The weatherman was right for a change! Highs of 27 deg c were on the cards and I felt like another fishing trip coming on. I knew Jenny would need little or no persuasion to sit in the sun for a few hours and I desperately need to redeem myself after my woeful performance at Lizard last week.
After a leisurely start, we decided on a visit to Gold Valley lakes in Aldershot, Hants, where you are almost guaranteed some fine sport. It was midday by the time we arrived, the sun was high in the sky and the main lake was almost full. We had little choice of swims, although fortunately one of the few available was nearest the car park.
Jenny adopted the "quantity" approach fishing up in the water for the many silverfish using a waggler, alternating between corn and banded pellets. I adopted the "quality" approach and determined to break by PB [15lb common] and set up a method feeder, burying a 15mm pineapple boilie in the mix and casting to the central island. It didn't take Jenny long to find the hungry roach and rudd and it wasn't much longer before I was playing the first carp of the day, a 7lb common which was soon safely in the net. That was quickly followed by a 9lb 8oz mirror. Meanwhile, Jenny continued to heave out the roach and rudd.As the heat of the day really kicked in, the fish understandably decided that a rest was in order and things went very quiet for a while. It wasn't until about 4 pm that things started to liven up again. I decided to ring the changes and opted for the splasher waggler approach using a banded pellet and feeding 6 or 7 pellets every cast.
This bought some immediate success. Almost immediately by skud waggler hit the water, my pellet was devoured by a hungry carp which hurtled off into deeper water. Over the next hour or so, I couldn't go wrong and banked another 7 carp, the best tipping the scales at 11lb. They then switched off the feed again and I could only manage one more carp of 9lb before we decided to call it a day as dusk fell.
Gold valley had certainly lived up to its reputation once again as a first class commercial fishery. Despite its various drawbacks [£10 for only 1 rod, a host of bait bans, some poor quality fish and a disappointing attitude to disabled access that we once encountered], it is still worth a visit and you probably won't go away with an empty net !!
Til next time, happy fishing!! Paul @ Fish South East
