Lucky Dormouse

[king01]

Morning all,

Just come back from 2 nights at Carlton Meres country park in Saxmundham, Suffolk. My folks live there so it's free for me to fish.

Its a really pretty lake and very peaceful, on both nights i had the whole lake to myself. I fished boilies and other random items on one rod and tried a method feeder with nut and hemp mix and peanut on a hair. I decided to stick to one spot and feed the swim with balls of bait in the hope time would draw in the fish.


I got a lot of interest on the feeder rod but very few takes, can only presume smaller fish were clipping the line fighting for the particals.

It started off really quiet but i could see fish surfacing and jumping so i new they had'nt gone on holiday. It was dark by the time i set up so i settled in for a brew before bed. At 3.30 am my alarm screamed off and i was into something nice. I kept the rod high because the lake has loads of Canadian pond weed which is very thick and long. The fish got into it a couple of times as it was very strong but i eased it out with steady presure and finally landed it after about 10 minutes. I was pleased to see a pristine common which filled my 42" landing net. He weighed 19.5lbs but looked so much bigger.


The following day i was plagued by bream and had a little 1lb common but nothing decent, still fish though despite a bloody kormerant fishing aswell.

On night 2 i stuck with the same method but had bigger end baits to put the bream off. At 2 am i was in a really deep sleep and did'nt notice my right hand rod go. when i did it was too late, what ever it was was well in the weed and going no where. I could feel something nodding on the line but it was solid and i was half asleep so it shed the hook.

I set up again and checked my kit as it was a little damp. Looking around my bait box i spotted a door mouse checking out my boilies, he was very confident and not at all bothered by be shining a police torch in his face at point blank range.


At 3.30 am again my alarm went and i was'nt gonna lose this one. I kept him high and won the war, this time landing a 15lb mirror. I packed up at 7am happy but knackered.

[Baz T]

Great report and pics - well done on the 19.5lb'er - looks a beauty. The lake looks lovely - and nice pic of the dormouse too

[Dubbed Squirrel]

Hi king01, cracking fish, that lake doesn`t look too bad either. Hope you left a couple of boilies for the poor thing lol. great report.

[Bungz]

Huge fish doesn't even fit on the mat! lol

Looks a nice spot, if you are struggling to get woken up invest in a sounder box under your pillow, you'll never miss another run!

[Ianwhite]

I'm not a fisherman, but I am very ineterested in dormice. If it was a dormouse you saw it is outside their known current and historical range. Was the photograph taken on the day?

Thanks

[king01]

not a fisherman!, but your a member of a fishing forum, how does that work then.

[Bungz]

Think he's come across the spotting/thread through google :)


Lovely looking thing, used to keep mice as a lad

[Ianwhite]

You're right - it turned up on a google search.

Just as you're interested in fish you've caught, I'm very interested in dormice. Our native dormice are declining in this country and are a species of some concern so I'm keen to record any sightings that are on the edge of, or beyond, it's existing range.

This one is certainly beyond where they are currently known to be - unfortunately the photograph seems to have been lifted from a site in Devon

http://locksparkfarm.wordpress.com/2.../baby-dormice/

Just interested to check it was a dormouse that was seen not a wood mouse or bank vole.

[Bungz]

yes I twigged last night the photo was not original

[mac1]

Ian white.......why not contact a mod and see if they can make a sticky somewhere , and then put up some photos of the various mice we are likely to encounter on a riverbank/lakeside and then people can comment or post pics of the mice they see , i was often plagued by an errant micky or two nicking my bait when i night fished, but i couldnt say which variety they were.....i am sure some of the freshwater fisherman wouldnt mind cracking off the odd pic whilst waiting for the fish to bite....and as it is a conservation matter ,i am sure people will only be too happy to oblige..............mac