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