What follows is a short article that covers my winter of 2017 perch fishing in the Lea Valley on the River Lea and the River Stort. Last years perch fishing had been fantastic and I was more than ready when October came round, the temperatures started dropping and the lure rods started calling!
Continue reading “Big perch fishing in the Lea Valley and River Stort – winter 2017”
This article is about a couple of months spent pike fishing in the Lea Valley. As time goes on I’m becoming more and more fond of lure fishing. It kind of suits my lifestyle very well. My time is very limit but if there’s a window I’ll grab it with both hands. I’ve been known to go fishing for 45minutes. A limited amount of kit and zero bait preparation makes lure fishing an ideal option for me.
I love my carp fishing on the River Lea. There’s a certain mystery when it comes to fishing for river carp. Unlike a lake you really don’t know the stock. Fish can swim for miles which can make it tricky at times but also means that you never know what you might catch.
I’ve never really done any barbel fishing on the River Lea. I had a bit of a go towards the end of last season on Kings Weir but to be fair that was a bit of a baptism of fire. The stock levels are low and the fish are very tricky indeed. In August of 2017 I decided that I needed to target a part of the river that offered me a better chance of a fish or two – before then returning to Kings Weir or Fishers Green once I’ve gained a bit more experience this this awesome creature.
I’ve kind of been forced to become a bit of a short session expert. I run two very busy web design companies and time is precious. It’s not a coincidence that one of my offices is right on the River Lea in Ware. I’ve been doing a few very short sessions, either in my lunch hour or after work fishing Old River Lea at Tumbling Bay.
It was late August and I decided to pay a visit to the Lavers Syndicate in Essex. It’s got some great looking carp and it had been very kind to me on a couple of short visits in June. This was going to be my first full night on the lake and I was very much looking forward to it!
Continue reading “Near disaster strikes – wrong rods at Lavers Syndicate”
It’s July and I’ve been enjoying myself catching carp at the Fryerning Essex. I’ve been travelling light and moving around all the lakes picking off fish including some good ones too. I’d had a number of decent fish doing this and even managed to bag the Valley Lake record at 41lb 3oz. I had turned up at the lakes at around 5pm and was planning to do the night but then pack everything up in the morning apart from a stalking rod and a few bits and go for a wander.
Continue reading “Hello again – the Roundtail Common, Fryerning”
Just about every carp fisherman has heard of Farlows. It’s kind of become part of carp fishing history. Indeed, I first fished it over 25 years ago. A hell of a lot has changed since then. One thing that’s changed from back then is the introduction of Farlows Lake 2. This article covers an overnighter where we tried to unlock some of the gems in Lake 2.
It’s early summer and the days are becoming long and hot. I’ve been having quite a lot of success floater fishing, one of my favourite methods. But the other day I decided to try something a bit different – fly fishing for carp!
The main lake at Fryerning can be tough. 20 acres is a lot of water for just 50/60 carp. I had a blank night on left hand point on the main lake so I took a wonder. I found most of the lakes stock spawning in the shallows so I decided to look at the other lakes on the complex. The Valley Lake Fryerning has some nice fish and I found a few in a quiet corner at the bottom end of the lake. All the gear was packed away on the main lake and the stalking kit came out!