0 Perseverance: The Key to Angling Success
The Park Lake...
Having finally obtained my ticket for a lake we’ll call “The park lake”. I was itching to get started. I had originally logged interest in joining the club back in 2015. Unbeknown to me I hadn’t actually been added to the list, however a few friends mentioned that the list was now open and one of them offered to propose me.
The park lake is a beautiful large body of water situated in established pine forest and heathland. It’s lined with massive rhododendrons bushes which in the warmer months come into full bloom offering mesmerising bursts of deep purple. It’s a vibrant place and popular with runners, cyclists, families and dog walkers alike.
Bygone Eras...
The club that oversees the rights to fishing on there is a bit of a throwback to bygone eras. They like to keep to traditions and any new members or anyone wanting to renew tickets must do so in person at allotted dates. It was during one of those membership sessions that I met a number of the committee and a few of the bailiffs that look after the lakes. In fact, it was the head bailiff for the park lake that took one look at me walking towards them to sign up and shouted “Jesus it’s the incredible hulk”. The banter didn’t stop there and pretty soon I found myself thinking, what a top bunch of lads.
After being read the riot act by the chairman who is a gnarly, no nonsense character he warmed up a bit and began asking about my fishing. I explained I was predominantly a carp angler but I also loved targeting other species from time to time. This prompted him to beckon over the club treasurer. It turned out he was also a bailiff on the park lake and a wealth of knowledge. I’d had an idea that the lake had some very special old strains of fish but by the time he’d finished talking about the stock I was left salivating. He offered to walk me round and give me a better understanding of the lake and a few weeks we did just that.
By mid-June I was now chomping at the bit and ready to get started on there. I’d walked it a number of times prior and watched as the lake and its surroundings slowly began to take on its stunning summer form. I picked a period that fell over my birthday for my first trip, using it as a good excuse to get three nights on the bank.
Parking on a nearby housing estate I took the long and arduous journey in sweltering heat with a fully laden barrow to an area the head bailiff referred to as Ibiza beach. This was a large sandy area and popular with the locals as I was about to find out. Once there I was met with what can only be described as a scene from an American coming of age movie. There were sporadic groups of youngsters all over the place, towels strewn everywhere, music blaring and the faint aroma of something herbal. Welcome to Ibiza beach! This is probably most people’s idea of hell and it wasn’t exactly ideal but sometimes you have to overlook and overcome obstacles, especially given the possible rewards. I stopped in a number of swims watching the water and walked the length of this area. There were people in the water swimming, creating merry hell and a lot of disturbance. The lake has a boat club on it and I felt sorry for them, people paid a considerable amount of money to be part of that club but were now hindered by people in the water. I sat in a swim and watched the sail boats for a while and noticed they were sticking to a large open area and noticed a safety boat, a small speed boat whizzing up and down monitoring the sailors. In the wake of the safety boat, I watched a carp breach the water all the way to the wrist of its tail. That was enough for me. I set up in that swim and waited for the whistle blast which signalled the end of that session. Once the boats had gone, I aimed my marker rod at the route the speed boat had taken and cast out. Wallop, the lead crashed down and upon dragging it back towards me it felt like it was gliding along glass. A few more casts in other areas and I was happy I’d found my spots. At that time, I was using a “test” bait from DT baits comprised of crustacean meal and baited the area with a liberal scattering using a throwing stick. I plonked the rods out and sat back in anticipation. Anticipation that the masses of delinquents behind me would eventually bugger off and anticipation for the night ahead and the rods bursting into life. That night didn’t exactly go to plan. I was plagued by bream of all shaped and sizes, then there were the Kray fish! Come the morning I was sat having a coffee and procrastinating when my wonderful wife called. She was planning on popping down to see me and wanted to know if I needed anything? I don’t think ten kilos of N-blend was the answer she was expecting. Regardless she humped my bait all the way from the car to my swim and sat with me for a few hours.
End of Autumn...
That evening was the polar opposite from the one previous. I finally got into the carp and then some. I managed eleven bites landing eight including some “characters”. One of them had a face only a mother could love and the body wasn’t much better. It got worse when I rolled it over and found it didn’t even have an eye on that side. Regardless I was happy that I’d got away from the bream and Krays and got on some carp. It’s worth mentioning that both the Krays and bream were kept at bay by the N-blend, no doubt because of the insane amount of tiger nut in it.
The last night was much the same I managed another four fish one of them being an ancient looking common but the lions share being stockies, some of which are insane looking things. The future is most definitely bright.
Over the remainder of the summer and autumn I continued my run of form having multiple hits of fish each outing but again they were mostly made up of stockies. I had even started targeting other swims in the hope of finding some better fish but they just seemed to follow me.
At the end of autumn, myself and a friend decided we would do the winter on there and began a baiting campaign using DT’s Cold Water Green Beast. Between us we visited the lake every few days making sure the bait continued going in. It paid off too as I continued to have fish and on one occasion, we got together for a social which saw me have four and my friend managed two as well. But they still weren’t of the stamp I’d hoped for.
Despondent...
At that point I’d grown a bit despondent and although close friends kept saying “the better ones would come it’s a matter of time” I was starting to lose patience. I look back now and I didn’t know how good I had it as a short time after that I tore a disk in my back having been involved in an accident at work. I was crippled with pain, unable to walk properly or sit up straight let alone get out for a night’s fishing. Those three months felt like the longest ever! After months of seeing a chiropractor and intensive physio I managed to get out for a few hours here and there, I targeted another one of the clubs’ lakes nearer home which saw me have some really stunning carp but my head and my heart were back at the park lake. I was chomping at the bit to get back there and continue trying to get into the better fish.
Around early spring I made a slight change to my approach. I had previously been using pre-sharpened hooks and tackle from a company I won’t name. Although my landing ratio was better than my loss ratio it still didn’t sit well with me and it wasn’t a regular problem I’d ever had before. I found the hooks were far too soft at the tip and seemed to bur on every fish, meaning I’d go through a pack of hooks in one session. There were always one or two that were damaged in the pack as well. Needless to say, it was time for a change and luckily, I was offered a position on the PB products team. I’ve used lots of their bits over the years and have always been mega impressed so it was a no brainer when given the opportunity. With some new tackle in my armoury and my back in a much better place it was time to head back to the park. I managed a handful of nights over a few weeks but once again I could only manage to catch the smaller fish. That being said the hook holds I was now getting since using the PB anti-eject hooks were a real confidence booster each fish was nailed slap bang in the bottom lip about an inch back. Things were different this time my resolve was stronger and a night on the bank and a wet net was a far better prospect then being stuck at home unable to get out. I had a lot of time to make up for!
That bring us up to date. As I write this, I have just returned from two nights on the park lake. On my previous sessions as mention I’d started using PB products anti-eject hooks coupled with jelly wire. I’d picked up a few fish using a slip D wafter rig so I went in with that on two of my rods and a Ronnie rig using the same components on the third. This one was sitting on slightly dirtier substrate so I wanted it to just sit above it.
The first night was very eventful my first fish was an astoundingly beautiful scaly low twenty, if I’d come away that trip with only that fish to show for my efforts, I’d have been happy. It didn’t end there though, I managed two more stockies through the night which had taken its toll as I’m not the best on broken sleep. The following dawn my phone alarm started blaring out a racket, I wasn’t in the mood or ready to get up and instead opted for the snooze button, something I never usually do. Having seen to that I was out cold again the sleeping bag pulled up over my head to block out the growing light. What felt like only seconds later I was abruptly woken up to the alarm again, or so I first thought but I quickly realised it wasn’t my phone letting out a racket it was the welcome sound of my right hand Delkim. I bolted out of bed and over to the rod snatching it from off the buzz bar. “Ah another stockie” I said to myself. I played it all the way in down my right-hand margin certain it was another scamp until a big boil hit the surface a rod length out followed by the flank of a rather deep and chunky looking common. My pulse began to race and my legs started to buckle. I knew exactly what fish it was and it definitely wasn’t a stockie and definitely wasn’t small. I walked backwards bringing it closer to the net cord before swooping forward and scooping it up. The immense feeling of relief hit me like a heavy weight punch. After countless stockies and smaller fish there she was a stunning chunky common and a PB common at that.
I wanted to write this for anyone out there struggling whether that’s physically, mentally or any other way. You might be struggling to get time on the bank because of work or family commitments, struggling with a long blank spell or finding it hard to get the buzz for it. Ride it out it’s just a short blip in time. You have to believe it will come good eventually. The most important thing is appreciating and enjoying the journey.
Thanks for reading,
Dan Winfield
