New House Farm, Church Stretton, Shropshire

[WickerDave]

Another afternoon only session here today, with the one angler already there about to leave. With it being open there is no shade here but a northerly breeze was blowing that cooled me slightly.

There were carp everywhere, basking in big groups not very far out and in smaller groups in the margins, often parallel to the bank in water barely covering them. I started by flicking a floating pellet in front of the biggest of the carp further out and despite them mostly nudging or turning away from the bait eventually a mirror of 11lb took the bait properly, my biggest fish from here so far.

After that they got even more picky so I wandered around the pool again dropping luncheon meat in front of the margin carp, trying to pick out the biggest fish. This didn’t always work, sometimes a small carp darted in before the intended fish moved to the bait. The margins produced all afternoon for 19 carp, the best a 10lb common, with the rest from 8lbish to 2lbish.

Two pairs of cars with groups fishing together plus another car had arrived shortly before 5:30ish when I packed up.

 

[WickerDave]

After a couple of recent way below expectations trips at local mixed commercials, it was my first trip back here for over two months this afternoon. It was dreary but dry weather but at least it was unusually calm for the valley with not much ripple on the water.

The method feeder started slowly on an orange wafter but a switch to a bunch of four maggots got some response and several good spells of a few fish resulted in 11 carp between 7lb and 2lb and a small roach, with a mid range carp pictured.

Maggot on the float rod started slowly too. The surprise was six tiny perch, which about doubled my perch tally from two years of fishing here.

The roach total wasn't much better with mostly tiny fish and one netter of 10ozish.

A late switch to luncheon meat on the float resulted in an 8lbish and a 5lbish carp, I should probably have given up on the normally reliable roach and switched earlier.

 

[Silver fan 82]

After a couple of recent way below expectations trips at local mixed commercials, it was my first trip back here for over two months this afternoon. It was dreary but dry weather but at least it was unusually calm for the valley with not much ripple on the water.

The method feeder started slowly on an orange wafter but a switch to a bunch of four maggots got some response and several good spells of a few fish resulted in 11 carp between 7lb and 2lb and a small roach, with a mid range carp pictured.

Maggot on the float rod started slowly too. The surprise was six tiny perch, which about doubled my perch tally from two years of fishing here.

The roach total wasn't much better with mostly tiny fish and one netter of 10ozish.

A late switch to luncheon meat on the float resulted in an 8lbish and a 5lbish carp, I should probably have given up on the normally reliable roach and switched earlier.

Not a bad session at all Dave, better than I've been doing lately lol!

 

[Silverfisher]

Really is a stunning lake that

 

[Silver fan 82]

Really is a stunning lake that

I know, isn't it just? I'd love a local fishery with views like that and the quality of the fish is very good too.

 

[WickerDave]

Back here again for a short afternoon today, fishing the same swim in slightly brighter but breezier weather. The rod results were reversed this time, today it was the method feeder rod that was slow and the float rod that produced. Just one small carp on the method feeder plus an early and late lost carp to the only two other bites on it. The float rod on double red maggot was steady throughout, a few tiny perch, quite a few roach with some netters to 12oz and the bonus of half a dozen carp with a couple of 6lbish fish.

Not much variety on the photos though...

 

[emmaemma]

Beautiful roach....

 

[Silverfisher]

Good stuff again

Looking forward to seeing that hill snow capped next week if the forecast is to be believed

 

[WickerDave]

Good stuff again

Looking forward to seeing that hill snow capped next week if the forecast is to be believed

I don't believe it .

I doubt it would beat last winters [recycled] picture though...

 

[Silverfisher]

Pretty cool

Looks like it’s just going to be ice and rainy/sleet around here but have heard the odd mention of snow as you head north

 

[WickerDave]

A disappointing short afternoon here today, with the carp not showing for me. Just one good roach of 14oz in about 25 fish, with nothing else over 6oz, and a single tiny perch.

A couple of regulars were catching carp in the deep water in the middle of the dam bank, although they said they could only catch on bread (not popped up) on the method feeder. They kindly gave me some when I told them I hadn't had a bite on my method feeder rod but apart from a few knocks it didn't produce anything for me .

 

[WickerDave]

Korum have just added a video from here to their Facebook page, from the vegetation it looks like it was from back in the spring. It’s good to see them struggling with the wind and ducks here too and only catching the usual smaller stamp of carp.

[The video does play if you click on the black screen].

 

[WickerDave]

My first trip of the year today for a short afternoon on a very blustery pool. Despite the wind I set up a waggler for the silver fish but this was slower than expected and it took 35 minutes for the first bite that resulted in my first fish of the year, predictably a 1oz roach. The next bite produced solid resistance that powered off for a few seconds before the hook pulled. This was soon repeated, but with careful playing on the light gear this one stayed on and my first carp of the year was in the net, a nicely conditioned common of 6.5lb.

The silver fishing slowly improved and I ended up with about twenty roach, mostly 1oz fish with a few better ones to 6oz, and seven tiny perch.

Despite casting the method feeder rod to different areas where there were carp rolling it was very slow and the only two bites produced small carp, the best one 4lbish.

The previous trip over two weeks ago produced lots more silvers, as reported here.

 

[WickerDave]

Another sunny and calm winter afternoon here yesterday at a deserted fishery.

The float rod started slowly and it was about an hour before the first bite produced a netter roach. This set the pattern for the session, a wait for a bite which produced a decent roach, the first 8 of which were all netters.

As the sun was setting over the hills the temperature plummeted down to 2 degrees and a last nice roach was landed before some quick bites in the gloom only produced the 1oz roach that had finally showed up.

The feeder rod didn't have a single bite, despite trying a method feeder with various baits and a maggot feeder.

 

[WickerDave]

It was my first fish here yesterday afternoon since the last reported trip, mainly because the venue is so open it's not pleasant to fish on all the windy days we've been having. It was still rippled there yesterday so I had to set up on the dam wall with the cool northerly behind me. The duck population has increased, they were lots more out of picture.

Maggot on the waggler got plenty of bites but only from the small roach, the carp and better roach didn't turn up at all despite trying bigger baits and feeding quite heavily. The final tally was 88 roach with a lot of 1ozish fish and a few up to 4oz for about 7lb.

The method feeder with a bunch of maggots also got a response from the small roach with just one better one of 6oz and a 3lbish carp. Wafter got no bites, but the first cast with a 8mm robin red resulted in a 6lb carp but then only a 3.5lb carp and a greedy 3oz roach.

Two male mandarins were fighting nearby over a single female, but the attempted action pictures were too blurred, I only managed a picture of the winner when it all calmed down.