How To Tackle An Uber Busy Day Ticket Venue

1. When did you first start fishing Linch Hill, and were there things you had to consider before taking the ticket, such as the time you had available and all the travelling?
“Linch Hill has always been on my radar, for so many reasons. The venue is steeped in history and the carp speak for themselves in terms of looks. There’s an almost incomparable desire for anglers to have them in their album, so when the opportunity to fish the complex came up, I knew I had to take it.

“First and foremost, I needed to justify the ticket and consider how often I’d be able to get down there. During the first part of the year I was working away quite a bit, which made it difficult to plan sessions. It was mid-April before I finally visited, and by then I was buzzing for a new challenge. It’s a good 180 miles to Linch from Leeds, and with the current fuel prices, I knew each trip would prove expensive. That really cemented how much effort I would need to put in to make it worth my while. All my days of annual leave would be taken to make my weekends longer, as the risk of turning up on a Friday night after work and perhaps not even getting a swim was too great.”

2. Did you do any legwork beforehand?
“When the ticket came up and I knew I was going to be able to start, the cogs started to turn as I had choices to make. A lot of modern carping is about doing your research, almost networking, to some extent. I felt that I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to turn up and form a picture in my head without too much influence from others, and without it being tainted by my previous experience on the complex, especially on Church. Yes, there are always things you’re going to hear and know about and these can be kept in mind. I’ve always had a lot of confidence in what’s worked for me on other venues, though, so I was never going to stray too far from what I wanted to do anyway. I think you can also become too influenced by what the current trends may be on a water. Doing things differently can play in your favour, especially on busy venues.

“Quite deliberately, I’d also not dug too much into the history of the better-known fish. I wanted that feeling of not knowing what might turn up. Some anglers become very fixated on numbers and stock density, and certainly on named fish. I wanted to strip everything back and really light that fire. I wanted that buzz of getting a bite and not knowing what could be on the end. Nowadays, that element of surprise is something that’s very hard to come by.”

3. What were your expectations of Linch? Were you prepared for how busy the venue can become, one where everyone’s chasing some of the finest carp in Oxfordshire?
“With any venue that holds a stock of carp that’s as impressive, and as big as Linch does, you have to expect the place to be busy. I knew that I was going up against other anglers, and some very good and capable ones at that. That’s a trade-off for the carp you’re hopefully going to be catching along your journey. It can, of course, have its downsides if you try to keep something quiet on the capture front, but then sharing the experience of catching one of the carp is priceless. You can’t grumble when you’re surrounded by willing anglers, all of whom are happy to do the shots for you. For me, that’s a massive part of the Linch Hill buzz, and long may it continue.”

4. Talk us through your first few sessions on there… how did you find things?
“Busy, that was my first impression! If I remember rightly, there was only one peg free the first time I went, but fortunately, I was actually on fish, believe it or not. I did my first night on Church, then decided on a move in the morning as the fish faded away. This would prove to be a common theme. You had to be one step ahead of them and anticipate their moves beforehand, to put yourself in with a shout. Given how busy the spring was, it would sometimes be a case of dropping a bucket as close as you could to where the carp were.

“Those who have fished Church will know how much the carp can give themselves away by their fizzing and through shows, so you really do have to angle in that textbook style of being up at night and awake before first light to put yourself in with a chance of being on them—it was a long way to travel, just to stare at motionless rods! Yes, there may be times where you’re struggling to get close, but you still need to give yourself as much of an opportunity to catch them as you can. You can fall into the trap of being a little lazy when you’ve got a few nights ahead of you, but you soon realise that time on there is precious, and
every second counts towards potential success.”

5. Did you go in with an approach in mind beforehand, knowing how much Sticky has dominated that venue, or
did you want to be different?
“Knowing how much Sticky has dominated on Linch, there was never going to be a question raised in terms of my confidence and what I’d be using on the complex. Some of the most notable captures over the years have been on The Krill and Manilla, so it was a no-brainer. I feel you angle far more effectively when you’re confident in your approach as it allows you to really channel your focus on the watercraft aspect and other variables. I know that if I get those right, there’s no doubt in my mind that carp are going to happily feed on what I put out there.

“It is hard to be different at times, when you know the baits are being used so much there, but if they work, then there’s no real need to change anything. It’s more about where and when you put it into the lake.

“My original plan was to look at a lightweight approach, fishing off the barrow to some extent, flicking Hinge or Chod Rigs out pre-spring to the activity, with a light scattering of boilie. With the lake being so busy, however, that just wasn’t suitable, especially once the weed began to grow. Depending on the spots I found, I’d alternate between Hinges, Chods and D-Rigs. These covered pretty much all the substrates I’d come across, and they facilitated good presentation on the helicopter set-ups.

“Mix-wise, if an area was firm having possibly been fed on, a general mix of seeds, particles, hemp, tigers and crushed boilie was my go-to tactic, with a balanced tiger over the top. I just wanted to keep it as simple as possible and not overthink or overcomp-licate things.

“Gaining momentum going into summer, I had the chance to use a prototype fishmeal boilie from Sticky, too. I knew this could potentially be a massive edge. It would change over time through the testing phases, but knowing the fish had never seen the bait before was pretty exciting. From what I’ve been told, it’ll be a deeper red colour after it’s been tweaked. Just knowing the rough make-up of the boilie got me hyped up, and I couldn’t wait to see what it would do on Linch!”

6. Describe the social aspect of the fishing on Linch Hill, as it appears to be such a core part of the scene there…
“Linch is a venue that brings people from all walks of life and locations to one place, all with common traits of a love of carp fishing and sharing the buzz. I never expected to see such a variety of anglers. This may sound strange, but plenty were travelling from as far afield as I was, if not further. You really have to up your game, as they’re as determined as you are to make the most of their time in Oxford. The level of angling ability on the complex is by far the highest I’ve come across, but as a consequence, you also observe so many things that can help you. “There never seems to be a dull moment on there. There are always friendly faces around the pond, and plenty of anglers willing to help out and do your shots when the moment comes. There have also been a few from up north fishing Church this year, which has been great… side by side on the journey and sharing the buzz.”

7. Talk us through some of your notable captures…
“So far, I’d say the session that sticks out in my mind was one in early June. I’d used a few extra days’ holiday to extend my weekend when the weather looked perfect for a few bites. After rocking up and doing my first night in the central area, I decided to move up the lake to where I’d seen a fair amount of activity earlier, at first light. I’d also noted a tasty wind was due to push that way. The fish on Church love a new wind, regardless of its direction, so it’s always worth noting the changes when they’re due, perhaps pre-planning to move for them.

“After a brief lead around, I found a fairly clear area. It was mainly polished-off silt with a few strands of silkweed still surrounding it, so decided to get the trusty Krill corkballs out on tall Hinges, just to guarantee presentation. As darkness fell and the wind switched, the activity started, the fish clearly being present in numbers. I baited lightly with washed-out boilies, chopped so they fluttered down onto the area, with a few tigers, too. The following morning’s bite came just as I’d hoped, and it was one of the real gems of Christchurch: Litchy’s Common, at 41lb.

“Obviously I stayed put for the remainder of the session. I was conscious of not wanting to push the fish out, though, and left the water line-free all day after the capture of Litchy’s, praying that they’d stay for the following morning, with the wind. The plan worked and everything went like clockwork. The following sunrise saw me bank the Pretty One, and I banked Single Scale that evening, too, at 46lb. It didn’t end there, though. On the final morning I had a brace of commons of 23lb and 32lb. They were the perfect end to a session where all the stars certainly aligned.”

8. What does the future have in store for you? Do you have Stoneacre in your sights for 2023?
“I’m going to see the year out on Church and try to catch as many as I can going into the autumn, then I’ll switch my attention to Stoneacre. I want to try to close the book on Church and remove any temptation to return whilst I’m on Stoneacre—I imagine it can lure you back, if you don’t catch the main targets. Hopefully, if the autumn goes to plan, that’s what’ll happen. I’ve walked Stoneacre most occasions I’ve been down, just to get a feel for the place as it’s a pretty daunting lake. It’s also been good to see the regular faces of those fishing there and to familiarise myself with them. I’ve already invested in the equipment, including a boat, so I’m really looking forward to getting stuck in on there. Hopefully I can carry my momentum through from Church.”