I went fishing!

The lake had a few leaves on it...

Since making the move to Kent, back at the end of June, my fishing activities have been severely curtailed due to life and the universe getting in the way. That all changed this week when I eventually got back to the bank for a long morning session down at the Estate Lake. There is not much time left on the ticket as the venue is close for the winter. This was probably going to be the last session of the year for me.

It is great not feeling that I have to make the most of the day-ticket by getting there at the crack of dawn and fishing all day. Gone are the hours of driving and early starts to miss the dreaded London South Circular's traffic congestion and chug along the M25. Down here (or should that be across here as we moved more East than South?) fishing can be a a walk away to the beach, no more than two-hundred yards from the front door. A ten to fifteen minute drive will see me fishing the river and a  plethora of stillwaters.

For the past few weeks, the trusty old van has been off the road as it refused to start one morning. In twelve years of ownership my fifteen year old van has never failed me. I guess I can't complain, but that is another story, suffice to say, I couldn't use it this week. Instead, It was time to christen the the replacement Swedish fridge, which as it turns out is now more Chinese with a dollop of Ford thrown in. As you may have gathered, this branch of the Laughton family are not big on changing vehicles, but there comes a time when it just has to be done. The old Volvo had served us well, but after a coming together with another car, the damage was just enough to make it impractical to continue, it was euthanised and sent back to be recycled into a fridge again!

The new car is a updated version of the old one, but it might just as well be a space ship for all it has in common. Blimey, cars have changed a bit in the past fourteen years! I know I am an old fud but where's the handbrake?

The replacement car is a three and a half year old Volvo V60 D4. It is a similar size to the old V40 but just a little bit more powerful, okay a lot more powerful. The best bit is the level-load into the back. I can now sit in the back, with the tailgate open, and change my boots. Okay, not everybody's number one consideration, but it does make a change.Who cares about the twin-cam turbo and independent climate control?  Another improvement is the rear seat arrangement. The old split back seat has been replaced with a seat that can have just the centre section dropped flat. Some fool specified this feature so the car would be able to carry skies without loosing all the passenger space. Very handy on the north Kent coast! Had they never herd of fishing rods?

After a few months of major upheaval, the chance to get back on the bank was long overdue. Simple fishing was the order of the day, nothing fancy, just a float rod and a feeder to tempt the odd perch. I needed to go light as this time of year it is not wise to drive down to the lake at my local venue as it is at the bottom of a grassy slope. I would not be flavour of the month with anyone if the new car ended up in the drink! A shoulder bag and a lightweight seat being the order of the day.

Simple bait that got even simpler when I left the tub of worms basking in the bottom of the fridge, made things easier. A tub of red maggots and a small amount of Bacon Grill soaked in what is definitely incorrectly named 'Yum Yum' predator attractant - it stinks! The plan was to fish a feeder full of dead maggots/hemp/brown crumb and minced Bacon Grill with a lump of Yum Yum infused meat on the hook, while float fishing red maggots on the float rod.

I arrived at the lake around 09:00 and the place was deserted, not even a dog-walker in sight. To be honest, that is how I like it, just me, my thoughts and the lake. I had pre-rigged the rods and thanks to the fool and his skis, I had a place to carry them in the car with ease. I do like fishing light. A few minutes after arrival I was fishing. The feeder rod was put out first and set on a couple of bank sticks with the baitrunner engaged - or is that disengaged? The plan was to sit there and see what happened on that one. A bit of loose feed was catapulted into the area from time to time but in the end after recasting two or three times during the session, the fish were not interested in my offerings there.

Nice roach. First fish of the day

The float rod was a different game altogether. I decided to try dead maggots as hook-bait as the bottom of the lake is very silty. I have visions of the live maggots hitting the bottom and wriggling into the silt. Well, my theory seems to have worked, almost every cast to produce a fish. One of the first fish out was a nice roach of about half a pound. That was followed by lots more roach, rudd and the odd skimmer, nothing big, but plenty of fish to keep me busy.

Nothing huge, but a nice looking fish

My mate John joined me and we stayed until early afternoon. John was fishing for perch and like me had no takers. Fish or no fish, a few hours at the estate lake are always enjoyable.

That was Tuesday, on Wednesday Sue an I took a ride out and had a look at a couple of places on the Canterbury and District Angling Association waters. I have a ticket, but so far have not had a chance to fish any of the venues. It is all new to me, so a chance to find and explore the venues is useful. A drive through Grove Ferry on the Great Stour, east of the town centre is a popular place to fish and we managed to work out where the parking was for a future visit. My main aim of the excursion was to visit Stonar Lake, over near Sandwich.

We arrived there just as someone was leaving through the locked gate. On joining the C&DAA a key is issued which gives access to all locked gates and facilities run by the association. We parked the car and locked the gate behind us.

Stonar Lake (photo:John Wells)

Compared to the waters I am used to fishing, this is more akin to an inland sea! It is vast. No way will I ever be able to lose my end tackle in the trees on the opposite bank. It is also very deep, in places I have been told it is fifty to seventy feet deep. The 'shallows' are reported to be in excess of twelve feet deep, and some a lot deeper. This will be a whole new ball-game for me.

Hopefully it will not be too long before I get the chance to wet a line here.

Ralph.