Terry Hearn continued his pursuit of the Ashmead biggun, Single Scale this week with the capture of another of the venue’s ‘A Team’ in the shape of the Long Common. Terry also caught the lake’s second largest mirror, Moon Scale for the third time this year, whilst battling through the herds of nightmarish rudd…
El Tel with the Long Common at 40lb 7oz
So far this year most of my fishing has been at Ashmead in Somerset. I’ve been lucky enough to fish some lovely venues over the years, but Ashmead has got to be the most unique, completely different from anywhere else that I’ve ever fished.
Mind you, like most waters it has its problems. The mile long track leading to the lake is absolutely horrendous and so full of pot holes that really its only suitable for a four wheel drive – seriously, I’m not sure how much more my poor old Astra estate can take! Then there’s the ‘piranha rudd’. I’ve experienced all manner of nuisance species whilst carping over the years, from bream and tench to Crayfish and Mitten crabs, but nothing comes close to the Ashmead rudd. They can get through a couple of kilos of 18mm boilies in no time at all, completely ruining your presentation in the process.
And so, what I’ve been doing just lately is baiting heavily in the evenings, letting the rudd have their fill through the night, which is definitely when they are at their worst, and then at very first light I’ve been recasting the rods and topping up the swim with more bait. Sure, there’s a risk of spooking any carp that are present, but that’s a far better option than sitting there with no baits on the hairs.
Now and again I’ve reeled in from feeding / bubbling carp only to find that the baits are fine, which can make you feel a bit silly, but not half as silly as I’ve felt when I’ve reeled in with no baits on after watching the big’un feeding on the spot all morning! I could of course use mesh or shrink wrap to protect the hookbaits, but even then the Rudd still move the rigs about and foul my presentation during the night. Even tiger nuts get moved about.
Although the rudd are a serious problem their nocturnal feeding sprees certainly ensure that the swim is full of attractive food signals come dawn, and quite often it’s been later on in the mornings that the carp have moved in to investigate. Over the last few trips I’ve been taking a chance and redoing the rods at first light, and so far it’s been paying off with several good fish falling to the reset traps around mid-morning, topped by a 40lb 7oz common and Moon Scale, the lakes second biggest mirror for the third time this year.
One thing for sure, if I’d sat on my hands, like I normally would when I’ve got a swim full of feeding carp at first light, then I wouldn’t have caught half the fish that I’ve been lucky enough to catch. Us carp anglers can easily get stuck into habits, and setting the traps in the evening in the hope of getting a take the following morning is a tactic that most of us use, but if nuisance species are present in large numbers it’s well worth getting a couple of “fresh’uns” out there at very first light.
Prototype rods, coated braid and hooks again formed part of Terry’s approach.
Keep catching ’em,