Northern adventures

matgreasley · Northern adventures

I had nothing to do so i thought i would finally take the plunge and make a blog

This friday just passed i went fishing after college, there was a spot on my main lake that i had been desperate to get a bite off for weeks, but always failing, so i planned to put some bait on it, and put a rod in the margin of the other carp lake on site, mere metres away, planning on checking on the baited spot on the other lake every now and then.
I was fishing inbetween an island (only a few yards from the bank) and the bank itself, corn over corn and pellet

45 minutes after laying my rod down, i had a slow run, this lake has a large stock of very small carp (by this i mean under 7lbs) and although doubles are not unheard of, theyre not exaclty run of the mill either.
on lifting into the fish i could tell it was one of these smaller ones, i saw it move along the margin of the island and a golden flank shone at me, i was sure it was one of the very young carp.
15minutes later and i had changed my mind! the fish was hugging the bottom and i was finding it very difficult to bring it up in the water, every time my 30cm of tubing started to get out of the water the fish dived again.
an amazing 20minutes into the fight i finally got the fish in the net, i was shocked by its size, it barely looked a double yet it was without doubt the strongest fish i have ever caught.
It weighed in at 10lbs and 12ozs, well chuffed with such a stunning carp.

I then moved onto the other lake and was sooo confident that i would finally recieve the pickup i had worked so hard for, but i was still surprised when the alarm finally did signal the run.
i struck into the rod and saw the tail of the carp dissappear into the weed, which was where i lost it, not 10 seconds into the fight.
yes i was gutted, but still really happy, i had finally ended a dry spell and got a run from that spot

thats all for now....but watch this space!

bigkipper

well in matt

and thats a stunning mirror mate

NOSEY WIFE

nice one matt great write up and cracking pic

matgreasley

As some of you know, i have been really struggling in the last few weeks to get a fish off of this particular spot, some people would have moved on and fished somewhere else....but i was determined to get a fish off of it, last time i fished it, i got a run and lost it

Well i was back on the spot today....i put some pellet down not only on the spot but sprinkled it along the margins and channels leading to the spot.
I waited, out of veiw, for half an hour, and got up to take a quick peek at the spot....a decision that would prove to be important.

I had only been there two seconds when i saw the shape of two carp moving into the spot, not daring to move, i froze, fixated on the fish, adrenaline pumping, wishing them to take my bait, which i could see very clearly because of the tap clear water, i knew which was mine as it was three pieces of corn on the hair.

A heart stopping 10 minutes passed in which time 4 different fish visited the spot...never giving me enough time to move away safely.
At one point i saw a fish pick up my bait, rise slowly in the water, when the hooklength was at full length, the small 1oz lead twitched, and the bait fell out of the fish's mouth...without spooking it, phew

A few minutes later the same fish came down and took my bait, and did the same thing, rising up in the water until it tightened up to the lead, except this time the wierdest thing happened, the lead lifted off the bottom, the fish had lifted the lead with the hook in its mouth and edged towards the weed, not spooked, but making the micron give a slow series of small bleeps, if i wasnt watching it, i would have thought it a line bite...luckily i was, i struck into the fish and battle began.

5 minutes later i was weighing this lovely fish, at 12lbs 15oz i was well happy, my first fish from this lake in almost two months cripes!

bigkipper

qaulity matt

dont you just love watching carp picking up bait`s

matgreasley

its the best way to fish imo....after doing it like this i really dont like fishing at distance

NOSEY WIFE

nice one matt well done buddy

02jlloyd

nice one matt

robvford

good effort

matgreasley

had a stalking session yesterday afternoon.

I started on an open bay, there were a few fish there but i found it very hard to hide myself so all i could do was sit still and hope for the best.

I wasnt spooking them, but for some reason i just couldnt tempt them, they would swim right under almost touching the bread, even the old bits that had come off my hook were being ignored

I moved round the lake and before long i found myself at the specemin pond (the lake i caught the near 13 from, up above), looking under the overhanging trees i noticed some fish....and wait.....my target fish was there too!
this fish probably wouldnt reach 10lbs, but in the water it looks sooo nice, with really red flanks, i just wanna catch it and see it on the bank.

I managed to position my bread under the branches without causing too much disturbance and waited, the red fish turned and edged closer to my bait adrenaline pumping i became aware that this was my first proper chance of this fish.
as it came closer i watched as another, bigger carp came barging through from the opposite side, it swam straight into my line, tightening it up, it then spooked hard enough to make me jump out of my shoes, needless to say, it scared my target fish away with it.

I made my way back around to the easier water and managed a really nice mirror of (blank - zone comp

)lbs, at least didnt blank

matgreasley

I was back out today.
I started off on the better lake, and had a few fish feeding, but for some reason they stopped, but i did find some big fish held up in a bay of the easier lake next door.
I gathered all my gear up and moved over...cutting a long story short i managed to lose one fish, and catch one, (a small common of maybe 8 or 9lbs).
After this i moved back over to the other lake, and noticing a few fish circling the area, above the slowly sinking weed, i decided my best bet for a fish was to put a zig rig on and position it just above the top of the weed.
Having never caught a fish on a zig before, confidence wasnt great, but i could see the bait just under the surface so i watched the circling fish with great anticipation.
Eventually i noticed a fish entering the hole that the bait was positioned in.

mouth opens, bait goes in, bleeeeeeeeeeeeep
a massive swirl on the surface and battle commenced.
Before long the fish was almost ready for netting and i was sure it would go double, but on the scales it only reached 9lbs 8oz, i still got pics just because of the lovely colours this fish was sporting.

First fish on a zig

:

After this i also lost two fish on the zigs

Mac

Well done mate

The Winter colours are coming along nicely on that beaut

JAFFA

Well done Matt, nice fish and good writeup.

kind regards Jeff

matgreasley

thanks

bigkipper

nice one matt

NOSEY WIFE

WELL DONE BUDDY

Steve Howard

Top stuff and good angling Matt!

matgreasley

wooooooooooooooohoooooooooooo

I went for a session with rob today on a lovely fishery.
After casting to some bubbling fish, getting a fish but losing it, i was confident for another fish.
Me, rob and steve who had come to visit us, moved round to one of the other lakes, and straight away i saw some bubbles coming up just a rodlength or two from the bank, i dropped a rig on it, with corn on the hair, with pellets sprinkled around.
only 5 minutes later it screamed off and on fighting the strong fish i thought, from my small glances of it, that it MIGHT beat my personal best common of 11lbs 8oz.
As it got closer we started to think it was bigger although i neverr dreamed how big, on netting (thanks steve!) it became evident that it could well be a pb, in fact it was obvious!!
Unfortunately i cant reveal the weight because of a comp we have in the zone, but what i will say is that it obliterated my previous best of 15lbs 8oz, and was a stunner too!
Thanks rob for the great pics, heres one:

over the moon!!

bigkipper

well done matt, thats a clonker.

NOSEY WIFE

matt im over the moon for you buddy a big well done
stunning pic

matgreasley

thanks

robvford

really sums up the season that picture i feel.

really autumny (is that even a word LOL

)

matgreasley

lol, yes, the photographer was very good...also got some good ones on my camera but cant get them off until later next week.

some more pictures:

My personal favourite, shame we forgot to move the gear in the background but it was the best spot, just look at it!

Another great pic (well done rob, and thanks!!)

Steve Howard

robvford

lol thanks steve, i'll remember that.

look how chuffed matt is in the top picture there.
grinning like a chesire cat.

like i said in the zone....damn fine angling and well desereved!

certainly showed me how to fish on my home ground eh

Steve Howard

A 'very' rough photoshop copy Matt

Ghost

Well done to both of you. Matt & Rob.
Good angling matt and some top photos Rob

From my own angling I know sometimes it good to have a buddy there, just to cool things down, keep a clear head and take a dam good photo, that makes it all worth while.

Again well done to both of you.

alan

nice one mate, a real stunner

matgreasley

thanks

And cheers steve!

richchappy

oooh, now you wish you lived down south

bigkipper

cracking pics,

you still buzzing matt

Onions

well done mate!!!

matgreasley

i am still buzzing, i cant believe it!!

im dreading going back up north!!!

Michael

Well done Matt, now u need a northern biggie LOL

Steve Howard

I said you'd be buzzing for a week or two Matt, it's a magical moment, and one to savour mate.

ENJOY THE MOMENT!

matgreasley

you were right!

heres a pic from early that morning, rob fishing, a beautiful morning:

Michael

Its in the wrong topic mate, this is NORTHERN ADVETURES lol.

matgreasley

i thought that as the page was oading and i thought "i hope no one picks up on that"

if anyone was gonna point that out would be you ay mike LOL

matgreasley

I was out for a few hours this afternoon.
I was fishing in a little bay, in the margin as usual, real right under your feet sorta stuff.

Well i was laying back, away from the water, when i heard someone alarm signal a run, the water was fishing really really slow so i got up to see if it was a fish, turned out to be a coot.
I looked down on my spot, just to make sure everything is as it should be, just as a nice mirror drifted into view!
Because i was right on the waters edge, not three feet from my hookbait, i couldnt move, i just froze into position as the now familiar feeling of the heartbeat in my throat became steadily more noticeable.
After a few seconds my right leg began to cramp up....i tried to distribute the weight onto my other leg, but the cramping got worse, as it does, still, i didnt dare move.
The pain got worse and worse, until eventually the fish took my bait, lifted the lead, and sped towards the weed.
Next came the beautiful release of pain as the muscles in my leg relaxed, and the feeling of being connected to an angry carp.
After a spirited fight, most of which was just under the rod tips, i landed a lovely low double, sporting breathtaking winter colours.

11lbs 8oz (like weight matters!)

Steve Howard

Ooh, that's a cracking looking mirror Matt, she's gonna put a smile on a few faces in the years ahead, eh bud!

matgreasley

certainly put one on mine!
(even if the pics dont show it LOL

)

Michael

Atleast you only went for a few hours today, and not a few days today this time LOL

NOSEY WIFE

nice one matt

matgreasley

matgreasley

WARNING - LONG REPORT

I was back down for a few hours yesterday, and the same as the day before, there was a cold north/ north westerly pushing hard across the lake, their were anglers on the back of it so, same as the day before, i dropped into the spit that seperated the two sheltered bays, both of which i had seen carp in on friday.
First of all i started where ii had caught that 11, but i also baited a spot in the other bay, but after nothing happening on the first spot and the other one being cleaned off, i switched to the other one.
i was fishing fairly close to a snaggy overhanging tree,so i was fishing fairly locked up and was watching the area very closely, the plan being to strike, flick over the backwinding switch, and try and pull the fish into the snag (making it try to fight in the opposite direction, with the aim to make it go away from the snags so i could walk it up the bank a bit).
I had seen a nice sized common lurking about, it didnt really look up for a feed so i didnt put much bait in.
something i noticed was that the shoal of three or four smaller fish that were feeding on the spot, would come onto the spot from the left, where the tree was, out of the weed, they would feed on the spot for a little while and then swim back into the weed for 5 or 10 minutes, then come back, whereas the big common would come in from the right of the spot, munch a bit, and then do the same as the smaller fish and come back five or 10minutes later.
I got my thinking hat on and decided on a method in which i thought would help me catch the big common (easily recogniseable by a straight white scar reaching about an inch down its left flank).
What i did was bait more heavily on the left of the spot, hoping the smaller fish wouldnt reach the right hand side, bait a little bit on the right, and put my hookbait on the right, meaning it was most likey the big common would find my bait.
every time the little group snuck away, i would put a bit more bait down, for next time they came.
Well this was working for a while, the smal fish never reached my hookbait and the common looked like it would get it everytime it came.
I saw the sight of the common coming down the margin, but very close to the bank.
i was worried it would find my line but there was nothing i could do, i saw it properly and knew it was big, it swam head first into the line, paused, span (sendin a tail pattern to the top of the tap clear water) and bow waved out of the bay!

i was gutted, and was soon talking to a couple of lads who had come round to talk to me.
the older one left but his nephew stayed chatting to me, he hadnt been carping long and new very little about stalking, he was a year or two younger than i was and was saying how he would love to try fishing in the margins and and see the fish take his bait.
In the end we both went round the other lakes, me showing him the art of stalking and for once, i really hoped someone else would catch far more than i hoped i would, i answered all his questions but it wasnt long before we were talking about the fish he had caught from the specemin pond.
He showed me a picture of an 18lb common he had been lucky enough to catch that year, and you will never guess, but it had a straight, white scar, starting at its back and protuding an inch or two down its flank!
i was so close to catching my biggest fish from that lake, and the chances were it would be a pound or two heavy, what with the tme of year it was, a fish that would ave beat my previous pb and one that would have been my biggest from 'up north'!!
Still, we continued round, lookin for the fish, until eventually we got to a spot on the match lake i knew would contain fish....the inlet where the pipe pumps water (and more importantly fresh oxygen!) into the water.
we saw a couple of fish near the pipe so i let him put his rod just in the margin where the fish were, and i flicked mine up the margin, a bit of a pub chuck to be honest, but me catching wasnt my highest priority.
Before long there were a group of fish over his little rig with two sweetcorn on, i knew the lake was fishing hard and the fish were obviously not up for a feed, but i was certain one would take his corn.
My heart was thumping as hard as it does when i see a group of doubles over my bait on the specimin pond, even though not one of them carp where 6bs, i wanted him to catch so much.
unfortunately the fish disappeared and i had to leave, and although i didnt catch, i felt happy that i had shared my own knowledge and experience, im sure i have helped him in his future stalking and shown him exactly how excitin it is.

Sorry if you read that thinking there would be fish at the end, and are now thinking "what a waste of time", but it was a good session for me

NOSEY WIFE

matt i enjoyed reading that its not about the pics
great write up there well done hun

mattpope

nice write up mate!

matgreasley

thanks

I can now reveal that the weigt of that big common and my first 20lber, was 23lbs 4oz

bigkipper

well in matt

matgreasley

Well i had a short, few hour session today, with mark.

We started on the front of the wind, mark had baited and the fish had been there a lot over the last week, so it seemed as good a place to start as any.
Straight away i was getting bad feelings about the corner, the wind had picked up and it was very cold, we didnt see a fish and it didnt look like we were going to, my feet began to itch so i moved.
I went to the very back of the wind in a sheltered little bay, expecting to see all the fish held up under the overhanging bushes, but from up the tree it son became evident that they werent there, instead (this confused me), they were all above the weed, on the surface, in the middle of the lake.
Now im not top notch on my watercraft yet, but i thought this was very strange, with a freezing wind blowing over their heads?

Anyway, taking the opportunity for what it was, i was quickly tying up a zig rig, and knowing the lake as i do i could get the right depth without trying multiple times, and was happy when the first cast landed spot on.

From a little way up the tree i watched the general area, there were plenty of carp there so i was confident for a bite.
Suddenly one of them spooked, as did four or five others, i looked down quickly at my spool (no alarms), expecting to see it spinning, but it was still ????
I looked over at where my line entered the water and it just flickered slightly???

I got down, expecting nothing, but lifted into a dead weight.
I began to pump back and succumbed to the reality that i had collected a mass of weed, so you can imagine my surprise when after 30 seconds of this, the weed began to fight back!

it was a half hearted fight and the fish was soon in my net in a big ball of weed.

Now, you know how im a sucker for a nice looking fish, and when i lifted the fish up at only 9lbs 14 oz, i was almost tempted t put it back, but i see it as a massive shame putting back such lovely fish without pictures, so here is the heavily scaled fish, all 9lbs 14oz of it!!

NOSEY WIFE

nice one matt well done

thats really pretty fish love the dark colours of it

mattpope

really nice fish mate! should grow to be a propa good'un!

matgreasley

unfortunately not

most of the fish in the lake are very old and because the lake is very bad for growing fish big, most of them will stay at their weight for the rest of their lives, but we are doing things to try and give them more food

matgreasley

I had a few hours down the lake yesterday afternoon.

I got there and talked to my mate mark the bailiff, he said the fish had all disappeared, couldnt be found in the margins, and as a result, nothing had been caught in the last week.
I got up the tree and saw three fish out in the middle, the weed was really dieing back so i positiong a pop up on a 4foot zig, just above the weed.

I had also taken cheese just to see if the fish would eat it, and after casting out, i got a few pieces of cheese to throw in and see if fish took them, to give myself the option of putting a bottom bait in.

As i got the three cubes out and started to trim the corners off, i noticed my line flicker, i carried on watching it, backwards and forwards in the wind, and it flickered unnaturally again.

I lifted the rod, tightened up and my suspicions were confirmed when i was met with some powerful yanks from the other end.

AS i began to pump the fish back, it really stopped fighting, and i decided it was probably quite small, until about 30yards out when its big old tail flopped out of the water.

As it neared the net i knew it was a nice fish, and before lifting it out, i secured it in the margin, and ran down the bank to get jay to do some pics.

On lifting out i saw a familiar black scale on its flank cripes!

On the scles he went....15lbs 8oz!!!!!
My third 15lb 8oz mirror, an ouncec more and it would have been a pb mirror, as you may have guessed, it is a recapture of a mirror i caught back in junne/july, at the exact same weight.

good thing is, i got terrible pictures of it last time and the only pic that did the fish any justice, had my head chopped off!!

anyway, here it is!

Mac

That's a beauty mate

Shame we can't say the same about the captor

Well done mate

matgreasley

lmao, thanks

NOSEY WIFE

nice one matt

Steve Howard

Good angling Matt!

matgreasley

thanks

i had another one yesterday, still on the zigs in december!

only 8lbs 8, but the lakes not really producing so im happy with anything!

Pretty much the same drill as last week, up the tree, saw where they were, cast a zig just under the surface and was away within 10mins.

matgreasley

I went down for a few hours this morning and suffered a stressfull blank, there really was not one swim available that fished into good water

matgreasley

I was planning my last session of 2007 and decided i would be better off with a 24hour session, the lakes were all fishing hard due to the cold so i wanted to maximise my chances.

I got there and had a bit of a look around, there were a few bivvies up so i started setting up on one of the other banks, i had only just started when two of the lads from the other side invited me round to fish with them, i was chuffed, because this not only meant i could have a bit of a social, but the area they were fishing was were i wanted to go.

The is a snaggy corner, and the wind was blowing at harsh speeds out of this corner, th bivvy was bending right in at times, i knew the wind was to die off that evening and i expected that the fish would soon be in the snaggy corner when it did, so i primed the spots ready for their arrival.

I was talking to the lads and they told me that they had seen the fish known as the barrell (got the length of a low double, but the width of a 30, making it a scraper 20 at the very best of times) in the snaggy corner, liam said he could see me catching it in the night, i could only wish, what a stunning fish he is.

at around five o clock yesterday evening the wind died right down as expected, not long after this the other lads left and i was alone on the complex.

Darkness fell and i got in the bag and got stuck into my book, at around 7 i got a bleep on the rod, then another, then 7 or 8 in quick sucsession, i struggled with the zip, and then again with my shoes, a state of panic slowly taking hold as i rushed to get to the rod, finally i was running round and i struck into a strong fish, on the marginal rod.

i got a few flashes of the fish, only its length, i could see it was probably only 12lb, but something wasnt right.

its size didnt match the fight, i began to think i MAY have hooked the barell, the fish felt far heavier than it looked, and it wasnt fighting like the others i had caught recently, all low to mid doubles.

I finally got it into the net, after a good long fight, i had to hold tight for a while, twice, because the fish was nearing the comfort of the very snaggy corner to the left of the swim, fortunately the muggas held and i was soon netting a lovely mirror, clearly not the barrell which is a dark scaley old fish, this was more orange, typical of these fish in winter, and it was not as big as it felt either, tipping the scales to 11lbs exactly.

I started the year as a very happy kid without much clue about carping, with an 11lb mirror, and i was ending it a little older and as far as im concerned, much wiser, with another 11lb mirror, a brilliant way to end the year

some pics:

The fish:

View from the snaggy corner:

And the Lake:

Steve Howard

Good angling Matt, and a nice little story too.

02jlloyd

well in mate

nice write up n all

Cambs Carper

Well done matt, i will start one of theese tommorow as im doing tommorow night i hope.

matgreasley

cheers guys

matgreasley

Well, the first session ofn 2008 had a similar result to my first of 2007, unfortunately.

I got to the lake later than i had planned, at around 10 o clock.

I was only down for a short day session so only had my light stalking gear with me, there was a nice southerly and pressure was extremely low, all i had for bait was tiger nuts, but having caught my last fish on them i felt confident.

first to do when i got there was to get out the poloriods and get up some trees, i spent half an hour looking hard for the fish to no avail, i decided they had probably gone to the middle, or the deeper water, neither i could see very well into in the low light conditions.

I opted for the little corner i did my night in some three weeks before, my reasoning was that it is visited often by my target fish, and is one of my noted hot spots, so i thought it was a good a place to start as any.

as the day drew on, confidence cleared, by 1 i had been up every tree in t he lake another two times, the fish were being very sneaky today.

around two o clock the temperature dropped dramatically, i got a bit of a hunch that the fish would be in a bay known as the barell, the wind was bitterly cold and pushing strraight into the bay but still i had a sneaking suspicion they were there, maybe i have been on the lake for so long i have tuned into the fish, but sure enough when i went round there, there were two or three tidy looking fish resting in the weed.

I had a decision to make, you see, mark the bailiff had closed off this bay with barbed wire, i asked him and he denied me permission to stalk from the bay, but if i cast from the point (a 40-50 yard chuck to where the fish were laying next to the bank) i would surely spook the fish, they werent feeding, they were just sitting there, if they were feeding i might have got away with it, but no.

I decided that seeing as it was my only shot, i would give it a go, my first cast fell very short, short enough to not spook the fish, my second cast fell a bit short too (i was casting to a gap of about a yard, between weed and the bank, where there is a nice gravel spot under the climbing tree.

my third cast and i was getting annoyed, i had to land it right or the fish would never come back. I gave it some welly (i was only use a 2lb test), the lead flew through the air and i panicked, i had clearly cast too far!

i quickly put my finger on the spool, to feather it down in the hope it wouldnt reach the bank, and to my surprise it fell bang on! only a foot or two from the bank and the same from the weed, brilliant!

i went round to have a look, and my hookbait had landed exactly where i would have put it, had i been stalking from that swim, i felt good, but unnfortunately the fish didnt return.

I dont think a carp has been out since 07, i was dieing to get one of them out, but it wasnt to be.

BUT - i have learnt a thing or two about the lake, patterns are clearly emerging, im starting to know the fish and that will hopefully help me put more on the banks!

richchappy

whats ure 'target fish'

unlucky anywho

matgreasley

its a stunning fish known as the barell, 20lb at the VERY best of times, but its proper wide and a real character!