What does quality fishing mean to you? A 100 lbs-plus catch of bream? A thirty pound carp? Winning a big open match? Sitting relaxing in the peace and quiet of it all?……Or just having fun and a laugh at the waterside? I’ve fished for carp all my life and have followed the ‘route’ that many before and since have pursued, that of:
If you asked ten anglers to make a list of desirable characteristics in their fishing you’d get ten different interpretations, but I think all would include some element of quality as the reason for their particular aims or ambitions in their fishing careers. The thing is, just what constitutes a quality fishing experience? On a recent holiday to Center Parcs at Longleat Forest I experienced what for me was quality fishing. If you ask me ‘by what criteria do you consider this to be Quality Fishing?’ I doubt I could give a succinct and definitive answer; like a lot of things however, you know it when you’ve got it! Center Parcs, Longleat Forest Thousands of people take their holidays here every year and in many ways it is the ideal venue for the holidaying family fisherman – activities in which both young and old can enjoy, as well as some fishing very close at hand. Whilst the wife is in the ‘Aqua-Sauna’ enjoying some ‘beauty therapy’, you can nip down to the lake for a spot of fishing for a couple of hours with the kids……..If you can get a ‘spot’ that is. The lake at Center Parcs is a multi-purpose venue. About seven or eight acres in size it is primarily a boat enthusiasts facility with fishing as an ‘add-on’ activity so consequently, fishing and fishermen are not the first priority. A large boat dock with moorings for sailing dinghies, canoes, pedalos, and inflatables seems at first most unpromising from a fishing point of view. These craft are out on the water from about nine in the morning until five in the evening when activities cease. During the day, fishing is confined to a small bay at one end of the lake, segregated from the main part of the lake by buoys strung across the water. Seven or eight comfortable, boarded ‘swims’ provide positions from where anglers may fish. During the day you are only allowed to fish in the bay; after five o’clock you may then fish anywhere on the lake except off the boat dock. Problems and Restrictions What makes the fishing so fascinating (and such a quality activity) here is the problems and restrictions placed upon the angler; it’s rather like trout fishing – why make things difficult by restricting the angler to confections of fur and feather, and further inhibit his activities by making him fish these ‘attractors’ on tackle in which no weight of any kind may be used to achieve distance and in which complex ‘fly-casting’ is involved – when a simple worm or maggot presentation on float or leger tackle would yield infinitely greater success? So it is with Center Parcs at Longleat. Fishing is conducted with ‘one hand tied behind one’s back’ as it were. With the problems of restrictions in both access and time, and all the disadvantages of the boat traffic, there are also personal restrictions that are an inevitable result of such a holiday – it is unlikely the holidaying angler will be able to take a full complement of kit to Center Parcs with him, the demands of the wife/partner and other members of the family superseding that of mere fishing. I find it impossible to go fishing without a car-full of kit, having tried repeatedly to restrict myself to a small bag and a seat. I can’t, and I doubt I ever shall. I just have to have a car-load. Just in case… The wife of course must take everything (including the kitchen sink) on such holidays; we have even taken such things as microwave ovens and dustpans and brushes; (who takes dustpans and brushes on holiday with them?). Consequently, there is little room for fishing tackle which is granted whatever space is left in the car, rather than having baggage, tennis rackets, endless pairs of trainers, and boxes of food and drink fitted in around it. Before you even start you are at a disadvantage in terms of available kit. Forget about rod-pods, bivvies, bed-chairs, and umbrellas…… Longleat Sessions I had fished Longleat before – my very first visit. On that occasion I took with me a float rod, a tin of sweetcorn, and a ‘Tupperware’ box of ‘bits’ that I thought would suffice for the odd hour or so. Not knowing anything about the fishing then, fishing ‘sessions’ were intended to be a brief change from the swimming, going-down-the-Rapids, Badminton, Tennis, Crazy Golf, Eating, Drinking, and other activities that usually comprise such a holiday at Center Parcs. From the off it was apparent there were some sizeable carp present and I determined that the next time we had a holiday there I would ensure I had kit at least capable of hooking and landing a double-figure specimen. Thus, squeezed into a gap between all the boxes, shoes, boots, rackets, and suitcases, I made sure I had a carp rod, carp sized landing-net, bank-sticks and ‘Fox’ alarm, plus a small backpack of ‘essentials’ – plus some boilies and Chum Mixer.
It would be fun to have a three-hour match here and see just what ‘proper’ match-anglers could catch; I think the results would be outstanding. The only limiting factor would be being properly kitted-up with a plentiful supply of bait. Whatever tactic I used was successful; freeline legering, fishing on the top with crust, fishing on the bottom with flake, paste – and sometimes I think even a bare hook! These fish were half starved! There was no need to cast, merely lowering the bait under the rod-tip was just as successful as fishing further out as the reed-fringed margins provided a ‘safe haven’ for the fish to feed confidently. I enjoyed a good three or four hours of this constant catching over the course of two sessions, I doubt whether I caught a fish that was much above a couple of pounds or so although it was the better fish I really wanted. My wife Christine and I had several pleasant walks around the lake on our way to other activities and had plenty of opportunity to evaluate ways of catching what we knew to be the better fish. Christine was as keen as me to catch one of the lake’s ‘doubles’ – as she thought it would at least keep me quiet and stop me from “going on about fishing all the time!” But was this Quality Fishing?
From the sandy ‘beach’, the windsurfing boards and dinghies are launched, and it was from here we saw patrols of carp in the six to twelve pounds range cruising up and down. It was really amazing how accustomed the fish were to the close proximity of water vessels – rowers, canoeists, and surf-boarders had no idea there were large fish within inches of their craft, often following them about the lake. The carp were obviously used to this traffic and if anything seemed to ‘enjoy’ their company, swimming in close consort for some distance. Amongst the mirrors and commons were a number of Ghost carp which, in the murky and turbid water, were very distinctive, appearing as a sudden white flash in the gloom. Ghost carp are of course a cross between Koi (in fact one-colour Koi) and Common carp, inheriting the attractive appearance of their ornamental cousins. Many of these fish were commuting up and down the bank, but it was beneath the Boat Dock they had made their ‘homes’ and they could be viewed from the landing-stage where many visitors to the park fed them bread scraps. One or two of these fish looked to be fifteen pounds although I didn’t see anything that looked like a twenty-pounder. I wouldn’t discount their presence totally though. Christine and I decided a double was a good target to aim for and we set about laying plans to achieve this.
‘The lake’ couldn’t be fished before five o’clock so it was a waste of time planning to fish before then. With so much activity in The Bay, what with all the antics of fishermen both serious and casual alike, and the mayhem of the hordes of Center Parcs ‘guests’ and their children we didn’t think any self-respecting fish would go anywhere near there. The main part of the lake offered the best opportunities, and probably in the vicinity of the boat dock underneath which the bigger fish spent most of the daylight hours. The evening would probably be the best time to fish for them anyway since there was probably an evening feeding spell as there is on many lakes. I had deliberately brought boilies with me – Fishmeal, 14mm, of proprietary manufacture, which I had used successfully on similar muddy and murky venues, their pungent smell in the poor visibility making them better fish-catchers than other, less ‘smelly’ baits. Their size and hardness would defeat the very small fish although even small carp could get them in their mouths; at least they wouldn’t be battered to death in seconds like the bread baits I had used in the Bay! A ‘Fox Micron’, Solar ‘Quiver-Loc’, Sundridge ‘Vitesse’ 2lbs TC carp rod, and Daiwa reel loaded with 8lbs line made up my ensemble, and with this, Christine and I set up opposite the Boat Dock on the far side of the lake. Further along the bank another angler had similar ideas and we exchanged moans of the lot of the disadvantaged angler trying to catch fish when ill-equipped due to holiday commitments. Christine snorted, explaining the rationale behind the inclusion of microwave ovens and cleaning materials when going on holiday – as opposed to bivvies and banksticks! I started off by fishing the boilie about twenty yards out, firing out a couple of dozen ‘freebies’ as attractors. One or two fish rolled in the vicinity although this was a misleading sign at Longleat because there were so many fish everywhere (especially the small ones). Little knocks and pulls on the ‘Solar Loc’ signified interest however and I didn’t think it would be long before there was some action. Our wait was in vain however as whilst the knocks continued, no positive take developed. Christine suggested firing out some ‘Chum Mixer’ to see whether anything could be persuaded to come to the top and I agreed, detailing her to this task. Although it was early October, I had high hopes of a surface take as the carp in the bay were more than willing to comply with this form of presentation. With the wind blowing towards ‘our’ end of the lake, and one or two of the ‘mixers’ having been taken it began to look more and more likely that surface fishing was the better bet. ‘Chum Mixer’ was infinitely better at resisting the attentions of the small fish than bread and if there were better fish out there then this bait should be successful. I rigged up a short trace of a foot long (that’s 300mm to you youngsters), with a ‘knotless-knot’ hair to which I affixed two biscuits; this would not only enable freeline presentation, the bigger bait would further resist the small fish. The swivel attaching the trace to the main line had the effect of sinking the main line without sinking the bait – I am more confident when the line from the bait doesn’t lay directly across the surface and this form of surface presentation seems more successful than a straight connection to the hook.
In a flash I was ‘pointed’ – everything tightened up with a sudden wrench and I only just managed to get the anti-reverse off (which up to then had been unused on the fish I’d caught). I let the fish go for the three or four seconds of its first rush and knew immediately I’d got one of the better fish I was after. It went berserk, dashing up and down the front of the swim fighting ‘well above its weight’; at first I thought it was a really good fish for the water, certainly into the teens, but when I finally got it over the net I could see it was on or around the ‘doubles’ mark. When weighed the fish went nine-four, falling short of my target by twelve ounces. By its appearance it appeared to have been uncaught, a look inside its mouth revealed a totally unblemished cavity with all the structures you just never see in the usual run-of-the-mill club fish. It was a ‘virgin’ so to speak! Disappointed with the weight? Not a bit of it. I felt I’d enjoyed a real quality moment. I have caught very many ‘doubles’ up to thirty-four pounds over the years (I stopped counting when I got to a thousand) but knew instinctively this was one of the better ones. Better because of its size? No. Because of the quality of the capture. An uncaught common in a water not managed as a ‘carp’ water at all, where the restrictions and impedimenta all count against the angler. So what for you is quality fishing? |
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