Bailiff Comments

Week Commencing: Sat 27/06/2020

Week Commencing 27th June 2020

Last Man Standing

This week we had only one angler booked on from a lake exclusive booking, of which the remainder had cancelled. The weather for the week was set fair, with Northerly winds forecast for the the first couple of days, then a switch to Southerly. No rain was forecast, so we would see what the fish thought of the conditions.

On arrival, Sean Farrar had a walk round with Andy the Bailiff, but they only got as far as Decoy. Even Stevie Wonder would have known where to set up!! There were fish crashing out everywhere, two and three at a time. Sean took the advice of Andy and set up in Decoy instead of Beach. That way, if the fish started to drift out, he could pick them up from two different areas.

Sean started off fishing two rods down towards the bund and one rod on a 12ft zig with black foam. Bait for the week was Mainline Link mixed with Nash Citrus, which was mixed with pellet and a smattering of maize. After a quiet Saturday night and Sunday morning Sean was scratching his head a bit. He had picked up a fish on the 12ft Zig, but nothing off the bottom. The fish were clearly evident, but no bites had been received. Like all good sessions, it is a case of cracking the code. On the Road Lake, if the the fish are showing over you, there is always something which you can do to get a bite. We see a lot of anglers just sticking to their guns and changing nothing. A subtle change may be all that is required and that’s exactly what Sean did; switching to a Sticky Pink Buchuberry 15mm Wafter brought the first bite off the bottom and then, the pattern for the rest of the week was set.

Sean picked off fish on the Pink Wafters through Monday and Tuesday, with the best being a very honest 39lb 12oz Mirror known as “Kids Arms”. The wind switched on Tuesday and initially it wasn’t obvious that the fish have moved out; but a quiet day on Wednesday saw Sean move up to Tea Party 1 early on Thursday where fish were clearly in evidence. He fished very similar tactics, with one zig and two on a baited spot with pink Wafters. He got straight into the fish this time and took seven fish to 37lb over the next 48hrs. Sean ended the week with fifteen fish landed, three lost up to 39lb 12oz. He used 65kg of bait during the week and fished well to amass a good haul of fish with flexible tactics. Well done Sean.

Andy the Bailiff had two evening sessions in Dunkerque, after putting out some bait during the afternoon. Baiting with just pellet and fishing a Supercharged Mainline Link Wafter tipped with a grain of maize over the top got him a bite each evening. The best of the fish was a 37lb 8oz Mirror known as “The Dispatcher” which fell for a running COG lead and spinner rig, using a size 4 Kamakura Krank hook.

Week Commencing 4th July

Jason and the Juggernauts 

The last week with only one angler booked on Road saw Jason Van Der Merwe with the lake to himself.....in July.... (treat yourself)!!! With fish still showing in the Northerly half of the lake, Jason sensibly chose to set up in Tea Party 1initially, so he could hopefully get a few bites, but also see what was going on. Bait for the week was Mainline Link and Cell mixed with pellet, which Jason initially spodded out to 20 wraps towards Turtle Corner. Before the rest of the report is written, we should point out that Jason is super-keen and seems to require very little sleep...

On Sunday morning at 5am Jason heard and then saw fish down in Bacheliers, so decided that was where he would go for a couple of hours. Seeing a couple show close in to the left corner; he dispatched a PVA bag with a  Mainline Mulberry Juice Wafter a couple of rod lengths from the bank and in quick order had a fast take which resulted in “Boilie Head” at 40lb. Credit where credit is due, that was fantastic angling; most people would still be tucked up in bed. He then had a quick move up to The Goo and winkled out a pretty double on another solid bag thrown at showing fish. This was all before breakfast at 9am. Fantastic angling Jason.

After deploying on exercise to Bacheliers for the night, Jason returned back to Tea Party the next day (which thrilled his Mum Debbie immensely!!). He had a couple more bites from TP, the best being “The Thin Wrist Mirror” at 37lb before he endured a couple of frustrating days, as the fish moved back down to the bund. Interestingly, Jason’s bites had come to Mainline White Link Wafters as opposed to pink baits the week before. On Thursday Jason took the plunge and moved into the Beach and with fish showing, he wasted no time in picking up a mid-double on a 14ft zig. That set the scene for the remainder of the week, and Jason picked up another four fish, including two 30’s on the black foam, taking his tally to ten fish for the week.

That’s the last week where one angler has the unadulterated luxury of the lake to themselves and it is a full house again next week. So until then……..

Tight Lines and Bonne Peche

Andy

Team Gigantica