Lance Barton looks back on what was a fantastic start to his season last year on Linch Hill, banking some of the syndicate's special ones, and from all three lakes on the complex too!
Lance Barton looks back on what was a fantastic start to his season last year on Linch Hill, banking some of the syndicate's special ones, and from all three lakes on the complex too!
STONEACRES
Like any new season, I was raring to go but last year even more so due to the Covid outbreak putting a halt to all angling far and wide for so long. I really couldn’t wait to get down to Linch and feel the buzz of the first day back. I was in the draw for the opening session on Stoneacres, and after a walk around pre-draw, I saw a few carp show here and there but most were in front of the House swim which was actually where the draw was being taken. Typically, I came out last in the draw but to my amazement, I managed to get in the swim I actually wanted and where I’d seen the most activity… every cloud and all that! Moving into my first morning, I found the fish! They were using the tree-lined margin to my left as a bit of a highway, which had a very blatant gravel spot along its length too. After watching from the nearby trees, I noticed a smaller common very slowly right itself on the spot and start tentatively feeding on whatever was there. By this point, I knew an opportunity was there to introduce a little bait to see if the others would drop on their return trip. A couple of handfuls of crumbed up Krill Active and corn were trickled onto the spot, and I left them to it.
WITH WATER CLARITY BEING SO GOOD, THE GRAVEL SPOTS STOOD OUT EVEN MORE IN THE MARGINS ON STONEACRES.
WITH WATER CLARITY BEING SO GOOD, THE GRAVEL SPOTS STOOD OUT EVEN MORE IN THE MARGINS ON STONEACRES.
Twenty minutes later, I thought I’d return to see if it’d been touched, and not one crumb or grain was left! I quickly whipped up a short rig along with a few more handfuls of corn and returned to find the carp still grubbing around. It wasn’t the ideal time to try lower a rig in that’s for sure!
I watched two decent sized linears, polishing the spots further, almost in an erratic fashion. It was clearly a favoured area and my handful of bait had only spurred them on further. The Active was certainly doing its job by holding the fish, I just needed to be patient before lowering the trap and hopefully try not to spook them in the process.
Finally, after what felt like an age, my opportunity arose, and I could get the rig in the water on a particular area of the gravel they seemed to favour. They returned, but very cautiously, like they knew something wasn’t right. Even though I’d flicked a few more specs of corn out, they approached it differently.
I wondered back to the bivvy, grabbed some more boilies and broke a few up, before scattering them over the rig. I’d seen the response first-hand with them in the water, so I knew I was only increasing my chances by adding a few over the rig.
THE KRILL ACTIVE PRODUCED A GREAT REACTION FROM THE FISH
Twenty minutes later, I thought I’d return to see if it’d been touched, and not one crumb or grain was left! I quickly whipped up a short rig along with a few more handfuls of corn and returned to find the carp still grubbing around. It wasn’t the ideal time to try lower a rig in that’s for sure!
I watched two decent sized linears, polishing the spots further, almost in an erratic fashion. It was clearly a favoured area and my handful of bait had only spurred them on further. The Active was certainly doing its job by holding the fish, I just needed to be patient before lowering the trap and hopefully try not to spook them in the process.
Finally, after what felt like an age, my opportunity arose, and I could get the rig in the water on a particular area of the gravel they seemed to favour. They returned, but very cautiously, like they knew something wasn’t right. Even though I’d flicked a few more specs of corn out, they approached it differently.
I wondered back to the bivvy, grabbed some more boilies and broke a few up, before scattering them over the rig. I’d seen the response first-hand with them in the water, so I knew I was only increasing my chances by adding a few over the rig.
THE KRILL ACTIVE PRODUCED A GREAT REACTION FROM THE FISH
Content with the situation, I walked back to my swim where a few other anglers had congregated for a chat. No sooner had I returned; the rod screamed off down in the margin but then came to a sudden silence as I approached it. Even though I was fishing a slack line, the rod had still managed to jump off the butt rest and jam itself against the alarm hence why the noise had stopped. The fight was pretty tame in comparison to the savage boat battles you hear about on Stoney’s, and before I knew it, I had one of the real gems in the net, a fish known as the Upfront Lin at 35lb 8oz.
A perfect example of why so many anglers love the complex and the fish you manage to meet along the way. My luck wasn’t going to last too long though, as the following morning the fish started to spawn in the bay to my right. This left me having to pack up and decide on what I’d do with the rest of my session.
WILLOW
With Christchurch being rammed from the draw the previous day, it left me with no other option than to have my first dabble on Willow. It was reasonably quiet on the lake which did surprise me, but I could use this to my advantage and locate the fish at my own pace. For me, it’s all about looking for that next bite, almost like a hunter’s instinct kicking in.
Despite my knowledge being little to none, I just went on what I could see and reacted to the situations put in front of me. With Willow featuring an island, it’s always going to attract the fish, so after a quick lead towards the margins, it was clean as a whistle and seemed to slowly drop away into the slightly deeper water into silt, the perfect area for daytime bites. I opted to fish three rods on the spot, giving them a good mix of tigers, hemp and Krill Active with two rods on the money, whilst the last rod was slightly off the spot to act as a loner.
THE KRILL, AND MORE RECENTLY, THE KRILL ACTIVE, HAVE PRODUCED SOME PHENOMENAL CATCHES ON THE LINCH HILL COMPLEX.
THE KRILL, AND MORE RECENTLY, THE KRILL ACTIVE, HAVE PRODUCED SOME PHENOMENAL CATCHES ON THE LINCH HILL COMPLEX.
The evening passed uneventfully but the following morning brought what must be the hardest fight from a carp I’ve had in a long time. It was utter hell! It was like I’d stuck my hook into the back of a car, I just couldn’t seem to get the better of the fish! Up and down the layers, thrashing on the surface before surging back down into the depths, it really was an epic battle. After snagging me up twice in the neighbouring trees, I really didn’t think I’d get the better of the fish. Finally, after yet more surging under the tip, she gave in and I scooped her up. I knew it was no tiddler from the fight, and after seeing the distinct scales, I recognised it as the Pretty One. For the record, she went 36lb 6oz and I couldn’t believe the roll I seemed to be on! After the photos were done, I could hear fish once again starting to thrash further down the lake, and yes, again, they’d started spawning! That left only one place to go for the latter part of the session…
The evening passed uneventfully but the following morning brought what must be the hardest fight from a carp I’ve had in a long time. It was utter hell! It was like I’d stuck my hook into the back of a car, I just couldn’t seem to get the better of the fish! Up and down the layers, thrashing on the surface before surging back down into the depths, it really was an epic battle. After snagging me up twice in the neighbouring trees, I really didn’t think I’d get the better of the fish. Finally, after yet more surging under the tip, she gave in and I scooped her up. I knew it was no tiddler from the fight, and after seeing the distinct scales, I recognised it as the Pretty One. For the record, she went 36lb 6oz and I couldn’t believe the roll I seemed to be on! After the photos were done, I could hear fish once again starting to thrash further down the lake, and yes, again, they’d started spawning! That left only one place to go for the latter part of the session…
CHRISTCHURCH
With ‘Church still full, I jumped back on Stoneacres to do a little recce work in the boat, to help me understand various areas and find spots for my return which was good. I got a good sleep that night, and with a swim coming available in the morning on ‘Church, I was raring to go for my final night back.
DOING MY HOMEWORK IN THE BOAT WHILST WAITING FOR A SWIM ON CHRISTCHURCH GLEANED VALUABLE INFORMATION
DOING MY HOMEWORK IN THE BOAT WHILST WAITING FOR A SWIM ON CHRISTCHURCH GLEANED VALUABLE INFORMATION
I was quite lucky in the swim, which became vacant, it felt like the right area to be in with the weather conditions so with my gear already packed down and ready for the final night. I knew the spots in the swim from previous sessions, so it was a case of applying the bait, then flicking the rods out. It saved me a load of time as I didn’t need to foam the area up with a lead, I could just cast out knowing the rods are prime. I went in with the new Mulbz pop-ups which were on test at the time on two hinges and a tiger on the other rod. I sat back brimming with confidence for the night ahead.
Nothing came through the hours of darkness despite the carp being in the area, but at around seven the following morning, right before I needed to pull off to allow the next wave of anglers on to do the draw, I had a take! It turned out to be a typical Church linear of 33lb 12oz, and a fish which capped off a rather incredible session, but one I’ll look back on with great memories.
WHAT A WAY TO END MY SESSION, WITH A CLASSIC CHRISTCHURCH CARP
WHAT A WAY TO END MY SESSION, WITH A CLASSIC CHRISTCHURCH CARP
