Bright As A Button!
Posted: 23rd Aug 2016
Just catching up with the update from last week and it has been very up & down. I think despite the second heatwave this year with temps soaring up to 37oc the lads fished the lake with 100% effort, but conditions being so hard make it very hit and miss. Just to give you some idea we are now into our 10th week with only 5 mm of rain falling and the French news reported this week its been the driest/warmest July for 35 years.....despite this I have managed to keep the lake levels high with only a 4" drop on the 7 acre lake so I cannot complain on the lake level front.
2 of the 4 amglers this week did rest their swims each night because of how well the chaps did the week before by doing so. With the full moon this week being like a spotlight at night I knew the fishing would be quiet amongst the darkness. Morning time has still been producing fish and the lads stuck with their chosen spots and kept the bait going in little & often but it was difficult to work any pattern out over the week. I did notice that on some occasions the guys were getting pick-ups that could have been carp.....not always, with the small tench picking baits up as well, removing the back leads and fishing a lighter running lead did produce a few extra fish but make no mistake they are picking your rigs up!!
John in Peg 5 was having all kinds of head banging problems, but he did manage fish to 44lb 8oz being the largest this week. Dan in 4 fished hard and did have fish crashing over his far margin rod most of the week but it was the grassies getting to the bait first with fish to 37lb+.
Craig, same again gave it 100% all week and with fish bubbling over his right hand margin rod, it was frustrating to know they were feeding but fickel to pick-up the hookbaits! he had a flurry of activity on the Monday taking fish to 39lb 8oz, and same for Mark in Peg 1, with brief spells of action including 36lb from out in open water in Peg 1, along with others to 43lb+.
Total landed this week was 18 fish with 2 over 40lb+ and 7 over 30lb and all being upper 30's with 2 x 39lb fish included....the remaining 9 being 20's and a few grassies mixed in there!
Sometimes mother nature plays the largest role, it's as simple as that because towards the backend of the week the weather started to cool down with some light drizzle arriving and for the first time all week a nice fresh wind picked-up on the saturday. It had been like a millpond all week and with 4 fish showing once the lads had left and the wind picking up in strength into Sunday I could feel a change in the air.....fresh air basically!!! so 3 regulars turning up on saturday spread out across the lake and started catching from the off. With a brace of 48lb's on the first night it's looking better and they have had over 20 fish in the first 48hrs!! Mick in Peg 1 is starting to up his bait quantity with the fish coming quickly after a bait-up and the wind swinging once again from 5 into Peg 1 now......either way it's been a very good start indeed and shows just how the weather can swing the fishing at the drop of a hat. We have another heatwave coming by mid week with temps expected to hit 40oc....it feels like no end to this summer so far and it could once again put the breaks on the lads fantastic start....let's hope not!
Regards images you will have to look on the FB page....more anglers than ever are using iphones to take pictures and taking sometime to send images over if at all, so I will update as and when they come through.
Back to it! Over & out
Team Sanctuary