27/08/08 - Rolfs Lake

Weight – 19lb 8oz
Catch – 3 Carp, 1 Perch.
Weather – Warm, hazy sun.
Water temp – 19.0c > 19.0c
Match – Open.

In preparation for the forthcoming qualifier of the Total Fishing Championship, I decided a practice session was in order. Having never seen the venue before I needed a feel for the place.

In preparation for the forthcoming qualifier of the Total Fishing Championship, I decided a practice session was in order. Having never seen the venue before I needed a feel for the place.

I met Mark & Nick in the car park, which was situated next to a very well presented lake. The 3 of us took a walk around the lake and there was loads of fishing topping. I was surprised not to see more colour in the water, but I was assured the colour was normal, since the lake was spring fed.

My peg was 23, one away from Mondays winning peg 22. I fed steadily in the margins and planned to target here later in the match. I started at 6m on paste, feeding only via a tosspot. An hour in, I hadn’t caught anything, despite a few liners and a swim resembling a jacuzzi, which was frustrating and a little surprising.

I managed my 1st carp after 2hrs 40mins on meat from the margin. I nearly missed the bite, due to boredom. I kept rotating methods, managing a couple more carp. Fortunately I wasn’t the only one struggling, the anglers either side of me only caught 2 carp apiece.

The winning weights came from the other end of the big lake with 197lb winning. I came 10th out of 16 and the pegs I beat were on my bank, so it seemed obvious for what ever reason the fish weren’t in my part of the lake.

Sometimes the best sessions are those that you struggle in. I made the classic mistake of thinking I would catch over 100lb, when the reality is these carp are quite cute. Speaking to some of the regulars it transpired the carp were taking small baits, mostly punched meat, although you had to feed a lot to get the carps head down. Ultimately my 9pts of 6mms may not have been enough. The regulars fed 4mm and in higher quantities.

The positives from the session were the lake didn’t fish well at all. It appears the lake doesn’t take pressure, because there was a match on Saturday and Monday. With a more refined approach I am confident I would have caught more.