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!
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!!
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.
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.
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.
