Slow writer. ....

Have been out for a couple of trips in the past few days. Haven't finished writing just yet, it takes me a few days....Will be up soon. Keep checking.
Cheers.
M & T.

We Like Baffins Pond

It may be small, it may be busy, with noise and people going about their business, but we like Baffins Pond. Being in the heart of Portsmouth, one could be forgiven for thinking that such a pond should be ignored, disregarded, left for the kids and the duck feeders. Surely there are prettier, quieter waters, more worthy of our attentions. Stocked with a variety of species including Ghost and Common Carp, Gudgeon and Roach, Baffins is largely an unknown quantity. Who really knows what joys and surprises lie in her depths? Known to have produced carp to over 20lb, what else may lurk unseen? Where there's one there is often more... And for us, simply a carp would make our day.

A quiet corner of Baffins Pond

We first fished the pond last October. Not really sure what to expect, we set up on the bank next to the park, fishing corn on the float having first set the depth so that our bait was just touching bottom. Although there are two islands on the pond, we chose to fish close in, thinking that the fish would be used to the noise and hubbub of life and regularly search the margins for food left behind by the duck feeders. Today there were three of us. Having set up the rod I, was designated the untangler of tangles, Toby was to be in charge of casting and throwing out the loose feed while his older brother Koen was on park and football duty, having first given Toby strict instruction to call him if a biggie came along. Although he's rather good at casting and landing fish, waiting for a bite can be a little hard for Koen. He would rather go off and play and leave me and Toby to sit, sometimes quietly, waiting for the float to dip. And today we didn’t have long to wait. One minute we were deciding whether the cast was just right and the next the float had gone, Toby had struck and a small but hard fighting carp was trying hard not to get dry. Of less than a pound, gleaming, it shone, almost as bright as Toby's smile. And then he caught another. The first had got Koen's attention, the second acted like a bait to him and as Toby reeled in his third fish, Koen was likewise being reeled in and was by our side ready to have a turn. By the time we packed up after a couple of hours ten carp up to about 3lbs had been shared between them both, and on the way home I was more than once reminded of the fact that I had not caught any!

Koen getting excited

Our next trip was again the three of us and after the last trips successes, we fancied the same spot again. Sweetcorn was visible on the bank where we sat meaning someone had been fishing here very recently. One assumes any spilt bait gets eaten quickly as the bird life on the pond is incredibly prolific and varied - I spotted a Water Rail in one of the marshland areas on a visit more recently. Guessing that there are rather a lot of fish in the pond, we thought the fish would like some more lunch! And so it turned out, as again by the time we were loaded back into the car after a couple of hours, two smiling kids were asking me how many I had caught.......

A couple of trips to Lakeside later (Stories for another time) Toby and myself returned without Koen as he had decided that fishing wasn’t his thing for now at least. Having got our stuff ready the night before, we were planning an early start. Sunrise is the allotted start time on the pond, but as is always the way, the sun was almost above the houses on the opposite bank as we set our tackle down in a new swim. The pond is shared by many and fishing is restricted to three areas. Having previously fished the eastern bank, this time we chose an area on the southern bank. The sun was shining but still a faint mist hung over the water, bubbles were rising and swirls from fins and tails were churning debris in the shallow margins little more than 10 feet out. The time was about 8am. Quietly and slowly we crept past the feeding fish and chose to sit a good 20 feet to the right of where most of the action was and float fish back along the bank. The area is little more than a foot or so deep and fringed by a reed bed and marsh area. Sweetcorn was the bait of choice and within 5 minutes Toby was experiencing twitches and knocks on his float. When the first fish was hooked, we expected the usual bright pulls and tugs from a half pound carp which seem to be the result of most bites. This was different. The shallow water gave the fish little choice but to run, and run it did, Toby hanging on with a broad smile across his face. At about four to five pounds this fish really was a wonder to behold. Bright shinning flanks, long body almost like that of a true wildie of old. It actually shone more than Toby who was a little nervous of holding such a biggie for fear of dropping it. We took our time, rested the fish in the net and then took a couple of pictures. Almost every fish we catch gets their photo taken. 'One more for the album Dad' says Toby

After a couple more carp of about 3lb – 5lb, a fish of obvious leviathanical (?!) proportions made off with Toby’s bait. Only using light line meant we had to be a little careful when playing these hard fighting carp and this was definitely the most powerful fish we had yet hooked. After a few minutes, in it came, rising slowly, ghostly silver, broad shouldered and long. We couldn’t see just how long due to the rather murky, pond like quality of the water. Its lips touched the net and like a train, off it went, taking Toby's hook with it.

Toby just said 'Lets catch another biggie' He really didn't mind. We saw it, we know its there, and he has time on his hands, as does the Carp. And knowing him, he'll catch it one day! By the end of a busy couple of hours, Toby had caught five carp and just to prove his point, the last one was a really lovely dark, richly coloured carp of about nine pounds, his new record.

Toby's biggie

We've only been a couple of times since, due mostly to our preference for dryness and the large amount of wetness outside over the last few months, but we'll be back soon because we like Baffins Pond.

More than a record

We only had a couple of hours after work and school. We were heading to Carron Row, our newly found haven. We joined our local fishing club last october, so for this and our previous few trips, we had only seen these beautiful little pools in their winter dress.

Of the four lakes, we were fishing lake 2, our chosen start point and a lake that, at not much more than half an acre, seemed little affected by the weather. The water is fairly deep and has a cloudy mysterious look. Unseen monsters lurked, with carp to over 20lbs more than a challenge for the two of us. Growing up in the 70's and early 80's, these were the sorts of places I honed my skills and learned the ways of Walker and Yates. I found summer dawns and float fishing by lilies with luncheon meat or corn to be the most exciting and mysterious way to fish for carp and tench.

Today we would be fishing in our favorite swim known as' the bush' due to the large Rhododendron on the right hand side. The water just off this bush is about 5ft deep shelving gently down a few yards out. An obvious place for carp to patrol. The bank under the bush retreats a few feet in from our swim and creates a dark shaded margin. The first rod was Toby's new 10ft float rod, perfect for this situation. Bait was to be maggots. Trying to remain quiet was most important as we were fishing little more than 8ft away, sitting back and dispensing with rod rests as usual. The second rod was fished out into the middle of the pool. Bait for this one was a cocktail of maggots and Halibut boilie with a large mesh bag of maggots to attract attention. Our thinking was that with all the rudd and tench also in the pond, any food will be found quite quickly by the smaller fish and thus attract the carp if they haven't already found it. The boilie will help minimize the chance of hooking the small Rudd. All set up we relaxed. The weather was cloudy but none too cold and we sat throwing a constant trickle of maggots over the float spot, trying to hit the float. None too successfully I may add. Then the rain started........

Toby went to the car to get the brolly camp whilst i stayed with the rods. This way, we didn't have to reel in the rods. Toby, being my seven year old son, isnt a full member just yet. As he appeared in each new swim he waved and as he did so I had that feeling some get that 'it' was about to happen. With the brolly successfully out of the car, I could see the wee man jumping and stretching, trying to reach the boot of our estate car. Reach it he couldn't so i signalled him to come back and round he came.

Then it happened. Not long had he arrived back in the swim when the boilie rod quite positively raced off. Being nearer, i picked up the rod and with little need to strike passed it to Toby. The fish pulled hard for the far bank as Toby pulled hard back giving little line. The rod held, the hook held and the fish turned. We had little to worry about in front of us with just deep water and the fish, remaining unseen, churned and twisted for about five minutes. All the while Toby was asking if I thought it was a carp or tench and if it was a carp, was it bigger than my biggest? The largest carp I have ever caught and actually weighed was 13lb 2oz though bigger fish have come my way. I never quite got round to buying scales and never really weighed fish often. A situation we sorted out after Toby caught a few nice carp to about 8-9lbs from another local pond.

This fish definitely fought as good as any fish I had ever hooked and knowing of the size of some inhabitants, a large fish was becoming more likely by the minute. The only other angler on the complex was packing up before the fight started and was now stood next to us getting as wet as we were in the increasingly heavy shower. After a couple of final runs and dives, up came a beautiful double figure common carp and into the net she went.

Toby had done it. At 13lb 8oz, my record had gone and I wouldn't change it for the world.

TwoFishers

Hello and welcome to our angling blog. We will try to keep updating as and when we have news of a trip and perhaps occasionally add stories of trips gone by......
Cheers.
Marcel and Toby.