Madness At The Park

James Hutton has been the man of the moment recently, stringing together a number of very good captures from a Southern stillwater, nestled among a chaotic, busy park. Understanding the nature of these particularly pressured fish, their habits and feeding behaviours have helped led to the downfall of some truly stunning fish for James, including a new personal best at over 40lbs. We catch up with the Southern-based rod to pick his brains on how he goes about keeping consistent during what can be a particularly difficult time of year.

James, first and foremost, can you briefly describe your angling time and does this change throughout the year?
“I am self-employed and work full-time, so I don’t get a great deal of time on the bank. In general I usually fish weekends with the occasional weekday or half day if work goes well. Having only a couple of nights at my disposal most weekends, you can certainly be up against the pressure of other anglers at times!”

You have been fishing here now for a couple of years, but when did you first hear about this venue?
“I was actually fishing a lake next-door back in 2014 which is part of the Christchurch Club. When I first put my name down for the Water Park I didn’t actually know that much about the stock at this point other than seeing the lake from fishing next-door and hearing of some good fish being caught over the years.

“When I was first offered a place on the syndicate I actually ended up turning the opportunity down because myself and a friend who was also looking to fish there had walked around it on several occasions and spoken to other members and decided it would actually just be too busy. There was a lot of members back then and it’s not the biggest of lakes, but as that year went on, I had popped over a few times to photograph fish and drop in for a few brews and had quickly started to regret turning down the opportunity to fish it.

“Surprisingly, the lake was nowhere near as busy as I had first thought and slowly but surely seeing the lake’s stock in person made me 100% sure I needed a ticket. Luckily, I was offered a space the following year and this time I didn’t hesitate. Oh, and to make it even better they had decided to lower the amount of members!”

A highly digestible bait was key for consistent bites on the area

A generous helping of Amino 365 helped to cloud the mix nicely

Can you briefly describe the venue, noticeably it is quite small in size, but does the depth vary much in places?
“Yes, the narrow end where we are now is classed as The Shallows; it’s roughly 4-5ft deep and quite weedy, while the other end is a lot deeper, with less weed in places. I guess the lake is around six- to eight-acres in size and due to the intimate nature of the venue, the fish do move about and get in close at certain times of the year. In terms of features, there are noticeable silt gullies, with firmer, gravel spots where the fish have polished off the food items over the years. In general, the lake is fairly uniform in shape and sees a fair bit of pressure, so getting everything right is key to outwitting these old fish.”

Did you have any specific targets in mind or were you just looking forward to fishing a new venue?
“There wasn’t really any specific fish in mind that I wanted to catch initially; I was just keen to get stuck in and start getting bites as the lake is renowned for responding well to large beds of particle and getting multiple hits going. With this in mind, I knew it would be difficult to specifically target individual fish; more a case of getting a spot going and making the most of it.

“Over time you begin to see and notice certain individual fish, especially the big scaly ones that have a real wow factor about them, so I guess they were on the list of the ones I wanted to catch while I was here.”

The Live System and particle combination did the trick

I have seen your catch shots and there are some truly stunning fish in the venue, have you always predominantly fished for big, scaly carp?
“I started off on the rivers, fishing for other species and it wasn’t until I got a bit older that I started predominantly carp fishing. Fishing the rivers taught me an awful lot about angling in general: Watercraft and scaling your tackle down to get bites when it became tricky. I don’t necessarily go after the big scaly ones all of the time either; I have just been lucky as of late (laughs). I’m happy to catch any carp, size irrelevant. I really enjoy catching fish from different venues, keeping you on your toes and having to adapt to the given situation, especially as the water temperatures cool.”

The Spomb allowed accurate baiting with the particles on the spot

Having not fished the venue before, what were your initial tactics and did they pay off?
“To start with I was using all sort of tactics, chopping and changing rigs and baits trying to see what would generate the best results. Like most anglers who start out on a new venue, the key is unlocking those special ways that result in more bites. The problem with not having much time on the bank means I was trying something new each trip, which could mean you have quickly lost a couple of weeks or even a month of good fishing time just trying a few different approaches.

“As I’ve already mentioned, the lake is known for being a bit of a particle water, it was not unheard of for guys to put 20-30kg of small particles out for a 48hr session and have a big hit when the time was right. I did catch some good fish in the first year, but it definitely felt like I could be catching more.”

I did catch some lovely fish in the first year, but I felt things had to change

Does pre-baiting come into play with your limited time on the bank?
“Not really. Because I work away a lot and when I do get time to fish it is always last minute notice: Nine times out of ten it is straight from work with no time for preparation or pre-baiting, I just arrive and fish the best I can at the time. As a result of this, I always ensure I have rigs tied, bait prepared and the kit ready to go, as I always want to make the most of the time I have on the bank.”

Do you think that spots play a part of your success just as much as the baiting approach?
“100%. I have put a lot of effort into watching and figuring out the routes to and from areas the fish frequently visit and have stayed away from the obvious big clear spots in open water that a lot of the other members all know about and fish week in, week out. Obviously, these areas do produce fish because there is a constant supply of food out there, but I do feel the fish feed there a lot more cautiously, especially the bigger, warier fish. So with limited time, I would rather fish an area where the carp are a lot more comfortable and more likely to drop their guard a little bit, giving me a greater chance of hooking one.”

Perfectly balanced and ready to be positioned over the spot between the weed

Have you noticed any particular areas to be more productive?
“The last few weeks I have been fishing a swim down the far end of the lake that has a small tree-lined bay to my left; the swim itself is relatively shallow and very weedy and the fish can regularly be seen venturing in and out of the snags or just basking themselves in the weedbeds.

“I had found a narrow channel running into the snaggy bay between two weedbeds at about 80yds, straight out in front of me and a small hole in the middle of the weedy bay out to my left. I decided to fish these areas with smaller amounts of bait than normal in the theory that I don’t need to attract or hold numbers of fish in the swim as they would already be in this area out of choice. I just wanted enough bait to keep a small group of fish feeding long enough for me to get a bite, so I opted to fish a particle mix consisting of hemp, corn, whole and crumbed up Live System boilies, high-quality betaine pellet and then a handful of maggots and a good dose of the Roasted Nut Extract or Amino Blend 365 Liquid. By having such a variation of sizes and colours in a confined area, I think it would make it very difficult for a carp to become pre-occupied on any one item or be able to know which one was my hookbait.”

Strong and reliable rig components helped tackle the weed

Live System Wafters worked effectively alongside the balanced rigs

Do you feel this spot has changed over time with consistent baiting?
“Yes, the main spot I have been fishing towards the far bank has become noticeably larger and harder over the last few weeks. It is quite shallow and the birds can be a bit of a problem on certain days, but I do my best to ignore it and wait for the carp to turn up. I have often seen the birds’ behaviour change when the carp are in the swim; they become edgy and hang round the outside edges of the weed clearly watching the carp.”

The last rod was positioned just on nightfall

Do you think the majority of other anglers have taken a similar approach with the particles?
“Yes. From what I have seen since I have been a member, and for a couple years previous, particles have always been a successful approach on here for some reason; boilies will always catch carp but just like anywhere else there seems to be a winning method and customising that method to be different in some way or another can be a big edge. There are a lot of big fish in this venue and if I were to introduce a few kilos of just boilie, I feel they would clear it out pretty quickly. The particle on the other hand just keeps them feeding for hours on end, picking out every last seed from under the gravel.”

Rods at the ready

How have you been presenting your chosen hookbaits over this type of particle mix?
“I have tried a selection of rigs on here and have settled on a slow sinking wafter rig baited with a 15mm Live System. Fishing with particles in tight areas between weedbeds means the fish are not moving much at all between mouthfuls of food, so the way the rig sits and reacts is crucial to it being effective. I need it to sink slowly so it can lay out away from the lead and be sucked up into the carp’s mouth when they are hoovering up small seeds. Also, a stiff enough material is important for it to re-set if and when it gets blown out or moved around by the disturbance on the lakebed.

“I also like the hook to be laying flat on the bottom with the bait just sat on top of it, almost masking the hook from sight! The 15mm Live System Wafter sits perfectly with my size 6 hook on a length of Gardner Tripwire, perfectly balanced and ready to nail a feeding fish.”

Early morning buzz at The Park

Did you find the weed a problem at any time during the year?
“The weed in this bay does get quite bad in summer, but that is why the fish are here, as they feel safe. If the spot is clean and you are fishing with strong, reliable tackle, then landing them doesn’t become an issue at any time. Fish by their very nature love the weed, it provides natural shelter and warmth, which is why I think this spot has been so effective.”

You have recently caught a truly admirable scaly mirror that tipped the scales at over 40lb, did this come from the same area and what happened in the lead up to that capture?
“Yes. I have been targeting this area for a number of weeks now and I knew it wouldn’t be long before one of the better fish threw itself up. I got down after work for my typical session; dark was fast approaching and after getting the rods sorted, I baited heavily to the clear areas that I knew were already clean between the weedbeds. With the light fading fast, I had to work quickly as I wanted to get three rods fishing effectively for the night ahead.

“Just on dark I heard a few fish bosh out over the spot, so I was confident a bite was on the cards in the hours of darkness. No sooner had I just finished my dinner and one of the rods was away. After a good scrap it turned out to be one called The Carp Of Two Halves at an awesome 35lb! I was buzzing to say the least and I just knew the night was still young.

“I re-did the rod and all this time fish were boshing in and around the weedbeds, so as you can imagine I was more than hopeful. The night passed surprisingly quiet until around first light when the piercing cry of my alarm had me frantically piling out of my warm sleeping bag. Connecting with the fish, I knew it was something good, stripping line on the first run through the weedbed. After a tedious battle, I finally slipped the net under what appeared to be a big scaly chunk of a mirror. I waited for first light
to get some shots done and it turned out to be a new personal best for myself, all 43lb of awesome looking mirror.”

A new PB at over 40lb!

A stunning mirror taken a few weeks after the big girl

You must have been buzzed with that result, and not long after, you followed this up with another stunning chunk right?
“That’s right. Around half an hour after re-casting I had another blistering take. The fish were clearly on the bait and feeding hard, and this time it turned out to be a lovely 30lb+ leathery looking mirror, one that I haven’t seen or caught before.”

What would you say has been the reason for your consistent success this year in comparison to previous years?
“It is a mixture of everything really: Getting to know the lake over time obviously helps but then making the right decisions when it comes to choosing spots to fish and how to approach those spots is massively important in my opinion. All the small pieces of the puzzle are what make it all come together nicely; going that extra step with bait preparation. A little bit of heat treatment on the boilies the night before going fishing, finding a good quality liquid to complement the baits and the addition of a variation of particles just gives me an edge over the guys who are putting out sacks of standard pigeon conditioner.

“I have had a fantastic year so far having only fished a few months of the year and landing at least six good thirties and two forties so far I certainly cannot complain.”

This water has notable winter form, can you tell us what your plans are for the coming months?
“Well, I am going to carry on fishing here for the time being until a ticket comes up on a nearby venue I have had my eye on for a couple of years now. There are still plenty of fish in here I would like to catch and hopefully with the baiting approach I have been using I can continue to catch right through the colder months up until the next adventure begins.”