After catching the Brute from Pingewood back in the spring, Richard French has taken on a new challenge in the shape of a very big gravel pit in pursuit of some of the very special fish it contains. Here Richard fills us in on how’s he’s got on so far. Looks like its going well!
Last year, I made a conscious decision that my next challenge would be a near 100 acre lake in Berkshire. I was still fishing for the Brute at the time but that quest ended this April with the capture of my target after a two year and eight month campaign, I could at last move on.
I knew exactly where I would be heading for next and could not wait. I couldn’t start fishing the lake until the 16th of June as the birth of my son was imminent so I used the little time I did have to continue to walk its banks as I did through the winter months and plan how I would go about fishing the place for when the ticket started. Reading Nigel Sharp’s book Living the Dream also gave me plenty of valuable information about the lake and helped fire up the enthusiasm.
In terms of my approach, mobility and travelling light, for me would be essential to get around the lake and suited me fine as I prefer to fish this way. The ESP bait buckets are really handy for traveling light as they are lightweight, can hold all manner of different items, collapse flat when not in use and are very robust which is needed when pushing your kit through masses of brambles.
Rigs were to be either chod rigs or hinged stiff links tied up with ESP Bristle filament in 20lb and 25lb. These would be fished on original camo leadcore leaders. To make the set up safe, size 11 High Performance Uni-Link swivels, 5mm rubber shock beads and 0.5 mm silicone were incorporated into the set up. This would be tied to the new Syncro XT mainline in 15lb. This stuff could tow a ship and does exactly what it says on the tin.
The 16th June soon arrived and the start didn’t go to badly with the capture of a 30lb 6oz mirror within my first 24 hours of starting. Happy days! After a couple of weeks of moving around the lake and fishing as many different area’s as possible for future reference, I’ve managed a further fifteen bites including seven thirties and losing four in various situations.
So hopefully the season carries on for me as the way it started and with any luck, one of those stunning old Leney’s will grace my net in the not too distant future…