Anglers Profile

This year has been a different kind of year, my local water has produced a 38lb pike a 34lb pike and a 30lb pike all of which were differnt fish the other lake has produced a 31lb pike and 2 different 30lb pike so thats 6x different 30lb pike to target and without the destraction of carp (because my local water is a bit to difficalt in the winter) i was free to rome the banks with lures and baits.
When i did my first walk around this year i was expecting the pike to be hard to tempte but within a few chucks i can remember the feeling of the rod being tugged quite well by this feller   A little 11lb on a bait which was quite nice especially seeing as the year before i had only manged a handfull of pike by late winter so this year was looking promising, I came over the next day to try out the baits and as the hours of staying mobile went on i ended up in the same swim that i had caught the 11lb pike from and low 'n' behold the float was gone in the blink of an eye but it wasnt a pike noo why would it, it was a eel   but not just an eel it was new venue record eel   this was quite a suprise to me i had caught eel on fish baits and even lure but the bait was a 6oz bait so this eel was determind to get it the following week the cold hit and it hit hard!!! the other pond had frozen (partly) but the pike were active me and a friend had turned up for a few hours at 6am on the dot to get the stuff ready before it got light at 7am i had my rod ready made from the last 2 times, one of my friends from up north was down on the lake and as i was waiting for it to get light i went around to see him putting the rod on a alarm with the float in the margin on a tiny bait of about 2/3 of an oz i was on my friends peg for around 3mins when i heard a few bleeps the boy i was with looked at meand i just started sprinting, with me leaving the bail arm open the fish had picked up the bait and shot off i hit into a large slow weight which was turning up alot of silt i managed to get her in the net, the rod went down the net went up it was a good fish,
20lb  3oz if i rememeber right.             the same day i caught 3 more but my phone had died so no more pics unfortunatly i wasnt so botherd by the phone because i only caught a 4lb, 7lb and a 11lb pike and after having a 20+ these were allmost meaningless to me my smile was unbreakable so within 3 short days i had done the same amont of pike that i caught the year before and it was only november. 
 as the pike became less active i switched to lures while one of my mates stayed with baits we spent alot of time on the lakes but niether had any luck but one evening i had a text my mate had caught on of the six 30+ pike it was the smallest of the them but if uv got a 30lb pike you will not give 2 *&**$%*^*£$    how big it is or what people think determind to catch more fish i went back on the baits in my one week holiday of collage and caught a few including a 3lb+ perch!!!     
                        Safe to say i had a decent week because i only fished 2 days i had a 3lb 1oz perch, 7lb pike, 14lb pike, 16lb 4oz pike and finally a 18lb 4oz pike i was very happy with my results for thos 2 days but it wouldnt be long before the pike were ready to spawn and collage work was getting hard so i decided to stop untill just a few days ago when i went around on a quite day i had 1 little pike on my first cast and then 2 pike in the next swim i moved to i decided to move on the other pond because the 3 i had caught on the first lake were all small male fish i gt on the big lake and the swim i had caught the twenty of before xmas was taken by a pike angler i had talked to him and advised he move one bait to the corner where i had caught the 20+ from but he seamed very reasured that he knows more than a 16year old even though he hadnt caught a single pike all day nad i was on 3 in 1 hour i move just short down from him and to his delight i caught one first cast and just to rub it in for him being rude and ignerent i made hime take a pic i went back to my peg and second cast i was in again by this point i could see him just stairing at me    he started walking over and as he did a tiny little pike came up to the surface and got eaten whole!! by this 12lb pike so i got this double pictured above on a pike that was on my lure he was a good sport did my picture and i was of on my way i lost one pike that day and caught 5 i decided to do one more pike season on the (which was today) i wasnt sure about it because i was very tierd but i walked the dog around the lake and i could see a few pike hitting fry in the margins so i went home got my kit and got fish i had nothing for a few hours and i got into this completly static and dead bay i had made a few casts across a scum line but nothing i made one cast to the far bank and the line was being striped off like a prastatute it was smoking but as it made a run it came to a stand still it was a big fish i didnt want to lose it but where the fish had run to i know for a solid fact thier were no snags so what had happend well i gave it a quick tug and it started really slowly moving what had happend and im still shocked writing this, the pike i had hooked was a 20+ it ran of and basically one of the 30+ had grabbed it when it came to surface the pike with my lure shot of got away from the 30+ but the 30 snatched it again but realizin something was wrong it let go after that the 20+ i had hooked just came in with no trouble it was wasted from the attack i got it in put some anti-septic wash on the gapping wound and sorted it out but i was fearful being by the water after all if their are fish big enough to attack the pic pictured below 
as u can see on its back thier is where the bigger fish grabbed it i think its unbeleavable 

imagen if it could get its hand on me, thanks but no thanks, the pike swam of strongly and with that it came the end of this winters pike fishing for me 
 thankyou for reading please comment

fantastic result for Redeye Baits very own Sam Finch, through our collaboration with Atomic Tackle, Sam is now on Team Atomic. Sam is looking forward to the expertise that will be gained from the wealth of knowledge that’s within Team Atomic.

A

Well despite having a cold decided I would fish the syndicate water,I had done some gardening on the Saturday morning and the weather seemed superb. Probably got here about 3.30pm and it seemed really warm up around peg 6 which catches the sun. A walk around the lake revealed some carp in the corner nearest the road, peg 1 area but the out of bounds part and then saw 6 or 7 additional fish in the peg 6 area. No brainer so went for peg 6.

The owner has made peg 1 into a 2 peg area, so I managed to get 1 rod on peg 1a and the other 2 on the old peg 1. Peg 1a is still a bit tricky to fish. Having got all 3 rods in, the rod in peg 1a I fished close in to the bank against a bush where I had earlier seen some carp. I then catapulted around 10 to 15 boilies into each area. The other 2 in the old peg 1 had one on the far bank and the other close in to the right. Another guy turned up and fished peg 2, I had abandoned the idea of fishing this peg since I hadn't seen any fish there. He was telling me how he had fished here 6 times and lost 4 fish, but had never  landed a fish. Poor chap! He can't have had his rods in the water more than 1 hour and he had a run so he had to belt off down the bank back to his peg. Unsurprisingly he played it extremely carefully and I was very happy to see him land a 19lb 2oz common looking very nice in winter colours! I took some photographs for him which looked very good.

I went back to my peg still hoping for a fish,.The center rod kept having the odd bleep come from the bite alarm which is always a good sign in my book. Around 6.50 pm I had a run, fish on! Unfortunately it turned out to be  a bream around 3 or 4lb. I catapulted a further 6 to 8 boilies into each area just as a top up. Where are the carp? The weather had by now turned quite cold so I was seriously thinking I might turn into my sleeping bag.

I kept having some line bite attention, again on the center rod late evening which resulted in a run around 12.45am, but unfortunately it resulted in  another bream around 3 or 4lb. I had been using a stick filled with crushed boilie and a betaine/mussel crumb attractant on all rods, however this time when rebaiting I decided to skip this to reduce the chance of attracting more bream. Well this worked but unfortunately it also resulted in no further bites.

Bit of insight on the bait front, I fished a Jaffa boilie on the LH rod which was in peg 1a and on the RH rod in peg 1,which had been fishing up against an old weedbed. Both were fished with a stick mix similar to the one described above. Unfortunately this proved very disappointing. The center rod has had my old favourite monster squid boilie on.

Sunday morning I decided it was time for a change. As well as topping up with a few more boilies in each area I moved some of the rods around. The LH rod I left fishing the Jaffa boile but moved it further out into an area I had also baited yesterday. The middle rod I recast into a corner of the lake with my old favourite pineapple pop up on. The RH rod was fishing where the old center rod was with a Monster squid boilie on again. Ho hum, will have to wait and see but I'm left wondering if Jaffa is more of a summer bait anyway food for thought.

The weather early Sunday morning was quite chill but once the sun got up it turned out to be very pleasant. The only trouble was there was no sign of any fish anywhere and no  runs for anyone at all. Around 12.15pm I decided to call it a day and headed home, not a complete blank but no carp unfortunately.

Karl and Sam Finch from Redeye Baits announce the joint venture between Redeye Baits and Atomic Tackle on Bivvy TV http://bivvy.tv/Latest-News/ 

Its never nice having to have to rush to the bank but on friday (24th) I was on a mad rush to the bank from collage to try get to my baited up swim.
i had started baiting up on the monday when i had walked around with my lures after pike (the pike fishing went well with 5 pike going up to 12lb). on my travels with the lures i noticed a few carp just held up in one area of the lake so thinking as a angler i decided to space out my options i put bait just of the margine drop of near a tree that grows out of the undercut in the bank through and out the water and the other went on a set of dead lilly pads by the side of an island, lots of fish were congragating around these areas so i baited them up every day for the week with a handful of bait on each spot everyday after collage ready for friday night.as my 4pm leave time came i was of down the hill on a 1 hour bus rid back home with a quick stop of in the shops to pick up some food for the 48hours fishing ahead then literally ran home put the phone on charge grabed everything i could possably need n literally ran with the barrow, i got on the bank around 5:30pm n with only 40mins to get sorted before the night i was in a rush to say the least but i stayed calm n did both my rods and i managed to get them both out perfectly first go which for me was very reashoreing and this feeling was backed up by fish in the twilight jumping and crashing on both spots. after i had finished getting everything sorted I poped to the peg next to me which my fishing friend andy was bassed and we had a chat about what had been happening in the day before i had got thier, andy had turned up some 4 hours before me and had been a top sport and not gone on my baited up spot. we had are food n chilled out for a bit n got some shut eye. around 4-5am i was woken up by a run and this still is a confusing me but the rod was in half the spool was spinning i picked up the rod to reel in a perfect rig now im not sure what happend it could have been the mother of all line bites i dont know but i wasnt impressed. by sun rise the only thing to come out bettwen me, andy and to other boys that fish with me from time to time was a bream but as allways one of the boys mannaged to get a double mirror around 9am. by this point all the fish that were in my swim had moved to the bay behind me so not wanting ti sit on static rods i moved straight in thier and with in 10 mins i had a 6lb bream na d within an hour i had a double common. as the second  night rolled in i was filled with confidence on the new spot i had moved to but my right hand rod had bed sat thier motionless in white so i decided to move it to the far bank for the night thier was a set of dead reeds growning back and it looked promising so again first cast o got it perfect i was very happy with the way things were looking for the night.
     lots of the fish i had seen in the day were now moving on the far bank so my right hand rod was looking very good for a bit and i was descusing this with a friend when speak of the devil the right hand rod wwent of with a small mirror i was very happy with this small fish because none of the other 6 guys had a had a sniff all day or night i got the right hand rod back out on the spot and within 30mins it went of again but same as the first night i struck a screaming run with no fish in the end  

Redeye Baits have a new team member, this week we signed up a well respected UK carp angler to head up our bait, field test team.



Full announcement will be made next week.

It was our first session on the bank fishing for Carp this year and the day ahead looked positive. The sun was shining onto the lake and a blue sky with no cloud in sight for miles!

A beautiful reservoir called Holme Grange in the countryside of Crowthorne was the destination and when we arrived, the swims we were hoping to get were quickly taken by other angler‘s. We walked around the reservoir and finally came to a decision of what swim to pick. With open water and an oxygen generator to the left hand side, we seemed to have more confidence in the swim so we set up for a hopeful day’s fishing.

We both decided to cast into the open water past the oxygen generator as it would be warmer nearer the middle because the water being pumped from the generator was very cold so the fish would not be feeding around it.

Pellets were our approach, we both fished a small 8mm bloodworm pellet attached to the hair and Dan decided to use p.v.a bags filled with 3mm feeding pellets whilst Dave soaked 3mm pellets and cage fed them out.

It wasn’t long until Dave got his first bite, so we stared patiently at his alarm and after 30 seconds of doing so, the line from his reel screamed off, Dave set the hook and he was in to the first fish of our session! After two or three minutes of fighting, Dave brought him onto the bank. A nice little 3-4lb Common Carp.

After half an hour of Dave catching that fish, he was into another one and what a fight it was giving him! The fish was taking line continuously, tearing from left to right but it was only a matter of time before Dave got him into the net. We laid the Carp on the mat and chunky it was! It weight 7lb 2oz, what a fantastic fish.

Although Dave was having all the luck, Dan hadn’t heard any slight beep from his alarms whatsoever. He couldn’t decide if he was fishing the wrong method, or simply if the Carp were just not near where his bait is. Dan was giving up all hope.

Out of the blue, Dan got his first bite of the session which brought back his confidence again. He waited silently behind his rods and after 10 minutes his alarms went out of control and it seemed that both of  his rods had fish attached to them! Dan set the hook on one rod whilst Dave on the other! It only took us both one or two minutes to net the fish so we took a few photos and put them back. We both looked at each other and laughed! That brings it to a 2-2 draw, Although it was no competition!

As the day moved on we were getting constant bites. It was going well for us on our first Carp session of 2012 but we wanted that ‘big’ fish that we had been looking for the whole day. Dan decided to change his bait presentation, so he added a yellow tutti fruity pop-up sweetcorn underneath his pellet just for more visibility in the water. Dan cast his rod back in the same place he’d been fishing the day.

Dan had walked off to the swim next to him to ask the other fisherman what they were fishing with. After two minutes of his rod being in, the alarm beeped and line from his reel was screaming off! Dave had no choice but to set the hook. Dan came running back and Dave passed the rod over to him. He was into something big. Dan had been fighting the fish for around seven minutes now and still the fish had enough energy to take more line! After ten minutes, Dan finally got the fish into the net and it was certainly the biggest fish of the session so far. It weighed 10lb 5oz of pure muscle. What a fish.

As Dan’s change of adding a yellow tutti fruity pop-up sweetcorn paid off, Dave decided he wanted to give it a go. It seemed that the fish were taking a liking to the sweetcorn probably because of the brightness of it in the water and we were getting constant bites from it.

The tables had turned and now Dan was getting all the luck and Dave not so much! Dan’s alarm had roared off again and he was in for another big fight. “This one is definitely a lump!” Dan Said. As it came to the surface, we noticed Mirror scales along it’s side and Excitingly it was a Mirror! The fisherman say it is rare to catch Mirror’s at Holme Grange and it was Dan’s first Mirror there! After a long and hard fight, It was in the  net and quickly into the weighing sling! It Came to a whopping 1llb exact! What a fish it was and sad to see it go.

Dave was now itching for a big carp so he brought both his rods in and re-baited them. Not many fisherman around the Reservoir had caught any ‘bigguns’ so Dave’s confidence was dropping low. His rods had been in for almost 15 minutes and still he awaited a bite.

It seemed that Dan had just passed all of his luck to Dave as Dave’s rod screamed off and he was in! Dave was very happy, he didn’t want to lose this fish as he knew it was going to be his biggest of the session. It didn’t take Dave long at all to bring the fish in as it seemed to of swam straight towards his net! We brought the fish to the mat and weighed him. Exactly the same as Dan, it came spot on, an 11lb Common Carp, Dave’s personal best! We put it back and watched it swim off, what a sight.

What a day it had been, Dan caught five which included a 10lb 5oz Common and an 11lb Mirror.  Dave had caught three which also included a 7lb 2oz Common and his personal best 11lb! A great day’s Carp fishing at a fantastic reservoir stocked with some really nice Carp. We knew it wasn’t going to be our last trip.

Picture Left to Right Karl Worthington (Redeye Baits), Tom Dale (Atomic Tackle), Sam Finch (Redeye Baits) & Simon Healy (Atomic Tackle)

 

Southern based terminal tackle and accessory giants Atomic Tackle and North West based bait company Redeye Baits have put there heads together and forma an alliance to boost the number of Junior Anglers entering the angling scene in the North West. Their plan is to establish a solid relationship with local youth groups in the area and create a Youth Angling Development Academy. Once fully established, Y.A.D,A goal will be to educate youngsters from non angling backgrounds and teach them the skills required to fully appreciate the true benefits of being an angler and the hours of pleasure the sport can bring to anyone if approached in the right way.

 

Redeye Baits founder, Karl Worthington, how this all came about, ‘At Redeye Baits we are fond believers in giving something back to the sport that has given us so much pleasure over the years. So we spoke to UKMA marketing development team for some guidance and advice, who in turn introduced us to the team at Atomic Tackle. Having formed a relationship, we intend to build our company reputation around being a pro-active member of the North West angling community. Through this local interaction, we will hopefully establish Redeye Baits, Atomic Tackle and any other brands associated to this ventures reputations to a point that the venture becomes successful and profitable for all parties concerned’.

 

Atomic Tackles front men Simon Healy and Tom Dale said ‘We don’t believe in sponsoring youth anglers as they do not have enough experience to justify the investment but we do believe that without collaborations like this that bring youngsters into the sport, then the future for our sport is looking bleak’. Simon continued ‘This is the perfect opportunity to improve our brands image in the North West whilst building a solid foundation for the sports future in this area’.

 

This is my first blog and as of this weekend I will try do one on a sunday every sunday (if possable)

no1: to start with I would use a 3-5g wagler float with 8lb line and a single size 8-10 hook preferably a carp hook a big eel will have trouble bendng it out in the fight, next get your hands on any live silver fish around the 0.5-1oz mark and hook it once through the tail n place it into the margins or if u want a big eel try deeper water (allways go for silt areas eels love silt) remember if your water has a live bait ban this is illegal!

no2: feeder fishing: stay on strong line and hooks but a bait is a "ifffyyy" one, a few years ago I tryed gone off moldy fishmeal ground bait with 8mm pellets n had my pb eel (5lb 1oz) you can try other baits like roach heads or dead maggots (try aviod live maggots because small eels will pester you) id say the best time of year for eels is spring or autem i catch them all year round but to target them get them in mild weather

sam "fluff" harris