BIG CARP APRIL 2026 RICHARD - Flipbook - Page 177
JOHNASH
THORNLEY
GEDEN
b a nk to fish areas of the lake t h at we re n’ t as b u sy a s th e m ai n
o p en water swims. T he sw i m th a t I re al ly fa n c i e d wa s ca l l e d
t h e Aviary, which is located i n th e n o r t h ea s t c o rn e r o f t h e l ake .
T he swim has a lovely marg i n a re a t ha t s lo p e s o f f in to 1 0 f t o f
water. I’d worked out that th e f i sh li ke to s p e n d a g re a t d e a l
o f time sunbathing in thi s are a by wa tc hi ng t h e i r be h av i o u r
f rom up the trees througho u t th e s um m er o f 2 0 1 7. T hey wo u l d
q u ite happily spend the l ate m o r n i n g a nd a f te rn o o n s i n t h e
m argin of the Aviary af ter t he i r m a i n mo r n i n g fe e d o u t i n t h e
d e eper area of the lake.
I knew that the prep wo rk w i t h th e l e ad i n g ro d wo u l d p ay
o f f in this area if I could lo c a te a fe w g o o d sp o t s . O n e o f t h e s e
a reas was at the base o f t he m a rg i n al s h e l f i n 8 f t o f wa te r.
T he spot was no bigger tha n d u s tb i n l i d a n d wa s s u r ro u n d e d
by Canadian weed. It was a n i c e s m a ll grave l s p o t t h a t t h e
f i s h had kept clean and wa s wo r t h p l ac i n g r i g o n w it h a fe w
h a ndfuls o f bait over it . Wo u ld i t t ri p o n e o f t h e b i g g e r f i s h u p
o n its way back from the m ai n di nn e r t a b le ?
I ended up having seve n t ake s a n d l an d i n g s i x f i s h i n 2 1
n i ghts throughout April and M ay, a n d fo u r o f t h o s e t a ke s c a me
o f f the dustbin lid spo t . A l th o u gh I wa s ha p py w i th t h e p re p
work and the number of ta ke s, t he ave ra g e s iz e o f t h e f i s h wa s
o n ly 15lb. I ended up with t he n i ck n a me o f t h e S to ck i e K i n g ,
which didn’t worry me, a s I k n e w my t a ct i c s a n d b a i t we re
working, and consistency a n d c o n f i d e nc e h as always p l aye d a
m assive part in my fishing .
I pulled off the lake at t he e n d o f M ay, a s t h e f i sh we re d u e
to spawn in June, and the l ake n o r m a lly c lo s es d ow n fo r t h e i r
a n nual spawning activi ties . I l ef t t h em to i t a n d en j oye d s eve ra l
weeks of hot weather with my fa mi ly, wa i ti ng fo r t he we a t h e r
FR E ELINE 55
