The Sessions - June 2016

The 16th and a Derwent PB

1 June – Fields End

Last season I had decided not to go back to Fields End as it didn’t appear to hold my target of a “local” 3 pound Crucian, however my pal and UK Match Angler Owner Ray Best had caught one recently at 3-04 so I felt it was worth a few more visits.

I arrived for opening time at 07:00 hours to find my favourite spot taken so after looking I dropped in a swim that had a large tree overhanging the water on the right and on plumbing the swim I found it was a little deeper. It was cloudy and cool with a northerly wind but fishing this spot it was sheltered from the wind.

I float fished a single prawn tight to the tree and fed 4mm pellets and broken pieces of prawn little and often. It was noticeable that the silvers and small Perch were absent from the swim as I only caught seven and a Ghostie but I did manage six Crucians with four being 2’s to 2-03.

5 June – Ginger Bread Lake

The weather had finally got warmer and it had been up to 24 degrees and sunny. I’d been speaking to one of the members who informed me that the Carp had switched off but the Tench were feeding so with that in mind I went down hoping for a big Tench.

I arrived early evening and spent two hours looking for signs of fish, this is always time well spent as you can’t catch what isn’t there. I only saw signs of fish in two swims, one was taken so I went in the other, a swim called “the carpets”, the area I saw fish was clear so it was a simple case of clipping up and I was ready to go. The Tench here love boilies and you catch more fishing Carp style than going in with casters or maggots so I baited up with Pandemic and 4mm pellets. Out went three fruit pop-ups and I was fishing by 21:30 hours and feeling pretty confident.

The best laid plans don’t always work out as I fished until midday the following day with fish rolling and bubbling over the spots but didn’t get a pick-up, my thoughts were they were feeding on naturals and just weren’t interested in my baits.

16 June – River Derwent

Due to work and social commitments I hadn’t been able to fish for eleven days, but I’d had two amazing nights, one on the 3rd watching Bruce Springsteen and the other on the 15th watching Coldplay which was simply the best show I’ve ever seen.

I’d missed midnight on the magical 16th but it was well worth it and to be honest we had so much rain during early June the rivers were all very high and coloured. I’d booked the time of work so was determined to try and after speaking to friends in the Midlands I felt the Derwent would be my best bet, none of my regular fishing partners could come so I drove up the M1 with the intention of fishing two nights.

It was cloudy with sunny spells but heavy rain was forecast and as I was driving up it was spotting with rain. I arrived at approx 16:00 hours and went down to the river and was gutted to find it really high and a deep chocolate brown. Now I love fishing in flood conditions but the section is narrow and it races through and does carry a lot of rubbish making presentation very difficult.

I spent two and half hours walking two club sections with a rod and a 5oz lead dropping it in the areas I know to see if it would hold and found lots of rubbish coming down was pulling the lead out of position in minutes. To add to the problem there was a torrential down pour where I had to put the shelter up over my barrow and just sit it out for an hour until it stopped.

All my afternoons leading the section last season paid off as I knew one swim where the spot is under the rod tip tight to the bank, I lowered a lead in and found it to be eight foot deep, easily two foot up on normal levels but it felt ok. By then it was 20:00 hours, I’d been on the river four hours and if it was closer to home I would probably have gone home but after driving 92 miles I was determined to try. I set two rods up and lowered in both with my standard Barbel set up and Pandemic boilies, I didn’t use any pva bags or freebies as I felt there would have been a lot of natural food come down in the floods and just felt a single boilie would be best.
20:10 hours – the rods had been out 10 minutes when the right smashed over, I almost didn’t believe my eyes but the Delkim told me to move. The fight was unbelievable in the strong flow but I eventually coaxed it over the net and was pleased with a great start to my river season at 10-15.

With that success I set the swim up just in time before the next torrential down pour that lasted another hour and I was praying not to get a take.

21:15 hours – You almost couldn’t make it up, the rain stopped and the right whipped over again and it was another tug of war in the strong flow, again it was coaxed over the net and was another good fish at 11-06.

The river started to rise again after all the rain and presentation was becoming hard even right under the rod tip so I went down to one rod.

00:10 hours – it went again and was a smaller fish at 7-13 but very welcome in the conditions.

The river then became pretty much unfishable so I slept until morning and packed up for home really pleased that I’d stuck it out for the small window of opportunity.

17 June – Orchard Lake

I’d got home mid-morning following the change of plan so decided to go to Orchard a day early, my original plan was the weekend. I’d been speaking with the lake owner and old school friend Gary Westcott and he told me of some big Crucians that had been caught from the lake a couple of years ago, he’d seen them but there were no photos to go on, but his word was good enough so I made plans to have a go.

The lake is part of a complex of three lakes set in Chawston, Bedfordshire, one a match pool, Orchard, a Carp runs water with approx. 300 Carp to high 20’s and lots of Tench, and the specimen lake holding Carp to over 30 pound including some Ghosties. You can join all three or either one of the Carp lakes and they are very reasonably priced with spaces on both syndicates available, if interested ring Gary on 07519 900 712.

I’d spent the previous week preparing three swims, two marginal and one a deeper channel through the middle of the lake. It is very weedy with thick silk weed covering most of the bottom, the areas I’d identified were clearest so I filled them in with pellet every day hoping the Carp and small fish would get amongst the weed for the food and clear the bottom.
I arrived on the 17th at 14:00 hours and had a lead round the three spots, my third choice clearly had seen the most activity so I set up there.

My set up was 6 pound mainline, 35g inline flatbed feeders, a short hooklength of 5 pound Supplex with a size 14 Drennan Barbel hook. I then attached a single fake caster to one hair and t-rigged double fake caster to the other. Pellet was soaked for the feeders and I lose fed micro pellets and casters, with the intention of using a pint of casters a day.

The spot was a rod length out so it was a case of swinging the rig out into 5 feet of water. The first four casts resulted in two Tench and smashed up by two Carp, with the marginal pads and weed it was clear the light line was not up to it. So Gary stayed in the swim while I shot home to grab my spools with 12 pound line and some 12 pound braid for hook length. I was soon back and set up again and swung the rigs out and fished until dark at approx. 22:30 hours. I finished the evening with six Tench with the best ones at 6-00, 6-03 & 6-05. I raked the swim and put out a pint of micro pellet ready for the morning and went to sleep.

18 June

Fish rolling woke me up before first light at 03:45 hours so I was up and swung the rigs out, it was still very warm and had been raining again. I fished through until midday and caught another nine Tench with two more sixes at 6-04 and 6-10 and a low double Common, but crucially no Crucians.
I raked the two margin spots and baited all three spots with pellet and went home for a night in my own bed.

22 June – River Derwent

I had two days of work and after a lot of thought I drove back up the M1 to the Derwent, the Crucians were on my mind and I’d continued to bait the spots but the lure of Barbel was to strong.

It had been cloudy with showers and sunny spells all week but the river levels had dropped and I felt confident of more action. I arrived at 19:45 hours to find the car park busy but luckily no one was in my deep margin spot, I’d made sure not to flatten any grass or disturb the margin reeds to give away the spot as it is a swim between two others that I only found by leading last season. The river looked perfect, a little colour and no rubbish coming down, I started with my usual Pandemic and pva bag approach and was fishing by 20:15 hours.

The first four hours produced four Chub to 4-15, all very spawned out. After each fish I was putting 10 broken boilies above and well below the spot to draw fish up, a tactic that worked very well last season.

23 June

00:40 hours – the right hand rod smashed over and this was obviously a Barbel and I was pleased with a fish at 10-01.

01:20 hours – the same rod went again to a much larger fish that stayed deep and was very powerful, I was starting to think I’d got my target fish but it wasn’t to be, but I was very pleased with a Derwent PB at 14-02.

02:10 hours – the regular baiting was really working well, the same rod producing another cracker at 12-05, a very fat fish that looked bigger.

03:00 hours – the same rod went again and unbelievably I landed double number four at 12-12, very long and spawned out.

04:10 hours – the next fish was a small Chub after missing a similar pull before. I thought with 8oz Chub picking up the bait the Barbel had gone so I reeled in for some sleep.
I was undecided about whether to stay on in the morning, I’d had a great session and wanted to vote on the EU referendum. I had one cast mid-morning that resulted in another Chub at 4-07 so packed up and drove home very happy indeed.

Orchard Lake

After voting, showering and restocking the cooler box I went back to Orchard and back in the same spot. I raked both margin swims and started fishing at 17:00 hours, it was hot and muggy with light showers at 24 degrees.

It was soon evident that there had been a lot of activity on the spot, a lot a dead and dying weed was getting picked up on the hook every put in making presentation hard. I changed both baits to a single piece of pop-up corn which had an immediate effect popping it up an inch. Bites were hard to come by and by dark I’d had three Tench and lost a Carp. I raked the swim and baited up for the morning and got some sleep.

24 June

I was fishing by 04:00 hours and caught two Tench quite quickly with the best being 6-11, a fish that did not want its picture taken. I then started picking up small Rudd and was thinking the Tench may have been spawning as I was not seeing any roll or bubble, with that in mind I packed up for home, another session and no sign of a Crucian.

25 June – Fields End

The last session of the month saw me back at Fields End hoping for some Crucians. The weather seemed perfect, hot and sunny but storms forecast for the afternoon. I started on flat bed feeders with t-rigged casters but only caught Rudd. I tried three swims and finished up float fishing prawns but really struggled for Crucians, I caught lots of Perch and Rudd and only one Crucian at about 2 pound, again I thought perhaps they were spawning as no one was catching so packed up for home at lunchtime.

A great start to my river season, two nights on the Derwent totalling 22 hours fishing, resulting in 7 Barbel, 6 being doubles, fantastic stuff!!

Tight Lines

Julian Barnes