Majors Lakes Newsletter
Quarter Two 2015
(In conjunction with CountrySports)
Majors Lakes andWallend Carp Fishery
IMPROVED SILVERFISHCATCHES
We are very pleased to inform all members that since the recent introduction of a very large amount of silverfish at Majors Lakes, the catch rates have significantly improved.
This has been noticed by both those anglers participating in our matches and those that purely fish for pleasure. We have also seen a significant amount of Tench and Carp being caught too.
Those that have been keeping up with previous newsletters and the club Facebook posts will be aware that over the recent months that the silverfish stocks mentioned are well in excess of 6000fish in total, all paid for at a very high cost to Mr Stephen Attwood the lakes owner.
It would certainly help us as a club if members would fill in the catch record book that is kept in the club hut after each of their sessions, or indeed post their days fishing results onto our Facebook page. The information gathered is stored and used by our bailiffs to monitor just what is happening over the year.
We must not forget either, the new aeration system we have had installed along with the mains supply and kitchen appliances within the club hut. All of this has been done solely for the benefit of members.
The expenditure so far has been paid for both by Mr Attwood and the membership fees collected. But, for improvements to continue we need to see a growth in memberships in 2015/6.
So if you have a friend or if you know anybody that you think would enjoy the benefits of the vastly improved fishing our club now offers, why not make arrangements with one of our bailiffs to arrange bringing them along for a day’s free fishing (this is restricted to one guest for a single session).
You will respect that this is not open season on our lake, and the offer is made comes with strict conditions which will be outlined to you at the point of contact with a bailiff when arranging your visit.
Importantly any member thinking of inviting somebody that they think may like to join after the trial day can then have them complete an application form in the normal manor. Remembering that when you join Majors Lakes, you get to fish the main lake at Wallend included in the price.
And Wallend has also been fishing extremely well so far this year, with some excellent Carp being caught.
It is important that anybody guest invited for the trail day must be accompanied by a full club member unless special arrangements have been made.
CHOPPED WORM FISHING.(INTERNET)
The main advantages of fishing with chopped worms and casters is the diversity of the bait, it will catch everything that swims. In a lot of respects, this makes it a particularly useful tool to the club angler, as the majority of clubs book six or seven matches all at different venues, so nine times out of ten as an angler you are turning up to a venue blind, or with very little knowledge of what you can expect to catch.
Therefore, when you sit on your peg you don’t really know what is in front of you. Compared to almost every other bait, the worm will catch more of whatever is there than anything else. Fishing it on a club match on a venue you know relatively little about, it cuts down massively on the risk of a blow out, and almost guarantees that you will catch something, if not a winning weight then enough to secure a section win or a framing place.
The positive effects of chopped worm fishing are magnified still further if you are the only one doing it, when the anglers around you fish more selective baits and effectively ‘lose out’ on catching certain species, giving you these all to yourself.
Obviously, there are times when worms won’t work, and from time to time you will inevitably blow out. Generally speaking, the only time when worm should definitely be avoided are when a massive weight of carp is required, or on venues that contain only carp, as in this instance a more targeted approach is best.
The only other thing I would consider before committing to fish worms is the depth of the venue in question. I would be reluctant to feed worms and casters neat in more than eight feet of water, as the bait will spread out and dissipate too much, unless of course I was planning to fish up in the water. It is possible to feed worms on the bottom in greater depths than this, but you are best off feeding with a bait dropper, which can be problematic and is only really worth bothering with if you are scraping around for a few fish on a hard day.
Rigs
When I was starting up in the sport I used to get confused by people constantly talking of dedicated pellet rigs, caster rigs, or bloodworm rigs, and to be honest I have never found this a useful way of thinking about tackle at the business end.
I have been fortunate enough to sit behind a lot of top anglers and watch how they do things, and the one common denominator between all of them is that they suit their rigs to the conditions on the day, rather than let the bait they are fishing dictate their rig, so take what I say below is a guide to how to do things when conditions are perfect.
As I mentioned above I wouldn’t tend to fish worms in any depth greater than eight feet, so there is normally need to fish too heavy in terms of float size. 4X12s or 4X14s are about right, but I would also set up a 4X16’s, and use this if the wind or tow got up, or if I was bagging up, to get the bait down to the feeding fish quickly. Again though, I would stress the importance of matching the rig to the conditions, don’t be afraid to fish heavier if the wind or tow are a problem.
It is also often worth having an on the drop rig, and a half depth rig set up, as fish will sit above the bait, and a slow falling particle can often tempt these when the going is tough.
In terms of lines and hooks, I would urge anglers to fish as light as possible, depending of course on the size of the fish in the venue, as you have to stand a realistic of landing what you hook. My favourite worm hook for a mixed bag of carp and silvers is the trusty Kamasan B911, in a size 16, 18 or 20. These, are small and light enough to interest the silvers, but still have plenty of beef to land the carp.
When fishing for silvers in the winter or on harder days I find Middy T6313’s and Preston PR30’s nice worm and caster hooks as well, and the above can also be used in conjunction with maggots and pinkies for when things are really tricky.
I am a big fan of Preston Stotz, and use these almost exclusively throughout warmer months on lines thicker than 0.12mm diameter. The big bonus with these is that they slide very easily up and down the line, and this is good as it often pays to play about with your shotting when worm fishing.
A good starting point when fishing on the bottom is to have a bulk around eighteen inches from you hook, then two number ten droppers, one six inches below your bulk, and one six inches below that at the top of your hooklength.
If it’s hard, spread your bulk out down your line to give a slower fall through the water, and if you are bagging up, slide your bulk closer to your hook. It is sometimes possible to catch with your bulk at the top of your hooklength, and when it’s like this, bites will be really positive, and missed bites should be eliminated.
A good way of eliminating line bites, which is particularly effective when foul hooked fish is a problem, is to slide your bulk up to around two feet away from your hook, and not bother with any droppers. This way you are effectively desensitizing your rig, and you will only see definite pulls under.
Feeding
Unless I was planning to fish in shallow water, say down the edge or up to an island, I would always start a session on the worm with a decent sized pot of bait. I appreciate that ‘decent sized’ is a vague term, but what I mean by this is moderate the amount you put in to the amount you expect to catch, for example, a golf ball sized amount may be enough in the colder months or when the going is tough, at other times a full pot would not be unreasonable. Always remember the old fable though, you can put it in but you can’t take it out!
If I were fishing in really shallow water (less than two feet) or up to a feature, then I would feed only with a kinder pot, as you don’t want to draw to many fish into your peg, as you will just get liners, and end up foul hooking and spooking the fish that are there.
Gauge the size you chop the worms up to the conditions on the day, but a general rule of thumb is the bigger the size of fish you expect to catch, the bigger you should make the pieces of worm you feed.
Normally you will get bites straight away, but if you don’t it is time to pick up the catapult.
I remember reading an article some time ago byNick Speed, in which he outlined in very broad terms his feeding philosophy on commercial fisheries. In short, use the catapult to draw fish into your peg, and your pole pot to pin them down and make them feed on the deck, and this is the basic principal I adopt when worm fishing.
Obviously, this is only a very broad guide and it is important to experiment to find out what is right on the day, but the worm is not a method you should be prepared to sit on if the float is not going under. If nothing is happening, then don’t be afraid of feeding to try and get some activity in your peg.
One of the best chopped worm and caster anglers in our region is Garbolino Ossett’s Tony Bell, and I pick his brains a lot about the method. A key piece of advice he gave me is that when fishing the worm on commercials it is best to stop on the line all day, as this is the only way you will be able to read what is happening in your swim properly. In essence, it is not really a method that you can use half heartedly.
A final piece of advice with the worm is to constantly experiment with your rigs and feeding, as it is a bait that favours a proactive approach. You will be amazed at how often a subtle change will see your catch rate soar, whether that be changing your shotting, fishing around your feed, or changing your hookbait. It is a method for busy anglers who like to keep thinking and active throughout the session.
MATCH AND WORK PARTY DATES 2015
PLEASE TRY AND MAKE THE EFFORT WHERE POSSIBLE TO ATTEND OUR WORK PARTIES
MATCHES WORK PARTIES
SEPTEMBER 27th
JULY 12th (Wallend) DECEMBER 6th
AUGUST 9th (Silverfish Only)
SEPTEMBER 13th
OCTOBER 11th
NOVEMBER 8th (Secret Santa) CHARITY MATCH
JULY 4th
Any member that attends at least three of the four proposed work parties in 2015 will qualify for a £10.00 reduction in their 2016 membership renewal fee.
MARCH 29th OUR FIRST WORK PARTY
A lot was accomplished on the day thanks to your support, and for that support our club bailiffs and I would like to offer our sincere thanks to Richard Craddock, Steve Taylor, Antony Ford, Ivan Noakes, Ian Bedford, Mike Andrews, Mike Andrews Snrand Keith Birtchnell for their attendance.
We should also not forget thefurther support we get from Mr Attwood who contributes a large amount of money towards our lake, which is why wethe members, should maintain the general upkeep as a sign of recognition ofthat support.
This year we have another three work parties planned. Please try and come along if you can.
It is worth reiterating at this point that if you attend three of the four planned work parties, CountrySports will allow you £10.00 off your next membership renewal.
MATCH RESULTS QUARTER TWO 2015
MATCHWINNER FOR APRIL 2015
1st PLACE.Derek Shields WEIGHT.13lb 14oz
2nd PLACE. Allan Withers WEIGHT. 12lb 15oz
MATCH WINNER FORMAY 2015
1st PLACE. Mike Andrews WEIGHT.16lb 8oz
2nd PLACE.Steve Taylor WEIGHT. 14lb 12oz
MATCH WINNER FORJUNE 2015
1st PLACE. Allan Withers WEIGHT.10lb 2oz
2nd PLACE. Steve Taylor WEIGHT4lb 1oz
DON BIRD MATCH SHIELD
2015 MATCH RESULTS BY ANGLER
ANGLERS / POINTS / POINTS / POINTS / POINTS / POINTS / TOTAL / ADJUSTEDNAME,DATE AND / MATCH 1 / MATCH 2 / MATCH 3 / MATCH 4 / MATCH 5 / POINTS / POSITIONS
MATCH POINTS / 08.02.15 / 08.03.15 / 12.04.15 / 10.05.15 / 14.06.15 / 2015
1 / ALLAN WITHERS / 15 / 18 / 18 / 15 / 20 / 86 / 1
2 / IAN BEDFORD / 16 / 15 / 15 / 14 / 10 / 70 / 2
3 / STEVEN REDDING / 18 / 17 / 10 / 8 / 14 / 67 / 3
4 / COLIN CHAPMAN / 12 / 16 / 13 / 11 / 15 / 67 / 3
5 / STEVE TAYLOR / 13 / 0 / 17 / 18 / 18 / 66 / 4
6 / IVAN NOAKES / 20 / 8 / 16 / 6 / 16 / 66 / 4
7 / MIKE ANDREWS (Snr) / 17 / 11 / 0 / 16 / 12 / 56 / 5
8 / MICKY PETTENGEL / 12 / 14 / 14 / 10 / 6 / 56 / 5
9 / ALEX BEVAN / 0 / 13 / 11 / 17 / 13 / 54 / 6
10 / MIKE ANDREWS / 12 / 12 / 0 / 20 / 8 / 52 / 7
11 / MARK SMITH / 0 / 20 / 12 / 9 / 9 / 50 / 8
12 / RICHARD JONES / 12 / 11 / 10 / 7 / 7 / 47 / 9
13 / DEREK SHIELDS / 0 / 0 / 20 / 13 / 11 / 44 / 10
14 / ANTONY FORD / 12 / 9 / 0 / 12 / 5 / 38 / 11
15 / MARK WHYATT / 14 / 0 / 10 / 5 / 0 / 29 / 12
16 / CHRIS THOMAS / 0 / 0 / 0 / 0 / 17 / 17 / 13
2015 NIGHT MATCH.
Unfortunately this year due to the fixture date etc, our night match did not have as many anglers competing as we have had in other years . So it was decided to have an evening friendly match instead. But, the Night match for 2016 is still being planned and will be part of next years calendar.
2015 MATCH UPDATES
With regards to our 2015 Charity Match.
This match is to be fished on Saturday 4th July at Majors Lakes, and entry will be the same as last year at £10.00
Pegs will be picked at 3pm with fishing from 4pm until 9pm.
We are aware that some of members that do not regularly fish our matches would on the occasion of the Charity match, like to make a personal donation. If this is thecase and you would like to personally make a donation, we would ask that you pass on your donation to one of our three club bailiffs?
All proceeds of the Charity match, including donations, will all go directly to the selected charity.
Should you have any questions regarding this match, please feel free to contact me.
======
I t has been requested that I explain to members that our match due to be fished on August 9th at Majors Lakes is a CARPLESS MATCH. You will recall that I listed it as a SILVERFISH ONLY MATCH.
So to confirm. Any fish caught during this match that is NOT a CARP will count.
Any questions please contact me or any of our bailiffs.
ENVIRONMENT LICENCES
Is yourEnvironment Licenceup to date? All members must be in procession of an up to date licence to fish any Countrysports water.
IS THERE A SECRET TO CATCHING AT WALLEND ??
I am sure many of our members that regularly read our Faceboook pages and the newsletters will be familiar with the name Steve Norton.
Steve is a member that primarily fishes Wallend Carp Fishery in Sheerness very successfully for the big Carp the lake is home to.
Over the years many of the photos that Steve has posted are all catches from Wallend with a few from Majors Lakes, but the success rate in both lakes is plain to see...
So, just how and why is Steve so successful at catching these fish, and what if anything is his secret?
This is something that has intrigued me as much as I am sure it has intrigued you too.
So I thought it best to go directly to the horse’s mouth as they say and ask Steve that exact question “What is your secret”.
Surprisingly Steve’s answer was quite simple… “The bait I use, I have total confidence in it, and I only use Webb Baits boilies”.
During the conversation Steve told me that Nat the owner of Webb Baits will be exhibiting at The Big One show at Farnborough over the weekend, and knowing that I was going along, I thought I would try and have a chat with Nat myself.
I did manage to catch up with Nat but the chat was somewhat curtailed by the amount of customers he had on the stand showing interest and buying his baits. Realising that a long chat was something that was not going to happen, I asked Nat if he would mind my sharing some of his web site information with our members in the hopes that they too can glean some information and possibly enhance their catch rate by investing in some Webb Bait of their own.
FROM WEBB BAITS WEB SITE
Welcome to Webb Baits.
As a company we pride ourselves about providing a quality service and products at a sensible price.
Webb Baits source the individual ingredients; We mix and package all of our products on site. We believe that by doing it this way that we have more control on what goes on, and as a result the products are kept to a high grade of quality andconsistency.
ProprietorNathaniel Webb started the business in 2010, after working within the industry for a number of years. After watching and learning, he saw a gap in the market for and decided to form Webb Bait, and since day one hasn’t looked back.
Initially a small rented lockup in Chatham for was home for two years and as the business grew the operation relocated to bigger premises within the Green acres Fishery Complex in Kent, This relocation saw Webb Baits opening a shop which helped to expand the customer base.
It was a very good year and the shop opened a lot of doors. Within 3 months the lakes on the complex were being dominated by Webb baits. Lots of the lakes carp were being caught consistently and the lake record was broken by a 37lb common that fell to the... “The catfish chunks” it too produced a complex record fish of 59lbs.
Building on the success a decision was made to move bigger premises as the scale of business had expanded beyond the facilities available, and we now reside in Norton near Faversham.
As well as visiting the shop all of the Webb Baits range of products is available via the Webb Baits web site