End of Season
I wanted to get back on the Old Nene before the river season closed. The banks were still a muddy mess in March after the busy winter match scene, so I decided on nearby Benwick, where it’s a bit easier and less mucky to set up. I also wanted to see how the fishing compared to when I visited this spot last summer. Back then it was a case of battling a way through the small fish, discovering plenty of good bream and tench were present as well. I set up a light waggler rod, aiming to cast over towards the far bank, also my Cadence Margin Pole in reserve for closer in. It had taken some time previously to get the bigger fish feeding. They had signalled when they arrived, fizzing patches of bubbles as they rooted about on the bottom. On this occasion, the waggler produced bites straight away from small roach, rudd, bleak, and perch.
Village Life
Some venues are simply pleasant places to enjoy. I class this sleepy fenland village among them because it creates a feeling of going back in time. You get the odd dog walker and rare boat passing through, but apart from that, it’s a world away from the busy suburban waterways I used to spend much of my time on. Most importantly, plenty of fish hang around these sheltered areas and I can’t remember ever experiencing a bad day here. Having said that, the waggler was proving a bit slow, with interest only coming in fits and starts. I did find a couple of perch big enough to use a landing net on, but otherwise everything was tiny. I tried switching from maggots to casters, but that was even slower. After continuously feeding up my closer margin pole line for several hours, I suddenly spotted a patch of pinprick bubbles over it, then another…
Repeat Performance
I had to resort to hard baits like pellets to beat the small fish on summer sessions here but found with the water being much colder this time, I could get maggots or casters down to the deck okay. To begin with on the margin pole, it took a while to gain a response and when it came using double red maggots, only small perch resulted. I decided to sit it out with double caster. More fizzes were beginning to happen, but they were less aggressive than warmer weather ones. Whatever was down there was cleverly working its way around the edges of where I had been cupping in groundbait, so I tried dropping my baited hook in less accurately. Suddenly, my pole float disappeared and elastic shot out of my top kit, jagging around all over the canal-like waterway. This nice tench resulted, followed by another of similar size to save the day.
Manic in Manea
To beat the close season blues, I returned to Manea Fisheries, wanting to have another go on the Silver Fish Lake. I got a flavour of the potential here on a windy and freezing cold winter’s day, wondering what it would be like now the weather had warmed up. There was good colour in the water, and I wasn’t about to be disappointed. Feeding small balls of groundbait and loose casters on a short pole line, produced a crazy response from F1 carp, ranging from 12oz to 4lbs. It was so hectic I dropped in shorter, bagging up even faster on just a top kit. I kept putting the carp back and gradually, as I thinned them out, the silver fish got a chance to have a go. Odd skimmers turned up and were just big enough for my landing net to be used, along with lots of rudd, a few chunky roach and occasional hand-sized hybrids. I switched to a shallow rig next.
Comfy Fishing
What I like about this place is how convenient it is. Only a few minutes down the road, with ample parking, often right next to where you want to set up on the two grassy banked lakes. They were originally joined, but the top end was very shallow. This led to everything being redesigned, to form the much deeper and wider main Carp Pool at the top and a shallower, almost canal-like silver fish option at the lower end. Despite its title, I’d unearthed a big nest of carp to begin with. However, as the session progressed more and more chunky rudd were swirling on top for loose fed casters, allowing me to bag up with them. This helped to avoid the F1s, although odd ones still managed to give my pole elastic a good stretch. I’m told there’s also tench, but none showed. That provides a good excuse to have another go here at some stage.
All the Nines
I was searching out more potential places to try on the Old River Nene next season, when I stumbled across a nearby golf course at Ramsey, which has a fishing lake outside the clubhouse. I went to have a look, discovering you can buy a day ticket in the bar and restaurant, with plenty of parking close by. It looked fishy with good depth, featuring nine neatly constructed pegs that have plenty of water to explore. It was L-shaped with all the swims on the inner side and the 9-hole golf course set behind. Nine pegs and nine holes told me someone had a sense of humour, unless there’s a cross-over game I don’t yet know about! Information about what this water holds was sketchy, mentioning usual suspects like bream, roach, and carp on the website. I plan to give it a go, but probably not over a weekend, when I suspect it will get very busy.
Feature Peg
As the weather warmed up, I went back to Manea post office to buy a permit for the council run pit nearby. All paid up, I settled in one of the bays close to the first entrance, which featured reedy gravel bars, along with bushes and trees poking up through the surface. It looked like flooded farmland and must have been part of the original gravel workings, next to the main body of water. I struggled, only catching odd sprats, switching between the pole and waggler. As a last resort, I dropped a pole rig short by a bush to my right, where I had spotted an odd fish topping underneath. It was suddenly a different world, producing a bite every put in. I bagged up with rudd and roach, amassing double figures in the final hour and a half. I hadn’t bothered with a keepnet after such a slow start, but now I knew the score, I had a plan for my next visit.
Taking Cover
Returning to Manea Pit at the weekend, I was joined by my mate Andy Griffiths. It was very busy in the area I fished before, being next to a park where a football match and kids games were taking place. This prompted us to have a go on the other side, where the main body of water is. We had fished there on our first visit a few weeks previously, but with several cormorants dive-bombing the exposed spot, we didn’t catch anything. This time there was only one of the black predators remaining, making us more hopeful. After finding fish hiding under a bush on the backwater a few days before, I picked another swim with plenty of nearside foliage to one side, hoping for a repeat performance. It was snaggy close in with lots of sunken tree branches, so I had to push my pole tackle further out. After cupping in groundbait, I quickly gained a response.
Open Water
Andy homed in on the same peg he picked on his first visit to this venue, confidently setting up feeder tackle. This seemed like a good plan because the only other anglers about were targeting carp with multi-rod set-ups and bomb rigs. I heard one carper in the distance telling his mate he had caught odd tench and bream over his spod mix. Feeders can emulate spodding on a smaller scale, attracting fish that are used to the disturbance, knowing it provides a free meal. Andy took the fishmeal and pellets route, aiming to work through baits like maggots, wafters, and sweetcorn on the hook, to try to find a winning combination. There was a strong wind cutting across the pit, forcing him to use a window feeder to keep everything accurate. Unlike last time in this area, he also got bites quickly, catching rudd just as his rig settled.
Waking Up
It’s amazing how stillwaters come alive as the weather warms up. Last time in open water, this place was dead, and you wouldn’t think there was a fish in it. On this occasion, Andy was soon having to try to avoid the ravenous rudd, which were homing in his feeder as it landed. He tried inert baits, but could only get a response on double maggots. Gradually the rudd backed off, signalling something big had moved in. He thought he had hooked the bottom after a longer wait for a bite, but whatever it was started moving. It was sluggish and heavy, suggesting a large carp had just woken up from its winter hibernation. He couldn’t do anything with it and eventually the fish managed to shed his hook over a weedy gravel bar, which he had been casting over. Amazingly, the next two chucks resulted in this brace of tench, before the small rudd returned.
Hard Work
The only way I could get a bite was after cupping in groundbait. Rudd and roach homed in every time, but only lingered for a minute or so. I tried loose feeding maggots, to see if I could catch shallow, but didn’t get a response. I noticed the lone cormorant was on the hunt in the distance, which was probably why the fish were so spooky. I tried feeding more heavily to see if I could attract anything bigger, but it didn’t make any difference. A soft ball of groundbait, regardless of the size, would bring a quick bite or two and then nothing until the next helping. I had to set my hook bait a few inches off the bottom, to try to avoid stringy filaments of fine weed. When I tried going over-depth, hook baits got covered by the stuff. It was blowing a gale by now, so I didn’t see any point in switching away from my Cadence Margin Pole, which was coping fine.
Learning Curve
When things aren’t going well on new venues, plugging away at a method, which is at least bringing a response from small fish, can sometimes pay off. As Andy discovered, eventually something big might move in, but that didn’t happen for me on this occasion. I ended up with a few pounds of small silvers, but at least it was better than my first go on the main part of the pit. I had to switch to a more sheltered backwater to make something happen. It could be that it was still a bit early in the year and the place was still waking up, or maybe a case of finding a winning bait and way of presenting it. I’ve fished places like this before, where it takes time to get to grips with them. I always enjoy sussing out new waters, especially when they have lots of character. Finding it easier in the backwaters, or tricky in the open, is all part of the challenge.
