Well after saying my last blog that I would do more regular updates , well best laid plans and all that.Having my rolds stolen still hurts over 2 years later , truth is I never felt comfortable on the venues after it but stuck at it and continued to catch but things started going downhill .
Like most clubs the rules state everyone is a bailiff and you should report any rule breaking or problems .On 2 occasions I reported trees been down and damaging the otter fence , the first time the lake warden at the time came down and i reeled my rods in and gave him a hand for over an hour to remove the tree , the 2nd time the fishery manager replied saying it had been down a few days and wasnt a problem , this was very frustrating as the club committee was constantly banging on about closing gates and been vigilant about the otters . Things deteriorated more when I reported 3 different guys on 3 separate occasions for breaking rules . I found out that 3 had either friends or friends of friends on the committee , so nothing got done and they were even told that it was me who reported them .
I have encountered the odd jealous angler in the past but when 90% of those fishing the lake are moaning about you catching and them not then you have to take a step back and think about things .I had virtually decided my time was coming to an end when I saw a video on a members facebook page showing how he was set up in a swim and he was setup way beyond the legal distance from his rods , when I gave him a heads up about this and that the club was clamping down on this , he commented he didnt care , I said he shouldnt worry anyway as club didnt really care about enforcing rules .
What happened next was unbelievable , a lake warden from another lake and the membership secretary got their heads together and concocted a story that I had posted it on the clubs own facebook page and that they had removed it before anyone saw it and banned me from the page .
I heard that I was to discussed at a committee meeting and would be getting a warning letter .I heard nothing official but there was at least one genuine bloke on the committee who knew the truth and even had a quiet word with the chairman and told him but he didnt want to know . Interestingly enough the lake warden who was in on it is in the club under an assumed name plus the rule breaker is now the lake warden . I took the decision that I would leave the club when my ticket ran out and wouldnt fish the big lake again but do hit and run sessions on a couple of others . Having heard guys leaving the club due to not catching any carp from the big lake and others saying it them a year to catch one , my figures were 45 nights landing 49 carp , 25 over 20lb , I also lost 8 .
I ended up doing 8 or 9 day sessions on a couple of the other waters , landing 15 carp to 19lb .
I heard that the club lost 100 members the year I left , the majority due to a couple of rule changes that impacted people financially .
1 year on I admit I do. miss a couple of the venues but the hassle was worth it .
When we moved down here I accepted the trade off , a better quality of life for reduced fishing choices . I now had to find somewhere to go , I could rule out most of them as they were commercials or holiday park venues , ok for the odd day for anything other than the carp. In the end I returned to take alook at Oakside , the subject of my fishing for ghosts blog . I got permission from Brian the owner to have a few walks round again . I chose the quietest times so I could spot fish in the margins , I managed to see enough to convince the precious fish moving rumours were not true . I spoke to Brian and secured a ticket . I completed my first year back 2 months ago and managed 74 carp , my biggest been a pb leather of 21.04 , also landed 5 different 19lb commons . Its not an easy venue which suits me , the fish are lovely hard fighting ones . I have had a few sessions for other species including a session on bread punch that put 30lb of roach , rudd , bream and crucian carp . I had a couple of exploratory sessions for eels and caught them to just under 3lb but it has done a 7lber .
Since I renewed my ticket I have done 5 sessions , the first 2 I landed 3 fish in each but have not had a sniff since .
From my understanding the history of the lake is as follows . Brian had it dug to his own specifications in 1988 , it is roughly 4 acres and has 4 different size islands , depths vary between 3 and 11ft , its a multi species lake but has no pike in it but does have some nice perch , which I have yet to fish for . It was was stocked with 250 carp originally and a smaller stocking of 80 a few years later , the biggest official is around 28lb but there are bigger uncaught ones . the way things stand other than the odd day ticket else where this will probably be my final fishing venue .
I apologies for the lack of photos and less than brilliant content , I will add a few photos here and try and be more proactive from now on
