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Diary...

January 2009

With one of the harshest winters for nearly two decades, its not really surprising that there has been no action down on the lakes, lets just hope we get a summer to remember as well. At the start of January the lakes were partially frozen as the aerators were kept on to keep some of the surface area free from ice. After a few days it became apparent that we were one of the few lakes, if not the only lake in the surrounding area that was not entirely frozen over. I say apparent because we soon became a magnet for Mr & Mrs cormorant, their kids and their friends. Being not a great admirer of these birds, the aerators were turned off and the lakes became frozen solid thus protecting our valuable fish stock. Once the weather improved the aerators were back on and kept some areas free from ice once we received the next band of Artic weather, this time a shed load of snow. We have seen a couple of keen (or mad) anglers battling against the weather, but unfortunately the fish did not play ball. If you are up for some Winter carping its certainly worth having a go, especially while the fish should be at their heaviest weights and not seeing much bankside pressure from anglers.

The 2009 diary is open and the bookings are already coming thick and fast. Apart from the regulars getting their names in quick, we are seeing a fair few people booking well in advance who were not fortunate enough last year to secure their dates throughout last Spring / Summer. This year they know to get in early to avoid disappointment. That’s all for this month, tight lines for 2009 and we hope to see you soon.

December 2008

Not a great deal to report this month. The lakes have not seen that many anglers as we approach the end of the year. Rodney Stockburn had a 23-08lbs mirror from Jenkins which fell to a CW Red bollie. Over on Churchwood 'Joel' had a 19-08lbs Common and another angler (no name) caught a 19-08lbs mirror on float fished maggots tight in the margins after seeing feeding activity a couple of feet from the bank.

Rodney Stockburn had a 23-08lbs mirror from Jenkins

Reflecting back over the past 12 months diary entries, it's amazing just how much work, time, energy and money that has been invested into these lakes by myself and more importantly some very good friends. One of the most rewarding aspects of running a fishery is that you get to meet many different people from many walks of life. Some of these people stand out from the crowd and more often than not become very good friends. These people are happy to help out whenever they can and are willing to spend their valuable leisure time grafting and generally helping me out to run the fishery. Therefore I would like to specially thank Lee, Neil, James, Ed, Spike, Martin and Lofty for all their hard graft and help, along with Phil who is responsible for this webpage and the man behind the CW Red boilies & pellet supplies. Thanks to you all and Happy New Year !
2008 is nearly over and I would like wish everyone a Happy Xmas and a very Happy New Year. Tight lines for 2009 !!

 

October / November 2008

This year has flown along and we already find ourselves well and truly into the depths of winter. We have already had our first scattering of snow and the water temperature continues to fall. The stock pond is finally full of water and fully fenced from predators, those being herons and cormorants. Stocking small carp usually takes place during the colder months so hopefully I will be able to source some suitable stock very soon. Ideally we will be stocking with 6-8" mirrors and commons which should thrive in the right environment and pile on the weight over the next few years. Both lakes now obviously slowing right down although we did see a few nice fish grace the banks during October. Regular angler Cliff from Southend landed a nice mirror of 22-04lbs from Churchwood, 10 minutes later Stewart Rawlings took a nice 20-08lbs Ghostie. Feeding spells are very specific in the winter months and sometimes its like someone has thrown a switch and the carp begin to get their heads down. If you have a bait in the water then you are always in with a chance whatever the weather is doing.

Cliff with a nice 22lbs Mirror

Stewart with his 20lbs Ghostie

 

Over on Jenkins Paul Gates took his PB in the shape of one of my favorite commons, that being the one we call "Tom's Common". Paul was just fishing a day session and fished a CW Red Freezer bait to the far margin. I was lucky enough to see that fish landed and weighed. It was in great condition and pulled the scales around to 26lb-14oz. To my knowledge I was the last angler to land this carp back in January when it weighed just a little less. It's a cracking looking fish and hopefully one that can get to 30ilbs one day in the future.

Paul with "Toms Common" at just short of 27lbs

Another job thats high on the priority list during the winter months is the harvesting and cropping of unwanted silver fish. Roach, Rudd and Bream thrive in both lakes and need constant management to keep the waters in prime condition and to ensure that the lakes do not become over stocked in these species. Therefore we have just pulled the nets through Churchwood to supply a selection of silver fish for health checks. Before moving any species you need to obtain a Section 30 consent that allows you to transport and move fish to another location. To obtain this license you need to have a sample of the fish health screened. Once they have been passed for being free from a list of diseases and parasites a Section 30 can be obtained. From here the fish can be sold off to other angling clubs which helps with the costs of running a fishery.

Laying nets in the margins

Roach and Rudd that will be removed at a later date

 

The lakes as usual become very quiet during this time of year. Personally I enjoy winter fishing as the fish are getting to their top weights and always look stunning in their winter colours. I also find it much more rewarding when you get a carp on the bank, whatever the size might be. If you fancy some time out on the banks before year end then there's a good chance the lakes will have availability, especially for those mid-week sessions.

August / September 2008

Yet again I find it difficult to get these updates out in a timely fashion due to the sheer time and effort we have been spending on the lakes, the house and the surrounding land. Naturally this year is a little different as the stock pond make-over has been eating a great deal of time. A few friends volunteered to help out with the construction of the silt trap and stock pond inlet. The remaining sludge has now been removed and there is even a few feet of water now in the pond. For once this year I now want it to rain, no doubt we will have a dry winter and i'll be waiting for next summer to arrive and fill the remainder with water !

Churchwood Lake has again been the more consistent of the two lakes. There's far too many captures and names to mention so I have just compiled together some of the better pictures that were sent to me over the past few weeks. A few lucky anglers managed their PB's as did Barry Gibbs who caught the 'Linear' at a new best weight of 27lbs. CW Red bollies was the successful bait for Barry as was for the majority of the fish taken throughout the last couple of months.

The CW Red boilies have been adjusted and tailored to suit our needs on the fishery and now, after several months of perfecting the structure of the boilie we feel it is where we want it to be. The idea of the CW Red freezer bait is to gradually breakdown on the lake bed allowing all the water soluble ingredients to disperse into the water for the carp to detect. This approach creates a highly attractive water soluble bait which unlike most shelf life boilies will completely breakdown in the water. As the boilie continues to breaksdown over a 24-48hr period it is completely consumed by the natural insects and waterlife, reducing lake bed polution and creating a healthier habitat for the fish. All CW Red boilies come with a free pack of pre glugged hard hookbaitsis within the bag which will last for over 24hrs on the hair if required.

With the shorter days now drawing in and the nights cooling down the lakes are becoming a little less busy. There's plenty of mid week sessions available and the odd weekend available. With the water temperature now dropping the larders of natural food for the carp are becoming scarce and therefore some good fishing can be had with the fish turning to anglers baits with the intention of putting on some weight for the winter months.

The Stock Pond beginning to take shape

A selection of some of the better pictures received during August & September

 

July 2008

Summertime is in full swing although we still seem to missing something, namely the sun!! The fishing has been fairly productive throughout the month considering the volatile weather conditions that we have been experiencing. A good number of 20's have been out along with some nice mid to upper doubles. The two big 30's are still to grace the bank although one regular was pretty confident that he lost 'Pickie' at the net and said it looked absolutely huge. Another regular Neil 'The lodger' Preston (he spends more time at the lakes than at his own home!) has been getting some decent action. Neil's best fish and his new PB was a 28lbs Mirror from Jenkins Lake at the beginning of the month. Unfortunately Neil did not manage to get a picture, even though he was fishing with me! Long story but it was a cracking fish and well deserved. Neil has been getting onto the CW Red bollies that are supplied at the fishery and he certainly has been getting his fair share of fish on this awesome bait. There's too many individual captures to mention this month so I will stick to the ones that anglers have supplied me pictures with.

1st Dagenham Boys Brigade	A nice Tench for Adam Gibbbs

The 2nd Annual 1st Dagenham Boys Brigade took place this month. The lakes were donated to the group to accommodate any of the lads who fancied some fishing and camping. Like last year, under the watchful eye of group leader Barry Gibbs, the boys managed to bank some very impressive fish along with having a great time. Mitchel Noyle managed to land 'The Long Common' at a spawned out weight of 22-08lbs. It's the 1st time this year to my knowledge that this fish has paid a visit to the bank and it looked in absolutely mint condition if the pictures are anything to go by.

Mitchel with the elusive 'Long Common' from Churchwood.	They all count!!

Another regular Neil Walford who is the number one contender to take Neil 'The Lodger' nickname has also been continuing to sneak out some nice carp with the majority falling to CW Red bollies. Both Neil and Lee are only fishing overnight sessions and are taking advantage of the quieter midweek sessions. Brothers Adam and Charlie Thorp both broke their PB's on a session with their dad Charlie on Churchwood Lake. Adam broke his PB by over 5lbs when he took a lovely 25 04lbs Mirror, he also managed a 15lbs common in the same session. Charlie broke his PB by 4lbs when he banked a 27lbs common. The successful bait was the DT new R1 boliie.

Another 20lbs+ for Lee Walford .	Danny Preston with a nice Tench

 

Adam with his 25 04lbs PB	Charlie with his 27lbs PB Common

Lastly its worth mentioning the great sport that can be had on a float rod. Quality Crucians, Roach, Rudd, Perch and Tench are keeping some of the anglers entertained while they sit it out for a bigg-un. If you like a little Noddy Bashing then its well worth giving it a go. Various baits are doing well, maggots, corn, meat and pellet all taking their fair share of fish. On the booking front weekends continue to be in greatest demand but there is always a good chance booking in a session during the week.

 

 

June 2008

It's been so busy at the fishery that I've not even had time to update the diary and hence I am now writing this as we approach the end of July ! Obviously the stock pond make over has been taking up a tremendous amount of time and hard work. There was up to 5ft of silt in some areas that needed removing and taking away. All the silt is now out and we are left with a nice clay bottom with only some minor work now needed. Silt traps have also been added to the two feeder streams which will hopefully slow the process of the build up of silt in the future. Providing its full again with water at the end of Autumn we should be in a good position to add some small stockies around the end of the year if all goes well.

'Last of the silt being removed from the Stock Pond '

On the fish front Churchwood Lake has been steadily producing some nice fish although none of the biggies have made an appearance. Local carper Lee Walford has been making the most of a few mid-week over night sessions that have yielded him some good fish. Various baits are working well for Lee although the CW Red's have been producing some of the better fish. Another local fisherman doing well is Spike who landed his 5th 20lbs+ carp from Churchwood Lake in his last 3 visits to the fishery.

'Lee with one of his recent 20's'	'A happy Spike with his 5th 20lbs + fish in his last 3 visits'

Jenkins Lake has been the slowest out of the 2 lakes although things have started to improve over the recent weeks,. Float fishing has been providing some great sport on both lakes with some cracking Tench, Crucians, Roach, Rudd and Perch gracing the nets. Various baits including corn, meat and soft pellets seem to be doing the trick for most of the anglers.

'Zara Sands with a couple of nice float fished captures from Jenkins Lake. '

Another well overdue job that was finally done was the partial removal of the dead oak tree on Jenkins Lake. The grass swim had been sectioned off for several months now, partially due to the fact that it gets very water logged there and therefore can turn muddy very quickly, but mainly due to large chunks of heavy oak branches continually crashing to the ground and obviously causing danger to anyone below. A 'space craft' type cherry picker was commissioned for the day that safely removed the large branches and making the tree once again safe to fish beneath. With the machine at the fishery it provided us to get some great shots of the lakes and the surrounding area. It extended to over 80ft and certainly got your legs shaking once you were up there at its full extended height.

 

 

 

May 2008

Unfortunately I have to start this May update with some very sad news and something that fishery owners sometimes have to face. On May 24th Sallis was found dead in the margins and was showing clear signs that she was still spawn bound. Spawning took place on both lakes a few weeks prior but was cut short very quickly when the weather dramatically became colder and we even got a few nights of frost. Sallis as always was in superb condition and there was not a mark on her entire body. She looked massive and was clearly at her top weight as she was full of spawn. Sallis was last out at the beginning of the year and set a new PB for herself at 32-04lbs. This gorgeous mirror could be traced back many years with photos that the regulars have given me over the years. The earliest photo I have was when she weighed in around 15lbs. Sallis had appeared on numerous occasions in the fishing magazines and Scot 'Geezer' Grant even titled a piece for a Carpworld article after her - 'In Search Of Sallis'. As we all know nothing is forever and sometimes you have to expect such events. Most likely Sallis was my favorite carp and she will be sadly missed by all of those who were lucky enough to get their picture taken with her.


Sallis - R.I.P

May has been extremely busy for me down at the lakes. The stock pond is getting a full scale makeover and is currently drained of water. In total we moved over around 20 beautiful comons and mirrors into Churchwood Lake, the largest weighing in at around 18lbs. The plan is to try and get the vast quantities of silt somewhat dryer and then get some large machines in to remove it. If all goes well we will be looking to stock some baby carp by the end of the year that will kick- start a new stocking program. Within 5 years I hope to have grown them to mid doubles which will then be used as back-up fish for the two lakes if needed somewhere in the future.
Swim 4 on Churchwood Lake also got some treatment. Always a muddy area due to the amount of shade it finds itself in, Swim 4 is now a barked area and is absolutely massive. Being a perfect swim to double up in it was soon christened as 'the Social' swim. In addition we have also laid some ground reinforcing mats between the swims which are working brilliantly in keeping the banks free from any mud. All in all the lakes and the surround grounds have probably never looked so stunning. A massive thank you to all the help I received from some of the regular fishermen, friends and family. Apart from grass cutting and strimming I am done till the winter time on any maintenance, thank God!

'A couple of the stock pond stunners'

 

'Swim 4 beginning to take shape'

 

'Removing the last few silver fish'

Action during the month has somewhat been unpredictable. The week that we worked on the lakes fished well for me as I fished nights and worked during the day. I landed 10+ carp from Swim 1, all on the CW Red Bollies. Each night I was winding in around midnight so to get some decent sleep. I was only fishing for 3-4 hours each night so I was pleased to get some decent action and happy to land 'The Linear' at just under 26lbs.

'The Linear'

'another corker from my recent session

A nice bunch of lads came down from Suffolk for a few days. Although the fishing was slow one of the guys did manage a couple of nice fish, one being 'The Ghost Of Churchwood' and the other being a lovely 28lbs Mirror. Now this fish has obviously been seen a few times but it has certainly been packing the pounds on over the past few months. Now at a very respectable weight of 28lbs the captor of the mirror got to give it a name. So we now have a mirror approaching 30lbs which has been named 'Shaggy'.

'Shaggy at 28lbs

'The Ghost Of Churchwood'

Over 40 fish have been out of both lakes during the month of May which was not bad considering that they spawned during this period. June is just a couple of days around the corner and its been lashing with heavy rain. Great for the lakes but not a great start to our summer!

'Spawning taking place on Churchwood'

April 2008

Just a quick update for the beginning of the month. Richard 'BB' Grimes fished two consecutive nights during the 1st week week of the month on Churchwood Lake. The weather was starting to look promising and the carp began to cruise around the upper layers. Richard landed 3 carp during each 12 hr session weighing in at 27lbs, 24-08lbs, 23lbs, 18-08lbs, 18lbs and a 14lbs. All the carp came on the 'Churchwood Specials' (CW) bollies that can be purchased from the fishery. These were fished tight to near and far-side margins in 2-3 feet of water.

Unfortunately I managed to wipe the camera's memory stick before saving them although we managed to save a picture of the 27lbs Mirror. This was such a shame as the 24-08lbs fish was an absolute stunner and not a known fish. I believe it was from the stock pond last year or the year before but weighed only 18lbs back then. If it was the fish then its doing extremely well now it has some room to grow. The 23 pounder was a fish known as 'The Italian' and was in mint condition as was all of Richard's fish. It's during this time of year that a fishery owner is very interested in the condition of all fish captured thus knowing if their precious stock have weathered well throughout the winter months. The volatile weather conditions are also concern to the fishery owner during the early spring days as this is when the carps immune systems has yet to be at full strength and are therefore at risk from the many nasties that exist within their habitat.

James Sumner landed a 26-08lbs Common from Churchwood during one of the nights that Richard landed his fish. Lee Walford had a 13-08lbs Common, again from the same session. The carp were still digesting their dinner when we again experienced some very cold weather and some snow showers, this again pretty much killed off the action and certainly confused the fish. A group of lads were on the wrong side of this weather front and only managed a 16lbs common between them during a 3 day session. Lets hope for some improvement in the weather and more importantly some constant warm weather.

April, snow on Churchwood!

 

March 2008

The lakes were kept quite for a few weeks during the month as the owners were enjoying a much needed break. The weekend prior to Easter produced the best results. Ricky Cichon party enjoyed around 10 pick- ups between them, banking around half of them. Ricky had the best fish, that being a Linear of 27lbs. The best fish from Jenkins during March fell to Steve Francis who banked a 26-04lbs Mirror. The snow fell over the Easter Weekend which pretty much killed of the fishing. Temperatures fluctuated for the rest of the month and kept the carp very quite. The heavy rains ensured a decent flow through the complex although the water was cold and again the did the anglers no favors.

 

Regular OAP's double act 'Stan & Martin' (aka Laurel & Hardy) did manage to open their account for 2008 with Stan taking 2 carp during a day session. Nice one fella and hope you get many more this year.

 

February 2008

Not a great deal to report this month on the fish front, just alot of hard graft around the lake trimming up the trees and maintaining the banks and swims. The lakes froze over for a few days which pretty much made things very hard going for those brave enough to venture out onto the banks. A few fish still made an appearance although nothing of notable size. The best fish of the month was Nick Grimes who took advantage of a work party and fished one rod whilst trimming trees. A fish know as the 'Italian' picked up Nick's critically balanced plastic corn tight to the far margin in the first swim. The mirror pulled the scales around to 25lbs, nice one mate.

The end of the month is now already approaching and temperatures have again been fairly mild for the time of year. The snowdrops have began to poke their heads through the forest floor along with the daffodils and bluebells in the woods surrounding the lakes. If we can maintain this temperature for a few weeks then I would expect the lakes to turn on, especially if the cats decide to start their 1st munch of the year. Keep an eye open for the March edition of Carpworld as there should be a decent article appearing that Si Crow wrote at the beginning of the year. This will naturally attract much interest and therefore weekend bookings will continue to be filled very early. As I write this update the 1st date that Churchwood is totally free of bookings is mid June ! I suggest if you have any desires to fish Churchwood Fisheries this year then call to book a place for later in the year. That reminds me, I need to get my name down for a few weekends !! Weekdays and smaller parties for weekend dates still remain although these are also being booked fairly quickly.

 

January 2008 update continued

With the mild temperatures we were experiencing a quick call to Crowy to let him know he may be in with a chance of a fish and therefore an opportunity to finish his article on Churchwood soon had him traveling back down South from Yorkshire. Crowy decided to kill two birds with one stone and have a social with Glyn Leach, one of his Southern mates. Conditions were looking spot on and it was rude not to have a day off work and spend some time on Jenkins while Crowy and his mate fished Churchwood. Crowy was off the mark 1st with a cracking mirror around the 14lbs mark, not massive but a lovely example to help with his 'Open Access' day ticket fisheries article for Carpworld magazine, hopefully to be published in the March edition. Glynn struggled for the 1st part of the trip but then the fish moved down on the wind to the far end of the lake and he then managed to tempt two doubles during the final few hours. Meanwhile over on Jenkins I landed one of the fish that was high on my 2008 target list. To my knowledge 'Tom's Common' had only been out once to Tom Wager, who got to name the fish, since my ownership of the complex. It's an awesome looking fish with a lovely frame along with being in cracking condition. It pulled the scales around to 26-08lbs and was superbly pictured by Crowy, about time I got a decent trophy shot of one of my fish. I also managed a 19lbs common a few hours later. Cousin Richard "BB" Grimes took advantage of my generous offer and fished the night with my gear that resulted in his 1st fish for 2008, a 21lbs common. A big thanks to Crowy for making the effort to come back and hopefully a good article will result, hope to see you again soon.

A few other smaller carp have been out along with Mark Pickett catching a lovely 26lbs cmomon from Churchwood. Not a named fish but a known fish, this common was last out around 24lbs, so good promising signs so far this year that the carp are doing well in their weights. Cousin Richard managed to scrounge my gear again for an overnighter on Jenkins and again tempted a 20 pounder, an old warrior I named as 'Lumpy' due to the obvious, a golf ball size lump on one of its flank. This was actually the 1st carp Im caught when I took over the fishery 3.5 years ago, but then only weighing 14lbs ! With all of the rain it's not surprising that the mud is becoming worse and worse around the lakes. If you dont like these conditions I suggest you wait a while until things begin to dry out, thats if it stops raining ! If you don't mind a little mud then get your rods out and try getting in on the action. The carp are certainly having some feeding spells so you may be lucky enough to get on one. Summer bookings are already being received so if you were disappointed last year in not being able to book your desired dates then get in early and book now to avoid disappointment.
A new batch of 'Churchwood Specials' bollies have just been delivered and are already look set to become the bait to get on this year. You can purchase these bollies at £7 per kilo at the time of booking your session.

January 2008

Jason 'Wonky' Ruse returned on the 2nd Jan and smashed his PB and set a new best weight for Sallis at 32-04lbs. After losing a fish at the net a few days earlier on Jenkins Jason decided to take advantage of the mild conditions and low pressure readings. Jason fished at the top end of Churchwood in the pads and presented a Pineapple Pop-up tight to the far margin. The fish came early afternoon but unfortunately Jason was fishing alone and therefore only managed to get a pic of the fish on the matt. Sallis looked in great condition and was last out at the start of October weighing in at 30-08lbs. 32-04lbs is a new PB weight for Sallis which was a great way to start the year for us at Churchwood Fisheries. Jason also managed to get his hook straightend from another fish during the session. The carp have certainly decided to get their feeding heads on and I for one will certainly be trying to bank a few while they are at their top weights. Scott Hawkins also got an early 2008 overnight session in and was rewarded with a 19lbs mirror from Churchwood. This time the fish was caught from the deeper far end of Churchwood so basically carp are being caught from all over the lake and not just isolated to any one area. Strangely enough over on Jenkins last January things started to happen and some of the larger carp were banked during a mild start to 2007. The diary for 2008 is now open so now could be a good time to get your dates secured and booked for the coming months.