Pro Fishing Tackle

After saturdays blow out at CJ’s, I need to catch a fish!
I blanked on my last 2 outings, so Im due at least one!
So its off to Furnace Lake in Nether Heyford, Northants. Its a small pond that my mate Mick and I stumbled on when we were looking to fish the canal. Its only small, with around 12 fishable swims, but it holds some very nice fish. There are the usual silvers, with the Perch going upto around 3lb, Bream that are from small Skimmers to a respectable 5 lb, and some lovely little Tench. I dont know how big they go, but Ive had them up to around 3lb, and they certainly give you a run for your money!
There are also some very nice Carp too. I havent yet had them to any massive size, but Mick has had some lovely Ghosties hovering around the 8lb mark, and we are told by the owner that they grow bigger.

Incidentally, if you are a visitor to ProFishing Tackle, there are a few pictures of me and Mick, with a couple of fish from here.
The lake itself is situated right alongside the Grand Union Canal at Nether Heyford just over the bridge. and is nice and sheltered by a small wood on the far side, meaning that if the weather turns windy, you can always find a calm spot. Furnace is, as I say, only a small pond. At the entrance it is a narrow arm with 4 pegs along it, and you can reach the far side reeds easily with about 6mtrs of pole. Its quite deep in the channel though, at around 5ft in places. From there it opens out into a bowl, with no islands, just open water. Depth varies from the margins being 3-4ft, then shelving off to 10+ feet in the middle, and very little in the way of snags, apart from the reeds, and bankside growth.
So far we have only really fished the arms and the left hand bank, as on the days we have been previously, its normally been quite breezy, and the left bank seems to be the calmest spot. However, tomorrow I am hoping to fish the right hand bank of the open water, on the last couple of pegs. Mainly as Ive never fished it before, and Im thinking that with the wind only being forecast as slight, it should be quite sheltered.
Its also another good excuse to try my new pole out, and hopefully actually see what its like to catch something on it!
Baitwise. Again Im keeping it simple. A few pellets for feed, and corn for the hook, with half a pint of maggots to tempt the silvers.

Ive only ever hooked one of the big Ghosties in there once, and lost it, so Im hoping I can break this dry spell, and have a good day.

Tight Lines,

Steve O

P.S
If you ever want to post a comment on any of my ramblings, please feel free to do so. I welcome any input, and if you re ever in the shop and Im there, dont be afraid to say hello. We are always glad to give or receive advice.
Thanks for reading.

Things looked ok at first light as I stepped outside. It was cold, very cold, but the ice on the car didnt take too long to clear, my kit was loaded quickly, and I set off to meet Mick at the BP garage. On the way down the A14, we went past at least 4 cars that had left the road due to the black ice! Why dont people just slow down on days like that? Better to get there in one piece than not at all.

Anyhow, we arrived at CJ’s just after 8am, and 2 chaps (Pete and Keith) were already there having a walk around Willow lake. Nick, the owner, was opening up the brekkie van, and coffee was soon in hand as I wandered round the lake too choose which pegs to leave in and those to take out.

The lake has 26 pegs, but only 18 were booked in for the day, so I decided to leave as many of the narrower pegs on the right hand bank empty as I could.
By 8.30 everyone had arrived, including an extra who had turned up on the off chance that there would be a spare peg, making it 19 in total….Full house on such a cold day, Great!!

All were booked in, and at 9 we drew our pegs.
Pegs 23, 24 and 25 were being hailed as the top pegs to be had, although I still had my suspicions that 14 and 15 at the top end would produce.
George drew my peg for me, and Number 10 stuck to his hand….Hmmm, the end of the island, very shallow at about 6 meters, with the end of the island sloping VERY gently off to the right.
In summer it can be a very productive peg, as the carp tend to graze over the shallows as they swim round the island. In winter, however, not so good.
My mate Mick was drawn and he got peg 8……Great! How many times do we end up pegged either next to each other or opposite?????

All was set, and off we trudged to our swims. On the way I had a quick chat with Keith, who had drawn peg 4. A nice peg with a narrow gap in the islands at around 8 meters. Definately a holding spot for fish on a cold day!

I quickly got my gear set up, with 3 pole lines. One off to the right in the deepest water (about 2 1/2 ft) one off to the left, again the same depth, and one shallow rig for over the top of the shallows (well, you never know…they might have a mooch!!)
10am and I called the “All In”.
I fed the left hand line with a small handfull of micro pellet, and half a dozen bits of corn, the right with a few micro pellets and 2 dozen maggots, and the far shallow line with a good dollop of micro pellet, and a good handful of maggots.

I started on the left line, and put 2 red maggots on and shipped out.
Just as the float settled, I glanced over to my right towards peg 14 to see Michael’s elastic stretching out…”Yep, 14 is definately on form!” I thought.
I sat for about 10 minutes, lifting and dropping the float a few times, trying to waft the hook infront of any passing fish, but nothing took it, so went out on the far shallow line. Again, 10 minutes passed, and apart from spooking one fish while lifting the float, nothing happened.
Meanwhile Michael on peg 14 was steadily catching small carp, and a few were being caught over the opposite side on pegs 24 and 25.
I re fed my left hand line with a few more pieces of corn, and went out on the right hand swim. A small piece of corn was hook bait.

10 minutes and still nothing….this was getting frustrating!
Back on the left line, and again on maggot, I waited patiently. Opposite me was a chap Ive fished with a few times, Nick. He had hooked and lost a fish early on, and was now playing his second. I glanced up at him, then back to my float, just in time to see it dissappear! I struck, but hit thin air….Damn! I put the float straight back in, and waited fully expecting another take. Nothing.
20 minutes went by, and I never had another sniff!

12am.
My mate Mick, on peg 8 had caught an early fish of around 4 lb, and was now playing his second fish that had taken him unawares while he was ctapulting some feed out! He landed it, and onother carp of around 4 lb was safely in the net.
By this time, I was starting to really feel the cold. My hands had gone from numb to painful, and I was shivering uncontrolably. Another guy on the opposite bank ahd already started to pack up, and I felt that I wasnt going to be far behind!
Steadily, people started to give up. The cold had got the better of alot of us, and the only ones that seemed to be staying were those that were getting a few fish.
By 1.30pm, only around 8 were left. I had packed up by 2pm, but stayed to see the end and help with the weigh in.
3pm, and there was a little confusion over the finish times, due to the owner originally saying 4pm, and then changing it to 3pm, and I hadnt realised…Oops.
It was decided that 3.30 would be the end, and the few remaining anglers were glad of the final “All Out”.

As we went round with the scales, it was obvious that the fish were shoaled up at either end of the lake. The end pegs on the left bank had mostly had a few fish, and also the early numbers on the right had also had the odd carp, while peg 14 had had alot of ealry fish, but struggled in the last 2 hours, mainly due to being so cold he couldnt hold his pole!

So the results for a very cold day were:

1st Rob C - 44.13 (Peg 24)
2nd Andy Ward - 43.6 (Peg 25)
3rd Mick McMillan - 35.7 (Peg 14)
4th Lee (Carlton) - 27.8 (Peg 2)
5th Neil Wooding - 27.6 (Section 2 winner)
6th Keith - 22.2 (Section 1 winner)
7th Mick Large - 8.8
8th Ali - 5.2
19 Fished

All in all, not bad weights for the winners, but it just goes to show. Winter fishing can be won and lost at the draw bag.

So, 2 matches and 2 blanks for me!
Oh well. Still time to get a couple of pleasure sessions in before returning to work.

For now,
Tight lines,

Steve O

Well, Christmas has come and gone, but Ive still got a few days left before I go back to work, so Im off to CJ’s Fishery in Saddington, Leicestershire tomorrow (Sat 27th Dec) for their Day after Boxing Day Open.

Unfortunately, Ive not been able to get out on the bank for a few weeks, and to be honest, after my last effort in my clubs final league match, I felt I needed a break….Well thats my excuse and Im sticking to it!!
So Im looking forward to this match for several reasons.
I could do with the fresh air after being cooped up in the house for the last few days, it ll be good to meet up with some old faces, and I got a new pole for Xmas!!! So it will give a chance to try it out

For anyone who’s never been to CJ’s, its a small fishery, with 3 lakes, teh top lake Alders, the middle lake Willow, and the front lake Mallard.
Yes its a commercial fishery, but that doesnt mean that you ll bag up every time you go!
It can be a very frustrating place at times, and Ive spent many days wondering why I can catch loads of fish on a practice session, and then draw virtually the same peg on a match and struggle to get a bite!
Alders lake is the newest of the 3 lakes, and is a long 2 sided canal with lots of small islands running practically the full length of the lake with 51 pegs, 25 one side, and 26 on the other.
Its stocked by enlarge with the usual Carp, Mirrors, Commons from 1 lb upto low doubles, and the odd Ghostie. But there are a few surprises too in the form of some very large Perch, which Ive had out to the 3 lb mark! Very impressive fish.
There are also alot of silvers to keep you occupied if the Carp dont want to know, and some decent sized Skimmers that if you can keep them coming, will boost you weight quite quickly.
Matches throughout the year are regularly won with over 100 lb, and Ive been lucky (or unlucky depending on how you look at it) enough to see alot of bigger weights touching 200 lb!
Willow lake, which incedentally is my favourite, is a smaller lake, but vastly more mature than Alders, and in summer when all the growth is at its best, looks stunning.
There are only 26 pegs there, with a couple of small islands in the middle nearer the shallower car park end, and a patch of open water at the far end, where its a little deeper.
The stocking in there is pretty much the same as Alders, but there are alot more of the larger Carp going into the 20 lb mark! Ive had them upto around 12 lb, but my mate Mick had one of 15 lb last year, and the way they mop up feed it wont take long for them to grow!

The front lake is a bit of an unknown quantity for me, as Ive never fished it, but Im told its a good place for less experienced anglers to have a bash, and although there are bigger fish in there, overall they are alot smaller.

So,
Onto tomorrow. Im really not sure what to expect (hmmm… sounds familiar).
AFter a few days of milder weather in the week, tonight its absoloutely freezing out there!!!! And the weather for Saturday doesnt look like much different, with a high of 2 C, and intermitent sunshine! Hardly the best weather, but at least the sun will make it feel a bit warmer.
Ive been asked to do the draw by Nick, the new owner, so Ive got to be there nice and early, 8am, so he can get the bacon butties on!

As far as bait is concerned, Im keeping it simple. Micro pellet for feed, half a pint of red maggots for a change bait, and corn for the hook.
Corn has always done well for me here so I see no reason to change, although in the summer, paste certainly sorts out the bigger fish.
Hopefully I ll draw a decent peg, somewhere in the mid teens would be nice, as Ive always done best in that area, but to be honest, with the weather, they really could be shoaled up anywhere. A suck it and see approach is most definately on the cards, with little or no feeding at the start.

Well at 4pm tomorrow, it will be over, and I ll hopefully get to put the full results up tomorrow evening…
Tight lines for now,

Steve O

When I got up this morning, I never expected it to be easy, but as I let the cat out a gust of freezing cold air came rushing in!
The cat turned tail and jumped back onto the sofa.

When Mick and I arrived at Biggin lake, just outside Oundle, it was cold…..very cold!
We got down to the lake and found that the side we were pegged on (the dam wall) was pretty sheltered, and we were encouraged by seeing a couple of the pleasure anglers landing a decent carp each.
Id already decided that I would set up a straight lead, a waggler and maybe a close range pole rig.
I drew peg 38, round the left side of the lake, up from the dam wall and stuck to the plan.
Plumbing up found around 18 inches of water at about 20 yards on the waggler, and not much more than 1ft at 8mtrs on the pole line.
Caster and maggot were choice of bait for both float lines, and single corn on the lead.
The usual banter was passed around the lake before the all in, and after rescuing one of the guys kit from his swim (one of the reasons I never use a brolly), we finally got underway.
Well. To cut a very long 5 hour story short…….

I BLANKED!
Leaving me not winning the league, due to the chap who was in 3rd place catching one carp.
However, I still remained in second place, after my mate Mick also blanked.

(full results to follow)

So thats that for this season.
No more club matches.
Oh well….looks like I ll have to have a few pleasure sessions instead…..Nice!

Hi,
Welcome to the Pro Fishing Tackle fishing blog.
It has been set up so that a few of us can share our fishing escapades with you. We hope you enjoy reading our posts. Whether it is the results of a club match, an open match or just a pure pleasure session, we will give you the lowdown on the events from our days fishing. We also hope to give details of some of the venues we visit.

First a little about me.
My name is Steve Oswick, and I fish for a local club in Northamptonshire, A.A.C. Ive been with them for a few years now, and we fish a variety of venues, from commercials to rivers and canals, and even venture out to the Fens when we re feeling brave!!
Ive been fishing since I was a kid (Way too many years to mention) Im fortunate enough to be sponsored by Pro Fishing Tackle and I love my match fishing on commercials, but every now and then, when I get the opportunity, I like to have a pleasure session on a canal, where I cut my teeth as a child. You cant beat canal Perch!

Well, this sunday Im fishing our last club match of the season. Its quite an important day, as its a points match, and as it stands I ve been lucky enough to be top of the table. Although my mate Mick is only a couple of points behind me.
Its gonna be cold, so its thermals on! And Im not expecting much in the way of bites…..with these temperatures, if you were a fish, would you come out??
This time tomorrow, I hope have a full report of the day, if I can feel my hands

So, until tomorrow……

Tight lines,
Steve O.

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