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Turning Some Heads
by Lewis Russell
2010 so far, had been going pretty well for me, having banked a few fish up 22lb 8oz. But something just wasn’t right....... I was on a very hard,
highly pressured water, chasing a very big fish, and spending a lot of my time "competing against the angler" and not the fish.
It wasn’t until my friend and fellow CarpBaitUK field-tester Daryl Hall spent a short overnight session
on a local Suffolk lake, that I changed my mind and decided it didn’t feel right and it was time to move on.
The lake in question was known as "Number 1 Pit" on the Weybread pits complex - a very mature, well-established gravel pit of some 12 acres, run by Harleston Angling Club.
For the past 2 seasons it’s seen extremely prolific weed growth, making it pretty challenging to fish. In the winter of 2009, Harleston Angling Club treated the lake with a blue chemical die
in an effort to stop the process of photosynthesis, thereby preventing further weed growth.
It’s fair to say that the treatment did appear to help a bit - there were certainly clear spots out there now - it was just finding them which was
the hard part. I’d had a ticket for the complex for the past two seasons but only fished a few times. The stock levels we were still unsure of but we
guessed at around 150 carp. It's a very highly pressured venue and is known for being a difficult water - but we felt the rewards were worth working for, as - unquestionably - it contained some of the nicest looking carp in the Norfolk/Suffolk area.
Cutting to the chase........Daryl had a night of a life time, banking 6 fish from dust to first light on the phenomenal KT30 freezer bait. The scale of a result like this
was unheard of previously and a wake-up call that we need to take full advantage of the opportunity.
So, Daryl, Josh Goddard, Matthew Adcock, Chris Elden and I all decided that we would join forces and put together a plan and a baiting compaign.
The plan consisted of all anglers fishing whenever they could and sharing our experiences and findings.
5kg per angler per week of KT30 would go in religiously and Number 1 would get hit with the boilie.
Unfortunately Chris was unable to do much time on the bank due to work but still managed a few fish over two short sessions.
Over a short 7 week period, starting mid-august, we managed to really turn some heads through catching constantly, catching even when everyone else was blanking, getting double takes, braces, and numerous multiple fish-hits. The figures speak for themselves........81 fish banked and lost at least 25. 6 fish were caught over 30lb and 3 new PB's were made. The best session went to Matthew who had 10 fish out in a day session, including one over the 30lb mark.
As far as tactics and bait application went, we were all very similar in our approach, as we knew how to work the KT to its full potential, based on the
little-and-often approach and regularly topping up after every fish.
We were sure they were coming in shoals, it was almost as if someone flicked a switch at times, so getting cleaned out was not going to happen.
After finding the clear spots we would fish as tight as we dare go to the weed beds. Lead clips and long rigs were the winning tactics.
Bottom baits tipped with either plastic corn or C1 tippers worked best. We weren’t necessarily fishing with a large bed of bait
just sticking to a plan that at the end of your session 5 kg must have gone in.
To sum it all up, having the right bait and the bait application and sticking to a plan more importantly proves that you can dominate the fishes food source
and tear waters apart. This for me was one of my best carp fishing experiences and changed my view on bait application and the way I approach a water.
The lake in question was known as "Number 1 Pit" on the Weybread pits complex - a very mature, well-established gravel pit of some 12 acres, run by Harleston Angling Club.
For the past 2 seasons it’s seen extremely prolific weed growth, making it pretty challenging to fish. In the winter of 2009, Harleston Angling Club treated the lake with a blue chemical die
in an effort to stop the process of photosynthesis, thereby preventing further weed growth.
It’s fair to say that the treatment did appear to help a bit - there were certainly clear spots out there now - it was just finding them which was
the hard part. I’d had a ticket for the complex for the past two seasons but only fished a few times. The stock levels we were still unsure of but we
guessed at around 150 carp. It's a very highly pressured venue and is known for being a difficult water - but we felt the rewards were worth working for, as - unquestionably - it contained some of the nicest looking carp in the Norfolk/Suffolk area.
Cutting to the chase........Daryl had a night of a life time, banking 6 fish from dust to first light on the phenomenal KT30 freezer bait. The scale of a result like this
was unheard of previously and a wake-up call that we need to take full advantage of the opportunity.
So, Daryl, Josh Goddard, Matthew Adcock, Chris Elden and I all decided that we would join forces and put together a plan and a baiting compaign.
The plan consisted of all anglers fishing whenever they could and sharing our experiences and findings.
5kg per angler per week of KT30 would go in religiously and Number 1 would get hit with the boilie.
Unfortunately Chris was unable to do much time on the bank due to work but still managed a few fish over two short sessions.
Over a short 7 week period, starting mid-august, we managed to really turn some heads through catching constantly, catching even when everyone else was blanking, getting double takes, braces, and numerous multiple fish-hits. The figures speak for themselves........81 fish banked and lost at least 25. 6 fish were caught over 30lb and 3 new PB's were made. The best session went to Matthew who had 10 fish out in a day session, including one over the 30lb mark.
Lewis and Friends (left to right): Daryl with the fully at 25lb 4oz; Lewis with a 29lb 8oz Mirror; Josh with a 27lb 8oz Mirror
