Tench and a Personal Goal.

Fished an early session on Saturday and after a walk around the lake and a quick chat with Andy who had just banked a nineteen pound plus common, I made my way to a swim that looked promising. I was fishing the point opposite the island and I put both rods out with PVA bags on to two spots I'd caught from before. The persistent and chilly north easterly wind was still with us and the sheltered area at the front of the island seemed to draw the fish in, there were plenty of bubblers showing and I decided to change one rod over to a chod rig to try and get a quick bite. I cast this to areas where these fish had been bubbling with the hope they would return and did have a couple of sharp tugs through the session, too quick to be liners, my hook can't have been sharp enough to snag whatever was tasting the bait. All the action came on the PVA bag and bottom bait with a single Carp, which I did mistake for a Tench until it broke the surface and five good sized Tench.

One of the tench was in a rather sorry state with a badly mangled bottom lip, it's jaw bones visible poking through the skin, not nice to see.

At the end of February I opened this years carp account at Ryton and over the next few weekends I managed to pull one out here and one out there, a few weeks ago I realised that I'd caught at least one Carp from the lake every weekend since the account was opened, since then I've still managed to catch but I decided to make it a goal to achieve this and see how far I could get. Today I reached my tenth consecutive weekend with a Ryton Carp on the bank, all be it just short of seven pounds.

I'm not one to gripe about things but something I do want to have a moan about is at Morris's. I'd left a few saplings grow there last year so they could be pruned back to provide some stalking cover for this summer, these were pruned back earlier in the year and other anglers who regularly fish this peg had noticed, some liking the idea so I wasn't just doing it for myself. I was told today that someone has cut these down and now left the peg wide open to any fish that swims past in the margins making it crap for stalking, thanks!!

Saturday Zig.

An early start today and after dropping the gear off at peg two I headed off for a couple of laps of the lake in search of a feeding fish or two, I ended up settling on peg two as the only visible signs of fish bubbling were in front of the tree's on the no fishing bank. Rods were dispatched to their spots and I set about sorting out some fresh hook links and baits ready for the first recast. A good fish crashed out in the middle of the lake and was in casting distance from the log swim on the far side so I thought about a move to be on the fish and started to pack away my gear, I glanced around towards the logs and noticed a red jumper clad angler standing there, never mind, peg two it was.
As the sun rose higher I noticed more and more Carp up on the top, there were plenty of bubblers in between them so they must have been in a feeding mood. I quickly set up a zig and put it out amongst them. Nothing happened for a good hour so I changed boilie colour and whacked it back out. Anthony had dropped by for a chat about the pegs, the possible solution being steel cages (gabions) filled with rock to replace the wonky slabs, a good idea I think. We were in the swim next door chatting about how under cut the bank was and how a cage full of rock in front of the swim would make everything more stable, Anthony went to fetch his waders from the car to have a poke around some of the other swims and I went back to my rods, I noticed that the bobbin on the zig rod was tight up against the front of the alarm but there was no line leaving the spool, I hadn't switched on the alarm so missed the initial take, I picked up the rod, slowly tightened the line and could feel a few gentle nods through the tip, I switched off the baitrunner and lifted into a very heavy lump that pulled back, now it made a run. It felt a very good fish by the way it pulled line off the spool but I soon had it under control and slowly played it back to the net allowing it to go when it wanted to, I could hear some voices from the top of the bank behind me and tried not to let them bother me until the fish was safely in the net, the Carp plodded around in front of the swim for a while before submitting to the folds of mesh, I then turned round to find a small audience watching and even had a small round of applause.
A wader clad Anthony was on hand to help with the weighing and photography as a group of onlookers watched, Anthony read 19lb off the scales, nice!

I had a Tench at around lunchtime but all the Carp had disappeared off the top and I couldn't see any signs of feeding fish, the session finished at one.

Last one of the first quarter.

Only a short session on Friday, I didn't get to the lake till just after five thirty and I made a hasty start that didn't feel right, even though the wind was blowing into this swim from the right direction it just didn't feel 'Carpy' so I moved to the point opposite the island and just as I put my stuff down a Carp popped it's head out of the lake infront of my swim, that was more like it.
It was good half an hour into the session when a Tench made an appearance, they are very welcome and prove that the rigs work well but I was just hoping I wouldn't get too many more of these as Carp were my target, I'd already seen another good fish show on a slightly different spot and decided too put my next bait there and not long after I did it went off, something heavy was shaking it's head around in it's bid for freedom and it escaped, the rod was rebaited and put out onto the same spot.
Andy stopped for a chat on his way out of the park and we had a discussion about rigs and exchanged a few ideas, we also saw a Carp being caught on peg one which is always good to see. It was getting late and I was thinking about packing up when a one toner screamed out from one of the alarms, the rod tip was pulled round as a good fish made off with the bait, I picked up the rod and allowed the fish to run before engaging the clutch, it just carried on going and kited in towards the front of the island, I turned it and it came towards me twisting and turning along the way, the closer it came to the mesh the smaller it felt and at one point I even joked about it being a tail hooked tench, instead a nice Mirror Carp rolled over the cord and into the waiting net. Photo's were taken (Cheers Andy) and a lifted scale was attended to before it was released. It weighed in at 12lb 10oz's.

It was still light when this picture was taken, the flash makes it look like the middle of the night.

Crystal clear in the shadows.

I arrived for a late session just after three, my first view of the lake was greeted by several carp milling around on the top in the corner bay, I carried on down the road bank towards the car park and couldn't believe how clear the lake had become in a matter of days, I was here on Wednesday evening with a marker rod and there was still some colour in the water, today you could see how shallow this lake really is!

I had almost done a complete circuit of the lake when I saw Colin on the top of a bank watching some slightly bigger Carp through the tree's doing the same as the others, teasing the anglers into having a go, so I did. I set up in a corner I've not fished for a long time and cast towards the front of the tree line, rods were laid on the ground without alarms as I was expecting this to be a hit'n'run affair. I missed the first run, (or it was dropped) but a second and third pulled away shortly after, they were both Tench. Baits were back on their spots and at around five thirty my first Carp fizzed line off the reel in it's bid for freedom and it really did pull some line off the reel, with most of it's energy spent it came to the net without too much fuss. On inspection, the hook hold was very deep inside it's mouth so this fish wasn't coming off, it must have been having a proper feed to get hooked so deep.

The shadows of the tree's I was under make this fish look like it has bands of colour but it was an immaculate, evenly coloured common that pulled the scales round to 11lb.

After letting the fish rejoin it's friends I thought about moving as the disturbance in this corner was sure to have scared everything off to the the far side of the lake but no, there were still some dark shapes mooching about under the tree's so the rods were soon back on their spots with fresh bags attached ready for the next take. It was about half an hour later that there was a start stop run on one of the rods, I knew it was another small Tench and it was to be my third of the session. After recasting again I thought I was going to be in for an evening of Tench fishing but I noticed a few larger dark shapes moving around one of the baits, I was willing that rod to go, breathing the word "C'mon" and watching for the line to tighten, when I glanced over to where the fish were I missed the take, the line had instantly pulled tight and was leaving the reel at a rate of knots so I picked up the rod and let it go, it Paused and shook it's head around making me think it was another Tench but it was too heavy to be one of them, strangely, the fish just wallowed and thumped around as I gently pumped it back to the mesh and just before it reached the cord I backed the drag right off in case it woke up.

This fish was a bit of a hot potato on the mat but I managed a few pictures without getting a slap from that massive tail, the scales read off 16lb 14oz's.

Sunday Session - What a Cracker!

With my commitments that had been put off from Saturday out of the way by lunchtime, I was free for a late session on Sunday and started at around three. After about an hour and whilst chatting to Colin on the top of the bank one of the rods was off, the screamer I thought was a Carp ended up as a rather feisty male Tench but welcome all the same.

Another hour passed and I was just swapping my sunglasses for my specs when I had another screamer of a run. When I struck it felt proper carpy this time and I'm not sure if the fish knew what was happening as it tore about in all directions and swam over my second line dragging this around, it did eventually give up for the net, Andy was watching from the top of the bank and assisted in the photographing and weighing. (Cheers Andy)

Andy gave me 16lb for this common.

Just before seven, I was again at the top of the bank having a chat with Barry who had just packed up for the evening and the same rod was off again, why is it that fish always bite when you are furthest from your rod, just about to eat or packing up to leave?

This was another Carp but I was very confused by the fight, it was heavy but felt a bit like a Tench, Barry suggested it might be one of the big bream but when I saw it I was very surprised, the shape was like a mini Malissa but as a mirror carp, very short and a belly like a football, I'm sure Colin mentioned this fish earlier on so it was nice to catch her the same day.

14lb 8oz.

I'm not sure if Melissa's genetic make-up has anything to do with the shape of this mirror but I do know of another common of a similar size in the lake (Short Round) with the same extended belly, could they be Melissa's offspring?

Short Round, Melissa and the new member of the family.

I was very happy with the way the evening was going as I've only managed single Carp per weekend so far so to catch two in a session was great. I'd just recast one rod and left it on the rest to allow the line to sink when the bobbin on the second rod hit the front of the alarm, there was no run so I initially thought it was a Tench and struck expecting one, what I didn't expect was a Carp, it tore off at at great rate of knots away from me straight down the tree line and broke surface before heading in towards the trees, I put some pressure on and turned it but it kept twisting and turning before swimming straight back towards me, it wasn't too long before I had it plodding around under the rod tip making lots of short energetic runs, it refused the net several times but eventually submitted.

Another immaculate Common at 17lb 10oz's.

This was a cracker of a short session.

Another Quick One!

Monday, left it till later in the day starting the session at around two thirty. Dan was on peg one so I stopped to catch up on things and we were shortly joined by Barry, I dropped my stuff onto peg two and put a couple of lines out before rejoining the social, it wasn't long before I heard some intermittent beeps from one of the alarms so ran to investigate, I picked up the rod and felt a bit of weight but it soon became apparent that a tuftie had tangled itself in my line midway between the rod and rig, I quickly untangled the poor thing and it swam away fine.
The rod was put back on the spot, I put another fresh PVA bag out on my second rod and returned to the top of the bank to continue the chat with Dan. After a short while, I heard the alarm sound again, this time on the bottom bait, I struck and immediately felt several good thumps back up the line and thought, tench!
As Tench go, it was a good hard scrap but two and three quarter test rods don't do them justice, the fish was a good size though. (Cheers Dan for taking the photo)

I gave it another hour then made a move around to the disabled peg to get onto the back of the strong cold wind, I thought the wind had got a bit warmer earlier on but with this peg being exposed to the southerly wind it felt very chilly on my back.
I saw a few bubblers in that bay but had no takes.

Carping with Man Flu!

Suffering with a bout of man flu I felt some fresh air would do me some good and started Saturdays session sitting in sunshine at the back of the island, clouds soon moved in and a cold wind got up which spoilt things, the way I was feeling I'd have been quite happy to stay on this peg all day and enjoy the sunshine that was forecast but with the weather changing I felt I'd have to move around to find the fish. It was during the afternoon, when fishing on the far bank that I saw a couple of Tench come out and would have been more than happy with one of those but it was earlier on whilst fishing the peg at the back of the island that I had what was to be the only bite of the day.

I'd cast a pop up to the gravel bar just off the point of the island and it had sat there for a good thirty minutes before the alarm gave out a short sharp 'shrill' and the line pulled up tight, I waited for a short while to see if anything would develop then reeled in to find the bottom bead of my chod rig had been pulled down to the lead, I'd been done!

Today's weather was much better, plenty of sunny spells but there was still a cool wind blowing across the lake so I put myself on the back of the wind with the sun in my face. I was fishing the road bank and was hoping to emulate last years March 15th 'dream' session where I caught four Carp and Five Tench, biggest Carp weighing in at 22lb (my biggest last year), it was also the session that started my 'Ryton Carp' blog, I can't believe I've been writing this for almost twelve months!
Today's session wasn't to be anything like last year and I think it might be a couple more weeks before the Carp wake up properly, this time last year the hawthorn bushes along the back of the road bank were just starting to show their first leaves of the year but this year I think we're going to need a few more days of sunshine before they split their buds. Back to the fishing, I did manage to bag one solitary Carp today but at only 6lb I did almost mistake it for a Tench until it came to the net.

A very short fish with big shoulders, surprisingly heavy for it's small frame and in excellent condition, one to watch for in a few years.

Bite time!

Saturday afternoons session ended in a blank and it was bloody freezing when I left the lake, I was half expecting to find some ice on the lake today but the sun was very warm when I set up at the back of the island, I'd had a good look through my diaries this morning and I fancied a go from the peg I built a couple of winters ago and I've done well with early season fish from this corner of the lake in the past.
The usual pop up and bottom baits went out to known clear spots and the wait began. The sun was lovely and warm and I was sure that this corner of the lake would receive a visit from a hungry fish or two with the amount of sun it was receiving, the water temperature must have been a degree or two higher in this corner but all that visited my baits were the tufties. I kept an eye on the ducks as they surfaced in case they'd been spooked by something else feeding in the cloud they were making.
Several hours passed very quickly and I remained fishless, I made a quick move to where I'd caught last week and was set up and cast out ready to see if 'bite time' would be the same. It was only a few minutes later than last week when one of the bobbins hit the front of the alarm as a fish pulled the tip round, this was no tufted duck. The fish felt heavier than last week and put up a good scrap, this was no Tench either, it wasn't long before I had a Carp safely in the folds of my net.

A lovely plump common of 12lb 8oz.

About half an hour later I hit another run off the same spot but something I hadn't done before casting out was check the hook point, it was blunt!

This one got away.

Ryton Twenty Ten Carp Account - Open!

Even though it's not quite spring, I've started my campaign for the Ryton Carp.
I started early on Saturday and used pop up boilies on one rod, bottom bait and PVA stick on the other and cast these towards areas that were clouded up by the feeding tufties, these spots have accounted a few early season Carp for me on previous seasons and even though you have to put up with the constant line bites and pick ups from the ducks it's somewhere to start. After a couple of fishless hours I moved to another swim with the hope that the sunny spells would start to warm the shallower water unfortunately the wind swung round and picked up slightly and was now blowing straight onto my sunny spot. With the wind having a cold bite to it I made a move to another swim that enabled me to cast to the calm areas sheltered from the wind with a hope that the fish would be there.
Early afternoon saw the session finish on a blank and after seeing the forecast for the Sunday I didn't think I'd be fishing again this weekend.
The heavy rain had past over our region early this morning and the wind was a lot lighter than the forecast so I made my way back to Ryton for another Carp session. I stayed on the back of the wind again and used the same combinations of pop ups and bottom baits to target the same spot's as yesterday. It was only after I made a move that I struck gold with the first fish of the day. The tufties were having a good root around the area of my pop up and at first I thought one of them had picked up my bait as the bobbin was making some very erratic movements, I picked up the rod and started to reel in the bait but couldn't feel anything, then everything went very heavy and I could feel something kick and then kite off to my left, at last a Carp!. The Carp had picked the bait up and bolted straight towards me pulling the top bead off my leader and up the main line, hence the weird indication.

A nice way of finding out how safe my rigs are!

A small Common weighing in at 9lb.

There was still some bird activity over the spot so I put the same pop up out again, I'd only just sunk the line and set the rod on the pod before it rattled off on another run. It didn't feel as big this time and after a short tussle I had the fish in the net.

The Tench at Ryton are always welcome.

Ryton 2010 Carp account - Open!