Spam spam spam spam spam spam spam spam spam lovely spam

With local knowledge still ringing in my ears a tin of spam was placed into the kit bag, slung into the polo and off I went. Light was just breaking and the temperatures were a mighty 5 degrees. Main car park open but already busy, fear struck that the mecca of the rocks would be busy. Lake looked like large plate with a series of monster green turtles placed evenly around it drinking from its lush cold waters, as the bivy brigade were still asleep and an hour or two from a bacon butty.

Same peg as the previous Saturday - black ops. Kept it simple with method feeder, green swimstim and failed pellet still on hook from Makins.

First cast, 3 minutes in and still sorting kit, the tip raced round as the rod arched before I even touched it. Its going to fly in one day!

Anyway a carp came to the net of 5lb. Changed hook bait to bollie, hooked another carp but bumped it close in. Bollie then produced a carp some stamp. What about the Spam?



On it went and almost immediately the tip went round yet again. Well spam bam thank you mam. Fish followed regularly including a hungry bream.



Simple really - distance, spam and fishmeal groundbait. 14 fish in total. Lost two finished at 1pm, could have had a hat full, fish on each of last two casts. Have we cracked it?

Flying Spiders, Al Fresco Dining, and Monkey Wee...

With winter approaching, temperatures dropping, and venues becoming increasingly difficult it was off to the Midlands Match Fishing Mecca for a few decent Carp and a decent late autumn session. Papa had chosen capitalism and realism over the delights of an 80 mile drive to meet with the two amigos......fair play and a winner it turned out to be.

With early M1 debris navigated and derek taking the m6 ( saved £6 on the Sat Nav by avoiding Tom Tom...spent £1400 in petrol correcting the routes...you live and learn.)

Derek clearly had his heart on the ' match lake' with 165lb winning the match earlier in the month. Fog and a temp of 4.5 degrees didnt bode well but with feeders, and a promise of Tesco 'butchers best' sausages it was a swift trip to our pegs with 14 &15 being chosen. As we walked past the ' catch everything' lake with fish topping everywhere we were in for a quality late autumn session.

The lake was very still and a heavy layer of mist hung in the air like Speckled Hen flatulence in a tent.....Nico was set on small method feeder with either pellet / boilie the bait, realising his baiting needle was in the Butterley kit didnt start the session well.

Derek set up a similar rig but had the bomb / feeder in mind from the off.....with a swift method feeder aimed at peg 15 it was the all in......

Banter exchanged and pegs comfy but with surfaces like ice rinks we sat and talked sausage, chief, carp, winter, sausage, music, utd, feeder rods, and baits.....this was only until the rods were wrenched from our hands all day....get the banter in early.....this is makins!!

2.5 hours later and with Derek producing a spiffing breaky we stilled awaited the first wrench.....still tips all round....

The sun came over the trees and a warmth descended on the lake.....sadly it didnt aid the wrenching and with time ticking all the usual post mortems began....' weather' ' rain last night' ' match last may' ' wrong baits'........you know the drill.....

It finished Derek 2 Nico 1 - with a Carp lost at the net......God help me it was poor.....

We were lost for words.....one of the worst......

Across the barricades - Black Ops

Commenced Operation Butterley Zero Six Hundred Hours.
Crossed enemy territory to find main RV chained.
Contacted Nautilus confirmed RV point two if needed.
Headed to RV point two in dark.
Changed into combat gear, loaded up and headed to base camp rocks.
Using torch light and ropes managed to cross to peg to left of Red letter
Red letter confirmed for Nautilus, could be a tight one for Coot Catcher
Heard Nautilus approaching from distance, using stealth and swearing as the main method for crossing the rocks. Covert not in his toolkit as beer laced air drops followed.



Usual targets sighted and feeders launched.
Nautilus - struck first nice and unusual for the venue Rudd.
Catcher caught a carp and then another, lost a carp and then another, plus a bream.
Nautilus lay low and took cover. Stealth mode , feeder with no bait 3 yards out.

Well CC hit a few more ending the session with 10 and Nautilus 1. Baliff came with some interesting intel, as usual. Fish to the left and use meat. Is he a double agent?

To the manor born

Well I grabbed me stuff from the shed and the dog looked at me through the mist as if I were mad me duck.

Tis a strong man that can face the dawn and not go down badly when its as cold as it were.

Car loaded and in need of some new fangeled model type navigation equipment to even find lake, as mist was all around thou.

Crawling and climbing to the rock, me back in pain and the mists still descending I set up.



Well what followed can only leave a common man in no doubt of the almighty's hand.

First two chucks and weather as it was, two fish followed, carp an all.



Well with me not expecting much and the weather all round thou, things just got better. Another carp and a few more bream followed.



Fished at distance with method feeder and shellfish bollie. Bloke on red letter informed me he'd had 8 carp, three bream and a crucian in the same time - can't be bad. All on dead red maggots!



Well with fish a biting when the sun wasn't a shining ended with 5 carp and 5 bream, which at a conservative 4lb each 40lb but nearer 50lb. Fished 8-12. Not bad at all bearing the weather and time of year me lord!



From cold Derbyshire morning defrosting windows to summers day burning. Madness really mid winter weather 3c to 22c when I got in the car later. Butterley is still the lord of the manor! Never expected to catch anything with such a cold night. Rocks seem to always produce. New baliff claims new pegs on high bank open in three weeks, excellent winter pegs. Think winter will make em shoal up and if you land on them away you go. Roll on Saturday to give it another blast, this time with some red maggots. Mad for it, a lovely well needed session on the tip!

Longford - A Real Cunundrum

Well after a Saturday of 30 degrees ( you read that right) in October and the promise of summer skies again it was off to Longford for a day where i quote ' 50lb easy and carp / tench mixed bag'.....

The two musketeers ( missing The Shropshire Dangler) arrived after a few scratches of the heads regarding directions, but also secretly relishing the new ' free' contact offered by Mr Jobs apple revolution as we travelled down the A38....



The Ostrich Pub a future visit is needed.....

Points to remember at this stage 1. Its dark until 6.45am.....2. its not normally like this in October...3. Derek had two pints of maggots .....

We jumped on the first lake as we arrived as Derek had read that in 1982 UB40 had first had the idea for ' Rat in my Kitchen' and apparently someone caught something that day....how profound it was to be.



We chose pegs and a few fish played the game by flapping as we walked down the lake. It was all going very well..sun was rising and shorts were a good choice.

Within an hour and with one fish between us.....( Derek being on maggot for 58 mins of that)...the confidence began to erode a little.....the usual " lake view" " butterley" " Makins" all had a claim but instead i watched a Rat swim over to my swim on its way to the Local Rat Boot Sale....

To be fair i had a carp or three and a few tench but nothing over 1.5lb and we started to rumble the day.....



I walked up to the Cafe and discovered two alluring sites...my large bacon and egg cob and the girl serving it....There was more to Longford than our pegs with almost all other anglers up on the bigger lakes .....oh well...

It finished very close....maybe 3lb each.....manic .....

we'll probably be back but not until we've forget how bad it is......

Autumn Crimewatch