matgreasley
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quest for an upperIve decided to set a goal for this easter and thats to land an upper double from my club water.
There are two carp lakes, right next to each other, each hold fish to high uppers, with the very rare 20 chucked in (its the best i can do whilst im not driving, and the fish are STUNNING)
I spent a whole year on there landing three 15s but nothing bigger, and now for this two week holiday im gonna work my nuts off for one of them uppers, i MUST get one 
The rules are, 17lbs and upwards, anything less than 17 dont count as an upper.
Where i have always been fairly happy catching whatever came along, regardless of size (like i say, theyre stunners), now im going to try and avoid catching little fish.
Wish me luck!
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matgreasley
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My first session of easter was on saturday.
The first spot i looked at was one of the shallow bays of the larger, more heavily stocked lakes.
When i got there i was very pleased to see a group of carp, maybe a dozen. It was clear there were a lot of smaller carp but there were also a few larger ones present, so i decided this was as good of a place to start as any.
It being a small bay holding a lot of carp, i didnt want to cast a lead in, so i tied up a 2foot hooklength (10lb double strength) and connected it to my mainline with a 3 turn water knot. With the freeline sorted, i put a few shot down the line to pin it down, put two 14mill pellets on the hair (one lengthways and one sideways so as to not make it TOO big), the reason being it MIGHT deter the smaller of the carp.
I crept into a hole in the bushes, barely big enough for an overhead cast, and made the underarm flick to a good looking spot in the bay.
It landed nicely and didnt spook anything away, just a fly hitting the water.
I watched intently, holding the rod in my right hand and the line in my left.
As i stood watching the group, i saw three carp drifting towards my hookbait. Two of the fish looked tiny next to their friend, i guessed that the bigger of the three was certainly around the mid double mark.
The sun disappeared behind a cloud, making the bay too dark to see the fish, i just kept hold of the line in my hand and stared intently at the point the line entered the water.
It twitched, then the line started cutting up in the water. Not wanting to get hasty, i waited, until the line was pulled from my left hand, the rod was then pulled round in a big arch towards the bushes, i was in!
The bay is surrounded by overhanging, snaggy bushes, so i grabbed hold of the spool and let out very little line, letting the fish play with bend in the 2lb TC rod.
Very soon in the fight, the sun popped back out to reveal i had hooked one of the smaller fish, as i usually do 
I go the fish in and it literally took my breath away, it was probably the nicest carp i had ever caught, yes it was small but thoughts of an upper double were soon forgotten, and i had to have a picture with this little stunner.
The picture didnt come out great, there was little cover in the area i was in and i didnt want to carry it to a different swim, it was pointless, but you can still see what a stunner the fish was, even if you cant really appreciate it as much as we could on the bank.
Didnt catch anything more that afternoon
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matgreasley
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My second session of easter came yesterday (monday).
I got to the same bay and found a few carp, not as many as saturday but there waere still a few there and they seemed of a bigger average size.
Unfortunately after hours of trying, i still hadnt caught, they just didnt seem to want to feed.
I talked to mark and he told me that in the bay down from him there were a group of carp, all in shallow water, and most looking big.
The bay in question is very hard to fish, especially this time of year. The only way to get to it is down a very steep hill, the bay itself has no swims around it and is surrounded by trees, so because there is no leaves, there is practically no cover.
I told mark to go for it but he said he had tried before and always spooked the fish, he told me its impossible to get down there without spooking the fish, well in my book nothing is impossible.
I sorted out a floater on my freeline, because the sun was out, put the hook in one of the eyes of the rod (so it couldn't get caught on any branches) and began my descent of the small but steep hill.
I moved very slowly, i was in green gear so i blended in, but i still made sure not to make any sudden movements. After an incredibly long time (considering the size of the slope), i got to the waters edge, and whats more, the shoal seemed totally oblivious to my presence, result!
I unhooked my floater, and using pulling it towards me i used the bend in the rod to just flick it out.
I crept there just waiting and watching some of the fish, they were really beautiful carp. I was looking at one that seemed to be one of the bigger ones, it was just so long! It turned towards my floater and showed me its incredible width, it just HAD to be the fish i was after!
As is the way with floater fishing, some fish just feel the hook, and this carp did just that. My heart rate increased to a rate that must be unhealthy, as this beast came up, very very slowly, its nose broke the surface and its mouth opened wide, gliding carefully (or lazily) towards the floater, when suddenly, just before it got to it, it spooked, speeding out of the bay and taking most of the shoal with it, i tried to get one of the remaining fish but they were very much on edge and didnt seem to want to feed either.
I went home with a blank, and will be back tomorrow 
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CHADDY321
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Two excellent write ups there Mat...... and GOOD LUCK for tomorrow fella 
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richchappy
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floater fishing in the snow, would be a good catch lol
if their in their you can catch em
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matgreasley
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that WOULD be a good catch!
wonder if i can pull it off?
im gonna give it a damn good try, no doubt it will snow tomorrow, as soon as it does, the floaters are coming out
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matgreasley
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I blanked, not much to talk about really, they just dont seem to have switched on yet 
Something that was a big shame, i was up a tree and watched a carp swimming around under me. It was a fish i recognised as one i had seen on the bank twice, i had caught it at 13, and mark had caught it at 14, it was a lovely long fish and perfectly conditioned both times, but looking at it now, it had a big chunk of flesh missing at the very back of its dorsal, a chunk missing from its tail, and some white flesh showing around its mouth.
God knows what did this to the carp, but it really saddened me, a lovely fish that was in such good condition and also fighting fit just 5 months before when i caught it, was now suffering from such wounds and seemed very slow and lethargic 
Ill be back down in a day or two.
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matgreasley
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i woke up this morning and the weather was beautiful, so i got on me bike with my dog biscuits and made my way to the lakes.
I got there and just took in the lovely weather for a minute or two, the sun was out and there was just the slight hint of a breeze, it was refreshing and i just couldnt wait to find some fish.
When i first got to the specimen pond i got up a tree and saw plenty of fish in the middle. i went round the bank and got up what i call the high tree (you can see for miles!) and watched all of the carp. The fish would occasionally pop their noses out, i noticed that the only other angler on the lake had a floater on, and i watched as a group of carp swam right by his hookbait showing very little interest, despite looking well up for a floater.
I decided a zig would be the best bet, and whilst i was tying it up i watched matey hook into a carp. I went round to do the pictures for him, it was a stunning mirror of just under 15, and although he had taken it on the surface, i decided to stick with the zig, as i was sure they would take it more confidently.
Shortly after his capture, the wind picked up and the clouds came out, causing all the fish to disappear.
I packed all my gear away and went for a stalk, luckily i found a lot of carp in a sheltered bay, they were also topping out right in front of me, but strangely, they didnt seem up for a floater either
The rig i was using was a freeling floater rig with a fly fishing indicator on the line (basically a round foam float), i moved the indicator down the line so there was around a foot of line between it and my hook, and put a sinking 14mm pellet on the hair.
After 10minutes or so, i watched a fish take the bait, the float slowly slid away but as i struck, the whole lot came back to me, GUTTED! It would have been my first double of the year, but it wasnt to be.
Shortly after this the fish moved on, and so did i, walking round looking for the carp.
I got round to the bay i mentioned a few posts back (the secluded one on the other lake, the one you had to creep down a steep hill to get to), there were a group of carp sat in the bay, despite to wind pushing into it (they dont seem to like wind at all).
I chucked out a few floaters and was like a little schoolboy when the first of the fish started taking.
I sorted my rig out and flicked my floater out amongst the fish, you could tell it was a while since these fish took a floater as they were being very clumsy, constantly missing the bait. One fish was being particularly clumsy, and somehow got foul hooked in the pec!
The indicator slid away and i had to strike and make contact, i was gutted, the commotion was bound to scare the rest away. Luckily it came off without spooking too many fish. The floater rose to the top where the fish had come off, so i slowly retrieved it back to where the fish were feeding.
A common came up and missed the hookbait, once the ripples had dispersed i scanned for my bait, but i just couldnt find it. I noticed something white hanging out of a small commons mouth and as the fish moved its head, the indicator twitched. Confused, i tightened the line and lifted the rod, at this point both I and the fish realised it was hooked, and the carp stormed out of the bay with surprising power.
After a powerful fight, i netted a stunning gold common of around 8lbs, i took a pic whilst it was in the net and then unhooked it and let it go without taking it out of the water.
Through the fight, fish kept taking the remaining freebies, so i quickly got my hookbait amongst them.
Retrieving my hookbait back towards the feeding fish, i noticed another small common moving towards my bait, not really wanting to catch one the same as my first, i started to move the bait...until i realised there was another, bigger mirror also moving towards my bait.
The mirror got there first, my heart missed a beat (or 6) as the fishes nose broke the surface, the usual vortex of water and air surrounded my hookbait as it was sucked in, along with that ever so exciting slurping sound...I had almost forgotten how exciting floater fishing could be!!!
this fish was extraordinarily powerful, and i had to just hold on for dear life as it tried to gain entry to the snags of an overhanging tree on more than one occasion. I was certain it was my first double of the year, so you will understand how annoyed i was when i got it into the margin and found it was foul hooked in its side!!
Now im not sure weather i count this fish or not, i had hooked it in its mouth, this was easy to tell because of the hook wound in its mouth (and because i saw it take the floater!), a hookpull is usually down to a mistake by the angler, so i was unsure if i should count it, i had to put pressure on or risk losing the fish in the snags.
luckily it didnt matter too much as it was no double, what counts is i had fun catching it.
Sorry for the long report, sometimes my fingers just cant stop talking, hopefully i will be able to bag something bigger later this week!!
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Mac
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Brilliant write ups mate
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matgreasley
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Thanks Mac
I went fishing again this afternoon.
I got to the lakes and i made sure to go straight to a bay called the barrells, before i went anywhere else, i knew i would find fish if i stopped at every swim on the other lake on the way there but they wouldnt be of any size, if i wanted my first double of the yeah i would have to fish the specimen pond i spent last year on.
When i got there, there was a strong wind blowing straight into the corner, it felt right but i couldn't see into the water because of the ripples, i waited for half an hour without any luck.
I decided to do a lap of the lakes, although i saw absolutely nothing of interest, the wind dropped so i rushed back round to the barrels swim.
I got there to find a fair amount of fish, infact you could say it was heaving with them, i suspended my halibut pellet at the right level but they wouldnt take, i was pulling my hair out!
As i always do (usually to no avail) i pulled out some dog biscuits and threw them in. By this time the wind had now picked up, although this mattered not as i was pretty sure the fish in this lake didnt come to floaters easily, i had tried many a time over the past year, and throughout my whole time on the lake i had never managed one off the top, so throwing biscuits in was a bit of a, just incase.
I was there, right hidden away amongst trees and bushes in the corner of the bay, staring at my little float, when all of a sudden a carp, very gently, popped its nose out of the water. I was awestruck, never had they taken to floaters so quickly, it soon became clear there were two or three carp taking the floaters in.
By the time i had got some biscuits on the hair, they were gone, and over the next two hours i was to find out that the fish would only take two or three each and then disappear for 10 minutes.
I formulated a plan, and by keeping a steady amount of dog biscuits moving on the wind (with the swans clearing them out of the margins for me) i waited up the tree until they came back, and when they did i was to take advantage of the opportunity.
By only throwing out three or four at a time i knew i wasnt going to fill them up, so they would not take a load then bugger off. I watched them return, and made my attack. I crept to the corner of the bay and flicked out my floater.
I watched as a nice looking mirror swam practically under my feet, i saw it was one i had never caught, never even seen in fact, with two large scales next to each other on one side, i remember thinking to myself, i wouldnt mind catching that at all!
My eyes darted back to my floater just as a carps mouth came up to take it, by this time the now heavy wind had pushed it very close to me, so i had to reel down to make contact, but make contact i did and what followed was a very strong fight with a very angry carp.
I got it in the net and secured it in the margins whilst i got the camera/scales etc sorted. Once done, i lifted it out and put it on the matt, as i turned it to put it in the sling, i was very happy to find two rather large scales looking up at me!!
the fish went 12lbs 6oz, im well happy with it, not only is it my first double of the year, but also my first fish on the top of that lake (EVER) AND my new surface caught PB, caught in what i would have previously regarged as terrible floater weather
some pics:
This is the result of letting the fish recover before taking photos:
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bigkipper
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good write up matt and a nice looking carp to mate
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PeteB
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Good writing Matt...
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Michael
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Nice one matty boy
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Steve Howard
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Corking stuff Matt, keep it up fella... especially on that new venue we were talking about!!!  8) 
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Mac
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Wow, well done Matt...........brilliant write up mate
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matgreasley
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Cheers guys
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matgreasley
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Was out this afternoon
The weather was awesome, really nice and sunny, i had been waiting for a day like this for a while.
i spent a while walking around and the few fish i did find, did not seem interested in food in the slightest.
It was starting to get dark and id not caught, it didnt look good, having not been in three weeks i really wanted to catch but it clearly wasnt to be, so i started packing up.
just as i started strapping my rod and net to my bike, i heard the unmistakable noise of a carp plucking a mixer from the surface of the water behind me in the little bay.
i quickly got my poloroids out of my bag and as i put them on i saw no less than four carp circling taking the mixers i had thrown in before packing up, typical!
i threw more out and quickly (and by quickly i mean quicker than i had ever set up before) i sorted my gear out and set it all back up again, half expecting the fish to stop taking any second.
A few minutes later and i was ready to go, but getting one proved difficult, i tried and tried but i never seemed to be in the right place at the right time, i was starting to panic slightly as the light faded second by second and the sun disappeared behind the trees on the horizon.
i had to be leaving soon but i was determined not to blank, even if it looked likely, when finally a fish neared my hookbait. The mouth rose out and engulfed the bait, i struck and made delicious contact with the carp.
a strong battle ensued, resulting in a lovely mirror of around 9lbs, its weight mattered not, i had a fun time catching it and i was really just happy to bank one.
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Mac
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Nice one Mr G
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matgreasley
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Hi all
I was back down the lakes yesterday, i had been at college most of the day, miserable in the lovely weather because i wasnt at the lake, i got home at about half two and although it was getting on a bit, i couldnt resist going, i left the house for three ish, was at the lake for quarter to 4 and was set up for quarter past 4.
Now usually, i just take my stalking rod, and walk round the lakes with my one rod and my net, but yesterday i decided to take two rods, for a few reasons, firstly, i had just got meself a new rod and wanted to give it a go, and secondly, i have just got a load of new bait and end tackle and wanted to try both on the top, and on the bottom.
I got to the first bay that you come to, and because of this, this is where i set up, there were no fish in the bay, which came as a surprise but i set up there anyway and locked my bike to the trees behind.
On walking round the lakes, i couldnt help but notice that the feeder stream (the strictly no fishing feeder stream ) was holding a fair few carp, there were loads in there, all from the tricky top lake, this was a more than ominous sign because it means that there would be very few carp in the actual lake, although this didnt bother me much because i was to be fishing the larger lake next door for its stalking properties, what i did do though, was get out some of the bait i had in my bag.
The bait is Nash baits scopex squid liver plus, its the first time i had used it so as always with a new bait, confidence was low. i threw a few handfulls of the small boilies, i think they were 10 millers, not expecting much because the distaste these fish hold for boilies is well known, but to my huge amazement, not one, two, three or even four fish came to the spot, but probably no less than half a dozen! the area soon turned to a cloud of dust with tails moving around above, but when the fish had moved on and the cloud had settled, there was not one boilie to be seen, things were looking good.
To speed this story up a bit (i realise i have been typing for a while with no captures ) i got to my first stalking point, the bay i have talked about a bit already in this thread, where there is a really steep hill descent to get to the waters edge. i didnt throw any floaters for the fish in the bay, just flicked out my freelined floater (scopex squid pop up cut down to look like a pellet), on my first cast a nice looking fish headed straight towards the bait, it took it in and i struck making sweet contact straight away.
The fish was immensely strong and i had to get into the shallow bay to stop it getting round an island or into snags, but finally i had the fish in the net and i was looking at possibly my first double figured common of the year. On the scales this was confirmed and i was chuffed, i had only been there half an hour and made one cast!
the 10lb 4oz common:
True to form the fish all disappeared from the bay, so i made my way round the lake again, eventually arriving at the bay i set up in, and boy had the sight changed, there were plently of carp, but many of them were small, by small i mean smaller than 8lbs, but with this lake thats what you have to live with if you want the sheer excitement of fishing it. anyway, i hooked on a small pva bag of pellet to my bottom bait rig, on the hair was a 20mm scopex squid. I just flicked the rig into the centre of the bay, put a few handfulls of the 10millers around it, set the rod down and cast out my floater. after a very short while a couple of fish started swimming towards my floater, although to my disappointment they totally ignored it, then i realised they were heading towards my baited area, the bait had only been in less than a minute! i knew they were going to feed so i wasnt surprised when they went tails up over the bait, what did surprise me was how quick the take came, my hook bait must have been the first thing it took, i think this just shows the advantage of putting a pva bag on.
The fish fought uncharacteristically for its size, just slugging away, i was sure it was a high single from the sightings i had made, but it tested the new rod well and im impressed! Anyway, it was only when i pulled the fish into the net that i realised it was bigger than i thought, infact probably bigger than any fish i had caught from this lake before.
I was right, and at 13lbs 7oz i was over the moon!
My second cast of that rod produced a similar result, although this time i didnt see the fish take the bait, i started hearing a subtle buzzing sound, and turned to see the spool on my reel spinning away like crazy!
Halfway through the strong fight i caught a glimpse and was chuffed to see what looked like a fully scaled, i had never caught a proper one before.
the fish looked stunning on the bank, although not quite a proper fully scaled, its near enough for me, and at 11lbs 12 ozs i couldnt beleive my luck, it was only an afternoon sesh and i was already on my third double!
a little while later and the sun was beginning to disappear, i went for one last lap of the lake, and luckily i found some fish in the dot islands corner of the lake. i chucked a few floaters out and they began to take fairly quickly, so out went the floater rig and as quick as it had d been cast out, a fish was heading towards the bait. in it went and bang, i connected to my fourth fish of the afternoon, the hook hold was great, as had been with the other three fish, which was lucky because in this part of the lake you really have to hang on.
I got a stunning dark mirror to the net and i tempted fate by wondering if i had landed my fourth double of the afternoon, i neednt have worried though, because i did it nicely with 11lbs on the nose.
chuffed isnt the word, probably the best session ive had on there in the 18months ive been fishing there. As usual, sorry for the lengthy report, sometimes i cant help meself
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richchappy
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nice one, propper looking fish that 13, looks bigger though,...
think ill have to get stalking again soon
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bigkipper
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well in matt good write up and some classic looking carp
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craftycarper4
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big it up to ya man good angling! some good lookers!
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NOSEY WIFE
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matt thats a cracking write up hun and stunning fish well done buddy 
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SteveP
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Well in Matt, and good lookers to boot 8)
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matgreasley
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Thanks Guys and Gal
just had a stonking great blank on brasenose 2, get in!
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matgreasley
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heres my only catch of the weekend:
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02jlloyd
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ah 8) looks painful mate , how did u manage that??
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bigkipper
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i see that hair rig work`s
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fullylove007
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that looks sooooooooo painful 
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matgreasley
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basically i was walking the rig back to the bivvy, the lead swang back and pulled the hook in, i then pushed the point back out, took the barb off and removed it, didnt really hurt that much
I was back fishing this afternoon.
it was a lot colder than it had been and it was overcast, so i mostly concentrated on my bottom bait rig. my first chance for a fish came on my second walk round the bigger lake, there were a few fish in one of the bays so i threw some of the scopex squid 10 millers in, something i have started doing is using a leadcore helicopter rig for my bottom bait stalking, its great because i can still freeline by unclipping the lead, to keep safety i just dislogde the top bead so the rig can still slide off, plus with the weight of the lead core a good cast can be made without a lead.
Anyway, the fish were ripping it up on these 10millers and so it wasnt long before the reel was spinning furiously, i picked up the rod and made contact, by the time i got the rod the fish had got to the overhanging trees running along the bank of the bay, so i had to hold on and not give the fish an inch of line, fully expecting the hook to pull i was chuffed when the fish turned and headed away from the snags, phew!!
After a fairly simple fight after this, the fish was soon in the net, seeing that it would be lucky to go double, i just un hooked it in the net and let it go, causing it no unnecessary stress.
After this i went round to one of the other bays and started to talk to the bloke fishing the next swim down, there were plenty of fish coming in and out of the bay and he told me to have a go for em, i didnt need telling twice!
first cast i cast my freeline heli rig to the other side of the bay although after just a few seconds i noticed a mirror on my side of the bay swimming paralell to the bank, so i quickly reeled in and stopped my hookbait to intercept the fish, it took it good as gold, unfortunately the hook pulled fairly early on in the fight, i wasnt too bothered as it didnt look particularly big.
After more talking, i went on a final lap of the lake, and when i got to the opposite bank of the lake i noticed a fish top out, this stopped me in my tracks, i was going to the bay i had caught from but instead started to clip my lead on, i was about to cast out to the area when another fish topped out, about the same distance (maybe 40 yards) but more to the right, so i cast around 50 yards, and began to reel in as soon as it hit the water, trying to pull it onto the spot the fish showed at. I sat down and rested the rod on my lap, before long the tip was being pulled round and line was being stripped from the spool!!
After a fairly simply but strong fight i had another high single in the net, same drill with this one, unhooked in the net and let go, the best way.
I finished my walk around the lake but didnt see anything of interest, so was on my way home feeling very happy with the afternoons events.
Im hoping to get a few nights in next week (i finish college on friday, get in!!), so wish me luck!
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Rooney!!!
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Top angling and an equally great write up Matt...
Best of luck for your seshes comin up bud... Keep us posted...
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richchappy
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another high double ...
do ya mean low double or high single lol
and your on the leadcore, wahay
what you doing on the quick links where you clip on lead
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matgreasley
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nothing mate leaving it as a clip, just pushing the buffer bead over the top of it
and yeah i meant high single
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