Two Go To Oxford

The pellet mix

Thanks to Andrew at Dynamite Baits!

First off, I would like to say a big thank you to Andrew at Dynamite Baits, for kindly helping me out with some bait (actually, more than some!). From the outset I wanted this article to show that it’s all about the application of the bait that matters, not using some ‘secret ingredient’. Everything we used was ‘off the shelf’. In my opinion Dynamite’s ‘The Source’ is one of the few sensibly priced baits out there (and yes, I used it long before this article) and their range of particles take the guesswork out of preparing them if you’re not sure, or ideal for those ‘at the drop of a hat’ sessions where you haven’t had 48 hours to prepare them! Cheers mate!

We met up at Richworth Linear Fisheries main car park on the Sunday at midday, a good time to arrive as you can ask the weekend anglers what’s been seen, caught, and if much bait has gone in (you don’t want to be fishing over loads of someone else’s bait).

A walk around St Johns and Manor and then a lead around

After walking around St. Johns and Manor, and talking to a few anglers we learned that there had been very little out, just the odd one or two. Also, all the lakes had been packed over the weekend, everyone shoulder to shoulder and the ‘harder’ lakes never fish well when it’s like that. Coupled to the fact that the ‘predicted’ southerly winds were actually easterly gales, we decided on Oxlease lake as it has a good head of carp in its 25 acres, and a fair proportion of those are over 20lbs. Bait was to be Dynamite Baits Source in 10mm and 14mm, 6mm Betaine Pellets, Mixed Particles, Frenzied Hemp, Tares and Mini Tigers and some mixed trout pellets as a blend to create a ‘dining table’ of bait that would hopefully attract and hold a few fish. We also had a tin of jumbo tigers, various attractor pop-ups, maggots and some sweetcorn. The fish wouldn’t be going hungry!

The particle mix

I asked him about the features he was fishing to, he replied that he didn’t know, and that the lakes he had fished before were mainly 4ft deep ‘mudholes’, and he usually just cast out anywhere. I got my marker set-up so he could try it for himself (see photo for the way I tie it).

I like to leave a long bomb link, as it helps to keep the run ring above the worst of the weed. He flicked the float out, and slowly pulled back, noting the difference in resistance, and the ‘tap tap tap’ on the rod tip that denoted gravel. We found what appeared to be the same bar that I had in front of my swim ran across the front of Will’s swim, so again a couple of rods there, and the other rod on method was going to be cast to the right at about 50yds, where a couple of small fish were showing.

The marker

As he cast his rods out, I noticed a couple of things. Firstly, he was struggling a bit with the distance (into a head wind) and secondly, the casts went off to the left. Both were quite simple to fix. The distance thing was a combination of two things. Firstly, when I looked at his reels the spools were under-filled, the line stopping 3 or 4 mm below the lip of the spool. I explained that this was okay on small waters as you never really need the amount of line a reel can hold, but when fishing bigger waters, it can be a disadvantage. Secondly, Will seemed to be holding back on the cast. When I asked why, he explained that he thought that by hitting the rod hard with a pva bag, he might break it. To be fair, it is something that used to be at the back of my mind when winding up a cast, but as I told him, most carp rods are pretty much impossible to break on a cast (within reason. Don’t quote me on it!). To show him, I got my rod with the method on, put on a fairly big ball, and cast it about 70 yards or so. Will remarked that he was surprised how much the rod bent, but that’s how to get a rod to work! The other problem was dead easy to solve. If you cast over your shoulder (as opposed to an overhead thump) make sure your back foot and front foot are pointing in a line towards where you want the bait to go. After pointing these things out, and many shouts of “feet….feet!” Will put the baits on the spots. Time for a cup of tea!

Whilst having a cuppa, I noticed that the fish seemed to be moving back against the wind, with quite a few showing in front of Wills swim and, as my swim was 30yds or so down the lake, I decided it would be a good if we concentrated our bait in one swim (cough) and I could keep an eye on Will easier if we were in the same swim (cough cough!). As he didn’t say no quick enough, I was installed in his swim 37 seconds later!

Baiting up

It was just starting to get dark, so we decided to put a bit of bait out. I cast the marker to the spot we were going to spod to, and we started spodding about 5kg of particle mix, a couple of kilo of pellet and a kilo or so of 10mm, 14mm and 14mm chopped boilies. It may seem a lot of bait, but with the head of fish in here, a small shoal would polish it off in no time. The lads opposite us decided it was a good idea, and they started as well. Wills first couple of casts were a bit tentative, but after a bit of re-assurance, he was really into the swing of things. I also put two of my rods on the back of the 60yd weedbed, and spodded a couple of kilo of bait around them. It was well into darkness by the time I’d finished, showing the importance of clipping the line up, and casting to a maker on the far bank (the tree line). Will picked his spots, and marked his line with pole elastic, so that he’d be okay if he had a fish in the night. All the reports I’d read indicated Oxlease is an ‘early morning’ lake, so after a chilli and a bottle, it was off to bed. We both had a few liners during the night, and I was confident of a couple of fish next morning.

The morning broke to a complete change in conditions. The wind was now a very chilly north-easterly, there was almost no fish activity, and the lake just looked dead. There was about 12 people fishing that night, and only three fish came out, a low double and a couple of singles. The lads opposite decided to start spodding at about 9 o’clock. Will asked if we were going to do the same. I explained that if we had caught a few in the night, I might, as there wouldn’t be much bait left, but looking at the conditions, I thought it would work against us, so we would sit tight.

Will spodding

A move to St Johns

After a couple of hours I was getting itchy feet, so went for a walk around the lake (they were still spodding!). I didn’t see a single fish show, so after having a chat with Will, I nipped back to Manor Lake. It was still quite busy, but there was only two people on St. Johns, so I felt it was worth a move. Will was less enthusiastic as he had just got comfortable in his bivvy, so I told him to stop being lazy, we’re shifting our arses to St. Johns. I did explain that it was a gamble, as the lakes were so busy over the weekend, it normally takes a day or two to recover, and St. Johns can be a bit ‘trickier’ because they’ve seen it all over the last 10 years or so. On the other hand, they were still spodding (3 hours later) and I thought the amount of un-eaten bait could kill the fishing off, especially as it wasn’t munching conditions. So off to St Johns it was.

We dropped into the last couple of swims on the road bank – I knew it was one of the deeper areas, and the wind was from behind, so it was a bit warmer there as well. This time I left Will to it. I found a bar at 30yds, and a gravel patch at about 70yds. Ten spods of particle mix went on the first bar, with two critically balanced tigers over it. When fishing over particles, I like to use a PVA bag of Rod Hutchinson’s Formula Majic, which are basically crushed particle pellets. It does look good on the bottom! The 70yd mark was baited with about 20 spods of pellet, about 60 baits spread around it, and a ‘snowman rig’ fished over it. The last rod was baited with a couple of 14mm pineapple pop-ups which seem to do well on the Linear lakes, popped up about 3 inches, and cast towards the middle where a couple of fish had stuck their heads out. I wasn’t too bothered about where the lead landed as there were fish there anyway, and I had a 12inch hooklength, so it should clear any weed.

In the meantime, Will had found a gravely area with about 10ft of water, and had spodded a couple of kilo on it, along with a few Source boilies. Two bottom baits went on it, and the third rod was cast to the back of it, with a Squid and Octopus pop-up on a 4in hooklink and a 10-bait stringer. As we sat there, I commented that the lake looked much ‘fishier’ than Oxlease; there was much more fish activity, perch and small jacks chasing fry in the margins. Will knocked up sausages, spuds and veg, which I promptly polished off. Light was fading fast, so I recast the pop-up rod to a different area. I left the other two alone, as I was happy with where they were, and it was off to bed.

A stutter from a swan, then a ‘bream’ run

I was awoken to a stuttering take at about 1am. Not my rods, so I rushed around to Will’s swim, where I found a couple of swans swimming through his lines. Sniggering, I went back to bed! I did notice it seemed a bit warmer though. All night I was getting bleeps as leaves were falling fast and hitting the rod tips and the line. At 4.20am another stuttering take to Will… but this time a fish! The pop-up rod had done the trick.

“A bream,” said Will, just as the fish went on a 20 yard run.

“Maybe not!” I said.

St Johns – will it happen now?

I masterfully netted the fish at first attempt a few minutes later. “It’s a carp,” I said, “but I don’t think it’s a double”. On the mat, quick check of the hookhold and in the weigh sling. I checked Will knew about making sure the fins and especially the pectoral fins were flush to the body before rolling the fish into the sling. On the scales, and I was proved right, not a double, but at 24lb, a cracking autumn carp nonetheless! We took a few photos as the margins are pretty shallow along most of the bank (and it’s not allowed on linear I should add!) and let it go, watching it swim away in the torch light and the crystal clear water. Well-done Will! I might not catch, but at least you saved an embarrassing blank! By now I was totally awake, and as Will was asleep approximately 30 seconds later, I made a cuppa and watched the lake till morning. The air got colder and I was forced back into the bag. I didn’t see a thing move.

Sometime later, after Will managed to drag himself out of bed, we had a bit of a chat about how I’d helped (see below), and what he’d learnt. Will admitted he was a bit worried when I said we were fishing one of the ‘harder’ lakes, but like I said, a carp’s a carp, and if you can find them feeding, you’ve got a chance. I was glad to hear him planning on doing a few more, longer sessions instead of the normal couple of hours. After a bit of celebration cake, we packed up mid morning for the drive home. I did ask if he’d want to come back again, maybe in the spring, to see if I can catch him the double he’s after!

Some Of The Questions

What do I look for when feature finding?
Basically, anything different from the norm….whether it’s a shallow bar, drop-off, a weedbed, an area of silt or broken ground, or something that might hold natural food. Best thing to do is to look for fish that are showing, and cast a marker to it when its gone quiet and see if you can find out what it was they found attractive.

Is braid better for feature finding?
Definitely. Braid has little or no stretch, so any movement is exaggerated, giving much more ‘feel’. If you don’t want to go to the expense of braid, use a pre-stretched mono. Braid will last for years though.

No doubles, but Will’s happy with a 24-pounder!

Are freezer baits better than shelf-life’s?
I’d personally go for the freezer baits, but for short sessions the attractors in the shelf-life’s can give quicker results. Don’t put too many out though, as you will defeat the object of having attractive hookbaits.

Carp have big mouths….isn’t it better to use big baits?
You are right….you could probably put your fist into a 30lb carp’s mouth, but most of their natural food is tiny snails, bloodworm, crustaceans, etc. Some lakes do have crayfish and swan mussel, but on the whole, these won’t make a huge part of their diet. Also, if you look at a pound of 20mm baits, there would be about 100 baits. A pound of 10mm would be closer to 500 baits, so the fish have to work harder for them, so are more likely to make a mistake.

Is there a rule to what type of hook / hooklength you use?
There aren’t any rules in fishing, a lot of it is trial and error. I only use three patterns of hooks for all my fishing. Having too many in the tackle box will just confuse you. Same for hooklengths, stick to one braid, one mono (or fluorocarbon) and one ‘Snakeskin’ type of material. Personally, I’d also say it’s normally better to have a longer hooklength than a short one, but you had yours on a 4″ hooklength, so that blows that theory!

Is there a ‘best’ size of weight?
In terms of casting, about an ounce per pound of test curve of the rod, and add 1/2oz is about right, so a 2 1/2lb test rod will cast a 3oz lead. You could use a heavier lead, but you’ll have to be more careful. I can cast further with a 4oz lead on my 3lb test rods than I can with a 4 1/2oz lead.

Concerning rigs, all I can say is try and be different. If everyone’s using heavy leads, try using the lightest lead you can get away with to cast to the desired spot……but don’t be too proud to change back! That’s the advantage of two or three rods, you can experiment a bit.

How long do you leave a bait in one place?
If I’m confident of the spot and the presentation, it may be as long as 24 hours. When method fishing, or with single hookbaits, I may re-cast every hour. You just have to experiment.

There are loads of things I’ve probably missed, but I think these were the main points. I’d just like to say thanks for a couple of days Will, we’ll have to do it again next spring. But you can forget me giving you any help, rigs, showing you the spots, lending you bait…….!