Bailiff Comments

Week Commencing: Sat 26/08/2017

TWO TIME, TWICE, IN TWO WEEKS

Another beautiful summer week draws to a close at Gigantica. The weather has generally been warm and sunny, with daytime temperatures in the mid twenties. The air pressure was quite high, but stable, and the winds were from a Southerly direction for most of the week. Overnight temperatures were in the high teens, and a full moon appeared midweek. It was a full house, with twelve anglers on for the week.

Coming out “lucky” seventh in the draw, Paul “The Bear” Hankin was surprised to find himself with the option of fishing Co’s Point. Being one of the most sought after swims on the Main Lake, he was obviously very keen to get started. The most productive area in Co’s has been straight out in front from 25-27 wraps at the “Boobs”. Paul had picked up a new set of rods on the way down, and was unsure if he could hit the productive area at 25 wraps. After a few exploratory casts Paul initially settled on fishing all three rods at 20 wraps, where he found he could cast to, and bait up with the throwing stick. With there being weed present in front, most anglers opt for the Spomb to introduce bait, as you can deliver the bait in a much tighter area than with a throwing stick. Nevertheless, on Sunday morning Paul had his first bite and landed a nice scaley 19lb 8oz Mirror. As he got more familiar with his new rods, and on the advice of the bailiff, Paul went out to the 25 wrap area and had a great result when the Mirror known as Clarkey’s decided to pick up his Sticky Baits Krill Bottom Bait, tipped with Korda Fake Food IB Corn. Weighing in at 51lb 12oz, Paul was rightfully ecstatic with his new PB and got a good soaking in the process. Going back out to the 25 wrap spot, Paul had another rip snorting take the next night and after a bit of a tussle, he landed a Mirror which he suspected was even bigger. Calling round the bailiff to assist (as we do with all fish over 50lb, day or night) he wasn't wrong either, as nestled in his landing was the big mirror known as Two Time looking rather plump for the second time in two weeks. Up on the scales the big Mirror weighed in at 64lb, and another PB for Paul. Not a bad week for a Main Lake session, two PB’s in a week. His rigs consisted of running leads, a short section of Dark Matter tubing, with 20lb Korda N-Trap Soft to Size 4 Wide Gape B, fished blowback style. During the week, Paul used 20kg of boilie.

In Pole Position this week we had regular returner Ian Brown. Ian has fished the Main Lake on three previous occasions and was still optimistically holding out for a monster. Sensibly, Ian had set his sights on a thirty pounder, anything else would be a massive bonus. He started with two rods at 27.5 wraps towards The Stink, and one at 28 towards the “W-Tree”. Rigs were semi-fixed Hybrid Lead Clips, Dark Matter tubing and IQ D-Rigs. He had brought Mad Baits CTS+ and was using the Wicked White’s in 20mm as hookbaits. On Monday he decided to put a couple of rods out on zigs, and just after finishing dinner on Monday, he received the bite he had been waiting for. Not long after taking up battle, the fish ground to a halt a good distance from the bank. Andy the bailiff soon had Nicole the boat ready for action, and they set sail to try and land the unseen leviathan. It became quickly apparent that the fish had wrapped itself around the other lines, and total carnage ensued. After a lot of “knit one pearl one” and having to take off the lead which hadn't ejected, Andy hand-lined a nice scaley Mirror to the surface, which was soon in the net. On the bank, “The Unattended” weighed in at a very satisfying 36lb… mission accomplished. Ian also went on to land “The Dustbin” at 21lb 4oz on Saturday morning. He baited lightly, using 5kg of boilie during the week, which he put out with either the throwing stick or Spomb, baiting up late each afternoon. A lovely lad, Ian has booked his next trip, and now the bar has been raised to a forty!!

Lindon “Carp Rimmer” Brooks came out of the draw first and selected Bob’s Beach with no hesitation. After talking to the bailiff about the productive areas in the swim, he saw fish showing out beyond the usual area, and decided to fish two rods at 23 wraps and one at 14 towards the headland. His rigs consisted of 20lb Korda N-Trap Soft, Size 4,Kaptor Wide Gape B, blow back style. On Saturday night, he justified his swim selection when he got a bite from the 23 wrap spot, and landed the Common known as Gums at 35lb 12oz. Confidence was high, and on Sunday he saw fish in the upper layers and put out a zig. This was quickly snaffled by Billy’s Scaley, a nice 20lb Mirror. Switching back to running rigs with IQ D-Rigs for the night, he was in again on Monday night, and after a spirited tussle he managed to landed his biggest fish of the week at 40lb 2oz. The stunning Mirror known as Fight Club, made him one seriously happy bunny. Whilst taking the pictures of Fight Club, Lindon got his “Carp Rimmer” nickname, when he accidentally when knuckle deep whilst trying to hold the fish for a picture!! During the week he used 10kg of Sticky Baits Krill in 15mm and 18mm.

Andy Davis came out early in the draw, and sensibly picked a swim that he could fish effectively…. Oblivion. He started off fishing with one rod at 20 wraps towards Alcatraz, one at 7 wraps towards the headland and the other rod was fished at 6.75 wraps out down the right hand margin where he had found a nice clear spot in the weed. His terminal tackle consisted of 30lb Korda Camo hooklinks with Size 4B Krank hooks, baited with three grains of Korda IB Pop-Up Corn. Bait for the week was a mixture of Mainline Cell and Essential Cell mixed with a liberal helping of Maize. Andy constructed his bait mix using a ratio of 80% Maize to 20% boilie in an attempt to combat the crayfish which inhabit the margins; as they don’t really go for the Maize. On Saturday evening just after dinner, unbelievably Andy was into a fish on the right hand short margin spot; most of the other anglers hadn't even cast out at this point! After a short tussle, he slipped the net under the very distinctive Black Eyed Linear, which weighed in at 36lb. With the pressure off to catch early on Andy had a very relaxed evening. The same thing happened again on Monday evening after dinner and after a repeat performance Andy landed something substantially bigger. Calling the bailiff, it became quickly apparent that he had landed the irrepressible Robert’s Fish at 63lb 12oz. A new PB for Andy, and a good soaking ensued. The margins at Gigantica are largely ignored by most anglers; but Andy showed what can be achieved with a bit of persistence, and good presentation. Well done on some great angling.

Martin Ison came out number two in the draw and got his first choice swim, Alcatraz. Following the bailiff’s advice, he fished two rods to the hump at 23 wraps towards Scotties Corner, and one rod at 23 wraps towards Big Southerly, where he found a clear spot in the weed. On the bait front he opted for a mixture Mainline Cell and Sticky Baits Krill at a ratio of 75% - 25% in favour of Cell. He used semi-fixed Hybrid Lead Clips with a Spinner Rig, using Size 2B Korda Kurv Shank hooks. Martin baited up primarily with the Spomb, then flicked some Baits out with the throwing stick in the general area, using 25kg of bait during week, which he glazed with Tiger Nut oil before putting them out. This is a really useful tactic as the fish betray their presence when feeding over your bait, as a flat spot will come up to the surface. This is exactly what happened on Monday after dinner. When Martin returned to his swim to recast the rods there was a big flat spot over the left hand spot towards Scotties Corner. With eager anticipation, Martin watched through dusk and into nightfall but frustratingly no bite came. That was until just after the stroke of midnight when one of the rods fished Scotties Corner roared off. It wasn't long before Martin slipped the net under a nice scaley 46lb Mirror known as “The Face”. What a great result for some accurate and persistent angling.

Vlad “Tourette’s” Mateescu who originates from Romania joined us for the week, and was over the moon when he got the chance to fish Big Southerly, as he had his heart set on it from the start. Vlad spoke perfect English but had obviously been to the same school as Roy “Chubby” Brown, as we learnt more new swear words this week than ever before!! His plan involved fishing the marker poles in Big Southerly at night, whilst having a few days in the unfancied Scottie’s Corner. In Big Southerly he fished to the left and right markers at 13 wraps, and the other rod at 22 wraps straight out. Whilst doing this he also primed Scottie’s Corner with a view to having a couple of days in there later in the week. He was fishing with IQ D-Rigs and changed from semi-fixed, to running leads after following the advice of the bailiff (we find that the fish find it much more difficult to shed the hook with a running lead, instead of using the weight of the lead with a semi-fixed system). Bait for the week consisted of Mainline FYBER and the Prototype Fishmeal mixed with maize, and Vlad used matching wafters over the top. On Wednesday he initiated “Operation Scottie’s” and set himself up at first light for a days fishing. This proved to be an excellent decision as he had three bites during the day, landing all three. Two stockie’s and an unknown scaley 20lb Mirror, which he named “Irie” were a great result. Baiting up regularly, he used 30kg of bait during the week. Vlad was a breath of fresh air, and got on famously with everyone; a truly lovable character. Look forwards to seeing you again next ******* year mate!!

Ben Ford doubled up in Alamo with Scott Hankin for the week. They sensibly decided to fish at the same distance, bait up and cast at the same time, which is beneficial when doubled up. Both fishing two rods at 26 wraps in front, they then both put one rod each down their respective margin. Ben started off using the German rig, and towards the end of the week changed to hinged stiff. Trent Baits Freshwater Shrimp was the choice of bait, and they baited up with either the throwing stick or the Spomb. Rigs consisted of Korda Heli-Safe’s on Dark Matter Leaders with Size 4B Korda Kurv’s and an IQ Boom. Despite trying all eventualities, it took until last knockings on Saturday morning before Ben broke the deadlock. With most of the gear packed away, Ben received a quick take and after a steady fight, he slipped the net under “Humpy” at 38lb. What a brilliant way to end the week.

It was an enjoyable and interesting week, with a lot of things learnt. Quite a few of the lads this week chose to use the throwing stick, but with the weed surrounding clear areas, it can make this approach a little ineffective. Quite a few also baited very lightly, and this didn't seem to produce the bites. The big fish are still trying to regain the weight they lost during spawning and can clear out a good bed of bait in fairly short order. Obviously, this isn't always the case, but more often than not, you will need to give the fish a good reason to spend some time over your baited area.

It won’t be long before the nights start closing in, and summer will be but a distant memory. The fish are seriously getting on the much, can’t wait for next week.

Tight Lines and Bonne Peche

Andy

Team Gigantica