A common common? and kids go fishing!

Hi all and welcome to another instalment of antics from the Supple household! It's been the usual set of weeks guided by long hours grafting for tax ridden pennies and not a lot of spare time for oneself but finally free of the dreaded lurgy that flattened me a few weeks back, I now feel enthused with vigour and energy! UUrgh, who am I kidding? I'm a 47 year old man with physical and mental health problems! In the last few weeks I've given up drinking and also gone on a diet as well. Topping off the fact that I also gave up smoking for the second time in my life back in March this year after a gap of 24 years! God only knows why I started back up? I think down to my friends circle at that time....Still, I have to say that now I'm on this particular diet etc I do actually feel quite a bit healthier and I am actually loosing a bit of weight too. Anyway I digress off topic! Let's talk fishing!!!!

So a few weeks ago I was down the local pond for the usual afternoon session and I was catching a fair few nice fish as usual when a young lad and his grandmother stood behind the railings to watch me for a few minutes...

The young lad named Dyfan seemed rather interested in what I was doing and we began conversation on my fishing equipment and what swam around in the pond. As they stood watching my right hand rod sprung into life and I asked if you Dyfan fancied playing the fish? 

Who was well excited and his nan passed him over the railings to me and we began battle against an angry common together with Dyfan doing most of the work. He did a sterling job and within a few minutes we had a nice common around 10lbs in the net. I asked if he wanted a picture with the fish and he was speechless, bless him! We set up the cradle and I discussed fish care with him and his nan before we grabbed a lovely photo together. A moment I'm sure he'll remember for some time to come! I certainly will as it was a delight to see the youngsters face getting the same pleasure from that moment as I did with my first fish and every fish I catch! Well done Dyfan and I hope to see you on the banks one day my little friend. Needless to say it was a great afternoon and I caught plenty of fish before heading home.

I ventured back out to my secret pool a few times this last fortnight post work and one Sunday afternoon. It was difficult work with little time to really put into the project. 

I do get the feeling that there is literally just a very small handful of commons in there and at best maybe 4-5 big enough to take a boilie. I may be wrong but after sampling it with floaters and seeing the same 3 fish over and over, I reckon that's pretty much it. 

There's definitely more in there but of a much smaller stamp. I grabbed another nice low double figure common on a 2 hour post work evening session before realising the low stock. I'll pop in occasionally to keep an eye on the place but for now I think that chapter of my story is closed. I have in the mean time heard about another possible very big roach spot too so that'll be my next port of call but again it could have some risks attached to fishing there! Watch this space! 

Weekend just gone was a very full one with two afternoon trips to my local pool to try and finish off that part of my story as there's three I still want to catch in there! I started off around 2pm on Sunday and to say it was a frenetic session is an understatement! I have never in all my years had so many runs in such a short time! It was utter carnage.....from the off I was into fish after fish. I didn't have time to even ger two rods out. The bites were coming quicker than I could the rod back onto the rod rests. For the best part, the baits were poled into the swim and before I was retrieving the pole I was into a fish!

I honestly had to keep the rods out for a few minutes so I could eat and drink. Within an hour I was 7 fish up and every single one was a common! I really wanted those last three remaining mirrors and this was not catching them. I moved a couple of swims round and targeted a new area only to have the same level of action ensue there too! In fact it was even more hectic there! 

I spent the whole afternoon basically fishing one rod for the best part and most chucks I had a fish within seconds of the hookbait entering the water. I finished the session on an incredible 29 runs and 27 landed.....even more incredible was that every single one was a common!!! Five of the best weighing over 18lbs and the rest ranging from 6lbs upwards.

After Sundays carnage my back was in bits and to be honest I needed a break! That wasn't really on the cards though as I had promised a friend that I would tutor her step son Riley (12 years old) for a few hours and try and help him catch a few carp. Sunday morning arrived and I picked his lordship up from his step mums house. We got to the lake to find it was rammed solid with anglers and only a handful of the less favourable pegs left to fish. 

Disappointed but not beaten we headed off round the lake to our first swim. A rather tight not beginner friendly swim, with snags either side and not much else going for it. We set up the kit and Riley poled a bait out either side of the swim to possible spots. We discussed his angling career thus far and his prior six or so carp he'd caught to 11lbs off the top on bread. He'd never caught ledgering before and just another small jack pike to his name.

I really wanted to get him into one of the better pegs but for the moment we'd have to make do. His first bite came on the jungle spot to our left and a quick sharp pull ended in a rig being retrieved a little bit too soon as I think it was a liner he struck. We repositioned the bait and sat back to discuss rigs etc only to then have a violent take on the right hand rod down the margin. 

We nearly lost the rod in the lake as the take was so intense! Riley jumped up and grabbed the rod. The fight was epic with both scrabbling for the upper hand. The 13ft Dream Makers were in hindsight a little bit big for Riley but he made the best of it and got to grips with the front drag reels and big rods. 

Finally after an epic battle I sunk the net under a wonderful common for him. I looked in the net to see a rather large lump of fish. We got the scales an mat ready and quickly discussed fish care etc before lifting her clear of the water for the pics. Riley was gob smacked at the size of the carp. It dwarfed his original PB of 11lbs and I was sure it was going to do twenty plus! Well, it did! In fact it was 22lbs in weight! What a way to start proceedings! We got some amazing pics and memories before Riley gently released her back. We tried in that swim a bit longer but to no avail. 

Around 3.30 one of the lads packed up so we moved around to his spot. We were a little hemmed in with anglers on both sides so opted for another move to the far side of the lake. We dropped onto a known hot spot and straight away Riley was into fish. They started to come thick and fast with doubles flying left right and centre. The only downside being a snag which was claiming as many fish as he was landing. After a few hook pulls he was looking a little disappointed so when I saw one of the hot pegs was going to be freed up I suggested another move. 

Off we trudged again back around the lake and into the new spot where I'd bagged up the previous day. Could it kick off again like Sunday? Yeah of course it could! Another 2 hours passed and by 8pm Riley was 10 fish up and buzzing with excitement! 

A great session that I'm sure we'll bother remember forever! He did exceptionally well and I was impressed with just how quick he picked it all up. 

Well done my friend and I look forward to your company again at some point in the future! Well, that's it for this instalment and with just a short week in work this week I have a nice long weekend to come! If I can find the time to sort my van and kit out then I would really like to get up to Hereford post work Friday afternoon and try to get myself my first barbel of the year....I can't believe I've not had the chance to go after them properly yet this season....time hasn't been my friend this year. Oh well, lets see how the week pans out. Tight lines all and see you soon x.

A cheeky common!

 Hi all! Well, yet another week of un-summery conditions for the best part and then the weekend arrived and it steadily got worse! I was on lates this week so fishing after work had to take a back seat till today (Sunday). So last weekend I was on the back of feeling very poorly with Covid symptoms albeit did a negative test and didn't feel well enough to leave the house until Sunday. I'd been looking for many years at some little pools not far from my house on google maps and wondered if any of them were at all accessible or even contained fish at all? 

We'll after some debate and a bit of info from a friend, I ventured down for a little look at one of these said pools. On arrival it became apparent that the place had literally been left to its own devices for many many years! Over grown, razor wire everywhere and broken gates. No no fishing signs or private land etc signs visible though which filled me with some hope. It was a bit of a trek from the car to the lake and I knew it was going to be a case of fishing very light if I was going to chance a go on there. It took me half an hour of crashing through mud, bushes and undergrowth before I finally found the pond. What a pretty little lake it was too.... but was there anything in there? I sat in a couple of spots for about 2 hours and saw absolutely nothing! 

Sod it! I walked back to the car and drove home to get my kit. I grabbed just essential bits in a rucksack and a couple of 10ft Scopes, net, mat and some bait. Off I went and just over an hour later at 6pm I was setting up very quietly in the corner of the pool out the was and unseen. 

I set up 3 rods with very basic blow back rigs on and a small PVA bag of pellets and broken boilies in and put them around the swim, taking advantage of a lovely looking nearside over hanging bush to my left. 

I sat for about an hour watching the lake, seeing no life whatsoever.....Was there a fish of any kind in there or not? I was questioning my sanity when all of a sudden the left hand rod to the bush let out a double bleep. I sat patiently and watched the bobbing gently fall towards the floor as the Siren gave out a further 2 more bleeps. The lead had moved so I felt I needed to strike....

Well, it turns out there are fish in there as all of a sudden I was attached to a very leary fish that held deep and headed out towards the centre of the lake. The fight was utterly epic! This thing was on bloody steroids! It was honestly one of the hardest fighting carp I've caught to date! What a scrap! Around 10 minutes passed before I finally slipped the net under a fantastic, seriously long common of 17lb 2oz! This thing had the length of a very big fish but felt hollow, which was obviously down to it's life of feeding on naturals. I was really surprised the fish had responded to a boilie and pellet approach but clearly it was very hungry! 

I got some pics of the fish and slipped it back to it's very deep hole. I popped another rig out and pinched myself on finding a virgin pond with some carp in it that had clearly never been caught! Time passed by and the light started to fade away. I started to pack my kit up when the left hand rod was once again doing the drop back! I struck into a solid resistance same as before and yet another very hard fighting fish bent the rod double. The fight was unfortunately very short as I suffered a hook pull just a minute or so in. 

I packed up and headed for home feeling very pleased with the results of just 3 hours down there. I will be back soon.....Back to this weekend and with just a short afternoon session to utilise, I decided to get back down my local urban club lake for a few hours. I've still got 4 left in there to catch and today felt like it was the day for one of them to fall foul! I dropped in a peg above my buddy Tom who had had a couple of nice fish in the morning and by 1.30pm I had a rod positioned tight up against the far bank under some over hanging trees. Using the pole at 40M to my advantage and placing the rig, 3oz lead and a good helping of Infusion boilies, pellets and Mulberry particle coated in Salmon Oil into the swim quietly. 

I dropped said rig into a place and retrieved the pole to set up rod no 2. I was just putting a boilie on the hair when off went the first rod. An absolute belter of a take. All the stuff went flying off my lap and I lent into a nice double figure common. A great start....I then got the other rod out only to have the exact same thing happen with that one! I couldn't get both rods out at the same time! This went on most of the afternoon with 12 takes occurring and landing 10 of them! A couple of rather chunky commons and mid shift on the left hand rod I had an absolute screamer of a take! I lent into what felt like a much better fish. It felt slower and heavier than all the other fish of the day so far. 

The battle ensued for about 10 minutes before I finally netted  very nice looking leather carp. Could it be one of the four I was after? Surely not! I got the scales set and camera and mat at the ready. I reached into the net to unhook her and as I moved the net mesh aside I caught a glimpse of the fish. I was sure it was 'Angel'. One of the final four! I was so excited!!!! Unhooked, I moved her over to the mat for weighing and pics. She went 20lb 5oz and after looking through some online pics, I realised it was Angel! What a result......Just 3 to go now then and then I can move on to fresh new pastures! This week is early shifts so I may pop down to the secret pond for a few hours post work.

 Well, summers really been a belter so far eh? Bloody awful in truth and I feel like we're already staring down the barrel of autumn already. I was looking forward to long sunny days around work where I could venture out to fish the river after a barbel or two but to be honest I've not felt the urge to do that this season, yet. I'm currently really finding it difficult to get the motivation up to go anywhere other than right on my doorstep. The biggest problem that occurs from this is the serious lack of fishing venues near to my home. Well, one's of any quality that float my boat so to speak..... It seems that since Covid, everybody is now angling and it doesn't matter where you go it's rammed! I really can't bring myself to go to a day ticket venue any more especially near to the weekend! It's crazy how many swims are taken pretty much all day, every day! 

Early days at Crayfish pool when it finally went well!

I can remember not so long ago when I had a syndicate ticket on the famous Crayfish Pool and you could literally rock up any day of the week and see no more than 1 or 2 anglers at absolute most on the venue and you had no waiting list in place...now it's a wait of 5-10 years for a ticket on some of these places! What the hell happened to our sport to make it so busy everywhere? I've had a few recent evening sessions at my local urban club water post work and an odd weekend slot. Fortunately it's still a fairly quiet little pool with plenty of water to fish. The fish have responded well to my tactics this summer and I've managed to amass a fairly decent amount of captures so far since late April. I've had a couple of repeat captures and many small commons that have been returned without pictures but there's also been some lovely scaley one's caught too. I'm currently digesting the idea that there's only a few left to catch in there which includes 3 of the A-listers that have so far evaded capture from my side of the fence. It's odd how certain fish can do this and others fall foul to similar tactics and areas of the lake, even to certain anglers. 

This last fortnight has seen 3 separate fish get caught between myself and another competent angler just days apart from each other. 

Quite amusing to see him with one then 3 days later I've caught it...then a few days later I catch one and he then gets the same one 2 days later. 

I know it's a small water but there's definitely something in it I feel that makes certain fish fool foul to certain rigs, bait, tactic, area or in this case certain anglers. It it that our approach is the same? The areas we fish similar or just pure luck? We'll never know.....food for thought though and the age old saying of fish get caught from certain areas is very true in my eyes. 

The carp are creatures of habit and generally visit the same old areas day in day out and chose to eat or mill around in these areas. If you can pin point these areas and exploit their potential then that is the key to catching particular fish and becoming successful on your chosen water. Looking back at the Cray in particular, my first season was a bloody hard one! I spent 150 plus nights on there in the first year for just 5 bites and 4 landed! It was tough going to say the least. I questioned my sanity when re-joining the second season as I literally left there empty handed on the majority of visits. I just couldn't get to grips with the place, worrying about my bait, my rigs, bait placement and overall very low confidence in my overall approach to the venue. 

The second season came and I spent far less time worrying about all the above and concentrated my efforts on just two spots that had done me a bite or two the previous season. This proved to be key in the grand scheme of things and later ended up with my catching everything I wanted from the venue bar a couple of rogue fish. Well, roll on 10 years and I'm now considering my next move within angling and what, where and how to tackle a new challenge...I love quiet out the way secluded venues but there's nothing remotely near to home that offers this....I'm therefore on the route to considering more urban waters that fly close to my requirements. 

I hate the idea but I can't see any other options bar moving house, which is obviously not on the agenda when you have a wife, kids and many ties to your current home. My other option is to just concentrate on Euro trips? I've banged this around in my head a lot and before changing jobs it was on the agenda but with limited holiday time now back in full time employment, that's sorely off the table or for the foreseeable future anyways. 

So here we are back at fishing the local pond for upper twenties and high doubles....Ah, it ain't so bad I guess....the lads on there are all a good bunch. The fish are pretty good looking for the best part and sport can at times be frenetic. At least it's a mere 20 minutes from home. So over the last fortnight I've had about 5 or so evenings to pop down and a single full day. They've all fished pretty well with around 30 fish or so coming to the net. 

I've spent a bit of time down there coaching a couple of regulars who were struggling too and it's generally just been easy, nice fishing. I'm still after the couple of bigger fish but to be honest if they evade me this year at least it gives me a reason to continue turning up down there and having some fishing on the door step so to speak. I'm currently suffering from a nasty bug and bed ridden which has scuppered any plans I had for after work sessions this week as I'm on the early shift. 

That along with the fact that the girls have been away on holiday in Portugal for 10 days has meant that I've had my hands full with household duties as well. In a household of around 100 animals it's been challenging to say the least! I can't wait for them to come home so I can get a bit of respite! Well, there we go, that's about all the news really....not much going on and very little on the calendar at present but hopefully that will change soon. Tight lines all. x