Bailiff Comments

Week Commencing: Sat 26/10/2019

WC 26th October 2019

The regulars return. We had a full booking once again on the Main Lake, this time comprising of anglers who had all been before. We had a week of mixed weather forecast, with mainly northerlies and easterlies for the first part of the week, then switching southerly towards the end. The temperatures were a bit lower than of late, so we wondered if the fish would sit off the back of the wind. Swim selection was a bit of a lottery this week and it looked like it was going to take some solid angling to put a result together. 

Chris Clarke came out second in the draw and fancied another week in Co’s Point (it’s become his second home this year!). He chose to go beyond where the anglers had fished recently and baited up with 5kg of Sticky Krill and Royal Marine at 29.5 wraps towards the “Tits”. The rods were out in fairly short order and he had his first fish a couple of hours later, a lovely high twenty known as “Khazi”, which fell for a Yellow Scent From Hell Wafter on a running COG lead and D-Rig. He repeated the baiting strategy the next afternoon and on Monday morning just after breakfast he landed another twenty pounder. Things then went a bit quiet, so he stopped putting in bait and that did the trick, as he landed a thirty pounder known as “Doller” on Thursday. It took a switch to a yellow Scent from Hell Pop-Up to get this one, which shows that ringing the changes on hookbaits can certainly pay dividends when it’s hard going.

Malcolm Mitchell fancied having a crack at Baxter’s and spent a bit of time watching before he committed. He chose to fish close in, with one down to the righthand corner at 9 wraps, one at Big Girls at 13 wraps and a roving rod. He fished with solid PVA bags and initially scattered 30 - 50 baits around each one. He heard fish in the corner not long after casting out and received a couple of liners almost straight away. Within the hour the 9 wrap corner spot had gone off, resulting in a 36lb Mirror known as “Badger”. The fish kept showing close during darkness and a good fish turned over straight out in front Wednesday night. Malcolm pinpointed the spot and put a solid bag on it for Thursday night. This proved a great move as he picked up the stunning “Wodka” at 44lb. Krill Tuff Ones inside the bags did the business Malcolm. Good angling mate.

Rowan Hill went into the Alamo and fished the righthand side at 29 wraps towards the big tree left of Beach. He baited up initially with 5kg of Mainline Fyber and Essential Cell, fishing Mainline Wafters over the top on IQ D-Rigs. Just after dinner on Tuesday he got a take and after a good scrap landed a pretty 39lb Mirror known as “Air Con” which doesn’t see the bank very often. Being an old hand at Gigantica, Rowan didn’t just keep piling in bait for the sake of it, but even then, the fish just didn’t get their heads down. Testament to his accuracy, when he wound in his rods on Saturday morning, he impaled free offerings on two of his rods from his baited area! 

Jeff Maskell came out late in the draw and still had the option of Oblivion, so gave it a go. The 26 wrap spot towards the big tree left of Beach still felt great, so he gave that a go for the week. He was using Baitworks Royal Marine mixed with maize at the start of the week at a rate of 3-5kg per day. With no action for the first couple of days, he decided to put in some pellet as it has definitely got the new fish interested in the spots in recent weeks. Wednesday morning and the pellet seemed to have drawn a few fish in, as he got the bite he had worked so hard for. The twenty pounder known as “AJ’s” was most welcome. Unfortunately that was the end of the action for Jeff.

Jon Daniel came out high in the draw but fancied having a go in Stock Pond, which raised a few eyebrows. It hadn’t been particularly productive in recent weeks, but Jon took the time to have a good cast around and had a chat with Andy the Bailiff. He picked a spot in open water towards Oblivion at 16 wraps for two rods and the other rod went to the bottom of the marginal shelf on the right hand side at the same distance. He baited up with Sticky Krill which he chopped and left whole, then mixed with some maize. On Monday night Jon had an occurrence from the bottom of the shelf which he was confident was an aborted take. He switched the Heli-Safe for a running COG and on Tuesday night had another chance on the same rod. This time he suffered a hook-pull after having the fish on for a short period of time. The next night he got a repeat performance, but disaster struck when the fish dived for the bottom and somehow managed to cut him off! Jon took it like a man (once he’d stopped crying!!) and got back on the horse. On Thursday night he finally cracked the case and landed himself a beautiful 29lb 4oz Mirror known as “Secret Agent 001”. Well done Jon, you definitely deserved that one mate.

Roger Meir went into Bob’s Beach which hasn’t been in bad form for the last couple of months. He initially went out to 25 wraps towards Alamo with all three rods and managed to snare himself a twenty pounder on Saturday night, which fell for Essential Cell on the “Bollocks” Rig and was a great start. Unfortunately, that was the end of the action, despite there being plenty of activity between Treeline and Baxter’s.

Unfortunately it turned out to be one of the slowest weeks since the winter, and the fishing was hard. Once darkness descended the fish could be heard crashing out, but bites were certainly at a premium. The time is approaching when a reduction in bait quantity and increased attraction will yield better results. We have found boilie crumb and particle to be the most consistent in the colder water. 

Until next time

Bonne Peche & Tight Lines

Andy

Team Gigantica