My day out at Windrush Valley, Part One

Part One.

I've had a long weekend coming up and a usual decided to spend this time fishing for carp. So I grabbed my friend Charley, a box load of carp fishing tackle and off we went. This time we though we would try something different to our usual lake. So after one and a half hour drive we have finally arrived at Hunts Corner.

Hunts Corner is situated at the far end of the complex alongside the Windrush Valley and is run by Richworth Linear Fisheries. Allegedly, it is stocked with well over 300 carp and at least half are estimated to be over twenty pounds in weight. So we though to ourselves, with such impressive figures we are going to have an exiting weekend out there.

The lake is hidden amongst a mature long rectangular shaped gravel pit. There are ten swims in total and all ten have been placed in such a way so to give the carp angler loads of seclusion in almost an acre of water. Each swim is exclusively set so that it cannot be cast over by neighbouring anglers.

As Charley and I were walking along the lake, looking for somewhere nice to set our tent and fishing gear, we saw an angler in the second swim, I decided to stop for a chat. His name was John and judging by his fishing gear, he is an experienced carp angler. John told us that he has managed to catch 5 good size carp in the last 2 days and a couple of smaller ones. Looking over his shoulder I can see tips of his carp rods lightly nodding in the cool breeze. And before we could even ask, John suggested that we set our tent and fishing gear behind him a he was about to leave anyway. We decided to look no further and accept Johns kind offer.

As we set our tent, John was kind enough to offer us what was left of his maggots. I thanked him and said that lately boilies are the choice of carp fishing tackle for me, but the fact that he managed to catch most of his carp on maggots alone I though I might give it a try as well.

As John folds his fishing bivvy down I push my barrow into the swim and slide one of my carp rods out from its sleeve, I have brought three with me this time. The one that is out is set up with a chod rig. The hook nicks straight into my fingernail so I think to myself it is good to go. I carefully tie on one of my carp tackle hook baits and punch it across the brisk wind. The line on my carp rod bows significantly but I can still feel a soft impact as it lands.

I propped my fishing rodson the floor and balanced a couple of stones on each of the spools to alert me to any interest as I set the rest of my fishing gear up. Then, literally five minutes after casting, the urgent buzz of the spool has me dropping everything and a quickly run to grab my fishing rod. Stones placed on the spool clearly failed to work. I got very exited and could feel the tension rising and so I started to gently play the fish in order to full it safely out of water. Judging by weight, it felt like it was going to be a good size.

Charley has arrived by now from his walk around the lake and so I quickly shouted for him to get net for me, and so he did. Some moment later there it was. A nice size carp. At is turns out 28 lb. Very impressive. So we quickly return him back to the water. No sign of movement on my other fishing rods, so time to relax.

Rumour has it, Hunts Lake has lost a few of its older 40lb plus carp and other stunning originals over the years so it is mainly the little mirrors now in the water. It is not bad, because as they grow on this good quality carp feed and other fishing tackle, they gain character and become hard-fighting. With my carp rods back out there, I decide to have a little look around the place for somewhere to move my other two rods. These days I like the lake bed to tell me which rigs to use with my rods so, initially, I am just looking for a couple of spots which just feel right. John has shown me the spot which he has been bating with the maggots, so I feel like it would be wise for me to at least try and bait there for a bit. There is a long stretch of margin between the angler in the swim to my right and me, so I think I am good to go.

I am not going to position the rig tight under the willows, instead, I will look for something a little way off. The spot that I find in probably a good 20 yards out. The marker slides over the silt before bumping up into a gravel seam. I am interested in the silt primarily, so I drop the lead a good few yards behind the bumpy stuff. I am going to give them a bit of everything of my carp fishing tackle. I have brought with me, so I have a very good feeling about this carp rod, hedging my bets if you will.

Guide to spinning tackle

Most spinning rods and reels can be expressly labelled as saltwater and freshwater. Saltwater fishing tackle, reels especially, were always significantly more expensive compared to freshwater tackle. This price tag often reflected manufacturers struggle in producing affordable tackle which would not easily give way to corrosion. It is good that all of this is a thing of the past.

Majority of newly produced fishing rods and reels, with some minor exceptions, are manufactured from such materials so to make them less susceptible to corrosion caused by saltwater. Although most manufacturers still recommend for fishing tackle, reels especially, to be rinsed off in tap water after each use in order to prolong the life of equipment.

Over the years tackle manufactures have developed various technologies which allowed them to introduce materials like fiberglass, graphite and e-glass to the world of fishing tackle. They all have experimented quite a bit with these material and most of the time have come up with remarkable products.

The key to success in the world of so much competition from so many manufacturers is in ability to produce well balanced equipment. Well balanced fishing rods, poles and reels are essential for good casting. For this reason all manufacturers put guidelines on their products advising anglers which lines and lures are best suited to their fishing rods and reels.

If you are new to all this, I have written a series of reports on various spinning rods and reels such as for baitcasting and for light, medium and heavy tackle spinning. This one is mainly about the fishing rods and reels for heavy saltwater spinning or very large fresh water fish.

Due to the sheer weight, there reels are not really intended for all day use. An average reel should carry around 300 yards of 30 lb test line. But line capacity can very significantly from one manufacturer to another. Nice quality spinning reels are usually made by manufactures such as Daiwa, Shimano, Abu Garcia, Penn, Hardy Greys Chub, Leeda and Wychwood and many other. You can find most of these in your local fishing shop or in any online fishing shop. Spinning reels should only be used with spinning rods and not with any other rods. This is because only spinning rods have an upside down reel seat. Spinning rods come in variety of length and types. When choosing a rod for your spinning reel keep in mind where you are going to fish and which fishing tackle you will be using.

You can combine your reel with anything from 9 feet to as much as 14 feet long surfcasting fishing rods. In such combination baits can be casted long way away from the shore. These rods would usually comprise of 2 or more parts which have to be joined together. This can be handy if you are planning to travel a long distance with your rod. Some angels prefer to use specially made one piece rods. These can usually be made to order in most reputable fishing shops.

You can also combine these reels with 7 foot length rods for the purpose of big game fishing on a boat. Or generally to cast and retrieve rigs and lures. One major enemy of spinning reels is a line twist. But this is not the case for all tackle spinners because most middle and top range models with better size spools don’t have this problem. It’s only the lower range models which have rather narrow spools cannot always seem to cope with the monofil line. One way to eliminate this problem is to take out the line spool from the reel and spray it with a special lubricant which can be purchased from most fishing shop or online.

At last, the use of adequate weight rigs is also very important, especially if you are casting large baits. If you are not sure about what size rig you should be using, just visit a fishing shop and ask for advice.

Finding the right sea fishing rod

Over the years manufactures have developed various technologies which allowed them to introduce materials like fiberglass, graphite and e-glass to the world of sea fishing tackle. They all have experimented quite a bit with these material and most of the time have come up with remarkable products.

Majority of new generation of sea fishing rods and reels, with some minor exceptions, are manufactured from such materials so to make them less susceptible to corrosion caused by saltwater. Although most manufacturers still recommend for sea fishing tackle, reels especially, to be rinsed off in tap water after each use in order to prolong the life of sea fishing tackle.

The key to success in the world of so much competition from so many manufacturers is in ability to produce well balanced equipment. Well balanced sea fishing rods, poles and reels are essential for good casting. For this reason all manufacturers put guidelines on their products advising anglers which lines and lures are best suited to their fishing poles, rods and reels. But if you are new to all this, I have written a series of reports on various spinning rods and reels such as for baitcasting and for light, medium and heavy tackle spinning. This one is mainly about the rods and reels for heavy freshwater and medium saltwater spinning.

Such sea fishing rods and reels are often used for casting lures in most surf conditions or from a fishing vessel. They also work well in medium to large size waterstreams for catching reasonably large size trout.
Medium saltwater spinning reels would usually hold about 350 yards of 6 lb test mono line or about 335 of 8 lb test mono line and the reduction in capacity goes so on. This is just a rough estimate as actual capacity of reels can very significantly from one manufacturer to another. Lines which are smaller in diameter would allow you a lengthier cast (depending on the size of your lure) and larger lines would usually result in a sorter cast. You should adjust the size of your line in accordance with the type of water, fishing tackle, desired length of cast and the weight of your lures. Consider using a larger diameter line (but not more than 12lb test) in waters where there are obstacles such as large amounts of weeds because a lighter line can easily snap if it gets tangled. You can also get advice on fishing tackle directly from your local specialists.

When selecting a reel, make sure that the one you are planning to get has a reasonably large diameter spool so to avoid line twist. For a medium power sea fishing rod, between 7-9 feet in length, the spool should not be smaller than 4.5 to 5 millimetres. You should also adjust the fishing rod length by taking into account the following factors: the type of reel, fishing line, lure, fishing tackle and water condition.

You should also make sure that the reel has a smooth drag and even a small fish can snap your line a fast moving waters if the drag of your reel is not up to scratch.

It is also wise to get a spear spool when buying a new reel. This is because there can be time when you may need to use a different size or colour line. As regards to choice of lures, these reels would suit anything from a ¼ to 3/8 of an ounce lures. Adjust the size of your lure in accordance of the size of your line, fishing tackle and water conditions so to achieve adequate cast and allow it to sink with ease. If it is something you are still not sure about then ask your local specialist on fishing tackle direct.

At last, if the reel you want to by does not already have a line on it, ask your sea fishing tackle dealer to load the line on for you as they usually have line loading equipment in store. This could save you a lot of time and effort. Also don’t forget to ask about a line lubricant as it will really help you to maintain your line and reel in good working order.