Bailiff Comments

Week Commencing: Sat 17/08/2019

We are well into the summer now at Gigantica and the weather has been hot, hot, hot! The lads arriving for their lake exclusive this week were hoping that the fishing would match the weather! The majority of the lads were regular returners, and we were confident that they would get the best from the swims and land a few fish. 

James “The Plumber” Hayden fancied his chances in Bob’s Beach, which is a consistent producer at this time of year. After a good cast around with a grappling lead (something which we strongly recommend) he chose to fish all three rods at 22 wraps towards The Alamo. Bait for the week was Mainline Hybrid mixed with maize. James pre-soaked the baits in lake water, then dried them on a towel before applying some liquid attractants. He started off baiting with 5kg but with no bites on Saturday night (and lots of fish activity), he upped it to 10kg on Sunday. This had the desired effect as he had three bites in a four hour feeding spell in the wee’ hours of Monday morning, which resulted in a pretty twenty; the rarely caught “Double Take” at 38lb 8oz and the magnificent “Scar” at whopping 68lb 4oz! James kept the bait going in and was rewarded on Wednesday morning with “Sashquash” at a spawned out 47lb 12oz, then ensued a quiet couple of nights as the fish drifted to other parts of the lake. On Friday night they returned in numbers, and surely it was only a matter of time before one snaffled his Banoffee Wafter presented on a D-Rig. Early on Saturday morning James landed another two fish to end the week on a high. Ryan’s Run at 33lb, and a mint Common of 40lb 4oz known as Gum’s. Great angling James. 

First time visitor Jesse Aliriza went into the super consistent Big Girls. Taking the advice of Andy the Bailiff he fished all three rods at 21 wraps towards the stock pond inflow pipe. The highly oxygenated water being a massive attractor for the fish. Baiting with the aid of a scoop he spread a homemade Fishmeal boilie which he chopped and mixed with maize. Starting off lightly, he managed to land a mid twenty on his first night which gave him the confidence to apply bait in larger quantities. For the remainder of the week he put between 8 to 12kg per day. Presenting a matching Wafter over the top on a Slip-D rig saw Jesse get consistent action every night. Despite dropping a couple, he ended the week with nine fish to 28lb, and was duly crowned as top rod in the sweep stake.

Geoff Longley was back for another go and got the chance to fish in The Alamo for the week. Being a very competent distance angler he went out to 29 wraps towards the big tree left of Beach. Bait for the week was DNA S7 which he mixed with maize, and put in an average of 5-7kg per day over the three rods. A slow start ensued despite fish showing in the area, and it wasn’t until Monday that he picked up his first fish which turned out to be a fast growing 2017 fish called “Paraody” at 30lb. On Tuesday afternoon things kicked off nicely, with Geoff picking up five fish during a hectic afternoon. He was recasting and topping up the swim with another ten spombs after each fish, and the swim turned into a jacuzzi for around six hours. Matching DNA S7 Dumbell Wafters did the damage presented on IQ D-Rigs. Geoff ended the week with a very creditable eight fish.Top angling.

Stuart Young opted for the popular Alcatraz swim, and being an old hand at Gigantica, he chose to fish the “regular” spots which have done him plenty of bites on previous trips. The left hand rod was fished on the hump towards Scottie’s Corner at 24 wraps, with the other two out at 27.5 wraps towards the Wonky Tree. On Saturday he introduced 5kg with the Spomb, using a mixture of Baitworks Royal Marine and maize. A bite on Sunday morning saw him land a lovely 30lb scaley known as “Apple Crumble”. The fish fell for a Baitworks Royal Marine Dumbell with a fake maize topper fished on an IQ D-Rig with COG leads. Stuart then upped the anti and went to 10kg per day and moved all three rods out to the 27.5 wrap area where the bite had come from. He went on to catch a further three thirties during the week, including one off a 21ft zig, when the weather turned hot. Good angling Stu.

John Pike was back for his second trip of the year and has now established himself as a bit of a Stock Pond specialist. Second in the draw, he fancied having another go in there. After a quick check of the spots, he went straight back to where he had fished previously. One at 9.25 wraps to the corner, one at 23 wraps and one at 22 wraps. Both the longer rods were fished across to the shallow spot in the corner. He initially baited with 10kg of chopped and whole Mainline Link, Fyber  and maize on a 50/50 ratio of boilie to maize. John was straight into action on Saturday night, with his first bite coming at 9pm which unfortunately dropped off. Not to be deterred he got the rod back out and and had a great night, landing his next three fish. By first light on Sunday he had two 30’s and a high twenty; he really does know how to get the best from the swim. Late on Sunday evening, he had a double take, and managed to land one of them which resulted in his biggest fish of the week, “Equalled” at 44lb. With another smaller fish landed at first light on Monday, John was in the groove. Unfortunately, the weather change to hotter conditions which resulted in the fish not visiting his swim for the remaining nights. We’ve learnt a lot about the best approach to Stock Pond this year, and John must take credit for the great results he’s had. Well done mate.

Being first out of the draw on his last two trips, Ryan Mullins was devastated when he pulled out number four!! He couldn’t resist the lure of Co’s Point again, and after a quick check out front, he chose to fish all three rods at 28 wraps. Initially he spread the rods between the “Tits” and the “Flat Oak” and had a 20lb Common just after midnight on Saturday, which was a great start. Ryan was baiting up each day with 7kg of Dynamite Baits Tiger Nut Boilie mixed with maize, and fished a matching Wafter tipped with a piece of IB maize over the top. After a couple of quiet days he decided to tighten up the rods and brought them all onto the “Tits”. One left, one right and one down the cleavage in the middle! After a frustrating four days; despite fishing well he was wondering where his next bite would come from. But true to how the good anglers stick at it, he picked up a fish on Thursday, Friday and Saturday morning. The best being “Drop Scale” at 31lb 12oz. 

Roy “Roger” Prodger had his usual “pants” draw (he’s now improved to number seven) and still got into a swim he fancied. Big Southerly can do some good fish when they turn up. Being the meticulous angler he is, Roy found the small hump at 25 wraps and squeezed two rods onto it, then put one down the left hand margin at 13.5 wraps. With the weather conditions being good, he chose to go heavy on the bait from the off, and started with 15kg over the two spots. He presented a Spinner Rig with a Milky Toffee pop-up over Mainline Hybrid mixed 50/50 with maize. He picked up three fish during what was a frustrating week. They didn’t really turn up until the end of the week, but he still managed three twenties off the 25 wrap hump when it was really tough. Well done Roger!

Wayne Cox started his week off in The Stink, and unfortunately lost one on Saturday night. He was fishing two rods at 27 wraps towards the big tree left of Beach, and one at 16 wraps right of Alcatraz. Bait for the week was Sticky Manilla and HNV Pro and he fished a yellow aniseed pop-up on a Spinner Rig over the top. The first bite came from the 16 wrap spot, and he had a pick up on Tuesday which kited round to Alamo, and was landed in there, the culprit being “Northern Tale” at 33lb 4oz. He moved over to the Treeline on Wednesday and also picked up a 29lb Mirror from a spot at 22 wraps towards The Stink.

Late in the draw, Hayes Thasan went into Oblivion, and on Saturday there were fish all over the swim. He couldn’t decide where to cast, but in the end went at 26 wraps towards the big tree left of Beach with all three rods. In the early hours of Sunday morning he lost a good fish, and then unfortunately the fish drifted away. Testament to the good angler he is, he stuck with it and managed to winkle out a 20lb Mirror on Thursday. He baited with a homemade fishmeal mixed with maize and fished a Slip-D rig and Pink Wafter over the top. 

Paul Currill took up the chance to double-up in the Alamo. He was on the left hand side, and went with two rods towards the corner of Baxter’s at 28 wraps and one at 15 to the clubhouse. He got a bite on Saturday night after introducing 5kg of DNA S7 and cast out a matching wafter which resulted in a pretty 27lb Mirror. Paul struggled to tempt another bite from the swim and then moved into the Stink for his last two nights, but unfortunately the big girls evaded him on this occasion. 

Levi “Roots”  Edney was in Baxter’s for the week, and after a bit of guidance on spots from Andy the Bailiff and Stu in Traz he got organised. Relatively new to carp fishing, the target was simply a bite. On Sunday morning he got what he dreamed of; a bite from his 9 wrap spot towards the right hand corner. The 14lb Common was a PB for Levi and the joy on his face as he got blasted off the front of the swim with a bucket of water was priceless. Although that was the only chance he got, he stayed upbeat all week, and was an absolute pleasure to have around. The fish fell for a White Scent From Hell Pop-Up on Spinner Rig. 

It was a brilliant week, spent in brilliant company. The fish were fairly obliging, with 45 fish landed from 55 bites. That said, the anglers fished really well and took on-board the advice offered by the bailiffs. We want every angler to catch the fish of their dreams, and will help as much as you need us. Whether you’re a first time visitor, or have been coming for years, the bailiff team will give you all the information they can to get you catching. Well done boys.....looking forwards to 2020.

Until next time.....Tight Lines and Bonne Peche

Andy

Team Gigantica