Short 24 hours - James Fox

Short 24 hours

James Fox

I arrived at the lake to find roughly 12 anglers on the lake and considering there is only 14 pegs its was safe to say it was rammed! There was a few people coming off during the day so I decided to leave the gear in the car and walk around with the water butt and try to find a decent peg, but I couldn't get in a peg anywhere near the fish. So for the rest of the day I spent up a tree watching the carp patrolling the island margin and the spit coming out from the bank. Whilst I was up the tree I noticed a few of the fish seemed to like hanging about under a sunken tree on the spit and a few seemed to tip down for a little feed. At this time it was about 5pm and I had only just got my barrow out of the motor! 

I trundled off down to the swim not all that confident but I knew there was at least a few fish in front of me. I started getting the rods ready to go out, both rods were going out on 'Hinge Flops' and sticky vortex pop ups over about a kilo of freebies. I got both the rods out about 30 minutes before last light so I sat down and made some tea. 

I only had to wait about 20 mins and the right hand rod pulled up tight and I was into a what I thought was a bream but soon found out it wasn't it was just a big heavy weight! After a pretty uneventful fight I slipped the net under a decent common! Before getting the fish out i slipped the hook out and stuck the rod back out on the spot just in case they were still down there. I got her out and strung her up and she went 28lb 2oz proper chunk! 

28lb 2oz Common

17lb 2oz

Apart from dropping another two fish in the snags nothing else happened. As morning came I saw a few fish against the island in real shallow water maybe 2-3ft so i cast one rod over there and fished for a shallow drop. The rod was only out for maybe 20 mins and I had an angry carp on! This time it was a 17lb 2oz simmo. 

The rod went back out to see if there was anymore out there. But about 10 mins later I got a few bleeps on the slugs and thought I had been picked up by a coot because one had just splashed right on top of the rod. I preceded to reel the rod in to re-cast it & when I got the rig within about 20 yards of the bank and the rod hooped over and i was into a very angry carp! Another 20+ minutes past and I hadn't even see the fish yet! Eventually it popped up above the shelf and I sneakily netted her unawares! This on was something a bit special! I couldn't unhook her in the net because the hook was a good 4 inches back! I got her onto the mat and slipped the hook out and gave her a quick weigh and she was a 25-10 scaly beaut!

25lb 10oz Scaly

That was to be the end of my session! While I was there only one other person had a bite! So out of 10 anglers there was 6 bites and i had 5 of them!

James Fox - Noble's Fishing

Syndicate Stunners - George West

Syndicate Stunners

George West

 

It was that time of year again when  myself and Tom Pothecary go on our yearly social for a few nights. We had decided to take the hour and a half trip up to Farlows, after hearing a lot of good things about it. We spoke to the bailiff the week before and informed us that the lake would be quiet when we arrived on the Friday morning. How wrong was he! After arriving at the lake nice and early it was apparent it was very busy. After doing a circuit of the lake it was evident there wasn’t a single swim free and people were even queuing up behind others to get into a swim, what a joke and really not my sort of thing!




One in the sling already!

In the long run this turned out to be the best thing that could have happened for me but after a quick chat with Tom, we decided to head over to my syndicate for the planned 4 nights. We made the long drive back down south towards Ringwood and the syndicate was a complete contrast to Farlows with only one other angler on.

After a quick look round, we both saw a number of fish sticking there heads out in a swim known as “Armchair”, so decided to set up here for now.

I quickly attached a single white pop up on and cast to the showing fish, which had worked well for me in the past on there. Within 20 minutes this rod was away and a fish known as Cluster was landed at 26lb 4, what a start!



“Cluster” 26lb 4oz


After a quick lead around I found a small gravel strip in amongst weed down to my right hand margin and I had noticed a few fish moving in and around this area, so quickly tied my ever faithful multi rig up with a white pop up over a kilo of Steve Renyard’s Contrast and cast onto the spot.

After a quiet night I decided to re do this rod and got a nice hard thud on the end of the rod tip, to indicate I was on the gravel and not in the weed. An hour later, the rod bent viciously round to the right and I was attached to my second fish. After a hectic battle under the tree line to my right, an angry male carp of 26lb 10 was landed and what a stunner it was!




26lb 10oz of angry male carp!




How they should be, mint!

Another 2 fish were landed on this rod within the next couple of hours and it was evident a lot of fish were moving down to my right into a shallow bay and that I was picking them up as they came through. The other 2 fish were nice scaley ones at 27lb 9 and 17lb 8.

27lb 9oz of big plated Mirror Carp!

 

“The Big Finned Linear” at 17lb 8oz

After a hectic afternoon me and Tom were just about to get stuck into some Gammon Steaks, when my right hand rod pulled up tight yet again. Again the fish kited into my right hand margin but as ever the multi rig did its job and the fish was nailed.

Previously I was speaking to Tom about one particular fish I desperately wanted and he kept joking around that he was going to have it before me. The fish was landed and safely in the net and we both guessed it as an upper twenty. I went up to sort the scales and sling out and it wasn’t until I heard “You haven’t seen the other side yet” from Tom that I realised I may have landed something special.  As I peered into the net and looked at the distinctive scale pattern on one side it quickly clicked that I’d only gone and caught my target fish. We were both buzzing, as the fish was simply stunning. The fish,  known as “HND” weighed in at it’s top weight of 32lb 14. It was well worth delaying dinner for a while anyway. We got some good water shots and then watched her waddle off in the crystal clear water, what a buzz!

Target fish “HND” at 32lb 14oz, what a fish!

 

“HND” 32lb 14oz Water Shot!

The action didn’t stop there and I had a recapture of a fish called Fingers at over 36lb, which wasn’t ideal. The worrying thing was there was otter damage to it, which could spell disaster for the fishery, unless something drastic is done. Worrying times!

The previous day, the action slowed up, which was expected as the weather had changed for the worse, with increased pressure and light winds. I did manage another one at 26lb 12 late afternoon though, which gave me a real beating. If I would have lost it I would have thought it would have definitely been one of the big girls but I still wasn’t complaining as it was another stunner.

26lb 12oz

No wonder why it fought so hard, massive wrist and tail on it.

That was it on the carp front for the rest of the session but I did manage a tufty and a Tench in the early morning, not the one! We woke up to a lovely sunrise on the final morning so the lack of action for that night really didn’t bother me, was just nice being out there. What a session, with good company. Big up Tom Pothecary for the photos as well!

 

Early Morning Sunrise!

 

George West - Noble's Fishing

Broadlands Record - 'Henry Cooper' - George West

Broadlands Record
George West

I had a couple of weeks available for a work placement from my university and as I’m current doing a Fishery Management course I decided to do it down Broadlands lakes. Broadlands is arguably the most popular day ticket fishery in the country, with the final of BCAC (British Carp Angling Championships) being held here. They had also been badly affected by the high levels of rainfall received recently and the majority of the lake was flooded, so there would be plenty of work to do once my placement started.

With the work being based directly next to the lake and hearing of a few fish  being caught, I thought I might as well make the most of it and fish a couple of nights in between work. With the lake still badly flooded, a lot of the swims were inaccessible but as I had a pair of waders I could still fish the majority of the lake. For the first night I decided to fish in an area known as carp alley as it has always had good winter form. I got the rods out around 3pm after managing to wing an early finish to get a bit of extra fishing in.

 I was fishing tight to an island and was made up when the bobbing pulled up tight about an hour later and the first fish was landed after a lively battle , which was a lovely 20lb 8 common.


20lb 8oz

Before dark I took a further 3 fish to around 18lb but as soon as darkness fell everything went quiet. As the temperature had dropped dramatically I had a feeling the fish weren’t patrolling the shelf of the island anymore due to the shallow water and cold temperatures. I decided to bring the rods back about 10 yards and instantly the action started again. I banked another 5 fish to 19lb 14 during the night and it was fair to say I was tired for work the next day!



19lb 12oz

I had all my fish on white pop ups over 3 kilos of freebie boilies, making sure the swim was topped up after every fish.

I still had another 10 days left of work but it wasn’t until the following week that I was able to get the rods out again. While I had a good result in carp alley, I had a feeling there weren’t many big fish present, as I only had one over 20lb from the 8 fish caught. While I was working along a fence line clearing debris caused from the floods I noticed a couple of fish stick their heads out and good ones at that, so maybe this was where the bigger fish were holding up.

I was planning to fish that night and as the swim was free I set all my gear up during my lunch break, with the intention of fishing their after work. Once again I made it clear I was keen to get fishing and finished earlier than usual so that I could get plenty of fishing time in.  My mate Gareth Birch was fishing in the swim next door as well so luckily I had a cameraman for what turned out to be a hectic couple of nights.

Again the same presentation as before was used, with my multi rigs and white pop ups used on all 3 rods. The marginal bush I’d seen the action on was around 80 yards away and I placed all three rods towards it around 12ft apart. I was expecting a few fish but it took me by surprise when my delkim roared off only 5 minutes after getting the rods out. It felt like a much better fish as well and my thoughts were confirmed when a 23lb 5 common was in the net, not a bad start!



23lb 6oz

The action again was hectic and I even had a double hook up before I reeled in at mid night to get some sleep for work. I had 9 that night along with 3 20s which was a decent result when not a lot else was getting caught.

I was speaking to the boss about my result that night and he seemed pretty impressed but he kept mentioning one particular fish known as “Henry Cooper” which hadn’t been caught for over a year now. It was last out at 34lb+ and I jokingly said to him she’s mine tonight, in which he laughed and said “not a chance”. 

 



20lb 12oz



 

 

Although I had a few bigger fish the previous night, the so called “a team” were eluding me. Again I fished to the same spots as the night before and the action was mental yet again but the biggest was only just over 20. I then hooked into a fish that got me caught up in a snag and me and my mate could clearly see it was a better fish (25+ at least). Just as I managed to coax her out the snag the line parted and I threw the rod on the floor in anger. It was around 10pm and it had wiped out one of my other rods and I didn’t have the buzz to get the rods back out after the earlier loss, so was fishing with just one rod at the time.

It was 3 hours later when my last remaining rod signalled out a few beeps and I was into another fish.  This time the fish came in nice and easy until it got near the net and it shot off on a number of deep heavy lunges peeling line from my spool every  time. I told my mate it was another small one but deep down I knew I was attached to something better. I caught a glimpse of a big pale shape in the moon light and instantly recognised it as the big one known as “Henry Cooper”, as there is simply nothing else like it in the lake. Luckily, before I had time to panic my mate slipped the net under her and I looked down in awe at how big she actually was. She was last out at around 34lb and I was expecting her to be the same sort of weight but when she swung the needle round to 37lb 3oz, I was buzzing! 


'Henry Cooper' 37lb 3oz

She was in mint condition and the fact she hadn’t been caught for over a year is saying something considering how busy Broadlands gets. She was the finale of my 27 fish caught over the 4 work nights and set a new venue record. What a way to finish!

Back She Goes!

George West - Noble's Fishing

Catching ‘One Eye’ - Mopley Pond - Martin Noble

Catching ‘One Eye’

Martin Noble

 

Like all my recent sessions I’ve been leaving work Saturday evening & getting straight out fishing doing Saturday nights & Sunday days. With all the gear in the van I was down the lake & setting up in the dark by around 6.30pm. The skies were clear & temperature fairly mild considering. Fellow team member Reuben Hoon was already at the lake & set up. I moved in a swim just down the bank from him where I’ve had some recent success so I know what spots to hit even in the dark.

By about 8pm I was all set up with my oval brolly & bad chair tucked in underneath with all my gear. Looking at the forecast the weather looked to be fine through the night so I didn’t bother setting up my bivvy. The sky was gin clear with no moon & the stars were out in abundance.

 

I had 3 rods out, my left rod just up the bank tucked tight in my own margins to a little overhanging bush, the middle rod to an over hanging branch on island margins to which I had had success from over a NYE session & the right hand rod cast tight to island margins just in front of some dying reeds.



Combi Rig

Each rod was set up with a Combi Rig presented with a 16mm Red Bull boilie & pink 6mm tipper. Around each spot I put about 20 freebies and each line was cast out with a small PVA bag of crushed Red Bull boilies.

With the traps set it was time to sit back quietly and wait for a take. Reuben & I sat back & spoke of fishing stories & about the fish that we would like to catch from the lake which we had seen in past photographs.

Around 11pm my middles rods swinger slowly started to rise up to the rod, with no time to waste I struck straight into it & instantly knew what was on the other end…a bream! I quickly got a fresh rig on & got the rod back out to the spot after a couple of casts. It was getting on for 11.30pm & we decided to call it a day & retired to our sleeping bags. I must have been tired because I slept like a log through the night with nothing happening on the rods.



Scaly Mirror in the net!



I was still in deep sleep when I was awoken by a screaming run at 6am on my left hand margin rod which was bend right round as the fish powered off up the back. I quickly was out the sleeping back & into what was definitely a carp this time!

After about a 10 minute battled & taking out the lines on my 2 other rods I slipped the net under a beautiful scaly Mirror carp that looked around the 20lb mark! Reuben was awoken by the commotion & came over to take a look & get some snaps!

 

As we lifted it in the sling the scales went to 19lb 4oz! Not quite 20lb but didn’t matted as it was a beauty! After a few snaps I gently slipped it back & started to get the rods sorted after being wiped out. By this time it was starting to get light which made getting to my spot perfect this time round. With all 3 rods recast I put about another 20 freebies around each spot & put the kettle on!

19lb 4oz Mirror taken in the margins a few yards up from my swim!

 

The sky was starting to rapidly cloud over & it looked like it wouldn’t be long before the rain was going to set in. Around 10am the heavens opened and the rain started coming down along with gale force winds. Throughout the day the rain didn’t give up and a couple of times my umbrella took off in the winds even though it was pegged firmly down. In the end I found a length of rope in my van & tied it down to a fence post in the swim to try & stop loosing it completely.

 

There was not much happened through the day & it was hard to see for signs of fish with the winds battering the water, trees & reeds. I spent most of the day tucked up in my sleeping bag trying to stay warm & out of the never ending rain.

Finally around 3pm the rain finally eased off and the sun started trying to break through the clouds. Finally I could get out from under the brolly & stretch my legs. I considered recasting with fresh baits for the last couple of hours before dark came in again, but I knew I was bang on my spots & decided to leave them as they were, which was a good thing because around  4pm my right hand rod on the island margins went tearing off. I struck straight into it & it instantly embedded itself deep down in a clump of reeds. I kept the pressure on and moved to different spots to try to try & ease it out. After a few minutes it suddenly came free, along with a clump or reeds attached. It stayed down deep but it felt fairly good. Finally after about 10 minutes it came to the surface, a solid bar of gold common & one I didn’t recognise. I manage to slip the net under it along with the clump of reeds, it was a stunning looking fish.

Once I got it onto the mat realised that it only had 1 eye, its missing eye had completely healed over so must have lost it a long time ago.

 

One Eye Common

I got in the sling & it went 18lb 14oz on the scales. I was over the moon with this fish, not only was it a beautiful fish but it also looked like it wasn’t caught very often & was also one I had never seen before in past photos.

I gently slipped her back & got the rod straight back out but by this time the light was already starting to fade.

 



 

18lb 14oz of pure gold common! - 'One Eye'

 

 

Around 6pm we decided to call it a day as the darkness fell. It was a nice little session even though the weather was terrible. These short little over nighters have proved to be very productive over the last couple of weeks although I’m looking forward to the summer months again with the long light evenings & early sunrises!

 

Martin Noble – Noble’s Fishing

In pursuit of a 40! - Lakeside - Matt Eldridge

In pursuit of a 40!

Matt Eldridge

 

This is my first session of the year and I decided to do a 24 hour session on Broadlands Lakes, van loaded and off I went. On arrival I realised there was a problem as the gates were locked shut. After speaking to the bailiff & being told it had been shut due to flooding I decided to head over to Lakeside in Eastleigh. A lake I’ve fished in the past & wanted to wait until the winter months to fish when I knew the fish are at there heaviest weights.

After a short drive I arrived at the lake only to meet lots of cars & vans in the car park so decided to have a walk around the lake first expecting every swim to be taken but to my surprise the bottom bank of the lake was empty.

I quickly got back to the van, unloaded onto my barrow & was off to a swim before anyone else jumped in. On my way round I stopped to chat to a couple of lads to see how there were getting on. After being told they had done a couple of nights and had nothing my confidence wasn’t great.

 

My rig presentation

 

Got to my chosen swim and got the rods straight out & home was set up for the night. After leading around a little I found a harder area between silt beds, I placed both rods 50 yards out 10ft apart and scattered a kilo of Shorelines Red Bull boilies over the spot. I have great confidence in the Shoreline bait as ever since we have been using it we have had some excellent results!

My swin on the bottom bank

Not long after settling down & watching the water for any signs to my surprise my left hand rod was away. After a short battle she was in the net. A 17lb+ Common was more than welcome after having it in my head it might be a bit of a struggle!

I got the rod straight back out on the spot & topped the area up with another ½ kilo of Red Bull and sat back watching the black clouds & bad weather roll in.

After a couple of heavy showers had passed and the evening light was fading away my swinger suddenly buried itself onto the alarm, unfortunately this was only a bream.

I got the rod straight back out and was about to topped up again with a bit of bait when my left hand rod was away again. A little common carp rolled in over the net so I wanted to quickly release it & to get my rod back out on the spot before it was to dark to see where I was casting.  Just as I was letting it go I looked up as my right hand rod tore off. As soon as I connected into this I realised it was a good fish. The fight was immense, every time I gained line it just powered off melting line off my spool. By this time it was dark which didn’t make things any easier.

After about a 25 minute battle the fish was beaten and as she came to the surface I realised I was connected to my target fish ‘Seven Scales’ the nerves kicked in but luckily she swam straight into the net! I peered in the net and rolled her on her side & she laid there showing how beautiful 7 scales, I couldn’t believe it, she looked huge!

 

40lb 4oz & New UK PB

 

I was fishing with my friend Stu and he shouted out with joy ‘you’ve got her!’ A few other lads on the lake could hear what was going on & came round to have a look & congratulate me.

So the moment of truth, was she going to break the 40lb mark?! We knew it was close! I zeroed the scales & lifted her as the needle went round to 40lb 4oz & my new English PB. Over the moon! After getting some photos I released her back. After everyone had gone I sat down and couldn’t believe Id just caught my first UK 40. After sorting myself out I got the rod back out & no longer than 10 minutes later it was off again, this time another small common.

I had 3 more that night including a lovely 22lb 8oz Common. What a brilliant start of 2014, hopefully it will be the first of many monsters this year for myself & Team Noble’s!

 

22lb 8oz Common

 

 Matt Eldridge - Noble's Fishing

NYE - Carping in the storm - Mopley Pond - Martin Noble

New Years Eve
Carping in the storm - Mopley Pond

Martin Noble

I arrived at the lake around 4pm NYE straight from work, the light was fading fast & I wanted to get the bivvy up & rods out  so I could see what I was doing before darkness & the forecasted storm hit! I put 3 rods out, one to my left tight against an over-hanging branch & reeds, my middle rod straight out in front of me tight up against island margins & my right rod up against some dying of reeds from the summer.

I was using a KD ring on all rods with a critically balanced Shoreline Red Bull tipped with a little Quest Baits fluoro Pimple Pop. Each rod also cast with a tiny PVA bag containing 3 crushed boilies & a small quantity of pellet in each mesh bag. I also catapulted about 10 freebie boilies around each spot.



KD Rig with Fluoro Tipper

I quickly got the rest of my gear sorted & quickly made way into my bivvy as the rain was already coming down & getting heavier by the minute also with gusts of winds.

I tucked up into my sleeping bag and cracked open a nice cold beer…it was NYE after all!

The wind was becoming stronger & stronger, the forecast predicated 60mph winds & I was becoming a little concerned about the 2 tall pine trees behind my swim coming down on top of me hoping that I wouldn’t be crushed to death during the night.

Tall Pines behind my swim

An old large oak tree had fallen in winds just a few nights before in a couple of swims up from where I was which didn’t help my nerves!

I must have dozed off as I was awoken by the sound of fireworks in the distance, 12.00am – 2014! I was led in my sleeping bag thinking about everyone in the pubs & parties having a nice time & wondered what I was doing down hear all on my own when suddenly my right hand rod screamed off…fish on!

It didn’t fight particularly hard but when a nice little scaly mirror slipped over the net I was chuffed, not a monster but didn’t matter, it was a beautiful fish & I was off the mark plus my first fish of 2014!

Off the mark! Beautiful scaly Mirror

This put me more in the zone now, at least the fish were feeding & being drunk down the pub didn’t seem to matter anymore.

The gale force wind & rain made it impossible to get a photo so I just got a quick snap of it in the carp mat & got it back.

I recast the best I could in the 60 mph winds, put another handful of freebies out and got back into the bivvy quick. The rest of the night was pretty quiet fish wise, had a few knocks here & there but never led to anything.

Next morning I waited until it was light enough to see & recast all 3 rods with fresh baits & PVA bags along with a handful of freebies around each spot.

The storm was certainly hitting hard now with the rain was coming down hard & the wind nearly taking my bivvy away.

Around 12.30pm my left hand rod swinger slowly raised up to the rod & stopped, line bite I was thinking when suddenly it tore off & the alarm burst into life. I was straight out the bivvy & into something that felt a little better this time.

With the wind & rain battering me in all directions the fish was kiting to my left & right staying down in the deep water.

Eventually it broke the surface and I gently slipped the net under a nice looking mirror. It went 20lb 8oz on the scaled, not a bad start to the year! I managed to get a few self timer pics & slipped her back into the depths.

20lb 8oz Chunky Mirror

Felling very happy I got the rod straight back out on the spot again with a small pva bag and another handful of freebies.

Time for a cuppa & to dry off after getting completely soaked through. As the day was slowly slipping away I decided to do another night even though the conditions were terrible. I don’t get much time out on the bank these days running Noble’s Fishing Store so I thought I would make the most of my limited time, plus I was enjoying some peace & quiet after a manic Christmas. I also had the whole lake to myself which was an added bonus.

Around 3.30pm I had a similar bite on my left hand rod as earlier on, I was out the bivvy in a shot as the rod tip bent round & I hit into another fish. After a short battle a lovely big scaled mirror rolled into the net, a lovely looking carp weighing 16lb 6oz!

16lb 6oz Scaly Mirror

After a few self timer pics I slipped her back & quickly got a fresh rig, bait & pva on & cast straight back on the spot, then back into the bivvy to get shelter.

By the time Id got everything sorted it was already starting to get dark again. I hate the short days & long dark winter nights, it didn’t help with a think layer of dark black clouds.

At 10.20pm I was awoken with my middle rod tearing off, I was straight out the bivvy & struck into another carp. After a 10 minute battle in the darkness a nearly leather looking carp was in the net. It didn’t look to bad in size & when I got it in the sling & on the scales it went round to 17lb 8oz, happy days! Got a few self timer pics & slipped it back to fight another day.

17lb 8oz Leathery Mirror

I got the rod back out to as near to my spot as I could see as it was so dark with another handful of freebies and quickly got back into the warmth of my bivvy as the rain lashed down.

I tied up a few spare rigs and made up a few more PVA bags & was back in the sleeping bag for a bit of kip.

I woke at around 3am to find the clouds had completely cleared away to reveal a sky full of stars, with this also came a sudden drop in the temperature. I made a quick brew & enjoyed the stars for a while before cocooning myself back into my sleeping bag. With the temperature drop it wasn’t looking hopeful for another bite.

No more fish came and I soon had to pack up my gear to be at work for 8am – back to reality. Not a bad start to the year & for time of year! Can’t wait to get back out on the bank.

 

Martin Noble - Noble's Fishing