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.