Red Letter Day on Hallcroft.

It’s worth remembering I’m a novice pole angler, and very much new to commercial fishing. I’m very well aware the likes of Hughes, Wootton, Kerry catch big weights of fish all the time, but they are professional, it’s their job. So when I have a great day its modest compared to those guys, but still?

I arrived at Hallcroft around 10am and sat fish-less (apart from a foul hooked torpedo) until 2pm. I’d been baiting the margin swims both sides of me since I arrived, so expected some interest later in the day, as is Hallcrofts form. When big carp arrive in three feet of water, its difficult not to notice the tail pattens and vortex big fish provide. In such dirty water however they really don’t see you, so the game is to be patience and get the float behind them if possible.

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I watched a great You-Tube clip from a well known angler that suggested baiting about a foot fro the bank, rather than shorter. The idea being you can get the float up against the bank, and save foul hooking fish, something that happens a lot when margin fishing.

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Anyway, I took a nice fish of about 8lb a common, as brown as those in my local reservoir that sunbath in the crystal clear waters. Then a stunning white ghost carp of 15lb+ then a fish around 12lb then another around 12/13lb then a stunning black common of 19lb dead, and finally a mirror or about 14lb. I weighted the Ghost and biggest Common so i had some idea of the other size. All fish gave everything on the 18-20 elastic, I’m sure the strong wind provides extra oxygen on hot days, hence the long fights. But five doubles and a single I was really made up.

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I’m getting to understand a bit about the fishing when its good, and times when its not as good. On Monday the lake was not busy, with maybe just twenty anglers on. The fish need food every day to keep their size, so they find yours very quickly on non busy days. On other days when its packed out, bites can be at a premium, and while you catch the numbers are down. Those days they have a abundance of grub and can be picky. Wind also plays a part in summer, not like on some vast waters, but scum does build up on the windward side, and that mean food stuck in the surface film for the carp to eat.

There was a lot of insects on the water yesterday, from your normal buzzers, to a small numbers of lake olives. I bet when the damsels get on later in the year, the fish will be on them in numbers. Just to say not every trip is like this. I was back the next day, and the lake was full as Moat and croft had matches. I only had one nice carp, and a small tench. Looking about it seemed now one was doing that well, odd fish only. What was that I said about busy lakes and lack of fish? BACK NEXT WEEK.