Old Lake Latest Catches week ending 19/3/17

HEADLINES

Biggest zander of season on a boilie
14 lb fish picks up carp angler’s bait
40-crucians catch shows Milton Lake in fine form
Brace of Temple upper-20s and a 32-pounder
England stars take first and second in Wednesday Winter League series

THIS WEEKS FISHING (IN BRIEF!)

The biggest zander of the season has been landed, by accident by a carp angler on specimen carp lake Temple.
The huge fish, in pristine condition with perfect fins (see photo below), picked up a boilie fished by Stuart Smith at peg 1, and gave him a normal run that made him think that it was a carp.
It was only when it neared the net that he realised what he had hooked, and just how big the fish was.
The predator season ended on March 14, a couple of days before, but the capture shows the potential for Bury Hill to grow big predators, in Temple Lake as well as in the Old Lake.

Milton Lake is coming on leaps and bounds as the water warms, giving lake regular Alan Derbyshire a catch of 40 crucians, and angling guide Duncan Charman helped Ian Joyce to land over 50 lb of crucians to 2 lb and roach to 1 lb 9 oz.
Temple Lake produced another ‘thirty’ this week, the 32 lb common carp falling to Jordan Jefferies, while there was also a brace of ‘twenties’, at 27 lb 2 oz and 26 lb 10 oz, for Tom Medrow.
The Old Lake is also producing multiple fish catches, the best reported being nine in a session for lake regular Kevin Sawyers, and three from a boat in the Jungle for David Roberts.
And the final match in the Wednesday Winter League series came down to a battle between England rod Will Raison and his former England team-mate Steve Gardener, Steve winning on the day but Will taking the series.
With spring officially here from Tuesday, it looks like being a pattern of sunshine and showers, with temperatures hovering either side of double figures, but warming up as the weekend arrives, to reach a very sunny 12 degrees C by Sunday, However, the downside is some cooler nights to follow the clear days, and the chance of a frost in the 2-4 degrees overnight values, especially after a couple of cool nights on the trot. Monday is dominated by the end of a low front moving through, with wet and windy weather and 11 degrees, followed by a dry and sunny Tuesday of 9 degrees, but starting from an overnight temperature of 3 degrees. Cloud overnight into Wednesday should give 5 degrees at the lowest and a wetter day of 8 degrees, but 2 degrees overnight into Thursday for a similar day and then 4 degrees into Friday as the weather dries up and the sun begins to appear for the weekend, but with 4 degrees each night. The rain-bearing south-westerly and westerly winds of Monday to Wednesday should give way to drier north-easterlies on Thursday and into the weekend, gaining in strength from moderate to strongish by the weekend. However, temperatures are on the rise, and 14 degrees should be likely by Tuesday of next week, with a lot less chance of a frost and the potential for an electric storm.

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

• Anyone who fancies being part of the night syndicate of anglers who are allowed to fish Temple and the Old Lake after dark for a £50 joining fee will be interested to hear that there are places available. To apply, get in touch with the office on 01306 883621.

• 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

Former England international Steve Gardener managed to conjure up 56 lb of bream from unfancied peg 24 to win the final match of the Wednesday Winter League series, which attracted 24 anglers.
His catch on pole and pellets or maggots was enough to win the day, ahead of Steve Sanders on 49 lb from peg 1, using feeder or pole and maggots.
Third was Tommy Hiller with 48 lb from peg 14 on pole or feeder.
The series went to Will Raison with 8 points, ahead of Steve Gardener on 9 and Terry Harrison on 12, with Tommy Hiller and Gary Simmons on 13, Tommy ahead on weight.
Multiple carp catches have been the order of the day as the Old Lake warms up and we reach the spring equinox of equal day-time and night-time hours.
Lake regular Kevin Sawyers caught nine carp from peg 2, including three 18s, a 17 and two 15s, all on single Mainline Cell boilies.
David Roberts, from Carshalton, had three carp while fishing from a boat in the Jungle, a 16 lb 10 oz mirror, a 10 lb 7 oz mirror and a 10 lb 2 oz common, fishing bread and feeding the same.
Andy Hall, from Shalford, caught his first carp from the Old Lake, a 19 lb 8 oz common, from peg 6 on a CC Moore Live System boilie.
And Darren Martin caught an 18 lb mirror from peg 36 on a Cell wafter.

TEMPLE LAKE – CARP

Although the predator season is now closed until October, it ended with a bang with the capture of the biggest reported fish of the season, falling to a carp angler on Temple.
Stuart Smith landed the huge fish (see photo below) at peg 1 on a snowman presentation of boilies, mirroring a fishery-best capture back in Aprll 2013 of a 15 lb 10 oz zander by Terry Brown, after it intercepted his boilie as it dropped from the back of his bait-boat.

On the carp front, Jordan Jefferies had the best fish reported, a 32 lb common from peg 15, on a single Mainline Essential Cell wafter cast towards the island with a PVA bag of crushed boilies.
Tom Medrow had a successful session, landing a brace of upper ‘twenties’, a 27 lb 2 oz common and 26 lb 10 oz mirror.

Sam Sawyers, from Westcott, also had a brace, a common and a mirror carp each weighing 19 lb 10 oz, from peg 13 on single 14 mm Oxford Carp Baits boilies.
And Mark Constable landed an 18 lb common from peg 14 on a 16 mm Sticky Baits Manilla boilie.
Details were coming through at the time of uploading this report of Gordon being caught by Mick Warren, who had a 31 lb 10 mirror the week before. Gordon (aka Three Scale) was last reported back in October at 26 lb 10 oz to Dave Evans, though the fish has reached close to 30 lb in winter.

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.

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.

Lake regular Alan Derbyshire showed that spring is now upon us with a 40-crucian catch from peg 18.
Alan fished a 13-metre pole with 4 mm expander pellets and single red maggots, cupping in small amounts of groundbait laced with pellets and a few maggots.
He fished at dead depth and fed a quarter of a kilo of groundbait and a quarter of a pint of maggots.
Angling guide Duncan Charman had a session with Ian Joyce, from Grays, at peg 23 and helped him to land crucians to 2 lb and roach to 1 lb 9 oz on float fished maggots close in for over 50 lb of fish.