This AnglersTale was submitted by Dave Womble of the Don Valley Specimen Group
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A1 Bream

Over the years I've been neglecting my stillwater fishing in favour of rivers and canals, but I'm going to make a point of improving my skills in this area - as different methods and techniques are evolving all the time.
So a mid-week trip to the A1 pits at South Muskham was arranged, after patting the wife on the head and kissing the dog, off I went. It was about five o'clock when I arrived, it was a warm summers afternoon (well if you can call May 1st summer) there were only a few anglers on the complex so finding a good swim wasn't be a problem.

My target species was bream so the obvious choice is to go on pit 4 - it's stuffed with them and some even go to 10lb, but I decided to try pit 5 as there's only a few bream in this one but they go up to 14lb, plus you can catch the odd carp while you're waiting.

After picking my swim I set up camp, sorted out my rigs and bait which were to be method feeders on both rods, one rod using boilies the other would alternate between tiger nuts and sweet corn. Ground bait was made up of Vitalin crushed hemp pellets and seeds, one lot would be flavoured with tiger nut carpet feed and CSL and the rest would be mixed up using Source liquid additive and crushed boilies for the other rod.

After putting a dozen balls in each swim the rods were cast out and I settled down to enjoy the rest of the days sunshine as I knew any bites wouldn't come till dark. I could see fish topping out all over the lake and if my quarry had been carp I'd probably would have chased them around the lake in the hope of catching one, but with bream it's a case of wait for them to find the feed and hopefully pick one off. And sure enough after a couple of bleeps around Midnight the Delkims sprang into life. It was definitely a bream as there wasn't much of a fight, so it was landed without any real drama and as I looked at it in the net I could not believe the size of it - the phrase 'dustbin lid' springs to mind, so I quickly weighed it at 10lb 2oz a new PB, it looked like a promising start to my still water campaign.

I put the fish back in the net while I set up the camera, now if you fish alone it's a good idea to practice self-take photography so when you need a picture everything should run smoothly, however my hurried attempts didn't produce a very good picture, the reason for this was my camera was set up for my chosen background, however I couldn't get it to focus in the dark, so plan B was a hurried affair taken against the back of the car and after three goes I released the fish as there's no point in stressing it out just for the perfect shot. Within ten minutes the same rod was off again this time it was a 7lb 8oz bream and then it all went quiet for the rest of the night.

After breakfast I sat in the sunshine and had a rethink, I remembered that after finishing baiting up at 45 yards the fish started rolling at around 30 yards. Typical. So I decided to re-bait tonight at 35yards and feed more boilies and corn over the top to keep them interested. I would also ditch the method feeders and use straight leads. In the meantime I took advantage of the gin clear water to test and try out some of my rigs. It's amazing what you can learn about how they lay on the bottom and with a few minor adjustments, get them working just how you want them to. You know it's surprising how many anglers just tie on a hook length and cast it out without knowing what it looks and acts like on the bottom of the lake or river. A little time spent playing in the margins with your rigs could get you that special fish, and it helps pass the time because there's only so much you can do in between feeding times. I've read a couple of magazines had a few snacks (no wonder I'm over-weight) watched the traffic on the A1 and I've even had the odd cat nap. But after lounging about all day the only thing I've caught is sunstroke.

It was approaching dusk, so I put in twelve to fifteen balls of ground bait and a few catapults full of freebies in each swim and re-cast with fresh hook baits, full of anticipation. I settled down ready for the main event. As the light started to fade it was becoming clear it might not be as easy as I first thought, as it was a lot colder than the previous night with a full moon as well. During the night I tried different ways of presenting the baits even casting to different areas but with no joy.

Well after what looked like a promising start I did not get any more fish, but that's fishing for you. However I have leant a bit about the water and feeding habits of the fish which will put me in good stead for my next visit.

Martin Womble.
D.V.S.G.