my bag,and i cut the hook off,a trusty wide gape from deception angling and this was to prove to be a winner! lol.

With the clock fast approaching time for work i was getting quite desperate,and i started to get a bit more liberal with the free offerings,and about 6.45 i saw another common drift through the previously successful spot,under the overhanging brambles.once more i cast out which to be honest was more of a dangle off the rod tip,and i stood there like a statue for what seemed like ages before i pulled the hook home once more for the third time this morning! yehaaaa! over the moon,finally my lean spell was broken albeit with a few small fish,great confidence booster!

 

 

this was another small fish about 8lb but 3 fish before work was awesome if not somewhat tiring......
after releasing my quarry i packed up and drove off up the drive back to the main road,only to be held up by a stubborn squirrel that ran up the whole lenghth of the drive oblivious to my van behind him! i actually laughed out loud as he ran straight across the road nearly being flattened by a passing motorist! ha ha!

OLD FRIEND.....

This evening saw me return to a favourite club water of mine for a last gasp attempt to bag one of its scaley jewels before the end of the season.I opted for a swim affectionately known as steps and set up 2 rods with a different hook bait on each,the left hand one down by the small island and the right hand rod i backhanded like a gay musketeer to the far margin between two trees ! 
I sat on the bottom step enjoying watching a tiny mouse sniff out a few boilie crumbs that i had put down for him when i had a tiny liner on the left hand rod,its amazing how a liner can lift your frame of mind,but alas nothing developed from it.
the step swim is very small and from memory i seemed to remember telling myself only to use one rod but it was too late now!

 
Tony the bailiff popped in for a chat as he was on cormorant duty and he said his goodbyes shortly afterwards and left to do what he had to do.


As the light was just starting to fade the lh rod lit up again only to go into full meltdown and take on an alarming curve,i was on it at once and i pulled into a strong fish trying to get back round the island,my 1.5 Tc all rounder was proper hooped round as i held onto it,letting the rod do the work,after what felt like ages i managed to turn it towards me and the rod straightened a little and i managed a couple of turns on the reel which was then enough to see my prize swim into open water,hooray!
 After a spirited fight and around four attempts at netting my quarry i finally scooped my reward and took a breath.
This turned out to be a fish i had last year from a different lake on the complex although it was slightly heavier this time.I secured my prize in the net,removed my other rod from the water and proceeded to run down the track in search of tony like a fat kid going in for tea!!!,
By an amazing stroke of luck he was in the fisheries hut and he agreed to come up and do some photos, not a huge fish by any standards but when they look like this does size really matter? it tipped the scales just over 15lb 2,so not a monster but very welcome all the same.

ICE ICE BABY!

Today i managed to get away from work a little earlier,,so this evening  i headed to my local club water which isn't far from my work, hoping i could get the rods in the water whilst still light.nothing worse than fishing when its hanging over a branch and your totally unaware of it!
As i pulled into the car park i looked to my right only to see a lid over the top which instantly rained on my parade!,i got out the bus and walked towards the water to find the right hand margin only about 10ft wide and a small bay area in front of my chosen swim also clear,i nearly got in the car and left but i thought ,well im here now so lets have it !

I set up my oval brolley as it was a tad chilly to say the least,hung up my new bivvy bulb light ,which is awesome and lit my little gas heater,quite cosy out the wind
   

                   

I opted for a standard bottom rig with a tiger nut boilie tipped with yellow corn,im quite anal about the corn as i like it to be clean and bright as opposed to kicking around in the bottom of the bag for months,standard lead clip and a 1 1/2 oz lead .
the right rod went in on a favourite spot with a nice donk and the other went in open water near the encroaching ice line .I settled down for a while getting cosy next to the fire when i had a double bleep on the rh rod,i looked up only to find that a group of robins, that had arrived mob handed,5 in total,they were in my oval and on my rods ,you get the idea. i fed a few broken up boilies to them and they soon flew off as darkness fell.

 The peace wasnt to last long as suddenly the rh rod erupted into life and i was on it like a man posessed! ,a brief struggle ensued and a lovely winter common was soon on the mat.cracking under the conditions.

After a quick matt shot i recast the rod to the same spot,only to get liners straight away and after about the fourth or fifth liner the rod was away once more only this time a tinca was the culprit,could not believe it a tench on feb 2 in freezing conditions,but then a fish is a fish. by now it was getting very cold so i changed the gas bottle and sat it out till about 6.45 then i decided to call it a night,i knew it was cold when i couldnt fold my net and my matt was frozen solid.,i drove home quite happy with myself thinking i would have a look tomorrow and see how the ice was doing after work.maybe worth another go ,who knows.

quite happy with two fish in under two hours in the freezing cold.hope fully aaron will be with me next time to bag his first double.....