Perseverance pays

Hello again, well it’s that time of year when the water temperatures are rising and the Catfish have woken from their winter hibernation. Last year I tried, on several occasions, to catch my first cat but never managed to land one. A couple got hooked for a matter of seconds, stripped line from my spool at ease but then unfortunately the hook hold failed. My friend Lambert was lucky enough to land a few with the biggest being 48lb! So I had to get back out this year and see if I could get one for myself. I’ve seen them being played by good anglers, who have caught many over the years, and it’s not something for faint hearted. If you look at a Wels Catfish you can see that it’s not going to give up easy when you’ve hooked it. Just the tail alone is half the length of its body, which makes it one of, if not the most powerful fresh water species in the country.

With all of this in mind, Lambert and I packed the car and set out in hope of landing one of these beasts during the night. It was only a short drive to Angler’s Paradise, which has several lakes holding big cats, but we still had to decide which lake to choose.

Upon arrival, and after looking at the catch reports, it was clear which lake we were going to target. Owner Zyg Gregorek greeted us at the reception and told us the story of his angling in the previous weeks that had lead him to hold a new world record. Very well done Zyggy!

Inspired by Zyg’s tales, we eagerly made our way down to the lake with high hopes of catching. But if you’ve ever tried targeting cats, you’ll know it’s not that simple. Nevertheless, you’ve got to be in it to win it! The tactics for me were a bed of mixed pellet and boilie soaked in salmon oil, and a 22mm Dynamite Baits halibut pellet tipped with a pop up was my choice of hook bait. Once the bait was out the waiting game began.

Catfish are generally nocturnal creatures so we knew during daylight the chances were nothing would happen. As the light started to fade, the nerves rose. At any point either of us could have been called into action by our bite alarms sounding and late that night, Lambert was. With a compressed rod it was clear he had hooked one of the lakes residents. But, unfortunately, the hook didn’t hold. With the trap reset the wait began, again.

With the following 24 hours booked, we had the lake to ourselves and hoped for another run from one of the elusive creatures. A little more bait got introduced over each rod, and then we sat back and enjoyed a nice brew.  The weather conditions couldn’t have been better for the time of year, with the warmest nights experienced so far. During the day there were not any signs of life, but we knew what lurked beneath the misleading surface. As night fell the conditions looked to be even better, with the moon hidden behind a thick layer of cloud, we waited in complete darkness.  

In the early hours of the morning Lambert was awoken by the sound of his bite alarm screaming. This time the cat wasn’t going to evade him. As I got out of my bivvy I could see his compressed rod reflecting the light from his head torch, and I rushed over to help. After the unforgiving battle the beast finally gave in and I had it in the net.

The perseverance had paid off. Lambert landed his first cat of the season and was back on the score board. Unfortunately for me, I didn’t get a run, but I didn’t let that discourage me!

We headed back to Angler’s Paradise a few weeks later to see if we would have anymore joy early on in the season. The water had had more time to warm up in the gap between sessions, which meant the cats should be more active and that we would have more chance of catching. The same tactics that had proved successful before where re-applied and the waiting game began, yet again.

As the night slowly crept up on us, the nerves built and the speculation on whether we would catch began. Hours passed, and in due course we turned in for the night to recharge. Just before the sun hit the horizon I was awoken by my alarms flat lining. I was on my rods in a flash, striking into what felt like the bottom. The next thing I know, the cat shot off and all I could do was hold on! After a harsh battle, which I just managed to win, its head was up and it saw the back of the net.

Besides my arms hurting from the intense battle, I felt on top of the world as all the hard work had paid off.

Until next time

You make your own luck

Hello all, I hope that everyone reading this has managed to get out and land a few fish during the warmer weather that we have been experiencing lately. As for me, I have been lucky enough to get out on the bank and have a few grace my net. But my target species (Tench), at my chosen venue have been proving very hard for me to locate and to get a decent hook hold. My last couple of sessions have been very frustrating due to the hook pulling on what could only be Tench, putting a decent bend in my rod. I have landed lots of Rudd and Roach but can’t get these cheeky Tincas in my net.

Taking a break from my local canal has been a good choice in my mind, as a couple of my friends and I have had fish on the bank from other waters.

On one of the days in question we headed out to try to tempt a big Perch out of the murky depths of a commercial lake. Perch are in most waters, all around the country, getting fat on the small silvers that over run a lot of lakes. Most people wouldn’t think of targeting Perch when there are big Carp to be easily had, but if you put the time and effort in, the rewards can be much greater.

Based on previous visits we knew the water held some good fish. We also knew it wasn’t known by many, so the fish should still be alive, and the chance of landing one looked likely. So the rods went out to what looked to be holding areas, and the day began. The chosen bait was glugged prawns with a sprinkling of maggots over the top, to keep the smaller fish busy and hook baits ready for a big cavernous mouth. Throughout the day we had many bites and the fish we were waiting for eventually screamed off with my mates hook.

What a cracking fish to see in the flesh, and I had the pleasure of taking the photo to preserve its glory for many years to come!

The next session saw Moxey and me heading out on an afternoon for a spot of surface fishing, in search of some lovely Carp. My approach was to use bait whereas Moxey was on the fly, so we had a big variation of tactics. We were both very confident of catching, but whose methods would come out on top?

After an hour or so it was clear that the Carp definitely preferred my scattering of glugged pellets over the natural appearance of the fly, but I still managed to loose a few. My next thought was to see if the Carp in the lake would be confident enough to come up for a big chunk of bread. On many waters this technique is just too blatant and you’ll waste your time, but I find if you can get them on it, it’s a winner.

In the end we successfully managed to gain the confidence of the Carp and we had a fantastic afternoon’s fishing, seeing lots of pristine little carp in the net.

All in all, both methods proved to be very good at catching, but the Carp in this water just couldn’t resist the bait approach. The main thing is we had a fun day out on the bank catching lots of fish.

Until next time.