Livin’ on the edge

26/4/25 – Suffolk Water Park, Match Lake 1

So straight back to M1 today, after last week’s success had me all turned around on the venue. I arrived at the lake at 7am giving me a choice of either side, but I chose a different perspective and the opposite side to my previous two sessions.

Assessing the margins straight away (after last week’s revelation), and looking for any signs of activity, there didn’t appear to be any early on. Generally it’s reported that the margin patrols don’t tend to appear till the afternoon. So I sent one rod out to the halfway point, and the other just a few rod lengths out.

Overall, the lake was much less productive all over, in comparison to the last two weeks, with only about four fish out that I could see during the course of the day.

I had just a couple of feeble bites (possible bream) all day long, and for much of the early afternoon, I switched one rod to a controller float setup, desperately trying to entice the meandering shadows just below the surface, but to no avail.

The chap in the swim to my left was fairing just the same, until this slippery customer picked up his maggot offering.

Mind you, I’ve never caught one myself, and I’d definitely have taken one rather than a dreaded blank.

Come 4.30, and despite no apparent activity in the margins still, as a last resort, I plonked a rig in, either side of the platform, 3 feet from the edge.

I had just wandered, dejectedly into the vacant swim to my right, in the hope of seeing some signs of life/inspiration, when my left had rod screamed off in an absolute one-toner. I sprung into action and did my best impersonation of Linford Christie with a broken leg running for a bus but trying to look cool about it. By the time I made it to the rod, the fish was already on the bus and was choosing a seat upstairs. I’m not sure what was going on with my freespool adjustment, but there seemed to be very little tolerance between locked up tight and the fish stripping off line like something out of jaws. As such it was a hell of a fight and after much to-ing and fro-ing (about 5 mins) it finally came close enough that I thought I’d be able to net it. That was when the right hand rod screamed off! FFS

I had no choice but to make the first lunge with the net count, which I did thankfully and fish number one was safe. This was the first time I’ve had a proper double take so the nerves were jangling slightly. I put the rod down and stood on the net pole then lifted into fish number two. This fight went on even longer and as I was trying to prepare the net again, fish number one had found the energy and was preparing to reenact Free Willy. I honestly could not see the netting of number two going well at all. I knew I wouldn’t get many chances to net number two before I risked creating a nightmare scenario for myself, so I kept the fish high, head right out and successfully hauled it over the net cord.

And what an experience that was!

Not one I’m sure I’d rush to repeat but amazing nonetheless. Even though there would still have been plenty of time to put the rods out again, I knew that was me done. Truth is I was exhausted, and I still needed to unhook them, take a couple of quick photos and weigh and return them. The first fish was almost bang on 15lb and the second almost bang on 13lb.

Well if, after the last two weeks, I haven’t learned my lesson by now on needing to utilise the margins straight from the off then I may as well give up. That’s about as much proof as you’re ever likely to get from a venue.

So, if you’re ever struggling for a bite, especially later on in the day, make that margin call.

Just maybe only do it with one rod though! 🤣

Till next time. Tight lines!

What’s another year

17 sessions managed in total

Inc. 2 overnights (consecutive)

Inc. 1 River session

6 blanks

26 carp banked (inc new pb)

Not too bad overall. More trips than the previous year and looking forward to 2026 there looks to be the likelihood of just as many trips again, and who knows, maybe another pb?

Where I find my heaven

Overnight 6-7/8/25 – Broome Pits Lake B

It was late summer. I took a long overdue week off work, with the intention of getting out for an overnight session at some point during the week. I’d been looking around for new options for a while. Something different. Slightly further afield than my usual haunts. One option towards the top of the list was Broome Pits, a complex of 4 lakes just over the Norfolk border. A quick peruse of the website and Facebook page capture pics confirmed our winner. Wednesday the 6th August. The weather was glorious and I decided to set off mid morning, hoping to get there just before midday, but while the drive there went smoothly, getting set up … not so much 😁.

I parked up and grabbed my rod holdall (not light, it contains 4 made-up rods/reels, landing net and poles, bank sticks and brolly) and a bait bucket and toddled off down the slope to the gate surrounding B pit. The website said ‘just rock up and the bailiff will come round with tickets’. I thought I’d have a quick chat with the chap in the first peg and basically get the the lowdown on the lake and perhaps a few tips. Now, admittedly somewhat foolishly, I’d not brought any cash. The website didn’t mention ‘cash only’ but what kind of idiot doesn’t go prepared for all options?! FFS. In a vain attempt to save myself some leg work, I asked the three nearest anglers If I could transfer some funds in exchange for any cash they might have, but no one had factored in any additional cash for fools.

And so began the rigmarole of –

Leave holdall and bait bucket at first peg

Walk back up slope to car park

Drive two miles to nearest town

Ask where nearest cash point is

Find one in post office

Get cash

Drive wrong way back and get stuck in one way street.

Get back to car park over an hour later

Load up barrow (more precarious than Buckaroo)

Wobble back down slope to angler at the first peg

Tell him I’m heading round to the far side and to hang on to my stuff a little while longer

Set off with the barrow

Get about 5 pegs round, after stopping for quick chat with each angler, and discover I’m blocked by a 45 degree slope leading to one more peg then a dead end.

Trek back to first peg cursing every angler who failed to mention this fact

Casually nod towards the first angler as I trudge back out the gate and up the slope towards the car park saying “I’ll be back for my gear” thanks for not mentioning the slope *under my already strained breath*

Get to car park and take a fork off down a long footpath that takes you to the far end of the lake, stopping about 4 times just to avoid dying of exhaustion

Pray that there actually are any free swims after all this shenanigans

Realise that the furthest swims are taken (including the two main ones I was aiming for) 🤬

Start working my way back up the other side of the lake towards the thinnest section

Spot a swim that ‘will do’ *

Dump the barrow

Walk all the way back round to first peg again

Collect holdall and bucket

Trek back round lake with holdall to chosen swim

8 thousand steps later

Sit down

Breathe

Now. After all that unnecessary bollocks, I could probably be forgiven for being a bit cheesed off and potentially ‘having a cob on’ which might spoil what is supposed to be a relaxing, zen like pastime. Luckily I was able to take a few minutes to bathe in the wondrous vista that had stopped me in my tracks earlier. * the swim that ‘would do’.

Ladies and gentlemen- I give you the Toilet Swim. Not quite as poetic as some of the other swim names, but it does what it says on the tin and is conveniently within stumbling distance of the convenience, which when you’re over a certain age, is always a bonus.

One thing I did glean from the first angler I spoke to, other than cash being king, is that the lake is absolutely rife with crayfish. Something else the website conveniently fails to mention. The little critters will whittle a boilie down within a couple of hours and they also have a penchant for rig putty for some bizarre reason.

I initially boshed both rods out with a standard boilie and wafter just while I was getting my shit together and digging out my plastic baits, but once sorted I switched both rigs to a plastic corn topper.

Just before dark I had a couple of runs within a short space of each other which didn’t connect to anything. Possibly bream. Not sure. Anyway, due to being quite close to the far snags, I brought the rods in slightly just before settling down to watch the rat parade, before bed.

The night went by with just a few bleeps (probably critters), just to stop me from getting a solid couple of consecutive hours sleep.

Up early and the morning wasn’t looking to produce any bites either. The bailiff was able to tell me that a couple of fish had come out overnight from my preferred swims, but to be honest, it didn’t matter. I was out. I’d discovered a beautiful new venue and I’d managed a rare overnight session. There were definitely a lot of lessons learned too and I still had a few hours before I needed to pack up, even if that was just to soak up some sun and watch the world, and it’s wildlife, go by.

And then a text from my Wife turned everything around again

To be continued…

What’s good for the goose

19/7/25 – Hintlesham Specimen 1

A week later, I thought I’d have another gander at Hintlesham. Booked the opposite side this time and peg 2 (site of my current pb). When I booked, the night before, peg 3 to my right was free, so I had my fingers crossed it would stay that way, allowing me to fish to the pads in that swim.

My hopes paid off on the day and with pegs 1&3 both free, I’d bought myself a nice big swim.

In contrast to last week, casting today was ridiculously on point. Every single one hitting its mark, including ones into the swim on the left, up against the pads under the overhanging branches. I don’t think there was a cast that didn’t elicit that little voice you get that says “that’s a bite right there, all day long” 😁

Gerald kept pointing out that my overconfidence could well end up being my weakness. Truth be told, he couldn’t give two honks. All he was concerned about was when the next handful of freebies would appear.

Remarkably (in my mind) the day was yet again devoid of bites, until again at last knockings, a legitimate blank-saver came from the left hand rod. A beautiful 3 and a half pound tench.

That would do me.

I looked around for my peck on the back, but Gerald was nowhere to be seen.

Hints 1

12/7/25 – Hintlesham Specimen 1

Yes, I know, I’m properly out of kilter. This session being over 3 months ago, but there have been a lot of ‘goings on’ since my last outing, and other activities have taken precedence/priority.

I decided I needed a break from Suffolk WaterPark as things were getting a bit ‘samey’ and my results were dropping off. If I’m honest I was struggling to justify getting up early enough to ensure a peg I was comfortable (confident) with.

Hintlesham seemed like the perfect antidote, and being able to pre-book, I casually rocked up about 8am. I’d chosen a peg with a couple of features. Pads out to the middle in front and margin to the right with overhanging trees.

It was a warm day and the fish could be seen under the bush to my right. As well as having one rod up against the pads, I also kept trying to tempt the fish I could see lurking under the overhanging branches with floating baits, but the bird life was also laying in wait and just wouldn’t let up along enough for the fish to stand a chance.

My casting game today was abysmal. Seriously shocking, even losing a rig in the tree above me. Funny how some days are just like that.

There really was nothing to be had on the bite front, except a blank-saving dace (yes I am that petty), foul-hooked just before packing up.

It was all a bream

5/7/25 – Suffolk WaterPark M1

Back again. Up at the crack of dawn this time, intent on securing peg 10, but still thwarted by the even earlier birds. Starting to feel like I’d stand more chance trying to beat the towel on the sun lounger brigade. This time I ended up on one of the end pegs (more like the corner to be precise).

The weather today was much cooler than last week and the sky was mostly overcast throughout the day, but the general feel was very ‘fishy’ and I was quietly confident for a good few bites. I paid close attention to the right hand margin covered by the willow. Unfortunately I hadn’t brought any floaters, but that didn’t stop me from setting up the surface rod and occasionally casting a trimmed down pop-up out among the stray floaters, blowing across from the swim to my left 😆. No luck though, unlike the bloke to my left who was surface fishing using a ‘beachcaster rig’, and probably landed at least 3 decent carp.

Not a lot was happening in peg 11 though, however at 11.30 a very tentative run resulted in a blank-saving??! Bream.

On these quiet days, I find myself turning to my ‘Merlin’ (bird song identification) app, and having a little competition with my boss. I’m pretty sure my lineup wiped the floor with his meagre efforts today.

Always nice to be able to hit him with the old Kingfisher. I saw it flash past and then heard it’s call close by.

Other than awarding myself the trophy for winning todays Merlin battle, the fishing was remarkably unremarkable.

Might try a change of scenery next time. We’ll see.

Hot in the city

21/7/25 – Suffolk WaterPark M1

Back to the WaterPark today, to try and restore some sanity. I had my sights on Peg 10 which always seems to produce a few for those who fish it. Unfortunately, I snoozed, so as the adage dictates – I losed, and ended up opting for peg 9. It was due to be yet another hot day, so this side of the lake affords a reasonable amount of tree cover.

Tactics flitted between 2-4 rod lengths out, the odd dabble on the surface , but mostly trying to build up interest in the margins.

The first fish waited around till midday to slurp up. After that I’m quite happy to just chill, try not to get too sunburned and maybe pick up something else before the day is out, if I’m lucky. And lucky I was when the margin rod screamed off at 4.30 and another common found the net.

Half an hour later and the margin rod was off again. This time a beautiful fully scaled mirror found the net, to make it a very welcome hatrick.

It was good to be back, catching carp again, and firmly in my comfort zone.

Tight lines my fellow freshwater fishers, whatever your quarry.

Don’t you want me baby

16/6/25 – Great Barford river Great Ouse

Aerial view of free stretch of river at Barford

I’m not sure where the idea came from. Possibly I’ve been yearning to return for a while.

I started fishing around the age of 11 or 12, with my group of school friends who all bought the starter fishing kit from Argos. I lived in Great Barford, just east of Bedford. The river was a few minutes bike ride from home and the banks of the Great Ouse quickly became my second home at every available opportunity plus having a birthday on the 16th June meant it was an extra special day every year.

Over the next few years, our fishing posse dwindled, as people either lost interest or found other interests, but I continued until 1987 when my family moved across to Suffolk, at which point I stopped fishing. It seems strange now, but at the time, lake fishing was alien to me, it wasn’t ‘home’ and any (non-tidal) rivers were beyond reach on my bike.

Then life happens. I didn’t pick up a rod again for about 25 years. My wife saw that a local lake was offering a groupon deal on day tickets. Seems strange I know, but this was the push I needed to dust off what gear I could still find and also take my step son who, funnily enough, was about 12 a the time.

We fished the match lake at Hintlesham Fisheries and among the Roach, Rudd and Perch that we caught, I also caught this unfamiliar fish which fought harder than anything I’d landed before. From that point on, the bug had taken hold again – I did my research on all the local lakes, started buying fishing magazines again, learning about all the developments in tackle that had bypassed me over the last 25 years, and more importantly I focused on the new object of my attentions, the Carp.

Back in the present day and the site of this post’s session. I took day off work specifically to go fishing, initially thinking I would choose between the usual local suspects, but then the idea grew that I could finally appease the yearning, just hit the road super early and take the two hour drive to revisit that old river haunt, and recapture those halcyon days… so that’s what I did.

Great Barford bridge- an early 15th century Grade 1 listed monument.

It was another beautiful sunny day, and the river looked stunning as I approached it. A cursory glance at the waters edge however revealed it was absolutely brimming with weed. More than I recall, but as I explored further, there were quite a few more changes. I recall freelining bread crust off the bridge for chub back in the day, and when we hooked one we’d have to run along the bridge, jump over the fence at the roadside and run down the bank to the waters edge. There was however a tree which had grown up beside the bridge (I guess that can happen in 35 years 😆), preventing this crazy tactic. Not that I was planning on replicating the act.

The banks were completely overgrown and either side of the weir where we used to sit and fish had safety railings installed, along with plenty of No Fishing signs.

We even used to hop down onto this wooden barrier and fish below the weir

The railings were no deterrent for one angler I bumped into though. A local lure fisherman who was fishing over the railings at the top of the weir who had apparently already had a couple of decent perch. When I quizzed him about how he was able to net the fish over the rails from up so high, he proudly showed me the longest landing net I’ve ever seen.

I chatted to him for a while and it became evident just how proficient a lure angler he was. His gear and set-up was amazing and he has caught many specimen perch, chub, pike, carp and bream all on lures (yes bream!). You should check out his instagram page @fishing_nut

Back to my session-

I’d tried to scale everything down and travel as light as possible. I took my very old Shakespeare 10’ leger rod (now about 9.5 ft after a couple of tip repairs), plus an old carp rod. Bait wise, I had bread, cheese, plus various sized boilies, dumbbells and wafters. Tbh the weed proper threw me. I tried a bit of float fishing, some surface fishing and a bit of ledgering close in on some clear spots. For the most part I just sat back and reminisced about days gone by. As the day went on, more and more traffic turned up – boats, paddle boarders and even swimmers! When 1pm came around, from nowhere, about 20 late teens turned up to sunbath and swim, including jumping off the road bridge. It was, as Kramer might say, ‘a flabby armed spanking machine’. That pretty much signalled time to hit the road. As I was packing up a solitary mirror carp cruised past. A sight unheard of back in the day. I could have seen it as adding insult to injury but I couldn’t help raise a smile.

Mixed emotions. Everything changes. Nothing stays the same. It was lovely to see my old haunt on such a glorious day, but it just felt like going to see an old friend who has moved on, has different interests now, and doesn’t feel the need to entertain me anymore. So glad I went though.

Itch, scratched

The Jaws of defeat

14/6/25 – Kirton Hall Lake

Back at Kirton again. I went for a close-by option again today as I had to drop Mum off at the local fete where she was (wo)manning a stall (can’t be too careful these days).

This meant arriving at the lake just after 9am and given the weather (sweltering), every man and his extremely vocal dachshund were already encamped. I was hoping for a peg along the dam wall but decided there wouldn’t be enough elbow room squeezing in between others so opted for the next nearest peg to last week, at the furthest end of the main side.

Side bar – I love my Ngt cross rod pod. Not only cos it was free (won in a comp) but because it’s a lovely, well made, sturdy bit of kit. Granted, you can’t use them In every situation but on a level surface or even slight incline, it’s the perfect setup. I’ve tried a few different butt rests/grips along the way and settled on the current Ngt butt grippz which stop any kind of slide if you’re setup at an angle but unfortunately mean you risk lifting the whole caboodle when on a hard deck and you grab the rod aggressively. Henceforth I’ve implemented my own fix when on hard surfaces (cos I’m too lazy to change to back to standard butt rests), which is to put a bit of stick between the rod and rod grip). Reason for this sidebar- absolutely none, although there’s not a lot to say about the fishing!

I struggled like a dog (a mad dog, given the heat halfway through the day) to buy any bites. Had a run early on but lifted into solid resistance and had to pull for a break unfortunately.

As if to try and enrage me more, the bloke in the corner to my left, in the spot I fished last week, was using a bait boat. A bait boat! I’ve been fishing Kirton for 11 years and I’ve never seen anyone feel the need to use a bait boat. Hell, I wasn’t even sure they were allowed here. I was reaching the spots he was charting, just with a simple underarm flick. And what’s worse is, he was getting a run every 10 mins. You’d think the fact that he dropped the first 8 runs (no exaggeration) would cheer me up a bit, but no, it just continued to wind me up. Agreed, not quite as much as when he, seemingly along with everyone else on the lake, finally started hauling.

Despite targeting visible areas of bubbling throughout the day, I had no joy and things were looking a bit bleak (though not present in this lake)

Incidentally, I recently purchased a method feeder, specifically for these ‘last ditch’ moments of desperation. Strange that I should consider method feeders a last chance saloon thing, as many carpers use them exclusively, and labelling them a ‘get out of jail’ option is quite clearly attesting to their bite-inducing prowess, but I guess not a lot of my angling rationale makes much sense 🤪.

Anyway, when the bloke to my right stopped in to say hello as he was starting to pack away, and said he’d been catching carp and bream non stop all day on method feeder, that was the final green light I needed to make that last minute sub, at 4.40 on came Heskey.

An easy tap-in gets us on the scoresheet

Within 5 minutes a small bream is a slotted home.

And just 5 minutes after the restart, Heskey slides a second past the keeper, and the manager looks smugly at his staff.

I was all set for Heskey to bang in a couple more before the final whistle, but just as the Feeder angler was taking the last of his gear to his van and he very kindly gave me the last of his method mix and the boiled he was using, I got snagged close in. He hadn’t noticed, and I just let the line go slack while I thanked him profusely, and as he got into his van, I tried to free the rig but Heskey’s Achilles tightened once more and unfortunately and rather drastically, had to be amputated.

It was a brief comeback, but it was a comeback nonetheless.

Note to self – add method feeder to tackle shopping list

Feels like home (and the day I caught 50 fish)

7/6/25 – Kirton Hall Lake

Preemptive disclaimer- in an attempt not to fall any further behind in my outstanding (overdue, not me being conceited) posts, I will probably be exercising an increased amount of brevity and may not be detecting errors and typos as diligently as usual. Here goes…

I decided that I needed a break from the Waterpark and I’d been keen to get back to Kirton. The previous night we’d had one of the most lively thunderstorms I’ve ever witnessed – from about 1am till 2.30am, a constant rumbling and banging. A few loud cracks but generally just non stop sheet lightning. Due to this I thought I’d hit the road a bit later than usual but as Kirton is half an hour closer than the Waterpark I reached still the lake at 8am.

I didn’t think, with the weather still threatening downpours, there’d be that many anglers bothering early on, but it turned out there were probably half a dozen already. My preferred pegs in the shallowed end were actually free, but I had planned to head to the deeper dam wall end so that’s where I ended up.

Note the additional sticks under the rods

The first of the dam wall pegs is a popular peg but not one I’ve fished many times before. There is a shelf of about 3-4 ft immediately in front but then it drops down to around 10ft at its deepest point. I baited a few spots and started fishing one rod deep and the other in the margin.

The first fish, a beautiful little common (bit f1 looking) turned up at 9am.

The second fish rocked up an hour later and was actually bigger than the carp which wasn’t saying much I know.

Now, I know you’re probably thinking two fish in a couple of hours is not going to get me to fifty fish unless I pick up the pace a bit sharpish, and you’d be right.

The third fish arrived at 2.45 (again, yes, I did say fifty, don’t panic).

The fourth fish came at 3.45 (don’t sweat – I got this)

The fifth fish, a chunky common, looked worth weighing. I thought it looked over 10lb but it turned out to only be 9.5lbs. No worries though as this fella had brought reinforcements!

Now, before you say I think you might still be a couple short of the fifty –

What were you worried about.

Welcome home

Enjoy the silence

31/5/25 – SWP M1

Same venue for the fifth time. I guess I like it here?

The truth is, It’s very much one of those manufactured lakes. Nowhere near as naturally beautiful as Kirton, and from a rewards point of view, it’s incredibly frustrating for the most part. But I’m learning how to unlock it and it still holds a realistic opportunity for me to up my pb and that’s something I’m keen on this year.

What I have learned is if I was only to rock up here at 2pm and fish till 5, I’d still catch the same amount of fish as I have, plus I’d actually get a much needed lie-in. Unfortunately, the lake is currently proving incredibly popular, and the early bird catches the available peg.

Today’s session was typically frustrating. More so than usual due to one of my alarms sounding the ‘low battery’ alerting beep right from the off, and subsequently every 5 minutes thereafter. I thought I had at least one spare left, but it appeared not. After about an hour, and so as not to continually annoy the neighbours, I turned it off. I decided this would be the rod which I would swap out for the surface rod, if at any point I managed to get the fish taking the floaters confidently enough. This proved incredibly tricky and is not at all relaxing in any way.

Somehow at 2pm (and I’m still not exactly sure how), I finally got the ‘slurp’ I was looking for and the surface erupted. The brief battle resulted in a golden common and yet another blank avoided.

The surface rod / bottom rig rod dance continued for another couple of hours before I gave in and decided to concentrate both rods in the margins.

4.30pm the left hand rod was off and a slightly better fish was landed

Another half hour and the right hand rod screamed off (silently of course). I had the fish on for about 20 seconds, long enough to tell it felt like a much better lump, before it slipped the hook and signaled time to start packing up.

Nature notes-

The lake is lined with willow trees. Exactly what type I’m not sure (I’m certainly no horticulturist). Anyway, for the past month or so the trees have been adorned with these strange long mesh/web looking things which at first I thought were spiders webs, but I now know to be caterpillar nests/egg sacks. Well today in the slight breeze they were shedding their tiny fruit, and literally billions of eggs were raining down constantly, covering everything below. There were fry in the water under the tree just filling their faces all day long. Anyway, the bizarre thing is, I had a water bucket sitting under the tree and when It came to pouring it away at the close of play, the water had turned red! What’s that all about?

Answers on a postcard to – notaboutcatchingfish 😁