Just having fun travailing.

 This summer has seen a dramatic change in my fishing from fly-casting, to simple coarse fishing. To be honest, to date I'm not missing it at all. I'm travailing around finding lakes and catching loads for big fish. See below.

16lb 13lb 11lb 9lb 8lb.

 I've found another set of lakes just up the A1, about 45 minutes from home. Hallcroft Fisheries is to date the best I've found. Most commercial carp lakes are very small, too small to be a challenge at times. Hallcroft is different, a large complex of several lakes, big enough to get away from it all. It's a caravan park too, but they don't detract from the place as you can find swims away from I all. It's also full of hard fighting carp.

As you would expect with bigger lakes, the carp are larger too. Up to and over 20lb I'm told. I've had two good trips so far, and have taken some nice doubles to 16lb. The lakes are very coloured, but the fish can clearly be seen in the margins tails wagging like happy dogs. I've done as well with a float in the margins as with a feeder out in the lake.

Tucked up in a corner. maybe not the best place to start, but I'm still getting grips with it?

First trip to this complex I picked a corner swim with the wind blowing strongly into it. I've learned over the years, that fish don't always push right into the corners, but stay out from the edge as the underwater tow, pushes food items back into the lake. I set up with a pellet feeder ( on the now well broken in ) Daiwa Tournament feeder rod, 8lb main line, with a 9lb hook link of 12''. Within an hour fish were milling around and I'd taken two, but I felt it should have been going better. I decided when I started this style of fishing I'd try to be busy all the time I'm fishing, just like a match angler would be. It's easy to settle in the chair, and wait for bites. But I've found that's not the way on these busy waters. If you not getting bites your not doing it right.

I switched to bomb and pellet, but the fish still did not respond, so I baited the margins on the far side. (In the picture above) I found during the day time you had to fish very tight up to structure, so I clipped up to get it right each cast. I was rewarded with a days catch of 13 fish two were doubles. These fish are a much bigger stamp that my local Portland lakes, with most fish over 6lb.

The next trip I stayed on the big lake again, just loving the space it was giving me. I go fishing for peace and solitude, even though I'm not anti-social to any degree. I set up halfway along the bank that splits the lake in two. Bomb and pellet was the order of the day, and I really fancied it when a nice 8lb mirror fell to a 8mm pellet within an hour. But then it all went quite for two hours. Again the margins did it for me and saved the day. With a succession of big fish falling to a mixture of baits all fished on a tiny pole float inches from the bank. Four doubles with a best of 16lb. The Daiwa team pellet waggler rod at 11' is an ideal tool for this kind of float fishing with 6lb line right through. It's really forgiving and I'm sure will land much bigger fish, given the chance? Guru hooks in 14s and 12s for the margin work, and 18s for open water. No fish have been lost due to hooks pulling out, but I have lost fish due to operator error,  I cannot really blame the fish can I?

See you on the bank.