David Vassiere
Set within the grounds of a large
Norfolk estate lies the lake, created by damning a stream that ran through the
middle of the estate the lake was created, for the most part it is very
shallow, no more than 2 feet deep, and very silty, it gets slightly deeper down
towards the dam, and around the boat house where 5 feet is the deepest point.
The 20 acres of water is broken up by 3 islands and there are several small
shallow and snaggy bays full of trees that look like they have been in the
water for many, many years, the bottom is very weedy throughout the year, and
the water is clearer than tap water, the formidable estate house overlooks the
lake giving you the sense that you are being watched constantly, rhododendrons
grow around most of the lake and cling to the old estate boundary and out
houses walls which crumble under the weight of the plants, it is quite simply a wonderful place to be and
have the pleasure of fishing.
Surprisingly though it was only March this year that I finally fished it, that’s despite it being no more than 3 miles from my house, all I had ever heard where horror stories of the cormorants wiping out the silverfish stocks and subsequently the pike suffering, now normally I would discount such stories but they came from a friend that was on the syndicate for 10 years but then gave it up as a bad job when he spent a whole season on the water and didn’t even get a run!
The lake then lay pretty much
undisturbed from the season he left, for 8 years in total, and the catch report
book read pretty much the same thing from the few brave enough to fish it,
blank, blank, blank……..
I wasn’t really too interested in
fishing the place, having found some good fishing on “The Pit” I wasn’t really
prepared to waste March fishing a new water when the fishing on the gravel pit
ended at the end of the month, but I was persuaded to by my good friend and
regular fishing partner Roger, and I’m glad that he did as the fishing turned
out to be quite good, no big fish where caught but the sport was hectic and the
fish where in good condition and well fed, though what they were feeding on was
beyond us…
Our first trip was mid-March, and the
weather was not good, heavy snow was forecast to arrive during the morning and
last all day, but us being determined we were going to stick with our plan, and
duly arrived just before first light, having never seen the lake before I was
far from confident, the water was too shallow and clear for my liking, and I
was instantly regretting the decision to fish the place, those thoughts where
soon banished to the back of my mind though when Roger had a run after just 10
minutes on his float ledgered smelt cast into just 2 foot of water, thought the
fish was only a jack it was a massive confidence boost, not long after the same
rod was away again and a low double came to the net, just like the first fish
it was in superb condition and well fed, soon the same rod was away again but
unfortunately he missed it on the strike, and a few minutes later the smelt was
on the move again but the fish dropped the bait.
What a start that was, 4 runs in the
first hour on a new water, I was however slightly despondent having not had a
run even though I was fishing identical baits and rigs to him, but fishing can
be like that sometimes and you just have to get on with it.
Things went quiet after that, and we
were contemplating a move, now as I said earlier the majority of the lake is
very shallow, and I was expecting the deep water to produce the runs,
particularly on such a cold day, but it had been in the shallow water that the
fish had come from, and there was a swim directly opposite us that screamed
pike so we decided to walk round there, to the left was the entrance to a bay
that was full of sunken trees and branches that had fallen into the lake many
years ago, directly in front of us was an island about 30 yards out and to the
right another island, though this necessitated a cast of 80 yards, luckily the
wind was with us and the 80 yard distance was easily covered, unfortunately for
me though it was Rogers rod that was away, the long range bait to the island
had been taken, and though it was only a jack it proved that the very shallow
water near the islands would produce.
That was the only run to come off the
island though and soon we were contemplating a move, predictably though it was
at this point, when we were in an open position that the winds picked up and
the snow started to come down, we decided to pack up and move swiftish to a
more sheltered area, where once again Roger got the only run and another jack
came twisting through the clear water, I unhooked the fish in the water as by
this point I was thoroughly fed up and ready to go home.
We moved once again after this, back
to where we started and it was Rogers rod that was away again but again it was
only a jack, eventually though, just as the snow really started to build up I
received a run and though again it was only a small jack I was more than
relieved just to have broken my duck, I then promptly pulled out a low double
and another jack in quick succession and then pulled out of another.
It was at this moment that I noticed
that a couple of baits that we had discarded by the pontoon had been taken,
Roger quickly dropped a bait right next to the pontoon and was rewarded with an
immediate response, and the biggest of the day of 15lb slipped into the net,
and that was it for the day.
We were unsure what to make of our
first trip down there, we hadn’t seen any silver fish topping, and there were a
few cormorants present, yet the pike all seemed well fed and in good condition,
another trip was in order.
I returned on my own a few days
later, the weather was slightly better, though still none the warmer, I only
managed two runs from an area we have identified as being the most productive,
the first was lost and felt like a good fish, I was gutted, but it didn’t take
long for 1 of my other rods to go and a long lean 15lber came to the net, shame
she was empty, and was wondering if she was a fish struggling to find a decent
meal, apart from being underweight she was in mint condition with some lovely
markings.
It was 2 weeks before we returned, we
had planned to switch our attention to the carp, but with the weather still
being cold for the time of year and the pike still having not spawned we
decided to have another go to see if there were any big fish present, to our
disappoint though when we turned up the productive deeper are was frozen solid
and only the shallower end was clear of ice, we had no choice but to fish there
and a dropped run was our only reward.
We were willing the wind to pick up, and to our surprise it did and started to create a nice ripple that soon got rid of the dreaded ice, like rats up a drain pipe we were into the productive area as soon as the ice was gone, but yet again it was Rogers rod which where away again, (im really going to have to stop fishing with him), I wasn’t particularly surprised though, some people just get lucky and instantly get the run of the water, where as some, usually me struggle on new waters for a while, why this is so is beyond me, anyway he managed a couple of jacks and a couple of low doubles and I was still fishless, when his rod was away again on a popped up long ranger mackerel I was really pissed off, but out of sympathy for me ( all say awww) he let me have the run and I managed to bundle a 12lber into the net before the fish even knew what had happened, while we were unhooking the fish my live chub was taken, (caught at the venue, honestly guv), and another low double fell into the net, I was feeling much better by this point, I added a jack for good measure and that was it for day, it had been another hard but ultimately rewarding day.
We decided after that to give it up
for the season, and our thoughts turned to carp fishing, I was desperate for a
20lb carp and Roger had a water in mind for a chance of a 20, on my first trip
down there I managed a 17 and two 20s so I was over the moon, I returned a few
day later and had 4 more carp to just over 20lb, but my mind was wandering back
to piking as the weather was forecast to be cooler with an overnight frost, so
a plan was hatched to fish on the Saturday following the frost.
We arrived just before sunrise and
fog hung over the lake and totally obscured it from view as we walked down to
it, the air was cool but the sky was clear and we knew the temperature would
pick up as soon as the sun rose, as we approached the boat house there was
almost an eerie atmosphere as we were completely surrounded by fog, and the air
was still and silent, anticipation was the word in my mind.
Soon I had 2 rods out and Roger had 2
out and I decided to chuck a lure around, the water was even clearer than usual
and a few inches lower, the weed was starting to get a spurt on and was much
thicker than a couple of weeks previous, first cast with the lure and half way
in it was hit with force and a jack came thrashing to the surface, a good start
I thought, not long after my half mackerel was away and a low double was
swiftly unhooked and returned, for once it was me getting all the action,
Rogers rod was then soon away and a fish of about 13lb was duly unhooked and
released, it was clear to us then that the pike had spawned and where obviously
in a frantic feeding mode, not long later my smelt next to a sunken tree was
taken and another jack was duly landed and returned, it was a terrific start to
the day and I was enjoying the fact I had caught more and was rubbing it in
just a little, it’s always important to have a bit of banter and not get to caught
up with the seriousness of it all.
It all went quiet after the initial
burst of activity and the sun climbed higher in the sky and burned off the
remaining fog and the temperatures started to rise rapidly, we decided a move
was in order and the point swim was calling me, we moved round and instantly
disturbed a fish in no more than a foot of water, I was optimistic, and even
more so when my half mackerel next to the island was taken immediately after I
cast it out, annoyingly the fish dropped the bait.
We thrashed the clear water to a foam
with all manner of lures, and luckily we were treated to the awesome sight of a
large pike launching itself out of the weed to engulf Rogers spoon in less than
a foot of water, it was a sight to behold, the fish was promptly landed and was
clearly a fish which before spawning would have weighed more than the 15lb 2oz
that the scales recorded, it was then my turn to get a fish as the indicator on
my mackerel rod slowly dropped back indicating that my bait next to the island
in 2 foot of water had been taken and a low double came tamely to the net.
We moved once more after this and a
few more jacks and once more a double came my way to make it a very good day,
we ended up with 14 fish between us and it was a nice way to finish our pike
fishing until next September.
We are going to return at some point this summer after the large head of tench that inhabit the water, and I’m really looking forward to it as the lake has a unique atmosphere which I’m not quite able to describe, I’m just glad a lot of people have forgotten about the place and it only appears to be us fishing it.
Just an added note, I returned twice
more on my own in May, the first time was not ideal, there was a vintage car
rally taking place on the estates fields and the place was full of people
wandering around, not what I wanted, anyway to cut a long story short I managed
a jack and a lovely 16lber which showed that there were still some good
uncaught fish in there.
I returned 2 days later and I was
treated to one of the best days fishing I have had in a long time, the weed had
really started to explode and in places it was through the surface.
Anyway about an hour after getting
the baits out I got my first run as my float ledgered mackerel next to a fallen
tree was away and a low double was landed and duly returned, half an hour later
that rod went again and a nice 13lber came
to the net, soon after it was away again and I lost the fish
unfortunately, I cast the bait back out and it went instantly but again I lost
it during the fight, then immediately my rod to the left went as a pike took my
long range ledgered pollen and after a good fight, with the fish only being
hooked on one point I landed my biggest from the lake with an immaculate and
stunningly marked 17lb
pike.
pike.
I then had a hectic hour of sport
where 4 doubles to 15lb and a jack came to my rods, at this point I of course
had to ring Roger, just to rub in the fact he was at work while I was out
catching fish, it didn’t go down to well, though I quite enjoyed winding him
up.
All went quiet for a while until just
after midday where in the space of half an hour I managed 3 doubles to 15lb on
a surface popper lure, it was great fun, I would wait to see a pike roll and
then cast the lure at it.
I went on to add 3 more doubles that
day as the pike when feeding crazy, I ended the day with fish of 4lb, 10lb,
13lb 4oz, 17lb, 15lb, 15lb 5oz, 12lb, 10lb 8oz, 11lb, 13lb 10oz, 15lb 12oz,
15lb, 11lb, and 13lb, what a truly fantastic day it was, and one I will never
forget.
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