One rod and low water...

Eden Pond. Fishing close in (the arrow points to the float tip). The water was just twelve inches deep!

Every now and then I get so fed up with trying to work out what type of fishing I am going to do. As I came into fishing late in life, my introduction to the hobby was an 'in-at-the-deep-end' experience. Most people seem to have at least dabbled with a simple rod and the odd worm as a kid. Even if they did not continue to fish into adulthood at least, they had some sort of experience of basic fishing. I, on the other hand, at the age of 58¾, was presented with a myriad of rods, reels and tackle that seemed absolutely overwhelming, and in some areas, nearly four years later, it still can be.

Simple bait for today

Today, I was determined to keep it simple. Just a float rod, reel, some tackle and simple bait; maggots, worms, bread and sweetcorn. I took the sweetcorn as I wanted something that would deter the smaller fish. Otherwise, I would probably spend the entire day catching small roach/rudd. Not that I dislike catching the smaller fish, but it could become a shade boring for the whole twelve hours.

For some reason, of late, the M25 has become a car park in the mornings travelling clockwise around the southern section. I think there must be something going on a bit further around, past the turnoff I take for Beaver. Whatever the reason, it is adding fifteen minutes to my journey. I did make it just before the gate opened this morning, but I was at the back of the queue. As Luck would have it, the people in front of me were all fishing on lakes other than my target for the day, Eden Pond (again!) I fished Eden last time I was here and had a good day. This time I wanted to try the other end of the lake.

The van tucked away next to the lake

I drove the van under the pipe and parked it tight against the hedge in my usual spot. I had a walk around the pond and, sure enough, there were those give-away tench bubbles, a couple of patches of them at the far end of the pond. Spot picked, I loaded the barrow and walked all the gear to my chosen swim in one go. I probably could have carried it all in one go, but why struggle when the barrow was in the back of the van ready and waiting? Maybe I am just getting old.

The day had promised to be fine and sunny, so I set up in a shady spot under some trees. This was not going to be a problem as I had no intention of over-head casting. A simple lob out, of a couple of rod lengths at most, was the plan.

I had not made anything up beforehand as I was only going to float fish with one rod. As I sat in my chair and started to tackle up, I realised that this was not the warmest spot on the lake and the hoodie was applied to my upper body for the first time in weeks! A simple waggler rig was all I needed for today. I took care to plumb the depth, several times as the 12 inches of water seemed low even for this pond. I was correct, so I eventually baited the hook with one white maggot and lobbed the tackle into the water just beyond the rod tip. No sooner the float had settled it took a dive, and the rod was bent double. I was frantically trying to release the drag, but it was too late. The rod straightened and the fish was gone. The line had broken just above the hook length, and the float was floating free, luckily, just in netting range. I know, I should have loosened the drag before I cast, but I didn't. It is not the first time I have done that either, and it probably won't be the last. I must try harder.

The first tench of the day - the plan worked!

I re-rigged and re-plumbed, as I still could not believe how shallow it was, but it is right, it is only 12 inches deep at the moment. The maggots were encouraging the small roach to have a go, and they were slowly getting bigger but not by much. I changed bait and hook size to half a worm and a No.12 hook. I am still not keen on cutting up worms, but needs must. This was apparently the way to go. No sooner the float had settled, it disappeared. As I struck, the rod took on a healthy bend, and it was fish on. This time it was a decent fish. Not wishing to risk losing it, I played it until it was starting to ease up and just managed to lift its head and into the net it went. Yes! A nice sized tench.

One of many skimmers. A beautiful looking fish, as they all seem to be in this pond

I continued with the worm for a bit and caught a few skimmers and not much else. I tried the corn and nothing for a while. Then the feeding looked like it was paying off, tench bubbles on the surface in two or three locations. I took the line out of the water and re-baited, watching the bubbles moving about but within the same area. After selecting a nice piece of sweetcorn (I tend to go for the pieces that have been cut, so they are about half the size of a full kernel) and re-baited the hook. A gentle lob landed the rig right in the area rich with bubbles. I fed two or three pieces of corn over the top, and a few seconds later I was into another tench.

A slightly bigger tench this time

This went on for a short time, and then the swim went quiet. I decided to move to the other side of the pond where I was trying to get into a patch of lily pads, between the reeds, where I had seen some bigger fish topping.

From the other side of the pond, I could see some bigger fish topping (red oval) I was trying to put a bait close to the lilies without much success as casting is hindered by a hedge directly behind me. Good pole fishing spot, I suspect

There are a few larger carp in this pond, and it would have been nice to get one. However, casting is hampered by a high hedge on this side of the lake that is directly behind the peg. The chuck is a little too far for my skill at under-arm casting. By now the sun had become much stronger and had burnt off the cloud cover. It was getting far too uncomfortable, so I decided to decamp to Jeff's Lake and take a look at what was going on over at Maze Lake, on the way.

Just because you blanked, there was no need to fill it in...

...really there was not!

Maze Lake is a funny lake with a sort of wrap-around backwater that leads to nowhere. It is somewhat overgrown, and I am sure it provides a 'safe' place for the fish to hide out. The bank along there has been eroded and it is just not being fished. The guys made the decision to backfill this section forcing the fish back into the main part of the lake and providing an extensive grassy bank that would be easier to maintain. They have already in-filled about half of it, and it is all looking strange at the moment. That side of the lake is closed as the trucks delivering the fill-soil are going back and forth all day.

A complete contrast - Jeff's Lake

Inspection (being nosey!) over, I headed off to Jeff's Lake for the last couple of hours of fishing. Still only working with my float rod, I started off by feeding a few maggots and a small nugget of groundbait, laced with chopped worm and maggots. The float went in and instantly I had attracted the attention of the smaller silvers, all taking the bait on the drop. To deter this, I rearranged my shot, so I had most of it about six inches from the hook to get the bait down to the bottom as quickly as possible. This seemed to work - I caught a small skimmer instead of a roach! Again I changed to sweetcorn. This resulted in a good head of F1's, the usual quarry for this lake. Mind you, they have grown here. I was catching 2-3lb fish one after the other. I thought F1s were not supposed to grow much bigger than that, although I have heard claims of 5lb fish being landed. I will not bore you with more pictures of Jeff's Lake's F1s, but there was an unusual pairing crossing the lake, later in the day.

Was the snake shadowing the duck? I suspect it was the other way around

I assume that is a grass snake (?) swimming across the lake. I wonder if the female mallard was just keeping an eye on its progress or it was just a coincidence that they swam across the lake together.

With that, it was time to head home. A nice easy clear up and a pleasant drive home made the day one of the ones to remember. Nothing startling just steady fishing and experimenting all day with lots of fish to keep me company.

Ralph.