In my increasingly desperate chase for species, I had another trip to Secret Lake . I dropped off the Housekeeper in Leeds at 8am and made my first cast just after 9. A clear sky the previous night had led to a big drop in temps – so I wasn’t too optimistic about catching any carp before lunch especially with the wind swinging around to the north. So i had a good mooch around, and baited up a swim tight to some sedges and overhanging trees, with strawberry boiles and halibut pellets. I set up two rods on a straight through running ledger, the first with hair rigged halibut pellet, the second hair rigged boilie. I sat back and enjoyed the morning sun, and as expected didn’t get a bite.
While eating my lunch i thought that I’d not come all this way to blank, so reeled in the pellet rod, and set up a method feeder rig and launched in out into the centre of the lake.
There is a huge head of bream in this water, and it didn’t take long for my rod tip to hoop round, and a small bream of about a lb graced the landing net, soon followed by another, then another and a few more. I was to be honest getting a little bored of bream on the method, so i started to fire in 4mm pellets over the top in the hope of stirring up some interest with the resident carp, now that the weather was warming up. So a quick change to a pellet waggler rig saw me catch first cast…. you guessed it – another bream, then another, then another.
Once it got to 3.15pm i had to start thinking about the half hour drive back to Leeds, and a punctual appearance for the only member of my household to do any work today. Just as i was in the process of packing up, my forgotten about boilie rod suddenly hooped, baitrunner screamed and i struck into a decent fish which streaked into the snags on the far bank. I was just thinking about giving it some welly – when the handle fell of my reel (note to self, stop buying cheap gear), so the fish inadvertently had a load of slack – and out it popped like a good un. I managed to cobble the reel back together for long enough to land a lovely common of about 5lbs.
While eating my lunch i thought that I’d not come all this way to blank, so reeled in the pellet rod, and set up a method feeder rig and launched in out into the centre of the lake.
There is a huge head of bream in this water, and it didn’t take long for my rod tip to hoop round, and a small bream of about a lb graced the landing net, soon followed by another, then another and a few more. I was to be honest getting a little bored of bream on the method, so i started to fire in 4mm pellets over the top in the hope of stirring up some interest with the resident carp, now that the weather was warming up. So a quick change to a pellet waggler rig saw me catch first cast…. you guessed it – another bream, then another, then another.
Once it got to 3.15pm i had to start thinking about the half hour drive back to Leeds, and a punctual appearance for the only member of my household to do any work today. Just as i was in the process of packing up, my forgotten about boilie rod suddenly hooped, baitrunner screamed and i struck into a decent fish which streaked into the snags on the far bank. I was just thinking about giving it some welly – when the handle fell of my reel (note to self, stop buying cheap gear), so the fish inadvertently had a load of slack – and out it popped like a good un. I managed to cobble the reel back together for long enough to land a lovely common of about 5lbs.
Yet again no Grass Carp – but a lovely day out, and a good excuse to return.
manchester fishing Irwell Ribble Trout