Old Lake Latest Catches week ending 7/1/1

Headlines:

Lots of zander action with fish to 8 lb
Mild spell brought multiple runs, including fish on a float
Second 17-bream haul for pleasure fishing matchman
Another 30 lb carp from Temple Lake, on angler’s first visit
Pictures of The Ghost at 36 lb 10 oz

THIS WEEK’S FISHING! (In brief)

Anglers have been kept busy with zander action in the mild spell between cold snaps, catching fish to 8 lb and losing a bigger one.
A variety of tactics have been scoring, including float fishing, using baits such as roach and mackerel sections and pieces of hair-rigged lamprey.
After a 17-bream haul the week before, Norman Youldon came back for more and did the same again, landing another 17 on mini wafters.
Temple Lake produced a ‘thirty’ for the second week running, the 30 lb 8 oz mirror carp falling to new member Dean Collins on his first visit, following on from Gez Schifano’s capture of the Ghost at 36 lb 10 oz.
And Alan Derbyshire has been catching crucians, sizeable roach and even a tench on Milton Lake, fishing pole and pieces of worm.
It looks like a cool week in prospect, with highs of around 5 degrees C on average by day and around 3 at night, which could be enough for a light frost or two, but it should be a dry week. There is a fair bit of cloud around, which should stop temperatures dipping too seriously, which means overcast days rather than sunshine. After a gloomy Monday and Tuesday there should be sunny intervals on Wednesday and the highest temperatures, of 8 degrees, before another overcast day on Thursday and light cloud on Friday and into the weekend, when 7 degrees is possible on Sunday. Overnight temperatures should peak on Tuesday into Wednesday at 4 degrees, before a slide for a couple of days, but picking up a little into the weekend at 3 degrees, and maybe 5 degrees from Sunday into Monday. There looks like being a fair bit of easterly about the wind direction at the start of the week, the strength being moderate, before a change to lightish south-westerlies on Wednesday afternoon, before north-westerlies on Thursday and then back to light south-easterlies on Friday and Saturday, though by Monday week they should be back to south-westerlies again and strengthening..

OLD BURY HILL LAKE – GENERAL & BOAT FISHING

Zander anglers got in on the action during the spell of mild weather last week, landing fish to 8 lb and losing a bigger one.
James Prior had four of between 4 lb and 8 lb from peg 24 on legered mackerel sections.
Lake regular Janusz Kansik landed three to 7 lb in daylight on float fished half roach, while his leger rod produced no action

Simon Miller, from Andover, had four zander and a pike from peg 14, between 10am and 4pm, on legered small roach and mackerel sections.
Steve Lyons had four zander and his first ever pike, at 9 lb (see photo below), legering less than a rod length out with a small slice of herring for the pike, and lamprey chunks for the zeds.

And father and son Danny and seven-year-old Ollie Butler shared three zander to 4 lb (see photos below) and lost another two, from peg 27, on small roach sections, while an angler fishing next to them lost one that looked to be into double figures.

And matchman turned pleasure angler Norman Youldon was back for more after enjoying a session of 17 bream and a winter tench at peg 33, on the Long Bank.
This time Norman, from Surbiton, set up on peg 34 on Sunday, and once again had 17 bream to 5 lb on a Method feeder cast tight to the island and 10 mm wafters.

TEMPLE LAKE – CARP

Another week of mild weather led to success on Temple, which produced a 30 lb carp for the second week running
Dean Collins, from Caterham, was on his first visit to the lake on Friday when he landed a 30 lb 8 oz mirror carp (see photos) from peg 11, on a single 10 mm Sticky Baits white Manilla boilie and a chod rig.

Also in action was Martyn Skinner, from Beare Green, who landed a 26 lb 10 oz mirror carp on New Year’s Eve morning (see photo), after enduring cold and wet weather, on a 12 mm Mainline Cell fluoro white pop-up and a Ronnie rig.

And Gez Schifano has sent us photos of his capture of The Ghost, at 36 lb 10 oz, from peg 14 the week before.

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.

Alan Derbyshire showed that crucians can be caught even in cold weather in winter, along with specimen roach, when he fined down his tackle on a 13-metre pole.
Lake regular Alan fished peg 2 in a chilly wind on Saturday, landing three crucians and a tench, losing another one, along with three roach to 1 lb, a 12 oz rudd and lots of perch to 8 oz.
He was fishing 1 cm pieces of chopped worm, and feeding small balls of groundbait cupped in.