©2007
churchwoodfisheries.co.uk
Diary...
December 2007
A very quiet December in terms of visiting anglers and so little to mention this month. The last party of anglers to visit just after Christmas were rewarded with a couple of fish. 'Spike' landed a 20-12lbs Ghostie from the pads swim and also lost one on Churchwood. Lee Walford in the same party landed a cracking 25lbs Linear.
Lee put some
effort in during the season and was unlucky not to catch so this fish was
well deserved. Well done fella. Over on Jenkins 'Big Stew' Rawlings also managed
to squeeze in a session just after Christmas and landed a 17lbs Common. Friend
Jason 'Wonky' Ruse who spent most of the season netting Stew's fish dropped
a fish at the net. Maybe 2008 will bring some luck 'Wonky's' way.
Thanks to all of those who visited Churchwood Fisheries during 2007 and we
wish you all a very prosperous and happy 2008 - Tight lines from all of us
at Churchwood Fisheries.
November 2007
Certainly not much to report on the catch front. Both lakes were extremely slow throughout the month with only a couple of carp making their way to the bank. In fairness though the lakes received very little pressure as most weekdays remained empty as the fair weather fisherman amongst us decided to hang their rods up until the spring. As the lakes begin to quieten down it signals the fact that much hard graft is just around the corner for a fishery owner. Tree's need to be cut back, swims built and repaired, lakes netted for nuisance fish, apply chalk to lakes, the list goes on and on. The highlight for me during the month though was receiving a call from my mate Scott "Geezer" Grant of Nash Tackle to ask if I would like Simon Crow to visit the lakes and write an article for Carp World magazine about the lakes. Naturally I jumped at the chance although I informed Scott that the lakes were fishing very poor but it was worth a try. Crowy, Geezer and I spent a couple of days on the lakes but the fish were certainly not playing the game. It was interesting to see how they both approached the water but whatever we tried, from various bottom baits and presentations along with zigs at various depths we could not entice the fish to feed. Crowy, like myself, has been lucky enough to catch carp from many different countries around the globe so it was very interesting to hear some of his amazing stories while fishing out in Africa and many places around Europe. Here's a couple of questions I put to Crowy while we patiently waited for some action -
Crowy, welcome to Churchwood Fisheries in deepest darkest Essex. Firstly I would like to congratulate you on your recent awesome PB.
Thanks for that Steve, it was a fabulous fish to catch. I landed it from a venue that is very special in deepest Austria and well away from the crowds. I was a guest of Kurt Grabmayer's at his syndicate lake known as The Forest Lake. I fished for a week, landing some lovely fish including seven 30s to 39.15, a 40.10, a 55.9 and a 60.2. The two biggest fish were commons, and I was fortunate to land them both in the same day!
 Crowy with his 60lb common |
 Crowy and Scott 'Geezer' Grant |
That's a truly magnificent creature, I would'nt mind having it swimming around in Churchwood! Apart from working with Carp Talk what other 'carpy' exploits have been taking up your time?
Loads! Apart from writing articles in the mags, and working as Solar Tackle's press and advertising manager, I'm a shareholder in Venture, a newly formed company that specialises in carp fishing tackle. We've been going for a year now and have made some great progress into the UK and overseas markets, with our best selling item being the Razorback shelter that is ideal for short sessions.
It's your first visit to these lakes, what are your initial thoughts about the lakes?
It's actually my second visit to the lakes. I came down several years ago to take some pictures and interview Lee Merrit before you took over the property and lakes. It is the first time I've fished here though, and it's wonderful. I'm not just saying that because you own the lakes, but it's so peaceful and not like your average day ticket water where you get woken up by other anglers. Here, the only sounds I've heard are from owls and wildlife. You obviously run it very exclusive and professionally. It's a credit to your hard work. As for the lakes themselves, well I love waters surrounded by trees as they are always very atmospheric so you could say I'll be back again for sure! If you'll have me...
The Lakes have been fishing very hard of late. The recent volatile weather conditions have certainly not helped with the anglers catch rates. On a new water and with this in mind how would you look to tackle this session?
Difficult question as at this time of the year there's so many variables as to why we haven't caught. All three of us haven't had a sniff and we've all tried different methods etc. Personally I think that sometimes there's nothing you can do to influence a take in the winter months. We're in a transition period and you just have to wait for the fish to get settled and over the shock of the heavy frosts of late.
Have you a favorite winter bait?
I do have a favourite winter bait. I love fruit flavoured boilies in winter, especially Solar's Esterblend 12 in fishmeals. This is a bait I've used for more than 12 years in cold weather, and it's one I've always written about, even when I was working with Hutchy and Nashy!
Scott "Geezer" Grant who is fishing a few swims along from you is a big advocate of slack lines throughout the year. What are your thoughts on fishing slack lines during the winter months?
In cold weather I'm a firm believer that takes can be ever so slight as the carp don't feed as strongly as they do in the warmer weather. It's for this reason why I generally favour tight lines in cold weather. I like to know that the fish has picked the bait up straight away, and with slack lines I think you are often waiting for the fish to have moved several yards before you have an indication, by which time it could have ejected the hookbait. I don't like giving carp any margin for error, espeically pressured carp that have a habit of ejecting hookbaits.
Thanks for that Si. Will you be coming back to Essex next March for the carp show at 5 Lakes?
Yes mate, I'll be in Essex for the 5 Lakes show, but I'll be down here sooner than that for another go at your lovely carp to finish off this feature!
 Crowy interviews 'Geezer' for Carptalk Extra |
 'Geezers' 360 rig |
 Crowy video's for Carptalk Extra article |
 'Geezer' loves his Nash Fluro Pop-ups |
October 2007
Both lakes fished poor throughout the month. Jenkins proved very difficult with just 4 carp being landed in the whole month which was by far the slowest month for some time. Fletcher Hodgins banked the biggest from Jenkins during October when he banked a cracking 25-08lbs mirror on a fluro pop-up fished tight to the far margin. During the same session Fletcher's friend Tony landed a nice 18-01lbs common. The other two fish were caught during a chilly night by regular Big Tel, both of which were around the mid double mark. Action over on Churchwood was not much different, 10 fish in total made an appearance although a fair few were lost in the pads and snags. Steve Sardi had the best session of the month when he netted his PB in the shape of the mighty Sallis at 30-08lbs from the pads swim on plastic corn. During the same session Steve landed a 16-09lbs mirror along with son James taking an 18lbs mirror. Brothers 'Mickey & Rickey' accounted for a few of the fish during a couple of long weekend sessions, again successful bait was plastic corn fished in conjunction with the real stuff.
 Fletcher with a cracking 25-08lbs Mirror from Jenkins |
 Tony with a nice 18-01lbs Common from Jenkins. |
So why has the fishing been so slow? Constantly I hear from anglers and other
fishery owners that action has been slow elsewhere. Arguably the weather has
played a big roll in slowing proceedings but now its fairly settled the fish
should be thinking about stocking up on their fat reserves for the winter.
My lakes in particular have been abundant in natural food this year and without
a doubt the carp have spent many months feasting on shrimps, snails, blood-worm
and anything else that appeals more than the anglers bait. A few cold snaps
late in October has started to send the water clear as the microscopic life
begins to die back in the lakes. It's amazing that pretty much overnight the
water can turn from a brown tea colour to the clarity of that of a bottle
of spring water. Last year I personally found that as the water turned very
clear the use of fluorocarbon hook lengths produce more fish than that of
braid and nylon. Something definitely worth considering along with scaling
back hook size. The year is fast approaching its end and there are a few weekends
available to book. Weekday sessions are freeing up and are also available
to book. Start and finish times will be flexible during the darker months.
Arrival times can be confirmed the day before fishing, if it's quiet then
there's no issues getting down a little earlier to get set up before the night
draws in..
September 2007
The
fishing on both lakes slowed throughout the month. The best fish that made
an appearance was the 'Long Common' from Churchwood at 24-08lbs midway through
the month. The ever changing weather conditions have certainly played a part
in slowing down anglers success rates. As the month draws to an end along
with the dark nights drawing in, temperatures continue to fall very quickly.
Hopefully the start of the cold weather may encourage the fish to get their
heads down and pack on some weight for the long winter ahead.
The highlight of the month was a weekend visit by West Ham's midfield player
Lee Bowyer along with Sky TV. The idea was to show a side to Lee's personality
that not many people get a chance to see and get an idea of what interest
him outside of playing Premiership football. Lee certainly came across very
well and proved he is just a normal bloke who enjoys going carping and getting
away from all the limelight. Lee also managed to catch a couple of fish for
the camera's, good angling mate and hope to see you again soon.
October is nearly here and I would certainly hope that the fishing improves
and some of the lumps make a few mistakes and get their pictures taken very
soon.
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 Sky preparing the interview with Lee |
Lee scores on
Jenkins
August 2007
The Summer never materialized and seems to have given the U.K a miss this year. The ever changing weather conditions were certainly not the most productive for carp fishing and some anglers struggled to catch. Even with the poor conditions there were still some good catches and as I predicted last month the bigger fish made an appearance. 1st to grace the banks was Sallis at 28-08lbs from Churchwood Lake. The lucky angler was 15 year old Jamie Auvache from Brentwood smashing his old PB record.
Gavin
Thompson also did his new PB with a 29-04lbs Mirror from Churchwood Lake.
Until I have seen some pictures I cannot comment on if this is a know fish
or one of the upper 20's which is getting close to the magical 30lbs barrier.
Richard Grimes also braved a very wet and windy night and enjoyed a hectic
1 hour spell landing 3 upper doubles from the pads swim also on Churchwood.
Looking back through the catch report for August there were around 10 20lbs+
carp landed with a decent number of upper doubles. Not the best August but
considering the weather it was not too bad. Bait wise the most productive
bollie continues to be the Churchwood Specials but it is also worth having
a go with the plastic corn. Fishing it critically balanced over a bed of the
real stuff, this simple bait is proving a great option for some of the more
shy fish in the lakes.
Weekends continue to be busy due to the limited number of anglers permitted
on the lakes at any one time. Weekday sessions still not too bad to book but
fill up fairly quickly so its still best to try and book well in advance.
Autumn is nearly here and the carp will be getting their heads down before
the winter. This can be one of the most productive times of year and its certainly
worth trying to get out there at any opportunity, I certainly will be!
Some late new just in, Stewart Sheers landed a new PB by capturing
Arthur at 32lbs from the pads swim in Churchwood. Stewart took the advice
and used critically balanced plastic corn over the real stuff and ended up
taking Arthur along with a 17lbs common during a 24hr session.
July 2007
As July comes to an end the weather seems to be finally turning and summer may have finally arrived. With the extraordinary amount of rain in July the lakes remain full to the brim along with a constant flow of new water in and out of the lakes. The fishery benefits by being situated at the head of the River Wid which naturally keeps the lakes inhabitants and their general environment extremely healthy. At the beginning of July both Jenkins and Churchwood lakes fished well with multiple catches to many anglers. Bob Bowell had a memorable session on Churchwood by setting his PB with 'Arthur' at 31lbs along with landing several other good fish from the pads swim. Ironically Bob netted 'Arthur' back in May for his friend Scott Hawkins, this time Scott was doing the netting for his friend Bob. Both times 'Arthur' fell for the 'Churchwood Specials', it seems he has acquired a liking for the bait!
Martin
Cripps enjoyed a 24hr session on Jenkins taking several fish topped with a
28-02lbs mirror and a 26lbs grass carp. Young Tom Wager also landed several
fish from Churchwood along with a fish know as the 'Italian' at 21-08lbs.
Mid July the weather became very unsettled and the heavy rain fell. This slowed
proceedings on both lakes considerably and just the odd fish made an appearance.
With the volume of new water flowing into the lakes the waters temperature
became quite volatile which obviously put the fish off the feed. Finally it
seems summer has finally arrived as August is upon us. The weather has become
settled and the waters temperature is back to where one would expect for this
time of year. Most of the big fish are due to make an appearance and I feel
the next few weeks could prove very productive if the good weather remains.
The bad news is that all weekends are pretty much full to the end of September.
It's still worth checking for availability in case there has been cancellations.
If fishing alone then there is still a possibility of getting on at weekends.
Mid week dates are still available but again limited. August Bank holiday
remains available on both lakes but tickets will only be sold for a minimum
of 5 sessions per angler, Saturday a.m to Monday p.m. 4-5 places available
on Churchwood and 2-3 places on Jenkins. This weekend is now only being offered
out and is expected to be taken quickly, so if interested you need to call
soon.
Summer finally
arrives at
Jenkins Lake
June 2007
June
again was another record breaking month with the capture of the elusive carp
known as Pickie at a massive weight of 35-02lbs. The weight came as a bit
of a surprise as Pickie was expected to be around 32-33lbs, usually staying
just in front of Arthur in the weight table. The name of the lucky angler
also came as a bit of a surprise, Gordon Pick! Well done Gordon and I hope
you have managed to calm down. Gordon was of course fishing with Churchwood
Specials along with feeding Churchwood Pellets and captured Pickie from Swim
4 fishing tight into the near side margin under his rod tip. After a good
scrap Gordon slipped the net under his prize and smashed his previous PB by
over 6lbs. Gordon then returned 2 weeks later for his second ever visit to
the fishery and managed 1 pick-up in a 24hr session. That 1 fish resulted
in Sallis at 30-08lbs! Naturally Gordon was back on the Churchwood Specials
but this time decided to fish Swim 1 around the lilly pads. Again the weight
of the fish was a surprise as Sallis was last out in May at 27lbs, also from
Swim 1. Hopefully Gordon will be back soon and capture Arthur, maybe at a
new best weight. Well done mate and see you soon. A local angler known as
'Spike' also had a good result during a 24hr session. After a hook pull on
his 1st run Spike went on to land 3 twenties, all around the 22lbs mark along
with a mid double. Spike was bang on the money on his approach to get action
from these sometimes very cute carp which have seen almost everything chucked
at them over their long life spans. Fishing with slack lines, baits tight
to the margins and keeping quiet is so important if you want to improve your
chances of banking one of these fish. Saying that though, I jumped into the
same swim and fished the same spots the next night and still managed to blank!
Thats fishing for you. Jenkins continues to be the most consistent out of
the two lakes with a steady flow of good fish being seen. Arthur also made
a couple of appearances, once at 31-08lbs and the other time at 32lbs. The
bigger fish were certainly on the munch this month and are putting on some
decent weight after their recent spawning activities. A few of the upper 20's
in Churchwood and Jenkins have yet to be caught this year so it will be interesting
to see the weights that these come out.
Weekend bookings remain busy now until August but some midweek sessions are
still available. It's also worth putting your name down on the wait list just
in case there are some cancellations
May 2007
The highlight of May was the capture of Arthur at a new best weight of 31-04lbs. Scott Hawkins was the happy angler to slide the net under this cracking fish. Ironically, the owner Steve Sands was literally having a conversation with Scott about Arthur when the alarm screamed into life as Arthur picked up a Churchwood Special bollie fished tight to the far margin in front of swim No 4 . After a 15 minute battle Scott had beaten his English PB carp and was absolutely made-up. The warm weather at the beginning of the month had the carp in both lakes spawning again and obviously the action slowed during this period. A few other lucky anglers also beat their PB's on Churchwood and Jenkins with fish of 27lbs+. The 'Ghost Of Churchwood' made a couple of appearances during the month at a spawned out weight of around 20lbs. Richard Grimes also caught Sallis for the second time at 27lbs. Previously Richard had captured Sallis at 28-08lbs during the Spring of 2006. The fish are now expected to get their heads down for some serious feeding now that they have successfully spawned and the weather has began to settle after some heavy rain during the last part of May.
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Again weekend bookings continue to be busy but some mid-week dates still remain available.
April 2007
The recent hot weather saw the fish spawn early on both lakes. This subsequently made fishing difficult for a few days but the carp certainly made up for it once they had finished doing their business. Jenkins produced some of it's biggies. Ben Miller took his PB with a 28lbs Mirror along with a 24lbs, 22lbs and 4 upper doubles during a 24hr session. Owner Steve Sands also took his largest carp from Jenkins since owning the fishery with a cracking 28-08lbs Mirror. All these fish came on the 'Churchwood Specials' bollies fished tight to the far margin in conjunction with a small pva bag containing pellet and broken bollies. Churchwood also producing some steady results with a decent number of 20's making an appearance. Most fish coming tight from far bank and also around the aerator. The 'Long Common' was captured twice in two days and was light in weight at a spawned out 21-08lbs. She was obviously back on the munch so hopefully she will be a few pounds heavier when out next time.
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Bookings are again extremely busy with weekends now fully booked until early July. Mid week sessions are easier to arrange but if you can only fish weekends then you need to plan way in advanced to avoid disappointment.
March 2007
Although the weather has somewhat been unpredictable the fishing has been fairly consistant on both lakes. Scott Fiack landed his PB and a new best weight for Sallis at 30-08lbs. She was in great condition and again showed her liking for the ever reliable Churchwood Special boillie which is available at the fishery. A decent number of fish in the 20 - 25lbs showed themselves along with some mid and upper doubles.
The highlight for the month though was the netting and annual cropping of unwanted fish from Churchwood Lake. As usual Framlingham Fisheries Management were employed to net and safely transport the fish to a new home. The bream had certainly taken full advantage of the ideal breeding conditions over the past few seasons. Over 1800lbs of mainly bream, roach and rudd were removed. The larger specimens were returned along with some cracking roach, biggest being 2-08lbs, crucians to just under 4lbs and some 2lbs+ perch. Over 40 carp also ended up in the nets which surprised us due to the nets being really only suitable to capture the small silver fish. Of these carp over 50% were in their 20's and we were lucky enough to weigh and photograph Sallis at 30-08lbs. Another fish that was at its best ever weight was the Long Common coming in at around 27lbs, a truly awesome looking creature.
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Bookings
are coming in extremely quickly now and weekends over April are already full.
If you are thinking of a session on either lake I would suggest you move quick
to avoid dissapointment on dates you prefer to fish.
February 2007
Churchwood Lake re-opening was greeted with heavy frosts and a good helping of snow. This obviously slowed proceedings although a few mad, sorry I mean keen, fisherman braved the conditions.
Once the snow had thawed Peter Puddick from Dagenham smashed his PB by 6lbs with the first carp of 2007 season for Churchwood Lake. Peter banked a pretty mirror named "The Italian" at a weight of 23-04lbs. The fish was in absolutely stunning condition and seemed to be wintering well. Peter began his session at the top end of the lake but decided to move to the far end after owner Steve Sands tipped him off where he thought the fish may be laying up. Pete did not even have time to set his indicator before the alarm burst into life after a fish had picked up a "Churchwood Special" bait.
Over on Jenkins action had slowed a little after a cracking start in January.
Two weeks into February bookings and enquiries are coming in thick and fast.
Hopefully the weather will settle down and allow the fish to get their heads
down for a good munch.
January
2007
A busy time of year for the owners of Churchwood. It's the time of year that trees need to be maintained and by heck there are enough of them! The weather has remained mild and so the fish have continued to get feed on bollies and pellet. The wet weather has made things a little muddy with all the quad bike and trailer activity around the lakes whilst cutting back the trees. Once the work has been completed the ground will soon recover and get back to normal. Jake Grimes aged 11 years was the 1st to catch from the fishery this year. On New Years Day whilst Dad was patiently carp fishing Jake caught a 14lbs Mirror and a 12lbs Ghostie from Jenkins, both taken on float fished maggot. Jake was well chuffed with his catch and set his new PB. Another happy angler who also set his new PB and also a new Jenkins Lake record was Kevin Hathaway from Hornchurch. Kevin turned up on Saturday afternoon on a mild, wet and blustery day. Kevin had a few bleeps that evening but nothing resulted in a half hearted pick up. Mid morning Kevin had a pick up from tight to the far margin. A few minutes later a new PB and lake record was in the unhooking cradle. A quick call to owner Steve Sands to help weigh and photograph a stunning 29-02lbs Mirror. The successful bait was the ever successful "Churchwood Specials" and a small pva bag filled with broken bollies. Well done Kev and hope to see you back soon.
'a
new PB and lake record, 29lb2oz'
A week later owner Steve Sands got off the mark for 2007. From the same spot where the 29lbs Mirror came from Steve had a cracking 25lbs Mirror. 'Churchwood Specials' again was the successful bait fished along with a 3 bait stringer and a few broken bollies placed inside the bait boat. Looking at the shape and condition of both of these fish you can see that they are still seriously munching the bait that the owner is still feeding the fish with on both lakes on a regular basis. While the mild weather continues it's certainly worth dusting the cobwebs off the rods and getting down to the lakes to have a crack at these fish.
'Steve
with a cracking 25lbs Mirror'
21
Jan
Owner Steve managed to squeeze in a session on Jenkins and was rewarded with
his biggest carp from the fishery since owning it. It was a mirror at the
top of his 2007 target list and came in the shape of 5-Scale weighing in at
27lb 10oz. Although well pleased with this result Steve was a little disappointed
with the weight and hoped she would be nearer 30lbs especially at this time
of year. Unlike "Scar" which had obviously been munching the "Churchwood Specials"
throughout the winter months, 5-Scale seems to have been a little more cautious
of her appearance and did not fancy the "boillie belly" and kept her solid
muscular frame instead. Steve also banked a 23lbs Mirror and a few small doubles.
A great start to the year for Jenkins and a great start for owner Steve Sands.
There's something to be said for this so called Global warming!
'5-Scale weighing
in at 27 10lbs'
