A LITTLE TASTE

07th July 2024

Taking a break from his everyday high-intensity pursuits, Luke Stevenson found himself a little slice of heaven. With no pressure on his shoulders this time around it was a chance to enjoy some lovely old carp and a wonderful spell of angling.

Faced with a lake packed full of features, from small, snaggy, intimate corners to weed-filled open water, it ticked all the boxes for Luke. Being such a switched-on angler, it became clear early on, that a particular style was heavily used by the other members, not wanting to fall for the same mantra, went against the grain and reaped the rewards!

"It was just loads of lovely fishing, loads of bites, some of the nicest fishing I've had in a long, long time."

Luke told Sticky:

“The idea was to start on this lake next spring, but with nowhere to go for a few weeks, I decided to come and have a look. Right from the get-go, I saw fish and was getting on them, catching them too, at very close quarters! It was addictive, and incredibly interesting fishing. I was basically sight fishing, baiting heavily with boilies, whilst getting around the pit.

“It was very busy when I got there for my first session, with seven anglers on, but I found them tucked away in a corner, with all the main swims taken. It was apparent straight away that the main swims weren’t the ones right from the start; the little nooks and crannies were the places to be as they liked getting in there, which is often the way on any lake.

“Those swims that don’t face much water get left alone and are often the prime areas, especially when the fish get used to finding The Krill in those areas in good quantities. It was simply then a case of fishing a Chod or a Hinge, as a single rod right in the honey hole, where they wanted to be, amongst plenty of Krill freebies.

“Not only was I targeting the unfavoured swims, but I went entirely against the grain with my chosen tactics. Bait boats were used heavily by everyone else, so I decided to fish purposefully weedy areas with Chods and Hinges, with a spread of boilies. Something so different to the tight baiting produced from a boat. I knew it would work, but it proved to be even more effective than I thought it would be!

“I had a couple of better ones along the way, amongst plenty of just downright lovely carp, all on pop-ups over spreads of Krill. It was just loads of lovely fishing, loads of bites, in fact it was some of the nicest fishing I’ve had in a long, long time. Being able to do my own thing, watch the fish sheeting up plumes of bubbles over my bait, before the inevitable bite occurred. It was incredible and a great taste of what’s to come for me next spring when I focus my full attention on there.

“It’s definitely worth thinking about; being brave enough to go against the grain is often the way to go. If people are only using a small amount of bait, then using lots of it can be a massive edge, and vice versa. I knew they wouldn’t be able to get enough of The Krill in here, and so it showed!”