|
Lodge lake :
Going into year 2 and Lodge Lake is a completely different prospect to what it was last year, the water has a fair bit of colour to it now and weed isn't anywhere near the problem it was, and though Lodge remains a very challenging water, the fish seem far happier to feed on bait judging by the much more consistent action we're getting. for the carp quality frozen boilies outscore other baits heavily, especially baits from the Mainline stable and the Dynamite baits (especially the frozen Monster tiger nut boilies). the fish still predominantly come from very close in and I've had some cracking hits myself fishing less than two rod lengths from the bank. personally, for 99% of my own fishing i use a critically balanced hookbait that sinks ever so slowly and couple that with a very sharp small hook (8 or 10) and a light lead (1oz or less) fished very slack, a bit different from the norm but it's worked for me. the cats have been the star of the show this year and they've been showing up regularly with luncheon meat or dead baits being the stand out baits, slack clutches and running rigs being by far the best method for the cats as despite being big ugly brutes, they're very sensitive to resistance and will spit anything they're unsure about. like the cats, the grass carp have shown a lot more this year and if your keen to catch one of these enigmatic creatures the tactics i explained above for the carp seem to work very well for the grassies too, especially coupled with a nutty or fruity smelling bait. the big bream remain a mystery to me and no matter what i try i can't seem to catch one and those that do catch them never seem overly happy about it and slip them back without letting me know! as soon as i get more of an inkling on how to go about targetting them (or avoiding them, depending on your preference) i'll let you know! one final point, which applies to boh Mill an Lodge, we get a few people struggling with birds diving on their baits. this will always happen to an extent but there are one or two simple measures you can do to stop them being such a pest, the main one being to be very careful when you bait up, i know it sounds ridiculous but you'll be amazed how much easier your life will be if just make sure the birds aren't watching you when you introduce your freebies and try to keep the marker float out of sight as much as possible.
Mill lake:
Mill remains largely weed free and as a result bottom baits can be fished without worry. quality freezer baits work very well with Mainline Cell and Dynamite Monster Tiger Nut two of the most consistent. recently a few anglers have been experimenting with fishing pellet hookbaits with a lot of success so that is something that is definitely worth playing about with. I've found the action on Mill (and everywhere else for that matter!) improves drastically if you scale your tackle down, size 10 hooks and 12lb mono hooklinks outscoring the more popular 6's and 8's to braid, heavily. Mill is maturing beautifully and all the margins and islands are now thick with Iris stems and everywhere you look, looks "fishy" so keep your eyes peeled for fish activity and place your rods accordingly. despite the heavy stock of fish in Mill i wouldn't recommend going in too heavy with the bait and fishing for a bite at a time certainly seems to be more productive, pva bags or catapulting freebies on a little and often basis would be my starting point. as mentioned before in the Lodge tips, try to be carefull that our feathered friends aren't watching when you do apply freebies into your swim!
Newtons:
With such a massive head of fish, Newtons responds well to most approaches, be it pole, waggler or tip fishing. Definitely don’t be scared to put a bit of bait in, the fish love their pellets and will come to you if you give them what they want. Maggots produce numbers of fish but you may struggle to get through to the bigger specimens, if this is the case a switch to worm or pellet will usually do the trick and bring you a better a stamp of fish. Sweetcorn, luncheon meat, paste, bread... these will all work well on their day and if it’s a good days mixed fishing you’re after I’d recommend you try a selection of baits. With the large head of fish in the lake the water is very coloured so soaking your pellets in something like corn steep liquor can really help draw the fish in. In our shop we stock a range of fast breakdown pellets in various flavours, these can really hold fish in your swim for some considerable time and are definitely worth trying. |
