Hordle lakes....

[rob@home]

Well this trip was planned from the previous week & I was looking forward to it up until last Sunday when we actually went. The missus (complete novice) & myself (trainer of complete novices!) were due to have a day without kids. I was looking forward to getting on the tench lake for a bash & @ 9-30 little one was dropped off & we were on out way. We got to the lake around 10am to find the sun blazing down. I immediately had doubts towards my target species of tench (should of got there about 3 hours earlier really! )
For bait we were using corn,pepperami,hemp & doggy biscuits. We started off on a float & there were bubbles everywhere the lake was fizzing. Just felt like we had to catch it was a certainty. This was my better 1/2's 2nd fishing expedition due mainly to the fact that there's an on-site toilet. If anyone setting up a lake or complex wants to accommodate lady anglers here's a massive tip for you, SUPPLY A TOILET & women will come. Anyway I had a bacon & egg roll depending on the 1st fish over 3lb so after setting her up & dropping the float into the margins I immediately set to work sorting out my own gear & 10 mins later I was away . In the float went ping went the line as a fish made off rapidly for the horizon not a good start I thought. Kept building the swim & was using the lift method but those fish down there @ hordle are wiley ole fish & the bites were annoying fast & almost unstrikable. We fished till almost 1pm with a few roach,rudd & bits when fish started showing on top. By this time I was dying for an egg & bacon roll so thought I needed an edge to catch that 3lb'er. Off with the float on with a size 10 & I switched to the doggies & BANG straight away a fish....was it 3lb....was it?yep I'd won my lunch
Kept feeding doggies in while we had lunch & after lunch we retackled both our rods & we were both away again.



Well this contined all afternoon as you can see ....




& still they kept coming ....


although as you can see yours truley had a severe case of sun stroke by then & cant understand why my better half wouldn't kiss me after this fish???cant think why
Anyway 5-30 came round & it was time to head homeward & pick up little diddler from her mums but we must of had a good 100lb+ of fish by this time. You can always count on hordle to put a bend in your rod & you have to love the place for that. I'm sat here on the tuesday after with a grey sullen sky out the window & sunday seem an age away....roll on next weekend

Rob.

[rob@home]

Oh by the way anyone wanting to know how to make perfect floaters (I use red ones as you can see from the 1st pic) heres what I do :-

1.) drop enough mixers into a bucket as you will need for your trip & add 1/2 an inch of water

2.) leave to soak for 5 mins then drain off all the water from the mixers

3.) Its now you transfer the mixers to a plastic bag (sandwich bags are great) & add a few drops of your desired food colouring (available from any supermarket approx 50p )

4.) Add an flavourings you want the mixers to take on I used strawberry

5.) Pop the bag into the freezer & they are ready for your next trip, when you take them out of the freezer they will be nice & soft just right for hooking with that little bit of added casting weight




Hope this helps anyone thinking of trying floaters as this time of year you'll be hard pushed to beat them.

Rob.

[pingu]

nice one and good info as well

dave

[Fishing Forum Admin]

Looks like a great day mate well done

[rob@home]

Was a lovely day cheers guys looking forward to friday now be nice to get back out onto some flowing water wanna give the avon a go haven't managed a fish out of there so far this year,might try bisterne if the weathers nice

Rob.

[blackwater]

Well done,great help with floaters I might try them in a few weeks time when I'm after the carp in England

BW

[nightriderm]

Nice fishing and thanks for the tip about the floaters.

[paddy2k7_red4life]

looks like a cracking sesion

[rob@home]

Well i've finally been out for my 1st coarse session of the season, been all work & no play this year so far!hopefully things are about to change for the better in that deptartment but thats another story & not for here.
Ventured down my local muddy pool again (must be summer I think?!? )
We (my better 1/2, myself & rug rag) trundled off to hordle at about lunch time today to spend a very pleasant if not sun baked couple of hours next to the water. I fished willow & before long the 1st fish of the day was forthcoming, a common bronze bream thats 1.5 points for the species hunt straight away so not bad I thought.



1st Bronze bream of the seaon

They started coming steadily after this & it was just a matter of time before I hit one of these large battlecruisers I could see circling the area. I have had ghosties out of willow to 12 1/2lb before & an 18lb mirror before now. Today I was hoping for a more modest target, maybe a common & a mirror carp to complete my species hunt for carp. Wasn't too long before one of them came my way.










I continued to catch bream,carp,rudd & roach through out the afternoon until we left @ 5pm but still hadn't managed to get a mirror carp. As mirrors are usually the predominant species I was quite surprised to not of had 1 then last cast before the off it came



Bonus thats another 4.5 points for the species hunt in about 5 hours or so, all in all a good afternoon. We're absolutely toasted now though even with sun tan lotion but nice to back out there again,looking forward to White Acres in Newquay in September now