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| Hardwick Lake at Linear fisheries |
I had arranged to meet up with Chris Summers from Masterline Walker at Linear fisheries in Oxfordshire. The plan was to spend a couple of nights fishing and have a bit of a social really. There's a large number of gravel pits on the site and plenty of specimen fish to go for. It's predominantly known for the large number of carp that reside in its waters and this is the draw for the majority of anglers that bivvy up on the banks.
In all honesty, I was much more interested in the other species present as some of the pits are rumoured to hold some huge bream, tench and roach. I wouldn't be complaining if a large carp happened to pick up my bait though!
We decided to start on Hardwick lake which is one of the bigger waters and had a walk round first. There were large numbers of carp topping out on the end of the new north wind that was blowing, so we chose to set up on a point with the wind in our faces. It all looked rather promising!.
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| Look at the tail on that Tench! |
It proved to be very tricky fishing however. The water was crystal clear and full of weed, it was impossible to find a clear spot to present a bait to. We decided to fish solid PVA bags to overcome this problem, using either plastic corn or small boilies and pop ups as bait.
As the day wore on, it was looking bad. Neither of us could buy a bite, despite watching some very big fish crashing out all around us and over our baits. No one on the lake seemed to be catching much. Our alarms did not sound at all during the night. Not good......Once we'd had our breakfast we packed up and loaded the cars and went to have a look at the other lakes. It was time for a move!
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| Oxlease Lake at Linear Fisheries |
The complex had become very busy and the only lake that had a reasonable amount of space was Oxlease. We had a wander round and opted to set up together in the double disabled swim which was nice and sociable and offered plenty of water in front to fish.
There was far less weed on this lake and we were altogether more optimistic as we got the gear out again. I started fishing the feeder and managed to get in to some roach, just small ones though....but at least I was catching! Chris got the carp gear out and got to work too. About 2 hours in, he had his first run.....but sadly the hook pulled! At least things were looking up. The sun then unfortunately came out fiercely and killed sport until the evening.
As the temperature cooled we set our traps and settled in for the evening with a couple of beers and a Chinese take-away. It was a lovely warm evening and around an hour after dark my left hand rod rattled off. It was a male tench around 5lb in size, a promising start. Then I had another one of a similar size that dropped off right in front of the net!
There were a few aborted takes during the night but nothing else graced our nets. Come early morning the rain started and Chris had a run....this was the carp he had been waiting for. A nice mid-double common for his efforts. The weather was much more carpy now!
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| Chris Summers and his mid-double common carp |
Once the rain had stopped after lunch we started to pack up to make our respective journeys home. Literally right on last knockings, the bobbin on Chris's right hand rod jumped a little and he instinctively struck....to find some solid resistance! This seemed to be a much better fish and once in front of us there were a few tense moments as the big lump tried to bury itself in the marginal weed.
It was a chunk of a mirror and when finally coerced into the net we were quite surprised at the sheer bulk of it. Just over 30lb it went on the scales, much to Chris's delight. It was his second biggest carp ever...good things come to those that wait it seems. Well done mate!
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| Chris Summers and his 30lb Mirror Carp |
It was an interesting session and I can see the appeal this vast complex holds for many, for me it was just a little too busy for my liking. I could see myself targeting the big roach there during the winter when it's quiet though. For Chris and I next time, I think we'll head to running water instead, seeking the unknown....
CLICK BELOW FOR VIDEO FOOTAGE OF THE STUNNING 30LB MIRROR
