Bailiff Comments

Week Commencing: Sat 25/09/2021

                                    Bumper week on the Road Lake with two new 50 pounders.

This week we had 2 groups of 3 mates and one first time visitor. Being only with 7, everyone was sure they would get into a decent swim. Temperatures were low 20s with some cold nights. On the walk round it was clear that the fish were in all parts of the lake, which made picking a swim quite hard. Let’s get going….

First up we have Matthew Hammond who wisely chose the often-overlooked swim Billy’s.

After having a chat with the bailiff and hearing what the swim produced the previous week he was buzzing to get started. Matthew chose to fish open water even though he saw some fish in the margin. The idea was to let the fish be happy in the margin and catch them when they moved into open water at night. Settling up at 20 wraps straight out in front was the chosen distance. Bait for the week was Mainline Link mixed with some maize. Booms and loops with match the hatch wafters were fished over the top. Getting the rods out before putting the bivvy up paid off!! Within 3 hours of fishing he landed 6 fish and broke his PB with “Ron’s” fish at 60lb on the nose…. What a first few hours! Bringing the rods in during the days and resting the swim made Matthew catch fish every night. Sunday evening saw him land two twenty pounders. A few hours later in the early hours of Monday “Leslie” at 40lb 8oz decided to pick up his Link wafter. Just after dinner on Monday he managed to land another 40lb, this time it being “Gilbert” at 45lb 4oz….  By Wednesday he had landed another three 40s with “The Jewel” at 48lb 8oz being the biggest. Matthew caught each night. Bringing the rods in during the day definitely helped him catch more fish at night. Matthew ended the week with 24 Fish. You are a top bloke mate, nice meeting you and hope to see you very soon again. Very good angling!

Next up we have Rob Guy over in The Poo. While setting up his bivvy he had seen a few fish show in close. 12 wraps straight out in front was the chosen distance. Mainline Link and Cell boilies mixed with some maize went out on the chosen spot. D-rigs with snowmen were going to have to do the business. Sunday afternoon saw his first action “Hovis” at 29lb.  Just before dinner I got a call saying “ I might have just landed my new PB”.  And Yes it definitely was, “Lovin’ Life” at 47lb 4oz was the culprit. Monday saw two more fish being landed. His next bite came on Wednesday a nice mid 20 pounder. The best was yet to come on Thursday when he landed not one but two 50s in quick succession. “Swaley’s Mirror” at 50lb on the nose, which is a new 50 pounder for The road lake which makes it 30 fish over 50 pounds. Rob’s new PB is now known as “Frankie” at 52lb 8oz. Ending the week with 10 fish including two 50s and two 40s. Not a bad week. Well done Rob! 

Over in Decoy we had Mark Walford for the week. Mark has fished the Main Lake before with some good success landing a biggun. Would he manage to land a biggun this week?? Well let’s see… 2 rods went down towards the bund at 16 wraps with his third rod at 18 wraps towards The Cage. Bait choice was Mainline Link and Cell mixed with maize and our house pellet. D-rigs and spinner rigs with SSM were fished over the top. It didn’t take long for him to be off the mark, a nice stockie at 13lb 8oz which he got to name. The next day two more stockies were landed. All of Mark’s fish came from the 16-wrap spot. Monday was action station for him, landing 4 fish. The biggest being “Hansen” at 54lb…. Mark has done it again, landing a biggun. 2 more fish were landed by Wednesday “Daffy” at 34lb 12oz being the biggest. This was Mark’s last action as the fish had moved out. Ending the week on 10 fish. Good Angling Mark, nice seeing you again!!!

Jamie Vant-Harrison set his stall up in Turtles Corner for the week. On his previous trip he only managed to land one fish. His target for the week was to catch a few more fish than on his last trip. I was 100% sure he would break his target especially being in Turtles corner. All 3 rods went out at 20 wraps towards the dot island. Combi rigs with snowmen were fished over a bed of Mainline Link and Cell boilies mixed with some maize. By Sunday he had broken his target for the week already. Landing 3 fish, the biggest being a 24lb common. Monday lunch time “Chamonix” at 38lb 8oz came for a visit. Half an hour later and he was in again, with a lovely 28lb mirror. Tuesday saw a 29lb mirror being landed. The best was yet to come… On Thursday he landed a total of 17 fish including two PB’s. “The Tish” At 45lb 4oz was Jamie’s new PB where for he got a bucket. Five minutes later he got another bucket when he landed “Broken Tail” at 48lb. What a day that was….. Jamie ended the week with 43 fish. I definitely think you broke your target this week mate J

One swim down from Turtles corner Rae Guy had set up his bivvy in Shingles. Rae started of fishing all 3 rods at 18 wraps towards the dot island. After hearing fish boshing in closer during the night he made the decision to move 2 rods at 12 wraps straight out in front. Spinner rigs with snowmen fished over a mixture of maize and mainline Link boilies had to do the business for him this week. Sunday afternoon saw his first action of the week from the 12-wrap spot, “Hovis” at 29lb. 24 hours later saw him land “Blowt Fish” at 36lb.  The short-range spot had been producing all of the fish. It was only a matter of time before a biggun would turn up. The next day it happened when he landed a stunning 46lb 4oz common. Rae didn’t go shy on the bait, spombing out around 8kg each day. A few hours later and he had landed another 40 pounder, “The Grey” at 45lb 4oz…. Friday saw him have a brace of two 40 pounders. “Vouvray” at 41lb and “Golden Virginia” at 42lb 8oz. Putting in big beds of bait did the do for Rae. You are a top bloke mate, hope to see you soon again. 

Picking number one in the draw was Darren halls who decided to give New Beach a go.

Darren chose to fish a bit shorter than the usual 21 wrap spot, all 3 rods went out at 18 wraps. Crushed Mainline Essential Cell mixed with Link and Cell with some maize was the chosen bait. Combi rigs with wafters were fished over the top. It took a few days before the fish moved on him. Monday his first action came, a 2021 stockie which he chose to name “Whoop Whoop”.  A few hours later and he was in again, this time it felt much bigger. It turned out to be “Pac-Man” at 45lb 4oz…. A new PB! The next day a grass carp at 38lb had been landed. Darren broken his PB once already this week. But it all changed when he landed the best looking common in the lake “The Wedge” at 51lb on Wednesday. Which means he broke his PB twice in one week.  This was Darren’s last action for the week, but what a way to end your week. Well in mate J

Last but no means least we have Johan Simberg over in Tea Party 1. Being it his first time on the Gigantica complex and managing to get into Tea Party 1 it was looking promising. Johan started off with all 3 rods at 18 wraps towards Turtles corner. Mainline Cell mixed with our house pellet and some maize was spombed out at 17 ½ wraps to allow for the swing back in this depth of water. SSM on spinner rigs were fished over the top. It took until Monday afternoon for the first bite to come, a new PB…. “God Know’s” at 42lb 4oz. It went all quite till Thursday when he decided to put a 12ft zig with yellow foam out. 3 fish were landed, the best one being “Lester’s” at 36lb 4oz. During the day on Friday he saw some fish boshing over the 16-wrap spot at the church spire. With no hesitation he put 2 rods on it, resulting into 2 fish. Johan ended the week on 6 fish. Well done mate!

The Road Lake keeps on producing the numbers, a total of 79 fish were caught this week. Numerous PB’s have been smashed again… Great bunch of lads with lots of banter J Looking forwards to seeing you all back soon!

Tight Lines,

Jason