Gaz Fareham has moved onto a new syndicate this spring and sounds like he is thoroughly enjoying it! Here he gives us a round up so far:
‘After an enjoyable winter season chasing the Avon and Stour chub around, as soon as those first few warm rays of sun were breaking through and the buds and daffodils appearing, I was excitedly prepping the carp kit and readying things for a spring on my new syndicate lake.
For a few seasons I have focussed on the local pits in Ringwood, and to be honest, with the pressures of my teaching work and editorial duties for Subsurface really carving into my time, it had been difficult to string much together with the intense pressure and stamp of anglers those pits receive, but this spring I knew I’d have a bit more time, and was looking forward to fishing outside of the local area for a change of scenery, and scene, as much as anything, and most importantly a bit of peace and quiet away from the crowds.
The new pit is a historic one, containing a few old Leneys and a few of the Claremonts, the same ones that went into Savay in the 80’s. It is only small, at roughly ten acres, but is a jungle of a lake with over ten islands, and the layout is almost entirely made-up of channels, tiny bays and gaps, being literally festooned with snags, dense pads and reeds and in some ways it is the perfect ‘old school’ kind of carp lake, with every single swim and spot looking like it needs a bait underarming in there.
Intimate doesn’t really do it justice, it is certainly a break from the somewhat industrial nature of the mega-range fishing on the likes of Rockford closer to home that’s for sure! I’ve employed a fairly standard approach so far, opting to stay mobile and spend as much time looking for the carp as possible; with the multitude of channels and snags for them to hide themselves in, and the abundance of climbing trees it seems the perfect option, the relatively shallow, gin clear water helping the observational approach as well.
Tactics wise, the spots aren’t that clean yet and as there’s still a bit of debris around I’ve gone for the ever faithful ‘Cobra’ pop up rigs (as Marcus coined it) which is basically a ‘soft boom’ stiff hinge, using an albright knot to join the materials, those being 20lb Tungsten Loaded, and 25lb Stiff Bristle filament. The hook end remains the eternally reliable ‘D’ set up and due to the severity of the snags, I’ve been opting for a size 4 Drennan Continental which so far haven’t let me down, and as ever I’ve gone for a nice long length of the green leadcore to complete the presentation.
Hot water and GLM powder steeped fishmeals and corkballed hook baits soaked in salmon oil completing a simple, but reliable set up. It’s been a great start, with a couple of the better fish coming my way and a few of the smaller ones too and with a handful of really special old Leney mirrors to angle for, I’m hoping to add a few more to the album as the spring and summer progresses!’