I Do Fish in England
Many of you will recognise me from the Catmaster Tours stand at the various shows we do around the country, where I stand promoting the fantastic fishing in Spain. We get a lot of people asking for advice about fishing in France and of course at home here in England. As I have done quite a bit of both and have caught a few along the way I tend to be the one trying to offer a bit of help.
With that in mind I thought I would write this piece about my fishing in England. Due to family and work commitments I don’t get much time to fish, which is why I spend my holidays on the Ebro, so I have to make the most of the little time I have.
During the close season I made plans to re-visit a Cambridgeshire lake that I know really well but last fished for Catfish in 1997. Unfortunately there is a publicity ban so I can’t name the water, but it is a lake of approximately 20 acres and holds 5 known fish. When I last fished it I had two fish on my first visit at 22-14 and 32-04, rumours were that they were now considerably bigger.
I didn’t make my first visit until 23 June 2008 but arrived full of anticipation and excitement that only us fishermen would appreciate. I arrived at 16:30 and had a good look round; the weather had been unsettled but was warm and cloudy with a light south westerly. I dropped into a swim away from the three carp anglers and with the breeze blowing into the area. The odd fish that had been caught recently had all come on carp baits probably due to the amount of pellet and boilies that get put into the lake. So I decided to try three different baits and bait up heavily with pellets and see what happened.
My mainline was 20 pound X-line due to its near invisibility in the water, hook links were all 45 pound quicksilver and my hooks were the brilliant ESP T6 Raptors size 1. My first rod was set up with a bolt rig, 12 inch hook link and treble 22mm Halibut pellets on the hair. The second rod was the same rig but with double 26mm Dynamite “Mussel & Oyster” boilies. Both rods were cast to a clear gravel patch in 6 feet of water amongst a thick weed bed. I then scolded approximately 4 kg of 3mm pellets and rolled them into method balls and put them on the patch with a further 2 kg of 22mm pellets and a kg of boilies.
The third rod was set up with a running lead and a hook link of about 18 inches. I then threaded 6 big juicy lobworms onto a short hair and used a large rubber bead as a stop. Two fox poppers were tied to a piece of 4 pound mono about 18 inches long and this was tied to the bend of the hook. I then cast out to another clear patch and fed out line until the poppers came to the surface in about 6 feet of water, I then simply tightened up until I was satisfied the worms were two feet under the surface, the traps were now set!
As soon as it got dark I started to get line bites over the baited patch, this went on all night and drove me mad, I packed up at 09:30 frustrated and tired, the Bream dined well that night!! I made another visit two days later with exactly the same result!!
Three days later on 28 June I arrived at 18:00 to find a carp angler in my spot so I went in a lovely swim at the other end of the lake. This swim had a nice bay to my right and clear, deep margins all around it that were all within range. I put one rod under a bush in the margin to my right baited with treble pellet. The only change I made was to back lead and only bait up with 2 kg of 22 mm pellets, my thinking was that hopefully the bigger pellets would discourage the smaller fish. I put another rod out with treble pellet on the far margin of the bay with 2 kg of pellets. The worm rod went out on a bar to the left of the bay. The bay was very weedy so I knew I would have to be careful if I hooked one.
It was a lovely warm evening but absolute mossie mayhem!! There was no way you could just lay there uncovered without getting battered, so it was sweat it out under covers or get eaten alive!! I was meant to be enjoying myself! At 01:40 I had a screamer on the near margin rod; I jumped out into the mossie warzone and struck. The fish was big and tore off through the weed to the other side of the bay, I stopped him and thought I was getting control when disaster happened and I had that sickening feeling when the line parted. I put the rod back in the rest and went to sleep, I was up for 05:00 to go to work and the first job that evening was to change my line!! I changed all three reels over to 30 pound Suffix and haven’t looked back.
I didn’t make it back until 6 July, not much happened apart from a large Eel on the worms. I didn’t get chance to weigh it as the hook came out in the net and it managed to slide back into the lake but it was a good one at probably 4 pound plus.
After a bit of unsettled weather and working too much I managed to get down for a night on the 19 July. I arrived and was set up in the bay swim for 20:00, it was hot at 23 degrees and there was a light south westerly. The forecast was that it was due to change and get colder and unsettled again so I thought this had to be the prime time to catch!!
This time I went for all three rods on pellets, two on trebles and one on double. I put one under the margin bush, one on the far margin and the third was cast into the margins at the beginning of the bay. My thinking was that the fish come into the bay and follow the deep margins so setting three traps in these areas should increase the fish’s confidence by finding three patches of bait and more importantly increase my chances of a take. I baited all three with 2 kg each and went to do battle with the heat and the mossies!!
At approximately 23:30 I had a few liners on the rod at the start of the bay then it went quiet. 5 minutes later the far margin rod roared off, I was on it in a flash, so quick the mossies couldn’t keep up. The fish fought really hard and powered around the bay but on the stronger tackle I soon had him under control. I coaxed him towards the net with a ball off weed and made no mistakes this time, he was in! I use a net in England due to the weaker hook links and smaller hooks than we use in Spain, I’m terrified they will break or open up at the crucial time when I’m trying to glove the fish. Once on the mat I could see it was an English PB and I wasn’t wrong it went 67 pound exactly, I was chuffed to bits. When I checked my photos I recognised him as the fish I had at 22-14 in 1997, that’s 45 pound in 11 eleven years!
I went back for the night on 20 July and the forecast wasn’t wrong, it was hammering down with a strong easterly wind. There were carp anglers in both my chosen swims so I dropped in a new spot for a 20:00 start. I should have gone home, I blanked and got soaked setting up and packing up.
I was back for what turned out to be my final night on 25 July; I managed to get back in the bay swim for 20:00 start. Again the weather was warm and cloudy but was forecast to change to be colder and wet so I thought I may have a good chance of a fish. I put the baits back in the same spots, all three landed on the spot first time, my confidence was brimming, you some how just know when things are right. I baited up each spot and sat back with my friends the mossies.
20:35 the margin rod nodded a couple of times, I picked it up and took of the bobbin, then the line started to trickle out of my hand so I struck. The fish powered out into the bay and came to the surface almost straight away, I could see it was the big one so had to be careful. Once I thought I had it under control I started to pump him towards me, he made a couple of strong runs but I was winning, then almost disaster struck. I had him within netting range, as I turned to lower my net into the water I must have allowed just a little slack and the fish powered of down the margin into the bay. The only problem was it had gone through two trees and a jungle of branches. I could see the fish about 20 feet down the margin but it wasn’t coming back through that lot.
There was nothing I could do but strip off and get in, the mossies were loving it! The margin was deep and I could just keep my head above the surface, there was no way I could take my net so that was dumped. I had to retrace the route the fish had taken and still try to keep tension on the line. It was a nightmare trying to step over branches, duck under them while under water, I was cut to shreds, but I got him and it was massive.
Once I had my hand in its mouth I made my way back to the swim, there were no more problems and I soon had it in the sling. It went 76-02, I was so pleased, I was stood there in my pants soaking wet, cut to shreds and the mossies having a three course dinner but I didn’t care. That fish gave me as much pleasure as the big fish I have caught in France and Spain. When I checked the photos it was the fish I had at 32-04 in 1997, 44 pounds in 11 years.
So that was my English catfishing for the season, 7 nights and target achieved, onto the rivers to try to catch a few Barbel but that’s another storey!
Tight Lines
Julian Barnes