Spencer Wright has started 2014 on an incredible run of form which he has been keeping under wraps until now, but careful pre-baiting and a very interesting new rig has been paying dividends for the Isle of Wight based carper. Here Spence gives us the full story:
I was intending to fish the winter on my new syndicate, so with us having unusually mild condition’s, it made things a little easier if anything. I had started fishing in October and pretty much caught from the off and carried on up until Christmas before having a month off due to a bereavement.
My time as always was at a premium, getting one overnighter a week, which consisted of a Friday night, straight after work. It was hard work, leaving work in darkness before commuting home on my push-bike to collect my gear, then venturing out into night, bound for the lake. Most weeks after arriving, setting up consisted of wading through deep water and mud, before casting out and then reeling in at first light and packing down, rushing to get back in time to reach home within my allotted curfew from the boss. No rest for the wicked!
I started back off towards the end of January with a real determination. It was also good to be out alone and have some time to reflect on the loss that we had suffered. The banks were pretty much empty, due to the high water levels and the colour of the lake water due to the run off of water from the surrounding hills, meaning that I could be left to my own devices, which to be honest, was just what I wanted.
I made a determined effort to pre-bait every couple of days, all around the lake. I wanted various spots in different swims so that I could choose wisely, depending on what I saw when I arrived and on the prevailing weather conditions that were present on my arrival.
It seemed as though my actions were to be rewarded as I caught on each and every night I fished. If I hadn’t caught by 6.30am in the morning then I would make a concerted effort to move in the dark to another pre-baited spot, which saved a blank on each occasion where I hadn’t caught on my initial swim choice. Hard work indeed! Doubly hard, in fact, but I had one chance a week to get my fix so made the effort in order to catch.
My choice of bait was acceptable to the fish; CC Moore’s XXX, with the end tackle being my consistent snowman set-up from the last few years, my reverse combi rig which is tied to a Size 6 ESP Stiff Rigger Mk2 Hook, tied to 15lb ESP Stiff Bristle Filament and 15lb Brown ESP Sink Link and a Leadshed drop off lead and 35lb ESP Leadcore leader.
I was also tinkering with another rig using the same components but in a different context, which was starting to produce the goods with exceptional hookholds. The future looks bright for the JCB rig, as it’s been christened.
As the end of February approached and the temperatures seemed to increase even more, I increased the baiting as Spring was obviously in its ascendancy and things started to kick off big style. The culmination of which was when in 3 overnight trips I managed to trip up two of the lakes bigger residents weighing in at 39-11 and 40-4 as well as another decent 30 thrown in for good measure.
With another 2 months to go until the fish look at spawning, which will result in the lake closing for the summer; but before then, im looking forward to more of the same, using the methods and tactics explained above. It’s a wonderful time to be out on the bank with nature waking up from its winter slumber and I intend to be out there at every opportunity with hopefully more of the same.
Tight Lines,
Spence