Holyfield at Waltham Abbey

[Chappa]

Well, last time out was in the frozen north at The Angel of the North. Yesterday I was in the frozen south at Holyfield (Waltham Abbey, way daaan saaaf). That's one thing about this roving life of mine, I always keep all my kit in the car, so wherever I end up working, a google search will always show up a nice new fishery to try!
Due to lying in and struggling to find the place I didn't arricve til around 11am. The sky was dark and the wind blustery so I had a look round at the specimen carp lake which was better sheltered but very busy with the bivvy boys. So I looked round the match lake- more exposed but with only a "Dad and son" pair on it, so I set up there, on the right of the lake with a strong wind blowing from left to right. I didn't bother to put up my brolly though as it was still fine, not I must say, the best decision I've made this week!
I cast out the carp rod with a heavy feeder (2mm pellets) and a short (3") hook length hair rigged with luncheon meat on a size 10 hook. I got the trusty quiver tip rod out and decided to float fish with worm and maggot for perch as (and this may surprise you) in all my trying I've never managed to catch one! Once again, before I could get the second rod out the bite alarm went off, and in came the first fish of the day, a nice common of around a pound, job done, blank avoided, and the signs were good.

I had the float rod out for half an hour with a worm fished just off the bottom with no luck at all. I loose fed maggots but just got nothing, but it's funny I kind of knew the fish were there but they weren't interested in the worm? I changed to a single maggot and straight on the drop, as the float settled, I hooked into a little perch, only to have it shake off the hook as I reached for the net, bugger! (this happened a lot with perch throughout the day, I think the quiver tip is too soft to hook them cleanly, too much "give" I think I'll invest in a decent match rod). Then finally I landed my first feisty little perch. The feeder continued to give good results with plenty of small commons and one mirror, and I was getting so many small silvers and perch on the float that I was able to experiment with shotting patterns and hook bait. But the weather was a nightmare, one minute beautifull sunshine and warm, the next, black sky howling gale and driving hailstones that almost filled the pellet box! But the perch continued to bite throughout on single caster, and just as the hail eased I lifted a nice 1lber out, chuffed to bits I was. Then I had a thought, "if I get a 1lb fish on single caster, maybe I'll gat a 2lb fish on double caster?" 10 minutes later I got a steady slow sinking float that stayed under, I struck into the fish of the day (actually the year) and placed a gorgeous 2lb perch on the mat. I was frozen to the bone, soaking wet and I couldn't feel my fingers but the smile was a mile wide lads, what a way to start my perch carreer . Then thing got a bit surreal, while I was admiring the fish on the mat, the bite alarm wailed off and the bait-runner started giving line out fast, so I jumped up and struck into it, and reeled in a way, then put the rod down, dashed back and unhooked my prize perch and carried it back to the water then picked up the feeder rod again and luckilly, the fish was still on. I landed a good sized tench, the first of the year but boy did it seem lean for an 18" fish? I put it down to being early in the season, got it on the mat and took the big size 8 hook out with ease, but even though the hook was free of the fishes mouth, the hair rig was still in it's mouth, and tight???!!! My heart sank as I realised my hook and hair were out, but were tangled around someone elses hook length just 1" out of the fishes mouth, and the hook it was attatched to was buried in the fishes gut . Remember lads, I'm new to this lark but it didn't look good for the tench. Then I remembered the deep-hooked disgorger I invested in after a recommendation last year; I quickly retreived it from the tackle box and threaded it onto the hook length, then held the line tight and pushed in, and pushed and pushed, no hook "B*##*x" I thought, there's deep and there's deep. I tried a second time as I couldn't face putting the fish back in and leave it with it's stomach stapled shut (as I said before, it was very lean so obviously struggling to feed properly) I pushed the disgorger in til I had 2 knuckles inside the fishes mouth and felt it bottom out in the fishes belly (all in, around 6" of tool and 2" of fingers). I pulled the line tight, gave the tool a push/twist, and out it came, you beauty! A size 10 hook tied to about 10lb main line. The fish had been out a while by now so I rushed him back in to hopefully live a long and happy life! I got another look at the guilty hook length and quickly found the reason it was buried in the fish: it had been tied on using a half blood knot Why do people still use them? It's beyond me, they're so prone to breaks like this, I won't use them.

All in all, weather aside I'd had a cracking day, the first aid to the tench had made me feel good but the fish of the day was definitely the 2lb perch . I'll be back South in a fortnight when I'll be paying the match lake at Holyfield another visit,

Cheers all.

Chappa

[nightriderm]

Very nice m8 and what a fine Perch,one of my favorite fish.Nice one getting that damned hook out of the Tench,can't understand why folk do not use the knot less all the time,simple and reasonably safe.

[Banana Steve]

Welldone on the fish