Old Lake Latest Catches week ending 14/5/17

HEADLINES

Five more ‘thirties’ with Two Tone at 35 lb 8 oz
3 lb 10 oz Old Lake crucian to boat angler
Two anglers land ten specimen roach to 2 lb
84 lb of bream wins Old Lake match
Pleasure catch of 21 bream to 6 lb and three tench to 7 lb

THIS WEEKS FISHING (IN BRIEF!)

Temple Lake ‘thirties’ keep on coming, another five reported this week, taking the total to 23 in the past eight weeks.
Biggest of the latest batch was Two Tone at 35 lb 8 oz for on-form Mark Constable, who has already had a 34 lb mirror this spring, and there was a ‘thirty’ each for two friends who shared a session, along with two upper-‘twenties’.
Mark Pearson specialises in boat fishing at Bury Hill and he has a knack of tracking down the lake’s few specimen crucian carp.
His latest one weighed 3 lb 10 oz, just 15 oz short of the British best, and it was at this time two years ago that he boated a 4 lb 1 oz fish.
Specimen roach are also being caught, Milton Lake producing ten big fish to 2 lb for two anglers fishing just a rod length out, Chris ‘Crispy Duck’ Gadsden landing the biggest.
And the Priory angling club match on the Front Bank of the Old Lake was won with 84 lb of bream, followed by a 75 lb and five weights of 59 lb.
A small window of warm days and mild nights looks like offering a prime fish-catching opportunity, before a return to the established pattern of slightly cooler days and nights of single-figure values. After a sunny Sunday but a single-figure night into Monday, there should be 15 degrees C followed by no lower than 14 degrees overnight into Tuesday, and then 19 degrees on Tuesday, with 13 degrees overnight into Wednesday, and moderate south-westerly winds. Wednesday should give 16 degrees, but then it is back to 9 at night and a slow slide in temperatures to 13 by day by Saturday and 8 at night. The overcast but generally dry conditions on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday then give way to sunshine and rain from Thursday onwards, and winds look set to move round to north-westerlies on Wednesday evening and could have some easterly in them by Saturday, though becoming lighter, but with a chill in the air at night on Friday night. And the week after looks similar, with 13 or 14 degrees by day but single figures at night and sunshine and showers with north-westerly winds from Monday of that week.

• The predator fishing season begins on October 1 and continues until March 14.

• Anglers are reminded that fishing on Temple and night fishing on the Old Lake is available exclusively to members of the Bury Hill Specimen Carp Club. Membership cards must be carried at all times when on the fishery, and be available to bailiffs when they carry out checks prior to the evening lock-up.

OLD BURY HILL LAKE – GENERAL & BOAT FISHING

If you catch a crucian carp from the Old Lake it is likely to be a big one, and boat fishing specialist Mark Pearson, from Epsom, is making a habit of tracking them down.
Mark’s latest fish, from the Jungle, weighed 3 lb 10 oz, and fell for three maggots float fished over light loosefeeding to avoid the carp and bream.
This time in 2015 he had one of 4 lb 1 oz, his tactic then was float fished bread and maggot cocktail.
There are bream a-plenty to be caught from the Old Lake, the top seven anglers in the Priory angling club match landing a total of over 450 lb.
Alan Adams led the way with 84 lb 3 oz from peg 13 on feeder, ahead of Tim Pepper with 75 lb 12 oz from peg 10, and Zolt on 59 lb 12 oz from peg 11.
Steve Parker had 59 lb 2 oz, and there were three other weights of 59 lb, and only one angler weighed in less than 30 lb.
Tench are featuring increasingly in catches, and some anglers are targeting them and landing several in a session.
Chris May took a boat out to the Jungle and had 11 to 6 lb, on float fished 8 mm soft pellets.
Paul Neil, from Ewell, had three good tench of 6-7 lb with his 21 bream to 6 lb from peg 30, on feeder and pellets cast towards the island.
On the carp front, Old Lake regular Richard Urquhart, from Croydon, had four fish to 18 lb (see photos below) with his son, on pegs 74 and 75, using Steamies TNT (Tigernut & Toffee) and CNO (CoCoNutOrange) baits with Evolution Carp Tackle cut-down Corn Stacks soaked in Betalin, cast to the deeper channel.

Wayne Casserley landed a 13 lb koi carp from peg 37 on a small feeder with worm and red maggot.
And Roy Carslake had an 11 lb 4 oz common carp (see photo below) and a tench on an overnighter, fishing open water with Sticky Baits boilies.

TEMPLE LAKE – CARP

There’s been no let-up in the action, with another five ‘thirties’ reported in the past week.
Heaviest of the four was Two Tone at 35 lb 8 oz (see photos below) for Mark Constable, fishing his favourite peg 9 and using Monster Baits boilies cast to the far margins over a handful of loose offerings.

Glen Holden landed a 35 lb mirror and a 22 lb common (see photos below) from peg 8, on Mainline Cell bottom baits.

Conor Cook, from Westcott, had a ‘thirty’ and a brace of ‘twenties’, the biggest being a common of 32 lb 12 oz (see photo below), along with a 28 lb 8 oz common and a 29 lb mirror, all on single 18 mm Cell bottom baits with small PVA bags in open water at peg 12.

And fishing pals John Mason and Terry Baker both bagged ‘thirties’ on a shared session, John’s being a 32 lb 4 oz common, to which he added a 29 lb 15 oz common, and Terry had a 32 lb 2 oz mirror and another of 26 lb 14 oz.
Matt White was also in action, landing three ‘twenties’, a mirror of 26 lb 6 oz, and commons of 25 lb and 24 lb 10 oz (see photos below), from the road bank on single baits cast to the island margins.

Blake Watson came close to a ‘thirty’ on a short session at peg 14, tempting the 29 lb 14 oz common (see photo below) on a single Wraysbury Baits McNut wafter cast to the right of the island, off the reeds.

Dan Smith, from Chertsey, had an overnighter at peg 13 and landed fish of 26 lb 5 oz, 21 lb 10 oz and 17 lb 7 oz (see photos below) and lost another, casting tight to the reeds with PVA bags of five crushed Mainline Banoffee boilies and a light scattering of freebies.

And Jordan Jeffrey landed a 20 lb common (see photo below) from peg 13 at first light, on a 10 mm CC Moore Live System pop-up fished on a 4 ft zig rig.

BONDS LAKE

Bonds regularly produces multiple catches of carp to double figures on a variety of methods, from pole to feeder and straight lead to waggler.

Steve Streeter, from Croydon, had an arm-aching session, landing 17 carp to 12 lb on a small feeder and 8 mm pellets cast to the island margins from peg 18, catching steadily throughout the day.

MILTON LAKE

Milton Lake is the place to try for a catch of prime roach, using a waggler on a running line or pole just a short distance out, close to the pads, where they can be lined up with a little-and-often loosefeeding approach. And in the mild spells there are crucians, tench and bream to be caught, along with occasional carp.

Two anglers had catches of five specimen roach each, the biggest fish 2 lb.
Chris ‘Crispy Duck’ Gadsden had the biggest, fishing peg 27 just a rod length out with a light pole rig and maggots.
And fishing friend Martin Parker also had five, his biggest weighing 1 lb 14 oz, using similar tactics but with a waggler, at peg 26 (see photos).

Lake regular Alan Derbyshire had a dozen good-sized crucians from peg 1, along with a few tench and roach, on pole and maggot.
Mike Davidson landed 11 tench to over 6 lb and some good-sized roach and crucians at peg 22 on float fished casters.
Jim Brooks had seven tench of between 2 lb and 7 lb on feeder and maggots.
And Janusz Kansik, who had a successful winter fishing for zander, turned his attention to Milton Lake for the first time and landed 12 tench and seven crucians, along with a carp, saying: “Amazing fun. Can’t wait to come back.”
The tench were up to 5 lb and the crucians up to 2 lb, while the carp was 6 lb, all on red maggots float fished close to the lilies.