Big Risks... Big Rewards

It was last year that I first met Jonny, in a pretty surreal location. I’d noticed him popping up on social media with some incredible looking carp and was intrigued to see where he fished. After a few conversations, we met up somewhere I was expecting. An exclusive syndicate with ‘no-publicity’ and all that was what I’d anticipated, but no. In a town centre, there was a lake nearby, one that if you saw past the litter and the uneasy feel, was obviously pretty special. We won’t be disclosing the location of this particular venue, but it’s one of hundreds surely, that seem to hold a small stock of carp and which offer a unique challenge for anyone willing to set their sights on fishing them. Where I parked the van, I was greeted by a sign advising that people were to enter the tennis courts at their own risk! It wasn’t somewhere that I can imagine you can relax, so I was intrigued to find out why a young carp angler, who has a lot of good tickets available to him, chooses to fish such a place…

The lake is littered with rubbish and “interesting” characters

I know you’ve fished some of the popular, circuit waters in the past, each with very big carp in them. What brings you to a lake like this?
“Unlike most big pits set in a pretty, rural and open location, it isn’t the most comfortable place to fish, but I love the nature of big lakes. As you mentioned, I’ve fished a few of the busy waters that are a lot smaller and although I’ve enjoyed it; there’s something about fishing lakes that are bigger, and in some cases, a lot harder. It’s more the logistics of this one that makes it hard, but once you’re here and out in the boat, it’s me against the fish and I like that. It isn’t very often that you fish a big lake that’s completely barren of weed and features. This one in particular has it all: deep areas, shallow bars, weed, reeds, areas that you wouldn’t want to fish, so they almost become out of bounds if you like. Lakes like this are quiet too - fishing-wise - and I can see why. I don’t have to think about other anglers too much as there are very rarely any around. There are much bigger carp to fish for and in a safer location too, so it takes a certain type of person to actually want to come and fish somewhere like this.”

A clonking 38lb common - perfect in every way

What makes big lakes like this a logistical nightmare?
“Well you don’t want to be leaving the motor near the lake that’s for sure… just getting your kit out and hiding the van is a proper nightmare in itself. I’m lucky that I can leave my labourer with the gear while I hide the van. If I didn’t have that, I’d have to risk leaving it while I went off and hid it myself. You don’t need a boat a lot of the time, but I feel a lot safer boating off and fishing away from the public paths. There’s a lot of public footfall around the place and you only have to look at the amount of litter to understand that they aren’t just having a picnic!”

Have you had any dodgy experiences?
“I’ve had quite a few, and when being out the way too. I’ve been shot at with an air rifle and there have been a lot of cars vandalised, burnt out and even shot at. Mine was almost blown up last year when a group decided to set some bushes on fire… my van was next to it all! When I went back to it the following day my white van was black from the smoke, and smelt like an ashtray. Luckily it didn’t go up, but that’s why I don’t park near the lake anymore, it isn’t worth the risk.”

What’s the stock like, to make you go through all of this?
“The stock’s not huge, which is why you don’t get many people wanting to take the risks to actually fish for them. When I first came on the lake I didn’t really know what was in here; I’d just heard the odd rumour. That’s what I liked about it; I couldn’t go on my phone and look at pictures of the fish. It was a clean slate and I had to work and find out for myself. Since fishing it, I’d say there is now one common that, at the right time of year pushes 38lb, but other than that there aren’t too many bigger fish. It isn’t the size of them that intrigues me though. They’re old fish and are in immaculate condition, as you’d expect for a lake where they don’t get caught all the time. I get just as excited seeing them as I do looking at them in my net. They love showing and if the morning period is over, quite often an hour in the boat will help me track them down. I often sit there just watching what they’re doing and it fascinates me. To be able to do this and not disturb other anglers is great fun, especially after a long week at work. No matter what I catch, it feels really rewarding. After all the hard work you have to put into your fishing on lakes like this, when you do catch one the reward is something else.”

But the lake held a few gems. This is the biggest mirror to date for Jonny

A cracking 29lb summer mirror

Was last year the first that you fished it?
“I’d heard rumours about the place and you never know what to believe. I walked it in March and it grabbed me from the off. I looked beyond the rubbish and could see a stunning looking pit. I think any big pit is nice and this was no different. I started fishing in April and it was tough. I did see the odd fish and realised that I needed a boat to get on the fish and be away from the drunks at night. I baited when I could and as spring progressed, the lake became alive with naturals. I didn’t catch my first carp until the 2nd of May. I noticed that the fish were showing off the side of an island and I managed to prep it for a few weeks and had a bit of a red letter-day, catching five fish. Looking back now, the 33lb mirror could well be the biggest mirror in the lake, but what a carp, and what a buzz it was to catch it!”

Aside from the access, what did you find the boat gave you?
“You can see so much more. Where I was casting to before, it was obvious that I wasn’t in the right zone, but I could then see the spots that they were using. I’d watch them show in an area and when it stopped, would go out in the boat and check out what they’d done. Quite often they would ‘crater out’ areas and totally smash up beds of weed. It was being able to identify these spots that allowed me to bait them and then fish them the week after. I had a few areas that I would go to and bait up, even if I didn’t fish them. I wanted the carp to find my bait regularly and it worked.”

What did you bait with?
“I chose to use just boilies. I didn’t want to have to lug around loads of bait and I was more concerned about getting them to just pick up what I was going to use as a hookbait. I took five kilos of Krill with me for the weekend and made a point to always come home with an empty bag; whether it be from catching fish or baiting spots, I wanted it to go out every week for them. The lake is really rich and with a low stock of carp, I wanted to put something in that would be an easy and tasty meal for them. A fishmeal bait will give them a rich meal, saving them the effort of gorging on naturals for hours on end. I didn’t do anything to the bait until the algae bloom set in during the summer. It went like pea soup and you couldn’t see a thing. It was then that I decided to add Krill Liquid, just to give it that extra smell in the coloured water.”

Lowering the rigs off the side of the bars worked

Perhaps at the time the biggest common in the lake at 39lb 14oz

You had to go a lot on rumours, but did you see any bigger fish from the boat?
“I’d heard rumours of a high-thirty common and I did see one in the spring that I’d have put at around the forty-pound mark. It was difficult though, as there was also quite a lot of activity from the otters. I’d found a few fish, some with classic otter marks and others just a skeleton. It was a ticking time bomb as to how long the fish would last and the one that you think you’re fishing for could be gone. It wasn’t until the 16th of June though, that the doubts in my head were brushed aside.

“I was fishing from one of the islands that had access to quite a few bars running off it. I‘d been baiting the ends of the bars, wading out and lowering my rigs into the slightly deeper water. The fish loved the shallow areas when the sun was out and on those warm days you could almost guarantee that they’d be there. I woke early morning to a screaming take, jumped into the waders and was locked in battle with a powerful fish. It was the big common that I’d seen in the spring… all 39lb 15oz of her! She was clearly full, but in amazing condition. Sadly, we found her dead later that year, and with signs of otter damage. It was heartbreaking to see; such a special carp that lived peacefully in a big pond for years.

“I continued to fish it and was catching regularly from those shallow areas. The fish were spending a lot of time there and with the bait going in regularly, they were happy to feed too. I caught six fish in 48hrs, with some cracking ones in that group too. The water was pea green and I was using more bait and liquid too, to keep that smell down there.”

You had another one of the lake’s biggies, as I remember coming down to do the photos. How did that unfold?
“As I’ve mentioned, the lake was so green and really stank, but I was managing to get back in the same swim and kept the bait going in. I got everything out quickly and easily on the Friday night and the weather forecast was for warm conditions all weekend, which was prime for those bars. The lack of clarity of the water made it a pain, but I knew the routes to walk along the bars and where I needed to step over the gullies and carefully placed three baits on the end of the shallows. Like normal, I had to wait for the following morning before I got a bite. It was a cracking fish of over 38lb and was absolutely pristine: huge rubbery lips, in perfect condition and the reason why I put myself through all that hard work to catch.”

Did you carry on through the summer?
“I caught another one when you left and carried on for a few weeks, but things were changing. I found the big common dead and the fish seemed to vacate the area. Things slowed up and I was feeling exhausted, so I fancied giving it a break and going elsewhere. I’d fished most weekends and the hassle of it all had taken it out of me. I hankered for a bit of easier fishing, not for catching fish, but for somewhere that I could pull up, get the gear out and go fishing. I did a few nights over Shallow Pit and enjoyed relaxing a bit.”

Skipping back to the start, where was the first big fish lake that you fished?
“It was Northey Park, quite a few years ago now. At the time, the famous common known as Kitch was around 44lb and there were a few nice 30lb fish too. It wasn’t as well known back then - in comparison to when Kitch went 50lb anyway. It was extremely shallow and weedy too, so I ended up learning a lot from fishing there. It was so shallow that the gulls would pick up your rigs, which also made feeling the lead down an art form at times. I didn’t do a lot of fishing back then, just a few nights. A lot of my time was spent going out with my mates on lads’ holidays and so on, but I caught some nice fish including one of the bigger mirrors known as The Cannon at 32lb.

“The following year I decided to fish it a bit harder. There was a close season on there and with 40-odd members, we had a unique way of deciding who would get to fish the opening day and where you would get in the draw. Elliot held a rudd match, everyone invited and the top placers would fish, with the winner choosing their swim. I rocked up with an old rod and a big pit reel and somehow managed to win with 22lb of rudd in three hours. This gave me number one choice in the draw, which was a swim called ‘The Last Stop’ which gave you access to an entrance to the out-of-bounds.

“That opening weekend I caught one just into dark. Then bang-on midnight I got a couple of beeps, which turned out to be the big one: Kitch at over 44lb. It was a new lake record at the time and I was buzzing to have caught it. I ended up catching five more that trip, so I gave it a rest. It was local to me so I always kept my ticket, knowing some of the mirrors were gaining weight rapidly. When Kitch died, I went back on there and caught some of those other stunning fish. I had The Canon again, this time at over forty-pounds, as well as some of the thirties. It’s a lake that I love and always will.”

Where did you go after that?
“I did a bit on another complex, which held some special old carp. I caught quite a few fish from the lakes, the best being a mid-thirty, scaly mirror, which was absolutely incredible.”

A lot of your fishing seems to be done on lakes that hold really nice carp?
“To me, the looks and the specific carp mean everything to me. If it was a 23lb mirror and I loved the look of it, then I would join a lake to fish for it. I’m not interested in chasing 50lb carp wherever I go; catching a carp that blows me away by its looks is what it’s all about.”