Yateley Dreaming

Understanding the nature of the spots, the behaviour of the wary old carp has helped Ryan string together a number of captures from the open access club water

Yateley magic: a battle-scarred mirror

Alex Grice: Hi Ryan, briefly describe your angling time?
Ryan Maxwell: “My day-to-day work takes up the majority of my week, being a chef I often find that I work long day-time hours which varies from month-to-month. I will always try and fish one night each week, especially throughout the spring and summer months and if I can, will squeeze an extra night in around my shifts. If I can finish work early, I will try and get down to the lake for late evening, which means I can get two nights on the bounce.”

Alex Grice: Is having that extra night important?
Ryan Maxwell: “On most waters I would say yes, but at Yateley, the beauty of the Match Lake is that you can often have success on the work nights. As the lake is so busy every week, the fish are just used to angling pressure, which can often move them around the lake. When dropping by for a quick night, keeping disturbance to a minimum and already knowing the productive spots can lead to overnight success.”

Alex Grice: What was the major draw to Yateley and in particular the Match Lake?
Ryan Maxwell: “One of the main draws was just that: the fact you can get results on overnighters is important for someone like myself with limited time and a busy working life. I first joined Farnham when the lakes switched over from CEMEX, so a few years ago now. I live fairly local so it was the ideal choice of venue for myself, whereby I could drop in for the nights during the week with ease. At the time, I noticed some of the gems of the lake, such as Kiss Scale packing on the weight and I just knew it was time I had a piece of Yateley in my angling. Over time, I have learnt more about the history of the complex, the original fish and how it has changed over the years.”

Alex Grice: It is certainly a beautiful place to be…
Ryan Maxwell: “Without a doubt, nothing beats a Yateley dawn, with the birds singing and the sun rising. Getting up early and putting the kettle on, watching the water, nothing beats it in my opinion. One thing I do love about this place is the sheer intimacy of it, most of the casting is short-range, but there is a whole host of wildlife nestled among the weedy depths. You get a real buzz barrowing down the tracks to the swims, checking the marginal snags and getting settled down for the evening.”

Watching and learning

Alex Grice: What lights your fire about the Match Lake carp, do you have any particular fish you would love to catch?
Ryan Maxwell: “Aside from the sheer beauty of the lake, the fish no doubt have something special about them. They hold a sense of history and elusiveness and the look of the old girls are amazing, especially the long Redmire commons and the big mirror, Kiss Scale. I guess the stamp of fish is what gets the buzz going; even the more recent stocked fish are doing incredibly well in here. The Match in particular offers a real variety of fish, with lots of big fish coming through. My targets for the coming year are the Redmire commons; these fish in particular are unbelievable: long, powerful and immaculate. They are becoming rarer by the day and for me, they are the biggest draw to the Match.”

Alex Grice: When did you start fishing over here then?
Ryan Maxwell: “A few years ago now, I have always dropped in and out down here, but always tried to fish during the spring and summer. When I do, I give it my all, I feel like consistency is key within my fishing. If I can get something going over here, particularly on certain spots, I ensure I will see it through and try my utmost to get down to the lake regularly. If I can keep my bait going in on a regular basis to certain spots, I fully believe I will condition fish to visit those areas fairly often.”

Alex Grice: The lake is quite an odd shape; can you briefly describe the venue?
Ryan Maxwell: “It is sort of a long, boomerang shape, around 14-acres in size and has three main islands. The great thing about the Match Lake is each swim commands its own bit of water, which for a club lake is great. The depths are pretty uniform throughout, but certain areas are deeper than others. The fish do tend to use certain patrol routes around the lake, often moving between channels to navigate around the lake.

“During the summertime, the weed can be particularly bad, with 90% of the lake often unfishable. There are distinctive clear spots among the weed, where the fish feed on time after time. The lake also contains a whole host of snags, with back bays and snaggy marginal areas where the fish comfortably sit away from angling pressure. Like most lakes, certain areas are productive at certain times of the year, but I have always found the central area of the lake to throw up fish as they pass through.”

A few well spread baits was different to the majority

Pacific Tuna accounted for Ryan’s Match success

Alex Grice: What was your initial approach on the water and did you prepare?
Ryan Maxwell: “In all honesty, I did very little in terms of doing any background research into the venue. I was away in Australia at the time when I heard the Match was going to become available on a club ticket, so as soon as I returned I sort of got straight into it really. I had some images of fish that I wanted to catch before I set out on the venue, just to keep the motivation and fire burning before I started. Back then, lots of anglers were using Chods and I wanted to avoid using them. The weed was particularly bad, but I had been using the Multi Rig to good effect before, so it seemed stupid to follow the crowd for the sake of it.

“At the time, I was still doing the quick nights, so my main aim was to get to know the venue in more detail by dotting about the swims and trying to get to know the lake better. My initial thoughts were to get an idea of where the fish wanted to be in any given condition, be that a big low pressure or a warm, flat calm day. I knew this would pay dividends later in my fishing when I had very little time after work to make a decision in order to give myself the best possible chance of catching.”

Alex Grice:: Over time, did you notice any particular behavioural traits and did this affect your angling?
Ryan Maxwell: “Yes, certain things did start to become clear and the more I fished, I began to pick up on certain factors, not only fish behaviour-related, but what other anglers were doing too. The fish did tend to move around a lot, you would walk the lake and find them, but by the next day they were in a totally different place. I began to feel the more that I chased them around, the more I was maybe pushing them off and to be honest, setting up in areas where they would pass over in a 12hr period was a much better option. I found that the bigger fish in the lake generally tended to favour the central area of the lake, often coming from noted swims and areas that were blatant hard spots. With such a large number of fish present and those areas receiving lots of bait, it is no wonder why, they obviously want to get their piece of the meal over the smaller residents. The older, original fish no doubt have their haunts too, often straying away from the pack like most old fish do.”

Alex Grice: So what did you notice about the other anglers?
Ryan Maxwell: “I noticed something I call ‘the changeover period at the lake’: a time during the day when the water receives less pressure - where there are no lines in the water. Lots of anglers fish the nights and there seems to be a switchover of anglers between 12-2pm, with most people having wound in by midday thinking their chances have gone. I have found that to be one of the most productive times of the day on the Match, where I believe the fish feed with confidence knowing there are no lines in the water. As the fish are so pressured, they are so used to seeing rigs and bait at all times and often probably don’t feel the need to feed on it with any urgency.”

Alex Grice: I know the Match Lake is particularly snaggy in places, could you find the fish in the edge or did they often show out in the pond?
Ryan Maxwell: “They don’t actually often tend to show out in open water, but they do put on a good fizz. One of the most important aspects about fishing over here is getting up early and watching the bubblers. At times, you could put money on when you are going to get bites; it can be that obvious. A lot of anglers would think the islands will hold numbers of carp, but the resident catfish like to reside close to the islands, so I have always avoided them. At certain times, you can spot the fish using the snaggy marginal areas of the lake, but with the fish I have been targeting known for their open water captures, I have strayed away from the marginal spots. There is a large area of out-of-bounds, a back bay where the fish often reside, it is pretty amazing watching them at close quarters in there!”

Alex Grice: How important is it on here to get the right spot, do the fish visit particular haunts?
Ryan Maxwell: “Vital, with the spots being so small and not a big clean area, getting the right drop is crucial in my opinion. I am extremely fastidious when it comes to getting the right drop, it has to be firm with a solid donk, as to me that is an area where the fish have fed hard for a period of time. Everything from hitting the clip to just about water level, to getting the crisp drop is important for me. I will simply re-cast until I am 100% happy. Confidence is a big part of my angling and if you are confident, you will become consistent. With the sheer number of fish present in the venue, they will no doubt feed most days, polishing the right feeding areas down to the gravel.”

Alex Grice: Do you feel there is a sense of history around this area?
Ryan Maxwell: “Yeah, definitely! Not only down at the lake, but also in Yateley itself. Visiting the shop and the local café’s, everyone in the area knows that the fish is a big part of it that makes the place special. Even the people who work in the takeaways know the anglers on a personal level, it’s crazy. When it really does come into its own at Yateley is the mornings, the shadowed canopy of the trees and the sun bursting through the trees, it all adds to the atmosphere over here.”

Final checks of the rig

Nestled among the undergrowth

Alex Grice: This is relatively open access water; did you find it difficult against the crowds of anglers?
Ryan Maxwell: “There are crowds, but this isn’t really a problem in my eyes, in fact I feel at times it can make the fishing better. I mainly fish mid-week, so that does help a lot, but even so the venue sees regular footfall. With it being an open access venue where anglers just crack on with their own thing, you do see all sorts of strange things. I feel the competition for bait is a big factor, with many anglers using lots of bait.”

Alex Grice: What did you do to avoid falling into the trap of the majority of anglers?
Ryan Maxwell: “Most anglers either Spomb their bait or use a bait and to me, this creates a similar sort of baiting situation that the fish become accustomed to seeing every day. That tight feeding situation, especially with small particles, will only makes bites harder to come by. I have always done the opposite, fishing smaller beds of bait, but spreading the baits lightly with a catapult to create a situation that isn’t as blatant; those big beds of bait must be quite alarming to the fish. I feel the way I introduce loose feed makes the free offerings appear as if they have been there for a few days.”

Alex Grice: Rig-wise, what has been keeping the bites coming for you?
Ryan Maxwell: “This year I have been having great success on a balanced bottom bait presentation, with two small beads on the shank and the bait attached by a small swivel. Last year, I found the bites dried up quickly on the pop-ups, so I have switched to bottom baits and the bites have been forthcoming. I have also employed fluoro main line, which I feel has helped hugely with the fish being so aware of main lines in here.”

Alex Grice: Bait-wise, what has been successful for you?
Ryan Maxwell: “The boilie has continued to keep them feeding well, I will probably make the switch to tigers after spawning, but a mixture of sizes in the Tuna has led to the downfall every trip. I have always preferred a bright bait when fishing the spots, but a subtle washed-out colour is important I feel.”

Alex Grice: How has your season fared so far, any particular highlights?
Ryan Maxwell: “This season has been very kind to me so far, with seven thirties banked in the past seven nights fishing. One particular session this year, only last week in fact, I turned up after work at around 5pm. I got the rods in position but the night passed by uneventful, until around 10:30am when I had the first take which turned out to be a lovely 24lb mirror. Not long after, the rod was away again with a real chunky 39lb mirror, which gave a hell of a scrap in the weedy conditions. At one point it took me down towards the island, but after a frantic battle I finally had it safely in the net.”

Alex Grice: Will you continue to fish the Match, or have you looked elsewhere in the Yateley area?
Ryan Maxwell: “I am currently waiting for another ticket, but there are certainly a few fish I still dearly would love to catch. I do enjoy the Match Lake and it is ideal for the work nights that I fish, so until that ticket pops up, I will continue my business over here.”

Out to the spot