Angling Lines Blog

I have just finished making a large table to seat our diners here at Oakwood fisheries.

The old pub style table we had been using previously was aging fast and also a bit small to accommodate 4 anglers, as the food package has become very popular with our guests as news has has spread of my better half’s cooking talent!!

It was time to visit the wood yard and assemble the tools as I set about constructing a new table.

A day passed and the table was built. It was then placed in position and the next day was spent sanding and applying wood preservative.

I think it looks great in its new position next to the cabin giving great views of the lake as you enjoy your dinner.

Bon appetit!

A November 2011 session at Oakwood showing just how good the out of season fishing can be.

I’m delighted to announce that all the work is now complete to the new swim at Oakwood. Construction started last November when I cleared the overgrown area and cut the trees back. The lily pads were next, these were removed in May. The digger then arrived on site in August to remove the large reed type plants at the front of the swim. This allowed us access with the weed rake and the swim has now been raked clear.

We have created some fantastic looking spots for you to fish to and it also gives our clients even more space and swim choice.

I’m really happy with how the swim has turned out, it’s a large swim with mature rhodendrems as a backdrop, packed full of features. The bottom is hard clay and silt with patches of gravel.  As you look out from the bank there is a large bay surrounded by lily pads with a spring rising in the middle of the swim and a large over hanging tree in the far margin.  I couldn’t resist having a break from work this week and getting the rods out for a couple of hours as it was my birthday, it looked so tempting! This is the first time I had put the rods out here since March as I have been really busy making improvements around the estate. I did manage to sneak a common out after a few hours, not very big, in fact a baby at about 18lbs but  gorgeous in colour and one  of the next generation, with the genetics from the original fish which was nice to see.

I think this swim could be plucked from a carp angler’s dream I hope you agree!

Owner, Dan Allen, with a 40lb+ from his venue, Oakwood

Fishing slack lines is nothing new, as an 11 year old boy I was using this tactic to catch small common carp alongside a reed bed at a local farm pond.

I quickly learnt that my arsley bomb set up with a relatively tight line (due to my Fairy washing up liquid top with added plasticine for an indicator) was alerting the carp to my presence as they brushed against the line while rooting about in the reed beds.

A change of approach was needed so off came the arsley bomb and on went two number 1 shot spaced two feet apart and 14 inches from my piece of luncheon meat. This was underarm cast as normal alongside the reeds but this time instead of attaching my washing up liquid top bobbin I was going to watch the line for movement, as I had pulled my lines slack to try and reduce the risk of the carp from bumping into them.

This resulted in much improved catch rates. This took place over 20 years ago, tactics like this have been employed by anglers who think about what goes on beneath the surface of the water for many years.

Now fishing slack lines is very much in “vogue”, everyman and his dog seem to be fishing this way judging by the anglers we have visit our fishery but there is a Time and a Place……….

A typical swim at Oakwood - slack lines would not be a good choice here

Most of my fishing at under 50 yards of the bank is done with a slack or semi-slack line, conditions permitting, usually also accompanied by a back lead. It’s the perfect way for fishing along a margin and concealing the line along the lake bed. Normally when a carp brushes against a slack line they ignore it, I think it feels like a piece of weed or bottom debris to them but watch what happens when they brush against a tight line, a very different story. It feels alien to them and generally causes the carp to spook alerting their natural instincts to some sort of danger present.

This said under no circumstances should you fish a slack line when you are fishing up against a snag. This is the point why I wanted to write this article. During the last year I have lost count of the number of times here at Oakwood that anglers have continue reading…

We’ve now started the work to create the new swim, The Hole.  We felt that Oakwood would benefit from a further swim to give the anglers more space and choice.

The bank was cleared and cut during the winter period and now we’ve set about removing the lily pads from the swim. Whilst diving we have already uncovered many interesting features including a deep bomb like hole.

The swim will be perfect for those of you that like to fish two rods and keep lines in the water to a minimum. It has been named “The Hole” and I can’t wait to post the pictures of the completed swim on the blog but for now take a look how we remove the lily pads.