Lou’s Lake
After previously trying Horseshoe at Decoy Lakes, I liked the look of similarly shaped Lou’s, where you sit on platforms around an inner grassed finger of land and face out. The far bank was overgrown and looked fishy. It was a bright, sunny day and carp were cruising everywhere. The complex was packed due to it being a weekend, only leaving a few empty pegs. I picked a wide corner, wanting to give the Cadence CR10 12ft Match #3 two-piece rod a go. I also had an CR10 11ft #2 with me, but the extra length would help achieve a decent chuck over to some overhanging bushes on the other side. A bit of cover can help on day’s like this. It was three feet deep across, so I set up an insert waggler, rather than a pellet design. I wasn’t sure what to expect apart from the carp, after my last experience on this fishery, when lots of different species turned up.
Carp Corner
With all the bank side activity and super bright conditions, it looked like the going was going to be tough, but having said that, I fluked a fish first cast. There was a big swirl when my rig hit the water, as a carp grabbed my banded pellet on the surface. Despite this, I resisted the temptation to feed heavily, only occasionally dinking in a few 4 mm Robin Reds. This seemed like a sensible thing to do with method feeders and bigger baits whizzing about all over the place. While most were struggling, my much quieter corner kept producing lots of rod bending action. All I had to do was catapult out half a dozen freebies and sit waiting for a bite with a similar sized hook offering. Anything bigger was ignored by the carp, which were cruising about in an edgy manner. The only other activity was a few tiny silvers being caught on pole fished maggots.
Hard Work
The deepest water on this shallow lake was close in, but my mate Andy around the other side was struggling for bites at full depth in this area. Carp were cruising everywhere, totally ignoring anything aimed at them. It was a case of sitting it out for a response, which he eventually got from a decent sized fish, again on pellet. While I watched his pole elastic getting a good workout, I noticed there were plenty of younger people enjoying themselves. It didn’t seem to matter if not much was happening because at least they could watch plenty of surface cruisers. There were matches on most of the other lakes, where I imagine on a day like this the mugging method with long poles could be highly effective. The only other action I could see was on a similar corner peg to mine, where someone was caning carp casting tight to the far side.
Nice Rod
I often use a foam quiver rest to park a float rod on when unhooking fish and baiting up. I would otherwise utilise the top ring of a keepnet, but they are not allowed here when pleasure fishing. The CR10 12ft was performing perfectly, having a lovely businesslike fish playing action, without being too stiff to worry about hook pulls. Although the #3 is the most powerful option, it’s nothing like a poker. I would happily use it for a wide span of species and venues, whenever slightly stronger tackle is required. I was only using a 3AAA peacock waggler and yet, even with 6lb Edge Sinking Mono, the powerful blank effortlessly cast my relatively light rig to the far bank. The carp kept coming, with no sign of anything else showing interest. I didn’t mind because it would soon be the river season again. I was looking forward to trying this rod in wilder settings.
Crossing Over
Although I generally prefer quieter, less busy venues that aren’t so dominated by carp, I can put up with catching fish like this. It lets me know my gear is capable of dealing with just about anything I might encounter when I get back on the drains and rivers. Unusually, I fed much less than I normally would anywhere else, probably only a quarter pint of 4 mm pellets. Targeting big hauls of carp tends to make you think heaps of bait will be required, but it’s possible to empty fish packed swims with hardly anything. Just enough feed to interest pressurised carp into rooting around your hook bait can be adequate. A pellet waggler might have worked just as well with regular casting and no feed at all. I’ve witnessed big carp hauls taken that way when fishing to features, with only the splash of a float needed to attract plenty of savage takes.
Strip Lakes
I’ve only recently encountered strip lakes, which are like straight sections of a wide canal. There are several on Decoy, and I also discovered a couple at Float Fish Farm, also near Peterborough. The latter was another very busy complex, so I ended up on a strip called Nightingale. Kids were being taught the basics on the early pegs, which was great to see. I went further along where it was a bit quieter and tackled up the Cadence CR10 11ft Match #2 rod I had come close to using on Lou’s Lake. The main feature to target was the heavily reed lined bank on the far side. I decided to catapult a mixture of pellets and casters over there, switching between these baits on a size 16 black nickel hook tied to 0.12 mm Edge Premium Mono. My Cadence CS10 3000 reel was loaded with marginally stronger 4lb Edge Sinking Mono, to create a nicely balanced set up.
Creeping In
When waggler fishing the far side, whatever type of fishery it may be, I like to gradually work my way in. This is a better option than casting tight over from the off because it’s often possible to pick off lots of fish down the ledge in deeper water, before they retreat tight to any cover. This old canal tactic works wonders on narrow commercials. It certainly did here when a banded hard pellet started catching plenty of carp straight away, nothing massive, but even the two-pounders fought like young tigers. Gradually, as I worked my way through the carp, other fish started to swirl for bait on the surface. I discovered it was a different story with a caster or red maggot on the hook, which hungry rudd and roach intercepted on the way down. Waves of silvers would move in and then suddenly disappear, signalling the carp were back. It was a busy session.
Casting Tight
Eventually bites started to dry up down the far ledge, but there was still plenty of surface action tight to the reeds. I shallowed up and caught a 12oz chub straight away on a single caster, followed by a string of rudd and odd chunky roach. If I tucked my waggler right against the cover, my hook bait would get snaffled every time. The carp moved in here too and this was the nicest looking sample I landed. If you want to know where everyone else is fishing, while sitting all alone when the river season opens, it will probably be on popular places like this. I can understand it because plenty of bites are guaranteed, plus while that is happening you get better at different methods you are trying out. I planned to be fishing this way for rudd on the drains in the near future, while in this instance more lively chub and some ide turned up.
Silver Snake
There’s a snake lake tucked away at the back of Townsend Fishery near Wisbech, which I hadn’t tried before. The first straight had been dammed off and stocked with roach, rudd, skimmers, perch, chub, and barbel. A few rogue carp and F1s were left in, but I was told matches were dominated by silvers. It was a rare dry and sunny day for early May, meaning the main lakes were heaving with anglers. Oddly, nobody was on the snake, so I settled down for a quiet session under my brolly. I don’t like getting roasted by the sun, plus some shelter keeps your bait from cooking. I started long with the pole, and it was a bite every put in, with lots of small roach and rudd, along with odd F1s. A few bigger skimmers also turned up. Because there was fish activity everywhere, I dropped short, feeding casters by hand with a shallow rig and caught loads more.
Another World
Before I left Townsend, I had a walk around the rest of the snake lake. The other side to where it had been dammed off was entirely different, chocolate coloured and heavily overgrown. I returned to give it a go a few weeks later, picking a shady spot, due to it being another steaming hot day. I think every carp in the water had the same idea as me because the photo shows what happened every time I fed. It was daft, the ravenous fish were even trying to eat my pole float! To begin with, it was impossible to get any type of hook bait to the bottom because hordes of carp were all over anything that moved. They were even attacking my rig on the way out to the spot I had plumbed up. I spent several hours trying to make sense of it all. If you dropped a baited hook anywhere in the water near where positive feed was being introduced, it would get eaten.
Two for One
This photo sums up how crazy it was. The fish on the bottom was attached to my pole rig, while the intruder above was in my landing net when I lifted it out. I decided enough was enough, so I hatched a plan to see if anything else lived in the murky depths. The main section of snake lake I was on had become so overgrown it resembled a disused canal. There was head high undergrowth in many places, along with plenty of far bank trees and bushes. It was a nice place to be, tucked away from the busy main lakes and very peaceful. I set up a light waggler rig and started to gently catapult a few dark casters well over to my right, towards a big overhanging tree. I kept the carp away by feeding them pellets to my left, hoping they wouldn’t notice my new spot. Of course some did, but occasionally, I managed to get a single caster through them.
Hidden Surprises
I started catching small roach and rudd on the waggler. They were laying just underneath the carp. If I cast too far over into shallower water, carp would result, but dropping into the main channel with a suspended bait revealed plenty of silvers. To begin with, they were small, but gradually slightly better sized ones turned up. I had to use my landing net on odd bigger roach and rudd, also for a trio of surprise crucians. It got more use when stray carp barged in, although I was managing to keep most of them out of the way with big handfuls of pellets elsewhere. A surprise ide turned up next, close to the one-pound mark, which was interesting because I was told chub also used to be resident before the snake was split in two. Maybe a few of those might be lurking around, and who knows what else. I was intrigued enough to want to return.
